Our God is a God of suddenlies, but believers shouldn’t be surprised by them. Why? Because we who have His Spirit and His Word, have been given insight into the very mind of Christ. Jesus said He called us friends so that we would have firsthand knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom.
“You show that you are my intimate friends when you obey all that I command you. I have never called you ‘servants,’ because a master doesn’t confide in his servants, and servants don’t always understand what the master is doing. But I call you my most intimate and cherished friends, for I reveal to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father.”
John 15:14-15 TPT
In one of my earlier archived messages titled “Called to Belong, God’s VIP” I went into great details about what God’s inner circle looks like. The world is shocked by miracles, as they should be, but those should be normal occurrences for the children of God. Our intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ is loaded with benefits, the greatest benefit in my estimation, is the ability to discern His heart. Did you know that you can? You just read it. He shares His Father’s secrets with us, His friends. Are you a friend of God? I know we belt out Israel Houghton’s “Friend of God“ in church, but are you really? Being His friend prepares us for the suddenlies of life. That’s why an evil report will never steal our faith, joy or worship of our King. He has prepared us.
“Beloved friends, if life gets extremely difficult, with many tests, don’t be bewildered as though something strange were overwhelming you. Instead, continue to rejoice, for you, in a measure, have shared in the sufferings of the Anointed One so that you can share in the revelation of His glory and celebrate with even greater gladness! If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are greatly blessed, because the Spirit of glory and power, who is the Spirit of God, rests upon you.”
1 Peter 4:12-14 TPT
Neither the suffering nor the blessings should be considered strange or out of the ordinary for us. Not if we are friends of God. Suddenlies are for the ill prepared. Just as the military are constantly in training for the unexpected, so should we. We shouldn’t be getting ready, we should always be ready. Ready to give an answer to those who are seeking the Truth. 1 Peter 3:15. Can you imagine war breaking out and our military commanders saying “we don’t have a response” ? Heads would roll! There’d be an outcry from all of us. How is it possible that we were not aware or prepared. September 11th was a surprise but not a suddenly, why? We were warned for years according to intelligence, the subtle but evident signs and warnings were everywhere. What we choose to ignore will become our suddenly.
I’m saddened to say that the Church of Jesus Christ is not prepared for the suddenlies and will be just as surprised as the unsaved when God begins to move on the earth. The Word of God is being replaced by the opinion of the elites. Religion has replaced righteousness, political correctness has replaced conscience, perverseness has replaced holiness, the fear of God has been replaced with the fear of man, and the Truth of God’s Word has been compromised by lies. Ministers are now sanctioning abortion and homosexuality. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been watered down to a tepid feel good message. But there’s a suddenly that Jesus warned us about.
“Concerning that day and exact hour, no one knows when it will arrive, not even the angels of heaven —only the Father knows. For it will be like it was in the days of Noah when the Son of Man appears. Before the flood, people lived their lives eating, drinking, marrying, and having children. They didn’t realize the end was near until Noah entered the ark, and then suddenly, the flood came and took them all away in judgment. It will happen the same way when the Son of Man appears.”
Matthew 24:36-39 TPT
But, we who are friends should not be surprised by the suddenlies. We have been given insight. Here’s what Paul the apostle wrote.
“However, there is a wisdom that we continually speak of when we are among the spiritually mature. It’s wisdom that didn’t originate in this present age, nor did it come from the rulers of this age who are in the process of being dethroned. Instead, we continually speak of this wonderful wisdom that comes from God, hidden before now in a mystery. It is His secret plan, destined before the ages, to bring us into glory. None of the rulers of this present world order understood it, for if they had, they never would have crucified the Lord of shining glory. This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine — these are the many things God has in store for all His lovers. But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit. Yes, He has revealed to us His innermost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things.”
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 TPT
He has revealed His secrets to us who are His friends. Paul continues;
“After all, who can really see into a person’s heart and know his hidden impulses except for that person’s spirit? So it is with God. His thoughts and secrets are only fully understood by His Spirit, the Spirit of God. For we did not receive the spirit of this world system but the Spirit of God, so that we might come to understand and experience all that grace has lavished upon us. And we articulate these realities with the words imparted to us by the Spirit and not with the words taught by human wisdom. We join together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-revealed words. Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit. Those who live in the Spirit are able to carefully evaluate all things, and they are subject to the scrutiny of no one but God. For Who has ever intimately known the mind of the Lord Yahweh well enough to become His counselor? Christ has, and we possess Christ’s perceptions.”
1 Corinthians 2:11-16 TPT
Another translation reads verse 16 this way. “But we (His friends) have the mind of Christ. So we’re not shocked or surprised by world events, or by the testing or trials that come to us. Christians who ask “why me?” lack wisdom and understanding in their walk with Jesus. The real question is why not us? Listen in on a testimony service of Jesus’ friends.
“So they brought the apostles back in and had them severely beaten. They ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus and then let them go. The apostles left there rejoicing, thrilled that God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.” Acts 5:40-41 TPT
Does that sound like the church of Jesus Christ in America today? There’s a few, but not many. Covid has exposed that. Jesus is no longer the Healer and Protector. The government is. The promises of God have been replaced with the promises of the government. The world is being empowered by the weakness of the church. The suddenly of Acts chapter two was the equipping of the church to move in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. Suddenlies today is for the unbelieving and disobedient. Those who continually oppose the teaching of God’s Word. I recently read of atheists who are suing to have “In God we trust” removed from license plates in their state. One individual who called herself a radical atheist, don’t know what that’s supposed to mean since God already called her a fool. Psalm 14:1. But anyway this was the “radical” statement. “I don’t want Jesus riding on my car”- wow. She used His breath to say that. And He mercifully allowed her to. How kind is my God?
There are Christians that are sounding and acting like atheists today. You’re hard pressed to understand what exactly they believe. There is no real difference between them and those who want nothing to do with Jesus. Remember the warnings of Jesus in one of His many teachings?
“Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to Me , ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your Name and cast out demons in Your Name and performed many miracles inYour Name .’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.’”
Matthew 7:21-23 NLT
Well alrighty then! The Lord has spoken. There shouldn’t be a September 11th in the body of Christ. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation, is stacked with warnings, instructions and preparatory tools. We can choose to ignore them at our own peril, or we can be a military that’s always ready and prepared for any and everything. We’re not ignorant of the enemy’s devices 2 Corinthians 2:11b. As I prayed for the families of those that perished in the building collapse in Florida I wondered out loud: How many of those that perished got up that morning praising Jesus for another day, how many even thought this could be their last day? Most people don’t. But tomorrow isn’t promised. Today is the only day we have to prepare for eternity. What will you do with it? SUDDENLY!
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
July 19, 2021