THE DAY OF THE LORD - FOUR STRATEGIES

TEXT:

IN OUR GENERATION:

(Acts 2:42-47 NIV) "THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE APOSTLES' TEACHING and to THE FELLOWSHIP, to THE BREAKING OF BREAD and to PRAYER.

AS A RESULT…

{43} Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. {44} All the believers were together and had everything in common. {45} Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. {46} Every day they continued to meet together IN THE TEMPLE COURTS. They broke bread IN THEIR HOMES and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, {47} praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

AND THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBER DAILY THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED."

WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME OF GLOBAL TRANSITION

- THE BIBLE CALLS OUR GENERATION THE DAY OF THE LORD

IT IS THE MOST PROPHESIED GLOBAL TRANSITION IN THE BIBLE!!

-EVEN THOUGH THE BIBLE CALLS OUR GENERATION “DREADFUL”

-WE ALSO SEE THAT GOD INTENDS TO AMAZING THINGS

-THINGS THAT HAVE NEVER HAPPENED ON THE EARTH BEFORE!

-THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE LIKES OF THESE DAYS HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN ON THE EARTH BEFORE AND WILL NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN!

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THESE DAYS!

(2 Tim 1:7 NIV) "For God did not give us a SPIRIT OF FEAR, but a SPIRIT OF POWER, OF LOVE AND OF SELF-DISCIPLINE."

SCRIPTURES THAT TALK ABOUT THE DAY OF THE LORD – 25 PLACES

ISA. 2:12,13:6,9, JER. 46:10, EZEK. 13:5,30:3, JOEL 1;15-3:14, AMOS 5:18,20, OBAD. 1:15, ZEPH. 1:14,14:1, MAL 4:5…. ACTS 2:20, I COR. 5:5, I THESS. 5:2, 2 PET. 3:10

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CURRENT GLOBAL TRANSITION – “DAY OF THE LORD”

(Joel 2:28-32 NIV) "'And afterward, I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL PEOPLE. Your sons and daughters will PROPHESY, your old men will dream DREAMS, your young men will see VISIONS. {29} Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. {30} I will show WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS and ON THE EARTH, blood and fire and billows of smoke. {31} The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. {32} And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls." (Joel 3:1-2 NIV) "'In those days and at that time, WHEN I RESTORE THE FORTUNES OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM, {2} I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land."

(Mat 24:3-14 NIV)

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN OF YOUR COMING AND OF THE END OF THE AGE?""

"Jesus answered….

1. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many.

2. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

3. There will be famines…

4. There will be earthquakes in various places.

“All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

5. You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death…

6. Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

7. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

8. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

“but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world

as a testimony to all nations….

AND THEN THE END WILL COME.

ACCORDING TO JESUS, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE AT THE END OF THE AGE?

1. FALSE MESSIAHS – many people with a savior complex

2. WAR – dramatic increase in worldwide violence

3. FAMINE – many people dying of hunger

4. EARTHQUAKES – massive devastating

5. PERSECUTION – Christians being persecuted and killed

6. TURNING AWAY FROM GOD – Christians turning away and betraying other Christians

7. FALSE PROPHETS – prophets who accurately predict but are not of God

8. LOVE WILL GROW COLD – Many believers who turn away from loving God

“but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

THEN THE GOSPEL WILL BE PROCLAIMED IN ALL NATIONS

– THEN THE END WILL COME!

THE CURRENT GLOBAL TRANSITION

CHARACTARISTICS OF THIS TRANSITIONAL GENERATION…

1. THE PEOPLE IN THIS CULTURE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD…

2. GOD IS LOOKING FOR A REMNANT WHO LOVE HIM.. (is that us??)

3. GOD HAS GIVEN US A “DIVINE STRATEGY” – A NEW COVENANT

a. WE MUST DISCOVER WHAT THE STRATEGY IS!

b. WE WILL DISCOVER THAT THIS STRATEGY INVOLVES DYING TO SELF

c. WE WILL DISCOVER THIS STRATEGY INVOLVES LAYING ASIDE OTHER “INTERESTS”

4. THIS “STRATEGY” WILL LOOK/SOUND FOOLISH TO THE WORLD

a. NOT UNTIL THE MOMENT THAT THE TRANSITION COMES WILL THE “STRATEGY” MAKE SENSE

5. WHEN THIS TRANSITION COMES..

a. ALL THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THE TRANSITION WILL BE READY

b. ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ACCEPTED IT WILL BE LOST..

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THE STRATEGY FOR THIS GENERATION..

I WAS SEEKING THE LORD THIS WEEK FOR SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION FOR THIS TRANSITIONAL GENERATION…

SINCE WE LIVE IN THE MOST PROPHESIED GENERATION IN HISTORY – IT WASN’T DIFFICULT!

I BELIEVE THAT THE STRATEGY FOR THIS GENERATION IS FOUND IN:

JOHN 17:20-26

ACTS 2:41-47

REVELATION 2:1-3:22

JESUS PRAYS FOR US…(John 17:20-26 NIV)

THE PRAYER OF JESUS FOR THIS GENERATION IS ESSENTIAL

1. UNITY - GOD IS DELIVERING THE CHURCH FROM FRAGMENTATION

a. GOD IS BRINGING THE CHURCH OUT OF RELIGIOUS FORMS

b. GOD IS BRINGING THE CHURCH INTO COMPLETE RELEVENCE

c. GOD IS BRINGING US INTO REFORMATION

i. THIS IS NOT REVIVAL, RENEWAL OR AWAKENING

ii. THE VERY STRUCTURE & FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH IS CHANGING

2. WITNESS – CHURCH WILL BE COUNTER-CULTURAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL

a. GOD IS PRESENT ON THE EARTH BY THE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH

i. LOVE – motivated by the deep & powerful love of God

ii. PRESENCE – HOSTING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

1. In our personal lives

2. In our marketplace practices

3. In our corporate meetings

iii. ORDER – living under God’s authority and His delegated authority

iv. FRUITS & GIFTS –

v. SIGNS & WONDERS

3. GLORY OF GOD – GOD IS REVEALING HIS FULLNESS

a. GOD’S WORKS

i. LIKE WE READ ABOUT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. MIRACLES

a. GOD IS REVEALING HIMSELF IN THE WORLD BY HEALING

2. SIGNS & WONDERS

a. GOD IS REVEALING HIMSELF BY PHYSICAL/SUPERNATURAL SIGNS IN & ON THE EARTH

3. GIFTS -

a. THE RELEASE OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT IN THE 60-70’S

b. GOD’S CALLINGS-

i. THE RESTORATION OF THE FIVE FOLD MINISTRY

1. TEACHERS - Reformation in the 1500

2. PASTOR – 1600’s

a. Congregationalism, Seperatism, Quakers,

3. EVANGELIST – 1730-, 1830-

1. Revivals in 1730’s & 1830’s

2. Missionary Movements late 1800

REVIVALS PRODUCE CHANGE IN NATIONAL POLICY…

FIRST GREAT AWAKENING – 1730 -1765

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE -1776

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

SECOND GREAT AWAKENING – 1830 -1860’s

ABOLITION – CIVIL WAR

In the late 1820s and 1830s a religious revival called the Second Great Awakening had a strong impact on pre- Civil War American religion and reform. Of the major reforms four stand out greatly. They are temperance, rehabilitation, abolitionism and women’s rights. Revival particularly among the Methodist and Baptist movements produced an amazing surge in social consciousness. The success of the Methodism and the Baptists lay for the most part in their reliance on traveling preachers who brought a message that not only converted many, but produced a desire for holy living, equality and benevolence in society. During this period of time Protestants and upper middle class women led the charge, making this one of the most important reformation periods in American history.

MANIFEST DESTINY - 1839

Journalist John L. O'Sullivan, an influential advocate for the Democratic Party, wrote an article in 1839 about "Manifest Destiny", voicing a common fervor among political leaders. This article would come to be a defining statement of Manifest Destiny. The article clearly expresses that Democratic political leaders believed in a "divine destiny" for the United States based upon values such as equality, rights of conscience, and personal enfranchisement-- "to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man". O'Sullivan predicted that the United States would be one of a "Union of many Republics" sharing those values.

4. PROPHET – mid 1900’s – present

a. Modern Prophets

i. Rick Joyner

ii. David Wilkerson

iii. Mike Bickle

iv. Bob Jones

v. Chuck Pierce

b. CHARISMATIC RENEWAL –

i. Renewal of GIFTS

ii. Renewal of Worship

c. PRAYER MOVEMENT

i. Renewal of the Tent of David

5. APOSTLE – late 1900’s - present

a. TORONTO BLESSING

b. BROWNSVILLE

c. NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCHES (VINEYARD, IHOP, Cstone)

4. PRESENCE OF JESUS

a. PRESENCE MOVEMENT

i. TENT OF DAVID RESTORATION

1. I CHRON. 16:1-6 –“David set up the ark in a tent and for 30 years hired preist and levites to pray and worship in the tent.

2. AMOS 9:11-15 – “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent”

3. ACTS 15:16 – taking from the nations a people prepared for Himself.. I will restore David’s fallen tent..

b. WORSHIP MOVEMENT – 1960’s - Present

i. INTIMACY IN WORSHIP GROWING..

1. From general thanks & praise to INTIMATE ADORATION

ii. UNITY OF THE CHURCH EXPRESSED IN UNIFIED ADORATION

1. HEARTS UNITED

2. WORDS UNITED

3. VOICES UNITED

c. PRAYER MOVEMENT

i. INTIMACY GROWING

1. FROM TALKING TO LISTENING

2. FROM HEARING TO COMMUNION

3. FROM SPORADIC TO 24/7

The Worldwide Prayer Movement

Since about 1970, a powerful movement has been growing across the globe. It has no political ideology and few leaders - but millions of followers. The movement can be organized but seems best suited to flare up by spontaneous combustion in unlikely venues. The tenets of the movement are ancient, and have been practiced for centuries around the world. There is nothing new about it - yet it carries with it the freshness of tomorrow morning’s rising tide. Wherever this movement occurs there are social and cultural ramifications, and people who come into contact with it are dramatically changed. It appears to be occurring everywhere – in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, in South America and in North America. It is the worldwide prayer movement.

C. Peter Wagner, a former missionary and seminary professor has written extensively on prayer and 15 years ago wrote, “In recent years the expansion of the prayer movement has been exponential. Quality of prayer is increasing along with quantity of prayer. Flames of prayer are being lit in virtually every denomination on every continent. Pastors are giving prayer a higher priority… and prayer movements and prayer ministries are proliferating….”

In the early 1990’s David Bryant, former chairman of the National Prayer Committee wrote that three hundred leaders representing 160 denominations and para church organizations met for 24 hours of prayer “to inaugurate a new initiative in spiritual leadership for prayer across the Body of Christ.” He went on to say, “Since then, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in national prayer events, initiatives, ministries and coalitions, serving the national prayer movement."

In 2001, as a result of a South African businessman’s vision of prayer, 45,000 people gathered for repentance and prayer at a Rugby Stadium in Capetown. The vision grew. By 2010, a total of 220 nations participated in The Global Day of Prayer as hundreds of millions of Christians gathered in venues around the world for the largest unified prayer gathering in history. Something undeniable is clearly happening. It cannot be viewed as isolated, the prayer movement is real.

The branches of the contemporary worldwide prayer movement may have their roots in the prayer ministries of 20th century South Korea. In 1973 David Yonggi Cho, Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, established Prayer Mountain with night and day prayer. Prayer Mountain was soon attracting over a million visitors per year, as people would spend retreats in the prayer cells provided on the mountain. Cho had a commitment to continuous prayer, to faith and to establishing small discipleship cells in his church. Perhaps as a result, Cho’s church rapidly expanded to become the largest church congregation on the globe, with membership now over 780,000.

On September 19, 1999, the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, started a prayer and worship meeting that has continued for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week ever since. With a similar vision to Zinzendorf, that the fire on the altar should never go out, there has never been a time when worship and prayer has not ascended to heaven since that date.

At the same time, in many other places around the world, God placed desires and plans for 24/7 prayer in the fabric of diverse ministries and in the hearts of leaders. This has resulted in 24/7 houses of prayer and prayer mountains being established in every continent of the earth. Currently HOUSES OF PRAYER are being established in many major cities in the United States and around the globe.

BOB JONES PREDICTED in 1988 THAT IN THIS AGE THERE WOULD BE A PRAYER MOVEMENT UNDER THE MODEL OF DAVIDS FALLEN TENT!

5. REVELATION OF THE HEART OF GOD

a. GOD IN THE MIDST OF HIS CHURCH

b. SUPERNATURAL PRESENCE & MINISTRY

c. MINUTE BY MINUTE REVELATION OF GOD’S PRESENCE

i. RHEMA - WORD FOR THE MOMENT

ii. GOD SPEAKING THROUGH US

6. LOVE AS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL

a. ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE

b. THE LOVE OF GOD - LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, FORGIVENESS

FILLED WITH JESUS

c. JESUS IN US.. THE HOPE OF GLORY

HOW DO WE DO THIS?

IN OUR GENERATION:

(Acts 2:42-47 NIV) "THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE APOSTLES' TEACHING and to THE FELLOWSHIP, to THE BREAKING OF BREAD and to PRAYER.

AS A RESULT…

{43} Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. {44} All the believers were together and had everything in common. {45} Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. {46} Every day they continued to meet together IN THE TEMPLE COURTS. They broke bread IN THEIR HOMES and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, {47} praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

AND THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBER DAILY THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED."

THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PRAYER OF JESUS IS FOUND THE DEVOTION OF THE EARLY CHURCH..

DEVOTION TO..

1. THE WORD OF GOD – The apostles teaching

2. JOINED LIVES – Unity and mutual ministry

3. WORSHIP – Unity in adoration and honor of Jesus

4. PRAYER – Intimate Communion with the Spirit of God

THE RESULT!

1. Amazing events – awe inspiring happenings

2. Signs and Wonders –

3. Unity – believers joined together

4. Large Group meetings

5. Home Group meetings

6. Worship & Praise to Jesus

7. Favor of the local community

8. MANY PEOPLE COMING TO JESUS