Missionary-Evangelist Esther Thornton
The true sign of
those who lead in the next revival of this century will be their gracious
ability to love. Love is the key and mercy is also necessary to usher in the
glory of God.
We need the love of
God to motivate us. How do we know when we have enough of God's love? When a
burden for lost humanity consumes our every waking hour, as it did with Jesus;
then we will know that we have enough of His love.
"REVIVAL: FROM RIVER TO OCEAN"
The "River of
God" revival blessed us. Now let's follow it to the "Oceans".
Ocean-sized waves of the glory of God are destined to hit this planet in our
times.
There are patterns of
revival in the history of the church: unrest; repentance; then, follows the
outbreak of revival, miracles and change. And, nothing of lasting value is ever
birthed into the Spirit realm without coming through the birth waters of the
womb of prayer.
The
Bible speaks of
four
winds of revival:
l. A wind of
holiness: like that of winter, so unfruitful branches will die and it forces
our roots to burrow deep in the soil.
(Job
37:9-10 and 21 - north wind that cleanses).
2. A wind of
strength: joy in the refreshing of spring; new growth. "The joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh. 8:10 - south wind that
warms).
3. A wind of the
Kingdom: spring buds turning to summer fruit. Prosperity in all things.
Resources! (Mat. 6:33; Job 38:24-27 -
east wind).
4. A wind of
Miracles: Creative miracles; translations; and the raising of the dead will
come.
(Mark 6:25; Acts 19 and 8:39 - west wind).
God showed me in
recent days that the body of Christ was no longer just going into the river,
but that we were going out into the mighty ocean! A river is local, but an
ocean is global. What we have experienced up until now will seem small and
insignificant in comparison to what we are now coming into. It will include
everywhere! - Jerusalem; Judea; Samaria; and unto the uttermost parts of the
earth!
There is a price to
pay for revival. Kathyrn Kuhlman once said: "What
will it cost? What is the price? It will cost you everything! But its worth the
price!"
Some ways it will
cost: prayer and intercession;obedience; sensitivity to the Holy Spirit;
willingness to be flexible.
The River of God will
not bring tranquility to your life, but will challenge you to deeper waters.
Water is often used to illustrate the things of the Spirit of God. In the
Bible, water was used in connection with obedience or disobedience. It was
withheld at times because of disobedience; Yet, flowing water illustrates
obedience and God's Spirit pouring forth.
In the early summer
of 1999, a news article from Israel appeared stating that water had begun to
flow into the Temple Mount under the Dome of the Rock. So great had been the
seepage that some frustrated religious pilgrims had to take up their prayer
mats, wringing wet with water. There was none who could stop this flow. So, it
is with the river of God.
It is flowing in
revival, and whether people like it or not, none can stop it!
We have often talked
about Ez. 47, where Ezekiel went out
into the river that proceeded from the throne of God, to his ankles, knees,
loins, and out so deep he had to swim.
Then, there is a
scripture passage in I Kngs. 18:41-46,
where Elijah tells King Ahab that there is a sound of abundance of rain. Yet,
there is no rain in sight! There has been a 3 l/2 yr. Draught, according to
Elijah's prophecy. But, Elijah does not operate according to his natural
senses, but what he knows to be true in his spirit man. Elijah has just won a
great victory over Baal. And, yet he is willing to humble himself and bow down
his face to the ground, seeking God. No matter how God has used us in the past,
we must be willing to humble ourselves and seek His face, if we want to see a
fresh move of God.
Then, Elijah
persisted. He sent his servant to look but he saw nothing. Then he sent him
seven more times to look for rain clouds- he did not give up, like we do
sometimes. Yes; God can do things in a hurry, but sometimes He tests us and
waits that we might put ourselves in the place of prayer and faith where we
need to be. To see revival come, we must not give up, but persist in faith,
knowing that it is the will of God; therefore we can contend in faith for it
until it comes.
Elijah didn't wait
until the rain began to come. For as soon as his servant saw only a small
cloud, the size of a man's hand, that was enough for Elijah to act! He spoke
his faith and he sent his servant to tell Ahab to get up and go to Jezreel. The
Bible says that the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah. That is a powerful
statement and always refers to the power of the Lord being evident in a
miraculous way. Then, it says that Elijah ran in front of King Ahab's horses to
Jezreel (which
was about 20 miles). This is what a slave does. This illustrates what the Bible
teaches, that the minister is to be the servant of all.
Elijah was humble;
yet powerful! The Bible says that "faith
without works is dead". but, Elijah not only spoke his faith, but he
acted upon it. He was persistent in prayer and in standing for the things of
God. For, he waited all day while the servants of Baal cried unto their god;
and then he called upon the true God, who brought fire from Heaven upon his
altar.
When our sacrifice
pleases God, He will send fire from Heaven to receive it or to consume it. When
we totally surrender to His plan and purpose in our lives, He sends His fire
upon us.
We desperately need
the fire of the Holy Ghost to get the job done in this day and hour. For time
is short and there is much to do that souls might be saved.
We need the love of
God to motivate us. How do we know when we have enough of God's love? When a
burden for lost humanity consumes our every waking hour, as it did with Jesus;
then we will know that we have enough of His love.
We want to receive
all that God has for us that we might take it to a dying world. The Lord spoke
this to a lady in regard to the gold dust:
"Some
believers are now pressing so close to Heaven, as the veil stretches ever more
thin, that a residue of gold from My presence, the glory, is remaining on
them.”
Job
28:5-6 and 11 NKJ
"As
for the earth, from it comes bread But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
Its stones are the source of sapphires, and it contains gold dust.... What is
hidden He brings forth to light."
The body has a tiny
bit of gold in it chemically or naturally, and is one of the body's own healing
agent minerals, and doctors use gold shots for relief of arthritis.. Yet, what
we are experiencing here is much more than normal perspiration could produce.
The gold dust comes
through the pores or as a fine rain from above. Sometimes it resembles emerald
dust or diamond dust. And, each tiny flake is three-dimensional and is shaped
like a diamond. But, the focus is not glory dust, but upon Jesus and the
miracles He is performing because of His covenant with us.
At an Arab engagement
party, the bride comes in with silver dust in her hair from the beauty parlor.
Her jewelry had large nuggets of silver on them. The women there have huge
chunks of gold on their ears and around their necks, each collection worth
around $50,000 or more. The mother of the groom explains that this is the gold
that they have received from their engagement parties. It is enough to secure
our future. We only wear it when another one of our ladies becomes engaged. The
bride and groom are seated on chairs that are made up to resemble thrones. They
exchanged her silver for his gifts of gold between them. He also sprinkled her
with real gold dust from a jeweler's shop.
Very soon now, we
will be going to the wedding palace of the Lamb, and Jesus, our heavenly
bridegroom seems to be sprinkling us with gold dust in preparation. What could
be more beautiful?!
It is a Jewish custom
for the bridegroom to send gifts of gold to the bride before the wedding. He is
saying by this that he is coming soon for her to take her to the wedding and
they will be together, forever! So, our heavenly bridegroom is sending us gifts
of gold and saying that He is coming soon for us, for the marriage supper of
the Lamb is at hand!
There is a verse that
says that a three-fold cord is not easily broken. (Ecc. 4:12). And, God is using a three-fold cord in this day to anchor
us: prayer, praise, and the power of His Word.(Ps 100:4-5).
Ø
Prayer is the portal...
Ø
Praise is the hoist of the anchor!
Ø
The Word of God is the navigational system.
A lady evangelist was
praying in a church before she ministered and Jesus appeared before her in a
royal-bluish-purple satin robe of many rich folds. Over His shoulder was a
deep-cranberry satin traveling cloak, or mantle. It was embroidered all over
with gold thread and then covered with a fine gold dusting that shimmered on
the surface of the fabric.
He spoke this to her
in regard to that church: "This church has pressed in to such a place
in Me, through their prayers and worship and servant's heart, that I will now be
able to dwell with them on a much more tangible level."
Then, as the Holy
Spirit fell in the service that followed, Jesus appeared again to the
evangelist. This time He said: "I am pulling up the tent stakes. Out
with the old! Up with the new! The cloud is moving; move with the cloud!"
He again appeared to
this evangelist during this meeting, and this time He said: "Whereas,
in the history of the Church, healing has been in the hands of but a few, it
now passes to the hands of many. Teach them and release them, and great shall
be the multiplication of signs and wonders and of healing miracles in the
Church in this generation."
The true sign of
those who lead in the next revival of this century will be their gracious
ability to love. Love is the key and mercy is also necessary to usher in the
glory of God.
Sister Ruth Heflin
once said, "Let us err on the side of mercy, rather than
judgment."
Let us trust the Holy
Spirit to work in peoples' lives and not judge them ourselves, but rather to
operate in an anointing of love and mercy.
The River has a
current (a
steady, smooth onward movement), but the ocean has a rythmn (rhythmical pattern). Heaven's population
sings it continuously, day and night, around the throne of God. "Holy,
holy, holy".
The church is now
moving to a new level. And, instead of just playing in the first foam of the
first wave, masses of believers are arising and you can hear the sound of
thundering feet. Hordes of cleansed, filled, anointed, holy believers are
stampeding to the mission fields of the earth, into everyman's world, in a
last, quick, great harvest thrust.
This is
the
sound of revival!
God is taking us to a
new level of worship. We must walk with a good character and maturity,
especially ministers of the gospel and leaders.
What is happening to
our revival in America and elsewhere, is that the water has been pulled back
for a short season. But, those who crave it and chase it will suddenly be
pleasantly rewarded in the depth of the next wave.God will open nations that
have been closed to the gospel in this next great wave.
I had prophesied that
China will be opened to the gospel and I have just read a notable prophet's
word of the same thing.
In 1989, the world
awoke one morning to a long-awaited, but suddenly realized event. The Berlin
Wall had fallen, and the Iron curtain that had witheld freedom and the Gospel
from so many was but a vapor in the winds of history. God's
"suddenlies" are awesome!
God is preparing a
people to be ready to harness the power of the wave of glory that He sends
forth. They are a people of faith, who paddle upstream, against the normal flow
of life, with a listening ear to "change". (Rev. 3:22)
Let us not be
disheartened or slack in our spiritual stance in these days. Press in to God as
never before. Believe now, not just to enter the river, but to enter the mighty
ocean and begin now to chase the wave. We are going to new levels. Are we ready
for the oceans? Ready or not, here they come!
Esther
