A TIME OF SEPARATION.

Gold From The Word

A TIME OF SEPARATION.

One of the things which the Lord promises us about seasons in the Book of Ecclesiastes is that there is a time for everything. One of the times he speaks about is a time to gather and a time to scatter in Ecclesiastes 3:1,5,

1 ¶ To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:…

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

As believers we make choices everyday. We also probably wonder if God could be making such choices too. I am persuaded that the reason we find these times so daunting is because God is using the economy and its difficulties to separate between the sheep and the goats, the shepherd and the hireling.

God cannot bless an unrighteous church else that will make God an unrighteous God which cannot be. We all know that the church must be without spot, wrinkle, or blemish before she can go up in the rapture. There might be many theories about the rapture but I would want us to understand that God does not promote those whom he has not purified.

The best purifier is the fire. So He will let the church pass through the fire so that only the Gold will come out. God must get out all the stubble from the body of Christ before he can promote her. Just like he did to Israel, all the rebels and grumblers fell in the desert and a purified Israel went into the Promised Land. This is what he says in prophet Ezekiel.

Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Eze 34:17 ¶ And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

God is purging selfishness, malice, and all forms of wickedness from the body of Christ before the church can walk into her best days here on earth with Christ as her true shepherd. All manner of sin, complacency, and compromise must be purged so that the church can truly resemble her Lord. Then “the whole Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).” This he will do from nation to nation, from church to church.

Mt 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Mt 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

For God to truly purge the church He must also purge her leadership. The church has been producing a cacophony of sounds to the extent that men do not know what the true church of Jesus Christ is like. Secular humanism has taken over in certain areas. The shepherds of Ezekiel‘s day were more concerned about themselves than the flock they were called to minister to. This displeased God and he issued this indictment through the prophet;

Isa 56:11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

As servants to whom the Lord has entrusted His flock we are not to be discouraged by the Hard Times. We are to be especially careful lest we be consumed by our own needs and forget the needs of the flock. To avoid being like the shepherds of Ezekiel’s time, we should pray for patience because it is much more difficult to take care of other’s needs when you are in need yourself. Paul had these words of encouragement to the leaders of the Ephesian Church at Miletus:

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

We are not to give up and quit on the flock as the hireling will do. We are to be thankful to God that he has allowed us to be tested so that he can find us worthy of our calling. The Lord Jesus sets the standard in John 10:11-13,

11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

“Those who know their God will be strong and do exploits,” according to prophet Daniel. If you know your God you will know that this is a time of sacrifice. A time for patience, hard work, faith, and endurance. The Word promises that it is those who endure to the end who will be saved.

Shepherds who watch must keep watch over their flocks by night if they are to see the glory of the Lord. It is in the night (this period) that the enemy comes to sow tares among the wheat. This is not a time to sleep. It is a time for true shepherds (pastors, elders, deacons, intercessors, bishops) to keep watch. Out of this present watching lies your promotion and your recompense.

It is a time for the Church to keep lamps trimmed for your Lord will come at an hour when you do not expect. This is the reason why discordant voices must be removed by the present tribulation so that they do not have a place to create confusion when the Lord wants the church to speak with one voice.

As this tribulation progresses we will see the church uniting in voice and message. We will see the gospel taking the place of activities that have hitherto been cherished. The Name of Jesus will take a more central place and secular humanism will walk out of the church door and out of the psyche of nations.

Then the power of God will begin to be more prominent. We will go back to preach not with the wisdom of men, but in the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit. After the Church has matured through these trials we will see a glorified church that can face the anti-Christ without fear even of death.

Let each day be a time to examine if we are walking the walk. We must begin to judge ourselves or face the judgment of God our Savior. The church needs to return to holiness and a walk of righteousness to prepare for His Second coming. God is looking our for purified vessels to use. Any vessel that is purified will become a vessel of honor fit for the master’s use.

Get ready people of God for it is not going to be long and we will see the Father’s hand upon his chosen ones. It is a time of separation and the Lord is saying,

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

We are the church of Jesus Christ and we must not look or feel like the world in any way. We must separate ourselves so that we will be ready to hear the Master say, “Well done!”

God Bless You-Joshua

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