Five Things We Will Learn
- Why seasons of darkness require the church to return to simple, Spirit-led gatherings in homes.
- How home meetings cultivate boldness, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and future leaders.
- Why Scripture reveals the church as a family before it is ever an organization.
- How comfort and convenience can quietly dull our responsiveness to Jesus’ voice.
- Why opening our homes is often the very way we open the door to the Lord Himself.
A Call to the Remnant in a Dark Hour
There are seasons when God calls His people to gather in new ways—not because something is trendy, but because something is necessary. In moments of deep cultural and spiritual darkness, the church is often refined, simplified, and re-centered.
Both Bob Jones and Rick Joyner spoke with clarity about such a time: a season when the remnant church would rediscover the power and purpose of meeting in homes. Not as a retreat, but as a preparation.
The emphasis was not on smaller gatherings for convenience, but on deeper gatherings for transformation.
Home Meetings: Where Leaders Are Formed
Home meetings are not merely alternatives to larger congregations; they are environments where spiritual leadership is forged. In these settings, believers learn to move in the Spirit, listen for God’s voice, and step beyond timidity.
Large gatherings can sometimes create spectators. Homes, by contrast, require participation. They invite prayer, discernment, and obedience. In such spaces, believers learn to respond rather than observe—and future leaders are discovered not by titles, but by faithfulness.
This is where an army of light is formed—not in performance, but in presence.
Read more on the Original Intent of the Church.
Light Always Overcomes Darkness
The message is simple and timeless: light always overcomes darkness. Darkness never defeats light; it only retreats from it.
In seasons described by Scripture as “gross darkness,” the world searches desperately for answers. The answers are not found in stages or systems alone. They are carried by believers who live filled with the Spirit and willing to shine.
The light people are searching for is not theoretical—it is personal. It flows from a living relationship with God, cultivated in prayer, obedience, and shared life together.
The Church: Family Before Organization
One of the strongest warnings embedded in this teaching is this: when the church becomes more of an organization than a family, it departs from its original design.
Homes restore what institutions often unintentionally lose—relational depth, accountability, and spiritual intimacy. God is not seeking a structure to manage; He is seeking a dwelling place.
This is one of our primary prophetic focuses at Vine Fellowship Network. Find out more about our story in how it aligns with this prophetic message from the Lord and our story.
Preparing the living room is both practical and prophetic. It is a declaration that God is welcome—not just in meetings, but in daily life.
Opening the Door When He Knocks
One of the most sobering images comes from Revelation 3:21, where Jesus stands outside His own church, knocking. He does not force entry. He waits to be invited.
As Billy Graham once observed, if the Holy Spirit were to depart from many churches, few would even notice. The issue is not whether He is willing to enter—it is whether He is truly wanted.
Jesus makes it clear: “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door…” Hearing is not enough. Opening requires desire, urgency, and surrender.
The Danger of Comfort and Delay
The ancient picture of the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon reveals a subtle but devastating danger—hesitation. Comfort delayed her response. By the time she rose to open the door, her beloved had gone.
This is not a story of rebellion, but of complacency. It exposes the quiet test facing the church: do we love comfort more than presence?
When there is hesitation, it reveals lukewarmness. When there is instant response, it reveals love.
A Final Test for the Church
The call to the church in this hour is not complicated, but it is costly. Will we respond immediately when He knocks? Will we prepare room for Him—not only spiritually, but practically?
Home gatherings are not about nostalgia. They are about readiness.
The Lord is still knocking. The question is whether His people are listening—and whether they will open the door without delay.