“It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.” 1 Chronicles 13:3 (NLT)
By definition a “remnant” is a remaining portion, usually a small part, a fragment. Much of what is known today as the church, is simply an organization that has that name, and at one time was a vessel of God’s presence. The remnant church and the organized religious body church can be likened to Saul and David. And there is the difference between the Saul Church and the David Church.
Today, God is separating the Saul Church from the David Church. Saul didn’t value the presence of God. Saul represents another time when God moved. At one time Saul had the anointing. He was God’s choice, until he chose to do things his own way. He sought comfort over obedience. He disobeyed God’s commands. Then when he lost the anointing, and it was given to someone else, he did not like it. He became obsessed with hunting down and destroying the new anointed one.
David was anointed king as a teenager and the devil came after him through Saul. Though it was many years (like 17) until David actually sat on the throne, his anointing started way before then. What set David apart was that he longed for and sought with all his heart God’s presence. One of the first things David did as king was to bring the ark to Jerusalem. The ark represented God’s tangible presence among His people.
God is raising up the house of David in our day. He is looking for a church, a people who will seek His presence as top priority, more than anything else. We are in a time when God is withdrawing from Saul and moving toward David. Anointing will challenge and convict. The David Church seeks God’s presence and will deal with everything that is hindering it. But sadly, the Saul Church won’t simply let go. Just as Saul pursued and hunted down David, the Saul Church will persecute the David Church. But God’s hand is moving from Saul to David!
People are no longer looking for comfort churches, with entertainment and a slick program. Instead they are looking for “presence” churches. These are churches where God loves to come and do His stuff. When God shows up, things get messy. Programs get tossed, people get humbled… saved, delivered and healed! When God shows up, lives are changed, miracles happen, demons are cast out! David Churches experience both God’s presence and His power. Saul Churches are simply a form of religion without the power (2 Timothy 3:5)!
So please be aware (and beware), that the previous generation of church where God blessed, where God moved, but is not moving now, will oppose the new move. This is the historic reality!
We’ve never been in such a perilous time like we are right now. But neither have we ever been so close to the outpouring of the greatest revival this world has ever known! We are blessed to be alive for such a time as this!
Please pray for your pastor to make seeking God’s presence and all that comes with it more important than having slick services where people are comfortable, happy and there are no messes. Pray for your church leadership to have boldness to let go of old wineskins and be willing to embrace the new things that God is doing and is about to do beyond our imagination. Pray for the David Church to arise in our city, where our label (denomination and/or church name) and method (how we do things) gets laid aside for us to “be” His Church in our city. You know many will not like this, so pray that we will not respond to the persecution, rejection and slander that the Saul Church will dish out at us. Ask God for a grace within the remnant to pray for and bless those of the Saul Church. Ask God to awaken the David-like passion within you!!!