Month: October 2022

The Holy Spirit speaks to us prophetically (foretelling) about our destiny, calling, building, but the Holy Spirit speaks to us instantly when we need prophetic encouragement, exhortation, or comfort. The Holy Spirit is always prophesying to us, but not instantly when it comes to destiny. Knowing prophetically what you are hearing is critical for the marathon we are running. If you hear words about your destiny, yes, they are extremely encouraging, but they have a time element attached to them, henceforth why we hear the Holy Spirit speak prophetically (instantly) with encouragment, comfort and exhortation.

With that said, we have been hearing a lot about “suddenlies” and if you have been waiting a long time, what does “suddenly” actually mean. Isaiah 48:3 helps us with this, “I declared the former things long ago And they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.” We are suddenly going to see what we have heard about our destiny long ago. We are about to experience a suddenly!

We may wonder, why does the Holy Spirit speak prophetically about our destiny, then release a suddenly? Isaiah 48:5 answers this for us, “I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.” I know we do not worship idols, but we do think our great marketing, our gifting, our anointing, our whatever made this happen for us. God prophesies to us, so we never forget who did this for us.

Deuteronomy 8:18 “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” When you have the suddenly, don’t forget the prophesy, for everything you are about to experience and manifest was God’s idea long ago. Suddenly it is going to manifest, enjoy it, but don’t ever forget who spoke it, who did it, who is God!

What do you do when you know God has spoken clearly to you about what He is going to do through you, but He hasn’t done it yet? Do you struggle to rest in the waiting? Do you go out and make something happen? What do you do with the lag time between what God has said and its manifestation?

People have such a short term view of their life, they struggle to rest, sit still, wait, trust the Lord’s timing. Something inside of humanity needs to make something happen, especially if they feel like God has put something inside of them. The challenge with this, is once what we make happen, happens, it does not satisfy, it does not fulfill us, so we go and make something else happen. Over and over it goes, the cycle of dissatisfaction, all because we tried to do it on our own and called it God.

The earth is cluttered with people who have built their own ministry, started their own church, created their own company, all because they could not wait on God. The clutter makes it hard for anyone to move, let alone the spirit of God. Now we have so many churches in the world and so little power. We have so many songs to sing; so many cereals to choose from; there is excess of everything, but what has all the excess options done for us?

I am of the thought that God is a lot more simple, a lot less crowded, and a lot more satisfying than all of these excess options that stress us out. I am of the belief that Isaiah says in Isaiah 46-9-11 “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”

I may not know all the details, but what I do know is the God who is going to do it. What is the it, that is an open-ended question until we see it. But what I do know, is that the most satisfying thing in my life is getting to know God everyday. He truly satisfies my soul and that is what allows me to rest in the midst of all the clutter and wait for God!

When you have been trained to tithe, it is hard to be taught generosity. When your have been hurt by leaders in the church, it is hard to join the commuity of believers who go to a church. One of the goals of the enemy is to keep our life small. Remember, John 10:10 says, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. The thief loves to plunder you, to scare you, to keep you living a small life of fear, locked away in your own little world. But God is calling His people out into wide open spaces which are holy places. The physical lockdown of 2020 was a great picture of what the enemy has been doing to people for centuries, but God is opening wide the doors, swinging wide the gates, and breaking open the springs in the hearts of people.

Jesus said in the same John 10:10 passage, but I have come to give you life and give it to you abundantly. Abundantly means superabundant, superior in quality, beyond measure, superfluous, over and above. Now this is not talking about excess money so you can buy another car, another house, another anything, for if we were honest, we know those material things have no ability to create in us a spirit of prosperity. A truly prosperous person, a truly rich person is not one who has a lot of money, but one who has an abundant life. Jesus said to the rich young ruler, there is one thing you lack, go sell everything and give to the poor, then come follow me. He was not preaching poverty, Jesus was preaching abundance, following Jesus, living extravagantly, generously is the abundant life.

Proverbs 11:24-25 says it this way, “There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.” The reason its hard to be generous when you been trained to tithe is because the tithe makes you feel like you did your part, but being generous means you have a spirit of prosperity. Truly generous people never fear running out, never think they are losing something by giving above and beyond. Truly generous people know the more they give away their time, their money, their gifts, their heart in service to God and others, the more abundant, wide open, their life is and they would have it no other way.

Cycles of blessing! Just as the clock strikes twelve to begin a new day, then ends its day at 11:59:59, before striking twelve to begin another new day, so there are cycles of blessings thoughout the word of God. Isaiah 45 has one of those such cycles of blessings. “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.” Heaven pours down righteousness, the earth opens up, salvation is the fruit of an open earth that produces fruit, and from the fruit comes the springing up of righteousness to seed the clouds again, so they can pour down.

God loves to pour out on us that which will produce something in us, so we can bear fruit and spring up. We do not have a God that speaks to entertain us, He speaks because His words are seeds that produce something in us, in order for something to spring out of us. The more open we are to words God speaks to us through a variety of people and ways, the more seeded we are. This seeds bear fruit of salvation, first in you, then through you for others. When the fruit of salvation springs up, righteousness/justice begins to manifest.

We have heard a lot and seen little. This can be frustrating, I know, but God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19) and He is going to do what He has been saying He is going to do. It is a cycle of blessing, it is going to bring great joy to us, and it is going to produce in us and through us springs of righteousness and justice. Believe it or not, people like righteousness, for with it comes peace. Wickedness brings fear, anxiety, uncertainty and causes people to act out of character, but God has locked us into a cycle of blessing and righteousness, peace and joy is our portion and will manifest. Mark His words!

When we see people’s highlight moments we do not always consider they have everyday moments and low life moments as well. We can look at someone else’s life and think they are living the dream, not realizing they have attacks from the enemy as well. No matter how popular the person may be in culture, how much they travel for ministry or marketplace, or how great their marriage looks, everyone has low life moments, everyday moments and highlight moments. We as people are more alike than we realize.

The month of October is a month in the USA when the demonic is celebrated intentionally or unintentionally. People put skulls in their yard, ghosts in their trees, spiders on their doors, and jack o lanterns on their steps. Witches, devils, goblins, and other ghouls are represented in costumes. Television shows turn to vampires, horror movies and various other dark content in mass during this month. Therefore, the atmosphere becomes thick with the celebration of the demonic and whether we realize it or not, it affects our spirits.

If you feel like there is a dark cloud over you, or you are struggling in an unusual way, it is possibly because it is October. Stores and streets alike celebrate death this month but we are people of life and light, so it can feel like trudging through mud. I woke up today feeling this way and tried to pray but it was difficult. Every challenge was in my face, every ache was screaming like a small child. I put my hands in my face and said, Lord, I don’t understand and immediately the Holy Spirit said, “You need to watch the Karate Kid.” I know to some of you that doesn’t sound like the Holy Spirit, but when I read the caption about the movie, it shifted the atmosphere.

It says, “When misfit teen Daniel moves to LA, bullies target him immediately. Eager to fight back, he enlists karate master Mr. Miyagi, to teach him how. Under Miyagi’s wise tutelage, Daniel learns to be a champion.” My friends, we are under the wise tutelage of the Holy Spirit, He is training us to be champions, we are being trained even now for things we cannot see and we will win because of our training. Don’t quit when the enemy presses in, put a time limit on your emotions and lets go, God is about to put us in the position He has trained us for.

The Camels Are Coming And They Are Loaded With Resources

Maybe you have heard the phrase the camels are coming. It evokes an image of the Queen of Sheba coming to Solomon with camels that are loaded with gifts for the King of Israel (1 Kings 10:1-13). When people say the camels are coming, it is usually tied to supply, resources, wealth or other benefits coming your way. The Bible is filled with verses talking about camels, but it does not just relate them to wealth, they have other correlations as well.

Camels were carriers of supply, they carried people, riches, or whatever needed to be carried. Camels also were military animals. They are known as the camel calvary, which worked best in desert warfare. It is said that that smell of the camel alarmed and disorientated horses making them an effective weapon in war. King Cyrus (Isaiah 45) and King Xerxes (Esther 1 and 2) both used camels in military battles. Judges 6:5 speak of the Midianites using camels as part of their military. Camels also carried gifts, the wise men who brought Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh, brought it on camels.

A little more information on camels is that they are highly adaptable animals. Encyclopedia Brittanica says, “they are known for their ability to go long periods of time without drinking water. This is why they are called the “ships of the desert”. Camels have been exploited for milk, meat, wool or their hides, they are truly a resource animal in every way. Camels are the reason many traditional lifestyles in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia have developed. Camels create commerce.”

Why all this talk about camels, because it is the year 5783 and the Lord said, “The Camels Are Coming and They Are Loaded With Resources”. But who are the camels? They are those who made it through the wilderness. They are coming to resource the body of Christ; they are coming as givers of good gifts; they are coming to lift burdens off of people; they are coming to distribute wealth to people; they are coming to release wisdom and revelation about commerce and Calvary to the body of Christ. The camels company of ministers are not coming to take something from you, they are coming to give something to you.

Isaiah 60:6 says, “A multitude of camels will cover you…they will bring gold and frankincense and will bear the good news of the praises of the Lord.” They are coming with good news. Isaiah 21:6-7, 9 says, “For thus says the Lord to me, Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, let him pay close attention, very close attention. Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs. And one said, fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.” The train of camels is coming with really good news that will change everything.

Hebrew year 5783 is here, it is the decade of 80 = pey = to speak and 3 = gimel/camel. 83 is the year of good news coming and you can see it because the camels are coming and they are loaded with resources. Listen to the voice of the camels, for there is a train of them coming with good news and great resources. They are coming from the desert to bring you revelation of Jesus the Christ, who is the Good News and abundance!

What if you are not restless but you are in a wrestle? Many Christians who have been waiting on God are not restless, for if they were, they would be making their own way prosperous, building their own ministry, but what I am finding is people who are wrestling, not restless. To the naked eye, restless and wrestling may look the same, but I would propose to you, they are very different. Restless people can’t sit still, they are constantly needing activity, they must be doing something, so they do not look like they are not busy. People who are wrestling, stay where God has them, do what is put in front of them, but there is an ache in their heart, a desire placed in them by God, a door they are waiting to open and they are wrestling with God in ways most people can’t see.

What are they wrestling with? They are not wrestling with what they are created to do; they are not wrestling with how they will do it when given the opportunity; they are not wrestling with where it will arise from; and they are not wrestling with who God will use to bring it about. They are wrestling with when. When will it happen. They are wrestling with the wait, which is a wrestle with the when. Those who are waiting in jobs, waiting as women, waiting as older or younger, they are all wrestling with when. You know you are waiting on God with an ache in your heart if you are wrestling with when. When will the door open, when will God do what He said He was going to do, when will it be your turn, when will we see justice. When, when, when. This is the wrestle.

The Lord has a word for those wrestling with when from Isaiah 35:3-4 “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” When God steps in, when God shows up, everything will change. Right after the when, is the then. Listen to Isaiah 35:5-6 “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.” As soon as the wrestle with when ends, we will be part of the then. Amen!