2015 -THE YEAR OF VISITATION As we approach the dying hours of the year 2014, the year God told us would be a year of Elevation and Possession, it is good to thankfully give ourselves a holistic reflection. Critically speaking, for many of us who saw the fulfilment of His word, praise and thanksgiving is the end point. But a few amongst us had a cocktail of tears, sorrow, sighing, lows and bumps on the terrain of life here and there. Yet still we have more things to be thankful for than these shortcomings. God still remains good all the time. All things always work together for our good, we who love the Lord Jesus Christ and are called by Him. Romans 8:28. In all, we see His goodness and mercy following us even into the New Year. Psalms 23:6. What the enemy meant for evil like in Josephs case God will turn for our good. Genesis 50:20. So its all about the goodness of God working all for our good. This is the spirit and revelation that shall carry us as we cross over into the New Year, the spirit of praise and gratitude to our God and our saviour. All these were either a blessing in disguise or an open lesson. Blessed be the name of the Lord! The New Year always comes with new beginnings, new mercies, new word and revelations and new opportunities to start afresh. It is therefore wise for us to search out the mind of God to know what He is telling us right now on the brink of the new dawn. What is the Lord significantly saying concerning our immediate future, the New Year 2015? Let me humbly submit that as He showed me, it shall be the year of His Visitation. The Lord will visit His people and His glory and enabling grace shall dwell among us. This is what shall make the difference between you that love the Lord and those who love him not! When they mourn, murmur, complain and sulk, you will be singing a new song of hope. Hear this:Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.- Acts 15:14. What the scripture is saying is quite clear. God did something at the beginning with a clear intent, to take out a people for his name. If history which is nothing but His-story repeats itself, what about His eternal decrees? Therefore, whatever he did yesterday, he surely will do it again in these last days. God visited both the children of Israel and the Gentiles in the past, and now like then, He will again by His mercy and grace appear unto us to take us into the grace of sonship. Allow me here the privilege of digression to delve into the subject of Sonship for just a while. Isaiah the prophet saw the day a child would be born and a son given. Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.... This scripture reveals the two natures of Christ. A child being born like any child brought forth into this world is the humanity of Christ and a son being given is his divinity: The son of God given and the son of David being born. Spiritually and also naturally, this typifies our stages of development. My natural sons are no longer children, but sons. When we are born again, we start off as Gods children who mature through the baptism of the Holy Ghost into the sons of God. This is Gods original intent for man when He created him in His image and likeness. Luke, tracing backwards the genealogy of Christ, gets to Adam and portrays him as the son of God. Luke 3:38 - Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.). You see, here too, a son was given just like the second Adam Jesus Christ was also supernaturally given as the Son of God. Redemption therefore is to bring us into the glorious liberty of sonship. Romans 8:19-21. This is the cry of creation, to see the manifestation of the sons of God right now, just like in the hereafter when Christs theocratic kingdom comes. Until you and I quit being children, squabbling over petty stuff of positions: Whos going to be the greatest..?”, “Lord grant that one sits on the right and the other on the left...”, creation will continue to groan and suffer. We therefore are the answer and hope of the world/ creation. We for the now ought to provide solutions to our immediate spheres of influence. If we cant do it now, dont think there is a miracle in the rapture. If you died ignorant or even unsaved, bitter and unforgiving, the rapture cant change you. It all starts now in the church age by His enabling grace. Lets then embrace that grace of sonship. Back to our theme, the great and small, the well-to-do and the needy, the sick, feeble and well and strong, as long as they long for His appearing, He will visit them again and again at the time appointed of God. There shall be a day and a set moment within the year when the Lord shall visit you, to touch, comfort and strengthen you and to bless and lift you higher than you are and from where you are. Jesus in Luke chapter 19 graphically describes a sad and dreadful scenario of utter destruction and devastation of the people and their temple who did not prepare for and anticipate their time of visitation. Through hindsight we know this was the AD 70s destruction of the temple and the siege of the Jews in Jerusalem by Titus the Roman general. But what would not have happened had they known their time of visitation? This is the question to ask ourselves in order not to repeat the same tragedy today. Certainly this horrendous destruction would not have occurred to them had they considered the day of their visitation. Remember the day Jesus came to visit them and their city Jerusalem, to bless and save them, but they would not...embrace Him. What happened? Jesus was sorely grieved by their rejection and lamented saying, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Matthew 23:37-39. This was their day of visitation which through their ignorance, marked and sealed the scattering and desolation of the house of Israel. But thank God for his mercy that left a window of restoration, .... till you shall say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Again this window would also bring in the Gentiles to salvation according to Gods providence and grace. So let us not throw caution away dear children of God. Rather our hearts must be steadfast in patiently waiting for the Lords visitation. Our redeemer is coming sooner than we think. By faith prepare for Him. Get your house swept and garnished for the Lords coming, lest desolation and destruction find you. But by the signs of the times, it wont be long before the Eastern skies split and we see him as He is! But in the interim season, we shall occupy till He comes! We shall keep faith and His word alive in us with oil in our lamps. Occupy your territory with the word of God as you dispense hope to the hopeless and love to the loveless. We have a mission to purposefully accomplish in the now, as Peter ably implores, Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. - 1 Peter 2:12. May the Lord bless and keep you! May His face shine on you and give you rest! May He visit us in our hour of need and cause us to know its Him visiting. Merry Christmas and a glorious year of visitation! MARANATHA! Apostle Aloysios A. Rutivi, General Overseer, Nairobi Gospel Assembly Church
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 09:04:35 +0000
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