Tag: Faith

Where Did You Stop?

Published on by lisagreatenebeliLeave a comment

Where did you stop?

I can hear you asking me, where did I stop what? Where did you stop loving? Where did you stop forgiving? Where did you stop trusting? Where did you stop believing? Where did you stop learning? Where did you stop giving? Where did you stop  _____________? Rick Joyner said in February 2017 that the Lord spoke to him a 4 phrase prophetic word, “To infinity and beyond!” I did not know until today that God spoke that to Rick, but about 3 weeks ago, God spoke to me and said, “where did you stop?” I believe these two, four phrase prophetic words are connected, for you cannot go to infinity and beyond if you stop. So, where did you stop?

The reason I believe this question is so important is because the Lord is inviting us yet again to “Come up here!” Revelation 4:1 says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” Couple this with the call out of Jeremiah 33:2-3 that says, ““This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” One observation I have made in the body of Christ is that when we get a revelation, we tend to camp on that revelation as though it is a final destination. Now, I realize that many people like to build settlements so they can feel secure, but the God we serve is continually on the move.

What I have noticed is that many have stopped at their last book, their last marriage, their last success, their last theology, but God is inviting us to keep going, to keep pressing, to keep moving. We are not to leave those things behind in the sense of we forget what we learned, but Hebrews 6:1 encourages us to press on, keep going, don’t stop. God invited Moses to build a tabernacle, it was a mobile tent, so they could keep moving; He made an ark of the covenant, that was to carried on the shoulders of the Levites, so it could be on the move; He called Abraham to keep moving until he found the city, who’s builder and maker is God; Jesus Himself, never built a settlement, but rather walked with His disciples, they were on the move.

I don’t believe God is anti-buildings, but I believe that many of us have stopped, settled, set up camp with no intention of moving on from where we are. Faith is movement! Like a river, we need to keep moving in our faith, in our love, in our pursuit of the Kingdom, we have done ourselves and others a disservice when God moves but we remain.

So, where did you stop? I can feel the resistance to this question, because if you answer it honestly, you will have to admit you stopped. But, I believe God is releasing a fresh wave of grace (empowerment) to get moving again. He is inviting us to believe again, trust again, love again, give again, because He is on the move. Whenever the cloud moved, the Israelites moved, I’m concerned the cloud has moved but many in the body of Christ have not. We are being invited to learn again, listen again, obey again, because He is speaking again!

If you stopped, you can start again, but you realize you stopped. Others see where you stopped, but many times you can’t see it, but today is the day of salvation, so pick up your mat and walk, for God is on the move and He wants you to move with Him.

Word Reformation  2.22.17

Published on by lisagreatenebeliLeave a comment

www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

 

During worship a couple of weeks ago I had an open vision where the Lord showed me a banqueting table filled with delicacies, dainties and delightful foods from all over the world. It was a true International feast, with many people sitting around the banqueting table. As I observed this scene the Lord said, can you hear them pray consistently? Can you hear them sing so beautifully? I said, yes, it is truly amazing, what I am hearing and seeing. Then the Lord said, but they are very weak, because they refuse to eat the food I have laid out before them. As I looked closer at the banqueting table and the magnificent place settings in front of the people sitting at the table, I did notice that they had not even taken one bite, even though the food was within arm’s reach. They loved to pray, they loved to worship and they loved to fellowship, but they did not want to eat, so they were weak.

 

I knew immediately what the Lord was showing me, if we do not eat, if we do not partake of the Word of God, we will pray, we will worship, and we will fellowship, but we will remain weak, because only the Word of God makes a person strong. People that don’t eat, no matter how much they pray, how much they worship or how much they fellowship, still remain weak, because they refuse to eat the Word of God right in front of them.

 

We are blessed to have a Bible in our hands. Some people have more than one bible, but they still do not eat. They go to 24-hour prayer houses, they join worship teams and go to worship events, they have coffee with friends, but to actually spend time in the Word of God, listening for His voice in His word, very few people do this and that is why the body of Christ is weak. Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.” This is not a salvation message, this is how you get strong. Faith is trust, belief is acknowledgement. It takes believing to be saved (Romans 10:9-10), it takes faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and Jesus said when I return will I find faith on earth (Luke 18:8), not believers.

 

Today we have a lot of believers, who said a sinner’s prayer, they pray, they worship, they fellowship and they may even go to church, but most believers do not read their Bible and many do not have faith (trust) in God. How do I know, because the church is weak and God is inviting us to be strong, but it takes a Word reformation. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I Am the way, I Am the truth, I Am the life,” in John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God in the beginning.” Jesus is the Word of God! Bill Johnson says, Jesus is perfect theology, so if we know the Word, we know Jesus.

 

Once believers start reading the Word of God, they will meet the man that is the Word. You can’t trust (have faith) in someone you do not know. With the reading of the Word, will come trust, once trust is established based on relationship, a covenant will be made, obedience will be the result, for Jesus said in John 15, “If you love me, you will do what I command.” Once believers start obeying the Word of God, power will be released, for they will not be ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Then we will begin to do what Jesus commanded us to do, which is to occupy until He comes (Luke 19:13).

 

What is coming is not another denominational reformation; nor is it some new names on an old system, what is coming is a Word reformation. Believers are going to begin to eat at home, so when they come together they are strong, which will cause leaders to have to steer the rushing river of revelation, rather than pray for one to start. The result of a Word reformation is going to be healing, deliverance, reconciliation, restoration, proclamation and transformation. Everything we are asking for in prayer will be answered when individuals realize authority comes through the word of God and obedience to it. Then we can ask and it will be given to us, seek and we will find, knock and the door will be opened to us (Matthew 6). We won’t need to spend 24 hours in prayer to get an answer, for we will have authority based on relationship that is rooted in trust. I don’t beg my husband over and over for something, because to him that would be nagging, I just ask and trust him for the answer. The same will be true for us as we begin to eat the food on this banqueting table. Everything will change once we answer the call to read the Bible. Let the Word reformation begin!

Symphonic Sound

Published on by lisagreatenebeliLeave a comment

1 Corinthians 13:1-4 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

The kingdom of God is arising in a way that is creating distinction and separation. Distinction for the sound of the kingdom is love and the sound of the kingdom is service. Separation because those who are not of biblical love, which is actually service to others, is being not separated from the community, but separated from the distinct sound. The bible says, that if you have not love, you sound like a clanging symbol. As the sound of the kingdom, which is love, continues to increase, the lack of love is evidenced in the sound you produce.

In years, past, you could get away with being selfish in a service, whether in church or the community; in the past your selfishness was common, it was a choir of clashing symbols, so no one really noticed that you did not have love, for they did not have love either. But it is a new day, and there is a new way. No wonder Jesus said that new wine needs a new wineskin, for you must be a lover to release the sound of love. You cannot fake love in an atmosphere of love. The kingdom of God on earth, is an atmosphere of love, of service to one another, of 1 Corinthians 13 manifested.

While in a church service, I heard this separation of sounds, this new distinction that is upon us. Being in a service where there is liberty to be the community, means some can prophesy, others can speak, and many have to learn to follow the lead of the one who went before them in order to transition the service well. But when someone does not have love, they are selfish, they want to say their own thing, they want to have their own way, they do not want to join the symphony of sound that is being created in that service, by the Spirit, then they sound like a clanging cymbal or clashing brass. It is no wonder they do not have cymbals in the symphony, they are truly out of place.

The kingdom of God is like a symphony, with one conductor, Jesus, and many instruments, that have different sounds, but work in connection with the other pieces of the orchestra to create a symphonic sound that is pleasant to the ears of the hearers. If you have not love, in what is here and coming in greater influence, you truly will sound like a clanging cymbal. In order to operate like the kingdom of God on earth, we need love, we need to listen to one another and to the Spirit of God, so we can join the song that is being played in that situation. Selfishness, which is you saying what you want, spouting your agenda, passion or personal preference has no room in a symphonic service.

Our conductor, Jesus, will call for different instruments at different times, for He knows the song structure and style. For us to be a success in the kingdom, we must listen to one another, we must be willing to not be heard, we must follow the flow of the sound that is being created in that symphonic service.

What Are You Tapping?

Published on by lisagreatenebeliLeave a comment

Before I became a Christian, I used to go to parties at people’s houses. At those parties, you would pay for a cup, and then with that cup you could drink whatever beverage they had bought. But, to do this it required you going to the tap, which produces the beverage you were seeking to consume. Depending on the number of “tappers” the host had, would depend on the number of kegs that were tapped at a time. So, you would see kegs without a tap and know either that keg was empty or it was yet to be tapped. No matter how many kegs the host purchased, eventually, the beverage would run out, for those kegs, even though they were tapped, were temporary, there was an end to what was inside of them.

I share that experience because I was listening to a podcast on the way home from the gym today and the preacher, who is well known, very passionate and has a large church, was speaking on being planted in somewhere bigger than you are, so you can grow the greatness inside of you. He said, that small places grow small people, that is why many, despite their titles in small churches, left the small church, to come and sit in his church, because they knew they needed to be planted in something bigger in order to grow. His passion, makes you want to shout AMEN, but the spirit of God spoke to me and revealed that anything we tap other than God Himself is temporary and will eventually run out.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

God has planted eternity in our hearts, so anything you tap that is not God Himself is an idol and it will eventually run dry. Remember when you bought that new car, you were satisfied temporarily; remember when you got that new job with that big salary, then over time you began to want something more; do you recall when you got married, why over time did you long for a deeper love, more passion, something more in that relationship, that the other person was not capable of providing for you? The reason is because God has set eternity in our hearts, He has created us with an insatiable desire for more. Some may call it greed, but I call it eternity and I have learned that no matter the size of the church, no matter the amount of money you make, no matter how big the house is, or how amazing the marriage may be, there is something in our hearts that is eternal and only God can meet that need.

We tap so many temporary things and then wonder why we struggle, fight and compete with each other. James 4:1-3 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” You are tapping the temporal and it’s not satisfying!

God has created you to be an eternal being, but to tap into your identity, your design, your image, you must tap into the God of heaven and earth, the Lord of all creation, the Master of everything. Your battle is not with other people, it is with yourself and God. The Israelites rejected the invitation to tap into God Himself and instead chose someone temporal, Moses to tap into, which eventually led them into tapping into another temporal thing, the golden calf. We do the exact same thing, we tap into people, thinking they have what we are looking for, we tap into stuff, thinking it will satisfy our longing, we tap into a company or church, thinking that is the answer to my eternal itch. But the truth is, the only One who satisfies, the only Person who is lacking nothing, the only thing that can quench the insatiable need inside of you for more is God, Yahweh, Yeshua, because He alone is eternal. Until you tap into God, you will always be tapping something temporal and you will live a life of want, lack, or deficit.

The question I want to ask you, honestly, what are you tapping? If it’s something temporal, it will run out, but if you tap into God, He is eternal and to Him and His kingdom, there is no end, that is where I am tapping into and I am still hungry for more, but there is no end, so I can stay hungry, because I tapped Who I was made in the image of and so can you. When you tap into the temporary, it is like sugar, it will give you a spike of satisfaction, but it won’t be long until you are seeking something new to tap, but if you tap into the Lord, it is like tapping into the eternal in which there is no end.

Published on by lisagreatenebeliLeave a comment

Proverbs 18:16 “The right gift at the right time can open up new opportunities and gains access to influential people.” (The Voice Translation)

We are on the verge of the greatest breakthrough our generation has ever seen, experienced or participated in. There are more people that we know who have been in a place of hiding, not out of fear, but out of preparation for what is coming. Since being in Redding, CA for the past two weeks the Lord has revealed things to me, that words cannot utter at this time, but what is coming is going to be visible to believers and unbelievers alike. This is not going to be a one nation, one region, one city, one church, one ministry event. This is going to be of global proportions and we are going to say with Job 42:5, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” Yes my friends, it is going to be that big, that is why we have been learning, as Bill Johnson so eloquently said last night, “bold faith stands on the shoulders of quiet trust.” We have been learning to trust quietly, because our faith is going to be extremely bold.

Now that we can see in part what is coming, what do we need to be doing, what understanding is the Lord releasing to us as we press in just a little while longer? I believe we need to hear the truth once again that the right gift, at the right time, can open up new opportunities and gains access to influential people. But here is the unique twist on this that the Lord revealed to me in worship yesterday morning. He said, “a song is a gift; a tithe or offering is a gift; a word of encouragement is a gift; a kind word or gesture is a gift.” When we offer gifts to the Lord or to other people, one of those gifts is going to open doors for us. We have been taught a resume opens a door, the right network opens the door, but the Lord says, the right gift at the right time is going to open the door.

We need to listen to the songs we sing, because some songs are our gift; we need to pay attention to the offerings and tithes we sow, because some of them are gifts we give; and we need to listen carefully to the voice of God as He speaks through us to other people, because our words have the power to activate greatness in other people and this is our gift. I felt like the Lord said, we need to be prepared to give gifts in every situation, because the right gift at the right time is going to open doors and usher us before people of influence in the natural, but even more so in the spirit. Remember what the Psalmist said, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! (Psalm 100:4). Your gift will usher you into places you only dreamt of going, so don’t leave home without your gift, for it is what will begin opening doors.