Greetings, Teammate, and Happy New Year!
2020: God is Going to Shock the World
This is my first article of 2020 and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to share with you the things the Lord shares with me. Each time I write, I seek the Lord about what He would like me to say. I felt in my spirit that this piece would require our sober attention as God began to bring some things to my attention concerning 2019 and 2020.
As I surveyed social media during the New Year holiday, I saw the usual prophetic declarations, resolutions, reflections, determinations and the like. As for me, I felt the need to just listen. I know that God is working on some things, but He has not released all the specifics. Nonetheless, one thing God did want me to share is this – He said, “Tell the people, in this next year, do not eclipse Jesus.”
Let’s define an eclipse.
When the Lord says things like this, I do what I always do; study. I am a researcher by nature. I enjoy seeking a thorough understanding of a matter. While I know what an eclipse is, sometimes a fresh definition can illuminate a word even more.
According to Webster, an eclipse is “the total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by another.” More specifically, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves in front of the sun (looking from the earth), making it darker outside.
Recall Genesis 1:14. During the fourth day, the Lord created the greater light (the sun) and the lesser light (the moon) to differentiate between day and night. Pulling this all together, an eclipse is when a lesser light moves in front of the greater light. This, in turn, makes it hard for the inhabitants on earth to receive light that comes from the greater source. We know that Jesus is that greater light (John 8:12).
So, the question is: What have we allowed to obstruct Jesus and His light in our lives?
As the Lord shared this with me, I was immediately moved with conviction. With the return of Jesus closer than we truly know, He warned us not to be distracted.
Luke 21:34 (KJV) “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”
The Lesser Lights in our Lives
Let’s determine whether we have eclipsed Jesus.
The important thing to understand is that the lesser light is not necessarily a bad thing. God created lesser lights and found that they were “good,” according to Genesis 1:14. However, if God would classify them as either greater or lesser, this means that they have a priority in the eyes of God.
What is a priority according to God? Is it that we believe in Jesus and live according to His Word through repentance so that we will be reconciled back to Him for eternity? Yes! However, the greater light is more than the person, Jesus. It’s also about the message of salvation that He carried.
Where is the Light of the Glorious Gospel?
As God unraveled this thing to me, I realized the Gospel of Jesus Christ was diminishing in the shadow of the carnal. The “cares of this life,” (Luke 21:34), representing only one type of lesser light, is becoming the heart of the Gospel. This should not be so.
There is an increasing number of ministers and preachers who are more concerned with entrepreneurship, prosperity, physical health, and other natural matters than the Son and His light of salvation. How do we know this? Because these topics are the objective of their message. Words like “repentance,” “salvation,” “deliverance”, or “eternity” are rarely mentioned. In turn, the souls of men are suffering because people would rather promote carnality than the Word of Truth.
As I mentioned earlier, these lesser lights are not bad if they are prioritized in the way they were created. I am not against anyone looking to advance themselves s long as it does not go against the Word of God. However, if anything obstructs the light of Jesus, it can be detrimental to mankind.
The Dangers of a Constant Eclipse
Think about this scientifically. If the earth were to experience an eclipse for a long period of time, we’d suffer widespread death. While the lesser light (the moon) is a good thing, it’s not vital to life like the sun. Obstructing the light of the sun would cause humans, plants, animals, and life as we know it to be exterminated.
Spiritually speaking, this is what is happening to many. People are dying in their spirits and souls because they are not receiving enough, or any, SON LIGHT.
SO, WHAT IS THE PLAY CALL?
Teammate, Apostle John said it best, and this is the cry of my heart: “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul” (3 John 2:2 ESV). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about soul prosperity, not about the sole prospering of our pockets, businesses, and even natural bodies. Jesus gave his body so that everyone who would accept and follow Him would be reconciled to the Father. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, our lives as humans encompass a large variety of matters that we must consider. Neither the Lord nor I am against accomplishments in this life. But they have their place of importance.
Remember, everything that we build on this side of eternity has an expiration date. Our soul is what is carried to the other side, and its condition will be the determination of where we spend eternity. I pray that you can see where to place the greater investment.
I leave you with Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Don’t let any lesser light obstruct the greatest light, which is our beloved Jesus and the Gospel of Salvation.
I love you all.
