Part 5 of 5: Rethinking Identity
Let’s begin by talking revival because so many are sensing a tremendous one coming, and I believe it has everything to do with the body of Christ and our place within it. If that is so, like the ten virgins of Matthew 25, it would behoove us to understand our greater identity therein so we will be ready. I say in the book I believe this revival will feature a repeat of history. History repeats itself many times in the Bible through a prophecy that was fulfilled, is being fulfilled, and is yet to be fulfilled, and would not this be the way for a God “who is, who was, and who is to come” (Rev. 1)? Jesus made “appearances” in the OT [with the three in the fiery furnace, the person of Elihu in the Book of Job, and perhaps the person of Melchizedek the King of Salem], His coming and life were described in hundreds of passages in the Hebrew text, then He came fulfilling them, and now we await for Him yet to come at the end of the times set forth in the Revelations.
The two arisings of the kingdom of heaven and earth are like this: the OT refers to God’s kingdom that had not yet come to earth, and when it came with and in the form of Jesus Christ the reason was awakening those sheep so lost in His Father’s house religion had wrought. The message that accomplished that? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Now I believe we live in that period Jesus referred to as “the beginning of the Birth Pangs” (Matt. 24), an age of lawlessness and love growing cold brought on by the second arising of God’s kingdom, with the subsequent arising of Satan’s kingdom of man and religion. As the sides are chosen with the faithful on both sides “possessed” by their masters, conversions will become rarer and rarer. The field that will truly be “white for harvest,” on the other hand, will feature the repeat of history: bringing the millions of lost sheep occupying religion’s pews into the kingdom! Consider, what would be by far the most fruitful effort for the Holy Spirit: bringing an army of new “babes” into the faith, or bringing an army of those already converted, with some knowledge and faith, to full maturity?
Why this gathering of shepherds and sheep will be so critical is found in this prophecy: “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.” The time soon upon us will be brutal, suffering and persecution will be experienced such as we here in the land of comfort and security have not even faintly known. I believe it will take some sort of cataclysmic event [war (civil or with foreign aggressors), pestilence, disturbances in the earth the Bible repeatedly portrays, financial collapse, etc.] to wake us up and force us into it.
And when you think about it the great persecution, leading to “the Gospel of the Kingdom being preached to all nations” makes perfect sense in the timeline of Mathew 24. First comes the persecution which forces God’s people to gather and unite or perish thus re-establishing authentic community, followed by a mass proclamation [1 Thessalonians 1 style] of not just the Gospel, but the Gospel of the Kingdom that resulted from the first time the kingdom arose in Jesus’ day! How did that primarily occur but through house churches like the one in Thessalonica? Religion, with its model that has stolen authentic community from Christianity, has left us simply incapable of understanding, and with that desiring such biblical community. People just don’t come together unless survival requires it and survival in this country has been replaced with an overabundance of Laodicean wealth, comfort, and freedom that has proven so toxic to the faith.
According to the Bible, not only will the world hate us, those who represent the first three seeds of the sowar in the body, which will sadly include most of today’s churchgoers, will betray the true sheep to maintain their earthly comforts and possessions. Everything else Matthew 24 prophesied except this has been fulfilled, so I believe this brutal persecution is next on the agenda. While my flesh fears this, as would anyone’s, my spirit can’t wait for the revealing of authentic community and the power of the body being released! For the sake of the sheep, and to seek out and save the final remnant before the end, God will reestablish authentic community inspiring them once more to “continue steadfastly, with one mind, in the apostle’s doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread with gladness and sincerity of heart and praising God in prayer.” They “will be together and have all things in common” as the Acts fellowship did. Those tragic polling numbers will reverse because the sheep will again exist in an environment where they can come to understand their calling, power, and place within the Great Commission God always intended!
Finally, somewhere along this eschatological timeline between these Days of Sorrows and “the end” God will bring about something truly miraculous upon, and for, the earth: the “revealing of the Sons of God” Romans 8 speaks of. I know not how large or small this group of what will need to be the most righteous, God-fearing, powerful men the world has ever known, but I do know they will be a people—a community—a sheepfold so unified, so at one with one another and with God, so as to reverse the same curse on “the creation” humankind has suffered under since the fall—a curse that turned saints into sinners and God’s Garden into a wilderness. It will be God’s sheep united under a paradigm we cannot even faintly grasp now that will accomplish this, and my fondest desire above all others would be counted worthy to be one of them!
The discovery of all of this has made me go back and ask the question, “Who am I and where do I fit within the greater identity of the body of Christ?” I always assumed I was an apostle because I was told the Great Commission mandated it. Upon conversion I got immediately involved in ministry and have been there ever since. And yet, most of my attempts at going into all the world baptizing have proven futile. I never really considered myself an evangelist, I was just led to believe we were all to be evangelists, so why didn’t I figure this out a long time ago? Answer: I was operating under a false assumption as is every believer who has not spent years in solitude with the Holy Spirit figuring it out. It’s sort of unsettling, after almost five decades of being a Christian honestly seeking God, serving, writing music and books and blogging, now wondering what I’m going to be when I grow up 😊. But the only thing worse than not knowing and waiting would be to pursue my current course while wondering what exactly was holding me back, only to waste the rest of the few years I have left on this earth.
How do you know whether you are apostle, elder, or sheep? When Elizabeth was first approached by Mary, both being pregnant, “the baby in Elizabeth’s womb jumped” for joy! After reading these articles, consider which group has caused “the baby” of the Spirit in your womb to leap? Is it going into all the world preaching and baptizing? Is it going into the body of Christ to disciple or engage in the other gifts available to you there? Is it just to enjoy all the benefits the sheep of the Church of Acts pursued? Where does your heart tell you that you belong? If you haven’t considered it up to this moment, don’t feel bad. Most believers today cannot even find grounds for making that decision because there is so little authentic community they can look to as a point of reference.
Take heart, O weary sojourner! The Spirit of God is even now tearing down “the beautiful bricks and stones” of the structures of religion, which He will complete to bring forth the Phoenix! It will literally be hell on earth for the flesh, but as with that famous bird of Greek mythology, the authentic body of Christ will arise from the ruins! I found the following description of this mythical “immortal bird associated with the sun that regenerates by dying in a self-generated fire and rising from its own ashes—symbolizing resurrection, renewal, and eternity.” Could we not say the church, which has been with God ever since He created Adam and Eve, is associated with “the Son” that has for the most part died through self-generated fire of religion, but will arise in the resurrection, renewal, and eternal reestablishment of the true body of Christ?!
What I was shocked to discover was this: the arising of the Phoenix is what excites me far more than being an apostle. I have always known my calling is to be a watchman on the wall for the body I so dearly love and, as Simeon yearned for advent of the Christ-child, so I eagerly await its awakening and revealing. I now know my calling is to be a sheep—a watchman in the body of Christ, and I’m good with that. It’s what makes the baby in my womb leap! And, if the Sprit leads the body to think me worthy of such a high honor, I may be a shepherd as well. Until that time, I will as a good sheep aspire to “make it my ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to my own business and work with my hands…in all godliness and dignity…behaving properly toward outsiders…as this is good and acceptable in the sight of God my Savior” (1 Tim. 2, 1 Thess. 4).
A Revelation!
On a Sunday evening in March of 2026, nearing 50 years as a follower of Christ [over 35 of those writing books] the revelation of all you have read in this series led up to an amazing one, proving my identity, that blew my mind! I was sitting in a hotel bar and grille with three close brothers discussing the issue of the Great Commission, shepherds, and sheep. I had brought along copies of my three authored works to give to one of the men when, as I briefly described them to him, it dawned on me that everything I had been writing all that time was designed to cater to community! Remember, the sheep’s response at Pentecost was to “steadfastly devote themselves to the Apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and to prayer.”
Taking my books in order: The Pass[ed]over Table [originally The Lost Supper] sets forth a biblical way to observe Communion that is the ultimate gift God gave to secure unity, integrity, and a bond of love within the community that has been lost in our modern observances that elevate grace at the expense of truth. Today’s church cannot abide the discomfort of truly “examining ourselves” which requires transparency, vulnerability, integrity, true repentance and confession within the body. In This has removed the power of it to heal and set free the sheep from their bondage to their “secret sins” that wound and cause isolation. In other words, it is the supreme gift for “fellowship and the breaking of bread.”
Then came my devotional set of four books entitled Praying Today’s Psalms, which “newtestamentizes” the beloved prayers of David and the other Psalmists, allowing NT believers to pray them in all their power. This devotional is particularly helpful for men who suffer from my disease, “Mindusconstantwanderitis,” as it provides focus, passion, and communion with God we struggle with here in the land of plenty. This aids greatly in the “prayer” the sheep of the Church of Acts engaged in constantly.
Finally, my latest book The Kingdom Election fulfills the final piece of the Church of Acts puzzle, “The Apostle’s teaching.” I’m not saying it’s Scripture but rather that Jesus said in the time we now live in called The Birth Pangs a very specific gospel would be preached to the whole world, and that is “the Gospel of the Kingdom,” which this work is all about. Coming to forsake the kingdom of man and religion, and understand and fully engage the kingdom of heaven on earth, will be absolutely critical to anyone who wants to maintain peace and find the endurance that will be necessary when the suffering Jesus promises as part of those Birth Pangs comes upon us.
I always wondered why my books never sold very well and attributed it to the fact that they always swam against the tides of popular western Christianity. And while that is partially true, the more palpable reason dawned on me that night! For the past 35 years I have unbeknownst to me been writing for what my spirit has always been most passionate about: The coming authentic communities of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit! I believe I will live to see it, but there’s no guarantee. And when it comes, it will be solely a move of God that any of my works will get distributed because Christian writings will be banned and churches will be forced to sell their souls to the Beast or go underground. I’ve heard it said that the concept of glory is people witnessing something and proclaiming, “Wow, only God could have done that!” May He alone be ultimately glorified for anything I have penned, for I can take credit for none of it.
Benediction
That’s me. I hope this series has led you to ask yourself, “What is my greater identity in the body of Christ?” As you consider, I stand to boldly declare as Jesus did “release of the captives and to set free those who were oppressed” (Luke 4). So, now I stand before the vast majority of you to proclaim freedom from captivity to the misrepresentation of the Great Commission! I set you free from its oppression to a mandate very few were never commanded to fulfill. Fill that space with engaging as shepherd or sheep and seek to establish a house church and other deep, regular meetings of the body where you can “continue steadfastly, with one mind, in the apostle’s doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread with gladness and sincerity of heart and praising God in prayer!” Fulfill your lot in the Great Commission through the visible authentic body of Christ, minister to and provide for the apostles, and leave the rest up to God.
Shalom, my fellow sheep and be content to hear His voice and to know and follow Him. He will give you eternal life and nothing will snatch you out of His hand!