Isa 46:10

10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. NIV

 God has an objective

God’s eternal counsel stands from one generation to the next. His will, purpose and agenda will never be compromised by circumstance, change in season, human errors or failure. The Lords purpose for you and me will stand. However, it is important to know that God, who began creation but lives outside time, in his intelligence, ordained everything seen and unseen to move towards the direction his prophetic agenda.

One of the several duties of the prophetic ministry, is to connect the human spirit to divine revelation or what some prefer to call,  the current emphasis of the Spirit; such that clarity in knowledge, wisdom and understanding helps us make sense of events happening on a personal, regional or global stage.  Sound biblical doctrine and revelational truth are the plumbline of making sense of both the present and future events.  In other words, connecting several pieces of truths, like a puzzle to those confusing or dysfunctional areas of life and the society, gives direction and a clear assurance of the outcome of the future.

The year we about to step into is just a piece in a large puzzle call ‘the Lord’s prophetic program’ that is currently placing each piece of these puzzles back to their rightful place. The standard and quality of life’s system we allow God to build through our individual cooperation with the Spirit is what will ultimately set the precedence for the nations to desire to stream up to the mountain of the Lord in this new day according to Isaiah chapter 2.   The condition of the house of the Lord, which is the spiritual portal to our connection to heavens resource, will determine our level of relevancy and impact in this epic season.

There is no better time

If there is ever a time appropriate in history, where the blueprint of the Father’s house need to be precisely restored for the nations to be attracted to his wisdom is now. The Church seem to be missing in action regarding what is currently happening across the globe in terms of offering an alternative leadership perspective and direction.  It’s seem our ability and competency to engage on a national and global scale is not powerful or relevant enough to compel the Kings of the earth to notice what the Lord is saying to the nations,

Most individuals called in the scripture to represent the priesthood of the Lord, interfaced and interact with the dominions and principalities that influence their territories.  Abraham and the rest of the Patriarchs to the New Testament disciples all interact with the religious and political forces that controlled their society. They were neither afraid nor weakened by the false religious system of the day nor by the socioeconomic challenges of the time.

They had the approval of the Lord within them that gave them boldness and courage to speak even when the general opinion of the day was contrary.  For the prophetic promise in Isaiah chapter 2 to happen, you and I need to present ourselves as available material and tools for the Spirit of the Lord. The current speakings of the Spirit requires us all to be positioned in faith, obedience and courage for the will of the Father to prosper.  Building a house that will carry and display the knowledge of the glory of the Lord through our communities to the ends of the earth is not an option for believers today. Like Elisha,

 The prophetic compass

We must follow wholeheartedly, the Elijah the Lord placed within our pathway to develop and perfect our prophetic faculty. Elisha must be determined to follow Elijah until he receives the mantle to govern and lead the nation into their ordained destiny.  Allow me to emphasize this statement. For any society, including the Church of the Lord to precisely start and finish its prophetic commission and assignment, they undoubtedly need to hear a well-defined and matured prophetic voice.  One that cannot be confused, corrupt nor weaken by the gravitational pull of the fallen humanistic nature; a voice highly compassionate by the needs of the people but not moved by the democratic opinion of the mass.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.'” Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:2-4 NIV)

An increased release of the Lord’s prophetic program towards the perfection of our faith and the finish of all things should be the motivating factor of the people of the Lord as we press into 2013. Looking back at 2012 with it is socioeconomic failures, political destabilization, confusion, depression, discouragement and the loss of loved ones.  One can summarize this  activity in few words; the Lord’s prophetic program to manifest the knowledge of his kingdom in every sphere of our lives is in acceleration and the forces of darkness are not relenting in trying to confuse, weaken, destabilize and cripple our faith and hope in Christ.

Crisis, the force of spiritual motivation

As we move closer into the reality of the manifestation of the Lord’s kingdom, the power of hell will use every available means to try to stop, pollute or frustrate our effort.  However, as we regularly consider the joy set before us as we behold in the Spirit, the redemption of creation, we should be highly driven, motivated and courageous in breaking every limitation that tend to want to stop us.  Considering why we exist as the Church of the Lord in our various communities should give us enough reason and hope to keep our faith alive even in the most challenging situation. What the Lord spoke to us as his prophetic agenda for our family, community and city should keep us going because they do not change.

Crisis is one of the enemy’s most powerful tool in crippling the faith and hope of most Christian. When we look at the New Testament, we see how crisis shaped and build the faith of the disciples. They were glad to go through the challenges and persecutions the enemy threw at them.  The more they were threaten not to speak the name of Christ publicly, the more they proclaimed his name and glory until that generation was filled with the knowledge of the glory of God.   God often use the challenges of the time to perfect the faith of his own. Crisis brings us to the melting point. A place in the Spirit, where we no longer struggle with the will of the Father. Challenges break our pride by opening the gateway for us to completely surrender to the Lordship of Christ. This is what the life of faith is all about.

The Lord’s house must be build…

The Lord desires his house to be built even in time of intense trial of our faith. Crisis at any level should not deter us from pursuing the hope we have in Christ Jesus. The Lord in his earthly ministry prepared his disciple for time of persecution. He told them beforehand, his coming death and how they will be scattered like sheep without a shepherded. Even though, this foreknowledge did not immune them from being shaken and persecuted, they knew what was coming their way and they were glad to face it.

One of the core duties of Christian leaders today is to train and prepare their members for the dark days ahead. The Lord’s desire is to have a company of warriors who never retreat from the enemy regardless of what he throws at them. Like David, we need to learn to face the Goliath’s of our generation headlong. If we have spent enough time at the backside of the wilderness learning from the Mighty warrior himself, we shall certainly overcome.

The employment of human reason by most Christian leaders today is a major contributor to the current confusion and in most cases, the destruction of most believers’ faith.  Yes, we live in this world but we do not live by the standards or system of this world according to the word of God. The weapons of dealing with the issues of this life, we are told are not carnal. Living according to the Democratic humanistic wisdom will certainly keep us out of the scope of divine direction and provision.  Faith and faith alone in the promise of God should make sense to every believer in the 21st century or we will be in danger of losing the grounds we have gained in the past.

Humanistic reason will not help

We are in a serious situation in the Church today, where the decision template of both individuals and the corporate Leadership is becoming more humanistic, we need to hear the thundering voice of the Spirit to realign us back to the ordained pathway of the Spirit of the Lord.  We need highly skilled men and women whose still carry within their spirit, the Lord’s divine blueprint for the rebuilding of the ruined temple of the Lord.  We need powerful apostolic craftsmen with divine impetus who can precisely connect to heaven’s frequency in other to shape things down here the valley. The Spirit of the Lord is speaking expressly, let those with the voice to hear listen to what the Lord is saying, as the Church gets ready to march into 2013. For the Lord has not given us the spirit of fear… fear is of man and it is the product of the earth. it is one of Satan’s most powerful weapons.  To hear and know the current signal of the Spirit for precisely, you must step into the pathway of obedience!

God’s eternal promise

The scripture we are gleaning re-echoes the on relentless desire of the Lord’s prophetic objective to dwell among his people as the only compass that leads and direct them toward his ordained destiny. To accomplish this desire requires that his presence will live perpetually among them. One of the things that makes Israel unique among the nation is the promise God made with them to dwell in their midst forever. He promised that his Name would remain among his people.

This promise did not change even when Israel turned her back on the Lord and went to serve the gods of the gentile nation. The lord has been the source of Israel’s provision and security even in times of great trials and distress in the land of captivity. They were given a covenant of blessing and riches. However, the children of Israel like many of us today, had soon forgotten this unwavering promise of the Lord. in their quest to regain socioeconomic stability, having just returned from the land of captivity that have deprived them of their dignity as a nation, they seem less bothered or interested in first rehabilitating the sanctuary that houses the presence of the Lord in their mist.

Shifting from the core

Their passion to regain national pride and economic stability had overshadowed again the main reason that led them to captivity, which is the complete neglect and pollution of the house of the Lord according to Ezekiel’s Account.  It is important we put into perspective that one of the reasons why the Lord brought them out of bondage was to primarily to rebuild the nation, as much as that is important to the Lord, but to reestablish his covenant of promise to their ancestor to remain a nation of priest unto God. Meaning, their primary objective is to represent God by building him a house that can truly usher the nations into the presence of the lord.  These people, by design where ordained to raise a quality of life that reflects the pattern of God blueprint for human existence.

Therefore, rebuilding the ruined sanctuary of the Lord ought to have been their primary objective. Please make no mistake of what the Lord’s habitation represent here; we are not suggesting some arrangements of woods and plastering of bricks, called a house. This scripture is been use as a metaphor to reflect what the Spirit of the Lord requires his people to build in terms of a fortified apostolic hub, that can both create and release the accurate prophetic pattern and standard for human existence in times of intense darkness.  The Israelites, as the Lords priest, where ordained to be the gateway of spiritual reunion and societal reformation. Every community needs a company of saints, trained by the Spirit with a strong governmental grace to create oversight over its territorial region, such that they stand firm as portals that can either hinder the invasion of the spirit of darkness, or usher in the light of The Fathers glory into its region.

The impact of captivity

It is clear that the impact of captivity has grossly damaged both the spiritual and psychological template of the children of Israel to the point of seeing survival as their main objective. The enemy, as a war strategist, clearly understand human temperament, especially when they have being placed under intense emotional pressure for a long period, it seem he can almost predict our actions and reaction. Even the best of military training where soldiers are equipped with modern technology to withstand high level emotional and physical pain, we still see them breakdown. This has been proven to be accurate with some of the recent wars been fought across the globe.

One of the objectives of war or captivity, if you like, is that it destroys  personal self-image, dignity and identity; With war comes famine, disease, abuse, poverty and other emotional distress that makes the best of people lose both of their spirituality and humanity.  indeed, the current position of most Christian today is like that of the children of Israel who have allowed the battles of life to forced them into a mere state of survival instead of advancing into their called destiny.  The fear of political destabilization and economic uncertainty is currently assaulting the faith of most believers to the point where they are neglecting their primary calling to engage in building an atmosphere of apostolic leadership, designed to invade and transform societies across the nations.

Learning to be strong psychologically

The Church of the Lord cannot afford to drawback in its calling to lead and give prophetic guidance to the nations.  Regardless of what the coming year will offer society; we must take up the responsibility to continually build a strong apostolic system that can provide sustainable knowledge, wisdom and prophetic sight for the perfection of the upcoming generation.   The plan of the enemy is to use life’s emotional battle to distract many from what the lord is currently doing. Building communities across our cities with strong governmental prophetic insight that is capable to resist the assault of darkness is a priority the Lords prophets must engage themselves.  This explained why the Lord desired his own house to be build first as priority before any other construction is carried out by the children of Israel.

It is important we put into context what the Spirit of the Lord is emphasizing in the now as we are about to step into another year. The devastating impact of 2012 certainly will require beyond a professionally skilled psychologist therapy. The world has never been more polarized than we are currently witnessing. Democracy, regardless of the context in which it’s been practiced is forcefully being assaulted to the point of almost losing its leadership grip over society, which include, the American society.

The assault from the kingdom of darkness is shifting the position of many believers faith and hope in God to what they can gain and store for their sustainer.  Nations once known to be wealthy are facing the reality of poverty in every sense one can think of.   Could God be speaking to his people to read the handwriting on the wall? it is true that the effect and impact of a true governmental Church is born out of a season of great depression and need. To all Christian leaders out there, this is our moment to arise above the devastating challenges and offer hope and direction to the people down the valley.

Learning from Israel’s mistake

We need to learn from the mistake of the children of Israel never to allow our personal needs and desire to becloud our judgment. Our destined priority is to build a habitation for the indwelling and manifestation of the presence of the Lord to be seen in times of darkness.   Looking carefully that the scripture again, one immediately sees the emphasis of the Spirit; the Lord was certainly not against the construction of their houses or the economic restoration of its people. The Lord was establishing a spiritual principle that will restore and safeguard their identity.

The issue here is that of the misplacement of time.  Time is the definer of the accuracy of intention and purpose. What we do for the lord or in the name of the Lord is judged or approved according to the directive of the Lord’s demand in time. it is amazing how we can be judge for doing the right thing at the wrong time. The ability to discern or have the sense of time is one of the hallmarks of maturity. Can the issue of not responding to the timing of the Lord bring judgment to us living in the 21st century?  Certainly, if we turn our face against the needs and requirements of our time, especially when we have been given the right skill, capacity and resource, we shall be judged.

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” (Haggai 1:5, 6 NIV)

The neglect of the Israel’s leadership call to start the reconstruction of the Lord’s temple brought devastating consequence to the entire nation as we see in the above scripture.  The logical thing to do, especially when a people have just been set free from a very long period of captivity is to immediately start the rebuilding of once life again in terms of constructing a place of abode and economic sustainability. While these are highly necessary and important, they must however, be viewed in the context of obeying the set standard of the Lord. A good example is that of the prophet who told the widow to first prepare him food to eat before providing for the Son while he was just informed there nothing left to eat. In a humanistic society lime our where carnal reason has almost taken dominion over the virtue of faith; they will immediately label the prophet as insensitive and abusive.

Where do we draw the line between faith and human reasoning? I do believe that when there is a connection within our spirit concerning what the Spirit of the Lord requires from us through his servant, we shall reap the fruit of obedience.  Building a system of that seeks first to restore the spiritual life of the people will afford us the opportunity witness to the depressed and oppressed in our cities. The rehabilitation of both the spiritual and psychological state of mind is crucial to Gods divine program for the redemption of creation.  It is a common fact that many tend to slide down from a sound spiritual position when they face a prolonged life threatening issue.

Learn to take charge in time of crisis

The last thing must believer want in time of crisis is to be told to embark on  reconstruction of the damaged emotion or spirit of their brothers, especially when they also are involve in the same problem. The nations needs type of spiritual and mental fortitude that is able to rise a built the right order of life in the midst great calamity. We are told to a rise and shine for our light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon us…indeed, 2012 will leave many across the globe with more questions than answer. However, if we turn to the Lord and carefully listen to what he said in the past and what he is currently saying we definitely have reasons to rejoice and look forward to the coming year with great hope and anticipation.

There is a current prophetic call for all leaders across the board to reevaluate what our priorities have become. Those of us who began in the spirit years back but are been perfected in the flesh should reconsider the foundation and motive of our faith from the beginning. Many that where set free from the bondage of Pharaoh did not actually believe that God could truly change them. They only took advantage of the moment of freedom to leave Egypt but their pattern of thinking is still highly influenced by their slave master. When there has not been a true internal encounter with the Lord, like Paul on the road to Damascus, it is a matter of time before the fallen inherent human nature takes over. The foundation of our faith must be revaluated on the ancient apostolic truth so that we stand even in times of great crisis.

Building our own paneled houses in the name of the Lord without constructing an atmosphere within our communities or cities that can contain the moisture formed through the cloud of our worship and intercession will live our society in ruin. God demand we build him a lasting house that can adequately withstand the intensity of darkness and at the same time release the revelational knowledge of his glory for the earth to behold.

The call of Haggai’s ministry

As the spirit of prophet Haggai once again scrutinizes the current position of the people of the Lord, we are demanded to adjust our priority to that of Gods prophetic mandate.   Powerful programs and initiatives have been created in the name of spiritual or social transformation but little seem to be happening in terms of the inner reconfiguration of human behavior. Could it be that our neglect of a sound apostolic leadership foundation is the result of this failure? The seemly desolation of today’s society is undoubtedly connected to the utter neglect or delay in rebuilding a type of a dwelling place that does not only houses the presence of God, but that can effectively enforce development and transformation on a global scale.

King Solomon showed us this system of constructing a place that does to not only houses the presence of the Lord, but also gave answer to the difficult questions and philosophy of the queen of Sheba.

The appropriate construction of the houses of the Lord in any community or society sets the precedence for the precise reformation, development and transformation of the people’s identity and destiny.   Another reason why the accurate building of the house of the Lord is important in this new day is that it helps in giving prophetic clarity and direction to unabated life’s complex issues.

Fallen humans, regardless of how informed or educated they may seem to be, usually do not have required faith capacity or courage to effectively deal with life’s challenges without breaking down. There is no doubt; the wisdom of the world will certainly continue to fail. Therefore, the demand from the lord for the returned exile from captivity to first rebuild his house where hid knowledge and wisdom can be easily access by all does make a whole lot of sense.

Priority to build the house of the Lord according to divine blueprint in 2013 will help in injecting relevant spiritual and mental capacity that will awake and motivate communities to see Gods dream for their lives. The world at the moment is desperately in search for skillful leadership that can bring them out of the ongoing socioeconomic quagmire. However, true create visionary leader are product of God’s presence as we see in the life of King David.

If this generation must witness change, then, the construction of the house of God according to divine design must be a priority in the Body of Christ.  visionary leaders representing the purposes of the Lord in the earth carries two objectives, one, to show society Gods divine blueprint for existence either on a personal level or in a corporate perspective. Secondly, to see that the kingdom of God comes to bear in every facet of life and the Lord’s will becomes established on earth as it is already done in heaven. Therefore brethren, this is our moment to show the world that God’s dwell among his people and they can come and partake of his presence and find safety in time like this. Let your hands not be weak in building the ruin places call the house of the Lord.