A Wake-up Call

Joel 3:9-10: “Proclaim this among the nations: ‘Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”

God is stirring and gathering His bride and preparing His people for war. This stirring can be experienced in every dimension: personally, corporately, nationally and globally. There is a remnant waking out of the Laodicean slumber that’s been upon them. We are told in scripture to awake 42 times and to watch 61 times. Both of these words are God’s words for this time at hand. They both call His people to attention, calling those with “ears to hear” to be alert, vigilant in their pursuit of Him, to fulfill His purposes in the earth.

I set a challenge before this local assembly sometime back. As they awaken from their natural sleep, they are to ask God to keep them “awake unto Himself” throughout their day. This is an important discipline to maintain focus and communion with the Lord through every waking moment.

Judges 5:12 says: Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam! The word awake here is translated to lift up self; master one self; raise up and stir up. Making correct individual choices are paramount for this warfare preparation. Note in this passage that Deborah is told to declare God’s will through prophetic song, and Barak is to take action to take captives. The individual assignments of His people may vary but each person’s work will bring corporate strength as we are “assembled” according to God’s purpose. It is up to each individual to make the correct choice. God designed each of us with something very specific in mind. However, the choice is in our hands to develop, to pay attention and to execute the word that God commands.

In the life of King David, David turns to the Lord of Hosts throughout his many battles oftentimes to vindicate himself, but more importantly to reveal and demonstrate to all the world the nature and glory of the King of kings. David understood that his victories were not for himself but to make known God’s glory, power and strength to His enemies. David asks the Lord of Hosts to stir Himself to bring righteousness to the earth (see Ps. 35: 23-24 and Ps. 59:5). The word arise here is to arise abruptly; to wake and watch. The implication is for the Lord of Hosts to bring swift judgment to vindicate his servant.

God’s people need to recognize that the current stirring or awakening to the Lord of Hosts is now being extended to His army to act on His behalf. He is calling His people to hear, see and respond to bring His kingdom forth. What the Lord executed in the Old Testament, he demonstrated personally with His disciples.

In Mark 4:38-41, Jesus is asleep on a boat with the disciples. The disciples are gripped with fear because of a raging storm beating down upon them. They awaken Jesus and when He speaks to the storm and settles it. The fear of the storm is transformed into the fear of the Lord, as they recognizing His power.

But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him,"Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" Mark 4:38-41

When He awakens, Jesus immediately responds to this demonic storm, because He is always “awake” to the Father and His purposes, even while physically asleep! This was part of the training for His disciples. They had just experienced the power of Christ through His ministry hours before. In the midst of an unanticipated battle, they floundered. Jesus is training us at this time to be awake to be ready for war. He demonstrated His authority which became available to them as they passed their training. We often succumb to the enemy because we are not training to stay awake to the Lord’s presence and purposes in all things and at all times.

Acts 27 recounts how Paul is aboard a ship in a storm that is about to shipwreck. Staying awake to the Lord, even in these circumstances, he receives strategy from an angel of the Lord. Because of Paul’s vigilance to stay awake and keep watch in intercession, along with the fact that Paul’s destiny had not yet been fulfilled, all lives aboard the vessel were spared. Paul remained watchful and awake to God’s purposes. Paul received wisdom from on high and because he listened and convinced all those on board to hear, all lives were spared. This is a time when His people must be awake to hear His strategy and be ready to implement it. We must be ready to react.

Throughout scripture, it is the passion of God’s people, along with an active pursuit of His purposes that brought victory amidst impossible odds. This is the story of Esther and Nehemiah and how God extended favor with Himself and man to attain unimaginable accomplishments. This is what God desires to awaken in us as well.

Romans 13:11-14 tells us that it is now high time to awake out of sleep.

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:11-14

The word awake here is a collective awakening, a rousing from a sleep of inactivity and non-existence to rise up and take a stand for Him. He is purifying us to prepare us to fight for Him. He is showing us what hinders His love, presence and purposes, and is training us so as to remove every hindrance to the manifestation of His kingdom.

We are on the threshing floor and God is separating the wheat from the chaff. This work is both specific and collective; individual and corporate. God must refine His bride to make her fit for battle. Just as Gideon’s army was whittled down to 300 watchers, we are undergoing the testing and refining to be made ready.

I Corinthians 15:34 tells us to awake to righteousness and sin not. Verses 35-38 speak of the process by which this takes place. Something must die, in order for life to come.

But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain — perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. 1 Corinthians 15: 35-38

This individual work must be accomplished in order for His purposes to be established in the earth. We must have His nature in order to represent Him accurately.

Ephesians 5:14-19 reveals how the personal work of the Lord will be revealed as Light and will subsequently draw people to Himself. Verse 14 speaks of His Body as one that is sleeping and must arise from the dead. This is a call to “raise up” the ruins and stand for His purposes. We must step out of obscurity, inactivity and nonexistence to declare His works in power and strength.

Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." Walk in Wisdom. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Eph. 5:14-19.

A circumspect walk is one that is exact, diligent, purposeful and perfect in God’s eyes. We are to redeem the time to take back what has been stolen. We are to make a fresh deposit of His life so that His light and glory will pierce through the looming darkness and gross darkness that is overtaking the earth.

God’s mission must be fulfilled. His purpose and glory are at the core. He will overtake the darkness of this age as we reveal His nature and demonstrate His ways. This is intimacy and authority married; presence and power working hand in hand. This is waging effectual war. We must be awake to both the Lion (King) and the Lamb (Priest) and allow His work to be done in us and through us to establish His kingdom throughout the world.

Revival Fires Coming Again to and Flowing from Ireland

After having the honor of spending the last week in Wales and Northern Ireland, ministering to many hungry, committed saints of God, I am more convinced than ever that revival fires will once again sweep over Europe from the tiny nation of Northern Ireland.

If it had not been for the pioneering Celtic monks, with many monasteries situated in Northern Ireland, the light of the gospel, and according to many historians, civilization itself would have died. God is stirring in this nation again. Many saints are awakening out of religious slumber to answer the Lord's call to embrace a lifestyle of worship, intercession and obedience. I have had the privilege and honor of meeting many earnest and humble saints over the last few days from all over the North, and several other nations. Their brokenness over the state of the church and the darkness in the world is both refreshing and heart-rending...but absolutely necessary to meet God's conditions to send His presence and power (2 Chron. 7:14).

The fires of revival are beginning to stir in Northern Ireland again! God's glory is about to rise out of His remnant in this nation that are re-pioneering the ancient wells and stirring the ancient fires that once extinguished the "strange" fire of druidism, paganism and the like. A new, modern Celtic monk/missionary is arising again. A new revival and reformation will once again come to the British Isles and the European continent!

Vision of a Black Sheet Descending over the U.S.

After receiving this vision and the following points, I have struggled with the option of posting it. Although what I believe the Lord has revealed is very disturbing and sobering, the Lord's heart, and even His judgments, are always meant to bring liberty and remediation. If we misunderstand the Lord as Judge, it's on the point of not understanding that His judgments are His training and mercy in action the remove all that hinders relationship, life and freedom. Proverbs 12:10b says: ...the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. Wickedness is anything that flows from the flesh...our fallen nature. That means that the best "mercy" that humans can show that does not flow from the Spirit of God, from God's viewpoint, is cruel. That is because they become a hindrance to His life and purposes from being established in a life, a family, a church, a business, a city, ad infinitum. This has come to be known as "unsanctified mercy." The following vision contains no unsanctified mercy, but a mercy that stems from God's desire to glorify the Lord Jesus, grow the body of Christ up to maturity and establish His purposes. May the following vision encourage, reprove, challenge and provoke us to intimacy with the Lord, and a radical obedience to His purposes...all to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Vision of the Sheet

I was awakened on October 9, 2009 at 2:16AM. When I awoke, I was horrified to find there was no trace of God’s presence to be sensed anywhere. It was a horrible and frightful feeling, one that I had only experienced once before in my life, twenty six years ago.  Twenty six years ago I had an experience where I was taken to hell. The darkness that I encountered in that place was like a literal substance that was so thick I felt it touching me.  In that previous experience, I heard the screams and cries of those who had been assigned to that God-forsaken place because of their rejection of God’s provision of salvation through His Son. There was no trace of God’s presence in that place. This current experience did not have that same substantive darkness or cries of those in torment, but it did have the same feeling of the abject absence of God’s presence.

In this later experience, I was completely alone.  Desperation swept over me and I began to cry out to the Lord…but, again, silence. I began to plead with the Lord to tell me what I had done, or let me know what was happening. Silence. There was a vast void of stark emptiness and…silence. About an hour into this experience, continuing to pray and cry out to the Lord, I had an open vision. In this vision, I saw what appeared to be a black blanket or sheet float down and settle over this nation. The desperation I felt escalated again! I knew that once this darkness settled, there was no hope of escape. I prayed a little longer with no change, so I finally got showered and went to the IHOP-Knoxville to pray and seek the Lord.

I kept praying in tongues and in English for the next two hours, and around 6:00 AM, the Lord began to finally speak to me about what was happening.  More understanding came as the day unfolded. In as much as I can remember, I will relate what the Lord began to reveal in chronological order.

The time, 2:16 AM was a scriptural address, as it usually is when things like this happen to me. It was Isaiah 21:6, which says, ‘For thus has the Lord said to me: Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees.’ I knew this meant that I was supposed to send this as a call to the body of Christ to stand as an intercessory watchman to whoever would answer. The scripture the Lord gave me to help explain the vision was Isaiah 60.  Isaiah 60:1-3 says, Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. The Lord said that Isaiah 60 was being put into motion all over our nation. His judgment had come in the form of removing His restraining grace from our nation and allowing darkness to invade, and that darkness would invade every section and sphere. There was no way out of this. At the beginning, this looked and felt hopeless until the Lord began declaring to me His purposes in allowing this to happen. According to the scripture, the end purpose of this is to see a massive harvest come forth.

The Lord warned me not to pray to get out of this, because He would not hear prayers to “escape”. He said the purpose in this happening was to move the bride of Christ forward in His process to bring the glory of the Lord out of the corporate body. The first part of Isaiah 60 is what should be focused on - the glory rising - and we should remove all distractions and hindrances from focusing on seeing His glory arise. “Christ IN you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) is the only hope our nation now has. Only the people of God who will align themselves with His presence and purposes will have the tools, strategy and weapons to overcome the darkness now settling on our nation. The glory of the Lord is arising in His remnant church! This is a very sober time to get our lives free of everything that defiles of flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1), to be effective against the darkness that’s now coming. There will be those who “know their God, become strong (obtain power), and do exploits (take action)” as it states in Daniel 11:32b.

The Lord spoke the same thing to me that I heard our good friend Paul Keith Davis relate in a spiritual experience he had some time back.  The Lord said, “Someone better get authority with Me quickly!” When I heard that, the fear of the Lord overwhelmed me and I could hardly do anything else the rest of the day except cry out for God to judge my heart and life to reveal anything hindering Him operating through me and His people.

Although this might sound hopeless, it is not. The Lord can do in one day what we might think would take 1000 years! If we cooperate with Him, we can and will become the place of refuge, light, power and provision the Lord has destined His bride to be. The Lord began to reveal some specific prayer and practical strategies that will be necessary as this darkness encroaches into all areas of our society. These strategies are enumerated here:

• Prayer itself must undergo and change. We can no longer just cry out for God to have mercy on our nation. We must cry out for this nation to return to and fulfill God’s original purposes. When Moses interceded with God on behalf of Israel, it was God’s reputation and purposes, along with His love, that Moses stood in the gap and declared. Just asking God to have mercy is no longer good enough, because we now have a society in which the majority loves sin more that they love God, which also, sadly, includes much of the church. It was the declaration of remembering God’s reputation and God’s original purposes that turned the wrath of the Lord away through Moses’ intercession.
• Instead of only praying directly for our leaders, many of whom are led solely by unrighteous motives and/or unrighteous counsel, we need to pray for those vessels God has prepared for this day and hour to be set in specific places of authority, favor and influence. Neither Daniel nor Joseph were the “head guy”. This was not God’s will. But they were in a position to speak with supernatural insight, wisdom and grace into the lives of those who were in positions of authority. We need to pray for God to turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness (2 Sam. 15:31). This means we need to be praying for God to make the counsel of those in places of authority worthless, and for God to replace them with those who will speak God’s counsel. The Lord will back this up with supernatural signs and wonders as He did in the past!
• Pray for a sweeping reformation to come to the body of Christ in this nation. We must have revival and reformation. The glory must come, but there must also be scriptural training come to the body of Christ. The “meeting mentality” must die. We must go from just inspirational, encouragement meetings to have a mind of training to “stand in the day of battle” (Ezek. 13:5). This will mean a fundamental change in the way people, especially leaders, perceive “church.” The kingdom must be the focus and not just having good meetings to entertain the crowds and keep their tithes!
• A fundamental change must come in eschatological frameworks. We must go from an escape mentality to an occupy mentality. We must begin to train and equip the saints to overcome and invade the culture and occupy until He comes. Most people are caught up with the question of “when” as it relates to the end times, but that’s not the correct question. “When” is not for us, as the Lord said Himself. It is the WHY that we need to be concerned with, because until the specific scriptural conditions are met, He will not return! He deserves a bride without spot or wrinkle, not one who’s weak, defeated, given to sin and idolatry. When the bride “makes herself ready”, then we can look for Him to soon return.
• We need to be praying and seeking the Lord for supernatural power, strategy and grace to deal with disasters and demonic attacks that are coming. Just like Joseph, He will give us strategies to not only provide for ourselves and our families, but to have answers that will turn entire nations to seek the Lord from Mt. Zion (Isaiah 2, Isaiah 4, etc.). I believe this will include trusting the Lord for supernatural provision, but I also believe, being a Boy Scout in my earlier years, that we need to “Be Prepared” practically. I am already praying for the Lord to bring financial provision to do such things as convert much of the electrical power in our home and ministry facilities with solar and other innovative sources.
• We must seek the Lord to be given understanding of “angelic protocol”. This means we will learn what it means to co-labor with the Lord of hosts, the God of armies. The angelic realm moves on commission of His word (Psalm 103:20-21). This means that the forces of God are marshaled where the two companies (the Mahanaim – see Gen. 32:1-2 and Song 6:13), the company of God’s angelic forces and the company of God’s human army, are working together under His lordship. This is what we see in 2 Kings 6 where Elisha prays for his servant’s eyes to be opened to see the angelic army surrounding them, waiting to fight on their behalf, as they move in obedience to the Lord’s direction. Greater engagement of the spiritual realm is coming to where we will not only see what the Lord is doing, but the Lord will also allow us to see what the enemy is plotting in order to cut the plans off with God’s strategy. This will truly be one small part of a living testimony of His glory to the nations.
• The Lord will begin to convene counsels over cities and regions that He will work with to reveal and release strategic initiatives that will shake demonic structures, but which will also build and plant the kingdom of God. Some of these are already operating and will begin to have spiritual downloads and angelic interchange that will cause breakthrough in existing structures, turning them to righteous purposes putting His glory on display.

This will be the best of times and the worst of times.  This will be our finest hour as the saints of God are positioned to release kingdom power and authority that will rise in us and in our midst like a shining light that will beckon to the nations. This will come to those who seek the Lord with all their heart (Jer. 29:13) – those who have an intimate, uncompromising relationship with the Lord and are unwavering in the carrying out of His purposes.

True Faith

In Luke 18:8 Jesus asks, When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Heb. 11:1 states that faith is a substance. The same word is used in Heb. 1:3 to describe the “substance” of the Lord Jesus as being one in essence, or of the same substance, as the Father. Faith, by definition, is a “substance” that is a part of God’s nature, given to us (Rom 12:3). We’re told in Gal. 2:20, that this is the faith of the Lord Jesus, Himself. This “substance” must be trained, exercised and used to grow into the kind of faith that truly moves mountains and brings creative ability. If we are connected to the true and living God, faith reveals our connection to the eternal world and the eternal NOW. The tremendous shaking that has started worldwide and in every dimension (emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially, etc), is designed to shake us loose from the shackles of this world that we would be rooted and grounded in an eternal dimension and expression. Jesus is asking us to fix our eyes on Him to remain stable, to reveal Him and to fulfill His purposes.

Jesus poses the question about faith immediately following the parable of the unjust judge. The unjust judge responds to the need of a helpless widow because of her persistent pleas. His motivation is not justice, but relief from what he considered to be a nuisance. Jesus provides an analogy here. He is telling us that if justice can be exacted even from an unrighteous judge, how much more is the righteous Judge willing to bring justice to the earth. However, His motivation is not our comfort; it is to establish His kingdom and His purposes, and to reveal His glory. His justice reveals His nature; it will come to reveal the true and living God.

God is looking for a faith that cries out for justice…that cries out for His purposes to be fulfilled in the earth. It’s not just about the cry but is what the cry is for! Faith is given to us to strengthen His people in order to fulfill His purpose in us and through us throughout the earth.

The faith message that has been presented in recent years, especially in this country, is short-sighted and self-centered because it is focused on material goods and temporal conditions; it is not kingdom based. But, we cannot deny faith’s importance because of man’s misguided perspective. Faith in God changes us in order that we can change this world!

Faith is the very touch point between heaven and earth. As faith ignites within, we are instantly connected to a new realm. It is faith that pierces the darkness of doubt and unbelief and makes a way for the light of truth and love to come shining through. The book of Hebrews tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). How can we ask for help from someone that we do not trust or believe?

Faith knows the God in whom we trust and believe. Just as muscles are built in an athlete’s training, faith is matured as we act on it. David faced Goliath without doubt or fear because he already had exercised his faith to defeat a bear and a lion. He knew the God he served. David slew the giant long before the stone left his sling. David declared to the Israelite army, to King Saul and to Goliath that the Lord of Hosts would bring victory because Goliath had defied the armies of the living God (I Samuel 17). David’s act of faith displayed the power and presence of the Lord of Hosts for ALL to witness!

When we walk in faith, we take up residence in the eternal NOW. From this vantage point, we can more capably respond to our circumstances with wisdom and understanding. This is because our perspective has changed. Faith sees from God’s viewpoint rather than our own. We put our minds and hearts at rest, turning our circumstance over to the living God in complete trust.

This is the inspiration of the “fathers of faith” recorded in Hebrews 11. They looked far beyond what they would taste and see in the natural and beheld faith’s future in the earth. They prepared for a day that lay ahead. The substance of faith became tangible. Noah though he had never seen a boat or ever heard of rain, constructed an ark preparing for a new day. He believed what he heard and was preserved through the flood. They, by faith, reached into the realm of the millennial age, and brought the future into the present. This is how the Lord Jesus lived. This is what King David did when he established the worship tabernacle on Mt. Zion. He established the unveiled presence of God for the whole world to behold, and changed the entire way man related to God. David completed this1000 years before it was fulfilled individually in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus and then corporately in the formation of Christ’s Body at the fulfillment of Pentecost.

We are to pray for and work to see the will of God done on earth, as it is in heaven. Those who, by faith, have entered into this eternal realm, bring into the present what we perceive as “future,” but what God sees in the eternal NOW. This is how we are supposed to live…just as Jesus lived. It was even obvious that the enemy thought the advent of the Lord’s coming was way before its time, because when the Lord dealt with the Gadarene demoniac (Matt. 8; Mark 5; Luke 8), the demons asked, Have You come to torment us before the time (Matt. 8:29)?

Abraham obeyed and went out to the place where he would receive an inheritance. Sarah received strength to conceive because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Faith is alive and speaks of the vibrancy of our relationship with the Lord, bridging the gap between the spiritual and natural realms. To the degree that the word of God is alive in us, and the Spirit is ruling through us, is the measure of faith we presently experience and to which He can respond to us.

Faith is a spiritual weapon to lay hold of an eternal perspective and fix our eyes on Jesus. Faith takes us deeper, higher and wider into His love and into His life, because we believe and trust Him. Our testimony, the living evidence that He’s alive, then is really what we have obtained through faith and know as truth to the core of our being. Faith holds the place where God resides in our heart.

God is asking His people today, Where is your faith? He is asking us to shake ourselves from what we must be separated from, and awaken ourselves to what He is doing at this time!

We must determine in our hearts to live fearlessly, by faith - the only substance that will carry us through perilous times and carry us to our destiny. In 2 Thess. 2:2, Paul asks us not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit, or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Paul is speaking about the shaking and the panic that will ensue as a result. The word “soon” in this passage is from the Greek word tachus and is translated quickly, suddenly or hastily. The word “shaken” comes from the Greek word saleuo, which means to shake, to waiver, to totter or be moved.

This is a picture of double-mindedness, the end result of being moved by what we see because our focus is on circumstances rather than on the Lord. Whatever controls our mind ultimately has power to rule the outcome. When we allow panic or fear to rule over us, we have removed Christ from the throne, and ultimately from the battle we are facing. This is not a time for believers to be swallowed up by fear. We need to lay hold of a better promise. We need to lay hold of the new and living way, the highway of holiness. This is the road where God and His army stand. As gross darkness advances in the earth, this is to be our finest hour as believers; it is our opportunity to shine the light of Christ brighter and with greater clarity than what has ever been experienced, and bring the kingdom of God to bear in every sphere of culture and society.

In order for that to take place, we must have FAITH that brings the life, power and substance of the living God. We need faith NOW to be preserved and to pursue destiny. The reason for our destiny is what we will contribute to further His kingdom. Our faith is not for us and neither is the anointing that He extends to us. Everything we have, all that we are and do is to see the kingdom advance, make Him famous, and get everything prepared for His return.

This is a time of preparation; a time of cleansing our spiritual house to be sure that we are battle ready and able to accomplish what He has planned for us. This is our time to focus and correct any area of our life that is not in line with Him. We are told that the just shall live by faith; our very future then is dependent upon the faith we attain.

Be diligent. Watch and pray. Focus and prepare for the days ahead.

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. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:8-11)

We are to know the plans of God and know the plans of the enemy and adjust accordingly. This will only be the case for those who are settled in Him and steadfast in the faith. We are to be like the sons of Issachar able to discern the times and seasons and lead people to safety and victory.