After Jesus was crucified he appeared before his disciples, proving that there is life after death. 

He instructed them on one occasion to wait for the Holy Spirit.

 

Acts 1:4-5

4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with  water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

 

When Jesus was taken up into Heaven the Holy Spirit came in order to empower the disciples. The reason for this power was to enable the disciples to witness over the whole world.

 

Acts 1:8

8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

 

The coming of the Holy Spirit marked the start of a new period in time. 

Now the Holy Spirit is freely given to all people, whereas before Jesus, the Spirit was only given to righteous people and the old testament tells us about these prophets of God. 

This period of time is called the ‘end times’.

After pentecost Peter explains this to the crowed and he tells them that the prophet Joel prophesied this.

 

Acts 2:16-17

16 this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

 

This is why Jesus came down from heaven. His job was to pay a price that would allow sinful man to have a relationship with God. The reason for this was to bring heaven here on earth.

 

Matthew 6:9-10

9 This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Heaven has many names, we call it the kingdom or the garden. 

And we describe it as revival.

 

There is, however, a problem with revival !

 

This problem isn’t new. 

To illustrate the problem let me take you back to Egypt, where God’s people were slaves. God wanted to free them, however, they wanted to remain slaves (Exodus 16) 

 

We, like the Israelites are slaves and want to remain in Egypt. It is sin that enslaves us. God wants to free us from sin and He does this by sending bread, which the people called manna (Exodus 16) 

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (Mat. 6:9-13)  

Part of that prayer is:

Matthew 6:6-11

Give us today our daily bread

 

The bread that God sends is His only plan to free us from our sin. 

It has been called manna but now in the end times it is called prophecy.

 

To understand prophecy let us look at manna:

 

All prophecy is designed to lead us back into the garden (heaven here on earth). In order for this to happen we have to cherish the promise contained in the prophecies. 

God uses food as a euphemism to describe the prophecies. We are to eat this bread with enthusiasm and cherish it. If we don’t, the promises it contains turns bad or become invalid. 

God will not give up on us. 

He will send us more manna but we will just go around in circles, like the Israelites.

Unless we change. 

Before Jesus, God’s people were called Israelites (Jews) and now they are known as Christians. 

They haven’t changed, despite having a promise from God, they want to do things in their own strength. 

The Israelites craved meat and wanted to go back into Egypt where it was plentiful. God heard the people grumble and decided to test them.

Exodus 16:2-5

Manna and Quail

2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I WILL TEST them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.

 

God is still using food as a euphemism. 

Manna is God’s promise  and quail or meat is doing things in your own strength. 

The Israelites couldn’t follow simple instructions about the collection of manna but had no problem collecting meat and in that choice, revealed their hearts and failed God’s test. Most christians today also choose to remain slaves and continue to eat meat.

Galatians 4 tell us what God means when He uses the term slave.

Galatians 4:1 NIV

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.

 

A slave is referring to a baby christian or a child (underage). 

 

Baby christians choose to do things in their own strength because it is easier.

 

God said to Moses, tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread.’ Twilight is a time of fading light but morning is the time the son rises.  

 

Then the Lord commanded Moses: 

Exodus 16:32

32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

 

This manna is for you, however, you must be a hungry caterpillar in order to turn into a beautiful butterfly. 

 

The Oasis Christian Fellowship

the only supplier of pure

Caterpillar food

in the desert

of sin. 

 

Clouds and fire.

To let the people know that God was with them He gave them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to guide them.

Exodus 13:20-22   After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

 

It is no different today. 

Go out by day and look to the sky and you will see pillars of cloud. These clouds will always guide you towards God because of their beauty. By night the same sky will reveal pillars of fire and these stars will make you want to seek the Creator. 

 

PROPHECY IS USED TO TEST CHURCH. 

THE LEADERS OF CHURCH HAVE TO BE MATURE (without sin) 

AND IF NOT THEY HAVE NO PLACE LEADING GOD’S PEOPLE.

 

ARE PROPHECIES CHERISHED IN YOUR CHURCH?