The Renaissance Harvest
The Renaissance Harvest
Scott MacLeod
It was the summer of 2003. Some international friends and I were having dinner and a wonderful time of fellowship when we ventured into a very fascinating conversation about what we saw God doing in the world at that time. We all knew that it was a divinely led conversation, as we could feel the exhilaration of revelation. As we talked about what the Lord was doing in the nations, the Church, and the media, I was trying to find words to describe and sum up our discussion when I spoke out one small phrase that I will never forget. I said this, "What I believe God is getting ready to do globally is connect the Renaissance with the Harvest."
When I said this, it was like some kind of heavenly electricity hit us, and it felt as if the Lord was saying, "OK, now you’re really on to something!" We were hit with the immeasurable power of these words, "Connect the Renaissance with the Harvest." Not only do I believe that I will never forget these few words, but I also believe I will spend the rest of my days laboring to see the great phenomenon of this divine connection come into fullness in the nations. We are about to ride a wave of God's Spirit like never before! (I will explain later what I mean by the term "wave.")
Now, when I speak of the Renaissance, I speak of a second great Renaissance that is coming. It will be a modern-day renaissance that will dramatically revolutionize the world in a fashion similar to the first Renaissance of the 15th century, which awakened and transformed the world. The word renaissance literally means "the revival or the rebirth of the arts." There is one great difference between this second wave and the first one and it is this, this time around: the rebirth of the arts will result in bringing great honor and glory to God and eternal benefit to mankind.
The first Renaissance was indeed revolutionary in every way. Nearly every part of society was changed on a global scale, and although there was much good that came out of this rebirth (or revival) of arts and of learning, not all of the change that transpired was for good! The enemy got in, as he does so well, and twisted things for his own glory. Although there certainly was an explosion of inspiration and progress in the arts, literature, science and culture, a sad and lasting result of the first Renaissance is that "man" got stuck on himself. Instead of giving praise and glory to God, men became enamored with themselves, much like Lucifer did when he tried to eclipse the glory of God and attempted his failed mutiny in heaven. The celebration of man's intellect, creativity and progress became the central driving force of the movement and the end product was a very devastating thing that has now come to be known as "humanism."
Humanism is a demonically inspired philosophy and way of life that has penetrated virtually every aspect of western society. This exceedingly egocentric perspective that excludes God has literally swept the globe with devastatingly harmful consequences. However, this soon-coming second Renaissance will bring great glory to God, and the extraordinary result will be that multitudes of souls will experience God's goodness and will be swept into the Kingdom of heaven.
Personally, I have already spent the last 10 years of my life working hard to see the Renaissance and the Harvest come together. This has certainly not been an easy task because, for all our effort, although multitudes of spiritual seeds have been sown, there has been small success that we have been able to see with our eyes. However, every time these worlds have connected, the spiritual impact has been absolutely explosive. I have had a glorious and unrelenting vision of what is going to happen when these two worlds converge! When these two complementary realms are rightly linked, their spiritual fruitfulness will be off the scale! The uniting of these realms will produce the catalyst to one of the greatest evangelism movements the world has ever seen, the Harvest! The time is now!
THE HARVEST
When I speak of the Harvest, I speak of the unprecedented Harvest, the salvation of souls which will come at the end of the Age. This great Harvest is now at hand! We can literally just reach out and touch it. There is presently a massive change transpiring in the Christian music and arts communities of the world. There is a new day dawning and we are coming out of the darkness of both our selfish motives and the confusing, awkward, and tragic mixture of worldly ways blended with the ways of the Kingdom.
In far too many cases, the past era was about sales (money), but the future is going to be about souls (the true treasures of heaven). There is a new bottom line being put into place in multitudes of creative people's hearts, and it is this - a burning desire for God's highest glory and an undying compassion for the supreme benefit of mankind, the salvation of souls through Jesus Christ. Many are receiving and cultivating these new motives that now dictate and fuel all that they do.
For decades now, the devil has been working overtime trying to keep these two worlds apart. And, in reality, up until this point, he has done a good job of keeping them quite polarized. He has been trying to keep musicians and artists all wrapped up in themselves - seeking worldly recognition and success and therefore in a perpetual state of confusion. I will now prophetically use a southern American phrase that pronounces exactly what is about to happen, "things are fixin' to change!" Now is the time!
Countless creative people are currently being loosed from the torment of confusion, insecurity and the pride and are being infused with Kingdom vision and values. As they are denying selfishness they are receiving God’s merciful heart for other, especially compassion for the poor and for the lost. They are the Lord’s vanguard and He is personally preparing them for such a time as this. They will help lead the Church out of compromise and complacency and back into the frontlines of the battle for souls… the Harvest!
NOT OF THIS WORLD
It is important that we first realize why the devil has been so effective in keeping the creative people (and the majority of the Western Church, for that matter) so incredibly disconnected from the Harvest. The primary reason is because we, the Church, haven't been ready for the Harvest. We have not had a heart for harvest as we should because we have loved this world. 1 John tells us why a love for the world absolutely obliterates our love and passion for the Lord and therefore the Harvest. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) We have been entangled and encumbered with the world. We have been of the world and not in it when our Father has called us to be in it, but not of it. We as believers are not to be of the world any more than our Lord Jesus was!
The sad reality is that we have not been crucified to the world, but rather we have been enamored and enticed by it. We keep getting lured and dragged away by the deceitfulness of riches, lustful pleasures, and the worries of this world. God has called us to come away from, and to be separate from, Babylon - the world's system and values. There must again be a dramatic distinction between the world and the Church or there will be no significant Kingdom advancement to speak of in our day. Praise God that we are in a day when many are getting set free from the bondages and hindrances of the past and are being healed and positioned for the frontline action of the Kingdom.
Another reason why we have not been effective is because a spiritual Harvest is just like a harvest in the natural in that they are certainly both joyful times of reaping, but they also both require plain old hard work. The Lord sends "workers" into the Harvest, but, as a whole, the rich western Church has been remarkably complacent, self-absorbed, and just plain lazy. Yet the Lord is requiring much from us who have been entrusted with so much. He is rising up a new standard of people who are willing to be living sacrifices. These are a peculiar people who are not afraid to sweat, suffer, and lay down their entire lives for the King and His purposes.
We are now entering into a season where we are going to begin to see this divinely ordained connection of Renaissance and Harvest happen before our eyes - on a global scale! The best news is that we all can be a part of it. God's people are getting ready to get profoundly creative and compassionate at the same time! So what will this look like?
THE RECENT WORSHIP REVOLUTION
Over the past ten years, there has been an extraordinary worldwide worship revolution that has swept the Church. In many cases, it has literally swept the Church clean. And this cleansing was greatly needed. Many of God’s people have been purified, healed and refreshed through this newly vivified worship as they looked to Him.
For many of the Church's young generation, extravagant worship is now a normal part of Christian life. This was not the case just over a decade ago. In many circles, especially in circles of musicians, worship was a secondary form of creativity that was best left for Sunday mornings, and we were happy to leave it there because that meant that we only had to endure it for one or two hours a week. It was amazingly uninspired, uncreative, and just plain boring. My, how things have changed, and are continuing to change! The Church is fast moving from drab conformity and cheap imitations to colorful originality that is fueled by divine revelation and inspiration!
This powerful resurgence of worshipful creativity has caused people to look up again. God is getting our attention and our affection once again. People are experiencing God's presence on an entirely new dimension and the result has been that multitudes have fallen deeply in love with the Lord. We have already tasted some of the first fruits of this blessed revolution, and with the next, larger wave of the Spirit that is coming, there will be unprecedented fruitfulness and unspeakable joy - for there will be Harvest!
THE DEVIL'S WORST NIGHTMARE
The devil is completely terrified of these two worlds coming together, and he well should be, because it is a sign of his end. There is an outbreak of heartfelt adoration and divine creativity that is now rising up among believers around the world. The devil cannot stop this wildfire from burning because it is fueled by the very winds of the Spirit of God Himself. So his next best strategy has been to try to contain it. Where has he tried to contain it? In the church, of course! Most of this worship revolution has, so far, been in-house - in the Church! It has touched us but it has barely touched our culture yet. And that is one place that the devil doesn't want this fire to spread - into society and the massive Harvest fields of the world!
Renaissance and Harvest coming together is like the combining of spiritual nitro and glycerin. It will be extremely explosive! The devil has used his lethal weapons of perverted creativity on us, but this time it will most certainly blow up in his face and many will be set free! He will try his best to stop this great uprising, but he cannot stop it. This is what the Spirit of God is now doing in every nation. I believe that there is a groundswell of true worshipping warriors rising up from every nation.
A TIDAL WAVE OF CREATIVE COMPASSION
There is a new wave coming! This wave represents a mighty move of God's Holy Spirit in the earth. I asked the Lord what this wave looks like and He has shown me that it is actually two great waves that, once combined, will make one enormous one. This one great wave that is the result of these two spiritual tidal waves presently merging together is called Creative Compassion. This speaks of the God’s creativity and the love being released in the earth like never before. Creative Compassion is, in essence, the Renaissance and the Harvest.
Knowing that the waves of God's Spirit come through His people, I asked the Lord who would be the ones who could ride (or be part of) this awesome wave. And then I saw a vision of what looked like many surfers who were boldly running into the waters straight toward this awesome wave. As I looked closer into the vision I noticed something amazing. These surfers were not carrying surfboards; rather, they were carrying crosses!
Then the Lord spoke, "These will be the only ones who will be able to fully ride this coming wave. These are my crucified ones who truly carry their crosses. They are the ones that will have what it will take to ride the wave because they have denied themselves and they daily choose the way of the cross. They have turned from selfish ambition and worldly success and they now live only for me, my purposes and glory. Because they have not tried to save their lives, I have crowned them with the life that is truly life. This life that they have carries my creativity. I am with them and I have anointed them for such a time as this. I have been looking for a humble people who I can exalt and I have found these dead ones, these living sacrifices, who I will lift up for my glory by the great wave of my Spirit that is coming to all nations. The cross that they have chosen has prepared them for Resurrection life - the ride of their lives."
"Many others with selfish motives will try to ride it and will not be able to." The Lord paused for a moment and then He spoke again with the sound of great concern in His voice. "Some who will try to ride this wave will be crushed by it."
OUTREACH WILL BECOME ART-REACH!
There is a new phenomenon that is about to be introduced into the Church and into this world. It is called "Artreach." What exactly is Artreach? Artreach is outreach, or evangelism, that is all wrapped up in divine creativity. In this next era of the Church, Artreach will be the main way that the gospel message will be transmitted to the lost. God is going to use Spirit-inspired creativity and extend it through His people to reach far and wide throughout the entire earth. "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Hab. 2:14)
Before the end of this age, this glorious scripture will literally come true! For generations now, many believers have wondered and tried to imagine just how this phenomenon of the "knowledge of the glory of the LORD" covering the entire earth as comprehensively as water covers the oceans could actually be realized. We live in an extraordinary day when we will see this come to pass. Although they have been greatly contended for by the enemy, technology and all the modern means of producing and projecting media messages and creativity still belong to the Lord. Even though much of the media has clearly been in a vice grip of the enemy, it will ultimately be used for God's highest purposes and glory.
The Lord has convincingly revealed to me, as He has to many others, that creativity is one of the primary vehicles that He is going to use to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth. However, this creativity that I speak of is no ordinary creativity. It is not earthly or carnal. It comes from another place, a divine realm. It comes from a hidden and holy place. I am not talking about the spectacular (which can be produced by natural talent), but about supernatural inspiration that is generated by the Spirit of God. I am talking about nothing less than Spirit-breathed creativity.
THE BATTLE FOR CREATIVITY
Jesus said that "Spirit gives birth to spirit." God is the Supreme Creator. He is the Originator of all things and of all creativity. Satan, however is an expert at stealing and perverting creative gifts that have been given to men and women. This is one of the primary ways he perpetuates his insidious propaganda to the nations. Regardless of how the enemy has used (or is still using) music, television, the Internet, and movies to completely pollute the nations, God desires to use this modern media as a means of saving and sanctifying the nations. Sound and sight mediums have now become the language of our times. The Spirit of the Lord will dispense His glorious message of love and salvation to mankind with anointed creativity. The devil may rant and rave and spew forth all kinds of demonic and sensual creativity into the world, but God, the Creator, will have the final word on all creativity!
We are coming into a time when God’s people are getting ready to become invigorated and accelerated with Divine Creativity! The Holy Spirit is busy working behind the scenes in many creative centers worldwide such as Hollywood, Nashville, Austin, Belo Horzonte, Zurich, Berlin, Vancouver and many more other renaissance centers. God is intent on redeeming the arts for the purpose of reaching hearts. Now, when I say "the arts," I speak of all forms of audio and visual media. The arts and media have become one of the most important battlefields between light and darkness… and the good news is the Light will dispel the darkness!
For decades now, the secular media has looked like a great invincible giant, but we must remember that, although he was surely big and intimidating, the pagan giant Goliath of the Bible was ultimately killed with his own sword. This will be true of the media giants of our day. Satan has relentlessly used the arts and media to ravage and pollute the nations with very innovative ways of exporting immorality and humanism and blatant idolatry.
WORSHIPPING WARRIORS - GOD'S SPECIAL FORCES!
The giant spirits that control the media will soon be challenged and ultimately taken down as God's uncompromising warriors fearlessly rise up and fight for His honor. Many of God’s faithful ones are about to be sent into the arenas of the media to destroy the works of the devil by raising up the standard of Christ in all that they do. The Lord is currently assembling His Special Forces that have been prepared through rigorous training and even through great failure. They are coming forth in humility and brokenness. The giants of our times will again be slain by their own swords that will be wielded with great faith and strength by none other than the Lord’s worshipping warriors. The devil is fast losing grip of his own sword, the secular media and arts!
These divinely inspired ones will do things in unconventional ways because they will be led by the Spirit of God and not by the limitations of temporal success, fame or fortune. They will be a pure and peculiar people who will desire the praise of God and not the praises of men. They will understand that there are few things that stifle and kill divine creativity as quickly as selfish ambition and self-promotion.
To the world they will, perhaps, appear weak, foolish and small, but there is no doubt that they will be exceptionally prophetic and anointed. They will do everything out of their passion for Jesus and compassion for their fellow man. And this prophetic anointing that will rest upon their lives will be powerful in crushing demonic yokes and strongholds and setting captives free.
These "dead ones" will be people who are truly convinced of the fact that, apart from the Lord, they can do nothing. They will have an "unselfish ambition" that boldly and joyfully propels them into their cultures. They will have a passion to bring the brightest and purest light to the very darkest places. Because they will have pure motives, the Lord will be free to entrust them with His pure creativity.
They will not be distracted, limited or prohibited by the ways of the world because they will not be of this world. They will have come from a transcend place, a hidden and holy place with God. They will be given divine weapons that will demolish strongholds, even over entire nations. They will be God specially equipped apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors who just happen to play an instrument, or sing, or dance, or act, or write creatively etc. They will be God’s Renaissance Harvesters… God’s last day Special Forces! They will bring great glory to God, inflict great damage upon the dark Kingdom, and set multitudes free!
Like David’s mighty men coming from the caves, the Renaissance Harvesters are emerging now! They know who they are, they know their mission, but most of all they know and love their King!
Scott MacLeod
Scott MacLeod
It was the summer of 2003. Some international friends and I were having dinner and a wonderful time of fellowship when we ventured into a very fascinating conversation about what we saw God doing in the world at that time. We all knew that it was a divinely led conversation, as we could feel the exhilaration of revelation. As we talked about what the Lord was doing in the nations, the Church, and the media, I was trying to find words to describe and sum up our discussion when I spoke out one small phrase that I will never forget. I said this, "What I believe God is getting ready to do globally is connect the Renaissance with the Harvest."
When I said this, it was like some kind of heavenly electricity hit us, and it felt as if the Lord was saying, "OK, now you’re really on to something!" We were hit with the immeasurable power of these words, "Connect the Renaissance with the Harvest." Not only do I believe that I will never forget these few words, but I also believe I will spend the rest of my days laboring to see the great phenomenon of this divine connection come into fullness in the nations. We are about to ride a wave of God's Spirit like never before! (I will explain later what I mean by the term "wave.")
Now, when I speak of the Renaissance, I speak of a second great Renaissance that is coming. It will be a modern-day renaissance that will dramatically revolutionize the world in a fashion similar to the first Renaissance of the 15th century, which awakened and transformed the world. The word renaissance literally means "the revival or the rebirth of the arts." There is one great difference between this second wave and the first one and it is this, this time around: the rebirth of the arts will result in bringing great honor and glory to God and eternal benefit to mankind.
The first Renaissance was indeed revolutionary in every way. Nearly every part of society was changed on a global scale, and although there was much good that came out of this rebirth (or revival) of arts and of learning, not all of the change that transpired was for good! The enemy got in, as he does so well, and twisted things for his own glory. Although there certainly was an explosion of inspiration and progress in the arts, literature, science and culture, a sad and lasting result of the first Renaissance is that "man" got stuck on himself. Instead of giving praise and glory to God, men became enamored with themselves, much like Lucifer did when he tried to eclipse the glory of God and attempted his failed mutiny in heaven. The celebration of man's intellect, creativity and progress became the central driving force of the movement and the end product was a very devastating thing that has now come to be known as "humanism."
Humanism is a demonically inspired philosophy and way of life that has penetrated virtually every aspect of western society. This exceedingly egocentric perspective that excludes God has literally swept the globe with devastatingly harmful consequences. However, this soon-coming second Renaissance will bring great glory to God, and the extraordinary result will be that multitudes of souls will experience God's goodness and will be swept into the Kingdom of heaven.
Personally, I have already spent the last 10 years of my life working hard to see the Renaissance and the Harvest come together. This has certainly not been an easy task because, for all our effort, although multitudes of spiritual seeds have been sown, there has been small success that we have been able to see with our eyes. However, every time these worlds have connected, the spiritual impact has been absolutely explosive. I have had a glorious and unrelenting vision of what is going to happen when these two worlds converge! When these two complementary realms are rightly linked, their spiritual fruitfulness will be off the scale! The uniting of these realms will produce the catalyst to one of the greatest evangelism movements the world has ever seen, the Harvest! The time is now!
THE HARVEST
When I speak of the Harvest, I speak of the unprecedented Harvest, the salvation of souls which will come at the end of the Age. This great Harvest is now at hand! We can literally just reach out and touch it. There is presently a massive change transpiring in the Christian music and arts communities of the world. There is a new day dawning and we are coming out of the darkness of both our selfish motives and the confusing, awkward, and tragic mixture of worldly ways blended with the ways of the Kingdom.
In far too many cases, the past era was about sales (money), but the future is going to be about souls (the true treasures of heaven). There is a new bottom line being put into place in multitudes of creative people's hearts, and it is this - a burning desire for God's highest glory and an undying compassion for the supreme benefit of mankind, the salvation of souls through Jesus Christ. Many are receiving and cultivating these new motives that now dictate and fuel all that they do.
For decades now, the devil has been working overtime trying to keep these two worlds apart. And, in reality, up until this point, he has done a good job of keeping them quite polarized. He has been trying to keep musicians and artists all wrapped up in themselves - seeking worldly recognition and success and therefore in a perpetual state of confusion. I will now prophetically use a southern American phrase that pronounces exactly what is about to happen, "things are fixin' to change!" Now is the time!
Countless creative people are currently being loosed from the torment of confusion, insecurity and the pride and are being infused with Kingdom vision and values. As they are denying selfishness they are receiving God’s merciful heart for other, especially compassion for the poor and for the lost. They are the Lord’s vanguard and He is personally preparing them for such a time as this. They will help lead the Church out of compromise and complacency and back into the frontlines of the battle for souls… the Harvest!
NOT OF THIS WORLD
It is important that we first realize why the devil has been so effective in keeping the creative people (and the majority of the Western Church, for that matter) so incredibly disconnected from the Harvest. The primary reason is because we, the Church, haven't been ready for the Harvest. We have not had a heart for harvest as we should because we have loved this world. 1 John tells us why a love for the world absolutely obliterates our love and passion for the Lord and therefore the Harvest. "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) We have been entangled and encumbered with the world. We have been of the world and not in it when our Father has called us to be in it, but not of it. We as believers are not to be of the world any more than our Lord Jesus was!
The sad reality is that we have not been crucified to the world, but rather we have been enamored and enticed by it. We keep getting lured and dragged away by the deceitfulness of riches, lustful pleasures, and the worries of this world. God has called us to come away from, and to be separate from, Babylon - the world's system and values. There must again be a dramatic distinction between the world and the Church or there will be no significant Kingdom advancement to speak of in our day. Praise God that we are in a day when many are getting set free from the bondages and hindrances of the past and are being healed and positioned for the frontline action of the Kingdom.
Another reason why we have not been effective is because a spiritual Harvest is just like a harvest in the natural in that they are certainly both joyful times of reaping, but they also both require plain old hard work. The Lord sends "workers" into the Harvest, but, as a whole, the rich western Church has been remarkably complacent, self-absorbed, and just plain lazy. Yet the Lord is requiring much from us who have been entrusted with so much. He is rising up a new standard of people who are willing to be living sacrifices. These are a peculiar people who are not afraid to sweat, suffer, and lay down their entire lives for the King and His purposes.
We are now entering into a season where we are going to begin to see this divinely ordained connection of Renaissance and Harvest happen before our eyes - on a global scale! The best news is that we all can be a part of it. God's people are getting ready to get profoundly creative and compassionate at the same time! So what will this look like?
THE RECENT WORSHIP REVOLUTION
Over the past ten years, there has been an extraordinary worldwide worship revolution that has swept the Church. In many cases, it has literally swept the Church clean. And this cleansing was greatly needed. Many of God’s people have been purified, healed and refreshed through this newly vivified worship as they looked to Him.
For many of the Church's young generation, extravagant worship is now a normal part of Christian life. This was not the case just over a decade ago. In many circles, especially in circles of musicians, worship was a secondary form of creativity that was best left for Sunday mornings, and we were happy to leave it there because that meant that we only had to endure it for one or two hours a week. It was amazingly uninspired, uncreative, and just plain boring. My, how things have changed, and are continuing to change! The Church is fast moving from drab conformity and cheap imitations to colorful originality that is fueled by divine revelation and inspiration!
This powerful resurgence of worshipful creativity has caused people to look up again. God is getting our attention and our affection once again. People are experiencing God's presence on an entirely new dimension and the result has been that multitudes have fallen deeply in love with the Lord. We have already tasted some of the first fruits of this blessed revolution, and with the next, larger wave of the Spirit that is coming, there will be unprecedented fruitfulness and unspeakable joy - for there will be Harvest!
THE DEVIL'S WORST NIGHTMARE
The devil is completely terrified of these two worlds coming together, and he well should be, because it is a sign of his end. There is an outbreak of heartfelt adoration and divine creativity that is now rising up among believers around the world. The devil cannot stop this wildfire from burning because it is fueled by the very winds of the Spirit of God Himself. So his next best strategy has been to try to contain it. Where has he tried to contain it? In the church, of course! Most of this worship revolution has, so far, been in-house - in the Church! It has touched us but it has barely touched our culture yet. And that is one place that the devil doesn't want this fire to spread - into society and the massive Harvest fields of the world!
Renaissance and Harvest coming together is like the combining of spiritual nitro and glycerin. It will be extremely explosive! The devil has used his lethal weapons of perverted creativity on us, but this time it will most certainly blow up in his face and many will be set free! He will try his best to stop this great uprising, but he cannot stop it. This is what the Spirit of God is now doing in every nation. I believe that there is a groundswell of true worshipping warriors rising up from every nation.
A TIDAL WAVE OF CREATIVE COMPASSION
There is a new wave coming! This wave represents a mighty move of God's Holy Spirit in the earth. I asked the Lord what this wave looks like and He has shown me that it is actually two great waves that, once combined, will make one enormous one. This one great wave that is the result of these two spiritual tidal waves presently merging together is called Creative Compassion. This speaks of the God’s creativity and the love being released in the earth like never before. Creative Compassion is, in essence, the Renaissance and the Harvest.
Knowing that the waves of God's Spirit come through His people, I asked the Lord who would be the ones who could ride (or be part of) this awesome wave. And then I saw a vision of what looked like many surfers who were boldly running into the waters straight toward this awesome wave. As I looked closer into the vision I noticed something amazing. These surfers were not carrying surfboards; rather, they were carrying crosses!
Then the Lord spoke, "These will be the only ones who will be able to fully ride this coming wave. These are my crucified ones who truly carry their crosses. They are the ones that will have what it will take to ride the wave because they have denied themselves and they daily choose the way of the cross. They have turned from selfish ambition and worldly success and they now live only for me, my purposes and glory. Because they have not tried to save their lives, I have crowned them with the life that is truly life. This life that they have carries my creativity. I am with them and I have anointed them for such a time as this. I have been looking for a humble people who I can exalt and I have found these dead ones, these living sacrifices, who I will lift up for my glory by the great wave of my Spirit that is coming to all nations. The cross that they have chosen has prepared them for Resurrection life - the ride of their lives."
"Many others with selfish motives will try to ride it and will not be able to." The Lord paused for a moment and then He spoke again with the sound of great concern in His voice. "Some who will try to ride this wave will be crushed by it."
OUTREACH WILL BECOME ART-REACH!
There is a new phenomenon that is about to be introduced into the Church and into this world. It is called "Artreach." What exactly is Artreach? Artreach is outreach, or evangelism, that is all wrapped up in divine creativity. In this next era of the Church, Artreach will be the main way that the gospel message will be transmitted to the lost. God is going to use Spirit-inspired creativity and extend it through His people to reach far and wide throughout the entire earth. "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Hab. 2:14)
Before the end of this age, this glorious scripture will literally come true! For generations now, many believers have wondered and tried to imagine just how this phenomenon of the "knowledge of the glory of the LORD" covering the entire earth as comprehensively as water covers the oceans could actually be realized. We live in an extraordinary day when we will see this come to pass. Although they have been greatly contended for by the enemy, technology and all the modern means of producing and projecting media messages and creativity still belong to the Lord. Even though much of the media has clearly been in a vice grip of the enemy, it will ultimately be used for God's highest purposes and glory.
The Lord has convincingly revealed to me, as He has to many others, that creativity is one of the primary vehicles that He is going to use to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth. However, this creativity that I speak of is no ordinary creativity. It is not earthly or carnal. It comes from another place, a divine realm. It comes from a hidden and holy place. I am not talking about the spectacular (which can be produced by natural talent), but about supernatural inspiration that is generated by the Spirit of God. I am talking about nothing less than Spirit-breathed creativity.
THE BATTLE FOR CREATIVITY
Jesus said that "Spirit gives birth to spirit." God is the Supreme Creator. He is the Originator of all things and of all creativity. Satan, however is an expert at stealing and perverting creative gifts that have been given to men and women. This is one of the primary ways he perpetuates his insidious propaganda to the nations. Regardless of how the enemy has used (or is still using) music, television, the Internet, and movies to completely pollute the nations, God desires to use this modern media as a means of saving and sanctifying the nations. Sound and sight mediums have now become the language of our times. The Spirit of the Lord will dispense His glorious message of love and salvation to mankind with anointed creativity. The devil may rant and rave and spew forth all kinds of demonic and sensual creativity into the world, but God, the Creator, will have the final word on all creativity!
We are coming into a time when God’s people are getting ready to become invigorated and accelerated with Divine Creativity! The Holy Spirit is busy working behind the scenes in many creative centers worldwide such as Hollywood, Nashville, Austin, Belo Horzonte, Zurich, Berlin, Vancouver and many more other renaissance centers. God is intent on redeeming the arts for the purpose of reaching hearts. Now, when I say "the arts," I speak of all forms of audio and visual media. The arts and media have become one of the most important battlefields between light and darkness… and the good news is the Light will dispel the darkness!
For decades now, the secular media has looked like a great invincible giant, but we must remember that, although he was surely big and intimidating, the pagan giant Goliath of the Bible was ultimately killed with his own sword. This will be true of the media giants of our day. Satan has relentlessly used the arts and media to ravage and pollute the nations with very innovative ways of exporting immorality and humanism and blatant idolatry.
WORSHIPPING WARRIORS - GOD'S SPECIAL FORCES!
The giant spirits that control the media will soon be challenged and ultimately taken down as God's uncompromising warriors fearlessly rise up and fight for His honor. Many of God’s faithful ones are about to be sent into the arenas of the media to destroy the works of the devil by raising up the standard of Christ in all that they do. The Lord is currently assembling His Special Forces that have been prepared through rigorous training and even through great failure. They are coming forth in humility and brokenness. The giants of our times will again be slain by their own swords that will be wielded with great faith and strength by none other than the Lord’s worshipping warriors. The devil is fast losing grip of his own sword, the secular media and arts!
These divinely inspired ones will do things in unconventional ways because they will be led by the Spirit of God and not by the limitations of temporal success, fame or fortune. They will be a pure and peculiar people who will desire the praise of God and not the praises of men. They will understand that there are few things that stifle and kill divine creativity as quickly as selfish ambition and self-promotion.
To the world they will, perhaps, appear weak, foolish and small, but there is no doubt that they will be exceptionally prophetic and anointed. They will do everything out of their passion for Jesus and compassion for their fellow man. And this prophetic anointing that will rest upon their lives will be powerful in crushing demonic yokes and strongholds and setting captives free.
These "dead ones" will be people who are truly convinced of the fact that, apart from the Lord, they can do nothing. They will have an "unselfish ambition" that boldly and joyfully propels them into their cultures. They will have a passion to bring the brightest and purest light to the very darkest places. Because they will have pure motives, the Lord will be free to entrust them with His pure creativity.
They will not be distracted, limited or prohibited by the ways of the world because they will not be of this world. They will have come from a transcend place, a hidden and holy place with God. They will be given divine weapons that will demolish strongholds, even over entire nations. They will be God specially equipped apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors who just happen to play an instrument, or sing, or dance, or act, or write creatively etc. They will be God’s Renaissance Harvesters… God’s last day Special Forces! They will bring great glory to God, inflict great damage upon the dark Kingdom, and set multitudes free!
Like David’s mighty men coming from the caves, the Renaissance Harvesters are emerging now! They know who they are, they know their mission, but most of all they know and love their King!
Scott MacLeod
posted by KFF at 8:43 PM
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