Silvia R.'s posts with tag: articles
When Kings Go Out To Battle Beware of a Passive Spirit
There are many examples of David's valor. As a young man, for instance, while others trembled, David was ready and eager to face Goliath. David is an example of one whom God chose, whose passions for God sustained him for most of his life.
Yet David also provides an example of what happens to good people when they go passive when they should be fighting. For there was an occasion when David did not pursue his enemies and the consequences were grave. It happened because he allowed a passive spirit to subdue his will.
"Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem" (2 Sam.11:1).
During a time of war, the king allowed a passive spirit to immobilize his soul. Soon we find this great warrior king almost helpless to resist the unfolding spiritual attack.
"Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance" (2 Sam. 11:2).
The woman was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. From the moment David accepted the influence of that passive spirit, his resistance was weakened; a paralysis of conscience occurred. Scripture says that "when evening came David arose from his bed." Perhaps it was customary to rest in the afternoon, but it strikes me as inconsistent for David to nap while his men fought. It is possible that this nap was not a response to a bodily need but an expression of the slumber that gripped his soul. He was in bed until "evening."
This heaviness of soul resting on David was actually part of a larger, synchronized spiritual attack. The other part of that battle was the quiet, inner prompting that stirred Bathsheba to bathe in a place where David could see her. Finally, unable to resist, and in defiance of his noble qualities, David "sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her" (2 Sam. 11:4).
Dear friend, remember: This terrible moral failure was not driven by David's lust or flagrant rebellion to God. A passive spirit introduced David to his sin! The problem was simply that, in a time when the kings went forth to war, David stayed at home.
We ourselves are in a time of war. The Spirit of God is calling us to fight for our souls as well as our families, cities and nations. Indeed, God's Word reveals that "The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies" (Isa. 42:13).
Is that holy fight in you? Is there a war cry in your spirit? If you are born again, that cry is within you, even if it has been muted by lethargy.
We will never succeed as overcomers without carrying in our spirits the war cry of God. We must stop resisting the call to prayer; we must embrace the reality of spiritual warfare; and we must fight with the weapons of warfare that God has given us, both for our own progress and also on behalf of those we love.
Know, however, that the moment you accept a passive spirit, you should anticipate that a temptation appropriate to your weakness will soon follow. It may not be Bathsheba; it may be pornography on the Internet. Or it may be a coworker who begins to look attractive at a time when you and your spouse are struggling. Whatever the area of weakness in your life, Satan will attack that area. It will likely not be a bold frontal assault; if you first drop your guard and relax your fight, he will disarm you with a passive spirit. If the enemy succeeds in his assault, you will find yourself wrapped up in something that can devastate you and your loved ones.
One may argue, "I'm walking with God. I'm a bond-servant of the Lord. I'm not vulnerable." Remember what the Lord warned the church in Thyatira: "I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols" (Rev. 2:20) .
Jesus was concerned, not only for the corrupting influence of Jezebel in the world; He was concerned that the leaders of the church had grown tolerant. More, her seductions not only targeted the wayward or new believers, but she led God's bond-servants astray.
Although it does not identify this seductive spirit by name, Proverbs warns of the temptations of the Jezebel spirit. Speaking of "the woman of folly," she calls out "to those who pass by, who are making their paths straight: Whoever is naive, let him turn in here" (see Prov. 9:14-18).
Who is this spirit after? Those "who are making their paths straight."
Beloved, it is springtime here in the northern hemisphere. It is that time of the year when seduction begins to call out "to those who pass by." Let us not become passive in a time of war. Rather, let us fight for our nation, our cities, our families and, especially, our own souls.
It is time for kings to go to war
Victoria Boyson
www.speakinglife.net
The heart of a warrior is a heart that refuses to give in to fear when facing his enemies, but his love for his heavenly Father and for those under his care compels him to lay down his life to save those God loves. His love makes him fearless in the face of his enemies!
A Love-motivated War!
Saints, we are now entering a time of war in the heavenlies like the earth has never known before. Though we may see the consequences of this war in human form, it will not be fought on earth but in the supernatural realm. We will not fight with flesh and blood, we must not fight each other. No matter how awful the battle gets, we must recognize we cannot fight this battle in the flesh. If we do, we will be consumed by our enemy.
Our power to triumph over our enemies is found in our love for them. It is found in our courage to bless them though they stone us. Though they despise us and accuse us to our face, our love for them must be greater than our love for ourselves.
We must see that it is satan who has them in bondage; he is our enemy and we must love them while fighting the devil for their sake. Our love for them will give us authority to fight the evil that has entangled them.
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
What kind of person has the heart of a warrior? It is one who shares the heart of the Good Shepherd. One who loves those around him enough to risk his life to save them. Because of his love for his Father, he loves what his Father loves. He will not abandon His sheep because he dearly loves the Father.
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). God's perfect love working through us compels us to protect what we love; it drives away all fear. Our love for others drives out any concern we may have for our own safety, because our love is stronger than the fear we feel.
Jesus gave his life to save us; He valued what His Father valued, even to the point of death. He is the Good Shepherd and gave His life to save His Father's sheep. He gave His all for love - love for us and love for His Father. In doing so, Jesus displayed the heart of a true warrior!
A warrior is not easily intimidated, because the love he has for others drives away thoughts of self preservation. The godly warrior cannot be stopped because they love what they are fighting for too much to even conceive of quitting. The only thought they have is that of victory, failure is not an option, for the sake of those they love they must win.
Their love gives them authority over anything that would attack what they love, and this authority is as far reaching as their love. The measure of their compassion is the magnitude of their courage in the face of the enemy.
No matter how we are treated, love can deflect the attacks of fear from the enemy. If we determine in our hearts to love others unconditionally, it may help us overcome the fear of man. If our goal is to love, regardless of how we are loved, it makes us fearless, enabling us to be a blessing to others.
If our goal is to bless, protect and defend others, we are able to live emotionally outside of ourselves; we live in the spirit, not the flesh. We live outside of the fear that is naturally in us and live in the strength of the Lord. I have found that the more we think of others the less we will worry about ourselves.
Fighting with Passion
A soldier loves his country and is willing to give his life for it. He has the heart of a warrior and is driven to fight because of it. Others cannot fathom his heart, because of their own selfishness. It makes no sense to them why he would risk his life for others, because their love has grown cold. He who loves will fight for what he loves and will regard the safety of what he loves as more important than his own life! This is the heart of a warrior.
A pastor loves his flock! When he sees the enemy attacking it, he is driven to protect it by his love. He loves them because they are what his Father loves. He will fight to protect what belongs to his Father with a passion to destroy anything that dares to come against them. He will fight against anyone or anything that would hurt his flock. He is relentless in his pursuit to protect what he loves.
The heart of a warrior is not limited to pastors, soldiers or shepherds, but beats strongly in any whose life is surrendered to Jesus. Their lives no longer belong to themselves, but to the One they love. And in exchange for their hearts of stone He gives them hearts that beat with deep compassion! He gives them the heart of a warrior!
There are no little saints in the kingdom of God - no secondhand anointings. Each one of us plays an important role in the army of heaven. We must all do our part in fighting the enemy and take the ground where the Lord has placed us.
You are important to the kingdom of God! He needs you!
Our love for our heavenly Father and for each other should move us to radical warfare prayer, prayers that shake heaven.
We need to throw off false humility or any lie that says our prayers need to be sweet and nice. Of course, sweet and nice are good when that is what is appropriate, but when we see sheep being eaten, we cannot compromise with the enemy. We must throw ourselves into the battle with no thoughts of preserving our own lives; we must fight without reservation, with NO thoughts of our own safety, or we will lose what we love to the enemy.
Our prayers carry great weight in the kingdom of heaven and they WILL turn the tide of the battle in the lives of those we love. We cannot let anything distract us or hinder us from a prayer life that shakes the realms of darkness.
For the Lost
The Lord gave me a vision of myself on a football field. I was apart of a team, but I had gotten knocked down during the game. I'd gotten knocked down and was upset at being knocked down. I lay there on the field, while my team mates played around me. I felt sorry for myself for having been so brutally tackled and thrown to the ground. I decided I was tried of being hurt; I didn't want to be hurt anymore and was afraid to get back up for fear I would just be hurt again.
Suddenly as I saw myself lay there I heard the Lord's voice speak to me, "I'm about to throw you the ball. Will you be where you need to be in order to catch it for a touchdown?" That was all He had to say; it shook me out of my pity party and suddenly I saw it wasn't about me, it was about the team. It was about winning the game. It was about surrendering one's self for the good of the team. It was about playing without consideration for myself, so I could be what He needed me to be to help the team.
We are fighting a real fight for the hearts and souls of men. Time is running out, we've got to win the lost for HIS SAKE. He deserves to have the people He died for come to Him, into His family. We've got to quit thinking of ourselves and what has happened to us, consumed by fear of being hurt again. We need to just accept the fact that we will be hurt, but we are in a battle and people do get hurt in battles. We need to use our pain as a weapon against our adversary to win back those caught in satan's grasp before it's too late.
The Harvest is White!
Friends, there is a world of lost souls who have been captured by our enemy. It is time we go after them with the heart of a warrior; with the heart of Christ. We must possess the heart of our Redeemer and become His fishers of men. We must begin to care more for them than we do ourselves!
The harvest is white, it has never been so white! In all of history there has never been a time like the time we are about to experience. The world has never seen a revival or harvest like what we are about to see.
And I say, church, in the name of Jesus, open your eyes and see the great gift your heavenly Father has given you. He has placed in your hands the awesome end-time harvest. All creation waits breathlessly to see what you will do with this gift; they wait for you to speak forth the words of life that will transform the world.
The church has never before been what it is about to become! Our minds literally cannot conceive of what we will live through, experience and operate in during the outpouring of His Holy Spirit in the last days.
It is a new day, church! It is a day of triumph and incredible victory! Open your eyes and see the fields white with harvest - a harvest that will be won by grandmas and grandpas, children and teens, moms and dads. It will be won by all those who possess the heart of a warrior, who possess the heart of their Redeemer! Who will fight to the death for what they love, showing no fear in the face of their enemies?
The fearless, triumphant church is a church of passionate, unbridled love for the lost - those who rightfully belong to their Father, those who our precious Jesus died to save. In the triumphant church beats the heart of their Redeemer and they will redeem the world. It will take back all the enemy has stolen from it and will not stop fighting until it does.
I pray in the name of Jesus for the church of the Redeemer to arise! I pray that we would stop fighting each other, turn and devour our enemy. I pray in Jesus' name that we would possess the heart of the warrior - the Great Warrior Himself . . . Jesus Christ, our Savior, Redeemer and Friend!
Church, Jesus is calling you; He is saying, "Will you rise up and fight with me? Will you ride with Me and triumph over your enemies? You are My mighty warriors! My army of love!"
Shout, church! Shout in triumph over your enemies, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (see Isaiah 60:1). The time of great victory has come. It is the dawning of a new day and you are shining like the Son!
Please pray this with me:
Father,
Break open the heavens and pour out Your heart on Your church. Heal us, restore us and make us one! I give you my heart, Lord. Please give me Your heart in return - the heart of a warrior. I repent for not using the gift of authority that You purchased for me with Your precious blood. Make me the terror of hell and the joy of heaven. Lord, I thank You that I will walk in Your fearless faith. And may I cause as much harm or more to the kingdom of darkness as it has caused me!
In Jesus' name, amen!
Victoria Boyson
www.boyson.org
A part of giving birth to your destiny is bringing life to the destiny of others.
"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).
I once knew a young girl who seemed to have a lot going for her, but consistently failed in many areas of her life. I could not understand why - she seemed to choose failure over a successful, happy life. She was beautiful, talented and intelligent, but it was obvious that she did not esteem herself. And she continually made bad choices.
For years I could not understand why she did not see her true value as a person - until I met her mother. Her mother saw her as the biggest failure ever born and told her so. She would vomit out her many objections about her daughter to anyone who would listen to her. With her daughter present she would declare to a roomful of people what a failure she was. It did not take great discernment to see why the girl struggled so. Why should she like herself when the woman who gave birth to her did not see any good in her.
As soon as she was old enough, this young girl ran away from her mother and began living with an older man. Unfortunately, her life was poisoned by the many seeds of destruction and self-hatred her mother had been planting in her since birth.
I believe this is what Proverbs 14:1 is talking about when it says, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." The girl's mother's physical house was in excellent condition, but the heritage she passed down to her child was devastating and led to her daughter living a very destructive lifestyle.
I have counseled with many people over the years who have struggled with terrible feelings of self-hatred. Usually, in the course of speaking with them, I discover that these feelings began when they were a child and many times originated with words spoken over them by a parent or other people in authority in their life.
The Tongue of the Wise
Years ago my husband and I attended a church where the pastor thought he could help his people by continually telling them what was wrong with them. He found fault with us and, of course, found fault with his entire congregation. It was no surprise to anyone that membership dwindled down to just a few people, and eventually he had to close the doors of his church entirely.
When we left that church, we were left with an ominous, oppressive sense of failure. It felt like a dagger had pierced our hearts. We struggled through life for a few years afterward, enduring one failure after another. We felt as if we were living under a curse - and, indeed, we were. The words of that pastor sowed seeds of destruction that acted as a curse over our lives.
Words are very powerful, especially when they are spoken by someone in authority over you. They can either be words of praise that breathe life into your life or words of criticism and judgment that erode away your sense of well being. "The tongue has the power of life and death" (Proverbs 18:21).
Once we realized that the effect of this pastor's words over our lives was acting as a curse against us, we sought out ways to release ourselves from its grip. We prayed many prayers, but still this feeling of failure hung on.
It was only when we were led to another man of God who was a true shepherd that the curse was at last broken. Without knowing any of the words that had been spoken over us, he spoke the exact opposite of what had been said. He made us believe in our destiny again. He spoke life into our spirits. And through the anointing that he carried, he broke off the words of failure and planted seeds of life and destiny in their place. The power of blessing brought life to our dreams, setting us free from the power of death and destruction. Satan could no longer keep us from our destiny in God. The power of blessing blasted the power of cursing.
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18).
When We Choose to Curse
God has a strange way of working the curses of others to our advantage. He uses them to refine us and shape us, and then He heals us through the power of His blessing.
Many people in the Bible lived what some would consider cursed lives for a period of time. David, for instance, was chased by King Saul, Joseph lived for fifteen years in prison for something he did not do, and Moses was chased into the desert by Pharaoh after living a life of luxury and ease. These are only a few examples.
Actually, God used this destructive period in their lives to shape and refine them. He promised them great blessings, but allowed them to go through the process of refining to prepare them for their destiny.
In order for Christ to fulfill His destiny, He had to suffer betrayal and be given over into the hands of his enemies. But He said in Luke 22:22, "The son of man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him." We may have to endure a period of cursing for a time, but woe to the people who curse us.
In Psalm 109, David speaks about the man who cursed his life. "He loved to pronounce a curse - may it come on him; he found no pleasure in blessing - may it be far from him. He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil" (vv. 17-18).
When we choose to curse others and speak negatively of them, we are really only hurting ourselves. A part of birthing our own destiny is bringing life to the destiny of others. God wants to use us, but He wants to use us to bless others. Any jealousy we harbor towards the destiny of others will actually sabotage our own destiny in God.
Speaking Life
Our mouth is a very powerful weapon and we can either use it to bring a blessing or a curse onto others. When we speak negative words about people, those words act as a curse over them. Even if people never actually hear the words we speak about them, our words still have power and can cause them to experience oppressive heaviness. However, words of blessing can lift them up spiritually.
One day I was feeling exceptionally low. All of a sudden I had this wonderful feeling shoot through me. I felt a tremendous surge of pleasure and I knew everything would be all right. Later that day, a friend of mine called and said that she and her husband were talking about our family. She went on to tell me all the wonderful things they said about us. I asked her what time it was when they had this conversation and it coincided perfectly with the time I had experienced the surge of pleasure. That, my friends, is the power of blessing!
The Blessings of Heaven
One of our greatest weapons against the enemy is the words we speak. There is no question, then, as to why the enemy seeks to gain access to our words. He wants to use our mouths to destroy our own lives and the lives of others.
"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6). We can either use our mouths as a passageway for the fires of hell to gain access to earth, or use them to put out the fires of hell the enemy has lit in the hearts and minds of others.
You can be God's fire extinguisher. You can put out the flames of hell with the blessings of heaven. And wherever you go, you will be like a fountain of blessing that brings healing and life to the nations.
Instead of giving hell's fires access to the earth, you will bring to earth the very river of life that flows from the throne of God. People will be drawn to you like magnets because of the great power of grace and mercy that radiates from your spirit. And with only a few words you will destroy the curses of generations. This is the power of blessing. This is your destiny in God.
Please pray this with me:
Dear Father,
I repent of speaking negative words against others, and I ask You to stamp out those words and cause them to be ineffective. I receive Your forgiveness and mercy for my sin. Make me a fire extinguisher with power from heaven to destroy the seeds of destruction in the lives of those You love. Help me to walk in my own destiny . . . by blessing the destiny of others.
THE APOSTOLIC SWORD As the Lord blows across the sands of time, which have covered up the message of the cross, the fullness of the apostolic ministry will be released. Do you want to flow in the apostolic? Let’s look at that apostolic mindset. The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthian church, "I resolved to know nothing while I was among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (I Cor. 2:2). To the Galatians, the Apostle wrote, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal. 6:14, KJ). He also said, "Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified" (Gal. 3:1), showing that the cross was the centrality of his apostolic message. Paul further wrote, "The story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity…but to us who are being saved, it is the [manifestation of] the POWER OF GOD" (I Cor. 1:18, Amp). The power of apostolic ministry is in wielding the sword of the Lord—the message of the cross—driving it into human hearts. This was proven on the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached the cross and "they were cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37). What is this sword that cut to their hearts at Pentecost? It is the living Word, "dividing soul and spirit" (Heb. 4:12) with a fresh encounter of the cross. It is a flaming, living revelation of the cross and resurrection of the Lamb, our first love. Every believer’s first experience with the Lord begins at the foot of the cross. Do you recall the time you followed the Lamb’s bloody footsteps and ascended Mt. Calvary? Then you passed through the torn veil of His flesh to enter into His presence, the very heart of God. But did a sword ever go through your heart? Sadly, many believers start off with an allegiance to the Lamb, however they end settling for compromise and religion. The message of the cross becomes mere religious talk. It becomes buried by the sands of time, but today God is breathing across those sands. He is uncovering the Sword of the Lord, equipping His people as a mighty Joel’s Army. This sword, which protrudes from the mouth of the Lord pierces the darkness as He rides forth today (see Rev. 1:16). It also pierces human hearts. After Simeon blessed baby Jesus in the temple, he looked at Mary and said, "A sword will pierce through your own soul…that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" ( Luke 2:35, NKJ). That sword pierced Mary’s soul when she looked up at her Son, bleeding and dieing on a cross. In the same way, the Lord longs to thrust His sword into the hearts of those who will follow Him, as we see Him crucified for us. He yearns for the hearts of believers to be pierced with His love so that passion and power will be released from within them. My prayer for you is that, like Mary, the sword of the Lord will pierce to the core of your own soul. What causes the cross to pierce our hearts? Let’s search deeper into this apostolic message to see. The Heart of the Apostolic Message The Bible says, "They shall look upon me, the one they have pierced and mourn" (Zech. 12:10). When I looked upon the Pierced One, the Apostolic Sword cut open my heart. Above all, it was gazing on the Father’s cup, which Jesus drank on the cross, that pierced my own heart. Jonathan Edwards (revivalist of the 1700s) said that Jesus chief reason for coming to earth was "to drink that cup." I’ve never been the same since I gazed into the vast mystery of the Father’s cup. What then is this cup? It is the undiluted, cumulative, eternal judgment of God against sin. It is the wrath of God. This cup of wrath was destined to be poured out on us for all eternity in hell. In order for the atonement to be a complete work, Jesus had to take every sin and every punishment against that sin: "The PUNISHMENT that brought us peace was upon Him" (Is. 53:5). Because Christ took wrath and diverted it from us [the propitiation], we no longer have to be punished for our sin. Focusing on the depths of this cup of punishment causes the Apostolic Sword to pierce our own hearts until we bleed for His sacrifice. How do you think the Father felt on that day when He looked down from heaven and saw His  precious Son slapped on two stakes of wood? How did the Holy Spirit feel? That day will never be forgotten in heaven, because of the price paid when the Lamb faced the cup of God’s wrath. He didn’t turn from it. In the garden of Gethsemane His eyes gazed into the Father’s cup of wrath and He was gripped with holy terror (see Mark 14:34). We need to see Jesus writhing back and forth, sweating great drops of blood, anticipating the horror of drinking the Father’s cup. We need to look into that cup and see the fiery wrath that we deserve. The Psalmist said, "In the Lords hand is a cup full of foaming wine" (Psalm 75). This cup in the Father’s hand was filled with "the wine of my wrath" (Jer. 25:15; see Is. 51:17). When Jesus gazed into this gruesome cup, agony consumed Him and He wept "with loud crying and tears" (Heb. 5:7). I believe the Father still weeps for the cup His Son drank to be revealed. When this is revealed again in the Church, her heart will be pierced by the Apostolic Sword. In the majority of the Western Church, the only time this holy love story, the message of the cross and resurrection, is brought out of the church’s storage room is around Easter. Even then, we do not see the full extent of the atonement. Is that how we should honor the Lamb of God? Do you think the Father was trying to say something to us in the book of Revelation? Yes! The Father was getting the Apostle John to see His greatest gift to mankind. From the book of Revelation the Apostle John’s visions had one main focus: Jesus as the Lamb. John wrote, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the CENTER of the throne" (Rev. 5:6). The Lamb is the centerpiece of heaven, and in order to see the fullness of the kingdom, I believe we need to make the Lamb of God the centerpiece here on earth. When the message of the Lamb becomes the central message of the Church, once again the Apostolic Sword will be placed in the hands of God’s people. The Lamb is the center of the Old Testament as well. The primary feast of the Jews was the Passover. This is a clear prophetic picture of what would happen to Jesus. We sometimes forget the Lamb was roasted over a fire (see Ex. 12:9—10). The fire is a prophetic picture of God’s wrath (see Rev. 14:10). Like the Passover Lamb, Jesus hung on the cross and drank down every last dreg of the wrath of God until He was consumed with the fire of God’s fury. Jesus took the eternal punishment we deserved which was our hell. When we make this truth known to a dying world, the Apostolic Sword will be driven into the hearts of lost humanity, spreading the Kingdom of God on earth. It was on the cross where the victory over Satan was won: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross" (Col. 2:15). Even today, we disarm the enemy and slay the spirit of religion, when we preach the powerful message of the cross. As we lift up the Lamb of God, evil is exposed, demons are conquered, and prisoners are loosed. Darkness will be pierced and God’s Kingdom will spread through the earth when a rising Joel’s Army brandishes the Apostolic Sword. Apostolic Power The Kingdom of God was fully released as Jesus was pierced on the cross. As Jesus’ flesh tore open, I believe the glory of the holy of holies poured out from His wounds (see Heb. 10:19-22), for He is "the radiance of God’s glory" (Heb. 1:3). Even after resurrection life had entered Him, Jesus still bore the wounds. Just as Jesus asked His disciples to put their hands in the wounds in His side, my prayer is that our hearts would be placed in His wounds. The prophet said, "His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand where his power was hidden" (Hab. 3:4). I believe rays of Glory still flow from His wounds where the sword pierced His side. This wound pierced all the way up to His heart, which released a river of blood and water. Now, if we allow Him to thrust the heavenly Apostolic Sword through our hearts, "streams of living water will flow from within" (John 7:37). Resurrection power will be released in signs and wonders and the kingdom of God. My heart bleeds for revival. I long to see the river of God flowing upon this earth and bring streams of life to thirsty souls. In my most recent outreach campaign, I had never experienced the power, authority, and compassion of God to such a great degree. We had three days of ministry in Reynosa, Mexico, focused on bringing the Lamb the reward of His suffering for drinking His Father’s cup. We ministered to the multitudes, and to thirty-five people in the garbage dumps. We had two services with a crowd of four to five thousand people each night. The heavens opened and the angels of God ascended and descended upon that place as Jacob’s ladder. Eighty percent of the crowd waived their hands, testifying to a healing or a touch from the Holy Spirit. The lame walked, the blind saw, the deaf heard, and the demonized were set free. The kingdom of God had come. One lady whose hands were completely gnarled into fists told of being a witch, a murderer, and having made a pact with the devil. After receiving prayer, her hands opened up and the tumor in her breast dissolved. A girl in a wheel chair couldn’t walk, but after being soaked in prayer, she stood and took huge steps across the platform. The joy on her face was worth the whole crusade. All I could do was fall on my knees, lift my hand to heaven and cry, "Lamb of God, here is your reward!" Each night the Lord gave me a central focus for the preaching: the Cross of Christ. I unsheathed the Apostolic Sword that had pierced my own heart and drove it into the hearts of the people. "Jesus saw you as He looked down from Heaven. . . . He saw you burning in hell for your sin. But He came down to take the curse of your pornography, your sexual sin, your drug and alcohol addiction!" I continued, "He became your substitute! He took your hell on the cross. He stood in your place and took the wrath of God against sin for you. . . . for you!" The crowd burst into praise and hundreds came forward for salvation. It was a simple message but it carried the power of the Apostolic Sword. So my prayer is that you will be pierced with the Sword of the Lord until your own heart bleeds to see the Lamb of God receive the reward of His sufferings. Be encouraged, beloved, the Lord’s raging passion is for you. You are the reward of His sufferings, but His heart’s desire is to see you bring in a harvest of souls for the Lamb. He longs to raise up a generation whose hearts are pierced by the Apostolic Sword so that His Son will receive the full reward of His sufferings. Won’t you draw near to Him now and ask him to pierce your heart? Gaze at the Pierced One until you are broken by His love. Look into the cup of wrath which He drank for you. Cry out to Him now and say, "Thank you, Jesus, for taking the wrath I deserve! Thank you for taking my punishment for sin! Thank you for taking my hell!" Now ask Him to take the double edged blade and pierce your heart with the Apostolic Sword. Then pull out that sword and plunge it into other hearts, stepping forth as a mighty Joel’s Army. Go, armed with the Apostolic Sword of the Gospel, spreading the glory of God’s Kingdom through the earth! http://www.piercedpassion.org/ 
To my surprise, over the past few years it's been revealed to me that speaking in tongues aren't talked about in church very often. A lot of churches don't believe its real, or they question, "Are tongues for today?" Let me assure you that speaking in tongues is real, it is for today, and you can have the gift if you ask and receive it. I'm not worried about what anyone says or debates, tongues are real, period.
I am going to share verses from the New Testament, and I will quote Jesus as well. I'm not only admitting this as fact, but I am a witness to this unknown language. If you do not believe in the supernatural than it isn't possible to believe in God. This is not a scary gift, it's not something frightening, it's a language from heaven that you do not understand because it's the speaking of the Spirit. You may say it's mumble, but if you receive the gift you will see that you have a familiar vocabulary and accent that doesn't change. Maybe some of the verses below will clear some things up!
Mark 16:15-18 And he said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (ASV)
Read that again, Jesus is telling the Apostles to go into all the world to preach the gospel and those signs will happen for those who believe. If speaking in tongues was not ment for today, why did Jesus say that? There is no special interpretation, this is not a parable. Lets look a bit further in the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 14:39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. (ESV)
What is the purpose of tongues? Read below! I ask you to read it over again so you have a full understanding, even look it up in your Bible. I used ESV translation because I found it easier to understand.
1 Corinthians 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
You utter mysteries in the Spirit before God. I believe through the Spirit you pray for things that you would not think of in your mind. Below is how you should pray in tongues:
1 Corinthians 14:14-16 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. (ESV)
To receive the gift of tongues you must believe in Jesus Christ, and you must have a spirit of faithfulness. Meaning you can not use this gift to go in the streets and show off, it's between you and God. If Christ is your Lord, ask for the gift of speaking in tongues and receive it, instantly. All you do from now is just start speaking in it. A mistake some people make is they believe that they will suddenly speak in tongues out of nowhere or God will force it out of them. It's up to you, you can speak in tongues as long as you want at any moment, just speak out because once you ask - you have the gift, you only need to ask once.
I think about this scripture.
1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
I think about all the events on the news. I hold concern for the church. I know not only is there those that are in Christ, but I also know there are some that are like Judas in the Church buildings. But I have faith that the Lord is the deliverer and redeemer. He knows the hearts of man better than I do or ever will. I am not worried about the events in the news. I believe the Lord is my provider and protector and I cast all fears aside and choose not to worry but hold faith. I know He knows my beginning and my end. I know that His path is complete and I choose to walk according to that. When He lead the Israelites in Exodus they followed the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit inside today I choose to follow to the promise land in Heaven. I choose to obey Him and Seek His will and Path. There is no guarantee of my tomorrow. There is no doctor, police or any worldly authority that can guarantee my outcome. But I know the Lord knows and will guide me. I can take medication after medication and they will not prevent my outcome. My life I choose to submit to the Lord casting fear aside for faith. There is no police that can protect me. I choose to cast all fear aside that God is my protector. Money cannot assure me that I will be fed. I choose to rely on the Lord. Cars cannot fully guarantee my safety from disaster. I choose to follow the path of the Lord whether on foot or by automobile. My husband cannot fully guarantee me he will be on earth to protect me. The Church cannot guarantee me their leadership staff or flock will be there. The churches, the prophets, the missionaries can scream from the mountains to humble yourself and submit to God in faith, but man ultimately has to choose whom they serve. Jesus already warned you cannot serve two masters. God and Money. The gods of this world, or our Holy Father in Heaven. The gods of this world and all those who serve them will be punished severely and proven their worthlessness and the mightiness of Jesus Christ . Today I need to stand firm in faith. Be completely humble. Pride and fear is our fall. Let our yes be yes and no be no.
Luke 21:19 By standing firm you will gain life. 34"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
John 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Fatherand I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my lifeonly to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
25Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[d]; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."
Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
The Wise and Foolish Builders
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. 25The 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. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Matthew 24:10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
2 Corinthians 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.
By our eyes there is much deception, but though faith we will see the way. Pray and get humble and honest. Faith comes by knowing God is in control and that we have obeyed him and been completely honest with him and humble. I have to ask, where does your faith lie? Does it lie in the world, its gods, its medicines, its money, its government powers, its guns, etc, or does it lie in the word of God? The Word of God which says God is the Healer, provider, protector, etc? Let me ask you now, is blame in your heart? If suffering came to you would you blame or pray in faith knowing Gods outcome is complete and power? A prophet can speak, a church can sing praises and preach, but all and all Jesus is the shepherd and our faith rests in Him. Get completely honest with your heart. Don't blame but be an example as Jesus is. He denied Himself. Be willing to deny yourself. Be willing to follow in faith not by sight. We do not know the exact day or hour, but we know it is close.
The Lord is pouring His Spirit over His people. Get honest and humble. Be ready.
Part 1: Introduction:
Deep in our hearts, all of us are saying, “I want to have the anointing of Elijah! I want to have impact in my society. I want to be able to confront the evil, the demonic strongholds, and see the righteousness and the purity of the Lord come.”
Then our minds flash back to America, especially since 9/11, when we were truly confronted with a real shaking and shifting in our own society. Suddenly, we realized that inside of our own borders the enemy can attack. A sobering reality hit us as we realized that we fear terrorism, and we could be struck anywhere at any time!
Locating the Unseen Enemy
When we were dealing with Desert Storm, we knew where to find our enemy, but how do you find terrorist cells? How do you find the enemy in our society in everyday life that is hidden in many different places? Or, is our society already infiltrated with an enemy who wants to very suddenly take us out? We dealt with fear when a few buildings were collapsed. What will you do when plagues come? How will you respond when whole cities start are devastated and lawlessness abounds? What do you do when limited nuclear warfare starts to come to America?
Impacting our Society
Do we truly have that deep cry inside of us that says, “Is there a God who can really impact our society?” Once we start dealing with fear, we start compromising anything for the sake of peace. “Well, it is no problem,” we say. “Let's use military police - they will protect us. Or, let's have a one-world government or a one-world religion.”
Pretty soon our freedoms could be taken away in the name of order and peace. Suddenly, life isn't mechanical any longer, and you find that you even need to ask the Lord what bus or train or plane you should get on. Can you hear the Lord about what shopping mall to go to? This is real time, dear friends!!!!
Needed: Powerful Prayer Warriors
Are you one whose prayers really have impact, not only for your loved ones or your family, but also that you are one who is able to pray for your neighborhood and city?
Are you one who, like Jeremiah 23, was able to go into the Councils of God, into the heavens, and hear fresh rhema, get fresh strategies and bring them down?
Are you one who when you pray, you are able to legislate things in the heavens? Are you able to hear the fresh things of God? Are you able to shift things?
Looking at America
Here in America, we are dealing with great devastation and shakings in our nation, but really, there is a global shaking going on, isn't there? The nations are shaking. It is like the earth is groaning!!!
We are coming into a powerful time where old world leaders are shifting out of place and new ones are coming into place. It is God who sets up kings and takes them down!
We are also coming into a great time of financial and religious shakings throughout the world.
Are we ready?
Prayer: Lord, prepare our hearts to receive this teaching. Help us to hear Your voice and understand our individual prophetic journeys in these great times of shaking. Show us how to pray and how to consistently be walking in Your will. Amen.
Part 2: What is the spirit of Elijah?
It is a prophetic anointing that would come in and shift things to make a difference. It's an anointing that would legislate from the heavens. When I am talking about the Elijah anointing, I really feel that is what God wants to release in this hour on nameless, faceless people with the power and government of God backing them up.
The Power of the Secret Place
Elijah was a man who was formed in a secret place, and then he suddenly came on the scene. When he suddenly came in (from a place of hiddenness), he came in front of a governmental king, King Ahab, who was married to Jezebel. Both of them had terribly compromised and were worshipping Baal as well as being involved in heavy sexual perversion and dealing with sacrificing children. It was all very demonically inspired.
But when Elijah came, it says in 1 Kings 17:1, “ Before the Lord God in Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word. ” He was a man who was formed in the secret place of intimacy and prayer.
Elijah's Mandate from God
A suddenly of God ushered him into the world scene of dealing with a global mandate! What was Elijah's mandate? It was to turn a whole people group - Israel - back to worshipping their God instead of worshipping the rain god, Baal. Elijah stood in his authority and legislated governmentally from Heaven to earth.
What I love about Elijah, is that he came from the secret place of standing in the counsel of God so when he went before King Ahab, it was already done in the Spirit. He was able to say, “There will be no more rain!” He was able to confront an evil power and principality that was working through Ahab.
God's Question to America
It is not a surprise for you to hear me say that America is in a very critical and strategic time right now. We are standing in the balance as the Lord asks us, “Is there going to be righteousness in the land?” How do we deal with perversion? How do we deal with pornography? How do we deal with immorality? How do we deal with the enemy as he comes in and shakes and shifts the very moral fabric of our nation?
The enemy also challenges who we are, which has opened up gateways for the demonic to come in and infiltrate how we think and how we feel. Every arena of our lives - our education, our medical, our business, our governmental systems - every arena of life is being put on a demarcation line. Are we really willing to stand for righteousness? Will we stand for the place of God? It will cost you to do so, but it will cost you more if you don't!
God's Callings in this Hour
There is a strong call to holiness now, isn't there? There is a call to stand against wickedness and perversion like never before. There is a call to stand in that solidarity of loving the Lord your God with all your heart. There is a call to deep personal intimacy. Will you come into the secret place and seek His face with 100% of your heart?
Quote from Lou Engle's “Extreme Disciples” CD :
“When we are talking about America, it is very similar to the days where Israel was at that time. The spirit of Jezebel had swept that nation into sexual perversion and immorality. She destroyed all the prophets in the land. Only 10,000 prophets were left; all the other 10 million people had bowed their knee to Baal. The land was under a curse. But you see, this man, Elijah, was consumed with a holy jealousy, and so he arose to confront Jezebel, a spirit that would return the hearts of the fathers to the children.”
“We are in a season where we need radical revival. If you look at Ezekiel 37, you see Ezekiel going in to this valley of dry bones. That really is the state of how the church is in many places. We need a fresh wind and a fresh breath of God to blow once again to bring those bones together as a mighty, mighty army.”
“The reason we are so excited about Elijah is because Elijah was able to confront things in society and to change a whole society back into following the Lord. We need this throughout the world, not just in America!!!”
Part 3: The Jezebel spirit
In talking about the spirit of Elijah, many times we say, “We are going to come against a spirit of Jezebel, and we are going to bind it and render it powerless.” But, how do you confront and deal with the Jezebel spirit?
The Clashing of Two Spirits
What the Lord started to show me is that there is a clashing of two major kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan. These two kingdoms are coming together in head-to-head combat. When we are coming against a Jezebel spirit, we are confronting a powerful spirit that's goal is to destroy the prophets and abort the newborn. If it cannot abort your “baby in the womb,” then it will try to abort our calling and destiny. It is a demonic spirit that cloaks, chokes out, strangles and destroys lives, destiny, calling and birthright.
In talking about the Elijah anointing, we know tha the was one who heard the voice of God. Are you able to legislate in theheavens? A Jezebel spirit is conquered by having a real relationship with Holy Spirit!
Heaven Kissing Earth with Power
In Acts 2, 120 people waited in the Upper Room. The wind, the fire, and the Holy Spirit came, and they all began to speak in other tongues. Was it just that they received 5-10 words in tongues? No! The government of Heaven broke in, and it birthed the church; it was a miracle of languages.
Peter's Power
Then, they ran out, and Peter moved with an authentic, apostolic anointing. When he preached the Word, the power of Heaven and the government of God was behind him, releasing a breaker anointing. 3,000people were saved! The anointing broke through and brought radical salvations and healings.
Elijah's Confrontation
When Elijah cried out, he started to confront the demonic spirits through the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, asking for the covenant of the Lord Jesus to be there. Literally, the heavens opened up and fire streamed down.
What God Wants from Us
The Lord wants to bring us to a place where we are not just locked into closed churches, but we are able to go outside the walls of the church and impact our society. He wants us to be able to move with a breaker anointing as carriers of resurrection life, seeing people saved, healed, and delivered with words of counsel and words of wisdom. We need to be able to legislate from the heavens.
Do You Really Know Holy Spirit?
In order to do this, we must have an intimate relationship with Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is not just tongues; Holy Spirit is not just a phenomenon of wind and fire. He is a person! When Jesus died and went to the right hand of the Father, Holy Spirit came to bring the Kingdom and the fire of the Lord to earth.
Elijah lived a life that moved in Kingdom power. He was a man, but when he spoke, God backed him up. Let me ask you, “Does God back you up, or do your words just dribble down your chin?”
Where Do You Stand?
Do you see any signs and wonders? Do you see anybody healed? Are people hungry for your wisdom and revelation because you hear from God? Do you have share intimacy with the Lord, and people come to you because you are His messenger?
Is your church so cloistered, so social, and so seeker-friendly that you don't have any cutting-edge wisdom? When you are not moving in revelation, you are unable to shift things in the Spirit over your families, neighbors or entire cities, and you are unable to impact your society for the Lord.
Who is Jezebel?
In talking about the spirit of Jezebel, you must understand that Jezebel is an international principality that devastates nations and multitudes of sons and daughters. It is a demonic power. It is not female or male, nor does it associate itself specifically with men or women -it is a spirit.
It is not just that Jezebel confronted Elijah, but this principality, this Jezebel spirit, confronted the God of Elijah. You see, there is a war going on right now, and the war is for our passion. The same power that comes against the passion and hearts of man today, also came against Elijah and God's people. We are dealing with passion versus passion and fire versus fire. What will grab the passions of Jezebel's captive hearts?
Prayer: Lord,
I long to move in Your wisdom and counsel. It is my desire to walk greatly in Your authority to dramatically transform my society. Teach me how to seek a deeper intimacy with You, Lord. Show me the areas in my life that can be changed. Place people on my heart whose passions have been taken captive by the enemy, and show me how to have governmentally affective prayer for them. Amen.
Part 4: The Confrontation at Mount Carmel
If you want to have the spirit of Elijah, then let's talk about Mount Carmel. Where is your Mount Carmel? Where is the place where the altar is torn down in your family?
You cry out that you want to be an Elijah, but how does this become reality for you? It is not a place you suddenly arrive at one day; it is a place where you must daily wrestle and work through the ups and downs, as you keep seeking the Lord with all of your heart. In the midst of our life, we have friends whose altars are torn down. They have been invaded by the Jezebel spirit; they have been invaded by demonic powers that have torn down the covenant relationship that God intends for them.
A Call to Holiness
How do you rebuild the altar? In part, you have to be a man or a woman that is clean before God. In other words, if you are going to confront people with their sexual perversion, pornography, or eye gates where they are constantly seeing violence and being infiltrated by the dark things of our society, then you must be clean in those areas yourself. How can you confront that in other people's lives, if it operates in your own life?
Do you have common ground with the enemy in any area of your life? You can have NO common ground with the enemy, you know! There needs to be a call to holiness. There needs to be something in you that presses into the face of Jesus, no … matter … what!
God's Search Light Is Needed
There needs to be something in you that asks, “Lord, where there are areas of darkness, where there is compromise, where there are broken areas from unforgiveness and bitterness or cynical attitudes, I want you to bring Your fire upon the altar of my life. Where the altar of my spirit is broken down, I want You to heal me up.”
Many walk in defeat because there are places in their lives where the enemy has legal access because of known sin(s), compromise, idolatry, disobedience, disloyalty or spiritual adultery.
2 Things are Needed
First of all, in being able to move with an Elijah anointing, you need to be able to say, “Ok Lord, here I am! There are areas that are broken down. Most of all, I need You as my Lord and Savior. Then, I'm asking You to start to reveal areas of brokenness and areas of compromise in my life.”
Secondly, you really need to start working out your salvation to get healed up and restored. As you start to heal, you will have mercy for those who are broken because you see your own brokenness. Then, you won't be so judgmental.
There is something in you that says, “No, I know what it is like to be broken, but I know a God who can heal me in the midst of my pain! Since He can heal me, and He can heal the altars and the areas of my own brokenness, then I know He can also heal others where they are hurting, where people have abused them and where they have been betrayed.”
You see, if you are healed from different forms of abuse – emotional and physical abuse, verbal abuse, and even religious abuse where you shut your heart down from God, then you will start to be healed in these same areas of violation. You will also start to receive living stones of God's promises, His destiny, and His calling rebuilt inside of your spirit.
Then you can cry out and say, “God, send fresh fire! I want to be a burning man. I want to be a burning woman. I want to be full of holy passion. I do not want be one with a shriveled up heart. I want to be one who is fully alive, fully passionate - not compromising with any perversion – but passionate with a clean heart, so I can fully love as You love!”
What I believe the Lord is saying is, “Why not respond to this call right now as you read this article? Let's make this a Mount Carmel; but first, let's look at your own heart.”
Part 5: Issues of the Heart
See, you cannot be saying to others, “Let's deal with your perversion, let's deal with your pornography on the Internet, let's deal with wife beating, or let's deal where there is abuse.” You cannot deal with that unless you first say, “Lord, show me where I have compromised.”
Maybe you come to church and you look all together, but then you get on the Internet and get into perversion? Or maybe you look at perverted movies in hotel rooms? Or perhaps language comes out of your mouth that just cuts and slices people because of your own issues of distrust and betrayal. You don't want to love people. Does this speak to you? The Lord wants to deal with who you are.
We are calling forth a revivalist anointing.
Preparations of the Heart
Where your heart has shriveled up and grown cold, He wants to rebuild the altars in your life. We are talking about passion versus passion; fire versus fire; judgment versus judgment. Yes, the war has increased because we are in the electronic age. We are constantly tempted through movies, computers, Internet, television and radio.
We are infiltrated with a lot of demonic perversion, adultery, and pornography, but the Lord is also raising up people in entrepreneurial areas of media, communication, TV, and film who can open up realms of the glory and His presence to radically impact people's hearts for the Lord.
So, right now, why don't you ask the Lord to prepare your heart! “Lord, where is there common ground in my life? Lord, where is there compromise in my life? Lord, I want to be one who can impact my society. I want to see city transformation. I want to move in the counsels of God. I want to see the reversal of evil laws. I want to see legislation from Heaven coming to earth.”
“So Lord, where there is compromise, I ask You, right now, to bring Your fire. Lord, start to enlarge my heart and show me where there is compromise. I just want to come before You. I want You to bring a cleansing and a refining fire so that I can be clean before You and radically hear Your voice.”
Desires of the Heart
“Lord, I want to move with power demonstrations of signs and wonders. I want to see people dramatically impacted, so impact me. I want to continue on that journey of enlarging, growing, becoming and being a radical voice that breaks outside the walls of the church and opens it for a powerful demonstration of Holy Spirit!”
It is time to deal with compromise in our own lives; dealing with sin where we need to repent; seeing areas where there needs to be a humility in us. Repentance and humility break the power of the enemy and that breaks the power of Jezebel in our lives!
Part 6: Giants in the Land
Many of us cry, “But Lord, I want to be like an Isaiah- I want to be able to see in the heavens. I want to be like an Elijah – I want to call down fire from Heaven. Or, what about Ezekiel or Daniel - I want to be able to see in the heavens. " But once again, we are talking about the eye gates. Are you sitting in X- or R-rated movies, crossing the line, and you know that the Lord is telling you to leave? What comes through your eye gate will imprint your spirit with darkness. You are not going to get out of it for free. Losing your $7 or $10 really is not worth getting demonically hit!
I remember sitting in a movie and I could literally see demons coming out of the screen! I could feel Holy Spirit next to me saying, “Are you going to leave?”
I know that if I don't leave, I will be up half the night repenting. You see, we need to be gatekeepers of what we allow in our spirit. Do we feel conviction in our heart? Or, is it a thing that we are caught with this social and cultural pressure that everything is cool?
Where are You in Your Every Day Life?
Do you have powerful prophetic words that can impact individuals that you meet? Suddenly you meet someone and God gives you information about their family, their husband, their wife, their kids, or their secret sins?
You are able to really move with an unction and an anointing in hearing the voice of God and bringing down heavy cargo from Heaven because you are not just a culturally cool Christian who goes to church, or maybe even goes to all the conferences (a conference junkie). Instead, you are one who really moves with power! You are one who moves with the unction of God behind you!
The Assaults of the Enemy
I tell you, there are dark satanic windows flooding our homes. In our secret places, are you a victim to pornography or sexual perversion? Are you into violence or verbal abuse? Do you tear down your loved ones? You know that you are crossing lines, but you say, “This is how it was with my father, my mother, my home.”
Jesus the Healer
You think it is alright? No! It's time to grow up and go seek your healing! Start to work through some deep repentance and deep healing. Go and pray with your friends. If you need more counseling or healing, and it is biblically based, go for it! Start to get healed up in deep areas of betrayal and abuse and unforgiveness.
You see, we are at a crossroads right now in our nation where everything has been shifted. Are you willing to be powerful yourself, with a solid foundation at the altar you are rebuilding in your own life, so that in that day, you will have unction?
If not, then what or who are the giants in your life? What are the things that you need to take down so that you can take the Promised Land and move powerfully in the things of the Spirit?
In our society, I think what is so hard is that many are dealing with thoughts of suicide. They say, “I just want to die. It hurts so bad, so just take me home!” A spirit of death is at our heart's door, as we are looking at aborted dreams and a lost destiny. BUT GOD … says there is hope for your future and He knows the plans He has for YOU!
Do you know what His plans are for your life?
Prayer: Lord,
help me to identify the giants in my life and dismantle them, so I can fully hear your voice and the plans you have for me. I want to move powerfully in the Spirit, but these things are keeping me from being all that you have created me to be. Thank You, Lord for giving me the strength to resist temptation and overcome the enemy. I love You, Lord and want to serve You!
Part 7: The Challenge
Today, we discuss the challenge that Elijah faced, just as we face today. Everybody is looking for something to believe in and something to live for. If you look at the Islamic terrorists, they had no fear in flying planes into buildings, knowing that they would die. They were willing to die for what they believed in. What are you willing to die for?
Martyrdom in America
We are coming to a crossroads where we must ask ourselves if we are willing to die for our faith! Yes, here in America this will be a reality! So how radical are we … really? Are we just living a lukewarm existence? 9-11 really was a wake-up call for our nation. What does it take to really wake us up so change happens? We were shaken to the core, but we've fallen asleep again! Does it take having our sons and daughters drafted to the front lines of many around the world so we really connect with reality?
Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!
This is a time to prepare for war. The Lord is raising up many nameless, faceless people who are praying and fasting, like Elijah, in hiddenness. We are in this place of preparation to be able to come with the weight and government of God behind us.
God's Giant Chessboard
I want to encourage you that many of you are not yet in place but that is because the Lord is moving everyone like a giant chessboard. He is moving the players. The chessboard looks like it's 100 miles deep and 100 miles wide, and it's very multi-dimensional. A lot of it has to do with people's choices. So, what is your choice?
Raising the Dead
Are you one who can say, “Just like Elijah laid on a dead teenager and called forth life, I also want to be one who can lie on the 'dead' teenagers- the ones who want to die - and they will live! I want to be able to speak life to them. I want them to live and speak life to the people they love.”
There needs to be a fresh cry in us that says, “Start to repair the altars in our lives and that covenantal promise of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Cry out for Elijah's Mount Carmel Victory in your life!
1 Kings 18:20- So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name." 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trencharound the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." 34 Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; andhe also filled the trench with water. 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet camenear and said, "Oh LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice,and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell prostrate; and cried, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"
God's Power is Astounding!
There really needs to be a fresh cry where we start to rebuild the altars of our own lives and others. We must start to cry out for supernatural power and unction in our lives. People will be astounded in seeing the demonized delivered, by seeing the broken and suffering humanity physically healed where they cry out! You will find people saying, “Hey, wait a minute! The God of the Bible really IS alive, and He really is here!”
The Fire of God
Elijah, the prophet, was a man who moved with a demonstration of power and fire. So let me ask you, “Is there any demonstration of power and fire in your lives? Is there any move of God in your churches?”
Or, do we want nice, neat prophecies without any of the fire because we don't want things messy! Are we dealing with social issues that are more a social gospel, a seeker-friendly kind of church, where everything is nice and neat? But, have we grieved Holy Spirit? Where is the fire? We should be more afraid of barrenness than fire, shouldn't we?
What about the Wild Fire in Meetings?
I believe that God is challenging us in areas that are dealing with intellectualism. Many times we are so afraid of the wild fire and people manifesting out in their flesh and soul that we shut down any fire at all. We are offended by the manifestations because we don't understand what God is doing! We don't understand what is happening when the presence of God comes, so we judge what is unfamiliar. If they are trembling and shaking, is that intercession and deep prayer? Or, are they going through deliverance? Or, are they shaking and trembling because they are going through a deep tenderizing and awakening of first love?
Often, the church is uncomfortable with any display of emotion in their meetings. They want people to come to church like clockwork, have a passionate worship service, and end with a 45 minute to 1 hour sermon. They don't want any trembling, shaking or any of the manifestations. They want a clean oxen stall!
Keys to Fighting the Jezebel spirit
Let me ask you, is there fire on the altar – not just in your own personal life - but is there fire on the altar of your churches? I believe that one of the ways you can fight the Jezebel spirit, the demonic spirit, is by having fire and the passion of God to backing you.
Have you shut down the Holy Spirit? Elijah moved with a power demonstration. It opened Heaven, and the fire of God came.
Seduced by Compromise
But what happens, many times, is that we get seduced with compromise. We might say, “Oh, hey wait! It is not sexual perversion. We are not sleeping with anyone; we are not into pornography; we are not into adultery … but are we into apathy? Are we so much into our comfort zone or our style? Are we compromising? Do we not want people to be offended? What about the fear of man? What are people going to think? Are we being controlling? Have we moved into a form of religion without the power?
Isn't that mostly what we have in the Western world? We all talk about the Bible, but the demonstration of the Word of God with people getting healed and radically delivered is another thing!
We don't want deliverances in our churches because it makes people uncomfortable, yet we should be celebrating because people who are terribly tormented are being set free! We don't want to see people screaming and writhing on the floor! What about the mentally disturbed? Do we think it's easier to lock them up and give them medication?
Do we really have the power to deliver people? Can Jesus heal? Can we bring healing to those who are suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and manic depression? Do we have a God who can really heal?
What about the physical healings that are needed? We have a God who can come against every disease known to man. Is this really the justice of the kingdom, coming against AIDS which is destroying many lives? Isn't there something in us that has this violent love that says, “Wait a minute, the God of the Bible healed many people! He moved in radical signs and wonders!”
What about Israel?
Do we have a heart for Israel? Will the Jews come only when there are signs and wonders and radical healings? There needs to be a cry inside of us that says, “Are we really walking out the Bible?” Or, is it just really a form of religion without the power? We proclaim, “I am saved, and I have been filled with the Holy Spirit!” But, have you seen one person saved in the last year? Are you moving with any kind of demonstration of radical salvations and healings?
Passionless Pew Sitters
Is it just that you have been saved and programmed? You have learned to sit in a church pew and sing your ten favorite songs while others do what you used to do. Maybe in your earlier years you went out on Friday night to the inner city? You don't get brownie points for going to the inner city, you know! Where is your world? Where do your feet walk? What is your arena of influence? In the 24-7 walk where your feet go, do you move with the power and demonstration of Elijah? Do you move with signs and wonders following you? You can!!!
Or, do you move in a seeker-friendly, diluted, compromised, fear-of-man kind of religion that no one wants, especially the world? Why would they come into our churches? Is it just another social club? How is your church different, so people can't wait to come and hate to leave?
How is the Bible, the Word of God, breaking out into society to heal tormented, broken people's lives? Is there any of kind of God-reality in your life?
Part 8: God Encounters the Darkness with Power
When they were filled with Holy Spirit, it says that Paul had 12 other people, and in two years time, they touched ALL of Asia Minor while moving in signs and wonders.
Ephesus was full of the witchcraft culture during biblical times and yet people were hungry and got saved!
The people of Ephesus were exposed to supernatural witchcraft and sorcery, and they were open in their spirits in the demonic realm. Because of that, it was easy to bring them to the cross with Jesus and into the supernatural realm.
Invading Our Comfort Zones
Today, many people move in half-hearted, contented and comfortable styles and avoid moving in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Some don't like the supernatural and almost hate it. Some don't want the Holy Spirit because it makes them feel uncomfortable.
We want people to speak in tongues a little bit, but kind of keep it cool and nice. Don't make people uncomfortable. Don't have people vomiting and screaming out, getting set free from demons, running around yelling, “I am healed! I am healed! I am out of the wheelchair.”
We need to be a people where there is a noise and a sound, because Jesus is walking in the house. We need to be able to move in and meet Jesus. He moved in a paradigm of signs and wonders. The unsaved could hardly wait to get to Him. They wanted what He had! Are people asking you if they can have what you have?
Denmark Speaks
Not long ago, I was in a huge church in Copenhagen, Denmark. I heard there was a Nigerian healing evangelist doing meetings in this church, so I wanted to go and see what God was doing in the land. He was sort of the talk of Copenhagen. In Denmark, only 1% of the people are saved. Yet, this minister was getting people to stay until 3 and 4 am because the Lord was healing the sick.
It was 10 pm at night when I heard about these meetings, after being in another city doing meetings myself. So we went down to this large church and there were probably 15,000 people there. They were totally engaged in the meeting and loving it!
When I looked at the crowd, they were mostly an unchurched group: business men and women, witches and warlocks, prostitutes, street people and people from every walk of life. Broken, hurting people were getting prayer for cancer, being confined to wheelchairs, and all kinds of deformities. The people were standing or sitting and waiting for hours to get prayer.
I ran into the pastor, and I said, “I love the people! How did you get these people here? I can tell that they are not a church crowd, how did you get them here?”
New Age Advertising
He said, “Well, Jill, we just advertised in all of the New Age papers. We advertised in all the secular papers about signs and wonders and healings. All these people come and they don't know the Lord and many of them end up accepting Him! We have over 800 people who have just signed up for the Alpha course. We will start to disciple them, but they just come because they want the power of the Gospel.”
Hiding in Church
He went on to say, “A lot of people who get hurt in the Charismatic and Pentecostal churches go into the seeker-friendly churches, which have more of a social gospel or the neat intellectual gospel, so they won't get hurt … and they don't want the emotionalism. You know many times there are great biblical teachings there, but there is no demonstration of the power of God. So there is the Word, but there is not much of the Spirit. They will go for their 45 minutes and want to get their kids home.”
The World Isn't Jaded by God's Power
The Denmark pastor concluded, “Those in the world do not know the Lord,” he continued, “and they are not jaded by the power of God. They have not been hurt by the move of Holy Spirit. They want a display of signs and wonders. We touch the unchurched people, and they keep running. So often we feel that if God starts to grip people radically, we are going to offend the unsaved. The reality is that we offend the church, the religious folks, the Pharisees; we offend the people who have a controlling spirit.”
What Will the Church Choose?
So if you do not have the power of Holy Spirit in your churches, then the altar of the church is barren. How do you keep the dragon from crawling up on the altar of your church and laying its eggs of religiousness, compromise, apathy and intellectualism?
How do you deal with that whole demonic anti-Christ spirit that invades your church? If you don't have the power of Holy Spirit and radical watchmen - people who move in the Word and the Spirit, and they are able to see deception and move with unction and power – then your altar and church will be barren.
I feel like the Lord is challenging gatekeepers at this hour. It is not only that there is the rebuilding of the altars in our lives. We need to rebuild the altars in our churches!
The Charismatic MovementBecause of what is happening, I've been asking the Lord, “Is the Charismatic Movement dead?” This movement was a mighty outpouring in the 1960's. We all have our prayer language, but we don't understand the government of Holy Spirit. I believe that in this decade, God wants to bring the government of God to back up His Word. He wants us to move with the spirit of Elijah.
The Power of Jesus in Society
That is the spirit that Jesus has, except that Jesus took it one step up from Elijah. He moved in more signs and wonders. There are more scriptures on Jesus' revival of radical signs and wonders than anywhere in the Word of God. There are more scriptures about Jesus' revival.
So the kingdom, the power of God, came to heal suffering, broken humanity by a God who loved them. It wasn't enough that they were just in the temple going over the scriptures day and night. We need to take our scriptures and actually have them in our very being so we can impact our society, impact hospitals, impact our governmental and political arenas.
Jesus moved in real life and went out into the multitudes. He moved in everyday life, touching, healing, speaking, and teaching. That is the Elijah anointing. That is the anointing Jesus had through the power of Holy Spirit.
Our Cry
There needs to be a fresh cry to the Lord in us, “We want Pentecost! We want to break open areas in our society! We want to bring healing, set the people free, and let God free their minds!”
Make this your cry, as it is mine.
Part 9: Apostles and the Government of God
I feel like the Lord is going to challenge Gatekeepers and Senior Pastors with one piercing question - do you have oil in your lampstands?
Do you just have the name of Jesus over your church but there are no demonstrations of the Bible nor any signs and wonders? You cannot say, “Hey, but I am an Apostle!” The apostles radically brought salvations to the feet of Jesus. If you see no one saved, you are not an apostle. If you are not moving in signs and wonders, you are not an apostle.
Just because you have moved in a church for 30-40 years doesn't mean that you have governmental weight, and it doesn't mean that you move as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Governmental weight means that you have the goods; the goods are the Kingdom of God and the anointing.
What Confronts the Jezebel spirit
There needs to be a fresh cry in each one of our hearts that says, “Come, Holy Spirit, we want a fresh touch of Your presence. We want Pentecost. Lord, we want to have an Elijah anointing. We want you to rebuild the altars in our churches so there is unction and power and authority and government.” The government of God can confront that Jezebel demonic spirit of perversion and immorality and bring healing and restoration to multitudes!
The Challenge of Jesus
May I ask you something? What is your secret lifelike? Are you a double agent where you go to church worshipping and praying, yet you entertain yourself in dark movie theaters, polluting your eye gates with violence, witchcraft, sensuality, fantasy, or internet pornography or gambling. In other words, the Lord is challenging us that we can give no common ground to a demonic Jezebel spirit.
We really need to go before the Lord and say, “Lord, are there demonic strongholds in my life?” Before you have the authority to take things into society, you must deal with it in your own life first of all! Can you confront darkness if there is darkness in your members? You cannot.
Elijah was a revivalist
He confronted evil in his society with the power of Holy Spirit, bringing repentance and turning them back to first love. There needs to be a cry in you that returns back to first love. A fresh cry, not on the anointing you had during the last decade, but something that pushes the line that you want more of Him now. Something in you must be hungrier and more desperate than ever before! There must be a cry in you that says, “Lord, I want to know you more, no matter what is takes.”
Two Kinds of Spiritual Warfare
God wants to kill our passions, perversions, pornography, fantasies, manipulation and addictions to alcohol and drugs!! We are in a communication age of television and movies and what we are dealing with are two kinds ofs piritual warfare.
One kind of warfare involves our polluted eye gates. What we see has opened us into that whole seductive realm in the spirit that is unholy and unclean.
Another kind of warfare involves the way Jezebel takes over, through a religious, controlling spirit that cloaks itself in the name of righteousness.It says, “Oh, this is wisdom!” In the name of wisdom, we shut down the move of God in our churches.
The Fire of Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit wants to come in and challenge and shake everything that can be shaken. He comes in and shakes government, society, churches, and our lives. Holy Spirit brings in a convicting power and it needs to go into the sanctuary and into the hidden back rooms.
Do you feel the tangible presence of Holy Spirit in your life? Are you still on fire with this hunger inside of you that you want more of Him, no matter what? Is the fire bigger and stronger than when you were first filled with Holy Spirit?
Which Do You Want?
Or are you dealing with respectability versus the anointing? Have you been seduced by intellectualism or elitism? Has the political arena of your church or the fear of man put you in a box? Are you one of the leaders who say, “I want Holy Spirit to bring balance?” But is that balance at the cost of no salvations, no deliverances, no healings, no signs and wonders That is a heresy! That is not the Gospel! That is not balance! Holy Spirit came in, broke open ground, and took territory to bring radical healings, salvations and deliverances.
Are we afraid of emotionalism? Do we want everything to be nice and neat? Jesus was birthed in a manger and birthing is messy. Is there really no room in the inn for Jesus to come in? Do we really want Jesus? Even as a baby, Jesus was going to come in and shake things!
Do we want nice, neat prophecies about fire? Do we hear enough from Heaven where we are able to bring in words that expose darkness and pride but also challenge people that he is God? He brings the spirit of adoption. He is a strategist and has destiny, calling and birthright! Can we call people into their birthright and destiny?
Where Does the Church Stand?
Is there a cry in us that we want to see people really run for Jesus and move in the radical things for God? In your churches, is there so much fire on the altar that you hear the sounds of weeping and intercession? Do you actually cry and weep for your family and the ones who are lost? Do you weep over your city and church? Or do we have a form of prayer without fire and intellectual prayer? Or do you have people really interceding and weeping and crying out to God?
Or is there so much fire on the altars of our spirits that we can really stand in the gap for others who are broken and hurting? There needs to be that cry where we are really willing to birth revival.
A Reality Check for AmericaOur cities and nations are on the brink of disaster. They are controlled by demonic principalities. We desperately need revival. We desperately need our cities to be transformed. We need laws to be changed. We need to see reversals.
Right now we are in a place where we could verily easy see shortages: food, oil, gas, finances. We are looking at limited nuclear war here in America. Can you hear the voice of God? Are you moving with a cutting edge revelation? When we are moving in a time of great shaking and suddenly things are upon our society, it is too late to say, “Oh! I wonder if I am able to hear God's voice.”
We are in war.
If your son or daughter were suddenly sent to the warfront, do you know for certain that they can they hear the voice of God for themselves? Do they know what city or village to walk in and where the land mines are? Do they know how to follow God? There needs to be that fresh cry that says, “Lord, we really want to hear your voice.”
We are talking about preparation for war. We are talking about moving in radical signs and wonders. We are talking about a demonstration of the Bible - a demonstration that's moving outside of our churches, social clubs, outside of our religious institutions and being able to really impact our society! We are in this season of war – but are we prepared? Our double-portions sons and daughters must be prepared for this!
Prayer: So Lord, right now, I just pray that You will put a hunger in people for You so they realize that they need to hear the voice of God. Give them revelation that the Jezebel spirit is an evil governmental principality and that it is confronted with the power of God, which is governmental.
We understand we are talking about two governmental powers clashing. Come, Holy Spirit. Where we have grieved You and where we don't want You to be radical, we want to release You to break outside the walls of our culture and our religious institution. We want You to open up the heavens so that You can bring radical visitations.
As we are dealing with the media and communications, we pray that You will give us the radical ideas of the entrepreneurs. Lord, start to raise up the Joseph Company. Raise up men and women who are like a dream team - ones who move in hearing the voice of God and putting forth world trends.”
Lord, we do pray that where we have been seduced and half-hearted and where we have been too comfortable, that You would start to break off apathy. Break off religiousness. And Lord, start to awaken our hearts.
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