Matt 24:14
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.
The Kingdom age is coming and we will leave the church age behind – this is a major shift that is happening even now. Through the centuries, we have been in what was known as the Church Age.
After the return of Jesus to heaven, Christianity fell into what was called the ‘Dark Ages’! But the Church Age began when the Reformation started in Germany. God touched a Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther. This era was called the Church Age because it was during this time when many Church denominations were born. This was also the time when God restored to His church the five-fold ministry gift of Christ – it has ceased to function during the dark ages.
Rev 2:1
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
Rev 2:2
“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
Rev 2:3-4
and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
The church of Ephesus, was a very famous church planted by the Apostle Paul (Acts 19), and afterwards was watered and governed by John, who had his residence there.
Through their zealousness, they could not bear “worthless [evil] people” and would not listen to false teachers. The work had been difficult, but they had not fainted! It was a very successful church from the human point of view, like many of today’s busy churches with lots of activities and programs keeping up with their tradition.
But the Man in the midst of the church saw what was not right with the people: they had left (not “lost”) their first love!
His counsel to them:
Remember!
Rev 2:5
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
If the church does not get its heart back in the right condition, the lampstand will be removed.
The church is to shine as a light in the world.
It is the love of the people for the Lord that fuels the light to keep on burning…
Without true love for Christ, its light will go out.
To their loss, the Lampstand which is symbolic of the presence of God was removed – they were not able to recover because they did not return to the height from which they had fallen!
With the lampstand taken away, the church slipped into darkness!
It was also known as the period of “apostasy”; it lasted about 1000 years; from AD 500 to 1500.
This story has been repeated throughout the history of the church – but God in His infinite Goodness and Mercy has a plan that will put everything back to its original position of beauty and power!
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will restore for His church first of all His Presence. Then God will restore Biblical truths which Satan through deception has discredited, stolen and even destroyed.
In the 1500s, God raised up an ordained priest by the name of Martin Luther – this was the start of the reformation of the church, it was also called the Protestant movement.
Already many churches had been established during that time: the Presbyterian church, Lutheran Church, Reformed Protestants, Episcopalian Church, Elizabethan Puritan Church.
From the 1600s to 1700s, the Anabaptist movement was born.
They taught that salvation comes only after baptism; they are now known as Baptists.
Then in the 1700s, the Methodist church was born.
Holiness and sanctification became the emphasis during this time.
In the 1900s, the Pentecostal Church was born.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the other gifts of the Spirit was restored.
In the 1940’s to the 1950’s, The Latter Rain movement was born.
It was during this time that God restored the ministry of the Evangelists to the fullest! They were known as healing evangelists and many of them held their meetings in tents. Their tent meetings were the first to be put on television.
Then from the 1960’s to the 1970’s, the Charismatic Movement was born.
Next to the Evangelist, the office of the Pastor and the Teachers were restored in this period.
In the 1980’s, the Prophetic Movement was restored.
In the 1990’s, the Apostolic movement was restored.
The FULLNESS movement has dawned in the church age!
All the power movements were restored in our generation for one reason…
To prepare us for the Kingdom Age which will prepare the world for the soon return of the KING of Kings!
As we are now in the Kingdom age, the question we ask is, what is God going to do, or rather what is God doing now?
God is doing a RESET!
Reset means to set it up again differently;
To make it start working correctly again;
To fix something in a new or different way.
Often, when people don’t understand something, like a new setting, they tend to ask questions.
When people’s questions are not answered, they wonder in their faith! (even get lost)
All through the history of the church, the number one persecutors of the next or the new move of God were those who came from the former.
The Pentecostals were the strongest persecutors of the Charismatics;
The Charismatics to the Prophetic; which caused splits and divisions in the church!
We would wonder, how the people would react when God wants to set things differently, or when He wants to do something new?
Maybe it’s the same as how we react to the government?
Ex 12:1-2
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2” This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
This was the time when they were about to leave Egypt, they were to be freed from their bondage. God here is changing the season and the order of things – change, season, order!
We need to know what is this time to understand the change!
In our Gregorian calendar, the beginning of the year is January.
In the Judean calendar, the beginning of the year is September-which falls in autumn.
But Exodus 12 is in the context of Passover – March or April.
God here is doing a RESET –
March was the time when we were all put in lockdown!
Exodus 12:2 is a set time, a time that has been set by God; a set time is God’s appointed time!
An appointed time is a time or a date decided on beforehand, it was already chosen, it has been predetermined
.
When the set time of God comes, that means that a door is being opened, you would feel that a new season is about to start, not just for you, but even for the whole world.
But these doors will not remain open forever – if you don’t enter it, you will miss the timing of God and that would be very bad for you, it will be the worst decision you will ever make.
If a baby doesn’t come out on time (40 weeks), the placenta would not be able to do its job anymore, an infection might develop inside the womb and the baby could get hurt or even die, even the mother.
However, if the baby would come out before the due time or premature, that would not be good also, “there is a time for everything!”
We can’t be ahead or behind the timing of God, that’s why it is very important that we must be able to discern His timing and must do things in His ways.
If we miss the timing of God, the reset might not work for you!
If the reset does not work, that would be very disappointing and frustrating because you will not be able to function correctly!
Often it leads to stagnation, not being able to move forward, thus succumbing to the demonic because you fall into desperation and lack of discipline.
Why was the RESET of God timed during a feast?
If we would go into deeper studies of the Scriptures, we would realize that the most powerful miracles of God were done around the feast times!
The feast times were the times when God displayed His sovereignty, power, and love!
Sovereign means having the highest power but being completely independent.
At Passover, God made a sovereign act that had nothing to do with their faith, cause if it did, it would never have happened!
What was the sovereign act?
God delivered them in a ‘set time’, the time for their freedom, whether they had faith or not, whether they were willing or not.
The Passover was a RESET so God can have a fresh start for the people of Israel!
God is still doing this today –for them and for us now.
In the New Testament, Passover was the time of Christ’s crucifixion.
Coincidence?
I don’t think so!
Do you know that the ‘Passover’ we celebrate today is more powerful than the first ‘Passover’ in the time of Moses?
When the Church looks at the ‘Passover’ she thinks it is done with, that remembering it is just tradition – the work of Jesus on the cross which is our Passover is finished…
But the work of the cross is not yet through – today it is bringing to the Kingdom of God many more millions of souls than it did in the past, not only in Israel but in the whole world!
The Passover we celebrate today is a RESET for all the people, but we need to enter the door that God has opened – the door of faith and salvation!
Rom 5:6
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
The coming of Jesus was a ‘set time’, a RESET of God whether we were ready or not!
God made a sovereign act to set us up differently, to make us start working correctly again!
That’s why the crucifixion of Christ was a RESET!
Today, the coming of the Kingdom Age is another RESET!
Since the five-fold ministry gift of Christ has already been restored, what’s next in Gods agenda?
Many are not ready for this, but I believe this is the next thing God wants to RESET:
The Restoration Of The Feasts!
Acts 3:21
He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.