“Now when Peter heard that it was the Lord,

he put on his outer garments and plunged into the sea…” JN 21:7

I was in a meeting last week when the Lord began to show me some pictures and speak something deeply to my heart.  First I saw Peter leaping out of the boat and into the waters upon hearing that Jesus was standing on the shore.  I could see the reckless abandon in his eyes as he plunged with all his might, caring not for what the others might think.

Immediately, the picture shifted to a scene 1000 years earlier.  I saw David stripping himself of his kingly vestments as he wildly danced with everything in him before the ark of the Lord, showing no regard for what  family or friend might say about his flailing.  Just at that moment I felt the Lord say that He was raising a standard in our midst:  the standard of the fear of man.  “Look well upon this standard, for it is in conquering it or succumbing to it that I will deem you worthy of carrying the ark of My presence to the place of My choosing.” 

In that moment I realized that the same spirit which had led Peter to jump was in David to make him dance.  In that instant, I realized there was something in these two men separated by so many centuries which attracted God like a magnet; men who were deemed worthy to be carriers, hosts, and agents of the great things that God was about to do.   I let this thought incubate until I came into the presence of the Lord the next morning.  I picked up my pen and wrote the following as one moved:

Be careful lest you stumble over the fear of man.  Many who would have been used to bring greater manifestations of My glory fell here.  Their tombs litter the grounds of past awakenings which never came to their own. These heard the rumblings, they saw the signs like lightning foretelling of the approaching rain, but stopped short of ushering in the fullness because they chose their dignity over the freedom for Me to move as I choose. Rather than bow the knee to Me and Me alone, they turned aside to bow at the altar of the fear of man, not knowing the smoke of this offering would rise to Me as strange fire.  I have turned My face from these who began well so many times, but I cannot violate Who I am.  I resist the proud but give continuous grace to the humble. 

Turn not aside to this altar!  Fear not, My son, My people.  Stumble not upon this rock lest the power you seek, the change for which you cry out, the manifestation for which you have labored, begins well only to end in a puff of smoke.  For lo, I am a jealous God.  I will not share My glory, neither can I abide long with those who turn aside over appearances and the opinions of others.  For the bringing of My ark to the place of My choosing is costly. Like Uzzah, some will not make it, and though mistakes be made, press on, press in.  Prepare well your people for the sacrifices offered along the way will be many and hard.  Beware lest the eyes of contempt and the voices of criticism, or by means of disdain or hidden jealousies you become discouraged.  For there will always be Michals looking down from their lofty places who will never understand your passion.  How they come with the voice of reason!  They question your motives.  They raise the banners of doubt.  Rebuke her early, yeah, turn not aside to the altar of the fear of man. Say to her, “I will be even more undignified than this, and I will be humble in my own sight”. 

You can hear the thunder clapping in the distance. Occasional strikes in the sky have lifted your eyes in anticipation.  At times you have even smelled the coming rain.  I am coming, and when I do, it will be as the opening of the heavens.  Be wise, yeah, be careful, lest the opinions of man cause you to stumble.

I have been privileged to experience significant “outpourings” first hand, including being swept into the Kingdom during the Charismatic Renewal in the 70’s, the amazing demonstrations of God’s miraculous power upon the coast of China in the 80’s, and the Toronto as well as the Brownsville wells which opened up in the 90’s. 

The Spirit of the Lord is stirring in me.  I know He wants to move, and His eye is running to and fro, seeking after those whose hearts are so yearning, who are moved by the same convictions which made the Davids and Peters of old to LEAP.  He is looking for those who seek not just to experience His boundless blessings, but who can steward them as well.  May we be deemed worthy!  Yes, may we heed the call, and guard our hearts with all vigilance lest we stumble over the standard He is raising before He moves; the standard of the fear of man.