The Eleventh Hour
(Matthew 20:1-8)
God is the owner of the vineyard
Psalm 24:1
The earth [is] the LORD’s, and all its fullness
The vineyard is a type of the Church
John 15:5
"I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
God will visit His Church in 4 separate and distinct occasions
1. Third Hour Visitation (v.3) - A Revelation of the Power of God (Acts 2:15)
- Upper Room / Pentecost
- Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Numbers 11:25-29
Then Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets [and] that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!"
Isaiah 28:11-12
For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This [is] the rest [with which] You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This [is] the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear.
Joel 2:28-29 ’...included in the annoucement of the Gospel.’
- Not to murmur, gossip, complain and backbite, but to announce the good news of the Kingdom
John 7:37-39
On the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit...
- We run to all other places except the Source.
- Demons love dry places. Get yourself drench in the Holy Ghost and they will flee from you
- Related personal experience @ Sim Kim Kok Theatre when the Lord first baptised me in the Holy Spirit
- ’The Baptism of the Holy Spirit can be for you what the phone booth is for Clark Kent’
- My wife, Joy’s experience @ Rodney Howard Browne Conference in 1998. Couldn’t speak in English for half hour. Spoke in a beautiful foreign language. Told me later that it’s easier to speak in tongues though she can talk in English.
2. Sixth Hour Visitation (v.5) - Revelation of the Presence of God in Worship (John 4:6)
John 4:23-24
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. "God [is] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Exodus 20:3-4
Do not worship any god except me. Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. 5Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the LORD your God, and I demand all your love.
Matt 4:10-11
Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ’You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ " Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
- The wilderness is not a place of defeat but victory
- Jesus gave the devil 3 knock-out blows.
- Make a ’worship decision’ and the enemy will flee from you
- Merriam-Webster defines worship as “to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power” or “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion.”
- Worship is also for God’s benefit, not ours. It’s not about we can get out of it, it’s about what we give to God. God is the only Audience.
- Worship should engage our spirit. Jesus said that God is spirit. Worship is our spirit engaging God’s Spirit. It’s not just going through the motions.
- Worship brings the presence of God and when God shows up things happen!
3. Ninth Hour Visitation (v.5) - Revelation of Performace (Acts 3:1)
- Miracles and healings; Signs and Wonders
- The Church in general is experiencing a power failure
Acts 1:8
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Acts 4:33
And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
- John G Lake: bacteria literally died in his palm
- Smith Wigglesworth had 13 documented accounts of the dead being raised
- Maria Woodworth Etter went into a trance for 3 days
- Oral Roberts had literally laid his hands on over a million people and seen countless miracles
Matthew 13:54
“They were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?”
- Unbelief stops the flow of miracles
- We lived in a technological advanced world that snuffed out the need for miracles.
- Related stories of miracles in the missions fields.
- Do you still believe that Jesus can save the lost, heal the sick, make the blind to see and set captives free?
- Our impotence vs. God’s omnipotence
4. Eleventh Hour
- We are now living in the Eleventh hour. In our day, all of the past visitations will intensify.
Conclusion
Let’s trust God for the climax of His Power, His Presence and His Performance!
