C37) The Balance Between the Strong and Weak Parts of the US Church , (S.Dobbs, 2007).
(This links to C46, C27, C41, C33 , A50, A49, A48, B11, A46, A44, A43, A42).
I was aware from the book of Revelation, in its letters to the churches, that a form of judgement can come upon sections of the body of Christ. Perhaps “discipline” is a more appropriate word to use. I believe that the church of the UK has been in such a possition since the late eighties which explains why, generally speaking, that there has been a significant reduction in the anointing here since then. Other prophetic words have led me to believe some sort of discipline/judgement was soon to come upon the church of the USA, having dramatic effects, a real testing of the body there.
As I thought about this I considered how parts of the USA church had a much more active and integrated intercession network than we have in the UK. How these often link in with some of the better prophetic ministries and successfully pray through prayer strategies from God. How this was far more advanced and mature than in the UK. Looking at things this way it seemed surprising that God would bring a form of Judgement/discipline upon the US church. As I was pondering this the Lord then gave me the following picture, you will obviously want to weigh this up for yourself:
I saw a bush which could have been a rose or something similar. At the ends and halfway down some of it's branches fresh green growth could be seen. New leaves and buds were appearing which looked really healthy. This symbolised the healthy parts of the body of Christ in the USA. However when God would look at the bush He would not just survey its healthy parts but the bush overall. The healthy parts were only a very small part of this plant. Most of it consisted of dry unfruitful branches. There was also much deadwood. I then remembered how in the USA a very high percentage of that nation’s population attend church and believed in Jesus Christ. They were therefore a part of the body there. I saw that God would weigh the whole church in the balance, not just the mature healthy parts of it, when moving in judgement/ discipline of it.
S.Dobbs, Sept 2007.