The Gospel's Coming Avalanche: Part 2

The "bad news" being reported in the press is being written by those who do not know the plan of God. Chances are, if you asked one of those reporters about their "faith," they would say, "I'm a Methodist," or "I'm a Catholic," or "I'm an Episcopalian." Their denominations ARE their "faith." That is, their faith is in their church, not in Christ.

Such misplaced "faith" leaves men in fear, because they do not truly believe in the sovereignty of God. They do not really believe that God is in control of history. They view God as standing there, helplessly wringing his hands, hoping that somebody will listen to Him before it's too late. In other words, if their church denomination cannot stop world leaders from destroying the planet, then no one can, and the situation must be hopeless.

But we serve a God who actually is in firm control of the reins of all the governments in the world. World leaders do not know this, but that makes no difference, except that it makes those world leaders susceptible to panic when things get "out of hand."

God has always intervened directly in the affairs of men, but at times He has done so in a more dramatic fashion. At the present time, He seems to be intervening more on the grass roots level, rather than with governmental leaders--at least when it comes to revealing Himself to men.

There is a story told in Joel Rosenberg's Epicenter, pages 218-219, which I think is beneficial for you to hear:

"As one Iranian pastor explained, 'A factory manager recently showed up at a Church. We didn't need to share the gospel with him. We didn't need to persuade him of anything, which was good, in a way, because many in our congregation are terrified to share their faith, But this man already believed because Jesus had spoken to him in a dream. In fact, he said that Jesus had been personally teaching him the way to follow him for two hours a day for an entire year. Now he finally had the courage to identify himself with other believers, and he wanted to worship Christ with us. It was amazing. But things like this are happening all the time in Iran.'

"In my third novel, The Ezekiel Option, I tell the story of two Christians driving through the mountains of Iran with a carful of Bibles. Suddenly their steering wheel jams and they have to slam on the brakes to keep from driving off the side of the road. When they look up, they see an old man knocking on their window asking if they have the books. 'What books?' they ask. 'The books Jesus sent me down here to get,' the old man replies.

"He goes on to explain that Jesus recently came to him in a dream and told him to follow. When he awoke, he found out that everyone in his mountain village had had the same dream. They were all brand-new followers of Jesus, but they did not know what to do next. Then the old man had another dream in which Jesus told him to go down the mountain and wait by the side of the road for someone to bring books that would explain how to be a Christian. He obeyed, and suddenly two men with a carful of Bibles have come to a stop right in front of him.

"This was one of my favorite passages in The Ezekiel Option, but it's not fiction. I didn't make it up. It's true. I got it directly from a dear friend of mine who is the head of a ministry in the Middle East. He personally knows the men involved. I simply asked if I could change their names for use in the novel, and my friend agreed.

"Yet for all the good news that is happening in Iran today, it is just the beginning. The avalanche of God's grace is coming, and it may be coming very soon."

This is the Good News of Jesus Christ, not the Bad News of the world-system. Right now, Iran is being demonized in order to justify at attack against that nation. Do not be caught up in the propaganda and hysteria like the rest of the world that does not know God or His plan. As spiritual warriors, it is our job to change the conditions in the heavens in order that the earth would be blessed. As overcomers it is our job to be a blessing to all families of the earth, including the Iranians.

God is using Iran for a very special purpose in these last days, even as He used Iran (ancient Persia) to overthrow ancient Babylon and set God's people free. But Jesus is also appearing to many ordinary Iranians in dreams, in order to tell them the truth about Himself. I'm very glad that He is doing this, because the Church has not done so well in representing Jesus to them.

But the day is coming when the Gospel of the Kingdom will go out into the whole earth, including Iran. It will be a fresh word of truth and, I believe, a more complete word of truth than the Saul-Church has been presenting to the world in the past. I believe it will be accompanied by signs and wonders, which will prove to all men that this is indeed the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes (Rom. 1:16).