"To the Church:
"You are the apple of My eye. You are My precious bride, My beloved. I love you so much that I gave My life on the Cross, so that I could spend eternity with you.
"I am all you need, and you are all I want. Your programs, your rituals, your buildings and your traditions are not what I died for on the Cross. You are My bride. You are My Church, My body.
"All of your programs, rituals and traditions can be done without Me. All of these things can be performed without My Spirit. Yet none of these are the same as Me, nor are they part of Me. To have them is not the same as having Me, and to have Me will not necessitate having them.
"Behold, many of you do not know the difference between Me and these things. Meetings, rituals, traditions and programs have taken the place of Me in many of your hearts. Therefore I will remove many of your buildings and abilities to have meetings. All will mourn, but to those who have Me already the darkness will not be dark, for I will be their light. But for those who have not known Me--who have only known 'church'--they will be in distress, overwhelmed by the storm and lost in fear of tribulation.
"I have already begun calling many of you out of churches so that you may be with Me and learn to hear My voice. I will call more of you in the same way. You who have come out before the storm have been called so that you may receive My heart for your brothers and sisters, who have known 'church' instead of Me. Do not despise them, but love them in patience, just as I have loved you."
As I read this post I was reminded of a prophetic dream I received back in 1995: "The Church is the Apple of His Eye".
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify terms...when I speak of the "church" I do not mean buildings, but rather people--the true body of Christ--His bride.
The Scripture that comes to mind is "Keep me as the apple of Your eye. Hide me in the shadow of Your wings." Psalm 17:8
Here the psalmist uses the symbol of an apple to illustrate the roundness of the pupil which is the most sensitive and delicate part of the eye. Because it is so vulnerable it needs constant protection.
I believe God is telling His children that we are like the pupil of an eye because we are vulnerable, and in need of His constant protection. More than anything else God wants us to know that we are at the very center of his care and concern. Nothing that ever happens to us is ever hidden from His loving and watchful eyes!
I sense that it's time to take out the apple dream, dust it off, and see if there's something more that God wants to share with us about His heart for us today.
Ok, gotta do this again, sigh. The message is awesome, and the timing is right on. It so happens that my church, Catalyst Community Church, was one of the churches that was literally demolished by the April 27th storms. We are currently meeting at another church building, praying for another building of our own. But perhaps God has another plan/purpose for us. Pray that God will reveal and guide us on His purpose for us, so that He can accomplish His plan in us and thru us!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Tonya Dalton