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“YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU KNOW”, says the Lord. (Selah)

The Lord has led me to read 1 Kings 17 this morning because of something that was said by Ranger Juno yesterday while we were at the Mammoth State Park in Waco, TX. She said, “What looks like a walking path, is actually a dry creek bed that is over 56,000 years old.” As we stood in that dig site, we saw the creek bed, it was obvious to the site, but it looked like a walking path made by the palentologist and her team. The park ranger was very clear this was a dry creek bed, which explained why the mammoths died at this location.

This is what led me to read 1 Kings 17, but what I didn’t see coming in this story I have read so many times is what the Lord showed me this morning. Elijah experienced a dry brook east of the Jordan river, for he called for a drought. That dry creek bed led him to Zarephath where he met a widow at the gate collecting sticks. Elijah asked her for water and bread, the two things they didn’t have because of the drought.

Listen to her reply to Elijah, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

As I read this the Lord boomed in my spirit, “YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU KNOW.” She thought she only had flour and oil, but she also had sticks, fire, a son and access to the voice of Elijah, the prophet. And so do we. We look at our finances and say this is all I have. We look at our job and say this is all I have. We look at our house and say this is all I have. But the Lord says, “YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU KNOW.”

Friends, we have access to the voice of God. We have access to the Word of God. We have access to the power of God. We have more than we know. It may look like we only have a little left, but God says to us today, look again, “YOU HAVE MORE THAN YOU KNOW.” I declare over you, the drought is over, the rain is falling, the windows of heaven are open and you have access to abundance. Rejoice, these are praise days.

Two mornings in a row now I have woke up to the time 6:16, this reminds me of Jeremiah 6:16 which says, stand at the crossroads and ask for the ancient path. Walking this morning in Waco, TX, I heard the Holy Spirit say, 6:16. I knew there was something in the ancient path promise in Jeremiah, but what I was not sure, until I sat down to read and write.

Jeremiah wrote a scroll, so six leads right into seven without a wrinkle, and what I read in Jeremiah 7:8-11 opened up what Jeremiah 6:16 was saying. “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.”

These verses Jesus quoted in Matthew 21 when He turned over the tables in the temple. The abominations happening in the temple were not tolerated by Jesus. What got me is that as I watched part one of The Chosen 5 in the theatre last week, this very scene was depicted. Too many echo’s to ignore and not lean into what God is saying.

The other statement Jesus made is My house shall be called a house of prayer. This a quote from Isaiah 56 which leads to 57 and says, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way. …I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the LORD, and I will heal him.”

We are in praise days, the ancient path is being revealed and is leading us to the house of God, the house of prayer, where we are healed of our backsliding, rebellion, unbelief, greed, and every other form of disobedience that kept us from God and others. The ancient path is open and the obstacles are being removed. It is time to come home.

What you see solidifies what you believe. Our sight establishes our faith. Now faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God, yes, but sight is a sound as well and what we see strengthens what we believe. This is why the kingdom of God is a sight and sound experience.

Acts 10:38 says, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom and demonstrated the power of God. Jesus was and still is a sight and sound experience.

The two witnesses of sight and sound establish the faith that gives us the confidence to believe He is who He says He is and He can do what He said He can do. We must not just be hearers of the word, but doers also is what James said. Again, sight and sound.

Sound is aligning with sight in so many ways right now. We have movies that are bringing what we read into what we see with The Chosen, The House of David, the actual Sight and Sound Theatre in Branson, MO. What the people who walked the earth with Jesus saw and heard, we are seeing and hearing in a new way.

All we are seeing and hearing in movies is historical, but is building our faith for a fresh outpouring of sight and sound experiences. The days of hearing only, being told healing is not for today, God doesn’t do that anymore or just hang on for the rapture, these narratives are fading. The new narrative rising is that God is about to release a sight and sound experience of the likes we will talk about for generations to come.

Friends, God is establishing a work in our day that we would not have believed even if we were told it. It is going to be undeniable, irrefutable and totally biblical. Miracle after miracle, another one is on the way, because I see a new thing coming as wind meets water.

When we are invited to give praise to God, most of us have specific names we call God based on who the Bible says He is. We call Him; Jehovah Jireh, my provider; Savior; Master, Lord, God; lover of my soul; healer; prince of peace; El Shaddai; Adonai.

The Bible is filled with names of God and each names reflects a measure of His nature that has been seen by the one who calls on that name. The Psalms are filled with names of God. Strong tower; deliverer; hope; warrior; commander of angel armies; all tied to something God did. Names remind us of God’s victory in our history, this is why they would sing songs to remember how God delivered them from their enemies.

In Genesis 16:13 it reveals a name of God that Hagar, the concubine of Abraham, gave to God after He spoke to her in a challenging situation. “She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees!”” The more experiences we have with the nature of God the more names of God we give Him.

I know we love to revere God and we should, that is why He is called holy, holy, holy by the angels who see Him face to face. But what if you named God based on your relationship with Him, what names would you call Him?

I have been having the Lord give me new names to call Him, that mean something to me, based on experiences I have had with Him and this past Sunday during our home church meeting where we discuss rhythms, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Tell them I am a Body Builder and a Weight Lifter.” It was powerful as the room resonated with those names of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 speaks of God being a weight lifter and Ephesians 4:29 speaks of Him as being a body builder. Friends, if you are struggling with a heavy load, He says to you today, I am a weight lifter; if you are feeling broken, desolate or ruined in any way, He is a body builder. And may I add one more He has spoke to me recently…He is a debt canceller.

Oh the names of God that speak of the nature of God. Remember whoever calls on the NAME of God shall be saved. What name do you need to call on today? Or is there a new name He is giving you to call Him? His name is power, just call on His name and you shall be saved. He is really strong!

Giving is a kingdom principle that does not need to taught to people who love the Lord their God and love their neighbor as themselves. Lovers are givers. If you struggle with giving the issue is not with giving the issue is with love. Fruit inspectors want to know what is being produced because fruit is an indication of the health of the tree. You my friends are trees, you are called to bear fruit, but many Christian trees are bearing bad fruit, because they have lost their first love.

Love unlocks in us the ability to respond to the voice of God, the voice of people, and the voice of culture. When we return to our first love, we activate our ability to respond to what we hear. Our response is to be generous on all occasions for when you know you are loved, you will freely give of yourself to others and to God Himself. In this giving of yourself, you reveal that you have access to abundance and no one needs to tell you to give, for you have nothing to fear, for perfect love has cast out all fear.

In Judges 8 there is a story about some men of Succoth (booths, tents, tabernacles, crowd, multitudes) who would did not love their fellow countrymen and it was evidenced in their actions. “Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. So he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” And the officials of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?””

The men of Succoth could not see the victory about to be experienced, so they did not support the ones who were in hot pursuit of the enemy kings that were stealing their harvest. Instead of loving their neighbor, they ignored the need and refused to sow any seed. It wasn’t about the bread, it was about their lack of love for their neighbor and for God who was defeating their enemies.

Friends, we must return to our first love. We must remember what we did when we first got saved. We must love abundantly both God and or neighbor by being generous on all occasions with our words, our works and our wealth. We are one holy nation, one royal priesthood, one people who belong to God and each other. Please, return to your first love, we need your love unlocked so we can advance the kingdom of God together.

Battles are exhausting, but they are necessary for us to overcome an enemy. Apathy is the reason we do not have victory over the enemy. Jesus defeated the devil on the cross. Jesus disarmed him, making a public spectacle of him according to Colossians 2:15. We have been deputized by Jesus Himself, not to defeat the devil, the devil is already defeated, we are called to enforce the victory Jesus won on the cross. We are deputized as enforcers.

When we refuse to enforce what was won, we then have a battle on our hands, because we have not kept Satan under our feet. All is not lost, for most of us have not been taught how to be more than a conqueror, how to be an overcome, how to operate as a deputy for the kingdom of God. But it is a new day and there is a new sheriff in town. Christ in you is the hope of glory and you have been authorized to put the defeated devil back under your feet.

Judges 7 lets us know we will first conquer the princes, before we get to the kings. The two princes we must put under our feet are the spirit of Oren and Zeeb. Oreb means raven and Zeeb means wolf. Oreb and Zeeb are the princes seeking to block your blessings of water and wine. “They captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.” Once you put these two princes under your feet the blessings of water from the rock and wine from the press will flow again.

Judges 8 then says, we may be exhausted from the battle but we must keep pursuing until we defeat the two kings Zalmunna and Zebah whose names mean deprived of protection. These kings will be defeated for they are without protection, but we can’t settle for only defeating the princes and being blessed, we must conquer the kings who are deprived of protection so we are not robbed by the spirit of Midian anymore. Come on warriors with shofars, don’t stop the pursuit, we have kings to overcome.

A Psalm a day I pray, a Proverb a day I read, before going into whatever book of the Bible I am saturating myself in. I have consistently done this for years and I have found the Lord has themes aligned for specific moments and specific situations. I could not orchestrate it if I tried, for the Lord is omniscient, all knowing. He knows who I love and who I pray for and what they need, so He throws truth on my path so I know what He is wanting me to pray, wanting me to say, to encourage them I am standing for and with.

Today was no different, I was praying Psalm 58 and it speaks about wicked people, who breath out lies and who are seeking to destroy people’s lives. Then it speaks of the decree I am make so justice can be seen. Here is how Psalm 58:6-7 says to decree it, “O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.” When someone is seeking to destroy someone you love, we know it is a spirit not a person, so we deal Biblically with the spirit of wickedness in the spirit.

After making this decree, I wrote…when you pursue justice it will not come without a battle, because thieves and robbers love to steal, but they don’t like to experience recompense. Unjust judges love to take bribes, but they hate righteousness, which is true justice. Just like when Paul cast the demon out of the slave girl in Acts 19, it disrupted the corrupt cash flow in Ephesus. Paul started a fight when he sought to restore righteousness to the region.

I then turn to Proverbs 28 and it says in verse 5 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.” We serve a God who loves justice, who has a throne that is seated on righteousness and who is declaring the thief has been caught. It is a battle, but the victory is won. Entering a battle that is already won does not mean we do not need to fight, but it removes the lies rob us of our peace.

To all those in a battle, I am here to tell you, righteousness is the rule of the day. Justice is prevailing. The wicked are fleeing at a pace that is unprecedented. Fear not, go to war, take the land, follow the Lord Sabaoth, for He is fighting for you and you will see these enemies no longer after this battle is over.

God Almighty is creator of everything. Some of His creation He has used to work for His people and other things in creation He has used to discipline His people. But whether working for or against God’s people, God Himself stayed in charge over His creation.

In prayer this morning the Lord spoke to me and said, “What came to devour has now become power.” He went on to say, “The locust that came to devour are now a mighty army of power, working for you not against you.”

Friends, locusts are under the control of God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. The Joel 1 locusts, “What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.” They came to devour the land as a form of discipline, but have now been sent to devour our enemies not us.

The Joel 2 locusts, “Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.” These are for us not against us, they are working to devour the enemy surrounding us.

God is using the same locusts for two different purposes. The enemy is being consumed by the locusts of the Lord. “What came to devour has now become power.” The power of the Lord is being seen as the Lord is cleansing the land with the locusts that once sought to destroy us, but are now working for us.

Like fresh cut grass, the smell of spring is in the air. The sound of salvation is in the streets. The rivers of God are making a highway of holiness and many many many are leaping, dancing and praising God. The land is rejoicing for the locusts are not here to devour, but have come as the power of God to heal not harm.

What we are accustomed to is what we listen to. The voices we believe are the ones that affirm our history, rather than pave our future. When we got saved, our confession of faith made our spirit brand new (2 Corinthians 5:17); but we must read the word of God in order to renew our minds (Romans 12:2).

Our minds are like railroads of thinking, thoughts come barreling down the tracks like trains. Whistles blowing, lights flashing, warning anyone nearby to watch out, stay off the tracks or get run over. The Lord is inviting us to lay some new tracks in our mind, so we can allow the glory train to run on our tracks. The glory train picks up passengers along the way it doesn’t run people over who get in our way.

I see the land being healed, but a healed land needs a healed people. We salt rivers, blow shofars, pour oil on the soil, all in preparation for a healed land to receive the gift of a healed people. Our healing as people is critical, because the land is being healed and we are the perfect match for the land.

Joel 2 says, ““Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!”

The Lord is simulataneously healing the land and people, so when the people take the land for the glory of God, everything will produce life. Our words will be filled with life, our thoughts will be running on the tracks the glory train rides on and everything will come alive.

I can hear the train whistle in the background, and it is evidence of God doing great things for the land and for His people.

For about a week or more I have been hearing the Holy Spirit whisper, “The enemy is at the gate, seeking to intimidate, so you do not enter the gate and begin to dictate what God is going to do.” It has been over and over again that I am hearing this gentle whisper, “The enemy is at the gate, seeking to intimidate…”

Listening to people, I hear the enemy at the gate. Knowing what is happening in my own life, I hear the enemy at the gate. This morning an article pops up on Facebook, the truth of it is hard to find on official websites, but the message was clear. The enemy is at the gate.

“Bears Form Unprecedented Blockade at Yellowstone Entrance
Yellowstone National Park – Tourists hoping to take in the breathtaking landscapes and geothermal wonders of Yellowstone were met with an unexpected natural phenomenon Monday morning: an impenetrable wall of bears. Hundreds—possibly thousands—of grizzly and black bears have gathered at the park’s entrances, blocking all roads and refusing to budge, causing traffic delays, camper evacuations, and an existential crisis among park rangers. “We’ve seen bears near the gates before, but never like this,” said Yellowstone wildlife biologist Dr. Henry Clawson, watching nervously from a safe distance. “It’s almost as if they’re organizing. And that’s… deeply unsettling.”

Here is the good news, if the enemy is at the gate, you are about to enter in and possess new land, new territory, new opportunity. If the enemy is at the gate, there is a fear tactic released to keep you from possessing what God is promising. Fear not, press in, don’t stop advancing.

Psalm 24 says, “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.”

Isaiah 62 says, “Go through, go through the gates, Clear a way for the people! Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a flag over the peoples.”

Matthew 16 has something to say as well, “And I tell you that you are Peter,and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Friends, the enemy is at the gate because you are at the gate. You are entering in with thanksgiving to possess the land, the territory, the opportunity. Do not fear the enemy at the gate, his intimidation is because of his fear of you. Crush his head, crossover, go through, the land is waiting for you to come in.