It began with me being in a church service somewhere and we were beginning praise and worship. I immediately noticed that the atmosphere in the room was thick with God's presence. The music began to lift us to a place in God that I myself have only experienced a handful of times in my life. It was like Jesus was standing in the room with us. They began to sing and it was unlike anything I have ever heard. It was not conventional praise and worship at all. It was free, without any restraint. The words just seemed to flow out and the origin was not from Jesus Culture or Hillsong or any classic hymn book. I could tell this was being downloaded from heaven. It is really hard to describe. It was like prophetic singing that Kim Clement does turned up about ten notches and it felt like heaven was singing with us. It was so different in fact that I looked around and noticed that many people were becoming upset with what was happening. It was anything but conventional so I understand. Many people actually walked out until there was only a remnant left in the once full sanctuary. The song ended and there was a time of silence and a little bit of disappointment. A few in the remnant walked out and what seemed like only a moment later came back in with people that they invited off of the street that were in the community. I noticed by the appearance of many of them that they were not part of the "church crowd". They were dirty and not dressed in their Sunday best yet they were captivated when the worship began again. Their entire demeanor and appearance changed before my eyes as they were transformed in the perfect love and presence of God. This time, something was different. This time, there would be no interruptions. It felt like we could bask in His glory forever.
To date, I have only shared this dream with a few people very close to me. I feel like it's time to share it with everyone who has an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church in this hour. There are changes coming. If you think that going from using a red back hymnal to singing more contemporary songs is a change, that is nothing. God is not going to be impressed with the style of our praise and worship, the style of our preaching, or any preference that we have. The Spirit is saying to the bride that there is a higher place in Him. Go deeper, push in further, and lose yourself more in Him. There will be three groups of people in the church in the coming years. The first group who will not accept change and who want to hold on to the victories of yesterday because that's what is familiar and comfortable. I know that God parted the sea yesterday and brought you out of Egypt and we would not be here today if God didn't do what He did then, but also realize that we have not been commanded to camp out there. We have a land to inherit and we are a Warrior Bride that goes out behind her groom to do war and displace the enemy wherever he is. The second group is the remnant that are left after many choose to die in the wilderness. They will press on for more of Jesus. They are the burning ones. The hungry ones who cannot be satisfied with yesterday's bread. The last group is a smaller group who knows what needs to be done. They have received the revelation of Gods love to the point that they know whom He wants to be in His church. He wants the imperfect ones. He wants the spotted and speckled. He wants those whom many in the church have left outside because they are mean, hateful, sinful, and dirty. There will be a few that go after those people. They will love the unloveable and because of the love of God in them, the church will shift and change to be an awesome thing to behold. A bride that knows what she is without the white garments that were paid for by the One who has called her to His chambers. A bride that knows who she is because of a love that would not stop and not give up. You probably know which group you fall in. All of them will be necessary for the church to move into the last phase before He appears.
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