Simplicity! Ecclesiastes 7:29 in the Good News Bible, Today’s English Version says, “God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” I’ve always felt the latter part of the verse was true about women, and I’ve been told emphatically that the first half is true of men. But I now believe it is all true for all of us. I can complicate almost any problem, regardless of how simple it might be, making it huge and complex. And I don’t like it when someone else tries to trivialize it, or gives me some simple plan to fix it. Somehow, I just seem to feel more important when I have big problems with complicated solutions. I’m an Ecclesiastes 7:29 kind of guy! We must learn to de-complicate life, in general; but we must especially uncomplicate our relationship with Christ. Paul said to the church at Corinth, “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3, italics mine). Life can be very complicated; theology can, as well. At times, if we’re not careful, both can get downright confusing. But the Lord impresses on my heart time and time again. There is nothing complicated about relationship with Me. It was A. W. Tozer who said: “Now, as always, God [discloses] himself to “babes” and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all efforts to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without doubt, God will quickly respond.” (1) Tozer also said: “There are occasions when for hours I lay prostrate before God without saying a word of prayer or a word of praise - I just gaze on Him and worship.” (2) Sometimes no words are needed as we enjoy God’s company. In 2 Corinthians 11:3 simplicity is the Greek word haplotes. Its most literal meaning is “singleness, without dissimulation or duplicity;” (3) or “the opposite of duplicity.” (4) The verse is saying that, in our devotion to Christ, we must not be double-minded. We must guard against anything causing dissimulation, division or a watering down. It is okay to be multifaceted in our gifts and activity, and it is wise to be broad-based in our understanding, but in our approach to relationship with Jesus we must be very single-minded. Allow no other person or activity to crowd Him out. To take Him for granted or allow Him to simply be one of many priorities will weaken us. “One New Year’s Day in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. “An amusing aspect of this was that the float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.” (5) Often we who have within us the well of salvation fail to drink from it. And like the Standard Oil float, we sometimes run out of gas. Drink from the well daily. Don’t allow Christ to lose His wonder for you. In Christianity Today, Philip Yancey writes: “I remember my first visit to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. Rings of American, Japanese, and German tourists surrounded the geyser, their video cameras trained like weapons on the famous hole in the ground. (For those of you too young to remember carrying a large video camera around on vacations rather than a small phone, you don’t know how convenient life has become. ) A large, digital clock stood beside the spot, predicting 24 minutes until the next eruption. “My wife and I passed the countdown in the dining room of Old Faithful Inn overlooking the geyser. When the digital clock reached one minute, we, along with every other diner, left our seats and rushed to the windows to see the big event. “I noticed that immediately, as if on signal, a crew of busboys and waiters descended on the tables to refill water glasses and clear away dirty dishes. When the geyser went off, we tourists oohed and aahed and clicked our cameras; a few spontaneously applauded. But, glancing back over my shoulder, I saw that not a single waiter or busboy - not even those who had finished their chores - looked out the huge windows. Old Faithful, grown entirely too familiar, had lost its power to impress them.” (6) I’m afraid this describes many Christians’ relationships with the One we call Faithful and True. We’ve known Him so long, become so accustomed to Him, well, you know… Don’t ever stop being impressed with Jesus! Do you ever listen and not really hear? The word “listening” in Greek is the word akouo, which means not only to hear, but to understand. One definition said, “To understand, hear with the ear of the mind.” (7) Jesus repeatedly said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” (Matthew 11:15 and others). This places the responsibility of hearing on us. We must choose to posture ourselves in a way that allows us to really hear. In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus commended Mary for listening (akouo), while Martha was busy in the kitchen. He said Mary had chosen the good thing, which would produce lasting fruit. Interestingly enough, the word for “obey” (hupakouo) comes from the same word. The prefix hupo means “under,” making the literal meaning of this word, “hear under.”) The biblical concept of obedience is: (1) hearing and understanding someone, then (2) bringing your will under what they have said. Mary was truly hearing (akouo) Christ, which would allow her to obey (hupakouo). May we be more like Mary, having unencumbered obedience, truly willing to listen, hear, and submit. Pray with me: Father, life gets complicated at times. Our plates get full and we sometimes say, we “don’t have enough hours in a day.” But You told us in Ecclesiastes that WE complicate things. You have challenged us that no matter how busy and hectic life gets, we must keep our relationship with You foremost and simple - uncomplicated. We know that if we truly listen, You will speak to us - in our hearts and through Your Word. We choose to listen. We choose to have listening and hearing ears. And we choose to bring ourselves under what we hear from You… we choose to obey. We draw near to You, confident that as we do, You will draw near to us. We pray now for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray for refreshing to those who are weary, peace to those who are anxious, and endurance to those who are tired. We ask You for the Spirit of revelation to intensify among Your people. Holy Spirit, would You lift the veil in order that those who have never known they could hear Your voice would now begin hearing You and enjoying a fellowship they’ve never known. We ask for these things in Christ’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that we have ears to hear what Holy Spirit is saying to the church. I decree that I will have ears to hear what Holy Spirit is saying to ME. Click on the link below to watch today's full video: ________________________________ Rowell, Quotes & Idea Starters for Preaching and Teaching, p 181. Michael L. Brown, From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 1996), p 186. Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ref. No. 572. Zodhiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible - New American Standard, p 1808. Craig Brian Larson, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), p 181. Larson, Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers, p 68. Zodhiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible - New American Standard, p 1802.

Healing History Yesterday, we looked at connecting with the past, putting ourselves in God’s historical timeline in order to maximize power for today. Today we will look at disconnecting from national sins of the past, and healing the breaches or breaks in the timeline. Every family, race, and nation has painful chapters in their story - points on their historical timeline with which they would rather not be connected. America is no exception. As I sought the Lord regarding this, He showed me that history can be “healed,” and nations can disconnect from their unrighteous and painful past. Not only is this possible, but it is also essential in order to attain a healthy future. To help me understand this, Holy Spirit led me to Hebrews 11:3, “By faith, we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” A more literal Greek translation of the first half of this verse is, “By faith, we understand that the ages (aions) have been properly positioned, connected or aligned (katartizo) (1) by the spoken words of God…” (my rendering). “Ages” is the best translation of the Greek word aions. (2) This would include physical creation, but not be limited to it. This word also includes time. The Greek word I translated as “properly connected or aligned” (katartizo), means putting something into its proper position, alignment, or connection. In biblical times, the “setting” of a broken bone was katartizo, as was the “relocation” of a dislocated joint; “mending” a torn net was, as well. The “restoration” of a fallen brother or sister (Galatians 6:1) is also this word. Generally speaking, katartizo means to properly position or align a person or thing, whether at its inception or as a restoration. The reason it is at times translated as “prepared” is because properly positioning something, as in the spine, prepares it for use. Breaches in History Interestingly, this verse in Hebrews 11:3 tells us God decreed the aligning and connecting of the ages. In other words, He declared the general flow of history, from age to age, and how each age would connect to the next. Isaiah 46:10 says He declared “the end from the beginning.” Also, foreseeing Adam’s fall and the effects of fallen humankind’s consequent sinful nature, God knew there would be dislocations and breaches in history’s timeline. Like potholes after a hard winter, His timeline would need seasons of repair. Defilement would come causing breaks, pain would then flow through history’s breaches, creating the need for restoration and healing - katartizo. God knew, for example, that innocent blood would be shed, abuses would transpire, idolatry would take place, covenants would be broken, slavery would occur, and a host of other sins would interrupt His plan. These breaches in the timeline would mandate restorations, reformations, and reconnections to His predetermined plan. Therefore, God not only declared the aligning of the ages, but where He knew it would be necessary, He also decreed their realignment, the healing of history. The fact that God heals history can be clearly seen in Isaiah 58:12. “And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.” This verse clearly states that God heals, mends, and restores (katartizo) history, healing the broken points on the timeline. As the eternal Chiropractor, He realigns a nation’s spine. The mending of these breaks allows the pain of the past to heal, not simply be buried. Denial, as we know, only buries pain and causes the wound to remain unhealed. Racial division in America is a prime example. Because we have not known how to place ourselves in the storyline, tapping into God’s redemptive ability to heal and restore, pain is still flowing through our broken history. Therefore, each new age/generation has to continue dealing with the wound and pain. Government tries to heal these breaches through laws and programs, but this will never succeed. Individuals attempt it by denouncing and condemning the injustices and prejudices, but this too, fails. Other misguided people espouse the “get over it” or “move on” approach. Meanwhile, the wound festers. However, Isaiah 58:12 makes clear that God does want to heal the breaches of history and uses people to do so. “Those from among you…” is His plan. Katartizo is meant to occur through redeemed people as they understand and participate in God’s plan. We are the healers and peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Through humility, repentance, prayer, and fasting, God’s redemption occurs, and history can be healed. I Stepped Into the Storyline As this revelation regarding history grew in my heart and mind - connecting and disconnecting - for the first time, I knew I could truly put myself into our nation’s storyline. I was called to participate in the katartizo-ing of the ages, and I would do my part. I visited dozens of historical sites significant in our country’s founding and development, asking God to connect my heart with His original plan. I went to Washington, D.C., many times. I also traveled to many places where breaches had occurred in America’s timeline, including locations representing broken covenants (treaties) with the Native Americans, repenting for our sins. I visited ports of entry where slaves were brought into America and sold, identifying with the evil and repenting for our sins. I traveled to battlefields where innocent blood was shed, to legislative chambers where unjust and unholy laws were passed, and to courtrooms where those immoral laws were upheld. I visited those places, not as a tourist, but as an American, a participant, and an intercessor. I repented for MY history, asking God to cleanse it with the blood of Jesus and heal the breach, so that blessing could once again flow through that link in history’s chain. I put myself into the storyline …to help heal the timeline. To complete this process, in 2003 and 2004, Holy Spirit sent me to every state. To my knowledge, there is no significant part of American history - both the good and the bad - I have not identified within intercession to heal the breaches and extend the timeline. I certainly don’t share this to boast: indeed, I am but one of thousands who have participated in this identificational intercession. We became a generational link in His age-old chain and could now be His link to the future. A part of the link between America’s yesterday and tomorrow is being forged with a flag. This flag bears a timeless message articulated in a fresh way by English philosopher, John Locke, in 1689: “And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, there they have a liberty to appeal to Heaven…” (Right of Revolution: John Locke, Second Treatise). Our founders believed him, staked their hope in prayer, and placed the phrase in our Declaration of Independence: “We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…” George Washington added it to a flag and determined to fight for independence under this banner. No, the Appeal To Heaven flag is not America’s formal flag, but appealing to Heaven did birth Old Glory; without it she wouldn’t exist. Now, through God’s orchestration and the embracing of the flag’s message by millions of Americans, that which birthed a nation is rebirthing it: appealing to heaven. It still works. If you haven’t already done so…put yourself in the storyline. Tomorrow we will look at a powerful dream. Pray with me: Father, we try to hide our unrighteous past. You want to cleanse and heal it, restoring the painful dislocations. Much pain still flows through America’s breaches. We’ve primarily tried to heal them without Your supernatural ability, which is not possible. Yet, much repentance has been offered regarding America’s sins. We ask You now to heal us. Remove the evil voices of those who attempt to divide us for monetary and political gain. Raise up pure leaders and healed healers. Give revelation and grace to those needing to forgive, and humility to those needing to ask for it. Heal the breaches. Put America on Your adjustment table. Twist, push, pull, and maneuver in whatever ways necessary in order to realign us. Deliver us from lying, agenda-driven educators, media outlets, and government officials. Bring cleansing, adjustment, and awakening to the lukewarm Church. And light the greatest revival fire Earth has ever seen in the young generation here and around the world. In Christ’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree grace, cleansing, and healing into America’s storyline, and bind the accuser’s attempts to divide and conquer our nation. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book An Appeal to Heaven. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ________________________________ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, T: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 2675. Ibid., ref no. 165

Finish the Race As I said yesterday, I have been personally revisiting some of the significant words and insights I share in my book, An Appeal To Heaven. I relate a significant dream at the end of the book, which I’ve not yet shared on a post, but want to share later this week. Parts of the dream won’t be as meaningful without knowing and understanding portions of what God had said to me leading up to the dream. Some I have shared in the past, but they are important truths for all of us to review. Yesterday’s post was regarding the synergy of the ages. Today is also about connecting with past movements. The Lord has frequently spoken to Julie Meyer, an internationally known intercessor, worshipper, and seasoned leader, through detailed dreams. In a dream given to her several years ago, Julie saw seven ambulances lined up, each with lights flashing. She walked to the back of one of the ambulances to see what was happening, peeked in, and saw a non-responsive person laying on a gurney. Next to the patient was an attendant working feverishly to revive him. In her dream, Julie knew this attendant was an angel. He looked at her and said, “I can’t find a heartbeat.” She went from one ambulance to the next finding the same scenario - patients on gurneys with angels attending them, trying to restart their hearts. Suddenly, one of the angels looked directly at Julie and confided, “It’s the intercessors.” This dream made sense to me. For a number of years, I had watched as the strength of the prayer movement waned, with many becoming weary and losing heart. Intercessors had prayed years for revival, but the revival hadn’t materialized, and many of them had experienced what Proverbs 13:12 refers to as “hope deferred.” And as this passage teaches, hope deferred had given them heart disease. Traveling much across America, I could attest to the truthfulness of the dream. It was hard to find a heartbeat in many tired intercessors. As Julie’s dream continued, suddenly one of the angels shouted, “I found a heartbeat, but it’s very faint!” The other angels grew excited and asked, “What did you do?” They, of course, wanted to do the same thing in order to generate a heartbeat in their own intercessors. The first angel replied, “Tell the old stories. When I began telling her stories of what God did in the past, her heart started to beat.” With that, these heavenly attendants began speaking to the intercessors about the First Great Awakening, The Second Great Awakening, and other outpourings of Holy Spirit - right up through the healing revivals and tent meetings of the 1940’s, 50s, and 60s. As they did so, the hearts of all the intercessors started beating again. At this point in the dream, an angel looked at Julie and directed her, “Tell the old stories of what God has done in the past.” As I read this portion of the dream, I was impacted, but this angelic messenger then added instructions that stirred my heart even more: “Tell the intercessors to put themselves in the storyline, because the old stories are also their stories.” What a profound and intriguing thought! Who among us actually thinks this way? We should, however. God has one overarching plan for humankind, not many; we’re all part of the same unfolding drama. Our generation’s role in history is simply another act of yesterday’s play; our battles are conflicts of one ongoing war. Every revival in history is but a sequel in Holy Spirit’s ongoing series of outpourings, and every soul saved enters the same spiritual family. Our stories, though many, are one. Put yourself in the storyline, because the old stories actually are your stories! For too long, we Christians - even those who are students of church history - have simply viewed accounts of past moves of God as inspirational. We’ve never thought of them as “our” stories. I had never thought of Wesley and his Methodists as my movement. Finney’s awakening certainly wasn’t my awakening, and William Seymour’s Azusa Street outpouring wasn’t mine. Most of us simply haven’t thought this way. Our shortsighted reasoning has stolen from us the synergy of the ages. We’ve not put ourselves in the storyline. And since we don’t typically align with past movements or agree with past prayers, this has all too often led to the segmentation of the ages, forcing each generation’s intercession and efforts to stand on their own. Actually, the results can be more devastating than that: God says that when the generations disconnect, it can create a curse (Malachi 4:6). On the other hand, putting ourselves into the storyline God is writing allows us to tap into the strength and life of what He did years ago. Iniquities from the past flow to 3 or 4 generations (Exodus 34:7); blessings, however, flow to 1000 generations! (Deuteronomy 7:9). We must understand the eternal purposes of God - not just His current purposes - allowing Him to continue through us what He began in others. And, according to Hebrews 11:40, they can watch from heaven as their promise is fulfilled through us. In yesterday’s post, I mentioned agreeing with prayers Gordon Lindsay prayed while on earth in order to produce the synergy of the ages. The Bible College’s student body and I needed to put ourselves into his storyline, becoming a necessary link in the chain. We couldn’t just assume God’s promises to Lindsay would one day be fulfilled - Holy Spirit needed agreement in order to finish what He had started. We had a vital role to play. Reinforced by Julie’s dream, this revelation opened my heart to a myriad of storylines we, as a generation, needed to identify with. We could insert ourselves into the storyline of the pilgrims at Cape Henry, declaring that the gospel of the Kingdom would go from these shores to all the nations of the earth. We could align with Charles Finney, believing that city-changing revivals would be rekindled in our day. We could agree with the prayers of Rees Howells for revivals that would shake nations. We could join the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., and see his dream of racial healing in America reach its intended goal. For me, the great cloud of witnesses had become more than mere spectators and cheerleaders; they were an earlier leg of a relay race, waiting for someone to grab their baton. This truth pierced my conscience. God began the process of connecting my heart and actions with those who had run before me. My life began expanding, being defined not just by an eighty or ninety-year destiny, but by an eternal destiny and inter-generational purpose. I realized I was part of a historical chain, planned by God and built with human lives. “Back to the future” took on real meaning: Like Elijah’s servant, Elisha, I would have to connect with the past in order to find my future; the power he needed today was hidden in his yesterday (2 Kings 2:14-15). Reaching back would not only bring my life added significance, but also the lives of those who had lived before me (Hebrews 11:39-40). God’s love of relational connection would find fulfillment, causing Him to release an entirely new level of spiritual power - the synergy of the ages. I immediately began processing this revelation in the context of my calling to America. It was obviously relevant to praying for nations. I knew I could connect with America’s story more personally, joining my heart to the prayers and dreams of pilgrims, colonists, pioneers, and every other generation that makes up our story. Whatever the cost, I determined to do my part in keeping the dream alive. As the Lord began challenging me to enter America’s story, He assured me that if I would do so, not only would He use me to extend it into the future, but also to heal portions of its past. If I was willing to identify with and repent of America’s painful chapters, he would teach me how history can be healed. I remember the first time those words entered my heart: healing history. What a wonderful thought, I recall thinking, but is that really possible? I now know it is. History can never be changed, but its effects - the guilt and pain - can be healed. We will look at this tomorrow. Pray with me: Father, Your statement, “Tell the intercessors to put themselves in the storyline, because the old stories are also their stories,” is so incredibly profound. The importance of generational connection and honor is so important to You. Cause this revelation to grow in us, producing an even greater synergy of the ages. We thank You for the efforts and sacrifices of those in the cloud of witnesses. And we thank them. We stand on great shoulders and build on the blood, sweat, and tears of many. As they observe and cheer from heaven’s balcony, may they find us faithful. We gratefully declare that our works and gains are extensions of theirs, our awakenings generated in part by the revivals for which they labored. We place ourselves into Your great storyline, Father, reaching back while pressing forward. Use this synergy now to release Your fire and rain into the earth. Multiply power to demolish strongholds and uproot evil systems. Unseat the wicked, and release Your judgments against their evil schemes. You told us to bind these schemes and the demonic power behind them. We do so now in Jesus’ name. Our decree: We decree that the synergy of the ages is being produced by the agreement of the body of Christ and will release another wave of Kingdom fruitfulness. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book An Appeal to Heaven. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Don’t Give Up on America’s Youth America is in desperate straits. I have stated many times that we have fallen so far we could never recover in our own strength and with our human efforts. Only a true revival and reformation will save us. America the Beautiful still describes us on the outside. Internally, however, we are ravaged by spiritual death, societal disease, and moral decay. Like Canaan in ancient times, we have become a stronghold of giants. In their desire to be encouragers, many religious leaders refuse to point out the true condition of America. Others refuse to do so out of fear of losing congregants, influence, platforms, etc. Some are simply deceived, thinking the shifts toward liberalism, wokeism, and globalism are good. Certainly, we don’t want to bring discouragement, and, to be sure, a critical spirit and defeatist attitude must be guarded against. But no serious doctor would begin treating a patient without first analyzing and diagnosing the problem. To blindly declare that everything will be okay simply because God is good and gracious is beyond naive; it is untrue. An accurate diagnosis is not only sound wisdom, it is true compassion and a path to recovery. The Scriptures tell us that on Abraham’s path to unshakable faith, he didn’t deny reality, taking the ostrich’s approach. To the contrary, “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19 NASB). Abraham had to make an informed decision: will I have more “respect” for the facts or for God’s promise to change them? “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20-21 NASB). Biblical faith is believing God in spite of, not in denial of. The only denial involved is that of denying the right for anything contrary to God’s promise/will to remain the same. While not in denial of America’s condition, I am not discouraged. And in pointing out America’s desperate need, I do not want to discourage you; I want to awaken and motivate you. Like Caleb, I am indignant and ready to take out the spiritual giants in our land. America is in trouble and very sick, but she is NOT terminal. Let’s take an honest look at some aspects of our true condition, then hear some hope. God, who was pushed from America’s hearts by the giants of pride, materialism, humanism, and pleasure, was inevitably also expelled from our schools. Our youth have experienced immeasurable devastation from this. I shared the following facts when I wrote my book Giants Will Fall in 2018. I’m certain they would be similar today. Consider these facts: Suicide is now the second leading cause of death in young people. Over 5000 commit suicide every year - more than 13 each day.(1) Child Protective Services is able to substantiate the claim of sexual assault on a teenager every 9 minutes. That is 180 confirmed assaults every day. And conservative estimates say 2 out of 3 assaults are never reported, making 540/day a more accurate figure.(2) 719 teenage girls undergo abortions every day - roughly 262,500 each year.(3) Roughly 10 million new sexually transmitted diseases and infections occur in teens every year in this country. These diseases, many of them causing sterility and some even death, have become another ploy of satan to wipe out a generation. The Baby Boomer’s sexual revolution has become this generation’s sexual ruination.(4) The United States is ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for human trafficking. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, over 300,000 of America’s young population is considered at risk for sexual exploitation.(5) Life has been cheapened; greed and selfishness rule; sacrifice is out. Authority is mocked, while rebellion and violence are extolled by our so-called role models and heroes. “If it feels good, do it” is now more than an overused cliché - it is a terrifying reality. When suggested that allowing God back into our schools might help solve these problems, smugness and defiant arrogance are often the responses of those who so desperately want Him banned. Satan’s insidious attack on the home has borne much fruit. During the twentieth century, the divorce rate rose 700 percent in America. Thirteen million children under the age of 18 are growing up with one or both parents away from home. Seventy percent of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes. Perhaps the woke members of Congress and Biden’s administration should divert a few BILLION of our tax dollars from their woke agenda to solving real problems. But then, that would be too unselfish and make too much sense. As horrifying as these facts are, and as infuriating as our government can be, we are not without hope. God is coming to save the day. He loves these youth who have been brainwashed and deceived by those who oppose God’s truth and reject His ways. Many of this young generation have also been offered a religious experience in the place of a true relationship with Abba, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, who love them with a passionate, all-consuming love. But Holy Spirit is coming to change all of this! He will give them a taste of who He truly is, and they will see that God is real, good, wonderful, and satisfying! They will want him. They’ll become the most passionate, righteously zealous, transforming generation the world has ever known. I was given a vision of this coming revival the week of 9/11. I shared the vision on Flashpoint a couple of nights ago (1/24/2023). We are providing a link to that presentation for those who would like to see it. It will encourage you. Keep the faith! Pray with me: Father, I thank You for the revival you’ve shown me is coming to America. Today our focus and prayer are for our young ones. Your passion for them is great. And You are coming to rescue an entire generation. You are going to deliver them from sin, fear, gender confusion, drugs, a death culture, immorality, the wounds of fatherlessness, and the deception caused by humanistic ideologies. They will become heroes, world changers, and the greatest generation of revivalists and reformers the world has ever seen. Unleash this mighty outpouring of your wonderful Holy Spirit, Father. Let the fire of revival sweep across our nation. We bind the spiritual strongholds - giants - that have bound a generation. We decree that the strongholds are broken and the generation will now go free. We open the door of revival. We declare that schools will be on fire with revival - grade schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities - they will all be visited with the fires of revival. Signs and wonders will take place in their schools, on their campuses, and in their dorms. Nothing can stop this. Even as an unrighteous government and unrighteous educators will try to stop it and attempt to continue indoctrinating our youth with antichrist ideologies, we declare in Christ’s name that this will fail. This giant will fall. A sweeping spiritual cleansing is coming to our nation. Many individuals who now oppose God will become believers in Jesus. Others will lose their places of prominence and authority. We will have a righteous government again. In the face of facts that say otherwise, we pray, declare, and believe these things will occur - in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen. Our decree: Nothing will stop the revival coming to America and the earth - nothing! Click on the link below to watch the full video. Portions of today’s post, including the statistics, were taken from my book Giants Will Fall. Click HERE for the link to January 24, 2023’s Flashpoint. ______________________________ National Institute of Metal Health. “Suicide.” NIH, 2015. www.nimhnih.gov/health/statistics/suicide/index.shtml RAINN. “Children and Teens: Statistics,” RAINN, 2018. www.rainn.org/statistics/children-and-teens RAINN. “The Criminal Justice System: Statistics.” RAINN 2018. www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system Dudly, Susan. “Teenage Women, Abortion, and the Law.” Prochoice, September 2015. www.prochoice.org/wp-content/uploads/teenage_women.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Reported STDs in the United States.” CDC, November 2015. www.cdc.gov/std/stats14/std-trends-508.pdf https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/human-trafficking-within-united-states-review-literature-0#Trafficking

Synergy of the Ages I have been personally revisiting some of the significant words and insights I share in my book, An Appeal To Heaven. I relate a significant dream at the end of the book, which I’ve not yet shared on a post, but want to share later this week. Parts of the dream won’t be as meaningful without knowing and understanding some of what God had said to me leading up to the dream. One of them is regarding the synergy of the ages, which I’ve mentioned recently but not taught. I will do so today. My understanding of praying for America increased dramatically in 2001 as I prayed with the student body of a Bible institute. I was concerned that the institute was not walking in the fullness of what its founder, Gordon Lindsay, had established. In response to this burden, I chose to replace one of my teaching sessions with a prayer meeting. As I led the student body in intercession, I heard the Lord whisper a phrase to me, “I need for you to agree in prayer with Gordon Lindsay.” That startled me; Lindsay had died nearly 30 years earlier. “Lord,” I said, “is that really You speaking? He is dead.” The response was simple, “Well, his prayers are not dead.” If you had asked if I believed Gordon Lindsay’s prayers had died with him, I would have said “no.” Yet I had never given the concept of agreeing with them any real thought. Holy Spirit continued, “Until this generation comes into agreement with what he asked me to do, I can’t answer his prayer.” This greatly impacted me. I realized God hadn’t said, “I won’t.” He had clearly said that without this generation’s agreement with Lindsay, “I can’t answer his prayers and do what I promised him.” Later, I pondered this statement in light of Hebrews 11, remembering the heroes of faith listed there along with some of their amazing exploits. Interestingly, however, the passage is also clear that some of those faith heroes did NOT see the fulfillment of their promises. Clearly, they weren’t deficient in their walk of faith; why then did they die without seeing the promises fulfilled? The last two verses of Hebrews 11 give us the amazing answer. They did not receive the fulfillment of their promises because God wouldn’t allow them to be “complete” without us. That is remarkable! Later generations completed these individuals’ callings and assignments. The Greek word translated “complete” also means “to finish; to mature; to reach the intended goal.” (1) Think about the ramifications of this: without us, God can’t “finish” what He began through earlier saints; what He started through them cannot “mature” or “reach its intended goal” until we grab the baton and run our leg of the race. That is mind-blowing! God gave these individuals promises, but He often didn’t give them timelines. He did not tell them He would bring the fulfillment in their lifetimes, although I’m sure most of them expected Him to do so. He makes promises to people, knowing full well He will deliver on those promises through their children, grandchildren, or spiritual descendants. I wonder what I may be finishing for a pastor or teacher from a few decades ago? Or perhaps even for some flag-waving patriot warrior? The generations are far more interconnected than most of us realize. In God’s mind, accomplishing something through our descendants is the same as doing it through us. Our comparatively shortsighted approach assumes every promise He makes will take place momentarily, or at the very least before we die! Meanwhile, God feels no pressure and understands that if He fulfills His promises through our offspring (natural or spiritual), the accomplishments were by us, as well as by them. Back to the Prayer Meeting But Holy Spirit wasn’t finished instructing me in this prayer session at the Bible Institute. He was about to use a seven-word sentence that would rock my finite human mind. I heard Him say, “I need the synergy of the ages.” “You need WHAT?” I wondered. It is obvious by now that this prayer time was wreaking havoc on my preconceived concepts and paradigms! Holy Spirit was making me think outside of my God-limiting boxes. What is the synergy of the ages? I quietly wondered. Synergy is a fascinating concept. Basically, it is the multiplication of power through a combined effort. In almost all cases in the physical world, one plus one equals two. But not when people work together. When two or more people combine their efforts and strengths, power is multiplied - not just added to. God so loves unity and agreement that He created a phenomenon through which power multiplies - if we will work together! Two people who can each lift 100 pounds, can lift 300 pounds or more when lifting an item together. Synergy, however, not only operates in the natural realm; it also exists in the spirit realm. Prayer is one example. Spiritual synergy takes place when two or more agree in prayer. Through the multiplied power, much more is accomplished than would have been had we prayed alone. Leviticus 26:8 teaches us about this power of multiplication, “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before your sword.” Spiritually, that’s powerful; mathematically, however, it makes no sense. But something unusual and supernatural takes place through agreement: synergy. When we agree in prayer, power grows exponentially. Generational Synergy Synergy also occurs when one generation honors and builds on the previous generation’s accomplishments. Honoring the connection with our parents increases our years on earth (Ephesians 6:1-2), while disconnecting brings curses (Malachi 4:6). Spiritual mantles, another word for callings and giftings, multiply in effectiveness through generational synergy (2 Kings 2:9). God’s plan is always for the present generation to build on the strengths and accomplishments of the previous. This is the synergy of the ages - multiplied power and fruitfulness through generational agreement and honor. In Al Sander’s book, Crisis in Morality!, he compares the descendants of an atheist, Max Jukes, to the offspring of a well-known preacher of that same era, Jonathan Edwards: “Max Jukes...married an ungodly girl and among their descendants were 310 who died as paupers, 150 as criminals, 7 as murderers, 100 as drunkards and more than half of the women were prostitutes. “Jonathan Edwards...lived at the same time and married a godly girl [Sarah Pierpont]. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of theirs. Of these descendants, 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice-president of the United States, 80 became public officials...and 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries.” (2) Could any testimony more powerfully make my point? Success, favor, and blessing can multiply down through the generations. But due to our ignorance in this area, we sometimes unknowingly break the generational storyline God is writing. When Holy Spirit spoke to me that day, I was already aware of synergistic prayer. I knew I could agree in prayer with the person next to me, and power would be multiplied (Matthew 18:19). I just didn’t know I could agree with the generation behind me! Generational synergy - the synergy of the ages - was nowhere on my radar. Once God had awakened me to the principle, however, He wasn’t about to stop with a Bible institute. Before He was finished, Holy Spirit would challenge me to reach back to our nation’s founders, agreeing with what He had birthed through them. And when He did, a forgotten flag would be an important part of the process - the Appeal to Heaven flag. Pray with me: Father, as we contemplate the importance of an old flag and how You are using it today, we marvel at Your unusual ways. A part of understanding the flag is realizing how much You honor those who have gone before us, and how much You require us to honor and continue their legacy. We thank You for fathers and mothers in the faith, as well as in the natural. We thank You for the prices paid by those who came before us. And as we do so, we turn our attention to America. The great cloud of witnesses includes people who pioneered freedom and liberty for us, and covenanted with You to carry the gospel to all the world. We ask for revelation of this incredible concept You call “the synergy of the ages.” As we agree with and honor those who have gone before us, we ask for a multiplying of Your power today. Your purpose for America is that it be a powerful voice of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We boldly declare that America will fully turn back to You, and You will accomplish through her all that You intended in this hour. We pray and declare these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the synergy of the ages is producing powerful and wonderful fruit in America today. Portions of today’s devotional were taken from my book An Appeal to Heaven. (3) Click on the link below to watch the full video. 1. “Strong's Greek: 5048. τελειόω (teleioó) -- to bring to an end, to complete, perfect, to reach the end stage, final phase, carry through completely.” Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/greek/5048.htm. Accessed 28 January 2021. 2. Quoted in Ravenhill, Leonard, “Jonathan Edwards: Portrait of a Revival Preacher,” Dayspring, 1963. 3. Sheets, Dutch. An Appeal to Heaven. Dutch Sheets Ministries, 2015, pp. 1-9.

Praying For Your “Bean Patch” Recently, I have felt drawn to the subject of honor. God emphasizes honor in a general sense, but places special importance on honoring fathers and mothers (both spiritual and natural), and faithful individuals from past generations. I have mentioned the concept of the synergy of the ages, multiplied power through agreement with previous generations, which I teach in my book, An Appeal to Heaven. Today, I am sharing a prayer teaching from one of my heroes on the subject. Best-selling author Quin Sherrer has co-authored 31 books, including How to Pray for Your Children, A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare, and Miracles Happen When You Pray. In the early 90s, Quin saw a yet unawakened writing gift in me and, for several years, encouraged me to put pen to paper. She also prayed for me. Twenty-three books and hundreds of GH15 posts later, “Thank you, Quin. I owe you much.” In this post, Quin shares insights and biblical truths she implements personally in her prayer times. The advice is practical - all of her writings are - and easily applied. Enjoy! “Regardless of our age, status in life, schedules, or the tenure of our walk with God, we all have the potential to move spiritual mountains through consistent, persistent prayer. I believe all Christians have an individual “bean patch”—a sphere of influence no one else has. By our steadfast prayers, we can bless it, and by our spiritual warfare, we can defend it. “The term ‘bean patch’ comes from an example of persistence and bravery demonstrated by one of David’s mighty men, Shammah, whose name means ‘God is there.’ He partnered with God, defending his garden, and the Lord brought a victory! Here’s the passage: “‘The Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils [beans], and the [Israelites] fled from the Philistines. But [Shammah] took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory’ (2 Samuel 23:12). “Notice, the victory was the Lord’s doing, but Shammah had to take his stand and defend the crop. He had a part to play! For us, this will always be the case. “When we intercede, we stand in ‘the gap’ (Ezekiel 22:30)—meaning we stand between God and the people or situations for whom we are praying. In spiritual warfare, we stand between them and satan’s forces to stop his actions, using the weapons God has provided for us: the Word of God, the name and power of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, worship and praise, and fasting. Of course, Christ’s victory over Satan is complete and irreversible. Yet, we have a role in releasing and enforcing that victory. “What does your ‘bean patch’ consist of? Start with your family, then ask Holy Spirit to reveal who else He would like you to pray for regularly. This could include close friends; spiritual leaders; your neighborhood; your city; your nation; other countries; and more. Don’t feel the responsibility to pray for everyone and everything. Trust Holy Spirit and trust your heart. He will give you the desire to pray for those He is assigning to you. “At the beginning of a prayer time, make sure your heart is clean, free from any ‘junk’ that would hinder your prayers. Do not become overly introspective or sin-conscious - we are told to ‘go boldly to the throne of grace’ (Hebrews 4:16). Just ask Holy Spirit to convict you of anything that needs to be cleansed through Christ’s blood. If and when He does so, confess the sin and ask for cleansing. God is gracious and faithful to do so (1 John 1:9). Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us’ (Matthew 6:12). Paul said, ‘I forgive for your sake in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes’ (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). After this, invite Holy Spirit to inspire and guide your prayers. “When praying for others, I begin by asking the Father for what I call ‘the five P’s.’ They are God’s: Presence. Protection. Provision. Peace. Promises. You may feel to focus more on one or more of these. For example, when asking for protection, I pray portions of Psalm 91 over them, which includes God’s angelic protection. Also, if they don’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord, I ALWAYS pray for their salvation. “When I feel this is complete, I pray specifically for other situations in their lives I may know about. When doing so, I might pray that they: Have discernment, wisdom, and not be deceived in decisions facing them. Make wise choices financially and morally. Find favor in the marketplace, workplace, or at school. Have the right people come into their life, at the right time. Have a positive influence as they use their talents and skills to help others. Experience God’s healing and/or comforting touch. Cast their cares, worries and anxieties on the Lord, trusting Him. (1) “Also, when praying for others, I have found it helpful and/or necessary to: Be specific. (In Luke 11:5-13, the man in the story asked specifically for three loaves of bread.) Persevere (Hebrews 6:12). Keep asking, seeking, knocking. It is always too soon to quit praying. Pray Scripture passages aloud. God watches over His word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). Faith comes by hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17). Pray prayers for their future: friends, career, spouse, etc. Pray often with a prayer partner or prayer team—in person or by phone (Matthew 18:19). Listen for Holy Spirit’s guidance (Romans 8:26-27). If you have a prayer language, use it often, especially when you do not know exactly what situations need prayer coverage (Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 14:13-15). Don’t presume God will answer in your perceived way or time frame. When praying for the unsaved, ask God for harvesters. ‘Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field’ (Matthew 9:38). “At times, we must engage in spiritual WARFARE, standing against satan’s tactics. How? By quoting the Scriptures and standing on God’s Word. ‘The word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword’ (Hebrews 4:12). “When the enemy tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Christ said, ‘Be gone, satan, for it is written,’ and then quoted what God had said. We, too, can declare, ‘Satan, be gone, it is written,’ and read aloud what Jesus said (see Luke 4:8). Of course, there are many Scriptures to quote against the enemy’s schemes. I like to pray David’s prayers in the Psalms. Speak God’s Word to the situation! (Mark 11:23-24) Often, when experiencing obstacles and circumstances that seem impossible to overcome, we feel intimidated and wonder how to pray about them. Wayne Meyers, a great missionary to Mexico for over 50 years, once told the students at Christ for the Nations Institute, ‘Don’t tell God how big your mountain is. Tell the mountain how big your God is.’ I framed this motto for my office wall years ago. “I tell my mountains how big my Creator, my God is. He is well able to bring the victory. Our part is to stand and defend our ‘bean patch’ in prayer and spiritual warfare. If we do, God will always do His part!” Pray with me: Father, Jesus cared not only for the nations, He took the time to pray for individuals. Just as He prayed, asking You to protect His disciples from the evil one, we also ask You to protect our “bean patch” from the enemy. Contend, oh Lord, with those that contend with us. Frustrate the plotting of the shrewd and evil one, so the helpless have hope. We stand on Your Word and declare that no weapon formed against us shall prosper, and every tongue that accuses us in judgment we will condemn, because this is the heritage of Your servants. Their vindication is from You. Lord, we want to be spiritual warriors who remain faithful until victory comes. I, personally, pray for encouragement to all who read these posts and join us in prayer. My assignment is America, and most of my prayers here reflect this, but I care about all of my brothers and sisters. I speak encouragement, strength, and endurance to them now. I pray as Jesus prayed for Peter, that his faith not fail him when attacked by the enemy’s forces. Those who have fallen will get back up, and those experiencing hope deferred will heal - I release healing to their hurting hearts! I pray that physical healing will occur NOW, as people read or listen to this post - be healed, in Jesus’ name! As they grow in prayer, may the Spirit of revelation increase in their lives. Show them their “bean patch,” their prayer assignment from You. Teach them to hear Your voice, only taking on Your assignments. And may they feel, and experience Your love for them today. I ask all this in Christ’s never failing authority. Amen. Our decree: We are authorized by Jesus, empowered by Holy Spirit, with our orders from God’s Word. Therefore, we take our position in Christ’s army and fight in the spiritual realm until those we love are liberated, and God’s Kingdom is advanced. Note: If you enjoy teachings such as this one, Quin’s book entitled A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare has many applicable prayers you can use. Today’s post was contributed by our dear friend, Quin Sherrer. You can find out more about her at QuinSherrer.com. Click on the link below to watch the full video. __________________________________________ Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock, A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare, (Bloomington, Minnesota, Chosen Books, 2017) p.224.

The Generational Timeline In yesterday’s post, I mentioned the cloud of witnesses spoken of in Hebrews 12:1. We owe them a debt of gratitude and honor. In my book, An Appeal To Heaven, I also address the fact that we can agree with their prayers and promises, creating something Holy Spirit once referenced to me as “the synergy of the ages.” The previous chapter, Hebrews 11, also references our spiritual predecessors. Remember, there were no chapters or verses when the Bible was written; they were added to give us an easy reference to portions of Scripture. The 11th and 12th chapters are connected in subject matter. Chapter 11 ends by saying some faith heroes didn’t receive what was promised to them because God wouldn’t allow the completion without the participation of those who followed. The Greek word used for “complete” (teleioo) in this verse means to bring something to its goal, completion, or desired end (Strong’s 5048). Simply stated, there are plans and activities God begins in one generation, knowing He will not finish them until the next generation picks up the baton. Those in the cloud of witnesses have a huge investment in our assignments; some gave their very lives. We must not only honor this with our appreciation and thanks, but we must also carry on with what they started. We’re a link in a holy generational chain. Our friend, Gina Gholston, addressed this subject recently in a wonderful way. Gina said: “Recently, I had the great honor of speaking at the home-going celebration of my 90-year-old aunt. Married for over seventy-two years and serving in pastoral ministry for several decades, she and her husband were great role models for me all my life. I felt it would be an encouragement to share portions of the tribute I shared that day. “I enjoy reading the account of Joseph in the Bible. I am always inspired by his unrelenting faithfulness to God. Regardless of what he faced, Joseph remained true to the Lord; and he found that through it all God was with him, navigating his life to fulfill his destiny. Joseph was devoted to God, and his decision to walk with the Lord affected not only his own life, but powerfully impacted many others. His life still impacts us today. “On one occasion, while reading Joseph’s story, I received the following revelation from the Lord: ‘The marking of a true warrior is not their battle scars; it’s their sustainability! True warriors do not quit. They are not driven by fear nor distracted by the memory of past battles; they’re driven by righteous purposes and the pursuit of the One their soul loves! Yes, warriors have many scars, but do not see themselves as victims. On the contrary, they see themselves as victorious, triumphant overcomers through Christ! True spiritual warriors are also forerunners; their focus is forward, and their passion is for Christ, whom they follow and imitate.’ “As I re-read these words, I was impacted by a strong realization that we’ve been blessed with many examples of true warriors in our lifetime, warriors like Joseph, who knew God and devoted their all to Him! These heroes of faith may not have considered themselves warriors - they were just living their lives - but they lived purposeful lives for Christ, blazing a trail for us to follow! It wasn’t always easy for them, and they didn’t hide this, but trusted God and demonstrated His trustworthiness. Their steadfastness and unhidden devotion to the Lord impacted everything about their lives. This devotion shines a light, making us aware of the difference a true relationship with God can make in our own lives. Their faith in God, and their faithfulness to Him, has given us a spiritual inheritance beyond words! “As I thought about this, I was reminded of these verses in Psalm 145: ‘One generation shall praise Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts and declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness and shall sing of Your righteousness. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts and the glorious majesty of His Kingdom’ (Psalm 145:4, 6-7, 11-12, emphasis mine). “These true warriors, whom we have been blessed to know and be impacted by, left us with a living witness to God’s faithfulness and incomparable power! Willingly taking their places on the timeline of history, they pioneered movements of truth and powerful demonstrations of the Spirit. The sacrifices they made, along with their fearless obedience to the leading of Holy Spirit, allowed Heaven to invade earth in powerful and undeniable ways, leaving us a solid foundation on which to build. “These warriors shouted the message of God’s goodness and demonstrated the reality of Jesus. Now, we must do the same for the generations that follow us. This may not always be easy, but our faith in God will sustain us, enabling us to see beyond the difficulties. We, too, may receive scars, but we will not be victims! We are victorious, triumphant overcomers through Christ! They taught us this! “Some of those warriors have now joined the great cloud of witnesses; from there, they cheer us on. I believe their challenge to us would be, ‘Run on, warriors! Run hard! It’s your turn to be the light for others! Don’t waste time! Go! Be the example! Run with undaunted obedience, with your gaze set on Jesus. Give the generations that follow an awareness of their great inheritance in Christ Jesus!’ “We are now extending the timeline. The baton is in our hands, and we must choose whether or not to run the race, carrying this inheritance. And run with it, we must! The generations following will need our faithfulness! We are in a time like no other, and now, more than ever, the future generation needs godly role models, spiritual mothers and fathers who unashamedly shine the light of Christ into the darkness and show them the more excellent way. We must allow a holy fire to burn in us, regardless of the cost, to pass an even greater measure of faith to them. May all who follow see in us the testimony of true warriors. This is our gift to those who labored before us, and it is our calling in Christ, the ultimate True Warrior.” Pray with me: Father, thank You for those who have gone before us, leaving such inspiring examples. They provoked us to know and follow You. We honor them, grateful for their surrendered lives and the spiritual inheritance they gave us. Because they did their part, we are positioned to do ours. We devote our lives to You and set our focus on Jesus. Teach us, Lord, to wisely invest this spiritual inheritance with which we have been entrusted so that we may pass it along to the generations who will follow. May they find in us true examples that cause them also to burn, producing the continuation of Your original intentions. Our decree: We receive the baton of our spiritual inheritance, and we will run with righteous purpose, blazing a trail for those who follow. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s post was contributed by our friend Gina Gholston. You can find out more about Gina at GinaGholston.org

The Day the Music Died “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it, we hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs, and our tormentors’ (laughter) mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’” (Psalm 137:1-3 NASB) A popular song in the ’70s, American Pie, included the phrase “the day the music died.” (1) It has always reminded me of this Psalm. Though Don McLean’s song was about a different time, place, and reason, it too was about “the nostalgia that comes with closing a chapter in time” (Ethan Reese). Reese says the song describes the end of “A chapter that was good, youthful, and innocent.…For McLean, it was lost when he discovered that his favorite musicians, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson, had died in a plane crash—the day the music died. And for America, it came when the utopia of the 1950s was exposed as a veneer, giving way to the more socially conscious, but turbulent 1960s.” (2) McLean was more prophetic than he knew. Innocence was indeed lost in the turbulent 60s and beyond. America the Beautiful still describes us on the outside. Internally, however, we are unattractive, discordant, ravaged by societal disease and moral decay. In their desire to be encouragers, many religious leaders refuse to point out the true condition of America. I get it. No one wants to bring discouragement and, to be sure, a defeatist attitude must be guarded against. Faith believes what God says as the final verdict, not what is seen. But no serious doctor would begin treating a patient without first diagnosing the problem. To blindly declare that everything will be okay, simply because God is good and gracious, is beyond naive; it is unbiblical and untrue. An accurate diagnosis is not only sound wisdom; it is part of the healing process and, as such, compassionate. America’s Condition Over the last 60 years, God has been pushed from America’s heart by strongholds of death, pride, materialism, humanism, secularism, progressivism, socialism, revisionism, ignorance, immorality, pleasure, and more. With no brakes on the cultural gas pedal, we cast off restraint, speeding toward turns that could never be successfully navigated: we expelled God from our history, schools, government, and the core of American life; we borrowed and spent our way to financial dependence; we valued ideology over education, pleasure over responsibility, and self-love over self-control; and the church lost her voice, replacing truth with relevance, the Scriptures with opinions, and biblical success with “speed” and “size.” Abortion, one of the horrible fruits of this downward spiral, now demands the blood of our children. A generation follows our disregard for life, killing one another and themselves. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people. Over 5,000 commit suicide every year—more than 13 each day. (3) A sexual assault occurs on a teenager every 8 minutes. (4) Seven hundred nineteen teenage girls undergo abortions every day. (5) Roughly 10 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases and infections occur in teens every year in America. (6) During the twentieth century, the divorce rate rose 700 percent in America. Thirteen million children under the age of 18 are growing up with one or both parents away from home. Seventy percent of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes. (7) We wonder why young people grow disillusioned and dysfunctional? They’re the product of our rebellion, reaping what we have shamefully sown. We are a nation inundated with hopeless addicts and lawless rebels. The United States is the single largest market on the earth for illegal drugs and leads the world in the export of pornography. (8) We cannot build prisons fast enough to hold our criminals. As Nehemiah observed about his nation, our walls are down and our gates burned (see Nehemiah 1:3). Hosea’s description of ancient Israel is also appropriate—we have sown the wind and are reaping the whirlwind (see Hosea 8:7). America’s music has become horribly discordant, yet many have become so tone-deaf they don’t notice. Our wealth, power, and indoctrination have anesthetized us to our true condition; we’re bleeding to death internally while continuing to party on. We have become the proverbial frog in the kettle—slowly dying and unaware of it. Like the band on the RMS Titanic, we continue playing while the ship is sinking. Our propensity for treating symptoms only has been foolish and futile; the water cannot be bailed fast enough. It is time to abandon our denial. Like the fearful, causeless army of Israel when facing Goliath, many Americans have convinced themselves that if we wait long enough, the shocking giants of the land will go away and leave us alone. This will never happen! Satan has no intention of letting up in his relentless assault on America. Every part of American society is screaming for cause-minded, impassioned warriors like David to arise. The cloud of witnesses is shouting encouragement from heaven’s balconies, imploring the church to shake off apathy and fear, find her voice, and resurrect her song. “Take down your harps,” they’re shouting, “pick up your ‘sling,’ five smooth stones, and run toward the uncircumcised Philistines of your day. It is not too late!” And believers are responding. Davids are showing up for the battle, Calebs are picking up swords, and Elijahs are challenging Baal. Pastors are finding their voices, and thousands of believers are tired of being entertained and shielded from truth; fed-up moms, dads, soldiers, businessmen and women have decided to confront and replace political eunuchs who have bowed to Jezebel’s system. A remnant of the church and, yes, many unsaved patriots have taken their harps down from the willow trees and decided to sing again. Maybe the music didn’t die after all. Perhaps it was only placed on pause. Most importantly of all, the King, the Lord of the harvest and leader of angel armies, is being moved by a praying remnant. A passionate lover of people, including those who don’t know Him, He has stood up. The Warrior-King is coming to save. Repentance and a turning back to God by an intercessory core are prevailing. A Third Great Awakening has begun. God is gracious and determined to reap this great harvest. “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments. Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving-kindness, and relenting of evil. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him?” (Joel 2:12-14) “Come let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us: He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us as the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth,” (Hosea 6:1-3). “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame, neither feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; but you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more,” (Isaiah 54:4). “Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,” (Isaiah 61:7). In their book Is It Real When It Doesn’t Work? Doug Murren and Bard Shurin recount: “Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper: ‘Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a rich man.’ “Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter had bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. “Nobel said, ‘Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.” (9) Profound. And worth emulating. God is giving America a chance to rewrite her epitaph. If written yesterday, even today, it would read, “Weighed in the Balances and Found Wanting.” But our gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness, forgives sinners and heals nations. Pray with me: Father, we thank You for Your mercies; they are new every morning. We give thanks that You love to demonstrate mercy. We are confident that it triumphs over judgment. Of course, America has done many things to deserve judgment. Our song of freedom and covenant with You has, indeed, been dying. But You are the Resurrection and the Life, bringing life out of death. You forgive and fully restore. And now, it is the singing of principalities and powers that will end. Their songs of mockery and destruction will give way to redemption’s song. So, we ask You to raise up the giant-conquering warriors You have prepared for this hour. May they be filled with zeal, boldness, and faith. They will raise the dead, spiritually and physically. They will preach a powerful gospel of the Kingdom, and millions will come to know You. We decree this over the earth NOW and declare this to be the most significant season of taking out spiritual giants in history. We do so confidently - because of Jesus and in His name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that we will never stop singing the song of the redeemed! Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Giants Will Fall. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ____________________________________ McClean, Don. “American Pie.” Universal Publishing Group, 1971. https://americansongwriter.com/american-pie-don-mclean-meaning-lyrics-50-years-later/ National Institute of Mental Health. “Suicide.” NIH, 2015. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide/index. Shtml RAINN. “Children and Teens: Statistics.” RAINN, 2018. www.rainn.org/statistics/children-and-teens RAINN. “The Criminal Justice System: Statistics.” RAINN, 2018. www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system Dudley, Susan. “Teenage Women, Abortion, and the Law.” Prochoice, September 2015. Prochoice.org/ wp-content/uploads/teenage_women.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Reported STDs in the United States.” CDC, November 2015. www.cdc.gov/std/stats14/std-trends-508.pdf U.S. Department of Justice. “Special Report.” U.S. Dept. of Justice, September 1988. www.fathermag.com/ news/1780_stats.shtm/ Warner, Jennifer. “US Leads the World in Illegal Drug Use.” CBSNews, July 2008. Cbsnews.com/news/ us-leads-the-world-in-illegal-drug-use/ Family Safe Media. “Pornography Statistics.” TopTenREVIEWS, Inc., 2007. www.familysafe.com/ pornography-statistics/ Larson, Craig Brian. Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1993). p.123.

As a follow-up to the dream I talked about last week, Overtaking and Occupying the Cedars, I felt I should release a post on the power of covenant. In the dream, cedars represented America’s covenant with God. I have taken today’s post from my devotional, Give Him 15: An Appeal To Heaven. (Thank you, by the way, for the wonderful feedback we have received regarding this book. Many have been blessed through the teaching devotionals it contains.) War With Covenant The first thing God tells us in the story of David and Goliath is the location of the battle. “Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 17:1-2) I realize that doesn’t interest you. You’re like me: Come on, Holy Spirit, get to the good stuff: Goliath’s description; the drama of his taunts; the fear of the Israelites; David, the young sheepherder; the battle; off with the giant’s head. I skipped over those two “boring” verses for the first 50 years of my life. And missed a nugget. This location was in the territory of Judah, which was the tribe David came from. Holy Spirit was informing us, right from the start, that this land belonged to David and his tribe. It had been given to them by God generations ago. David had more than squatter’s rights to the property the giant was trying to claim; he had divine rights. These first two verses of the story assured him of victory. The God who created and owns the earth (Psalm 24:1) has the right to give it to whomever He pleases. And He had given it to Judah. Battle over. Don’t think so? I’ll give you another reference that reinforces this truth. When Nehemiah was allowed, by the Persian King Artaxerxes, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls, he faced great opposition. The locals despised the Jews and were determined to stop them from building. When Nehemiah faced their threats and opposition, he stated his case for success in one verse: “I answered by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’” (Nehemiah 2:20 NIV) “We have a historical, God-given right to this city,” Nehemiah declared. “You don’t. Therefore, we win, you lose.” Case closed. It is beyond doubt that God raised up America for His purposes. He owns America, just as He does the entire earth; in that right of ownership, He delegated stewardship of this nation to followers of Christ, believers who would partner with Him in His great cause of redeeming the world. Do not listen to the liars, revisionists, or those they have influenced that say otherwise. If the body of Christ in America ever fully grasps this revelation, the giants attempting to steal our nation have no chance. Uncircumcised Philistine David’s next “history weapon” can be seen in the fact that not once did he call Goliath by name. He referred to him only as the “uncircumcised Philistine.” What is that all about? Imagine two guys about to fight who begin to shout insults at one another. Jed: “You’re ugly.” Jethro: “Your mama is ugly.” Jed: “You’re a wimp.” Jethro: “You couldn’t beat up a flea.” I know, these are a little weak. Not exactly Rambo-level insults, but I’m trying to keep it clean here. And you get my point - insults and degrading salvos are flying back and forth. Then, one of them shouts at the other, sealing the deal with the ultimate insult: “Well, You’re UNCIRCUMCISED!” Huh? Didn’t see that one coming. As strange as this seems, there was actually an important reason for David’s choice of names. Circumcision symbolized covenant with God (Genesis 17:13). Since the days of Abraham, this had been the case. David was stating to the giant, I’m in covenant with God; you’re not. Whereas to those in covenant, you’ll be fighting God, not just me. This battle won’t be decided by your size, experience, weaponry, or strength. It was decided long ago when my grandfather cut covenant with God, and I’m going to defeat you through the power of that covenantal history. I win; you lose. This is confirmed by David’s statement to the “uncircumcised Philistine”: “I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts…the Lord will deliver you into my hand…for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hand,” (1 Samuel 17:45-47). No wonder secularists want to steal America’s history with God! We shouldn’t be surprised that former President Obama once said we were not a Christian nation, contending that we were also a Muslim nation, a Hindu nation, an atheist nation, and so on. Karl Marx once said, “The first battlefield is to rewrite history.” The demons controlling Marx knew the importance and power of history. And, of course, demons today inspire anti-Christ forces in America to try and rewrite our history for the same reasons. As believers, we must stake our claim on the fact that God birthed America, and that He and our Founders made covenantal agreements/promises to one another. I’m not suggesting that God and those who came to these shores entered into a covenant carrying the same weight as the Old and New Covenants in Scripture. There are different levels of covenants, however. The biblical word means “a compact, confederacy, league.” The great Brown Driver-Briggs Lexicon defines it not only as covenant, but as “an alliance (of friendship); an alliance (of marriage); a constitution; agreement.” The fact that our Founders covenanted with God when they came to this land is beyond dispute. Consider reading America's Covenant With God, by Dr. Eddie Hyatt, which makes this abundantly clear. Do not underestimate the importance of this. God put into the hearts of our forefathers to come to this land. He did so to raise up a nation that would form an “alliance,” a sacred “agreement” (the definitions of covenant) to partner with Him for the propagation of the gospel to all the earth, to be a city on a hill shining His light for all to see. Obviously, God’s intent was not for this to be accomplished through abusing First Nations people. His plan is for all races and ethnicities to share in the privilege of representing Him and enjoying the benefits that come with this.However, in spite of our failures, God redeems, cleanses, and continues to use us, just as He did with Abraham. We must believe this, and do as David did: stake our claim to this land based on our alignment with God and His purposes. As we mentioned earlier, those joined by covenant share resources and strengths; they also share enemies. If the Ekklesia in America faces the giants of our day armed with the truth that this land belongs to God (“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” Psalm 24:1); if we stand on the truth that He established our nation to represent Him; and if we now resist the giants in His name - we will defeat them! War with covenant! War with history! Pray with me: Father, America has an important, meaningful history with You. We are humbled by the privilege of partnering with You in Your great cause. You have brought us cleansing and healing at times in our past. We acknowledge that we are in another season that finds us requiring Your mercy, forgiveness, and healing. The powers of darkness have determined to cripple - and ultimately stop - America from being a voice and light for You. A rebellious culture, enabled by a lukewarm church, has allowed those powers to make great progress. Today we grab hold of our covenant with You, standing on the fact that You keep covenant and mercy to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9). We reach back into our history, declare our faith in You, and decree that we will once again be a light to the nations. We will once again be a strong voice of the gospel, and of freedom, to all the nations of the earth. We exalt You; we honor You. We declare that revival has begun and will intensify. Through it, not only shall America be saved, but all the earth will experience revival. We declare that the “cedar trees,” representing our covenant with You, will be recaptured and restored. In Christ’s name, we ask and declare this, Amen. Our decree: We decree that our covenant with Yahweh through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the covenant we made with Him as a nation, will defeat every giant of darkness in America. Portions of today’s teaching were taken from my newest book, Give Him 15: An Appeal to Heaven. You can find this book on our website (DutchSheets.org) or by going to Amazon. Click on the link below to watch the full video. 1. Obama, Barack. “‘Call to Renewal’ Keynote Address.” Washington, D.C., June 2006. 2. Washington, Ellis. The Progressive Revolution: History of Liberal Fascism Through the Ages, Volume V, 2014-15 Writings. Hamilton Books, 2017, p. 219. 3. Strong, James. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Red-Letter Edition. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001. Reference no. 1285. 4. Brown, Francis. The Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Hendrickson Publishers, 1996.

The Ekklesia’s Blitz The following word shared by my brother, Tim Sheets, is an appropriate follow up to last week’s posts. God is saying it is time for we, the Ekklesia, to exercise our spiritual authority at new levels, enabling others to restore through government and wise strategies. Keep praying - it is effective! Tim says: “The movie ‘Braveheart’ depicts the story of William Wallace. There is a scene in which he rides his horse before Scottish troops and issues this challenging statement, ‘I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? “Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live…at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance - just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM!’ “We are moving into days when the Ekklesia must demonstrate its boldness, strength and unwavering faith. We have been prepared and empowered by the Holy Spirit to win great battles. Those who know their God will stand strong in Him and fight, using their spiritual weapons and wise strategies, to defeat hell’s evil agenda. Our nation and government will be changed and America will be saved! “While praying about our current times, I was reminded of a prophetic word Holy Spirit gave me where He said, ‘It’s time for the blitz push of My Kingdom Ekklesia.’ I have studied and shared portions of this word before, but Holy Spirit has given me further revelation concerning it. “The definition of ‘blitz’ is a sudden, energetic and concerted effort to accomplish a specific purpose; a push to complete a cause; an intense, sudden military attack. ‘Blitz’ can also mean a sudden energetic invasion that disorients an enemy. (1) “Holy Spirit is stirring the Ekklesia to carry out God’s spiritual battle plans for creating change and setting captives free. There are spiritual battles on the horizon that we must engage in and win. “While praying into this, I received the following from the Lord, ‘I will move through My Ekklesia “hubs” and My triumphant remnant with sudden, energetic, concerted efforts to accomplish wisdom’s plans for this season. I will lead My remnant warriors, implementing lightning-like spiritual warfare. I will lead you to strike like lightning. My Kingdom will now move rapidly with overwhelming force. Rapid strikes will break through enemy defenses, disorienting and dislocating them. Swift victories are on the calendar. “‘I will call you to sudden advances that will throw hell’s kingdom completely out of balance, interrupting their plans and resulting in quick defeat. My Ekklesias will suddenly invade enemy positions causing disruptions and a scattering of evil. Multiple surprise moves will be implemented in regions, territories, and nations as My Ekklesia is emboldened. Hell’s forces will not see this coming, for their arrogance has blinded them. Their human partners will also not see it coming, for their arrogance, self-righteousness, pride and filth has blinded them, as well. “‘Swift, strategic maneuvers are activating through My Ekklesias to reverse distortions of My identity for male and female. The demonic prince promoting gender confusion will be struck suddenly, repeatedly and boldly by My powerful, advancing Kingdom and My angel armies. Truth will be their shield and buckler. Original intent, truth, and biblical identity will be proclaimed. “‘There will be a new hunger for My presence, influence, and ways. Boardrooms will change. Some corporate leaders will change, others will be removed. Corporate identities will change. Some in government will change, others will be removed. Unique leaders I’ve prepared for this hour will now advance into positions of great authority. “‘My Ekklesia’s voice is rising to sound forth My words. Angels are being activated to tear down strongholds of evil that are polluting coming generations. My enemies will become unbalanced. They will stagger from the blitz of truth and righteousness now accelerating. Swift victories and turnarounds will be seen. “‘For I have a great harvest among those who have been misled and confused by demon-occupied minds. My truth will free them. My truth will restore true identity, meaning, and purpose, for My love is set upon them. I will free multitudes from lies. I have sons and daughters trapped in the confusion, whom I will redeem. I have prodigal sons and daughters to free. I have champions whose identities I will restore. “‘I am moving to change battlefronts; activating overwhelming force to accomplish My purposes. I will disorient those who oppose Me. Their influence will fade and their voice will fail from the festering of their evil infections. I have focused My authority on kingpin positions of great human authority who, as Pharaoh of old, have hardened their hearts against Me. My Ekklesia, assisted by My angel armies, will pray to remove their influence and see them replaced by leaders who will not resist My ways. For the blitz push of My Ekklesia includes concerted, coordinated, fast-moving efforts to remove the influence of these evil kingpins. “‘The Lord of Hosts declares to His church: The warfare for earth will now intensify, but you will experience swift turnarounds as you release My authority in regions, states, and nations. Lightning-like strikes and rapid responses against evil will replace passivity’s stupor among My people, and will prevail. The world will see a different church. A “ruling and reigning with Me” church. A church that strikes hell’s aggression in their regions. When hell pushes, they will push back. When government, big tech, and education pushes, they will push back with spiritual authority and wise strategies. And they will prevail.’ “We are living in a radical, world-shaping time, a hinge of history, and hell is fighting to control it. However, heaven and God’s committed remnant are also rising. Holy Spirit is moving, empowering and resourcing us for this moment, energizing His people with tenacious faith. And He is activating more angel armies than at any other time in history. We must be faith-filled warriors, answering the challenge. It is time for the Ekklesia of King Jesus, to boldly advance.” Pray with me: Lord, we decree this word into the atmospheres of our regions. Let the call be heard from You, deep in the heart of Your warriors. It’s time for much evil to be overcome and captives to be set free. It is time for muted voices to rise, loosing Your voice throughout America and across the world. Thank You, God, for the release of angelic assistance and the power of Holy Spirit. Release Your overwhelming force to strike down enemy strongholds. Prepare and energize us with another powerful filling of Holy Spirit; make us bold warriors, engaged against evil. Use us to strike like lightning against the strategies of hell, blinding doctrines, and plans of demons. Bring confusion into Your enemy’s camps. Restore purpose, truth and identity. Free those bound and set prodigal sons and daughters free. Give us great discernment, wisdom and understanding of the times. Lead us as we steward the blitz push of Your Kingdom to strike demonic enemies, defeat strategies, and set captives free. We decree that Your Kingdom rule WILL come to earth. Will of God, be done! In Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: The Ekklesia has been prepared to win great battles for Christ and rapid victories will be seen!. Today’s post was contributed by my brother, Tim Sheets. You can learn more about Tim by clicking here. Click on the link below to watch the full video. _________________________________ 1.https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/british-and-irish-history/blitz

Operation Overtake and Occupy the Cedars - Part 4 For the past three days, we have been looking at a significant dream given to my friend, Greg Hood, a few months back. Today I will be sharing the final part. As I did yesterday, I’m including the part of the dream we have already discussed [in brackets] for review, and for those who haven’t seen it, then I’ll continue with the next portion. Summary: Thus far, we have seen that Christ is leading His Ekklesia into a spiritual battle to restore America’s strength and her covenant with Him. He called this battle: Operation Overtake and Occupy the Cedars. The first cedar we recovered was related to our birth as a nation and the purpose for which God birthed us: partnering with Yeshua to take His gospel to all the world. The second cedar pictured covenant through “marriage,” America uniting with Christ in a partnership to, again, distribute the gospel to all the world. We became unfaithful and aligned with Baal, whose hold is being broken off of America. There are numerous important details explaining all of this, which can be seen in the previous 3 posts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. The Dream [“The dream started with Dutch and me (Greg) opening and walking through a gate leading to a long dirt road, canopied with willow trees. We walked for two miles under these willow trees. I knew it was two miles because there were wooden mile markers along the road. However, these markers looked different than those we see on a normal U.S. or State highway. This mile marker had the mile number 2, and underneath it was etched another number, 4352, and a crown. “As we walked down this narrow dirt road, we could hear a wind blowing through the willow trees. The sound was like angels and people singing together. Somehow we knew this sound, though we could not make out the words. As we walked, we saw in the near distance a man sitting on a completely white horse. The horse was a very bright white. Its feet were moving slightly with the sound moving through the willow trees. “As we approached the man, we were not sure if we wanted to walk any further, for the atmosphere had become very heavy. We could not make out the man’s face or appearance, but he was emanating an extremely bright light, had a sword on his side and a crown on his head. These two things we could clearly see. Dutch turned his head toward me very slowly, as if not wanting to draw attention from the man on the horse. Looking at me, he said, ‘We might die here, but we have to keep moving.’ “I (Greg) responded in a whisper, ‘I agree. We must press into this. I can see the road changes just past the man on the horse.’ “We continued to make our way down this dirt road with its canopy of willow trees. It was very difficult to continue because of the weight of the sound moving through the willow trees. (Yes, the sound had weight to it.) As we approached, the horseman moved his horse to the side of the road and, after we passed him, positioned himself just behind us, traveling down the dirt road with us. The overwhelming fear we once felt had turned into extremely bold confidence. “As we continued walking, we noticed the road changing under our feet, from dirt to a paved road. Just before the road changed completely, the man on the white horse instructed us to stop and listen. He said, ‘Keep watching, and you will see all that is ahead of you, and even far off. Keep listening; my voice is guiding you. My voice will navigate you through this complicated and treacherous terrain. Keep moving, and you will take the land. The land ahead of you will look much different than it has before. This is your land.’ He then added, ‘You will not walk from here; you will ride.’ “I don’t know where they came from, but he presented each of us with a horse. As he did, we could see many other people approaching us, walking and leading horses. They were not coming from ahead of us but approached from within the willow trees. We knew many of them, as they were friends and co-laborers in ministry and life. There were also many that we did not know. Without hearing any order or command, we took the reins of our horses and mounted them - everyone at once. “As we did this, the man on the white horse answered a question Dutch and I both had in our minds but were hesitant to ask. He knew our question, even though we hadn’t asked it. He said, ‘You want to know their names, don’t you, the names of your horses? Well, their names are not as important as the troop they come from; they are from Troop Basileus, and they will ride like it! These horses were bred for you.’ He went on to say, ‘They are bred for battle. They were bred for gathering spoil and occupying. They were bred to intimidate your adversaries.’ “As the road was transitioning, so were our clothes! In the dream, we had not been aware of the clothes we were wearing as we walked the road under the willow trees, but we did become aware of the new clothes that appeared on us as we moved ahead. We were now wearing garments of royalty and war…the garments of kings. It’s difficult to describe what we all looked like in these clothes. Everyone was dressed this way, and all looked brilliant! “At this time, the man on the white horse repositioned himself at the front of this vast gathering of kings. His sword was now drawn and resting across the horn of his saddle. As he moved, the road and the trees completely changed. The road was now a paved road. We knew in the dream that this pavement would give us an advantage in the coming battle. (Horses don’t normally do well on paved surfaces, but this surface was made for our horses. It was a surface for war.) There was now another mile marker on the road. It was mile marker 22. Under the number 22 was written ‘The King’s Highway,’ and a scepter was engraved just under the phrase. “Then the trees changed. There were now huge cedar trees strategically placed in the field of battle ahead of us. We could see 7 of them in the distance. The first one was very close to us. The man on the white horse said to us, ‘The adversary has encamped around my cedars. Now, I will have my cedars back. I now activate Operation Overtake and Occupy the Cedars! Your mission is to overtake and occupy the cedars of this land. You will be successful if you watch, hear, and move. When you take the cedars, you will take the land.’ “The Lord began speaking to us again, ‘The realms over America are in sync, and the time is now for the redeeming of the nation. I will go before you in the unseen realm, and you will go forth in your realm. The realms are aligned, and my spoil is sure.’ “He looked at Dutch and me (Greg) and said, ‘Remember, keep watching, keep hearing, and keep moving forward. This battle will bring the land back to me.’ Then he turned, and with a commanding voice, addressed all the kings there, ‘REPEAT IT TO ME!’ “Everyone there said, with a loud voice and in unison, ‘WE WILL WATCH AND KEEP WATCHING! WE WILL HEAR AND KEEP HEARING! WE WILL MOVE FORWARD AND CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD!’ Yeshua then said to us, again in a commanding voice, ‘DUTCH, GIVE THE FORWARD ORDER!’ “Dutch stood, stretched himself high in the stirrups of his saddle and boldly decreed, ‘KINGS, READY YOURSELVES!’ When he did this, all our horses threw their ears back and leaned back on their hind legs as if they were rockets ready to be launched. We could see their muscles tighten, and we could see their great strength and purpose. Dutch then commanded, ‘KINGS, READY YOUR SWORDS!!’ Every king drew his sword, sat forward in his saddle with knees tightly gripping the ribs of his horse. We were now ready to launch forward and take the land with the cedars. “As Dutch commanded this, we all saw the sky become extremely bright. We knew the brightness was caused by many angels gathering for battle. We could not see into their brightness well, but we could see that they were all armed with bows and three arrows loaded into their bows. “Dutch commanded, ‘KINGS, FORWARD!!’ A launching, a fierce movement began into the land of the cedars. We launched toward the first cedar, which looked firmly fortified by the adversary, knowing this battle would be intense. “As we approached the cedar, we were able to see something meticulously carved into the tree. It was not put there by the adversary but had always been in the tree. It was the number 1025. We fought hard. Some of us grew tired, but our strength was quickly and supernaturally restored, and we continued to fight. We watched, heard, and moved according to the commands of Yeshua. We took back this cedar and set forces there to build Kingdom fortifications so the cedar would never be lost again. “We shifted our focus toward the next cedar. Hearing the Lord’s voice, we moved. As we approached, we could see that this cedar had what appeared to be great fortifications around it. This tree also had a number carved into it, also done long before the adversary encamped around it. It was the number 1060. “As we approached this cedar, we could see that the adversary’s fortification was not as strong as it appeared to be from far off. It was comprised of stick men, dressed up like men of war, not real men. We broke through their gates easily and made our way to the base of this great cedar. As we did, we noticed that the stick men had a black substance flowing from their feet into the ground. It was tainting the ground around this cedar and killing the tree. “We began warring with the stick men that occupied this great cedar, using our swords. The decrees coming from our mouths took control of the battle, and we won. “I (Greg) then nailed a decree to the cedar, which was given to me by an angel just under the number 1060 engraved into it. After I had nailed the decree to the tree, Dutch read it aloud, setting it into law. It read, ‘THE KING’S DECREE, AND THE DECREES OF THE KINGS, ARE HEREBY LAW IN THIS LAND, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD. THIS CEDAR IS HEALED, ALONG WITH THE LAND AROUND IT! ITS ROOTS ARE HEALED, AND THE FRUIT OF ITS BRANCHES SHALL BRING GREAT FRUITFULNESS AND JOY INTO THIS LAND AGAIN. THIS CEDAR SHALL NEVER BE DEFILED AGAIN!’ Everyone knew this law was now established and would never be overturned.”] Last Section of the Dream “Our attention was quickly turned toward the next cedar. It was a little further from us than the previous two, and was fortified inside a walled city, much like cities in ancient times. We turned our horses toward this mighty cedar, riding hard toward it. We knew the adversary controlling this cedar could see us coming. Our horses created a thundering sound as we rode toward this mighty cedar. The earth shook! Those guarding it began preparing for our attack. They also shouted words of intimidation, attempting to distract us and/or stop us from advancing. “We did not relent, however, but rode hard and straight toward the great cedar. As we came closer, we could see that this mighty cedar had 50 large branches. Some of the branches were healthy with a little fruit; some had none. “There were 50 gates in this wall, all of them sealed shut. There was another gate through which the army of the adversary was able to move in and out. We knew this gate in the wall had been made illegally. “We could see that this cedar also had a number carved on it, the number 1410. Christ’s assembly of Kings began surrounding the wall protecting the city and mighty cedar. They broke into 50 divisions, each moving toward an assigned gate, horses and riders moving very swiftly. Their movement created large clouds of dust, hindering the view of those behind the walls. “We advanced toward the 50 sealed gates, fought, and successfully reopened all of them. Each troop of kings made their way through the gate they had reopened. As they did, the enemy began fleeing the fortified city that had been built around this mighty cedar. Many of those that had occupied this city fled to other nations, and many were captured. “A battle had been taking place simultaneously in the heavens. An angel appeared from this realm and spoke to Dutch, saying, ‘Camp the kings here. Refortify this mighty cedar, strengthen her gates, and rebuild her cities, for there are 4 more cedars you must overtake and occupy.’ “We could see what was ahead of us. It was dark, but the light was quickly increasing.” End of dream. Greg has not been given any further dreams revealing the other cedars. God will show us in His timing, one method or another. My Comments In this last section, Christ sent His Ekklesia to the third cedar. The cedars all represent America, her covenant with God, and the assignment for which He birthed us. This one had 50 branches, an obvious reference to the 50 United States. In recounting the dream, Greg referred to it as “great” and “mighty,” tall enough to be seen above the city’s wall. Indeed, America grew into a great and mighty nation. The number carved on this tree was 1410. This is the Greek word (in Strong’s Concordance) dunamai, meaning “force, power, ability, strength, abundance.” Thayer says it can mean “moral power or excellence of soul; power from riches, wealth or numbers.” (1) All of these definitions describe what America became because of her alliance with God: The strongest and richest nation in history, generated from our morality and excellence of soul, all because of our union with God. Yet now, some of the branches had a degree of fruit, others none. This would represent spiritual fruit, not physical wealth or size. I can’t help but recall a quote from French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831. Some dispute its legitimacy, but it is widely believed that he indeed said the following: “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning— and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!” (2) The great tree lost her greatness. As DeTocqueville warned against, we abandoned our connection with God, lost our righteousness, our pulpits lost their fire, and America ceased being good. That’s also when we ceased being great. We are now losing power and wealth, are led by lying and incompetent leaders, and are no longer feared by evil adversaries. Yet, God wants to restore us. The city was surrounded by a wall, protecting it and the tree. I believe the city is Washington, D.C. The wall around it had 50 gates, picturing the 50 states, and their governments. In Scripture, gates symbolize government, due to the fact that they protect and control who/what comes in and out of cities (see Matthew 16:18-19). I feel that these 50 gates picture the states and their governments, all of which had been sealed shut. The city (D.C.), however, also had a gate (“government”) that was NOT sealed shut, allowing their army (“power”) the freedom to go in and out. We knew their gate was illegal. Could the meaning of this be that our Federal Government has exalted itself to an illegal level of rule that our Founders and the Constitution never intended, shutting out the state governments and, therefore, the will of the people? This would include the 3 branches of our Federal Government, other departments (State, Justice, Education, etc), the weaponization of agencies, the deep state, and more. In the dream, when we approached, those on the inside began trying to intimidate us. Could anything be more accurate?! One of the assignments of the Ekklesia was to divide into 50 units and break open these 50 gates. We obeyed and succeeded, with angels assisting us from the invisible realm. The opposition was defeated, and the 50 gates were reopened. Some of those opposing us from within the city fled the country. Others were captured, which would most likely mean they were prosecuted. We were then told to camp in the city, refortifying this mighty cedar, strengthening her gates, and rebuilding her cities. Conclusion This is an amazing dream. It gives us great hope that the mess we have made of our nation can be overcome, and that God is not finished with America. It also confirms, however, that we must continue to diligently pray. All the King did to save America was done through the Ekklesia. I will personally be asking Holy Spirit to give us the strategies needed to implement this dream. I also feel there are facets I do not yet fully understand. I will be asking Holy Spirit for this revelation. Please join me in this. Pray with me: Father, thank You for this dream. We ask You to now help us implement what You have shown us. So much of it confirms what we have already known, yet it gives us greater insight. Show us fully how to overtake and occupy the cedars. We thank You for showing us that this can, indeed, occur. Give us the level of prayer and the strategies we need to rein in our overreaching federal government. Help us to root out evil and stop the tyranny coming from Washington, D.C. The swamp is very deep and very wicked, but You can help us clean up the mess, refortify, and rebuild. If a Convention of States is needed, give us that. If concerted prayer coming from all 50 states is needed, show us and help us accomplish this. We believe You will do these things, and we ask for them in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the evil gate of government in Washington, D.C., will be dealt with by the Spirit of God, through His Ekklesia. You can find out more about Dr. Greg Hood at GregHood.org Click on the link below to watch the full video. _____________________________ Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977). https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/the-secret-of-america-s-greatness

I realize this post and the previous two are a little longer than usual, but I feel they are very important. Operation Overtake and Occupy the Cedars - Part 3 For the past two days, we have been looking at a significant dream given to my friend, Dr. Greg Hood, a few months back. As I did yesterday, I’m including [in brackets] the part of the dream we have already discussed. Summary: Thus far, we have seen that Christ is leading His Ekklesia into a spiritual battle to restore America’s covenant with Him, pictured by cedar trees. He called this battle: Operation Overtake and Occupy the Cedars. This covenant is linked to America’s purpose - partnering with Yeshua to take His gospel to all the world. There are several more important details you can see by looking at the previous two posts, Part 1 and Part 2. [Parts 1 and 2 of the dream: “The dream started with Dutch and me (Greg) opening and walking through a gate leading to a long dirt road, canopied with willow trees. We walked for two miles under these willow trees. I knew it was two miles because there were wooden mile markers along the road. However, these markers looked different than those we see on a normal U.S. or State highway. This mile marker had the mile number 2, and underneath it was etched another number, 4352, and a crown. “As we walked down this narrow dirt road, we could hear a wind blowing through the willow trees. The sound was like angels and people singing together. Somehow we knew this sound, though we could not make out the words. As we walked, we saw in the near distance a man sitting on a completely white horse. The horse was a very bright white. Its feet were moving slightly with the sound moving through the willow trees. “As we approached the man, we were not sure if we wanted to walk any further, for the atmosphere had become very heavy. We could not make out the man’s face or appearance, but he was emanating an extremely bright light, had a sword on his side and a crown on his head. These two things we could clearly see. “Dutch turned his head toward me very slowly, as if not wanting to draw attention from the man on the horse. Looking at me, he said, ‘We might die here, but we have to keep moving.’ “I (Greg) responded in a whisper, ‘I agree. We must press into this. I can see the road changes just past the man on the horse.’ “We continued to make our way down this dirt road with its canopy of willow trees. It was very difficult to continue because of the weight of the sound moving through the willow trees. (Yes, the sound had weight to it.) As we approached, the horseman moved his horse to the side of the road and, after we passed him, positioned himself just behind us, traveling down the dirt road with us. The overwhelming fear we once felt had turned into extremely bold confidence. “As we continued walking, we noticed the road changing under our feet, from dirt to a paved road. Just before the road changed completely, the man on the white horse instructed us to stop and listen. He said, ‘Keep watching, and you will see all that is ahead of you, and even far off. Keep listening; my voice is guiding you. My voice will navigate you through this complicated and treacherous terrain. Keep moving, and you will take the land. The land ahead of you will look much different than it has before. This is your land.’ He then added, ‘You will not walk from here; you will ride.’ “I don’t know where they came from, but he presented each of us with a horse. As he did, we could see many other people approaching us, walking and leading horses. They were not coming from ahead of us but approached from within the willow trees. We knew many of them, as they were friends and co-laborers in ministry and life. There were also many that we did not know. Without hearing any order or command, we took the reins of our horses and mounted them - everyone at once. “As we did this, the man on the white horse answered a question Dutch and I both had in our minds but were hesitant to ask. He knew our question, even though we hadn’t asked it. He said, ‘You want to know their names, don’t you, the names of your horses? Well, their names are not as important as the troop they come from; they are from Troop Basileus, and they will ride like it! These horses were bred for you.’ He went on to say, ‘They are bred for battle. They were bred for gathering spoil and occupying. They were bred to intimidate your adversaries.’ “As the road was transitioning, so were our clothes! In the dream, we had not been aware of the clothes we were wearing as we walked the road under the willow trees, but we did become aware of the new clothes that appeared on us as we moved ahead. We were now wearing garments of royalty and war…the garments of kings. It’s difficult to describe what we all looked like in these clothes. Everyone was dressed this way, and all looked brilliant!”] More of the Dream “The Lord began speaking to us again, ‘The realms over America are in sync, and the time is now for the redeeming of the nation. I will go before you in the unseen realm, and you will go forth in your realm. The realms are aligned, and my spoil is sure.’ “He looked at Dutch and me (Greg) and said, ‘Remember, keep watching, keep hearing, and keep moving forward. This battle will bring the land back to me.’ Then he turned, and with a commanding voice, addressed all the kings there, ‘REPEAT IT TO ME!’ “Everyone there said, with a loud voice and in unison, ‘WE WILL WATCH AND KEEP WATCHING! WE WILL HEAR AND KEEP HEARING! WE WILL MOVE FORWARD AND CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD!’ Yeshua then said to us, again in a commanding voice, ‘DUTCH, GIVE THE FORWARD ORDER!’ “Dutch stood, stretched himself high in the stirrups of his saddle and boldly decreed, ‘KINGS, READY YOURSELVES!’ When he did this, all our horses threw their ears back and leaned back on their hind legs as if they were rockets ready to be launched. We could see their muscles tighten, and we could see their great strength and purpose. Dutch then commanded, ‘KINGS, READY YOUR SWORDS!!’ Every king drew his sword, sat forward in his saddle with knees tightly gripping the ribs of his horse. We were now ready to launch forward and take the land with the cedars. “As Dutch commanded this, we all saw the sky become extremely bright. We knew the brightness was caused by many angels gathering for battle. We could not see into their brightness well, but we could see that they were all armed with bows and three arrows loaded into their bows. “Dutch commanded, ‘KINGS, FORWARD!!’ A launching, a fierce movement began into the land of the cedars. We launched toward the first cedar, which looked firmly fortified by the adversary, knowing this battle would be intense. “As we approached the cedar, we were able to see something meticulously carved into the tree. It was not put there by the adversary but had always been in the tree. It was the number 1025. We fought hard. Some of us grew tired, but our strength was quickly and supernaturally restored, and we continued to fight. We watched, heard, and moved according to the commands of Yeshua. We took back this cedar and set forces there to build Kingdom fortifications so the cedar would never be lost again. “We shifted our focus toward the next cedar. Hearing the Lord’s voice, we moved. As we approached, we could see that this cedar had what appeared to be great fortifications around it. This tree also had a number carved into it, also done long before the adversary encamped around it. It was the number 1060. “As we approached this cedar, we could see that the adversary’s fortification was not as strong as it appeared to be from far off. It was comprised of stick men, dressed up like men of war, not real men. We broke through their gates easily and made our way to the base of this great cedar. As we did, we noticed that the stick men had a black substance flowing from their feet into the ground. It was tainting the ground around this cedar and killing the tree. “We began warring with the stick men that occupied this great cedar, using our swords. The decrees coming from our mouths took control of the battle, and we won. “I (Greg) then nailed a decree to the cedar, which was given to me by an angel just under the number 1060 engraved into it. After I had nailed the decree to the tree, Dutch read it aloud, setting it into law. It read, ‘THE KING’S DECREE, AND THE DECREES OF THE KINGS, ARE HEREBY LAW IN THIS LAND, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD. THIS CEDAR IS HEALED, ALONG WITH THE LAND AROUND IT! ITS ROOTS ARE HEALED, AND THE FRUIT OF ITS BRANCHES SHALL BRING GREAT FRUITFULNESS AND JOY INTO THIS LAND AGAIN. THIS CEDAR SHALL NEVER BE DEFILED AGAIN!’ Everyone knew this law was now established and would never be overturned.” My Comments Christ began by assuring us that the natural and spiritual realms are now aligned in a way that makes possible the redeeming of America. He would go before us, operating in the unseen realm, we would do so here on Earth. It is important to point out the importance of discerning the times spiritually, not by what is seen. When revivals in history have occurred, the natural conditions were never positive. The word revival means “restore to life.” In other words, spiritual death is prevalent, creating the need for a “reviving.” It is a contradiction of terms to state that there is too much sin or corruption for God to send revival. That’s when we need it and why He does it! What must “align,” as the dream states, between heaven and earth is the timing of God, the ripeness of the harvest (usually created by desperation and a recognition of our need), and the preparedness of God’s people, through whom He must work. This alignment, creating the right time, is NOT produced by a lack of sin in those that don’t know God. We were then instructed to keep watching, keep hearing and keep moving forward. Christ kept emphasizing this, even making us declare that we would do so. We must follow the instructions of Holy Spirit carefully at this time, and KEEP MOVING AHEAD! The command was then given to ready ourselves and our spiritual weapons. Angels joined us, each with a bow and 3 arrows. We then rode toward the first of the 7 cedars, which was heavily defended by adversaries. Remember that the cedar trees represented America’s covenant and partnership with God. Carved into the tree was the number 1025, which is the number of the Greek word brephos, meaning a newborn child, an infant. I believe this is referring to the birth of our nation - we were born through our covenant with God. In the dream, we were recapturing this truth. Though the battle was wearying, as we watched, listened to, and moved according to the King’s commands, we prevailed. We then left forces there to strengthen the tree (covenant) with “Kingdom fortifications,” so it wouldn’t be lost again. This would most likely refer to biblical discipleship. The Second Cedar Christ then directed us to the next cedar, which had the number 1060 carved into it. This is the number of the Greek word gameo, “to marry.” Marriage, of course, is a covenant. The explanation of this cedar is that it compares America’s covenant with God as a “marriage” to Him. The use of this word is God’s way of saying America’s covenant with Him produced a union, a joining together, a partnership. I also believe it was His idea, that He raised up America and bestowed on us the greatest privilege ever given to a nation, apart from Israel: taking the gospel of Christ to all the world. Though all believers share this honor, I know of no other nation created specifically for this purpose. We have since been unfaithful to Him and aligned with the spirit of Baal, who actually refers to himself as “the lord of covenant” (Baal-berith; Judges 8:33; Strongs 1170). This spirit causes individuals and nations to break covenant with God and align with (“marry”) him through idolatry, immorality, the shedding of innocent blood, and other sins. In the dream, he and his demons’ ability to destroy the tree (covenant) was a black substance on the ground, which had flowed from their feet. Admittedly this is subjective, but blood turns dark, even black, when it dries. I believe in the dream, it represents the shedding of innocent blood; that is what has empowered Baal. We began warring with those who occupied this great cedar, using decrees (the sword of our mouth), and prevailed. Greg nailed a decree under the number engraved into the tree, 1060, which I read, setting it into law. I will read the decree again in the prayer. Everyone knew this law was now established and would never be overturned. Pray with me: Father, in this dream, You told us repeatedly to watch, listen and move at Your command. We are determined to do so. You also told us that heaven and earth are now aligned in a way that allows You to redeem our nation. We are listening to You, not judging by what we see. Like Elijah on Mount Carmel, who heard the sound of rain when there was not a cloud in the sky - not one - we are listening for Your commands and instructions, not looking at circumstances. You showed us in the dream that the marriage, partnership, and union our nation had with You has been lost but can be restored. There have been many prayers of divorcement from Baal - in every state of this nation. Also, the evil decree of Roe, which perhaps became our marriage vows to Baal, has been reversed. Because of these prayers of repentance, and the nullification of this evil decree, we ask You to free us completely from this stronghold. And we use the sword of our mouths, just as You instructed us, and decree: THE KING’S DECREE, AND THE DECREES OF THE KINGS, ARE HEREBY LAW IN THIS LAND, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD. THIS CEDAR IS HEALED, ALONG WITH THE LAND AROUND IT! ITS ROOTS ARE HEALED, AND THE FRUIT OF ITS BRANCHES SHALL BRING GREAT FRUITFULNESS AND JOY INTO THIS LAND AGAIN. THIS CEDAR SHALL NEVER BE DEFILED AGAIN!’ We pray this and make this decree in the name of our King, Jesus. Amen (I have written several times in Give Him 15, about Baal, the “strongman” or principality that has ruled America for decades. Here are links to two of the most important teachings concerning this. They will give you an even greater understanding of this dream. You can find these posts HERE and HERE) Click on the link below to watch the full video. You can learn more about Dr. Greg Hood at GregHood.org.