“But you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

1 Thessalonians 5: 5-8

We are to be like the sons of Issachar, recognizing the hour and by the Spirit knowing what to do. Jesus warned that many believers would fall asleep in the last hour, and we have warnings from Paul and Peter regarding the last days and the state of the Church. William J Seymour said:

Oh, I feel the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ drawing nigh. Hallelujah! Glory to His name!

Recognizing the hour, Seymour further added:

Oh, I am so thankful that I can work for my Christ and my God. The time is short when our blessed Jesus shall return to this earth, and snatch away His waiting bride.

If we recognize the hour, we will also hear the call of the Spirit and the burden to reach souls, for surely the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Yes, many want to be busy, but few want to take up the Heavenly mantle and fulfill the high call of Heaven in this hour. If we truly realized the short time and what is at stake, would we be found sober and active in this hour? Seymour explained:

I can’t forget how, kneeling at the dear old board in Azusa Street, I promised God I would go where He wanted me to go and stay where He wanted me to stay, and be what He wanted me to be. I meant every word of it and God has taken me at my word.

God is looking for consecrated vessels who seek His face in the Secret Place and commit themselves spirit, soul, and body to the call of Heaven. Do we press into the deeper waters of the Secret Place until we are not just touched but drowned in His love? Yes, we must in this hour we wrecked by His love. Seymour said:

His glory is flooding my soul. Oh, how I worship His precious name! I have to stop and wonder how God can bless the Word through me.

When we are wrecked by His love, our lives become an ongoing worship. Yes, every fiber of our being is filled with a deep cry of thanks and worship to the Living God. Seymour explained:

To think He has saved me when all my family were infidels and everything that would drive me from God. No one can ever know how I feel for the way God has dealt with me.

Jesus calls us to occupy until He comes. He has called us for such a time as this, and we are perfectly anointed for this hour. Many believe it is too late or all doors are closed, but if we will seek His face and consecrate ourselves to the call in the Secret Place, He will fill us with His Spirit and open a door that NO MAN can shut.

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a solder. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”

2 Timothy 2: 3-5

If we are to endure, we must be built in the Secret Place. For here, we learn to hear, and here we learn obedience. For we must run the race His way and not in our opinion. We must run the race He has set before us, not the one we want to run.

Seymour said:

Oh, how I love Jesus. It thrills my very being to think of the blood. It has done so much for me. I am filled with wonder love, and praise that God would permit me to see the workings of His mighty power in these last days.

If we linger longer in the Secret Place, we will receive fresh oil for this hour. We would discover how to walk led by the Spirit so that he might move with mighty power in our lives.

Seymour said:

Oh, to think we have lived to see the return of the apostolic power and to see the gifts restored back to the church. I find we cannot compromise with anything or anybody. Oh, we must stand for all the light we have received, “and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).

Do we long to see a mighty move of God in our hour? Are we righteously disturbed on the inside and giving Heaven no rest until God moves one more time? Oh, we need another move. Souls are at stake. If we remain silent, shall we not be ashamed on that Day? Will we be able to say that we run the race well if we allow a host of souls to be swept into Hell and we just look on unmoved and untouched?

We need a fresh touch from Heaven and a new vision. Seymour said:

You know “virgin” in the Scripture is a type of purity. Christ is speaking in this parable about the church and its condition at His coming. Many precious souls today are not looking for the return of their Lord, and they will be found in the same condition as the five foolish virgins.

Many walk complacently, assuming we have arrived and we should just await our trip out of here. Oh, what a glorious day it will be when we all finally stand before the Master, forever free. It will be a day for celebrating and great rejoicing. But the Day has not come, and we must endure hardship as a soldier enlisted by the Master. We must come before the Master daily to ensure we are found well-pleasing to Him.

Seymour:

They started out to meet the bridegroom, and had some oil in their lamps, but none in their vessels with their lamps. So when the cry was made to go forth, they were found wanting in oil, which is the real type of the Holy Ghost. Many of God’s children are cleansed from sin and yet fight against getting more oil. They think they have enough.

Let us come and receive fresh oil. An abundance of fresh oil. Seymour said:

They have some of God’s love in their souls, but they have not the double portion of it. The thing they need is oil in their vessels with their lamps. It is just as plain as can be.

This is a time of preparation and separation. Knowing her wedding is near, no bride forgets her bridegroom, nor does she stop preparing. But the closer the day gets, the more she gets excited and active. For she must be ready, and she must be perfect. Seymour said:

Dearly beloved, the Scripture says, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). So they are blessed that have the call. Those that will be permitted to enter in are those who are justified, sanctified, and baptized with the Holy Ghost, sealed unto the day of redemption.

 And

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! Oh, the time is very near. All the testimonies of His coming that have been going on for months are a witness that He is coming soon. But when the trumpet sounds, it will be too late to prepare. Those that are not ready at the rapture will be left to go through the awful tribulation that is coming upon the earth.

Now is the time, and this is the hour for us to get real before the Lord in the Secret Place. We must humble ourselves and give ourselves completely to Him. The wondrous Holy Spirit is here to wash, cleanse, and prepare us. Will we sow to the Spirit? The hour is late, so let’s hear what the Spirit says. Seymour said:

Dear ones, we cannot get more than enough for ourselves. You can grasp the saints’ hands, but you cannot squeeze any oil out. You have to get the vessel filled for yourself. Many are going to be marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, and the cares of this world are going to get in the way. Above all, we want to get the oil, the Holy Ghost.