There will be a divine protection and a multiplication for churches that are following the pattern that Jesus and the apostles laid down in the beginning. The pattern is Acts 6:4: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Churches who truly become houses of prayer will receive words of wisdom that will result in great protection and provision for the church and the people of God. Just as the Christ child was protected through warnings and direction given to Joseph and the wise men in dreams (there are least five dreams given in Matthew 1-2), even so shall it be for the true churches in this hour that have stood in the counsel of God and refused to compromise. Not only will there be divine protection, but there will also be divine multiplication as the early church experienced.
“So the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples grew rapidly in Jerusalem, and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
Holy Spirit Inspired Utterance
“And as the three in the fiery furnace came out, so will those who stand in the counsel of God come out, in spite of the adversity, the opposition, and the bewitching (Gal. 3:3) that is going on in the Church today. There will be a great increase of spiritual activity to those who have made their churches houses of true prayer. There will be financial increase and greater provision for pastors who’ve refused to compromise and give place to man’s wisdom and who have placed all their confidence in the power of God. The true churches will be known by these foundations: prayer and obedience to God’s counsel, following the leading of the Holy Spirit and a Christ-centered gospel (building their churches on the Rock of Jesus Christ). This is the foundation that will manifest the glory of God and not be shaken during the coming storm.”
You must return to the pattern of the Son and the early apostles, who knew they could do nothing in and of themselves. They sought God, and as long as they sought God, they prospered.
“And he [King Uzziah] sought after God in the days of Zechariah, the one who instructed him in the fear of the Lord. And in the days that he sought after the Lord, God caused him to succeed” (2 Chr. 26:5).
Purity, Prayer and Power
Judgment will also increase on the churches who refuse to judge themselves. For judgment must begin in the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). The house of God must be cleansed, for purity is a prerequisite for the passing over of judgment. In the same way Jesus cleansed the temple, even so there will be another cleansing at the end of the church age as there was at the beginning.
Much of the cleansing in this hour has to do with the use and abuse of money. Churches have become dens of thieves. Ministers have lost the anointing because they’ve become money-minded. Too many church decisions are based on money, and motives have been tainted by the greed for filthy lucre. This is a severe judgment and must be so for the glory to reappear as it did at the beginning. If the glory increased now, many would be condemned and even die in judgment as Ananias and Sapphira did at the beginning (Acts 5). Remember that their judgment was over money. But God is patient, merciful and longsuffering. If you want the glory of God, judge yourself.
“If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we would not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:31-32).
Once there is a cleansing in the church, then it must lead to effectual, fervent prayer. Jesus said that His house will be called a house of prayer. The Spirit of God said this to us recently: If the body of Christ would press into the “Could you not watch and pray with Me for one hour?” they’d see the book of Acts. Prayer always precedes the power. It releases divine activity. It puts angels to work. It brings the provision of God. It births miracles, signs and wonders, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It deals with the enemies of the church and seals the bride of Christ with divine protection. It brings the glory of God into manifestation. Oh, what we miss when we don’t enter into the closet of true prayer and Holy Ghost communion!
Paul prayed for the church to know the “exceeding greatness of His power” (Eph. 1:19). This great power will come into manifestation through purity and prayer. We’ve only seen a small measure of that power. When it comes into full manifestation, the church will once again have the attention of the world.
Notice again how purity leads to prayer, and then the power:
“Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much” (James 5:16).
The Spirit of God instructed my wife and I to admonish those who pray to pray fervently and effectually for the power of God to be made available in the church today. Without it, the church will continue to decline in its witness and effectiveness.
To be continued…
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