Receiving revelation is something of an art. To intentionally seek revelation is one thing that sets the prophet apart from the ordinary person who passively waits to receive. The prophet does not wait for revelation, but pursues it.
Prophetic utterance does not deal with “things,” but with Christ. When the prophetic revelation is genuine, we will be able to answer the question: “What about this tells me something about Christ?” If we cannot find something of Christ in it, then whatever it is, it isn’t prophetic.
What is the Testimony of Jesus? Why does the prophetic word revolve around this Testimony? Why does this Testimony attract so much rage, spiritual conflict and opposition? And what does it mean to have or to bear this Testimony?
This article is taken from an audio message. The spoken form has been retained throughout. Scripture declares that God has given us tremendous spiritual authority in Christ. With this authority, we can confidently overcome sin, satan, and the world. Authority Over Sin...
It isn’t enough for the prophet to be “filled” or even “led” by the Spirit; the prophet must be completely governed by the Holy Spirit. There is a lot packed into that word governed that must be pulled out and examined. What does it mean to be governed by the Holy Spirit?
A true prophet will know how to proclaim judgment and intercede against it at the same time. This apparent contradiction only underscores the need for wisdom, maturity, and prophetic responsibility.
When we pray “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,” do we really know what we are doing? This kind of prayer is not a frivolous thing. It is calling for a revolution in the way things are. It is commanding all that is to make room for all that is to come.
I can quickly relate a dozen experiences I've had with flaky people (both men and women) who thought they were "prophetic." They always show up at my meetings and want to pray for me. Then they always think they "see" something wrong with me, or they want to give me a...
The Book of Revelation is not only telling us what is happening in the future but it also tells us what happens in the past – because I have learned that the best way to interpret the future is to interpret the past.
Sin is very desirable; if it wasn’t then no one would be temptable. We need a spiritual compass greater than the limited knowledge of Good or Evil, Right or Wrong, Good or Bad. We need a way to recognize Life and Death.
Most of the time, the right decision don’t feel good. Doing the right thing is usually difficult. The easiest thing to do is to quit, to give up, to go back to Egypt. But I’m telling you, get to place where going back is no longer an option – then going back is no longer a temptation.
In this present time, if we will come into the inner court and stand before God on behalf of His Kingdom and His Will, then no matter what happens, the Lord will be glorified, His Son will be exalted, and His Kingdom will soon be manifest among the nations.
We may have difficulty reconciling the image of a brokenhearted God Who wants to restore the nations with One Who sends a flood to destroy the earth and rains down fire on cities like Sodom and Gomorrah. Does the Bible contradict itself, or have we simply failed to interpret it correctly?
The physical temple came to represent something other than the purpose for which it was created. Thus, the Lord Jesus, in word and in deed, demonstrates that He no longer considers the physical temple as His House, but calls it a “den of thieves”, thus establishing a new House, built upon the foundation of Himself.
The Lord wants us to see that John is an Overcomer. Though they boil him in oil, yet he has overcome death. Though they have exiled him to an island he overcomes, as this prepares him for his greatest contribution to the Church.
This three-fold benediction concludes what is commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. It is a fitting conclusion to what we call the Prayer of the Kingdom, or the Prayer of the Overcomer. This confession is the summation of all that precedes it, the end result of what we are asking.
Perhaps you too will have to make even the same mistakes in order to learn, yet following my advice could perhaps help you to avoid the unnecessary heartache and cruelty inflicted upon yourself and others when thinking that you are doing God a service.
Although many things are revealed in the Book of Revelation, the primary purpose is to reveal Jesus and to show how the great purpose of God will be fulfilled in Christ.
The prophet does not usually bring a one size fits all generic sort of message that speaks to the universe. It is typically a surgical strike, directed and honed to penetrate a particular thing in the Body of Christ, with Spirit-led precision that cuts through the formalities and niceties to get to the guts of the task at hand.
In the worst evil, Life and Light come forth and God is glorified. Goodness, holiness, love – that they exist at all in this world is miraculous. The real miracle is that good exists, and that God can bring good out of evil. How is it possible?
Revelation is not only telling us what is happening in the future, but it is also tells us what happened in the past – because I have learned that the best way to interpret the future is to interpret the past. The best indication of a person’s future behavior is to...
Through a series of painful experiences the Lord brought me to a deeper understanding of what ministry to Him is. In this writing I would like to explain this deeper ministry. I have referred to it a number of times in other writings and in my spoken messages, but by the grace of the Lord I would like to take some time here and expound a bit on this perspective of ministry.
What must happen in order for us to minister to the Lord? It involves two preparatory things: “draw near” and “stand before Me”. We cannot offer anything or do anything until we first draw near to Him and stand before Him. I wonder: how much time have we spent just standing (or sitting or kneeling or lying) before the Lord, just to minister to Him?
To the rest of the world, the autistic savant is a bit of a retarded genius, an unfortunate mixture of idiocy and brilliance, caught up in a world of its own. The prophetic savant bears a similar stigma. But if you engage him at all, you soon discover that he sees all of this as absolutely normal; the way it is supposed to be.
Second Thessalonians 2 is not talking about a Hitler-type world leader sitting down and defiling a literal temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem. It is a prophetic warning that a religion about Jesus is going to try and overcome having a relationship with Jesus.
Daniel and his friends represent the Overcomers. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would forever and always maintain a certain amount of hostility and resistance to the world system there in Babylon. Not a loud, demonstrative, attention-getting resistance, but a quiet, purposeful, principle-based way of living.
The Book of Daniel holds within it the secret to being an overcomer. Simply observe how in every case of conflict between the Remnant and the enemy that the Remnant is strengthened and the enemy is defeated. In every instance the very thing which is meant to destroy the Remnant actually serves to reinforce it.
The Book of Daniel contains encouragement and wisdom for us who are being raised up as a Last Days Remnant of overcomers. It records a succession of attacks against the Lord’s Remnant and how they overcame these attacks and demonstrated the preeminence of Christ.
What Nebuchadnezzar had to learn is the same thing we all have to learn: the heavens do rule. Heaven governs Earth. To us who are still bound to the Earth it appears that we have a lot of authority, a lot of say-so, a lot to do with what happens here. But control is an illusion. There is One Who rules Heaven and Earth.
As soon as we grasp something of the significance of God’s Ultimate Will and begin moving towards a Heavenly Testimony in the earth, then we become the subject of intense resistance from elements in this universe that are opposed to that Testimony. That resistance the Bible calls “Antichrist.”
The time it takes varies from individual to individual, but each one of us facing the cumulative effect of unmet expectations reaches the same fork in the road. Eventually the focus of our attention shifts from what people have done, to what God has NOT done.
I believe that we can communicate seven distinct purposes, or a sevenfold purpose, for why the Book of Revelation was written. God’s purpose is fulfilled – in spite of all the evil, all the wickedness, all the sin, all the death, all the destruction. We see that, in the end, the Book of Revelation shows us the Kingdom, the mystery and the purpose of God being fulfilled in Christ “on earth as it is in heaven.”
When the servant’s eyes were opened, he saw what Elisha saw. When Elisha said, “The ones with us are greater than the ones with them” it must have sounded like lunacy. It cannot be understood with words alone: the eyes must be opened.
All contrary things, whether they be of spiritual, natural, or human origin, find their root in one of these three sources. The glorious thing of course is that God’s provision meets all three enemies and defeats them in order to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ.
This is not a new thing but it’s an example of how you can take the right translation and take the right interpretation but completely get the wrong idea about how to apply it.
The prophetic mandate today is not to keep watch over a city, but to keep watch over the Ekklesia (a “heavenly city” if you will) to ensure that the Eternal Purpose of God in Christ is fulfilled.
If the Overcomers are not earthly conquerors or crusaders, what are they? Overcomers are simply Christians who live the normal Christian life. That is, the normal Christian life, as God intends, is a life that overcomes. It is a life which demonstrates the preeminence of Jesus Christ over all things.
What if you offer to share a truth and are ignored? What if no doors open for you to share a truth? Why would God give truth if he doesn't open doors to share it? Those were questions I received from someone who, like me, spent many years as a “Martha,” vexed with...
Along with the revelation of God’s Eternal Purpose concerning Christ, there is a corresponding testimony that is declared. Scripture refers to this as The Testimony of Jesus.
That Jesus intends for His disciples to fast is made clear by the words, “When you fast…” Fasting is as much a part of a disciple’s life as prayer; hence the Lord couples, “When you pray” with “when you fast” in His teaching to the disciples.
Jesus takes it for granted that His disciples will pray. This is why four times in a row He says, “WHEN you pray” and not “IF you pray.” But from these brief excerpts of Scripture we learn that there are at least two classes of prayer. One is unacceptable to God, and the other is well-pleasing to Him.
Even someone who is after God’s own heart, someone who seeks Him early and often, someone who desires Him more than anything else – yes, THAT kind of person, ESPECIALLY that kind of person! – will be called upon to endure some of the most excruciating physical, emotional, and spiritual rigors imaginable.