Hi all,
I shared from the visitation I had with the Lord on December 1, and much of it had to do with the body of Christ judging itself and ending its love affair with the world and what is in the world. Thousands have watched on Facebook, YouTube, and GodTube, and I thank you for those who have. I hope what I’m sharing will be a blessing.
The Lord made reference to John 6 being a point of dividing those who were following Him with pure motives, and those who were not, telling me to study if further. Here is what He was talking about:
The circumstances of John 6
In John 6 Jesus fed 5,000 men plus women and children, and v15 tells us the people were so thrilled they were going to come by force and make Jesus their king. As a response, Jesus sent the disciples off in their boat, giving them instructions on where to land on the other side, while he went into the mountains alone.
In the early morning hours Jesus walked on the water, eventually catching up to the boat, which we are told by the distance given, had only gone about half way across. Mark 6:48 tells us Jesus ‘would have walked by them’ (continuing to walk to the other side)’, but stopped because they were afraid when they saw Him. Matthew 14:29 details Peter’s walking on the water. John 6:21 adds this detail that Matthew 14 and Mark 6 leave out:
“When Jesus got into the boat, immediately the boat was at the other side where they had been headed.” That’s correct; Jesus, the men, the boat, were ‘transported’ supernaturally roughly 3 miles/5km to the other side of the lake immediately when Jesus got into the boat.
The people however, had walked around the end of the lake (Sea of Galilee) and when they found Jesus, asked in 6: 25-26, “How did you get here?” Jesus responded that they weren’t looking for Him because of the miracles but because He fed them. That revelation of their true motives led to them asking what then must they do, and He told them in v29 to just simply believe in Him – pure motives, not for what He did or might do for them.
Why are you a Christian?
Understand this – people were disciples of Jesus at that time for a multitude of reasons. For example, the mother of James and John thought they were getting in on the start of a new kingdom, asking that her sons be given positions of authority in the kingdom at the right and left hands of Jesus. These people in John 6 got their bellies filled and they thought Jesus would give them an easy life of plenty.
There are people today who are Christians for various ulterior motives as well, the same as in John 6 – Jesus fills their fleshly appetites. Money, possessions, status – our Christian world is full of the people of John 6 who weren’t believers for the miracles He had done in their lives, which point them to His Lordship loving Him simply because He is Lord, but because He meets their physical needs. His answer as to what they must do is the same now as it was then: Simply (purely), believe.
In John 6 Jesus immediately launched into a difficult to understand parable, saying that Moses gave them bread from heaven, but that He was the True bread from heaven, and if they want eternal life they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
If they were believers in Him for food and material gain, they would have heard cannibalism. If they were following Him with pure motives, even if they did not understand, the purity of their motives would cause them to continue to follow Him.
This is what is about to happening now in the body of Christ in a season of inner workings of the heart. Right now the Lord is doing a work asking Christians to judge themselves on their love of the world and why they are Christians. Right now this is of the heart, unseen but by God who works in the hearts of men to bring us to a point of decision.
But circumstances will be such in the world that are difficult, and for those who hear what the Spirit is saying and have adjusted their heart, they will endure and do well. For those who ignored what the Spirit is saying, or delay this establishment of Jesus as Lord of their heart, when times turn, it will be devastating and confusing.
In John 6:66 it says ‘many of His disciples walked no more with Him’ – because they didn’t understand. They were willing to be identified as a believer while things were good. When things were easy to understand. When things appeared to be heading towards a victorious crowning of Jesus as king.
But the moment Jesus taught something they didn’t understand, and more than that, it appeared to be false doctrine compared to what they had been taught, they left Him. When they got confused or felt Jesus wasn’t going to provide for them like He did with the loaves and fishes, they left, proving they were serving Him just for what they thought He would do for them.
When Jesus asked the 12 if they too would leave, Peter spoke for them all saying, “To whom shall we go? We believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (v68-69)
They didn’t necessarily understand Jesus’ parable any more than those who left Jesus. They were able however to establish priorities of their heart. Peter boiled it down to the essence: “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
No circumstance, no confusing event in life, no hard to understand teaching, no matter how many voices express their opinions and reasonings, it boiled down to eternal life was first and foremost in their hearts. Let their hearts know Jesus is Lord and everything else pales by comparison, no matter how difficult life becomes. Above all they want to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. Above all they want the Lord to acknowledge them before the Father and His angels: “Yes! I know ________” (Revelation 3: 5)
That is what is going to happen in the body of Christ in the US and west. For many in nations under persecution, they’ve already chosen sides, so to speak, established their love for Him, many to the point of death. Historically it is economic and societal pressures (persecution) that cause governments to blame a people group, and as history has shown from Rome to as late as the 20th century, it is often Jews and Christians who have gotten the blame.
Next week I’ll close it out…until then, blessings,
John Fenn
