April 10, 2021

We may have heard recently that “things are not falling apart, but falling into place.” But what does it really mean? I pray that what is written below may not only provide an answer, but also kindle a new fire in every heart that longs for the living God.

The Second Look

Reality is not easily perceived. Our first look is always natural. It is impulsive, sensual, and earthbound. However the second look is spiritual and one that puts us in touch with reality.  The second look is intentional, daring, and often life-changing. When Moses turned aside to see why a certain bush was burning and yet not consumed, he was taking a second look. And when he did, he encountered reality—a God who speaks from the midst of a burning fire. (Ex.3:3,4 & Dan.3:26,27) When Joshua and Caleb saw giants in the land of Canaan, they were not afraid. Rather taking a second look, they saw God—the faithful God who brought them out of Egypt in order to bring them in and give them the very land they were surveying. (Deu.6:23)

The second look always gazes at life through the lenses of Scripture. It realizes that God Himself is the ultimate reality. It sees all things “falling into place” because it sees God—the God who causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. (Rom.8:28)

Now that we have begun to see the difference between the first and second look, let’s turn our attention to the present reality, which may seem overwhelming and sad to the “first look observer”. Since our first look is only partial, we tend to see mostly those things that the devil is doing on earth. We see the growing division, the increasing hatred, and disregard for truth. We see the unraveling of law and order, the trashing of moral values and celebration of all that is wrong. We see fear, confusion and hopelessness overtaking growing portions of society. However there is the second look, and that look reveals what God is doing in heaven. So when applying the second look, this is what comes into focus.

The Reigning King

In the year that king Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne. The death of his earthly king gave rise to his new vision of God. He saw the Reigning King, and since then never looked down for help, or put his trust in mere men. He realized that when we give our hearts to earthly leaders, we lose sight of God. Is it not what happened to many of us who got emotionally entangled in the recent presidential election? We forgot the Lord who sits on the throne, and began to descend into a worldly sphere of reasoning. We became anxious, argumentative, and angry, not realizing that such conduct only leads to a departure from faith.

We must let go of our king “Uzziah” (whoever he may be), and set our hearts again on things above. Then will we see clearly that the King of the whole earth is no other but God.  He rules over the realm of mankind, and appoints over it whomever He wishes. He controls human events. He gives rulers their power and takes it away at His will. While the kings of the earth conspire together against the Lord and His anointed, God laughs and scoffs at them. He has already installed His King, and His Name is Jesus.

Jesus is God’s Reigning King. He was given dominion, glory, and kingship that all nations may serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion and His Kingdom is one, which will never be destroyed. Though it may seem that things around us are falling apart, the truth is that God just keeps carrying out His good purpose in everything that takes place down here on earth. Dark clouds are now gathering on the horizon. A night is coming when no one can work.

But in the secret place of the Most High, the Bride of Christ is preparing to reveal her beauty. Soon she will hear the voice of her King calling to her from afar: “Arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you”. (Isa. 60:1). She will come out of her bridal chamber and the people who walk in darkness will again see a great light. Those who live in a dark land will again have hope. God’s King still sits on the throne, and He directs the affairs of men as He pleases. For a time being He is patient even toward His own enemies, and we may not like it. But things are not as bad as they appear to be. God has a good plan. We must believe that the best is yet to come because God always saves the best wine for last. 

 The Great Reset

We are living in a time of transition. The era of the lukewarm, intellectual church is passing away. God is raising up a new, living expression of Christ’s Body to take its place. Believers from all walks of life who long for the living God are already meeting in private homes, restaurants, and other generic spaces to share their common faith and grow together into the likeness of Christ. They are leaving the organized, man-headed churches in search for “the city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God”. This is only the beginning of what can be called “The Great Reset of God”, a process of positioning the Body into a perfect alignment with its Head. This alignment is coming in three stages:

1. New Leadership

The Scriptures point out three things by which this good work of God will be brought to completion. The first thing has to do with a flawed leadership. Many church leaders today are using natural means to stimulate spiritual growth, and it can never work. Others are so self-sufficient, that they become of no use to God. Still others are just self-centered and greedy, morally bankrupt taskmasters who only seek their own glory and fame. So speaking through the Major Prophets, God vents His anger against them and says: “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord.“ (Jer. 23:1)  “My people have become lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray”. (Jer50:6)  ”…the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock” (Ezk. 34:8). And lastly, Isaiah sums up this message by saying: “These leaders have no understanding. They each do as they please to seek their own advantage”. (Is. 56:11, Good News Bible.)

Since God places the responsibility for the awful condition of His flock mainly at the door of unfaithful leaders, He is determined to replace them. For this reason God concludes His indictment against them by saying: “Behold I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them…” (Ezk. 34:10).  “I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock… I will also raise up shepherds over them, and they will tend them”. (Jer. 23:3,4). A new leadership is coming into the Body of Christ! These are ordinary people who are madly in love with Jesus. They grew up before God in the wilderness, and like a root out of dry ground, they too found grace in the desert.

2. New Anointing

The next thing has to do with God’s end time anointing. This anointing is different from any other, in that it prepares the Body of Christ for burial. We read in the Gospel of Mark about a woman who poured a very costly perfume over the Lord’s head. “… there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard, and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.”  (Mk.14:3).   So who is this woman, and what is the meaning of her action?


I believe that this woman is a prophetic type of the Holy Spirit, and here is why. Even though God is genderless, the grammatical imagery assigned to the Holy Spirit by the Hebrew language is that of a female. Also notice that since the Holy Spirit cannot be defined by any single particular name, this woman is nameless. She can be called the Spirit of love, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of wisdom, knowledge or understanding, and many more names besides it—hence God just calls her “a woman”.

Lastly, the greatest hint that this woman pictures the Holy Spirit comes from the Lord Himself,    “ … wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her”. (v. 9). What the Holy Spirit had done and is still doing is an inseparable part of the gospel message. So whenever the gospel is preached, what the Holy Spirit had done is also told in memory of “Her”. As to the meaning of what this woman had done, Jesus gives us a straightforward answer: “she has anointed My body beforehand for burial”.     

This last statement is a prophetic picture of what is yet to take place in the future. Even as the natural body of Christ had to be anointed beforehand for burial, so it will be with His Spiritual Body. The Holy Spirit will pour a very costly perfume on the end time Body of Christ, and so prepare it for its last and greatest display of corporate love. This ‘burial anointing” is meant to prepare the Body for a possible death. Believers under this end time anointing will not be afraid to die, but be willing to give up their lives, should such sacrifice be required of them.

Let’s look one more time at verse 3 and notice how different is this new anointing from any other. It is no longer cheap but costly, it is no longer oil but perfume, it is no longer mixed but pure, and most important, it is something that can’t be released unless the vessel that holds it is broken. May God help us understand the deeper meaning of all this…

3. New Oneness

Unbreakable oneness in the Body of Christ is God’s utmost will for His people. Jesus Himself prayed for it repeatedly before going to the cross. He did not pray for any kind of oneness, but specifically for such oneness as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are sharing. Here are some excerpts from Christ’s Priestly prayer that may give us a sense of the enormous importance that God places on oneness.

“…that they may be one as We are.” (Jn. 17:11)

“… that they may all be one even as You, Father are in Me and I in You…” (v.21)

“… that they may be one as We are one…” (v.22)

“… that they may be perfected in unity..” (v.23)

I believe that these incredible prayers will be fully answered in our days and oneness among God’s people will become a new norm. Having its roots in God and its core strength in Jesus, this oneness is yet to be forged on the battleground. It will be shaped by costly sacrifices and perfected through a Christ-like love. A time is coming when God will look down from heaven and say: “… now, there are many members, but one Body”.  (1Cor. 12:20).

(Side note – I have chosen to use the word “oneness” instead of “unity” because the latter, being so frequently and loosely used, became almost void of God’s original meaning and content.)

Conclusion

To sum it all up, let me just say that the Great Reset of God is probably the best news ever since the birth of the Church some 2,000 years ago. God is erecting an end time spiritual House. It will be made up of living stones. These are ordinary folks like us who just seek to live for the glory of God.  Let us therefore be undisturbed by what the devil is doing on earth, but let us look up and praise God for what He is doing from heaven.

“… it is heaven that rules.”      (Dan. 4:26)

First Love Ministry
- a ministry of Anglemar Fellowship
http://www.firstloveministry.org

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