Behold, for this is an awakening call to all people that God’s day is at hand. The Lord has spoken to me very clearly in Zephaniah 1:11-12,

“Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.”

Traders and rich merchants are called to account for their pride, greed and injustice. Even the secure and complacent say to themselves that the Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil; that is, they deny God’s dispensing rewards and punishments. But in the day of the Lord’s judgement, it will clearly appear that those who perish will fall as a sacrifice to Divine justice for breaking God’s law, and because they have no interest by faith in the Redeemer’s atoning sacrifice.

Family of our Holy God, we are now living in times of great deception and real spiritual battle!

We need to rise up and respond to God’s call against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. We need to rebuke the enemy who is constantly tempting us, lying to us and deceiving us. When the Lord speaks, He requires a response from us; that we earnestly make a choice to follow Him in true repentance, faith and obedience. God wants to strengthen our faith and equip us, to help us discern and make the right decisions in our lives, to prepare us for the times of trials and tribulation and for the 2^nd return of Christ, our Lord. Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 22:28-30,

“You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Will we respond to Jesus today?

Repentance is the way to faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” On the basis of faith which is here and now, we can have a legitimate hope for the future. Repentance begins with God. The Bible says there is only one alternative to repentance, and that is to perish. Luke 13:1-5 says:

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” And he answered them , “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Those are the words of Jesus Himself.

Faith will be tested for untested faith is of no value in the sight of God. In Revelation 3:18, Jesus said to the church of Ephesus:

“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

I pray that God will open the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind so that they can see and hear with God’s infinite wisdom and understanding for the Lord says in Ezekiel 12:2,

“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.”

In my prayer, the Lord spoke to me again through Isaiah 32:9-20, where Isaiah declared to the people, the Word of the Lord:

“Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech. In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come. Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist. Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city. For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting place. And it will hail when the forest falls down, and the city will be utterly laid low.
Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.”

Here, Isaiah prophesied the destruction and captivity of both Judah and Israel at Babylon. I believe that in the times we are living now, we are again very near to God’s judgement of ungodliness and unrighteousness. The Lord points out that He will be responding to His people soon – the thoughtless, the complacent, the prideful and the rebellious people, both men and women, for they have all turned their backs from the Lord. Instead, they live in an unrighteous, corrupt attitude with lifestyles for their own worldly pleasure in self-indulgence. They perceive peace, where God’s Spirit has identified disaster. God’s judgement upon His ungodly people will be poured out; their harvests will fail and great calamity will befall their lands, which shall be laid to waste; their inhabitants will flee and disperse because of the destruction. The people will suffer famine. The abuse of plenty, is justly punished with scarcity. When we abandon God and His purpose for our lives, we also abandon His help.

When calamity comes, they will be made to tremble; they will be forced to strip themselves, as God’s judgement strips them, and lays them bare. The best prevention of troubles is to repent and humble oneself for ones sins, lying in the dust before God, in true remorse and godly sorrow. Then, justice will live in the wilderness, and righteousness will live in the fruitful fields; and the effect of righteousness will be peace; and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. God’s people will live in peaceful habitations, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

The outpouring of the Spirit from on high, speaks not only of the good-will of God towards us, but the good work of God in us; for then, and not till then, there will be good times. When God, by his grace gives men good hearts; and therefore God’s giving his Holy Spirit to those who ask Him, is in effect His giving them all good things, He acts from above to change men’s condition here on earth. Only when God’s Spirit is among us, can we achieve true peace and fruitfulness.

The present state of the Jews and Israel will continue until a more abundant pouring out of the Spirit from on high. Peace and quietness will be found in the ways and works of righteousness. Real holiness is real happiness now, and shall be perfect happiness, that is, perfect holiness forever. The good seed of the word is still being sown into all places and watered by Divine grace. The labourers are still being sent forth into God’s work-places, but not for long, for it will soon be done.

Act 2:16-21 says:

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Amen and Amen!