"Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Eph. 5:14, NASB).
We are in a fresh season of awakening. People are beginning to experience, hunger for and thirst for God in new ways. People everywhere are finding God as they have not found Him before. We have witnessed in recent weeks that people are beginning to think differently from before, perhaps even beyond how they've thought before. God promised to pour out His Spirit on all flesh (see Joel 2:28-29).
The Holy Spirit is at the center of all God's business. He is the One interacting with us and the world. We are waking up to recognize the importance of our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit more fully than in past seasons. Our spiritual eyes and ears are opening. We are beginning to see Him more clearly and see Him by the Spirit. Something supernatural is going on. We are hearing what God wants and what He wants for us through His Spirit.
This awakening is not just for individual benefit. It is the restoration of the presence of Christians in our world as "salt" and "light." We are destined to be vessels of the living word for others. We are God's messengers.
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Is. 61:1-2, NKJV).The Spirit has anointed us with a message of good news from the Father for people around us who may be presently sitting in spiritual darkness or suffering spiritual oppression. God is restoring the outstretched hand of His power to and through the body of Christ.
It's happening now. It's happening to you. We are anointed. It is His anointing. He has deposited in each of us the oil of His presence for the demonstration of the gospel accompanied by miracles of healing and deliverance. Everyone who knows His presence is a carrier of miracles.
I (Mahesh) like to hunt. One evening I was returning from a day of goose hunting. We had taken only a couple of geese, and the Lord said, "You haven't seen anything yet." Suddenly I was in a trance and I saw millions of geese and ducks flying toward me. I said, "What is this?" And the Lord said, "This is the harvest. You haven't seen anything yet."
Up to now we may have seen one or two or three or four or 50 or 60 brought into the kingdom at a time. But now the Lord is saying, "I am bringing the latter rain. Ask for the rain. The threshing floors will be full, and the wine vats will overflow with rejoicing." We haven't seen anything thus far that can compare with what He is about to do.
God wants to give us His vision for worldwide harvest and the part each of us has to fulfill in that vision. It's awakening. Lift your eyes. Let us look beyond ourselves, beyond our personal situations only. The fields of souls all around are ripe for harvest. The heart of God is turned toward all those He came and died for. People are His true treasure!
We are His treasure hunters. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). He came Himself. He gave Himself. Jesus, personally, is the sacrifice given to create a new relationship, a direct bond with Almighty God!
This awakening is creating a fresh understanding of the value of a single human soul to God. It is changing our value system to His. Let us each make a fresh commitment today to be excited and available to share the good news of Christ with others.
Take a look and notice how hungry and thirsty for something more, something of God, the people you meet everyday are. Take note of their brokenness. Don't pass by their hurts as though you do not have the word of healing they need. It's time to cast our nets "on the other side of the boat."
A great harvest of souls is swimming in circles right next to us, longing to come home to the Father. Forget your human power of persuasion or intellect. Don't let your own situation hem you in any longer. Look to the Father for His Spirit!
Begin to share the Lord with your neighbors. As you share, offer prayer for the sick. Expect salvation and look for His miracles to come along, too! As you seek His presence, pray for an increase of visitation in your family, church and nation. He says, "Ask for the rain in the time of the latter rain."
So today we are asking, "Send Your Spirit in a great downpour of supernatural intervention. Expand our hearts, deal with our mindsets and make us fresh carriers of Your glory as ministers to others in Your Name."
We haven't seen anything yet!About the authors: Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda lead a worldwide apostolic ministry, proclaiming Christ's kingdom with power, equipping believers for ministry and ushering in God's revival glory. With over three decades of experience, the Chavdas have led more than 1 million people to Christ and have seen thousands of healings, including documented healings from terminal diseases such as AIDS and the resurrection from the dead. Authors of numerous bestselling books, Mahesh and Bonnie are co-founders and senior pastors of All Nations Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia (maheshchavda.com).
