Word of Prophecy - Word of Destiny

As a prophet sometimes the role I am called to play in ministry is to proclaim a person, a church and even a nation's destiny in God.

That proclamation does nothing if the person, the church or the nation closes it's ears.

It's been ever thus. Read the Prophets of Old. They faced exactly the same issues. God had to put his prophets in some pretty unusual, uncomfortable and unconventional situations and configurations to get the message across. And most of the time it was rejected. Ignored.

It wasn't that they doubted the prophet. It was that the word wasn't smooth and ear tickling.

I love when I am allowed to proclaim a positive word of destiny over another person's life. I really do.

I did so last night. To one of the Elders at the Church. It rattled him. God's vision for him is so much greater than he even understands. I wish every word of prophecy was ever thus.

A word of Prophecy is often a word of Destiny. A word of Destiny is always prophetic.

A wonderful story of God's Grace from Nancy Minor

I got this by Email from Nancy Minor. It's on her blog. You have to read the whole thing. It encouraged me as it will you. The text is below.

BEFORE YOU CALL, I WILL ANSWER YOU

Had a neat thing happen tonight. Before I tell you that , I will give you some background info:

I graduated in 1992 from VIBTC (Victory International Bible Training Center.) It is an international school, but our graduating classes here stateside have been small groups at a time. We have a tie that binds and so it is like old home week whenever we meet again. I have been waiting to hear about a reunion that was being scheduled. I finally JUST learned last night through a friend that it is in about 10 days! Talk about scrambling to make the reservation list!

I told the Lord, I'd really like to go Daddy,BUT I don't know where the funds for this are going to come from... it is not really in the budget- what with the wedding coming up and all...

Tonight I stopped by to drop some papers off at another friend's place, who also graduated several years before me. They invited me to come in and chat and even fed me dinner. We started talking about the upcoming luncheon and seeing everyone and they wanted to know if I was going. I said I wasn't sure because I'd just found out about it and had to check the budget... and we moved on in conversation. Then the spouse came into the room after finishing a phone call in another room and asked me if we were going, Tom and I. I said I didn't think Tom was and the next words were- "well, we wanted to bless you and pay your way, please find out if he can or wants to go!"

Later this evening I was praying for my spiritual son Olu who has a strong burden for missionary work and has just planted a church in Benin Republic, Africa... As I was praying for him and the horizons and borders, Daddy began to speak to ME! It was for me, but it is for YOU too as well as my son:

"It is my Good Pleasure to bless you and give you your heart's desire! Remember the Bride doll?"

( When I was 8 years old we were visiting my Mom's family in Oregon. We went shopping- Christmas was around the corner. They took me to some store that was HUGE! I was dumbfounded by this place, I'd never seen a store this big with shelves up to the ceiling! In the toy aisles I found a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L Bride doll with veil dressed in White Satin. I fell in love with that doll! I drug my parents to see it several times, while in the store. I did not ask for it, I just drank in how beautiful it was. I never thought it could possibly be mine, though I wished it were! Christmas morning I awoke and came out to find the doll sitting on top of the TV! I thought I was dreaming and went and got back into bed and back out again and it was still there! I still have that doll to this day!) (See photo at top!)

"While you swooned over that doll and wished, your father and mother secretly planned to surprise you with it. Just as they gave you a gift, so I want to give to you! I put that thought into their hearts daughter because I your Heavenly Father love you and wanted you to have a reference of HOW I LONG TO SURPRISE you with blessings! Your joy and delight and gratitude over the smallest of things pleases Me and opens the door to give you more. Your childlike joy and trust to come to Me with your heart and requests causes Me to bend closer to listen to you intently,even as you would a small child. Never forget you are my child, even though you are grown and doing exploits in the Kingdom, you are still My Child! And I delight in taking care of you and having time WITH you."

Selah! Love from HIS heart and mine too...
Nancy

Isaiah 65:24 (KJV) And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Trust in Man is a Curse

Jeremiah said that.

It's true.

Once in a while I put my faith in a man or men. I am always in the end disappointed. I know I should give the same grace others have given me who I have disappointed.

I know that.

BUT.

I need reminding.

Feet of clay seems to be the footwear of the day.

Then the Lord said to me...

All people, including YOU have feet of clay. All have sinned and fallen short of MY glory. That's why as you fix your eyes on ME you will not see the feet of clay all around you. I will change you from glory to glory until the day when you stand before Me and then you will look JUST LIKE ME with glorified feet.

Till then, keep your focus on ME!

Yes Lord.

A word of Prophecy from a Trusted Prophet... comments?

From Shebna to Eliakim, fearful, carnally-led, following flesh to courageous, depending on and following Him, clothed in righteousness & purity, as His priests and ministers must be. (Is 22)
1 sam 2:35. he will raise up and ordain that priest who will do according to what is in His heart & mind.

Leadership will go to those who have proven faithful to His voice, obedient to His word (written & spoken,) who have pursued understanding of Him and the signs of the times - what is He doing and how do I align myself with Him in this hour? I DON'T WANT TO MISS HIM! What in me has to change so that I am where I need to be? Listening and obeying, radical for Him-

Shift in worship from 'me' songs & gentle Jesus, sweet but not in this hour, to radical worship, proclamations, new song, declaring and bringing in His Kingdom in the land. From carnally-led and carnal-minded to Spirit-led worship - this is His hour! Move over and let Him do it His way! (See his words to Shebna!) He will only bless as we work in concert with Him, following His lead. He will no longer bless 'our thing,' however pretty & musically perfect it is! Hay & stubble!!!

From fearful and ignorant, esp of 'New Age' etc, to understanding & cooperating with the other compnent of the army of God - the angelic realm!! It is America's time! Don't call the angels off assignment because you're not speaking the Word for them to carry out and miss it! Even if only a few start to move in this, the wave will begin and build... small beginnings still produce a tsunami when He breathes on it! All the better when there isgreater understanding of God's Kingdom ways.

From milque-toast to courageous! see Shebna again- running while the enemy was still far away!
He says, 'Be of good courage! Stand firm! Stand still and watch me deliver you from your enemy before your very eyes! And IT'S ALL ME!' Ready and excited to take the battle behind enemy lines, to plunder the enemy's camp- courageous men & women who will take off the head of the enemy, plunge a sword through him, do exactly as commanded, and cover one another's nakedness when necessary.

Shift from doing in our own strenth (hay & stubble) to allowing Him to be our only Source and flowing out of that. Living in concert with the rhythm of heaven - understanding all that and living there, producing eternal fruit and treasures unknown. in the flow- where the church didn't even know there was a river waiting, never mind getting in and drowning in it....

Shift from blaming the enemy for our trials to recognizing God's hand and embracing His purifying fire- yielding rapid growth, divine acceleration in our lives. line upon line, precept upon precept, from glory to glory - and quickly! growing into maturity, into the fullness of who we are, Christlikeness. (check out precept in your concordance! it's exciting- David was all over it!!)

As leadership in the Body and in worship shifts to where He wants to go, having a well-grounded understanding of and hunger for His Kingdom, the sheep will be well fed, secure and ready to be who they are called to be. There will be ready impartation of truth and of life-giving words that challenges, fans flame, causes hunger for more, and the Body will arise - 'I knew there was more!'
And Kingdom will come, His power and glory manifested, and the real harvest will begin!!!

A Fanatic is someone more Radical than you are - Let's be Fanatic

From David Shipley:

Nine years ago I made this declaration: "I spent the first 50 years of my life trying to be balanced. I want to spend the rest of my life trying to be radical." All history shapers are radical, and I believe it's time for believers everywhere to take on this attribute.

We tend to equate being "radical" with being "extreme," but that is only part of the definition. To be radical means to go to the origin or the root. Thus, a true radical is rooted.

He is the antithesis of the sad person Jesus described in the parable of the sower who "has no root" and "quickly falls away" when persecution comes (Matt. 13:21, NIV). A radical is a "good soil" believer who hears the Word and mixes it with faith, allowing the seed of the Word to literally take root, grow, and produce much fruit (see v. 23).

Jesus called us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That's radical.

He commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves. That's radical.

He said we are to preach the gospel to every person on earth and turn all nations into His followers. That's radical.

Paul was shipwrecked, flogged, and spat on, and his motives were impugned. He lived under constant threat of assassination and was beaten three times within an inch of his life—all for the sake of the gospel. That's radical.

What does it mean to be radical for Jesus today? A true radical is one who defies the whims of his times and calls people back to root realities and root causes.

The need in the body of Christ today is for radicals who are anchored in:

• truth, not conjecture
• grace, not legalism
• faith, not skepticism
• discipline, not indolence
• history, not fads
• hope, not despair.

Most of all, we need radicals who are anchored in Christ and the assurance of His global glory. "We who have fled to Him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to His promise with confidence. This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls" (Heb. 6:18-19, NLT).

I want to be a truly radical follower of Jesus: rooted in Him, extremely in love with Him, extremely devoted to Him and His cause. The acrostic below spells out for me the components of a radical life fully given over to Jesus:

Revelation. True radicals live by revelation drawn from intimacy with Jesus.
Anointing. True radicals are anointed by the Holy Spirit.
Discipline. True radicals retain that anointing by practicing historic Christian disciplines.
Integrity. True radicals are those whose public persona is matched by private purity.
Courage. True radicals follow the truth, speak the truth and call people to the truth.
Anchored. True radicals are anchored in history and hope; in the Word and the Spirit.
Love. True radicals are driven by the love of God at work in them by the Holy Spirit.

The late theological-ethicist Richard Niebuhr observed that the great revolutions in the history of Christianity do not occur by discovering something new. Great revolutions happen, said Niebuhr, when someone takes radically something that has always been there. Martin Luther took the simple gospel message of justification by faith radically. John Wesley took the simple message of biblical holiness radically. William Seymour took a present-tense encounter with the Holy Spirit radically. Mother Teresa took ministering "to the least of these" radically.

I believe this is the day for us to take Christ's Great Commission radically. I believe it is the hour for us to go forth with radical faith, radical commitment and radical love and usher in His second coming by making disciples of all nations. We can't start a revolution by being balanced. Let's get radical!

About the author: David Shibley is the founder of Global Advance (globaladvance.org), a ministry dedicated to training and equipping pastors and leaders worldwide. He is also the author of numerous books, including Living as if Heaven Matters (Charisma House).

A prophetic Wedding that brings out the Bridal Paradigm like I haven't seen before

I saw this video. Lots of people have. It is funny. Fun. But, its more than that. I know that the couple didn't intend it to be this way but there is significant prophetic meaning in this for those that understand and love the Bridal paradigm. Even if you have seen the video before you need to see it with a new understanding and fresh eyes.

Jesus is our Bridegroom. You are the bride. I am. All Christians are. Before we met him, those who ushered us in had to throw off convention to introduce us. They broke a mould we didn't know we were in.

Then attendants come. People who love and know the bride and bridegroom. They are full of Joy. They demonstrate it in unusual ways and show us how. There's even a place when one bridesmaid has to be pulled along by another. Sometimes that happens in our own lives.

The dance of expectation makes us all look forward to the arrival of the bridegroom. Then, even though time seems to go more slowly, there comes a day. All kinds of people standing together and suddenly the Bridegroom breaks thru. He comes forth with a somersault. The whole wedding party comes forward. The anticipation builds and suddenly, there she is, the Bride.

She begins to dance toward her bridegroom. Then the bridegroom leaps off the altar and rushes to join his bride as she comes forward. They dance to make the final covenant.

This is JUST LIKE JESUS. It made me break out for joy and in tears at the same time. This is so much the way Jesus will come to us. Watch if once more for a new view of the wedding table in heaven.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The video of a Minnesota couple who boogied down a church aisle with their wedding party to the surprise of their guests is a hit on YouTube.

Kevin Heinz and Jillian Peterson, their seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers danced down the aisle to the Chris Brown song “Forever” before the couple exchanged vows June 20 in St. Paul.

Peterson said Friday on NBC’s “Today” show that she grew up dancing and loves dance as a way of expression. She says she didn’t have any trouble talking Heinz into it for their wedding.

After posting the video on YouTube for family members, Heinz says the number of hits just exploded. The video has gotten more than 1.4 million hits on YouTube as of Friday.

Adding to or subtracting from

Here's what I heard the Lord say:

I am not concerned with My prophets as long as they are saying what I say. I am concerned with those who add to My word with traditions of men's religious systems, or subtracting from the intent of the raw power of My word and My Spirit.

The sin of Lukewarmness has flooded the Church today. Shake off this slumber and become what you were created to be. A reflection of the Living Christ, Creator of all the Universe. You don't look a thing like Me.

Come up - Glory to Glory until you do. Start NOW!

God is driving Christians Out of the Church Building

In Cleveland OH the conventional wisdom is that half the churches in the city will close up in the next year. There is a glut of Church buildings on the real estate market. Churches that took on a huge building program a few years ago are staggering under the debt load with flat or declining contributions. Some Churches are stalled in building programs.

What is going on?

I believe that the Lord is driving Christians out of their enclaves. He isn't going to let them come back until they figure out what Church really is. It's not a building. It's an assembling. An Ecclesia.

This may mean we end up in homes, in cheap rented space, in basements. We are about to go thru a change.

This is not Judgment any more than the diaspora was Judgment. OK, it was at one level. But the persecutions and dispersing of people in the first century caused the worship of Jesus to fill the earth. Had Christians stayed in Jerusalem Christianity would have never taken the world.

It's time again. Jesus is once again driving us out. Time to go.

Don't mourn for the former things. Embrace the change. Don't get me wrong. I love the Church, I love it for what it once was, I love the music, the preaching, the congregation.

Maybe we developed a practical idolatry of it all.

God's promise is anything that gets in the way of HIM in love will be taken from us. I think many of us LOVE the church and it's traditions more than HIM.

So, He drives us out. On the streets.. The highways and byways. Maybe that's where he wants us to be. Maybe? Time to GO ye therefore.

Let your Light Shine before MEN

A study shows that people emit light.

It releases all kinds of thoughts.

Jesus shined on the mount of Transfiguration.

Saints seemed to glow.

We are told to let our light shine.

Maybe we do.

This may mean we are full of light and our light can shine bright or not.

Jesus, You LIGHT UP MY LIFE.

A Prophetic Word for North Dakota

A few weeks ago a friend asked me to ask God what he might want to say to North Dakota. I did and boy did I get a download. This is for him and for anyone who cares about the state of North Dakota. If people really understood the Prophetic, they would take this even more seriously than anything the Governor would say. This is the King speaking. Sigh.

But, this is what I heard the Lord say regarding North Dakota in the first week of July 2009:

You were created and positioned for a unique purpose.

I purposed you to to be and complete your full destiny, and you will as you stay in ME.

Staying in my purpose in you, oh land, as it is revealed in all creation, you cannot fail.

Failing is a choice you make when you choose to enter into things and arenas you were never meant to be part of.

Ask Carefully and I will show you the hidden treasures locked up in you.

You are a state that SENDS. A state that develops and sends to the nations products, resources, innovations and people. It is a sowing and reaping, as you send you receive back more.

There is a spirit of slumber that has fallen on you. Awake. Stupor desires to contain you. Look, I gave you a young land full of promise, a land that longs to be awakened to a spirit of youth and vigor. The spirit of slumber and sloth must be shaken off. You were never purposed in me to be like you have become.

There will be great changes, geophysical changes, to come. You have seen the birth pangs. Slowly the seasons change and they are not what they were. This change means you must learn to prosper in the new. The word is Colder and Wetter.

These changes present new opportunities. Learn of me and I will show you new ways of prosperity.

You have been given much and much is expected....much.

Anything you try to hold for your own purposes will eventually possess you, become your God. I am Jealous and will remove it, take it away. Look again at Me and what I have give you. See again what you have. Look to the one who gave it to you.

See to the sojourner among you. There are many. Those who come. Those who leave. Treat them as I commanded in my word regarding those who sojourn among you. Treat them as I command and in doing so you will be entertaining angels, angels sent to bless and provide for you.

The sin of inhospitable treatment of those sojourners among you has become a curse.

Do not say, we are unique, we are unusual. I created you to be a place of outpouring but I can only pour in as you pour out. I will flow thru those who will flow with ME.

A word for those in authority and government:
Your pattern in governing must not be as other states are, for you are not a state as other states are. In fact you are not a state as a state is thought of in most states.

You are simply a wide spread mid sized city like Columbus or Cincinnati. You are a wide spread single county in most populous states. Do not pattern yourself after states in governance. You are not a state at least in the requirements of governance.

Lean to be what you are, and be that with confidence toward the future.

Pattern yourself in tens and hundreds for that is what you truly are.

Live within the prosperity I created you to have. There should be none among you in want, none in need. And, you can do this without a burden of tax on the people. If you understood MY purpose in you, you would flourish.

You can become a city of refuge in a dark place. You can become a Cave of Abdulum if you have a leader with a heart like David.

Many would come and many would stay if they could see the promise of the gift I created you to be.

There is a mask placed on the face of the state and it's leaders. It's a mask trying to be something and someone I never called you to be. Do not look to the pattern of other states, look to me to show you.

Your calling in me is your anchor. You will set yourself adrift if you leave your call.

Return to your call.

AND a vision of the economy in North Dakota and the rest of the country as spoken by Rev Tim Redlin:

I see the national and even global economy as a large group of cars on the Autobahn in Germany. Each car represents large cities and states. Automobile North Dakota is at the back of the traffic. The traffic in the front is slowing. There have been some derailments. There have been some upsets and accidents. The front cars slow and some stop. Yet North Dakota moves along. It hears on the radio of the slowness of the traffic and says, "we are not affected". North Dakota moves along briskly as the rest of the traffic slows and stops.

Just wait. In a little while, North Dakota comes to the traffic jam. It slows and even stops for a time. It sits and hears on the radio about how some state and city cars have broken away from the jam up and are beginning to accelerate. Now the bravado that said we are not affected is saying, why are we stuck and everyone else seems to be doing well.

It's a blessing and curse of being at the back of the pack. When the rest stop you go, when they go you get stuck. It has always been that way.

Don't try to catch up. Take the selah of this time and learn of ME.

That is the word of the Lord for North Dakota.

The LAST DAY dream

This touched me. It might you.

Signs in the Heavens, Signs in the Earth

Sometimes there are signs in the heavens that are indicators of change. There have been a few.

A large rock hits Jupiter, very large. If it hit earth, we would all be gone and Earth would be no more. That happened last week. No one saw it coming.

Cold weather in the USA has caused wonder among many. Coldest in history.

Unusual cloud types never seen before above the north pole. Amazing sight.

Six eclipses are occurring this year. 2 solar 4 lunar. Very Rare.

Things are changing and we need to be aware of them. The end of all this will be good, but the change will be painful.

^Luke21:25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Prophetic Silence

I saw this in a post on Open Heavens. Good stuff and true. Sometimes it's good to just be quiet.

There is a characteristic that is common of true prophets. They realize to be silent when God is not really saying much of anything at all is every bit as important as speaking up when the Lord wants a true word from His heart to go forth. They are willing to pay the price to do either one. They aren’t running around with a “prophet’s itch”. There are times when God just sets a prophet on the shelf, and for His own arbitrary reasons chooses to use someone else. So, what are you supposed to do?? Strain until you reach the string to the lightbulb in your brain, pull it on and see what brilliance cometh forth from cerebral gymnastics? No. Just simply be quiet. That’s all. Be quiet.

I know that as a prophet I am to be willing to say what God says, nothing more or less. If he isn't saying anything, then what should I say?

If you only believe if you see, you will never see

I had a man say to me that he could not believe unless he saw with his own eyes. This is a sure way to block any miraculous action the Father might want to do in your life.

Here's a prophetic word, WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT. OK, it's not prophetic. It's Paul in Romans.

It's still true.

When the Son of Man comes back, we He find faith on the earth. Not if it's populated by the likes of the man who said this.

Makes me sad. He needs a miracle and will have none.

What is the CHURCH?? Reinhard Bonnke

WHAT IS THE CHURCH? (Tell me, if you are challenged!)

It is an extension of the compassion of the Lord Jesus, an extension of His comfort, an extension of His healing, an extension of His goodness. Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. So should we.

It is His body. God has no arms but our arms to wrap around this pitiable world. Love was His supreme characteristic. I feel we are only His body to the degree or level that we show His compassion. A loveless church is no church at all. The love of God personified in Jesus needs to be personified in the church. "Let this mind be in you which was in Christ". The church is the current evidence of what we read of Jesus in the Gospels. If I dare say it: the church is His love child, the embodiment of His Spirit of son-ship.

The church is to be an extension of the Day of Pentecost. Evangelism is not to turn the church into an ecclesiastical advertising agency or a society for propagating its own existence. It burst into view on the day of Pentecost speaking with tongues, with prophecy and fire. If the church isn't like that- no fire, no tongues, no prophecies, no evangelism, no bold preaching of Christ and the Resurrection, no triumphant certainty and promise, how can any rational person identify it as the same church? Who would recognize its features as those of the church in Jerusalem in AD 30 without the power and manifestation of the Holy Spirit? We are left with the natural processes of success, organization, intellectual abilities, wisdom, prowess and energies. Those assets, relied upon alone, leave the church an empty shell.

Understanding Spiritual Warfare and Healing

Catherine Brown:

"Accelerate and Build - Levels of Spiritual Warfare"

"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."—Acts 19:11-12

Ground Level Spiritual Warfare

- The level of warfare that deals with casting out demons/healing the sick.

- Extraordinary Miracles/Deliverance.

Deliverance ministry is an integral part of apostolic ministry. Healings, signs, wonders and salvations are part of ground level warfare too. I love the deliverance ministry! I think we need to be as excited about someone being set free from a demon as we are about a sick person being healed. I recall when I was ministering in a Teen Challenge meeting and the fire of God fell so powerfully that before I could even lay hands on some of the recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, the Holy Spirit had caused them to fall to the ground and He was driving the demons out by His grace! It was a powerful and liberating time for all these precious ones.

The healing ministry also gives us every reason to worship God for His goodness to us in Christ. I have found that in meetings where the power of the Lord is present to heal the sick, often when one person is sovereignly touched by God and shares testimony of their healing, suddenly many more healings and miracles will begin to happen because faith has been built up in others through the release of the word of faith.

In Oklahoma City, I remember one sweet old lady who got healed in her chair and was able to walk without her cane. Her praise testimony was so exuberant and joyful that healings began to pop all over the room as people engaged heart by heart with the Lord. The pastor's wife's knees were healed right where she sat—truly God meets us where we are!

In Luke 10 we read how Jesus sent out seventy two disciples and they returned to him reporting, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name" (Luke 10:17).

"Jesus responded, 'I saw satan fall like lightning from Heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that our names are written in Heaven.'"—Verses 18-20

The disciples had been ministering deliverance in the towns and villages and many people were set free and on their return the Lord spoke to the disciples of seeing satan fall. Whilst Jesus was in the first instance referring to the fall of lucifer from Heaven, it is noteworthy to ponder a further possible emphasis the Lord was making—casting out of demons affects principalities in the heavens!

Jesus further emphasized to His disciples the importance of rejoicing in relationship with God. A lifestyle of intimacy with Jesus is essential if we are to be involved in spiritual warfare even at the most basic level. We read further in Acts 19 of some Jews who went around trying to drive out evil spirits in like manner to Paul and his team.

However one day the evil spirit answered them and said, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you? Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding" (Verse 15-16).

Whilst these unfortunate fellows received a terrible beating, for those who are in covenant relationship with God, it is important to understand that the spiritual realm recognises the authority of Jesus Christ and His anointed servants and submits to Christ's authority. Every knee must bow at His name. Hallelujah!

Occult Level Spiritual Warfare

- The level of warfare that deals with the occult, sorcery, witchcraft and divination.

- Agents of satan are dealt with in this realm, especially witches, warlocks, sorcerers and satanists. Examples include Acts 8, 13, 16 and 19.

When the story of Jesus' authority became known to the Jews and Greeks in Ephesus, the fear of the Lord fell on the people and "the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As a result of two years of preaching, preparation of an apostolic team and the demonstration of God's love and power through deliverance/healing, there was a mighty shift in the spiritual stratosphere. Occult practitioners were now being shaken from their old lifestyle and beginning to come forward to receive Christ as Saviour and Lord.

"Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practised sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."—Acts 19:18-20

I remember ministering to a man who was involved in voodoo and witchcraft. When I met him he was dying of cancer and was about as far from being a Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as one might be. With a friend, we shared the Gospel with him and the glory of God filled the little Hospice room and our new-found friend opened his heart to Christ, repented of his sins and received the Lord as Saviour. This dear man asked us to remove certain witchcraft apparel from his home and destroy it for him (he was too ill and frail to do it himself). We happily complied with his wishes and disposed of the artifacts in a deep sea harbour.

Although the man was not healed of his cancer he spent the rest of his life telling everyone about his new First Love, Jesus. He led his daughter to Christ and witnessed to nurses, doctors, consultants and patients before God called him home to glory. He did more with his life in those few short weeks that many Believers do with a whole lifetime. To me he is an unsung hero of the faith. The spiritual atmosphere shifted through this occult practitioner coming to Christ and as a result salvations followed for others. Hallelujah!

We see in Ephesus how satan's agents (the sorcerers) were displaced from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of God. Through their open confession and repentance from the occult there was a radical increase in the number of people who (a) responded to the salvation message and (b) manifestation of God's power. The ground level warfare of preaching, teaching, deliverance and healing had laid the foundation for the next stage of breakthrough. Hallelujah!

Occult practitioners no doubt held many in the grip of fear and superstition. When they became Believers the devil's hold was loosened on all the lives over whom they had influence and God's grace was manifest in community salvation and transformation thus the Kingdom was established and advanced. Church, we need to love and exercise Christ's authority for those who are trapped in witchcraft, satanism and all manner of darkness because Jesus died to set them free just as He died for our freedom too.

Strategic High Level Warfare - Riot or Revival!?

- The level of warfare that deals with high ranking territorial spirits. An example being found in Acts 19, where Paul's ministry affected the worship of the goddess Diana in Ephesus.

When a society is held captive by a demonic principality, every aspect of that society is infiltrated by the spiritual tentacles of the evil entity including the city's economics. The Ephesians' community was no exception. Prior to Paul's "apostolic assault" on the city, the economy had been controlled and influenced in many areas by the occult. The occult practitioners who had not converted to Christianity were now suffering great financial losses and about this time a great disturbance arose.

"A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades and said, 'Men you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredit, and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.'"—Acts 19:24-27

A riot quickly ensued and the people were furious and began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians" and soon the whole city was in total uproar. Paul's traveling companions (Gaius and Aristarchus) were seized by the people and rushed into the theatre. Paul wanted to appear before the people but the disciples wouldn't let him. The assembled mob was in total confusion, with people shouting in contention over one another and with most folks not even understanding why they were there. One of the Jews Alexander tried to speak to the crowd but when they understood he was a Jew they chanted for two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians" (Verse 34).

Occultism births rebellion, confusion and uproar in the places where demonic thrones operate to bring despair and destruction upon a people or a region. It is time for the Church of Jesus Christ to rise up in grace, to praise His glorious name and to pray with humility and fervency for the rule and reign of Christ to be established throughout the nations.

His Kingdom rule releases righteousness, peace, joy and Godly order in our lives and communities, yet we understand from the example of Ephesus that breaking through into hostile enemy territory may in part, involve a riotous enemy response prior to the establishment of righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apostolic authority and wisdom penetrates hostile territory with the glorious Gospel of our Saviour!

The city clerk stood up and quieted the crowd and said, "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image which fell from the Heaven?" In broad daylight and in the midst of the community the government official was stating that this city was guardian to what we may equate to be the queen of Heaven. The officials' words confirm that the city had been in bondage to demonic rulers.

However, the ensuing riot that accompanied the third stage of Spirit-led warfare by Paul and his team is evidence of a wicked ruler that was beginning to topple and needing to find a way to stop the holiness invasion that was uprooting all of its power bases in the city it had once ruled. Eventually the city clerk calmed the crowd and told them they were in danger of being charged with rioting because of their behaviour and he then dismissed the assembly.

We live in days of increasing spiritual warfare and we must learn to ascend into the reality of being hidden in Christ. When the Lord has taken me into spiritual warfare encounters with wicked evil rules, powers and principalities I can honestly say I did not ask to be taken there. Each encounter with an evil principality or ruler has been for a specific kingdom purpose. I have always been given an authoritative decree to proclaim, I am usually accompanied by a troop of angels and because the Lord sovereignly initiated the encounter I have been divinely protected and enabled to remain within the remit of my God-given sphere of authority. Warfare on this level should not be entered into without the specific direction, instruction and inspiration of the Lord. It is far too dangerous to engage with high ranking evil powers if the Lord has not appointed, authorised and anointed one to do so.

The Goddess Falls!

It is believed that Apostle John later went to the city of Ephesus and entered the temple of Diana. He prayed and the goddess split in two; the final blow had been cast against the evil principality and its grip on the city of Ephesus.

Hallelujah our God reigns!

Your sister and friend,

Catherine Brown
Gatekeepers Global Ministries
Email: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk

The Prophetic Marriage

Sometimes experience is not always the indicator of success. I know a lot of people who have several DUIs and are very experienced at it, yet they would not be considered success. Same with folks that spend a lot of time in jail. Expereience without success.

Sometimes expereince is success and from that some lessons can be learned.

Today is 43 years of marriage. Ups, downs and in between for Peggy and me. She's great, me, not so much.

But, from all that there came a little booklet that to date has generated about 1500 copies and has been given to a lot of married and soon to be married couples. If men and women entering into or pursuing matrimony had a grasp of these life lessons, maybe, just maybe, we would have fewer divorces.

So, if you are interested in knowing more about one couple's marriage experiences and how that relates to the prophetic revelations in the Word of God, look at this.

Thank God for long suffering, Peggy towards me. 43 years on the way to forever together as Paul Harvey used to say.

Dreams of MY Father

Barack Obama wrote a book. Dreams of my father.

I thought about it from a prophetic standpoint. What dreams does MY FATHER have for Me, for the world he created, for his purposes?

I tend to think that it's still a deferred dream.

Dream on Daddy, it CAN and WILL happen if not on earth, in heaven. Thy will IS done.

Who we are is more important than what we do

Doing is overrated. Good deeds driven by guilt or a desire for position is wasted effort.

Who we are in Christ is more important. That will drive our deeds. I am not impressed and neither is the Lord by good works without the proper position in him.

"I never knew you" Jesus said to those who weren't.

Get who you are right and the rest will follow. Show me your works, I'll show you your faith. If you turn that upside down. Show me who you are in faith and I will be able to see your works.

That is the word of the Lord.

The saddest thing I heard today

Talking to a woman of God today, a Prophet, she said this to me, "We have a church FULL of equipped, anointed, appointed, capable people who are expected to sit quietly in the pew unused in ministry and behave". That is a PROBLEM. That is a church that NEEDS to split TODAY. It can be a church plant, and it will be, intentional or unintentional. A church plant will happen.

USE em or LOSE em. That's the way it works. Most American Christians particularly in GOOD Churches could lead most ministries and most churches from a theological point of view. The temperament may not yet be right, but they aren't short of equipping in the Gospel. Time is now. Time is Short.

PASTOR LET MY PEOPLE GO. Run em off. Send em out. Let them Prosper in GOD.

That is the word of the Lord for SOMEONE today.

Why Prophets are the way they are and why Teams Don't actually WORK!

Prophets are Deviants

Every team needs a deviant, someone who can help the team by challenging the tendency to want too much homogeneity, which can stifle creativity and learning. Deviants are the ones who stand back and say, “Well, wait a minute, why are we even doing this at all? What if we looked at the thing backwards, or turned it inside out?” That's when people say, “Oh, no, no, no, that’s ridiculous “. And so the discussion about what’s ridiculous comes up… The deviant opens up more ideas, and that gets you a lot more originality.

In our research, we've looked carefully at both teams that produced something original and those that were merely average, when nothing really sparkled. It turned out that the teams with deviants outperformed teams without them. In many cases, deviant thinking is a source of great innovation.

I would add, though that often the deviant veers from the norm at great personal cost. Deviants are individuals who are willing to say the thing that nobody else is will to articulate. The deviant raises people's level of anxiety, which a brave thing to do. When the boat is floating with the current, it really is extraordinarily courageous for somebody to stand up and say, “We've got to pause and probably change direction,” Nobody on the team wants to hear that, which is precisely why many team leaders crack down on deviants and try to get them to stop asking difficult questions, maybe even knock them off the team. And yet it’s when you lose the deviant that the team can become mediocre.

Diane Coutu in a Harvard Business Review article called Why Teams Don’t Work based on a study of numerous teams in a variety of situations.

HAT TIP: Blessed Economist

Off to Re Up

One a year I go to conference to Re Up my credentials.

Why?

I don't know. I just do

I'm off today.

Prophets are non profit so they are not profitable to the Church

Here's a truth born of experience.

If there's no money in it for the church, they aren't interested.

I know that seems harsh. But I have noticed that unless a prophet is prophesying good times acomin, unless a prophet is all happy all the time there's no place for him.

And, Prophets cause problems. They can say or do things that are just plain a hassle.

So, most churches avoid engaging or acknowledging the prophetic. This to their downfall. I don't need nor want a platform, but in my experience, unless I'm bringing money in the door I'm not wanted or needed.

If I get that, it means a prophet who doesn't turn a profit for the church is shunted aside for one who does.

I'll bet that was the same internal theology the table holders in the outer court changing money that Jesus had to drive out had as an operating procedure.

I think I'll stick with Jesus.

New Orthodoxy is Old Dogma

I have noticed a strange idea popping up. The idea that it is somehow wrong to allow scripture interpret itself and develop understanding from the study of same. This was the exact circumstance at the time of the reformation. Luther struggled with the idea that traditional doctrine as defined by the catholic church of the day was all that was acceptable. Any deviation would be heresy. Well, we are there again.

I won't embarrass the man who made this comment. He's a friend of mine and that wouldn't be right. He said,

I do not read the text of the Bible this way nor do most biblical theologians I know. Gene clearly differs and just as clearly believes he understands these ideas biblically. I humbly respect his view but do not agree. This is a case where Protestant individualism shows how easily we can, and do, come to very different views on what the Bible really says and means. I can't begin to explore this here but this subject interests me as a theologian much more. The radical individualism of our way of arguing and debating the faith is very hard to defend at all.

What makes this comment interesting is the idea beneath the surface that there is a right and wrong way to believe. That we should shelve our capacity to extrapolate and synthesize information and written accounts to come to a conclusion that holds whatever water we require of it. We are building a platform of understanding that we must stand upon. What and who do we trust to me is the real question that works against his comment.

The extended idea that somehow in some distant past a better student than I am came up with differing ideas and I must somehow set aside any questions I have in obedience to a doctrinal protocol I have not tested.

I reject the whole idea. I think the passage in the word of God where Paul instructs the church at Phillipi in 2:12 to:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

This in my individualistic theology has much to do with wrestling with the Word of God.

Now, I do NOT reject accepted canonical doctrine as is expressed in most Protestant churches. I do not on the other hand accept them as true without test. If I question a doctrine I will search it out until I come to an understanding in the Holy Ghost that works. I don't accept everything the LCMS teaches. I don't accept much of what charismatic teachers on TV espouse. I don't accept out of hand much of what preachers and teachers around Wheaton College's orbit might teach.

If it's not personal and individualistic with me, it's not real. It's theory. Theory and practice seldom go hand in hand.

We must contend for the faith. That faith comes from God alone. Don't go easily or passively.

At least as a Prophet I won't. Or what's the Spirit of GOD that lives in me for?