(Watch the video of this word HERE.)
We are in a birthing room season. But we are also in a war room season.
Many of you have been experiencing unusual opposition, intense discouragement, exhaustion, and warfare that seems to have come from every direction.
You’ve wondered why the battle has been so fierce. Why the resistance has increased. You’ve wondered why, just when you thought you were finally stepping into the promises of God, it seemed like everything was coming against you.
But I want to tell you something…
THE WARFARE IS NOT PROOF THAT YOU ARE FAILING. THERE IS SOMETHING GOD IS BIRTHING THROUGH YOU!
I believe we are in a crossover as the Church, one that is leading to fulfillment, a new birthing, and a new day for the body of Christ.
God is bringing forth His heart, His new wineskin, and His new wine in the earth. And you and I are being commissioned to carry it.
I’ve been saying this over and over: THE WAR IS ON THE NEW WINE!
Recently, I had a prophetic dream that I believe reveals something significant about the season we are entering.
THE BIRTHING ROOM DREAM
In the dream, I found myself inside a massive birthing room. There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of people in labor.
The contractions were intense, and strangely, they were almost perfectly synchronized.
But this was not a peaceful environment. There was warfare surrounding the room.
I could sense people outside trying to force their way through the doors. Their intention was not simply to interrupt the birthing process. I knew in the dream that they wanted to kill the birth mothers so they could not give birth.
I began calling people to guard the doors. There weren’t enough midwives, and I knew we needed more people to protect what was taking place.
Then, I noticed something extraordinary. There was a massive clock on the wall, and every time it reached twelve, the contractions began.
I remember thinking, “We better stay in time. We can’t be behind. We must stay in sync.”
When I woke up, I knew the Lord was speaking about the season we are in.
WE ARE IN A BIRTHING ROOM, BUT WE ARE ALSO IN A WAR ROOM.
I believe God is bringing His Church into a new season of fulfillment. There is a new wineskin emerging, a new breed of believers rising, and a fresh expression of the Kingdom of God coming forth.
But the enemy is contending against the birth.
Revelation 12:4 describes the dragon standing before the woman who was about to give birth, waiting to devour her child.
I believe this is a picture of the spiritual battle surrounding the birthing taking place right now.
The enemy knows that once the Church rises up as the pure and spotless bride, carrying the new wine and the power of God, the old powerless model is finished.
The Church is coming out of being a country club and becoming an army again.
The upper room company is rising!
The undignified, unbridled, not-for-sale believers who are here for the real thing are rising!
And many of these are the ones who have been under intense fire over the past few years.
The enemy came after their homes, marriages, children, reputations, and callings. They went silent for a while. They recouped.
BUT NOW THEY ARE STANDING BACK TO THEIR FEET, AND THEY ARE NOT TO BE MESSED WITH!
I believe many of you are in a comeback season.
The enemy threw everything at you, but it did not prosper.
And now you are rising.
THREE ASSIGNMENTS AGAINST YOUR BIRTHING SEASON
As I prayed into this dream, the Lord kept leading me to Nehemiah 6.
The walls of Jerusalem were almost complete. The breaches had been closed, but the gates had not yet been installed. It was at this critical moment, when the work was nearing completion, that the opposition intensified.
I believe there are three assignments we need to recognize in this season:
1. THE AMBUSH – THE ATTEMPT TO PULL YOU AWAY
Sanballat and Geshem repeatedly invited Nehemiah to meet them in the plain of Ono but Nehemiah discerned their intentions.
He answered, “I am doing important work and cannot come down.” - Nehemiah 6:3
Some of you are being invited into battles that have absolutely nothing to do with your assignment.
Conversations that drain you. Conflicts that demand your attention. People who insist you explain yourself. Distractions disguised as concern.
I’ve experienced this personally.
Years ago, when Christy and I were stepping into our calling, two pastors contacted me wanting to meet. They believed we were off track and wanted to counsel us. It sounded like concern.
But that night, I had a dream where one of them had a pet snake that kept biting my hand.
I woke up knowing I wasn’t supposed to meet with them. I knew that conversation would poison me with doubt and potentially derail what God had called us to do.
So I politely declined and got back to the assignment. Years later, one of those pastors actually admitted they had been wrong. I was grateful I had listened to the Holy Spirit.
Listen, not every invitation deserves your attention. Not every conversation requires your participation. And you do not owe everybody an explanation.
STOP COMING DOWN FROM WHAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO BUILD!
There are battles you will only win by refusing to participate. Stay on the wall. Protect what is coming.
2. THE FALSE REPORT – THE ATTACK AGAINST YOUR IDENTITY
When the ambush failed, Sanballat changed his tactics. He sent an open letter filled with false accusations concerning Nehemiah’s motives. He accused him of rebellion and suggested that he was rebuilding Jerusalem to establish himself as king.
The intention was intimidation.
Nehemiah recognized that they were trying to weaken his hands so the work would remain unfinished. I believe this is where many of you have been fighting.
You’ve been misunderstood. Your motives have been questioned. Your obedience has been labeled rebellion. People have spoken against your character, your calling, and what God has asked you to build. They may even have stirred up others against you.
And slowly, the discouragement has begun to settle over you. You’ve felt like giving up.
But this is what I felt the Lord saying:
“NOT ONLY IS THAT INTIMIDATION NOT GOING TO PROSPER, I’M BREAKING THE DISCOURAGEMENT AND I’M STRENGTHENING YOUR HANDS TO FINISH WHAT I CALLED YOU TO DO.”
The accusations were never the real objective. The objective was to make you drop your hands. To silence your voice. To convince you that continuing wasn’t worth the cost.
But look at Nehemiah’s response:
“But now, my God, strengthen my hands.” – Nehemiah 6:9
I believe God is strengthening the hands of those who have become weary in the battle. The false report will not have the final word over your assignment!
3. THE COUNTERFEIT WORD – THE ATTEMPT TO MAKE YOU RETREAT
In Nehemiah 6, a man named Shemaiah delivered what sounded like an urgent prophetic warning.
He told Nehemiah that people were coming to kill him and urged him to hide inside the temple. But Nehemiah discerned that God had not sent him. The supposed warning was actually a trap intended to intimidate him and lead him into compromise.
And I believe this is a significant warning for this season…
NOT EVERY VOICE THAT SOUNDS SPIRITUAL IS SPEAKING THE HEART OF GOD.
Some voices will come with urgency. Some will come with alarm. Some will sound like wisdom, protection, or concern.
But their effect will be to move you out of faith and into fear. To make you retreat when God has called you to advance. To make you question what God has already spoken.
I’ve fallen prey to this before.
Someone comes with a spiritual word or a certain tone, and suddenly you begin questioning yourself… “Maybe they’re right. Maybe I missed God.”
Before you know it, you’ve lost your peace. That’s why discernment is so important in this season.
Nehemiah recognized that the word was not from God. He refused to retreat, compromise, or disqualify himself.
I believe the Lord is sharpening our discernment right now.
DO NOT LET FEAR BECOME THE VOICE DIRECTING YOUR NEXT STEPS.
Protect the anointing. Protect the assignment. And be careful who you allow to speak into what God is birthing.
THE INTIMIDATORS ARE ABOUT TO GET INTIMIDATED!
This is the part of Nehemiah 6 that I cannot get away from.
After all the threats, accusations, intimidation, and attempts to sabotage the work, the wall was completed in just 52 days. And something extraordinary happened…
The very enemies who had tried to intimidate Nehemiah became intimidated themselves. Why?
Because they recognized that the work had been accomplished with the help of God.
THE INTIMIDATORS GOT INTIMIDATED!
I believe this is a prophetic picture for many of you. You’ve endured years of barrenness. Years of waiting. Years of carrying promises that seemed impossible. You’ve faced opposition that should have taken you out.
But you are still here. And I believe this is going to be a season where you will give birth and declare:
LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!
You will look back and say, “I have outlasted my intimidators. I have navigated the ambushes. I have overcome the false reports. I have prevailed. And now I am seeing what God wanted to bring forth through my life!”
Think about this–
The walls of Jerusalem had remained broken for generations, yet God enabled Nehemiah to complete the rebuilding in just 52 days. I believe that speaks of accelerated restoration.
What had sat broken for generations was restored in an incredibly short period. I believe some of you are going to see God bring restoration to things that have been broken in your family line for generations.
You are going to be the one who turns the page. The one who turns the tide. The one who sees the promise fulfilled.
But here’s the key: IT HAS TO BE GOD WHO DOES IT.
This isn’t about striving. It isn’t about forcing the promise into existence. It is about surrendering to His timing and allowing His strength to accomplish what yours cannot.
GOD IS RESTORING YOUR STRENGTH FOR THE BIRTH
Lastly, I kept hearing the Lord say:
“I WILL GATHER BACK YOUR STRENGTH.”
Some of you have been carrying what God has placed upon your life for so long that you’ve become exhausted. Your mind has been weary. Your emotions have been stretched. You’ve been fighting battles internally that nobody else can see.
It’s like your thoughts have become tangled in worry, fear, and the trauma of the past season.
But I believe the Lord is bringing you back into clarity and peace of mind. He is restoring your strength of mind. He is restoring your soul. He is restoring your emotions. And He is bringing peace where there has been torment.
I believe this birthing season is about leaning into Him.
Yes, there is warfare.
Yes, there is tension.
Yes, there is something significant at stake.
But DON’T BIRTH OUT OF HUSTLE. BIRTH OUT OF REST.
Don’t strive to make it happen. Don’t force what God is doing.
Stay in sync with His timing. Stay surrendered. Stay faithful. Allow Him to strengthen your hands.
I believe we are in a Kairos moment of birthing, where God is calling His Church to recognize the birth pangs and engage with what He is doing.
There is a new breed of believers rising.
A Church that is no longer intimidated by the fear of man. A Church that is engaged, mobilized, and ready to step into her voice. And I believe many of you who have been through the fiercest battles are going to become prototypes for this emerging generation.
The enemy thought he had taken you out. He thought he had silenced you. He thought he had destroyed your confidence and your calling.
BUT YOU ARE IN A COMEBACK!
You are rising again. And you are not rising in your own strength.
You are rising in HIS.
Declare this over your life today:
IN THIS SEASON, I’M GOING TO GIVE BIRTH, AND NOTHING WILL STOP IT!
Protect what God is birthing. Guard the doors. Stay on the wall. Keep your hands to the work.
I believe the day is coming when you will look at what God has brought forth through your life and declare:
LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!