Shelter in the Storm

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Revelation is a storm, and the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5,6,and 7) is a manual to build a storm shelter on solid Rock:


Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.


The storm coming is Jesus' storm. He REALLY likes it:


Luke 12:49-51 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.


The reason Jesus' is so excited about the fire...the division...is that the tribulation purifies the Bride. It is Her coming together in one accord in the face of intensity, supporting each other, resisting offense, sharing resources, praying night and day, and experiencing the release of the "greater things" as she agrees more and more with Jesus...loving Him wholeheartedly and loving her companions and neighbors as she loves herself...that changes the 7 mostly broken characteristic churches in Revelation 2 and 3 into the Bride in Revelation 19.


Tribulation is Jesus' engagement gift to the Bride. It is the context...the process...of preparation. She gets herself ready, but He gets her ready...they both have a part in it:


Revelation 19:7-8 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.


Ephesians 5:26-27 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.


The righteous acts of the saints happen in the middle of the greatest generation of unrighteousness. The Bride lives by faith, in unity, releasing judgment in agreement with Jesus, loving Him more than their own lives, yet receiving MORE life in the process as a testimony to truth of His Word. This is a process...like a laundry cycle.


This brilliant plan to prepare a Bride in agreement with the Word is what the disciples understood. John said if you care about Revelation, then you are his partner in the tribulation:


Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.


John was imprisoned on Patmos after just having lived through an attempt to martyr him. He was not saying "tribulation" lightly! The antichrist is allowed...given authority...to take away every earthly strength the Bride once coveted, argued over, secretly desired, and was distracted by...the earthly comfort and security is going...by design. This is the storm dreamed up by Jesus, so He could partner with a Bride who will overcome the storm. That is why He kept telling the 7 Churches about overcoming. This is what they will overcome! They will overcome by building their houses on the Rock!


The Sermon on the Mount is choosing to live in God's economy and coming out of the world's economy. They are opposed to each other!


There are 8 beautiful flowers that will be grown to maturity in the last pure and spotless generation of lamb followers...we call them Beatitudes: an awareness of spiritual poverty, Godly desire for more (mourning), meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, pureness, peacemaking, endurance in persecution...these all grow in the garden of our hearts. We tend the garden by pulling weeds and planting seeds...just like in our backyards.


Pulling weeds:


Resisting Bitterness, anger, lust/adultery, lying. Laying down our right to be offended.


Planting seeds:


Freely giving our time in an investment to agree with Jesus...generously and SECRETLY giving away our strength: our time, our money, our most intense emotional and spiritual energy (praying). Blessing those who persecute us. Fasting secretly.


This is a plan designed to teach us to give away everything the antichrist WILL EVENTUALLY BE ALLOWED TO TAKE AWAY...by force of law and threat of death. BUT, If I build a storm shelter that agrees with Jesus, there is nothing left that can be taken from me...for I will have already handed it over to God. Breaking ties with earthly strength is what allows us to fly in the power of heaven. Earthly, fading, rusting, moth eaten strength is a soul anchor. The Bride will fly.


You can't take my money if I have already given it away in my heart. If it carries none of my weight, then I won't fall when it is pulled away. If the dream of my life is already in eternity, crushing a lesser dream of influence, wealth, success, security, or comfort here...in a fading system... can't touch me...


The Bride will go after the Sermon on the Mount in one accord...because the Sermon on the Mount intentionally removes every hinderance to unity. It takes away all the devil's tools of division: lust, striving, envy, offense, greed, self-promotion...it is a self-building, Spirit-powered cycle: the more the Bride reaches for agreement with Jesus, the more she goes after the Sermon on the Mount, the more unity is released, and she gets stronger to repeat the cycle.


This is where the church...the Bride... is heading. Church isn't going to be a once or twice a week thing we do...it is heading toward a 24/7 all in sharing everything, placing all our weight, dreams, and joy on Jesus, and living in the glorious joy of His literal increasing presence in our midst...His walking among the lampstands on earth. As the Bride agrees with heaven...as she sets her heart to see His will be done, instead of hoping to merge it with her earthly comfort...heaven will open more and more. Death always causes the veil to tear. The Bride is going to die to herself and live abundantly.





You don't have to wait for heaven to live like this, you just have to die to earth.

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