I believe that we are in a very important spiritual and prophetic season, a 3/11 season. On either Feb 18 or 19th, at one of our noon services here in Selma where we usually have between 25 to 60 people everyday here, I gave a prophetic word that God put in my heart, that 3/11/11 would be a significant day on the earth and that events of 3/11/11 would reflect something going on in the spirit realm that was very big. On 3/9/11 which was 2 days before the earthquake and tsunami on Ash Wednesday, I gave another word that there would be an imminent occurrence of natural disasters, beginning imminently, immediately.
Then of course, on 3/11/11, we had the 2nd greatest tsunami that we’ve had in the last 6 1/2 years, as the result of a 9.0 earthquake in Japan. The no. 9 is the number of the Holy Spirit and this is again the 2nd greatest tsunami/earthquake that is in the top five of the strongest in recorded history.
The one that happened 6 1/2 years ago I believe, was the strongest. Often when Jesus is trying to say something in the Bible, he says “verily, verily” to get our attention. This is important, I believe we are in a “verily, verily” season. That we have now this 2nd tsunami.
7 years ago, many people didn’t know what the word “tsunami” meant, now everyone knows what it means. I believe that what happened on that day, other than the natural disaster, is that we entered into a 3/11 season. There are 2 scriptures reflecting what the season is all about. The first one is Ruth 3:11.
In the book of Ruth, Naomi encourages Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz was, at the end of the barley harvest, to ask him to redeem their lives, to ask him to marry her. So Ruth prepares herself, finds Boaz, he’s asleep. She lays at his feet. When he awakes, he discovers who she is, and she asks him to be her kinsman-redeemer, to redeem her life, to marry her. Not only did she find Boaz not aggravated or irritated, but he thanks her for being there. He said to her in chapter 3, verse 11 not to be afraid, but that anything she asks him to do he would do for her. I believe that’s the season we are in, that God is saying to us “anything you ask me to do, I will do for you”. It’s time for us to believe Him for extravagant and extraordinary things, in signs and wonders. But there are pre-conditions. It’s not just that you can go to the Lord and ask him for anything. The pre-condition in Ruth is that the threshing floor, both there and it’s confirmed in chapter 3, verse 12 of Matthew, is a representation of repentance. The threshing floor is a place of separation, where the grain is separated from the chaff and separated from the dirt. It’s a place of surrender, repentance and brokenness and because Ruth was laying at the feet of Boaz, in a surrendered mode, it was that attitude of hers that rendered his heart vulnerable and that he could say “whatever you ask me to do, I will do for you”.
The pre-condition for us living in this place where we are like under an open spigot of the extravagant favor of God, is that He finds us at the spiritual threshing floor, laying at his feet with renewed brokenness, renewed desperation, renewed surrender and a renewed commitment to live a repentant life. That’s the pre-condition that in that attitude, we have rendered his heart so vulnerable that He says to us, “fear not, whatever you ask me to do, I will do for you”. That’s very exciting for me and it should be very exciting for all of us, that we are in this season where we can ask for extravagant things, if we have repentant surrendered hearts before Him.
God wants us to move in signs and wonders; it’s a testimony of the reality of His risen life. It’s really, and His resurrection being the season we are about to enter into, is the great sign and wonder of who He is and the Lord wants us, personally and in our parishes, to ask Him to move once again in our midst in signs and wonders. And He is prepared to do the extravagant thing if we are prepared to extravagantly lay at His feet with repentant and broken hearts.
Also, the other 3/11 is Matthew 3:11. This is where John talks about the ministry of Jesus as one of baptizing in the Holy Spirit and fire. And I believe that as we find ourselves at the feet of our Boaz, Jesus, our kinsman-redeemer, asking Him for extravagant things, that the first thing we should ask Him for, that is at the top of His list is that we should ask Him for a fresh baptism of the spirit and fire. We have several occasions where it says about Peter, in the book of Acts, where he was filled with the Holy Spirit again and again.
Sometimes we need an oil change and it’s time for an oil change.
The Patriarch talked about this being a time of renewal, asking God for renewal. Well to me, the word “renewal” and the word “revival” are the same thing, at a personal level and a parish level and at the top of our list, as we lay at the feet of Boaz, is that God would do a work in us, that we would know a fresh immersion, a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit, and a fresh fire lit in our hearts for God.
Well, I commit this word to you, I pray this stirs your heart up like it stirred my heart up and it stirred the heart of those who have heard this word, that we would find ourselves rushing to the threshing floor with repentant and surrendered hearts. Asking our Boaz to do the supernatural and miraculous, extravagant things He longs to do in our lives.
