IT'S TIME TO COME OUT OF THE CAVE

For some time I have been asking God why I have had difficulty hearing His voice. He didn't say much for some time but recently He said, "You've been resting in the cave. You don't need to hear my voice when you're hibernating." Today the Lord said, "Winter is about over and it's time to come out of the cave."

The Lord said, "There are a lot of believers who have been hiding in the cave. They have been disappointed and are disillusioned with church so they just have fellowship with me or so they think. You can't have fellowship with Me and ignore my body. Some of the warriors are struggling because of the intensity and duration of the battle. Some just want to hide and some want to give up. Some are struggling with pride because they think that they are the only ones going on with God. Some are discouraged and have fallen into self-pity. Some have lost sight of my Love and are fearful and have little or no faith (1 John 4:18-19). Fear is the enemy of faith.

LOSERS GATHERED IN A CAVE

A group of what most people would call losers gathered in a cave in 1 Samuel 22:1-2 They were in distress, in debt, and discontented. It says that David became their captain and they became known as David's mighty men.

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)."

God is using humble, broken men/women today. God says, "I am interested in just one thing right now, My Church. I want those who are distressed, in debt and discontented out of the cave and back in the church."

Too many people have given up on the church and God is about to move in the church in an awesome way. The Lord needs the wounded prophets back in the church, back in My Body because that's where they will get healed. The church needs healed prophets. They are the eyes of the body. The Lord took me to the following scripture and then gave me the understanding.

STAND ON THE MOUNTAIN BEFORE THE LORD

"Then He said, 'Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah? "(1 Kings 19: 11-13).

The back drop to 1 Kings 19 is: Elijah had just had the encounter at Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal and as a result Jezebel had threatened to kill him and he ran for his life to Horeb, a mountain of God and he's Hiding in a cave. Verse 4 says that he was so fearful and depressed that he wanted to die. He falls asleep under a tree and in verses 5 and 7 an angel touched Elijah twice, instructed him to go to Horeb and prepared food to strengthen him for his forty day journey.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

Elijah reaches the mountain of God and goes into a cave to spend the night and the word of the LORD came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah? Think of it, God told Elijah to do all of the mighty miracles. Elijah said, "It's not going to rain again except at my word" and it didn't rain for over three years. He challenged the 450 prophets of Baal and called down fire from heaven. Then he executed them and prophesied rain. Now he's hiding in a cave because one woman threatened to get him. God says, What are you doing here? What are you afraid of? I am with you, why did you run? What happened? So often believers experience great victories because we have decided to trust God. Then some silly situation pops up and threatens us and we freak out and we run. Elijah tries to sell God a pitiful cover up in an effort to justify his flight from Jezebel. So God speaks to him and tells him to go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.

THEN THE LORD PASSED BY THE CAVE

It's interesting that Moses was put into a cave in Horeb when God's glory passed before him. But Elijah was called out of the cave - then the Lord passed by. Then there is a great wind, and he saw the awesome effects of it, as it tore the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces. So a mighty rushing wind begins to blow. Does that sound familiar to you?

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS

Now I believe that the strong wind is the result of the Holy Spirit calling forth the Angels of God and they are going before the Lord shouting and sounding trumpets announcing the coming of the King and Judge of heaven and earth.

Psalm 104:4 says that God makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. The Hebrew word "ruach" translated spirits is also translated wind. Does it seem inconceivable that the great wind that Elijah witnessed was the result of Spiritual and angelic activity? The angels are looking for something to do and God is about to give them something to do. Every believer who exercises some faith as the Holy Spirit leads will begin to experience angelic activity.

GODLY SHAKING

Next Elijah feels the shock of an earthquake. See, whenever God passes by, you will get shook. Isn't that what God said in Hebrews 12? He said, "I will shake everything that can be shaken until only that which can't be shaken will remain. Some of us have been shaken and we need to get shook. God has to shake off the self-pity and complacency. We need to get out of the cave.

So how does God create an earthquake? Does He speak them into existence like He did the earth? Or does He employ the heavenly host? Here is my theory on it. Elijah is hiding in a cave and God is performing crisis intervention because Elijah is full of fear and wants to die v.4. God's intention is to further use Elijah to shape history and bring about both his Judgment on His enemies and preserve His purposes. The Angels get so excited about God's intervention and intention that they fly before the Lord shouting and blowing trumpets.

The spiritual activity from the shouting, blowing of their trumpets as well as the flapping of their wings not only tears the mountains and breaks the rocks but it also causes an earthquake. But God didn't speak through the Wind or the Earthquake. Then Elijah sees an outburst of fire. Now it doesn't elaborate on the intensity or volume of the fire but if it's consistent with the preceding phenomena it must have been a radical blaze.

There is Psalm 104:4, "Again He makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire."

On the day of Pentecost the fire that sat upon each of the Apostles was the work of the Holy Spirit. So there has been a mighty wind, and earthquake and now fire.

ANGELS PREPARING A HIGHWAY

Since angels are spirits and they are ministers, I believe that God's Angels, as his ministers, march before him, to prepare in this wilderness or desert, a highway for God. See, I believe that God - as a rule - prepares His children for what He is about to do in their lives.

"...The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:3-5).

I believe that the Holy Spirit sent the angels to prepare Elijah to receive the word of the Lord as He passed by. It was the activity of Angels that struck awe in Elijah when the mighty wind blew with power and tore the mountains and broke the rocks. The mountain that needed to be brought low was the mountain of pride. Elijah was so blinded by pride that he thought he was the only one who was faithful to God.

BUT I'VE WORKED HARD FOR YOU, LORD!

Elijah was struggling with that disease called, "Woe is me, I've worked hard for you." He was stuck in the valley of self-pity and needed to be shaken out of a place of complacency. God used the earthquake to awaken Elijah's attention. It was the fire that inspired a sober alertness. Verse 12 says, "..after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice." When God had Elijah's full attention, He spoke to him with soft whispers, not in alarming sights and sounds.

THE RENEWAL

In 1994 God released some awesome manifestations into and upon the church. It was radical - it started in Toronto - Even as the winds, the earthquake and fire were obvious to Elijah and got his attention.

So it was with Toronto. It was so obvious that even the most conservative believers heard about it. Many unbelievers knew that something was happening. This wild event made the headlines of the LA and the London Times etc. Toronto began to have "Catch the Fire" meetings. I believe that all of those radical manifestations were sent by the Holy Spirit as a wake up call that God used to refresh and refocus the church.

COME OUT OF THE CAVE

God is calling the church out of the cave. For Elijah the cave was a place of rest after a long journey. So now that God has your attention, be quiet and listen closely because God is beginning to speak in a small still voice. And what is coming next is going to be powerful.

The Elijah ministry is coming to an end and the mantle is going to be passed on to Elisha. He's the one who has been serving in obscurity. Get involved in a local church so that you can be a part of what God does.

QUESTION AND ANSWER REGARDING THE ABOVE WORD JUST BEFORE PUBLISHING IT TODAY:

THIS WAS MY (Steve Shultz) QUESTION TO BOB CRAINE:

Hi Bob. Thank you for the Word. It's good. I intend to publish it. As you know, I attend and support a good local church. A Question: As a pastor, do you believe that there are other expressions of the local church, where a person's gifts and giftings can be used, such as in a house church, where fellow Believers submit to one another in love and are in community with other Believers? Some are even in community with other house churches. As long as they are not "against" or in opposition to the community church (versus a house church), is their expression of "assembling" valid also?

Blessings,
Steve Shultz

BOB CRAINE'S RESPONSE TO ME:

Hi Steve,

Yes, the house church is definitely a legitimate expression of the body of Christ in as much and as long as they don't see themselves as exclusive and or opposed to the more organized or traditional church. The early church met in homes.

My sense is that there are lots of people who don't go anywhere who have given up on church in any form. People who would say things like, "I have had it with the church, it's just me and God."

I believe that wherever people gather to worship God - whether it's in a home, barn, school, warehouse or church building - that's the church.

Thanks for your being sensitive to this issue - it never crossed my mind. I would hate to have people feel excluded because they meet in a home.

The real issue for me is that believers need to gathering with other believers. That's the church.