Rich and Lindy Oliver: A Vision of a Thundering Hope: You Can't Saddle the Move of God

This open vision/trance was experienced by Rich Oliver early Thursday morning, on November 4, 2010, after the final evening service of "Leadership Advance" at Bethel Church in Redding, California. It was written down by his wife, Lindy, and submitted to the elders of The River.

Hope Has Returned

I woke up a few minutes before 2 AM to Rich's body violently shaking. And he began speaking and sharing what he was seeing:

"Did you feel that? The ground is trembling. Like an earthquake." And Richard's whole body would shake and shake.

"Did you feel that? There are horses, lots of horses, running!
And there are people riding the horses. People we know, and people we don't know. And they are riding bareback. It's difficult to ride bareback, but you can do it if you keep trying. And they are riding with buffalo. The buffalo are hope. And this great and powerful animal that was almost extinct is now thundering across the land. That which was almost extinct is extinct no more.

"There are some people that are on horses with saddles. And they are trying to chase the buffalo to the edge of the cliff to drive them over the side and get rid of them. But the people who are riding bareback are riding with the buffalo and are driving them away from the cliff – so that hope wouldn't disappear.

"I can feel the ground moving, vibrating...because hope creates a vibration. And the people who are riding the horses bareback are people of every color and nationality – men and women riding with the buffalo. They are shouting, 'Hope won't disappear. Don't you feel the vibration of hope?'

"There are people on a train nearby watching all that is taking place, and they are amazed. And they are going to carry the story all over about hope being on the move again. The people on the train are not as free as the ones riding the horses – but they are going everywhere the train tracks will take them, carrying the message: 'Hope has returned. Hope has returned. Hope has returned.'

"It is amazing that the buffalo are breaking up the ground, much like a plow. Looking up at the edge of the plateau, what do you see? Do you see it? The scarecrow. And the buffalo are branded by the scarecrow – branded with words like COURAGE, VISION, HOPE, FAITH, DESTINY. Lots of buffalo are branded with HOPE. Lots of buffalo are branded with FAITH. Lots with COURAGE. Lots with DESTINY and STRENGTH. And the scarecrow branded the buffalo. But it wasn't really branded. It was like a finger of fire wrote the words on them.

You Can't Saddle the Move of God

"And the people riding bareback – they are moving in different directions, going across the country, declaring hope is returning. Why are they bareback? It is because it is not manmade. Oh, it is because you can't saddle the move of God.

"We have tried to saddle the move of God with all of our fancy stuff with fancy saddles, and the world is trying to drive the buffalo off of the cliff, and they are the ones with the fancy saddles. But you can't saddle the move of God.

"And to people on the train, all of a sudden the luggage on the train isn't important. It was the message that they are carrying.
'Hope is coming back. Hope is coming back. It is raw, exciting, wild and untamed.' And the people of the train, all classes, boys, girls, women and men, people in uniform, all colors, start joining hands. Something starts happening. Stuff is broken off and they started saying, 'Faith, faith, hope, hope. Faith, faith, hope, hope.' You can't saddle the move of God. You have to move with it.

"The people riding bareback, they are getting muscles they didn't have before. They are sore from riding, but they are saying, 'Look – we are getting new strength in our legs. What a wild ride!' And the people on the train are saying, 'Faith, faith, hope, hope,' and in between they are cheering.

There is Great Treasure in Inconvenience

"The train is starting to move now. The people are going to spread the news everywhere the track goes. Some people are going to stay on the train, on the track – it is all they can do, it is OK. Others are going off the train, off the track, to spread the message everywhere, 'Hope has returned. Faith, faith, hope, hope.' And others are saying, 'We can ride the horses bareback also and develop the muscles needed.'

"Some people need to stand – need to stand for people. The thing about riding bareback is that it is inconvenient. The thing about standing for one another, taking people's hands, is that it is inconvenient. We have placed too high a value on convenience. But inconvenience is necessary if we are going to see the buffalo spread. There is a great treasure in inconvenience. So they join hands. You have to lock your fingers together, because it is not casual. And together they can feel the buffalo rolling, rolling, thundering across the land.

"All Aboard the Breadbasket Express!"

"The train has a number and a name. The conductor is calling – 'All aboard the 10-10-10!' (The number 10 is the number of testimony, responsibility and its reward.) People have gotten off the train to feel the vibration. They lay on the ground to feel the vibration. But it is time for the train to get moving. 'All aboard the 10-10-10! All aboard the 10-10-10!' The train has a funny name. The name of the train is Breadbasket. The Breadbasket Express – because it is going to feed the people hope, the bread of hope. It is a good meal. Washed down with the new wine." And Rich laughs.

"And the scarecrow, its arms are stretched out. It is like a point of reference. Like an anchor. The conductor says, 'Don't you know that there are scarecrows all across the land? It is the same scarecrow, but different scarecrows. And, isn't it strange that you can get help from the most unlikely places?' The scarecrow says, 'Don't worry, there is a horse for everybody. Every size and every age.'"

Rich and Lindy Oliver
Overseers, The River
Email: RiverFamily@msn.com

Failing at the Great Commission

End times speculation (Eschatology) is NOT evangelism. It is not Disciple making. It has no part in the great commission and I am convinced that it's capacity to divide is a scheme of the devil at which he has succeeded. Last weekend was a prime example. In fact it was an anti great commission action. It hardened a lot of people's hearts.

I will not play satan's game. I have view. I am willing to share it. I may even say, in my opinion this is what I see is correct. YET...I may be wrong...and so may be Jack Van Impe, Perry Stone, John Hagee and anyone else who proclaims they have the "Truth" on this. I have read more on this than I want to and am now convinced the deception in all end times stuff is so deep and complete it can only be a strategy of satan to get people to participate and take sides. It is the opposite of Jesus' Prayer:

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. John 17:21

It's a mystery because it's supposed to be. Let's be about proclaiming the kingdom in peoples hearts so they can be ready for the evil days ahead. I'm not choosing sides. I will share what I believe to be true at some point. I have an opinion, everybody is allowed to have one...like everyone gets a nose. We all get one. My nose is not better...and neither is yours. They are just noses. Just like opinions.

It's the High Places Coming Down

I have an impression that the High Places are being torn down. Before any period of blessing as you read the Word, there was a time when the High Places had to be destroyed. High places were places that may have started out OK but in the end became idols. Works of the flesh. False Religion. Many great men of God tore down the high places. Gideon did. Josiah did. Hezekiah did. Jehoshaphat did. Yet reading the word...I see not man, but GOD tearing down these places that attempt to take the place of God in our lives. Money. Government. Religions. Power. Sex. and a hundred others who would by the motivation of the enemy try to supplant God. When I look around the world today, even reading the news, watching it on TV, I see high places being torn down.

When Father said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me", there was no exception clause in it.

God is tearing down the high places. If you don't want things torn down and destroyed, don't erect them in the first place. That is the word of the Lord.

Leviticus 26:30 I will destroy your pagan shrines and knock down your high places of worship. I will leave your lifeless corpses piled on top of your lifeless idols, and I will despise you.

Micah 1:3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

Ezekiel 6:3 -- This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴ Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols. ⁵ I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. ⁶ Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out. ⁷ Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

What we see as difficulty, pain, suffering and disaster is many times just the high places coming down. All change is first perceived as loss. This is that.

Word submitted for your discernment -- By Yolanda Ballard

SOBERNESS OF THE HOUR

For it is not by might nor by power but by My spirit, says the Lord.

We are coming into the most awesome display of tactics that we will ever experience from the enemy. For the enemy is using every method possible to weigh down the chosen ones who are called to do war against him. There will be attacks against your finances, your health, your
marriage, and your church. Every arena of your life will be under attack, but if you keep your eyes focused on Truth, and just continue to draw close to the Lord, all that the enemy uses for your harm will turn for bringing you strength, wisdom, experience, improve your character by
purifying it like gold that has gone through the fire.

Through all that you will go through and face in the natural will be conforming you into the image of the Lord Himself, and you will be made whole, fit for the Master’s use. You need to be a pure and holy vessel to be able to contain the power that will soon flow through you. You cannot
be tainted in any way. A pure vessel will not rob the Lord of any glory.

So when you begin to face these trials, remember that it will only take much tribulation to enter into the level of warfare in worship that you need to be at to be able to war against the level of demonic activity that you will face. The enemy was defeated at the Cross of Calvary, but he knows that if he continues to press in on the people of God, many will buckle down, be worn down, and not fight any longer.

You need to be a mighty conqueror, an overcomer, able to crucify your flesh, and soar like the eagle in My spirit. No longer will you be called defeated, but be called a mighty army, a warring one, united in mind and spirit, pressing in against the enemy, fully prepared, full of the power and might needed to defeat every stronghold possible. Many have done their part to prepare the Bride, but you must take what you have and now run with it.

Be strong, be courageous, be bold, for this is the time to really war and soar! Trust in the Lord and in the power of His might. Be bold as a lion and gentle as a lamb. Be full of the perfect balance of grace and truth. Assemble yourselves together. Move in the momentum of the Lord
pressing in with just the right amount of pressure and flow at an even pace. Bear down as one and push for the birthing is about to take place, and the manchild will come forth. What is the manchild, but the exact image of the Lord Himself flowing through His people. Bring it forth.
Bring it forth, for it is time.

Every attempt to fulfill the calling of the Lord on your life will be greatly rewarded. Like the mustard seed, as small as it is, it will produce a mighty harvest. Examine your heart. Are you willing? Are you making yourself available? Are your motives pure? Every aspect of your attitude is important.

__________________
At The Father's Feet
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/r/RainNglory/

Where was Camping's prophet?

I wonder if Harold Camping had a Prophet unafraid to confront him in his life? It is often the case when error begins that the prophets in a leader's life are shunned, silenced or dismissed. Camping would have said, "I have heard from the Lord for myself"...and he heard...something. Or in this case he studied something. What began as a sound doctrinal premise went awry because the spirit of illumination he once had was darkened by pride in a doctrine, a teaching, a premise. It became a cause. It became a campaign. "I know something you don't". That exclusivity becomes a source of money. The love of which is at the root of all kinds of evil. Those who do not get this doctrine directly become followers. Then we end with the Jim Jones cults.

IF the prophets are doing what they are hired by God to do, that is to spot error and call it out, then the people rest in safety. If the Prophets are silent, or worse jump on board with a teaching that is only half true, they are guilty.

I wondered this with many ministers who have fallen or gone off the track. Jim Bakker, Eddie Long, Carlton Pearson, Ted Haggard and many others. Where was the Prophet in his life? Harold Camping is just the latest to give fuel to the ridicule disdaining the Body of Christ. No prophet means no profit to the Body.

If you are a spiritual senior leader and have many who follow your teachings, if you DON'T have a bold sound seasoned prophet who is allowed to speak into your life your "Sound Doctrine" may look great, people will embrace it, you might even be able to prove every precept by scripture. But you will be in error.

We in the Body of Christ have become experts at picking out Bible Bullets and shooting those who disagree with it theologically dead. I know, I have done it, and can do it. I reject that whole idea. God's heart is towards his sheep...he cares much more about them than about the earthly shepherds who mislead. I can tell you this morning that the heart of God is broken toward those who find themselves bewildered because of the Whole Camping doctrine. But this is not about Camping alone. IF you are hurting the Body of Christ, you hurt Jesus. If your doctrine, even if you believe it fully and can prove it well, if it has a them and us mentality about it, it is flawed. The Holy Spirit's character is to come along side. To walk with. To reveal what the Throne says. IF we carry HIM in US we need to do what the Father does thru the Spirit of God. Come along side.

I appeal to you all...get a SOUND prophet, one who has NOTHING to gain or lose by association with you and hear what he or she says. This is critical. We must have the word of the Lord in our land, in our churches and in the things we are teaching.

We Must have a Nathan who has the right, nay the responsibility, to come to the Man of God teaching and preaching and who can say with authority, "My dear Apostle/Bishop/Pastor, I regret to tell you that once again you are full of it"

Without that strong voice, deception in doctrine is certain.

Time of Trouble

Harold Camping was wrong...but there will be a day where there will be a time of trouble:

Job 38:23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

Psalms 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psalms 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

Psalms 41:1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

Proverbs 25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

Isaiah 33:2 O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

Jeremiah 14:8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?

Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time : and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Be ready...

TODAY in Bible History

2 Peter 3:2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.

3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

Many Christians are Unequally Yoked to the World System

Another word on the Provision Revelation.

When this was all coming down I heard the Lord say:

My people have yoked themselves so completely to the world system there is no longer any opportunity for ME to show MYSELF as Provider in their lives. They have tried every scheme an strategy other than relying on ME. Jobs as their source, Government aid, family, friends, begging; even fraud and theft. YET they praise ME. They raise their hands but their hearts are linked to the world system.

It's a lack of faith. A lack of trust. I have said that without FAITH it is impossible to please ME. I am not pleased by a life that is compromised by any provision outside of MINE.

When all this is stripped away, as it will be, there will be a day when my people will once again learn to lean on ME for everything. Everything. That day is not far away. Those who learn to lean NOW will have little trouble when the change comes. They will already be plugged in. Those who are still yoked to the world will find the the withdrawal symptoms horrible. They will be offended at ME. They will become angry. Some will fall away. This will sift chaff from wheat.

I am calling out to MY people to repent. Turn around. Turn away from the world. I am all you need. When I am all you have, you will discover that I am more than enough for you.

Jesus TAUGHT the Secret to Provision Revelation - Some got it...many did not

Matthew 5-7:27 is often called the Sermon on the Mount. It is one of the most often preached themes from the Bible.

We have heard it executed thru exigences and distorted by many preachers and teachers.

I have been looking at it as a Prophet and see that it is a clear word for today. This was a time before the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus was preparing those who would follow him to deal with the days to come. Those days are very much like these days. Evil.

What we don't recognize is the admonitions to Trust God, Have Faith and make a demand on the provision of God in the text.

The revelation of Provision comes in part from the "Sermon on the Mount". Jesus wants us to be clear on the concept.

Here are some things he said..I take them out...to help us see that He as God Man on earth was concerned about our understanding of His provision. I don't think many in the Body of Christ yet really get this. A few. But if we were living this....there wouldn't be food stamps, link cards, section 8 or AFDC. Homelessness would be rare and intermittent. People don't need a handout, they need a heart changed by the Revelation of Provision right before their eyes.

Jesus said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

Blessed means not only provided, but happy, content, at ease in the situation. Comforted by HIS provision.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Our attitude toward our situation is critical...if we mumble and complain we are not salty. If we murmur against God our light has gone out.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Our giving must not only be joyful, but without stain. We must give in Worship and that worship must be the kind God seeks. Spirit and Truth.

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Be careful to NOT make promises you can't keep. If you do it will impoverish you. These are earthly and heavenly oaths. Being a person of your word is critical. This applies in finances too.

¹ “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Generosity is it's own reward. A generous heart prospers the proverb says. I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor children of the righteous begging for bread. What does that mean? Read what Jesus said. BE RIGHTEOUS. Give but don't talk about it.

¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,

Jesus instructs us to PRAY in our provision. He wants us to call for heaven on earth. Is there homelessness in Heaven of many mansions? Hunger. Thirst? No. AND once again...don't hold tightly too much to what is earthly. IF Jesus said to do this...do it... It's his instruction to call in heaven, to pray for provision and seek forgiveness.

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fast, and Reward Follows. Simple strategy for provision.

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

God knows all about your pocketbook. He is LOOKING for an avenue to bless people thru. If you are that avenue, you will never go without.

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
IF you seek money you serve money. If you seek God the money will be there. This is the big deal. Our eyes must be on HIM and HIS PLAN to provide. He is all about provision.
²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[n]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus Challenges us to learn to live in eager expectation of his provision. It will show up as we open up in faith and trust. I'm afraid there are a lot of practical PAGANS in the Pew today. Running after things and money. Therefore they stay in poverty. The spirit of Poverty is the idea that I won't have enough unless I DO THIS.

¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Not everyone will get this. Some will give it lip service and then fail. They will stay in poverty. Don't judge them...they just haven't got it YET. Pray that they will. Once they do, they will cease to know want.

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

I don't know how to be more clear than this passage. In Malachi 3 there is talk of open windows of blessing. They are there when we are faithful. YET we must Ask Seek and Knock to enter in. Ask Father and he will provide, probably different from how you would do it. BUT He will...or you call Jesus a liar. GOOD GIFTS. This has been WAY overspiritualized.

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The world WILL pass away. Sooner than you think. It's the practice of these words, the ones reviewed that are the foundation on the rock. Jesus is the ROCK but HIS WORDS ARE the foundation.

This is not the whole of the revelation of provision, it's just a piece. But it's an important piece. If Jesus spent this much time on these issues of provision and then says you will stand when the storm comes IF you put them into practice, should we NOT consider carefully this revelation? I am asking that as you have read this, you consider carefully what you are and are not doing. This revelation is complex yet simple. A few people I know are living this way.

I will say to you what was said to me long ago that changed my life, "You can LIVE LIKE THIS".

Days of Amos

What’s coming in the next few years? There’s bad news and there’s good news. The prophet Amos in ancient times brought a set of indictments against Israel that read very much like the sins of America and the Western world.

1. They rejected God’s law (Amos 2:4). In many ways too numerous to list here, so have we.

2. They believed in lies concerning false gods and demonic philosophies (Amos 2:4). The list of deceptions in modern times is long and spans a range of doctrines and philosophies, from open theism taught in the church to post-modernistic philosophy dominant in the world around us. The former denies the foreknowledge of God and, by extension, the fullness of His sovereignty; the latter writes God out of the equation altogether. And those are just two examples.

3. They had fallen into an economic self-focus that led to abuse (Amos 2:6-8). This is the America and the West that I have known all my life. Even in the church we have been obsessed with material prosperity and a focus on self.

4. Sexual immorality and perversion ran rampant. This occurred in more forms than Amos mentioned in this passage (Amos 2:7). The same is true today.

5. They had become arrogant in a way that led to abuse of those who stood before God in humility (Amos 2:7). Many Christians in America are increasingly viewed as a threat to society because we who stand on the Word refuse to join the approval of practices the culture regards as normal and acceptable. When in our history, until recent times, was it ever possible to lose a job over the issue of sharing your faith openly?

6. Their polluted and compromised devotion to God led to pressure on the Lord’s devoted ones to compromise (Amos 2:12). And so it is today.

What is sown must be reaped. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). This principle applied under the old covenant, and it applies under the new. Judgment, the reaping, begins in Amos 2:14 and reads very much like the current state of America and the West.

1. Amos prophesied Israel’s military defeat (Amos 2:14-16). The military might of both America and the West will continue to be frustrated and their influence in the world diminished despite the overwhelming power of our armament. Iraq and Afghanistan stand as prime examples of extended and frustrated warfare against enemies whose power pales by comparison to our own capabilities. Serious terrorist attacks will ultimately succeed, and governments will be powerless to stop them. Because we no longer fear God, His angel no longer encamps around us (see Ps. 34:7); and America in particular no longer enjoys favored nation status in the world. Don't be deceived by the death of Osama bin Laden. This was one small victory in a wider war, not a turning point, and we have yet to deal with the backlash that must certainly come.

2. Amos prophesied a destroyed economy for Israel (Amos 3:15). Sin must ultimately and always produce poverty. Isn’t it interesting that economic judgment on ancient Israel began with a collapse of the housing market? Sound familiar? Economic recovery will be limited at best, both in scope and duration, and fraught with inconsistency.

3. If Amos were speaking to us directly he would say that God is about to close some of our churches (Amos 3:14), or else significantly diminish them. He will not permit churches to continue thriving where His laws, standards, morality, Word and nature are not honored and His Spirit cannot move. On the other hand, where these things are honored, churches will thrive as desperate people, broken by the destructive effects of sin, seek real answers and as those who desire a genuine experience of God find the places where that experience can be found.

The good news will unfold simultaneously with the bad as God's glory grows brighter in the midst of darkness, consistent with Rom. 8:18-19: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God”

Godly ones—those who will humble themselves in repentance and submission, seeking God with genuine passion—will enter a season of glory like no other. They will be revealed as a lighthouse people, islands of glory in a sea of mud, for a strategic time; and churches and ministries filled with the power and love of God.

Signs and wonders will multiply as expressions of that love so that a huge harvest of souls will be gathered out of the darkness. The presence of God will rest upon us more powerfully than we’ve ever imagined. Those of us who have sought holiness and wholeness in purity of passion will be revealed as a generation prepared for such a time. It will be fulfillment of the purposes for which God has so painstakingly prepared us. A line is being drawn in the sand. We live in a day of decision.

About the author:·R. Loren Sandford is the founder and senior pastor of New Song Fellowship in Denver. He is a songwriter, recording artist and worship leader, as well as the author of several books, including Understanding Prophetic People, The Prophetic Church and his latest, Renewal for the Wounded Warrior, which are available with other resources on the church's website.

Ba'al is a false God of Provision because the TRUE GOD of Provision is Jehovah

Ba'al worship was always about fertility of people and cattle, the rainfall that provided agriculture. If you worshipped Ba'al well he would prosper you. Ba'al would provide. That altar still exists in many churches. Two altars, one to God and one to Ba'al. Dutch Sheets has spoken to this issue.

What is sad is God always has at his heart to provide everything you need. He is the true God of Provision. Ba'al is the counterfeit.

Because many people are fearful of trusting God for provision, they will trust him for healing, for wisdom, for good marriages, for relationship, for forgiveness of sin, for sanctification. All that is true and you can live a full life. Full that is except in provisional fullness. Everything goes well but every day fear and pressure from concern over provisional issues taints an otherwise unstained christian life.

This spirit seems to be most prevalent among those who seek after God most intensely. Somehow there is a fear to approach God in the area of provision. It may be a fear of serving mammon.

The spirit of poverty is a demon that says you won't have enough. God can forgive your sins but he doesn't seem to provide for you very well. He robs you by neutralizing your ability to trust in GOD. So, like the ancients..we erect Ba'als.

We can talk about divorcing Ba'al, Ba'al is the world system. What we must do is live in the revelation of what God's heart is towards us in this regard. Once we get this...we can live above the Demonic influences in our lives. I'm serious about this oppression. Those who even operate in deliverance ministry most effectively are many times the most oppressed by this demon. They MUST have this thing put out of their lives to walk in the fullness God desires to provide.

The revelation must come to people who think they most understand this. When I have shared this with people, even people who have read every Leroy Thompson book ever written, they at the beginning believe they understand this principle...it sounds like it...for a while. As long as they hang on to those old principles they will stay in bondage. When it becomes Rhema for them, the light bulb lights up...the revelation comes and the AHA moment comes. It all makes sense and freedom comes.

That's why this cannot be taught, but must be caught. It's revelation. As people have hands laid on them, as the demonic force is exposed, the evil spirit departs and fresh revelation takes it's place. They find themselves walking in confidence and provision. The same revelation Abraham had (he was the richest man in his world) can be yours...but you must act as Abraham did.

Denny Cline: Are You Awake?

Prophets have been telling us this time would come. You don't have to be one to know that things are shaking everywhere today. While there is a lot of tragedy associated with the shaking, it is an incredible time to be alive and not hide in fear. Instead, it's a time for the Church to shine and spread the good news of Christ. We don't want to miss this opportunity.

John 4:35 Do you not say, "There are still four months and then comes the harvest"? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.

I take Jesus to mean from this statement we should always be ready to share the good news of the Kingdom of God. But there are special seasons and times where people are hungry to know the truth and find hope that are unlike typical seasons. I believe we are in such a time. It reminds me of the 1970s when I first came to Christ in what we refer to as the "Jesus Movement." World conditions politically, economically, socially, and spiritually are all on shaky ground and in need of true hope. The only real hope for our world is the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Putting the Gospel in its Proper Place

I have been stirred about leading people to Christ as true followers since answering the call of Christ. In the last several years, it has become clear that even though 85 percent of Americans identify in some way with Christianity, there are not that many who are real followers. Yet, the simple truth and power of the Gospel is still holding its power for those who have heard a clear presentation and put their trust in Christ.

Not long ago, I had picture come to mind in a worship time. I saw a freight train moving along its tracks with an engine in the front and the back. In between the engines were different colored boxcars. When I asked the Holy Spirit what I was looking at, it was a very precise answer: The engines were the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the box cars were the stuff of the Kingdom being delivered by the train, which is the Church.

The authority and power of the Holy Spirit runs the engines, but it is through the Gospel. The broad view of what we call "sozo" or salvation is forgiveness, healing, deliverance, wholeness, provision, and life abundant. But without the Gospel there is no entrance into it or a way to deliver it to the people that gives them a pathway to follow Christ.

I hear all kinds of excuses why we should not focus on evangelism. Some are mind-boggling: The Church is not ready; the Church's condition is lacking; there is not enough unity, prayer, and on and on. We rehearse these mindsets while every day people die and go into a Christ-less eternity. If we really believe the Gospel was important for us to have a hope in Heaven, how can we not have the same passion to see others receive the grace of God that came to us?

I realize we can deliver the goods of the Kingdom and hope that those acts of love and kindness of the Lord will lead people to Christ. But even Jesus healed people who never followed Him. Following Jesus starts with a decision to believe and receive what He did for us on the Cross, that He is the Lord of all, and that He has risen from the dead. People are far more likely to make that decision if they are not only loved by Jesus through His people, but also hear His story. It's time to not only demonstrate, but also go and tell people the good news. I am ecstatic at where we have come to in the Church with healing, acts of kindness, social justice and miracles of all kinds becoming normal for many. But the Gospel all by itself is the hope of our nation. You don't have to have the five-fold call of an evangelist to have the heart of one if you have Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Awakening Has Begun

Now I am going to give one example that awakening has begun, knowing there could be many others. But the reason I give this one is because the Gospel is the priority, not an add-on. Some know (but I am not sure how many do yet) that in the Tampa Bay area over 50,000 people have prayed to receive Christ and asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit and put their trust in Him since January of this year alone.

God sent Dr. Rodney Howard Browne to this country in the late '80s with his family and nothing more than a few dollars and a word that God would use him to help America experience another great awakening. He became known for a renewal that has spread all over the world and birthed many visitations, including the Toronto and Pensacola outpourings. Since that time we have seen and experienced sporadic visitations, including healings and many ministries that move in healing. But we have not seen massive conversions to Christ in America since the Jesus Movement. And we have not seen what sustained revivals like the great awakenings of the 1700s and 1800s produced in societal transformation.

The emphasis I love about this ministry and what is happening is that it is first about the love of God through winning people to Christ. Healing, restoration, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and reaching the poor are part of it, too. But the Gospel is the front and back of the train that powers it. The results since January are staggering.

I took one of my young leaders and asked five other pastors to come with us to Florida from Oregon. We all went on the streets, used a simple script which you can quickly memorize as a tool, and got filled up with a fresh fire and passion in the Holy Spirit. Every one of us easily won souls to Christ there and at home. It's not about numbers, though that is significant, too. The reason is that every soul counted is a life saved from eternal darkness and a follower of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the best follow-up person on earth; so getting people filled with the Holy Spirit is a real priority, too, in presenting the Gospel.

I believe we are seeing the beginning of the Great Awakening that the Body of Christ has prayed for – for nearly two decades now. Keep praying, but let's put feet to prayer and hope, and preach good news as a passion and lifestyle.

Denny Cline
Senior Leader, Jesus Pursuit Church
Email: click here

For information about foundational schools and ministries go to www.jesuspursuit.org.

The Secret to Supernatural Provision and Prosperity - Have Revelation will Travel

I don't do this often. I did a few years ago when God showed me what was about to happen in the economy. In February of 2009 I was shown clearly what was about to take place and how that would unfold. I shared the revelation in several places. Those that heard and heeded are today better off for it. It happened as I was shown.

Now God has given me a Rhema word about what to do right now, in this economy, in this changing and challenging time. This is an equipping word. A preparing word. It's not a word of gloom and doom, but it is a word that will change your view of living in the fullness of God's supernatural provision. I don''t believe this can be shared in a book. It must be revealed supernaturally. The church is under oppression by a spirit of poverty that must be broken for the next season.

IF your congregation, fellowship, meeting, group or organization needs financial breakthrough; among your people, this revelation will release that breakthrough. I am NOT charging for this. I appreciate any help on travel to do this of course. Freely given I will freely give. I am living this right now and believe it is a needed word that God gave me to pass along to those with ears to hear.

Here is an outline of the revelation as it has been handed to me:

• God's purpose is always to provide for his people. It's his will. He loves to get Glory in doing it.
• God uses supernatural events to facilitate provision, supernatural events that look strange to the eyes of the flesh, but are provision in disguise.
• God hides access to this because it works every time. He expects us to get this by revelation.
• There are things you can DO to stop this supernatural activity in your life. Find those, stop doing them. Watch God pour himself out.
• There are things you can do to release the supernatural. You can't give to get. You can open doors that are otherwise closed without God's supernatural intervention.
• If you try to do this reluctantly or putting God to the test without faith it won't work.
• There is ONE essential element to releasing God's provision...just one...one most Christians will say they have, but don't.
  
• Absolute obedience to his purposes for YOU is the secret.
• The devil has perverted this to discourage people. Most are walking in less than enough because of it. Most people do NOT understand the realities of Malachi 3. It has been used wrongly and has impoverished people because of it.
  
• God's view of you and your provision is much larger than you can imagine. He WILL manifest himself in 30-60-100 fold increase, but you must be in a position to experience it. Most Christians are not. They have blocked the flow of multiplication.
  
• Keeping short accounts with God is a key. How do we do this?
• Once you begin to grasp the revelation of supernatural provision you will be willing and able to step out in confidence in the plan of God hidden in secret places.

A disturbing truth is that most Christians, particularity Pentecostals and Baptists are poor. Many very poor. Well below the norm in earning. I maintain it is because we do not understand the principles of provision. We don't know how to tap in to what God has planned for us. We think we have the word of faith for prosperity but we are losing our jobs, houses, cars and income while we declare ourselves prosperous.

What is worse, most pastors and senior leaders of churches do NOT understand this themselves. They live far below their economic potential. They live like paupers because the congregation they serve are paupers. The tithe on nothing is nothing. They are trapped and believe the lies about prosperity that have perpetuated the deep poverty they are in and by extension their people are in. IF you aren't paying your bills, and are preaching prosperity, I don't care how nice a car you have leased, or how good your clothes are...they are symptoms of your poverty. It's time for the Sham to Stop. It's NOT God's will.

Father is saying it's time to get real about God's provision for his people. It's time to break the poverty cycle in the church. It's time to release the supernatural provision of God for his people. The Church of Jesus has been oppressed too long by a demon called the Spirit of Poverty. It's time for deliverance.

When this revelation came a few months ago I didn't do much with it. I let it mature. Now I'm ready. If you want to hear this for yourself, I am willing to come share what God has shown me. It has changed my life. It will yours too. I'm ready to come and release the deliverance the Saints of God need. To see people manifest the supernatural provision of FATHER GOD.

If you want me to come deliver this message, please respond via email or if you see me on Facebook, in-box me. I am only going to share this for a few months...and then step back to watch those who get this revelation prosper. I suspect once enough people get this revelation it will spread on it's own. BUT you can't share it if you aren't living it. This isn't a theology or a teaching, it's a lifestyle and it can only be entered into by revelation.

Set My People Free from the Demon Spirit of Poverty!

Changes of Seasons

The last few days have been a knee jerk, wrenching of the spirit for me.

This catastrophe. That challenge. This project. That not done. These misdirected. Then CHANGE....again.

These things have caused me to try to cope. To try to adjust. To try to adapt. I haven't done well.

I'm NOT complaining. It's how I live. YET, there are times when in all the battle my ability to keep my eyes on the end goal is lost for a moment.

In all this, I heard the Lord say:

You are not alone in the upheaval, disappointment and challenges. My people find the changes you experience to be as disrupting as you have felt them. Just about the time people have settled into a warm weather pattern, cold and wind comes. Just about the time a project or a "Job" seems to be a source it's ripped away. Just about the time a relationship you thought was sustaining it ends.

These things are all torments of the world and it's way. It is pressure instituted to press you into a mold....to conform you...to cause you to be what you didn't start out to become. I never intended you to look like the world.

You will have these troubles. These trouble are not to have you. Fix your eyes on the finisher of your faith. Keep your mind set on things above. The barns you build bigger will fall and fail. It's only by MY WORD that you can become what I created you to be. Holy...set apart...above and not below, head and not tail.

I provide, I care for you. When you fully grasp this you will walk in victory beyond your understanding. It is my plan for you.

You are in exile from where I will bring you. You are a stranger in a strange land. You must take your place, build houses, do business, make a life in exile for now...but your place is seated with me....

You can make it...as you trust in ME.

I need to hear the word of the Lord for me. I hope it helps you too. God is GOOD!

A Strange Drunkeness

One of my Facebook Friends, Nathanael Neuenschwander, commented on some gross stupidity on the part of American Leadership. The point of this post is not to be critical of the specific action of our leadership, but to share what Nathanael said that hit me so hard:

It is such a strange drunkenness that causes leaders to act this way. It is as though God has withdrawn his hand of restraint and men are drunk on the wine of judgment. They hold the country on the edge of total ruin and yet they laugh as though they would never be held accountable.

That is the prophetic. Strange drunkenness is the spirit of the age. A person hits a high and goes off into the ozone like a bum on a drunk. When it invades the mentality of our national leaders and even the leaders of churches, the drunkenness will cause ruin as certainly as drunkenness places a man or woman in the gutter.

We need sober leadership. We have drunks in charge.

Unrestrained.

Drinking to excess while the nation's family goes to ruin.

Sober up America!!

Another friend, David Allain says:

Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. It's not that they are completely blind to the deception they permit, and partake of. But they prefer the smooth path, or the path of least resistance. But it will end in death.

Great insight Men.

What God Says

Isaiah 29:
Suddenly, in an instant,
6 I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you
with thunder and earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.
7 All the nations fighting against Jerusalem[b]
will vanish like a dream!
Those who are attacking her walls
will vanish like a vision in the night.
8 A hungry person dreams of eating
but wakes up still hungry.
A thirsty person dreams of drinking
but is still faint from thirst when morning comes.
So it will be with your enemies,
with those who attack Mount Zion.”

9 Are you amazed and incredulous?
Don’t you believe it?
Then go ahead and be blind.
You are stupid, but not from wine!
You stagger, but not from liquor!
10 For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.

Catherine Brown: The Self-Parenting Generation: A Generation Under Threat

Fatherless Fathers

Whilst in prayers earlier this week, the Lord spoke to me of a generation who are "fatherless fathers" – a self-parenting generation, who have not had the experience of close parental input (either physical or spiritual) and who are now rising as leaders in their generation without the skill set, experience or gift of being parented. This generation have a desire to father/mother, yet they have not been properly fathered in the faith.

Apostle Paul spoke to the Church in Corinth of a similar issue in his day: "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 4:15).

Glory to God that in Christ the Gospel creates covenant relationships through which spiritual fathers and mothers are raised up in the nations to serve the next generation!

God's intention is that the family unit would reveal His glory in all the earth (Genesis 1:28). Furthermore, His desire is that male and female co-labouring together in Christ would be spiritually fruitful and walk in dominion, i.e. release the government of God on the earth as they serve Him in mutual submission to God and to each other.

Satan has warred against the Fatherhood of God in every generation since time began and has sought to decimate the family unit in every conceivable way. In all spheres of society the enemy seeks to desecrate and decimate fatherhood.

Despite this awful onslaught in these end times, it is my belief that God is pouring out exponential grace on the Body of Christ to experience His Fatherhood tri-generationally. One way in which the Lord is doing this is by restoring spiritual fathers and mothers in the Church. This emerging generation shall not be lost to an orphan mindset, but will be loved into healing and wholeness and walk in their God-given identity as sons/daughters and legitimate heirs.

Fathering and Mothering in the Faith

The aspect of "fathering" in the faith is not gender-bound. Apostolic fathers and mothers carry the heart of God the Father to His Church and His children. Apostle Paul used both terms "father" and "mother" figuratively to speak to his spiritual children in Thessalonica:

As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 1 Thessalonians 2:6b-7

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His Kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Paul often wrestled in prayer for those whom he discipled, "until Christ be formed in you," comparing this intercession to the pain of childbirth, despite the fact he had obviously never given birth! So we see that Apostle Paul related to aspects of mothering/female parenting as well as to fatherhood/male parenting (see Galatians 4:19-20)

Importantly, we look to Christ our High Priest and Apostle and rejoice in the fact that Jesus lived to bring glory to the Father by walking in obedience to His will. Jesus came to reveal the Father's love in all its simplicity and complexity. At the Cross of Calvary, Christ broke down every dividing wall (cultural, generational, societal, gender bias, to name a few), and He calls us to a life of surrender, obedience and love.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6b

It is essential that spiritual fathers and mothers to this "self-parenting generation" understand the generation they are raising up. We can avoid so many unnecessary misunderstandings, relationship pitfalls and spiritual abortions that lead to destiny delay or destruction if we will take time to understand the character of those whom we disciple.

Moses – Our Model

Studying the life of Moses, I have seen how God used him as a spiritual father to a nation. Let's take a step back in time to Moses' humble beginnings. Alarmingly, he was born under a death threat that could potentially annihilate his people. The males of his generation were in danger of death from the edict issued by Pharaoh that all Hebrew sons were to be thrown into the Nile and killed (Exodus 1:22). Moses means "drawn out"; He was drawn out by God and delivered into safe-keeping so that he might fulfill God's plans for his life. God is still in the business of calling out and rescuing a generation whom satan seeks to destroy.

We have seen how dear Moses needed Jethro (his father-in-law) to help him be a good father to others. Moses' only real early experience of fatherhood was in Pharaoh's court whilst he was growing up. His view of authority was filtered through the lens of ruling without intimate relationship with a close father figure. The distortion of father/mother authority at this core level of human development affects our understanding of our identity, creates insecurity and causes legitimacy questions about our destiny to arise. God had to deal with this insecurity in the life of his servant Moses, also.

It is my intention to share some insights from the life of Moses in his transformational experience of being healed from insecurity, issues of identity and more to becoming a father to the Jewish people whom he was entrusted to lead. How wonderful that we have seen the anointing of God on Moses as a capable leader, and yet we may also take a bird's-eye view of his process and faith journey with God that brought him to this point. Moses himself said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land" (Exodus 2:22).

We see clearly how the man of God wrestled with his own identity having been raised in the courts of Pharaoh, yet he was a Hebrew at heart. Moses had to pass through certain life lessons in order to overcome his "self-parenting" tendencies, to be healed and transformed into a father of a nation. Interestingly, this deep inner searching was brought about in Moses just after his son was born and he named him "Gershom," which sounds like the Hebrew for "an alien there."

It was by being thrust into fatherhood that God was able to heal the areas of insecurity and wounding in his son Moses. It was not Moses' fault that he had not been fathered and God saw to it that Moses did not lack by putting Jethro in his life at the appointed time. In truth, most of us experience this same process under God's leading and guiding as He shapes our lives and works out His purposes and plans in us. The need to be a spiritual father/mother to others can serve as a catalyst in each of us, to bring us into healing in the area of "self-parenting" tendencies. (To be continued...)

God bless you today as you follow His call on your life. In His grace,

Catherine Brown
Founder/Director, Gatekeepers Global Ministries
Co-Founder, Scottish Apostolic Networking Enterprise
Email: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk

We are ALL George Bailey - do we make any difference at all?

I am reminded this morning in silence of the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life". Shown every Christmas in the USA. It asks an eternal question, if you didn't exist would it make any difference. Do you have any influence in the culture you inhabit? Can you have a positive influence on the Schools that teach your children, the Business community that supplies goods and services, the government you have, the quality of families in your community, the authority and influence of the Churches around you, the kinds of entertainment you see and hear, the veracity of the media that informs or indoctrinates people?

Are those things outside of your influence? Are they off limits to a Christian?

Shockingly many believe they are. That we are to become insular and hide from a fallen world behind our closed church doors. In doing that we allow Mr Potter to control the destiny of the world our grandchildren will live in. It becomes Pottersville. I'm glad my Fathers didn't do so in World War Two.

IF your church never existed, if you never existed would the world be a better or worse place to live? YOU have influence over the things all around you, just like George Bailey did. You can pretend that you don't or shouldn't. You can become inert by intent. But for better or worse you do have an influence...even if you squander it.

I pray God will give you a vision of what things would be like if you allow them to drift. There is a nihilism that has crept into the church, not so much in the USA but in other parts of the world. It's a flawed theology that we can't change anything and it's not up to us to do so.

In that, the church of Jesus has lost it's mission and commission. IF we are to MAKE DISCIPLES as we go in all the world, it must mean we are to be intentional at changing (Making Disciples) of those who occupy all the realms of influence that we live among. Education, Media, Arts and Entertainment, Business, Government, Family and the Church.

Anything less is making the Word of God of no effect. We can teach and preach until we are blue in the face. That doesn't make the change. We must be proactive at making disciples, mentoring, training, being an example to, an example of, being apprenticed and apprenticing those in all the spheres of influence around us. Jesus defined the result of an unchanged heart in Matthew 7:20-23

“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

If we do NOT deal with the evil in our society it will get worse and worse. We don't need another sermon, we don't need another government program. We need to see people in our lives have a heart transplant.

We are ALL George Bailey.

We can make it a wonderful life if we allow ourselves to become what we were called to be. To do less squanders why we are here in the first place.

This may not be prophetic, but it stirred in my heart today...so I pass it along.

A dream that's a Nightmare from Nathanael Neuenschwander

I dreamed last night of a time when US employees will be offered an interesting work incentive: a share in a heap of garbage to scavenge from.

I saw a day where something happened causing cell towers to go down, gasoline to become scarce, and towns to be sealed off. In the midst of this, much power over the enemy was given to set believers free from the demonic.

Believers gathered together in homes. The leadership warned against division coming from misunderstandings and deliberate gossip. There was peace and yet an incomplete understanding of how serious things had become.

When that day comes, remember two truths from the Word.

1. Our lives does not consist in having lots of possessions.
2. We can handle wealth, poverty, and everything in between through Jesus who strengthens us.

In the meantime, passionately seek after Jesus to know him intimately; build close relationships with those brothers and sisters in Christ who value the things of the God; and prepare in whichever way the Holy Spirit instructs you.

The single greatest obstacle to spiritual growth

Roger Miller sang a song that had a refrain, "Pride is the chief cause in the decline in the number of husbands and wives".

That sells PRIDE short. Pride is the chief obstacle to spiritual breakthru. People fear being real. Fear being genuine. Fear being vulnerable. They fear being spit upon, stoned, beaten and humiliated.

I don't like it either. But this morning...it came to me. I heard the Lord say:

Set aside your pride. Don't worry about yourself. Even in the face of rejection or failure, move ahead in me and I will direct your paths. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Lay it all down and I will show you what to pick up. There is none like ME...you might gain the whole world and lose your soul...many have, they were possessed by pride, not by Me.

I believe that it is fair to say, every failure, every destroyed life, every closed church had at it's center a prideful heart.

Let's be sure we don't carry the ONE THING GOD PUT ON HIS LIST OF THINGS HE HATES!!

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things the LORD HATES, seven that are DETESTABLE to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

•• Shortened by many to “Pride goes before a fall.”

• A pastor who fell into adultery once told me: “I thought I was doing a good enough job God would overlook it.” Pride before a fall!

• Another minister was heard to say not long before he fell into sin and disgrace: “This is the most anointed ministry on the face of the earth today.” Pride before a fall!

• A young man said to a pastor friend of mine, “I’m having trouble with pride.” My friend succinctly and wisely replied, “Why? What do you have to be proud about?”

•• The fast track to a fall? — Pride

• Contrast Jesus' Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).

• God hates pride.

An Incorrect View of the Prophet and the Prophetic

I read this well written piece by Stan Smith. It's worthwhile. It's encouraging. It's an admonition for us all to be all we can be in the Spirit. I commend it to you.

There's only ONE problem with it, while it talks about the Prophetic, it's not really about the office and workings of the Prophet. It's about the spiritual gifting (charismata) of prophecy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, working of miracles, tongues, Faith etc.

Someone reading this might decide to measure the prophetic is by this yardstick. That would be very wrong. What Stan Smith wrote about was good solid christian living. It should be the goal of all people who name the name of Jesus to:

1. Look to God for Creativity
2. Operate in Word of Knowledge to help people
3. Bless and Pray for your spouse and family
4. Look to God for Direction in decisions
5. Witness to people in Evangelism
   
6. Work hand in hand with other Christians to accomplish things for God
7. Develop sustaining relationships
8. Bring a word of encouragement to others, in service and otherwise
9. Be part of the Altar Calls in Church...minister to others
10. Look for Spiritual Insight in Teaching the Word of God
11. Be committed to spiritual worship
12. Defer to one another

I have no argument with any of these activities and foci's. Where I draw a line is these things, while all good and all driven by the Holy Spirit are NOT what the Office and Operations of the Prophet are. You can do all these things but you are not a prophet because you do. You may do few of these things because of the call of God as a Prophet on your life and solidly be a Prophet in full.

I appreciate the article. I just disagree with it's point.

In addition to the above, there are other things that are many times identified as prophetic but are not:

• End times speculation is interesting but not prophecy. If someone is going to have a prophetic conference and the emphasis is eschatology, then as interesting as that might be, it's all speculation and should be treated thus.
• IF a person is just preaching a theme or concept it might be good, even inspiring, but may not be prophecy.
• IF someone comes to you and offers motivational encouragement it might be good, but may not be prophecy.
• If you get good advice from a wise person, it might be worthwhile, but probably not prophetic.
• If someone (even me) offers an opinion on politics, economics or culture it might be very well founded and insightful, but probably not prophetic.

SO if those things are NOT prophetic necessarily, what are the Marks of a True Prophet?

• Says what God says...sounds like him.
• Has insight beyond human ability.
• Brings situations into Heaven's focus.
• Defines error when it needs to be defined.
• Opens new vision for individuals and ministry.
• Deals with leadership in transparency and honor yet without compromise
• Defines and reveals the Word of God, not in teaching, but in revelation that corrects error.
• Speaks FOR God...becomes the Word of the Lord.

When someone says "He's got the whole world in his hands", look down they are attached to your arms. We are the arms and legs of Jesus as his Body here on earth.

As a Prophet, if you are a true prophet in the office, you are his Mouth.

And that is why the Stan Smith article, as good as it is, is in error.

That Little Light of Yours..if you let it shine...may be the only light anyone can see

If you light a candle at high noon on an sunny day outdoors you can hardly tell if it's alight or not.

The blaze of competing lights makes the candle seem dim.

YET let the place go dark. Midnight. New Moon. Cloudy. No external light. Light that same candle and it will seem bright...it will attract life, moths, other insects. IF a person is lost in the dark and sees the light of a candle, they will move towards the light because the light is safety.

If you have ever been in a nighttime blackout, electricity goes off...it's pretty dark. You fumble for a flashlight or a candle and that light will be bright indeed in contrast with the dark. My friend Ron from New Zealand went thru the earthquake and had to live with light from any source.

We are now in a season of deepening darkness. A spirit has been loosed in the land. A spirit of gangsterism. Barbarism. Pillage. Murder. Violence. Lawlessness. Worse and worse.

In this darkness the only light still burning will shine brightly. YOU are that light. YOU must now stand against the darkness. You cannot be taken in by the spirit loose in the land. Many people who call themselves christian are really christian-barbarian hybrids. In the light they look like followers of Jesus. In the dark they have no light to shine. Who you are in the dark when no one is looking is who you really are?

Jesus in the sermon on the mount said:

Matthew5:¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

IF you drill down the words good deeds, it's not a proactive thing, it's how you live, the things you do, the things you say. It's not just about feeding the hungry...it's about being a life lived as an example that Glorifies God.

IF you are discouraged by feeling like the world is going to hell around you, be encouraged, if you stand, if you let your life still shine, if you stay steady, in due time if you don't faint you will find yourself a light...

The world NEEDS to see your light....Let it shine.

YOU are the only light Jesus left here to shine to Glorify God. NOW SHINE!!!

When Wicked Men Fall by Judy Bauman

I don't know Judy, but I know the heart of God and this is that.... Gene

www.thefathersloveim.org

thefatherslove@yahoo.com

A word from the Father’s heart to yours concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden

May 3, 2011

This word came to me as I inquired of the Lord about the recent news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. I was personally struggling with it as rejoicing over the death of a person does not seem right to me. I did feel a relief, particularly for the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, but also am concerned about retaliation. At any rate, this is what the Lord spoke to me concerning his demise. My question to the Lord, “Father does Osama’s death help us?”

“Yes. When wicked men fall, there is a sense of justice being served. There are six things I hate and one is an abomination. I hate a heart that devises wicked plans – whose feet run rapidly to evil. Bin Laden was such a man. He continually spread strife and taught others to do the same.

“The fear of the LORD is to hate what I hate and love what I love. While it is true that I want none to perish but to come to everlasting life through repentance, the hearts of some are so hard and wicked they stubbornly refuse to turn.

“This man’s feet continually ran to evil and he hastened to shed blood. He ambushed his own life. This is the way of everyone who prospers through violence. Those who practice evil will be cut off, but those who wait upon Me will inherit the land. This is My promise.

“Osama Bin Laden mocked the USA, but his sin was against Me. I Am not mocked. Everyone will reap what they sow. As David said, May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil. To that I say, “So be it.”

Scriptures to Ponder:

Proverbs 16:27-30; 1:15-21; 6:12-19;
Second Peter 3:9;
Galatians 6:7;
Second Samuel 3:39;
Psalm 37

How deep is your call? A prophetic Question

There is no doubt that the heat is about to be turned up in the world. Particularity on Christians. The wake of the killing of Bin Laden will cause many to die as martyrs. Look at Nigeria recently. Violent Muslim mobsters murdered thousands in the street for nothing more than being Christian. Now we will hear of more. Retaliation. Missionaries who are in countries with many Muslims will be targeted for death.

The question is now, how deep is the call? Do they stay in country or flee in order not to face what may come? I don't judge. I just ask.

It has always been thus, but now things will change.

AND, what about when that pressure comes to our country? To Your country? Are you ready to deny the Christ in the face of certain death or will you stand firm because your call is deeper.

Now is the time to make that decision. An irrevocable decision. One that you cannot reverse. If you do, you will have confidence when the day comes. Many martyrs have in the past, even the recent past. Look to Acts 1:8. The word witnesses is also Martyr. IF you haven't yet received the Holy Spirit in full manifestation you won't make it. Oh, you might make it to heaven. Just. But you won't make it in the face of pressure. Choose this day.

This will be an eternal test to answer the question, How deep is your call?

The BRIDE must COME FORTH...but first she must want to....

I have this exact experience right now. The other day while praying for a man with cancer I experienced a wave of change, of shift. I don't know where this will lead, but when I read this, I knew my prophetic assignment was about to change. This is from a man named Mark in this middle age. I would that ALL PEOPLE would have this transformative experience. Highlights are mine:

I don't want to offend, or sound presumptuous at all. I hope what I say makes sense. 9 years ago, I got excited about loving God, and started looking for "more". I prayed every prayer I could think about, and was not satisfied with merely existing/working/going to church.

I started answering urges to visit people in the hospital that I barely had any connection to, and healings started happening through those visits. Big deal healings, and I didn't have any idea how to explain it, and wasn't "doing it" for that purpose. Ignorant of it, I was just responding to the Holy Spirit.

Lately I have downloaded 40+ full length messages of Curry's onto my MP3 player, and listen over and over and over. There are a few points that I think people still miss. Unbelief ends up being the default position of 90% of "Christians" today. I have seen cancer healed, that doesn't mean I have a gift. And it doesn't mean it's geographical. Our "experience" is not the judge. God bless you all!!

IF you aren't yet feeling this, I can prophesy that this is what is sweeping...holy discontent. It's time for the BRIDE to emerge in Power. That means everything you were satisfied with in the past no longer satisfies.

COME FORTH......!!

Seven Times Worse

This morning I was stirred to reconsider what Jesus said about this generation and the effect of cleaning a house of demons:

Matthew 12: ⁴¹ “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. ⁴² The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.

⁴³ “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. ⁴⁵ Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

I believe the Lord is saying, don't consider the elimination of the body that was possessed of an evil spirit to be the end of warfare. Evil spirits can invade a herd of pigs. The spirit is now wandering the desert. It will look for a new house. When it does, it will bring with it seven worse than itself. The spirit of the enemy of your soul and body is on the attack.

It is on the attack because there is a faithless generation in the world today. One unable and unwilling to do warfare because they do not KNOW their God.

This is no time to relax. Seven worse are forming to attack.

The Deception of Euphoria

Hearing the jubilation over the death of Bin Laden reminded me in the spirit of the excesses that euphoria can bring.

Palm Sunday?

Five Thousand fed and then they all turn away except the 12 a short time later.

David dances before the ARK. Then he has huge victories as King. A euphoric time for sure in the Kingdom.

Then he sins with Bathsheba.

Euphoria is a drug.

We are close to being deceived in our euphoria.