Lisa Great

Many have said and continue to say that we are in a transition of biblical proportions. There are so many scriptures that we can pull fourth to describe where we are in history. But as I am reading Amos chapter 2 today I come across this verse and the Lord stopped me dead in my tracks of reading and says “This is what I’m doing”. The Lord is Destroying the roots and the fruits of a deeply entrenched enemy in our promised land. Listen to what Amos 2:9 says, “I destroyed all of Canaan’s Amorites before them, those Canaanites who were as tall as the towering cedars, as strong as the mighty oaks. As entrenched as they were, I still destroyed their fruit above and their roots underneath My promised land.” He is dealing with the above ground fruits and the below ground roots.

We are living in the promised land, we have made it through the wilderness, and now the Lord is destroying the enemies that are deeply entrenched in the land that he has given to us. We are called to steward the earth with godliness, holiness, righteousness, so that it operates in peace and joy. We are not going to get raptured out of here, we are going to become more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. The Lord is defeating the enemies in the land so that we can build and plant for generations to come. Takeoff your rapture boots and put on your gardening gloves because the promised land is a place where we work the ground and it produces for us an abundance of harvest in every way. We are going to love doing the work of the Lord that is why the Lord himself is dealing with the deeply entrenched enemies in this land that we have been called to cultivate.

All night long the Holy Spirit was saying to me, Ezekiel 6:6-13. At like 3am I said Lord, I don’t know that verse, He replied “Ezekiel 6:6-13”. I woke up this morning and read Ezekiel 6:6-13 and this I know, God is telling me He is not waiting any longer. He is destroying His enemies. Verse 11 says, ““Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Clap your hand, stamp your foot and say, “Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, famine and plague!”

This is not a word for the faint of heart, but it is for those that know what the enemy of the nations is doing of which we only have little clues. The magnitude of their abominations will shock the nations. But God, who is our Father has seen it all and He is saying “Alas!!!” God has declared enough is enough and He is inviting us to clap our hands, stomp our feet and say with God, ALAS! When God says enough that means victory is imminent for the righteous and demise of the wicked has been determined.

About an hour ago I heard the Holy Spirit say as clear as day “Can America be saved in a day?“ I responded with a resounding yes! Get ready for a sudden turn around in this nation.

There is a lot of talk about two types of hidden that are going to be revealed right now. It is the convergence of many things taking place in this hour. And the best part about all of this is that Jesus and Paul spoke about these things. The other best thing about all this is that we are not the first people to go through this type of time in history. What we are going through and are about to go through is a mystery to us, because we have only been alive less than 100 years, but those who have gone before us have seen these days before, so they are not surprised, nor are they decrying rapture, end times, Jesus is coming back. No, that is not what is happening, we are entering a whole new era of time on the calendar of God and it is going to be amazing for our children, our grandchildren and for generations we have yet to see. Can you feel the excitement in the air?

Jesus said in Luke 12:2 “Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known” Mark put it this way, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.” (Mark 4:21-22) And Paul said it like this “If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) Hidden things being revealed, this is where we are currently.

What hidden things are going to be revealed. In Luke it says the hypocrisy of the religious leaders has been hidden and is going to be revealed. Mark says, hidden things we have heard and said are going to be revealed. This speaks to what many of the prophets are calling “exposure of corruption”. Thiis is about to happen. But there is another revealing coming and that is of people who have been hidden away with Christ, they have escaped notice, been concealed. These men and women are about to be revealed, appear, become known, be plainly recognized. It is all happening simultaneously and it is all for the glory of God.

The good news is going to be coming at us at lightning speed and it is going to be so good, your face is going to hurt from smiling. For glory means, always good, honor, praise, approval, brightness, dignity, judgment, and splendor. Every time you say He is good, you are saying, GLORY! We are about to see the glory, the goodness of God in the land of the living. That is why the hidden is being revealed!

To the Church around the world. The Ekklessia, the governing body of the earth. To those who know how to pray and shift atmospheres. There is a spirit of Rahab that is seeking to arise and conquer in the nations. This spirit is proud, defiant, it seeks to disturb, alarm, confuse, it acts stormily , behaves proudly, it is a storm and it is time for the Church to deal with this spirit of Rahab.

The enemy seeks to get us so distracted with our own personal issues, we cannot see the principalities in the air that are creating chaos on the ground. We see the fruit of this spirit all around us, but it is not among us, it is a spirit of the air that must be dealt with in the nations. It is a spirit of Rahab. The Lord with His mighty right arm will destroy this spirit, but we must recognize, call it out and ask the Lord to deal with it.

The days of shadow boxing are over, we must know what we are dealing with and pray in such a way that God Himself can deal it a death blow. It seeks to be a shape shifting spirit, by changing names, but it is the same spirit of Rahab. Strong’s concordance says, Rahab is the emblematic name of Egypt, it is a sea monster, it is a storm For you that have ears to hear we are dealing with the same ancient spirit of Leviathan, but it is called the spirit of Rahab.

The Biblical Ekklessia was a governing body of people in every city, territory or region. You know who you are and I am inviting you in your region, your nation, to join me in dealing with this spirit of Rahab that is seeking to arise again right now. This spirit is being dealt a final death blow by the Lord, so all we need to do is ascend in prayer and declare Psalm 89:10 “You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.” Then just like with Pharoh and his armies, these enemies we see today we will never see again. Arise Ekklessia and pray, decree, decide it is the end of the spirit of Rahab in our nation!

One of the greatest joys of praying the psalms over and over again is that an appreciation for what the Psalmist is going through bursts inside our hearts. Some psalms resonate perfectly with where we are, other psalms resonate perfectly with where we’ve been, and still others will resonate perfectly with where we’re going. I was praying Psalm 88 this morning and it is his dark night of the soul. For you that have been in it and have come out you can appreciate where the Psalmist is, for you that are currently in it you can resonate with it, and for you that I have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s OK just keep journeying with Jesus.

As we pass through the dark night of the soul, that ever so challenging place in life on the other side is a light so bright it can’t be described it can only be enveloped. As we encounter the brilliance of the light of God, though we remember in order to empathize with those still walking through the dark night of the soul, we can’t help but say to those travelers in that place keep going for on the other side is life forever more.

As we passed through the dark night of the soul, that ever so challenging place in life on the other side is a light so bright it can’t be described it can only be enveloped. As we encounter the brilliance of the light of God, though we remember in order to empathize with those still walking through the dark night of the soul, we can’t help but say to those travelers in that place keep going for on the other side is life forever more.

As the body of Christ everyone of us has a Paul in our life that has been placed as we have yet to go; we all have Barnabas is in our life that travel with us right where we are and encourage us for they are in the same place as us; And we have Timothy’s who are coming behind us and have yet to encounter what we’ve encountered, so we get to be pioneers for them just as our Paul’s are pioneers for us. I pray you have eyes to see who the Paul’s are in your life, who the Barnabas’ are in your life, and who the Timothy’s are in your life. We are all in this journey together even though we be at different stages in the process. Keep going my friends others have gone before us, others are traveling with us, and others are coming behind us.

In John chapter 3 Jesus had a conversation with a man named Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel, a Pharisee. Jesus said to him that he was surprised Nicodemus did not understand what it meant to be born again. He even went on to say, you being a teacher in Israel should know this. Jesus said this to him because being a teacher in Israel meant they knew the Old Testament word of God. The greatest gift that Jesus brought to the religious system was old testament truths that they would have known in a fresh way. Jesus actually gave them understanding into things that they had heard but never understood.

What I see coming to the religious system in America, to churches across this country, and the world, and to pulpits all over the nation and the world is men and women that are going to take the truths of both the Old and New Testament and bring the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is going to produce a great awakening like we’ve never seen before.

Here is the Old Testament scripture Jesus was expecting Nicodemus to know when he told him about being born again. Psalm 87:4-6 ”God says, “I tell of some who know Me in Egypt and Babylon;
behold, My people are in Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia too: This person was born there.’”
It is said of Zion, This person and that person were born in her.” The Most High God has established that city and makes her strong. When keeping track of His people, the Eternal surely notices, This one was born in Zion.” My friends everything is about to come alive!

People that spend time with God should have the heart of God. The more time you spend with Him the more you become like Him. This is why we don’t read our Bible for a sermon to preach, we don’t worship for a song to write, we don’t go to church for a spouse to find. Those who spend time with the Lord, will carry His heart, which will manifest in service to others, love for all, and an ability to hear His voice and obey quickly.

The Apostle Paul carried the heart of God for people. He wasn’t trying to become famous he loved God so much and he wanted others to know the one he loved. We are told we can’t know people’s motives, but we can sense their heart and if they don’t love you you’ll know it. The people knew Paul loved them so they wanted to know about the man Jesus Christ he loved so much. My prayer is that we would love Jesus so much it manifests for others to see and want to know this Man we know and love.

Religion knows the word but not the man. You may be religious if you can quote the word, preach the word or write songs about the word but you don’t love people. Your character reveals what you love. We must be lovers of Jesus and people not ministry, money and popularity. When you meet a real lover of God you will be able to recognize it immediately. That’s why when people met Jesus they left everything and followed, He exuded love for Hos Father and for people. Let it be said of us, they loved God and we the people knew it because they loved us!

Colossians 2:2 “I’m working hard to comfort and encourage them so that they will be knit together—that many hearts would become one through His love. I do it so they will be rich in understanding and have full knowledge of God’s mystery, which is the Anointed One Himself.”

When I got saved, radically saved, in 1989, I was taught to obey God, hear His voice, tithe, worship because He was worthy of praise, and to go to church because that is where we fellowship and hear the word together. Over the past 30 years there has been a slow decline from what we are called to do for God to what is God doing for me. This change has brought with it, people who have no clue their “identity”, very few have any spiritual authority; and even less know how to hear the voice of God.

Many people can see the decline that has happened in culture, but my concern is the decline I have seen in many people’s understanding of God. God is God and we are human. God is eternal and we are a vapor. God is the head and we are the body. God is ruler over all and we are called to be servants. What I have noticed is that when we lose sight not only of who God is but of who we are, we begin to live as though we are God and God is our servant. It’s not anything anyone would admit as true, but when we listen to sermons, hear songs and listen to people talk, it is obvious the order of who is God and who is the servant has been reversed.

Yes the church needs to repent of sexual immorality, injustice and unrigheousness in a variety of ways, but more than anything we need to repent of being out of order. We need to repent of the attitude that needs continual reassurance that God loves me, but has little to no concern about whether we love God. Until we start serving God rather than seeking to be served by God, we will remain out of order, unhappy, lacking power and continually needing someone to pray for us or prophesy over us.

Many are wondering what the next great awakening is going to look like, sound like, feel like, and honestly I don’t think we know, but I have a sneaking suspicion it is going to sound like maturity. For God has given us the 5-fold ministry for training, equipping, deploying and maturing the body of Christ for the work of ministry. (Ephesians 4:11-13). Maturity is what we as the church needs not a party. This is why it will not be a man we follow, a ministry we want to be known for or a platform we seek, but maturity means we individually and corporately seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. My friends, until it’s literally about following Jesus, becoming like Jesus and loving like Jesus, we will remain immature looking for the next party to attend, no matter if it is in a tent, a park, a church or a house. And even though parties are fun, they don’t prepare you to stand in any situation you find yourself in, but maturity does. Maturity is the gift that keeps on giving and that is what we long for.

Living in a different era, a different culture, a truly different world than those who we read about in the Bible can make understanding the Bible challenging, but thanks to the internet if we do a little research, we can find the Bible comes alive. I was reading John 20-21 this morning and twice it says the disciples were behind shut doors (locked down) out of fear of the Jews. Jesus found them twice behind shut doors out of fear. Fear will always lock you down, but if you are not afraid, you will go out, no matter the fear that is being propagated by those “out there”.

The next time Jesus finds the disciples, after Jesus’ resurrection, they are fishing on the Sea of Tiberias. Now they are outside, so this alone is a shift that is often overlooked. They are out on the sea fishing, but it says Jesus is on the shore or the beach and He sees they caught nothing. How would Jesus know this? Well, a little research on net fishing revealed the answer.

“Recreational netting is considered by some fishers as a relaxing way to enjoy the outdoors while fishing. Net fishing is the only way to catch certain species, such as mullet and baitfish, but if used inappropriately, nets can take high catches of non-target species and undersized fish.

Haul netting also referred to as ‘drag’ netting, is done only in ocean waters from a beach or a boat. A net of up to 60 m in length is ‘shot’ into the water to surround a group of fish then hauled in. One end of the haul net may be fixed to the beach and a rope attached to the other end. Once in the water, the net is kept constantly moving towards the beach.” (State of Western Australia (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) 2020)

Jesus is God and He can know anything and knows everything, but the Bible is also very practical, that is why it is relatable to us. Understanding net fishing, specifically haul netting, which is what the disciples were doing based on the reading of the story in John 21, we learn Jesus knew they caught nothing because the net was fixed to the beach where Jesus was standing. Fascinating.

But this reality does not take away from the miracle, because when they put the net on the other side of the boat, per Jesus’ instructions it says, they caught such an abundance they could not haul it in. Our small acts of obedience produce abundant results in the most practical situations. I love that Jesus was and calls us to be supernaturally natural.

John 21:5-6 “Jesus *said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”