This post is also available in: Spanish
What is the New Day? – The New Day
One evening during our Spanish-speaking service, the Lord spoke a strong word into my spirit: “It is a new day. Tell my people if they want to receive the message of this new day they will need to open up their minds and hearts.” I have been proclaiming this word since that night. It was such a significant word to me that I changed the name of our television and radio broadcasts from Call from the Mountain to It’s a New Day.
If we want to receive something from God, we need to experience repentance. Repentance is a change of mind, yet, the mind cannot change completely without first having a change of heart.
Matthew 15:7 – 9 (NKJV) “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
The word hypocrite in this setting refers to someone acting out a part. This does not necessarily mean that the person is “trying to project something that they are not” in a deceptive way. It could be a person with a desire to be something, but with no power to fulfill the desire. Aren’t you glad that God is a God who will change our heart when we turn to Him? He has given the powerful gift of prophecy to make this possible. Through the prophetic word, God can reach to the deep, hidden part of our heart so that we can become the people He desires us to be.
1 Corinthians 14:24 – 25 (NKJV) “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.”
I am bringing this prophetic word to the church to inspire and encourage you to press in to this new day so that you may receive the full blessing of it.
2 Peter 1:19 – 20 (NKJV) “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,”
The confirmation of what I am saying is clearly outlined in the Word of God. As you open the Word to examine the many scriptural admonitions pertaining to the new day, I know that your life will be changed and you will begin to walk in a new level of blessing from God.
What is the New Day? – Third Day
Hosea 6:1 – 3 (NKJV) “Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 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.”
God has laid it upon my heart to declare to His people that it is a new day. I believe with all my heart that we are living in the new day, and as the prophet Hosea declared, the third day.
What is the third day?
Before I answer this, we must have the understanding that God operates in patterns of three. Most Christians understand that the godhead has been revealed to us as Father, Son, and as the Holy Spirit. God has not only revealed Himself in this manner, but He has also made us in His image as a three-fold being: body, soul, and spirit. The Old Testament reveals divine patterns for the New Testament church. God demonstrated the tabernacle of Moses in a three-fold design: outer court, inner court and the most holy place. When setting the pattern for worship, the Lord told the children of Israel that each person must appear before Him three times per year. It was required of them to make the effort to come to the holy city for the festival of Passover, the festival of Pentecost, and finally for the festival of the Tabernacles. Truly, we can see how important the three-fold experience with God is.
In the New Testament, Jesus illustrated this point using the parable of the sower, found in Matthew 13. The sower represents one who is spreading the Word of God, and He illustrated the important conditions that are necessary for the Word to take root in a person in order to bring about full maturity. Concerning those who receive the seed and grow, Jesus spoke that some will produce 30, 60, and even 100-fold increase. This identifies the pattern of three for the person who is growing in the Word. Not everyone will go the place of fullness, but the Lord is certainly looking for those who will. What level of Christian do you want to be?
In another illustration, Jesus spoke of the seed coming forth in a three-fold manner.
Mark 4:28 – 29 (NKJV) “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The parable also reveals when the end of time will occur. Many Christians have been falsely led to believe that the signs of the end time will be the darkness of time and the rise of the anti-Christ. Yet, even in the time of the writing of his letter (1 John 2:18), John spoke of the fact that there were many anti-Christ systems in his day. The signs of the end time will be seen in the ripening of the fruit of the world system, but more importantly, it will be the sign of a fruitful and mature church. Jesus will come for a glorious church; not a weak and frightened church. This church will be the one spoken of in Mark 4. The church will mature from a blade, to a church forming a head to bear fruit, and will also have the “full grain” in the head. It is in this day that the church is being called to the full grain in the head. We need to explore some of the principles and experiences necessary to bring the church to this day of new things, the day of three-fold things.
What is the New Day? – The Fullness of God
I believe that the scriptures teach us that there is a third level of filling with God. We begin our Christian experience when we accept Jesus into our heart and receive His blood as the atoning sacrifice for our life. Secondly, we open ourselves up to the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized in the Spirit, God’s Spirit comes to commune with our spirit. Yet, the Bible also speaks of being filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). It also speaks of us growing to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). I expect us to see more of this level in our day. This excites me! I love God and want to go for every opportunity to have more in Him. I hope you feel the same way.
What experience will bring me to this level?
The third level experience is different from the other experiences. A good illustration is the head of wheat becoming the full grain in the head, as spoken of in Mark 4. This implies growing from the second level, as well as the gradual development of the third phase. In speaking of being filled with the fullness of God, Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus that he desired them to grow in the love of God that surpasses knowledge. This means they needed to go beyond human understanding. This is why he says in Ephesians 1:17-18 that they needed a “spirit of wisdom and revelation” and that they would be “enlightened.” The word enlightened speaks of revelation understanding. This is the understanding that takes one past the human experience to the divine experience. The third day is about the perfect, mature place.
Romans 12:1 – 2 (NKJV) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
This process involves the renewing and transformation of our mind. This transformation is only possible through the Spirit. It will not come from purely learning or mind control.
Ephesians 4:22 – 23 (NKJV) “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,”
How does this process of renewal in our mind take place? It takes exposure to the washing of regeneration through the Holy Spirit and the anointed Word of God.
Ephesians 5:26 (NKJV) “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,”
This is where the prophetic Word comes into play again. In 1 Samuel 3, Samuel grew to be a great prophet in the House of Israel. The setting of his day is spoken of in verse one.
1 Samuel 3:1 (NKJV) “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.”
Today, the church is once again lacking in revelation knowledge, which is the inspired Word that will transform us and make us into the people of God. Yet, God is now rising up the true prophetic voice again. That is what the ministry of the new day is about. We are a prophetic voice bringing forth new revelation and understanding to the people of God. This Word will change us and bring about a new experience with our God.
1 Samuel 3:20 – 21 (NKJV) “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD. Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.”
What is the New Day? – The Father and His Sons
The most important aspect of this new day is how we relate to God. We begin our walk with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I remember my initial experience with God as a child. As an insecure and anxious child, I dedicated my life to Jesus Christ early in life. He was not just my Savior, but also my friend, my confidant, and my security. At the age of 17, the Lord brought me into a new experience with Him through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was a wonderful experience and an enlargement of my experience in God. Because of this experience with the Holy Spirit, I became empowered for ministry and very quickly thereafter began my journey into full-time service for God. Through the Holy Spirit, I received spiritual gifts that opened my life to a very exciting and promising journey. Yet, one day the Lord began to show me that there was still another level He wanted to take me to. I was excited about the new things God had for me, but as the Word began to work in me I was like the prophet who found the Word pleasant in the mouth, but bitter in the digestion.
The Word of the Lord began to show me about knowing God as my Father. I knew of this concept, but certainly did not understand the gravity of it. The insight into this experience is recorded in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 12:5 – 8 (NKJV) “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens,And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.”
These verses reveal that God not only wants to reveal Himself as the Father, but He also wants to reveal who His sons are. The whole earth longs for the revealing, or unveiling, of the sons of God in the earth (Romans 8:19). Even within you, there is a groaning for this experience. The plan of God from the beginning was that Jesus Christ would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:28-30). The groan within is so that we fulfill the eternal purpose for which God chose in Him before the foundation of the world. This is an important message in this third day. You must know God as your Father before you can become one of the sons of God in the earth. Remember, when we are born again we become the Children of God, but when we see our Father and know Him as He is, it will produce great change in us.
1 John 3:2 – 3 (NKJV) “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
The chastening spoken of in Hebrews is not just needless suffering. It does not necessarily speak of punishment for wrongdoing either, but speaks of corrective learning. An example of corrective learning can be seen in the training of our children. We make them do something that they may not necessarily want to do, but that will result in their accepting responsibility for living a mature life. When parents instruct a child to do something they do not want to do, it may seem like punishment. However, it is in fact training that equips them for life. In addition, it helps them truly enjoy the blessings life has to offer.
What is the New Day? – The New Song
Isaiah 42:10 (NKJV) “Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!”
The psalmist declared, “The Lord has put a new song into my mouth, many will see it and fear.” When God does a new work in our heart, it will produce a new song.
Romans 10:10 (NKJV) “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
This confession is not just a spoken confession, it is sung. There is something about a song from our heart that changes our step and lightens our journey. This is why the psalmist said he had a new song and people will see it. The new song will be manifested in our faces and our steps! You can tell that people are stuck in their past simply by listening to the songs they are singing.
When I was a young man, I attended a church where a favorite song of the congregation had the lyrics, “Give me that old time religion. It was good for Paul and Silas, so it must be good enough for us.” This was the song of the Pentecostal movement. The cry was, take us back to the great days of the apostolic church in the Book of Acts. In this new day, we must understand that the glory of the latter house will be greater than the former (Haggai 2:9). The foundation of the church was built on the apostles and prophets, but the final glory will be revealed through the holy temple of God, which is the church, grown and matured to its final destination: the habitation of God in the Spirit!
Ephesians 2:20 – 22 (NKJV) “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
When the Children of Israel were gathered back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city, God used the prophetic voice to encourage them to finish the work. As the prophets spoke, they not only told of the glory of what God was going to do in the natural, they also foretold of the glory that would one day come to the temple. This glory was none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Most High God. This great man would be a branch stretching from His place to reach the nations.
Zechariah 6:12 – 13 (NKJV) “Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD; Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’
This king/priest, spoken of in Zechariah, is Jesus Christ, who has now called for His church to be a nation of kings and priests to our God. It is this great company who will sing a song in this hour that will change the church and also change our world.
Revelation 5:9-10 (NKJV) “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Are you ready to sing a new song in this new day?
P.S. For a fuller understanding of these concepts, I encourage you to read my book, Discovering Favor with God. You will learn how to get the Father’s blessing and be released for the ministry as one of the sons of God in the earth.
-Pastor Loren Covarrubias
