The Purge Is For The Surge

Tags

Awakening, Harvest, Prophecy, prophetic words, Revival

Many prophets have been prophesying that God is cleaning house, in the church, in the nations and in our lives. We are seeing ISIS being driven out of their strongholds, we are seeing brick and mortar companies shutting their doors, we are watching churches lose members daily and if you look closely you can see God is wanting to purge our own personal lives as well. The purging is not hard to see. Dictionary.com defines purge as follows:

1. to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.

2.to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of or from):

to purge a political party of disloyal members.

3.to clear of imputed guilt or ritual uncleanliness.

4.to clear away or wipe out legally (an offense, accusation, etc.) byatonement or other suitable action.

5.to remove by cleansing or purifying (often followed by away, off, orout).

6.to clear or empty (the bowels) by causing evacuation.

7.to cause evacuation of the bowels of (a person).

A friend of mine asked me to help her purge her house of needless things and little did I know how prophetic this activity was going to be for me. Being able to see this house before and now to see it after is extremely encouraging. Her family feels safer, thinks clearer and is proud of where they live again. They swallowed their pride, asked for help and we purged this house. It was hard at times, because we get attached to things we don’t realize were attached to, we have habits we did not realize we have and when you purge you see how much money you wasted. Purging brings about repentance which leads to life, so even though it was hard for her emotionally and me physically, we made it through this purging and all of us are proud of the final result.

God is purging the United States government, some don’t understand it, don’t like and have many opinions about it, but the purge is for the surge. The Lord is doing the same thing in our churches, He is purging the house of God for we have exchanged training for entertaining, we have exchanged holiness for donut holes and coffee bars. Mark 11:11 says, “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” One-day Jesus entered the temple to look around, I believe we have been in this day for longer than many realize. Jesus has done an inspection of our lives, of His house and of our nation and now we are living in the next day.

The next day, according to Mark 11:15-17 “On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” I believe we living in the day of the purge, it is not going to be easy, nor is it fun, but it is necessary. If you want to enter the third day, the day of the surge, you must go through the day of the purge. The purge is not punishment, it is promotion, because the purge is for the surge.

Dictionary.com defines surges as follows:

1.a strong, wavelike, forward movement, rush, or sweep

2.a strong, swelling, wavelike volume or body of something

3.a sudden, strong increase or burst

4.Military. a significant increase in the number of troops deployed to anarea.

5.the rolling swell of the sea.

6.the swelling and rolling sea

7.a swelling wave; billow.

The prophets have been telling us a wave is coming, a harvest is coming, an increase is coming, what they have been prophesying is the surge that is coming. However, before the surge, there has to be a purge and that is what we are seeing, the purge, but take heart, rejoice, get ready, because if you are experiencing or experienced the purge, that means God is preparing you for the surge, the purge is for the surge!

As In The Days of Nehemiah

Tags

Democrat, healing, Independent, Jared Kushner, John McCain, Politics, President Trump, Prophecy, Republican, Steve Scalise

While in prayer this morning, I was thanking the Lord for our nation, for our President, and praying for Senators John McCain and Steve Scalise, asking the Lord for accelerated healing for both men. While praying in this context, the Lord spoke to me and said, “President Trump is like Nehemiah”. I was stunned by what I heard and even told the Lord, many have called him a Cyrus type figure based on Isaiah 45, but I have not heard that he is like a Nehemiah. The easy connection would be the “build that wall!” chant, which took off during the campaign, but that is not what God was referencing. I was sensing based on the opposition he is facing, that he is like a Nehemiah. Last night when the evening news reported Jared Kushner agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Donald Jr. has yet to say if he will or not, my thought was, this family didn’t go into politics for fame, fortune or this kind of trouble, so why are they doing this? Then this morning the Lord said to me, because President Trump is like a Nehemiah.

In order for me to understand more clearly what the Lord is highlighting to me here, I had to go and read the book of Nehemiah and what I learned is that yes, truly we are living right now, as in the days of Nehemiah. With the glasses of President Trump as a Nehemiah type figure, I read the book and here are just a few of the verses that confirmed biblically for me what I heard God speaking to me in prayer. I encourage you to read the book as well and see if you see the same thing, or something different that can bring more clarity to what I believe God is seeking to show us in this season of history.

1. Nehemiah got word that the remnant were in distress and reproach, the walls were broken down and the gates were burned. (The next step would have been the city being destroyed, if someone did not repair the protective boundaries)
2. Nehemiah confessed that this was due to the sin of the people of the land, it was our own doing. (Chapter 1)
3. Nehemiah requested he be sent to the city to observe the situation and help rebuild the walls.
4. Sanballat (one meaning of his name is the moon god gives life) and Tobiah (possessed gold, Ammonite, verbally attacked Nehemiah, actively tried to stop the rebuilding of the walls) heard about Nehemiah and were very displeased because someone came to seek the welfare of the people.
5. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem (name means rain of destruction) mocked Nehemiah
6. Nehemiah answered them saying, the God of heaven will give us success; we will arise and build! (Chapter 2)
7. Eliashib, the high priest arose with other priests and built the sheep gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors.
8. Priests, people and royal officials all helped rebuild the wall. It was a project so big that everyone got involved. (Chapter 3)
9. When Sanballat heard they were rebuilding the wall, he became furious, very angry and mocked them.
10. Sanballat spoke in the presence of his brothers (the moon god worshippers) and the wealthy men of Samaria.
11. Nehemiah said, we built the wall, for the people had the mind to work.
12. Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem (the Arab) and all their people conspired together to come and fight against the rebuilding of the wall and to cause a disturbance in it.
13. But Nehemiah and the team prayed to our God and we set up guard day and night. (Nehemiah 4)
14. The people cried out saying, we’re dying here because of the financial burdens being placed on us.
15. Nehemiah went to the governing officials and said, give the people back all that belongs to them.
16. The governing officials said, we will give it back and will require nothing from them.
17. “I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise” (Nehemiah 5:13).
18. “For twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.¹⁵ But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God” (Nehemiah 5:14-15).

I could go on in the book of Nehemiah and show you how what God said to me this morning is very accurate, but you will have to see it for yourself. I am not making a political statement for or against any party, I am not even interested in being involved in politics, but when God showed me this today, I felt compelled to share it with you for your consideration. I believe we as believers need to lay down our red, blue or other political glasses and see what the kingdom is doing, hear what the King of kings is saying, and align ourselves with him. For me it is important to know the season we are living in historically, so I can be aligned with what God is doing right now. Based on what I heard in prayer and what I see here in the book of Nehemiah, I concur with God, as in the days of Nehemiah, so it is for us in America.

What Do You See?

Tags

Christianity, Fake News, False Prophets, Gospel, Jeremiah, Kingdom, News, Prophecy, Truth, Vision

Jeremiah 1:11-12 says, “The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” (NIV)

We are living in a time in history where God is asking the question of His people, what do you see? If God were to come to you today and ask you, what do you see, what would you say? What answer would you give God? Some would say they see politics; others would say they see a world leader or leaders; still others would say they see a mighty move of God that is going to change history. What do you see? When you peer into the spirit realm, when you lean into the heart of God, when you take your seat in heavenly places and look upon the earth, what do you see? Do you see anything? Do you see darkness or light? Do you see destruction or construction? Do you see life or death? What do you see? This is the question of the hour and the answer is telling.

It is undeniable that we are living in the revived hour of the prophetic. Five minutes on Facebook and you know that many people are prophesying what they see, what they hear, what they believe. For some it is confusing, for others it is confirming, it just depends on what you see. The gift of prophecy, according to 1 Corinthians 14:3 says, “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” If this is what the gift of prophecy is biblically designed to do, does what you see strengthen the body of believers, encourage the believers or comfort the believers? If it does not, it may not be the gift of prophesy but rather a personal opinion based on what you are seeing.

In this season of seeing, it is imperative that we see clearly. When God asked Jeremiah what do you see, Jeremiah responded by saying, I see the branch of an almond tree and the Lord replied to him, you have seen correctly. My question to us is, are we seeing correctly? Pulpit or periscope, microphone or iPhone, face to face or Facebook, wherever you are speaking, what you believe God is saying, the questions must asked what are you seeing and are you seeing correctly? In an age where Facebook does not hold you accountable for what you say, where your opinions on Periscope can be deleted after 24 hours, and where people can share whatever they want whenever they want, we must seek out others to hold us accountable to see if what we are seeing is correct.

Now, with that said, I believe God is speaking through people who do not have a church they preach in weekly, who do not have a platform in which they are well known, who genuinely hear from God and post those words on open platforms, but there is a lot of people who are not seeing clearly so we must see clearly so we can eat the meat and spit out the bones. Freedom without responsibility and accountability is bondage and even though you love your freedom of speech, just like Gamaliel said to the religious leaders, if this move is not of God it will not succeed (Acts 5:39), but if it is of God, which many arising leaders are not recognized yet, it will be unstoppable.

The reason we are seeing so much fake prophecy, false teachings and self-promotion is because we are in the middle of a transition of historical proportions. We are going to see a move of God that is unprecedented in our generation and it is going to have one name that is lifted high: the name of Jesus, one man that is going to get all the glory: the man Jesus and one message that is going to be preached: the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, don’t be moved by all the negative, destructive, political, things you see. Desperate people go to desperate measures to be seen and heard, but honorable people wait their turn, knowing full well that it is God who lifts us up, and then no man can bring us down. The uprising has begun, can you see it?

Maritime Lessons

Tags

12 Tribes of Israel, Barnacles, Business, Economics, Harbor, Month of Sivan, Naval Mines, Prophecy, Zebulun

The end of May marked the beginning of the Hebrew month of Sivan, which is affiliated with the Tribe of Zebulun, whose typical symbol is that of a ship. When I learned these details last weekend, while listening to Glory of Zion’s sermon on Sunday morning about the month of Sivan, it added substance to some details God was revealing to me, but of which I did not have the frame of reference to place them. Now, that I have a better understanding of why the Lord was leading me to learn about Naval Mines and Barnacles, I can see clearer, that this month is about maritime issues and the Lord is preparing us to be ones who can carry the wealth of the nations. However, in order to be effective carries of these resources, there are some things we need to watch out for, so these are the maritime lessons the Lord has taught me and I want to share with you. I believe they are prophetic warnings of which we can deal with in prayer and they are for our personal lives as we progress into the new that is upon us.

Naval mines are bombs that the enemy drops in waters just outside a harbor that explode when a ship comes in to harbor. These bombs are placed on the ocean floor and are detonated by the presence of the arriving ships in order to blow them up before they can dock. Naval mines are used by many nations around the world to protect their own harbors from enemy ships approaching their harbor. As I studied these naval mines, I realized that when ministries, people and nations rise in financial power, the enemy detonates these bombs in order to destroy the ship carrying those resources. Some naval mines blow up because of people who do not have the character to handle the cash they are called to carry; others have enemies that plant these mines in their lives prior to them become cargo ships, so when they get big enough it triggers the naval mine to cause the explosion. No matter the way, the reality is, Zebulun, is a money ship and this ship is coming into harbor and will be going out of the harbor and the enemy is willing to wait for an opportune time to blow up our lives.

The Lord revealed these naval mines to me and then had me study mine sweeping. Mine sweeping is taking a simulated ship and sweeping the bottom of the ocean so the naval mines detonate prior to the real ships moving about. I believe this is where we have been. God has been mine sweeping our lives from naval mines the enemy planted when we were young, waiting for the opportune time to detonate them. I also believe prayer, fasting, bible reading, worship and silence are all tools God has used to mine sweep our lives, so they enemy cannot blow us up after we set sail into what God has prepared us for.

The second lesson the Lord taught me is that of barnacles. I sense very strongly we need to beware of the barnacles. As I heard these words from the Lord, “beware of the barnacles”, I knew, like the naval mines, the Lord was seeking to protect me from an intruder that would seek to destroy what God was going to release into our lives. Barnacles are marine animals that tend to live in shallow and tidal waters. Barnacles attach themselves to hard substrate. Barnacles in the natural attach themselves to solid things like ships, dock pillars, and jetty rocks. Here is what I did not know, barnacles have no true heart (can you hear what the spirit is saying). “Barnacles are of economic consequence, as they often attach themselves to synthetic structures, sometimes to the structure’s detriment. Particularly in the case of ships” (Wikipedia.com).

Knowing I heard the Lord say, “beware of barnacles” and then learning about the function of barnacles, opened my eyes wider to the reality that Proverbs 30:15 says, “The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give” (KJV). Barnacles are going to try and attach themselves to your life for the sake of what they can get from you and it will produce an economic consequence, so we need to beware of the barnacles. Barnacles, I believe can be people, credit cards, poor financial choices, bad investments, a variety of things. One of the lessons we must learn, who are going to carry the wealth of the nations is cost benefit analysis (CBA). If we aren’t good financial managers, we will not be allowed to carry great amounts of wealth, for the money will destroy us, just like the barnacles.

In this month of Sivan, whose associated tribe is Zebulun and whose symbol is the ship, which is associated to economics, business and money, the Lord is preparing us for an increase, by warning us of some maritime issues, which are very practical and prophetic simultaneously. The Lord delights in the prosperity of His children (Psalm 35:27), that is why He prepares us in so many ways before He releases to us what He wants us to enjoy. I hope this was helpful, insightful and practical. We are entering some very exciting times that is the reason for the maritime lessons.

Where Did You Stop?

Tags

Abraham, faith, Moses, Movement, Prophecy, Tabernacle

Where did you stop?

I can hear you asking me, where did I stop what? Where did you stop loving? Where did you stop forgiving? Where did you stop trusting? Where did you stop believing? Where did you stop learning? Where did you stop giving? Where did you stop  _____________? Rick Joyner said in February 2017 that the Lord spoke to him a 4 phrase prophetic word, “To infinity and beyond!” I did not know until today that God spoke that to Rick, but about 3 weeks ago, God spoke to me and said, “where did you stop?” I believe these two, four phrase prophetic words are connected, for you cannot go to infinity and beyond if you stop. So, where did you stop?

The reason I believe this question is so important is because the Lord is inviting us yet again to “Come up here!” Revelation 4:1 says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” Couple this with the call out of Jeremiah 33:2-3 that says, ““This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” One observation I have made in the body of Christ is that when we get a revelation, we tend to camp on that revelation as though it is a final destination. Now, I realize that many people like to build settlements so they can feel secure, but the God we serve is continually on the move.

What I have noticed is that many have stopped at their last book, their last marriage, their last success, their last theology, but God is inviting us to keep going, to keep pressing, to keep moving. We are not to leave those things behind in the sense of we forget what we learned, but Hebrews 6:1 encourages us to press on, keep going, don’t stop. God invited Moses to build a tabernacle, it was a mobile tent, so they could keep moving; He made an ark of the covenant, that was to carried on the shoulders of the Levites, so it could be on the move; He called Abraham to keep moving until he found the city, who’s builder and maker is God; Jesus Himself, never built a settlement, but rather walked with His disciples, they were on the move.

I don’t believe God is anti-buildings, but I believe that many of us have stopped, settled, set up camp with no intention of moving on from where we are. Faith is movement! Like a river, we need to keep moving in our faith, in our love, in our pursuit of the Kingdom, we have done ourselves and others a disservice when God moves but we remain.

So, where did you stop? I can feel the resistance to this question, because if you answer it honestly, you will have to admit you stopped. But, I believe God is releasing a fresh wave of grace (empowerment) to get moving again. He is inviting us to believe again, trust again, love again, give again, because He is on the move. Whenever the cloud moved, the Israelites moved, I’m concerned the cloud has moved but many in the body of Christ have not. We are being invited to learn again, listen again, obey again, because He is speaking again!

If you stopped, you can start again, but you realize you stopped. Others see where you stopped, but many times you can’t see it, but today is the day of salvation, so pick up your mat and walk, for God is on the move and He wants you to move with Him.

Listening Precedes Speaking

Tags

Ear Training, Listening, Prophecy, Public Speaking, Speaking, Truth, voice of God

Listening Precedes Speaking 4.19.17

http://www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

 

It is not a new concept to understand that what you hear is what you speak. When we were new born babies, we heard many words, but we could not speak any. So, we had to learn to listen, before we could learn to speak. The same is true in the spiritual as it is in the natural. Until we learn to listen and hear clearly, we will not be able to speak clearly. Paul said, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Our level of hearing, determines our leveling of speaking. I think we can all agree on this.

 

Here is the challenge the body of Christ is facing, whether on Facebook, Instagram, or in pulpits and on platforms all over the world, we have people wanting to speak before they have learned to listen. This is bringing much confusion to the body of Christ and causing many to get their hopes up around what sounds like a prophetic word, but is actually just someone’s vain imagination. Jeremiah 23:16 says, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.” This is not just about prosperity prophecies, this is also about gloom and doom, Jesus is returning soon prophecies. People are speaking before they are listening and it is leading the body of Christ astray.

 

When I was 19 years old and newly saved, I had zeal without knowledge. I was ready to preach to anyone who would listen, that Jesus Christ is Lord. I do not think that evangelism like this is harmful, because the zeal is so strong that you do not care what others think about you, all you know is that you were once lost and now you are found. The challenge is, when people who have zeal but no knowledge are in our pulpits, conferences or on our news feeds. Their zeal can be contagious, but their knowledge is weak, because they have pursued speaking over listening.

 

When I was in my first Bible Training School, one or our Pastor said he spent 8 hours to prepare for one sermon. I remember thinking, what are you doing for 8 hours, when you only speak for 20-30 minutes? But now that I have grown up, now that I have learned the value of listening and stopped trying to be a speaker, I realize how crucial it is to listen for many hours on end and speak for very few. Solomon even said in Proverbs 17:27 “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” The less we speak, the more we know, because when you really know something, you have no need to be heard, rather you wait to see if anyone wants to hear what you have to say.

 

The body of Christ has been going through what I call accelerated maturity. It has been a time for those who agreed to it, to learn in a rapid way how to hear the voice of God, clearly, so they can speak the words of God, clearly. They are not taking scripture out of context to match their message; they are not slapping a verse on people’s problems; they are not pursuing a pulpit or platform; they are learning to listen to the still small voice in the secret place of the most High. They have learned wisdom, patience, timing, intimacy and authority; they are not in a hurry to make their name great, but they are prepared to make His name glorious; they went in as unbroken wild horses and are now broken power horses with a fiery love in their eyes and a word in their mouth. When they speak, demons are going to flee; the dead are going to be raised; the sick are going to be healed; relations are going to be restored; and the lost are going to come to Christ.

 

The leaders that are about to arise learned that listening precedes speaking; they learned that if they don’t hear clearly, they won’t speak clearly; and they learned it is not about training your mind, it is about letting the Lord heal your heart, for they know, that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, not out the abundance in their head. They have been in the secret place getting a heart transplant, heart surgery and cardiovascular healing, so when they speak, there is synergy between their heart and their mouth, because they know they can only speak what they hear. God is more interested in you learning to hear His voice (which means consistently obeying what you hear), than He is in you speaking, writing a book or putting out another prophetic word. You can’t side step it, He is a God of order and learning to listen precedes speaking in the kingdom age leaders.

No Delay

Tags

grace, Kingdom, maturity, Prophecy, Truth, wisdom

“There is no such thing as delay, there is a lack of understanding the day.” This is what the Lord spoke to me this morning while in prayer. It has become popular to tell people they need to bind the spirit of delay; they need to prophesy, no more delay; and a variety of other variations of this vein. But, the Lord said to me, “there is no such thing as delay, there is a lack of understanding the day.” As I pondered these words, I realized we feel like there is a delay, because we put a time frame on the promise God has spoken. That is not delay, that is us not understanding the day.

In Joshua 6 the Lord speaks a word of promise to Joshua and the children of Israel about the city of Jericho, saying, “I have given Jericho, its king, and all its soldiers into your hands.” When God says something, it is going to happen, but when it happens is in the following verses, for the chapter goes on to release the strategy that needs to be employed for the promise to be actualized. Joshua 6:3-5 gives the strategy, “Every day for the next six days, you will march once around the city walls with all your fighting force. Seven priests will go in front of the covenant chest, each carrying a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. On the seventh day, you will march around the city walls seven times, and the priests will blow their trumpets.  When they play a long final blast, then all the people will give a mighty shout. The city walls will collapse in front of you, and all the Israelites will charge in and take the city.” Anyone of those soldiers could have decreed no more delay after day 1, 2, 3 or more, but it was not a delay, rather they were unaware of the day. If it is day 3, 4 or 5 there was not going to be any sign of victory for it was not the right day.

When we are unaware of what day we are in, based on the strategy God has spoken to us, we will cry, delay! But it is not a delay, we just don’t understand what day it is. People do this with so many things. We do it with prophesy, we do it with scripture, we do it with our end time ideas. If we don’t know the day, we won’t know where we are, but one thing is for sure, there is no delay. Joel 2 says, “In the last days…” (plural); Matthew 24:36 says, “On that day…” (singular); Galatians 6:9 speaks to a “due season”; whereas Romans 13:11 says, “now is the time and the hour…”. There is no such thing as delay, but there is a lack of understanding the days, day, season, time, or hour.

Many of us have a promise from God, we know that we know, God said…but the timing is where we are off. If we were honest, God did not give us a when it would happen, He only told us what would happen. For maturity to take place, it is important that we stop imposing our thoughts, our time frame, our faith in ourselves, rather we must listen not just to the promise, but the strategy about how to employ the promise and then we will better understand the day we are on, so we can be patient in the process, for the promise will not delay. Remember Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”

“Don’t yell or shout. Don’t let your voice be heard until the day I tell you. And then I want you to shout with all your might” (Joshua 6:10).  If you are still in the silent stage, don’t worry it is not a delay, it is just not the day. Once the day arrives, trust me, you will shout, the walls will fall, the victory will be sure and the battle will be won quickly, for the Lord will say, NOW! Shout unto God with a voice of triumph! (Psalm 47:1). It is not a delay, it is design, because with God there is no delay.

What are You Hearing?

Tags

Authority, bible, context, integrity, kingdom reality, Prophecy, Truth, voice of God

Is God saying more than one thing at one time? Is He declaring one thing to you and another thing to me about the same nation? Is the Lord the author of confusion? In a social media world, there are many benefits, people who do not have a platform for a variety of reasons, can use social media to get their message out. But social media is extremely dangerous as well, for it is riddled with confusion as many self-proclaimed and self-appointed prophets are saying, “Thus says the Lord.” With many people on a spiritual quest, one of the places they are looking for spiritual insight is online, but the challenge is, the church, Christians are proclaiming many things that are not biblically accurate. This is both dangerous for the hearer and the speaker, for the Bible is not silent on the issue of making declarations that God did not make. 

Ezekiel 13:1-3 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, Listen to the word of the LORD! ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.…” (NASB). Jeremiah 23:15-17 says, “For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.'” Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace “‘; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’…” (NASB). 

Yahweh speaks with clarity, not confusion. He is not speaking many things at the same time, He has so much authority He only needs to speak one thing at a time. One word from heaven has the authority and power to transform the earth. As prophets in training, the first thing that must be learned is how to discern the voice of God, amidst all the other voices. Many people who prophesy, don’t know the word of God in context, so their prophecies are of their own making. One of the greatest challenges we face in Christianity today is the inability for people to hear the voice of God. Because this is an epidemic in the church, many people are looking to those who say they hear God to tell them what God is saying. The challenge with this is, if God is not saying it, but they are told God said it, then they get disappointed for they thought God said something God never said. 

1 Corinthians 14 says, all should desire to prophesy and in the book of Numbers, Moses said, he wished all of God’s people prophesied. But in order to prophesy, you need to know the word of God, for that is the first step in hearing the voice of God. The second indicator of whether you are hearing God is if what you are hearing is being confirmed by those who are seasoned at hearing the voice of God. For example, the Lord spoke to me and said, 2017 is a year of Victory, I posted this on January 1st on my Facebook page, then today, Chuck Pierce came out with a video today that declared 2017 the year of Victory and Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, CA said at their Sunday morning service on January 1st, that the word God gave him for 2017 is Breakthrough. So, when men and women that are known for hearing the voice of God are saying the same thing you are hearing, it is a good indicator you are hearing God and not your vain imagination. 

The Bible says to whom much has been given, much is required. If you have not been given much, not much is required of you, but if you want to be given more, than be a good steward of what you have been given. You have been given your Bible, it is the voice of God to you and to the nations, but it must be righty applied. 2017 is a year of Victory, for you to experience victory, you must learn to hear the voice of God. You hear the news, you hear your family and friends, you hear what others are saying on social media, but can you hear the voice of God in His word? What are you hearing? Hearing the voice of God is the key to the abundant life. He loves to talk, that is why you have a Bible, my prayer is that this year, you will hear His voice.

Seeding the Atmosphere

Tags

church, prayer, Prophecy, prophetic words, Prophets, Religion

Have you ever been in church and knew you had a word from God for that moment, but there was no room given to speak forth that word in this current system we call church? Have you ever wanted to grab the microphone and share something the Lord was showing you, knowing it would be a blessing to the church? Have you ever followed the proper protocol to submit the word to the leadership, but that word was not allowed to be released from the microphone for whatever reason? For prophetic people this happens quite often. For people that can hear the voice of God, they hear Him a lot in worship, and rightfully so, for Paul said, “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up” (1 Corinthians 14:26, NIV). So, there is biblical precedence for your word being spoken, unfortunately, more often than not, there is no room for it, so what do you do? Many prophetic people have gotten offended because they have not been given the microphone to speak their prophetic word and because of that offense, “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle” (Proverbs 18:19, NKJV). Many prophetic people have left the church, so the church is without a prophetic voice. But in this hour, God is restoring the prophetic voice to the church!

One of the things God has been doing with His apostles, prophets and teachers in this past season is training them in righteousness. This training has been taking place on the back side of the desert, in the secret place, in the caves and crevices where no one can see you or hear you, publicly. The Lord has been healing both religious and relationship wounds in His emerging leaders. The Lord has been developing their character and in a word making them mature. The reason for this long season of maturing His rising leaders is because according to Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (NASB). As a leader you will make people who are like you, so if you are not mature, the people who look to you as a leader will not become mature, because they become who you are not what you say. Therefore, God is calling us to maturity, that is why His emerging leaders needed to mature, so they can lead the Body of Christ into maturity.

Now back to the prophets, God is releasing mature prophets back into the church, but most people, if not all people have no idea the function you are fulfilling, but you do. So, as the Lord speaks to you, giving you a word to speak in that moment, if there is no room for you to share that word from the microphone, we need to remember that as prophets our words carry authority and that authority is increased or diminished by the microphone, it is only amplified. Therefore, speak the word God gave you, even if you are not given a microphone, speak it into the atmosphere in prayer, your words are powerful, they are seeding the atmosphere. When you seed the atmosphere with what God is saying, someone else will say what you seeded into the atmosphere because your words are full of authority. It takes maturity to not need to get the credit for a word God gave you. Maturity is knowing that the word is from God not from you, so if you have to seed the atmosphere in prayer, because there is no room on the microphone, it does not change the truth that God’s word is going to be spoken and He is going to get the glory. This is how prophetic people can stay in the church without getting offended, they must remember the word did not originate with them, so it does not matter who amplifies it. Seed the atmosphere with your prophetic words, speak them out, even if people can’t hear them, the atmosphere does and God will get the glory. You carry authority, your words have power, speak prophet speak, even if your words are not amplified, you are still seeding the atmosphere.

Exploring New

Tags

Brand New, church, Discipleship, iPhone 7, kingdom of God, maturity, Prophecy

When you say you want something new, do you mean you want a brand new version of what you already have or do you want something completely brand new? I guess that depends on what you are talking about. I was in the car driving, meditating on what do we mean when we say we want revival? Are we asking God to make what we currently have, brand new? Or do we really want something new? And when we ask the Lord for something new, what does He think of when He thinks of something new? I know for people that don’t like to think deeply about things, this will be trivial, but for us who are serious about being leaders in the emerging future, we must ask these kinds of questions.

I turned to my 8-year old son, in the midst of this thought process and said, if I say I want a new phone, holding my iPhone 4s in my hand, am I asking for a brand new iPhone 4s or am I asking for a newer version of the iPhone? He said, of course you don’t want a brand new iPhone 4s, you want a brand new iPhone 7. Then he said, why are you asking me this? So, I told him, because when we ask for something new, do we really know what we are asking for? He just stared at me like I was weird, but I think the Lord is probing many of his leaders with this question right now. What exactly are you asking for? Do you want the same version of what you have, but just make it brand new, like it was when we first made it, or do you want something you have never seen before?

If I say I want to buy a new house, I am not saying, I want someone to rebuild my exact house, so I can have the same thing, just brand new. I am saying I love the house I am in, but I am ready for a new house, maybe I need more space, a different location, or just something completely different. We understand what we mean when we speak of things in the natural like cars, houses and phones, but when it comes to asking God to make us new, do we know what we are asking for? 2 Corinthians 5:17, says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV). God does not give us a brand new version of our old self, He makes us into something brand new, something never seen before. Then in Revelation 21:5 we read, “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (NIV).

I think God is making things new, new like we have not seen before, new like an upgraded version with features we have yet to see, new like you are going to love all the new features I added to the latest version, I think He is making all things new, but we are resisting the new, because we prefer the old. Luke 5:38-39 says, “No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better” (NIV). I think many people want a brand new version of the old, but Jesus is releasing something completely brand new, that has never been seen before. People can feel it, they know there is a paramount change taking place, so they are hanging on to the old because they believe the old is better. But, He is God and does not need your permission or mine to bring something brand new to our planet. Just like in the days of Jesus the old will still operate in their old patterns, but the new is about to come on the scene, so people have an alternative option, because they know the old is not working, but the new has not arrived yet.

I don’t know for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion just like the new iPhone 7 is going to have a brand new operating system that will not work on any version earlier than the iPhone 6, I think God is releasing a brand new operating system that is not going to work in the older versions of how to do life in the kingdom. God is releasing an upgrade that is going to stir more buzz than anything Steve Jobs released and it is going to cause people to wait in line to get their hands on what God is about to release. It is going to be brand new, a surprise like none of us could have imagined, and it is going to reverberate throughout the nations of the world. I don’t know about you, but I am leaning into the emerging future, by exploring new.