Cleansing Bloodline Iniquities

Cleansing Bloodlines in The Courts of Heaven

One of the things the devil uses against us the most is the iniquity in our bloodline. Most of us are aware of our own sins and transgressions. We know our own stuff. We recognize where we have fallen short.

However, things buried in our bloodlines can be a little more difficult to deal with. Remember that when Daniel and others were seeking to get Israel out of captivity and back to their inheritance, they repented for their personal sins and the iniquity of their fathers. Daniel 9:16–17 shows some of this repentance.

O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.

Notice that Daniel made his supplication and intercession concerning their sins and iniquities for the Lord’s sake. In other words, he was pointing out to God His interest in this matter. God, as a covenant-keeping God, would want to see His people restored to their land and inheritance. He would desire His purposes in them fulfilled but also His reputation in them maintained.

When Daniel repented for the iniquities of the fathers, he was not seeking to change their eternal destiny. The Bible says it is appointed to man once to die and then to face the judgment. We find this in Hebrews 9:27.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

Every man will be recompensed for the life he has lived. Nothing can change this. However, repenting for the iniquity of the fathers removes satan’s legal right to use it against us. We are not seeking to change eternal destinies.

When we take responsibility for our own sins and the sins of our bloodline, we are dealing with the legal issues satan would use to build a case against us. We see this in the life of Israel as a nation. In Second Samuel 21:1, we see David discerning why there was a drought and famine in Israel for three years.

Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.

Saul had killed the Gibeonites with whom Joshua had made a covenant. You’ll remember that Joshua had not inquired of the Lord what to do about the Gibeonites when he encountered them. They made up a story that they were from a far-off land and had come to worship the God of Joshua and the Israelites.

In reality, they were a people living in the Promised Land who Joshua was supposed to destroy. They deceived Joshua, and Joshua entered into a covenant with them. Even though the covenant was made in deception, it still stood before heaven. Joshua and the leaders gave their word. You can find this story in Joshua 9:1–15.

Now, Saul has broken the covenant with the Gibeonites. This broken covenant had granted the devil the legal right to shut up the heavens and stop the rain. Saul had done this 70 years before the famine occurred.

Now, all these years later, there’s a famine because of a broken covenant from 70 years prior. David and all the people had been praying for three years for rain, yet none had come. When David understands why the famine has happened, he sets the covenant with the Gibeonites back in place. The Bible then makes an astounding statement in Second Samuel 21:14.

God heeded the prayer for the land. The same prayer that had been prayed for three years was suddenly answered. The difference was the legal right in the history of Israel to resist rain was revoked through broken covenants!

God could now answer the prayer of His people because the legal right in the spirit realm granting the devil power through a broken and dishonored covenant was now removed. If we are to see breakthrough, many times we must deal with the history of sin or iniquity in our bloodlines. The devil uses them as a legal right to reduce us to less than what God desires.

To discern iniquity in the bloodline, we should understand the nature of iniquity. The word “iniquity” in the Hebrew is the word “avon,” and it means something perverted. It means to be twisted. So iniquity in the bloodline twists the desires and purposes of God. It twists the moral compass of a person’s life. It twists desires from that which is good to that which is evil. Iniquity isn’t just about a single sin. Iniquity is about the twisting of nature. This is why when we are born again, we receive a new nature. Second Peter 1:4 tells us we have received the divine nature, or the nature of God Himself. It is God’s excellence and glory,

By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Through the divine nature, we escape the corruption that is in the world. Yet that which we receive at salvation has to dominate and empower us. Even though we have the nature of God in us, the issues in our bloodline will try to work against us. Notice that the Apostle Paul in speaking to Titus gave him instructions about ministering in the Cretan culture. Titus 1:10–13 shows us a perversion in a bloodline that has affected a culture.

For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.

Paul realized that even though these people were saved and born again, issues in their bloodline were still affecting them. Their culture had been twisted to be liars, evil beasts, and gluttons. Paul’s commandment to Titus was to rebuke them and challenge them to let the new nature in them arise. They could not conform to that which had fashioned their culture for generations. They had to deal with their bloodline issues so it didn’t continue to twist them and pervert who they were meant to be.

In dealing with bloodline issues, we should be aware of anything that twists the real intent of God for our family. For instance, the Cretans were not meant to be liars, evil beasts, and gluttons.

Generations of iniquity had fashioned them into this. Perhaps there are addiction issues in your bloodline. Maybe there are sexual issues there. Perhaps anger issues are present. Maybe there is violence. It could be anything.

I challenge people to look at themselves and their siblings, their parents, and their own children. Within these three generations, you will see bloodline issues. Begin to repent of these things.

As you exhaust these, then ask the Lord for any further revelation you might need. If there are no more realizations, then be at peace. You can only deal with the knowledge you have. I tell folks that when you have dealt with everything you know, then use Colossians 2:14. It says that God made us alive with Jesus:

Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

The “handwriting of ordinance” refers to that which the devil is using to build a case against us. After I have prayed over everything I know and discern, I ask that Colossians 2:14 be applied to my life.

I ask that every case against me, known or unknown, be dismissed, based on what Jesus did for me on the cross. I have seen great results simply taking this by faith and executing it.

Here is a prayer that can be prayed to come before the Courts of Heaven and cleanse our bloodlines.

Lord, as I come into Your Courts, I stand before You. Lord, I thank You that what Jesus did for me on the cross now speaks on my behalf before Your Courts. I repent for my own personal sins and transgressions, but I also bring the iniquity of my bloodline to You. I ask that anything the devil would legally accuse me of would now be revealed.

I bring my bloodline to You through my father (name your father) and through my mother (name your mother) all the way back to Adam and Eve. I ask that anything that the devil would legally be bringing against me would be known.

I repent of all iniquities I have discerned naturally. (Deal with each issue separately. Go through them one by one, repenting of that which has twisted the bloodline and generations.) I now ask for the blood of Jesus to speak for me and my bloodline. I ask that any and every legal right of the devil to use these things would now be revoked. Thank You, Lord Jesus, so much for Your blood that speaks for me.

I repent for any and all iniquities I discern in my bloodline through my father and my mother prophetically. I ask that anything that needs to be exposed in my bloodline would now be seen.

Anything the devil, as my legal opponent, would bring against me, I ask that he be made to show it. [Be sensitive at this stage to anything you see, hear, or feel. Anything that is discerned, whether you know about it naturally or not, repent of it.]

I also, Lord, thank You for Colossians 2:14 that declares You took away every case against me on the cross. I ask, Lord, that anything known or unknown would be removed. I ask that the right of the devil to legally use this against me is now revoked. Thank you so much for nailing all these things against me to Your cross. I receive it and accept it in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Keys to Revival: Preparing for the Glory

Do you Want revival? Do you Want God to pour out his glory and transform your family, your city, your nation? God wants that too! At the center of everything is the greatest love story of all time where Jesus pursues His Bride, and we respond. Personally and corporately, our focus must be on our own love for Jesus and on His deep love for the lost. This love sparks hunger in us for God and for His Kingdom to come on earth, for revival to break forth.

Love makes us want more of His presence. Love bubbles over, and we can’t help but tell people about the One we love. We begin to feel God’s heart for people, and we are filled with compassion for their situations. We get filled with faith knowing God wants to heal them, bring their breakthroughs, and make Himself known in tangible ways. Love makes us want revival—an awakening of whole communities to see who God is and to fall in love with Jesus.

As we pray for revival, there are practical things we can do to position ourselves and our churches. One of the ways we can prepare is by studying other revivals. John and Carol Arnott have written this incredible book, Preparing for the Glory, about their personal journey in God and about the Toronto Blessing, a powerful revival that began at their church in 1994. The book details their pursuit for revival then and now.

They also share their research on historical revivals and on anointed men and women of God who taught them along the way. In each revival, there is a particular aspect of God that He wants to reveal to the Church. It is important to look for what God is highlighting in each great movement. We want to learn and receive everything He is revealing to us!

John and Carol have found tools and keys that they share throughout the book. They give us practical things that have helped them and many others in their church to have encounters with God and grow in intimacy with Him. God loves when we “tarry” in His presence through soaking, worship, and reading His Word. Being intentional with our time is a huge key to seeing revival.

God also loves when we release our need for control and allow Him to do whatever He wants in and through us. Even if we fall over or look strange, He wants us to be willing to be filled by Him, no matter the cost. God loves us, so He wants to be with us. He wants us to focus our attention on Him and to position our lives toward Him. In doing this, we make ourselves ready for revival.

In addition to preparing individually, we need to be part of a community with the same passion for God. John, Carol, Rolland, and I and a small group of other leaders formed the Revival Alliance, a group set on meeting together to pray for and pursue revival. We meet together each year and host conferences to corporately ask God what He wants to do in our generation and position ourselves and our movements for more of Him.

Unity is another crucial key for revival, so part of the purpose of Revival Alliance is to bring our movements together. We have different specific missions and characteristics but the same Father, the same passion for Christ, and the same Holy Spirit. We cheer each other on in our victories and encourage each other when we go through challenging times.

I urge you to meet with others who have similar hearts and who also want more of God in your locality. God created us for family and community! John and Carol also encourage spending time visiting places, experiencing revival, and asking God to give you a personal encounter. You are welcome to apply to come visit Mozambique. We would love to have you come and participate in what God is doing and experience more of Him. I’m sure John and Carol would welcome you to come visit Toronto and pray for God to meet you there. Myself and countless others have had life-changing encounters on that carpet; it is a very special place.

John and Carol and their teams have received many prophetic words and dreams for the next wave of revival. They are actively praying for this and seeing it. They sense that God wants to release a revival of holiness. Holiness is something that many have misunderstood or pushed aside. Our culture and society are fighting hard against us in this regard, tempting individuals and communities worldwide with compromises and gray areas.

Certain movements in the church have even believed the lie that grace is freely available so we can do whatever we please and our sins don’t really matter. True grace actually empowers us to live holy lives. The more we fall in love with Jesus, the more we want our lives to please His heart. We want to be like Him; we do not want any compromise or any areas that His light hasn’t touched in our hearts.

We want to give everything to the One we love; we want every word, every action, every decision to please His heart because of love. Holiness is not a burden or a chore; it becomes our joy.

John and Carol are the perfect people to share with us about what it looks like and what it feels like to see revival, both how to prepare and how to respond. Even after experiencing so much in God and hosting one of the most impactful revivals in our generation, they are continuously preparing themselves and their church for another, greater wave.

John and Carol are passionate people who have no intention of stopping or settling. They know full well that there is always more. It is a great privilege and honor to count them as some of my closest friends. Jesus says we will do greater things than He did. Most of us have not seen or experienced that yet, but we want to, and we know that everything He says is true.

Jesus is so in love with you. He wants more of you; do you want more of Him? I encourage you to read this book and allow God to stir up more hunger in you for revival. I have personally been impacted by the Lord in this revival in a way that has caused me to fall more in love with Jesus and courageously pursue His purposes in my life, to find the lost and the broken and bring them home to Jesus and the Father.

I pray that you will also be transformed forever as you allow Him to encounter you and fill you to overflowing. He has amazing things for you and for your community beyond what you could ask or imagine. So you’d better Prepare for the Glory, because it is coming!

Jesus and The Passover

Passover was the first of the three feast seasons in Jewish culture.The Passover was to be a memorial to the Hebrews’ deliverance from Egypt. This deliverance happened during the month of Nisan and represented God’s first encounter with His covenant people. (Exod. 12:1-14; 43-48.)

You recall that God chose Moses as His instrument to lead the Hebrews out of bondage. Working through Moses, God sent ten terrible plagues against Egypt. This was God’s way of convincing Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. But each time God sent a new plague, Pharaoh’s heart hardened (Exod. 3-10).

God gave Pharaoh every chance to let the Hebrews go, but Pharaoh would not yield. God then declared a tenth and final plague, which was the death of the firstborn of every family (Exod. 11). But along with this decree of death, God gave specific instructions on how to be saved from this death.

Every Hebrew man was to select for his household a lamb without spot or blemish. On the fifth day, he was to bring the lamb to his doorstep and kill him. As he killed the lamb, he would catch the blood in the basin at the foot of the doorstep. Then he would sprinkle the blood on both sides of the doorpost and above the doorpost. Thus, the entire entrance into the house was covered by the blood of the lamb.

That night, God allowed the angel of death to pass through the land. As he passed from door to door, he sought to enter every household. If the entrance was covered by blood, the angel of death could not enter but had to pass over that house. If the entrance was not covered by blood, judgment would come upon that household as the firstborn would die.

This was the Lord’s Passover. We see that He used the blood of the lamb to save His people from death. The blood of the lamb was their covering and protection.

The Hebrew word for Passover is Pesach. This word means to come under the protection of a deity by crossing over, jumping over, stepping over, or leaping over something, in this case, the threshold. Humankind’s earliest primitive altar to the one true God, as well as false gods, was the threshold or entrance into the home. The threshold altar was the place where people made their sacrifice to their gods. The purpose was to request protection from the family deity as well as inviting the deity into their house.

When people dedicated their house to their god, they did so by making a sacrifice at the threshold. So it was the common practice to kill an animal at the threshold of the house as the way of welcoming the family deity. They would then cross over the threshold and enter the house.

Since the people were making a sacred blood covenant with their god, they were careful to cross over, step over, leap over, or jump over the blood. To trample under foot the blood was to show contempt and rejection of the covenant. They would then invite the deity into their house to be their protector and provider. In their way of thinking, because they dedicated the house to their god at the blood- stained threshold, their god stood in the doorway protecting them from harm.

The common understanding of Passover that has come down to us over the centuries is that God somehow passed by the dwellings where the blood was applied. But the biblical understanding is much more powerful. When the people applied the blood to the threshold and doorway, they were inviting God to pass over or cross over the threshold into their house as their protector from the angel of death.

God, in a sense, stood in the doorway protecting the people from death. He entered into a threshold-blood covenant with the people as He crossed over the blood-stained threshold while His executioner entered the houses of those who did not have the blood. This Pass-over was actually a Crossing Over or threshold Covenant.

Fast-forward 1,500 years later to Jesus’ day: for centuries, the Jewish people had been celebrating the Feast of Passover by killing a lamb and offering it as a sacrifice to God. They knew about lambs. But the blood of an animal could only cover their sins; it could not take them away. In view of this, God sent prophets to explain to the people that, one day in the future, a human lamb would come who would deal with the problem of sin and death once and for all.

As the time came for this human lamb to be sacrificed, God sent one last prophet to help the people recognize Him. This prophet was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. John introduced Jesus with these words: “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36).

John identified Jesus as the human lamb Isaiah spoke of who would give His life for the sins of the world. Jesus was God Himself, born as a human, specifically for this purpose (Acts 2:22-23). Because of their religious sacrifices, the Jewish people immediately understood the significance of John’s statements concerning Jesus.

As the time approached for Jesus to die, Jesus deliberately arranged His itinerary and personal activities around the events associated with the selection, testing, and death of the Passover Lamb. In this way, the Jewish people would be able to understand who He was and what He was doing. They had acted out the drama of redemption through the Passover picture.

The blood of the Passover lamb was a visual aid and dress rehearsal directing the Jews into the future when Jesus would come and establish the spiritual reality that the lambs could only symbolize. The blood of Jesus saves us from death and gives us the promise of resurrection.

What personal application does the passover feast have for us today? The Bible says and the human condition proves that all of us have sinned and that the judgment for our sin is death (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). As with the Hebrews back in Egypt, the angel of death comes knocking at our door. Death is the one subject we don’t like to think of or talk about.

Not only are we afraid of death, but we are also afraid of God. We are afraid of God because deep down inside we know we are sinners and that our sins have separated us from God. We know that God would be perfectly just in punishing us. So we run from Him. We try to hide behind the walls of religion, business, power, money, fame, glamour, success, etc. We keep ourselves busy and numb our minds in order not to think about Him. The prophet Isaiah observed this and wrote, “‘there is no peace for the wicked,’ says the Lord” (Isa. 48:22).

Even though we deserve death, God has made a way for us to be saved. That way is through the blood of Jesus, which cleanses us from all sin (see 1 John 1:7). When we apply His blood to the doorpost of our heart, death cannot hold us. We no longer need to fear death because the resurrection of Jesus has taken away its sting (1 Cor. 15:51-57).

The same is true of our fear of God. We no longer have to run from God when we accept Jesus as the Lamb of God who died for our sins. God accepts Jesus’ death in our place. He is our innocent substitutionary sacrifice. We are reconciled to God when we acknowledge Jesus as the one who died on our behalf.

Paul wrote, “But now in Christ Jesus [Messiah Yeshua] you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ [Messiah]” (Eph. 2:13). This means there is no condemnation for those who come to Jesus and receive Him as Messiah, Lord, and Savior (see Romans 8:1). We shall not come into condemnation, for we have passed from death to life (John 5:24).

The result of our coming to Jesus as our Passover sacrifice is peace with God. We read these words in Romans, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ [Yeshua the Messiah]…But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ [Messiah] died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:1,8-9).

Our Father in Heaven has offered the blood of His own Son as the Passover-threshold covenant sacrifice. By embracing Jesus as our Passover Lamb, God has entered our house—that is, our life. He has become our protector and provider. We have crossed over from being natural people to covenant people, from darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from bondage to liberty, from defeat to victory, from fear to faith, from sickness to health, from poverty to plenty, and from death to life. Therefore, let us not trample under our feet the sacred threshold-blood covenant God has made for us through Jesus and treat it as a common thing. But let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for our God is a faithful, covenant-keeping God. (Heb. 10.)

Accepting Jesus as our Messiah, Lord, and Savior is the first major encounter we have with God. This is how we find peace with God. This is what the Feast of Passover symbolizes. It is the picture of the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus.

10 Marks of a Prophet

The office of the prophet is probably the least-understood and most-neglected ministry office in the Church today. If we refuse to receive an apostle, we refuse order. However, if we refuse to receive a prophet, we refuse destiny. Where there is no destiny there is no future. The Church then becomes relegated to the narrow existence of the here and now. The prophet is the key to the Church’s destiny and power.

The Church today needs to recognize and receive the ministry of the prophet and to pray that God will raise those with the prophetic gifting into their proper prophetic office. Those who hold the office of prophet form a charismatic order to which a recognized position should be given in the Church.

A special recognition and authoritative status should be conferred upon those who have manifested certain gifts in a prominent and/or continuing manner. The prophet is the Lord’s instrument, one of several means by which Jesus Christ leads His Church. In the power of the Spirit, the prophet manifests the character of the Lord, who is the prophet of the end time.

The Authority of the Prophet

When a prophet is recognized and comes into his office, he brings with him an authority from God that accomplishes two things in the Church. First, it helps us to realize that God is a God of the now. A prophet is always reminding us that God is, not just that He was; he tells us what God is doing, not just what He has done.

Knowing what God has done throughout history is important; it is a powerful legacy for us. However, we also need to know beyond doubt that the God of the Bible is the God of today; that the God who blessed Moses, helped David, and anointed Jesus will also bless, help, and anoint us. Our God is a now God, and the prophet helps us to remember that.

A prophet has the ability to see things that are not seen. He focuses not on the circumstances, but on the God who rules the circumstances; not on the mess of today, but on the solution that God will provide down the road. The office of the prophet is to speak to us continually in the here and now.

The second thing that the authority of the prophet accomplishes in the Church is that it brings back the fear of the Lord. The sad truth is that there is very little fear of the Lord today either inside the Church or outside. There was a time when a church could be left unlocked 24 hours a day, seven days a week without fear of someone stealing the sound system, vandalizing the building, or spray-painting graffiti on the walls.

Now many churches have to allot a significant portion of their budgets to security systems and higher insurance coverage. There was a time when only “essential services” were open for business on Sunday. Now our society treats the Lord’s Day as just another day of the week. Gone is the general civic understanding and belief that the nation that honors and serves God will be blessed by God.

Fear of God is lacking in the Church, too. Many believers have only a shallow and immature commitment to God that allows them to constantly rationalize and justify attitudes, behavior, and lifestyles that go against God’s will as revealed in His Word. Because there is little understanding of what God expects and requires, there is little fear and a limited sense of awe and respect for His holiness and glory.

The prophet in his office, however, gets our attention and brings us back to a holy fear of God. The Lord is looking for a holy Church, a pure and spotless Bride of Christ. A restoration of the fear of God in the Church is necessary if the Church is to grow into full holiness.

The Marks of a Prophet

There are at least ten distinguishing marks of the prophetic office; these characteristics in the lives and ministries of believers identify them as prophets. These traits should be evident in varying degrees in the life of anyone with a prophetic gifting who is attempting to grow and develop in that gifting. They are most fully developed in those who have been raised into the prophetic office. Whenever we see any of these qualities displayed in someone’s life, we should encourage that person to grow and develop their gift.

Preaching that exhorts and strengthens the disciples. The prophet’s message always builds up the lives of disciples; it never tears down. A disciple is a student; someone who is learning, maturing, and growing up in the Christian faith. These are the ones who are encouraged and strengthened by the prophet’s message. Those believers who have refused to mature, on the other hand, may find the prophet’s message to be harsh and painful. It always hurts to be outside of the will of God. A prophet’s word always builds up those who are striving to grow in Christ.
Character that is true, honest, faithful, and holy. A prophet points to and reminds us of our destiny in Christ. Therefore, his life should display the character of Christ. While this is true of all believers, it is particularly critical for those in the prophetic office. The Old Testament prophets were held to a very high standard, not only by the people but by God. Moses was a prophet (see Deut. 34:10); yet one lapse on his part in representing God before the people resulted in God denying him the opportunity to enter the Promised Land (see Deut. 32:48-52). Character matters.
A message that appeals not to the flesh but to the spirit. Growing disciples want messages that challenge and stretch their spirits. Babes in the faith who have no interest in growth usually don’t like prophetic preaching because it brings them under conviction. They are more interested in gratifying the flesh. The message of a true prophet always speaks to the spirit directly and without compromise.
Prediction and fulfillment of prophecy. In other words, a prophet speaks something concerning the future, and God fulfills that prophecy. It could be a prophecy spoken into the life of an individual or an entire congregation. Whatever form it takes, such a prophecy will be specific in nature with clearly measurable fulfillment. Once the event comes to pass we know that God has raised that prophet into office.
Spiritual discernment in the lives of others. This one sometimes makes people nervous, particularly those who know that their lives are not what they should be in the Lord. A prophet has the ability in the Spirit to discern spiritual reality in the lives of others, good or bad, and speak concerning that reality. This prospect creates anxiety in some people who fear that the prophet will uncover all the mess they have allowed into their lives. Have no fear. A mature prophet will never publicly uncover mess because God does not embarrass people. The prophet may address the problem privately with the person, if the Lord leads that way. However, he is more likely to exhort the person to follow God’s will and obey what God has told him to do.
Declaration of divine judgments when needed. This is another one that makes people nervous. Sometimes a situation is so bad or has gone on so long that the word of the Lord through the prophet is one of judgment. Prolonged rebellion or disobedience to God, or refusal to heed prophetic warnings or respond to calls for repentance, will ultimately bring about God’s judgment. No one likes these kind of pronouncements, least of all the prophet, but sometimes they are necessary.
Willingness to suffer for speaking the truth without saving self. A mature prophet has long since committed his or her life totally into God’s keeping and has recognized that suffering is an “occupational hazard.” Speaking the truth for God is more important than personal comfort. Sometimes suffering comes as a result of declaring divine judgment. Jeremiah spoke the truth about God’s coming judgment on the southern kingdom of Judah and was convicted of treason and imprisoned in a dry cistern. A true prophet is not afraid to suffer for the truth.
A message in harmony with the Word of God and the known will of God. A prophet’s message will never, repeat never, contradict the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word always agree. Since a prophet is a “pneumatic” (Spirit-person), his word will also be in agreement with the Word of God. A message that goes against God’s Word is a sure indicator of a false prophet.
Employment of symbolic actions. Prophets preach with pictures. Jesus used this method all the time in His teaching, painting pictures in people’s minds through the stories and parables He told. Prophets use pictures because that’s the way God reveals His will and His Word to them. A prophet sees how things are done in the natural and applies it to the spiritual.
Ability and authority to judge the manifestations of prophetic gifts. A prophet serving in a recognized and acknowledged prophetic office has the ability and authority to identify and judge the presence, display, and use of prophetic gifts in others. In other words, a prophet has the ability to recognize and identify other prophets (both true and false).

Image courtsey: Life and Hope –Artist’s conception of the prophet Isaiah warning King Hezekiah.

Can a Nation Be Restored?

The dictionary definition of restoration is “to revive and return to life” or “to bring back to a former or original condition.” This definition falls short of all that restoration in God means. God intends to do more than bring us back to a former or original condition. Restoration begins multiplication! When you study the process of restoration, you discover that once the process begins, you have the right to double, quadruple, and even enter into a sevenfold completion of all of God’s purposes.

Restoring, Reconciling, and Aligning a Nation

There is usually a process in everything. Process is the course of something developing and eventually coming into its full operation. Process includes preparation, discipline, order, change, development, and operational steps that bring you to a destination. Therefore, we go through a process to reach our destiny. That process usually includes restoration, reconciliation, and some sort of release.

When we align the Body of Christ in our nation, we find a peculiar people ready to do God’s will from Heaven, in the land that we occupy here in the earth. We represent God in this nation. We, the Body of Christ, should be the driving force to even maintain our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Any time our nation deviates from God’s plan first and then His sovereign order in this nation, the Body of Christ should rise up and say, “Let us return and be restored to the Lord.”

So that our nation might be transformed, God’s order must first be strategically established. When strategic intercessors are aligned with apostolic leaders, breakthrough begins. Intercessors carry the burden of God, prophetic people make key declarations, and apostles set the decrees in motion. In other words, intercessors keep the heavens open; prophets begin to express God’s heart, making key declarations into the atmosphere; and apostolic leaders pull upon that revelation or blueprint of Heaven and bring it into an established form in the earth realm.

God is realigning or shifting our nation. A shift is a change of place, position, or direction. A shift also includes an exchange, or replacement, of one thing for another. A shift is a change of gear so that we can accelerate. A shift can also be an underhanded or deceitful scheme. Therefore, in our shift, we must recognize that the enemy is plotting to stop it. God is ready for us to shift through our choice to enter into a new dimension of faith. Let us not lean on our understanding but shift into this new dimension of faith!

Repent and Allow the Lord to Shift Your Thoughts!

The simple meaning of repentance is to change your mind. So many times we develop a belief system that is not aligned with the absolute Word of the Lord; or we start off believing right but then add other worldly knowledge to our knowledge of who God is and develop other thought patterns. This is how strongholds and iniquitous patterns develop. Second Corinthians 10:3-6 says:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

These thought processes have to be dismantled if we are ever going to express the mind and heart of God.

Repentance has three phases: intellectual, emotional, and volitional. First, there is an intellectual aspect of repentance. When we gain knowledge that something in our own life or thoughts is not right, we have to change the way we think to incorporate that knowledge.

Next, there is an emotional aspect to repentance. Our emotions actually store many of our memories. When we are wounded, we remember. When we experience trauma, we remember. When we violate a principle of God and suffer the consequences, our emotions are affected. In other words, we can know we need to forgive, but our emotions never give up the wound.

The third aspect of repentance is volitional. Our will must change. There has to be an action based upon your new thought processes. This is why so many prophets demonstrate through prophetic actions the required change of mind that God is requesting His people to make. This also means that you cannot voice a change of mind and then continue to practice the same old sin pattern.

When we repent, we change our mind and take a turn onto our new path of victory. The Lord accomplished this in many ways throughout the Word of God. He would bless His people abundantly, as He did with Peter in Luke chapter 5. He would bring judgment. He would dry up heavens or change atmospheres. And at all times, the Lord is longsuffering, in order to provoke us to think the way He thinks.

This causes us to develop a Kingdom mentality. The Kingdom of God is within us. We build the Church, but we receive keys to the Kingdom. We need to study the Kingdom.

Matthew 11:12b declares, “Now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” The Kingdom advances in victory. This occurs through violent spiritual conflict and warfare. When the Church acts as God’s warring agent, the Kingdom increases. Let us lift up our shield and sharpen our sword because they are both important in God’s Kingdom conflicts ahead.

Reconciliation Follows Repentance

Once we know that God wants changes in the earth and we agree with Him, we must move forward with Him to reconcile or realign His purposes. Reconcile means to “restore friendship and fellowship.” I think this should begin first with the Lord instead of each other. Reconciliation brings the change of mind into a thorough visible manifestation. When we reconcile, we open the door for a full release. The Lord reconciled the world and changed its relationship to God by going to the cross. We have been reconciled to God. This is how loss becomes salvageable.

The person in the Bible who has most affected my prayer life, other than Jesus, is Daniel. I just love how he operated in victory in Babylon. He was truly “in the world, but not of it.” He was disciplined, sensitive, consistent, uncompromising, bold, supernatural, attentive to the past, but always pressing toward God’s expected end for the people of Israel. We find a great pattern when we look at how he repented and reconciled the situation of God’s covenant people while he lived in Babylon. Again, reconciliation realigns the door of Heaven with earth.

The Lord is forming new doors or portals in the heavenlies as we pray, war, decree, and advance in His order. To form means to “develop or mold the shape or outline of something,” or to “give meaning, character, or nature to something.” Another way of thinking about a season of formation is to see something (including the conditioning of our mind and body) as it will be in days ahead. A forming season includes conceiving, training, and disciplining.

Many enemies are behind this door that is forming, but the Lord says: “Do not focus on your enemies during this season, but watch the door form and be ready to enter into this new opportunity. I will give you grace over your enemies.” This is the time for a major conversion of souls. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Daniel understood how prophecy was important in our prayer lives. He knew he had to use the prophecies spoken, to war for the future! Take, for example, the situation when Jeremiah prophesied that the people of Israel would go into captivity, but would be released in 70 years. Daniel uncovered the prophetic writings of Jeremiah while Israel was still held captive in Babylon.

He learned that Jerusalem was to lie desolate for 70 years, and that the 70-year period had now come to an end. Because of Jeremiah’s prophetic declaration, Daniel knew that now was the time to act. Jeremiah’s understanding of the future had turned into a “now” word for Daniel.

Daniel did four specific things to bring an end to Israel’s captivity:

He prayed and fasted. Jeremiah was specific in saying that the Lord would turn a deaf ear to His people for 70 years. Now, however, Daniel knew that the kairos time had come to beseech the Lord for an end to captivity.
He repented for himself and his people. Once he knew the mind of God, Daniel confessed and repented not only for his own sin, but for the sins, iniquities, and failures of the Israelites that resulted in their captivity in the first place.
He received an angelic visitation. God honored Daniel’s efforts and sent His archangel, Michael. After three weeks of prayer, fasting, and repentance, an angel appeared to Daniel to tell him what was written in the “Book of the Future.” In other words, he told Daniel what would happen to his people.
He received revelation of the future. Because of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Daniel understood the times in which he was living. Because he understood the times, he saw his window of opportunity and began to seek the Lord with great fervency. When he did, he gained an understanding of the future God had for his people, and through obedience to God’s commands, he could move them forward, out of their captivity.

When the word of God is released through prophecy, it is never forgotten. It is stored in Heaven until God is ready to release it back into the earth. In the Body of Christ, we have received many prophetic words, both through Scripture and through modern day prophets, that are about to come to pass on earth. We need to understand the times, seize our kairos opportunities, and move into the future with victory! Even though times ahead will change rapidly and may be difficult, we have great confidence that God will give us the revelation we need to move forward.

When we are overwhelmed by our present circumstances and apparent defeats, we must hear the Lord speak to us, just as He did to Jeremiah, “Is there anything too hard for Me?”

In Daniel chapter 7, we also find revelation of the Ancient of Days. I believe this is very important and needed revelation for us to be victorious in prayer in days ahead.

In Daniel 7:9-14, we find that Daniel had a revelation of God’s everlasting reigning power. He states:

I watched till thrones were put [set] in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated….One like the Son of Man…came to the Ancient of Days….Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom…which shall not be destroyed.

This name of God, “Ancient of Days,” is a phrase that describes the Everlasting God, One advanced in days or knowledge, the Father of Years, and One who forwards time or rules over it. The name implies dignity, endurance, judgment, and wisdom. “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered” (Job 36:26).

The Ancient of Days has a covenant with the earth. In this covenant, the earth will be full of His purposes, and He will be longsuffering until all have heard. The heart of God is to form covenant with all peoples on the face of earth and establish a house of prayer for each one (see Isa. 56:5-8), including those in your city.

That is why we must learn how to prophesy to that which has been scattered through these thrones of iniquity. Just as Ezekiel did in Ezekiel chapter 37, we must speak to the dry bones and command them to be brought back to life. This kind of prophetic declaration not only re-establishes God’s covenant purpose for a territory, but also brings those within the territory out of their hope deferred, causing them to rebuild that which the enemy has destroyed.

The Ancient of Days releases ancient wisdom for present-day victory. A Scripture that has revolutionized my prayer life is First Corinthians 2:6-10:

We speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of the age, nor the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard…the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit….

God gives us several keys as we pray:

God has wisdom greater than any worldly wisdom we encounter.
Powers and principalities do not have access to this wisdom.
The authority of demonic forces is limited.
There is wisdom that has been hidden since the beginning of time, for His glory.
Through the redemptive cross of Jesus Christ, we have access to this wisdom.
God is prepared to release this wisdom to us as we get to know Him intimately, through prayer.
This wisdom will overthrow high places and release captives.
Wisdom dismantles demonic structures and overthrows thrones of iniquity.

When the Lord showed this to me, I knew that any demonic force holding a territory captive could not withstand the wisdom that God would release to His people. I knew that if the Spirit of the Lord burdened me to pray for a city or a state or a nation, I had authority to gain the keys for the release of its inhabitants. This is a day when the Lord is extending a fresh call of prayer to His people.

He is revealing the true condition of our country and saying: “Overcome every obstacle that is keeping these people from coming to know Me. Open the door for My house to be built within them so they may experience My love throughout eternity. Through prayer, gain wisdom that will overthrow the thrones of iniquity wherever they have been established. Then establish My throne that many may worship Me and gain life everlasting!” This is how entire cities will experience conversion.

This is how we will overthrow thrones of iniquity and see God’s covenant plan for whole territories flourish in days ahead. In Daniel chapter 10, we find Daniel seeking God with intensity for 21 days. It was then that the Ancient of Days sent the aid of Michael, the archangel. Revelation was then released into the earth realm—revelation that we are walking in today.

Can We as a Nation Continue to Shift and Realign to God’s Perfect Plan?

The answer is YES—if we are willing to war to receive God’s covenant blessing. Abraham is a great example (see Gen. 14–15).

The answer is YES—if we find our place in the gap. Nehemiah is a great example (see Neh. 1–2). He received God’s burden and found favor from the king to accomplish the task.

The answer is YES—if the Church is willing to shift from its discipling-teaching mentality to an apostolic-sending mentality (see John 20–21). Jesus discipled the Twelve until it was time to send them. Then He released them and sent them.

The answer is YES—if we allow the Spirit of God to align us in God’s order. We find an order of God in First Corinthians 12: first apostles, second prophets. Any time God says “first,” He means that’s the key to the prototype of the future. We must see apostles and prophets align in our region. Then teachers and pastors will rise up with new anointing, and we will see miracles and healings that unlock evangelism.

The answer is YES—if we will allow the Lord to shake disinterest, confusion, legalism, condemnation, discouragement, and disillusionment.

Once God began to shake the people in the days of Haggai, He assured them that their latter would be greater than their former. He shook them into a desire to complete His purposes (see Hag. 1–3).

The answer is YES—if we are willing to be like the woman at the well and drop our pot and run quickly (see John 4). This woman tore down her prejudices, overcame her past, experienced a new reality of the Lord, left her mundane daily exercise of getting water, and ran and evangelized her whole city.

The answer is YES—if we are willing to bind the strongman who has robbed us of our spoils. In Matthew 12:25-29, we find that we should first, bind the strongman…then go in and take his spoils.

We are entering into a season of plundering the enemy’s camp. The promises of God are “yes” and “amen.” Shout “yes” and see our nation realign and shift into God’s purposes!