THE LORD'S PROPHETIC WORD FOR THE INTERNATIONAL WINE AND OIL MINISTRY
The Holy Spirit has spoken to me about what He is thinking of doing with us and for us, as a spiritual family, in this very decisive and unusual year, 2021.
When I was recently in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico, precisely on my birthday in 2020, God gave me this verse: “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you. Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor.6:2).
He spoke to me about the importance of knowing his own approach to this time, his heavenly stance and his divine reading of world events, which is the one we have to accept and embrace, not the one our eyes see or our ears hear. Because what God is up to is tremendous! I believe for our year (the second of the current global pandemic) what he said to the Apostle Paul, that "as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor.2:9).
I pray for you that this word may fill you with hope, and strengthen your spirit as never before; and I make the prayer that Elisha made on behalf of his servant, when he said: "O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:17).
¡Acceptable time! ¡Favourable time!
This is what God has told me for 2021.
1. TIME FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF PROMISES AND TRANSCENDENT EVENTS
Things expected for many years will finally come to a tangible manifestation for us in 2021. Expect promises to be fulfilled, and prepare to see how the Father chose to wait the most opposite time to glorify himself in you with greater glory.
For many it will be the time that happens to them as it did to Sara, that “The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised.” (Gen.21:1), “For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son” (Rom.9:9).
It's time to trust and believe, "It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[a] that God would keep his promise." (Heb.11:11).
Let us not miss any of Heaven's "good gifts" because of doubts, as happened to Zechariah, who was told: “But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” (Luke 1:20).
On the other hand, to many of us (judging by the circumstances) it would not seem that the time when Jesus came to be born was the best, or the most strategic, time for a King of Kings to be born with such a transcendent mission for the salvation of the world. However, in God's mind and clock, it was the most appropriate time, within his spiritual and eternal plans. “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.” (Gal.4:4).
Likewise today, although to many it does not seem that the conditions at this moment in history are the most favorable for the fulfillment of God's promises and the obtaining of supernatural miracles, the Father is preparing to surprise us in an unusual way.
Get ready to receive! What you most desire is about to happen at the moment you least expect. In a difficult time, God makes things easy; and if it gets more difficult, the God of the impossible will make it possible.
2. PERFECT TIME TO CELEBRATE GETTING HERE WITH JOY
“Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” (1 Sam.7:12).
It has been 28 years of ministry, since the founding of our first church in 1993, and it is such an impressive achievement that we have arrived with this spiritual health and ministerial maturity that we enjoy. To God be the glory. It's time for praise. “And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Rev.5:8,9).
This Ministry is a sign that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which we are proudly a part, is always moving forward in everything, just as we are doing again in this very challenging time in history, because of the promise of our Lord, who decreed: " Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." (Matt.16:18).
Ministry! God reminds you: "Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills." (Deut. 8:2,7).
3. TIME TO BELIEVE "BIG" AND EXTEND THE MINISTRY
Rather than shrink or hide thinking about the discomforts, limitations and dominant risks of this time, God demands that we see with a promising vision and an aggressive attitude the ever closer approach to the fulfillment of the vision He has given us: The 1000 churches we will achieve by evangelizing, building, equipping and sending.
For God and for us, this is not an adverse year; it is a benign year. The lepers who found that spoil in times of famine and hid it, “Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.” " (2 Kings 7:9).
It is time to dream big dreams and develop creative and ambitious plans to reach many, and increase the work that the Lord has placed in the hands of each one of us, you and me. “For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”” (Rom.9:17). How much firmer for the righteous is the command given to Paul!: “Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.” (Acts.26:16).
The national and international mission still stands under our responsibility, and it must be the holy passion that consumes our mind and heart, each seeing how they do their part. As a ministry, we have been given the word that the Lamb “…have caused us to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:10). The Father said to the Son (and therefore to us, his Body): “Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.” (Psa.2:8).
Let's work. Minister, speak up! "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching." (2 Tim.4:1,2); "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" (Est.4:14).
This year it is a "flag of departure", "a permission" and an authorization from God to "learn and undertake" how to grow the local church. We can accomplish this as the Church of Acts, when it was given its time on God's Calendar, "They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. All the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46,47).
4. TIME FOR "SHARPENING THE AXE"
This is a year to be filled with God, in every sense and aspect. The Lord is calling us back to the prayer room, to the reading and study of his Word, to personal consecration, to communion with God and to the search for his presence. In this way we will recover his powerful flow and his blessing.
Reasons for this?
First, because the Father ardently desires that return from his children: "Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him." (Jam 4:5). This is a time of repentance, the perfect time for a reunion that will channel great things from now on in our direction. "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.” (Acts 3:19).
Secondly, also, because the challenges that will come later will require it. "Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man." (Lc.21:34-36).
Third, ministerially speaking, many of us had stopped being more successful in God's work, because we were already working with worn-out tools, “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.” (Eccl.10:10).
Perhaps up to this point we put a lot of "flesh" and a lot of "me" into what we were doing for the Kingdom, a lot of "arrogance" based on our experience, on our intelligence or on what we thought was earned and deserved. However, God tells us now: -Search for me; better sharpen your axe, and when you leave this season you will leave with a new and fresh anointing, which you have never known.- "This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel (and the Wine and Oil Ministry!): It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies." (Zech.4:6).
5. BENIGN AND FAVORABLE TIME FOR SOWING AND GIVING
In God's logic, the most adverse times for the people of the world are the best times to work for the cause of the Gospel. His heavenly laws defy natural laws, and his miracles occur over and above all statistics and predictions. According to the annals of history and biblical principles, God is not limited by time or conditions; rather, He moves in spite of them and above them. “¿You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe[a] for harvest.” (John 4:35).
So, while this may not seem like the best time to invest in the Kingdom of God, it is, according to the mind of God. "Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest” (Eccl.11:1,2,4).
These are the times of Isaac (for the Isaacs of today), who obeyed the Lord, sowed where He told him, and grew exceedingly. “A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”" (Gen.26:1-3; 12, 13, 16).
6. FAVORABLE TIME TO CHECK, RE-CALCULATE, REPLENISH AND REFOCUS
2021 is a time of much meditation, reflection, learning and guidance from the Holy Spirit, a forced truce, but with purpose (although some of us have felt detained and unproductive by the situations we are living).
The psalmist considered "the pauses" God was taking him to as a way of growing in grace: “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” (Psal.23:2,3).
Let's think: What have we done right? What have we done wrong? What things could we improve? In what areas are we skilled, and in which are we weak? In what areas is the Holy Spirit redeeming me?
Let’s pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psal.139:23,24). "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psal.51:10,11).
Let's ask ourselves: How much time do I have left, and how should I use it? How can I make the most of my days, and how can I prepare for the future? “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psal.90:12).
The focus of doubt and uncertainty that defines people without God is not proper to the children of light, who know that every crisis is a growth program given by the Father, who said to Israel: “I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face.” (Ez.20:35). “But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there” (Hos.2:14).
2020, in many ways, revealed the best and the worst in people; but 2021 will be about defining and refining our priorities, motives and desires, in preparation for the rest of our lives. So work on your heart! “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies." (Hag.1:5,6, 8, 14).
Jesus said: " Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (Matt.6:33); and Saint Paul said: "For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better." (Phil.1:21).
This is the perfect time for being filled of the Holy Spirit. "Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit." (Eph.5:18).
7. TIME TO BEAR FRUIT
There is a promise in the Bible where Jesus says: “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” (John.15:2). The Wine and Oil Ministry has been pruned; the tree has been shaken in many ways, and this Ministry has been cleansed. So now is the time for our fruit to come in multiplied, for the glory of God, because “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John.15:8).
Enjoy yourself! God says this is the year, "For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors." (Is.63:4).
Listen: After having experienced your pruning and your shaking, wait for your fruit this 2021! God “never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” (Acts.14:17).
A "KAIROS" OF GOD
In the original Greek of the Bible, there is a difference between two types of time. Jesús “replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates (kronos, that is 'time', 'date') and times (kairos, that is 'times, 'moments' , 'occasions'), and they are not for you to know.” (Acts.1:7).
The kronos can be quantified in years, days and hours; but on the other hand the kairos represents more of a season to do a work well. And there are several differences between the two words:
KRONOS versus KAIROS
Accurate Measurement versus Appropriate Measurement
Measurement determined versus Measurement not determined
The scheduled date versus the expected decisive time
The exact time versus the right time
Expected time versus Opportune time
Time itself versus things and events of time
The time we are given versus what time brings
A limited time versus a limited period of time
The times themselves versus the state of the times
Defined Measurement versus Definable Measurement
Mark the quantity versus Mark the quality
2021 is a kairos of God for us, a time of truth. The Ministry today is living in a kairos of God. We are not only in God's perfect will, but also in His favorable time. Glory to God!
LET'S GO FOR MORE
I must talk about how difficult it was to get this prophetic expression. As rarely happens in my search for God's voice at the end of each year, this time I have felt attacks, interruptions and threats to develop it. This is just another confirmation that God put it in my life, as it is His direction for us. This is His word! This is how the things of Heaven will be given in our favor!
Expect a glorious year!
May this word be of edification and help to understand and discern “the signs of the times”, “this our day”, so that we do not miss out on the things that the Lord has for us, as happened to the Israel of Jesus' generation, that " they did not know the time of their visitation" (Mark.1:15; 16:1-13; Luke.19:42-44).
“So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”” (Luke.21:28). “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Rom.13:11).
Fruitful times of refreshment. Favourable conditions. Favourable time.
Sincerely,
Ariel Romero López
General Pastor
Wine and Oil Ministry International
(c) 2020
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