And The Government Will Be On His Shoulders

For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

The prophetic words of Isaiah are big picture, messianic words of a future kingdom that will be ruled by the Son given by God the Father. The picture revealed in this verse and verse 7 is of a supernatural kingdom governed in peace and justice. In this dispensation, the First Advent, we have the Son and we call him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. After his return, the Second Advent, the prophecy will fully manifest, and we will experience fully the government of the global messianic Kingdom that is everlasting and forever!

We usually recall this scripture during the Christmas celebration of his birth as a son given, rather than the messianic ruler of an everlasting kingdom. We tend to see this prophetic scripture only through the First Advent. However, within the realm of every believer is the ability to embrace and experience both the Son given and the everlasting Ruler with peace and justice. How? Ephesians 2:6 (NIV) says, "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." We are with Him and he is with us! Praise His Name! We don’t have to wait until the Second Advent to personally experience the manifestation of His government! Ephesians 1:3 (NIV) says, ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ’.  The power of his government for us now is available through our faith and trust in Him alone. Every personal dimension of His kingdom government can be embraced TODAY! His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness (2 Peter1:3 HCSB). 

During this season of celebrating Him as ‘son given’ let us also celebrate more fully by placing our personal government on His shoulders. But…how! There is a deep level of yielding to His governing authority that precedes Him carrying it for you. It must be willful and purposeful to be powerful and real. Remember…Jesus carried the cross before He carried government!  Then, and only then, can He be the Ruler. He will carry the government of our body, soul and spirit thereby bringing the reality of His government to us TODAY!! Then the arrival of the Second Advent will be seamless…Praise the Lord!

Celebrate His birth this year from a different perspective; the perspective of Him as your personal Ruler, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace…now!

For more on the first and second advent from Harvey, click here.

I'm An Olive Shoot? (Part of the One New Man Series)

Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. ~ Rom. 11:13-20

In this post I will focus on the root into which we Gentiles have been grafted. In Paul’s writing to the Jews and Gentiles in Rome he clearly admonishes the Gentile believers against a superior attitude toward Jews. I find such an attitude is some sectors of the Gentile church.  Some tend to see the Jews as obstacles to peace or a problem in the world. Few see them as the completion of ‘one new man’ in Christ. Some look at Jews only from a natural perspective instead of a supernatural perspective.

In Romans 11:16 above the Word states that the first fruits of the olive tree were holy. The first fruits in this context are Abraham and the faithful heritage, those who believed God by FAITH! Some of them are listed in Hebrews 11, the hall of faith. These first fruits were holy because they had faith in what God the Father spoke and promised to them. They are the faith heritage of both Jew and Gentile. Every branch in the olive tree is therefore holy. Why? Because of faith! Gentiles are part of the olive tree, sustained by the root system which is Jesus, the Root of Jesse. There is no room for superiority within the gentile church because of numbers and visibility across the earth. However, many mainstream churches in America support those who advocate the annihilation of Israel. The Gentile arm of ‘one new man’ must not oppose the very nation that is called to be the other part of the body. We have the same root system which sustains us by faith.

The scripture describes Gentiles as a ‘wild olive shoot’. A shoot is a plant that springs up as though it is disconnected from the olive tree. It is not part of the main tree. It springs up as a surprise, unexpected, emerging separately. The Gentile church was not the first fruit of the olive tree. It popped up as nations began to accept Christ in large number. It was grafted in to the main tree and root system, a Jewish root, the Root of Jesse. It is time Gentile believers see themselves as part of the same faith tree as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel shall emerge to be fully part of that tree, the one new man…in Yeshua Messiah!

To read previous posts in Harvey's One New Man series, click here.

The Time of the Gentiles - The One New Man Series

For he himself {Jesus} is our peace, who has made the two groups {Jew and Gentile} one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace..Eph. 2:14, 15

In my last post I wrote of the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile through the cross to be ‘one new man’.  In this post I will elaborate on that in the context of the ‘last days’ and what Jesus and Paul have said about Jew and Gentile as a precursor of the second coming of the Messiah.

It is clear that only faith in Jesus will justify people before the Father. Paul said, ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith (Rom. 3:29, 30).  There are over 2.2 billion Christians in the world. Within that number is included about 80,000 Messianic Jews who have been justified and made righteous by their faith in Jesus. That is a very small number of Jewish believers!! Most Jewish people are secular in their world view and many are outright atheistic and hardened toward spiritual things. Within Israel there are only 15,000 Messianic believers in a nation of 6.5 million Jewish people. It seems as though Israel is spiritually desolate.  Only a small remnant of Israel accepts Jesus as Messiah by faith. It seems like an insurmountable wall of division remains even though Ephesians 2:16 says that Jew and Gentile have peace because a purpose of the resurrection was ¹⁶ to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Yet that hostility continues because many Jews and Gentiles have not appropriated by faith the work of the cross in their lives.

A majority of the Gentile Christian church embraces replacement theology which erroneously claims that the church has replaced Israel in the promises and blessings given to Abraham and to Israel. All the land and blessings regarding Israel as a nation are spiritualized in this theology and have little relevance to end time events or conditions. However, there is clear scriptural revelation that Israel, with Jerusalem at the center, has a significant place in last days’ events and has not been replaced.

Jesus said in Luke 21:24(NKJV) ²⁴ And they (Jerusalem) will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Since Jesus prophesied these words Jerusalem has been under the dominion of Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Turks, British, and Jordanians. While Israel as a nation has existed since 1948, parts of Jerusalem, including the temple mount, are under control of Muslims.  According to Jesus, this will continue UNTIL ‘the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled’.

 

We are still in the Gentile times, but I believe we are in transition, nearing the end of those times. One year ago this week I was in Jerusalem for a worship gathering. On November 7, 2016 Chuck Pierce, a respected prophetic voice, prophesied to that gathering from 40 nations that the ‘times of the Gentiles are now fulfilled’. He said this would begin the ‘dividing time’ of sheep and goat nations and separating the wheat from the tares. I am careful not to superimpose my western view of prophetic time by my wrist watch. Time from God’s perspective doesn’t align or synchronize with my digital clock. However, there is evidence worldwide, and particularly in the Middle East, of a transition of dispensations.

Old Testament prophets spoke of regathering a scattered Jewish people to their homeland before Israel would awake and arise to receive the Lord as Messiah. That ingathering has been happening steadily since 1948, particularly as Jews from Russia and Western European nations immigrate to Israel. By the time Jesus returns a significant portion of Israel will have accepted Him as Messiah. Without going into the various interpretations of the Book of Revelation, we can simply look to what Jesus said on the Mount of Olives prior to his crucifixion. ³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Baruch haba be Shem Adonai’ (‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord’)” Matthew 23:37-39(NIV)

There is coming a day when Jews in Jerusalem awaken and arise to the Messiah. There is coming an awakening to the degree that a sound will come forth from Jerusalem, a sound of one new man crying ‘Baruch haba be Shem Adonai’ to the Messiah!

In my next post I will reveal the grafting in of Gentiles to the Jewish and how the Gentile church can bless the Jewish people and Israel to help bring forth the sound of Matthew 23.

Read Harvey's previous post on "One New Man" here.

One New Man

Jews and Gentiles pray together at the Western Wall.

For He  himself is our peace, who has made the two groups (Jew and Gentile) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Ephesians 2:14-16(NIV)

For over 3000 years there has been hostility between Jew and Gentile across the world. It began with the sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, and continued through Jacob and Esau and their descendants. The word for gentile in the New Testament means ‘other nations’ or ‘Hellenists’, describing those of the known Greek world and of pagan influence. In general in both Old and New Testament, it means anyone who is not of the 12 tribes of Israel.

But the Apostle Paul clearly indicates that ‘in Christ’ Jew and Gentile are ‘one new man’! Paul, of the Tribe of Benjamin, was passionate for the Jewish people to accept Christ even though his primary call was to the Gentiles.  For the Jew it was difficult to accept Jesus as Messiah. They believed in Yahweh and the words of the prophets of a coming messiah, but they were expecting someone much different than Jesus. For Gentiles it was the problem of only one God instead of many and the concepts of sin and righteousness. But the Gentile world embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior even as most of the Jewish world rejected him as Messiah. The hostility between Jews and the Gentile church increased over hundreds of years prior to the reformation.

Scripture is clear that all nations would be blessed by the seed of Abraham bringing salvation and deliverance, and that justification is by faith not through the Law of Moses. "For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith". Rom. 3:28-30.

Today we may look at the Jewish people who are vastly secular in belief. We look at Israel, while a Jewish state, has many non-practicing Jews is very secular in world view. How can all this come together to create the one new man?  

Even now I see a coming together of Jew and Gentile believers as the last days move forward. There are more and more Messianic fellowships rising up across the world. Israel had only a few dozen Jewish believers in Messiah in the 1970’s. Today there are about 15,000 Messianic believers in Israel gathering in 120 local fellowships. America and other nations are also seeing God moving the hearts of Jewish people to embrace Jesus as Messiah.  One of the reasons is found in Romans 11:11 where Paul says, "Again I ask: Did they (Israel/Jews) stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious". The Jewish people are becoming envious of believers in Jesus as we reveal the Father’s heart to Israel and to Jewish people. How we treat individual Jews and the nation of Israel is IMPORTANT to fulfilling scripture and prophetic words of the last days. Our treatment of Jews must pass through the cross. We have a role in appropriating the scripture that through the cross Jesus put to death the hostility. 

Both Jesus and Paul spoke of ‘the time of the Gentiles’, which is a time when non-Jewish governments and churches dominate the world scene. Both the hardened hearts of Jewish people and the dominion of gentiles are temporary!  In speaking to gentiles in Rome Paul says,  "Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in…" Romans 11:25 (AMP). There will be a moment in time when the ingathering of non-Jews to Christ will be fulfilled, and then Israel will awaken to the truth of the Messiah! One new man will emerge in a fullness and strength not yet seen in the church and in the world.

Fruit That Remains

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…. John 15:16a

The Bible speaks often of fruit as a product of living in Christ and ministering from that source of life.  The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20) speaks of how we cast the Word broadly, though not all places it falls will produce fruit. Jesus said that abiding Him would produce fruit, more fruit and much fruit (John 15).

In John 15:16 Jesus spoke to his 11 man leadership team. These men would become apostles and lay the foundation for advancing His kingdom across the world. Jesus left them parting instruction as they walked from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane. He wanted them to understand His expectation of them after He left the earth. His expectation----‘ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.’ That same expectation has been transferred to us, today’s leadership in the body of Christ. Fruit that remains is an expected outcome of our role in ministry.

Having just returned from ministry in Uganda I have been very aware of God’s desire for fruitful lives and ministry. This year is our eighth year of ministry in that nation and much fruit has emerged, fruit that remains rather than decays.  We have cast the seed of the Word abroad in that nation through ministry in churches, conferences and through 10 day training schools for leaders. From this, key people have emerged who have been transformed and have risen up to advance the Kingdom of God beyond their own churches, their villages, and their nations. They have kingdom-minded perspectives of ministry that plant churches, transform villages, provide for orphans, raise up leaders, and take the message of the Kingdom of God to surrounding nations.

Every person I see as fruitful today has been through great trials and struggles, been pruned in their perspectives, and has overcome spiritual and circumstantial opposition. There was a process before there was a product. But they are producing fruit that remains….and they, themselves, represent fruit that remains from our ministry investment into them and into that nation.

I think of one young man who ministers in a remote village and pastors a church we helped plant in 2010. It is a remote, poverty stricken location accessible only by a muddy trail. When God called him to take on this leadership role, he found himself wanting to flee because circumstances were dire; an 6x8 foot sleeping room with a mattress and a few believing adults in the church. Yet the voice of the Lord called to him and he changed from escaping to engaging. The Lord moved his heart from running away to running to the village. He now has a vibrant cross-generational church, primary school, rooms for orphans, church building and he is evangelizing the area beyond his church. He has invaded darkness with the light of Jesus.  He is moving ahead with very little financial help from outside Uganda, not depending upon outside help for daily provision.

He is fruit that remains. The church is fruit that remains. The school is fruit that remains!   The transformation of that village is fruit that remains! It took time. Fruit that remains seldom appears quickly. The soil preparation, repeated sowing of the seed, encouragement, occasional financial investment, teaching, and, most importantly, the leader’s willingness to change perspective----to engage rather than escape.

Allow the Holy Spirit to move your heart as a leader. You will produce fruit that remains.

A New Dispensation

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matt. 6:9, 10 NIV

There is a dispensational shift happening across the world. A dispensation is the general order and management of things. Spiritually, a new dispensation occurs when there is significant change in the alignment of the church so that the church aligns with the will of God in heaven to manifest His will on earth.  This new order of things facilitates fulfillment of Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus declared the will of heaven be done on earth. We can ask, petition or declare. This is a DECLARATION, not a petition! Jesus provided this model regarding the will of heaven coming to earth…He declared it. The authority of heaven was given to Jesus. We, by believing in Him, in His finished work on the cross, and being led by the Spirit now declare AND become the demonstration of this prayer.

I believe the church is in a dispensation where we will finally begin to see ourselves as operators of fulfillment of God’s will. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms… (Eph. 3:10).  We have responsibility in the fulfilling of the words of Jesus. A remnant in the church, those on the cutting edge in intercession, the prophetic, and the apostolic, will lead the church in this dispensation. Why? They have paid the price in transformation and character refinement and demonstrate that which has been declared scripturally and undergirded by the prophetic heart of the Father. They will be led by the Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Rom. 8:14NKJV).

I liken the time in which we live to the days of David. David was anointed by Samuel to be God’s man of leadership for Israel. However, there was a transformation and transition process in going from shepherd to king. Saul was falling apart in character and in leadership. David was growing in character and leadership. God had given Israel the leader they desired in their eyes; tall, handsome and charismatic. Now God was preparing a man that was the apple of His eye, average in appearance, lacking in physical stature, but strong in character. He was a man after the Father’s heart.

We are in a Davidic dispensation, a time when those who outwardly may not be attractive or of great stature have substance…the heart of the Kingdom and the character of the Father. Davidic leadership is emerging. When trouble comes, people will run to them in this dispensation!

Do not expect a large number of people or leaders in the church to embrace this time. For example, 3 out of 4 people in America self-identify as Christian. But less than one in 3 is a ‘practicing Christian’ and only 7% are evangelical as demonstrated by core scriptural belief and practice (George Barna, State of the Church 2016). THESE are the revived! This portion of the church will declare and demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God. They are aligned with and agree with the will of heaven.

This remnant will advance the Kingdom through DEMONSTRATION of their declarations. They will facilitate influence on the seven mountains of culture; business, religion, government, media, arts, family and education.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matt. 7:24).  This remnant hears and responds to the Father. It is our actions in response to hearing His Word that establishes His kingdom dominion personally and beyond. This quote articulates the requisite response in this day and hour. "I tell you what. You win a battle in the courts of heaven and don't go through the action on earth, opening your mouth and advocating your cause, and speaking the truth, and proclaiming the truth, then you are vetoed. Not because you didn't do your job in spiritual warfare, but because you didn't follow it up with corresponding action. It means nothing for you to do a sacrifice to God before battle and then not show up and go into battle. (Excerpt from Dr. Lance Wallnau’s word on 7.21.17)

These are the warriors, fathers and mothers, leaders of the Kingdom. They show up for battle, blow up the enemy’s plans, build up the family, and lead the people. They demonstrate the will of heaven on earth! They grow up, show up, blow up and build up. Hallelujiah! We are moving from declaration to demonstration to dominion! It is a Davidic dispensation. Kingdom dominion awaits the will of heaven manifesting on earth!

The Spirit of Accusation - A Fourth Watch Post

In Jerusalem there were those who stood upon the walls of the city to watch to see what was coming. They were the eyes and ears of the city when there was darkness. There were segments with the 4th watch being three hours before the dawn. Prophetically, those who took the 4th watch were preparers for the coming dawn for the city.

In this day and age, the Lord is asking prophets to prepare the body of Christ for the dawn of a new season by being the eyes and ears of the bride.  The body of Christ benefits from the gifting of the prophet/seer and we have a responsibility to hear their words and take them into account in our perceptions and decision making.

In my home church, and ministry network, we are blessed with several mature prophets who hear and see beyond the walls of our building and physical location. As an Apostolic ministry we partner with them and provide a platform for the voice of the Lord to go forth through them.

We will periodically be posting words from contributing authors who are trusted prophet/seers who have influence in and beyond our ministry. We will be sub-titling these posts as "A 4th Watch Post" to identify them clearly and will include a mini-bio of the authoring prophet/seer at the base of the post.

Following is the third post contributed as A 4th Watch Post. May it bring you life more abundantly to see beyond the walls!

In Him,

Harvey

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"Do not blame others for your circumstances, either specifically or as a people group."

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I am impressed in my spirit that there is a spirit of accusation in our nation and in God's people. Do not be deceived my friends.  We are not to be a part of this deceptive spirit which comes to us as righteous judgement but in truth is a deception with the temptation toward self- righteousness and pride. Our judgement has been shaded by our culture’s lies and victim-hood teaching. Do not blame others for your circumstances, either specifically or as a people group. Stop participating in the accuser’s spirit and ways. The work of the deceiver to kill, steal and destroy God's work in our nation has been at work since our founding; teaching lies about our nation, our faith and God's design for our lives and attitudes toward one another.  Let God shine His light of truth into your heart. He is your deliverer and hope. (THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN in Rev 12:7-12)".
~ Wayne Newcomb

This 4th Watch Post was contributed by Wayne Newcomb, a prophet who serves on the board of Directors for Deborah Ministries International, our parent ministry. Wayne has held many official positions in the body of Christ including Pastor, and Bible College Professor. To learn more about him, or to visit his personal blog spot, click here.

Freedom!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Gal. 5:1

We are in a time when people across the globe are declaring ‘Freedom!’ In this scripture the word ‘freedom’ comes from Greek origin meaning unrestrained, exempt from obligation, free born, as in a citizen not a slave. This scripture has offered truth and encouragement to Christians for almost 2000 years. The spiritual truth of freedom has inspired people to move into emotional freedom, governmental freedom, and financial freedom.  Once free we innately desire to see others free. This idea is instilled in the US Declaration of Independence and the constitution. It is infused in the hearts of many believers in America and other nations. 

In America we just celebrated the birthday of the USA, an annual tradition with flags and parades, yet there is an emerging cry for freedom in this nation. Here and in many other nations we have experienced an erosion of the idea. The world, especially the western world, has been going one direction for decades and very rapidly so for the past decade. There has been an increasing reliance on secular governmental oversight at the expense of freedom. The slow infringement on spiritual and cultural freedom has been like the frog in the pot, slow but deadly. Suddenly…aware of the hot water, the frog cries to get out.  

The most publicized yearnings for freedom come from nations with Christian roots that have become dormant, and subsequently, freedom has dwindled. But, I hear a sound from Britain, Poland, Austria, and Hungary; nations with old governmental structures. It is a sound of shaking and fracturing of oppressive structures and leadership. People in the western hemisphere are rising up against spiritual and governmental slavery that has slowly infringed upon the words we can speak, the way we can live, the Biblical declarations we can make, the health care we can choose, and the choice of people we receive into our respective nations. Now the freedom call is rising among the nations to say ‘no more’! They call out, ‘It is for freedom He has set us free!!'

I believe we are in a new dispensation, a time when the order of things is changing. The order of things is coming into alignment with heaven, a heavenly order. At the foundation of this change is the cry for freedom based in the freedom we have in Christ and the admonition not to be slaves. Unholy alliances, assumed to be insoluble, are dissolving. Religious structures created by man are cracking. It is happening as the church in its many expressions of faith in Christ, is rising up to declare freedom, demonstrating that freedom verbally and spiritually, and beginning to establish dominion by pushing off the yoke of slavery. 

May it be so Lord Jesus! Freedom!!!

Click here to read more from Harvey Wittmier on what freedom means for individuals like you.

Kingdom Keys - A 4th Watch Post

"I gave the necklace to Pastor who used the center key to unlock the door.

.."

This 4th Watch Post is from a seasoned prophet, Gary Pack, whom the Holy Spirit has awakened regularly at 3am to receive revelation and prophetic insight to share with the body of Christ. This word is from a vision he received regarding the unseen world of the spirit realm and what the Lord is doing in this day and hour behind the scenes. I encourage you to read and consider it from a broad perspective for your own life and ministry.
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From Gary Pack (June 2, 2017)

This morning the Lord met me in a powerful way. These 3am encounters with the Lord have become common to say the least but it was odd tonight. As I went to sleep there was anticipation as to what the Lord would show me. It started as I awoke with a meditation on the story in Kings as the famine was broken when Elijah declared after the "show down of fire" that there was the sound of an abundance of rain.

I could hear the rumbling of thunder and the smell of rain was thick in the air. I thought of all the seeds waiting to erupt with the moisture that was about to fall from heaven.... rejoicing for all the promises awaiting their fulfillment, all the words yearning to sprout in fruition. But then the Lord said He wanted to open the curtain to the spiritual realm even more to enlighten my perspective.

It was dark and with every flash of lightning I could see the scurrying of the demonic. They were rushing around, but with great order and strategy. There was a systematic militant order to their busy-ness. The urgency of their work told me they had much left to accomplish before the rain began to fall. Then it began; the first drops of the awaited rain. When the drops of promised rain hit the skin of the demons, it was like boiling acid. Demonic screaming and snarls began to fill the air. And as the sprinkling got heavier and became a steady rain, chaos began to infiltrate the workings of the enemy. With their frantic attempt to continue their assignment, the rain, now heavy, began to halt their effectiveness. With every drop of this glory, not only did the enemy begin to lose its grip and melt but also the structures and working they were establishing were coming undone as well. All the while, the parched grey soil began to erupt with a newness of life, green and lush. The dissolving demons and their melting kingdom entrapments eroded into the soil by the power of the rain and became like fertilizer to the seedlings. This was part one....

The second half of this vision was connected to the first, but a totally different scene. In this fresh lush green landscape a tribal chief came toward me. With great humility he bowed on one knee before me and removed a necklace and placed it at my feet. I received it as a holy and sacred gift. As I examined this adornment I saw the pieces hanging down were dis-assembled piano "keys".  I gave this necklace to my sister (who is a pianist) and she took it to an old grand piano and inserted the missing keys and began to play in a way that I'd never heard.

As this melodic worship swelled another chief began to approach me. He had seemed to be drawn in by the music.  He was of a different tribe, with the same humility. The scene was the same as he bowed before me and presented the tribute.  This necklace was made of antique keys with a center longer key.  I took hold of this necklace by the one key and the kneeling ruler motioned to a door I had never seen in the church sanctuary.  Pastor (of my home church) and I walked to the door and saw it was shrouded with cobwebs and dust. I gave the necklace to Pastor who used the center key to unlock the door. Inside was another tribal ruler, this one was female and was adorned with gold. As the door opened she breathed deeply the fresh air and dropped to her knee in humble gratitude and placed a golden necklace made from coins from all around the world at Pastor’s feet. As we walked back into the sanctuary it was filled with people from each of these three tribes, all with hands raised worshiping.

I am still praying into the depth of all of this but know that it is a detailed pattern for our next step of our journey at Gateway Church International, the churches we are connected to, and for the church at large.


For more understanding of the prophetic gift and the role of the Prophet in the New Testament Church, click here.

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Gary Pack is a prophet to nations and travels internationally to speak prophetically into leaders and churches. He lives in Roswell, New Mexico where he is the leader of worship and pastor over international ministry at Gateway Church International.

Great Works Face Great Opposition

1 Corinthians 16:8-9(NIV) "But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me."

Paul the apostle penned these words from Ephesus as he eagerly desired to visit the church he birthed in Corinth. He says he cannot go to Corinth right away. He must continue in Ephesus where he has been ministering for 3 years. Why?....because Paul had a ‘great door’ open in Ephesus.

Ephesus was a cross-road of culture, religion and trade. It was also the occult center for worshipping the goddess Diana. It was here that Alexander the metal worker railed against Paul because so many people were moving from idol worship (Alexander’s business) to Jesus worship. Yet, as demonically infested as the city was, there was a great open door for ministry. Paul, even after 3 years, chose to stay longer to continue the work of ministry. Even his father’s heart for the Corinthian church birthed through his ministry could not draw him away until his purpose was fulfilled in Ephesus.

The work was ‘effective’. Effective is the word eneges meaning active, operative, effectual, powerful, having an effect. Ephesus was becoming an apostolic center where prophets and apostles passed through teaching and ministering and building up the church. The five-fold ministry was in evidence and fruit was abundant. But great works face great opposition! There are two Greek words used, ‘polos antikeimai’, that mean abundant adversity pulling in the opposite direction. There were adversaries! The demonic realm was stirred up. There was a demonic principality, Diana, who ruled the demonic realm over Ephesus. That principality was directing ground level demons to stir up any whose hearts were open to such demonic activity, like Alexander. The message of Jesus was effectively removing Diana from power and putting those who profited from her idolatry out of business.

Diana was defending her territory.  She would not bow easily or quietly. Paul, through the Spirit and Truth, was invading her territory, pulling down strongholds and claiming territory for the Kingdom of God. Paul contended for the city.  He was neither passive, nor ignorant of the enemy’s activity. Very often apostolic ministries are positioned within enemy territory to assertively contend for the Kingdom of God. Effective kingdom work requires a ‘contending’. Times were changing in this city! Opposition was a sign of effectiveness of the work!

You may have a ministry that is small in number or large in number, well known or known by few. You may not be in full time ministry as a church leader, but you are positioned in the workplace, in your family, in a social circle where you are influencing people for the Kingdom. Your effectiveness is not measured in numbers, but in having an effect. You are in enemy territory, positioned to put him out of business! You are positioned to contend for the Kingdom of God from your position of influence! Opposition seldom lies down quietly or exits quickly. Keep on! Contend! Take the enemy’s territory for the Kingdom of God!


Need more encouragement to contend against your enemy?  Click here to view the first video in a series on contending on our Youtube Channel!

The Flaming Sword and An Open Door - A 4th Watch Post

In Jerusalem there were those who stood upon the walls of the city to watch to see what was coming. They were the eyes and ears of the city when there was darkness. There were segments with 4th watch being 3 hours before the dawn. Prophetically, they were preparers for the coming dawn for the city.

In this day and age, the Lord is asking prophets to prepare the body of Christ for the dawn of a new season by being the eyes and ears of the bride.  The body of Christ benefits from the gifting of the prophet/seer and we have a responsibility to hear their words and take them into account in our perceptions and decision making.

In my home church, and ministry network, we are blessed with several mature prophets who hear and see beyond the walls of our building and physical location. As an Apostolic ministry we partner with them and provide a platform for the voice of the Lord to go forth through them.

We will periodically be posting words from contributing authors who are trusted prophet/seers who have influence in and beyond our ministry. We will be sub-titling these posts as "A 4th Watch Post" to identify them clearly and will include a mini-bio of the authoring prophet/seer at the base of the post.

Following is the first post contributed as A 4th Watch Post. May it bring you life more abundantly to see beyond the walls!

In Him,

Harvey

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'Where there is no clear revelation and vision of God's plan people are confused and God's plan for them is distorted.'
 ~ Proverbs 28:19 (paraphrased)

The Flaming Sword and An Open Door
by Wayne Newcomb

God created and designed us to have a life in relationship with Him. Our sin closed the gate or door to the full opportunity of life, which God created us to have with Him. Because Adam and Eve believed Satan’s deception and lies about God, they were disobedient, rebelled, and sinned against God. They were cast out from the Garden (That place of security and fulfillment God created for them). 
 Gen. 3:22-24, "Then the LORD God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—' therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."


Jesus came to open the way once again to the Father and provide the Open Door or Gate whereby we might go in and out and have abundant life and fulfillment according to His design for us. 
 John 10:7, "Again Jesus said to them, 'Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.'"
 The beginning of this passage is often quoted, taught on and memorized but God's full intent for us as described in verse 9 is often neglected and its neglect robs us of the 'full and abundant life' God designed us to have. We are left with the truth of John 10:10 as it relates to the way of our salvation but left ignorant, uninformed and without God’s plan for what comes next and how we should live our lives once we have 'entered the gate/door' having been born again.

Life with an Open Door to the Father Promised as Part of Our Entering
John 10:9, "I am the gate/door. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture." 
 The truth that Jesus is the Gate/Door to the Father and that there is no other way in is both the cause of great comfort to the believer and consternation to the unbeliever. The reality is that many who do believe and are saved are left without the revelation of God's complete plan for them and as a result never realize God's promise of the abundant, fulfilled life as designed by Him from the foundation of the world.
 Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no understanding of the Word of the Lord, the people do whatever they want to, but happy is he who keeps the law." Or paraphrased 'Where there is no clear revelation and vision of God's plan people are confused and God's plan for them is distorted.'


Finding Pasture

The reality that we have an Open Door with the Father where both He and we may come in and go out freely is what we were created to have and what our entire being longs for. It is the description of a healthy relationship with the Father. There is no Flaming Sword, no locked gate, no barrier of sin, shame, or lies keeping us from Him and the Life He created us to have.
 God designed us for more than a life of 'knowing we are saved and will make it to heaven when we die.' He designed us to live our lives with an open door to the Father and to find pasture.
 A good shepherd conducts his flock to the fields where good pasturage is to be found; watches over and protects them while there, and brings them back again and secures them in the fold. He looks for good grass for them to feed on, still waters for them to drink from and rest beside. He takes interest in their individual health and well-being. He anoints their heads with oil so that when they conflict and bump heads with other sheep they will not be seriously harmed. The anointing oil also protects them from pest that might burrow into their skin and cause problems and irritate. If they persistently stray and endanger themselves He will carry them to assure them of His loving care and to provide security.

Life with an open Door/Gate to the Father is a life of fulfillment as designed by Him for us through His unmerited favor and grace in Jesus the Messiah.



This 4th Watch Post was contributed by Wayne Newcomb, a prophet who serves on the board of Directors for Deborah Ministries International, our parent ministry. Wayne has held many official positions in the body of Christ including Pastor, and Bible College Professor. To learn more about him, or to visit his person blog spot, click here.