By Johnny Enlow

THE PRESENT DIVISION WILL BE FUTURE MULTIPLICATION

There is an overwhelming trend in the Body of Christ that is bringing great despair on many pastors and leaders. It is also causing great stress on those who are not involved in church leadership. There seems to be a new phenomenon in the last 18 months or so, of long-term, seemingly unbreakable church relationships breaking at an incredible pace. Though divisions have always been a part of the normal church scenario, I believe that a new degree and dimension to these divisions has recently ‘kicked in’. It seems that it is no longer just the perennially discontent going from church to church. Cofounders of churches and movements have found themselves at odds and have even parted ways, often devastating those under them. Tight-knit leadership teams that have been together for years are suddenly dissolving and heading in different directions. A cursory glance can make it look like Satan is having a hay-day.

WHEN CELLS DIVIDE THEY MULTIPLY

The Lord has personally encouraged me about this awful looking trend and dynamic by reminding me of the truth of our natural bodies. It is as our cells DIVIDE that they in fact are MULTIPLYING. What looks in the small picture like division, is actually multiplication when looked at from a big picture perspective. What is positive for the state of the overall body can be a temporary ‘stresser’ for the individual cell. As we see church leaders all across this land parting ways, I believe that we will see a positive end result. The reproductive parts of the Body are being separated so that they may now produce more life in different cells.

SOME OF THE DIVISION IS SATAN

Now of course, in the midst of this process, there are still Jezebel spirits and other plans of the enemy at work. Unfortunately, our need to ascribe motive to ‘moving on’ is what often opens the door to other spirits. What I mean by that, is when we try to figure out why we no longer desire to ministerially associate with our long-term co-laborers, then we can come under the influence of the Accuser. Satan is enjoying this season because he always enjoys disputes, factions, and divisions. He also knows it goes against Jesus’ plea "Father, that they may be one." However, even in the midst of his present enjoyment, Satan is unaware that he is still serving the greater purposes of the King of Kings.

WE ARE BEING REPOSITIONED FOR HARVEST

The coming harvest will be so unimaginably awesome in it’s scope and size that the Lord of the Harvest is now making strategic preparations for it. As the prayers go up to the "Lord of the harvest" (Mt. 9:38), He is preparing additional laborers for this harvest. I sense that the Lord is in the process of positioning second and third tier leaders into first tier positions. He is also realigning leadership relationships so that greater fruit can come from those that already function as first tier leaders (pastors, etc.). Great DIVISIONS are taking place so that great MULTIPLICATION can be the net result.

THE MYSTERY OF LAWLESSNESS IS ALSO PLAYING OUT

2 Thessalonians 2:7 speaks of "the mystery of lawlessness" that will eventually surface the antichrist. Terrorism is a manifestation of lawlessness and is part of the unfolding of this mystery. I believe this mystery will also be further revealed as judgment begins "in the house of the Lord" (1 Peter 4:7). We are presently in a season where the Lord is coming first against lawlessness that exists in the Body of Christ as false freedom. There are many of us who have never had our rebellious DNA removed and during this time the Lord is shaking it out of us. Many pastors and their churches were birthed out of rebellion and I see the Lord is drawing attention to those original foundations and requiring a ‘clean up’ and ‘clean out’ of that rebellion. As many lose a large portion of their congregations, it will become a great time for soul searching on these matters. Be encouraged to know that the Lord is tearing many things down to rebuild them back - minus the lawlessness.

In simplistic terms, it is an unteachable spirit that is the proof of a lawless spirit. If we are a horse who accepts no harness, then we will begin to become ministerially expendable to the Lord. Spiritual ‘lone rangers’ have actually served an emergency purpose in the Body of Christ, but I believe that the Lord will phase them out in favor of those who understand being properly connected to the rest of the Body. It grieves me to know that many greatly gifted and anointed people who passionately love the Lord will be phased out by the Lord if they do not deal with their personal lawlessness. Many of these operate in great power but still carry ‘unhealed wounds’ from previous church skirmishes. Ministers of the Third Day will no longer be allowed to minister while having these wounds but must first have them healed. As a result of the present shaking and tearing down, God is drawing attention to many with these wounds and requiring them to receive healing before they can be installed or reinstalled into their ministerial destinies.

SO WHAT’S HE SHAKING FROM YOU?

Haggai 2 tells us that it is SHAKING that precedes the Glory. This is the good news about what is going on. There is divine purpose to this present shaking and it is that we might be able to carry the glory we are praying for.

It is a good time for personal inventory to consider the thing or things that the Lord might want to shake from us. Whatever our position may be in the church, He is wanting to shake something OUT of us and also shake something INTO us. If we are being moved, we want to be sure that it is a repositioning for greater fruitfulness and not just a separation and removal because of our rebellion. May the Holy Spirit accompany these words and provide you with "Truth in your inner parts."

Johnny Enlow