Lisa Great

Words are seeds and you are the soil. The words you read, the words you hear are seeding you and they will be a harvest one day. Some seeds are weeds and some seeds are wheat, but all words are seeds.

We read seed headlines everyday and then we speak what we read and seed others with our words. Now I understand we have four soils in us and not all words (seeds) fall on the soft soil that produce a harvest some fall on the path, some on the rocky ground, some on shallow places. (Matthew 13)

What if the headlines we read seeded us with truth that not just set us free, but once we were free we never went back into slavery again? What if Psalm 65 was your headline for today?

“He quiets the raging oceans and all the world’s clamor. In the farthest corners of the earth the glorious acts of God shall startle everyone. The dawn and sunset shout for joy! He waters the earth to make it fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry! He prepares the earth for his people and sends them rich harvests of grain. He waters the furrows with abundant rain. Showers soften the earth, melting the clods and causing seeds to sprout across the land. Then he crowns it all with green, lush pastures in the wilderness; hillsides blossom with joy. The pastures are filled with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. All the world shouts with joy and sings.”

If this is the headline you were seeded with, how can you not have hope? How can you not jump for joy? How can you not rejoice? This is the headline the kingdom of God has on the front page of the kingdom news. Creation is rejoicing, but we are not sure it is true. Why? Because we have been seeded by other headlines. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Does darkness get darker and light actually get brighter? Or is it possible that exposure reveals darkness and so in our minds it is getting darker? Light then in our words gets brighter as the great awakening crests or revival breaks out. But what if nothing is getting darker or lighter, what if they are being revealed not increasing?

In Mark 5, Jesus encounters a demon possessed man and it says, “Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”

This man cried out and cut himself, but when Jesus came to Him, he cried out with a loud voice. Volume does not mean an increase in darkness, it actually reveals the exposure of it for the sake of its eviction.

When it seems like the darkness is getting darker, it is not, it is actually only being exposed in order to be disposed. The increase in volume, the increase in attention, the increase in information about what the darkness has been doing is not the darkness getting darker. Darkness has been and always will be dark, it is not increasing it is just being exposed.

With some dark secrets being exposed in our reality right now, it is revealing the exposure in order for the eviction. This is nothing to fear, the enemy has not gained authority. Never forget, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not comprehend it.” (1 John 1:5).

Just like the demon possessed man in Mark 5, when Jesus, the Light, shows up, the darkness is exposed and they know they are caught, they are afraid, that is why the demon possessed man fell down at the feet of Jesus. Darkness is bowing, light is rising. Be encouraged, we have nothing to fear. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Have you ever had a song come on the radio, been at a concert, or stood in church singing along to a song with gusto, passion, volume and then there comes a moment when you forget one line of the song? I have done this so many times. Do we go silent; do we make up words; what do we do?

I have two friends who are words/lyrics geniuses. They know every word to so many songs. These two women I cannot sing any song next to, because if I get one line wrong, one word off, they will know it. So, when I am singing with all my heart in the car on a road trip or in church to a worship song, these two are my accountability partners. (Thank you Misty and Brenda)

I was reading Revelation 5 this morning and it says, “They were singing him a new song with these words: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it; for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God. And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth.’”

We as believers know this song. We know Jesus is the One True God who was slain for the sins of the world; we believe we have been bought with a price; we realize we have been gathered into a kingdom; we understand we are priests unto our God; all these things we are told week after week in church, we know the lyrics to this song.

Yet there is one line we do not sing, we tend to leave off in the song, “They shall reign upon the earth.” Have you ever wondered why this line in the song is not sung in churches, taught in pulpits, or equipped to be in conferences? It is because we have changed the lyrics to the song.

We sing we will be raptured out of here, the earth is getting more wicked, hibernate, hide, hang on until Jesus comes again. But those are not the lyrics to the song. John is our accountability partner to get the lyrics right. “They shall reign upon the earth.” Those are the right lyrics to the song we are all singing and God is saying, it is time to get the lyrics right, for the new song of the Lamb is not escape from earth but reign on earth. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

All over the world people attend church. One common thing I have noticed in churches all over the world is that people do not have a problem coming in late, missing worship, getting up to go to the bathroom, leaving early, talking to neighbors, or playing games on their phones.

One of the gifts I have is observation and those observations reveal patterns. It is not an American pattern, it is an around the world pattern I have observed. It happens every Sunday and I have always wondered how the protocol for a movie is a higher standard for people than the protocol in church?

I sit through movies in the theatre with people, all over the world and the protocol is the same. People come in, for the most part before the actually movie starts. There is a rare occasion someone enters while the movie is playing. Phones are off, no one moves, no one talks and we are all focused on the movie, little to no distractions.

Things that make me wonder what is more attention grabbing in a movie than is happening in church? Or is it revealing our values more than what is being portrayed in front of us? If we value being entertained, we will focus and not be distracted, but if we value God, worship, and HIs word, we are listening intently, absorbing continually and evaluating ourselves continuallly.

Just something to think about.

I was in worship yesterday and as we were singing the Lord spoke to me and said, “I alone am on the throne!” I then saw in the spirit a throne and God alone was on the throne. No one else was on the throne with Him. He sat alone on the throne. My eyes were fixated on Him on the throne, all alone. No competition, no comparison, no equal, no rival, nothing but Him alone.

When we value Him, we will see Him; when we see Him, we will value Him more and more. Once you see Him, there is nothing that will entertain you, distract you, or catch your attention again, because He is so beautiful everything else is a cheap imitation. He alone is on the throne. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

What material are you made of? At the core of who you were created to be in your mother’s womb, you are made of gold. A metal that can withstand the fire. A tested, tried and true metal. When you are born of metal that is made for fire, fire refines you and it defines you.

We as people are invited to call the gold out in others. The challenge is there is a lot of flesh covering up the gold. When flesh faces the fire the smell of burning flesh is undesirable to anyone who has ever smelled it before. Yet the burning of flesh is for the revealing of gold.

1 Peter 4 speaks of fiery trials, saying, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” Flesh is burning so gold can be revealed.

The Lord is so good to us, He is always seeking to bring the gold out of us. Everyone at the core is made of gold. Revelation 1 describes the eyes of Jesus, “were like blazing fire.” The fire in HIs eyes is calling out the gold inside of you.

The Lord is inviting HIs church to stop resisting the fire of God. We love the fire of God in revival, thinking it is for better or longer services, but the fire of God is for refining and defining who we are. He knows who we are, we don’t know who we are.

Malachi 3:2-3 says, “For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.” God is refining and defining leaders right now, but it is not going to stop there, it is only starting there.

We all are kings and priests, and to whom much is given, much is required. We can’t call ourselves Christians and not be refined. The fire of God has been lit, the leaders are being refined and defined, but this fire always has been and always will be Hebrews 12:28, “our God is an all consuming fire.” We are made for the fire, so submitting to it is a blessing, He is calling the gold out of you. Stop resisting the fire. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

The turbulence we are feeling is evidence of the transition we are in. The transition is the short period of time between the last season and the next season that is upon us as the church. We have had a long runway during this transition, but it has really taken off now, so things will be bumpy for a moment, but we are headed into our next season as the body of Christ.

Many things can be said about the next season for the body of Christ, and no one person will be able to explain all God is going to unveil in this next season. However, I will say this, it is going to be a glorious season, one like we did not experience in the previous season, which lasted more years than any of us realize.

One of the main themes I am seeing for the next season will be moving from earning to inheritance. Inheritance is a biblical word which has been hiding in plain sight. Inheritance is going to be explored, mined, excavated in a way we need to understand as we go forward.

Psalm 2:7-8 says, “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.”

Another theme we will experience is the healing of our identity. In the last season we named our wounds which became our identity, but God is going to heal our wounds. God gives land where pain no longer defines identity (Joshua 13). Our pain will no longer be our identity so we can access our inheritance.

Healing identity will mean renaming who we are not based on pain, but on promise, which will unlock for us inheritance and identity. This next season of Psalm 126 being as though we dreamed and a time of preaching with a demonstration of power (1 Thess. 1). We are headed into a new season and we will not look back but forward. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I love the church, I love its history, I love its current reality and I love its mystery. The church is the agent of God on earth and there have been times it has been hidden, there are times it has been harvested. All seasons of this beautiful body called the church have produced fruit for us to taste and see that the Lord is good.

While sitting with my friend Kari yesterday, we talked about what the Lord is saying to us through this ice storm. She shared how as the trees bowed under the weight of the ice, so the church is in a time of bowing before the Lord of heaven and earth. We shared how we see this bowing in creation is manifesting in God’s people and it is beautiful.

I have been hearing the Lord speak about this ice storm in the realm of access. I have friends in the country region of Tennessee and in the heart of the city, both are without power, but neither is without money. No matter how much money my friends have they do not have access to power, so they are living off alternative forms of energy, due to lack of access.

I have thought about this a lot this week, how you cannot buy access no matter how much money you have. In 1 Thessalonians 1, the apostle Paul says “Our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers.”

I believe this lack of access is revealing to us as the church that we have had money, but we have not accessed power. But I see this changing and changing quickly. We may have learned to cope without access to power in the past, but the Lord is declaring, “ACCESS RECOVERED!” The Lord is recovering our access to power.

The next season of the church is going to be one of the gospel of the kingdom being preached with a demonstration of power recovered. Get ready for the two fold reality of preaching and power happening all over the body of Christ worldwide. ACCESS has been RECOVERED! Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

The other day the Lord spoke to me and said, “It’s going to get bumpy, hang on!” This is not something you want to hear, this is something that has to be weighed, is it personal, communal, national or international. So, I have sat on it for a couple days, and then this morning the phrase rose in my spirit, “I sit as a queen.” (Revelation 18:7)

Babylon is prophetic code language for any system of self-sufficiency that believes it is permanent and is oppressive in nature. This is a biblical pattern not just one city. Egypt could be called Babylon biblically, so could Nineveh, Assyria, Rome, Persia, Greece, not just one city, but rather a patter of control.

Therefore, when the Lord sends a messenger (angel) from heaven to declare in Revelation 18, “Fallen, fallen, Babylon is fallen! It is an announcement of judgment on a system of control not one certain city at one certain time in history. Which is why we declare, announce again in our day, falling, falling, Babylon is falling.

Understanding this is about a system that is being judged and not individuals helps us recognize God is on a rescue mission not a destruction rampage. Henceforth, why the Lord says, “Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.”

The question is how do we come out of her? We repent of believing the Babylonian narrative and we embrace the narrative of the kingdom of God. Babylonian control is a narrative, which is why we are pulled into every news story, divided by politics, destroyed by religion, and are emotionally exhausted, but can’t sit still when iced in.

The call of God today is the same as it was then, Come out of her my people, by repenting for the kingdom of God is at hand. Change the way you think, because falling, falling, Babylon is falling. It is going to get bumpy my friends, hang onto truth, for we have an unshakable kingdom. The counterfeit queen is coming down. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Wisdom does not come by saying a prayer, wisdom comes by remaining teachable. Proverbs says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but Proverbs also says, humility is the fear of the Lord. Which means if there is no humility there is no fear of the Lord, and with no fear of the Lord there is no starting place for wisdom.

When we do not have wisdom around us, we think what we know, what we believe, what we hear is the only narrative and we are right. People love what they believe, because it makes them feel safe. People surround themselves with others that agree with what they say, in order for them to remain safe. Anyone that questions what they believe is not safe, so they retreat in fear and then call the one who asked questions, the issue.

Truth is not afraid of being questioned. Truth does not shrink back from questions. Truth stands in every storm. Lies are like fireworks they shoot into the sky, cause everyone to look, then disappear until the next firework arises.

Wisdom is gaining ground in the earth realm and as it does, like in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, it is going to stand up and command attention. Daniel 1 says, “The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

These 4 Jewish men, spent three years learning the customs and cultures of Babylon and when they were tested on what they learned, wisdom proved itself in the court of Babylon in front of the magicians and enchanters. Wisdom, humility, the fear of the Lord, won the day then and will win the day today.

Watch for wisdom is still crying out in the streets and more and more we are hearing her voice, for she is humility not pride, so she is being exalted while others are being humbled. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Have you ever wondered why Christians are good news averse? It is like we are suspicious of anything good happening. I have wondered why this is. I have searched my own history to understand where the change happened in me, for I used to be more comfortable with doom and gloom, anger and suspicion, rather than love and light.

What I have learned is that when the Lord healed me in places I was deeply wounded, it shifted my narrative from survival to life, from fear to love. 1 John says, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” Once I embraced the love of God, it cast out all the fear that was keeping me in self-protection and survival mode.

Once perfect love is accepted, religion has no power over you, politics does not move you, other people’s opinions or decisions does not control you. Perfect love is humbling, because it heals in a way you did not know you were wounded. Wounds actually color perception more than anything else does and healing, wholeness, love, restores original design and gives us clear sight.

Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus is not just a say a prayer and be saved savior, He is a come to me and let me heal you body, soul and spirit savior. He is compassionate, gentle, and corrects us up. He never leaves us, forsakes us, denies us, or ignores us. He is for us and not against us.

As we come into the presence of God, He heals deep seated wounds that hinder our ability to see the kingdom of God that is at hand. He opens our eyes to all the good news happening. He removes the walls of self-protection and dresses us in a love that cannot be denied. Jesus commanded us to love God and love people, and we need to be loved so we can love. Love changes everything. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org