God’s emphasis and exhortation for His people in this decade is that it is the season of Preparation for the Times — the kairos season of global training and preparation for the people of God to be ready for the challenges of the New Era (Rhema Now Issue #2, #6).
God has also spoken about how He wants His people to prepare — it is through coming to His table to feast and dine with Him!
The Revelation 3:20 Moment
On 6 April 2021, Kay-Chong (the director of IHOP – One Thing Ministries) received a prophetic dream. (The full account of the dream can be found here.)
This dream was about the Revelation 3:20 Table that the Lord is inviting His people to in this season. It is the first of a series of three “tables” that the Lord is highlighting as part of the preparation process for the Body of Christ for the decade of the 2020s. (The other two tables are the Jeremiah 23:18 Table and the Psalm 23:5 Table which will be elaborated upon in upcoming issues.)
In this dream, a door was opened and Kay-Chong was taken in his spirit to the Revelation 3:20 Table where he dined with Jesus. This is an invitation for the people of God to zealously open the door of our hearts to Jesus, to take time to feast on His Word, and to intentionally listen and dialogue with Him.
The Lord highlighted and emphasised ten key passages of Scripture for this decade of preparation (these were highlighted in issue #6).
The LORD spoke, “Come, listen carefully to Me, eat what is good, incline your ear to Me and hear! Abide in Me and let these words (the specific passages of Scripture) abide in you!”
He went on and said, “I am giving you the light now as you diligently buy oil. It is what is inside and what is internal that matters. You have to be real, deep and authentic in your walk with Me. I AM increasing the fire and the glory in you IF you would consistently and diligently sit with Me at My Table and feast with Me. I AM giving you gold, godliness and glory.”
This decade of the 2020s is the Revelation 3:20 Moment! It is part of God’s divine plan to prepare His people!
This is the kairos moment to hear, to open the door, and to fellowship and feast with Jesus! If we do, we will arise as the burning and shining lamps!
Jesus Himself Will Prepare Us
When it comes to running a race, being well-meaning or having good intentions will count for nothing if we do not actually begin the training.
This is a holy moment, a divine moment! It is not a time to be busy or be distracted with lots of activities. This is the season for us to wisely prioritise the acquiring of the oil of intimacy with Jesus by taking time to engage Him at the table of communion. It is a time to re-order, re-align and re-prioritise our lives!
In this moment, Jesus Himself comes to impart things to our hearts and to strengthen us. If we do not make time for Him, we will miss out on what He wants to give us! He is standing at the door of our hearts and knocking. If we open the Revelation 3:20 door of our hearts fully to Him, He will open the Revelation 4 door of glory to us!
It is a season where we can expect encounters and visitations with significant impartations. Through these, Jesus Himself is preparing us for the time to come. Being totally prepared will be vital as we head into this New Era of unprecedented global darkness and evil.
He desires to do three things for us and in us:
- To equip our hearts with deep intimacy and union with Him so that we have confidence in the coming storms.
- To empower our spirit with strength to prevail and overcome the challenges that are coming. We will be like gold refined by fire.
- To set us free from the Laodicean spirit — the spirit of lukewarmness that dulls our hearts and kills the vibrancy in our spirit.
Remember what the Lord promised in the prophetic dream? If we would consistently and diligently sit at His Table and feast with Him, He will increase the fire and the glory in us! This is our confidence.
Repent Zealously, Open Constantly, Buy Diligently!
So how should we as His people respond? Where should we direct our focus?
Revelation 3:18–20 is a key for God’s people in this decade!
God is calling us to:
Repent zealously — More than just minor adjustments, Jesus calls us to re-order our schedules to re-prioritise what is truly important so that time is set apart daily to engage the Lord at His Table.
Open constantly — More than just a one-time decision and action, Jesus calls us to open the door of our hearts afresh to Him every day in the process of engaging Him.
Buy diligently — It takes intentional effort and investment of our time to “buy” from Him (Isa. 55:1–3). Jesus calls us to listen intently and dialogue intentionally with Him daily as we feast on His Word. Specifically, the gold, white garments and eye salve refer to John 13–17, Revelation 2–3 and Matthew 5–7 respectively.
If we would take heed and respond, Jesus will come and strengthen us in these areas of our lives:
- Spiritual strength
- Godliness
- History with the Lord
- Confidence in His leadership
- Intimacy with Jesus
- Walking in and being led by the Spirit
- Clarity and conviction in God’s End-Time narrative
- Vibrancy in the spirit and
- Depth and authority in our prayer
We will be established on a strong foundation that will empower us to withstand the coming storms!
Jesus is Knocking on the Doors of our Hearts
We are living in the Laodicean Church age. Many of our hearts have become dull because of the comforts of life and material success. Many of us may be busy with church and ministry activities but lack true spiritual vibrancy in our hearts. Yet we think that we are okay. We do not see our true spiritual condition and we lack true poverty in our spirit (Matt. 5:3).
But Jesus, whose eyes are like flames of fire, is zealous for our fullness. He will not relent or let us go. He is standing at the doors of our heart and knocking!
Just like what Jesus said through the prophetic dream, “…do not focus on the lamp on the outside (our external works and ministry)… It is what is inside and what is internal that matters.”
If we open up the doors of our hearts and dine with Him at His table, He is going to bring the fires of revival and transformation that will shift us into spiritual maturity, and deep intimacy and union with Him. We will become the ones with fiery hearts, vibrant spirits, and strength in our inner man to prevail and overcome.
May we not keep Him outside!