When the Lampstand Is Shaken

By Dr. Phil Spears

There are moments in history when Heaven seems quiet, not because God has stopped speaking, but because He is waiting to see who still knows how to listen. We are living in such an hour.

The Lord has been weighing the house—not with anger, but with truth. What once burned brightly has flickered, not for lack of oil, but because the wick has not been trimmed. Jesus warned the church of Ephesus, “I know thy works… nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:2–4, KJV). The danger was not sin alone, but distance. Not rebellion, but routine.

A church can be busy and still be barren.

I sense in my spirit that God is not dismantling His people; He is realigning them. There is a shaking taking place, just as the prophet declared: “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven” (Hebrews 12:26). Shaking does not destroy what is rooted—only what is artificial. Anything built on memory instead of obedience will not endure this hour.

We have confused preservation with faithfulness. We have guarded structures while neglecting the fire that once filled them. The altar has been maintained, but the sacrifice has grown cold. Malachi’s cry still echoes: “Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought?… I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:10). God is not impressed by open doors if no one brings Him a living offering.

There is a remnant emerging—not louder, not larger, but lower. They are learning again the posture of the prophet Samuel: “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9). This remnant is not obsessed with relevance or recognition. They are marked by obedience. They have discovered that authority flows not from title, but from surrender.

The Lord spoke to Elijah not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire—but in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11–12). We have chased the dramatic and missed the directive. God is calling His servants back to discernment, back to holiness, back to the quiet place where His word is clear and costly.

Judgment begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), but judgment is not always condemnation—it is separation. God is dividing soul from spirit, wheat from chaff, tradition from truth. What cannot be corrected will be removed. What cannot bend will break. But what humbles itself will be entrusted with more.

The lampstand is being examined.

Jesus said, “Repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place” (Revelation 2:5). The lampstand represents witness. God is not removing salvation—He is removing influence. A church can still exist and yet no longer illuminate.

But hear this clearly: the same God who removes also restores.

The prophet Joel declared, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25). Restoration does not come by reliving the past, but by returning to the Source. When the oil is pure again, the flame will return. When prayer becomes priority again, power will follow. When leaders tremble at His word again, Heaven will trust them with authority.

We are approaching a crossroads. Like Joshua, we are being asked to choose—not between good and evil, but between comfort and covenant. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). This choice will cost us familiar ground, but it will gain us holy ground.

The next move of God will not be built on platforms; it will be built on prayer closets. It will not be carried by personalities, but by purified hearts. Amos asked the question that still stands unanswered in many places: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Agreement with Heaven is the requirement of the hour.

I believe the Lord is raising watchmen again—men and women who will not sleep through the night watches, who will not prophesy for applause, who will not trade truth for access. Isaiah wrote, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night” (Isaiah 62:6).

The sound is changing. The weight is returning. The call is clear.

If we will humble ourselves, if we will seek His face and turn from our ways, then Heaven still promises healing (2 Chronicles 7:14). Not revival as an event, but renewal as a way of life.

The lampstand can burn again.

But only if we are willing to let God tend the flame.

Dr. Phil Spears

www.thechurchofprophecy.com

www.drphilspears.com