DSM has been blessed with a wonderful, hard-working, and loyal team. Ceci and I are going to do a staff retreat with them, then she and I will take a much-needed vacation. I have asked some of my close friends and associates - many being regular contributors to the Give Him 15 posts - to fill in during this time. You will recognize most of the names; and I’ve thrown in one or two whom perhaps you haven’t heard from. You’re going to love the insights from all of them - this will be a wonderful smorgasbord! Enjoy!
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Breakthrough in 2022! - Tom Hamon
Welcome to Give Him 15. Today I am filling in for the incomparable Dutch Sheets whom we love so much. As we came into 2022, I heard the Lord say we had entered a very significant season in the earth! He called it a season of Breakthrough! I know, at times it feels like the opposite of what has been taking place, but I believe it is exactly what the Lord has in mind. I also know, that this can seem like a generic term to many but let me describe what I felt the Lord showed me.
First of all, He said our breakthrough would not come without resistance. In fact, He said the church was going to need to have a certain quality of faith called endurance and persistence in order to press past the resistance in this hour to receive its breakthrough season!
If you remember in Luke 11 there is a parable of a man who knocked on his neighbor’s door at midnight for provisions to feed friends that had unexpectedly arrived at his house. Initially, the friend said, ‘Go away, it’s late, I’m in bed and my kids are in bed, I can’t help you now.’ However, instead of walking away disappointed or discouraged, the man said to himself, ‘I’m not leaving until I get my blessing!’ Instead, he decided to knock again! In fact, he knocked and knocked and knocked, until he received the fullness of his Breakthrough! Finally, his friend opened up the door and said, ‘OK, I’ll not only give you what you asked for but whatever you want!’ Jesus said in the parable that he did not open up and give him this blessing and provision just because of his friendship but because of his persistence!
I find it significant that this immediately follows the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in Luke11, where it says, “Let Your Kingdom come, Let Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”. I believe the Lord was giving us clues as to what it would take to do this work. It was going to require Persistence past all Resistance to receive our Breakthrough!
As we entered into this 2020 season of pandemic and political and economic upheaval, the Lord said we must keep our focus on Him and on the promise! I believe 2 Chronicles 20:20 is key in this season of the 2020s! If you remember the story of 2 Chronicles is all about King Jehoshaphat facing a sudden attack from his enemies. He found himself surrounded, outnumbered, and faced with certain capture or death. It was a dark and desperate time in which it seemed the enemy had the upper hand. In fact, it says Jehoshaphat feared as he saw his situation! But that was not the end of the story. Immediately he mobilized the people of God to fast and seek God’s face and began to make an eloquent appeal to heaven. He spoke of God’s promise, purposes, character, and the call of God upon Judah. He based his appeal on ‘case law’ if you will. In verse 12 he acknowledges, we have no power against this great multitude, nevertheless, our eyes are upon You! We recognize that there are powerful, dark, antichrist forces arrayed against us in this hour but we can’t afford to lose our focus!
We must keep our eyes on the Lord!
But the process was not over. In order to have your appeal heard and the case overturned, you have to add new information to your case. This new information came in the form of a prophetic word given by a young prophet named Jahaziel. Jahaziel represents a bold, young emerging prophetic generation that is arising on the earth today. He boldly proclaimed to the king and the nation they would not have to fight the way that they thought they would but God would fight for them! He prophetically admonished them, ‘don’t be afraid, don’t be dismayed but go against them!’ So Jehoshaphat famously declared in 2 Chronicles 20:20, ‘Believe the Lord and you will be established, believe His prophets and you will prosper’.
This powerful Hebrew word prosper doesn’t just mean financially, but also means, ‘to advance, break out, breakthrough and be successful’. In other words, believe what God has to say above your circumstances and you will BREAKTHROUGH!
In 2 Chronicles 20:22 it says as they positioned themselves and began to sing and praise the Lord, the Lord set a trap for their enemies and they were defeated! Can we believe in 2022 that we can praise our way to our Breakthrough!?
Then it says it took days for them to reap the spoils of their victory! Can we also believe for this during this season as well!? I believe this is indicative of where the church is today! It is key that we seek God's face, make our appeal to heaven, listen to what God is saying prophetically and choose to believe what He says above any circumstances that we are facing! God wants to change the verdict of defeat, death and destruction and instead release an amazing breakthrough for us in this season!
The Lord also spoke to me about 2022 in a rather unique way these last couple of years. In 2021, the Lord led me to look up the number 2021 in the Hebrew and Greek in the Strong’s Concordance. The number 2021 in Hebrew is the rarely used word ‘hotsen’ and it means to be ‘sharp and strong as a weapon of war’ and in the Greek, it is the word ‘epicheireo’ which means ‘to take in hand and grasp it’. So the Lord was definitely talking about a warfare season in which we would need to know how to take our weapons of spiritual warfare into our hands and wield them as sharply and strongly as possibly in order to see our breakthrough in this season!
As we entered 2022, I felt the Lord again led me to look up 2022 in the Strong’s Concordance as well. What I found is key for this season in the earth! In the Hebrew, it is the word ‘har’ which means ‘hill, mountain, nation, country’ and in the Greek it is the word ‘epicheo’ which means to ‘pour upon’. I felt God saying He wants to pour upon the mountains and the nations in a special way! But how? As I looked a little deeper, I found this Greek word ‘epicheo’ is only used once in the New Testament in the story of the Good Samaritan. The parable talks about a man that rose above the religious spirit seen in the priest and the Levite and decided to minister to the hurting in the marketplace. He poured out the oil and the wine that restored his soul. He chose to take the time, effort, and money to heal a broken heart and a broken life that he encountered on the side of the road of life. This man pressed passed pride and prejudice to bring a great breakthrough and healing to his neighbor in need.
The Lord said to me this is the year that the great harvest is going to begin to be brought in but we must be careful not to be too focused on what we think is our mission and miss the divine appointments that may present themselves to us along the way in our journey of ministry, family, and business. The church cannot be like the overly focused, prideful priest and Levite and miss the real appointments God has for us in this hour. We must minister to the hurting right in front of us because that is how the real breakthrough and harvest are going to come. God wants to pour upon the mountains of culture and upon our nation to bring great healing during these troubling times in 2022! We have to be His heart expressed and hands extended to bring this prophesied harvest to our generation!
Let’s pray!
God, we choose to seek You in this hour and present our case and appeal to You concerning what is taking in our lives, our homes, our generation, and our nation! We make our appeal based on our covenant with You and on the prophetic word You have decreed! We lift up our hearts to You and say that we will listen to Your voice. We ask for strength and persistence in our hearts to see the breakthrough and the great harvest that You have promised in this season!
Let’s decree!
Lord, we decree this is a season of breakthrough and You hear our appeal. The verdict is that You will fight for us and bring a victory in our lives and in our nation! We decree America shall be saved! We decree the great harvest is coming in and we will reap it for years to come!
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Today’s post was contributed by Pastor Tom Hamon. You can learn more about Tom here.