This is an hour that God is calling the body of Christ up out of the trenches of defeat. We have exited Egypt and are crossing over into new territory that is unlike anything we have ever seen or have experienced but there has been MAJOR turbulence in the crossing and opposition at the threshold. Many have been deep in the trenches for an extended season and needing refreshing and fresh perspective.
As I write this word I’m feeling the strong weighty glory of God upon me and I pray you feel it too. Receive it! I pray this word is not just information or stories to you but becomes burning revelation that marks you deeply and an invitation into your own encounters with Jesus. I pray you will be encouraged that you are not alone in this and that you’ll discover the deeper riches of your inheritance that causes you to see with new eyes and causes your heart to soar in Jesus name!
THE SHOWDOWN AT THE CROSSING
“Why am I constantly fighting Lord?” I have said for years now. Ever since we entered the Jewish new year 5777 there was a commission to take dominion and territory from the enemy. It has been the “seeing” season of the church realizing more and more what we are meant to possess. The battle and fight increased and many have been warring for their promise and new legacy and acquiring it at a rapid rate. The church has been awakening. We are no longer the slaves of an evil tyrant master, blind and unaware of the kingdom at our disposal. No, we have awoken.
But the battle has increased. It hasn’t felt like lower level warfare anymore but it’s been an all-out war to assassinate the rising sons and daughters that are crossing over. This always happens at the crossing. It’s the enemy’s last attempt to take you out before your destiny moment. It’s been a war against marriages, homes, children, dreams, relationships, ministries, and callings. It’s been so intense many have stood at the crossover wanting to give up because the battle has been so great. Can you relate?
Recently as we were facing some intense opposition the Lord reminded me of Jacob who at his crossover place(the Jabbok brook) fought an angel of the Lord until daybreak. At the end of the long night, Jacob said “I’m not letting go til you bless me!” and the angel said, “because you have fought God and man and overcome, your name is now Israel”. At that moment his legacy of striving and fighting changed. Can’t you see it? This is your greatest showdown but you aren’t walking away empty-handed from this fight. It feels like all your chips are in the middle and it’s make or break but YOUR LEGACY IS CHANGING! Don’t give up now!
THE THIEF & THE CLOCK
It was a crazy night. Both my children woke up crying from nightmares and I was on the warpath, walking up and down the hallway in prayer before bed, then I had a dream too. In the dream I heard a noise in the house like someone trying to break in. I would hear a bedroom window being pounded or being smashed in then I would run to where I heard the noise to find no one there. Then I hear it again in another room and run there and again, no one was there. In the dream it seemed to go on for so long that I was exhausted to the point I felt tired and even tormented by the endless stress. Then finally I came to my bedroom window to find it wide open. Sitting on the window was a ticking clock whose alarm suddenly began to chime loudly and I woke up.
When I woke up it was still dark and my instant reaction was to walk around the house and check that all the windows were closed and locked. Just being honest - I did this for half an hour taking the dream as literal before I asked the Lord “Ok what are you saying?”
Then the Lord said something very clear; TIME IS UP!”
“The time is up for my people being robbed and pillaged for lack of knowledge. For not knowing who they are and the power that flows through them. I am declaring that the TIME IS UP of my church being robbed and powerless, battered and bruised, defenseless and defeated!”
“Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house” Proverbs 6:31
God has declared war on the thief stealing from you any longer. He is putting a zero tolerance on the plans of the enemy and ushering in a season of repayment for every wrong that has come against you. Those two always go hand in hand. God is prophesying over your life and situation today that the TIME IS UP of being continually bullied and thieved from entering into your promise and dreams fulfilled! This is also a season that marks the fulfilment of time for us fighting in “our own” strength. We have not fully understood or seen the full manifestation of power available to combat the enemy so we have been blindly swinging our swords in the darkness. This is changing.
A BATTERED BRIDE
The next day the Lord woke me up again to speak to me and I felt such a heavy burden on his heart for the battered bride. The church that has become so accustomed to being powerless that they no longer fought but had laid their swords down. This was the broken and battered bride that had accepted they would no longer be victorious. They were happy to read about theoretical victory and sing songs of power and resurrection but because they hadn’t seen it had camped around defeat and doubt. The Lord called it “the poison of the Philistines”, that is buying the lie that obstacles are unconquerable.
In this season many mighty ones have slowly become poisoned against faith and power and have been increasingly swayed by the Goliath of culture and pressure to adapt to the giants of our day Instead of realising we are alive to be a change in that very area.
Pastors and leaders, don’t bend just because you haven’t seen a win in your city’s culture yet. Prophets don’t let fear rob you anymore and cause you to write diluted, weak words. Has warfare become the lens you see kingdom through or do you still live from victory? God is pulling you out of the mud and stench of the trenches right now and replacing mindsets of hopelessness for triumph! It’s a new day!
FOLLOW ME UP!
Three days ago I had an encounter with Jesus as I was worshiping and I’ve been wrecked ever since. In this encounter, I was having a vision that felt real, like I was in it. I was standing on a side of a large hillside and looking up a mountain in front me. It was green and beautiful and reminded me of the Scottish highlands. Jesus then appeared in front me. Not Jesus in a traditional robe Jesus. Jesus in jeans and shirt with his long hair tied back Jesus. He looks at me and my heart is undone with his big smile and he says excitedly “Come on! Follow me!”. We begin to scale the side of this hill together and he is fast and fit. He is laughing and singing and I feel like I’m witnessing the happiest and freest person I have ever met. That alone was hard to deal with. It confronted me deeply.
Then the strangest thing happened. As I continued to follow Him I began to hear scriptures like 1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6-7. The higher I went I began to feel like burdens and weight were falling away from me and I was laughing like Jesus!
THE POWERLESS ARROWS
Then we came to a clearing. We were pretty high up at this stage but we would still see down. As I looked I could see that far down were angry people like an army yelling but I couldn’t quite hear them more than a bunch of faint whispers on the wind. But they were also shooting arrows at us and I was a bit concerned they would get us. Then Jesus sensing what I was thinking walks over calmly and grabs an arrow from the sky. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized that we were so high up that these arrows had lost their velocity by the time they came close to us! Jesus held it out to me and just laughed almost unimpressed by their attempts. It reminded me of the scripture that says;
“The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord taunts them” Psalm 2:4
FROM GLORY TO GLORY
Shortly after a large thick cloud began to descend upon us and were standing there in the cloud of Gods glory now unable to see down to the ground and those below were unable to see us! His Glory is our defense and as we ascend higher into His presence we become untouchable!
The glory in this encounter can’t be understated. I have experienced the Glory of God many times in my life and I treasure them all, but this felt different. It felt like I could no longer or at least no longer wanted to leave that atmosphere. The air was clear.
I started seeing creativity, color, blueprints, and solutions. This cloud was the manifest presence of God but it was also the very realm of Gods intentionality for mankind. It is our lost inheritance for it says that “all have sinned and fallen short of the “glory” but through the blood of Jesus we now have access and have been restored back into glory. In the beauty and wonder of His splendor, my mind began to revelate effortlessly and my thinking was clear and sharp.
My spirit kept saying over and over “we go from Glory to Glory” and I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 3 where Paul speaks about the greater glory of the new covenant. The greater glory of the new covenant is the glory that comes from being in union with Jesus and hidden IN Him. He is our ultimate defense and our wrap around shield from every arrow and attack of the enemy. Jesus has not only given us access to live above the arrows but he has given us access to the limitless realm of Gods arsenal and protection to constantly soar above any storm we face.
My heart cry in that moment was “Lord how do we live here as continually rather than just have moments in your glory?”
THE CLOUD-THUNDERERS
The next and final part to this encounter affected me the most probably because I was able to witness the interaction of Jesus with the Father. As we walked up to the highest pinnacle of the mountain Jesus stood there in conversation with someone I couldn’t see. I knew it was the Father. I could feel His heart for me. Then Jesus leaned in as if hearing a secret then leant down facing the ground and released a sound but what came out sounded like thunder and lighting. Then this scriptures came to mind;
“After it, a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard. "God thunders with His voice wondrously, Doing great things which we cannot comprehend” Job 37:4-5
Instantly I knew that the earth below was being affected by whatever just happened. The thunder and Lightning’s of his voice were calling things into alignment and bringing judgement and ruin to principalities and powers below.
My vision ended there but I was so greatly stirred. What if God is commissioning us as cloud thunderers? Who will be those ones? Who will be those who are willing to ascend the mountain of the Lord and dwell in his cloud and hear his heart then thunder it into the earth?
What if the the call to the church in this hour was to not just have moments in His glory for instance when we are in a great church service and the temperature is up, but learning to live from Mt Zion as a lifestyle. What if we learnt to never leave that altitude? What would happen as a corporate church if that became our norm? How would that affect homes, communities, cities and nations?
“A warrior filled with wisdom ascends into the high place and releases regional breakthrough, bringing down the strongholds of the mighty” Proverbs 21:22
HEAVEN RAIDED & THE SOUND OF TESTIMONY
As I was processing this more with the Lord I couldn’t shake the sound I heard from the mountain. It felt more than just a single moment or act. It was a new sound being released into the earth. It was the sound of testimony according to Revelation 12:11;
“They triumphed(overcome) over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death”
This is a season of OVERCOMING!
People are beginning to discover the sound that comes forth as they are leaving their long and weary seasons in the battlefield. They are standing to their feet and releasing such a shout that is not just sending demons running but is realigning what is out of alignment and calling things out of darkness into the light. It’s the sound that comes forth as sons and daughters are unveiled to the truth of who they are and what they really have access to.
We are entering a season where God is bringing exposure to false security and identity that has been keeping people bound and fire-less. We are going to see a new wave of heaven being raided as people once living in bondage and under lies are suddenly awoken to their identity in Christ. We are going to see people shake off their prison clothes and old war armour step onto their righteousness and begin to live “seated in Christ in heavenly places”
The roar of breakthrough stories filling the earth is going be like a grand symphony that will make the enemies chatter and noise futile. That is you and I! That is the time we are living in right now! God is stirring up your song, your testimony, your shout in this hour!
THE CALL HIGHER ABOVE THE STORM
Something is shifting right now in the heavens. Your greatest showdown, your seasons of fighting and persistently pressing forward through opposition, demonic assignments, witchcraft, and mind wars and attack haven’t been in vain. Your spiritual muscles have been built up, but now the Lord is revealing a better tactic for a rising victorious church. It is to come up higher above the storm and live from heaven. God is inviting you and I to live from victory and watch as He FLIPS THE SCRIPT on every powerless circumstance you lay your eyes upon.
I prophesy that your history of hangups is being turned into HOPE fulfilled, and your story of woe is turning into your testimony of WOAH that is going to UNLOCK the prison doors and set people, families, and regions free. This is the season you are coming up higher and learning how to wield your sword with ease and use your mouth to CREATE as you thunder from the heavens.
“Now he moves Zion’s mountains by the might of his voice, shaking the snowy peaks with his earsplitting sound! The lightning-fire flashes, striking as he speaks. This is the one who gives his strength and might to his people. This is the Lord giving us his kiss of peace” Psalm 29:6, 7, 11
WARFARE KEYS FOR THIS SEASON
- Remember you don’t fight people. This is never about a person but a spirit. Don’t get caught talking trench gossip - this will only keep you stuck.
- Armor up where you need it most. If your mind is under fire, then spend more time speaking the word (truth) over your mind.
- Don’t sell out for second best. There will always be sneaky trade posts and temptations moments before the breakthrough. Be wise and discerning.
- Break out of the victim role. Easier said than done but many of us need to detox from the war zone. This will happen naturally as you are intentional to leave the trenches.
- Talk to Jesus and involve Him in your journey. The good, the bad, the really hard moments. This will set you up for some amazing encounters.
- ASCEND! Worship and begin to explore the other realm you have citizenship to. You are seated in Christ in the heavens, and no it’s not some kooky place super-spiritual people go to on lunch break. It’s a place you and I are designed to interact with so we can be earthly good!
- Become reacquainted with what God says about you and how awesome you are. Identity and worth are almost always half of the battle. If the enemy can get you focussed on how unworthy and useless you are, you are no longer climbing, you are descending.
- Pick up your sword again and start seeing yourself as victorious. Stop going into battle already anticipating defeat. That may have been your past but it isn’t your future.
- Prophesy more, declare more, speak, yell, shout, THUNDER more in this season. Put your whisper on the bench and stir up your voice and begin to get territorial about the promise in your hands.
- AND DON'T GIVE UP!
