UNBELIEF SHUTS OFF INTIMACY WITH GOD! by David Wilkerson

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

All the praying in the world will not do you any good unless you mix it with faith! You can fast and pray for three days or three weeks, but without faith, you will not please God. All your hours in prayer, all your petitions, all your “coming to Him” will profit you nothing unless your heart is anchored in faith!

“Let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7).

If you are spending two hours with God and yet never believe Him to answer you, you are embarrassing Him for two hours! It may make you feel good or feel holy but in reality you are wasting time! You are giving God two hours of unbelief and doubt.

I know Christians who say they pray daily, often weeping before the Lord, yet nothing happens. They remain heavyhearted and depressed. Their lives are always in turmoil, all because they have embarrassed the Lord by coming into His presence not fully persuaded He will do what He promised!

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).

“And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive”
(Matthew 21:22).

Many of God’s people live as spiritual paupers because something happened that made them question God’s love. They say, “How can I trust God when I don’t understand why He would allow such a thing to happen to me?”

There is no human answer to their confusion. But God knows the end from the beginning and only when we are in heaven will we understand why some of these winds and waves have tossed us and why God allowed it all.

Isaiah gave an answer and I believe it is all we need to know for now: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?... Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

God has given us His Word: “You are My child. You are written in the palm of My hand so trust Me!”

The Year 5772 - Prophetic Implications

Every year as the new year unfolds I think about what it might mean. IF there is any significance in it. If there is any message.

I also look at the number.

Yes, the number is a man made number but with more relevance than 2011 or 2012.

It is an ancient number. It may carry an ancient message.

I may have discovered one of those.

This is a year of 7's. 5+2 is 7. and the middle two are 7's. 777.

The last time the 777 were exhibited was the day the stock market fell 777 points in response to the prayers in Nashville on 7-7-07.

Tomorrow is the 3rd anniversary of that day. By the way it was on a Jewish High Holy day as well.

This may be a key time. A time of the demonstration of the hand of God. 777 is a number that says...I'm here. The number seven has deep spiritual significance. It has been held sacred by the Hebrews and other Semite peoples since the dawn of time. It represents perfection and holiness.

I believe there is a message in this that we dare not ignore. God's hand is on us. For some that means judgment...for some it means HOPE!

Rick Joyner: Prophetic Bulletin: "The Great Tsunami"

In 1987 I had a two-and-a-half-day prophetic experience in which I was shown a panorama of coming events that I wrote about in my book titled, The Harvest. Most of what I saw coming has now taken place, but the biggest event of all, the harvest that was at the end of the age, has not. It is now approaching.

Jesus said, "The harvest is the end of the age" (see Matthew 13:39). This will be the greatest ingathering of new Believers in history, greater than all the previous ones combined. In my vision, this came in two great waves. The first wave was the largest up until this time, but it was only the ingathering of those who were called to be the laborers in the coming even much greater one.

This first wave began shortly after I was given this vision and lasted for almost twenty years. During that time more people came to Christ around the world than had come to Him in all of history up until that time. Some estimates were that an average of almost four hundred thousand people a day were coming to Christ during its peak. There were countries where people were being born again faster than they were being born. Hundreds of millions came to Christ in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia.

Though this wave hardly seemed to touch North America and Europe, they provided many of the evangelists and workers for the other great revivals around the world, and their time is coming. I then saw a period of relative calm before the greatest of all moves of God began. We are near the end of that time and are about to be hit by a wave of revival like the earth has never seen before.

The Magnitude of the Harvest

When a tsunami is traveling across the oceans, it is barely a discernable ripple in the water, but when it approaches land, it begins to rise fast, sometimes to a height of several hundred feet. In minutes, a calm sea can rise up and sweep away everything in its path. Even though it may seem that we are in a spiritual calm now, a spiritual tsunami is coming, and we must prepare for it.

The biggest problem virtually every church will be facing is how to handle explosive growth. In the vision, I saw small churches of less than a hundred people adding a thousand new members a week at times. Of course, this happened on the Day of Pentecost, and then there were other days in which thousands came to Christ in a day. Even with a dozen apostles personally trained by the Lord, there was stress caused by this. Pressure points gave birth to new ministries such as the deacon. The infrastructure of church life that this produced is still the model that works, and we need to return to its effective simplicity to handle what is coming.

I saw churches that grew so large that they started renting football and soccer stadiums in which to hold their services. At times, hundreds of thousands would gather in parks and huge outdoor meetings just to hear Bible teachers to pray and to worship. Not only were whole cities coming to Christ, but also entire nations were coming so that the state itself became like a large church.

A few years ago I decided to watch the news for several hours a day for a week to determine what percentage of stories could be considered good news. During that time I did not see one good news story. They were all about problems, crises, disasters, and suffering. This was during the time of some of our greatest economic prosperity. Now it's worse. However, change is coming. When this next wave hits, the news around the world is going to be dominated by good news.

We will see events like hundreds of thousands of people gathering spontaneously for prayer and worship, becoming the biggest news stories of the day. News teams will be following apostolic teams and evangelists like they do politicians and business leaders now. Much more is happening now than most are aware of, or that is making the news, but when the Lord "suddenly comes into His temple," it will be the news, and the whole world will be aware of it.

There will be individual newscasts from secular networks that will cause more to come to Christ than Christian networks have in their entire existence. This is not to negate what has been accomplished by Christian networks but rather to stress the impact that this revival will have. We will go through a period when the news of the great things God is doing will crowd out just about all other news around the world.

Both the Welsh and the Azusa Street Revivals made front-page news around the world repeatedly for nearly two years. That was just a foretaste, a seed being planted for what is to come. The coming move of God will in some ways be a composite of many of the great moves of the past, but in one basic way it will be different—this will not just be a move of God, but it will be God moving.

This is not just semantics, because every true move of God is at least initiated by God, but He will bless many things He will not inhabit. His manifest presence will be so great in what is coming that people will not chase after individual truths, or acts of God, but they will be after the Lord Himself. He will be the conversation, not just what He does. This is a move that will lift up Jesus. When He is lifted up, all will be drawn to Him, not just to doctrines, projects, or missions, but to Him.

Doctrine certainly has its place, and there is a great need for sound Biblical doctrine to be imparted to all new Believers, and for all other Believers to build stronger foundations on His truth. There is a need for projects and missions that are His will, but "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing," and the Main Thing is Jesus. The true apostolic Gospel was Jesus: "They preached Jesus and the resurrection from the dead." Jesus will again be the Message, and it will be what He is doing that gets the attention.

What is coming is the return to the apostolic Gospel. The Way is a Person. Truth is a Person, and if we don't know that Person as our Life, then we don't really know the Way or the Truth either. He is coming to take His rightful place in His Church. When He does, the Church will be profoundly changed. When Jesus becomes our desire as He should be, the Church will become the ultimate society on the earth that multitudes will be streaming to. There is no greater adventure than the true Christian life, and there is nothing more boring than religion. Religion is about to be displaced by the true Christian life, and the great adventure will supplant institutional religion.

Catch the Wave

We are coming to the most exciting times in history, but this is also a warning. If we are not prepared for what is coming, we will be victims of it. This coming worldwide revival will also be one of the biggest challenges ever. Moves of God are often referred to as waves in history because a wave is an accurate metaphor. For a surfer, there are few things as thrilling as catching "the big one." However, if you're casually strolling in the surf and the big one catches you by surprise, you will likely eat a lot of sand and drink a lot of salt water. Revivals can do the same thing to churches and ministries that are not prepared for them.

Riding a wave is not possible unless you are positioned right to catch it. To catch a wave, you must discern where it is going to break. Then you must position yourself in the right place. Then you have to begin moving in the right direction when it comes. Though it may seem that everything is quiet right now, we need to be getting prepared for what is coming by getting into position and be ready to move in the right direction as it comes.

The most important thing that we can do to get into the right position is to recover and strengthen our first love—Jesus. We all signed up for Him, not just good teachings, or a better way to live, though we do get those too. There is nothing on earth more contagious than a person who is getting closer to the Lord. Those "who have been with Jesus" are going to start standing out as never before. We only have true spiritual authority to the degree that we are abiding in the King, and the leaders of what is coming will be those who are the closest to the Lord.

What is coming will be far too big for any human leadership or strategy to control. Only the Captain of the hosts can lead this one, and He will. It is not just hearing the words of the Lord as much as it is hearing the Word Himself. The main strategy for what is to come will be to know His voice and to obey Him. He will be giving personal direction to His people. This is why we are told in Acts 2:17-18 that "in the last days" when He pours out His Spirit, the result is dreams, visions, and prophecy upon the old and young, male and female, which obviously includes everyone. This is because we are going to need this kind of guidance for what is to come, and He is going to give it to us as He always has for those who would seek Him.

The coming move of God will be the greatest challenge we've ever faced but also will be the greatest time of our lives. These are the times that even the prophets of old desired to see. The Lord has saved His best wine for last, and many who are reading this will witness the greatest move of God of all time.

It is right to appreciate the honor of living in these times, but it is also right to treat it as the great responsibility that it is. To whom much is given much will be required, and this will be a time when much work must be done. Even so, when we are yoked with the Lord, we will find rest and refreshment in our labors as we are told in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

You do not put on a yoke to go to bed but rather to do work. However, there is no greater rest and refreshment for our souls that we could ever find than being yoked with the Lord in His work. There is no job or profession we could ever have in this life more fulfilling than doing what He created us to do before the foundation of the world. This will be life on a level more exciting and fulfilling than most have ever known. Even so, knowing and abiding in the rest of the Lord will be crucial for all during this time. As much work as there will be to do with so many coming to the faith, we must not fall to human striving. Striving is counterproductive in the work in the true work of the Kingdom.

He Is Supernatural

We were created to have fellowship with God Who is Spirit. Because of this, there is a deep yearning for the spiritual, the supernatural, in every human being. Many cover it up, but we can never be truly fulfilled or at peace without this spiritual fellowship with God. As Jesus stated in John 4:23-24:

"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

The Apostle Paul said that if we are at home in the body, or in the natural, we are absent from the Lord (see II Corinthians 5:6-9). We should be more at home in the spiritual realm than we are the natural because the "new creation" is born of the Spirit. This too is going to become a reality in what is coming. Then extraordinary miracles become common, and even the "greater works," such as speaking to mountains and having them plucked up and moved, will be done to prove that the Word of God is true.

The true Christian life is a supernatural life, and this will be a reality in what is coming. However, that we will be seeing such miracles also means that we will be living in times when we will need those miracles. Everyone will be in either continuous awe and wonder at the great things the Lord is doing, or in continuous terror at what is happening in the world. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 14:22, "Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God." This is true personally and for the whole world. In every trial there is a door to the Kingdom, and in the ultimate trial of the whole earth, the whole earth will enter the Kingdom.

The good thing is that the tribulation will not last, but the Kingdom will. For those who are staying close to the Lord, they will hardly know that they are passing through tribulations. In a prophetic experience, I was once caught up and found myself standing in front of a radar screen on a warship, with the Lord Himself standing next to me. There was a blip on the screen coming straight at us, so I called for the ship to turn 90 degrees. The ship turned, but the blip on the screen remained right in front and coming closer. I called for the ship to turn again, with the same results. I then braced for the impact, but the blip went away and nothing happened. I then asked the Lord what had happened. He said the blip on the radar screen was the great time of trouble. He said that it was coming and there was no way to avoid it, but if we stayed close to Him, we wouldn't even feel it.

For those who are walking in their purpose, even the great tribulation will be a minor event. There will be far more attention on what Christ is doing than on what the antichrist is doing. As we read in Isaiah 60, at the very time when darkness is covering the earth, and deep darkness the people, the Lord's glory will be rising on His people. Then, as we see in verse three, the nations will come to the glory. The light wins! We do need to know the devil's schemes, but true security comes from knowing what Christ is doing, and uniting with Him in His purposes.

As we read in Daniel 2, at the same time all of the kingdoms of men are collapsing and becoming like dust, the Kingdom of God is growing, and it will keep growing until it fills the earth. Those who are obeying His command to seek first His Kingdom (see Matthew 6:33) will experience never-ending increase. Those who are seeking first the things of this world will experience increasing troubles. Every coming year this distinction will become more pronounced. It is time to put the Kingdom first, above anything else that we are pursuing.

One of the most important things that we can do to be positioned to catch the wave that is coming is to come to know the gifts and ministries of the Spirit that we are called to walk in, and begin to walk in them. The Ephesians 4 mandate of all true New Testament ministry is to equip others to do the work of the ministry, not just do it ourselves. Those who do not obey this mandate will soon disappear from leadership in the church, and those who train and equip their people will be the future leaders of the Body of Christ. These are the ones who are not burying the talents they've been entrusted with but are investing and multiplying them. We cannot accomplish what we must in these times without every part of the Body doing its part.

Summary

For the last five years I have been shown many difficulties and hardships that will be coming, and to date, they have proven to be accurate. Not many wanted to hear or believe what we had to say, and I have to admit that it has not been much fun having so many hard words. Even so, all of these trials have doors to the Kingdom that we must now walk through. Those who did hear the warning and prepared accordingly have done very well. The prepared will prosper in any situation. One of the most important preparations we can make for these times is simplicity of life.

Gaining or losing natural resources is not nearly as important in these times as being in the right place, equipped for our purpose. To lose everything we own is not nearly as important compared to missing the greatest of all spiritual opportunities that is coming. The most valuable thing we can accomplish in this life is to hear those greatest of words on the Judgment Day: "Well done good and faithful servant" (see Matthew 25:23). There is not a human being who would not gladly trade all that they accomplished to hear those words on that day. This is also what we must live for now. Those who do will be the happiest of all people, and that joy will not go away forever.

Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
Email: info@morningstarministries.org

Revelation of Provision and Protection: The Highest Law is the Law of Righteousness

It is the law written on our hearts. The word righteousness has as part of it's meaning, the idea of generosity and doing justly.

IF that is in place we won't be obligated to tithe, give offerings or serve. We will not do that out of obligation but out of revelation.

Many people are not faithful to this call of God, this revelation, so the Tithe is the pattern written down for our instruction. While a New Testament believer is not bound by the law, he can enter into the blessings generosity provides and avoid the curses stinginess results in.

People START with the Tithe. Then, they can graduate to generosity without the law where all things are held in common as the revelations come. By that the hand of God is opened to them.

We can be generous with even little we have. That is why the widow's mite was so powerful. She gave what she had in her hand.

She was truly generous. Righteous. Just.

She didn't do so out of legalism, she did what she did out of the revelation.

Pray hard that you can grasp the revelation of Provision and Protection. It will change your life.

Provision and Protection Revelation: Disobedience to the Laws of Grace and Generosity picks our own Pockets

Generosity in all things releases the hand of God. Many people chafe at that reality. That we somehow are above all that now. "Tithing is unscriptural" they say. That's a half truth. Tithing is not a law today, it is a pattern. A pattern that provides and protects those who are his children. IF we choose to be stingy we are asking God to Remove his hand of protection over us. I know the Word Says God loves a Cheerful giver. He does. YET a cheerful STINGY giver is still stingy. If all you put in a buck and the pattern calls for a hundred bucks, you might do so with great joy, but you are still stepping outside the pattern of protection and provision you see clearly in all of Malachi 3 and 4.

For that reason you have pockets with holes in them. Haggai 1:6

A friend explained it as follows, he said that we put ourselves in the place to allow Satan to steal from us:

God has given Satan permission to steal from us because we have given him permission to steal from us, and ultimately God will not, due to self imposed limitations, override our right to choose the god/God in our life. God is not stating Satan ability to do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants to.

He is stating His character when given the chance. This passage was to make a clear distinction between the two and their intentions for man. Satan steals because he is the god that many have chosen, hence giving him permission in their lives to do what he do. It’s like employing a crooked accountant. You’ve given him access to your accounts (permission granted), trusting him to do good by you but he will only burn you because it was always his intentions from the start.

Without proper knowledge of the truth, we are all potential theft victims.

Take Job, for instance, when it is God giving permission for Satan to come in, (he was given access to Job and all that he had), God took the hedge of protection away and in this instance Satan just did what he is…. He is a thief, a murderer and a destroyer of anything that he touches when given permission to come behind the hedge. Allowing him to come in, will allow him access to one’s stuff, therefore, he mustn’t be allowed in. However, whether we allow him access, or God allows it, Satan will still be Satan, a thief. The only difference is the end of the story…since God expected him to do him, (steal, kill and destroy), God is liable, so to speak for the restoration of man’s goods. God’s reason for allowing Satan access is to prove man’s integrity and to justifiably cause him to advance God’s supernatural Kingdom, here in the earth’s realm. Manifestations of gargantuan proportions, from the hand of heaven, more abundantly than man could have ever done for himself, working according to the earth’s way of doing things. This is man’s right of passage, from an earthbound creature to a heaven bound creature. This is also what makes Satan bow down to the Son’s of God, it is their authentication process. Sadly, though, many people never make it through this process because of their allegiance with Satan, his work in their lives is as an unfaithful accountant that they chose, therefore, God has to allow it. The things that he steals under this arrangement may never be recovered.

I don't really care what kinds of heresies you have been taught about tithing, generosity, giving or any such thing, if I read my Bible right, and I think I do, Jesus said, "Unless your Righteousness Exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees... Matthew 5:20

Righteousness has to do with doing right, being just, generous (look it up). The Pharisees were careful to give exactly the tithe. Jesus commissions us to do better. Even to the holding all things in common.

God WILL NOT pour out on you if you don't POUR IN to Building His Kingdom here NOW.

That may be a church, it may not be. It's whereever you spend your time, money and energy to build the Kingdom. (your breath is a gift from God and you are required to Give that Back too)..tithe plus. You sanction what you support that built the kingdom for YOU. It could even be a media ministry. By your support you are saying, you have helped build the kingdom in my heart and now I will help you build the kingdom in others. Not out of obligation, but out of thankfulness and generosity. Sanctioning by your support.

This is not legalism, this is the truth most people can't face. Your protection, provision and prosperity is in YOUR hands. You can't give to get, you give to release.

IF you have sinned in this area, you can repent right now, like all people do. Repent, turn around. You may not be able to repay. You will be able to start now new.

Today.

John Belt: The Lion is Ready to Roar!

I had a profound encounter recently before going to bed. I think it is just like God to get you right before you fall asleep. I had to get out of bed to make a record of this! I felt it important to share with you. We see Jesus in many different expressions in the Scriptures. He is the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, the Lord of Hosts, the Angel of the Lord and many other looks. But one night recently He came to me as the Lion who is ready to roar. As you read, ask the Lord to reveal this aspect of His nature in your life.

Riding the Lion

I had a vision where I found myself on the back of this giant Lion with a huge mane. Then I realized it was the Lord. As the Lion turned His head, I could see His mouth open as if He was getting ready to roar. It is time to ride on the Lion of Judah. It is as if He has been waiting for this season. There is something fresh and new in the air. The breath of His mouth will destroy the enemy.

In this vision I was also running my fingers through the mane of the Lion. This represents the intimacy with God that is the foundation for our authority. Our intimacy is for a purpose – it is to establish the Kingdom of God for the King. The Lion is symbolic in that it is the "King of the Jungle". The world is that jungle. Jesus is coming as the Lion to rule in the jungle bringing His power to set people free.

The Lord carries us into that jungle with His authority. When we are riding on the Lion we can be assured that we will succeed in all He calls us to do. He is massive, larger than life. He is ready to conquer and demonstrate His power.

A Time for Surprise

In my encounter, I was suddenly on this Lion and He was of full age and postured for action. This will be a time where God will do things suddenly. It will take us by surprise. The sons of the Kingdom will advance the Kingdom for His purposes and with His power. I'm now reminded about what happened on the first day of our conference in March of 2010. We have a friend in ministry in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. In the place where they minister, a lion was spotted, and seen on the loose by several people. There were so many reports that the news media reported it as a headline event.

The Lion Report

Here is the post from March 25th, 2010 from the Examiner:

Residents in one Cincinnati neighborhood are worried after hearing reports that some kind of a large cat, possibly a lion, was spotted wandering the streets there Thursday morning.

911 dispatchers say they received several calls about the animal around 7 a.m. on March 25, 2010. It was seen in the 500 block of Glenwood Avenue in the Avondale neighborhood, near Phoenix School.

The Cincinnati Zoo, which is only blocks away from where the cat was seen, did a head count and says all of its large cats are accounted for.

Police with rifles searched the area, carefully searching through a dumpster outside the school and using an aerial ladder fire truck to get a better vantage point on the neighborhood from the air.

Officers say the reports are credible. The callers say the cat was buff-colored and had a mane. It triggered motion lights along the school. The witnesses say they saw the cat sit upright, then lithely hop a six foot fence near the dumpster and disappear.

There were no tracks left behind by the animal and it was never found. But police say they continue to be on the lookout for the animal.

God is definitely up to something. The Lion is on the move... Whenever the Lord comes as a Lion that means serious business. He is coming to put an end to all counterfeit spiritual government to establish His government.

He is ready to roar and it is time to ride!

His overflow be yours!

John Belt
Live In His Presence Ministries
Email: admin@liveinhispresence.com

Rick Ridings: Where We Stand on Israel is Crucial!

Vision of a Decisive, "Watershed" Moment for the Nations

Today, Friday, September 23, 2011, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, formally submitted a request to the United Nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state as a full member state.

Three weeks ago during prayer, I had a vision which I shared on a video prayer alert, and I sense I must now share in written form to intercessors in the nations:

In the vision, I saw nations that had managed to jump over a very deep valley, and were trying to climb over the peak of a very steep mountain. The valley they had narrowly escaped was filled with clouds of thick darkness. It was full of serious economic crises, confusion, lawlessness, and anarchy.

I was made to understand that the peak they were now climbing toward represented a decisive "watershed" moment, when they would make a decision that would affect their futures in a serious way. I realized that this peak represented the decision that would face them if they had to vote in the UN concerning a Palestinian state that would divide Jerusalem, taking the eastern half as its capital.

As the vision continued, I saw that the nations which aligned with God's Word concerning the Land promised to the Jewish people returning from exile, were able to climb over the mountain peak. Shortly after that, those nations descended into a valley of some economic decline, but then climbed out of that valley to greater heights and blessings.

The nations that voted in alignment against the Scriptures, quickly lost their footholds, and slid rapidly down into the deep valley of darkness, with its economic crises, confusion, lawlessness, and anarchy.

I then was made to understand that the choice they had made would reap its consequences in a way that would be manifested by 11/11/2011.

I believe a Scripture that this vision lines up with is Joel 3:1-2:

"In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My inheritance, My people Israel, for they scattered My people among the nations and divided up My land."

If you would like more explanation of this vision, you can watch a video prayer alert which was released on September 11th (click here).

For a fuller understanding of some of the legal implications of this vote, I strongly encourage you to watch an excellent video by our friends in the "European Coalition for Israel" (click here).

Months ago, we felt we were to set aside three nights for governmental intercession at Succat Hallel for September 25-27 (just before Rosh Hashana). I sensed those dates would be very strategic for the future of Israel and of the nations. May I encourage you to join us in gathering with others to pray for Israel and your nation on those dates?

Some key Scriptures we have been praying concerning the UN vote are: Psalm 2; Psalm 33:8-12; Psalm 9:3-5, 15-16; and Jeremiah 12:14-16 (actually a promise of hope for Palestinian Arabs who become Believers in the true and living God).

May the Lord have mercy upon us all as we seek to know His Word, His ways, and His heart.

Please keep praying for this region – that the Kingdom of God would emerge powerfully in the midst of all the shakings.

Grace and shalom,

Rick and Patti Ridings
Co-Founders, Succat Hallel
24/7 Worship and Prayer in Jerusalem

Thrilling Image of the Coming King

You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-- an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.

The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer.

The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Daniel 2:31-35

FILL THE EARTH KING JESUS

Removing the Burden of Regret by Francis Frangipane

"Why did I disobey the Lord?"

"If only I had kept my mouth shut."

"If only such and such hadn't happened, my life would be so much better."

Regret. The gift that keeps on giving. Nothing so chains us to our past failures like regret.

I know too many Christians who were running well, yet at some point fell into sin. The worst thing is they knew better. They were not ignorant of Satan's devices yet they fell. The outcome of their failure was that, in the very place where their joy once shone brightly, now a wearisome oppression exists. This oppression looks like an aspect of repentance, but it is not. It is demonic. It is a vision-stealer forged in the fires of hell.

I'm not saying that we should never have regret or that regret doesn't have a legitimate place in our contrition. Yes, we should have remorse and godly sorry for the things we have done wrong, but there is a difference between godly sorrow and demonic oppression. If we have repented for our sins, and if we have truly grieved over them, there is a time to cast the burden of regret onto the Lord. It is time to let it go, even as the Scripture commands us to cast our care upon the Lord "for He cares for you" (1 Pet. 5:7 NKJV).

Let us never forget: Jesus is not just the Savior of new converts; He remains our Savior, committed and faithful throughout our lives.

To Set the Prisoners Free
Still, we cannot allow regret to become a demonically manipulated weapon used against us. It will paralyze our walk with God. I'm thinking of parents who feel they failed in raising their children or church or civic leaders who have stumbled and fallen into sin. There are great people who have fallen---who have been buried spiritually under the weight of self condemnation and regret.

Christ came to set captives free, even when those captives have created a mess of themselves. Consider King David who, in reflection upon his life, wrote, "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken . . ." (Ps. 37:25). Remember, this is the same man who, between the seasons of having "been young" and now becoming "old," committed the most heinous sins of adultery with Bathsheba, and then, to cover his sin, he ordered the murder of Uriah, her husband.

Yet, looking back on his season of repentance, David realized that, though disciplined and judged as he was, he was not "hurled headlong." Through it all the Lord had held firmly to "his hand" (v. 24). Consider: even in David's sin, the Lord did not him let go!

Instead of rejecting David, the Lord worked to restore him. Yes, there were consequences. The Lord warned that because of David's sin "the sword shall never depart from [David's] house" (2 Sam. 12:10). Evil would be raised up "against [David] from [his] own household." (v. 11). This was fulfilled by David's son Absalom who committed his own crimes against David.

Yet, even as David fled Jerusalem, even in his brokenness and grief and being cursed by his enemies (2 Sam. 16:5-15), we see a remarkable quality to David's heart. Grieved and humbled before men, David strengthened himself before the Lord. In his cleaving to the Lord, he wrote a song that was full of confidence in God. For all the struggles and pain that he brought upon himself, here was a man who sinned but was not living in the grip of regret.

The subheading of the third psalm tells us it is "The Psalm David wrote when he fled Absalom."

O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
Many are saying of my soul,
"There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah.
But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
I lay down and slept ; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.
Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God !
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek ;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

A New Covenant of Grace
When we come to Christ, we come to One who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). You and I, even as Gentiles, have been chosen by God who personally promised to rebuild and restore the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:15-17). For those who are in Christ, He promises "I will give you the sure mercies of David" (Acts (13:34 NKJV).

I'm saying it is time to rise back up - wiser, more discerning, but completely free of the chains that have bound us. I'm thinking also of Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth, in the genealogy of David. Naomi suffered the loss of so much, yet in her latter years, she found again the blessing of the Lord so that the women praised the Lord as Naomi's redeemer and prayed, "may he also be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age" (Ruth 4:15).

And this is my prayer for you as well, that the Lord would be a "restorer of life" to you and One who is your "nourisher," even in "your old age." Even as you grow wiser and more humble, may the Lord remove from you the burden of regret.

____________________________

In my forty plus years of ministry I have seen many who began the race well, only to stumble over the issues of life and go spiritually dormant. Yet among those who stumbled, there are true sons and daughters, and Jesus promises that a "bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish" (Isa. 42:3). God is calling them back. In spite of their failures, He intends to use them: they will showcase Christ's grace. For those who have been forgiven much, love much. They will reveal the wonders of Christ's glory.

Paulette Reed: "Are You Ready For First Class?" This is a true word, but it's not what you think. First Class is only for those prepared. Are You?

Step On Up

A few weeks ago I was standing in a line at an airport, preparing for a flight to Canada. All of a sudden the check-in agent pointed to me and said, "Ma'am, are you ready for first class?" I was surprised and said, "Oh, I didn't realize I had stepped into the first class line, but yes...yes, I believe I am ready for first class." We both smiled and I told the agent that I was close to having enough air miles for "elite" status, but was not quite there yet. She motioned with her hand and said, "It's okay, step on up!"

Don't miss this prophetic moment, friends. The Lord is calling His Body to step on up. When we truly know our identity in Christ, and have humbled ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us at the proper time to move into a first class position. It's from this position that we live and operate as kings and priests to our God, reigning upon the earth (Revelation 5:10). It's time to believe we are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath – citizens of Heaven.

Several months ago I began pressing in for the "evidence" of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). I wanted to see the unseen manifested on earth as it is in Heaven. I wanted to glorify the Father as others saw that God did it. God did it! The Lord has responded to my contending faith, and His blessings have been overtaking me. I've been gifted with Lasik surgery, beautiful clothing, fine quality jewelry, financial blessings and much more. I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God, by His love, by His faithfulness.

This flooding of His love reminds me of the great need for a deep work in each of us, from the inside out. We must continuously reach for the character of Christ and stay grounded (Ephesians 3:17) in bad times and in good. The showers of blessings are surreal and bring me to my knees. Oh, how I desire to decrease so He can increase. After years of learning how to get along with humble means, I want to be like the apostle Paul who "learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." I want to shout from the rooftops, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11-13).

I prophesy to many of you now, "You are about to be chased down by the blessings of God." Why? Because you have been faithful in the small things, so He is about to give you much. You have proven to be good stewards, and the Lord wants to bless you so you can be a blessing – giving to the orphans and widows, raising the poor from the dust, and lifting the needy from the ash heap.

Faith, Blessings, Curses

Luke 18:8 asks the question, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Recently, many Christians have shared with me how their faith is being stretched further than ever before. Well, that surely can be difficult, but the good news is – stretching strengthens. It strengthens our spiritual muscles to a new degree and increases our measure of faith. Keep going, keep marching, keep stretching. The Lord is preparing His people for the greatest move of God this planet has ever seen. We are overcomers, and as we head toward the Promised Land, the Lord wants to move us from having "not enough," to "just enough," to "more than enough"!

Now, we know that remaining faithful to our Lord and Master seems relatively easy when life is going smoothly. Right! But how about when life gets tough – really tough! How's our faith when darkness is covering the earth about us, and deep darkness the peoples? Does our faith shine in the midst of gross darkness? (Isaiah 60). I believe it can, it should, and it must, so nations come to the light.

Deuteronomy, chapters 27 and 28, speak of obedience and disobedience, blessings and curses. In these passages we learn that Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim stood over against each other, and on their sides the peoples were placed, half upon one and half upon the other, while in the vale which separates the mountains stood the ark, with the Levites. Those who stood on Gerizim responded to the blessings, those on Mt. Ebal to the cursings. We might ask ourselves today, "Which line are we in?"

Let's read a portion of Deuteronomy 28, since faith comes by hearing. It says:

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all His commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

"Your towns and your fields will be blessed.
Your children and your crops will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.

"The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

"The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.

"If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as He swore He would do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.

"The Lord will give you prosperity in the land He swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from His rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them." (Deuteronomy 28:1-14 NLT).

There we have it. Are we obeying the commands of the Lord so we can experience His blessings? How about when others think or say we're wrong, we're mistaken, we've "missed it"? Do we remain faithful by listening, obeying and following our Shepherd? As stewards of everything and owners of nothing are we ready to lend to the nations?

A Word from Our "Sponsor"

Recently I awoke at dawn singing, "How Great Is Our God." Next, Holy Spirit spoke to my heart saying, "The Kingdom has everything you need, and you need everything the Kingdom has." Wow! What a great word from our "Sponsor." Of course, we have this head knowledge about the Kingdom of God, and we pray the Lord's prayer, saying, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth..." But, it is not rhema until it is rhema. Praise the Lord! THE KINGDOM HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED, AND YOU NEED EVERYTHING THE KINGDOM HAS!

All in all, that was a busy morning. While I was still beholding the glory of the Lord, having awakened in worship and rejoicing about the rhema word, I remembered I had just prophesied to a very large group of people in a dream, while I was sleeping. Or was it a dream? "Whether [I was] in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows" (2 Corinthians 12:3 ESV). Either way, I recalled the words of the prophecy – I wrote down the word of the Lord in order to honor the word of the Lord and share it with my brothers and sisters.

And the Lord would say:

"Go back; go back and look again,
Do you see a cloud, the size of a man's hand?
Go back I say and look, My friends,
For rain that's coming, and never ends,
Did I not say go seven times?
Up the holy mountain you must climb
Did I not promise latter rain?
Oh, I would never waste your pain
The whole earth groans, the birthing's long
But in your heart, there is a song
It's for the King, it's for your Groom,
Look up, look up...He's coming soon
Listen now, beloved Bride,
Heaven's windows are opening wide
For those who brought Me offerings and tithes
I am about to create a landslide
Blessings will flow from the top of the mountain
Down to My people, flow like a fountain
For I am about to rebuke the devourer
Run My people into My strong tower
There's a place of immunity,
A place that's safe
There's a shield of favor and abundant grace
It's always been there, waiting for you
Now, walk in it, walk in it in all that you do
It's for your assignments, the tasks of the Lord
There's a mighty transference about to be poured."

Gifts for the Bride

As we, the Bride of Christ, make ourselves ready (Revelation 19), it's important to remember that in accordance with Hebrew customs we're already engaged to our Heavenly Bridegroom. It's so crucial to stay committed in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We do not want to forsake our First Love (see Revelation 2:4), for love without commitment isn't really love at all. During our betrothal we must give the Lord our devotion, time, thoughts, attention and finances; for it is then that our Maker takes care of all other matters. We don't have to seek after wealth as the world does. Instead, our Husband adds to our lives liberally.

Since Jehovah Jireh has promised to take care of us as we turn to Him with our whole hearts, He walks in covenant with us. Therefore, the blessings/gifts He gives us and the blessings/gifts we give Him are not just about offerings or tithes...they are about covenant. As with an earthly marriage, all that He has is ours and all that we have is His. So, I believe the manifestations of blessings/gifts we're seeing from the Bridegroom are so the world will see, and know, and ask, "How can I know this Jesus? How can I know the covenant of redemption?"

The prophecy I received in the nighttime hours speaks of the windows of Heaven being opened. How exciting! We may want to ask ourselves: When our windows are opened, will there be anything to pour down on us? Is our storehouse full so we can reap what we've sown? Malachi 3:8-12 teaches this profound truth very clearly as the Lord speaks of breaking covenant by withholding tithes. It says:

"'Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, "How have we robbed You?" In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of Heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,' says the Lord of hosts. 'All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,' says the Lord of hosts."

I believe we're entering a season of abundance as the King holds out His scepter to His queen. I believe the Bridegroom is giving extravagant natural and supernatural gifts to His Bride. Oh, how beautifully our very own royal wedding is described in Psalm 45, where Jesus is standing before His throne with a scepter that rules...a scepter of justice. How wonderful are His garments with the aroma of myrrh and aloes. We see our King dressed in His military regalia as His sword glitters on His thigh. He reigns in power and peace. His Kingdom is secured, as He has conquered His foes. All of His acts of mercy and grace, and every battle, have been for His beautiful Bride. Oh, how He loves us. Step on up, Beloved, step up!

The Conclusion When All Has Been Heard

One morning while on my glory walk, I was seeking the Lord for the conclusion of this message, and I whispered, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening."

A moment later, a gentleman walked out of his home with a beautiful, vividly colored parrot on his arm (parrots can denote the revelation of secrets). We exchanged smiles and he said, "Look who decided to break out of the house!" I responded with, "Oh my gosh, he's so obedient!" Now, this bird could have flown out into the vastness at any given moment, but he remained on his master's arm, going only where the master went.

Alleluia! It's time to break out. It's time to step on up and come out of the "house" into the streets. It's time to take authority over the nations with the scepter of justice. No more self-abasement, no more thinking, "Oh dear, I must have stepped into the wrong line." You can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you.

I'm telling you, abundance is coming to step into First Class – an abundance of favor and blessing (Psalm 5:12). Not favor for us to keep but favor to fulfill the assignments of the Lord. We see this throughout history when Noah found favor/grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:1-8) and Ruth found favor with Boaz, foreshadowing our relationship with Christ (Ruth 2:1-13), as well as many others. Favor and blessing are coming, beloved, so we can be dressed in fine linens, fulfilling the righteous acts of the saints. Step on up!

Epilogue: Upon completion of this message from the Lord, some brand new friends in the Body of Christ, a precious couple from afar, gifted me an exquisite Lexus. A dream, a promise fulfilled – a miracle! TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!

Paulette Reed
Prophetic Arrow Ministries
Email: info@propheticarrow.org

Paulette Reed is a powerful preacher, prophetic minister, encourager, and author. The Lord recently sent her to serve in Texas. She is a full-time revivalist/evangelist. Her passion is to share the love of Christ and unite people to the inexplicable love of our Heavenly Father, exhorting them to arise and shine! Paulette loves to see God's people awakened and proclaim the active extension of the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. She ministers in the revival anointing accompanied by revelatory ministry, healing, miracles, signs and wonders.

This Gave me Clarity on my Mission as a Prophet

Joeseph Mattera has explains a role I am in today:

Scripture including the Old Testament is given to us as a model on how we ought to live out our faith (1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4). We also see glimpses of this in the life of John the Baptist who prophesied against both the religious and political leaders of his day, and Jesus who ministered to both King Herod and Pontius Pilate. Paul the Apostle also testified to the secular kings of his day (Acts 24-26) and history tells us he also appeared before the Roman Caesar giving a defense of the gospel.

I believe the next 20 years will see the fullness of this cultural prophetic call as the church continues to grapple with and grow in the area of cultural engagement. I also see an incredible move of God in the area of prophetic and apostolic leaders discipling and speaking the word of the Lord over leaders of developing countries in Africa, Latin America and even Asia.

Let’s believe God for the church to nurture leaders who will not only be respected and quoted in Christian magazines but also publish editorials in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other major global news outlets.

Contrasting Kingdom Prophets and Church Prophets

Garris Elkins: Try It One More Time – Jesus is Here

Recently, I was reflecting on Luke 5 where Jesus calls Simon to follow Him after he and his friends had fished all night and caught nothing. As I read the text, I thought of all who are now struggling with the implications of the global financial downturn and its effect on so many. People are doing their best to make things work, but their nets are coming back empty.

In this text Jesus took Peter back out into the deep waters where he had failed to catch anything the previous night. What followed was a supernatural harvest that caused those watching to be both awestruck and amazed at what they were seeing. As I reflected on this event I heard the Lord say to me, "Tell them to try it again – I am in the boat." I knew the Lord was asking me to encourage people who are living under the weight of financial despair without the hope of a new future.

As I prayed, I was hit with a deep sense of despair – I was literally carrying the pain of others. I asked the Lord what this was all about. His love was letting me feel what was taking place in the lives of people so I could speak words of hope fueled by His compassion.

Jesus Revealed Himself and His Abundance in Their Lack so They Could Trust Him With Their Future

Two thousand years ago a small group of fishermen, soon to become the first disciples of Jesus, were in a similar situation that some find themselves in today. Simon and his friends had fished all night and caught nothing. What worked before was not working. These men were about to be called to follow Jesus into a new season of life, but first the Lord needed to reveal Himself and His abundance to them in the midst of their current lack so they could trust Him with their future.

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So He sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there." Luke 5:1-3

Simon and the other fishermen were doing what all fishermen do after fishing – they were cleaning and maintaining their nets. Just off in the distance were their empty boats. The empty nets and boats were silent testimonials that something wasn't working. As they scrubbed and patched their nets they were reminded of the depressing possibility of continued failure when they entered the water once again that evening.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish." Luke 5:4

Jesus was saying to Simon, "Simon, I want you to try one more time – this time I will be in the boat with you." The invitation to Simon was to go out into the deeper water and try again. Up to this point it was just Jesus and Simon a few feet off the water's edge, providing a floating podium from which Jesus could address the crowd. There was no faith in this gesture. It was just Simon being kind to the Rabbi.

When Jesus asked Simon to go farther out into the deeper water He was asking Simon to go back out to his place of failure and try again. When any of us fail, the last place we want to return is the place of our failure. The fear of returning to places of failure is real and palpable. We don't want to relive a divorce, a recession or the time a ministry came to an end. The world system says to avoid such places. God asks us to engage them one more time so He can heal us and move us forward into His preferred future for our lives.

Our Destinies are Waiting in the Deeper Water

The deeper water was important because in the natural realm this was where the fish were supposed to be. In the Spirit the deeper water is where the destiny of Simon was waiting. Jesus was asking Simon to trust Him as He led Simon back to a place that Simon felt was still empty of fish. Our destinies are never formed in places where we feel comfortable and in control. Destinies are formed in places where, unless God shows up, nothing will happen. This is the essence of a deep-water calling.

Can you imagine the conversations that were taking place on the shore? Simon's fishing friends might have said something like, "Where is Simon going? We just came in from an entire night on the water – the best time to fish – and we caught nothing. What is He thinking?" Whenever any of us follow Jesus back into those places of past failure, the people on the shore of our lives may never fully understand what they are seeing.

Simon's test of faith was not getting into the boat the first time with Jesus and sitting in the shallow water close to shore. That is like someone going to a church service – there is not a lot of faith involved in something that has no risk attached and where someone could easily attend without a response.

The test of Simon's faith would be seen in two parts. First, he needed to respond to the Lord's request for him to return to the deep water that had proved unproductive. Second, he had to actually go through and repeat the very act he had failed in just hours before – he needed to let down his nets in front of all the people. Faith is exercised in a specific place and requires a specific act. To be asked to take a step of faith will reveal where we have placed our trust and it will confront our greatest fears.

In the current financial situation, some have decided to remain on shore in a maintenance mode and not re-engage their life and calling for fear that only lack awaits them. We can hunker down and freeze up in times like these, but God has miracles of provision waiting for His people if they will trust Him enough to go back out into the deep water with Him and let down their nets one more time.

The Lord is Always With Us

Today, the Lord is always in our boats. He never leaves us or forsakes us. We never have to invite Him into our boat. He is always here with us. The text of Luke 5 took place before the Resurrection. Before the Resurrection Jesus approached people and interacted with them, but did not live within them. After the Resurrection God's presence lives within His people, and that interaction is at a deeper and more intimate level because of the Spirit's abiding presence. Believing and understanding that God is always with us is a tremendous truth. A low-grade depression can set in as the servants of God look up and see only empty boats and an empty future and forget that God lives inside them.

"Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if You say so, I'll let the nets down again." And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. Luke 5:5-7

At some point the other fishermen got into another boat and began following Jesus and Simon out into the deeper water. Peter's act of faith drew them away from the shore. This is the nature of faith – it draws others into its experience so they can see the mighty works of God.

The harvest of fish that Jesus directed Simon toward was a supernatural harvest. We only experience this kind of harvest if we are willing to deal with our fear of a repeated future failure, and move past that fear, and try once again because we realize Jesus is in our boat.

Every life can settle into a maintenance mode. Someone experiences the pain of divorce and vows to never risk love again. They remain alone on the shore of life and mend nets that will never again be cast toward love. Another fails in ministry and feels like damaged goods living on the perimeter of God's Kingdom. They try to prove they are whole by living within the confines of shore life, forgetting that the calling of God is never revoked if God has access to heal what caused the failure in the first place.

These maintained places are like the fishing nets the fishermen had to clean each day. These nets were only designed to contain a naturally measured harvest. Human nets will tear under the weight of supernatural expansion. These same valued nets – the life source of a fisherman – would soon be left on the seashore as they walked away with Jesus.

Awestruck and Amazed

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me – I'm too much of a sinner to be around You." For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. Luke 5:8-11

When God does something new, in love He will begin these new seasons by revealing to us those inhibiting places where our brokenness and fear have been allowed to rule our thoughts and actions. Some of this brokenness and fear is what we have used to make life work without faith. These things stand in the way of our seeing how much God loves us and how much He plans to do through our acts of obedience and trust.

Jesus wanted Simon to not be afraid of the unknown and the things he didn't understand. He was asking Simon to press through his need to understand everything that was taking place and simply trust that He was with Simon. God's greatest work takes place beyond our human reasoning and understanding. This is where the power of God's presence is most clearly seen. Jesus was asking Simon to not be afraid. A new season and a new life-assignment were about to take place if Simon would trust the Lord.

Awestruck and amazed were two words used to describe the events that took place that day out on the deep water. People have used these same words for 2,000 years to describe life when Jesus shows up.

These men left their boats, their fishing nets and their known lifestyles to follow Jesus. It would no longer be about boats, open water and fishing nets filled by human measurement. These disciples could now leave the known for the unknown because they were being led by His presence into future places of supernatural harvest.

Garris Elkins, Senior Leader
Living Waters Church - Medford, Oregon
Email: prophetichorizons@gmail.com

James W. Goll: The Gentle, the Rude and the Great Awakenings

In the book The Call of the Elijah Revolution, which I coauthored with Lou Engle, I speak of three stages and types of the overall awakening. We can see these three awakenings – the gentle, the rude and the great – in world events and Church history as well as in the Bible.

Gentle Awakening

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you will know that the past twenty years or so have been marked with a growing awareness of God's desire for intimacy with His people. God's awakening process has taken the form of outpourings of His Spirit that are designed to help people fall in love with Him. These outpourings have been called "The River," or "The Father's Blessing," or simply "Renewal" – or even "Revival." People across the earth have experienced God's presence first-hand and have grown in their freedom to love and laugh and enjoy the goodness of the Lord.

Within the same time frame, an intercessory prayer movement of unprecedented proportions has risen up, one which shows no signs of waning. It has taken many forms, from multiple prayer-oriented ministries such as 24/7, "harp and bowl," worship and intercession, the Global Day of Prayer, to simple, faithful, individual prayer and fasting to name a few. Our ministry hosts an Internet-based Global Prayer Storm where people around the world enter into "The Hour That Changes the World." Christians, especially those in the Pentecostal / Charismatic / Third-wave segment of the Church, have been awakened by their loving Father and are now devoted to "keeping watch" night and day.

This prophetic restoration has come in on the heels of the restoration of evangelism as an important task of the Church. Each of these – prayer, prophecy, evangelism – are aspects of God's gentle awakening.

Alongside signs of revival in the Church, we have seen many developments among the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Messianic Jewish congregations are multiplying, even within the nation of Israel, and unprecedented waves of immigration from all over the world have swelled the population of that country.

Historically, the Jewish people have experienced waves of revival in terms of coming to faith in Jesus as the Messiah. The first waves, of course, were captured in the first chapters of the book of Acts. In more recent history, in the 1880s through 1900 (prior to World War I), a new wave hit Europe; some say that as many as 100,000 Jewish people came to faith.

Between 1967 and 1975 (at the same time that Jerusalem was being re-established under Jewish control), the charismatic renewal, which gave rise to many of the developments I mentioned just above, was burgeoning all over the world. This charismatic Jesus revolution scooped up many Jewish people across America. That's when Jews for Jesus and other similar organizations were born, proclaiming, "Yeshua is alive!" The news was met with skepticism for sure, but a number of people, especially young people, became His disciples. Messianic leaders, "fathers," if you will, rose up in fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6 (NKJV):

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

Not only did the "fathers" rise up, but the "children" took hold of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as they learned how to honor the patriarchs.

In the early 1980s, the nation of Israel experienced a minor revival – which was major for those days. Perhaps fifty to eighty thousand Jewish people became Believers in Yeshua as the Messiah. Subsequent to that, in the early 1990s, significant parts of the former Soviet Union (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) saw stirrings and awakenings. Thousands of "people from the land of the north" emigrated to Israel. Wave upon wave of Jews have come (to faith, and/or to the Land), and they keep coming. While the exact meaning remains a mystery, Revelation 7:4 gives a specific number, 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel, who will be "sealed." The fruit of that sealing is portrayed in subsequent verses:

"Behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb'" (Revelation 7:9-10).

The plan is underway. Gradually and gently, the Jewish people have begun to wake up. Gentile Believers have been waking up too, becoming aware of their responsibilities toward their Jewish brethren even as they become yoked with God's agenda. They have learned that praying for Israel means tapping into God's purposes for the nations of the earth. World revival is coming and so is the Lord Himself – and all of it is connected to the Jewish people. Each of us has a role to play. We have to wake up to the global realities even as we act locally in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

These developments are part of what I am calling the "gentle awakening" where He woos His people. In His kindness and mercy, God wants to restore people to righteousness and true life. When they don't respond to His repeated, gentle overtures, He – still because of his kindness and mercy – resorts to what I call "a rude awakening."

Rude Awakening

When people turn their faces to the wall and refuse to wake up to the Lord's gentler awakenings, they set themselves up to be shaken awake, rudely. Central to the Lord's awakenings is holiness. The prophet Amos described how He drops His plumb line to see how the obedience of His people measures up.

Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. The Lord said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "Behold I am about to put a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be desolated and the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." Amos 7:7-9

When God's plumb line, which is His absolutely perfect standard of righteousness, exposes how sinful people are, He begins to set off alarms to get their attention. This can entail much shaking and quaking, often quite literally. Natural disasters fall into the category of rude awakenings, as do terrorist attacks and wars.

God wants to wake up as many people as possible in time for the global great awakening that lies in the near future. Time is growing too short for a merciful God to wait for everybody to respond to His gentle awakenings.

Rude awakenings often are not pleasant. In fact, they can feel like one disaster after another. And yet they can be effective. Rude awakenings drive people to their knees in surrender to their sovereign Lord. People repent, which is another way of saying they begin to line up with that divine plumb line.

Where Israel is concerned, the rude awakening can be used to drive people back to their ancestral land. It can give them a new heart a "heart of flesh," to replace the old, stony heart of blind disbelief.

This is truly "life from the dead" for the Jewish people and for the world (see Romans 11:15). It will precede the greatest awakening of all time and the final return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

The whole world is gripped in a war. Some, speaking prophetically of the days in which we live, term it "World War III." It's a war of terror and jihad in which radical Islam is out to destroy the West, including Israel. Threats are credible. Violent death occurs daily. And yet most Westerners are quite comfortable, relatively unaware of the situation and, for the most part, unaffected by it. They ignore the defiant threats of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the late Osama bin Laden while they concern themselves with personal matters.

This world war touches every continent. It features human rights abuses, genocide, corruption, and overt hatred, which are, more often than not, clothed in religious terminology. It's a spiritual war with physical manifestations. Now hear me out: It's going to get worse. The right response is not fatalism or denial, it's prayer, and lots of it. Pray for protection and relief, and don't forget to focus sharply on the real goal – awakening. Nobody should sleep through such a rude awakening. It's time to wake up! Why? Because God declares it is also going to get better! The dark will get darker and then light will shine and penetrate this temporary present darkness!

Global Great Awakening

On the other side of the gentle and rude awakenings lies the greatest awakening of all time! This awakening will affect all people, because it is the prelude to the climax of the ages, the return of Jesus/Yeshua, Christ and Messiah. No one knows fully what this awakening will look like.

But we do know how to prepare for it. What should our preparations look like? For starters, they should include a response to the voice of God, whether His voice is an inaudible whisper or He is shouting through our pain (to paraphrase C. S. Lewis).

Having gotten their attention, God is calling to action a large number of Believers across the earth. These Christians are radical. They have heard His call to become modern-day Nazirite. They are single-minded and single-hearted, sold out to the task of reclaiming a lost world for the Kingdom of God. Disregarding the high personal price, they have banded together and are willing to live sacrificially and to pray and fast and take a stand for righteousness and revival.

The goal of their prayers is the ultimate awakening of Israel. "All Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove ungodliness from Jacob'" (Romans 11:26). The second part of that passage is quoted from the prophet Isaiah, who wrote, "'A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,' declares the Lord" (Isaiah 59:20).

The prophets pointed to this. Jeremiah wrote (31:34): "...'They will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,' declares the Lord, 'for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.'"

This is a final awakening, a pronouncement of the story to God's chosen people, the Jewish people. The last days are upon us. Whether you're a Gentile or a Jew, wake up. Don't miss the Day of His manifested presence and His soon-coming!

May Jesus be exalted in all things!

James W. Goll
Encounters Network • PrayerStorm • Compassion Acts
Email: info@encountersnetwork.com

Know your Enemy by Elaine Tavolacci

By Elaine Tavolacci

The Lord has been showing me for some time now how the enemy is trying to trap Christians, trip them up and entice them back into their old ways. It is imperative that we recognize satan's ungodly plots.


The Lord says it is time to regroup, readjust your focus, and reconsider your intentions. Take every thought in to obedience to My word so that you do not fall prey to satan's devices. Watch for the tricks of the enemy that try to pull you back in to the very thing that you have been delivered from. Allow Me to continue the work that I have began in you. I will never fail you.

Avoid temptation at all cost. Be as wise as a serpent, yet gentle as a dove when approached by those that try to throw you off course. Do not lose your footing as you are ascending to another level. Do not allow anything to derail you off the straight and narrow path into your future. Take heed to what you hear and consider the voices that are speaking into your life. Not every voice is speaking the truth.

It is time to let go of all disagreements that you may have had with other church members. Release those family members that you have had disagreement with. Do not get entangled in dissension and quarreling over issues that are meaningless. Avoid arrogant and hostile people.

Don't be moved by adverse circumstances but keep your eyes on things above. As trials develop in your life, stay strong. Don't allow calamities that arise overwhelm you but take control of your thoughts and use these adverse situations as an opportunity to strengthen yourself. Don't be mastered by fear and refuse to give in to anxiety when confronted with stressful situations.

As you place your focus straight ahead rather than what is happening around you, you will see things as a dove which does not have peripheral vision. Adjust your focus on what lies ahead and the plans that I have for you. Just as a horse with blinders on has restricted vision, keep your focus on your destination and I will surely meet you in this place and establish My plans for your life says the Lord.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Colossians 3: 1-3 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Elaine Tavolacci

www.awordinseason.info

www.thevoiceofbreakthrough.com

Eileen Fisher: If I Have Said 'No' it is Because There is a Higher 'Yes'

The following corporate prophetic word was given by Eileen Fisher on August 23, 2011 during her weekly Prophetic School of the Holy Spirit meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado:

I heard the Lord say, "I have not called you to walk this walk alone. I would never, ever require the flesh to walk supernaturally. I would merely ask that the flesh would be in submission to My Spirit. Let My Spirit walk supernaturally through your flesh. I created your flesh and I said all is good. A surrendered flesh is a tapestry I can stretch, I can mold, I can move, I can use so that My hand can be stretched forth.

"I am looking for hands of the flesh: flesh, blood, bone. All I have made, I am looking to use for My glory. Will you give Me your hands? Will you place your hearts in My hands? Will you place your will, your dreams, your visions under Mine? I am looking for a submissive people who will prefer Me above all, people, and all things. What is good I will bring to you. What is bad I will break off. I have come so you may have life abundantly. I would say chose this night, for I set before you: flesh or My Spirit. If you chose My Spirit, My Spirit will witness and chose you.

"My Glory Comes..."

"I waited in accord for My people and then I took them and I brought them into one accord to where this cord will be linked from Heaven to Earth, and to Earth to Heaven. I provided the cord. That cord is My Blood. Remember how costly one accord is, for it was bought by My one Blood sacrifice. A holy cord, a cord set aside, a cord that could be knitted to you, Spirit to spirit, heart to heart. As you learn how My Spirit is flowing and acknowledge His flowing, then I promise you by Myself for there is no greater; you will recognize where He has been, and you will recognize where He is going.

"I have sent Him to teach and I have asked that He would guide. He, too, has chosen to be with you. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in one accord. We have wrapped you in Our cord that Our glory can be spread through a weary world. I am calling My own, whosoever will, to pick up the glory of My Cross and let My Cross glory. As I be lifted up in worship, in praise, in thanksgiving, with a grateful heart, with an expectancy of My goodness, then My glory comes.

"I look to and fro: do not judge the ways of others. Commit them to Me for I have not come to judge, but to save. Know the hour of grace. Embrace the hour of grace. Embrace the grace I would bestow upon you, and in turn give grace to others. I am breaking off judgment over you this night," says the Lord your God. "Judgment that the world, that man, that religion, that even you have touched for it has grieved My Spirit because you have been grieved.

"I am filling you to overflow to where you will not be thirsty. For I am not looking for you to strangle yourself with your thoughts; strangling your own faith with unbelief. I want you to learn to breathe in My Spirit and breathe out My Spirit. In doing this, you will be not only the bearers of My light, but the bearers of My breath," says the Lord your God.

The following corporate prophetic word was given by Eileen Fisher on August 30, 2011 during her weekly Prophetic School of the Holy Spirit meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado:

The Lord keeps giving me this vision of how when people look at the Cross, they don't see the fullness of the crucifixion. Because they do not realize the value of the crucifixion, they don't live the life of worthiness.

"Embrace the Cross"

The Lord said, "I want you to close your eyes and keep them closed right now." He said, "I want you to taste of My Cross. For My Word says, 'Taste of the Lord and see that He is good.'" He said, "I want to you to taste of the Cross. I want you to come and stand at the foot of the Cross. I want you to stand directly in front of the Cross and let the Cross have its work in you." For He said, "Unless you embrace the Cross, you will never embrace the walk and the work of the Cross.

"You have chosen a bloody gospel. But in My Word, it says, 'There is life in the Blood,' in My Blood. So many of you have been living with death spiritually, emotionally, even physically; you have not tasted of the life in My Blood. I want you to partake of the life in My Blood. I no longer want a Bride who is running to and fro seeking life: life for herself, life through herself, life of herself. But I am looking for a Bride who will choose the life of her Beloved, and will partake of the life of her Beloved.

"I declare tonight the world has nothing to offer, even in its highest compared to what I have set before you. For some of you have lived below the Cross. You have lived in the fleshly words of man: what they have promised you, what they have spoken over you, and have been as dictators over you. I break this off tonight for I want My Bride to share My identity alone. As I died alone, and when sin tried to come and absorb Me, I absorbed sin. I took the death of man. I took the sin of man. I took the sicknesses, the diseases and the curses of man. Yet I say unto you, work out your salvation with joy. Co-labor with My spirit, but with joy.

"For I have not come to bring a heaviness into your life. I have not come to place a burden upon you. I have not come to have you cast your eyes down in regret for I am not a God of broken promises. I am the God who is I AM. I am not the one who is against you. I am the One who is for you. Be not afraid to turn to Me. Be not afraid to partake of My Blood. But then do not merely stand at My Cross. For if you were to stand totally in the Cross, you would not understand the fullness of My death, but you must choose to rise again in Me. In me, not without, but in Me: My identity, My purposes, My provision, My plan, My 'yeses' and My 'no's'. For I have a plan. And I have called you to come and work together in My harvest field.

"If I Have Said 'No' it is Because There is a Higher 'Yes'"

"I will choose you to take on My goals, My burdens, My Kingdom. Co-labor with My Spirit. Set apart, you can do nothing. For man will promise you this, and it will lead to disappointment, hurt and rejection; but I am God and I do not lie. I am about your highest. If I have said 'no' it is because there is a higher 'yes' that decision was based upon. If I have said 'yes' then you must know what the 'yes' is about. As you come to know 'yes and amen, you will know that 'no' is as holy as 'yes.'

"I am lifting up high My own. Not all those who would talk about Me, not all those that would sing and dance to Me, but those who I own I am lifting up. Those who are called by My name and who I have called their name. Have I not said in My word, 'I chose you before you chose Me.' Take this not lightly, but understand the army is wrestling against yes, principalities and yes, high places. Flesh is going to tumble. Be not concerned of the tumbling. Be not concerned when you hear of the wind getting greater and greater and greater. It is going in the pathway also of My Kingdom. It too is knocking down barriers and things in the pathway of My purposes and My plans.

"As you have bent your knee, so have I bent Mine. I bent Mine on the Cross. My legs were not broken, but My knees were bent. They were bent in submission. They were bent as I prayed and cried out on your behalf. Go back to the joy of your salvation, no longer seeking to and fro the joy of this world. For this is pleasure, but for a season.

"Delight yourself in all that I offer you, for this brings joy to the Father. Delight yourself in the good gifts I bless you with. Know that every good gift comes from Me. So share it with Me whether it be your health, your wealth, your visions, your dreams, share all with Me. What you share with Me, I in turn will multiply, and you will share it with a starving world. I am commissioning My own. They would not be those the world would look at and applaud. They would be those the world has wounded and cast out.

"Nothing has changed, for I draw the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor, the famous and the unknown. For I draw heart to heart, Spirit to spirit. How they come makes no difference; that they come changes all the difference.

"Will you be willing to follow? Will you follow Me into the wilderness, into the valley, up to the mountaintops? Will you come aside and then will you allow My Spirit to guide you? To guide you street upon street with only the light of My Word at your feet? For My Word is about to be lifted up once again, even in your nation," says the Lord. "For others have tried to come in other's names, but I have stood up. When I stand, all shall bow their knee and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord."

Eileen Fisher
Eileen Fisher Ministries
Email: eileen@eileenfisher.org