- 1 Cor. 16:14
On June 1, 2012, Reuters News reported that 69,000 jobs were ADDED in May 2012. Really? What the news fails to report are the numbers of people whose unemployment ran out, and who are still jobless. They are now counted as people having jobs because they are no longer collecting unemployment. Ridiculous, I know. More and more companies are reporting lay-offs and closures. Just check out a website called www.dailyjobcuts.com. By the time you add up all the lay-offs, company closures, and forced early retirements, you start to notice we really did not add 69,000 new jobs in May 2012.
Things are disappearing right before our eyes – jobs, finances, etc. So, where is God in all of this? He is in Heaven looking down upon us, orchestrating the whole thing and telling us to calm down, to have peace, and to trust Him. Nothing gets past God; He is in control. He knew this economic downturn was coming, and He has all the tools and resources we need to not only get through it, but to build and advance His kingdom.
This economic downturn is serving a dual purpose. (1) It is causing us to not trust in our finances anymore, and (2) it is bringing people together to help each other – It is causing unity to take place. You see, when people have more than enough money to pay their bills, they do not usually go to church on Sundays to ask God for financial assistance. These people think they can get along fine without God’s help.
America is called The United States of America, but as a country we are not very united, are we? Did you know that the United States has more religious denominations than any other country on this planet? Yet, we have little unity. We do not fellowship with the Episcopalians or the Presbyterians down the street if we are Catholics, or worship with the Pentecostals if we are Protestants. In other words, we are a house (City) divided, and we all know that a house divided cannot stand.
But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
In the below scripture, unity is the key that unleashed the power, anointing and direction of the Holy Spirit. Miracles, signs and wonders took place. 2012 is the beginning of the time when we will start to see the unity of Acts 2, and the signs and wonders that follow such unity, among the Saints. When all the denominations unite together we will become an even stronger city, an even strong country.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
As a side note, let me explain to you two types of tongues. When you have prayed everything you know to pray, and you do not know what else to pray –pray in tongues. It is a spiritual language that God interprets and understands, and a language that Satan cannot. Speaking in tongues is like sending Morse code or private prayers directly to God and completely bypassing the devil.
There is another type of tongues wherein you can speak in a language unknown to you from a foreign country, but known to the person in that country. God can send you as an ambassador of Christ into a foreign territory to reach out to and minister to His children, even when you cannot speak their language. God is the ultimate Commander-in-Chief, maneuvering people into position to win every battle against the devil.
Speaking in tongues is a weapon of warfare; a very powerful weapon of warfare!
Now back to the main article. No man is an island. God does not want us to be independent from Him. He wants us to be dependent on Him; trusting Him for everything, instead of putting our trust in man. The Lord wants us to be on one accord with Him.
God wants unity with us corporately, as well as individually. God wants us to be on one accord with each other working together to build His Kingdom. This makes sure that no one person can take credit for what God is building. It is a shame it took God allowing an economic collapse to bring His people together, however great things are beginning to take place because of it.
We are starting to help each other, and unity is taking place among the various denominations. We can get so much more accomplished when we work together; regardless of our religious affiliation. Continue to pray for the barriers and the walls to come down between all the churches in your community. Why build a daycare center at your church, if the church down the street has one. Use theirs. They get blessed financially, and your church saves money on building a daycare. It is little simple things like this which will bring us together, and will cause us to claim major territory in Jesus’ name.
Acts 2:42-47 is a great example of true Koinonia (Greek for “Unity”):
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
The building called a church is not the church. We the people are the church. We are part of God’s family by being grafted into the vine through adoption. When we believed Jesus as the Son of God who died and rose on the cross for our sins, we were adopted into God’s family. As soon as we all unite together in true unity as the people in the Book of Acts Chapter 2 in the upper room did, we will see and experience the great miracles, signs and wonders that will cause people to turn towards the Lord.
Isaiah 62 is a chapter that is written for the last days, and it is about to manifest in a marvelous way. We are coming into a season which, despite the economy around us, is a season where we shall not lack any good thing. Amos 9:13-15 below tells us what is about to take place:
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
“When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And all the hills shall flow with it.
14 I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be
pulled up From the land I have given them,”
Says the LORD your God.
God is rearranging things financially. The wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous says Proverbs 13:22. Can you imagine? In a time when it seems as if all the finances are disappearing, this is when God decides to show up and show off with finances to advance His kingdom. In the past, monies have been misused by churches and ministries building empires, and wasting money on frivolous material possessions that could have been spent towards feeding God’s poor and hungry around the world. However, now is the time where God is putting an end to all that, and money is about to change hands from those who abused it to those who will responsibly use it to advance God’s Kingdom.
God made a promise to us that started with Abraham in the Book of Genesis, and that promise continues through today. We will prosper to the point where we will not only pay off our own bills, but we will appropriately use the finances to help pay off other people’s bills, and in the process advance the Kingdom of God right up to the time of His second coming.
God has never forsaken us, and He never will. Isaiah 62 assures us of this.
Isaiah 62:4:
You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you
Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. You thought you were bored with all this down-time. It was merely a time to rest and sit at Jesus’ feet and be instructed because we are about to be so busy for God that we will look back on our time of rest and appreciate it for what it was – a time to gain more understanding and knowledge of who the Lord is, and what He is about to do for His people.
Hold on tight. Things are about to speed up!
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries
P.O. Box 572391
Tarzana, CA 91357
Tel: (818) 881-2009
Toll-Free: (877) 303-CCBM (2009)
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries is a qualified IRS Section 501(c)(3) Organization