While on one of my walks last week around the large rugby fields at the Vogeltown Park. I was thinking about how we are new creatures in Christ, when a monarch butterfly came and landed at my feet on the grass. It had no need to be there as there were no flowers, just freshly mown grass. I felt this was one of those signs, ‘kairos’ moments, where the Spirit was trying to tell me something.
I had also been praying about how the world wide ‘lock-down’ is like a death state for the Church. It’s a time of darkness where those who surrender to the Spirit are placed in a chrysalis with the hope of coming forth again in newness of life. I believe that when the dust settles things will be completely different for those who understand the times, knowing God’s plan for the Church.
I want to share with you one of the most amazing phenomenon of the natural world, and that is to do with the Monarch Butterfly, especially those that frequent North America.
Every year tens of millions of Monarch Butterflies migrate to one of the remotest spots in the mountain forests of Mexico. The forest is 10,000 feet above sea level (That’s higher than our Mount Taranaki which is 8260 feet high.) This place is really hard to get too and provides the ideal conditions for these butterflies to hibernate for 4 months.
This migration is one of a kind in the insect world. Its like a migration of birds from one hemisphere to another every year but is even more amazing. None of these Monarchs have travelled the 4500 ks each way before as it takes multiple generations to accomplish this feat. Butterflies only live for 2 - 6 weeks.
How does the next generation of butterfly know where to go?
These Monarch Butterflies hibernation here for the winter in this one and only place in Mexico for 4 months. After the winter they start travelling north again, their hormones kick in and they start to reproduce, laying their eggs and hatching countless caterpillars which become butterflies as they journey north. Their original parents die within a few weeks and don’t take this journey. These new butterflies follow a map genetically passed on on to them by their great, great grand parents who had died half a year before.
This new batch of butterflies travel north, leap frogging back with each new generation. Flying, mating, laying eggs, dying and passing the baton on to the next generation. The typical adult monarch only lives 2 to 6 weeks and it takes 4 to 5 generations for them to finally make the trip home. The last generation arrives in the fading light of summer where they end their migration.
The cycle all starts up again with the last butterflies laying a new batch of eggs that hatch a ‘Super Generation’ of Monarchs who will fly back to Mexico in just one generation. This new breed of Monarchs live 8 times longer than their parents did. They are a ‘Super Generation’ that is bigger and stronger than their parents and live for 8 months. They can fly up to 50 miles a day and travel the 4500 ks to the mountains of Mexico. The average butterfly lives for 2-6 weeks but this generation lives for 8 months.
This is all so amazing since the butterfly only has a brain the size of a sesame seed, yet it knows the way to this remote place in Mexico 1000s of kilometres away even though it has not been there before. Neither have their parents, grand parents, or even great grand parents for that matter. This shows us that there is a God and it isn’t all the product of evolution.
There are a lot of spiritual lessons we can learn from this amazing Butterfly. For a start it’s a ‘Monarch’ Butterfly. The word ‘Monarch’ means Royal.’ Are we not called a Royal Priesthood?
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
The most obvious lesson is that we are ‘Born Again’ just like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. We are changed from sinners into new creatures in Christ. Just as the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, which is something completely different to what it was before, so do we become new creatures in Christ with new habits, new desires and a new destiny. One day these dying bodies of ours will be completely changed and become like Christ’s glorious body.
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21
What we need to remember is that as new creatures in Christ we should also have new habits and live in newness of life. Butterflies don't eat caterpillar food anymore, even though they used to be one once. They now desire nectar and don’t crawl along the ground but set their sights heavenward. As Christians we need to change our spiritual intake as well and not be worldly, setting our minds on things above.
There is something I feel the Lord has been showing me since this world wide lock down. For those who understand the times, we can discern that God is shutting us down in preparation for bigger and better things to come. It’s like us entering into a coffin or chrysalis for a season, preparing for a new day.
“Come, my people, enter your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course.” Isaiah 26:20
When the caterpillar knows that its time is near it goes into a chrysalis for a season. They lose their colour and the coffin (Chrysalis) they are in eventually turns as black as death. It looks like all is lost but they eventually come forth as a new creature, something they have never been before - a beautiful butterfly. They can now fly and are not restricted to just one swan plant on the ground with only one purpose, and that is to fill their faces and grow fat.
In the struggle to emerge, the butterfly works its way out of the chrysalis and it seems like they are not going to make it. Any help from us humans would hinder their growth and kill them, for they need the struggle in order to grow strong. It’s all in preparation for their new life.
One thing I can see in the big picture is that God is wanting to raise up a ‘Super Generation’ of Christians, who are bigger and stronger than their parents and grand parents. These new creatures will be able to go further than previous generations. It will be like a restoration of all things promised. I believe that there will be a generation before the Lord’s return who will understand all that is theirs in Christ and inherit all of His fullness. As I have said before, in the 3rd day we shall go on to ‘know’ the Lord and really ‘live’ in His sight. In Daniel it says that those who know their God shall do exploits. It’s as if all those things that the Church has been longing to do will be accomplished by this ‘super generation.’ It has always been available to the Church but through circumstances and ignorance it has been kept from us. Are we the Monarch (Royal) Generation before His return? I hear so many men and women of God say, such as Joseph Prince and Andrew Wommack that we can believe God to live longer, live in divine health and do the works that Jesus did. John 14:12
“But you are a chosen people, a royal (Monarch) priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
“but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Daniel 11:32
“After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:2-3
If a day is as 1000 years to the Lord, then 2 days after the forming of the Church would be the year 2000. We are now in the 3rd day when the Lord says we shall ‘know’ the Lord and really ‘live’ in His sight. Its also now the time for the Latter Rain. It says in John 2:10 that the best is saved until last. I believe that the last generation can embrace all that Christ wants for His Church. We can possess our inheritance if we see it and want it.
I can see that the Church needs to really take hold of all that Christ has made available for us. We need to embrace all that is spoken of in Romans 8, especially verses 17-19. Creation is apparently longing for us to get our act together.
“And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own. Romans 8:17
“I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!” Romans 8:18-19
David said that he would not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. This dying state for many of us is not the end, it is the beginning of a new life and ministry. Before there is a resurrection there is always a death. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Resurrection and He lives in us.
“I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.” Psalm 118:17
This is not the end for you, it is the beginning. The principle of resurrection always precedes death. We need to be a fearless people who are not afraid to die. When we surrender to the Lord and let Him lock us in, we are confident that we shall emerge again in newness of life. David spoke prophetically of how Jesus submitted to the Father’s will and was confident that He would raise Him from the dead. Psalm 16:9-11
“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
It’s not over for you yet. You haven’t gone past your use by date. God has a plan for you and will not leave you in hell. The Spirit of Resurrection is in you and can turn things around.
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11
It’s always been God’s way to bring life out of death. Jesus said that a seed needs to die in the ground in order to bring forth life and He proved a point in His death, burial and resurrection.
“Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:23-25
The principle also applies in the pruning of a tree. It’s not the end, its pruning back for more growth.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes a so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2
I have always been intrigued by Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.”
This isn’t so much to do with a Christian dying and going to Heaven but rather when they surrender to the will of God. It’s when they die to their own will, allowing God to prune them for a greater Harvest.
“Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9
In the Old Testament it wasn’t so much by choice but rather by birth that you inherited the blessings. You couldn’t choose to be a Priest, you had to be born into that specific family. The double portion was reserved for the ‘first born’ son and wasn’t a matter of choice either. Under the New Covenant however its not by lineage but by choice that you receive the blessings. You choose to accept Jesus as your Saviour, and you choose to walk in newness of life.
I personally believe we are entering the slim window of opportunity immediately before the Lord’s return, where we can choose to take hold of all that is being offered us in Christ. In so doing our natural lives will become ‘super’- supernatural.
I feel the Spirit encouraging me to tap more and more into the life of Christ within. I know that having Him within gives me eternal life but there is more for us here in this life.
We may admire an athlete who is strong and fit, but God says that bodily exercise profits little. The promises of God are powerful and not only benefit us in the next life but in this one too.
“For athletic training only benefits you for a short season, but righteousness brings lasting benefit in everything; for righteousness contains the promise of life, for time and eternity.” 1 Timothy 4:8
I really believe that we are not tapping into the life of Christ within us as we should. We are too carnally minded, living by our feelings rather than by the word of God. We are called to live more by faith.
Proverbs 4:22 says that the word shall be ‘life’ to us and health to all our flesh. In John 6:57 it says that He will become the ‘life’ of those who feed on Him. I can see that having communion often, is a key to life and health, by constantly reminding ourselves that He is our life.
Proverbs 18:21 says that ‘life’ and death are in the power of our tongues. ‘Life’ therefore is voice activated. We can tap into that ‘life’ within through our constant confession. I love how it is put in the Ephesians 3:17 in the Passion Translation.
“Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.”
I do believe it’s time for the Church to wake up and realise the incredible opportunity made available to this generation. Proverbs 4:18 says that the path of the just gets brighter and brighter as we get closer to the eternal day. We can live in the fullness of life now. Indeed the best has been saved until last. It also says in Malachi 4 that God will send Elijah before the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. I believe this to be a people who have the Spirit in power on their lives. Would you like to be part of a ‘super generation’ for Jesus who know their God and do exploits? I would. Let us press on as part of this Royal Priesthood and claim all that is ours in Christ. There is a change coming for the Church and it will be far better than anything we ever had before. We need to be those who prepare for it like the 5 wise virgins and not miss the opportunity that we have right now. Believe and prepare for the change that is coming.
“If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” Job 14:14