"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49, NIV).
I get frequent invitations to go abroad to preach, teach, help establish congregations...and of course finance everything. The moment I tell these folks we have no means to finance anyone, interest in what we are doing evapourates and whatever 'truth' we disseminated through our website and online groups suddenly loses its appeal. Having been stung by con-artists in the past by a clever use of religious language and flattery, my knee-jerk reaction to all such requests is one of deep suspicion. If they're still interested when I tell them that I don't have any Dollars, Pounds or €uros to offer them (not that they'll be much use in a few months' time anyway), as it absolutely true, then I start admitting to the possibility that these are genuine seekers after emet (truth).
Today I want to write a message to all such people who get in contact with me wanting me to join them in their programs abroad. I go where the Ruach (Spirit) leads me otherwise I stay put and invite pastors, elders and teachers who want instruction to come and visit us here in Sweden at the three principle conference times at Pesach (Passover), Shavu'ot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles), our main gathering being at Sukkot. However, we don't 'do' things quite in the same way as other organisations do - we keep things very simple and family-based and our 'program', if you can call it that, is a function of what Yahweh wants doing or said on any particular day. Though there are regular sermon sessions, teaching is based on the needs of the visitors, again as the Ruach (Spirit) leads. We are quite informal. Like I said, we are more 'family' than 'organisation' and so we actually prefer 1-to-1 or small group instruction to big assemblies.
Years ago Yahweh gave me a revelation to prepare for the tough times ahead as things get harder for believers as liberties become increasingly denied. We no longer believe in being 'incorporated', 'registered' or 'recognised' by government or anyone else. And whereas in the past we very much had a traditional 'church' structure [1], things are much more fluid nowadays, in keeping with the needs of the times. Though this may well change in the future, after the present crisis has passed, for now we are none of the things commonly associated with religious organisations. We're a Family of families - nothing more, nothing less. And families don't need complex organisations. They are united by kinship. They just need genuine people on fire for Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) who are submitted to Torah. In short, we are striving for a right lev (heart) and a sound mind. The rest, we believe, will largely take care of itself.
A sure sign that things are not right in congregational life is when you have to devote a lot of time and energy policing your parishoners for signs of doctrinal and moral deviancy. That was certainly my experience in the early days of the ministry when I was pastoring several congregations in Norway, a time I do not look back on with much fondness at all. To be sure, we had a lot of things wrong and didn't know nearly enough about the Torah back then but at the same time we were also quite naïve when it came to deliverance issues. We just did not know much about the full range of spiritual issues that plague people today. On top of that, the actual truth is pretty radical and controversial and at the time I was arguably of the mistaken opinion that people should be weaned onto it gradually so as not to make the 'babes choke on the meat'. And whilst there is some merit in that position, it has the enormous drawback of appearing 'secretive' and dishonest as well as opening you up to charges of élitism. Today we simply spell it out boldly for all to see and people can either have spiritual heart-attacks and run away screaming or they can, if they are brave enough, stick it out and work through it. If they run we don't chase them and if they choose to stick it out we don't nag them to join us. Unless Yah'shua (Jesus) leads them to become a part of the Family or Congregation, then either they don't belong or it's the wrong time.
So our policy today is to throw the investigator into the proverbial 'deep end' by giving him a list of our doctrinal HOT POTATOES. Since most who receive this list flee in terror crying 'Wolf! Wolf!' it should be obvious that our chief occupation is not seeking converts but rather preaching the Davar (Word) and letting converts find us for themselves. For most it means leaving and coming back many times to nibble at this or that. Bridging the gap between the religious system calling itself 'Christianity' or 'Messianism' does take time, courage and a steely determination to commit to emet (truth) no matter what the cost. So, not unsurprisingly, converts come in dribs and drabs and sometimes in more regular flows.
That's why we don't go abroad to 'set up churches' any more. It's one thing for the pastor being converted but unless the members have the same revelation, fire and passion for the emet (truth) as we teach it, all that you're doing is setting up a miniature police state to keep the congregants in doctrinal order. And that's simply not how the Besorah (Gospel) works.
In fact, the Final Gathering isn't about the traditional 'church' at all. It's about the spiritual restoration of Messianic Israel through the living power of the Ruach (Spirit). It's in dribs and drabs right now but as the times change, the flow will increase. So whatever 'system' you follow, be it traditional Evangelical Christian churches or Messianic Jewish synagogues, that's not how we do things. Ours is far more organic. It operates from the bottom up rather from the top down.
We have a lot of Torah teachings in this ministry that are deep and profound, and we have a lot of experience in spiritual issues and deliverance. But we don't yet have the Sukkot Anointing required to move this work into its final phase. We make no secret of the fact that we are incomplete. We are in the position now of the first believers tarrying in Jerusalem two thousand years ago awaiting the Shavu'ot or Pentecostal Anointing. And we won't be ready to 'go out' any more than they were until we have received the Sukkot one. So that's another reason we're not currently out on the mission field as we were before. How long do we believe it will be before Yahweh gives the anointing to us? We don't know but we have every reason to believe that it is imminent.
Anointings don't come until you have the vessel ready - the vessel of the mind (for correct teachings devoid of human tradition) and the vessel of the lev (heart) properly surrendered to Messiah for service, properly matured in emunah (faith) and in divine ahavah (love).
Like I said, what's coming isn't like anything that's been seen before and we can no more anticipate it's form than the first believers had any inkling what the first New Covenant Pentecost was going to be like either. They just knew thay had to wait to be endowed from on high.
That doesn't, of course, mean that the Ruach (Spirit) is inoperative amongst us. Far from it. But it does mean that what's coming is of a depth and scope for which there are no historical references with which to compare or anticipate it. We know only that it will make the Exodus under Moses pale into signifiance and that the works we will be equipped to do will be far greater than anything Yah'shua (Jesus) was allowed to do (the work of the Cross excepted, of course). The equipping will, moreover, be to match the diabolical increase of activity in the earth the likes of which have never been seen before, save perhaps before the flood.
We are very much in the cacoon between the Shavu'ot dispensation and the very end-time Sukkot one. We await to see what emerges as the supernatural changes gear into the hypernatural.
Do you find the 'hot potatoes' too hard to hold? Just wait until you have to eat them! But don't worry, we have a lot of experience and can see you through the processes needed.
Endnotes
[1] This page is very much out-of-date now and will be revised in due course