Search Results

Angels: Supernatural Enforcers I was in a service with my brother, Tim, a few weeks back, and Holy Spirit moved in profound ways. The Lord had brought revelation to various leaders before the meetings, which came together that night, and produced great breakthroughs. It was a very significant night. In today’s post, Tim shares the majority of information; I contribute some, as well. Tim shares: “I believe Holy Spirit has revealed a Kingdom strategy for the Ekklesia that has now been activated at a new level. This will demand that we function as a true Ekklesia, the word Christ used to define the church. Remember, ekklesia, the word translated as “church” in the New Testament, is a Greek word that refers to a judicial or legislative body.(1) The word is used 113 times in the New Testament, proving it was intentional, an on-purpose name for the church. This meaning MUST be understood in order for us to comprehend our mission statement. “Our church recently hosted a Prophetic Summit, a night in which the Ekklesia convenes and presses in to hear from the Lord regarding our current season. As I was praying on the morning of the Summit, Holy Spirit allowed me to see into the spirit realm. “While praying I had said, ‘Lord, people are coming from around our nation, some driving many hours to be here. I want it to be beneficial to them and worth their time. Some are even flying in.’ When I said that, I heard Holy Spirit very clearly say, ‘They aren’t the only ones.’ I was immediately given a vision. “In this vision, I saw a host of angels coming to the meeting. Holy Spirit revealed that they were coming from other nations throughout the world. Based on the way they were dressed, I recognized different divisions of angels: I saw government angels, which partner with the prayers and decrees of a governing Ekklesia/church; and I saw seraphim, which are the mightiest order of angels. During this vision, I could sense the power, strength, and delegated authority of these mighty angels. Hundreds of them were coming to this convening of the King’s Ekklesia. “I trembled in the holy presence of God and knew Holy Spirit was revealing a supernatural level of assistance, and it was dramatically increasing. I began to weep as I saw the hosts of heaven coming from other nations and realized this would be a game changer. “I spoke that evening at the Summit, but did not share this vision. In fact, I hadn’t shared it with anyone. My brother, Dutch, was also one of the speakers and at the end of his message, invited a prophet, Clay Nash, to share a dream he had been given. In this dream, an angel, referring to himself as a ‘justice gate angel,’ told Clay this Prophetic Summit would be a ‘white stone meeting.’ My spirit leapt when he said this, and I instantly knew it was why the angels I had seen were coming to the meeting. “Revelation 2:17 (KJV) says, ‘… To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.’ When this verse was written, the giving of a white stone had two meanings. First, in the Roman athletic games, a white stone was given to the winner of a contest, race, or competition. The person’s name was inscribed on the stone, which served as a ‘ticket’ to attend an awards banquet.(2) “However, another meaning of giving someone a white stone occurred in the court system of Rome, which is what I feel the justice gate angel was referencing. Roman courts used juries, similar to our justice system. The jury would hear a matter, deliberate, and then issue a decision, just as we do today. When the verdict had been reached, a clear vase was set before the jury. They placed a black stone in the jar to indicate ‘guilty,’ and a white stone for ‘not guilty.’(3) DUTCH SHARES For the angel to state this would be a “white stone meeting” could mean two things: 1) We, the Ekklesia, were going to receive a favorable ruling from the courtroom of heaven; or, 2) We, the Ekklesia, were the jury and would be issuing the verdict! That is certainly a different perspective. Could it be? Were the angels actually coming to hear our ruling, and then would take action accordingly? Matthew 16:18-19 (KJV) says, “On this rock of revelation I will build my church [ekklesia]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” In his book, Prayer Is Invading the Impossible, respected leader Jack Hayford (now in heaven) - based on a literal rendering of the Greek verbiage - says the following is a careful amplification of the above verses: “Whatever you may at any time encounter (of hell's counsels which I'm declaring my church shall prevail against), you will then face a decision as to whether you will or won't bind it. What transpires will be conditional upon your response. If you do personally and consciously involve yourself in the act of binding the issue on earth, you will discover that at that future moment when you do, that it has already been bound in heaven!”(4) Incredible! Notice the portion, “You will face a decision whether you will or won’t bind it. What transpires will be conditional upon your response.” Not God’s response! This is amazing! And when Tim heard what the justice angel said, he knew in his spirit this was why the angels had come: to hear our “decisions” and “responses” in order to enforce them. They were waiting for Christ’s Ekklesia to hear what God was saying, judge situations based on His laws, and issue His verdict with their decrees. BACK TO TIM “When I heard the words that this would be a ‘white stone meeting,’ I knew Holy Spirit had sent the angels to hear the verdict of the Ekklesia: what it would forbid and what it would permit. In a sense, the Prophetic Summit was a court session and, based upon Matthew 16:18-19, what transpired would be conditional upon our response. “Job 22:28 (KJV) says we decree a thing to see it established, and Psalms 103:20 (KJV) says angels hearken to God’s words and decrees. When we decree verdicts based on God’s Word and will, they bring His/our words to pass. Angels are waiting to hear the ruling in order to enforce the verdict. They’re the enforcers of the Ekklesia’s biblical and Spirit-led rulings against evil, lawlessness, and corruption in their territories. Holy Spirit is releasing these powerful angels at a far greater level to enforce the Ekklesia’s verdicts, rendered in the King’s Name. “The supernatural enforcers have arrived. Will we issue the verdicts they need in order to battle hell’s forces? Or will we, through unbelief and silence, be a hung jury that can’t make up its mind?” Pray with me: Lord, let this revelation seep into our hearts. You are revealing that the church’s authority reaches to greater levels and measures than we have known. The angel gate is open, and these mighty ones will hearken to Your words through us. They will enforce our binding of evil, and our loosing of nations, cultures, and governments from demonic rule. As our decrees for revival and reformation go forth, give us stunning victories and divine surprises in this season. We ask for these angels to enforce breakthrough decrees and verdicts against Baal and his activities. We accept our role as Christ’s ekklesia and declare that we do rule and reign with Him. In Christ’s name, we will open doors no man can close, and close doors no man can open. We will say what You say; Your Words will be our words! May Your Kingdom and Ekklesia rise for Your glory. May Your power be released in the lives of individuals. Let healings, breakthroughs, and victories be released, and may angels be assigned to minister in our personal lives, families, and businesses. In Yeshua’s name, we pray. Our decree: We decree that the supernatural enforcers are with us to carry out the declared promises of God. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s post was contributed by my brother, Tim. You can learn more about him at TimSheets.org. 1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 1577. 2. https://bethelchapelchurch.com/will-jesus-give-you-a-white-stone/ 3. https://renner.org/article/why-did-jesus-promise-a-white-stone/ 4. Jack W. Hayford, Prayer Is Invading the Impossible (South Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1977, revised edition, Bridge Publishing, 1995), p. 140, 1977 edition.

Re-igniting, Uncapping, and Birthing the New I continue to ponder my time at Lou Engle’s conference this past Sunday night in Colorado Springs. It was a profound night. When introduced to speak, I hadn’t yet landed on exactly what Holy Spirit wanted me to share. So I began simply by mentioning my experience a couple of weeks back, when my spiritual father played the song, America the Beautiful, for a small group of us (read post here). The words to this song came in part to Katherine Lee Bates while on Pike’s Peak, which she wrote down when she returned to her hotel right there in Colorado Springs. Then I related how listening to the song and witnessing Jim’s heart for America had reminded me of and renewed in me the visitation I had from the Lord in 2000. This, like the song, occurred there in Colorado Springs. I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence that God reminded me of all this just before my return visit to that city. As I shared this that night, all heaven broke loose. Our good friend, intercessor and pastor, Terri Brown, wrote the following unsolicited account from her perspective, as well as what she heard from Holy Spirit during the service: “I was able to participate in Lou Engle’s recent 222 Conference in Colorado Springs. Though very encouraging, it was also challenging, and at times heart-wrenching. “Although the entire conference was rich and significant, I’ve especially been pondering the last night when Dutch Sheets was the scheduled speaker. Many have described this as the most amazing, intense prayer gathering they have ever been in. There was unity, travail, worship, intense intercession, and a feeling of birthing and breakthrough. “Before giving you a word the Lord shared with me that night, let me give you a backdrop regarding Colorado Springs, our calling to this city, and some history. This will help you understand my perspective as I share. “Much was said during the weekend regarding the significance of what has been birthed in Colorado Springs over the years. Cindy Jacobs and Lou Engle rehearsed many of the significant prayer events, as well as entire movements that have been birthed here. I remember being present at some of these events and hearing the stories of others. “My husband, Jack, and I don’t just ‘live’ in Colorado Springs; we are ‘called’ here and have worked to steward its destiny. Therefore, these stories felt like part of our heritage, our birthright. Cindy emphasized this to a group of Colorado Springs leaders while here, reminding us that we must steward these spiritual wells in our region. This is important, not so our lives here will be more pleasant and prosperous, but because of the calling on this city to be a spiritual warfare hub, birthing prayer into the nation and nations. “As I surveyed the room on Sunday night, I saw so many in the room who were active members at Dutch’s church when he pastored here. These were people present the night the Lord encountered Dutch with His heart for America. They remember being quietly ushered out of the sanctuary when he was left alone with the Lord those 3 1/2 hours. These were the people who gathered to pray night after night with Dutch in December 2006; Chuck Pierce had prophesied to him that he was in a battle with Baal and needed to call for 21 days of prayer. These were the folks marked by the presence of God when the Lord came and rested here for 90 straight days in 2008. “Many of these individuals are now in their 60’s, 70’s and 80s. They came out in force for Dutch’s session Sunday night. I also saw many from the host church that have for years battled spiritually in our city. And, of course, there were many from Lou’s faithful tribe. It was an interesting mix of over 700 like-minded people. “As I pondered this that night, I was reminded of the word the Lord gave me for 2024 in November of last year. At that time, I heard Him say, ‘I am calling up the Reserves.’ Then I heard a call go out, ‘Report for duty!’ “When I think of the Reserves, I think of three types: Soldiers who have served in full-time active duty but have now retired and serve in the Reserves. Those who are ‘weekend warriors,’ soldiers on the weekend but focus during the week on their jobs and families. Those who want an education and see this as a way to pay for it; they are being trained and educated while serving. “I saw all 3 of these types of Reserves in God’s prayer army throughout the room Sunday night, and they were being called up to active duty. “As the meeting started, Holy Spirit led me to Isaiah 35:3-4: ‘Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance; with the recompense of God, He will come and save you.”’ “The Passion Translation words these verses: ‘Strengthen those who are discouraged. Energize those who feel defeated. Say to the anxious and fearful, “Be strong and never afraid. Look, here comes your God! He is breaking through to give you victory! He comes to avenge your enemies. With divine retribution, He comes to save you!”’ “As I pondered these verses and the word regarding calling up the Reserves, I was reminded that there were two fires that day in Colorado Springs. One was on the Air Force Academy grounds, the other on Fort Carson. In over 25 years of living in this area, I have never heard of fires at both bases at the same time; and I can’t remember fires ever occurring this time of year. Many times, what is happening in the natural realm is a sign of what God is doing in the spiritual realm. As I pondered this, I felt the Lord was showing me that He was reigniting His prayer army, not only the ground troops, but also His Air Force. “As Dutch got up to speak, we could tell God was engaging with him in a powerful way. He shared his encounter with the Lord 24 years ago here in Colorado Springs when He received the Father’s heart for America. Then he spoke of a recent experience that similarly ‘marked’ him for America. There seemed to be a convergence of those encounters that night, and Dutch seemed to be weighing what the Lord desired him to do. “As He yielded the meeting to the Holy Spirit, travail suddenly broke out all across the room; we went into a place of intercession that was rare and incredible. In this time, we experienced a reigniting of the prayer movement, an uncapping of the wells in this city, and a birthing of the new prayer army for this time and season. “Regarding what the Lord shared with me concerning calling up the reserves, Holy Spirit also said: ‘There will be fresh uniforms/mantles.’ ‘There will be updated spiritual weapons of warfare.’ ‘We must let go of the past season - of both victories and defeats - in order to step into the battle before us with fresh vision and faith.’ ‘We need to be rightly connected with other believers.’ “This is a critical time; so much is hanging in the balance. We must pick up the fresh mantles, allow the Lord to replace weakness with strength and refreshing, and put new spiritual weapons in our hands, enabling us to war victoriously.” Pray with me: Father, You are more than amazing, orchestrating events in our lives when we are totally unaware. I did not even remember that I had an upcoming trip to Colorado Springs when You renewed what You did in me there, and used the song written there to do it. We can trust You to lead us. We thank You for the reigniting of the prayer movement, and for calling up the Reserves. Thank You for the fresh mantles and updated weaponry, which would surely mean greater revelation of the spiritual weapons You have given us. Thank You for all that was birthed that night in Colorado Springs. I will never forget the roar of travailing intercession released, nor the roar of Your promise: America shall be saved! We declare Your promise and heart once again today: America shall be saved! We also declare the connection of this to the nations: The greatest outpouring of Holy Spirit in earth’s history is coming to the nations of earth. The greatest harvest will result. This will NOT be stopped. And we thank You for this, asking in Yeshua’s name. Our decree: The prayer movement is being reignited and re-outfitted. And the plans of hell are being unraveled. Click on the link below to watch the full video. You can view the service Terri mention by clicking here. You can learn more about Terri Brown at TerriBrown.live.

Unraveling The Schemes Of The Enemy I mentioned the word luo in yesterday‘s post. What I stated regarding this subject is vitally important. I want to pick up on it again today. In review, I said: “An interesting word is used in 1 John 3:8 that adds insight into what happened at the Cross. The verse reads, ‘For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil’ (KJV). ‘Destroy’ is the Greek word luo, which has both legal and physical meanings. Understanding its full definition will greatly enhance our knowledge of what Jesus did to satan and his works. “The legal meaning of luo is: to pronounce or determine that something or someone is no longer bound; to dissolve or void a contract or anything that legally binds.(1) “Jesus came to dissolve the legal hold satan had over us and to pronounce that we were no longer bound by his works. He ‘voided the contract,’ breaking satan’s dominion over us. “The physical meaning of luo is to dissolve or melt, break, beat something to pieces, or untie something that is bound.(2) In Acts 27:41, the boat Paul traveled on was broken into pieces (luo) by the force of the storm. In 2 Peter 3:10-12, we’re told that one day the elements of the earth will melt or dissolve (luo) from a great heat. “It is very significant to know that Jesus used this same word, luo, to describe what we, the Church, are to do through spiritual warfare. Matthew 16:19 tells us, ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ The word ‘loose’ in this verse is luo. “So, did Christ luo the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), or do we luo the works of the devil (Matthew 16:19)? The answer is ‘Yes!’ Although Jesus fully accomplished the task of breaking satan’s authority and voiding his legal hold on the human race, someone on earth must represent Him in that victory and enforce it. Satan is a thief and a trespasser. The fact that he has no legal right (authority) to do something does not keep him from doing it. Only the authority of Christ, combined with the power of Holy Spirit, stops him from doing so. Both flow from/through us. In Christ’s name, we release His authority, and Holy Spirit backs this up with His power. “In all spiritual warfare, always remember that our responsibility is not to re-defeat satan, but to enforce his defeat. My confidence increased dramatically in the context of ‘binding,’ ‘loosing,’ ‘wrestling’ with principalities and powers, ‘pulling down strongholds,’ etc., when I finally understood it as enforcing the victory of Calvary.” MORE ABOUT LUO After writing yesterday's post, I thought about the incredibly evil plans being implemented in America. As I did so, I heard Holy Spirit say, “It is all coming unraveled.” I knew He wanted to give me more insight regarding this so I began studying, only to find that Holy Spirit had more to reveal regarding this word luo. When I looked up the Greek word for “unraveled,” my lexicons led me to analusis,(3) which they said comes from the root word, luo, translated as destroy in 1 John 3:8 and loose in Matthew 16:19. It’s fairly easy to see why: when the strands of a rope come “loose,” they are  “unraveling.” The word “analysis” is also derived from analusis, which is easily seen from its spelling. Analyzing a situation is breaking loose, disassembling its components - unraveling the strands - so that we understand the situation more clearly. As I read this, I heard Holy Spirit say, “As the church has been releasing Christ’s authority, ‘luo-ing’ the plans of satan in America, it has enabled Me to unravel (analusis) and expose his plans.” God is, indeed, exposing satan’s schemes and plans. Americans are beginning to see just how corrupt our government has become. They see the two-tiered system of justice. They are observing the insanity of plans to remove our borders, destroy our families and children, distort our history, and steal our nation. They see the dishonesty and deceit. They are coming to grips with the disheartening and horrifying truth that for many of our leaders, votes and power mean more than the lives of the American people. The corruption is all being unraveled, enabling the American people to analyze what is truly happening. The truth is painful, but necessary. And throughout this year, 2024, the process will intensify. The revelations will be amplified, and Americans will not like what they see. This is all part of God‘s deliverance process. America is receiving her MRI. That which is hidden on the inside is being revealed, and the level of revelation will increase. We asked for this, and it is occurring, exposing the cancer of sin eating away at the life of our nation. Keep praying. Do as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 16: bind the plans of the enemy; loose, dissolve, untie, unravel his evil schemes (verse 19). Do as He instructed us in Matthew 6: command His Kingdom rule into our land; command His will to be done (verse 10). Ask Christ to pour out His Spirit, bringing life to America’s dry bones and healing our land. Ask Him for revival, the great ingathering, and the transforming of our nation. Yes, grieve over what Holy Spirit is exposing, but don’t be discouraged as you witness it. Be encouraged that we are getting a proper diagnosis in order to receive the cure. Don’t allow the shaking to shake you. Determine to keep praying and standing in faith that America shall be saved. Decree it daily. Your prayers are saving our nation and releasing salvation to a billion people around the world. Never stop. Pray with me: Father, thank You for answering our prayers, for exposing and revealing the true condition of our nation, even though it is painful and grievous to see. We ask You to continue unraveling the evil structures and plans. Show us where satan has entrenched himself in our nation; reveal his schemes and tentacles; enlighten us to what must be repented of. Root out evil at all levels. Go deep. And even as we pray against the evil, we ask for the salvation of those who are deceived and partnering with the evil one. Help us to remember that You love the lost, that Your mercy is great, and just how powerful of a cleansing agent is the blood of Jesus. Keep us from the sins of pride and stone-throwing. Deliver those who are deceived and walking in darkness; open their eyes to truth and the gospel; soften hard hearts. Do these things here and around the world. We also pray again today for the protection of our family members and leaders. We pray for Justice Thomas and all those on the Court, that every scheme to take their lives would fail, and every deceitful plan to assassinate their character would be exposed. We pray for Donald Trump’s protection from physical harm and judicial injustice. Turn it all for good. We pray for the protection of our water resources and structures, and for protection from all forms of terrorism. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Our decree: We decree that the unraveling of evil schemes in America will continue, that darkness will be exposed, and truth will prevail. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books. Click on the link below to watch the full video. __________________________________ Spiros Zodhiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible–New American Standard (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1984: revised edition, 1990), p. 1583. Ibid. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 359.

Enforcing Satan’s Defeat by Wielding Our Sword The Hebrew word for intercession, paga, means literally “to meet.”(1)This can be a meeting of people, the boundaries of two pieces of land, the earth, and sky (the horizon) - it really doesn’t matter what the context is; the point is that two entities come together. Intercession is birthed from our communing with our Father, God. We meet with Him in a relational sense, and from that connection, other meetings are created. Not all meetings are pleasant, however. Some can actually be violent. Proverbs 17:12 tells us: Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly. “Meet” is this Hebrew word paga. I’ve never met a she-bear in the wild with or without cubs, and hope I never do. But years ago, a wise old woodsman, instructing me in the art of surviving bear encounters, gave me the following piece of wisdom: “Son, try to avoid them, if possible! But if you can’t and it’s a female with cubs you meet, never get between mama and those cubs. Because if you do, the meeting is about to go to a whole new level, up close and very personal.” Now, before I’m harangued for a contextual violation of Scripture, let me say I am not insinuating that this verse is talking about prayer. I am saying, however, that the word used for “meet” in the verse is this same Hebrew word (paga), elsewhere translated “intercession.” Other Hebrew words could have been used, but this one was chosen partly because it often has a very violent connotation. In fact, paga is frequently a battlefield term (for examples, see Judges 8:21; 15:12; 1 Samuel 22:17-18; 2 Samuel 1:15; 1 Kings 2:25-46). “Meetings” can be unpleasant! Some can be downright ugly, such as the one satan had with Jesus at Calvary. Satan had come between God and His “cubs.” He ought not to have done that! Satan’s worst nightmare came true when, with 4000 years of pent-up fury, Jesus met him at Calvary. The earth rocked, and I do mean literally, with the force of the battle (see Matthew 27:51). The very sun grew dark as the war raged (see v. 45). At the moment of what satan thought was his greatest triumph, he and all his forces heard the most terrifying sound they had ever heard: God’s laugh of derision (see Psalm 2:4)! The laughter was followed by the voice of the Son of Man crying with a loud voice, “Tetelestai.” This Greek word is translated, “It is finished” in John 19:30. Please don’t think Jesus was talking about death when He spoke that word. HE WAS NOT! Tetelestai means to fully accomplish something or bring it to its completed state,(2) just as the word “finished” would imply. However, it was also the word stamped on invoices in that day, meaning “paid in full.”(3) Christ was quoting from Psalm 22:31 when He chose this statement. Three of His seven sayings on the cross come from this Psalm. The Hebrew word He quoted from this verse is asah. He may have actually been speaking Hebrew, using this very word, even though it is recorded in Greek in John's gospel. The word means, among other things, “to create.”(4) It is used in Genesis, for example, when God created the earth. I believe that not only was Christ saying, “The debt is paid in full,” He was also saying, “Come forth, new creation!” No wonder the earth shook, the sun reappeared, the centurion was terrified (see Matthew 27:54), and Old Testament saints were resurrected (see Matthew 27:52-53). Don’t tell me God doesn’t have a flare for the dramatic. The Cross defines drama. And yes, behind the scenes, it was violent. Captives were rescued (see 1 Peter 3:19; 4:6; Isaiah 61:1), bruises were inflicted (see Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24), keys were taken, and authority was transferred (see Matthew 28:18). An interesting word is used in 1 John 3:8 that adds insight into what happened at the Cross. The verse reads, “For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (KJV). “Destroy” is the Greek word luo, which has both legal and physical meanings. Understanding its full definition will greatly enhance our knowledge of what Jesus did to satan and his works. The legal meaning of luo is: to pronounce or determine that something or someone is no longer bound; to dissolve or void a contract or anything that legally binds.(5) Jesus came to dissolve the legal hold satan had over us and to pronounce that we were no longer bound by his works. He “voided the contract,” breaking satan’s dominion over us. The physical meaning of luo is to dissolve or melt, break, beat something to pieces, or untie something that is bound.(6) In Acts 27:41, the boat Paul traveled on was broken into pieces (luo) by the force of the storm. In 2 Peter 3:10-12, we’re told that one day the elements of the earth will melt or dissolve (luo) from a great heat. Jesus not only delivered us legally, but He also made certain that the literal consequences of that deliverance were manifested: He brought healing, set captives free, lifted oppression, and liberated those under demonic control. Our responsibility is not to re-defeat satan, but to enforce this victory as we, too, meet the powers of darkness. It is interesting to know that Jesus used the same word, luo, to describe what we, the Church, are to do through spiritual warfare. Matthew 16:19 tells us, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The word “loose” in this verse is luo. So, did Christ luo the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), or do we luo the works of the devil (Matthew 16:19)? The answer is “Yes!” Although Jesus fully accomplished the task of breaking satan’s authority and voiding his legal hold upon the human race, someone on earth must represent Him in that victory and enforce it. With this in mind and remembering that the Hebrew word for intercession, paga, means “to meet,” let’s state it this way: Through prayers of intercession, we meet/encounter (paga) the powers of darkness, enforcing the victory Christ accomplished (luo; tetelestai) when He met (paga) them at the Cross. When we encounter them, we use His authority to bind and loose (luo) them, releasing the provision and fruit of what He accomplished. My mindset changed dramatically in the context of “binding” and “loosing,” “wrestling” with principalities and powers, “pulling down strongholds,” etc., when I began thinking of it as enforcing the victory of Calvary. Satan is a thief and a trespasser. The fact that he has no right (authority) to do something does not keep him from doing it. Only the authority of Christ, combined with the power of Holy Spirit, keeps/stops him from doing so. Both flow from/through us. In Christ’s name, we release His authority, and Holy Spirit backs this up with His power. We must wield the sword of God’s Word, just as Jesus did, and bind demonic attacks against our bodies, families, homes, cities, and nations. Declaring the promises of Scripture are not only to encourage and increase our faith; they are weapons. Let’s use these powerful, God-given tools. Pray with me: We declare over our bodies that “by His stripes, we are healed;” over our minds that “we have the mind of Christ;” that His blood “cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness.” We boldly agree with God’s Word that tells us there is “no more condemnation” toward us for ANY sin we have committed when it is under the blood of Jesus. And we declare that “no weapon formed against us will prosper” - NONE! (see 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 2:16; 1 John 1:9; Romans 8:1; Isaiah 54:17) We declare over our nation that “America shall be saved.” We declare that God’s destiny for America is “the gospel of the kingdom shall go forth from these shores to every nation of the earth.” We declare that Holy Spirit is “manifesting the multifaceted wisdom of God to principalities and powers in the heavens through the Ekklesia.” We declare that “the gates of hell will not prosper against or overcome this Ekklesia.” (Ephesians 3:10; Matthew 16:18-19) And we declare that “the kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.” We declare that “God, His Father, has promised Him the nations of this earth as His inheritance.” We declare that the Spirit of God will be poured out over all the earth, that it is His will “for all to be saved and none to perish.” We declare that “Christ is king over all the nations,” and we release His kingdom rule and authority to bring His will to pass. We declare that Christ’s family in heaven will consist of people “from every tribe, tongue, and nation,” and that the revival beginning around the world will not be thwarted. (see Revelation 11:15; Psalm 2:7; Acts 2:17; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 7:9) And we declare that the fruit of these decrees shall not be stopped, because we make them in the mighty name of Jesus. Our decree: We decree that the sword of the Spirit, the spoken word of God, is more powerful than ALL the forces and plans of the enemy. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ___________________________________ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 6293. Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary (Iowa Falls, IA: Word Bible Publishers, 1992), p. 1375. Ibid. William Wilson, Old Testament Word Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1978), p. 263. Spiros Zodhiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible–New American Standard (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1984: revised edition, 1990), p. 1583. Ibid.

Holy Spirit Warnings Last Friday, I received a strong warning from a prophetic friend regarding prayer for Supreme Court Justices. The warning had to do with an assassination attempt and a plan to remove another Justice through false accusations. We live in a day when violence has become rampant, out of control. You no doubt recall a short time back when a young man flew to DC intending to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh. When dropped off in front of the Justice’s home, he changed his mind for some “unexplainable” reason, and turned himself into the police. I certainly believe this was divine intervention. The violence in our land is no doubt caused to a great degree by the curse associated with the shedding of innocent blood. The blood of 65 million babies has fed the spirits of Baal and Molech, giving them unprecedented access to our nation. Even though we are overcoming these strongholds through repentance and prayer, the hold of demonic spirits on many individuals will only end if and when they are born again. We must be very diligent in this season to cover ourselves, our family members, and our leaders with prayer. Some we should pray for daily, and others as prompted by Holy Spirit; we are all called to be watchmen. Ephesians 6:18 tells us to be alert and watchful for one another, and pray when alerted by Holy Spirit. When an uneasiness comes for someone, never assume that this is coincidental or unimportant, as the following account illustrates. GUATEMALA MISSIONS TRIP In 1976, I was one of 40 to 45 individuals traveling to a remote place on the Passion River, in the Peten Jungle of Guatemala. Our mission was to help build a combination clinic and outreach station on the river, as well as do some preaching in the nearby villages. After arriving in Guatemala City, we spent our first night there (Friday), and had arranged for the Guatemalan airlines to fly us the following day (Saturday) into the jungle. On our arrival at the airport Saturday afternoon, we were informed that they had changed their plans and could not fly us to our destination that day. They would do so the next day, Sunday. Due to the limited amount of time we would have to accomplish this mission, our leaders felt an urgency to leave as scheduled. Consequently, they pressed the airlines off and on for three hours to honor their original agreement and take us that Saturday afternoon. "No," different managers said in broken English, "We take you tomorrow." "But you agreed months ago to take us today," our people countered. "We have no pilot available," the airline official stated. "Please find one," we pleaded. "What is your hurry? Enjoy the city," they encouraged us. And so it went for three hours, in and out of offices, meeting with one official, then another. Finally, in exasperation, one of them threw up his hands and said, "Okay, we take you now! Get on that plane. Quickly!" Miraculously, they had pulled a pilot from another flight to take us. We hurried to the plane, throwing our bags and tools into the baggage area ourselves, wanting to leave before they changed their minds. That night, with us now safely 250 miles away, an earthquake occurred in Guatemala City, where we had been, and killed 30,000 people in 34 seconds! Had we stayed in the city one more night, as we almost did, some of our team members would have been killed and others injured. We know this for certain because on our return to the city, we saw the building we had stayed in the night before the earthquake - and would have been staying in again had we not left on Saturday - with huge beams lying across the beds we had slept in, and would have been again had we stayed. Now, the Ephesians 6:18 prayer connection. On that Saturday afternoon, during the 3 hours of negotiations with the airlines, an intercessor in our home church had felt a strong burden to pray for our protection. For those three hours, she was in intense intercession for us. We didn't know that our lives depended on getting out of Guatemala City that day, and she didn’t even know about the discussions taking place. But God knew, and she was alert to His prompting, as Ephesians 6:18 instructs us. Be on the alert. CONSISTENCY IS KEY We should pray daily for family members, and our leaders. Not a large number - perhaps our Congressman, Senators, and one or two others. When the Holy Spirit highlights a person or group, such as the Supreme Court, add them for a season. This responsibility doesn’t have to be burdensome or overwhelming, with long periods of prayer each day. Consistency is key. Form a habit of praying and declaring protection over these individuals at the same time each day - perhaps during your quiet time, on a commute, while doing a household chore, when taking a walk, or while dressing for work. Doing it at the same time each day will help you remember it and also will establish it as a disciplined habit. Every church should also have intercessors assigned to each service. Sadly, there are terrorists and deranged people who would love to destroy an entire group of believers, even at the cost of their lives. Trained security is important, but often isn’t enough; prayer can make the difference. We absolutely should not live in fear, but neither should we take these matters for granted. Continue to declare protection over America’s borders and over your state. Do not neglect to keep your faith operative in this regard. Stay locked in. Also, remember to cover the water supply, waterways, ports, and dams in your area. Keep your faith engaged and be alert for any promptings of Holy Spirit. I feel we must stay engaged regarding these issues throughout 2024. And as you pray for other government leaders, remember to pray for Donald Trump and his family. Though he isn’t currently in office, he is hated like very few people, including by foreign countries and terrorists. Please be faithful to pray over these people and issues. Let’s do so now. Pray with me: Father, we pray for protection over the Justices on the Supreme Court. We ask You to expose and thwart every attempt to harm them. I am led to pray especially for Justice Thomas, so we cover him now in prayer.  We bind every demonic plan to take his life. Protect him in every way Psalm 91 describes. As this Psalm states, we declare that no evil will harm him or his wife. We also pray against any strategy to falsely accuse and remove any Justice on the Court. We ask that all false accusations, slander, and evil plans be revealed and fail. We also pray for President Trump, asking that he be protected from plans to harm him. Also, vindicate him from unjust accusations and lawsuits. Turn it ALL for his good. Protect his family as well, and those around him. We ask You to give the Secret Service, police, and protection details of all these individuals great alertness, and enable them to discover any and all attempts to harm them. And we pray for divine protection over America’s water resources, dams, and ports. Protect them from destruction and harm. Expose any plot to damage them, and keep it from succeeding. We ask all of this in Yeshua’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that every plan to harm members of the Supreme Court will fail, in Jesus’ name. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Letter To The American Church Recently, I found myself considering the importance of forerunners, voices of change who point the way toward the right path, and thought of Eric Metaxas. The journey of forerunners is always difficult as they challenge the status quo and ruffle comfortable feathers, but God gives them steel backbones and steadfast hearts. They are usually blessed with great intellect and remarkable communication skills; Eric is no exception. You may have read one of his exceptional books. Amazing Grace, the story of the great reformer, William Wilberforce, deeply impacted me, as did the powerful book on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer entitled Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Metaxas has other great books, but today I want to highlight once again his latest book entitled, Letter to the American Church, and the amazing documentary and film adaptation with the same title. I believe the message of this book and documentary is urgent. Today’s American church has failed to be the voice we were called to be; thanks to people like Eric Metaxas, this is changing. Eric’s appeal to the church is passionate, intellectually and factually sound, historically reinforced, and biblically based. In the words of Erwin W. Lutzer (pastor emeritus of The Moody Church, Chicago), “This book [and now documentary] is like a bucket of cold water thrown into the face of a sleeping church.” And from Anne Graham Lotz (author of eleven books, including Just Give Me Jesus), “We would do well to heed this five-bell alarm.” Michael Youssef (Ph.D., senior pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, and executive president of Leading the Way), says of America’s great need and the importance of this book: “Back in the 60s when I escaped with my life from the socialist dictatorship of President Nasser of Egypt, I only wanted to come to America. Why America? Because its system of government has never been duplicated. The founders ensured that the ultimate authority under God is not the President, nor the Congress, but ‘We the people.’ Thus, they drafted the greatest political document in all human history, the U.S. Constitution. Yet many of my fellow pastors who claim to relevantly and contextually interpret the Word of God fail to take this ‘unique’ blessing of ‘We the people’ as the governing authority to heart. They sold out this blessing and exchanged it for selective silence against the modern scourge of the evils of wokeness. Nay, some of them even baptized this evil into their church’s catechism. Unbeknownst to them, they are handing over the keys of their own freedom to preach the Gospel to the enemy of their souls. Perhaps there is no modern writer who can draw a comparison of this selective silence on the part of many American pastors to the German church in the 1920s and 1930s like Eric Metaxas. In the pages of this book…there is a solemn warning. Read it, heed it, and pass it on to many others.” Please watch this film! Pastors, show it to your church! Eric has done the hard part by producing this powerful documentary - now let’s do ours. Consider giving a copy of the documentary to your pastor or a friend. Here are a few paragraphs from the book’s introduction; after reading them, we will pray. “The German Church of the 1930s was silent in the face of evil; but can there be any question whether the American Church of our own time is guilty of the same silence? Because of this, I am compelled to speak out and to say what - only by God’s grace - I might say to make plain where we find ourselves at this moment, at our own unavoidable crucial crossroads in history. “It is for good or for ill that America plays an inescapably central role in the world. If you have not read Alexis de Tocqueville on this subject, you likely nonetheless understand that the extent to which that central role has been used for good and for God’s purposes has had everything to do with our churches, or with the American Church, as we may call her. So if America is in any way exceptional, it has nothing to do with the blood that runs through American veins and everything to do with the blood shed for us on Calvary, and the extent to which we have acknowledged this. America has led the world in making religious liberty paramount…It was this that made Tocqueville marvel most: that while in other nations - and especially in his own nation of France - the Church was adamantly opposed to the idea of political liberty, in America, it was the churches that helped encourage, create, and sustain a culture of liberty. “Because of the outsized role America plays in the world today, the importance of whether we learn the lesson of what happened to the German Church ninety years ago cannot be overstated. Though it may be a gruesome thing to consider, the monstrous evil that befell the civilized world precisely because of the German Church’s failure is likely a mere foretaste of what will befall the world if the American Church fails in a similar way at this hour. “And at present, we are indeed failing. “We should underscore the idea that the centrality of our nation in the world does not mean that we are intrinsically exceptional, but rather that God has sovereignly chosen us to hold the torch of liberty for all the world, and that the Church is central to our doing this. So the idea that He has charged us with this most solemn duty should make us tremble. Nonetheless, we must carry out that duty in a way that is the opposite of prideful, and that is meant to be an invitation to all beyond our shores. If we should aspire - in the words of Jesus as quoted by John Winthrop - to be a ‘shining city on a hill,’ the idea is that we should exist and shine for the sake of others and not for ourselves alone. President Abraham Lincoln said that we in America were God’s ‘almost chosen people’ and acknowledged that this placed upon us an almost unbearable burden. It is a certainty from the Scriptures and from our experience over the centuries that apart from God, we can do nothing. So if God has chosen us for some task, we must do all we can to shoulder that task, and must know more than anything that unless we lean on Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways, we are guaranteed to fail. “If anyone would feel that believing God has chosen the American Church for such a vital role somehow smacks of an egotistical nationalism, they have already bought into the Marxist and globalist lie that America is nothing special - or is probably a force for evil at this point. In any case, they miss the point and have only leapt away from one ditch to fall headlong into another. It is a fact that God, in His sovereignty, chose the German Church to stand against the evils of its day, but it shrank from acknowledging this and from standing. Germany has been living with the deep shame over it unto this day. So for the American Church to say that God has not chosen us is as bad as saying He must choose us because we deserve to be chosen. Both stances are equally guilty of the sin of pride. It is far easier to ignore God’s call than to acknowledge it and rise to fulfill it, but it is more difficult and painful than anything to live with the results of ignoring God’s call. Let the reader understand.”(1) May God help us truly understand and embrace these poignant words. Link to the trailer and info regarding how to find the film is here. Pray with me: Father, thank You for raising up voices to point us in the right direction. Though forerunners often make us uncomfortable, they nonetheless prepare the way for needed change. We ask You to breathe great momentum into this book and documentary by Eric Metaxas. Use them to awaken the American Church, especially, but not limited to, leaders in the Church. We see signs that a remnant in the Church has been awakened, and we thank You for this. But we ask for this to increase exponentially. Rain fire, passion, and great zeal onto Your people in America. Revive us, as You have promised. Breathe great favor and momentum into the voices of change. As always, we thank You for your promise that America shall be saved. We declare our faith that You will do this, as we appeal to You based on Your obvious will and purposes. Continue to deliver us from evil and bring Your Kingdom authority to bear in our land, and the nations of the world. We thank You for this, and pray it in Yeshua’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that voices of change will be heard, and America will once again embrace her God-given calling. You can learn more about Eric Metaxas at EricMetaxas.com. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ______________________________ Eric Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, (Washington, DC: Salem Books, 2022), pp. ix-xi.

Marked! “Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God on account of you and me in Kadesh-barnea. And now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘The land on which your foot has walked shall certainly be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’ I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim was there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out just as the Lord has spoken.” (Joshua 14:6-12 NASB) In the above passage, the great warrior Caleb, said he was just as strong at 85 as he was at 40. “Now,” he stated, “give me my mountain!” Then he proceeded to conquer the city in the Promised Land ruled by the biggest giant! Caleb had a “different spirit” than most, and “followed God fully”(Numbers 14:24). My spiritual father, Jim Hodges, turned 85 this week. Like Caleb, he has a different spirit and has followed God fully. He has also conquered his share of spiritual giants, starting with the “religious spirit” back in the 60s. Jim walks in more revelation than the average spy agency, and has more knowledge stored in his cranium than the local library. Yet he’s humble! Those of us privileged to run with him have often joked that “he doesn’t know how much he knows.” Jim’s wisdom and/or revelation has “marked” me often - he was one of Ceci’s and my professors in Bible School, and has been our spiritual father and mentor for almost 40 years. While the wisdom that sometimes (not always) comes with age is frequently spoken of, a word often overlooked when describing this wisdom is “perspective.” The higher you climb, the further you see. Eighty-five years is pretty high up the mountain of life. I sometimes laugh when I hear arrogant and dogmatic young leaders trying to correct or enlighten the body of Christ. Then I remember some of my younger days and blush. The problem with our youthfulness is often not knowing what we DON’T know. Oh well, at least I was zealous. I’m always moved when I read the passage in Ezra when the Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt after decades of desolation. The Lord moved on the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to allow those who so desired to relocate back to Jerusalem and rebuild this place of worship (Ezra 1). After the foundation was laid, a celebration occurred: “And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.” (Ezra 3:11-13 NASB) Different perspectives. We’re left to wonder why the old timers were weeping. Were they remembering the glory in the previous Temple? Did they realize more clearly just how far they were from completion? Were they remembering the horrible devastation of the cruel Babylonians, perhaps thinking of family members they had lost? Were they mourning the sin that caused their captivity? We don’t know. But we do know they had a different perspective, and were seeing much more than the younger ones. I was on a Zoom call last week with Jim and 6 or 7 leaders in his ministerial network, hashing out some future plans. As we finished and were about to end the call, he said, “Wait a minute; I want to bless you all with something.” Jim held his phone up to his iPad, and I thought he was going to play something humorous - Jim has a great sense of humor. Then the song, America the Beautiful, sung by Lee Greenwood, began to play. We could see Jim clearly behind his phone. No one spoke; we just watched and listened intently, and the moment became holy. After a minute or so, Jim’s hand went up in worship. Then he began to weep…so did I. And Jim Hodges marked me, once again. I’ll never forget watching as he worshiped and wept over our nation. No one asked why he cried; no one needed to. Jim loves America, especially her calling to partner with God. He is aware of her failures, remembers her greatness, sees her current devastation, and has hope for her restoration. I stayed up until 2:30 AM that night listening to the song over and over. And yes, I cried again. It took me back to 25 years ago when the Lord visited me and imparted His heart for America. He told me then that He needed this nation in order to reap the great harvest He was planning to gather throughout the world. I felt His love for the nations, and for America. Then He and I wept together over her for 3 1/2 hours. That night, Christ marked me. Those who tell me it’s wrong to love America as I do are too late. The propagandists who call me a “Christian Nationalist” because I believe America has a distinct calling to SERVE all other nations by partnering with Christ, taking His gospel to them, can babble on. I am unmoved. I’ll continue kneeling with “misguided” Hunt on the beach at Cape Henry and reading the Mayflower Compact with the “deceived” Pilgrims. Of course I know that God loves all nations as much as America - don’t insult me with such uninformed and ridiculous accusations to the contrary. Those who tell me to stop speaking from the pulpit about our nation, government, schools, etc., lost that battle when God encountered and overcame me as I stood at my pulpit that night 25 years ago. The issue was settled as He wept with me on the floor next to said pulpit. Those who hate the flag, and those who believe it is heresy to connect it with delivering the gospel, lost the argument the night I wrapped myself in Old Glory, while the Lord and I wept over it for three hours. And don’t insult me with your weak arguments and heretical statements about the subject of government being evil and off-limits in church services, when God IS government and began discussing it with us in the FIRST chapter of the Bible! And by the way, yes, I know what makes America truly great. It isn’t military power, wealth, size, or natural resources. It is serving God and His purposes. And, no, Donald Trump is not my messiah, as disingenuous liars suggest. But he did give us Supreme Court Justices that overturned Roe vs Wade, brought law and order to our borders, is patriotic, kept tyrants around the world in check, honors God and the church, and is hated by crooks and God-haters. I prefer him over an open border, the dishonoring of God, child mutilation, and a trans White House. Don’t waste your time telling me not to love, talk about, and pray for America so much - you’re too late. You arrived AFTER the encounter with my weeping Heavenly Father, and AFTER the 40 years I’ve walked with my “Calebesque” spiritual father. Your lower perspective will never unmark me. To all of you who are marked by love for America and God’s plans for her, do yourself a favor: use the link I’ve provided and listen to “America the Beautiful.” Make that today’s prayer. And thank Jim Hodges. “America the Beautiful” sung by Lee Greenwood via YouTube: click here. “America the Beautiful” sung by Lee Greenwood via Spotify: click here. You may be able to find this on other music outlets, as well. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

10 Requirements For Turning America Larry Tomzcak was born again during the Jesus Movement of the 60s and 70s. He and I would certainly picture the mavericks of that era who were “rounded-up” and led to “independence.” (See yesterday's post here to read The “Mavericks” Are Coming.) In a recent article, Larry speaks of his dream of a transformed America, and the 10 requirements for turning our nation around. Here are Larry’s 10 points and explanations: “Reconsecrate ourselves to the Great Commission given us by Jesus. The Pilgrims prioritized this in the original Mayflower Compact - to proclaim the ‘gospel of the kingdom’ (not some ‘He Gets Us’ distortion!) to see lives transformed, not merely affirmed, by the power of the living God. “Renounce and reject complacency. This has brought about the decline and demise of civilizations throughout history. We must repent and return to the values that made us great in the first place, refusing to succumb to the seduction of affluence and leisure as substitutes for hard work. “Cast off D.E.I. (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) mandates. These criteria for our institutions are inherently racist, giving people preferences and positions that should belong to achievers applying themselves to merit advancement. Our nation affords ‘equal opportunity for all’ who are willing and able to work for it! “Replace destructive Marxist, Globalist elements. These have poisoned our government, schools, media, and corporate boardrooms. In their places, we must put leaders of integrity and conviction, mirroring those of our truly great and revered statesmen and stateswomen. Though they, like all of us, had flaws, they deserve honor because of their overall character and achievements. “Put an end to propaganda and promotion of unbiblical socialism. We must return to a Constitutional Republic that has undergirded us successfully for close to 250 years – longer than any nation in world history. Anti-American activists are entitled to their opinions, but I agree with former Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, who said: ‘The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.’(1) Check out our unsustainable $34 trillion debt! “Accept the sacred responsibility to expose and eradicate tyranny. We must replace oppressive government in all its forms and contend for freedom. Let us take seriously the warning of President Ronald Reagan: ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling them what it was once like in America when men were free.’(2) “Pastors once again must arise to the urgency of the hour. Just as in colonial America, they must courageously lead the way to embrace the directive of Jesus to be ‘salt’ (holding back decay), accept the responsibility to equip their congregations with relevant truth, and refuse to be silent in our current cultural battle. May they heed the sobering words of pastor/martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer who stood against Nazism in a similar situation. ‘Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak, is to speak. Not to act, is to act.’(3) We must reject fear of man and follow in the footsteps of Billy Graham, who stood openly against segregation, Apartheid, same-sex ‘marriage,’ and nuclear expansion, telling us, ‘Courage is contagious!’ “Unapologetically affirm man/woman marriage and the nuclear family. ‘One man and one woman’ is the explicit design for this sacred institution recognized worldwide and honored for thousands of years as the divinely ordained foundation of a stable society. Biology and science have recognized male (XY chromosomes) and female (XX chromosomes) genders throughout history, so we’ll simply stay the course and stay safe from ‘Woke’ moral insanity and societal instability. “Sound the alarm and stop the massive invasion of law-breaking foreigners into America. Millions of cartel-driven illegal aliens are disregarding our established immigration laws to unlawfully secure healthcare, food, housing, education, costly benefits and privileges at taxpayer expense. THIS MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY BY EXECUTIVE ORDER (not by Congressional debate). America represents 4% of the world's population, and we cannot allow this unprecedented and unmitigated disaster to bring about our country’s collapse! “Expose as demagoguery the leftist tactic of regularly dismissing valid opinions and perspectives as ‘destroying democracy,’ ‘racist,’ and ‘authoritarian tyranny.’ Traditional conservatives, Christians, pro-lifers, and patriotic Americans are slandered as ‘right-wing extremists,’ while agencies are weaponized to run roughshod over basic civil liberties, censor free speech, violate the Constitution, and use Soviet-style kangaroo courts to indict political opponents (so they can’t run for office). These agencies and tactics represent America’s real threats and must be exposed! “Here’s the Deal: If enough of us who love America stand in solidarity with these 10 points, we can translate our dream into reality and once again experience peace, prosperity, and the blessing of God we’ve previously known. ‘You may say that I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.’(4) Freedom-loving, patriotic, traditional Americans are still the majority. And though we may not control the levers of power, there’s still hope if we pray, repent, and act courageously to turn America around. “I beseech you to watch the blockbuster documentary, ‘Letter to the American Church; and for pastors to show it on a Sunday! Google it now at lettertotheamericanchurch.com and get engaged today.” Pray with me: Father, thank You for seasoned and bold leaders like Larry Tomczak. Bless his family and ministry with great favor, health, and provision. Use him greatly as he labors to see America transformed; we share his dream and agree with the needed changes he delineates. We ask for a reconsecration in the church to the Great Commissions given in Mark 16 and Matthew 28, proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom. We renounce complacency and laziness, and ask for an awakening of passion. Give us Your heart for the lost, for truth, and for justice. We pray against all forms of racism and mistreatment. A true revival that changes millions of hearts will include a revival of love. Give us this. Break the influence of Marxism, socialism, globalism, wokism, and other unbiblical philosophies invading our nation. Awaken the “mavericks” to the insanity of these dogmas. Transform our government. Remove those who desire to weaken us. Help us close our borders and minimize the damage. Break the back of the wickedness allowing this evil. Expose the evil distortion of truth, law, and justice in America. And awaken the church. Forgive us for not being salt and light to our nation. Convict leaders of their silence regarding truths in Your Word. Break the fear of man off them and help them find their voices. Motivate them to be the watchmen You have called them to be, and to sound the alarm. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Our decree: We declare that a great awakening is coming to the church of America, and to America itself. Today’s post was contributed by Larry Tomczak. You can find out more about Larry at LarryTomczak.com. Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/138248-the-problem-with-socialism-is-that-you-eventually-run-out https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/january-5-1967-inaugural-address-public-ceremony https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/601807-silence-in-the-face-of-evil-is-itself-evil-god https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1816-you-may-say-i-m-a-dreamer-but-i-m-not-the

The “Mavericks” Are Coming Today, I want to share portions of a dream about mavericks; it was given to my friend, Clay Nash. A maverick is “an unbranded calf, cow, or steer; a lone dissenter, such as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from their peers; a person pursuing rebellious, even potentially disruptive, policies or ideas.”(1) The Dream “The dream began with you, Dutch, creating a thread on Signal titled ‘Gathering the Mavericks.’ You requested those on the thread to meet you in Oregon City, Oregon, the end of the Oregon Trail. “Upon arrival, you informed us we were there to help gather and drive maverick steers back to Independence, MO, the beginning of the Oregon Trail. You instructed us that the mavericks must be brought to Independence in order to achieve independence. You stated that as we found the watering holes where they were gathered, you would assign individuals to stay there; they would keep other mavericks in the future from muddying up the water holes. “You informed those who joined you in Oregon City that they were assigned certain horses on which to make the journey. The horse you assigned me (Clay) was one I had actually owned, a full Appaloosa named Judge. He had my King Brand saddle on him. Dutch, you were to ride the prettiest Buckskin I ever remember seeing. When I remarked on the strength and beauty in this horse, you informed us that it was a descendent of John Wayne’s favorite horse, Sent, and its name was Messenger. I asked you where the mavericks were, and your answer was, ‘We must find them along the way.’ “The grub wagon was there, packed and ready. Ken Malone pulled you to the side, but was within hearing, and said, ‘Isn’t that Gordon Lindsey on the grub wagon?’ [Gordon Lindsay founded The Voice of Healing magazine and Christ for the Nations Bible Institute in Dallas, Texas, and died in 1973.] “You answered and said, ‘Yes, but he can still cook food with heavenly nourishment, and will bring healing along the way if needed.’ “You began informing us of various watering holes we would be dropped off at along the journey. You did not assign me one, saying, ‘You know about cattle drives, and I need you to scout on the whole journey.’ “We stopped at several watering holes, discovering and gathering mavericks at each; you assigned individuals to stay and protect the watering holes, and we moved on to the next. The 12th and last watering hole was in Independence, MO. When we arrived at Independence, I stated, ‘We must have over 10,000 mavericks.’ “You informed us that there were actually 12,000 mavericks and one ox. You were then asked what we were to do with them. You said that they would be discipled to go forth into the fields that are ripe unto harvest and disciple the nation. Someone asked, “What about the ox.” “You stated to us that the ox’s name was Sign and Wonder, and he would follow the mavericks as they discipled the nation. “Gordon Lindsey then told Dutch that his assignment was finished, but others from the cloud of witnesses would join us as needed.” End of Dream. The Interpretation God has created a young generation who will prove to be unique in their strengths and motivations. They are “unbranded” by religion, untamed in many ways; some even seem “rebellious.” Many appear to be “disruptive.” But God has great plans for this generation. My friend, Pastor Randy Lopshire, said regarding this dream, “I started preaching and prophesying about the Mavericks in this dream three years ago, calling them ‘A harvest of harvesters.’ I saw them as Gen Z’s and felt many are not yet even born again. But God is already priming the pump, and they will know truth when they hear it. They are spiritually allergic to religion, so God is raising up and developing churches who specialize in receiving people like them.” Here are more of my thoughts: It is obviously time for the rounding up of these mavericks. We must bring them to “independence” from sin, leading them to Christ, yet do so without taming and branding them with religion. Pray for this to begin and increase; leaders must prepare. Watering holes - God will lead these mavericks to “watering holes” He has prepared for them. These places of nourishment, training, and discipling must be protected from the “muddying” of religiosity, sin, man’s agenda, unbiblical traditions, and more. A horse named Judge, a King Brand saddle, and a scout/prophet, Clay Nash - Jesus, as our King, the Supreme Judge and Prophet, will be overseeing this roundup. He is the Lord of the harvest, and will lead us in finding the mavericks and watering holes, and also in preparing and maintaining the watering holes. A horse named Sent and Messenger - This is fairly obvious: we are being sent as messengers to find and lead these mavericks to “independence.” We are not called to judge or tame them, but to prepare them for their important assignment of discipling a nation. Gordon Lindsay - we must draw from the wisdom, insights, and movements of those gone before us, honoring and building on what they have accomplished. One of these movements was the healing and miracle movement of the  50s, 60s, and early 70s. Gordon Lindsay was one of the leaders of this movement, a great teacher and author. The magazine he published, The Voice of Healing, shared testimonies of the many miracles happening around the nation and nations. We must tap into this anointing of signs and wonders. And the dream told us more from the cloud of witnesses would be sent to us, meaning there are other truths and movements of the past we must build on. The ox - the name of the ox was Sign and Wonder; he would follow this generation as they discipled the nation, just as Mark 16:17 says will occur. Lindsay said, when leaving, that he had finished his assignment. That assignment was 1) feeding us: we must learn from the past generations, and 2) giving us the ox, a mantle of signs and wonders he and his generation restored to the church. 12 watering holes and 12,000 mavericks - 12 is an important number in Scripture. It represents governing authority, completion, and perfection. There are several possible meanings to this in the dream. It would certainly mean that these mavericks walked under and in the complete authority of the Lord. The great commission in Matthew 28, which speaks of discipling the nation, references this authority (verse 18). The fact that these mavericks would disciple the nation could also indicate they would restore our government to its intended purpose and function. Personally, I believe it is both. Clay said regarding this dream and the coming mavericks, “Their journey to independence will activate them at a greater level of authority, releasing the roar of God into their spheres of influence. These refreshed and commissioned mavericks will take their independence forth to affect the nation, with signs and wonders following them. Their obedience will leaven with a righteous leaven; new companies of overcomers will be activated from their completed faith to become an ever-present weapon of warfare against injustice, releasing righteousness and empowering grace.” WOW! Clay was so impacted by this dream that He is holding a series of meetings along the Oregon Trail beginning June 21 of this year. It will launch in Oregon City, OR, and end in Independence, Missouri, on July 12 and 13. I plan to join him there. You can read his other thoughts regarding this dream and the details of the tour by using this link: Gathering of the Mavericks. Get ready for the mavericks. They will stretch the church. There is no box in which they will fit; they won’t accept clichés and processes based on “This is how we have always done it.” They’ll want a true relationship with Jesus, Holy Spirit, and the Father, not religion. They will insist on power, not rituals, traditions, and forms. They will ask why. They’ll want action, not words. They will be justice-minded, and demand change. And they are coming. Pray with me: Father, we know You have significant plans for the coming generation/s. Not only will You save millions of them, You will use them to change the world, just as You did the generation of the 60s and 70s, which so many thought was hopeless. We ask You to prepare the body of Christ to receive them. Create the watering holes and keep the water clean. Prepare flexible wineskins that can disciple them. Deliver us from mindsets and ways of thinking that could hinder this. And prepare the hearts of the mavericks for the outpouring of Your Spirit. Finish ripening the harvest, prepare, and send the laborers. We pledge to You, that we will not lose this harvest. We ask this in Yeshua’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the Mavericks will be found and moved to Independence! Click on the link below to watch the full video. ___________________________ Dictionary.com, version 11.6.0.27 (11.7.0), maverick.

Being There The subject of faith is mystical, undefined, misdefined, and misunderstood in the minds of many believers. Yet, God places great importance on the spiritual substance called faith: “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). “Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth’” (Mark 9:23). The above-mentioned lack of understanding could also be said concerning divine healing. It is a challenging subject that can seem to raise more questions than answers. I would not be so arrogant as to suggest that I have a complete understanding of these subjects. However, I do know God heals, and I know our faith matters. Regarding the subject of healing, I believe Scripture teaches that it is released in various ways: the faith of the individual receiving the faith and prayers of others through agreement, intercession, laying on of hands, deliverance, and commands the gifts of Holy Spirit: gifts of healing, the workings of miracles, the gift of faith, discerning of spirits signs and wonders accompanying the preaching of the gospel I believe that regarding healings/miracles associated with the gifts of the Spirit and signs accompanying the gospel, the timing is often influenced by 1) the ripeness of the harvest (either individually or collectively; and 2) the corporate and/or regional spiritual atmosphere. I have said all of this to state that I believe we are coming into another season of healing and miracles associated with the preaching of the gospel and the gifts of Holy Spirit. This always accompanies revival. God will never work a miracle to convince the skeptic and cynical. He does, however, work miracles to confirm His Word and the gospel when dealing with hungry hearts and searching souls. And miracles are a game changer. My good friend, Ken Malone, sent me the following testimony regarding this: “In 1999, a friend, whom I'll call Charles, and I were flying relief supplies to the island of Eleuthera after it had been hit by an intense hurricane. We conducted three such trips together. On each one, we talked about the Lord, mainly regarding the Holy Spirit's miracles on other islands and settlements. “On one trip, Charles said, ‘Please pray for my dad, Bill; he's in the hospital with internal bleeding.’ His dad had been in the ICU for about a month, and had been given blood transfusions totaling several gallons! We prayed then, and continued to pray for his dad. “The final trip together ended up being a long day. I woke at 4 AM, went to the airport, and packed the airplane. We returned to the airport that afternoon around 4 PM. When I arrived home, I received a notice on my beeper to call Charles. When I reached him, Charles said, ‘Can you come to the hospital and pray for Dad? They don't expect him to live beyond another 24 hours. A helicopter is coming to take him to Orlando Regional Medical Center.’ “I agreed to do so. I was extremely exhausted, which no doubt contributed to increased vulnerability, and upon arriving at the ICU waiting room, a spirit of intimidation hit me. I felt as though I had no faith whatsoever. Charles’ family and I went into the ICU, and I saw His dad, Bill, in the last stages of death. He was ashen, and his lips were turning blue. He had no faith. “And at that point, it seemed I had no faith. “I began telling Bill of the miracles the Holy Spirit had performed in the Cherokee Sound settlement. I then shared about the miracles Jesus performed. Then Bill said in a feeble voice, ‘Ken, stop preaching and pray for me.’ “Upon hearing this, I took him by the hand and began to pray, still feeling no faith. On other occasions, when praying for people I had felt great faith, and God moved. Not this time, however; I felt nothing. The prayer was simple, and after decreeing the Lord's healing over him and rebuking the spirit of death, I couldn't get out of there quickly enough. After the Amen, I left! And the helicopter landed to take him to ORMC hospital. “As I drove home, the enemy began to torment me with thoughts that this man was going to die. However, I refused to voice these thoughts. When I arrived home, my wife, Cheryl, asked, ‘How'd it go?’ “I simply said, ‘I prayed for him.’ “The next day, around 1 PM, I received a call from Bill's home. It's probably Charles to tell me his dad passed, I thought. “It wasn't; it was Bill, himself! In a weepy voice, he said, ‘Ken, I need to talk to you.’ “My mind was not computing this, and I said, ‘What room are you in?’ “To which Bill replied, ‘I'm at home.’ “I arrived at his house and was greeted by his wife and daughter at the front door, weeping. As I walked in, I saw Bill down the hallway, weeping so hard he was convulsing. After about 5 minutes of weeping, he composed himself and began telling me what happened to him. ‘Yesterday, when we prayed, electricity came into the top of my head, went through my body to my feet, and went back up and out of my head. I knew right away that I was going to be okay. I didn't know how to tell you at the time. They didn't teach us this in our church.’ “I said, ‘Bill, they didn't teach us this in a lot of churches.’ “Bill then said something that made me feel uncomfortable, ‘Thank you for healing me.’ “I replied, ‘I didn't heal you; Jesus did.’ “He and I talked about all our Lord was doing in him when he said again, ‘Thank you for healing me.’ “I again said, ‘I didn't heal you; Jesus did.’ “After about an hour's visit, as I was getting ready to leave, Bill stood up and said, ‘Ken, thank you for healing me.’ “To which I replied again, ‘Bill, I didn't.’ “He interrupted and said, ’I know you didn't heal me. I know it was Jesus. But you were there!’ “WOW! “The revelation hit me: We won’t always ‘feel’ our faith. My faith was released by being there, not through what I felt. Faith is doing and obeying. Being where Yahweh wants us, being faithful when we feel no faith, and doing what we know to do is faith. When we do this, God will show Himself strong. Don't wait for a feeling; do what His Word declares: ‘These signs shall follow them that believe…In My name, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover,’ (Mark 16:17-18).” Pray with me: Father, as we move towards the revival You are bringing, we are reminded that signs and wonders accompany the gospel of Jesus Christ. You have emphasized this, telling us that in this awakening notable, extraordinary, and creative miracles will occur. You will demonstrate through them that You are real, and that the good news we preach is true. We prepare ourselves to obey Your word, reminding ourselves that we must lay our hands upon sick and diseased people, asking for their healing. You will do the work. Remind believers that we do not need a level of “creative faith” in order to do this. And we don’t need a feeling. We need enough faith to be there and obey. We want to be those who give You opportunities to show Yourself strong in people's lives. So we ask You to prepare the church by reminding them of Mark 16:15-20; and that You use all believers, not just heroes and giants in the faith. And Lord, we conclude this prayer by remembering to pray for protection over our waterways, water supplies, dams, and ports. We thank You for protecting our nation from the destruction the enemy has planned for us. We also continue to bind the strong man over the Middle East, declaring that the hold of the “prince of Persia” is broken over that region in the name of Jesus. We declare Your will over the Middle East, that the people there are free through the blood of Jesus, and that the veil of deception is being lifted from their eyes. We also pray this over Asia, asking for the Spirit of revelation to replace all deception, leading to the harvest of millions and millions of people. And finally, we ask You to continue revealing the corruption in our land, especially in our government, and remove it. Send revival, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Our decree: We declare that we are Your hands and feet in the earth, even when we don't feel as though we are. According to John 14:12, the works Jesus did, we will do, and even greater works, in His powerful name. Click on the link below to watch the full video. You can find out more about Ken Malone at Forerunner-ministries.org.

Enforcing Christ’s Victory I mentioned the following verse last week in a post concerning the dominion God gave humankind over the earth. “The heavens. . . the Eternal holds himself, the earth He has assigned to men” (Psalm 115:16; Moffatt Translation). This translation communicates with greater accuracy the contextual meaning of the Hebrew word nathan,(1) otherwise frequently translated “given.” God didn’t give away ownership of the earth; He assigned the responsibility of governing it to humans. The Passion Translation says He has “put us in charge” of the earth. God’s “gifts” are often His “assignments,” an example being our children. Holy Spirit uses this word no less than 6 times in the first chapter of Joshua to remind Israel that He had “given” them the land of Canaan (verses 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 15). Canaan was the land He had promised (“given”) their forefather, Abraham (Genesis 12:7). They were now being assigned to conquer and possess what God had “given.” Someone once asked, “Well, was He giving, or were they taking?” The answer is, “Yes.” There is another word in this passage that aligns with this concept. Verse 11 uses the phrase, “The land the Lord your God is giving (nathan) you, to possess (yaresh)(2) it.” The word yaresh means “legally an heir; military invasion in order to seize or possess.” In other words, “I have given it to you legally; now, I’m assigning you to conquer and take possession of it.” The principle that we must “lay hold of” by faith and/or spiritual warfare what God has already given us is often confusing to many believers. They believe that what God wills for us to possess or experience - from that which Christ’s redemption provided - will sovereignly manifest for us. Not so. Most believers have never been taught what it means to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life“ (1 Timothy 6:12). “Lay hold” could be translated as “seize.” Thayer says the word (epilambanomai) means “to take what is one's own, to take possession of, to take to one's self, to make one's own; to claim, procure for one's self; that which when taken is not let go; to seize, to lay hold of, to apprehend.”(3 & 4). Obviously, this verse is NOT telling us to “take” or “wrestle” something from God. But we ARE being told to use our faith to “take possession of” what God has given through Christ; to “seize” it, and “don’t let go.” Sin’s curse operating on the earth, opposing circumstances, demonic opposition, and more, will attempt to steal from us what God has given. Paul was telling Timothy, “I know it is a fight, Timothy, a fight of faith. But you must use your faith and lay hold of that which God has given you.” Joshua is an Old Testament picture or type of Christ; Israel pictures the Church. Joshua gave Israel their inheritance; Jesus gave the Church its inheritance. To help paint this picture, Joshua’s name was actually changed earlier in his life from Hoshea to Joshua, which is the Hebrew equivalent to the name Jesus. In Joshua 10:22-27, Joshua (picturing Jesus) and the army of Israel defeated five Canaanite kings and their armies (picturing satan and those aligned with him). The kings fled and hid in a cave. Upon discovering them, Joshua (Jesus) ordered the kings to be brought to him and made them lie down on the ground. Everyone thought he was about to enact a very familiar custom of that time, which was the conquering king placing his foot on the necks of his enemies in order to display his conquest. Oftentimes the defeated army or armies would be paraded before the conquering king or general as he did so. This is what Colossians 2:15 is referring to, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Joshua (Jesus), however, does something very different and very prophetic. Rather than place his foot on the necks of these kings, as was the custom, Joshua summoned some of his soldiers and had them do so! No more literal picture of Christ and the Church could have been given. When Jesus defeated satan and his principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, placing them under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:57, Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 2:8), He “raised us up with Him” (Ephesians 2:6), placing satan and his army under our feet! And yet He also said, You’ll have to bind and loose (Matthew 16:18-19); you’ll have to use the “weapons of your warfare” (2 Corinthians 10:4); you’ll have to “wrestle” (Ephesians 6:12). He is saying, “What I have accomplished, you must now enforce. I have put our enemies under our feet legally—under My and your authority—but you must exercise that authority in individual situations, causing the literal manifestation of our victory.” This is why Romans 16:20 says, “And the God of peace will soon crush satan under YOUR feet” (v. 20, emphasis added). And Luke 10:19 tells us, “Behold, I have given YOU authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you” (emphasis added). In Joshua 1:3, the Lord said to Joshua, “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.” The word “tread” is darak, and means more than just stepping. It is a warfare term used for “bending the bow” when about to shoot an arrow. It is still used today in Israel for the command, “Load your weapons.” God wasn’t telling Israel that everywhere they simply walked or stepped would be given to them. He had already marked off the perimeters of their inheritance. He was saying, “Every place that I have promised, and where you are willing to “load your weapons” and possess, I’m going to give you.” So, one last time: Was God giving, or were they taking? YES! And to prove my point, I remind you that the previous generation in Israel was fearful and unwilling to darak - load their weapons - and fight. And they did NOT possess what God said was theirs. These things happened to Israel as types or shadows for us (see 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). That which our Joshua - Jesus - has given to us will not automatically come to us simply because we are now born again. We must darak and yaresh! America shall be saved…as we lay hold of her salvation! Pray with me: Father, as we move toward revival and reformation, we are reminded of Israel. You told them to prepare their weapons; they were going to possess the land. They would have to “possess” what You were “giving” legally. As long as they walked in covenant with You and obeyed Your strategies, they prevailed. You have given us spiritual weapons, with which to overcome the powers of darkness that have influenced our nation for decades. They have controlled other nations for centuries. The spoils we’re after are people’s salvation; we want millions to be freed from the curse of the Fall and their separation from You. We want them delivered from sin and freed from oppression. We want our children to know You and Your ways, and to be passionately pursuing relationship with You. You want this, as well. We want our nation to once again embrace her calling and destiny. We want to serve Christ and other nations by taking the gospel of Jesus to them. We want You to be honored - from the highest levels of authority in our land, to every home and person. We want to help You accomplish the great revival You’re planning, being Your voices, Your hands, Your feet, and especially representing Your heart. You have said You would restore America to this if we humbled ourselves and prayed, turned from sin, and sought Your face. A remnant, a representational intercessory army has done so, and will continue to do this. We know You will honor what You have said. So we command once again, “Kingdom of God - rule of Yahweh, victory of Christ, life of God, breath of Holy Spirit - COME! Will and desires of King Jesus, BE!” We pray and decree these things through His authority, and thank You in advance. Amen. Our decree: We declare that we will lay hold of that which God is giving. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ____________________________________ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 5414. Ibid., ref. no. 3423. Ibid., ref. no. 1949. Ibid., ref. no. 2983.

The Dominos Are Falling You would have to look long and hard to find anyone more passionate about seeing America revived and reformed than my brother, Tim Sheets. He seeks God diligently regarding what Holy Spirit is saying to the church and what is necessary in order for these 2 things to occur. As you will see from this word, Tim is on fire. He shares: “Current events must be defined using God’s truth. Demonic visuals and messages must be forbidden and resisted. We must be a people who discern the times. Thomas Aquinas, a thirteenth-century Italian priest, philosopher, and theologian, made this statement, ‘He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice, and if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.’(1) “It’s possible to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26). Anger at injustice is righteous anger. It is not love to wink at injustice; it is love to resist it. We are in a spiritual and ideological war for this nation. Ours is a call to spiritual warfare, and it is a call to cultural battles. It is an ideological war against unrighteous government and societal tyranny. It’s a call to speak truth to abusive, lying powers. The call of the Ekklesia is to arise and stand against evil. The weapons God gave us are mighty through Him to the pulling down of strongholds. We are called to partner with Him and stop corruption. It is time to cast off fear, apathy, indifference, laziness, and stand against injustice. “Last year, a shameful act of bullying by our government took place against our former president. This atrocity has never been done before in our nation. When I heard the news, I was reminded of things the Lord impressed upon me just prior to the event, ‘Leaders of some governmental agencies are about to panic. They will begin doing crazy things that will further expose their motives. In sheer desperation, they will lash out, but it will only reveal more of their own wickedness and evil. And though they are too deceived to know it, their dictatorial actions and communist tactics will have been further exposed.’ “Many in governmental positions of authority are trying to cover up their actions and lies. However, God spoke to me in a previous prophecy, ‘I will pull the covers off of you. I will bury your plans. I will write with my own finger: “vanquished.’” As Jesus said in Matthew 15:14, concerning the arrogant perversion of authority by Pharisees, ‘They are blind, but if the blind lead the blind, both fall in the ditch.’ “Currently, there are arrogant, self-righteous leaders in America who are going to lead other blind and arrogant people into a ditch. When fools lead fools, wrecks happen. These leaders are too blind to see that they have tipped a domino that will result in a cascade of falling dominoes. The serpent’s head is coming off. “1 Kings 18 speaks of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s confrontation with the prophet, Elijah. King Ahab and Elijah met, and Elijah proposed a challenge. An altar would be built and a sacrifice placed upon it; however, neither would light a fire. Each would ask for supernatural fire to fall on the sacrifice - Ahab’s prophets praying to their god, Baal; Elijah praying to Yahweh. The challenge would prove whose god was truly God. “The followers of Baal went first, praying from morning until afternoon with no results. Then it was Elijah’s turn. Immediately, the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the offering. The challenge was over. The Baal workers supporting Jezebel were appropriately dealt with. “This passage of Scripture reveals that God has removed Baal’s influence from governments before. I believe He’s going to do so again. The day of reckoning is here. The hand of God is about to interrupt their party. The desecration of God’s laws and statutes will not go unopposed. The Almighty King is going to stomp the head of Leviathan that is slithering through government departments; his days in our government are numbered. “As I prayed into current events, the Lord spoke to me, ‘The Ekklesia must partner with Holy Spirit, allowing Him to lead in an aggressive battle plan. This plan will end in great deliverance, great reversals, and great victories, and will begin the discipling of nations.’ We must embrace this assignment. In many ways, our nation and way of life depend on it. Clearly, doctrines of demons are prevalent in our land; antichrist culture is being actively promoted. Christians are being persecuted, and our values are being vilified; the church has been described by some government leaders as ‘non-essential.’ “The war against Christ’s Kingdom and Ekklesia is real and is intensifying, but we are not without recourse! We have everything we need in order to prevail and turn this nation around. I believe the glorious Ekklesia is rising, just as God’s Word said it would. The Kingdom of God is amping up like I’ve never seen before, in order to accomplish Christ’s purpose on the earth. “To achieve this, we must do things God’s way, following the patterns and principles of Scripture. Sadly, we have too often seen nominal churches and shallow Christianity being promoted by fearful leaders. Obviously, this will not work; it is actually part of the problem. Nowhere in the Bible does it say to run from our adversaries, nor to be silent. We must not compromise, bow to fear, or cower to any challenge of our faith. “As Christ’s Ekklesia, we must raise our voices, make a visible stand without compromise, and be strong in the Lord. We must bring clarity and proper definition from Scripture to culture. When challenged by an ‘in your face’ attack from hell, we must respond by being real Christians, not religious pacifists, trembling in fear from loud-mouthed devils. “There is a remnant in the church that has heard Ahab’s defiance long enough. They are ready to rise up and do things God’s way, declaring, ‘Let the God who answers by fire be our God. If Baal is god, we’ll serve him. If Yahweh is God, we’ll serve Him. Let’s find out! Let’s find out who the real God is’ (1 Kings 18:24). “Jesus said hell’s government would not prevail. Let’s find out if Christ is big enough to back that up. I am confident that He can! God said He would watch over His Word to perform it. He said He would cause us to triumph. Let’s find out! Let’s find out if the name of Jesus is greater than any other name. I’m confident that it is!” Pray with me: Lord, break the darkness, break diabolical structures, and send Your great light. We decree that this is Your nation, and the recent schemes of our government will backfire in historic proportions. In the name of King Jesus, treacherous strategies will backfire, misfire, and boomerang! Battering ram angels are knocking the props of Baal out from under those who oppose You. Cause Your power to rise in this nation. Motivate the Ekklesia to raise her voice. Grant that boldness would be upon us to speak the Name of Jesus and the words He gives us. Give us signs and wonders. Show Your mightiness! Close the mouths of the prophets of Baal. Let righteous rulers arise, fearlessly declaring that You are God. Answer with fire! May the entire world see in this hour who the true God is. We continue to do as You instructed us and pray for protection over America’s water supply, waterways, dams, and ports. As the shaking occurs with greater intensity, as those with evil intentions begin their planned attacks and violence increases in our land, we boldly declare our faith that America is anchored, painted with Holy Spirit anointing, and will be restored through the shaking. Your Kingdom will come, and Your will accomplished, in Yeshua’s name! Amen. Our decree: We decree that Baal will be exposed in the government of America, and that God will answer our prayers with revival fire. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s post was contributed by my brother, Tim Sheets. You can learn more about Tim at TimSheets.org. __________________________________ 1. https://graciousquotes.com/thomas-aquinas/