Shaking In California And The Church

Stephen Gray

22 Oct 2003

Recently, I shared a word the Lord had given me with pastors and spiritual leaders in Sacramento, California. The Lord has impressed me to write the word down and release it to the body of Christ. I believe this word is for the whole body of Christ.

Open visions are not new to me, but recently I had a most unusual and unique open vision. Have you ever had the light from a flash photograph remain in your view after the picture has been taken? I experienced this same effect as I saw a vision of a chessboard being shaken superimposed over my vision for over an hour. The words He spoke to underscore the vision are as follows:

"I am coming with a unique visitation of My glory. I am responding to the prayers of My people and it is My desire to bring change and My nature into My church in this hour. It is a time for you to humble yourselves and cooperate with me. I am bringing a shaking beyond anything you can imagine.

What does this shaking mean? I am going to reveal the condition of the hearts of My people. If the church does not respond to My call to intimacy then they will miss the finest hour of the church as My people from the greatest to the least come to know Me and My ways. Some leaders have been and will continue to be removed from their places of ministry because they refuse to allow Me access to My people. I have come to take over the church. If you resist Me then you will be disciplined in a fiery wilderness. This is all up to you as to the road you take and the results you receive."

The word the Lord spoke to me was upheaval, a tremendous change in church leadership. Recently Chuck Pierce prophesied a change of government for California. He said, when you see the government of California change know that God is beginning to change the government of the church. Who would have guessed the historic recall of the governor of that state? Many are thinking this means the church will begin to recognize Apostles and Prophets but I believe it is much more than that.

We will see the average church people rise up quickly and assume roles of leadership in the kingdom of God. How will this happen? A divine embrace is coming as God brings His glory and the fullness of the new covenant to the church. Listen to the words of Jeremiah, 31:31 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD:

I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." God is bringing His people unto Himself in an unprecedented way! Woe to those who stand in His way!

The Lord then told me as I questioned Him about this shaking that He would shake every area of our lives. He would shake the natural realm, physical realm, spiritual realm and even the eternal realm. I asked the Lord what would this look like and the picture I first saw was of the land trembling and I believe God was showing me tremors or earthquakes. These would be mild and seemed more like a kind of wake-up call. Then I saw people weeping over sin and even being shaken about the fate of their souls. A visitation is coming, one we have not seen before nor the church ever experienced. God is taking control of His church and the fear of the Lord is returning to the house of God.

The chessboard speaks about the strategies of man. The grace for doing God's work man's way is over. God is going to shake everything that is not under His direction. You may have heard the saying, "we must do God's work God's way." This will become an important standard because even if we can see the coming emphasis on relational Christianity, we must not implement it in our own efforts. We must not get ahead of God in this process. God through His Holy Spirit must bring forth the new-wineskin. He is pouring out His glory to bring oneness and intimacy so we can grow in our relationship with Him first. This will bring a greater level of intimacy and surrender that will allow God to use us to create the new wine-skins.

These new paradigms will allow us to become relationally based and more intimate which will empower the church. So the Lord must first restore the command to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind." Once we have our priority of love and surrender to the Lord, unity within the people of God will naturally occur. This is a key and is also why the coming outpouring of glory will bring about the new church structure we are increasingly hearing about. It is our unity with the Father that makes this possible. Before we can experience unity with each other, we must become whole and unified with Him through the work of the glory. The unity that results between us and the Father then becomes unity with our brothers that are similarly united with Him. We don't have our own agendas anymore which is what fragments us from each other.

The Lord told me he was releasing an apostolic spirit in Sacramento. When I questioned the Lord about this he told me this is an anointing of the Holy Spirit to bring vision and purpose to the church. This anointing will empower the church to be sent and will result in greater authority. We must complete the Great Commission, but we must first know Him and His ways to complete this task. We will see a new enthusiasm as a release of mission and purpose come back into the church again. We are not operating as a church unless we are advancing the kingdom of God.

He then showed me another vision, one of thousands of potter's wheels all over the world. On every potter's wheel was a unique and exquisite vase. The beauty and uniqueness of each was beyond words. I was overwhelmed at the sheer task of making so many masterpieces. Only a Creator with infinite wisdom would even attempt such a work. The verse I heard as I saw this scene was Acts 15:16-17.

"After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things."

In 1999 I experienced an incredible outpouring of God's glory in East Africa. This outpouring changed my life and level of intimacy with God forever. The main thrust of the change was to bring a greater ability to follow God. The Lord told me during this initial outpouring that He was pouring out His glory to change the church. God is doing this, not man.

I believe the Lord was saying and confirming through this vision and the scripture in Acts that only God can rebuild the tabernacle of David. It will be a temple that worships the Father in spirit and truth. I do not believe the church in its present state fits this image. However, God is pouring out His glory, bringing a revelation of Himself and a level of intimacy that will transform the temples of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6:19, says we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I hope you see an important order communicated in this vision. Many people feel they have the order and pattern and they may be right. Some may even be called to speak and write about this coming wine-skin. However, only an intimate church under the direction of God can build such a unique and exquisite vessel. God says He will do this! He will use yielded vessels, but they must be deeply intimate with Him.

One of the awesome characteristics of the glory of God is for the glory to be consistently present in a church, ministry, or on someone's life, God must be in control of that life or ministry! We will know we are on track as we see His glory abiding consistently on the church. When we see it consistently on His vessels we will know we can trust their leadership because they are following the Master Craftsmen. Only a church in the glory and deeply intimate with God will be able to be yielded and used by the Master to create the coming new wineskins.

What will these new wineskins look like? Just as in the potter's wheel vision, I believe they will be as varied and beautiful and majestic as our glorious Creator can make them. But first will come a shaking, one that is meant to shake us from our idols because God has already told us He will not share His glory with a people who embrace idols. Isaiah 48:11

Blessings.

Stephen Gray

From: IXOY3@aol.com