Dear People who Keep Company with God,

As a shepherd one of my jobs is to look ahead to where the Chief Shepherd would have us lead our congregation. The question I continually ask the Lord in this regard is, “What are you doing and how does Riverlife fit into it?” Recently what I began to see was a little unsettling at first. The spiritual landscape I am seeing developing in front of me is unfamiliar territory.

Larry Randolph wrote a book entitled “The Coming Shift” in which he stated, “At the turn of the new millennium, however, the Lord visited me once again and talked to me about the current status of renewal in America. He let me know that the initial wave had passed and we were in the eye of the storm. He explained that a “greater release” was coming that would reshape the face of modern Christianity.”

I believe we may be seeing the dawning of this “greater release”. When I first heard of the Lakeland outpouring I immediately began to sense a divinely inspired uneasiness within me. As much as I tried to ignore it, I knew the Holy Spirit was indicating to me that change was coming and it was not going away. What God is doing in Lakeland and other places including our church is the beginning of a new spiritual season that may lead to the reshaping of the face of Christianity. I have heard some remarks that there is nothing new going on in Lakeland, it is a repackaging of what God has been doing. They are only seeing thiswith natural eyes. One of the most remarkable and telling things I hear being reported are notable healings and miracles being done by ordinary people of God. This is a major shift and if this continues it will have significant impact on the spiritual landscape of the church.

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. 2 Peter 1:12

Present truth is what the Holy Spirit is doing right now and what the Lord is saying today. We must understand that much of what we know today may not work the same way in the new season. The Lord Himself does not change, but what He does in the earthly realm does change. If you look at the book of Acts, the church we see in Antioch (Acts 13) looks different from the church at Jerusalem in Acts chapters 2-7. There was a “greater release” that began with the death of Steven in Acts 7 that changed the whole spiritual landscape resulting in the launching of churches such as the one in Antioch. I pray we would learn from history and not force the Lord to use persecution to get us out of our comfort zone.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 “For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. 

Bob Jones recently told our congregation, “we are living in the best of times and worst of times”. We are seeing increasing darkness and troubling reports coming in from all over the earth, but we are also seeing an increase of the glory of the Lord upon His people. This glory that is now rising upon us is the answer a troubled world is looking for. Receive the glory!

Many Blessings, BW

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