Blessings Friends,
We are living in very exciting times.
For those of us just coming into our prophetic mantels and discovering the amazing realms of the Spirit, the weight of these mantels can be at times quite overwhelming. We see the veterans, the Generals, on stage and screen, we see how the Holy Spirit moves through them, we read of their amazing encounters with God, and we think, how in the world could I ever do that?
The short answer of course is, we can’t. But we serve a God who can and will. If you have received a dream, vision, or word about God’s plans for you, rest assured that He will accomplish His will in and through you. Indeed, He has already done so. All that remains is for you to believe, trust, and obey.
The Lord has been speaking much to me in this season about this process. I’m seeing a tendency in new prophets, when a word is received from the Lord, to take it and run, as if merely receiving a commission is all we need to accomplish God’s will. Years ago I received such a vision. I soon found myself in the midst of an anxiety attack, trying to figure out how in the world I was going to make it happen. I can still see myself sitting on the front pew in tears, when the Lord spoke very clearly,
“Just because I reveal a thing to you doesn’t mean I want you to do it tomorrow. I show you these things to prepare you for what is to come.”
I had not yet learned the principles of warfare. In wartime, when a major campaign is revealed, even the generals know that that is only the beginning. Strategies must be devised and specific directives must be drawn up and dispersed from the Commander and Chief all the way down to the enlisted man. Troops, equipment, weapons, and supplies must be assembled and organized, and advantageous locations determined, lines established. There is a timing and order that must be followed to ensure success. In this way, an army of millions can mobilize and move as one united force.
I had also forgotten the principles of the Kingdom of God.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:19
“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” John 5:30
“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
With that encouraging word from the Lord, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and the feeling of inevitable failure was replaced with effervescent joy.
I still need to be reminded of this, when the spirit of fear tries to steer me off course. The fact is that our timing is not the Lord’s timing. But our Father is eternally loving and gracious. When He gives us a word or vision of what He is calling us to, it is at that point, an invitation to press in. An invitation to seek out and enter into His presence, so that He can begin equipping us and training us up. Not only to discern His voice from the voice of the enemy or our own soul (will) and to obey, but especially—and this is the hard part—to simply wait on the Lord.
In other words, an invitation to place the commission back into the hands of the Only One who is capable of accomplishing it through us.
Without the ability to discern God’s voice and the discipline to wait for His direction, we will never fulfill God’s calling on our lives “for such a time as this” and He will find a more obedient servant to accomplish His will.
I apologize if that sounds harsh, but we must get over ourselves if we are to come into the fullness of our calling in the Kingdom of God, which is His desire.
“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
The same thing applies to prophetic dreams, visions, and words concerning other people, situations, regions, government, etc. Resist the urge to run with it. Press into the Lord for understanding. Is this something to share, or just for you? Does this word encourage, edify, exhort, or comfort? And what is the full meaning, the bottom line or call to action?
Many times the Lord has given me warning dreams of plots and coming attacks of the enemy, which I am so grateful for. My immediate response is to ask to Lord to reveal anything in my life that may give the enemy the upper hand, and then repent and renounce it. Then I seek His purpose in giving the word. At times I have been directed to share these warnings with those following my ministry, and other times only with my inner circle.
Bear in mind, we cannot force others to heed and respond to what the Lord shows us, as hard as it is to see them suffer the consequences. But we are still called to pray for and extend grace to them. Resist the urge to say, “I told you so.” This serves no one but our own pride. Our aim is to encourage one another and help each other grow, thus glorifying God.
That said, I want to share a dream I had a while ago concerning things to come for the upcoming generation of prophets.
In the dream, I had moved into an apartment with a friend, but the friend had moved on, and the apartment was now mine. A young mother came to me with a baby and I took her in. There was also a man with her, whom I assumed was her husband. After some time, this man began talking to me as if I were his servant, giving me orders and being very disrespectful.
I stopped, turned to him, and said, “I think you must be confused. This is my house. You are the guest here.” With that, the man was gone.
However, he had no more left when a large, intimidating man in black walked right into the apartment and went for the baby. I looked at the mother, expecting her to defend her child, but she shrank back, almost in a stupor. I asked this man who he was and what he was doing in my apartment, but he ignored me, picked up the baby, and headed for the door. The mother’s reaction led me to believe the man was the baby’s father and that he had some right to visitation.
But, deep down, I knew this was wrong. As he walked out, I went to the door and said, “Stop!” He stopped and turned back to me. I then said, “You give me that baby, now, and don’t you ever come back here!” To my surprise the man did just that!
As I went to shut the door, I saw three very small puppies caught between the screen and the door. They had not been able to make it into the apartment on their own. I scooped them up and brought them in with me.
So, what does all this mean? Even I at first thought I had eaten something I shouldn’t have before bed. But as I inquired of the Lord, He was faithful to reveal the meaning of the dream.
The apartment represented a ministry. Specifically, prophetic ministry. But an apartment is not usually a house unto itself, just one part of a building made up of many apartments. Prophecy is only one spiritual gift used to build up and edify the body of Christ in harmony with along with the other gifts. An apartment is also not owned by the residents. It is a temporary dwelling—inhabited at a price.
In my dream, I had moved in with a friend who later moved on and left me in charge. The Lord is speaking to me of a changing of the guard in this season. Even as we, the next generation of prophets, are being called up to a higher level of glory, so too are those who have labored tirelessly to lay the foundation for us. This is not to diminish the work of the patriarchs and matriarchs in any way. Truly, we would have no ministry if not for the work of those who go before us! Some of these amazing men and women of God have gone on to their ultimate glory in Heaven, but some will remain with us, carrying the Glory and lighting the way.
Now, the rest of the dream is a picture of what we can expect as we move into this new season of our calling. Not that we should fear, but that we should be forewarned and forearmed against the schemes of the adversary. What a great and mighty God who knows the moves of the enemy before the battle even begins, and reveals them to us that we might know how to pray and prepare!
The woman is the church. She brought in a new baby, which is the new thing God is birthing in His body. Now, it looked like the man who was with her was her husband, and in fact, he represented a past relationship, a covenant relationship. The woman was coming into a new place, having no other place to go, but she came with baggage, and the nature of the relationship soon revealed itself. This was the spirit of Jezebel, the controlling, domineering, and haughty spirit of the belief system the woman had come out of.
Once this spirit had been confronted, it left, and you would think everything would have been great. But the woman, having lost that familiar spirit, became despondent, losing the will to care for her baby. This left the door open for the “strong man” to come in and steal what had been birthed. I had to step in and confront the thief, and he obeyed. Not because I was bigger and badder than he was, but because I was moving in the authority of my God-given mantel.
Then, when I saw the tiny helpless puppies, trapped between the old and the new, if you will, it was my responsibility to carry them in to safety where they could be nurtured.
This is what we need to remember: If God is calling you to a higher level of glory, it isn’t your glory. If you choose to step into your promotion and take the baton of the next generation of prophets, know that it is for the glory of God and the service of His church. You are being called as watchmen to guard and protect what the Lord is birthing into His body, the Ekklesia. There will be many in the body who will feel lost and despondent because they will have to let go of all they have known and believed, and there will be new believers needing protection and guidance. These are they we are called to love and minister to in the Spirit if the Living God.
If you are like me, that fluttering deep in your spirit, that undeniable knowledge of eminent metamorphosis, brings a mix of exhilaration and terror. But as I said at the beginning, we have a loving and gracious Father. He knows better than anyone who He created us to be and what we are capable of in Him, and He’s so anxious to show us.
Recently, on my face before the Lord, feeling the deep pains of labor in my spirit, I cried out, “Abba! What do You want me to do?”
His answer came in a single word.
“Surrender.”
“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
God’s grace and peace be yours,
Rebecca
