Empowered for the Unprecedented

In our day of destiny, we will see the Glory of God. But in order to see, we must believe.

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” —John 11:40

No one could have anticipated Jesus’ strategy as He tarried before proceeding to Bethany and raising Lazarus from the dead. That was an unprecedented display of His power and authority. It stretched the faith of Mary and Martha and prepared their eyes to behold God’s glory.

Fresh and exceptional things are about to take place in the Church around the world. It will stretch our faith, but it will uniquely prepare us for an awesome demonstration of God’s glory. The Bible foretells that the spirit of this generation will be as it was during the days of Noah. The Scriptures portray Noah as one who found favor in God’s sight.

Through a divine visitation, God specifically prepared Noah for unprecedented events that unfolded in his generation. No human reasoning or natural wisdom could have provided the necessary insight and strategic blueprint for survival. Noah prevailed only by the Spirit of Revelation and obedience to the spoken word of the Lord.

Only in the supernatural realm can we receive the provision for our generation. This spiritual reality requires a far greater faith than we presently possess on a corporate level. Therefore, we must set our faith in order to access God’s end-time promises to the Church. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life and He desires to display His resurrection power and life, so we may behold God’s glory.

Long Foreseen Promises

Many aspects of His divine life have not yet been discovered. The God-empowered life is wholly supernatural. It is profoundly prophetic and embodies unfathomable depths of wisdom and knowledge. The prophets and patriarchs of old foresaw the promises given to the end-time Generation; they longed to see this manifestation of God’s glory on the earth. They foresaw God’s plan and marveled at the resources of Heaven reserved for this coming appointment with destiny.

As expressions of God’s grace, windows and doors of opportunity will be granted to many of us, granting access to the supernatural dimension of faith. For many decades, we have implemented our various programs and organizational strategies to evangelize the world. Although we are thankful for all who have been touched by this means, it has not produced the bountiful harvest foretold and described in the Scriptures.

Strictly by the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and His power will such a harvest be realized! As we stand on the threshold of the new millennium and the dawning of a new day for the Church, we would be well served to examine our heritage and comprehend more clearly our future. Many Scriptures outline the pattern by which the Lord established His Apostolic Church. However, the book of Hebrews records some characteristics of God’s Kingdom:

God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. —Hebrews 2:4

In reality, this passage is forthright and underscores the cooperation between Heaven and earth in presenting the gospel. Such pointed language as this requires no interpretation, only our faith to believe it. To attempt to explain away this supernatural dimension of our heritage would provide a refuge for cold formal religion and a hiding place for unbelief.

The Great Commission

Examining Jesus’ commission to bring light to this dark world and to evangelize the nations leaves little room for doubt that the supernatural realms of Heaven are essential in accomplishing His divine mandate. The overall superior strength and abilities of many in the world leave most in the Church feeling inadequate when it comes to natural capabilities and proficiency.

However, when united with the assistance of Heaven and the impartation of the supernatural dimension, we can confidently press ahead, generously equipped for the rich demands placed upon participants in the end-time army. Scripture indicates that God chooses to transform base and common things to confound the wise. Our confidence cannot be drawn from our own strength, but from His. Presently, the Holy Spirit is looking for the qualifications of a broken and contrite spirit and those who “tremble at His Word.”

In no way does this imply an endorsement of ignorance or a lack of excellence. Quite the contrary! God does not intend that we approach the world on its own terms. Our standard is a representation of Heaven according to the perfect model established by Jesus and emulated by the early apostles. Like the apostle Paul, our gospel cannot rest upon superiority of speech and human wisdom but rather, by demonstration of the Spirit and His supernatural power.

Those who approach this Great Commission without the undergirding of true supernatural power and authority from Heaven will most likely return without lasting fruit. For it is Christ in us who is the hope of glory and the fulfillment of the assignment placed upon this unique generation!

God of the Impossible

We cannot approach impossible tasks without being equipped by the God of the impossible. Through Him, we can boldly proclaim that all things are possible. Our only opportunity for victory is to be clothed with Christ and make no provision for the flesh or for human arguments that would deny the power of Heaven.

Many of us have endured much anguish and hardship during our sanctification process that prepares us to share in the harvest and walk in union with God. Great value exists in understanding the purpose for seasons of oppression and privation—they assist in the lofty endeavor of discovering God’s rest and experiencing supernatural faith in God’s Son. The refining process has as its goal the perfecting of our faith and preparation for divine encounters with our Teacher.

Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, “Be gone!” –Isaiah 30:20-22

It is also through experiencing various trials that we discover the fullness and magnitude of our own weaknesses as well as our great dependency upon Him—Christ in us, our hope of glory. Any form of self-reliance ultimately works counter to God’s higher purposes. That is the lesson Peter learned in the three days following the Lord’s crucifixion. His sifting experience was an integral part of establishing him for his phenomenal on the Day of Pentecost.

The Living Word

Around the earth today, the Holy Spirit is releasing fresh dimensions of enlightenment regarding His Word, His desires, and His strategies. They are for a mature body of believers to access and disseminate, allowing them to operate more fully in the power and revelatory realms of Heaven.

Throughout history, when God’s people walked before Him in truthfulness and faithfulness, He made known His presence through visible signs, visions, and displays of His might. A reverential fear of the Lord arises from such demonstrations of God’s virtue. That is the quest for this generation.

Presently an opportunity exists for our spiritual eyes and ears to be illumined, thereby birthing truthful and faithful hearts. As A. W. Tozer once expressed it: “My thoughts aren’t adequate, Lord, to enable me to lead Your people through the quagmire of today’s society. Nor are the thoughts of the writers, the teachers, the preachers, and the psychologists that bombard me from the pages and the airways. I’m only going to be effective as a spiritual leader as I learn to think God’s thoughts.”

Scripture instructs us that where there is no vision, people perish. Discouragement and unbelief—resulting from deferred hope and seemingly unfulfilled promises—will be overcome as the Church apprehends the revelatory realm of Heaven and secures the thoughts and ways of God. That is our biblical promise and spiritual mandate for our generation.