The Lord Is Building His House

The Lord is building His House in this hour. Foundations are being repaired and reconstructed where needed. Some structures are being leveled while others are being erected with rapid speed. In all of this construction and movement, alignment with the heart and intention of Heaven is paramount for the Bride of Christ as She marches forward into this new era.

"Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." Psalm 127:1

The exhortation is clear in this verse. Whatever "house" we are seeking to build, must have the breath of God in it and on it in order for it to be fruitful. That which has been born out of "vain labor" is going to be exposed in the light of His fiery presence in the coming days.

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is." I Corinthians 3:11-13

We are already entering a time of built things being tested by fire. I believe the intensity of the fire will only increase as God pours His Spirit out in all the earth. The contrast between counterfeit and that which is birthed out of the Spirit of God will become more and more evident as the water level of the outpouring increases. Individuals who try and take credit for growth that only God could bring will appear foolish.

Paul issued a similar warning to the Corinthian Church that was embroiled in jealousy and quarreling over which leader was the greatest. Paul skillfully throws water on their childish fire with these words:

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." I Corinthians 3:6-7

God used Paul to zero in on the hearts of those in the Corinthian Church, not to shame them, but to cause them to mature into who Christ had called them to be. He wanted them to know that God uses us to help build, but He alone is the one to make things grow. There was absolutely no benefit or point in exalting human leaders.

A Recalibration of Hearts

God is zeroing in on the heart of His Church once again in this hour. The intent is not to shame, but to rebuild, redeem, and resurrect the Church to rise to Her full stature. He is reminding us that Jesus Christ is not only the Chief Cornerstone, but the very foundation on which we are to build. He is admonishing us Who we are to build on, but also, what we build and how we build are tremendously important as well.

I believe God wants us to dream with Him and dream big! But, He is recalibrating hearts to dream dreams that build His kingdom and not our own. The Spirit is relentlessly persistent that our significance be found in the steadfast and astounding revelation that we are beloved sons and daughters of the Father. The deeper this revelation abides in our hearts, the less need we have to build and promote a kingdom that exalts us or someone else over Him.

God is sifting and shaking, recalibrating and realigning His Church to know that our greatest fulfillment and joy comes with deep surrender.

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it'." Matt. 16:24-25

The willingness to lose one's life for the sake of the kingdom is the gateway each soul must walk through in order to truly find life. The enemy tries to derail us in this journey just as He tried to derail Jesus when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. The enemy offers shortcuts that appeal to the flesh; they are shiny and glitter with self- exaltation. God lovingly points us towards a different path that says, "lose your life in order to find it."

In His time in the wilderness, Jesus modeled for us how to respond to the enemy's attempts to hi-jack our journey with Him. Jesus recalled and spoke forth what He knew to be truth spoken from His Father's mouth. Deeply assured of His Father's love, He chose to trust instead of seeking immediate gratification.

The orphan spirit will try and cause many to miss the way. The Father despises the lies of the orphan spirit and its attempts to separate His children from Him. That is why I believe we are going to see an increase of encounters and revelation flooding the earth, depositing the love of the Father into orphan hearts in every nation, tribe and tongue. The orphan spirit is no match for the passionate love that the Father and Son have for their rightful family. Those who have heard the Father's voice echoing in their hearts, "this is my beloved son (or daughter), I am well pleased with you", will find the grace to choose surrender, because they trust the heart of their Father.

Built to Reign and Overcome

In a critical moment of prophetic revelation, Jesus released to His disciples His heart for a powerful Church that would be built on the rock of revelation that He was the Messiah and Son of the living God.

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matt. 16:18-19

The church Jesus describes in Matthew 16 is no wimpy church. This church would have the authority to use the keys of heaven, binding and loosing to bring heaven to earth as they were led by the Spirit. This was not a defensive postured church, but a mighty, offensive-postured, ground taking church that the very gates of Hades would not be able to overcome.

I am convinced that we are stepping into a greater dimension and revelation of the Church's authority as described in Matthew 16. This word was originally released to Peter who had the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of God. Our authority is also to rest and be built upon this foundation as well. Every other foundation will be faulty and fail to produce the fruit that will only flow from the powerful revelation that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.

We are in exciting and significant days as the Spirit of God moves upon the Church right now. It is a time to seek His face, being quick to align with His purposes, strategies, and plans for now and the coming days. The Lord is truly building His House in this hour, and what a joy to surrender to Him and see His kingdom advance in all the earth.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5