"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." - John 14:21
For example, God instructed Moses to prepare Israel in a certain way for 2 days and then He will come into their midst on the third day - Ex 19:10-12
In addition, the Bible talks about the sons of lssachar as men who have understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do per time - 1Chr. 12:32.
Sometimes inthe year 2013, I had an encounter with the word of the Lord saying:
"In the midst of the year… in the midst of the year".
This word got me out of bed and I sat down to find out what 'the midst of the year' is all about. Amazingly, I found this verbatim in the third chapter of the book of Habakkuk:
"O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, REVIVE THY WORK INTHE MIDST OF THE YEARS, in the midst of
the years make known (thy power); in wrath remember mercy." - Hab3:2
But going through the entire chapter, that is, Habbakuk 3:2-19, the following revelation comes to light:
God Revives His work in the midst of the years, and as He revives His work;
• He makes known His power- vrs. 1• He unleashes His mercies - vrs. 2
• He comes down with His glory and His praise fills the earth - vrs. 3
• He unveils the hiding place of His power among His people - vrs. 4
As God revives His work;
• He scatters everlasting mountains and perpetual hills, that is, all the age long and generational challenges of His people - vrs. 6• He confirms His covenant of rewards through the channel of miracles, signs and wonders - vrs. 9-15
• He ushers His people into their high places - vrs. 17-19
Furthermore, the Holy Ghost led me to the book of Haggai where again I discovered other wonders reserved for the midst of the year.
From Haggai2:1-9:
The prophet Haggai began with the word of the Lord that came to him in the 7th month. As we all know,that the 6th and 7th months of the year constitute the midst of the year with 5 months before and 5 months after. - vrs. 1
• But to experience these wonders, we must remain strong and work for the Lord, for it is our season of fruitful labour- vrs. 4
• God shakes the heaven and the earth with diverse manifestations of His power as we labour in His vineyard- vrs. 5-6.
•The midst of the year is ordained a season of dramatic turnaround for God's people- vrs. 7-9/Mal. 3:17-18.
But what kind of Work, one may ask?
- First,the work of Soul Winning
As it is written,"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (Jn. 15:8)
Again Jesus said:
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (Jn.15:16)
- Secondly, the work of Church Growth
As it is written, "…. I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”(Matt.16: 18)Jesus said again, ".... other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: THEM ALSO I MUST BRING, and they shall hear my
voice; and there shall be one fold,and one shepherd.” (Jn.10:16)
We are all therefore admonished to see the 7 weeks of Divine Visitation as our opportunity to work for the Lord, so we can take full delivery of our Exceeding Grace package for the year 2014 both as individuals and as a church. Remember, everyone shall be rewarded according to his own labour- 1Cor.3:8/Rev.22:12
In the light of above, for the next 7 weeks, the Second (2nd) and Third (3rd) Saturday of the months of June and July shall be our church based soul winning outreaches. While the Fourth (4th) weekend for both months shall be special outreaches starting from Thursday all through to Saturday, where outreach programmes such as crusades, community outreaches, film shows, medical and welfare outreaches etc. all focusing on reaping the harvest of souls into the Kingdom shall be embarked upon by every of our local assembly worldwide.
However, it should be noted that, no specialized outreach should tamper with Saturday WSF programme which is vital to church growth drives.
The following testimony further validates the truth regarding wonders of the midst of the year:
"I joined this Commission fully in 2012. At Shiloh 2011, I heard a testimony of how God destroyed marital spell in a family and how 11 members of that family got married that year. I was amazed and I keyed into it.
In 2012, I attended the Miracle Marriage Services for myself and particularly for my elder sister. I bought the CDs and always shared the testimonies with her. In 2013, it was declared that there shall be miracles in the midst of the year. I engaged in outreaches and used the flyers as a point of contact. I said to God,
'If I'm telling people that you make miracle marriages here, make it happen in my family.’
Then, at the last Miracle Marriage Service in 2013, the Bishop said God told him to lay hands on everyone. While at the viewing centre, I stretched my hands towards the screen, placed it on my forehead and believed my case was settled. To the glory of God, shortly after that service, my sister met her husband in June 2013 and they got married in October 2013 at the age of 40. Also, in February 2014, I was colourfully married. Praise the Lord" – Babatunde Aderonke
We should also remember that, God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, and that He rewards His labourers spiritually, physically, materially, socially and so on and so forth - Ex 23:25-26/Lk 22:35/ Job 36:11/ Dan12:3
Therefore, we should all expect supernatural change of stories as we engage heartily in soul winning and other church growth endeavours during this season. And may these 7 weeks of Divine Visitation be a most memorable one in our spiritual adventure with undeniable testimonies of Exceeding Grace in every area of our lives in Jesus' name. Amen.
In conclusion, without prejudice to the scheduled outreaches, every Winner must work on at least one standing soul and ensure that such is established in the church within this season. I strongly perceive that God is up to something unusual among us in the Winners' family in this prophetic season as He dazes us with Exceeding Grace order of church growth and supernatural blessings upon all.
Jesus is Lord!
David O. Oyedepo
PRESIDENT, LIVING FAITH CHURCH WORLDWIDE
a.k.a. WINNERS’ CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL
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