Month: February 2022

We have been told that persecution, battles, fights, struggles, they are all things that grow us and grow the church. We read about how persecution caused the early church to grow, so we create a theology of persecution, struggle, challenges and battles. It is as though everything is about a war we are in or headed into. Sometimes I wonder if we are afraid of peace. I wonder if we resist peace thinking it only produces laziness, rebellion, idolatry and other evils we are seeking to avoid. It is as though we live in a constant war or are creating challenges, because we think this is the only way we grow, increase and prosper.

I was reading Acts 9:31 when the above fore mentioned thoughts arose inside of me as points to ponder. Luke says, “The church enjoyed a period of peace and growth throughout the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. The disciples lived in deep reverence for the Lord, they experienced the strong comfort of the Holy Spirit, and their numbers increased.” (Acts 9:31) This is describing the early church right after Saul got rocked in Damascus. It was in peace that they prospered. Peace does not have to become a time when we become complacent; peace does not have to become something we fear; peace is actually one of the markers of the kingdom of God. Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

May I propose to you that we are entering into a long season of peace after a very long season of war and some people are going to try and create chaos, start wars with others, all because they don’t know what to do in times of peace. My friends, prepare not for war, but for peace. It takes a different type of preparation, but righteousness is exalting the nations, so peace will be the fruit of that and we will experience joy and it is going to cause people to come into the kingdom at an exponential rate.

The nature of God is not altered by the choices of humanity. The covenant of God is not broken or destroyed because of the disobedience of people. Our God is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). When God makes a covenant with His people, it is not dependent on the people’s actions that keeps the covenant in tact, it is based on the powerful words of God that made the covenant. God made a covenant with us in His Son Jesus the Christ. That covenant will never be broken, no matter what we do. We can walk away from the covenant, we can come back into the covenant; we can enjoy the benefits of the covenant or we can think we know better and do our own thing. It does not change the covenant, for God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19).

God made a covenant with Israel through their father Abraham in Genesis 18; God made a covenant with Noah in Genesis 9; God made a covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7; all three of these covenants are evident right now today and trust me humanity has done some wicked things between when they were spoken and now, but the covenant remains. Everytime you see a rainbow you are seeing the covenant God made with Noah. Everytime you pray in Jesus name, you are hearing the covenant God made with David. Everytime you hear of Israel on the news, you are hearing and seeing God’s covenant with Abraham. My friends covenants are not conditional, they are covenants.

God knows how wicked people can be, He understands the power of sin and all its tenticles, but He still made a covenant with us through Jesus Christ. You may walk away from the covenant but God never will that is why you can always come back. Listen to the Psalm 106 “Many times He would deliver them; They, however, were rebellious in their counsel, And so sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless He looked upon their distress When He heard their cry; And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion In the presence of all their captors.” The nature of God does not change because of the choices of people. The gospel of the kingdom preaches the nature of God, for that is the revelation of Jesus Christ, a covenant keeper!

The war we are in is global and it has been and continues to be spiritual. There are times in history when this spiritual war that is usually played out behind the scenes has the veil so thin we can see it manifesting spiritually in real life. For those who are discerning they see things clearer than those who are just casual observers. Johnny Enlow sees things in sporting events like no one I have ever heard before. Robin Bullock does behind the scenes prophetic prayers ands acts we only hear about after the fact. Kim Clement used to see high level warfare in governments around the world and speak about them from his keyboard in the place he called “The Den”. Chuck Pierce writes books about what he sees as God usually gives him long term prophetic words like his book the Passover Prophecies or The Future War of the Church. Dutch and Tim Sheets seem to be uneventful when they speak from behind their desk or pulpit, but the power of their words is undeniable as they release marching orders for the body of Christ. Emma Stark operates in a prophetic manner that equips the body of Christ in spiritual warfare and deliverance. While Stacy Campbell literally has things happen to her personally as prophetic signs of what God is doing. No two prophetic voices are exactly alike, but they all are hearing the voice of God and are speaking what they are hearing God say to us in this generation.

God speaks to us all and whether we have a name others know when it is spoken like a James Goll or Patricia King; or it’s just a you and a me, God is speaking, our audience may be smaller, but that does not minimize the impact of His voice on the atmosphere and on those who can hear us. This is why it is important to share what we hear God speaking, no matter how many people may like, share or subscribe to it. Now with all that said, I want to share something with you the Lord spoke to me before the Super Bowl and now just reminded me of moments ago. I only shared this with one person, because I said it as a what if, not a thus says the Lord. Now, today the Lord said to me, “I told you the Bengals losing would be a sign that Communist China is losing, because this is the year of the Tiger.”

For you that don’t know, the Chinese New Year happened on February 1, 2022 and every year they have an animal associated with that year. It is called the Chinese Zodiac. This year, 2022 is the year of the Water Tiger. Because I lived in Malaysia and have many friends who are Chinese and I learned about Chinese New Year (CNY), the Lord prompted me to look up what animal this year represented. When I saw it was the tiger, I said to someone, I sense the Super Bowl between the Rams and the Bengals will be significant. The Chiefs aren’t playing, so I have not vested interest in who wins and Johnny Enlow is so good at hearing the prophetic voice of God in these games, I was not going to jump in that lane. But the Year of the Tiger for China caught my attention since the Bengals is a tiger. Now that the Bengals lost, the Lord is whispering it is a prophetic sign to us that the CCP has lost.

Now that the Lord has spoken, we keep our eyes open and ears open for evidence of what the Lord is saying, but this is significant and probably bigger than we realize right now today. Remember, God speaks in a variety of ways and today He spoke through a tiger. I don’t tell Him what to say or how to say it, I just listen for His voice so I can share with you what I am hearing Him say.

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I see an Acts 4 reality coming toward us at break neck speed. You may say what is an Acts 4 reality? In Acts 4 Peter, John and the man who was parallyzed from birth are arrested for teaching that Jesus is resurrected. The Jewish leaders question these men by saying, “who gave you the authority to create that spectacle in the temple yesterday?” Peter goes on to explain it was the name of Jesus that healed the man, you know the same Jesus you killed. This is the context of what I see coming. Boldness, signs, wonders and miracles were happening. There was a lot of activity confirming truth being spoken. That is Acts 4.

Here is what I see coming or should I say I hear coming…

I hear a roar of voices of ordinary men and women with extraordinary confidence proclaiming with boldness the truth of Jesus Christ and His resurrection power. It has started with a small number of people with microphones in buildings all over the world, but I hear it growing exponentially, organically. I hear leaders saying, “What do we do with these people? We can’t deny their story. The best we can do is try to keep it from spreading. So lets warn them to stop speaking to anybody in this Name.” You and I both know they tried this in our generation and have failed, so here it comes, like the sound of a freight train barreling down the tracks.

The banner under which these people are gaining volume is “We cannot possibly restrain ourselves from speaking about what we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears.” Can you hear the sound? It may sound faint in the distance, but it is headed this way at an exponential rate. The sound will increase in volume as more voices are scooped up in the roar of the kingdom of God on earth. The sound is going to increase and keep on increasing. There will no longer be silence, my friends, it’s about to get loud!

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love. The Bible says that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. It also says for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish, but will have everlasting life. One final component we need to add is that the Bible says the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Whether you are celebrating this holiday alone or with other people or another person, it is not a day to be depressed, discouraged or sad about what you don’t have; it is a day to celebrate what we do have. No matter your status, married, single, divorced, or widowed we all have access to the word of God and to communion. If you needed a love letter, open your Bible to the book of John and read. If you needed a Valentines meal grab communion and partake with the lover of your soul. This is a great day to remember Who our one true love is!

Rejoice my friends this holiday reminds us that we are loved and that we are able to love and there is no greater perfect match than communion and the word of God with the King of all kings. No wonder David said who are we that you are mindful of us? My friends we are loved by the creator of everything. Happy Valentine’s Day!

What if this is a reward year? What if this is the year where God rewards those who diligently seek Him for Hebrews 13:6 says that He is a rewarder? What if this is a year in which Psalm 103, forget not all His benefits means His rewards, or that which He has given to us? What if this is a reward year and we didn’t know it?

I am praying for some friends this morning for healing, as well as Beni Johnson, who Bethel has asked the body of Christ to pray for as she is in some challenging situations physically. I am praying for healing and today I am praying Psalm 103, so everything is lining up, and I get to verse 2 of Psalm 103 and it says, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.” We know the verse, I know the verse, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to look at what the word benefits means.

I click on the word benefits and in Hebrew it is Gamul and it means recompense, reward, that which He deserves, that which He hath given, but then it says this, “a priest, the leader of the 22nd course in the service of the sanctuary.” I am stupified, for I have never looked up this word, always assuming I knew what it meant and then today the Holy Spirit prompts me to look into it and it is a 22 word. I sense this year, 2022 is a year of reward for those who have diligently sought the Lord.

The Levites were those who ministered to God in the temple or the sanctuary, they were dedicated to this calling, and the fact that benefits and the 22nd course of the service in the sanctuary are a definition of His benefits, makes me ask the question, what if this is a reward year? Recompense year? Bill Johnson said, this is the year we recover all.

Words are powerful, but when we understand words we are speaking or words we are hearing, they are even more powerful. Understanding brings depth to the power of words. I was speaking to a friend in the UK the other day and we got on the subject of blessings and curses. She is originally from Rwanda, and her understanding of these words and their operations is significant. Witch doctors are real in Africa, charms are not a small matter and the desire to be blessed is real for them. I love learning from other cultures and merging it with the reality of the kingdom culture and God’s word.

Our conversation went to the subject of blessings and curses and I said to her, blessings are like God is using everything to work for you, it is the rhythm of His roar, the cadence of His call, we are in stride with what He is doing and everything is working for us. While a curse is things are working against you. It feels like you are facing resistance at every turn, what should be clear is confusing, what should be simple is complicated. She shouted, yes, that is it. Once we recognize where God is blessing and get in it, we find things flowing freely, and when we recognize continual resistance we look for the curse and we deal with it accordingly.

Deuteronomy 28 is a great chapter about blessings and cursing and how they are tied to our obedience to the word and voice of God. But we are not individuals, we are a community of people and we are families. Therefore, someone else’s obedience can be blessing us and someone else’s disobedience can be working against us. Words are powerful and blessings and curses are real. One is working for you and one is working against you. I hope this understanding gives you insight that sets you free. Be blessed my friends and speak blessings over people, it propels them into the flow of God working for them.

When I lived in Seattle, WA many years ago, I was a youth pastor at a Lutheran Church in that area. We had a saying in our youth ministry as a point of accountability. When we heard people speaking things that were not nice or not true, we would say, “What time is it?” And everyone would reply, “It’s 4:29!” 429 time is a reference to Ephesians 4:29 that says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” It was a great way to curb the negative voices in our youth ministry.

Now that I am much older, the Lord has matured the word edification in my life, for the people I am around do not need me to ask them what time is it. However, the word edification has not lost its power in my life, it has actually gained power, for the source of destructive voices then is the same source of those voices now, SATAN. I have been hearing of many attacks our enemy has launched against people. The voices of the enemy may come in a low hum or a loud roar, but it does the same damage, it eats away at us and like trying to swat a swarm of flies, it is exhausting trying to swat away the attack of the enemy.

This morning in prayer the Lord spoke to me and said, put a dome over this home. I immediately saw a dome being placed over our home, it was an oikodome, which is a Greek word for edification as found in Ephesians 4:29. The dome over our home is likened to a hyperbaric chamber, so the air we breath in here is the breath of God; it shields us from the atmospheric attacks of the enemy; it pumps in medicine from heaven for healing; and gives much needed rest to those in the oikodome, the house of edification. I put this dome over our house this morning in prayer and thought you might want to do the same over your house. The attacks of the enemy are relentless, the oikodome, over our house and your house will protect us from them. Yes, we are living in a bubble and it is so peaceful! Don’t jealous us, join us.

Right before I woke up this morning, I saw a number 2. The first thing I said in my sleep was “double”? The Holy Spirit replied, no not double, “squared’. I looked at the 2 again and realized it was a raised 2, so yes it was meant to represent squared not double. The verse that came with this image of the 2 was, Daniel 11:32 “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”

Now I am awake and pondering this 2 the Lord showed me and the Lord starts exhorting me saying, “You have heard it said, double, but I say unto you squared.” My friends, what we thought was going to be double for our trouble, double return, double, double, double is not what God is about to do. In this year of the 2, Hebrew year 5782, Gregorian year 2022, this month February is known for the 2, we are not getting double, we are about see God square things.

Squared is a mathematical term and is stated as such, “The “square” of a number is the product of the number and itself. Multiplying a number by itself is called “squaring” the number. Squaring a number is a more specific instance of the general exponentiation operation, exponentiation when the exponent is 2. …Modeled phenomena often takes the mathematical form of a square function, particularly equations involving velocity and acceleration” (Science Trends dot com). God is about to do exponentially more and it will involve velocity and acceleration. That sounds like Ephesians 3:20-21 ‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

My friends, God is about to square us! I finish writing this and the Lord says “Look up the number you saw squared in your sleep.” The number I saw was 31 squared. 31 squared is 961, 961 in Hebrew is booty or spoil, I am telling you we are about to be squared!

The Lord has a history of victory that is worthy of loud praise. May we be a people that remember and rehearse the victories of our God. May His history of victory be our meditation and our continued celebration. When we meditate on the history of God’s victories in our lives, in the lives of our friends, in our nation, and especially in the nation of Israel as stated in the word of God, it builds a defense against the enemy. The Lord has a history of victory that brings life, salvation, deliverance, healing, peace, just to name a few. When we meditate on this history, we are not as easily moved by the history of death and destruction the enemy has flaunted.

Psalm 98:1-2 reminds us of God’s history of victory, “His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.” The history of God’s victories were known by the nations, long before the World Wide Web. God has a way of announcing what He has done God’s history of victory makes the enemy nations tremble. Remember how the people of Jericho heard the history of God’s victory with Israel and Rahab told the spies, the whole city was living in fear of them. Or with Gideon, the dream the enemy had was of God’s right arm of salvation with Gideon and how the Lord was coming to defeat them, it says in Judges 7 the enemy trembled.

The history of God’s victory puts fear in the enemy, meditate on God’s history of victory, recite it, celebrate it, for it is a shield about you when the enemy comes with his history of death, debt, defeat and destruction. The enemy does not stand a chance, for the history of God’s victory is our current reality. Our God still heals, saves, delivers and He is going to put His history into our reality and the nations will know that Yahweh is God.