MY BAGS ARE PACKED

This is no time to be settling down to a life of ease. We must live in a stirred-up state. “And it shall come to pass at that time [before judgment], that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil" (Zephaniah 1:12). “Settled on their lees” means they are unconcerned. “Lees” are sediment of wine settled at the bottom of the barrel. Many Christians have not wanted Holy Ghost stirrings. They now sit back, taking it easy, and letting all the dirt settle in their hearts. Some have left Times Square Church because it is too intense; there is too much stirring up of the heart. They have gone on, looking for a place where there is no stirring. They say, “I can’t take the pressure, the strong preaching. You call for too much heart-searching.”

I say to you, a true Holy Ghost church will be the candle of God, searching through the city, making it very uncomfortable for those who have settled down. God’s Word calls it “being emptied from vessel to vessel” in Jeremiah 48:11-12: “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.” These people refused to get involved. They preferred quiet, peace, and undisturbed prosperity, refusing to be probed, convicted, or stirred.

If we knew how close we are to our Lord’s return—how close to fiery judgments—we would thank God for His stirrings in us. We would be poured out in every meeting, getting rid of the dregs. We would thank God for ministers of the gospel who keep provoking us to walk in righteousness and who flood our souls with the convicting, piercing Word of truth. On Judgment Day, we will be eternally grateful to God that we were awakened by the trumpet messages that brought us to repentance and the true fear of God.

My bags are packed! I’m ready and longing to see Jesus face to face.