Author: lisagreatenebeli

It is a warm Saturday morning here in Middle Tennessee. After a whole day of rain yesterday, the breaking up of the clouds, the slight sight of blue skies and the sound of birds singing is a welcome sight this morning. I was coming through the gate back into the community I walk through and the branches on the tree are low, the rain drops still on them, so I bend my head down to get under them without too much water descending on me. As I am about to walk through the branches with my head bowed, the Lord says, “Head down, lead with the crown.” It was so clear, I could not deny what I heard. My first response was to repeat what I just heard, for it came with presence of God. “Head down, lead with the crown.”

Finishing up my walk I am thinking of this phrase the Lord has just spoken to me and it triggers a memory from 2018 when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Head down, keep going.” I knew that word in 2018 was a call to perseverance, but this word, five years later is coming with a different message. As I though literally about the words, “Head down, lead with the crown” brought the realization that when I went through the wet branches with the crown of my head, my face was covered, so I would not get hit by the low hanging branches. As I continued to meditate on the final steps of my walk, I knew I needed to look into this more when I got in the house.

My first stop was Hebrew word lessons, to know what crown means, “There are two distinct Biblical Hebrew words for crown: atarah (part of a royal ensemble, coming from the root meaning circular and surrounding) and nezer (part of a priestly ensemble, associated with nazarite concept of separation and dedication).” Priest and king, of course it does, two crowns, one King, Jesus of the order of Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God. Therefore the crown Has to do with authority. Now back to what God said, “Head down, lead with the crown.” I believe the Lord is telling us, humility is the way to lead with authority. In the kingdom those who lead with humility are those who have kingdom authority. My friends, there is so much in this phrase God spoke moments ago, but for now, let us be those who walk in humility so we can demonstrate authority.

Quick question for you to ponder today. When God brought the nations of Israel out of Egypt, what was the one requirement to come out? Yes there was only one requirement to make it out of Egypt, and that requirement was to have blood on the doorpost of your house. When the angel of death saw the blood, the angel passed over that house and did not kill the firstborn inside that house. Therefore, the demarcation for the nation of Israel was the blood on the doorpost. Do you believe the blood of Jesus is over the doorpost of this nation? Your nation? I can’t speak for any other nation but my own, and I know the blood is over my nation because when this nation was born, the founders made a covenant with God.

Why is this important, because American culture thinks so individualistically that we preach to individuals rather than to nations. Jesus said in Matthew 28, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel (of the kingdom) to all nations.” Israel came out of Egypt as a nation. Listen to Exodus 12:47, 51 “The whole community of Israel must celebrate this Passover festival. … On that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.” God looks at nations when He is planning a deliverance. Yes we need to repent individually, yes we need to confess individually, I get that, but we are not in an individual deliverance situation right now, we are in a national one, an international one. God is delivering nations again.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it really is, because some don’t believe cities can be saved, states can be saved, let alone a nation be saved unless we have some kind of a Ninevah experience, but what I sense is happening is God looked for the blood and when He saw it He passed over and now we are in the timeframe of a national deliverance. I see nations being delivered from their oppressors. I see nations being saved from their puppet masters. I see righteousness exalting nations!

Assumptions are thinking you know the answer to a question you did not ask. The accuser of the brethren puts thoughts in our minds and convinces us with a narrative that is most likely false, but the accuser has convinced us is true. The devil does this with what he tells us about God and what he tells us about other people. The way to know the truth is not to make assumptions, but to ask questions. Questions are a powerful weapon against the accuser of the brethren, because the person you ask the question to, whether God or someone else, will be able to answer the question, which will either confirm or deny your assumption. Once it is confirmed or denied now it is the truth and you can be confident in what you know.

Learning the art of asking questions is critical to all our relationships. Yes 75% of communication is non-verbal, so body language says a lot, but the 25% of communication that is verbal is very powerful. I have found the Holy Spirit loves to answer questions. When I am reading my Bible and I am not sure what it means, I ask the Holy Spirit and He answers me in another place in the word of God. When it comes to my son, who is 15 years old, I ask questions and it opens up powerful conversations about what is in in heart. When I ask my husband questions it gives me great clarity into what he is thinking and when I ask my friends questions, it brings order to any chaos the enemy is seeking to create.

When we ask questions rather than make assumptions, we actually seal the breach in the wall of protection in our family, community, city and even nation. We don’t know as much as we think we know, so asking questions is an act of humility and it honors the one you are asking, and silences or confirms the thoughts you are having. May we give each other the gift of asking questions rather than living with assumptions. I think we will find out things we did not know and we will learn the the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:32), from the enemies attacks and our assumptions.

How many of us are more like the Jews in the Bible than we realize? The New Testament Jews were looking for the Messiah, they wanted Him to come, just like we do in our day and age. I hear more and more people speak about the return of Christ, the rapture of the Church, the desire to go and be with the Lord. It is different language but it is the same hope. Both Jews of old and Christians of now, seek the same thing, but they also missed or are missing the same thing.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The Greek word for peace in this passage is eirene and it means undisturbed, quietness, national tranquility, exemption from war. Jesus said He did not come to bring peace as defined here, meaning many were and are seeking a quiet kingdom, but Jesus is coming with a loud, disturbing, kingdom. Jesus said, I do not come with peace, but with a sword. Sword in the Greek here is machaira and it means conflict, disputes, quarrels, a flight. Jesus came to earth with His kingdom to pick a fight with the ruling forces on earth. He did not come to be friends with His enemies.

Many people want to be raptured out of here, because they don’t want to fight, yet we say we are the warrior bride, Jesus is the captain of angel armies, the Father is the Lord of Hosts, Elijah prayed his servants eyes would be open to see more are for us than against us. My friends, we were nor born to retreat, we were born to advance the kingdom of God on earth. We do not do this with violence, we do this with resisting evil, standing in the battle, praying without ceasing, taking every thought captive. The kingdom of God is at hand, that is why the earth is shaking, the wars are raging, for the enemy is panicking. Can’t you see the kingdom at hand? We must repent of wanting to retreat, to be raptured, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Healing is our weapon, worship is our warfare, and we have captives to rescue and prisoners to release. No retreat! Stand! Advance! You are an overcomer!

We were born into a spiritual war. This war was being waged before we were born, it is an ancient war. Yet, there are times in this war when it is covert and it is not as identifiable, then there are times it is overt and very obvious. When the war becomes overt, it manifests through people in a variety of ways. Some people get violent and take to the streets, others get vocal and out of their mouth comes the evidence of a spirit they may or may not know they are of. We have entered into the overt or obvious nature of this war. With the release of the move Come Out in Jesus Name, this is one of many manifestations of this war going public, no longer being private. With the agenda’s being pushed publicly that once used to be hidden, it is just more evidence the war become obvious. We all know there has been a shift from the private to the public as it pertains to this war.

Since the war is public now, we must be dressed in the armor of God, for the war can sucker punch you at any moment. The shield of faith is needed in this hour to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God needs to be the narrative of your heart, mind and soul, for this is a words war. Finally, testing the spirits (1 John 4) is critical in this time, for most people do not know of what spirit they are, and it is important to separate the person from the spirit that has attached itself to them. John said it this way, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

The enemy is seeking to divide people by using spirits of the likes in this hour that is obvous, don’t throw people away, but also don’t succumb to the spirit that is in operation through them. Test the spirits, don’t trash the person. This war is going to be increasingly visible and we must fight with 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 warfare, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The reveal is in order to heal, wake up and go to war, the enemy is being cast out in Jesus name!

Have you ever thought about why people want you to be afraid? Have you ever considered the power of fear to paralyze you into inacation? Have you ever noticed that fear is without substance and yet it alters what you do significantly? Why does fear have such a grip on people? Why do we succumb so readily to that which we cannot see? When we partner with fear, we give up control of ourselves and are controlled by a narrative which has no substance to it.

I was reading Matthew 10 this morning and the words of Jesus penetrated deep inside of me when He said, “Do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.” Fear silences us, so Jesus says do not fear, rather speak. Fear conceals things, henceforth, why Jesus says He is going to reveal things. Fear is so powerful, it makes us not want to have what is concealed revealed, but Jesus says, do not fear them, for He is about to reveal what they have had concealed, so you no longer fear.

Many have been praying for a third great awakening, but what they don’t understand is that an awakening will be the revealing of that which has been concealed. God has been working behind the scenes in ways we have not seen to eradicate wickedness and establish righteousness. When He reveals what has been concealed, we are going to have a new challenge we face, the truth. The truth is going to liberate us, but at first it might shock us. The shock is going to wake us up, for we have been put to sleep by fear. God is releasing a great awakening of the likes we have never seen in this generation and it is going to remove the spirit of fear that has paralyzed us, so God Himself can mobilize us. We are about to be a move of God!!!

Ever since the month of May has started, I have sensed turbulence in the air. I have been writing it off as other things, but I cannot shake the feeling of turbulence in the atmosphere. It is not personal turbulence, it is national and possibly international turbulence I am sensing. As I was in prayer this morning, the Holy Spirit dropped Psalm 46 into my spirit, so I grabbed my bible and started praying, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.” Using the words of the psalmist and speaking in tongues, I heard the Lord give me an analogy of flying in an airplane.

If you have ever flown before, you know when the atmosphere changes, the captain comes on the intercom and says, we are experiencing some turbulence, please remain seated with your seat belt on and your tray tables in their upright and locked positions. This is what I heard in the spirit. We are going through some turbulence, I need you to REMAIN SEATED. As soon as I heard remain seated, the Holy Spirit said, “Remain seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 1).” Our tendency in turbulence is to come down from our seated position and work a plan in the natural based on the turbulence we are feeling, but the Holy Spirit is saying, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

My friends, we are in and will continue to go through some turbulence for a while. It make get quite bumpy, but God is not surprised or caught off guard by what we are about to go through. The Lord is telling us, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold” (Psalm 46:10-11). It’s going to get bumpy, but remain seated.

Satan was cast down to the earth but he was not given any authority. Adam and Eve were given authority over the earth in Genesis 1, when God told them to be fruitful, multiply subdue the earth and rule over it. Satan knows better than we do who has been given authority. Therefore, Satan went to Eve and asked for the authority God had given her and she gave it to Satan and then Adam gave Satan his authority. From that moment in Genesis 3 until Matthew 4, Satan had authority over the earth. But in Matthew 4 when Jesus encountered Satan, Satan used the same tactic, but received a very different response. “The devil *took Him (Jesus) to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” The enemy has no new tactics, he is always looking for authority from the image bearers of God, for he knows we have been given authority, and the only authority he has comes from us giving it to him. Jesus knew Adam and Eve had given Satan their authority, so when the devil tried the same tactic on Jesus, Jesus knew what Satan was after and He was not giving it away, for He knew His authority came from God to rule and reign on the earth.

The theology of passivity has caused many believers to give away their authority and then they wonder why they are bored, helpless, powerless and frustrated in their Christian walk. When you give your authority away, you cannot operate by original design. Jesus said in Matthew 28, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me and I give it to you now go and make disciples of all nations.” We have been given authority over nations, Satan knows this, why do you think he wants your authority? Church, our job is to keep the authority we have been given, not to give it away and then wonder why the enemy has authority over our nation now. It is time to take back what is rightfully ours and wield the sword of the spirit against the spirit of the age, for we are called to disciple nations in the ways of the kingdom of God!!!

We are living the days of demarcation. I know culturally it looks like the days of blurred lines, melting pot of ideas, no boundaries, a tolerating of all things, but that is because we are living the days of demarcation. There is a demarcation that is becoming more and more clear between light and darkness, old wineskin and new wineskin, male and female. These are the day demarcation. When Jesus came to earth and was baptized by John that was a demarcation time, for even John said, I baptize with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3). Moving from water baptism, repentance of sins, to fire baptism, empowerment for the kingdom life was a major demarcation which has greater depths to it than we even understand.

In these days of demarcation, the deeds of the enemy are evident. Why do you think there has been an acceleration of the agenda of the enemy? It is because it has to be crystal clear the demarcation between light and darkness, so people can choose where they want to stand. Solomon says it this way in Proverbs 4, “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.” Days of demarcation. We see it everywhere, people who are pursuing the kingdom of God are speaking light light and more light; the main stream media, social media are speaking darkness, darkness and more darkness. We are living in the days of demarcation.

Now, the question is, will you choose light or darkness? It is an individual choice that has to be made, no one can make it for you. The demarcation is so obvious that there is no longer a fence to sit on as you ponder which way to go. The days of demarcation are for the day of decision, who are you going to be? A child of the day or a child of the night? The dark will get darker, the light will get brighter, so the demarcation will be increasing. However, many are aching for those in darkness, because they see that we are in the day of demarcation and yet the invitation to come into the light is always extended, but only you can choose where you want to dwell.