The Winepress Season By Russell Durose
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By Russell Durose
The
Winepress Season
By Russell Durose
Judges
6:1-24 is what the Lord gave me this passage a while ago whilst praying. The
Lord made me see some things that are commonplace today, and caused me to have
answers. These answers will help the Body of Christ to understand the Ways of
God in a time of enemy domination. This message is prophetic for our day, and I
would like us to take this as a prayer before the Lord, that He would manifest
it for us!!!
1. Impoverishment is
synomous with God's Call.
We look at Midian, what they did. They drove
the nation to complete impoverishment. All prosperity was robbed, all sowing,
growing was burned, and the people locked into their homes, into hiding. It
seems that intimidation came into the nation. We see this today. We see extreme
poverty has come into God's servants. We must not just look at the situation
from a natural point of view, but see it from a spiritual one. God is calling.
God is speaking. What is He saying? Come back to me! Return with all your
heart! I am here for you. God sent a prophet in the beginning of the chapter,
but the people did not heed the warning. God is sending out prophets today. Are
we listening? It is certain that Israel did not listen. Hence, the
impoverishment got worse. So much so, any harvest taken had to be done in
secret! Does that seem familiar to you? How many of us have to keep good news
to ourselves, because of the jealousy and envy that the enemy sows into the
hearts of brothers and sisters?
2. The Winepress is God's Meeting Place.
Gideon
was treading grain in the winepress! Contradiction! He was hidden, and his
harvest also. If we could think for a moment, that the grain/seed is the Word
of God, we could say that this circumstance is symbolic. Gideon had no wine to
tread. Wine being joy and revival. Just grain, I.e Word of God. Many of our
congregations are like that winepress, being made in this season to tread
grain, not wine.
Where is the gifts these
days?
Does
it seem strange to you that the gift of healing in many parts is scare, and at
the same time the saints are sick? It seems we are living a contradiction.
Gideon was too. The angel proclaimed the Call of God over Gideon. But Gideon
was in such a place of disallusionment that he had difficulty in believing what
he was hearing. How could it be that God was with us? When all this is
happening to us? We are driven to poverty! We have to hide!!! God chose the
least member from the least tribe. God is not calling, and has never called the
great. In fact the leaders of that day failed God, so He had to delve into the
least. Does that also sound familiar? Today's leaders have also failed.
3. God touches the
Offering God is going to impart the fear into Gideon through fire.
The
offering that Gideon prepared for the angel, was touched and consumed by fire.
Only then did Gideon take consciousness that God had met him. God is maybe
meeting with you today. Maybe you're not recognizing it. But He is about to be
recognized through Fire! Lives offered are consumed by this "fire"
which comes from the Holy Spirit. When this happens, only then we are awakened
from our slumber, embroiled and entrapped into this natural realm. But here
eternity meets time in our hearts as it did Gideon. The winepress season, is
one of calling. If we look around us, we see God call me and you to make the
difference. We are doing what we are not destined to do, treading grain in a
winepress, because the spiritual climate is away from God and the enemy
dominates.
God
calls you. He says: You mighty warrior, God calls you, He is with you. He calls
you to turn His People back to Him, and defeat the enemy! It's time to come out
from hiding. It's time to sow and reap in the open.
Shalom!
By
Russell A. Durose
radurose@aol.com