Vashti’s Refusal

Tags

Bride of Christ, church, Esther, kingdom of God, Prophecy, Purim

We are four days away from Purim, the day the Jews celebrate the Feast of Purim, a time when Hamaan was hung on the gallows he made for Mordecai. Little did I know when I read Esther 1 this morning, that Purim was on Wednesday, but when I heard it, I knew God was setting us up to say some things to us through the book of Esther. As I was reading Esther 1 this morning in the Septuagint, which is the Greek version of the Old Testament, I found some of the language very insightful and revelation began to break open on the pages of scripture as I read. I believe this chapter is prophetic for where many are right now.

In Esther 1 we read that King Artaxerxes throws a marriage feast for 180 days, then at the end of that 180 days, he throws another party for those who were still in town. For 6 more days he is banqueting with those in his palace, while Vashti is doing the same with the women. On the 7th day…slow down when you read and you will hear the Lord speak…on the 7th day, the king sends his chamberlains to get Vashti. Here is what the Septuagint says as to why he sent for her, “He sent seven of his chamberlain servants to bring in the queen to him, to enthrone her, to crown her with a diadem, to show her to the princes and to show her beauty to the nations, for she was beautiful” (Esther 1:11). Did you catch that, the king was not trying to get her to dress scantily and dance for his drunk guests, no, he wanted to enthrone her, crown her, and show her off to the princes and nations, for she was beautiful.

May I propose to you, that the king was proud of his bride and not some guy who wanted a trophy wife on his arm. May I suggest that he was seeking to honor her before the nations, but she refused to come to him. For you that have ears to hear, you can already tell where we are going. But let me just break this down, based on what I sensed the Lord was saying. Vashti, the bible says, “hearkened not to him to come” (Esther 1:12). The king was inviting her to be enthroned, crowned and shown off to the nations, but she was not interested in coming to see the king, when he called for her. Esther 1:12 goes on to say, “the king was grieved and angry.”

What I sense in this refusal of Vashti to come at the invitation, when her king called, is a prophetic picture of what many Christians have done to the King of kings. He has been inviting His church to come away with him (Song of Solomon 2), to come up here (Revelation 4), to hear him standing at the door and knocking asking to come in (Revelation 3), but the modern-day church has refused His offer. The same thing happened in the book of Acts, when Paul said, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, go to the people and say the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts and return and I would heal them” (Acts 28:25-27). The church, like Vashti has said, no to her king.

Vashti’s refusal grieved and angered the king and lost her position as his queen. Which made room for a new queen to be sought for. I believe this is a prophetic picture in the sense that Yahweh was grieved over Israel as they refused him, so in the words of Paul in Acts 28:28, “Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” But what I see has happened is that the church has done to Jesus what Israel did to Yahweh and they have fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of having eyes but can’t see and ears but can’t hear and a heart that has become dull, so can’t turn to God and be healed (Isaiah 6:9-10). And because of this refusal of the church to come to Jesus, their King, when He called, He was grieved and angry, just like Artaxerxes was when Vashti refused him.

The king will not be denied a queen though, so Artaxerxes went to find a queen, and I believe Jesus has been looking for a bride. Just as Esther was not in the system of Persia, so the bride is not in the system of the church as we know it. Vashti’s refusal, opened the door for Esther, just as the Jews refusal opened the door for the Gentiles and the church’s refusal has opened the door for the bride (those who have said yes to his invitation to be set apart for Him only). Vashti’s refusal brought grief to the king, just like the Jews refusal brought grief to Yahweh and the church’s refusal has brought grief to Jesus, but the search has went on and we are about to see how Vashti’s refusal gave us Esther and how the church’s refusal is giving us the bride!

Esther was the one who was willing to be set apart so she because queen and God used her to deliver the Jews from Hamaan. I believe those who said yes to God’s invitation in this hour have been set apart to be deliverers, like Esther was, for the people of God, who the enemy has sought to destroy. The Esther’s have been in purification and beautification treatments, they have favor with the king and they are going to be used as deliverers in this hour. Vashti’s refusal, opened the door for Esther’s arrival.

Advertisements

Coming In a Way We’ve Never Seen Before

Tags

Brand New, kingdom of God, Move of God, original, Prophecy

Mark 5:48-50 “When it was almost morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the surface of the water, and he started to pass by them. When they all saw Him walking on the waves, they thought He was a ghost and screamed out in terror. But He said to them at once, do not yield to fear. Have courage. It’s really me-I Am” (The Passion Translation)

As I was reading this passage of scripture this morning, the Lord began to speak to me and say, “I am coming in a way that many will not recognize it is me, because they think they have never seen me walk like this before. I am coming in a way that is going to cause many to cry out in fear, because they do not know my ways.”

Many well known and respected prophets have said and are saying, that God is about to do something we have never seen before, never heard before, never known before. But none of them have been able to articulate what that is, what that is going to look like. Chuck Pierce says, we have never gone this way before, Paul Keith Davis says, we do not have the vernacular to describe what is coming, and Johnny Enlow says, God is inviting us to be invisible. Lance Wallnau says, very few are fighting the war to take the 7 mountains of society and Rick Joyner said, he has a sense in his spirit that something of significance is about to happen in the earth that will shake us. But not one of these people can describe, articulate or tell us what exactly God is about to do.

I would propose to you, that God is about to release the kingdom of God through people in a way that we have never seen before. To some they are going to cry out in fear, it is a ghost, it is scary, I don’t understand it, I can’t control it and I am terrified by it. The reason some will fear is because as Jesus said in the following verses of Mark 5, “…because they failed to learn the lesson of the miracle of the loaves and their hearts were unwilling to lean the lesson.” Fear is going to strike those in the body of Christ that are not teachable as the Lord manifests the kingdom in a way we have never seen before.

The key to living in the kingdom of God is to remain teachable. In the kingdom you must live in tents like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and David did, for the kingdom of God is a tabernacle, it is a tent, it is mobile. When the cloud moves, we must move, when the Lord says, lets go, we must go. Many people are going to be afraid of this next move of God, because it is just that…a move, a move we have never made before, a move we have never seen before, but it is the same God that is moving. The same God that multiplied the fish and the bread is the same God that walked on the waves. Same God, different move.

I want to encourage you today, God is coming in a way we’ve never seen before, so we must remain teachable, flexible, pliable. He will never violate His word, but He may offend your thinking. When Jesus came as God in a man’s body, He did not violate the Word of God, but He did offend the minds of men and women. He is coming in a way we’ve never seen before, so you need to know His nature, His character, His ways, so when you see it, hear it, encounter it, you are not terrified, but rather you jump out of your boat and walk on the waves with him, for remember, His intent in Mark 5:48-50 was to pass by them, not get in the boat with them.

Don’t forget your history with God and God’s history with humanity, for it is going to be the same God, but He is coming in a brand new way.

The Sound of the Season

Tags

Gentle Whisper, Prophecy, Season, Shalom, Shift, Sound

Every season has a sound, knowing the sound of the season is critical for our success in this season. Veronika West, a prophetess out of Ireland said, the Lord spoke one word to her, SHIFT! Doug Addison a prophet out of California said the Lord told him the winds of change are coming early this year. Most can sense it, the season has shifted, the winds of change have blown, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the nations are shocked, Israel is rejoicing and these are just a few of the earthly evidences of a shift, a change that has taken place. The manifestation of this shift in its magnification has yet to be seen, but it is coming and it is going to be really good. We are going to shout, sing, dance, rejoice and lift our voice, for the winter is over and the spring has sprung, the night is over and the day is upon us. Can you sense the season has changed?

With the changing of a season, there is a changing of the sound. Many have prophesied the new sound that is coming forth, but what that sound is many do not know, yet for us to be successful in this new season, we must be in alignment with the new sound. The new sound God is releasing is Proverbs 19:12, “The rage of a king is like the roar of a lion, but his sweet favor is like a gentle, refreshing rain” (The Passion Translation). We have shifted from the roar to the rain. The season of the roar has ended and the season of the gentle, refreshing rain has begun. The new sound is 1 Kings 19:11-13, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him…” (NASB).

The sound of the season is gentle, it is a soft whisper, not a loud roar. God is not coming to destroy, He is not angry, He is not coming with a whip, He realizes His people are lost, they are unclean, they are sheep without a shepherd and His heart is moved with compassion toward us, He is coming with the sound of a gentle whisper, a refreshing rain. He is coming to restore, rebuild, revive, rekindle, reform, reconcile. The sound of the season is not loud, angry, mean, or harsh, for a bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish. He will faithfully bring forth justice (Isaiah 42:3, NASB). For the oracles of God to be successful in this hour, they must know the sound of the season and that sound is gentle, it is sweet, it is refreshing. Not everyone is going to shift into this new season and release this new sound, there will still be those who declare another voice, but I encourage you to listen carefully, for the Lord is not in the wind, He is not in the earthquake, He is not in the fire, He is in the still small voice, the gentle whisper, this is the sound of the season!

2018 “The Year of the Expected Harvest”

Tags

Barns, Harvest, Hebrew Year 5778, Open Door, Prophecy, Revelation 4, Wheat

In prayer the other day, the Lord spoke to me and said, “I AM shifting from the sword to the sickle!” I then heard the Lord say, “Gather the wheat into My barns, for wheat is for feeding and seeding the nations.” As I lingered on these words in prayer, I heard the number 18, so I went to a book I own called 50 Amazing Words by CJ Lovik, in which he breaks down the Hebrew words into words, pictures and numbers, for it is a tri-layer language. I open to the number 18 and discover that the picture for 18 is the fish hook and the meaning is harvest. As I made this connection to the words God spoke to me, I heard the Lord put it all together and say, “2018 is the year of the Expected Harvest”! I shouted praises, I began to dance in my living room, I could sense in my spirit this is what we have been waiting for.

 

2017 was the year of victory, or in Hebrew the year 5777, it was the year of the sword of the Lord. Now as we have entered the Hebrew year 5778, it is the year of the open door, so when the Lord told me it is the year of the expected harvest, I wanted to see how it fit into the year of the open door. Revelation 4:1 says, “After these things I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things” (NASB). The things John is referencing is the 7 church ages of Revelation 2-3, of which the best teaching I have heard on this is from Paul Keith Davis, you can find it on YouTube. So, John was invited to see what was going to happen after the Laodicean church age (Revelation 3:14-22).

 

If you read Revelation 4, John saw the risen lamb of God on a throne, Jesus is what happened, His glory was the story after “these things”. If Jesus is the glory story that will begin to be seen after “these things”, either we are being raptured out of here or we are going to be the answer to Jesus prayer in Luke 10:1-3, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves” (NKJV). I personally believe the latter, which is why I believe 2018 is the year of the Expected Harvest.

Here is what I see, based on what God said to me, I see wheat being gathered into barns (storehouses) so they can be trained (threshed), equipped and deployed to seed and feed the nations. Leaders of the barns (storehouses) in which God is going to gather the wheat into will thresh them, then send them into their perspective fields in order to seed and feed that field. In the kingdom of God, right now, we are in the harvesting time. How do I know this with such certainty? Matthew 13:30, speaking of the wheat and the tares, Jesus says when asked if they should pull up the tares, said, “Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers (laborers), first gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into My barn” (NASB). You may see it differently, but I see God gathering up tares in the nations right now and bundling them for burning. Now this is not the weeping and gnashing of teeth burning, this is a refining, purifying, burning (Malachi 3:3/Zechariah 13:9).

 

You see it is a harvest season, not the end of the world. So, we turn on the news and much exposure is happening, like the Harvey Weinstein bundle is happening right now, as an example. So, Jesus said, first bundle the tares, then gather the wheat into my barns. Order matters to God. I believe we are in a season of harvest and that 2018 is the year of the Expected Harvest. I believe we are going to see a mass returning of the wheat into barns that will Ephesians 4:12-13, train, equip and deploy them to do the work of the ministry, which is to seed and feed the fields in which they work. Get ready for 2018 is the year of the Expected Harvest!

The Gate Called Wait

Tags

Doug Addison, kingdom of God, Kristi DeMarco, Prophecy, Waiting, Willie Wonka

Doug Addison, a prophetic voice out of California released a blog and said, we are at the gate called wait. When I read that my spirit leaped, for I had felt like I missed something when we crossed over into 5778, the year of the open door. I checked my heart, asked my confidants and mentors to inspect me and I laid out before God, but all I kept hearing is “not everyone is here yet, just wait”. Being concerned I can say what I want to hear, I struggled for almost a whole month, but then this word came forth, that we are at the gate called wait. I knew this was true, for that is what God told me and I am confident many of you are exhaling like I did saying, yes, that is where we are.

After I rested into this word that we are at the gate called wait, God spoke to me and said, “Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory”. I tried to remember the details of the movie, but knew I would not obtain the prophetic significance of it without watching the movie. So, off to the Thrift Store I go, and sure enough there is an original copy of the movie, not the Johnny Depp version. I come home and watch the movie and what I learned expanded my understanding of this gate called wait. The first wait in the movie is waiting for all 5 golden tickets to be found, we know 5 means grace. That means we had to wait for the grace upon people to run its course before we could meet at the gate of the “kingdom”, which opened in the movie on October 1 at 10am.

This of course caused me to leap, because we entered the through the open door late September and October 1 was a significant date for many of us. I know I personally had a showdown come to completion on that date this year and had a miracle happen that week, so for me that date was more confirmation that we are at the gate called wait. Then the 5 children and their one family member enter in, not knowing what they will see and the first place they go is through a very narrow door, again very biblical, we must enter through the narrow gate that leads to life (Matthew 7:13). Once through the door, they see the kingdom, but as they are going through the tour of the kingdom, the issue the children came in with, hooks them in the kingdom and they have to go through a process to remove that issue from them. One fell in the chocolate river and he loved to eat, another was addicted to chewing gum and she blew up like a blueberry, you get the point.

Even though we are in the gate of the kingdom, now that we are in there, God is removing from us the issues that plagued us before we entered. So, we are waiting because He is wanting to remove the issue that will hook us if not removed. For 4 of the 5 children, they got hooked and could not complete the tour. But one boy, though hooked in the carbonated room, burped and came back into the tour. By the end of the tour, only one boy, name Charlie (means man of God) and his grandpa Joseph (means blessing (Genesis 49:25-26), finish the tour and want their reward, but Willie Wonka sitting as his desk reminds them that they broke the contract by drinking of the carbonated beverage. Angry Charlie and Joseph are about to leave, but before they do, Charlie puts the everlasting gobstopper on the desk of Willie Wonka. Remember the man that was Wonka’s rival, wanted that gobstopper and they would be paid handsomely for it. But, Charlie gave it back and in that moment said, I want nothing from you Wonka.

The movie ends with Wonka saying to Charlie, “you passed the test! The whole kingdom belongs to you!” Charlie was stunned, then the supposed rival who wanted the everlasting gobstopper recipe actually worked for Wonka, for Wonka wanted to know who he could give the kingdom to, that would run it the way he does with integrity. Oh it is powerful, prophetic and explains even further why we are at the gate called wait. God is testing us to find out if we want Him or money, ministry, something else. When everyone makes their decision about what they want, the gate will open and we will go in lay it all at His feet and say, all I want is you. Once we get there, the wait will be over and He will give us the kingdom. For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

The gate called wait is where we are right now, but it is not where we are going to be for much longer, my heart is crying out for Him, not ministry, not money, not anything else. He is who I want. He is teaching us that He is the reward, He is the destination, He is the promotion, He is the provision, He is everything we long for. When we are secure there, He will give us the kingdom, for it will not be about anything but Him, our cry will be like David’s when we say, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. It really is all about a Man, named Yeshua, He is what we really want and we are the gate called wait, until we are rid of every other want. He truly is in the waiting (Kristi DeMarco).

Alarm of Awakening

Tags

alarm, Awakening, church, Prophecy

Ever since I can remember, despite living in 3 different states in the USA, on the first Wednesday of every month at 11am local time, there is an alarm that goes off to tell us they are testing the tornado siren in our area. When I hear it, I am initially startled, for I know it is a tornado alarm, but when they skies are blue and there are no storms in the forecast, I look at the clock and remember the day and say to myself, this is only a test. Speaking of tests, on television we used to consistently have our regularly scheduled program interrupted for a test of the emergency broadcast system, they would say, this is a test, this is only a test, in the case of an actual emergency…. Now we have cell phones, so when my phone starts sounding an alarm, it is for an Amber Alert or flash flooding in my area. Alarms are there to wake us up, they demand our attention, they will not be ignored, until we respond in one way or another.

1 Corinthians 14:7-9 says, “Even in the case of lifeless instruments, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone recognize the tune they are playing unless the notes are distinct? Again, if the trumpet sounds a muffled call, who will prepare for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?” The context of these verses is prophecy and I believe people are confused by the “prophets” today because they are not sending out a clear sound. The more people hear the voice of God they more they have to discern whether the word is for them or for us all, these throwing words out there hoping someone will say Amen, is not helping the body of Christ. Yet, on the other hand believing every word that you read or like is similar to being at a parade sitting on the curb waiting for the floats that throw candy before you get out of your chair. It’s fun while you are at the parade, but it has no lasting impact on anyone. But, with that said, there is a clear sound coming out of heaven and it is an alarm that is going wake us up, but what we do with what we are about to hear is up to us.

God is about to sound an alarm. The feast of trumpets is on September 21, 2017, that is a day on God’s calendar when an alarm is going to sound, how long it will be sounding for, I am not sure, but as we enter the year 5778, the year of the open door, the alarm and the door are connected. In scripture when Moses sounded the alarm to Israel that they needed to put blood on the doorposts of their house, for the angel of death was coming into Egypt, if they did not heed the call of the alarm, they would have a dead child in their house that morning. The alarm that was sounded by God, through Moses gave 9 other alarms (plagues) prior to this alarm, the 10^th alarm (plague) was the one that would bring Divine Order (this is what the #10 means) and would be the deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 7:14-11:10). In this year of the open door, the door of escape out of Egypt is about to open again. Now Egypt is not the world, only, it is any system of slavery, the door to escape Babylon, Egypt, any system that seeks to enslave you is about to open wide for you. But you have to choose to exit through that door by faith.

A second alarm is going to go off, this alarm is God’s alarm, but this alarm is not for exiting, this alarm is for entering. This alarm is not to awaken you, this alarm is to lead you into the land. In Joshua 1:2, God spoke to Joshua and said, Moses my servant is dead, now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.” God has already spoken to those who will lead this company of people into the promised land, but you may not know who they are as of yet, but you will, for their voices will arise with the gospel of the kingdom. It will be a sound like you have not heard before, it will be the sound of the new wine (mature wine). Again, as this alarm goes off it is an invitation to enter by faith into the land of inheritance, that is only accessible by faith. There will be no pushing you, demanding you to enter or forcing you, it is your choice to enter this land, but it takes faith to enter, which is different than the faith it took to exit.

An alarm of awakening is arising in the earth. What you do with that alarm is up to you, scripture is clear that most will make excuses why they can’t exit, can’t enter or as Jesus highlighted, can’t follow. Luke 9:57-62 says, “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him (Jesus), “I will follow you wherever you go. “Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. “He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father. “Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. “Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family. “Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” An alarm of awakening is going off and it is a call to exit or enter, I sure hope you don’t hit snooze and go back to sleep, for the Lord is calling and He is a lot of fun to follow, I would hate for you to miss out on the relationship and adventure of walking with Him on earth as it will be in heaven.

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.