Saturday, May 10, 2008

Prophecy at Pentcost

Sunday is Pentecost Sunday.  The last month or so has seen a wind changing the face of Christianity once again.  The body of Christ doesn't look the same as she did six weeks ago.  This same wind that thousands heard at Pentecost is the same wind people are hearing today.
 
Some think people are acting foolish. They did at Pentecost. Some are proclaiming that if God was going to do something he wouldn't do it "THAT WAY".   Just like at Pentecost.  Some are intentionally keeping their heads firmly planted in the sand and hope it will somehow all go away and we can go back to church as usual. Just like the Sanhedrin did.
 
This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Once again I am doing a new thing.  There have been waves of my Glory in the past.  Each one crashing on the shores of tradition and breaking down dividing walls.  Some manmade walls of division are so high and so deep that I have to go around them to invade men's souls.  
 
Peter on the rooftop.  Acts 10:15   "Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy."
 
What God has called holy, do not dare to call unholy! By the Spirit of God we can know the truth of a thing by its fruits and by the witness of our spirits. 
 
This new thing that I am doing is pouring out thru you.  I am filling you will all the gifts I ever promised.  I am doing it once again to empower you to be a blessing.  I will open windows of blessing in YOU so that You will be poured out to be a blessing on the earth.
 
Malachi 3:10b
Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
 
Most of the time people think this passage is about giving.  It's not.  It's about testing and trusting God to be the blessing he has called us to be.  That WE are to be so empowered with his giftedness thru the Holy Spirit that we will minister to the lost world in all the authority and charismata he imparted to us: 
  • Words of supernatural knowledge
  • Words of extraordinary supernatural wisdom 
  • Boldness of supernatural faith
  • Ministry of supernatural healing
  • Prophetic supernatural encouragement
  • Proclamation releasing supernatural miracles
  • Discerning beyond your ability to recognize spirits of good and evil
  • Supernatural ability to speak in tongues you don't know
  • Supernatural ability to interpret the utterance of tongues unknown. 
 
In the original Hebrew the Malachi 3:10b verse shown above should read:
Test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour out you a blessing until it overflows.
 
In most versions the translators included the word FOR before the word YOU in this verse. It's not there.  He is about to open windows of heaven in YOU so YOU pour out the blessing. 
 
This is that.  Just as Peter Pointed to Joel on the day of Pentecost  and said This is That.
 
Now in this new outpouring, This is That.
 
God is empowering, filling, gifting and releasing with  dynamo power His Body upon planet earth.  The only question is, will you receive this wave of his glory driven by the winds of change and be part of God's purposes on the earth or will you resist?  You can resist, you won't go to Hell, Jesus will just pass you by.  Like Blind Bartemeus at the roadside, will you call out or will you remain silent and inert.
 
A new Pentecost is here.  The Prophetic word of God:    YOU MUST BE FILLED TO BE POURED OUT.  BE YE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mal.3:10 LITERAL TRANSLATION IS NOT CORRECT. GET THE CORRECT TRANSLATION FROM A HEBREW SCHOLAR, SO THAT THE BASIS OF THE BLOG MAY BE CORRECTED.

Gene said...

I've already had this discussion with a scholar.

While I respect his contention which mirrors yours, I still maintain the principle of being a portal in our being thru which the blessings of God are poured out to another person.

The NIV seems to focus on the meaning I draw from it.

I know about the Literal translation problems. Even if you narrowly define the correct translation to infer the FOR then what is the part of the verse "so you cannot contain it" mean?

Does God want us to be a flow thru Christian or one who stores up in Barns until our soul is required of us.

Blessed to be a blessing. Open you a blessing so you are poured out seems like a pretty safe bet.

God doesn't want you to be a sunbeam, he wants you to be a Garden Hose.

So despite the request, I'll allow people to do their own analysis of the verse. If you are right they miss out on what God may want to do thru them. If I am right in my midrash sort of I think it puts a pretty good spin on the idea.

When you prophesy, go ahead and do what you will with the verse. I said something God Said.

That's my purpose. Not Hebrew Translation debates.