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THE WOMAN AT THE RIVER OF CONSEQUENCE
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| As I was meditating today regarding the Unities States and the various places I have visited and what is happening currently, I saw this vision: A woman was going to a river with large clay pots and wine skin type bags to fill with water. She looked tired but still determined to get the water from the river back to the house up the hill behind her. She faithfully and carefully filled each container and proceeded to carry them up one by one to her house. To her dismay though, when she arrived back at her house up the steep hill, the pots and containers were nearly empty. There was no apparent holes in these containers yet they were still empty. She kept going back down to the river over and over and over again to fill her pots with water. Each time she would arrive back home with little more than enough water for her and her family to have a few sips and then it was gone. This left her household discouraged, frustrated and never satisfied so she kept going back to the river to repeat the same process over and over again. This is what the Lord told me as I saw this vision of the woman with the pots: 'The woman with the pots is the Church. The river is My presence and My Spirit. The pots and wine skins are the methods and ways the Church goes to receive from Me. The household is the Body of Christ, the lost, and the cities she is trying to serve. She never has enough supply to really satisfy the deep hunger of her city or her own people so she keeps going back to the river to refill her containers. The only way the Church will ever be able to fill Herself up and keep herself filled is to GIVE AWAY WHAT SHE HAS ALREADY. She cannot continue to hoard and try to "store up" My anointing any longer. I will not allow it. Harvest is too white and the time is too short. SHE MUST GIVE IT AWAY TO KEEP IT! ' The Lord reminded me of the widow in Elijah's day when there was a great drought in the land. (2nd Kings 17). She was so determined to bake her last meal for herself and her household and then die. Her only means to survive the drought according to Elijah was TO GIVE AWAY WHAT LITTLE SHE ALREADY HAD! This is the same challenge the Lord is giving to the church of America in this hour. We cannot afford to "hoard" our anointing or "water" any longer. Our conferences, churches and modern day meetings have literally become this parable: "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry..." (Luke 12:16-19). As the prophet Amos said so long ago we are "at ease in Zion..." We continue to stage bigger and better conferences and meetings, build bigger and brighter ministries and churches and yet the very cities we are doing this in are still lost, thirsty, and desperate. We MUST see this as ministers and ministries and admit our fault. We have been in a state of denial and pride unwilling to admit our failure and move on. Our cities and streets over all, are untouched and void of any real genuine impact. Walk downtown sometime in your city at midnight and see for yourself. Visit a local bar this weekend and take notes. Go to the local mall and stand near the youth that hang out there and see. The cities are NOT impacted by our current methods and approach to conferences and meetings. Before we can really move on we must have the courage as leaders to admit this. This is the Lord's reply to our denial, "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:20-21). Our "souls" or our ministries will be required of us. In other words the Lord is going to ask us, "Did my harvest get taken in during your conferences and meetings? Did you visit the widows and orphans in their affliction? When I was naked did you clothe Me? Hungry and feed Me? In prison and sick and visit Me?" Everyone of us will be asked that question. We need to begin with post haste to train and raise up teams in our conferences and meetings to reach the cities streets and neighborhoods that we are convening in. Our conferences have become "private parties" where the lost and mis-led generation feel uncomfortable and out of place. Everything we do in our meetings cater to the Christian and the saved. We have lost the purpose of Christ in His meetings and gatherings in ancient Israel: "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matt 9:11-13). We have used the excuse of "we are equipping the church" for too long. Equipping them to do what? Sing better? Pray better? Prophesy better? We must train and mobilize the church for harvest. Equip them and enable them to save a soul. Talk to a stranger, lead someone to Jesus. That is the greatest form of ministry there is. We must introduce the church to prophetic evangelism. Releasing them into an anointing where they can prophesy the destiny of people, places, and cities. Until we have done that we are falling short of the great commission of Jesus that still echoes through time today: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15) That is the most prophetic and apostolic statement ever declared. The woman in this vision represents all of us; trying so hard to keep something that was never meant for us to keep. Jesus made it very clear, "freely receive freely give..." This must be the precedence we set this year in our conferences and meetings. If we can go home with a clear conscience night after night, week after week, never GIVING AWAY THAT PRECIOUS SUPPLY, then we will be the recipients of Jesus words to the Church of Laodicea, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev 3:15-16). The river is the Lord and we need to be filled by it everyday. But if, as leaders, pastors, prophets, and ministers we are not "getting our feet wet" first and leading the people into the harvest, then we are doing an injustice to eternity and our ministries and anointing will be required of us. Listen to the ancient instructions of Joshua to his era of elders and leaders: "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap." (Joshua 3:13). The Lord just quickened me to the verse and numbers related to it above - Joshua 3:13. Today as I write this it is 3/13, March 13th, 2003. Joshua 3:13 is a prophetic mandate for leadership in this nation. WE MUST STEP OUT FIRST AND GET OUT OWN FEET WET AND LEAD THE PEOPLE OVER THE JORDAN TO POSSES THE LAND! We cannot afford to hide behind generic excuses any longer, we must do it. Are we ready to confront the consequence of our disobedience? The blood of millions on the hands of present day Ministries? No, we cannot afford that. We must act now. I quote the words of William Booth, founder and prophet of the Salvation Army: "There have been more than enough conferences, and congresses, and committees and deliberations. It is time to ACT! There is not a moment to lose! There cannot be any question to what we have to do. No more conferences! No more doubt! No more delay! Arise, ye children of the light, and buckle on the armor bright, and now prepare yourselves to fight, against the world and satan. We are called to be saints. We are called to be brothers and sisters of Jesus, to fight with Him, for Him, with every particle of strength we have to the last grasp. That is enough! No more conference!" (end quote - Jan. 1876) Personally I am committed to you as a minister and leader to come and assist you in any way possible. Our team will come to your conference or meeting, home or church and train and personally take you out to the streets of your city. We are your servants. There is no excuse. We will come to your region, church, or city, large or small and take the plough of harvest with you and see His glory come down. We CAN do this together! God is opening Heaven itself to those that will commit their ministries and futures to harvest. See you out in the field then this year. Chad Taylor. Chad Taylor www.consumingfire.com |