The day has come that the faithful in Christ have been waiting for. Though, as always, it will not appear in the manner expected. The time of “distinction” has come. The time when God makes a difference between the good and the evil, those who obey Him and those who don’t. Before this time, wickedness was being blessed while those living righteously and suffering reproach was the rule of thumb. Why? Jesus Himself gave us the answer in Matt. 13:24-43 when He told us that the world is like a field where good and evil have been sown together. When asked if the evil should be uprooted He responded with a resounding “NO”---no, that is, until the time of harvest. Why? Because He said if the evil was uprooted too soon, the righteous would suffer greatly by it. They are too closely intertwined. Their root systems are entangled. If the tares didn’t get rain, the wheat would die of drought also. If the wheat got the necessary elements to cause adequate growth, the tares drank of it also. The Lord was relaying to us a truth about the way things operate in the earth. The good isn’t always rewarded over the evil up front. The evil doesn’t always lose in this life. Why? Because while men “slept”, an enemy came in and sowed corrupt seed in the earth, messing up the field. In the Garden of Eden, while Adam stood by watching, Satan was allowed entrance into the earth, freely sowing his evil agendas. A curse came upon the earth. Death entered, sin entered, sickness and horror entered; where there was to be only life, health, peace and security. Once sown, it could not be uprooted until the time when both the good and evil come to fullness---the time of harvest. Total and complete distinctions could not be made in the field until harvest time. The rain falls on the just and the unjust equally. (Matt. 5:45)

THE GOOD ISN'T ALWAYS REWARDED
OVER THE EVIL UP FRONT.

The reason for this is easy when thought on. What if God was to judge every business in the earth that was operating wickedly, or was run by wicked men? The world wide economy would be destroyed, and along with its destruction, the righteous would suffer. Jobs would be lost, income devastated, the world thrown into utter chaos. The reason the wicked prosper? Because the “god of this world” (Satan) is over the world system that you and I have to live under. If it doesn’t prosper---we don’t. God blesses them simply because He loves us all and wants His own taken care of. Once the curse entered planet earth, distinctions couldn’t be made; He had to bless the WHOLE---good and bad---to a degree.

BUT---there was a way made to distinguish His own from the world, and a covering provided for them, from the curse that had been released into the entire planet. That way was made through the blood of Jesus. A covering was given. There was also given to His own, an “umbrella” of covering against the curse. That “umbrella” is tithing. Malachi chapter 3 tells all about it. God, long before the law was ever given, made a way for those who love and obey Him to be distinguished from those who don’t. That “way” is through the tithe. Those who tithe have a covering; those who don’t are totally open to the curse that is on the earth. Whether they go to church or not. Whether they claim to be a Christian and love Jesus, doesn’t matter in this respect. The tithe is the distinguishing factor. The tithe is God’s method of protection and covering while wickedness prospers ---until the time when the righteous and the wicked can be separated. That time is NOW. This IS the “day” or time of distinction!

We have entered into the time of harvest, when the separation of that which has been sown by God and that which hasn’t, will be distinguished one from the other. Farmers tell me that tares and wheat look alike to the uneducated eye until harvest time. When the time of harvest comes, the wheat is bowed over because of the weight of the fruit it carries while the tares, which have no fruit, stand up tall and erect. “By their fruit you shall know them”, Jesus said. (Matt. 12:33)

Notice also that a significant evidence of it being wheat is that it is bowing and humble, the tares are unbending and proud.

THAT WHICH HAS BEEN SOWN BY GOD,
AND THAT WHICH HASN'T,
WILL BE DISTINGUIHED ONE FROM THE OTHER

Year 2005 will be a year of distinguishing and judging. This will mean a time of great blessing to those who have been seeking after God, while those who have not will become increasingly “bound”. Notice the sequence in Matt. 13: 30, the tares are (1) SEPERATED (2) BOUND (3) JUDGED. Look around you. Notice that people (whether in the church or outside the church, makes no difference) who have not wanted to make the correct adjustments necessary in their life to come into obedience to God’s will are increasingly becoming bound to the ways they have chosen. Their minds are hindered. The ability to “see” the direction that their life is headed in and the ability to change that direction is being lost. 2005 will be a year where the “dam” holding back the reservoir of God’s blessing for the faithful will be opened and begin flooding into them. At the same time, that which has “worked” in the past for those not following the Lord will not “work” anymore. This means a transference of power and blessing will begin to occur. Where strength has been upon the wicked, it will now come upon the righteous. This will be manifested in all levels, individually as well as in our government and its policies. It will be seen in the land of Israel. Arafat dying is only the beginning of the PLO losing power and Israel growing in power and strength over her enemies. Terrorism will continue to be judged and major terrorist leaders, who so far have eluded capture, will be found and killed, or captured, this year. I personally think we will see the capture, or death, of Osama bin Laden this year. God is raising up “deliverers” and Esau’s time to be judged has come! (Obadiah)

THE RAIN FALLS ON THE JUST
& THE UNJUST EQUALLY

Who is Esau? Physically speaking, it’s the Arab nations that come against the people of God. Does this mean that all Arabs will come under God’s judgement? NO! This is a judgment upon all who fight against the hand of God. MANY ARABS WILL COME TO KNOW JESUS AND BE CONVERTED FROM ISLAM. The truth and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ will not be kept out of these Muslim nations any longer! We will see a harvest of souls among the Arab nations in the next few years.

Spiritually speaking, Esau is also those who claim Christ as Savior and Lord, but refuse His discipline in their lives. They are those who, by desiring to walk after their own opinions and fleshly desires, “despise” their inheritance, giving it no value. These have a “legal right” to walk in the power of God, but will find themselves disqualified from it because of disregarding the discipline of the Spirit in their lives. (Gen. 25:34 and Hebrews 12:12-17)

The “tide” has changed. 2005 will be a year of struggle. A year where what used to have power will be weakened and what used to be weak and down trodden, though obedient to God, will be lifted up.

I believe I heard the Lord say, “Sparks will fly in 2005 and the people of God will sing and rejoice in the fire”!

For more on this, we have a single
teaching CD, THE DAY OF DISTINCTION, for $5