I heard the Lord say “I am restoring the Cutting Edge of the Church.”
The past season has been a tough season. Mostly we found ourselves in unchartered territories, but as the church, we are called to stand up tall and lead the way. As I sought to hear God’s heart for this season, The Holy Spirit said:
“I am sharpening and restoring the axe head that has been dull, blunt, even lost; like the son of the prophet in 2 Kings 6.”
Many in the church have continued to work without their axe head in place and tightly fitted. They have found themselves building, serving from a shallow place, with no depth, no joy, with fear, insecurity, compromise and burnout. They’ve not been able to break these off in the past season and access the depth of God. Others have lost their intimate life-giving connection with God; not receiving revelation, dreams and visions like they used to or would love to. For many, their hearing, seeing and discerning have become distorted, prophesying from their own thoughts, opinions; pulling more from their life experiences instead from the very heart and wisdom of God. It’s safe to say the enemy has been after the cutting edge of our axe head in the church. It’s an attack on our effectiveness, clarity, authority and our strength in bringing in the harvest in the midst of these difficult days.
God says “in this new era of my unprecedented Glory, I am restoring and sharpening my church like never before. She will walk in authority, wisdom and might; cutting through the onslaughts of the enemy, defeating compromise, bitterness, anxiety, fear and even the distractions that try to take them off course. These are days of expanding the kingdom and filling the earth with my glory, moving with an unusual momentum and clarity.”
Without our cutting edge, we become conformers instead of transformers. Conformers are those whose lives are controlled by outside pressures; we become like the world and culture around us.
Kings and queens of the earth are attracted to the cutting edge. In this season those in authority and in power over nations would become drawn to the Church like in Daniel’s days because of her cutting edge. Daniel kept his cutting edge throughout his ministry in an ungodly culture, and all the kings couldn’t help but seek his counsel. His wisdom surpassed all others. He was so devoted to God that he lived by Godly principles rather than of earthly honour or esteem of men. He served God in tough places, at the centre of authority in pagan empires. He went through periods of severe testing, was lied about and accused; yet he ministered to God’s people, helped preserved and encouraged the nation of Israel when the days were difficult and evil. In a conflicting culture, with people whose thinking, values, actions and goals were different to those of God’s people, he kept himself pure and helped transformed people and circumstances.
The key to Daniel’s cutting edge is in Daniel 1:8
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…”
We must return to God in humility and repentance, forsaking our own ways and old ways; realign our hearts again to God’s heart, receive healing and fresh impartation from the Throne of grace for this new season; so we can work effectively with the cutting edge of a victorious Church in this glorious era.