Lisa Great

When the bar is low, many people can get over it; when the standards are low, many people feel like they are meeting them. We tend to surround ourselves with people who are at the same standard we are, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This maintains our status quo rather than challenges us to grow.

Watching the World Cup yesterday yielded an understanding of the standard set in sports for athletes to obtain. Even people who come off the bench as a substitute must be at the standard of the starters. Seeing a man who was not a starter score the only goal in the game, was evidence of his level of training, even though he wasn’t a starter.

How many of us are not starters in whatever field we are in, so we do not think there is a need to rise to a higher level? How low is the standard in various areas of life, just so we feel good about ourselves? We think lowering the standard helps people, but it actually harms them.

I am reading the book of Job and I have been lingering in the first two chapters, because this man, Job, who was not a Hebrew, but a Gentile, had such a high level of character. I can’t rush through this.

Job loses all his possessions and his children die, all ten of them and his first recorded response is, “Naked, I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Who do we know that speaks like this during times of loss? The standard of Job is high, very high.

Then if that was not enough, he gets struck with boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet and he says, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?” I am undone. This man’s character and understanding of God, trust in God is the standard.

I do not know who inspires you to come up higher, but as I read Job, I realize this man trusted God in a way, that no matter what happened, he was not changing his mind about God. No mention of Jesus, and yet we see a standard of trust that is undeniable and I am undone. Church, the bar must be raised. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Culture has a way of causing us to miss what the Word of God actually is saying. Because our culture is so much a part of who we are, we read our Bible culturally, and miss the rich imagery God is speaking to us.

I was praying Psalm 49 this morning and it says in verse 14 “The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.” Next I am reading Psalm 30 and it says, in verse 5 “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

I wanted to know what does morning mean? Morning in Hebrew means breaking forth; light breaking through darkness. In Hebrew the day starts with evening in the darkness (Genesis 1 – evening and morning) and moves toward light (morning). Night comes first and morning is the turning point where God works.

As I leaned into this, I realized how we in the West at least, have been taught that the day begins in the morning and ends in the evening. We start with light and end with darkness. No wonder we have been taught things are getting darker, the world is getting worst. It is cultural narrative, not biblical.

Genesis 1 started in the dark and then God said, Let there be light. We have been told it is getting darker, but the Bible says from Genesis to Revelation things are getting brighter. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, it does not get any brighter than that.

Christ in us is the hope of glory is Light in us. The gospel of John is all about Light, Life and Love. We even sing, the cross was the darkest day in history, but we also believe in resurrection life and light.

Friends, the night is almost over, the day is breaking. It is not getting darker, but even if it is, don’t forget the darkest hour is right before dawn. We are moving toward morning, toward breaking forth, toward light not deeper darkness. At least that is what the Bible says. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

What have you seen? What have you heard? Did you know something is established by two witnesses? When you see and hear, something is established. Why do you think the narrative war plays out on the streets, with flags, with movies, with billboards? Seeing and hearing is the establishment of a thing.

Isaiah 6 says, Isaiah was commissioned to go and preach to a people who had eyes but could not see, ears but could not hear, because if they had eyes that could see and ears that could hear they would return to the Lord and be healed.

Jesus said in Luke 4, I have come to bind up the broken hearted, set the captive free and give sight to the blind. John 9 speaks of two blind men sitting on the side of the road and they heard Jesus walking by so they shouted Son of David, have mercy on us. They were brought to Jesus and Jesus said, what do you want me to do for you? They said, we want to see. They heard now they wanted to see.

What have you seen? What have you heard? This is what is established in you. But did you know you never stop hearing and you never stop seeing, so more than your current reality is established in you, but you have to choose a new established narrative in you.

Job 42 says, I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You, therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Psalm 48 says, As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish it forever.

We have seen miracles, we have heard testimonies, we have watched baptisms, we have heard sermons. The Truth who is Jesus Christ is in you, it is established reality. Stop ruminating on negative established narratives in you, change the channel, there is good news inside of you. For we all have seen and heard that the Lord is good!!!! Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I woke up around 4am this morning to the thought that sounds like words are eternal. I was taught years ago that words are eternal, we speak them and they go out and keep going out over and over again. But I had for some reason not thought about sound in the same way.

Hebrews 4:12 says, the word of God is living and active…words are alive, they never die. They become atmospheric over families, friendships, cities, churches, states, companies, nations. Some words have more authority than others, but all words are eternal.

Now sound, is the same. We read in the Bible about the sound of God’s voice as the sound of many rushing waters. We read in Psalm 29 how the voice of the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon and makes the deer to give birth. The power of the sound of God’s voice, not the words, the sound.

Sound is powerful, more powerful than I ever realized. The sound of a silver trumpet calling people to battle; the sound of a newborn baby crying waking up their parents; the sound of thunder clapping in the sky above our heads; or the sound of the shofar that reverberates through the atmosphere.

I got a phone call yesterday from a woman who lives in Upland, CA and was at the conference I blew the shofar at in Charlotte, NC the end of June. She called to tell me she recorded the sound as I blew it and went to her town square and played it, so the atmosphere of Upland would change.

We talked and I asked her about a certain statue in that city and she said, oh yes, that is within walking distance of my house. I shouted and smiled, for the Lord had me do a prophetic act on Google Earth at that very statue in 2018 and she lives there.

You can’t make this stuff up friends. The sound of the shofar, just like words, are eternal and goes further than we can physically go. Release a sound of salvation for the nation, for your family, for your city, for your company, for your church, for your friends. Release a sound, it will shift atmospheres, bring breakthrough and heal brokenness. For sound like words are powerful. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

The answer to the question of fear is found in Psalm 27, but what looks like, I know what that means, is deeper than what we think we know. Psalm 27 says, The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Believers, as we read this verse we say yes, God is Light to me, I am saved, so Jesus is my salvation and I am strong in the God’s strength. Or some form of that, at least this is how I have always read it. Can you relate, even with some variation?

Well today, the Lord had me hover over the words Light, Salvation and Strength, for those words describe who God is. Out of knowing who God is we can say with the psalmist, whom shall I fear? And of whom shall I be afraid? I think we all would like to live in a reality without fear, so I did some digging.

Light in Hebrew, is presence of God; it is the condition by which we perceive reality rightly. Genesis 1 says, God said, let there be Light, this was before sunlight, moonlight, stars as light. Let there be light was about presence that brings clarity, right perception.

Salvation in Hebrew means to be brought into a wide-open safe space out of a narrow, constricted, threatening one. It includes rescue, deliverance, victory in battle and vindication in a legal dispute.

Strength/Stronghold in Hebrew means fortress, place of refuge, it is architectural and spatial and addresses the fear of exposure or instability, dread or terror.

This means we do not have to be afraid because we know God is our Light (clarity); Salvation (vindication/victory); and Strength (fortress/refuge). God is giving us clarity internally, victory externally and is a refuge eternally.

No wonder the psalmist said, the Lord is my Light and Salvation, who shall I fear? The Lord is the Strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Friends, when we know who God is, we are safe, secure and strong because of who He is. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

A remnant is a small portion of something larger. The remnant is not special, it is just set apart for a specific reason. A remnant in the body of Christ was cut from the Church as a whole, to become a prototype of what the body of Christ was going to become and enter into.

The remnant is not more special, more anointed, more anything, they just said yes to an invitation of which they did not know would take them through some very lonely, quiet, dark places for the sake of becoming a picture of what the whole body would become.

The apostle Paul was a remnant prototype, who went through some challenges so he could be a picture of what the early Church would be. The same has happened in our generation. The Lord took a remnant into hiding to mold them into a prototype of what the Church is going to look like.

I see a remnant in older, mature people and I see it in the younger and young adults. Some said yes, some were born into the yes. Both are prototypes of the same image God is presenting to His Church in this hour.

A prototype is created, for a picture we can look at because everything is changing. Babylon is falling and falling fast, and with its fall will mean a whole new way of living from striving and surviving, laboring and sweating to resting and rejoicing. This is harder to do than most realize.

Isaiah 14 says it best. “When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers, that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution. The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.”

The prototype remnant will teach us how to live in rest and quiet. This is an inside job, of which most do not realize how wound up they really are. But the prototype has been through the unwinding, the training in resting and quietness of soul. So as the Church comes out of Babylon as a corporate whole there are people ready to walk with you as you learn to rest, be quiet and learn to sing again. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

When you walk into a room, whether church, work, school or any other room, do you enter prepared to add value or are you going to get something? Worship teams come to add value with the songs they prepared before your arrival. Preachers come to add value through the sermon they prepared. Managers come with to do lists and meetings on the calendar. What do you enter a room to do?

I was in church yesterday morning and during worship the spirit of intercession came upon me and I began to war in the spirit for what God wanted to do in the room. This does not happen ever week, but it did happen this week. Warfare prayer is what God wanted yesterday morning as the atmosphere was sluggish.

While bent over at the waist in warfare prayer, the Lord said to me, “There are rivers of living water inside of their bellies, but there are dams blocking the rivers inside of them.” As I saw the dams blocking peoples rivers from flowing out in worship, I began to decree break through the dam.

As I continued to pray, I saw the dam as double doors, not one single cement wall. I looked at those double doors in people’s bellies and I decreed be opened. One of our pastors spoke a word of exhortation, then the worship leader called people into the breakthrough.

We continued to sing, I continued to pray, and it was warfare for the release of the rivers inside of God’s people to go forth. I found myself in the spirit driving arrows in the ground spiritually so whatever enemy was holding the doors shut, would capitulate.

2 Kings 13 says, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” This was Elisha’s instructions on how to defeat the enemy. As we worshipped we began to clap in a war clap and it was like we were striking the ground, breaking down dams and opening doors.

What a morning it was, and what a day it can be if we walk into rooms wanting to add value, so others can have a breakthrough. I hope you use your authority for others, for they have rivers of living water inside of them. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

THEOLOGY for some this is a big word and is reserved for intellectual Bible scholars; religious leaders; and seminary professors. But the word theology means the study of God. Everyone should want to study theology, everyone should want to study, get to know, spend time with God.

The challenge is, most of us have not met people who are in positions in religious situations who have studied God, we have encountered people who have studied the horns, the bowls, the thunders, the Anti-Christ, the beast, Jezebel, Ahab, the seven seals, the seven spirits, the gifts, the you name it.

We are divided on what we think these various and so many more issues that are discussed in the Bible mean. The reason we are divided is because we have not studied God, we have studied prophetic language.

Unity will come to the body of Christ when we get back to theology, the study of God. When we study God, we learn His nature, His character, His thoughts, His ways, His heart. God does not change, He is not schizophrenic, He is not double-minded. He is God, He is truth and He is amazing when you get to know Him.

The study of God is what we need in our churches and our lives. If we don’t know God we will not understand the words of God written by the people and prophets of God. We must start with God, not bowls, seals, thunders, beasts, dragons, or Nephilim. We must start with who is God.

Once we know the nature and character of God it changes everything about the way we read the word of God. Remember God is the same yesterday, today and forever. There is not an Old Covenant and New Covenant God. There is one God.

My prayer for the body of Christ is that we would get our theology right. I pray we would study God; we would want to know God in Jesus Christ, for He said, if you have seen Me you have seen the Father. Unity and healing will come to the church when we study the nature and character of God who is love. This shift will heal people in ways doctrines never will. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I received a phone call yesterday that led to a conversation about a spirit of torment that has pestered this person for six years. The spirit of torment causes anxiety, fear, and even depression. The battle is real for her and now that we know what it is we can deal with it appropriately. 

I was walking this morning and praying for my friend and asking the Lord how to deal with this and I heard, “The Holy Spirit is a superior spirit to this tormentor which is an inferior spirit.” Immediately confidence came and I began to evict, eradicate and command this spirit of torment to capitulate. 

With this in my thoughts all morning, I sit down to read my Bible and the Holy Spirit starts speaking to me about the war in Iran. I was led to look up the ancient city we are dealing with. The ancient city of Iran ties to the ancient spirit and it is headquartered in Persepolis. 

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). The exact function of Persepolis remains unclear. It was not one of the largest cities in ancient Iran, let alone the rest of the empire, but appears to have been a grand ceremonial complex that was only occupied seasonally. (Wikipedia) 

This principality in Iran is not surrendering, and the Lord said, “Dispatch Michael and Gabriel, for they have dealt with this spirit before.” Daniel 10:13 “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” 

When we know the Holy Spirit is a superior spirit to every other spirit which makes them inferior, there is no fear of speaking to those angelic hosts that can help in a spirit that does not want to capitulate. Gabriel and Michael are archangels of God, who is the commander of angel armies. 

This war with Iran must end, for the Iranian people and the world. There is no spirit, no principality, no ancient enemy that can withstand the Holy Spirit, so we decree capitulate, evacuate for there is a superior spirit in the earth, called the Holy Spirit. The tormentor must go now in Jesus name, whether personal or international. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I have been pondering the idea of how much teaching is out there in the airwaves. Podcasts, videos, pulpits, conferences, books. It is actually quite overwhelming how much information we have access to. People can literally find whatever they are looking for in the realm of information.

In an Information Age, we are in an information war, not just in the world, but in the church. Because of this the question becomes, do we need another orator? Do we need another church? Do we need another group singing with us? And what will distinguish the genuine, the authentic from the counterfeit?

As we have information in abundance, the Jews had rabbi’s in abundance. Rabbi’s would walk the streets, the countryside with their disciples and they would train them in their teachings. This looked different than we have but it was the same concept.

Therefore in Acts 4:13-14 when it says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”

Peter and John were talmid (disciples) of Rabbi Jesus. “In rabbinic culture, a disciple’s whole aim was to become saturated with his rav — to speak his rulings, carry his cadence, embody his authority, so much so that the sages said a good talmid should be “covered in the dust of his rabbi.” When you heard a disciple teach, you could often tell whose school he came from — his content and manner betrayed his master.”

What is going to distinguish the disciples of Christ in a world of a lot of information? The answer is the presence of God and the dust of Jesus on us. Information is great, but presence teaches what podcasts can’t. There are people who will be known for the presence of God and that only comes from time spent with God. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org