REDEEMING

TIME

CHUCK D. PIERCE

CONTENTS

Foreword by Pam Pierce ................................................... vii

1 The New Calls-You Can Make the Shift ..........................1

2 How to Keep Time in the Crisis of Change ....................23

3 A Triumphant Reserve Understands How to Redeem the Time .................................................. 53

4 You Can Reshape Your Future and Even Your History ............................................................... 93

5 You Can Start Again: There Is a Plan B! .......................121

6 You Can Redeem All That Was Left Behind ................ 145

7 Redeeming Health, Wealth, and Wholeness ................ 175

Conclusion: Keys to Walking in Overcoming Joy.......205

Appendix: Pull up Anchor, and Catch the Wind for New Boundaries ..........................................................213

Notes ....................................................................................227

FOREWORD

IME ... We waste it, manage it, even kill it, but when it's gone, we can never get it back. Or can we? In this book by my husband, Chuck Pierce, the concept of redeeming time is explored through the eyes of a man who understands and appreciates the value of time and the need that all of us experience: the need to buy back time, correct our mistakes, and wipe clean our spiritual slates.

Chuck and I both experienced childhoods stained with alcoholism and its accompanying effects. Like the children of many alcoholics, we felt cheated out of normal, functional family life and would have welcomed the opportunity to go back in time and get another chance with one or both of our parents. And yet, we both recognize that who we are today is largely due to the circumstances of our childhoods. Fortunately, we don't have access to a literal, physical time machine, so we aren't free to go back and tamper with the challenges that shaped us. We do, however, have access to the redemptive power of the eternal One who makes all things work together for our good and His purposes.

The concepts and principles set forth in this book center around the mystery and wonder of time as God defines and ordains them. In spite of how we humans squander the time we are given or try to manipulate the clock to fit into our plans, God is ultimately the One in control. Because of this, we can enter into a new dimension of faith where time is concerned. With a new understanding of time and God's redemptive plan for each one of us-whether past, present, or future-we can embark on a whole new adventure where time is concerned.

Regardless of your circumstances right now, you can face the future with hope, knowing that the God of your past and present is ordering your steps. This book will open your heart and your mind to the reality of God's presence in every cycle of your life. Let's prepare to shift into new calls and new victories.

-PAM PIERCE

FEBRUARY 2009

CHAPTER I

THE NEW CALLSYOU CAN MAKE THE SHIFT

N THE SPIRITUAL as well as secular realm of society, we hear the words, "It's a new day!" The questions are:

■ What is a day?

What is new?

What is it in my life?

How do I and those around me progress into the new?

Can I believe for the new?

Will I see the new?

Will I know it when I see it?

■ Will I miss the new?

Will the new miss me?

How can I make up for big mistakes and become new again?

After writing Interpreting the Times (Charisma House, 2007), I knew there were some perspectives about time that I had not fully communicated. I knew that some people had made big flops in their lives from bad decisions, and others were caught in the terrible circumstances of life-and time was now the enemy of both groups.

As I discussed this with my wife, Pam, she reminded me of a life principle in which she has walked for as long as she has known Scripture and been aware that there was a God in heaven who was there for her. The principle on which this book is built comes from her favorite Scripture passage, Ephesians 5:8-16 (emphasis added):

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Pam has used this scripture through the many trials of our lives and in our prayer life as we have prayed for others. I have learned to use this as I pray for nations. My goal is that by reading this book, you will learn to use the power of this word as you seek the Lord for whatever reason you need to seek Him.

To redeem means "to buy back or to be released from prison." We have been in a buying-back season. As we progress into our future, we must receive the prize of our battles! The concept of time-past, present, and future-and place is very important! As Pam and I discussed this Scripture passage, I shared with her one of my favorite scriptures, which is Acts 17:24-28:

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring."

This passage says that when we are in the right place at the right time, God extends our horizon line so we can see into our future.

So, how does time and place work on our behalf to cause our reactions, mistakes, lost hopes, misplaced desires, missed opportunities, and overall colossal messes to be redeemed, or bought back? How can we leave our past season, reconcile our losses, and move into the future? I hope you find some comfort and answers in the expose in these pages. I will try to develop a thought pattern and remind you throughout this book that you can form a relationship with a Redeemer who can redeem your days, help you overcome bad situations, and open up your new day ahead.

Remember: The sun will come out tomorrow, a new day will break, and you will see a new horizon line that has formed on your behalf!

ENTER INTO YOUR NEW!

In America's historical election of 2008, we heard people screaming and singing, "It's a new day!" We heard others exclaiming that the times had changed, our nation would be no more as we had known it, and we were on the road to destruction. In every great season of shifting leadership and realignment of power, a great schism occurs in the understanding of many. My role has been to prophesy correctly what changes are coming into kingdom life in days ahead. My role has been to not get so polarized that I cannot separate the voice of God from my will.

In September 2007, I was asked by a group of leaders about the upcoming presidential election in November 2008. I said, "Momentum is the key. I believe the Lord has shown me that the desire of most in this nation is for `CHANGE'! So, with that, Barack Obama most likely will win. Personally, I will wait and vote for the vice president!"

Many of my friends and associates were concerned about this statement. Out of respect for them, I did not openly share my views. We must always be prepared to hear correctly and then slowly interpret what we are hearing. His love for us to communicate His heart and mind does not always reflect His will; He leaves our will the freedom to choose and our conscience the ability to rule. That is why I send out prayer focuses to the body of Christ all over the world. I believe if we keep our minds stayed on what the Word of God is saying, then we will keep our consciences enlivened.

Senator Barack Obama from the state of Illinois in America was a new thing to many. Never before in a nation formed from AngloEuropean descent has a black man been elected to the highest office of the land. Actually, in America, with its slavery root system, many never believed a black man could be elected.

This election followed one of the worst times in American history. Seven years prior to this time of election, Islamic terrorist forces had attacked us, resulting in one of the greatest devastations in the world. Two of the highest buildings in America, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, had been brought low, killing nearly three thousand people.' President George W. Bush had led America during the first eight years of the twentyfirst millennium. At the election in November 2008, there was a groundswell of revolt against the current administration.

Senator Obama's campaign slogan was "Change We Can Believe in."' Though he gave no specifics on how to change, the message itself created a grassroots movement throughout this nation. Senator Obama, with many liberal leanings, defied the historical structure of a nation and was elected president in November 2008. This created a polarized dissent throughout the nation. Not only were many polarized in the two-party system, but they were also disillusioned because the moral values of a nation were shifting toward more liberal leanings. Race seemed to be less of an issue than conservatism versus liberalism and the fear of a court shifting the laws of the morality of this nation out of reach of God's plumb line of righteousness.

However, the time had come for change in the nation. The cry was valid! But were the prayers from both the Right and the Left heard in heaven? Did God favor the Left more than the Right? Or is the Lord working on a greater plan than meets the eye of the beholder of the changes in our atmosphere?

There comes a time when wineskins change. The Lord has a day for a structure that has been in place to make a shift. I believe the Lord initiates change. I believe we choose what type of change we wish to receive. At the end of 2008, I believe we entered the year of a new wineskin! Just as we have seen the United States of America shift to the next wineskin in civil government, we are seeing the church make a shift in its thinking.

Remember, we are a people that is a nation above all nations. However, concerning the governments of this world, we are called to pray for all of those in authority, not just for those who we prefer to win an election. We are a "peculiar people," not a political caucus. We are a people who can steer the course of history with our prayers and acts of faith. Jesus had to deal with the mind-set of some of His key leadership who were more interested in making Him a king of a nation than in recognizing Him as King of the kingdom of God.

We must rely on Holy Spirit as we enter a new season. Holy Spirit must become our rear guard as we advance. Unless Holy Spirit continues to be enfolded into the history of any land, directing its covenant with God, evil overtakes the society and our covenant root with our Creator withers. Holy Spirit enables us to triumph as we go through great change. As we approach the future, the real issue is always concerned with the change of heart and unified expression of His people, which will release an anointing throughout the earth. The anointing breaks the yoke! God always has a triumphant reserve from generation to generation that will come forth with new strength and power.

CHANGE Is NOT EASY

In the case of America, we must realize that changes in the nation occurred several seasons ago, but God has a time of fullness for the manifestation of change. Another one of my favorite Scripture passages is the Lord's prophecy to Abraham when He made covenant with him in Genesis 15. There is a time when the structure (wineskin) that demonstrates these changes develops. Our covenant alignments reveal our future. Several key questions arise:

How will we, as God's true prophetic people, bring forth the revelation (wine) to pour in that structure?

Will the church become relevant now, or will it hang on to ideals that really are not the key issues for this season?

Will we as a nation continue to be aligned with the covenant root nation of Israel?

Will laws reflect God's moral order, or will they reflect a new type of law that benefits the control of a new type of system?

We must be reminded that there are many laws on the books that have no relevance today. However, each one is a law. Passing laws in the future will be one issue, but the real issue will be the change of heart and unified expression of His people, which will release an anointing in this nation and throughout the earth. Will we allow the anointing that breaks yokes to rise up within the wineskin of God's kingdom people, or will we be defeated and come under the oppression of the government of a nation contrary to God's purpose?

The day after the 2008 presidential election, Anne Tate, our prayer leader at Glory of Zion International, wrote the following:

During this election cycle, I have learned some things. I have carefully watched the prayer lives of those of the body of Christ connected with us unfold. I have received e-mails from intercessors and prophets who have predicted and proclaimed that our presidential election would have a different result than the one we are seeing this morning. Chuck cautioned me over the last six months to be careful how I responded to these so that I would not lead them astray or discourage them from praying.

The body of Christ as a whole seemed to be interpreting the prophetic words that have been released concerning the change that was coming according to our own desires, instead of really hearing what the Lord was saying and dividing it rightly. Our challenge today is to break off the desires of our own hearts, which skew the voice of the Lord that is coming through us. Self-deception and lying spirits can really work havoc with us in an hour of great change. We are to speak the Word of the Lord without adding to and taking from. We must be careful to mix not our desire but our faith with the Word of the Lord.

As Chuck spoke last Sunday (November 2, 2008), the Lord will take us to the wilderness in this season to cause our desires to be separated from what we hear the Lord say and how we interpret it. The Word of the Lord to us in the body of Christ was to vote righteously. It was not to vote our desires, whoever the candidate. Today we are learning how to discern and follow what the Lord is saying without our own emotional "spin." Keep standing and praying as we enter this new season.'

I will include an entire chapter in this book on this concept of wilderness. I also will discuss the concept of how our emotions react in the midst of a trying new season.

RECEIVE THE NEW

The word new is an interesting word. In my previous book published by Charisma House, Interpreting the Times, I discuss how to receive the new. (I hope you will read that book as well. It will really help you to process the new season we have entered.) I stated this:

The goal we should have in each of our transitions of life is to make it from the ending of one season into the beginning of the next new season. The word new can mean something that has never been or existed before. However, new is usually defined as "different from one of the same which existed before, something stale that has been made fresh, or something of one quality that has advanced into a better quality."

Matthew 9:16 is a great example of Jesus teaching about the new. He addressed John's disciples and the Pharisees by using an analogy of a wineskin. These two groups were the two spiritual wineskins. These old skins were accusing Him over why His disciples were not having to fast the way they had fasted in the past. Jesus essentially said, "We are not going to do it the old way with the same old methods that have worked in the past!" He then said, "You cannot put new wine in an old wineskin!" (See Matthew 9:17.) In other words, there needed to be a better quality skin developed to receive what was going to be poured out in those three years that He was there with His disciples. He said, and I paraphrase, "If the new goes in the old, you will lose the old and the new. Let's preserve what has gotten us to this point. However, let's develop a new quality structure to hold the revelation that will be the fuel for us to advance"4

John the Baptist's disciples did not want to make this shift into the new season. Only Andrew left John in the wilderness and followed Jesus into the cities to eat with publicans and sinners. John was not excited about the changes that were coming to Israel through Jesus, the One for whom he had prayed, interceded, and paved the way.

Jesus moved His disciples into a new season with His teaching and example. He raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead. As He moved forward to reach this young girl, a woman who had been ill with an issue of blood for twelve years pressed through the crowd to touch Him. He released His virtue, and she was immediately healed. What can we learn from this? Remember that time is significant here, so we first look at the twelve years. Twelve is a number representing a new administration. Twelve is the number representing the apostolic gift. The next generation or administration lay dormant (represented by the young girl), whereas the old administration was pressing through (represented by the woman).

When Jesus determines to move into the new, then we who are being taught by Him must choose to respond. The woman with the issue of blood, representing the last season, had to press past her gender issue; she was a woman. She had to press past the law that barred anyone with an issue of blood from the public. There will always be a crowd that one must press through. But she was desperate, and the Lord acknowledged her and delivered her from her past season and its conflicting religious structure. As we press and touch in our desperation, we begin our next season of new life.

Jarius's young daughter represented the next administration. When Jesus reached her, He said, "She is not dead, but sleeping" (Luke 8:52). After removing the wailers from the room, He commanded her to arise! The next administration awakened. Remember that the grief of one season must end in order for you to awaken to the next season.

In Interpreting the Times I identified eight new issues to look for in your life as you move from one season to the next. Review these issues on a quarterly basis to insure that you stay focused in reaching your destiny.

1. New identity. May His fullness flow through your personality. May your soul be restored. May all fear and manipulation that has crowded your identity and confined you to your past be removed! Your new, transformed personality will have the ability to overcome the mountains in the past season that stopped your progress. (See Isaiah 41; Zechariah 4.)

2. New garments of favor. Garments, favor, and identity all go together. When we overcome the circumstances that come into the path of our lives, we develop a testimony. With our testimony comes favor. Favor is much like grace but is usually linked with our obedience. Favor opens doors. May you overcome, radiate with favor, and have entryway into new opportunities.

3. New relationships. When the Lord is doing a new thing in us, we must evaluate all of our relationships. He has new, fresh, divine connections to bring into our paths. He supernaturally aligns us with others who will cause us to come into a greater level of success. He positions people on our path to propel us down our path. One of our most difficult changes to make in life is letting go of certain relationships that will hinder our future. However, when these soul ties are cut, we advance.

4. New acts. In the early church, the power of God was displayed through the anointing in Paul's handkerchief and Peter's shadow. Many demonstrations and acts of power through the apostles are recorded. Through history, every time God is ready to do something new, new acts begin that demonstrate His power today. We must expect to see the Lord divinely intervene in our lives with signs, wonders, and miracles in each new season we enter.

5. New weapons for the war ahead. With each season we enter we must reevaluate our armor. There are diverse gifts and many operations of those gifts. Our shield of faith must be repaired and shined to remove any wounding from the past season. Our belt of truth must be tightened as we move against new enemies in this age. We must be a people who, like David, choose not to use the proven armor of the last season but develop our own that will efficiently overtake the giants in our path.

6. New sounds. May you hear the sound of victory and shout this sound from the rooftops. Every new season and every movement is preceded by a new song. We sing before we develop our theology. New songs break old cycles. Sound creates movement. The trumpet is sounding a new sound. Listen carefully. May you receive everything you need to defeat your enemies.

7. A new anointing. The anointing breaks the yoke. The anointing makes us grow fat so that every confining weight falls from us. The anointing, the mashach, makes us so greasy that the enemy cannot grasp and hold us from entering into the best that God has for us. May you receive a new anointing! (See Psalm 92.)

8. A new level of authority. May you receive the ability to stand in dominion in the sphere of authority that you have been granted by the Lord. May you war and remove every stronghold in that sphere. May you bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ so you advance and harvest the field He has given you. May your authority be demonstrated by an exercise of power over your enemies who would hinder your progress. (See 2 Corinthians 10.)S

THE NEW SHIFT PRODUCES A RIFT!

There comes a time when you leave a transition and shift into the new. No longer can you keep prophesying that the new will happen. There comes a time when the new happens. At that moment, our whole being must make a shift. We may have some difficulties shifting into a new season, so I feel we should define the word shift.

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 you 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. A shift also entails a scheduled time.

Shaking occurs during a shift. Think of a fault line. A rift is the place of dividing. God has a time where division is necessary for His covenant to come forth in a new way. Jesus said it this way: "I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34, KJv). Let's just be sure that we in God's kingdom do not use the sword on each other!

Change produces a shift but can also produce rifts in every area mentioned above, especially in relationships.

WATERS OF CHANGE PRODUCE A SHIFTING, RIFT-CUTTING RIVER

There comes a time when waters of change must rise. This produces a river. Rivers are powerful. Rivers flow! Sometimes they are torrential, sometimes smooth. In this season they will be more torrential than usual. I heard these words deep in my spirit: "Watch this winter!" Winter torrents sometimes come down with great suddenness and with desolating force. What the Lord seemed to be saying was: "Get ready for accelerated changes that will begin. You have entered a winter season; prepare accordingly."

I said to the Lord, "Couldn't You say the winter is past?"

He said, "I will when winter is past! Do you want to know the season and dress accordingly, or do you want to walk into a season unprepared and contrary to My mind?"

On May 31, 2008, I was ministering at a major gate of this nation in Liberty Park, New Jersey, and as the spirit of prophecy began to fall, I exclaimed what our nation would look like in the future. I have not yet had the liberty to discuss all that I saw. In October 2008, I met Pam and some of my children at the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world. While we were at one of the incredible viewpoints on the rim, the Lord reminded me of the gathering in New Jersey and spoke to me: "A new type of river is now rising in this land. This river will create a schism unlike anything this nation has ever known before."

Be prepared; this nation as we know it will no longer be the same. The Lord also said, "I have brought you into a season of the new wineskin. Tell My people to be prepared for structures to change. This nation [America] is a wineskin, and it will change."

As I continued to stand on the rim and view the magnificent display of God's power and creation, I saw something. What I saw quickened in me and reminded me of what I saw in August 2007. It was then that the Lord began to show me a nation divided. He has continued to deal with me from an intercessory standpoint to get prepared for a great schism that is coming to this nation.

What we see in the natural will become spiritual. The Grand Canyon was probably formed when the Colorado River began to flow, and wow-the earth changed. The river cut through the earth, finding faults and opening up a schism that looks like nothing anyone has seen or may ever see again.

I heard the Lord say, "That is the type of river that is coming. This river will become torrential and devastating to some and refreshing and moving to others, bringing you to a new place of harvest. Whichever way you process, the changes will determine how you are prepared for the future. You can choose to be on either side of the rift, or you can get in the river and travel to your next destination in the midst of the changing course of a land at this time!"

The key issue to remember in this season is that the river will create rifts. The river of God is stirring the fish but also cutting a new path for them to come into their place of habitation for the future. That means that the church must change its structure and prepare for the river to run its course and bring a new supply of fish into our nets. Get your net mended and ready since times and seasons have changed. The Lord will fill our nets if we will creatively stand in the rising river and not fear.

SCHISM OR RIFT? YOU CHOOSE!

A schism is "a division or disunion of mutually opposed parties." In Ecclesiastical understanding, a schism occurs when a formal division or separation occurs where some doctrinal or administrative difference in one sect of the body creates an offense, resulting in division. Division is the opposite of multiplication.

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of YOU." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

-1 CORINTHIANS 12:20-26

Rifts can be different than just the concept of divisions as we in the body of Christ usually think. To rift means "to burst open or split." A rift is an opening made by splitting. This can be like the Grand Canyon or can occur from a break in friendly relations or difference of opinion. We can agree to disagree without condemning each other.

There is a bursting open of our future. I see the river of God that has been released from the heavenly realm, creating a new place for us to stand and cry forth for His power and glory to come into the earth. Rivers and waters are frequently used in Scripture to symbolize abundance, as of the grace of God (Ps. 36:8; 46:4; Isa. 32:2; 41:18; John 7:38), of peace (Isa. 66:12), of good things of life (Job 20:17; 29:6), and of God's providence (Isa. 43:19-20). The fruitfulness of trees planted by rivers is figurative of the permanent prosperity of the righteous (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:8).

Rivers can also be related to affliction (Ps. 69:2; Isa. 43:2). The drying up of rivers represents God's judgment (Isa. 19:1-8; Jer. 51:36; Nah. 1:4; Zech. 10:11), as can their overflowing (Isa. 8:7-8; 28:2, 17; Jer. 47:2) and moving outside of their originally intended boundaries. How the water gushes or flows indicates a message from the heavenly realm by the Father God of Creation to His people. It is of utmost importance for us to understand how to enter the harvest waters at this time in history. This is a time of violent praise. This river must rise! We are a nation that has many factions within it. I share much about the blood war in God's Unfolding Battle Plan.'

God's river is life. His life always overcomes death. There must be a fresh release of His kingdom river in America. Ezekiel 47:9 says, "Everything will live wherever the river goes." This river even has power to heal nations. (See Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:1-2.) Saying we need a release of the river of God is another way of saying we need a fresh outpouring of His Spirit. Nothing else will break this spirit of death and political schism that is rising in this land. We must return to the Lord. This means we must repent, which means to change our minds. We must repent for having divisive political leanings that cause us not to represent the God of righteousness in our choices we make. We are a nation above all nations and must always represent His kingdom in our actions in the earth.

ELIJAH WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A RIFT

I love reading about Elijah. James said that we have an emotional makeup like him. I have been studying the end of 1 Kings 18 and the beginning of 1 Kings 19, and I'm asking the Lord for revelation over the "baal" structures that would oppose our nation. Elijah faithfully carried the word of the Lord in his heart until the time came to intercede, bring God's word into the atmosphere, and produce change. He addressed the ruling powers that were controlling the nation. God backed him, and He did away with the false structure that was holding a nation captive in between two opinions. He asked the famous question, "How long will you [people of Israel] be halted between two opinions? Choose! Choose Baal; choose Jehovah! But choose!" (my own paraphrase).

The Hebrew word for "halt" is pacach (1 Kings 18:21, KJv). This is the same word used for Passover. The word also means "to leap" or "to limp." In other words, "Will you cross over, leap over, or limp your way into the future?" That is why we must process our changes and make our choices carefully. Our choice can cause us to limp or leap into the future!

After the birth of the next season, Elijah established himself in the gate of the nation. However, the strongman, Jezebel, made a decree that opened his eyes to the demon rule in the nation. First Kings 19:3 says that he "saw" her threat. That means that the demonic forces behind her threat could be seen in the atmosphere. He "saw" the demonic forces empowering her threat and could not stand before them. This caused him to vacate his position of victory and flee. He needed new strength from a new word of revelation that would produce a new faith so he could continue to stand.

We are very much like Elijah-James 5 says so. Let your emotions submit and come into God's order for this season. Stand firm; do not run! Wait for the next word, and you will see a generation arise that will overthrow the Jezebel structure in the land. Babylonian spirits have brought great confusion into this land. There is coming of God something that will look confusing but will produce a new order in this land. You must not compromise or rearrange our support for God's covenant land. Babylon is shaking. You must stand in your relation with Israel and watch God produce a people in this land who will stand for our future. Stand and command these spirits that would negatively direct our government to be blown from their position of influence.

MAKE THE SHIFT THAT GOD Is REQUIRING ... NOW!

Develop His mind!

Read Philippians 2 and Romans 8.

Don't lean on your own understanding. You will never make the right choice with your limited knowledge. Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who ... made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant ... He humbled Himself and became obedient." Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Don't let Satan's scheme fashion you into one who thinks like the world. Don't let outward appearances deceive you, causing you to miss what God is doing. We must prove the voice of God and practice in everyday life what God's will from heaven is declaring to us. Romans 8:7 says, "The carnal mind is enmity against God." Declare that the Lord will put His finger on every area of carnality in your thinking.

Learn to express His heart!

Memorize and meditate on Proverbs 29:18 and 2 Chronicles 20:20.

Prophecy is expressing the mind and heart of God. Let the Lord deal with your emotions. Invite the Spirit of God to subdue your emotions so His heartbeat can be heard. Declare that all self-pity and hope deferred is being removed from you. Command bitterness and unforgiveness to leave your soul. Express the heart of God in your thinking. Don't let inordinate affections cause inappropriate alignments in your life. The heart can have weights or attachments. I declare a free heart over you. Without correct prophetic revelation, we perish.

Change your atmosphere!

Read Matthew 13.

Speak faith! Jesus could do very little in Nazareth because the atmosphere was so filled with unbelief. Jesus was the all-powerful God walking the earth, capable of signs and wonders, yet the atmosphere in Nazareth created a barrier for His intervention. Break the negative atmospheric presence around you by prophetic declarations of victory!

Do exploits! Optimize resources!

Memorize Daniel 11:32, which says, "The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits."

Remember to optimize. That means "to see things from a positive standpoint." To do exploits means "to take the resources you have and create new resources or bring them into a new level of fullness." This is one of the things that God means when He says to optimize resources.

Read Psalm 30 and Genesis 1-2.

In this mudslinging year 2009 (the number nine, the Hebraic character tet, means "mud and mire"), take all the mud that is being slung and be creative. The Lord was creative with mud. He made us from it!

Watch for the "suddenlies"!

Read 2 Chronicles 29:20-36.

We've heard about the suddenlies happening, but now they manifest. If hope deferred and weariness is ruling you, you will miss the time when our Lord moves on your behalf. If fear is influencing you, you won't understand when God starts breaking through on your behalf. The process that you've been going through is moving toward a suddenly!

Learn the process of going over!

Read Isaiah 54, and memorize verse 17.

We must have an over mentality. Overtake or be overtaken. Overthrow or be overthrown. Overturn or be overturned. Overcome or be overcome. Be sure you are being overseen. Also, define the sphere that you are overseeing!

Develop a kingdom mentality!

Read Matthew 11, Matthew 13, Luke 9, and Luke 13.

The kingdom of God is within you. We build the church, but we get keys to the kingdom. Study the kingdom. Matthew 11:12 says, "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. Fear not! The church is God's warring agent. Worship and war! The kingdom increases. Understand the sword and the fire because they are both important in the battle ahead.

Find your new river of joy!

Read Psalm 30, Psalm 46, and John 11-12.

Do not let the rift ahead stop you from standing. Praise causes Him to enthrone Himself in our midst. Jesus's display of glory to raise Lazarus from the dead created a rift. Do not let upcoming manifestations create a rift that keeps you from experiencing God's kingdom plan.

Experience a shift in the rift!

Read Genesis 13-14.

For God's covenant plan to make the next shift, there came a rift between Abraham and Lot. This split was really over provision and worldly choice. Be willing to separate so you can move forward into new levels of blessings.

The time has come to choose! In the days ahead, your choice will determine how you redeem the days, for they are becoming more and move evil. You will be making choices. Will you be polarized on one side of the rift ahead or on the other? Or will you just get into God's river and reach the destination He has for you?

CHAPTER 2

HOW To KEEP TIME

IN THE CRISIS OF CHANGE

OST LIKELY THERE will always be political debates, party polarization, someone being promoted to reign, and leadership shifting that affects scores of people and even perhaps world history. How you receive changing times, embrace their effects on your life, and shift your freedoms in the earth become the real issue. Political changes are sometimes indicators of God's way of organizing and sequencing our days so we fulfill His purposes in each generation.

In Luke 2:1-7, we find a great example of this principle:

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

This had been prophesied many, many years earlier by the prophet Micah. Many times the perfect will of God, which is high above man's will, cannot be accomplished without a certain ruler in place. Until Caesar Augustus came in place, Quirinius could not reorder the steps of those under his rule, thereby positioning and fulfilling God's will for Bethlehem and the redemptive plan of the world. Therefore, with each political change, we must watch carefully for God's ultimate plan to be revealed.

STEPPING INTO TIME

God is not in time as we are in time. Our Father has access to every moment in our lives from beginning to end as though they were the present. By the Holy Spirit, we can actually access those times in our pasts when we felt abandoned, abused, betrayed, fearful, happy, fulfilled, or any other emotion or condition. Not only can the believer be forgiven for the past, but he or she can also travel back in time with God, see Him as "a very present help" in the past, and redeem those past times that the enemy wanted to use for evil.

Imagine for a moment that all of eternity is represented by a large piece of paper. This is where God is unlimited by time and space. Now draw a line on that piece of paper, representing time. Make sure that line has a beginning and an end. This line begins when God instituted time at Creation, and it will end when God says, "Time's up!" Man lives on the line while God can step in and out of time according to His purposes and plans. God sees all of time at once and doesn't have to wait for anything to happen; all is present for Him. This is a simplified explanation of a complex idea, but it works.

Now pretend that you can pick the line up and use it to make a circle. That better represents how the Lord sees time. Time is generational. Time is cyclical. God intended the blessings of one generation to be passed and connected to the next generation, and the next, until the fullness of His purpose is manifested in a family, city, or nation. This is called the cycle of life. The enemy longs to break into a person's life cycle to divert from God's divine purpose and begin what is called a cycle of iniquity and pain. Our time can be filled with blessings or wounding or curses. The good thing about the Spirit of God is His ability to confront us at any moment and give us a choice to follow Him out of any destructive pattern and into a glorious future.

However, we must learn to respond to Him within time. We are called to represent Him as ambassadors in our generation. The decisions and actions we take now affect three generations ahead. Therefore, when we know how the Lord wants us to respond and we do so, His glory infiltrates the earth and we see Him change our atmosphere and environment. Because of God's position relative to time, He can-and often does-seem to answer our prayers before they have been uttered!

God has chosen mankind as the necessary link to bring His will from heaven to Earth. He wants us to commune with Him, listen carefully to His voice, gain prophetic revelation, and decree that revelation into the earth. This will unlock miracles and release His blessings. Once we hear God, we can intercede. We can also prophesy. Prophecy is declaring His mind and His heart. When we receive prophetic revelation, we need to decree the prophetic revelation, and then the atmosphere into which we decree goes on heaven's time instead of Earth's time.

THE POWER OF NUMBERS

We use the numbers on a clock to help us tell time. Your day is sequenced whether you are aware of the order or not. The sun comes up and goes down each day. We have an amount of light each day to do what we each should do. Do we redeem the time in a day, or do we waste moments in anxiety, confusion, and nonsensical activities?

I like numbers-not just the book in the Bible, but the sequential characters that we use in counting, sequencing, and ordering something. Most of us use the numbers on a clock, whether digital or sequenced, to help us get to the place in time for appointments. Sometimes we use them to remind us of how much light we have to complete an activity. Because revelation in the Bible comes from the Hebraic perspective-as God communicated with man, and then man communicated the history of the God of the universe through one nation, Israel-I knew I was to learn more about biblical numerics.

In the Hebrew language, a number not only has a word meaning, but we can also gain symbolic understanding of the meaning of the use of that number from the form and picture of the number. For example, the number eight (8) is always linked with some new beginning. For years I have taken the Hebrew calendar and looked at the meaning of the numbers and prayed for my year to reflect His year! We will discuss more about numbers as we go through the development of redeeming time.

When we are serving the Lord and seeking His kingdom plan, each year brings new challenges and new joys for every one of us. The Hebrew number system has helped me as I focus each year on decreeing the best the Lord has for me and my family and those connected with me. I do not think you have to understand the Hebrew year to know the will of God. However, in Hebrew, since numbers have word meanings, picture meanings, and sounds, we can gain a fuller perspective of each year.

Let me share about the Hebraic year 5768, the year of samekh chet, which encompassed the majority of the Gregorian calendar's year of the Lord A.D. 2008. The form of the Hebrew number chet looks like a gate that is open, which is offering us entryway into a new field or dimension. You will probably read this book during the months and years after 2008, but the important thing to know is that there is a season when a new beginning is yours! You might read this book in the Gregorian calendar of 2018, or 2028, and so on, but the principles will remain the same. My heart is that we never miss the new when the Lord offers us a season of change and opens a gate for us to enter into new fields where we will take dominion.

I love Isaiah 43:18-19 (cJB), which says, "Stop dwelling on past events and brooding over times gone by; I am doing something new; it's springing up-can't you see it? I am making a road in the desert, rivers in the wasteland." A new thing can be happening, but in the midst of a beginning or fresh start, we can fail to perceive the change. Here is something to remember as you read this book and process its contents: An end always precedes a beginning. Therefore, the question becomes, How are you reacting when an end comes and a new beginning starts? An end always precedes a beginning.

THE CHANGING OF WATER TO WINE

In the biblical story of the wedding at Cana, the third day of the wedding celebration came, and something had to shift. (See John 2:1-12.) When we get halfway through something, we must make the choice of going back, settling down with our accomplishments, or succeeding and going all the way into the fullness of God's plan. There comes a time when you can no longer resist the change that is waiting for you. You might not seem ready for what is changing, but change is inevitable.

There came a time when Jesus had to demonstrate a power that would change the world. Many times miracles represent the changing landscape of a season and represent that divine intervention has entered our space and time in the earth. In John 2, Jesus attends a wedding, and something happens that sets a new course for many for the next three years. Those three years would change the course of the history of mankind forever.

When the time came for this wedding, Jesus had approximately six disciples following Him. This would be a moment in time to touch these disciples and demonstrate a new dimension of who He was by using the events of the wedding. John the Baptist had been a social recluse, but Jesus accepted invitations to social events and moved in and out of these events with Father's grace. He moved supernaturally in natural events. At this point in His ministry, He had yet to perform a miracle, but already many knew that He was different from the world. He had yet to disclose fully His identity. But a crisis arose in the wedding. Unless something happened, the success of the wedding was in danger, and instead of beginning this new relationship and season with joy and celebration, the bride and groom were in danger of reproach.

Mary, His mother, suggested to Jesus that He do something. She told the guests that if He suggested something, they should do whatever He suggested. Jesus was hesitant at first. He could only do what Father instructed Him to do. As He waited, He heard the plan of heaven for the crisis that confronted the wedding party. The words were, "Change the water to wine." Therefore, Jesus used the available pots for religious purification for something new. He took the pots, filled them with water, and then change occurred.

This change was not just for the party and the immediate need to drink and celebrate-it created a pattern for the future. By manifesting His glory in this first miracle, He caused His disciples to see Him from a new perspective. They believed! Perhaps at the beginning they only saw Him as a miracle worker, but for them, this was the beginning of a three-year process of gaining revelation that would affect the future of all mankind.

The manifestation of a new glory realm creates change in all that embraces the display of change. Change means "to be altered or to pass from one state, form, quality, or essence to a different state, form, quality, or essence." Change means "to undergo variation." No longer are you the same in quality or look. Change can be linked with a succession of one thing in the place of another. Change can mean that you have removed or altered one form to produce another way of doing things. Change is related to a business transaction that shifts you into a greater way of prospering or striving. Change is synonymous with revolution or a season produced by a revolution. The manifestation of His glory in the changing of the water to wine began His revolution in the earth. When glory comes, revolution begins.

Penny Jackson, a dear friend from Houston, Texas, stayed in Houston and weathered Hurricane Ike in August 2008 when the storm came on shore in Texas. Recently, she wrote this wonderful letter. In a year of submission, we must submit to the wind of change that comes into our lives.

How WILL You BEND WITH THE WIND OF CHANGE?

Three months have passed since Hurricane Ike visited us in the Houston area. While most things are back in order in my part of Houston, an odd uprooted tree can still be seen, and those with fireplaces will have all of the firewood they need for this year, hand delivered to their house by Ike.

Although I had plywood over most of my windows, there was one uncovered window in my kitchen, and in my braver moments, I would look out of it. I will say this: the arrival of the hurricane was beautiful and full of majesty. First the wind bands and clouds approached. Later in the evening when the storm was at its height, an intensity of colors I have seldom seen stretched in bands across the horizon-turquoises, golds, and pinks.

My area has tall pine trees everywhere; I personally have seven in my front and backyard combined. The Lord used the trees in my part of town to speak a principle to me. As I looked toward the horizon, I could see the silhouettes of these pines sway back and forth, reminding me of seaweed at the bottom of the sea that bends and waves with the current of the ocean. Perhaps this image came to me because the sound of the storm was like the relentless crashing of waves against a beach, ebbing and then coming back full force. I was surprised at the flexibility of these tall giants.

The next morning the debris on the ground was hard to believe-tree branches, leaves, plants everywhere. Through God's mercy, few houses in our area were affected, but the trees took a huge hit. When the wind died down, people began to come out of their houses and walk around the neighborhood. As I walked through the neighborhood, I saw oaks uprooted, lying on their sides with huge root spans completely exposed. Some of these were eight feet in diameter. There were other uprooted types of trees whose names I don't know. Littered on the ground were a countless number of pine limbs and cones and even tops of trees. However, I eventually realized that I never saw an uprooted pine tree.

The Lord kept talking to me about this as the days went on. He showed me that the pine trees were able to survive the storm because they were able to move with the winds-even these hurricane-force winds. Yes, they had some damage, but they weren't uprooted as those trees that were inflexible.

I began to see a clear picture of what the Lord was attempting to say to me. We are entering into some very stormy times. The gale force winds will come, it seems. Things will not go as our hearts might desire. However, this is not a time to be inflexible and hold on to ideas and beliefs that no longer have a place in our world. Keeping ourselves firmly rooted with our eyes on the Lord, we must be flexible as the winds change and swirl around us.'

We must remain flexible in all the changes that we will encounter in days ahead.

ANOTHER FAMILY'S REACTION IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRISIS

I love the story of Lazarus's death. Many circumstances occur leading up to this defining moment in Jesus's life and ministry. Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were very good friends of Jesus. Their home in Bethany seemed to be a place of rest for Him as He journeyed to Jerusalem. He would go there, eat, relax, and share the intimate thoughts of Father's heart. We see this in Luke 10, when Martha gets upset because dinner has been served and the dishes need to be cleaned, yet Mary sits and listens to what Jesus has to say (vv. 38-42). You can even see from this story that Martha perceives the end of dinner differently than Mary. Martha perceives the end as a mess that is calling for a new order; Mary sees the end as an opportunity to glean a new type of food that could affect her future. Martha gets distracted at the end of dinner. Mary eats a greater meal, the word of the Lord Himself, who sits in their midst. Martha receives a rebuke at the end of dinner; Mary receives a commendation for her faith. Both receive the Lord's love, but only one receives His heart and the revelation for the future.

The crisis of change

Later this family goes into a crisis. This crisis produces something new in their lives and relationship with their friend and mentor Jesus. The account of this story provides much insight on how to perceive an end and recognize a new beginning. (See John 11-12.)

A crisis time in our life is a turning-point time. We become either better because of our submission in the understanding of the crisis or worse when we resist the lessons being taught. A crisis can be an acute attack of pain or an emotional distress. A crisis can be an incident that produces a disordered functioning of our life processes and relationships. An emotionally significant event can produce a radical change of status in a person's life. A crisis creates a decisive moment. A crisis occurs when a situation reaches a critical phase. Will we be unstable in this crucial time of our state of affairs or decisive in our willful actions to produce a change in our life and the environment around us?

THE CRISIS OF DECISION

Many times a crisis in our life or the territory in which we live requires us to join with someone for help or divinely connect with an advocate who will take a stand on our behalf. Sometimes we need someone to just remind us that everything is going to be all right. That reassuring sound in the voice of someone we respect and who represents stability is the key to us not fearing but making a clear decision on how to process the situation and move forward. When that word of comfort confronts our crazy thoughts in the midst of chaos, our mind quiets its many thoughts, our emotions get off the roller-coaster ride of confusion, and our heart grows steady. The emergency of the unforeseen situation receives prompt action. The pressure of the situation lessens as we develop our plan for our future. This point of time becomes a moment-a moment of divine change-a moment of enlightenment, a critical but life-changing moment that defines and shapes our history for the future. Will we be ruled by the circumstance or forever changed by the moment?

MARY AND MARTHA AND THE MOMENT

Returning to the account of Lazarus's death, Jesus was notified of Lazarus's sickness and decided not to rush to meet the need. As a matter of fact, He chose to go to Judea rather than Bethany, the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus! His disciples had a very hard time grasping the reality of the situation. We will discuss our discipleship in the midst of crisis later in this book.

He arrived in Bethany four days later; yes, count them-four days. What is wrong with this man? What is wrong with this friend? What is wrong with Father? Jesus could do nothing unless Father told Him to act. Was there no one who understood the real crisis?

When Jesus finally arrived, Martha stood to question the Lord about why He was not there when they needed Him. The Lord told her, "If you would believe you would see the glory of God" (John 11:40, emphasis added). The crisis had escalated. The disease had won. Lazarus was dead. Martha was quick to affirm her faith in the future but was perplexed in the moment. Jesus finally asked for her sister, Mary, to come and visit with Him.

Mary then approached the Lord with the very same question. Why? But something was different about Mary. Her posture was different. Martha stood, but Mary exhibited a different attitude at the end of this terrible situation by falling at His feet as a sign of respect, honor, and submission! In other words, Mary said, "Lord, I will submit to whatever You say and whatever explanation You give. I have sat at Your feet before and received the best You had to give. I will wait here now to receive what You have to give, which will be the best, in the midst of this crisis."

Mary's appeal to the Lord touched the core of His emotionsthe very heart of Father God. This caused Jesus to express a public emotion seldom written about in the Scriptures; He groaned deeply. He wept. He released a great compassion in the crisis. Then He exercised an authority that changed and shaped the history of all mankind. He revealed His glory and resurrection power in a way that history and mankind had not known. He called Lazarus from the grave to give him a second opportunity at life.

This was a catalyst that created a chain of events that escalated the need for Him to complete His mission and get to Jerusalem to accomplish the redemptive plan of Father for you and me. Lazarus, who was good and dead, lived again, and the world around had to deal with the change. The changing of the water to wine began the manifestation of a glory that caused six of His disciples and a wedding party to believe. The glory of the resurrection power that was displayed at the tomb of Lazarus would cause the complete religious world, the civil government, and countless followers to believe and embrace the glory or reject the changes that would result from this manifestation and demonstration of Father's love.

A NEW DAY Is LINKED WITH RESURRECTION POWER

The series of events that we see Mary creating is a key to our own lives. In every situation, circumstance, crisis, and even every drastic ending, we need to let a worship posture be exhibited.

Resurrect means basically "to rise again or come from a dormant stage." There are three dimensions of resurrection power that we need to understand: death, life, and glory.

Death

Death is more than just the end of a biological process. Death can be linked to a spiritual state where we are separated from God. Death can represent a time when we are morally twisted, and the power of life is not being released through our being. In other words, our conscience is sealed. The judgments of God are then allowed to work in time in an attempt to return us to the life processes that we rejected.

Death also represents the blockage of grace and the removal of His favor. Only the gift of life through Jesus Christ can counteract the death that holds humankind in a firm grip.

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, "A servant is not greater than his master." If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, "They hated Me without a cause." But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

-JOHN 15:16-26

Life

Life can refer to the active movement of the biological processes of man. However, I like referring to life as the vitalizing power of God. Our spirit comes alive to our Creator when we submit our inner life to Jesus Christ and allow Holy Spirit to mold and make us into our destined role. We are given God's life when we believe in His Son, Jesus, and allow Holy Spirit to fill our human spirit. (See Ephesians 2.)

His life makes it possible for us to live righteously. This will allow us to express our future with hope of resurrection power.

... that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

-JOHN 3:15-21

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us-eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

-1 JOHN 2:24-29

Glory

Glory refers to God's splendor revealed to us and seen around. It is an expression in this world of the beauty, power, and greatness of our God.

I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, 0 Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

-JOHN 17:4-5

-ISAIAH 60:1-2

The weight of His glory can be seen on us and around us.

When we submit our will and worship, we move the heart of God. This releases a catalytic change in the earth realm and atmosphere around us.

When it's time for the new, your focus should be, "Am I prepared to wait until a full manifestation occurs?" The miracle of Jesus changing the water to wine was His first display of glory! Three years later, with a more mature reputation, the miracle of Jesus's raising Lazarus from the dead demonstrated a glory shift at a much different level. This shift created a great rift that escalated in the desire of the old-world structure. Resurrection, or bringing new life from a deadened situation, caused some to rejoice but others to rise up with determined focus to do away with the One who could now change death to life.

PETER HAD A DIFFICULT TIME BECOMING NEW

There is a place where the revelation of heaven intersects in the earth realm. Revelation creates the entryway for your next opportunity. The apostle Peter was not always a man who made right decisions or acted perfectly in crisis time, but he could tap in to revelation better than most of the disciples. The problem was that his emotions and mind seemed to be a hindrance to him walking out what he was hearing.

Jesus revealed His goodness to Peter when He entered Peter's business and showed him a better way to bring in supply. This caused Peter to repent for his mind-set in business. However, the Lord was doing more than just teaching him a lesson on how to fish better. He was also revealing that Peter had a call beyond fishing. He had been called to catch men, not just fish. Peter was overwhelmed by the catch of fish but could not yet fully grasp the greater meaning of the moment-his call for the future.

Then there was the moment of the great breakthrough when Peter broke into Father's heart, heaven touched Earth, and revelation about who the Lord really was came into Peter's heart. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus began to question all the disciples in an attempt to gather information on how those in the region perceived His identity. Most disciples replied that the people believed that He was a prophet. Some even believed that He was one of the key prophets-Elijah, Jeremiah, or John the Baptist reincarnated. Then He asked them, "Well, what about you? Who do you say I am?" (See Matthew 16:12-15.)

Peter broke into a different realm of understanding. What had been hidden was now revealed. He had the answer of all answers! He responded with, "You are the Christ, the Son of God."

The Lord then exclaims, "Peter, only Father could have shown you this." Then Jesus prophesied to Peter with the famous prophecy:

Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros-a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra-a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.

-MATTHEW 16:17-19, AMP

The prophecy spoken by Jesus has moved from generation to generation to those who will seek Father for the revelation to build heaven's pattern in the earth realm. This word gave leaders the authority to forbid the enemy from working and to permit the Spirit of God to have liberty to move in the earth to restrain evil, comfort, judge, and give more revelation for building and unlocking the kingdom.

SIFTING Is NECESSARY AT TIMES TO PRODUCE NEWNESS!

Peter was in the new! He was tapping in to and communing with Father. This lasted until Jesus told the disciples the time had come for Him to complete His mission and go to Jerusalem and die. Now Peter's emotions refused to embrace the will and revelation of Father. He actually pulled Jesus aside, rebuked Him, and forbade Him to continue in such nonsense. Jesus was ready to end a season and allow all of mankind to begin a new season, but the emotions of Peter refused to align with the will of heaven. Jesus equated Peter's mind, will, and emotions to that of Satan. He said, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (Matt. 16:23).

What does this say to us when the time has come for us to move into the next season? Our emotions can resist the change. Actually, we can open the door to align our heart, mind, and emotions with the enemy's plan. Peter had set his mind on his own interests and not on God's overall plan of why He had given His Son to the world.

When we agree with the enemy, the Lord gives the enemy the right to sift, torment, and really deal with all of our being. Why? The Lord is praying that we will cut every tie with Satan's thinking, renew our mind, and follow Him. Jesus continued to address His disciples by saying:

If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

-MATTHEW 16:24-26, NET

Later Jesus comforted Peter by telling him, "`Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.' But [Peter] said to Him, `Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.' Then He said, `I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me"' (Luke 22:31-34).

Denial is a difficult phase for us to go through during crisis. Just as Jesus said, fear overwhelms, and it caused Peter to deny his alliance with the Lord during the last three years. The Bible does not say, but you can surmise, that after the Lord's death the devil did a number on Peter. When we are being sifted, the process of winnowing is going on. However, this process is not out in the wheat field-it is within us. The weeds and tares in us are being pulled out.

Sifting is a time-a time of pain, confusion, and agony. There has been something growing in us for years. The Lord has been nurturing our best and preparing for a full manifestation of our destiny. However, alongside our best is a stronghold-something that has been impregnated by the enemy. It also wants to come to full maturity to contend and stop the world from ever seeing the glory of the One who is molding us. Unless the sifting occurs to remove that toehold of the enemy from our emotions and thinking process, our will is in danger of ensnarement.

The sifting process is like going through an old-fashioned wringer washing machine. We know that on the other side of the squeezing, we will be cleaner and brighter than before, but during the cycle there is great pressing, separation, and even torment of mind until we make our way to the other side. Then comes the step linked with being hung out to dry. However, there is a place and time when you realign your faculties and become one mind with the One who has been pursuing you.

HE PURSUES!

The Lord never forgets your ultimate destiny. From the moment when the Lord first met Peter, He prophesied Peter's future. John 1:40-42 (NASD) says, "One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, `We have found the Messiah' (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, `You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas' (which is translated Peter)."

From the beginning, He knows our end. Therefore, He pursues what we will become, not who we are in the present. One is called because he or she is chosen. The call implies choice! Peter was chosen perhaps not for any reason other than the Lord was pleased to choose him. He saw his potential. Each of us has the potential to follow Him and become new. Simon, the brash, hotheaded, impulsive, self-assertive fisherman would one day be a rock for others to build upon. The Lord, ever our pursuer, sees our ultimate best and calls to us to stop and surrender our wills and ways to Him.

In His pursuit, He never forgets us but doggedly approaches us again and again to give each of us another opportunity to move into His best for our lives. He pursues us past our wrong decisions, erratic emotions, and unrestrained words to find us where we may be hidden so that He can pour His transforming grace upon lives, change our names, and make us like Him. As He pursues and we yield, our hearts become less confident, less arrogant, less sure of our future, more open, and more reliant on the One who has called us.

Finally, after denial, after denial, and after denial again, Peter was confronted over his call and destiny one last time. Well, I might more accurately say three times. He was fishing again. Life is funny-we return to what is familiar once crisis really sets in around us. After the denial, after the death, after the Resurrection, and after the next fishing expedition, Jesus showed up again to confront this disciple who had returned to his once-postponed profession.

I am so glad that Jesus shows up again and again until He has given us every opportunity to receive the best He has for us. But Peter had yet to embrace the best, the call that Jesus had been leading him to embrace for the last three years. Jesus asked Peter three different times to express his love to Him. The third time, Peter submitted and said, "Lord, only You really know." He had been sifted in the crisis and knew there was only One who could truly lead and whom he would follow.

Even after this emotional, gut-wrenching confrontation of the risen Lord, who was still willing to pursue Peter, he wondered about how others would be pursued. Peter asked about John's new beginning. The Lord said, "What is that to you? You follow Me" (John 21:22).

PETERS KEY-HE REMAINED IN GODS TIMING

The Master's purpose for Peter was to leave his boat and come after Him so that He could make him a fisher of men. The Lord met Peter in his normal, usual occupation, just like David who was summoned from the sheepfold. Peter's call was changed from fishing for fish to fishing for men. Peter made it past his failures, his sins, and his alignment with the enemy's ultimate plan to stop the Lord from Father's call to redemption. His consuming passion had to be bridled and transformed under the power of the living Christ. He had to partner his passion with Christ's passion.

The key to Peter's life was that once he started following, he kept following. The Lord's prophecies over him of becoming a rock and having the ability to overcome hell seemed to be so deep within his spirit that even in the midst of denial, he could not do anything other than pick himself up and keep following.

The night when Peter followed the Lord to Mount Hermon to experience a transfiguration of glory, he continued to make hasty suggestions. With the glory cloud encompassing the whole atmosphere, Peter suggested building a tabernacle. (See Matthew 17:1-13.) The glory cloud was descending because Jesus was putting off one tabernacle and preparing to ascend into a different glory realm.

Nevertheless, Peter was in God's perfect timing. All of these experiences were building and transforming his spirit and character to be used for the future. His failure to watch with the Lord for an hour, his misunderstanding of God's plans, his hardheaded way of working for his daily sustenance, his denials, and even at one time his identity being expressed as Satan himself could not keep him from becoming all that the Lord had first spoken that he would be.

If we stay in God's time, He will constantly renew His covenant and purpose with us. Most importantly, He will develop His life work through us. Peter never lost his bold personality, but he did lose his self-will as he humbled himself to the will of God. Remaining in God's timing will take us through hard trials and into the ultimate plan that Father has ordained for us. Peter, with all of his issues, surrendered to the call the Lord had for him. This surrender affected the history of the church as much or more than anyone who has ever lived. If the Lord can be this patient with Peter, to mold, transform, intercede for, and watch after, it is no problem for Him to do the same for you! Yield now, and stay in time!

EVALUATE YOUR NEW BEGINNINGS

There is great difficulty in transforming our minds so that we begin to think from a different perspective. However, I believe that the Lord helps us think differently. It seems that every time the Lord is ready for us to make a shift, He begins to ask us questions, which in turn causes us to ask Him questions. A new dialogue begins, which forces our minds to change.

This is a time when we must think differently if we are going to be victorious in the war ahead of us. In the book God's Unfolding Battle Plan, I have a whole chapter on "the mind war" and critical thinking. I write, "The war is unfolding, but are we expanding the way we think? Contrary to popular belief, you can teach an old dog new tricks. (I'm living proof of this!) Recently the Lord visited me while I was in my office preparing to speak at our church's Feast of the Tabernacles celebration. `In these critical times, you must think critically,' He said.... Ultimately, we must be critical, which is defined as having `careful and exact evaluation and judgment. " z

Critical time can mean a period in history when God has called His people to be circumspect or cautious in thought, speech, and action. In a critical time we must closely examine every situation and the details that we have accumulated before we proceed with action. Therefore, living in a critical time requires us to think differently. I continued to write: "I knew a few things about the process of critical thinking, but the Lord intended to take me to new depths. Through the years, I have learned that if you want to teach children to think critically, you do not give them the answers; rather, you give them the questions. When the Lord visited me in my office that day, it was as if I were downloading a file full of questions. They came quickly and in abundance. I wrote as quickly as He impressed them upon me. However, I did not give an answer to any of His questions. I just received them .113

Here are some questions that will help you evaluate how you are doing in the new:

Is the situation or circumstance you find yourself in causing you to question God's heart and love toward you and making you resist your new beginning?

Is the enemy using your reaction to stop you from moving into God's best?

Are you kicking against the "pricks" and attempting to move in a way that Holy Spirit is developing checks in your spirit? Are situations or circumstances creating roadblocks to stop you from entering into a wrong "new" beginning?

Is the situation or circumstance that is happening in your life initiating a chain of events leading to a new beginning? Sometimes one event in your life is a catalyst for many other things. Perhaps you have not seen the end of the thing that has begun to get you to your new place!

Is your situation or circumstance creating an offense that keeps you from advancing?

HELPING You BECOME NEW

Certain things need to end so you can see your beginning. We must let go of things in our bloodline that are contrary to God's plan. During our life, certain people die, and the finality of their relationship with us causes a season to end. Honor those who have gone before you. Honor your father and mother so that you might prosper and live long. Then there are new births that represent new seasons. In the Word of God a great study is how someone's birth creates the next season of freedom and hope for a people. Obed's birth to Ruth and Boaz opened the way for David to be king. I love studying how Hannah brought forth Samuel. This produced a new thing in all of Israel. You will read more about these births in the chapters ahead. Each has its own story of redemption.

Ask the Lord how the blessings of the generations in your bloodline are connected. Generations must connect new and fresh as we forward the inheritance of the Lord from one season to another. Each generation must submit to gain the revelation necessary to "possess the gates of your enemy." This is a season to connect generationally! This will produce a sustaining inheritance in the Lord. Our generations possess the gates. Ask the Lord to roll up all the blessings of your generational bloodline that have never manifested and cause those blessings to begin to manifest and align from generation to generation. This is a time of manifestation!

Ask for grace to get you past the grief of the past season. Grief can create a mountain that can block and prevent you from entering a new season.

Pray with a new dimension of faith. In John 14:14 we read these words: "Ask anything in My name, I will do it." Stop what you are doing, and celebrate over these verses. This is a time to go beyond your last faith level! We must see a manifestation of the Lord and His glory in our midst so we can see our future. To manifest means "to reveal or cause something to shine or illuminate." The Lord is saying, "I will cause your way to shine!" Rejoice each day as you speak this word forth into your atmosphere. Read this verse from John 14 three times a day. Stay available to the implications of the Word! Don't stop at your last blessing, but keep looking for new manifestations of God's blessings in your life. Break any mindset that says, "This is all there is ... I cannot see the Lord blessing me in new ways!" Also, don't think that you are the only source to produce your "more" This is actually a works mentality that is rooted in poverty.

Watch for a new bud to come forth that represents the change in a season! In Matthew 24:32-36 we see what the fig tree teaches. How will what has dried up and not blossomed in the past begin to bear new fruit in your life? Press into the blossoming that will produce the fruit and the oil for your future. On a sheet of paper, list what you wish to see blossom in your life. Review what has dried up, and ask the Lord to show you a new bud.

Review shelved projects. There are things that God initiated and you began but did not complete. The warfare became so intense that the project was shelved. Ask the Lord to blow the dust from these projects, and then review them again. Read Isaiah 35 and Haggai 2. Be willing to be shaken and pressed so the latter glory will be greater than the former. Feel the weight and pressing of His glory that will produce the oil for your future.

Fast ten days. Separate yourself in your present structure. Remember that Daniel and his friends ate vegetables. They were healthy, and their faces radiated! There are many ways to fast. Let the Lord choose your fast at times (Isa. 58). You must shift in certain patterns or else these patterns will remain with you the rest of the season ahead. Be willing to change so you are not captured in an old, familiar place. Let God tell you the one thing you need to do. I was with one of my children's friends and noticed that he had lost weight. He said that he lost thirty pounds by not drinking soft drinks or eating fast food for the last three months. Don't get in bondage-just ask the Lord to shift your appetite. It's not really about eating; it's about your appetite and faith! Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you! Lay your hands on your stomach, and decree healing for your digestive system. Also, declare that the body of Christ will be able to digest new revelation. Ask the Lord to allow you to spiritually digest what you could not in the past season.

Receive a new anointing. Read Psalm 92. Declare that a new anointing will begin to manifest in you. Trust for an anointing to come forth that will overthrow all old structures that have stopped you in the past. Memorize and meditate on Isaiah 10:27.

May the Word of God come alive in you in a new way. Receive a spirit of revelation. I decree that this is just a beginning of new manifestations in your life. You will see many things happen. May you see new prosperity, digest new revelation, and receive a new anointing.

THE SEASON HAS CHANGED

In every new season, we must embrace change. A season is linked with a cycle. A cycle is an interval during which a recurring sequence of events happens. They are repeated and executed periodically. Not only are cycles linked with a yearly occurrence or change in the atmosphere, but they can also be a time frame that creates freedom or captivity from generation to generation.

We must learn to relate to the seasons of the year and the season of our lives. Our senses of sight, feeling, hearing, smell, and taste need to become very aware of the season we are in. We adapt to each changing season we encounter in life. We must learn by the Spirit when to be dormant and when to bud forth. There are predators that we must be aware of in each season. We must learn to dress appropriately in each season. This is a natural process as well as a spiritual learning process.

Sometimes we get in such a rut and routine in our worship and become so familiar with our structure of gatherings in that place we call church that we lose the ability to adapt and change in the midst of God's changing times. Church means "a gathering." How are you gathering this season? I am so honored to be able to travel all over this nation and throughout the world and watch the Lord's people gather. Personally, I cannot think of anything I would rather do than gather with God's people. The ecclesia gathers for fellowship. We fellowship around His sufferings, and we glory in what we saints are experiencing. We share our hurts and triumphs.

However, many of our gatherings during this season are changing. We are not gathering just to bless, dress each other's wounds, hear stories, and be taught principles. Rather, we gather to gain a strategy for war. We are a people, a corporate group, that has the ability to bind and loose.

We are raised up this season to enter the kingdom clashes that are rising throughout the earth. There is a covenant war in the earth realm. Who will rule, and how will they steward the earth and its resources? In the midst of this kingdom war, there is a rearrangement of power and a realignment of nations. Kingdoms will shift based upon the keys we receive to unlock Father's will in the earth.

In the next chapter, we will review the process of time and how our Father can redeem time in our lives because the days are evil.

CHAPTER 3

A TRIUMPHANT RESERVE

UNDERSTANDS HOW TO

REDEEM THE TIME

EVERAL YEARS AGO we developed our Issachar School. We named the school after the tribe of Israelites who knew how to move into the new. They were a tribe that understood times and seasons. (See 1 Chronicles 12:32.) I knew that part of the training the body of Christ needed was to be able to tell time in the Spirit. This is one of the most extraordinary schools in the Christian world. The school has a "one new man mind-set"-Jew and Gentile becoming one, with teaching from a Hebraic perspective.

The Hebraic concept of time is different from the way we think in the Western world. Hebrews equate the passage of time as the life cycle. The Hebrews saw man as participating in two time dimensions. One age of time was temporal: we have been placed in nature, and we interact with the laws of science around us. The other dimension of time is an age to come:

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of 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.

-1 CORINTHIANS 2:6-8

God has stored up wisdom for a time such as this. We can gain wisdom that no enemy of hell has access to. From a Hebraic mindset, events that occurred throughout life created smaller cycles of review in a bigger picture of life. When all of these smaller, temporal cycles were summed up, the finite age was determined. We are living in a year of summing up. We are not just living from year to year. When you look at the season as a whole, you see the Lord doing something in our generation. He is preparing us to move more quickly and advance in His kingdom purpose in days ahead.

I have tried to present that tribe of Issachar well in the earth today. I have a heart for God's children to know the times we are living in and what we should do to ready ourselves to advance in the earth. Issachar fully understood the long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. Issachar knew how to intercede, or bear the burden, so the people could be influenced to shift properly. Issachar knew how to open up wages necessary for kingdom advancement in the future. Issachar was positioned between Judah, the war and praise tribe, and Zebulon, the wealth tribe. Without understanding time, you cannot move in victory from war to war.

A SEASON OF WAR!

Many times the shifts we make are not our willful choices but result from the wars of the season. We would have loved to see something go one way, but atmospheric conflicts, conflicts of opinions, conflicts of philosophies, and conflicts of emotions caused them to go a different direction. James said that we war because we have cravings and desires in us that cannot be satisfied. Many times these desires hold us in wilderness places. We were meant to cross over into prosperity, but we chose to have our way instead of submitting to the will of God in a situation. The Book of James describes this struggle:

What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask.... [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.

-JAMES 4:1-3, AMP

WAR IS A CONFLICT ROOTED IN SELF-DESIRE

Our desires can be dangerous. If they are not submitted to the Spirit of God, an evil spirit will influence us to move out of time and attempt to possess something that God has not given us. Desire is a function of emotion; emotion is linked with feeling. Conflicts in our emotions can create war within us and in the earth around us. This conflict can be individual, territorial, national, or international.

The major war is not nation against nation but covenant against covenant. Will God's covenant be the ruling force in your heart, city, region, state, or nation? There will always be wars and rumors of wars. How we perceive warfare around us and walk in war is key as we move from season to season.

In the last several years, we have seen great changes in the rule of the world and changes in governmental and economic structures. What happened on September 11, 2001, caused the world to enter a great time of realignment and awakening. I am referring to the terrorist attacks that occurred in this nation and the World Trade Center towers falling as terrorists used our own national air industry against the structure representing business, power, and finance in the United States. Airports changed. Security systems changed. An economic structure changed. Nations went to war. But the world became more aware of the rising conflict of covenants in the earth.

TIMING IN WAR

Even in a war season, God's army has different rules by which we must play. They must understand time, timing, and God-given missions that lead to triumph. Each year, I attempt to seek the Lord to gain revelation that causes us to better perceive what the voice of God would love to speak through His people. We are His voice in the earth in every generation and must remain His voice crying in the wilderness. Our decrees open the way for the Lord to come into our season. Once we decree a thing, we then watch to see God's will manifest.

Revelation builds! Revelation overcomes the gates of hell! Revelation gives us the keys to the kingdom. Because I could foresee the war season ahead before the manifestation of war actually came into the earth, I wrote The Future War of the Church to help God's people get prepared with the mind-set of the season.' This book has chapters relating to how to prepare for war, foundations for future victory, the third-day church arising, dethroning thrones of iniquity, the transference of wealth, how to defeat lawlessness and bring God's order in the earth realm, the modern-day "ites," and women arising.

When I wrote this book, I received much flack against what it was saying. Then 9/11 happened! The premise of the book was that at the end of seven years, the Lord would form a new wineskin for the His triumphant saints. This book was written and released in May 2001-before the World Trade Center tragedy in September 2001. This season is very real to most of us now and actually is historical in a sense. We are now pressing in to the next season. The new wineskin of the church should now be formed to express victory in the next season.

GOD HAS A TRIUMPHANT RESERVE

Time produces champions. To triumph means "to celebrate and rejoice with victory and jubilation." Triumph indicates that an advantage has been gained over the enemy. Success has been granted through a supernatural grace that has been released. Think of the time when David triumphantly brought in the ark. The jubilation was incredible. David danced! He lost himself in worship because the Lord had returned the ark of His presence to the place of victory.

When an official entered the city, he was crowned with laurel or gold and usually rode on a chariot drawn by two white horses. He was often followed by the captives from his victories, which might have been defeated kings, princes, or generals who had the chains of triumph around them. Psalm 149 (AMP) says:

Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, praise Him in the assembly of His saints!

Let Israel rejoice in Him, their Maker; let Zion's children triumph and be joyful in their King!

Let them praise His name in chorus and choir and with the [single or group] dance; let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre!

For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation and adorn the wretched with victory.

Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a twoedged sword in their hands,

To wreak vengeance upon the nations and chastisement upon the peoples,

To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron,

To execute upon them the judgment written. He [the Lord] is the honor of all His saints. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

I am a worshiper. The powers of worship and sound set new order in the earth, which is why this passage is so important. How we release sound in the earth binds the enemies with whom we are in conflict. The next book in this series will be Worshiping in Time: Bringing the Pattern of Sound From Heaven Into Our Atmosphere. High praises in high places can bring us into triumph in the earth.

THE RESERVE-THE VISION

On May 31, 2008, the Lord showed me His triumphant reserve. He raised me and showed me the nation of the United States of America. First, He revealed His remnant and where they were positioned. Next, He showed me their strength from state to state to state. He showed me how many were moving over into the enemy's camp of religion. He showed me how others were aligning around race and gender as opposed to mission call and gifting.

Then He showed me high places. These were altars that had been built by the enemy and positioned strategically throughout the land. I saw how the sacrifices on these altars were empowering and keeping an atmosphere held captive by ruling hosts. Next, the Lord showed me the atmosphere. In this vision, He showed me different layers of the atmosphere in relationship to His presence versus the demonic spiritual rule in that particular area or region. (Some areas have already been taken over, and darkness actually rules those areas.) There were ten ruling centers already developed within the United States. Then He showed me the communication systems between these centers. I saw how one sacrifice empowered one dimension of an evil presence, and then that presence would communicate to another center as together they networked their plan of control. (I could go into great detail here, but I will wait for another time to do this. As a matter of fact, I believe it would be unwise to share everything I saw. In the next book when we are dealing with worship, perhaps I will share more.)

The Lord also showed me covenant roots. He actually showed me the level of nurturing that was still grafted to His covenant root, which He had developed from Abraham's obedience. He showed me how this nation had first been nurtured by that root, but now lifelines from the root system had withered. Actually, some of the lifelines in parts of this nation had dried up, and the root system of that part of the nation had changed, allowing a different root structure to be formed.

He then showed me our conflict between the root systems. These conflicts in the next several years would determine what sort of fruit would be brought forth in this nation. He showed me that the conflicts would multiply and intensify. I actually saw orchards of contention. The interesting portion of this vision was that different people groups in each orchard created a different type of fruit than had been tasted of in past seasons. The only thing I could relate to biblically was the church that came out of Antioch. The Antioch church was an international church that came about for kingdom advancement for that season in history.

Next, He showed me how the communication system in the United States was linked with systems internationally and how a new form of global communications was forming in the demonic world. This communication would control financial and legal structures.

However, He showed me that His remnant was building new freedom outposts. He called this remnant His "triumphant reserve." I saw twenty-three freedom outposts in twenty-three states. He then showed me other outposts that needed to form in some places, and still others where the spiritual atmosphere was now not conducive to freedom. A new type of war would have to develop to regain that portion of the land. He actually showed me how prayer strategies from the last season would be of no affect in this season. Nazareth and Capernaum are good examples of this in Jesus's day. I also thought of how the Lord told the disciples, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21).

He then showed me new calls being extended from heaven and angels bringing those calls into the earth. The intercession and travail of today are opening the gates of heaven for these calls to come to the appropriate individuals who will lead in this hour. Next, He showed me His new leadership. This was a leadership of not just the young generation but also realigned generations. It was as if David's mighty army for this hour was being chosen in a threefold generational alignment. When they aligned, their hearts became one with His, and the strength to overcome was released. God has deposited revelation and vision within you that will be called up for such a time as this.

FOLLOW THE PATTERN FROM HEAVEN, NOT THE BLUEPRINT OF HELL

We must express in Earth what heaven is expressing. Heaven holds the pattern of the Creator. We must ascend to the throne to find the pattern for today. Yes, we have a very good road map and the best manual ever written. However, we must find out how to apply it in this age. In other words, how does the revelation apply today in this age of communication and mobilization? This becomes one driving issue of why we seek a God in heaven who knows all and has created all. He has a pattern to follow today.

Hell has a blueprint. This blueprint has stamped upon it, "Belonging to the world." Romans 12:2 (AMP) says:

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

Satan is the god of this world, and he loves to conform each of us to the world in this age. We must stick our heads up through the clouds, fog of circumstance, and confusion around us to see the Lord and heaven's blueprint. There are times when we must not be practical, but we must hear the Lord's voice in the midst of a changing environment around us. We must not lean on our own understanding, for this will manifest in a lack of trust. We must put aside mistrust and our trust in horses, chariots, and the flesh, and move forward in a new place of faith, which overcomes. Through revelation we build. We will receive the keys to the kingdom, unlock kingdoms on the earth, and build the reflection of heaven for this age. Once we start building, we must gain momentum and keep building.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MOVING FORWARD

Kingdom life in the earth realm was used to help individuals understand the kingdom of God. There are two terms throughout the Bible that we must embrace and understand: "the kingdom of God," and "the kingdom of heaven." Anyone who willingly subjects himself or herself to the sovereign rule of a holy God is aligned with kingdom principles.

The kingdom of heaven represents the rule that God asserts on the earth at any given period in time. This is what links kingdom understanding to time. John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles all announced that the kingdom of God was "at hand." As a matter of fact, the Lord said, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). If this is so, then when the King moves, we must move with Him.

The manifested rule of God on the earth is ever maturing. The kingdom of God represents God's rule in the earth realm. The King is moving us from just going to church to understanding His kingdom in our territory. He is bringing us into a place of dominion, occupation, and ruling with Him in the spheres and places He has assigned us. Jesus taught so much on the kingdom. The kingdom is good news! Kingdom life was proclaimed throughout the three years that we have record of Jesus ministering in the earth realm with His mediational authority.

The kingdom is not based on needs: "For the poor you have with you always" (John 12:8). We must have compassion for the poor but not allow the needs of the poor to be our only motivating desire in ministry. Jesus gave us a responsibility to work with the poor, orphans, and widows, but on the other hand, He also showed us the necessity to worship Him lavishly as Mary did in Luke 10.

The kingdom cannot be controlled by civil government. Through the ages, civil government has made attempts to govern and rule God's government in the earth. However, the kingdom is not based on worldly patterns.

Another important fact that we must all recognize is that we cannot comprehend the kingdom with our natural minds. The mind is at enmity with God and longs to be conformed to the world around it. However, as we renew our minds, we break out of worldly conformity and move into seeing kingdom life in the midst of the societal structures that are molding us.

The kingdom cannot be obtained by ambition. The exciting thing about the kingdom is that it cannot be postponed! The kingdom is filled with power. Over these last two decades we have seen a kingdom government beginning to arise for the next season of God in the earth realm. A kingdom people understand kingdom grace. God has appointed kingdom administrators for every age. We find those gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11-14. The kingdom is ruled by grace and love, not by rules, regulations, and laws.

WE ARE MOVING FROM GLORY TO GLORY

You are being positioned to make a transition into the next realm of glory. The previous two Hebraic years (5766 and 5767) actually came together to form the momentum for 5768-the two symbols of vav (6) and zayin (7) came together to form the symbol for chet (8). In other words, the staking your claim and the sword with a crown actually joined together to produce your new beginning. You began something new! Even if you refused to shift into a visible, new dimension, your last present state became your new state. God would have met you where you were and caused you to start new if you had yielded. Even now you can catch up quickly and gain momentum even if you had previously resisted change! But if you did not yield to Him, your new place would be your old cycle with the old structures reinforced seven times over. The number eight (8) is always linked with new beginnings! This Hebrew word is linked with life and being hot. The Hebraic year 5768 was a time to choose to be hot, filled with passion, so our future would be conceived.

There are eight key issues, which we embraced in the Hebraic year 5768 and in which we will continue to mature.

1. There would be a manifestation! There would be a physical manifestation of what you had been watching and waiting to see.

2. You could supernaturally transcend your limitations and begin your new era.

3. The land and the heavens aligned to create a new divine presence in your atmosphere.

4. Dominion was a key word. You could rule where you had been positioned; you would rule or watch the wild beasts gain ground in your land.

5. You could access His great authority over your enemies. The nations against you could be driven out of your land. All squatters should have been forced from your inheritance or they gained squatters' rights, and their encroachment would remain another season. Land is equated to the state of our mind. Therefore, 5768 was a year to transform the mind so we had a new victory mentality in the war season we are presently living in.

6. `Animal impulses" could be subdued. You could find your place of deliverance and not let any wild beast enter your highway. This was a time to have been aggressive to overthrow all poverty mentality. "A lion is on the road; I will hide myself," should not have been your theme. The year was a time to stand firm and face any transgression so you could move down your path. Isaiah 35 was a key for us in 5768.

7. Angels were there to assist you in special ways. God forms His covenant with us to advance us into our future destiny. This applies to families, regions, and nations. If we had forgotten and rejected His covenant in areas, that did not need be a part of our future; there was an opportunity to return and review our covenant roots and realign.

8. You could fasten yourself to the Lord. You did not have to let the enemy's hook drag you off the stage of your future. The year 5768 was a time to break your orphan spirit and return to a place of innocence. The secret place called you forth. Remain in the secret place so you can be sent forth on key missions.

SIMPLIFY, AND BE READY TO MOVE QUICKLY

Clutter in your life, job, mission, and family can slow you down in such a way that when the Lord says, "Come," you hesitate or think you are too overloaded to move.

One morning, I left the house early and went to my office to seek the Lord. While I was meditating on where we had come from since September 2001 and the year of seven, while also looking at various biblical words linked with the number eight (8), my wife, Pam, called to share a dream. This is the dream she shared:

I woke up slowly this morning to the sound of singing birds, and it was as though I was walking through a curtain that divided the dream world from the waking world. As I lay there, I began remembering my dream: I was with a group of travelers, none of whom I recognized, but I knew they were important to me. We were told we had to take a trip, but we had no luggage, tickets, or itinerary. We were standing in a hallway similar to one you might see in an airport, waiting for our departure. Suddenly, this strong wind began to blow down the hallway (wind tunnel) and push us toward the open end of the corridor. As we got closer to the end of the corridor, some kind of portal opened up, but it wasn't like what you see in the science-fiction show Stargate. The light was warm, and as we entered the portal area, we were disembodied and transported to another place. Strangely, the other place didn't look any different than the place we had just been. However, it was not the same place. We were inside a building made mostly of glass (like the Pennzoil Place in Houston, Texas).

We all knew we had to fly to get where we needed to go. Well, none of us knew how to fly, but we just took off and started flying around the lobby. The people in the lobby were amazed and started reaching for us, saying they wanted to fly too. We knew we needed more momentum to get where we needed to be, so we landed softly, turned around, and got a running start before launching ourselves from a mini-trampoline in the cafe area of the lobby. Instantly we were outside the building in a country setting, and we knew our mission: rescue a captive in the nearby village and bring him/her back with us.

The mission itself is still vague, but I remember what happened when we were ready to return. One of the villagers wanted to go with us but knew it wasn't possible, so he gave each of us a tiny jewel case. Mine was a small, gold case encrusted with pearls. Inside the case were bits and pieces of broken jewelry-pearls, gold beads, and crystals. Each case had a word on it. The word on the outside of mine was simplify. We thanked the one who gave us the gifts and then turned to launch back into the sky for the return trip. That's when the birds woke me up.

GAIN MOMENTUM

The Hebraic year 5768 not only began a fresh season in your life but also was a time when the body of Christ gained momentum. An object with momentum is difficult to stop. To stop such an object, it is necessary to apply a force against its motion for a given period of time. The more momentum an object has, the less likely it is to stop its forward motion. Thus, it would require a greater amount of force or a longer amount of time (or both) to bring an object with more momentum to a halt. As the force acts upon the object for a given amount of time, the object's velocity is changed. When a force acts for a given amount of time, the momentum of the object acted upon changes. If the force acts opposite of the object's motion, it slows the object down. If a force acts in the same direction as the object's motion, then the force speeds the object up. Either way, a force will change the velocity of an object. The year 5768 was a year when forces vied for momentum. God moved on us and looked to see how we would respond to Him.

The enemy forces that we have not resisted moved with force to slow down a kingdom that is advancing in the earth realm. We must bind the strongman's operation and gain access to the spoils. We must not allow the voices of fear, unbelief, and doubt to stop us from advancing. We must start moving, as the children of Israel did when they left Egypt, and keep moving until we reach the manifested promise for this generation.

UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF IMPULSE

In physics, force, when multiplied by time, equals the mass multiplied by the change in velocity. This is known as impulse. Impulse is one body, individual, or kingdom working against another. Impulse is the effect of force being communicated. This results in motion. Once things get in motion, they are hard to stop. The body of Christ must continue advancing with great momentum in the year ahead.

Impulse can also be negative. We must know what is driving us. The Holy Spirit must be preeminent in our lives. The year of 5768/2008 was a year where we were driven to accomplish our desires. This was a year when supernatural power had access to mankind. We must stay under the influence of Holy Spirit or else other spirits will drive us to agree with the plans of darkness in the earth.

The violent are taking the kingdom of heaven by force. In the last seven years certain changes have occurred in the earth that have created motion that cannot be stopped. The kingdom of darkness must give way to the kingdom of God, which is advancing with new strength. The supernatural power of God being released on His people is creating much motion and change in the earth.

We are under the impulsion, or driving force, of a King who wants to see change in the world today. We must gain momentum now. As we learn to move in our proper spheres of authority in the earth realm, we will harness God's power and then release that power. The year ahead will be a transforming year for God's people. Once we are transformed, we will see cities, regions, and nations changed. Harvest fields that are ripe will be entered with great enthusiasm. Do not let carnal impulses guide you!

God will visit you in time. Be expectant to watch for His coming visitation in your life. We are a people on the move. God has a kingdom that is within us. The kingdom of God is advancing. We are moving from fellowship into war. We are moving from praise to jubilation as we see a manifestation of His promises in our life cycle. This is a time of transcending and taking back what has been held in captivity. Remember Pam's word, simplify, which will enable you to go back and forth with ease until the new is established.

To summarize, this will be a time to go through the eye of a needle! Remove all, and get through your narrow place and into the new.

CAN TIME BE CHANGED?

My life is filled with travel. I have been gone as many as twentyfour days in one month. I have had international assignments to visit as many as seven nations in nine days. Think about the stress of travel. With airline travel getting more and more tedious, many times people who know me look at my schedule and make the suggestion for me to get my own jet. However, some look at the places I have to be and how much time I have to get there, and simply say, "Perhaps this is the time for you to be transported like Philip in the Bible [Acts 8:38-40]. Or better yet, wouldn't life be easier for you if you could just defy time and be transported through the portals of space into the place you need to be?"

What is it about time travel that we find so intriguing? Why are so many fantasy and science-fiction stories driven by the concept of traveling backward and forward in time? Is it our insatiable curiosity about the past, our fear about the future, or the deeply spiritual desire to go back into our own lives and get a do-over? How do we defy the consequences of past mistakes and still have a future? Usually our greatest concern is how to just pick ourselves up, shake off the dust, and keep moving forward. But how do we redeem time? Let me restate my first question: What is it about time that so occupies our life?

Do WE JUST NOT UNDERSTAND TIME?

Sometimes I think that we do not really understand this concept of time. We act as if we will not ever have another day, or we act is if we have all the time in the world.

I never read the Bible with the thought that it is just a history book, for it is a living person who is communicating to me on how to live today. The Bible is not a book of history; it is a living organism where time and thought, act and content, author and teaching are profoundly related to each other and to us today.

We will be discussing time from God's perspective. I am hoping that many of you have read Interpreting the Times. That book helps in developing an understanding of time. In it I also discuss how faith is always a now understanding and how it's very important to learn how to step into time. One of my favorite chapters in that book is called "Fear Not! Developing Faith for Your Future." I also enjoy the understanding that is presented in the chapter on how to make it through narrow transitions and how to shift fully into the future that awaits you.

The Bible is used to bring dimensions of wisdom and revelation from the realm of the spiritual Creator into our tangible environment. This is a great mystery: the heavens can manifest in the earth.

Through the Word, God and man meet. Events, principles, and spiritual lines from the mouth of the God of the universe are what measure and weigh all of earth's activities. Then, our emotions and response in time to the boundaries that have been framed by the Word of God around us set the course of our destiny to manifest in the earth realm.

God spoke through the events in history. He intervened with people, places, things, nature, and events in the earth. He watched to see how mankind would respond to Him in their circumstances. He was the redeemer of a people who cried out while in slavery. He was the revealer of truth and law, manifesting Himself in the events of history. He chose to not just reveal Himself in things, places, or creation, but also to come into a relational communion with people from generation to generation. Is He the same as yesterday? Is He the same today as in the events of history? Will He be the same tomorrow as we look at a chaotic world and forecast events?

The covenant relationship that I have chosen to form is with a God who came into the earth and taught a people, the Hebrews, to worship. This covenant that He cut was expressed with the people whom He made into a nation called Israel. He pursued this nation and people like a husband pursues a bride. He attempted to form Israel's perspective of worship and religious thought around His creative being. He intervened in moments of time with them. When they responded, they gained momentum in His purpose of becoming His inheritance, or firstfruit nation in the earth. When they resisted His intervention, they went astray from His purposes and lost perspective of their future. He taught them divine justice and gave them a law structure to protect them so the boundaries of their portion could be attained. He displayed His compassion, love, and jealousy toward them. They experienced His great love when they sought Him. They experienced the consequence of His jealous heart and love over them when they strayed and backslid.

When this nation chose not to respond to Him wholeheartedly, He then went to the other nations of the earth, the Gentiles. He is a God of love who can be felt, sensed, and embraced in time whether we are seeking Him or straying from Him. He is the God who delivers us from bondage by entering time. He has put deep within our hearts the idea of liberty. He gives us strategies to leave a place of captivity and enter His glorious riches in heavenly places. We can experience His presence in the earth. He has now made Himself known to both Jew and Gentile.

Our events in time are inseparable from the Creator of time. The Spirit of God manifests itself through God's presence in history through each age. The acts of His manifestation are verified, justified, and recorded through our basic thoughts and reactions toward Him. Our responses by faith to His interventions in our life are what understanding His times and seasons is all about. When we do not respond, we miss His timing.

So, to answer the question, Is He the same today? YES! I declare that you will respond accordingly in your actions, reactions, and advancements in the earth to a holy God. He redeemed us through His blood and the person and sacrifice of His Son. His Spirit dwells mightily in the earth realm to comfort, teach, and direct us.

You have been given a time and a season to live and respond to this incredible God of all gods. Learn to do this by faith and action in time. The Creator is the God of truth, goodness, and beauty. He is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! They were people like us. They were not philosophers with ideas but followers with passion as we have passion. They do not just represent a type of thought or expression, but they were men striving to learn to worship the One who would reveal Himself to them.

Abraham, God's covenant man, was a man with a family. When he received his call from the Lord, he was already married to Sarah. She was a person who would have to walk through her own experiences. Sarah had to learn for herself why she was following a man who had been called by a God to leave one place and go to another. God Himself had to meet with her as well as with Abraham. She had to reconcile why she had joined covenant with him who had now made covenant with God. She had to hear God herself and receive her own promise from Him. When God spoke to her, she laughed. That did not stop God from forming relationship with her or stop Sarah from becoming the first woman of faith mentioned in the faith chapter, Hebrews 11. We each must have that divine intervention from the God who created us.

You must answer these questions today: Why are you following? Whom are you in covenant with? Whom are they in covenant with? How will this affect your decisions and reactions and the times you have been given to secure your destiny in the earth? The life of the one who joins in covenant with someone continues the life of that person and extends the covenant from generation to generation. "For the present is not apart from the past. Abraham is still standing before God (Gen. 18:22). Abraham endures forever. We are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob."2 So, to answer the question, Is God the same in the past and future? Yes!

WE ARE SO STRANGE, UNIQUE, AND PECULIAR

Just like Peter, we are unique and sometimes even strange. It would take me days if I tried to count how many times people have referred to me as strange. I like what the apostle Peter says:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

-1 PETER 2:9-10, KJV

I actually like the way the Complete Jewish Bible translates these verses: "But you are a chosen people, the King's cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (emphasis added). From this perspective, we are connected back to the covenant people called by the King of kings out of Egypt to become a nation to represent the King in the earth. (See Exodus 19:6.) This really displays us as a special people, made unique by Him to be used by Him to reveal Him to the earth realm from generation to generation.

Dutch Sheets says:

Jesus' statement in John 8:36 is powerful: We can be "free indeed." ... It's important that we agree upon what being truly free looks like. Christ wasn't talking about a partial freedom, nor was He suggesting a short-lived temporary liberty. He was speaking of a true, complete, and lasting freedom. The Greek word Jesus used for "indeed" is ontos, which means "really" or "actually." It denotes a real existence; in other words, it is reality. In one of its few New Testament occurrences, ontos is employed to describe the resurrection: the disciples announced, "The Lord has risen indeed!" (Luke 24:34, Esv). It wasn't just a spiritual resurrection, something occurring only in the invisible, heavenly realm-there was a literal, real, actual resurrection of Christ's body. The New Living Translation says, "The Lord has really risen!" He is risen in reality! The stone was rolled away from His tomb, and the risen Jesus stepped out as the conqueror of sin, death, weakness, and pain. Forever, really risen.'

Dutch goes on to say:

Who are we? Why do we do the things we do? Why does one part of us so desperately desire to change, to become more disciplined, to walk in freedom, while another part of our make-up sometimes (or often) trumps this desire? Why does it seem so easy for some believers to overcome, to walk in faith, to hear God's voice while others cannot? Is this because of strongholds; and if so, what are they exactly and how do they work? Bottom line: We can't fix something before we know how it's composed and how it functions. In order to be restored to all that God originally intended for us, we must understand how He made us.

Unfortunately, our purpose and understanding of ourselves have become self-defined rather than Goddefined. We've digressed in our relativistic society to a belief that there really is no problem, and if there is ... well, it's your problem, certainly not time. Make no mistake: The Lord perfectly understands "the problem," and He's made this clear to us through His written Word. He hasn't forgotten the severe break we suffered at the fall, and He also knows the importance of our coming to grips with that broken state.... Many lights will come on in your mind and heart as you begin to truly understand yourself.'

Peter, Paul, and John all knew how unique, peculiar, and special we were to become. They encouraged us to be a people with the spirit of revelation resting in our hearts. They also knew that we had to be aligned with the Revelator from generation to generation. To most of us the idea of revelation is unacceptable. We prefer to have things quantified, ordered, and handed to us rather than receive and develop new ideas or thoughts we never had before. In religion, that is why so much theology has been based upon the ceasing of the spirit of revelation upon God's people.

We are a very unique and unprecedented people with the ability to be very dangerous in our actions in the earth. We have the ability to move in time with unprecedented revealed knowledge from the heavenly realms and make the most of every opportunity presented to us on a daily basis. Our brains cannot fathom how unique and special we are. This is why Proverbs 3:5-10 says:

This has become my life scripture.

SCIENCE WANTS TO PREDICT

I would never begin to go into a big discourse on scientific versus creative knowledge. However, I will say that our training, especially in the Western world, is developed to explain all that happens as a manifestation of general law. We are taught to believe that every happening or event, especially every phenomenon, must be typed, classified, and categorized. The extraordinary is hard for us to grasp and accept because we are already classifying the supernatural and making it natural before we can process what God is doing. Our first thought in a circumstance is usually not, "God might be in our midst bringing change to our direction."

"We find it hard to believe that an event which does not happen all the time or from time to time should have happened only once."' Because of our thought processes, the enemy of God that has access to our carnal mind changes times and laws so that we are not capable of having correct predictions. This keeps us from overcoming and moving victoriously in God's kingdom plan in a destined season in the earth. (See Daniel 7.)

Yes, science predicts and must work from an event occurring over and over again until we develop the law of the occurrence. However, certain events do not happen again and again. They have been orchestrated by a God who knit us together, making us unique in our blueprint. The event in time occurred just for you. The intersection of God for your life came just for you! What was revealed or uncovered from obscurity becomes an event that sets the course of your life-and not just a knowledgeable fact. This event occurs at a unique moment in time and is used to define your choice of life. In the religious world, we have tried to stop the process of revelation in time that makes us very unique for "a time such as this," whereby we are used mightily by the Lord to bring change in the earth. (See Esther 4.)

THE Loss OF OUR UNIQUENESS PRODUCES BARRENNESS

My wife, Pam, and I both know barrenness. We were labeled as a "barren couple." (I will discuss more about the concept of wilderness later in this book.) However, we both knew that God had chosen us, and instead of being barren, we were special. Perhaps I knew I was more unique than she because I always thought outside of the box. In the late 1970s, when we were in leadership and attending a traditional church, the head deacon said to my wife during our Christmas banquet, "I really like your husband; I just wish he was normal!"

She promptly replied, "How do you know he is not, and we are the ones with the problem? Perhaps we have conformed so much that we have lost sight of what normal is! He has chosen to seek the Lord daily and obey what He says. That should be the norm."

Pam and I had to learn this to remove the "barren" label from our lives. We had to perceive and respond to the Lord when He entered our time and space in such a way that allowed Him to acknowledge our faith, change our identity, and make us fruitful. Yes, this made us strange to the world around us, but it extended our inheritance into the future.

Only when we lose the sense of our uniqueness do we become barren. The creative man is one who succeeds in capturing the exceptional and instantaneous before it becomes stagnant in his mind. In the language of creative thinking, whatever is alive is unique.

True revelation comes when we have an insight, and the recognition of that moment of perceived insight causes us to see our uniqueness and specialty in God. One young man who works with me in our worship ministry is Aaron Smith. If you have ever watched the Winnie the Pooh movies, you will get a better picture of him by visualizing the character Tigger. Talk about unique and bouncy! He is a true musician. He is melancholy at heart, up and down. However, he is one of the most creative people with whom I work. On his desk is a picture of an aardvark. Under the picture of this aardvark with a party hat on its head are the words, "Aaron knew he was no ordinary aardvark." We must know that we are not ordinary-we are unique.

We must move quickly to perceive a moment in time. If we do not perceive that divine intervention from our Creator and perceive the moment that He brings change into our atmosphere, the uniqueness of that moment will become similar with everything else that is already happening around us. This can cause us to lose our special moment. This is how familiarity works with and develops barrenness and conformity in our lives. This is what happened to the people of Nazareth (Matthew 13). They only saw the carpenter and could not perceive the Messiah in their midst when He returned to the city.

OH MY! WILL I MISS MY MOMENT?

I think the thing that nags most of us is this question, Will I miss it? Now, we can define it in many ways. I will define it as I move through the pages of this book and discuss the incredible concept of redeeming time. Much interaction occurs between God and man on a daily basis. Sometimes we are clueless, and we miss the moment. The event or intervention escapes us. We are too self-absorbed or preoccupied to see God in our atmosphere and how He is working in our lives.

With all the complexities of the world around us, any of us could end up like Martha of Bethany in Luke 10. Martha was preoccupied with work and too busy to sit and listen to what the Lord was teaching. Mary, on the other hand, dropped everything and seated herself at the Lord's feet. Martha even got angry because Mary would not assist her in serving. Martha was distracted by serving. The word distracted means "dragging around in circles." Martha even made a demand on the Lord to make Mary come "drag around in circles" with her. I like to insert my own name in the Lord's reply: "Chuck, Chuck, you are anxious and troubled about many things. There is need of only one ... Mary has chosen the good portion, that which is to her advantage which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42, author's paraphrase).

I try to recognize when my emotions mirror those of Martha's. Through the years, I have been learning to resist the power of anxiety that would overwhelm me, capture my imagination, and confuse me with a skewed reality of what is truly important.6

This book is about redeeming time-how we lose time by dragging around in circles, and then how we must buy back that time and accelerate into our future. We will fully examine this concept throughout the book, but let me go ahead and reference Ephesians 5:16 in the King James and Amplified versions of the Bible. The original Greek is translated with the words "redeeming the time" and "making the very most of the time-buying up each opportunity." Within this context, the words redeeming and buying up refer to an appropriate kairos time. We are instructed to utilize the time we have for certain designated actions because the opportunity may not return.

But what if we miss the designated time for a certain action?

Now, let's go back to time travel. Therein lies the appeal of experiencing time in a circular, rather than a linear, fashion. In other words, if we are moving in a circle of time, we can get back to a place where we made a bad mistake or missed an opportunity that had been presented to us. If we think linearly, then we are just on a highway that will end one day in our death, and there is no way to get back to "point C" once we are already at "point D." This is one reason we find the idea of time travel so attractive! Regardless of the fact that none of us has a literal time machine or can access a temporal vortex, the idea of going back in time to redeem a mistake or change a decision is still the theme of many books, movies, and daydreams. I think this is why I love the Bible so much. Revelation always moves forward, but God can go back and help me fix messes that I have moved on from that are still having consequences in my life.

In order to take advantage of spiritual time travel, the believer has to activate and involve his godly imagination. We will discuss this more in chapter on redeeming your heart (since the heart and mind are interchangeable in Hebrew thought). Even the Puritans recognized the value of the imagination when properly applied in the believer's life. In The Works of George Swinnock, the author has this to say about the imagination:

If thou wouldst exercise thyself to godliness in solitude, labour to spiritualise earthly things ... This is one of the most excellent and enriching arts in Christianity.... He that hath learned this mystery is the true chemist; he leaves the dregs and lees of things, and extracts the substance and quintessence of them.... The whole world is a great vast library, and every creature in it a several book, wherein he that runs may read the power, and goodness, and infinite perfections of its Maker.7

Richard Sibbes, a seventeenth century Puritan author, had this to say about the imagination:

We should make our fancy serviceable to us in spiritual things.... And seeing God hath condescended to represent heavenly things to us under earthly terms, we should follow God's dealings herein. God represents heaven to us under the terms of a banquet, and of a kingdom; our union with Christ under the term of a marriage.... Here is a large field for our imagination to walk in, not only without hurt, but with a great deal of spiritual gain.... A sanctified fancy will make every creature a ladder to heaven.... Whilst the soul is joined with the body, it hath not only a necessary but a holy use of imagination, and of sensible things whereupon our imagination worketh. What is the use of the sacraments but to help our souls by our senses, and our faith by imagination? As the soul receives much hurt from imagination, so it may have much good thereby.... But after God hath revealed spiritual truths, and faith hath apprehended them, then imagination hath use while the soul is joined with the body, to color divine truths, and make lightsome what faith believes.'

According to Sibbes, once the believer has acquired and internalized spiritual truths, the imagination is useful for experiencing those truths and increasing the believer's faith. This has been one of my life quests. I have a very active mind. While I have always felt this premise to be true, I never expected to find a Puritan author who stated the concept so eloquently! And even though the idea of time travel wasn't a theme in seventeenth-century literature, I would venture to say that Sibbes might have enjoyed it as much as we do. (I use we because it is something that my wife and I discuss frequently.)

In order to understand and perceive what the Lord is doing in our lives, not only must we know ourselves, as Dutch Sheets said, but we must also attempt to know God in His infinite greatness. If we are seeking to know the Creator who created us and not just looking at ourselves, we will begin to see Him not only in our lives but also in the lives of others around us. As you read through this book, ask God to unlock and expand your way of thinking. Tell Him that you do not wish to be narrow-minded but to experience His creative thoughts as you progress through the pages of this book.

A FAST-MOVING WORLD WITH LOTS OF MISTAKES TO BE MADE

What, then, is the benefit of imagining time travel, other than for the sheer entertainment? "Well, we live so fast nowadays!" This is not my statement; I remember my grandmother making this statement. I can actually remember sitting with my great grandmother and hearing her sing, "Take time to smell the flowers, for they will wither soon!" She was Native American, and she would sit, rock, and sing in both her native as well as American tongue. She would then say, "Slow down; smell the air!" Of course, I was not sure what either meant because I was constantly in motion. I remember telling my grandmother when I visited with her at church that I would love to hear God and know Him like the people in the stories in the Bible and the old lady who was sitting across the pew from us. She just looked at me and said, "If you would sit down long enough and get quiet, you might could get to know the Lord!"

I now know and understand better. Life is motion, but if we move too quickly or counteract the motion of His ordained life for us, we miss much of Him in our midst. I am glad I savored and remembered snippets of times in relationship with family members.

Time has limits. We can miss the interactions within the limits of time that we have been given and then lose sight of communion, perception, opportunities, windows of escape, and key covenant relationships. When we consider the limitations imposed upon us by time and space, traveling through time opens up another world of spiritual experience. Because God is not limited by time and space, and because He is the One who gave us our imaginations, there are no limitations other than the boundaries of revelation He sets upon us (Prov. 29:18). We can go back, redeem the time, see the past through eyes of faith, and appreciate every experience, whether good, bad, or ugly, because God does cause all things to "work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

In literature, the earliest use of time travel is found in a work by Samuel Madden, titled Memoirs of the Twentieth Century, published in 1733. In this story, a guardian angel travels to 1728 with letters from 1997 and 1998. The first example of human time travel doesn't occur until 1881, in Edward Page Mitchell's The Clock That Went Backward, in which a clock has the power to take people back in time. It wasn't until H. G. Wells published The Time Machine in 1895 that the general public was introduced to the concept of traveling through time by means of technology.

Although the novel The Time Machine revolves around a nameless time traveler who only travels into the future, the 2002 film version introduces a different element. This movie, which was directed by H. G. Wells's great-grandson, Simon Wells, takes place in 1899 in New York City instead of London. The protagonist is motivated to build a time machine by the untimely-and violent-death of his fiancee. After four years of reclusive effort, the time machine is ready, and the traveler goes back to the night on which his fiancee was killed. No matter how many times the traveler tries to change the outcome of his past, his fiancee still dies. In frustration, the traveler decides to travel forward in time to escape the pain of his past.

In the future, the traveler discovers that he was unable to alter the past because of a temporal paradox. The reason he constructed the time machine in the first place was to prevent the death of his fiancee. Since that one event was the motivation for the time machine's creation, he couldn't alter that event without eliminating the need for the machine. Once the traveler realizes he will never be able to change the past, he moves forward and creates a life for himself in the future.

This particular scenario is an excellent example of art (film) imitating truth. The events of our past, whether pleasant or unpleasant, shape our future. We don't all have idyllic childhoods or carefree youths. Many of us struggle over finances, education, relationships, and spiritual issues. Most of us would welcome the opportunity to travel back in time and change something so that the path to our current position in life wouldn't have been so difficult! And yet, if we could-and did-go back in time to change something, we might discover that we are no longer the person God wants us to be!

BE VERY CAREFUL

My wife's favorite Scripture passage is Ephesians 5:8-16:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

-EMPHASIS ADDED

To redeem means "to buy back or to be released from prison." So this scripture means to buy back or to be released from prison. This scripture is important to Pam because her past was very destructive. After living with alcoholic parents the first twelve years of her life, she was then adopted-a wonderful blessing. This began the "buying back" season of her life. You can read about many of her experiences in our book One Thing.

This is one of the functions of the power of salvation and deliverance: redeeming the past from the hand of the enemy so it is no longer a weapon against us. Dutch Sheets, a dear friend and Christian leader with whom I have spent many hours in ministry, says this about time: "Before we fell from grace in the garden, God had already decreed how He would fix our mistakes."

Revelation 13:8 says, "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." In other words, the Lord had already made provision for the mistake that man was to make. I don't think He wanted man to listen to the enemy and break communion with Him. However, I think He made a provision before the foundation of the world so that when we mess up in time, He can restore us back to His eternal plan. Dutch goes on to say in his teaching, "We can't ignore our history where mistakes occur, but we can connect from the present back to the past and then realign our future"9

God made a provision before the foundation of the world so that when we mess up in time, He can restore us back to His eternal plan. That is what this writing is about. That is why the book is dedicated to my wife. Once when she was teaching, she shared the following:

When I was a little girl heading outside to play, the words "be careful" always followed me out the door. Now, I realize that everyone's mother probably says the same thing, but my parents had good reason to tack that little bit of instruction to my exit. By the time I was nine years old, I had already collected over thirty stitches and a broken ankle from a life lived outside in southern California, not to mention the countless cuts, scrapes, and sunburns that didn't qualify for the emergency room. I'm sure my parents finally realized that their definition of "careful" was very different from mine. Our heavenly Father gives His children that same piece of advice in Ephesians 5:15 when He says to "be very careful" how we live, but somehow I think the Lord is interested in much more than our physical safety when He says those words.

Now Pam and I find us saying this constantly to our children. Since we had the "barren" label broken, we have six children and several grandchildren and find ourselves saying this at least five times a day. Only if the next two generations can understand the above version from Ephesians will we have fully succeeded as parents and mentors.

There are several approaches to defining any word. The most straightforward approach would be to go to the dictionary and read the entry for the word. Another approach would be to refer to a thesaurus and find the synonyms and antonyms for the word. When determining the definition of a word used in Scripture, finding other biblical references using the word can be helpful.

Webster's New World College Dictionary cites the following definition for careful: "cautious, wary, acting or working in a thoughtful, painstaking way." 10 Webster's also states that "careful implies close attention to or great concern for whatever is one's work or responsibility, and usually connotes thoroughness, a guarding against error or injury, etc.""

Now, look again at Ephesians 5:15: "Be very careful, then, how you live" (Niv). Based on Webster's definition, we are to pay close attention to how we live, show great concern for our lives, be thorough, and guard against error and injury. In other words, be meticulous, scrupulous, circumspect, cautious, prudent, discreet, and wary instead of careless, negligent, and lax.

The word careful used in Ephesians 5:15 is the Greek word akribos, meaning "accurately." According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, this word "expresses that accuracy which is the outcome of carefulness."" The same word is used in Luke 1:3, Matthew 2:8, and Acts 18:25, and it is translated in the New International Version as "carefully," "careful," and "accurately," respectively.

Not only are we to live carefully, but we are also further instructed to be wise, not unwise. If we return to Webster's, we discover that the word wise means "having or showing good judgment; sagacious; prudent; prompted by wisdom; judicious; sound."" Wise implies the ability to judge and deal with persons and situations and the like. Our actions are rightly based on a broad range of knowledge, experience, and understanding.

The Greek word translated as "wise" in Ephesians 5:15 is sophos, and is used when referring to "believers endowed with spiritual and practical wisdom." This is why Paul would pray for the Ephesians to have revelation and insight of who the Lord Jesus Christ was. They lived in a city that was controlled by human wisdom and supernatural forces contrary to the purposes and salvation of a holy God.

In order to live carefully, we have to cultivate wisdom in our lives. For the believer, this begins with the fear of the Lord. When we love and respect our Father, we are able to receive His Word without reservation. Mixed with understanding and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live carefully and wisely. From the fear of the Lord we can gain revelation. From revelation we can develop wisdom. From wisdom we can overcome the obstacles of the enemy that would trap us and stop us from advancing. We can choose to be wise, not unwise, because we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). We don't have to stumble around in the dark, wondering which path to take or what door to open, because "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:5-6).

After God's instruction to live carefully and wisely, we are then instructed to make the most of every opportunity. My wife reads the New International Version. I find myself in at least three other translations including the New King James and the New American Standard. They seem to use a more interesting word choice. The New King James Version of Ephesians 5:16 says, "redeeming the time," and the New American Standard Version says, "making the most of your time." All of them follow this phrase with, "because the days are evil."

REDEEM THE TIME

Let me expound on what I have written earlier. Webster defines the word redeem as follows: "to buy back; to get back; recover, as by paying a fee; to pay off (a mortgage or note); to convert (paper money) into gold or silver coin or bullion; to set free by paying a ransom; to deliver from sin and its penalties, as by a sacrifice made for the sinner; to fulfill (a promise or pledge); to make amends for or atone for.""

The Greek word translated "redeeming" in Ephesians 5:15 is exag- orazo. It means "to buy up for oneself ... buying up the opportunity." In this verse, the word time is the Greek word kairos, meaning a season or a time in which something is seasonable. The word also means "making the most of every opportunity, turning each to the best advantage since none can be recalled if missed."

We can look at the phrase "redeeming the time" from more than one angle. First, we can consider the idea of making the most of our time. This perspective sheds serious light on how we spend our time. Since we have all been guilty in the past of wasting time, the exhortation in Ephesians 5:16 is pretty clear: make wise use of your time! Most of us live as though we have all the time in the world, but the truth is that we all experience regret over wasted time and opportunity. For the believer, this means that our time is subject to the plans and purposes of our Father in heaven, who has a time for all things. (See Ecclesiastes 3.)

Another perspective on this portion of Ephesians 5:16 involves one of my wife's favorite topics. Again, let's touch back on time travel. Even as I write this, I am wondering if we are getting into a season where God is going to start accelerating how we move and how we are in Him (Acts 17:28). Pam is so practical, yet she is a serious science-fiction fan. You would think with my wild, creative expressions, I would be, but she is more than I. The concept of time travel is intriguing to me as well. In this case, however, I am not referring to the science-fiction version of time travel (although, I am open to the possibility). Instead, I am referring to the access we have to our past through the power of the Holy Spirit and the ability to set our course for the future. This is what makes us a prophetic, redeemed people.

Consider, for a moment, the fact that God is not subject to the limitations imposed on us by linear time. Let me remind you of what C. S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity when he wrote the following explanation concerning God and time:

Almost certainly God is not in Time. His life does not consist of moments following one another. If a million people are praying to Him at ten-thirty tonight, He need not listen to them all in that one little snippet which we call ten-thirty. Ten-thirty-and every other moment from the beginning of the world-is always the Present for Him. If you like to put it that way, He has all eternity in which to listen to the split second of prayer put up by a pilot as his plane crashes in flames.... All the days are "Now" for him. He does not remember you doing things yesterday; He simply sees you doing them, because, though you have lost yesterday, He has not. When we consider this characteristic of God, we realize that our Father has access to every moment in our lives from beginning to end as though they were the present. By the Holy Spirit, we can actually "buy back" those times in our past when we felt abandoned, abused, betrayed, fearful, etc. Not only can the believer be forgiven for the past, he can also travel back in time with God, see Him as a "very present help" in the past, and redeem those times from the past that the enemy wanted to use for evil."

The Holy Spirit actually sets our past in front of us today and says, "Let's deal with this now!" One of the functions of salvation is deliverance-redeeming the past from the hand of the enemy so it is no longer a weapon against us.

Thank God that Holy Spirit can move us from the present to the past and into the glimpse of our future. Redeeming the time refers to exercising wisdom as we recognize the times and seasons ordained by God for our lives. Vine's further clarifies the Greek word kairos this way: "The characteristics of a period are exemplified in the use of the term with regard, e.g., to harvest, Mt. 13:30; reaping, Ga. 6:9; punishment, Mt. 8:29; discharging duties, Lu. 12:42; opportunity for doing anything, whether good, e.g., Mt. 26:18; Ga. 6:10 ('opportunity'); Eph. 5:16; or evil, e.g., Re. 12:12; the fulfillment of prophecy, Lu. 1:20; Ac. 3:19; 1 Pe. 1:11; a time suitable for a purpose, Lu. 4:13"16

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." As believers, it is our responsibility to "see then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time." How should this knowledge change the way we live? Oswald Chambers said, "Remember, we have all the time there is. The majority of us waste time and want to encroach on eter- nity."17 This knowledge should impress upon us the need to carve out time from each day and allow the Holy Spirit to equip us for a life well lived.

CHAPTER 4

YOU CAN RESHAPE YOUR FUTURE

AND EVEN YOUR HISTORY

OCIETAL STRUCTURES ARE changing around the world. We must have revelation on how to interpret the times in the most incredible season of change that we have known. Every structure is changing. There are high levels of contention brewing throughout nations. This nation has made a clear move into its future. In the new, you hear the concept of revolution and revolutionaries being discussed daily. America was birthed on revolution and will see revolution again.

DOES MY VOTE REALLY COUNT?

The universe is usually beyond our grasp of thinking. Most of us wonder if our vote in a nation really counts. We seem so tiny when we compare ourselves to the many people in our nation who are choosing. However, your vote is linked with your conscience. You could look at yourself in the context of the whole and begin to believe "I am really nothing, so what does an act of my will really matter?" In East Texas lingo, this would be expressed, "What I do does not make a hill of beans or really affect the whole patch at all. So, I will just do what I want to do."

Our nothingness is an image that we have created in our own minds and has nothing to do with the way a holy God created us and knew us from before the foundation of the world.

You should be aware of your Creator and aware of yourself and your world influence. The view that a person is a nothing is an image in our own minds-an image we ourselves have constituted. The supreme power of God as the Creator makes us more than nothing! "God created man in His own image" (Gen. 1:27)-that is our Creator. If we look like Him and are made like Him, that overthrows any concept of our nothingness. Not only does your vote count, but also your life counts much more than a vote!

When we were in the political election of 2008, the two major parties in America seemed like the two women in the Bible arguing over one live baby. (See 1 Kings 3:16-28.) There are some who have righteous hearts for the Lord in each polarized party. Kingdom mobilizers must not throw all of their energies just toward a nation but must heed our Lord's warning about being aware of political structures. When we raise nationalism above God's kingdom plan, we have a danger of forming a mind and spirit like Judas. He had his agenda and an agenda for a nation, but he did not have a heart for the Lord's mission of redemption.

Nevertheless, we must remember: how we vote is how we will be visited. In the Greek, the word for visitation is linked not only with the concept of overseeing but also with casting a vote. People who live in a nation with a democratic process that forms how they are governed are allowed by a holy God who rules the earth to choose their future. We, like Israel of old, can demand a king and then wake up one morning and see that those whom we have chosen have now made choices for us that are detrimental to our future. There is always an opportunity for anyone to come into a relationship with a holy God and walk righteously. Leaders have to make the choice to take the plumb line of leadership that we give them to rule with, and they must use that authority to misalign and negatively affect the future of generations to come. In other words, delegated authority, if misused, can cause the future of many to become skewed.

As the Word of God says in 1 Samuel 8, the nation of Israel chose a king. In 1 Samuel 8:18, the Lord warned the people that if they chose a king who was not His choice, the following would happen: "You will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day." We can always make a choice that will be detrimental to our lives in days ahead. That is why God holds leaders more accountable. Therefore, the factor of time causes our true hearts to be seen and the consequences of our choices to manifest.

CHOOSE HIS WAY!

Our choices determine our future. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death"(Prov. 16:25, Esv). There is always grace for our mistakes. However, choices are different from mistakes. Our free will can oppose the creative power and perfect will of the Creator. The real danger comes when we make choices in the present that cause the Lord to turn His ear away from us when we cry out in the future. If you choose against His will, perhaps there will come a time in days ahead when you will need Him to intervene in your life. Your superimposed will over the will of God's will creates a change in your thinking process. We deceive ourselves, and deceit creates changes in relationships.

"Adam, where art thou?" The first effect of our wrong choices is our relationship with the Lord. He knows that we have broken communion with Him. Most importantly, our wrong choice affects our relationship with others. Pam and I used to read a book to our kids about what happens when trust is broken. The vitality of our conscience becomes weakened, darkened, and may finally become seared so we cannot find grace in our time of need. We not only have a hard time finding God, but we also lose our own self-worth. We need victory, but we sink in tragedy. "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness.... You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him" (1 John 3:4-6, Esv).

Kingdom people must do the will of God. We are a nation above other nations. So, even though we make bad decisions and wrong choices at times in our lives, whether it be over the leader of a nation, whom we associate with, how we steward the supply we have been given, the wrong partner we marry, or bad business decisions, God in His grace can give us a plan to reshape our future! However, our choices affect the portion that we have been given to steward in life.

WHAT IS MY PORTION?

I love to read different scriptures together. I find that at certain times in the author's life they express one angle, and at other times they add to the wisdom I have already been given because of a different situation I've faced in my life. Psalm 16 is a wonderful passage that allows us to understand that we each are given portions to oversee.

Keep and protect me, 0 God, for in You I have found refuge, and in You do I put my trust and hide myself. I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good beside or beyond You. As for the godly (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble, and the glorious, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied who choose another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take their names upon my lips. The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup; You hold and maintain my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage. I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety, for You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

-PSALM 16:1-11, AMP

This passage is requited in Acts as that people began to experience the promise of the Holy Spirit in full manifestation. This new level of fullness moved a generation forward in another time and place to mold history for those who would come in other ages and time. When we add the very special word from Psalm 73:26, 28, we gain a clearer understanding that we have a portion that has lines, boundaries, and a plan. This is our inheritance in this life and the life to come: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.... But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works" (Ps. 73:26, 28, AMP).

We each have a portion that we have been allotted. Our destiny has boundaries meant for multiplication, increase, and fullness. Our lot should reflect His fullness since He allowed us to be stewards of a portion of His wonderful creation. If we would always draw near to God, we could resist any foe threatening our portion and gain wisdom to dismantle the enemy's schemes to distort our lines and prosperity for generations to come. Satan's temptations are to keep us from multiplying and increasing in the portion that we have been allotted.

When you realize that you have been given a lot in life to steward over, you become aware of the honor that God has bestowed upon you. Take that lot or portion and use every inch to produce the fullness of the plan that has been built into your portion. That portion includes:

An allowance or ration of food or clothing (Gen. 14:24; Dan. 1:8-16)

One's family inheritance, the part of an estate received by an heir (Gen. 31:14; Luke 15:12)

A parcel of ground (2 Kings 9:10)

■ One's spiritual or religious heritage (2 Chron. 10:16)

One's personal relationship with the Lord (Ps. 119:57)

The judgment that is the lot of the wicked (Matt. 24:51)

An allotted amount to multiply so more can be given to you (Luke 19:11-27)

You have a portion. How you steward your portion in time is the key to your victory, testimony, and overcoming power in life.

You ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS!

Repeated attention we give to any one thing shapes us tremendously. Years ago, when I was eighteen years old, I chose to give my mind over to the Word of God. What we think about is what we act out. We are works in progress. Progress means to step or go. Another way of looking at this is that progress is the act of moving forward on a journey. You might have to go against the tide like a ship or move against an enemy like an army, but you keep going. Another idea linked with progress is growing or increasing, as in business. You can make progress in knowledge, intellect, or proficiency of negotiation over a treaty. The Christian makes progress in virtue, integrity, and growth in his or her relationship in knowing God. You make progress in securing and multiplying the portion that you have been allotted by the Lord! You make progress against the enemy's thought processes because you learn to capture your thoughts daily and bring them under subjection and in obedience to Christ. He then has you act and react the way He would in every situation where you submit your life to Him. Here are some questions that will help you determine your progress in your ability to think the way He thinks:

What stimuli in the world are changing your thinking process?

Are you developing new thought patterns?

Are you listening to your dreams?

Are you moving by faith and not by feeling?

Are you destroying secret fantasies and entering into reality?

Are you willing to enter the discipline of developing new skills?

Are you refusing the hurt from your memories of wounding and defeat?

Are those hurts overcoming your hope for the future?

Are you defeating the power of pain and experiencing a new release of joy?

Are you casting out all fear?

Are you detecting, renouncing, and breaking soul ties from wrong relational decisions in your past seasons?

When you review this list, you can grade yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. A score of 10 would be that you can answer a definite "YES" to the question! (Most of us will score around 7 because we are becoming and still have progress to make). If you score 70-80, you are progressing. If you score 50 to 69, you have progress to make in your emotions. If you score below 50, you need to regroup and ask the Lord to rebuild your thoughts and realign your emotions and get your mind stayed on Him or else you could find yourself going backward in days ahead.

We war with what I call faith robbers or confidence robbers. One of the greatest of these is loss that produces grief, which then sends us on a downward spiral that keeps us from boldly receiving the blessings meant for us. We can lose our portion if our faith is robbed when we incur loss. However, but God ... ! He can redeem our losses and make us see Him in a greater way than we could ever expect.

MOURN AND MOVE ON! PROGRESS PAST HOPE DEFERRED!

After the people's colossal choice of demanding a king and God giving them Saul, many problems arose. I could tell the whole story of 1 Samuel, but the real problem came because Saul loved Saul. He had his experiences with God and even experienced His Spirit and prophesied, but Saul loved Saul and always sought to do his will as opposed to doing God's will. Eventually, the Lord could not tolerate the disobedience to His covenant plan and people straying any further from His purposes, and He declared Saul's day was over. Even though Samuel knew all of Saul's shortcomings, failures, and rebellions, he still grieved at the end of their relationship.

When one season ends, we must process the end effectively or else we fail to move out of the ending time and never truly begin again. We can grieve so long over the end of the season that we miss the beginning of the next season. Consequently, we can get our lives out of God's will because of our emotional distress. But God...!

God, in His wisdom, said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Beth- lehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons" (1 Sam. 16:1, Esv). Samuel had emotions. Samuel grieved, but Samuel had to go on. He had to progress God's kingdom plan. Of course, Samuel anointed David, and God's plan progressed.

We can easily lose sight of God's promises when we are in difficult situations. This is often how we get off target in seeing God fulfill our prophetic destiny. Even though the body of Christ goes through great times of testing, we are not to grow fearful and become discouraged. The enemy takes advantage during our testing periods by using strategies of discouragement. Discouragement breeds hope deferred, which makes the heart sick. When we have a measure of hopelessness within us, we lose our expectation of God.

Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." In God's Now Time for Your Life, I write:

Have you ever had a promise from God that you kept expecting to be fulfilled, but nothing ever happened? Have you had a desire that you felt God put in your heart that never materialized? Did you once have faith to see the plan of God for your life manifest, but now that faith seems dry and distant? Did you have great expectations for God moving on your behalf, but are still waiting? Now we come to what is perhaps the most difficult aspect of prophetic fulfillment: hope deferred (emphasis added). When our hope is deferred, we can experience it in one of two ways. It can be either a promise that seems as though it will never be fulfilled, or it can be a promise that is fulfilled, but the fruit of that promise is dead. Have you ever experienced the death of a promise? It can truly cause the heart to become sick (see Prov. 13:12).

Some of the hardest times for our emotional being to process and keep progressing through are those times when we expect someone to do or accomplish something, and they do not meet the emotional desire or outcome that we have intended to see manifested. This is especially difficult when we are expecting the Lord to do something and He either postpones our expectations to another season or the outcome of a situation does not manifest the way we had envisioned in our mind. You expect to see this great victory, and you experience defeat. You expect to prosper, and yet, you end up in bankruptcy court. You expect healing, and death's sting becomes venomous. I could go on and on. This book will help you in some of those instances.

A LOST DOUBLE PORTION

Many of you have heard our testimony of overcoming barrenness. The Lord sovereignly healed Pam, my wife, in 1984. She immediately became pregnant, and pregnant again. However, we knew that the original faith promise that we received in 1980 of having twins had never been fulfilled by the Lord. In 1987, after adopting two children and having two natural children, Pam again became pregnant. However, this time we noticed that she was getting larger more quickly than she had with the first two pregnancies. We learned this was because she indeed was carrying twins! What God had promised was now in motion.

Pam carried the babies to term, and on February 6, 1988, she gave birth to two beautiful identical twin boys, whom we named Jesse David and Jacob Levi. God's promise had been fulfilled! But something was wrong in their new little bodies. One baby had a serious heart problem, and the other had a serious liver problem. Within one week of their birth, both of our new sons died. I watched as they were born, and I held them as they died. The grief and mourning were almost overwhelming. The promise of these twins had been the reason that we could believe the barrenness in our lives would be broken, and now, just as it was being fulfilled, that promise had died. How were we to react? We knew the Lord well enough to know that He was faithful. Actually, what He had impressed to us had in fact manifested. Had we done something wrong? Were we to keep trusting? Just how were our emotions to be acting? I was going back and forth between Dallas (visiting the hospital where the twins were being treated) and Denton (where Pam was in the hospital recovering from a C-section). How were we each allowing the Lord to deal with us separately? How would we process this together? Would we keep progressing?

SUBMITTING TO THE HAND OF GOD

When the second of our twins died, we had an outdoor memorial service for him. During that service, Pam stood up and sang a beautiful song out over the field where they were interred. It was an incredible moment. One week after the death of the second baby, a friend called and said she had a real problem with the fact that God had allowed their deaths. She was also having a problem with how Pam was dealing with this trauma-with seemingly unshakable faith. One of the most impacting things I have ever heard anyone speak came from my wife's mouth on that day. Pam told our friend, "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that the quicker I submit to the hand of God, the quicker I can resist the devil. I have chosen to submit to God's hand in this circumstance. And in submitting to the hand of God, He will give me the ability to overcome the enemy so that the double portion that has been robbed will be returned."

The Lord was speaking through my wonderful wife. Those words went deeply into my spirit, and I have carried them since that time. Even when we don't understand what has happened in our lives, in the midst of our loss and resulting grief, we need to learn to submit quickly to God's greater plan for our lives. When we submit, we stand under. The concept of submitting is the act of allowing the wing of His goodness and grace to spread over us and shelter us from the accusatory thoughts of the enemy, the fray of the world, and the condemnation of our own mistakes. If we always submit our lives to God, then we can resist the roadblocks in our destined path.

Truly, we would learn that loss has great benefit when we submit. We should allow God to work our situations for good and respond to His love no matter how difficult our circumstances may be.

Pam and I both were able to recognize that even in this trauma that we were living in with the loss of two children, God was working out a higher-level promise of restoration on our behalf. Loss can produce a great acknowledgement of God within us if we submit to His hand.

Those incredibly hard things that we go through will truly become some sort of blessing in the hand of the Lord and will produce a greater prophetic fulfillment in our lives. Yes, a sad, bad, unbearable time can become a joy-filled moment when we place that moment in the hand of God and give Him thanks for the moment. Time then takes a turn. The harsh memory of pain from the loss of expected joy can now be redeemed. That situation can become a transforming work of grace that can be seen in you for a lifetime.

ANOTHER PROMISE FULFILLED

In my case, the Lord turned the circumstances of the twins' deaths into a tremendous restoration for my whole family. My extended family, still distant in our relationships because of the crisis with my father and the scattering of our lives that resulted, now rallied and bonded together in this new trauma. The Lord had spoken to me when I was eighteen and given me a promise: "I will restore all that you have lost." These words had been the driving force of my life since the day the Spirit of God spoke them to me. Loss and all of its pain was now becoming a catalyst to fulfillment and new vision.

Now, in this terrible loss and trauma that Pam and I were experiencing, I was actually watching Him restore our family unit, which had been so fragmented. My sister and I, who had struggled in our relationship, were now bonding. My mother, instead of being bitter and hardened as in the past, was now comforting us and walking with us through it all. An estranged uncle whom I had not heard from since I was sixteen called and responded to our situation. At thirty-five years of age, I was seeing God fulfill the promise that I had been walking in since I was eighteen. The death of one promise was the catalyst for bringing life and fulfillment to another promise.

The redemptive plan of God is beyond our thinking ability. How He takes pain and rearranges many lives and emotions and reshapes history is key to our understanding His goodness, grace, perseverance, and ability to work loss to our advantage. What happened in my family as a result of the loss of our twins was a true miracle!

NEVER GIVE IN TO SELF-PITY!

The opposite of confidence and worth is self-pity. Self-pity occurs when we feel we are warranted to receive but get passed by. This can occur in our natural or spiritual life. Self-pity helps define our moment or, may I say, cause us to miss our moment. We feel we are deserving or entitled to a blessing, and we lose faith when we see a blessing slip past our life.

One of the best examples of self-pity is the crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda. (See John 5.) Jesus knew his full condition and then, through Peter, asked the man if he wished to be healed. The man began to explain why he had not and could not be healed. Jesus seemed to quit listening to his self-pity and healed him anyway.

SELF-PITY DEMANDS ENTITLEMENT!

The opposite of embracing your portion is feeling you are entitled to a portion that you are really not to have. Entitle means "to superscribe or prefix as a title. Hence, as titles are evidences of claim or property, entitle is to give a claim to, or to give a right to demand or receive."

We have a very good friend who lives in Houston. She is one of the most gifted individuals I know. She is one who strives to press through to understand herself. Not only does she wish to know who she is, but she also wants to know why God made her and why she has problems with Him when He is seemingly quiet. Why she reacts the way she does and how God reacts to her are all quests of her life. She wrote me the following when she was seeking to understand why she felt entitled:

Recently I have found myself throwing the phrase "a sense of entitlement" around quite a bit-not about myself, of course, but about others. I have been concerned about those who are dealing with that issue, and so, of course, the Lord showed me how I too have that in my life. (Will I never learn?) I have become interested in it, though, as I see it rearing its ugly head in my life. As a friend of mine and I were discussing the ongoing irritation of eating problems and how to handle them, he said, "It has to do with a sense of entitlement." BINGO! I knew the minute he said it that he was onto something.

Yesterday was bill-paying day, and again I wondered why managing money was so difficult for me. BAM! It hit me again: entitlement. I think I am entitled. I think I have known that in the dim recesses of my mind, but I have never looked it straight in the face. What am I entitled to? A payback.

How demonic is that! A payback? I am a child of the living God, the bride of Christ, a child of the covenant, a friend of God. And I'm entitled to a payback? Well, of course I'm not. In fact, I should live such a life of gratitude that I say "thank YOU" at every turn of a corner. And there are so many things that are no longer an option in this life with Christ, things we used to enjoy but no longer feel comfortable doing. Rather than covet those old things and old habits, we turn to an activity that really isn't "wrong"-like eating. We feel entitled to do that because we can't do these other things anymore. And so we engage until we reach a point and realize that we have overindulged and crossed a line.

My situation with spending money is much the same. There is nothing inherently wrong with spending money... until I cross a line and find myself in a bind. Yet at the time I am shopping, I feel completely justified in getting what I want because I sure didn't get the things I felt I should have-life things. And so it becomes important for me to look at the matter and locate the deception in it; it's a "mind-set" that smacks of the pit of hell.

So what gives someone a sense of entitlement? In the United States we are born with a sense of entitlement anyway, I think, which may be the open door to this thing. We have certain expectations because of where we live and how life should be for us who live here (or so we have been led to believe). And somewhere along the line I think we have gotten the idea that we are entitled to a loving husband or wife, obedient children, and a lovely home in a tree-shaded neighborhood.

I don't know. Maybe it's a holdover from old blackand-white TV shows. Think Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver. I grew up watching The Waltons, and when my parents weren't Olivia and John Walton, I was disappointed. Weren't parents supposed to be that way? Yet how could anyone live up to such a romantic, unrealistic pattern for parenthood.

So now I sit here years later with age fifty in my rearview mirror, no husband in sight, and no children at all (obedient or otherwise). My parents weren't the Waltons, I don't have access to unlimited funds (although ours is the wealthiest country in the world), and something deep within me works behind the scenes to convince me that I ought to be able to do whatever I want to since I didn't get those things that were owed me. I can eat what I want if I want to because I didn't have the blissful childhood I wanted. I can spend money irresponsibly because I don't have a husband or kids and was supposed to have had those things, and so I deserve whatever I want that is within my power to get. Somebody owes me! It's crazy, really, but it's down there. And hand-in-hand with it is unreality. The world isn't perfect, even in the United States. You are probably saying, "Duh. How could anybody really think that?" But dig down deep. See if on some level there isn't something in you that thinks it should be and that you should have had a certain kind of life-not because of anything you have done, but just because of your existence on the planet.

We are created to live a life of praise, and yet this sense of entitlement, besides causing us to live in a mind-set of expectation rather than expectancy (two vastly different things), leads to the very antithesis of gratitude-malcontentment and ingratitude. It causes a childish cry within us that says, "How come they got that and I didn't? It's not fair!"

The apostle Paul said that he had learned to be content in whatsoever situation, whether abased or abounding (Philippians 4:12). And we are to give thanks in all things. I think as Christians we really do want to do that and try to do that. But I also think the Lord in His infinite mercy is allowing us (or me, at least) to get down to a lie that makes it hard to feel really grateful sometimes, even with our best intentions. And I think He is letting us see the cause of a restlessness and discontent that drives us at times for reasons we don't understand.

If we don't look at entitlement squarely in the face and identify it, we can't deal with it. Until we can fall out of agreement with entitlement and unreality and know that there is a plan for us that supersedes that one we felt we "deserved" or that life owed us, we will view our circumstances through a distorted filter, at least on some level. But as we look at this honestly as the lie that it is, I think we will find such a joy and gratitude rising up within us spontaneously that our lives will never be the same because-you know what?-we serve a good God, and He wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He came to give us life, and life more abundantly-more than we can hope for or even imagine.

You know, there was another definition for entitle in my dictionary: "to qualify; to give a claim by the possession of suitable qualifications." Through the blood of Jesus and our acceptance of Him as our personal Lord and Savior, we are qualified and can lay claim to the wonderful promises He has given us, and these promises are "Yes and amen." To that we are entitled. Praise God!2

I loved this e-mail. I saved it for this book because the way my friend processed this faith robber was an incredible example for us all.

DESPAIR

Despair is a hopeless state of destitution and expectation. Really, despair is the loss of hope in the mercy and goodness of God. My family read and watched the Anne of Green Gables series. One of our favorite scripts comes in the movie when Anne gets to Green Gables and Marilla, Matthew's sister, comments that they were looking for a boy and not a girl. Anne says, "I am in the depths of despair!" Marilla thinks Anne's extort is ridiculous, at which Anne queries, "Haven't you been in the depths of despair?"

Marilla responds immediately and says, "Of course not! To despair is to turn your back on God!"

Our lowest despair can become our highest moment! At that moment we can see why we exist and press toward the fullness of our existence. Despair will destroy the consciousness of God in our lives. We lose touch with Him in our existence. It is impossible for the human mind to even imagine what could be meant by the elimination of its existence. To eliminate existence is beyond our ability. To make God a nonbeing takes much creative thought of agreement with the enemy over His existence. Despair is lost expectation, hope deferred, and defeat, all in alliance against God's purpose for our lives.

DEATH IS OUR LAST ENEMY!

Our goal as human beings is to imitate, glorify, and obey the living God. An atheist thinks that we are the ultimate god. But most atheists have no peace and are filled with anxiety. There is no future. There is finiteness about life. With narrow, finite boundaries, no eternity, and man being the only answer, we could easily become overwhelmed with the fear of death. Anxiety is really a friction and fear that is concentrated over the absoluteness of death. Since death can be the outer boundary of life, the closer we get to that boundary, the more the reality of facing the finality of the moment seems to overwhelm us. We eventually walk so near that boundary that the presence of death becomes a reality. Will the anxiety of death overwhelm us, or will this lead us to courage, strength, and wholeness? Will trauma, lost expectations, and even death define our values and future, or will this devastate our hope, break our spirit, and cause us not to see the overall plan that is working on our behalf?

Loss PRODUCES MUCH CHANGE

Change comes many times through much shaking. During times of loss, God begins to shake us. He removes legalism, fear, condemnation, false expectations, and erroneous ways of thinking about Himself. If we can endure the shaking, we come out in a much stronger place, which results in greater maturity. In the midst of loss, we have a unique opportunity to rise to new levels and come to a deeper understanding of God's awesome grace. His grace is always sufficient.

Loss can produce a greater joy. There are many Scriptures that link loss to joy. Stop and read Psalm 30. In fact, Pam and I put one such passage on the headstone of the twins' grave: "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you" (John 16:22). There is a certain level of joy that we would never come to know if we did not experience loss. The deeper the sorrow, the more capacity for joy we seem to have. After experiencing loss, nothing seems the same.

Gerald Sittser, who lost his mother, wife, and young daughter in a tragic car accident, writes, "The experience of loss does not have to leave us with the memory of a painful event that stands alone, like a towering monument that dominates the landscape of our lives. Loss can also leave us with the memory of a wonderful story. It can function as a catalyst that pushes us in a new direction, like a closed road that forces us to turn around and find another way to our destination. Who knows what we will discover and see along the way?"3

Loss can produce resurrection. In Possessing Your Inheritance, Rebecca Sytsema and I wrote, "We can be assured that when we experience loss, especially of something that was part of our inheritance, God invariably has a plan for restoring it to us. When death comes, for example, God always longs to start a resurrection process. David W. Wiersbe, in his book Gone but Not Lost, which was written to those grieving the death of a child, writes, `God's response to death is always life. That doesn't mean he gives another child when one dies. It means that out of the sorrow and ruin of your "other" life, God gives you a new life.' The same is true for any loss. God's response to loss is always restoration in some form." He can redeem our time of pain and loss and create new paradigm and boundaries.

THE CONFIDENCE PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT

Future and expectation are synonymous. Our future is linked with an expectation of God moving. This is a time for the church to have its expectation level renewed and raised to another level. Isaiah 5960 is a wonderful prayer guide for us to follow to see this happen in our lives. Hope must transcend and move into faith. Faith produces overcoming. Overcoming leads to a demonstration of God's power and a manifestation of His promises. Remember what God told Moses when He gave him the incredible mission of taking a people that He had chosen from captivity and moving them (all 3 million of them) toward a promise He had chosen? However, in the midst of trials and testings, the greatest danger is for us to lose confidence in God and confidence in our own self.

A clear conscience leads to boldness and confidence before God. When we rely upon self, self disappoints us. When we rely upon people, people disappoint us. Satan loves to get us in a place of selfreliance and condemnation from a stupid mistake. This causes our hearts to condemn us. God is greater than your own heart, and even after a colossal mistake, God can restore your confidence and redeem His purpose. Ephesians 3:8-13 (AMP) says:

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints (God's consecrated people), this grace (favor, privilege) was granted and graciously entrusted: to proclaim to the Gentiles the unending (boundless, fathomless, incalculable, and exhaustless) riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out], also to enlighten all men and make plain to them what is the plan [regarding the Gentiles and providing for the salvation of all men] of the mystery kept hidden through the ages and concealed until now in [the mind of] God Who created all things by Christ Jesus. [The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere. This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear). So I ask you not to lose heart [not to faint or become despondent through fear] at what I am suffering in your behalf. [Rather glory in it] for it is an honor to you.

Paul knew who he was. But most of all he knew who Christ was. He also knew that a key to progressing through any age was to have confidence before our Father in heaven who gives us all things.

Let's look at another individual. Moses had a confidence problem. Moses had quite a history. In his zeal to defend the purposes of God, he had acted out of time, took justice in his hands, and become a murderer. In his wilderness exile of forty years, God had not forgotten him. Therefore, God rose to act justly in a despairing situation, and used Moses to be His spokesman and leader. After God appeared to him in the desert of Midian and asked him to lead His people, Moses finally asked the Lord, "Who will I say sent me?" God said, "Tell them that I AM has sent you to them!" (See Exodus 3:13-14.)

OUR CONFIDENCE-1 AM

In the ancient world, knowing another's name was a special privilege that offered access to that person's thought and life. God favored His people by revealing Himself by several names that offered special insight into His love and righteousness. Jehovah/Yahweh was a key to understanding the fullness of God. One of the most important names for God in the Old Testament is Yahweh, or Jehovah, from the verb "to be," meaning simply but profoundly, "I am who I am," and "I will be who I will be." God is the author of life and salvation. His "I AM" expresses the fact that He is the infinite and original personal God who is behind everything and to whom everything must finally be traced. This name, "I AM who I AM," signals the truth that nothing else defines who God is but God Himself. What He says and does is who He is. The inspired Scriptures are the infallible guide to understanding who God is by what He says about Himself and what He does. Yahweh is the all-powerful and sovereign God who alone defines Himself and establishes truth for His creatures and works for their salvation.'

God was going to show Moses a fuller demonstration of His name than even Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob had experienced. What a request of Moses! Moses had a vast knowledge of life. He was a learned man, shepherd, leader, legislator, soldier, and statesman. He was impulsive yet meek. The one name God used had to be greater than all of these characteristics of a mere man.

Father God would show us a greater demonstration of that name than any of the patriarchs had known. The same I AM that spoke to Moses manifested Himself fully through Jesus Christ our Lord. There are seven notations and references to I AM in the Gospel of John:

1. "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).

2. "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

3. "I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7).

4. "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11, 14).

5. "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).

6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

7. "I am the true vine" (John 15:1).

Each of these images, as noted, not only continues to affirm the full deity of Jesus but also tells us what it means for us that Jesus, the Son of God, chose to become a man and live among us. Jesus is our bread who sustains us daily. Jesus is our light, cutting through the shadows and illusions that darken this sin-cursed world. Jesus is the gate, the one door through whom we can go and find safety. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who cares so much for the sheep that He was willing to give His life for us. Jesus is the resurrection and life; His vivifying power is so great that He is able to bring life even to our mortal bodies and one day will raise us to total renewal. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one can approach the Father except through Him. Jesus is the vine, and as we remain in fellowship with Jesus, His life flows into us as branches, enabling us to bear spiritual fruit. Only because Jesus truly is God can we derive so much from personal relationship with Him.'

Our confidence in a holy God, His character, promises, and name, must be developed in us. Truly, this is how we determine our progress. Are you coming to know Him? Are you embracing His character so you become like Him? Can others around you see Him buying back your time and determining your future? Are you expecting Him as opposed to what He can give to you? He has a perfect timing for your development. When you understand this, your history and your future change.

THERE IS A TIME ORDAINED FOR YOU TO MAKE A CHANGE THAT AFFECTS YOUR HISTORY!

I love to understand times and seasons from a Hebraic worldview. The biblical year begins with the first new moon after the barley in Israel reaches the stage in its ripeness called abib. The period between one year and the next is either twelve or thirteen lunar months. Because of this, it is important to check the state of the barley crops at the end of the twelfth month. If the barley is Abib at this time, then the following new moon is Hodesh Ha-Aviv ("New Moon of the Abib"). If the barley is still immature, we must wait another month and then check the barley again at the end of the thirteenth month.7

Those who know me know that the key to my life is understanding the power and principle of firstfruits. You might ask, "But where is Abib mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and how does that pertain to my times and seasons today?" The story of the Exodus relates, "Today, in the month Abib, you are going out" (Exod. 13:4, NRSV). To commemorate that the Exodus occurred in the month of the abib, the Passover sacrifice was brought, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated each year at that precise time. This linked the Exodus sacrifice (leaving or passing out of the old) and harvest increase together. This was to be understood from generation to generation.

Deuteronomy 16:1 says, "Observe the month of Abib by keeping the passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night" (Nxsv). Exodus 23:15 also reiterates, "You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread; as I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. No one shall appear before me empty-handed" (Nxsv). The same is commanded in Exodus 34:18: "You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt."

When obedience occurred, an angel would lead them forth and keep them progressing toward the promise of their inheritance. I believe that we have lost the timing of redemption. I am hoping that the remainder of this book helps you tremendously to understand that His timing in our lives is perfect. He can redeem wasted years and progress us toward what He destined in our lives from the beginning.

What is Abib? Abib indicates a stage in the development of the barley crops. We too live in stages of development. When grains are early in their development, they are flexible and have a dark green color. As they become ripe they take on other colors and textures. Similarly, you are more flexible to withstand damage early in your development rather than later in life.

However, I believe that if we understand this principle of firstfruits, then we will continue to develop until we enter into the fullness of God's plan for each of our lives. Fullness is another time word. I believe the Lord ordained each month with a new cycle of time repre senting the new level of faithfulness and blessing that He has toward us. Great is His faithfulness. His mercy is new every morning. The principle of firstfruits is that one gives the best of their "crop" at the start of each month. When you do that, He will bless the whole "lump" linked with the crop (Rom. 9). As you continue reading this book, my goal is that you will enter into an understanding that His plan of redemption will come into a new dimension of fullness. In other words, you will become blessed from month to month until blessings overtake you and the floodgates of heaven overwhelm you. Even if you have made colossal mistakes in your past, you can get in God's perfect timing and see the blessings of heaven that have been stored up on your behalf begin to pour out.

CHAPTER 5

YOU CAN START AGAIN:

THERE IS A PLAN B!

HE LORD is calling forth a triumphant reserve. He will have a bride without spot or wrinkle. We will be a strong people who do exploits. We will take resources and do exploits. We will leave our past defeats and walk in victory. The world will know we are Christians. We will be overcomers.

The key concept of overcoming is simply this: find a way to win, do not be defeated, and advance into the fullness of your God-given destiny. There are a people being raised up who will triumph. Many of these experienced great heartache in the past seasons of life. This is the time to break "hope deferred"! Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." Don't let loss overcome you. Loss can produce shaking, but it can also result in joy, change, and resurrection power. We have been given the power to bind the accuser. So bind the power of the accuser! The enemy will taunt you about everything you have ever done wrong during traumatic times. You must overcome self-pity, doubt, and unbelief.

There is hope in the middle of darkness. Usually in the midst of our dark times in life, we find ourselves filled with trauma and loss. These elements hide in our very cells. Trauma is like a snapshot from a camera. The picture of the trauma is stored deep in our brains, but the Holy Spirit wants to move in such a way that we are sovereignly delivered. He wants to give us a new perspective on life and the world around us. Trauma also affects the very ground on which we walk. The enemy takes advantage of us during difficult times of loss or change to manipulate our emotions to create:

A failure mentality

Confused perception of our lives and destiny

Dullness, deadness, lost hope, or apathy in our "spirit man

Blocked emotions

A bitter root defiling the whole body

When we do not deal with trauma effectively, we allow roots to grow that entangle our feet and keep us from moving forward on our new path of success. Trauma imprinted on our memory systems is also absorbed deep into the tissues of our brain (the processor) and affects our thoughts and our hearts. Trauma becomes the flashbulb that determines what we see and how we define the world around us. When not processed correctly, trauma will shape your world from the point of view of the incident. Trauma can produce lock-ins of fear, failure complexities, emotional distress, and anxiety, and it can even cause our organs (spleen, kidneys, pancreas) to overwork. Oh my! We may be going through a lot, but there is a way for us to overcome, to reverse the power of our dark hour, and to advance into the very best that still lies ahead.

An overcomer moves past defeats, past traumas, woundings, mistakes, and failures to gain new strength and venture into the next season with hope. In the midst of darkness, there is light. In the midst of light, there is sound. In the midst of sound, we find His voice. The power of His voice chops down the forest of confusion around us. The power of His voice creates a path in our wilderness. The power of His voice breaks the waters open and raises our heads above the waves of doubt, grief, and despair towering around us. The power of His voice overcomes any strategy the enemy has developed to hold us captive in his chains of defeat.

My favorite saying in life is "But God!" Your present circumstances are developing a mentality of victory within you. No matter what situation you find intruding in your life, you can shout, "But God! He is the light in my darkness!" Dark hours lie ahead, but an overcomer's anointing will break through and give you victory.

YOU CAN START AGAIN

One way God develops the overcoming anointing in us is by moving us past our last failure or even our last victory and by enabling us to continue to run the race ahead. Some dark hours are not only in our future, but many dark moments may also lie in our past. In other words, there were certain times that we just botched it, made a mess of things, or royally wasted our opportunity for victory or favor. We had an opportunity, we missed the opportunity, and the time of prosperity slipped past us. We listened to a wrong voice and chose a wrong path. Our desires went awry, and we had a relationship that was never meant to be. We heard God, we pursued His voice, but we somehow got tangled in the cares of the world and lost sight of the way. We started the race, got tired, and dropped out. The most difficult situation in our lives occurs when we know the will of God one day but somehow make a mistake and then cannot find our way on the next day. The great thing for us to know is this: there will come another day! We wake up many days and say:

"Will I get another shot at it?"

"I feel like I lost hold of the thread and my whole life unraveled."

"That door closed, and now I do not even see a window."

"I spied out the land, but the giants seemed so big that I chose the wilderness. Lord, will You let me have one more chance to fight that giant again?"

"I see the scarlet rope again, but do I have the strength to grab hold?"

There is always a way back. You may have to scale a mountain or swim a river, but there is a way back or into the next phase of your life. You can survive and find the right road again. I have counseled many who have gone through terrible divorces, bankruptcies, losses of business and homes, diseases, and depressions, and they have always been able to hear the Lord say, "This is your way into the new place!" Sometimes the second time around is the best!

My wife, Pam, teaches on regret. Regret over past mistakes is a funny thing for the believer. On the one hand, we can look at the sins of our past with sorrow, knowing that we somehow failed to live up to the standard demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe this is very necessary. However, I do not believe that we can live under the condemnation of that sin for the rest of our lives. Even the nation of Israel had a time period that had been set for the people to experience the consequences of their sin. Then the sentence was lifted, and once again they had the opportunity for restoration that would lead to fullness.

On the other hand, we know that "all things work together" for our good-even our mistakes, so we can rest assured that God can, and does, use our failures to teach and direct us when we humble ourselves and seek His face. Even so, there are many times when we would welcome the opportunity to go back in time and get a do-over so that we wouldn't have to endure the consequences of our stupidity and rebellion.

THE RIGHTEOUS GOD OF THE SECOND CHANCE

Is He a God who knows our shortcomings and gives us another opportunity for victory?

"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS [Yahweh Tsidkenu].

-JEREMIAH 23:5-6

When we study the Bible, it's important to notice the names of God. God's names reveal His nature. They tell us what He is like and what we can expect from Him. God has revealed Himself by many names. In the last chapter, we talked about the name "I AM": "I will be what I will be." There are other names that we could look at. Yahweh Shammah-"The Lord is present," Yahweh Jaira-"The Lord who provides," Yahweh M'kadesh-"The Lord who makes us holy," or Yahweh Rapha-"The Lord who heals." God wants you to know Him by each of His names and experience the reality of every part of His nature!

One of the most important names for us to understand is the name, Yahweh Tsidkenu, which means "The Lord our righteousness." This name tells us that it is part of God's nature to bring His people into the full experience of true righteousness. To know God as Yahweh Tsidkenu, we first need to know what righteousness is.

WHAT Is RIGHTEOUSNESS?

Righteousness is one of those words we only mention in church. We sing about it, hear sermons about it, and read about it in the Bible, but we usually don't have a good idea what it means. In reality, righteousness is just a description of the character of God. If you read through the Bible and made a list of God's characteristics, you would end up with something like this:

Honesty

■ Loyalty

■ Integrity

■ Generosity

■ Truth

Mercy

Love

That's what God is like. Those words describe God's character. All of those words are summed up in the one word righteousness. When God tells us to be righteous, He is saying that He wants His people to be like Him. He wants our lives to reflect His character wherever we go. He wants us to be a people marked by honesty, loyalty, integrity, generosity, and all the rest.

God has made righteousness a foundational principle of the universe. The universe is designed so that, generally, a life of righteousness will bring the highest level of success in any situation. So righteousness is living in line with God's character. If you are living in righteousness, you are living in harmony with the God of the universe. You are also living in harmony with the laws of success God has built into His universe.

To help us understand what righteousness is like, God gave us several pictures of righteousness:

1. The first picture of righteousness we have is our conscience. God has built into you an understanding that some things are right, and some are wrong. Your conscience is very valuable. You should never violate your conscience. But because you have grown up in a sinful world, your conscience has become distorted. It doesn't always give us an accurate picture of right and wrong.

2. The second picture of righteousness God gave us is the Law. In Hebrew, the word for the Law is Torah. It literally means "The teaching of God." Law was given to teach us about God. It provides a window into God's heart. It tells us what is important to God. The Law gives us a very accurate picture of righteousness. Without the Torah, our boundaries are never clear and our vision can never manifest. The Scriptures promise that if we meditate on the Law and bring our lives in line with it, we will prosper and have great success. (See Psalm 1:1-3.) But the Law can be perverted and misinterpreted, as the Pharisees did. So God gave us one more picture of righteousness.

3. The perfect picture of righteousness is Jesus. If you want to know what righteousness looks like, look at Jesus. His life was the perfect expression of Father's will. Jesus represented a perfect balance of honesty, loyalty, integrity, generosity, truth, mercy, and love.

God gave us these pictures of righteousness to show us what righteousness looks like. They are like a plumb line hung down into the earth realm. They allow you to see if your life is aligned with God's nature and character. When your life is out of plumb with God's righteousness, that's what the Bible calls sin. When you sin, it means your life is out of sync with foundational principles of the universe. That always leaves you open for problems! When we sin, there are always consequences. That's part of the nature of reality. There are "wages of sin."

Some consequences of sin are just part of the natural order. For example, if you are promiscuous, you will have problems. You don't need the Bible to tell you that. Any doctor can tell you that. If your life is characterized by drunkenness, you will have many issues. Sin may seem appealing at the moment, but there are consequences to violating the underlying principles of the universe. In addition to natural consequences, sin also brings the oppression of the devil. Sin removes our God-given protection and allows Satan to harass and oppress us. Satan's oppression includes things like confusion, anger, depression, sickness, sorrow, and lack.

Righteousness protects us from great harm. Ephesians 6 teaches that righteousness is part of our spiritual armor. Ephesians 6:14 tells us to "Stand firm then ... with the breastplate of righteousness in place" (NIV). God says righteousness is like a soldier's breastplate. When the Bible was written, the breastplate was a very important piece of armor. It protected a soldier's vital organs. When the enemy's arrow struck your breastplate, it would just bounce off. As long as his breastplate was intact, the soldier was protected from the enemy. But if his breastplate was damaged, he became vulnerable. God says righteousness is like a breastplate. It will shield you from the enemy's attacks. If you walk in righteousness, you are protected from harm in many ways.

So, how do we put on our breastplate of righteousness? How do we live a righteous life that pleases God and protects us from harm?

THE KEY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

My ministry associate Dr. Robert Heidler is a theologian with training from Dallas Theological Seminary. Robert is one of the very best teachers I know, and he makes things simple. Recently, he was teaching on righteousness, and I listened intently. Much of what I will share in the remainder of this chapter was adapted from the material Robert taught on righteousness.

He began to share by saying that many Christians have been taught to go to church, pray, tithe, read the Bible, and live a life that pleases God! They are then given a set of rules to follow. The rules may be the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, or some other list of rules.

Many church denominations have developed rules that go far beyond any biblical instructions. Robert said, "In some circles, the most important rule for righteous living goes something like this: Don't smoke, drink, cuss, or chew, or run with those who do!"

Regardless of what rules are communicated, the message is clear: The way to live a righteous life that pleases God is by obeying these rules! And most Christians really try to obey the rules! However, the problem with rules like these is that they fail to give us a formula for a life of) oy and fellowship with God. Instead, they are a formula for a life of terrible frustration. The result of setting up a list of rules and trying to follow them is this: you always fail!

As a result, Christians go forward during a church service when an invitation is given to dedicate their lives or to rededicate their lives to God, but they still end up in sin. They promise God they will do better next time-but they keep on sinning. They make resolution after resolution and really mean it. But they fail again! So they grit their teeth and strengthen their resolve and determine, "This time I will live a godly life." But again, they always fail. Many actually leave the church and go back to the world in frustration, saying, "I tried to live the Christian life, but I just couldn't do it!"

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

As Robert taught, the problem is that people are operating on the wrong plan. There are two ways to try to live a righteous life. In the first, plan A, you get a list of rules (the Law), and you try to discipline yourself to obey them. Plan A is also known as legalism.

In the second plan, plan B, you admit you are a sinner and allow God to produce His righteousness in you. Because God knew that we would want to do it ourselves, God gave mankind a chance to try to achieve righteousness on plan A. When God made His covenant with Israel at Sinai, He gave them the Law! That was plan A.

PLAN A-GOD'S GIFT OF THE LAW

The Law was a gracious gift of God. It was not an arbitrary list of rules. It was a picture of righteousness. God gave the Law so we could see what righteousness looks like. He said, "If you want to be righteousness, do these things."

And Israel determined to do them. Israel's response to the Law was, "We will do everything God commands." But when Israel tried to keep the Law, they discovered that they had a problem-they kept falling into sin! They found they were not able to be righteous. They learned that while the Law gives a beautiful picture of righteousness, it did not give them the power of righteousness.

They suddenly became aware of the fact that they were sinners. That's what always happens when we try to keep the Law. Let me tell you a secret that most pastors will never tell you: plan A doesn't work! You can't become righteous by trying to follow the Law.

So, why did God give us law? Most Christians would answer that question by saying, "God gave us the Law to help us live a righteous life!" That sounds logical, but it is absolutely false! Romans 3:20 tells us that no one will be declared righteous by observing the Law, but through the Law we become conscious of sin. God never expected that the Law would make you righteous. The Law has never made anyone righteous.

When Robert taught that day on righteousness, he used the following analogy: "Law is not the medicine to cure our sin problem. Law is the thermometer to show us how sick we really are. God didn't give the Law to make you righteous. He gave the Law to reveal your sin!"

In Romans 7:7 Paul writes, "I would not have known sin except through the law." Paul describes how he tried to keep the Law in Romans 7, but he always failed. He wrote, "The good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice" (v. 19). Finally, he cried out to God for mercy: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me... ?" (v. 24). That's what God designed the law to do. God gave law to show us our problem so we would cry out to God for grace. And that's when God steps in with John 3:16.

Galatians 3:24 tells us that the law was a "schoolmaster" to lead to Jesus. When we use the Law to try to make ourselves righteous, we always fail. So, we cry out to God, "Lord! I'm a sinner! I can't keep the Law. Is there another way to be righteous?"

The good news is that there is another way. Back in the Old Testament, God promised that He would give us a new way to be righteous-a way that worked. God had a plan B.

GOD'S PLAN B

Jeremiah 23:5-6, which we read at the start of this chapter, promises that Messiah will provide us with a new way of righteousness. He will be for us Yahweh Tsidkenu. He will be our righteousness. In Ezekiel 11:19-20 we discover how God will accomplish this:

Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Instead of an external law, God promises to make an internal change. He promises to put a new spirit within us. That spirit will empower us to do what we had not been able to do-to live a righteous life.

Do you see what God is promising? God says, "You don't have the power to live a righteous life by keeping the Law, so here's plan B: I will send My Spirit to live within you, and He will produce My righteousness in you!" All of God's righteousness is to be found in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God has perfect righteousness.

When you trusted Jesus, God put His Holy Spirit in you. That means all the righteousness of God lives in you right now through the Holy Spirit. There's enough righteousness in Him to make all of us righteous. You now have a new resource for righteousness. You have the life of God living within you. You don't have to rely on your own ability to be righteous.

The secret to a life of righteousness is to allow the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in your life. Galatians 5 tells us that when we yield to the Holy Spirit, He produces His fruit in us. That fruit is identified as:

1. Love

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Patience

5. Kindness

6. Goodness

7. Faithfulness

8. Gentleness

9. Self-control

Those nine qualities are a description of the character of Jesus. He is a perfect balance of love, joy, peace, patience, and all the rest. Those nine qualities also give us a picture of perfect righteousness.

If your life is characterized by those nine things, you are righteous! When the Spirit is manifesting His fruit in your life, you experience perfect righteousness apart from the Law. Jesus taught that if you just have love-the "first" fruit of the Spirit-you are already fulfilling all the demands of the law. Through the Spirit, God "writes His law on our hearts!"

Romans 8:1 tells us that what the Law could not do, God did! What could the Law not do? It could not give us the power to live a righteous life. But by placing His Holy Spirit within us, God did what the law couldn't do. "In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4, Niv). I love the way Romans 7:6 sums this up. It tells us that we have been released from the Law. We are released from plan A, that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit. That's plan B!

When many people fail, they come under the condemnation of that failure and never get released from plan A. As a matter of fact, many religious structures operate more only in plan A and have no plan B embedded in their belief system.

THE PATH OF LEGALISM

Another problem is that many Christians don't want a new way of righteousness, Many of us are religious enough that we want to be righteous in our own power. We want to do it ourselves! We want to stay on plan A. We say, "I know I haven't made it yet, but if I just try a little harder, I know I can do it." When we do that, we are taking the path of legalism. Legalism says:

"I can discipline myself to be the kind of person the Law describes!"

"I can be honest, truthful, and generous!"

"I can resist the temptation to sin and live a righteous life!"

Notice that each of those sentences begins with the words I can!

Trying to stay on plan A means you are trusting your self to make you righteous. The result is that you don't end up in righteousness. You end up in self-righteousness! When you take the path of legalism, this is what you are doing: You see that your breastplate has holes, so you find a pile of dirty old rags and try to repair your armor by wrapping yourself in rags. (God says that human righteousness-trying to be good in your own power-is like filthy rags; it doesn't work!)

Trying to gain righteousness through self-effort never works! There are at least four problems with plan A:

1. You can't make it work. (It won't produce righteousness.)

2. What it does produce doesn't please God.

3. It doesn't fool Satan. (He will attack.)

4. It isn't any fun trying.

You cannot become righteous through legalism. When we make a mistake, the enemy of our freedom and the opponent of grace says to us, "There is no plan B available." But God! "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

Legalism says, "Here are your boundaries. They are very narrow. Therefore, you can never leave these boundaries." We then find ourselves confined and hopeless rather than moving and having life in Him.

THE PARABLE OF JOE'S APPLE TREE

In his teaching on righteousness, Robert Heidler shared an example to show that all legalism can produce is a lifeless imitation of righteousness. It may look good from a distance, but it is not real, and it will never produce fruit in your life.

My favorite picture of trying to live a godly life by legalism is found in the story of Joe's apple tree. One day, a man named Joe was looking in a magazine and saw a picture of a beautiful apple tree. He fell in love with it. He could almost taste those juicy red apples.

Joe thought to himself, "How can I get a tree like that in my yard?" Then he had an idea! Joe studied the picture of that beautiful apple tree, took careful measurements, and made detailed plans. He went down to the lumberyard, purchased some strong wood, and built a framework that looked just like the trunk and branches of a tree. Joe then took his utility knife and carved the wood to look like the bark of an apple tree.

He hired an artist to paint the trunk and branches to match the colors of an apple tree. Then he bought lots of silk leaves. He climbed his ladder and carefully glued each leaf in place. Finally, he went down to the supermarket, bought the freshest apples he could find, and hung each apple in place with Christmas tree hooks. When he was finished, Joe stepped back and compared his tree with the tree in the picture. Because Joe was very skillful, his tree was almost exactly like the one in the picture. Joe was very proud of his apple tree.

There was only one problem. Joe's apple tree would never produce one apple. And any apples he hung on it would quickly rot and fall to the ground. Joe's tree looked like an apple tree, but it was not an apple tree. It was just a dead imitation of an apple tree.

That's legalism! That's plan A! You see the beauty of righteousness, so you use your own effort to produce something that looks like righteousness. But it's not righteousness; it's just a dead imitation.

There is another way to get an apple tree in your yard: You get a living seed. You plant it in good soil. You nurture it and water it and give it time to grow. And the life in that seed will produce its fruit.

The key to being righteous is to allow God's Holy Spirit to live and produce His fruit in you. To walk in righteousness, you need the Holy Spirit. You need His righteous life planted in you. You need to nurture and water His work in you. Don't be impatient. Give it time to grow. And the life of the Spirit will produce His fruit.

The secret of righteousness is to draw close to Him. As we draw close to Him, He produces the fruit of the Spirit in us. Fruit is not something you labor to produce. It grows automatically in His presence. As you walk in a daily relationship with Him, He produces His fruit automatically. The result is a life of righteousness.

FEAR OF DRIVING

That day as Robert shared, I thought, "Lord, if only every person could hear this, they could have an opportunity to be free and start again from their last mistake!" Robert also used an analogy about driving to teach on righteousness:

When I was sixteen, I learned how to drive a car. My dad took me out on the road to practice. But I had a great fear. I saw the ditch on the side of the road, and I was afraid that if I wasn't very careful, the car would run off the road and end up in the ditch. So I was careful to keep my eyes on the edge of the road. In fact, I lined up a spot on the hood of the car with the line on the edge of the road, and kept my eye fixed there so I could be sure I did not go off the road.

The car seemed to have a mind of its own. It seemed determined to cross over that line and end up in the ditch. Driving was a constant struggle to keep the car on the road. It scared my dad to death. Finally, my dad saw what I was doing. He said, "Don't look at the edge of the road. Keep your eyes on the middle of the road. Look where you are headed."

I was afraid to obey. If I was having such a hard time staying on the road when my eyes were glued to the edge of the road, what would happen if I looked away? If I wasn't watching carefully to make sure I didn't go off the road, I'd end up in the ditch for sure! Finally, after days of frustration, I decided to take my dad's advice. In great fear and trepidation, I took my eyes off the edge of the road and focused on the middle of the road ahead.

And a miracle happened! The car suddenly learned to stay on the road. There was no more struggle. The car automatically stayed in the center of its lane.

Can you see the picture? The edge of the road is the boundary you don't want to cross. It's the law. It's good to know where that boundary is. But if you keep your eyes fixed on it, you will transgress over and over again.

Robert taught that the center of the road is our goal for righteousness. It's Jesus. If you take your eyes off the edge and put them on the goal-you discover something amazing: You automatically stay within the boundaries! As you take your eyes off the law and put them on Jesus, the struggle ends. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus produces His fruit of righteousness in you.

Now, me driving recklessly-that is another story. I had no fear of driving, so when I noticed the keys had not been taken out of my dad's pickup truck, I jumped in to drive. The real problem in doing this was that I was clueless to the power and operation of the truck. The next thing I knew, I had hit a telephone pole leading down one of the roads on the land we owned.

Fear overcame me. I had gotten outside of my boundaries. There was such a dent that I could not hide the mistake. All I could do was cry. I ran home expecting the worst, explained what happened, and asked, "What do I do?"

My dad calmly (which was very unusual) said, "We will go back and get in the truck. You will listen carefully, and I will tell you every move to make, and you will drive home!"

I said, "What will happen is that I will wreck again!"

He said, "Then you will back up and keep driving."

I will never forget this lesson. Fear could have overtaken me. My dad could have wounded me so I would have never learned how to drive with confidence. But instead, he showed me plan B, and I succeeded in driving that day.

So, reject legalism! Draw near to Jesus, and begin to live in the freedom of the Holy Spirit. Thank Jesus that He is Yahweh Tsid- kenu. Let Him be the Lord, your righteousness.

The Prodigal Comes Home is the autobiography of Michael English, the incredible Gospel singer who made bad decisions that derailed his success and almost ruined his life. In the book, Bill Gaither wrote, "We are all just pilgrims in process; we don't come neatly packaged. We are complex and tortured by our best traits much of the time. Some artists' frailties are less obvious; others are exposed at the highest possible level. But the good news of the gospel is that there is forgiveness for every sin and there is a bright future for those who keep getting up after each fall, asking for forgiveness, and starting on a spiritual pilgrimage toward wholeness. Michael kept getting up. And today, it is a joy to see God redeeming those mistakes for His glory. To me, there is nothing better to sing about. And if anyone can sing about that redemption with authority, it is my friend Michael English."' That is plan B!

Michael wrote the following in the book:

This was my miracle-to be so radically off course for so many years and then suddenly be back on the right road again with my compass pointed toward God. When I started driving my own life, as though God were like some kind of global positioning system that I could choose to follow or ignore, I turned down dead ends and dark alleys, thinking they were going to lead me somewhere. I thought I had gotten so good at choosing my own path that I didn't need God anymore. I had gotten, as the GPS in my car sometimes tells me, "off my specified route." But I finally got to a place where I knew I needed help. I was so lost I couldn't find my way home ...

The most amazing thing is that God rerouted me without condemnation. Yes, I still had regrets-many of them. But after I reset my life's compass toward Him, it didn't matter that the other roads in life were straighter or that they would've gotten me there faster. What mattered was that finally-finally-after years of wallowing with the pigs, I had come home.

And as I worked to clean up my life, it seemed God opened the storehouses of heaven and showered down blessings on me. Each gift, no matter how small, seemed like another ring, another robe, another fatted calf given to me by my heavenly Father, who wanted to welcome me joyfully back into His household. Life had gone so badly for so long that when things started looking up, I didn't take anything for granted. Even though my days probably would have seemed pretty normal from most people's perspective, I thrived for days on each tiny blessing so that I felt like I was moving from mountaintop to mountaintop and cloud to cloud. When I woke up each morning fresh and alert in my apartment, I was as happy as if I had awakened at a five-star resort. Eating a drive-thru Egg McMuffin was like dining on eggs benedict at the Ritz. Singing at a little country church was like singing at Carnegie Hall.'

That is plan B. God, our Creator, knew that there had to be a plan B because we would mess up plan A. His plan B is costly. Plan B is not cheap grace that just allows us to have free will with no consequence of sin, but it is a plan of grace. This plan says, "You were born into a mess. You can't get out of this mess yourself, but I have given a sacrifice, My Son, for your mess. He suffered greatly for your sufferings. He took the beatings of what you illegally did. He carried your cross when you were too broken to carry the load. He took the stripes of the weakening infirmity that has racked your body. He shed the blood for your redemptive freedom."

He is plan B. Choose the love of this plan, and watch your life and path take a turn. The path might not be an easy path for you as you find your way out of your particular mess, but you will move on a path that will brighten daily. This plan is the plan that will make you new. Choose this day!

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.

-ROMANS 8:3

In His incarnation, Christ was like us in every way except that He never sinned: "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17). In order to identify Himself with us He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil 2:7-8). "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15).

Do You PERCEIVE THE NEW?

"See, I am doing a new thing! ... do you not perceive it" (Isa. 43:19, NIV). God used the prophet Isaiah to ask this question. In other words, the Lord could be doing something before your eyes, and yet your senses miss that which you have waiting and watching for if your attitude, alignment, or aptitude is not properly in order.

In the midst of our confusion, hurt, change, grief, desolation, despair, and death, we must be perceptive enough to recognize Him as our very present help in times of trouble. In your mess, can you perceive the will of God correctly? Can your spirit once again break into a new life flow and remain renewed, filled, and powerful? You must perceive correctly when the new begins.

Perception uses all of the senses-sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. The senses are involved in communication. To perceive is an act of apprehending, understanding, or entering into an awareness of the reality of something that has invaded your atmosphere. After the trauma of the crucifixion and the death of the Lord, the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 could not perceive correctly that the one visiting with them was the Lord Himself. However, once they took Communion, their eyes were opened.

The power of our communion keeps our conscience-the eye of our soul and the window of our spirit-clear so we can see and perceive properly. After Christ's resurrection, the disciples did not perceive Him, but Mary knew Him the moment the Lord spoke to her in the garden. He appeared to her as a gardener outside the tomb. Though His form was different, she could hear His voice and immediately knew He was the Lord! She could perceive because she had been delivered, fully knew His grace, and remembered His words. What made Mary know the Lord was that once she began following Him, she never looked back. His sheep know His voice, and if they will follow, He will lead them into all righteousness. At every crossroad of decision, you can take the right turn.

On wings of faith, we look at our past from God's perspective. His view is panoramic, encompassing all that was, and is, and is to come. From that vantage point, we can see how even our failures fit into God's plans and purposes for our lives. The longing to get a "do-over" becomes the assurance that God was, and is, and always will be in control of our timeline, no matter how many times we fail to meet the standard set by His Son. If we seek first His kingdom and press toward the mark God has set before us, our failures can serve their purpose in our life.

I like the verse above from 1 Corinthians in the Good News Translation: "Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out." When plan A gets marred, there is a plan B, or a path B, where you can step into redemption.

CHAPTER 6

YOU CAN REDEEM ALL

THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

HEN YOU MAKE a wrong move, get trapped by falling to a temptation of your enemy, ignorantly get seduced from God's perfect way, or even willfully choose to take a path in life that leads to destruction, there is a way of escape. This does not mean you will forget all of the hurt or confusion that came into your life during your time of deviation. However, if you survive and learn from your season of wandering, you can use that revelation to overcome the enemy's plan for others. Once you start again, you can actually use your experience to overcome. Your heart can be made clean, your spirit renewed, and your destiny clock reset. God's redemptive plan is activated, and the horizon line of your future can be seen again.

I believe many of those who have been a mess in the past will be the triumphant reserve for the future. In chapter 3, I wrote about the vision I was given of the triumphant reserve that would arise in days ahead. Most of these people were those who had risen and fallen, and risen again and fallen again, and now they had been labeled "triumphant" as they have risen yet again. Each one had made choices to follow God no matter what the cost. Now the Lord could use them to stand steadfast and represent His kingdom plan in the earth. Many were coming off the shelf and being used as we advanced forward with strength into the next harvest season. Many were second-timers who knew the power of amazing grace.

To triumph is to obtain victory or a state of being victorious in conquest. Triumph carries a distinct emotion for God's children. In triumph, one expresses joy or exaltation because he or she has prospered, succeeded, and flourished. An easy way to understand triumph is to think of a card played that takes all others (like trumping and winning a hand or suit).

A reserve is that which is kept for future use or retained from present use to be used for another purpose. A reserve can also be something in the mind that has been withheld from disclosure and is now revealed.

The tribes of Israel were treated as armies (Exod. 6:26). Each had a distinct order and assignment. Today, many of us are unsettled because we are not positioned correctly. However, once we are properly aligned, we can find ourselves arrayed for victory. Just as with the Maccabees of old, the Spirit of the Lord is raising up a group (tribes) whose oil and anointing will last. This group knows how to wait and withstand the enemy. He will anoint this group with fresh oil as they use the resources they are given. They will become a perpetual advancing, overcoming troop.

Many of this reserve had once been out of His perfect timing but have now been developed for a time such as this. These have overcome their stumbling blocks and chosen to advance beyond petty offenses. Each has come through narrow places of transition. They are a righteous troop who stand and release different types of prayers into the earth. They have reformation in their hearts. They know how to be angry and sin not! Their conscience is cleansed, and they have become bold. They can go up and enter boldly into the throne room of grace, gain new vision, and pave the way for many to follow. Their blood has been exchanged for His. They do not fear death. They are energized by His Spirit. This group will leap from high place to high place and always remain in their abiding place. May the triumphant reserve align and arise in this hour! God is calling us forth and getting us in a holy array. God is preparing His troops for a tremendous victory.

THE ABCS OF TRIUMPH

I find the Spirit of God very practical. He recently shared with me, "Stay simple to help My people become triumphant."

So I said, "Lord, tell me the ABCs of being triumphant."

Attitude

Your attitude is an indicator of your emotions. How you react and how you act in your relationship to the Lord cause an attitude of faith or unbelief to be seen. Unbelief can manifest in disgust, impatience, criticalness, murmuring, or complaining. I find that attitude is usually related to a personal choice. How you choose determines your attitude. If your attitude is wrong, your perception will be skewed. Therefore, the fruits of your labors will not be seen properly. The position of a person's mind and heart in a time of trouble will preserve them. Your attitude should always be to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Alignment

Attitude is linked with posture. How your attitude manifests is part of your alignment. Posture and attitude then are linked with your positioning. The word alignment is linked with the concept of snapping into place God's order for your future. When a bone is out of place or broken, a doctor must get that bone in place in order for the appendage to work properly. That's the concept of alignment. God has an order. Until the proper plumb line is established and the adjustment of all components comes into order, we are not properly aligned. Once this occurs, His order manifests. We then triumph. There's a lot of snapping in place going on.

Aptitude and analytical adjustment

Attitude, posturing, and alignment are linked with aptitude. Aptitude is linked with purpose and produces the effect that is necessary for prosperity. How quickly you can apprehend something is linked with your attitude. You do not have to be the most intelligent kid on the block to have the highest aptitude. On the other hand, you can have great aptitude but never follow through with alignment, or you can have a shoddy attitude and never adjust to win the war. Part of winning is not only understanding the skill sets necessary and knowing how to play the game, but it's also having the attitude to make quick adjustments against your enemy. The analytical part linked with attitude and alignment causes you to always understand the first principle and adjust quickly to God's order. You can easily separate components into parts and then see the whole reconstructed by faith. When you adjust properly, the exact fit of all components occurs. All cylinders begin to fire, and the vehicle for victory moves forward with ease.

Boundaries and borders (understanding your limits)

Boundaries designate a limit. Without having a limit, you can't understand your portion. Without understanding your portion, you cannot secure your inheritance. Promises always have boundaries. You must know the invisible lines of your authority to have victory within your territory or sphere of operation. The Spirit of God wants to take us to the very limits of our destined ability. At that point, we can always allow Him to take over and move from a supernatural dimension inside of our boundaries.

Beliefs (the mind to overcome and overthrow mistrust and suspicion)

The opposite of belief is mistrust. Therefore, you must understand the developmental components that produce your trust level. Trust is linked with faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. How you develop your set of truth values creates your belief system. Belief incorporates the power of our senses as well as concrete truths that we have proven. Belief is linked with persuasion. Your belief is linked with an object that you hold dear. Belief is linked with power. Power is linked with the ability to overcome. Your beliefs can create revolutionary moves in the earth.

Bloodline blessings

The concept of bloodline is linked with a direct line of descent. What produced your DNA is linked with your power to overcome. Iniquitous patterns that deviate you from God's purpose enter your bloodstream to weaken your ability to experience His blessings. A people who triumph exchange and purify their blood and gain the power through their beliefs to become a son (gender inclusive). A son or daughter is entitled to an inheritance.

Creativity

Having the power to assert a force to produce something from nothing is creativity. To take one form and change that form into something much more prosperous is creativity. To take different forms of matter and combine them and create a new constitutional quality is linked with creativity. To reshape and organize is to be creative. New combinations, characters, and properties, invested together, form the new.

Cunning (more shrewd than the enemy)

One of the problems that God's people have is the ability to be shrewder than darkness. Our covenant relationship allows us to outwit the enemy. To be triumphant, you must understand the power of making strategic moves. You must stay ahead of the enemy. When King Saul was threatening David's life, we read that David eluded him (1 Sam. 18:11). When the old kept pursuing to prevent the new, he made the right move at the right time to always remain triumphant.

Confrontational

What word will you give to the enemy that is opposing your blessings? Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit. There, He had to receive the Word to speak to Satan's tempting power. Confrontation is the act of bringing two forces together so truth is discovered and prevails. Many of us do not enjoy confrontation. However, to be triumphant, confrontation is necessary

GOD'S OVERCOMERS

God is gathering a scattered, traumatized, liberated, and redeemed group of overcomers! There are some things of which I have absolute certainty. These truths are so deeply developed within me that the enemy cannot snatch them from me. The offer that a holy God has for redemption is a sure thing. This redemption, which also includes our salvation, was purchased at a great and personal cost. The Lord Jesus gave Himself to defeat the works of the enemy and to overcome the power of sin, death, and the grave. His obedience delivered us from an eternity of separation from His glory. Our forgiveness is based on the price of His shed blood.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). The redemptive work of Jesus Christ delivers believers from the slavery to sin. The means of redemption through the death of Christ and His sacrifice for our sin ransomed or paid the price to release us from the sentence of death in prison. His blood was the ransom payment (Eph. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). His death balanced the scales of God's justice. This satisfied Father's heart for mankind and reset the clock so His blessings and purpose in the garden for mankind could be restarted and could come into fullness (Rom. 3:24-25). To experience this in your life, you must:

1. Enter into repentance. Change your mind and make any changes necessary to advance forward.

2. Receive mercy to get past any failures or faults that would hold you captive in the last season of life.

3. Forgive yourself for making wrong moves, and release anyone who has hurt you. This release will free you to advance.

4. Break the curse and cycle of your golden calves. These were built in your life when you were unwilling to wait for God's plan and boundaries. You most likely chose a different path of worship during that time. Yes, you worshiped, but your expression had some form of idolatry.

5. Break the power of the sin of unbelief that caused you to turn from the promised destiny that you know the Lord has offered in your life. I call this the "sin of the spies." They entered, reviewed their promise, and then refused to go to war to receive the blessing. In their process of fear and unbelief, they slandered God's will for their lives and received a reproach. Remove any reproaches from past defeats.

6. Prepare to ascend to the throne after you have humbled yourself. This will allow you to gain new revelation and to worship in a new way.

7. Receive the banner for your future. His banner over you is love. Let Jehovah Nissi arise, and follow Him into a new place of victory and triumph.

YOU CAN HAVE A SECOND OPPORTUNITY

Since Adam and Eve chose to listen to the voice of the enemy, all through Scripture man has been offered a way to restart their clock and get back in God's timing of freedom. God (who is not in time) has always offered a plan B for man (who is in time) to reconnect with Him, reorder his or her steps, and get back on the path of fullness. You could call the Bible, The Guide to a Second Opportunity. I have already mentioned Simon Peter in chapter 2. He seems to be the poster child of gaining a second opportunity after making mistakes. However, below are several other examples of men and women who started again.

1. Moses, chosen to lead the people out of Egypt, was an escaped murderer (Exod. 2:11-12). This was not his only problem. He allowed the people over whom he had been given stewardship to cause him to become angry and sin. He threw a righteous temper tantrum (Exod. 32:19). He directly disobeyed God by using the pattern from the last season to attempt to meet the needs of the people in a different season (Num. 20:8-12).

2. King David, a man of faith with a heart after the Lord, made big mistakes. He had an affair (2 Sam. 11:4) and developed a scheme to murder the woman's husband (vv. 15-17). This did not stop God from using him to lead the nation.

I believe the key to David's life was that he was a worshiper. Therefore, he knew the presence of God. His heart was always to have God central in his life and the life of the nation. When he attempted to position the ark using an illegal method, God chastised him by killing one of his mighty men before his eyes. The Lord then created a space of three months until David could regroup, seek Him, and find His way. He wrote many of the psalms, prepared for the building of the temple, and was in the bloodline of the Messiah. David's broken and contrite spirit is recorded in Psalm 51, and God calls him a man after His own heart in Acts 13:22.

His biggest mistake came in the season of war when he decided to have the people numbered. This would not have been a problem had his motive been pure. However, his motive was to rely upon the natural strength of his army and disconnect from the armies of heaven (1 Chron. 21).

3. Elijah was a man like us with passions and emotions that could go awry. He withstood the enemy passionately for three and a half years. However, at the point of his opportunity to gain an ultimate victory to change an entire nation, the threat of one powerful woman, Jezebel, caused him to become insecure and flee. God still met him in the cave of his hiding. God will meet you in the cave of your hiding. Yes, Israel suffered for a time. However, God had an ultimate plan of victory. Elisha was His triumphant reserve, working in the field of his father. God called him into service to finish the postponed process of Elijah.

4. The woman caught in adultery (John 8) is key for all of our understanding. No name is given for this woman, rather, just a principle for each of us. According to Jewish law, this sin was punishable by stoning. Jesus actually defied the double standard of the law and stopped the religious hypocritical structure where young and old were pointing out her sin. As a matter of fact, I believe He wrote the laws they had broken when He stooped to write in the sand, thus calling attention to their own lawlessness. After the accusers left, Jesus forgave the woman and instructed her to go. And in her going, He said, "Your new day has come, so sin no more; do not return to your old way of life."

5. The man having an illicit relationship with his stepmother (1 Cor. 5:1, 11) even found a way of escape. Paul instructed the church to break fellowship with him until he repented. Upon his repentance, Paul told them to receive him back into the church family and restore him (2 Cor. 2:6-11). He also shared that forgiveness breaks all the schemes of the enemy. This man was given a second chance, and Satan's upper hand over the group was broken.

6. In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the boy spent his inheritance on parties and prostitutes. When he hit rock bottom, he repented and returned to his father. The father welcomed his son and celebrated his return even though he had lost his inheritance. He had been defiled by having to eat with the swine. He had probably gained countless scars from his wayward life. However, he had not lost the love of Father. The father gave his son a second opportunity for freedom and family. This story is interesting because the older brother did not want to give the other son another opportunity at life or family.

Hmmm! Could it be that we set many more consequences on God's children than He does?

1. Jonah, a Bible figure that most in the world know about, was commanded by the Lord to do a job. He did not like the job, so instead, he did what he wanted to do. Actually, he got on a different boat to go to a different destination. How many times do we choose to get on a different boat when God has ordained the boat of obedience that will take us to our destiny? But, "The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time" (Jon. 3:1). Of course, this was after he had been in the belly of a fish for three days. Many times we have to go through harsh circumstances before we will listen to the voice of God and embrace His ultimate call for our lives. Jonah eventually obeyed God. I cannot say he did it with great joy, but he did obey. The result was that an entire city had another opportunity for freedom. One of the greatest mysteries in life is why God depends upon us to accomplish His will in the earth.

2. Hezekiah. "In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death" (2 Kings 20:1). Sometimes sickness must come into our lives for the Lord to get our attention to press through to our next opportunity. Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and said to him: "Thus says the LORD: `Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.' Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, `Remember now, 0 LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.' And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, `Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: `I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David""" (vv. 1-6). This is one of the best examples of a prophecy pronouncing a determined result on one day, and after the person shifts to accept the Lord, the prophet actually receives a new prophecy that sets the boundary of the next opportune time.

3. Manasseh was a very interesting evil sinner. As a matter of fact, the Lord puts him in a special category of "doing more evil" than others. However, there is a way of repentance that leads to redemption. "Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.... He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. He also repaired the altar of the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel" (2 Chron. 33:11-16). Prison can work a second opportunity!

4. The fig tree was a key in understanding the second chance. Jesus spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, `Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, `Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down"' (Luke 13:6-9). In other words, God doesn't cut you down until He knows that you never will bear any fruit. He is very patient to take you through a time frame (in this case, three years) to make you fruitful again even if you once chose a path of barrenness.

5. Paul had a complete identity change. In Acts 9, Paul (then Saul) is persecuting the church like never before. He is brilliant. He is legal. He is anti the new movement. But God! The next thing you know he is on his face, blind, and the Spirit of God is arranging a visitation and confrontation that will cause his identity to change so drastically that he becomes the leader of the new movement. This gives us great hope for some of those who are so religious in one season to make a shift in another season.

6. The churches of Revelation are one of our greatest keys. Here are seven churches in a region-some good, some bad. The Lord commends each for what they have done well in their past season. He also points out their shortcomings. Two of the churches had none. He then gives each instruction for what is necessary for their advancement into their next season. He says, "If you will hear what the Spirit is saying, you will overcome!" In other words, there is always a plan for overcoming the enemy and triumphing in the Lord. We must always remember that one key is our choice to hear what the Spirit is saying today. I have visited the historical sites of all of these churches. They seemed to choose not to keep listening to the Spirit.

DON'T SQUANDER A SECOND OPPORTUNITY

I believe each individual, territory, church, and nation have the type of opportunity I just listed with the seven churches. In my book God's Unfolding Battle Plan, I wrote about the seven lampstands and asked the question: "Is Your Lampstand Burning?"' We must keep the fire of our passion burning. Read these two Scripture passages that talk about passion:

While they [false teachers] promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."

-2 PETER 2:19-22

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

-HEBREWS 6:4-8

Once the grace of God has come to you to find your way out of your entanglement, find your way out, keep going, and do not go back again!

YOU CAN BE NEW OR BORN AGAIN

The second birth or being born again is a second opportunity that each one must choose. The Greek word used is to become "a new." In the story of Jesus and Nicodemus, the word can mean to be "born from above." John talks about our new birth coming from the point of origin of our Creator, God (John 1:13; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:18). Jesus said, "No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (John 3:5-6, NIV). Jesus is talking about a "new birth."

Regeneration or rebirth is key to understanding the power of redemption and redeeming time. Regeneration means "to restore all things." This occurs when God takes dominion over all and everything is put in subjection "under His feet." Many times that includes making the right choices to represent His purposes in the earth. This is how time plays such an important role. In a generation, we can cast aside the heart of God's plan of regeneration, and then His will is postponed to another generation that purposes to become "new." Regeneration is linked with:

A time period

■ Returning to a native land

The spirituality of humanity

The renewing and cleansing of our spiritual promises

A circumcision of the heart

■ The breath of Holy Spirit

A change in our lost condition

A renewal in the knowledge of God and His Christ

The concept of purity

The display and demonstration of our faith

REDEMPTION: A LAW TO COVER THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

One of the most beautiful passages related to redemption is found in the Book of Ruth. This story of Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, and Obed is timeless. The Book of Ruth is a story about Naomi's return and redemption. The story opens with Naomi, whose family had great wealth and inheritance, living in Bethlehem. Famine begins to overtake the city of Bethlehem, the place of bread. Not knowing what to do, the whole family left that area, leaving their inheritance behind, and went to Moab. Naomi's two sons married in the new land and later died there. Naomi's husband also died there. Famine, death, and desolation caused all hope for inheritance to be lost. Naomi left Bethlehem wealthy but returned impoverished. She had absolutely nothing left but two daughters-in-law, one of whom was Ruth. Naomi had lost her inheritance; Ruth had lost her husband.

Those terrible losses would become the springboard for their future. Naomi was living in a foreign land and was separated from her homeland and relatives. She became bitter. Naomi brought her two daughters-in-law together and told them that she could not promise them a better life in Bethlehem because, when she left, it was in desolation. One daughter-in-law decided to stay in Moab.

Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem. Ruth's choice to go forth redeems mankind. God established provision for them in the Levitical law, which said they had a right to family inheritance if a relative would become their kinsman redeemer. Upon their return to Bethlehem, there was a kinsman who had the first right to Naomi's property. Another wealthy man, Boaz, came next after him. The man who was nearest of kin agreed to redeem the piece of land until he found out there was a young widow involved. That is how law works. Law loves to take but does not like to give and rearrange its structure. He graciously backed out because it would mar his own inheritance (Ruth 4:6). That left Boaz as the rightful nearest of kin who had the privilege of redeeming her land and Ruth with it. The Moabitess and the Jew became one. Now, let's look at this redemptive plan more closely and in greater detail.

Four key requirements for redemption

Four things were required in order for a kinsman to redeem. The same four issues are vital for our understanding of redeeming time. A redeemer must:

1. Be near of kin (Lev. 25:25, 48; Ruth 3:12-13)

2. Be able to redeem (Ruth 4:4-6)

3. Be willing to redeem (Ruth 4:6)

4. Accept the responsibility of redeeming his kinsman's lost opportunities

If a person was forced into slavery, his redeemer purchased his freedom. When debt threatened to overwhelm him, the kinsman stepped in to redeem his homestead and let the family live. Redemption of go el was used of things consecrated to God (Lev. 27:13-31), of God as redeeming man (Exod. 6:6; Isa. 43:1; 44:22; 48:20; 49:7), and of those redeemed by God (Job 19:25; Isa. 35:9; 51:10). The right of redemption and the office belonged to the nearest kinsman (Lev. 25:25; Ruth 3:12; 4:1, 6, 8, et al.). God is the great Kinsman of His people. When their liberty was lost in Egypt, He rescued them from bondage. "I am the LORD ... I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments" (Exod. 6:6). "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth" (Job 19:25, KJv). For Job, his major complaint was that no one came to redeem him. Job kept his faith reaching. He also kept proclaiming that Yahweh would provide his kinsman Redeemer. Job's hope looked to the coming Messiah. He affirmed his faith that his redeemer would come to the earth. Redemption was completed when the price was completely paid (Lev. 25:27; Ruth 4:7-11).

Jesus Christ is my Go el or Redeemer

"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3). Jesus is your nearest kinsman! He was like us in every way except that He never sinned. "Therefore ... that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation [reconciliation] for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17). In order to identify Himself with us, He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:7-8).

"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). Jesus, who resisted all sin, has the power to redeem you.

Furthermore, Jesus is willing to redeem you. Jesus Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14; see also Heb. 10:12; 4:16; 2:17; 1 John 1:7; 2:2). Jesus said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). He was saying, "I will volunteer to bring you out of bondage." John 10:17-18 says: "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father" (John 10:17-18). Jesus has paid the price in full, but you must receive your redemption. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, KJv). Jesus is the sinner's nearest kinsman.

Our redemption, which includes our salvation, has been purchased at a great and personal cost because the Lord Jesus gave Himself for our sins in order to deliver us from them. Our forgiveness is based on the ransom price of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). Christ's death made way for our deliverance from sin if we choose to allow Him to unlock our destiny.

THE FULLNESS OF REDEMPTION AFFECTS THE LAND

Redemption was both a social and religious concept in the daily life of God's people. The Israelites were aware of their responsibility to one another to protect the weak and unprotected. Redemption secures the life of the people as a community, not just as individuals (Deut. 25:5-10). As mentioned above, this custom required a close relative to marry the widow of the deceased (the kinsman) in order to continue his family line.

In Israel, land had to stay in the family. A family could mortgage the land to ward off poverty. However, there was a law of redemption in Leviticus 25:25, which states: "If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold." A required kinsman could purchase back the land and bring back the inheritance to the family. If a family member died without an heir, the kinsman gave his name by marrying the widow and rearing a son to hand down his name (Gen. 38:8; Deut. 25:5; Ruth 3-4). When death came at the hands of another man, the redeemer acted as the avenger of blood and pursued the killer (Num. 35:12-34; Deut. 19:1-3). The redeemer principle was used of things consecrated to God (Lev. 27:13-31). God used this principle in redeeming man (Exod. 6:6; Isa. 43:1; 44:22; 48:20; 49:7). Those redeemed by God (Job 19:25; Isa. 35:9; 51:10) were to learn to say, "SO."

THERE IS A LAW THAT SAYS, "I CAN BE REDEEMED"

The Israelites' understanding of redemption is woven into their understanding of God. God stands by the oppressed and needy. He extends His love and mercy, offering a new freedom and hope. God has a deep concern for the welfare of His people-materially, emotionally, and spiritually. Also, the redemption theme extends to the generations and works through the genealogy.

In Ruth 4:13, we first see that God helped Ruth to conceive a son by her marriage to Boaz. Second, through the resultant offspring we find that the son born to Naomi is more than just a gift from God to continue her lineage. We see the history of God's rule advance through the Davidic line-connecting the theme of the Book of Ruth into the Bible's main theme of redemptive history.

Along with the redemption theme, hesed (sometimes translated as "loving-kindness" and also implying "loyalty") rises to the top as another important concept. The theme of hesed is woven throughout Ruth beginning at chapter 1, verse 8 with Naomi blessing her two daughters-in-law as she urges them to return to their Moabite families: "The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me." Both Ruth and Boaz demonstrate hesed to their family members throughout the story. These are not acts of kindness with an expectation of measure for measure. Rather, they are acts of hesed that go beyond measure and demonstrate that hesed can require a person to go beyond the requirements of the law and choose the unexpected. However, the importance of the law is evident within the Book of Ruth, and the story reflects a need to stay within its boundaries. In going beyond measure in acquiring the property (demonstrating hesed), Boaz redeemed not only the land but both Naomi and Ruth as well. The two widows then had a secure and protected future.

There is a law of redemption! However, that law is linked with His loving-kindness for His people. Naomi had learned about this law long ago. However, one key in life is to know when and how to recognize the time to activate that promise or law of redemption that will not only buy back your past but also open the way for your future. There are things in each one of us that need to be activated in a NOW time.

God is just waiting to redeem and bring to fullness your redemption, and now is the time to advance and triumph. Naomi was the one who sent Ruth to glean the forgotten grain and harvest the produce in the corner of the field-an agricultural provision, which the Torah provides for the poor Israelites. But divine providence sent Ruth to Boaz's field-and Boaz was a kinsman of Elimelech. He noticed this beautiful woman in his field. Boaz was widowed or single. I believe Naomi perceived several things-including that Boaz was attracted to Ruth. I love Naomi, because her age did not stop her from being repositioned for the future. She also perceived that after gleaning for a complete harvest season, there needed to be a shift. She had a plan to secure their future! This plan started by remembering the law of inheritance that she had learned as a child, returning to that law, and then developing a plan for redeeming the past, present, and entering into the future.

IDENTITIES TAKE A SHIFT FROM ONE SEASON TO THE NEXT

The Book of Ruth contains one of the most idyllic stories in the Bible between two people who know loss but find love again. As I already mentioned, the widow Ruth met the widower Boaz, crossed cultural lines, and intermarried. Two people overcame their religious diversities, and one converted to Judaism to find love and oneness. A city that had lost its identity was also returning from famine to a newly restored agricultural life. Boaz and Ruth found God's restoration and redemption and become the great-grandparents of David. These reforming of covenants caused the eternal life of Israel to continue. The putting aside of broken emotions and going forth into the future by a small group of people actually caused all of mankind to have a future.

There is a great wealth of detail in the Book of Ruth if we continue to dig more deeply. The mood of the story is fashioned from the start through the meanings hidden in the names of the participants. Naomi's husband, Elimelech, means "my God is king," foreshadowing God's Davidic order and lineage of kingship. Naomi means "my gracious/pleasant one," who later asks to be called Mara, "bitter one." Naomi's name change elicited the emotions that she was experiencing and the direction of the story. Even the names of the two sons, Mahlon, meaning "sick," and Chilion, meaning "weakening/pining," represented the condition of their body and soul after the loss of their inheritance. The two daughters-in-law's names also have significance. Orpah means "nape or back of the neck," and she turned her back on Naomi and returned to her people. Ruth, meaning "friend," pledged her loyalty to Naomi. Boaz, meaning "strength is (in) him" or "he comes in strength," became the kinsman redeemer, and Obed's name appropriately means "servant" Obed is the ancestor of King David, and Israel's kings are servants. Any identity can change or be brought into a new plan of fullness.

Remember that the enemy can so assault us in our lives that the very opposite of what God intended for us becomes our identity. Naomi, whose name meant "pleasant," had nothing in her heart but bitterness. She even declared that she was to be called "bitter." Yet in the midst of her emotional distress, she remembered that the inheritance her family once had was back in Bethlehem, not in Moab, so she decided to go back to her familiar chaos and desolation.

YOUR COMMITMENT TO HIS COVENANT SETS YOUR REDEMPTION IN MOTION

Ruth's famous words, "For wherever you go, I will go," are used in many covenant exchanges throughout the world. Ruth, who devoted herself to her mother-in-law, made covenant and followed Naomi as she returned to Bethlehem. This is a very important example for the process of change. We must ask ourselves if we will go forward like Ruth and embrace those circumstances that create a different environment around us. Ruth served Naomi faithfully by gleaning in the harvest fields around her. However, there comes a time when you must choose to change, or your present state of "gleaning" will become the pattern and boundary for your future. Ruth and Naomi couldn't keep going this way. This gleaning wasn't getting them anywhere. There came a time when Naomi decided to seek security for Ruth. She wanted to secure the best the Lord had for Ruth's future. Let's look at that more closely.

GOD'S ORDER IS INTERESTING

Ruth is now in full covenant with Naomi. Do you see the power of covenant? Ruth is not Elimelech's widow, and Boaz is not his brother. However, God intervened to produce a new order by grafting Ruth into His covenant and causing Boaz to fulfill all the requirements of a kinsman redeemer. Redemption was not just a blessing and law of the people, but it affected the land as well. Ruth becomes a conduit to redeem the entire bloodline and restore the land. The account of these two women in desperate straits in a male-dominated society becomes a model for all of us who have once lost but decided to return to our original place of promise and portion. The second opportunity begins! Ruth is a transitional character. She bridged the gap between generations, cultures, and lineages from the time of the judges through King David. God's loving-kindness was revealed to the person of Ruth as a demonstration of His love to any foreigner who will follow Him.

SECURE YOUR INHERITANCE Now

The other major revelation in the Book of Ruth is the power of redemption. The verb redeem means "to buy back and to protect." God can redeem your lost time. Just as in the case of the ten years that Naomi spent in Moab while her land and fortune was lost in Bethlehem, God our Kinsman can redeem our lost time, reposition us for victory, and give us a plan of security for the future. The power of redemption does not just right a wrong or fix a past mistake, but it resets your blessing clock so you can secure the benefits of generations to come.

To secure is "to guard effectively from danger by fortifying something so it is beyond hazard."' This can happen by us confining, building a hedge, and making certain that no enemy can enter our boundaries. We are not living in a world without danger. But we are living in times when we can feel secure. The Spirit of the Lord can transform your mind so you are free from fear and apprehension. He has a wonderful future for you. Do not fear what is ahead. The Lord assures us:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.... There is hope in your future, says the LORD, that your children shall come back to their own border.... Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

-JEREMIAH 29:11; 31:17; PSALM 37:37

As I previously mentioned, Naomi perceived that Ruth had to make a shift if their inheritance was to be secured. Essentially, she said, "TONIGHT is our NOW, Ruth! Get cleaned up, look good, get rid of that widow's garment that you have worn for a year, get anointed, and go to where the celebration is. When you get there, wait until midnight, and then when Boaz is asleep, lie down and submit yourself to him. If you will do this, our future will be secured. Tonight is our future!" The rest is history. Ruth's obedience secured our future because Jesus was in the loins of Ruth and Boaz.

In Ruth 3:5, we find Ruth using great wisdom: "`I will do whatever you say,' Ruth answered" (NIV). That one phrase is the only necessary phrase you need to know and embrace to receive confidence that you have a future! Tell fear of the future to leave you now, and be willing to do whatever you need to do to obey the voice of the Lord; your future will then be intact.

So, Naomi laid out a plan for Ruth to secure her inheritance. This is what she told her to do:

1. Wash yourself. Ruth had been gleaning in the fields. She was tired, and she smelled. Naomi knew they were not going to come into any inheritance with the way Ruth looked. So Ruth brought the water and began to wash herself. Today the Lord is sweeping across His body with cleansing revelation. We have worked hard. We have toiled in the fields, and God says, "Stop. Wash yourself. Let the Word of God flow over you. Take a rest. Soak for a little while, and allow the cleansing to refresh and renew."

2. Anoint yourself. To anoint means to be smeared with fragrant oil. Ruth needed a new fragrance for the new season. Isaiah 61 speaks of the oil of joy that replaces the mourning in our souls. This is also a part of jubilee. Ruth had not been in a season of joy. Rather, she had been in widowhood. But in order to move into her season of inheritance, she needed a new anointing of oil that would emit a pleasant fragrance. As you move into your season of inheritance, allow Holy Spirit to cover you with a new anointing. Allow the oil of joy to replace the unpleasant odor of mourning in your life.

3. Put on your best garment. The garment that Ruth had been wearing to work in the field was inappropriate. Remember, Ruth was still in her widow's garment. In order to secure her future, the widowhood that was dressed up around her had to come off. The grief that she had been wearing was no good for the next place. It would not draw anyone to her. Like Joseph, Ruth needed to put on a new garment to move into her next place. Here is a lesson for us: take off the grief. We go through hard, hard things as people. But when God says it's time to change your garments and remove your grief, don't let any self-pity keep that old garment buttoned up around you. Can we draw in the people of the world if we are clothed with grief? No. God is going to have us put on a new garment that will show the world the comfort and encouragement they need. Just as Ruth and Joseph did, get ready to take off that old garment and put on a whole new mantle.

4. Go to the threshing floor. The threshing floor had a dual purpose in those days. First, it was where the wheat and the chaff were separated. But it was also a place of feasting. So here Naomi says, "Ruth, I want you to go down to where the party is going on." As we make ourselves ready, God is preparing a feast for us, and He is preparing us to go where the party is happening.

5. Wait for God's timing. Naomi told Ruth not to enter into the party right away. She was to stand back and wait until all the fun stopped, and then come out of the shadows. God is getting us established in our abiding place so we are ready when the time comes. Then Ruth was to go and lie down at Boaz's feet; as she did, there would be a distinct decision made. Can you imagine what must have been going on in Ruth's mind? It seemed that Naomi was suggesting a "Tamar" situation for Ruth. However, she was a virtuous woman. And now she was told to lie down at the feet of a man.'

SUBMISSION WILL ALWAYS SECURE GOD'S HEART TO REDEMPTION

This was a true test of submission. God is bringing the body of Christ to His feet, and we are to stay there until we receive the best. Boaz woke from his sleep and saw Ruth lying there. He asked her who she was. Ruth identified herself as a close relative and asked him to draw her in and cover her. Fuchsia Pickett describes Ruth's request this way: "In asking for Boaz to cover her, Ruth was declaring, `I need a redeemer. I am a widow, disgraced, with no inheritance. You can take my shame, my poverty, the bleakness of my future, and give a new beginning. "4

Ruth had her level of perception and knowing. I believe that she knew Boaz was in love with her. Therefore, she moved from "the fling mentality to gain one portion" and went for "the total restoration and redemptive purpose" linked with her future. She told him exactly who she was, and she asked that he "redeem" her by marriage and by restoring to her Elimelech's previously sold homestead in Israel. Ruth understood that true eternity means bearing a child on your own piece of land in Israel. Therefore when Ruth appealed to his kinship, he redeemed the property (Ruth 3:9; 4:3). To do so, he had to marry Ruth in order "to raise up the name of the dead" (Ruth 4:5, 10, KJv).

Many want the prize without having the heart of redemption. God looks for stewards of His purposes who want to represent the fullness of His heart so that His purpose can continue. Boaz had a heart to redeem and restore a person (Ruth 3). He was willing to redeem the land (Ruth 4:4). That is what makes all of this so beautiful. There is a way. There is an order. There is a redoing and rearranging that sets your new order to move forward from a colossal mess and destruction into redemption.

Ruth was willing to make big changes to secure her future and that of her mother-in-law. As you already know, Boaz married her, and everyone received the best of the redeemed time. That is what happens when we are willing to embrace change and find our new place. In The Future War of the Church, I wrote a chapter called "Women Arising Now!"5 "NOW women" know the time for change! And if they move in God's perfect timing, they will secure their future. Why is this important? Because if women begin to rise up as NOW women and begin to pray in accordance with what God is doing, we will begin to see these things manifest.

Finally, visualize Naomi. Her bitterness has let go. She has a smile on her face and laughter in her heart. Her life has been "bought back." Lost time has been redeemed. Her neighbors said, "A son has been born to Naomi!" They named him Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of King David (Ruth 4:17), of the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5). God had redeemed her.

God has a path for your redemption. Believe Him for the power to buy back lost years, and move you into your future. You can conceive and birth your future!

CHAPTER 7

REDEEMING HEALTH,

WEALTH, AND WHOLENESS

LOVE THINKING ABOUT redemption, the buying back of my whole being. When our kinsman Redeemer chose to redeem us, He redeemed all of us-spirit, soul, and body. He delivered us from the grip of the enemy's plan. He came to destroy the works of the enemy (1 John 3:8). He saved us from hell, the sting of death, and ourselves.

SALVATION: OUR TICKET TO FREEDOM

We needed a Savior. From the time when we were removed from the garden, man lived a life of stress and difficulty. Oh yes, there were faith times, like when God made covenant with man through Abraham because of his righteous responses to God's love. However, salvation is the deliverance from the power of sin and the manifestation of our redemption. Salvation is our fully paid pass out of the prison of our captivity. Salvation is our ticket to freedom.

In the Old Testament, the word salvation sometimes refers to:

Deliverance from danger (Jer. 15:20)

Deliverance of the weak from an oppressor (Ps. 35:9-10)

The healing of sickness (Isa. 38:20)

Deliverance from blood guilt and its consequences (Ps. 51:14)

God can save a nation as completely and as easily as saving an individual; national deliverance from the military threat of captivity and control (Exod. 14:13) and release from captivity (Ps. 14:7) are not impossible for our God. This is key in our understanding of redemption. God saved Noah from the Flood. This gave man another opportunity for life. He reformed and brought out of slavery a whole nation with whom He formed covenant (Exod. 12:40-14:31). The principle here is that there is a Promised Land (Exod. 13:3-16), and God's mighty saving power can be demonstrated to get you there.

The Exodus is a pattern of salvation for us to understand. This set a generation (that had been in captivity for more than four hundred years) back into God's perfect time to experience what He had ordained for them.

Even though the people chose bondage at times, such as the idolatry that led to their captivity in Babylon (Jer. 29), they always had a pattern of freedom and hope. Though one generation might not choose freedom, there would be an age to come when a corporate group would arise and again cry, "Freedom and reform!" This could be reform from laws that had created bondage, or it could be freedom from the determined time of control, which had been determined at the hand of an evil-driven force that longed to control the power of the Spirit of God in the earth (Dan. 7).

But God! He sent His Son, and by His presence and the power of faith (Luke 19:9-10), we had the choice to embrace His fullness. Now our salvation is based on His death and resurrection (Mark 10:25). That salvation is past, present, and future. When a person believes in Christ, he is saved (Acts 16:31). But we are also in the process of being saved from the power of sin (Rom. 8:13; Phil. 2:12). Finally, we shall be saved from the very presence of sin (Rom. 13:11; Titus 2:12-13). God releases into our lives today the power of Christ's resurrection (Rom. 6:4) and allows us a foretaste of our future life as His children (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14). Our experience of salvation will be complete when Christ returns (Heb. 9:28) and the kingdom of God is fully revealed (Matt. 13:41-43).'

He delivered us to safety, abundance or increase (children, crops, harvest, finances), long life, purity, godliness, holiness, and eternal life. I believe our interaction with Him as He pursues us determines the amount of time on the earth that we experience the fullness of each blessing listed above. Adoption, justification, ransom, reconciliation, regeneration ... all of these are a part of the overall plan of salvation. You receive freedom by being adopted though faith by grace as you humble your will and find forgiveness for your sins.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, abides here in the earth to comfort, teach, judge our sin, guide, convict, surround us, manifest in us, and allow us to experience His love and grace on a daily basis. He exercises the power of the Father and the Son in creation and redemption. Holy Spirit causes believers to come to Christ and see with new eyes of faith. He is closer to us than we are to ourselves.

Holy Spirit's attitude is generosity. His chief function is to illumine Jesus's teaching and to glorify His person. He works individually and corporately in the church. He opposes evil. He convicts us so we live righteously. He pronounces judgment. The Holy Spirit saves you, seals you, and helps you walk, live (Rom. 8:3-6), and abound in hope with power (Rom. 15:13). He reveals life and abundance to you. He fills you with joy! The power of Holy Spirit brings us revelation of who the Lord is and who we are.

THE IDEA OF REVELATION

When Paul prayed for the people of Ephesus to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation, he was saying, "Let each person here know the Spirit of God in such way that they realize who they are in Him!" God chose to come down to man and reveal Himself. God revealed His name to us. We are named after Him (Deut. 28:10). Abraham, a man, was chosen to come out of Ur and become the Hebrew who crossed over for all mankind. The Hebrews were different: they were not just man seeking relationship with God; they were man with Torah (the Law and statutes of life) and God. Our redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit causes us to be grafted into this incredible crossing over people. If we, like them, get out of God's timing, our steps can be reordered by seeking Him.

The Word is not just wisdom; the Word is our destiny! We should have a desire to eat this Word and chew its life-giving sustenance or meditate upon it until we become successful in our assignments. God disclosed to some men His will for all men! What is written is for all. The Word answers the most important question: What does God demand of me?

Man is a dangerous, mighty, great being with immense power and ability. He must have someone to say no to him, to give him a choice in his actions (Ps. 8). That is how and why God intervenes with man. When you understand the realness of God's pursuit of man, revelation makes sense. We can also understand why we resist revelation. Think of Moses. He "turned aside" to see the burning bush. We must choose to "see" God in our midst. Once we can "see" Him, then we must choose to embrace Him. Without the letting go and clinging to (as Ruth did with Naomi), we cannot experience the fullness of the price that was paid for us.

Revelation causes obscure things to become clear. Revelation brings hidden things to light. Revelation shows signs that will point us into our path of destiny. Revelation is timed from Father and made accessible and available to us by the Son and implemented by the Spirit of God. This is the most difficult concept for us to understand. We must wait for the witness of the Spirit to our inner being, our spirit, to move and have our being in Him. Man lives in time and space, but a dimension of God's attentiveness enters into that realm. We must decide if we will be accountable to what God brings into this realm. When we gain insight, we must develop an action.

THE FAITH KEY

The key to our life and to living in His timing is faith. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). We know that "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6). What is faith? Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 (AMP): "Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]" Galatians 5:6 reveals that faith works "through love." The Word of God builds our faith in the impossible, including our faith in God's desire to heal us. Psalm 107:20 asserts, "He sent His word and healed them."

For Satan to succeed in getting times and laws changed in your life, he must stop you from hearing. If he can stop you from hearing, then he can stop you from being whole. The expression of faith is an affirmation of truth. Faith itself is an event. It is the moment in which the soul of man communes with the glory of God. When we miss that moment in our lives where we express faith, the timed sequence of our pleasing God and experiencing His favor and pleasure passes by us or is postponed to another season.

Faith cometh-and a primary way it comes is by hearing God's Word! I am amazed at how many never open the record that was written from heaven to a man, his people, and the land he was promised. Abraham was chosen by God to be the example of our crossing over into all the blessings that heaven offers. When the Lord Jesus Christ came, obeyed, died, resurrected, and set the fullness of redemption in motion, these same blessings that had been promised to all nations were opened up for us to experience. The Bible is our hearing tool-the plumb line of our faith is recorded in the Bible.

However, remember that God has that still, small voice that you hear quietly in the deepest part of your heart. You will also hear the Lord through other people. God's creation can speak fully of His blessings or judgments. Another way that faith cometh is through dreams and visions. I also find Him very alive in our experiences or circumstances. We might not like the circumstance facing us, but if we will submit, we will hear His voice and see what He is saying to us. The hosts of heaven also bring us messages and assist us. Angels will be discussed more as we get into Worship Redeemed, the final book in this series. Seldom do we hear His audible voice, but He can speak to us today, just as He did in days of old. God is not time. Therefore, He can find ways to move in time to communicate to us.

FAITH DEVELOPS AND INCREASES

Faith is preceded by awe. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. 111:10). We must learn to see the miracles that are daily with us. We need to open our eyes to where we are going (Prov. 14:15). We must learn how to let His will prevail. Our faith is not just our concern-it is also His concern. The warring of your will against faith can be very strong. Until the will is yielded, you cannot secure your desire. Only in His light do we see light. We do not seek God only for information; we seek God so we can respond to Him.

God is not important unless He is the supreme importance in our life. Faith is not the same as belief. Faith is sensitivity, understanding, engagement, and attachment. We can gain this or lose this; remember the generation that left Egypt (Ps. 78:14-32; Isa. 63:17). Faith includes faithfulness, strength of waiting, the acceptance of His concealment, and the defiance of history (Isa. 26:13). Faith moves mountains and can change nations if we allow that grain within us to grow.

PRESS THROUGH INTO HEALTH, PROSPERITY, AND A NEW GLORY REALM

The two areas in which we seem to have the most problems experiencing God's redemptive plan in our life are with our health and in the poverty realm set against our mentality of increase. Poverty's voice says, "God is not able." Infirmity's voice says, "I will keep you so weak that you wither and lose the strength to bring forth your destiny!" The manifestation of Holy Spirit with gifts of healing and miracles is one of the time-sensitive issues in this generation that we must press to see manifested. It is critical that we have a renewal of His power and demonstration. In 3 John 2 we read, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers."

I am a warrior. I've had so many sicknesses that I needed to learn to war through them. One biblical story that really blesses me is the one of the woman with the spirit of infirmity who "pressed through" in Mark 5:25-34. She is an incredible example of personal overcoming. She overcame the religious structure of the day, the reproach of being a woman, and the stigma of being unclean. She pressed through to touch the Lord. This caused the Lord to release "virtue" (v. 30, KJv; "power" in the NKJv) from His own body, which healed her condition. "Jesus' treatment of disease was part of His redemptive plan of freedom. Jesus healed sick people. This was one of His major ministries. He dealt with many root causes of illness and individuals affected by madness, birth defects and infections .112

Drs. Robert A. Weinberg and Anthony L. Komaroff, in "Health for Life: Your Lifestyle, Your Genes, and Cancer," a wonderful article in Newsweek, say:

If we grew thinner, exercised regularly, avoided diets rich in red meat and ate diets rich in fruits and vegetables, and stopped using tobacco, we would prevent 70 percent of all cancers. The strongest evidence of the importance of lifestyle in cancer is that most common cancers arise at dramatically different rates in different parts of the globe. Several cancers that are extremely common in the United States are relatively rare in other parts of the world, occurring only 1/10th or 1/20th as often. Equally striking, when people migrate from other parts of the world to the United States, within a generation their cancer rates approach those of us whose families have lived in this country for a long time. Even if people in other parts of the world stay put, but adopt a U.S. lifestyle, their risk of cancer rises.'

Prosperity, if not used correctly, can create a hindrance to health. They go on to say:

Lifestyle influences a person's risk for cancer by generating growth-promoting signals that affect cells primed to become cancerous, or that already are cancerous. What primes those cells to become cancerous in the first place are changes in their genes. All tumors begin with one renegade cell. Initially the cell is just one of about 30 trillion or so in the body. It looks no different from the cells around it, and, like those cells, it divides only if the organ it's part of needs it to divide. Then, even though the organ around it has enough cells, the renegade cell begins to multiply uncontrollably: one cell becomes two, two become four, four become eight, until the descendants are beyond counting. Cancer is ultimately disease of malfunctioning genes.'

What causes the various genetic changes that lead to cancer? Mutation-inducing chemicals-mutagens-in our environment can do so. Tobacco smoke, additives in most of our quick foods, and environmental impurities in the atmosphere are some of the reasons for cell rebellion. But actually, most cancer-inducing mutations occur when cells damage their own genes through spiritual issues that twist and change the original intent of our God-given destiny. This is called iniquity. I wrote a chapter on "The Blood War" in God's Unfolding Battle Plan if you choose to pursue an understanding of this.'

Weinberg and Komaroff go on to say, "Something else-something from outside the cancer cell-needs to fan the flames (of these rebellious cells). A cell with several mutations may be primed to become cancerous, or may even be in the sluggish early stages of cancer, but that cell usually needs to be stimulated by additional growthpromoting signals to become a full-blown tumor."' Diet, obesity, lack of exercise, trauma, and so on are all factors.

With all of the stimuli in the world that confront us daily, do you see how it is possible for Satan to send a spirit of infirmity against us? When we move out of God's timing in all we do, we open ourselves to this spirit attaching to our cells, finding an iniquitous strand hidden in our blood and working to shorten our time and strength in the earth realm during our life span. DNA is the molecule responsible for hereditary instructions in cells. If these molecules are influenced wrongly or receive information from outside sources in their replication, they encode harmful information that hatches out in time. Errors in copying information can lead to permanent changes in your DNA. These errors can cause addictions, mental problems, deceptive religious tendencies, roots of bitterness, betrayals and broken covenants, God-hating problems, occult and witchcraft problems, and deviated sexual patterns, to name a few. But God!

Iniquity has a time. We find this principle in Genesis 15. The iniquity of the Amorites would one day become full, and God would redeem a people who would transfer all the wealth that was held in that structure. This people would take dominion of their promise in His time.

FIVE MAJOR AREAS OF INIQUITY

If we receive wrong stimuli, Satan can ensnare us to work with his purposes to create major breaches in God's kingdom plan in the earth. The five major areas in which he works to change times and law are:

Covenant breaking

Idolatry or blood sacrifice

• Illegal bloodshed

■ Sexual immorality

Robbing God

If he can get you to participate in any of these areas with him, he can twist your DNA structure, encode sin patterns, change your time, and thwart your destiny. When we agree with any of the temptations related to the above, we will see broken places called breaches or gaps in our lives. These will always manifest in a weakness in our bodies and can be extended into the future in our bloodline. These are blessing robbers! We must have our clocks reset to gain the blessings that God intends for us to have in life.

THE PRICE FOR OUR HEALING IS PAID

Biblical healing has several associated words that help produce a full understanding of God's redemptive plan. Marpe' means that we are receiving a cure, or that a cure will come (Mal. 4:2). Another interesting word linked with healing is te'alah, which means to open up or develop an irrigation canal. We must remember that a river of healing is opening for God's people. This can also mean to apply something external. (See Jeremiah 30:13.) Kehah is another word that means to assuage, make milder or less severe, to relieve or ease (Nah. 3:19).

A character that Jehovah revealed Himself as was Rapha or Rophe, meaning "one who restores to normal function." (See Jeremiah 17:14; Psalm 6:2.) God's actions not only reveal His character but also are linked with His divine name or title. As we mentioned earlier, a fresh revelation of the name of Yahweh went before the great redemptive act of the Exodus. When we see God's name, we expect God's act. Part of our issue with healing is a lack of knowing Him as Jehovah Rophe. He revealed Himself to His people in the midst of their wanderings, murmurings, and complaining because they needed a healer who could help them endure their journey toward His fullness. Health is a condition in which the components of the body, mind, and soul are free from disease. The parts become whole in their function together to promote the person's peace. Health is not the issue with normal aging. Healing is a process, often involving medical, surgical, or mind analysis to help our condition come into functional repair. This can cause us to be regenerated. A previously diseased or damaged part of the body or mind can be fully restored to use.

Therapeuo (ia) is the word linked with the attendant who treats (John 5:10; Luke 9:11; 12:42; Rev. 22:2). Sometimes we need to be the healer the Lord uses. Therefore, there is a divinely imparted gift that can be used to assist in causing a person to become whole (iaomai, Luke 4:18; 1 Cor. 12:9). Sozo means to save one from a disease (Mark 5:23), and diasozo means to cause one to escape from the degenerating power of a disease (Luke 7:3).

Healing is linked to your physical body functions (Ps. 6; Luke 7:21). However, healing is more than just about your body functioning correctly. God wants your spirit, soul, and body to be made whole and to be sanctified (1 Thess. 5:23). Therefore, the spiritual dimension of healing is so important to understand (1 Cor. 12:9, 28, 30).

Life sources around us can be healed. Elisha threw salt in the water source of Jericho (2 Kings 2:21-22). Salt can make something fresh. We see this in Ezekiel's prophecy about the rising river of life (Ezek. 47). Nations can be healed as well (Hos. 6). His stripes have healed.

Infirmity is a term that encompasses more than just sickness and disease; it is also related to suffering and sorrow. In Matthew 8:16-17, Jesus: "... cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: `He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."' (See also Isaiah 53:4.) Infirmity can also refer to a disability of one kind or another. Infirmity can occur as a result of moral or spiritual defects that cause our will to stray from God. Infirmity can be related to the influence of an evil spirit. (See Luke 13:11.)

Infirmity can also be linked to an overall weakness in our bodies or to anything that created the weakness, such as grief. Romans 15:1 states that those "who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength" (NAsu). This weakness is infirmity. Not only did Christ bear our weaknesses and infirmities, but we are also called to bear the weaknesses and infirmities of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is called intercession. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered' (Rom. 8:26, KJV). We have been called to intercede for the sick, which allows us to bring before the Lord someone weaker than ourselves.7

WE Do NEED DOCTORS

I am not opposed to doctors. I would not be alive today without them. However, if you don't hear God in how to move with professional help, you can spend all your money and end up owing them your future. As is the case today, prevention was the most important dynamic of combating disease in biblical times. It is interesting to note that based on our current understanding of disease, many of the laws that the Lord established in biblical times would have actually aided in preventing and combating various illnesses. Diet is one of the most important facets of health, which is why we find a number of laws relating to diet. (See Leviticus 11.) Wine was also used to help stop problems and alleviate pain and discomfort (1 Tim. 5:23). Various ointments and salves were also used in biblical times for healing (Isa. 1:6). James instructed the combined use of oil, confession of faults, and spiritual authority to produce healing (James 5:14).

In a world of chemical stimulation and overwhelming stress, it is a wonder that any of us remain healthy. Stress has such impact on our bodies-both physically and spiritually-that without the Lord as our strength, it would be impossible for us to live in this world. Jesus told us to be in the world but not of it (John 17:11, 14). So why do we need doctors? One reason is because doctors are trained to understand dynamics of the world that can give us wisdom on how to be in the world.'

YOUR BRAIN CAN CHANGE

I love the article on "The Brain" in Discover magazine.

Dean Buonomano, a neuroscientist at UCLA, argues that in order to perceive time in fractions of a second, our brains tell time as if they were observing ripples on a pond. Buonomano argues that our brains can compare the second pattern to the first to tell how much time has passed. The brain needs no clock because time is encoded in the way neurons behave. Warren Meck of Duke University argues that the brain measures long stretches of time by producing pulses. It listens to the pulses as if they were music. Imagine you are listening to a 10-second tone. At the beginning of the tone, neurons around your cortex reset themselves, so that they all begin to fire in sync. But some fire faster than others, and so at any moment some are active and some are quiet. From one moment to the next, a medium spiny neuron receives a unique pattern of signals from the neurons that link to it. The pattern changes like chords on a piano. When the 10 seconds are over, the medium spiny neuron can simply "listen" to the chord to tell how much time has passed ... Even in a healthy brain, time is elastic.... We are not free from time ... but we are not its slaves. We stretch and twist it to serve our own needs. Time, in other words, is just a tool.9

When I read this article, my faith soared. God can help us reset our brain. Sounds from heaven can reform our way of thinking, heal our bodies, and give us new strength to venture out in a changing, critical world where we can produce transformation. (The next book in this series, Worship Redeemed, will talk about this more.)

When the sound of heaven comes forth, the Spirit of Lord moves in our blood (Heb. 9:9-14). Blood is the circulatory life fluid of the body that produces unity in the soul (Gen. 9:4). All activity of the body is dependent on the quantity of the blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. True sacrifice is linked with blood. The stripes that Jesus bore cleansed our blood. When we respond to the sound of faith, our blood moves by that same spirit and cleanses our conscience.

IDOLATRY IS WORSHIP THAT IS CONTRARY TO HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE

Idolatry forms when we have image worship or pay divine honor to any created object other than the object of our creation, our Creator. Idolatry takes on a form, which can include fetishism (worship of the trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.), nature worship (sun, moon, stars), or hero worship (deceased ancestors, heroes).

Idolatry is linked to:

Nothingness, vanity (Isa. 41:29; 66:3)

A thing of naught (Ps. 97:7; Isa. 19:3)

■ Terror (Jer. 50:38)

■ A fright, horror (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chron. 15:16)

Shame, a shameful thing (Jer. 11:13; Hos. 9:10)

A word of contempt, dung, refuse (Ezek. 16:36; 20:8; Deut. 29:17)

Filth, impurity (Ezek. 37:23; Nah. 3:6)

■ Likeness, a carved image (Deut. 4:16)

A shadow (Dan. 3:1; 1 Sam. 6:5)

■ Similitude (Deut. 4:12-19)

A figure resulting from man's labor (Isa. 48:5; Ps. 139:24)

A "statue" set up (Jer. 43:13)

Sun images (2 Chron. 14:3; 34:4, 7; Isa. 17:8)

A device, an image of stone (Lev. 26:1)

■ A graven or carved image (Isa. 44:10-20)

A molten image (Deut. 9:12; Judg. 17:3-4)

Images, family gods (Josh. 24:14)

Most of our sicknesses and diseases are rooted in a misplaced worship system. The account of the Lord revealing Himself as healer to the people who were being redeemed is found in Exodus 15:22-26 (cJB):

Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf. They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water. They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?" Moshe cried to ADONAI; and ADONAI showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There ADONAI made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you will listen intently to the voice of ADONAI your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am ADONAI your healer."

THE POWER OF WORDS

The tongue and our utterance is linked with our healing, wholeness, redemption, and the cycle of blessings that God created us to experience. Contrary to and linked with the purposes of hell to stop the manifestation of our health, healing, and wholeness are words set against our atmosphere that attempt to chain us so we cannot taste, see, and handle God and His best for our lives. Those words are linked with curses-words uttered to control, remove freedom, manipulate, and bring harm to the purposes of God within us. These can come in four forms:

Religious legalism

Spiritism

■ Witchcraft

Superstition

These words are sent to bring a vexation against our spirits. This vexation can create health issues and hold us captive in poverty. To vex is "to annoy, agitate, or confound." The enemy not only wants to occupy your soul with disease and demonic manipulation, but he also wants to vex your spirit! Just remember that in both the old and new covenants, we are assured that "He sent His word and healed them" (Ps. 107:20, emphasis added; see also Matt. 8). Lift no other god above the Lord so you remain strong and overcome your enemies.

THE BLESSING CYCLE

We all want to see the manifestation of our redemption. His power of redemption manifests in a cycle of blessings that are meant to overtake us. We bend our knee in worship and allow Him to pour heaven's glory into our deepest being. As we worship Him, our spirit rises up, and no depression can hold us captive. Those blessings are initiated by God. He says, "I will bless..." (Gen. 12:1-3). My role in life is to bless Him (Ps. 103). That cycle of blessing will always flow until blessings overtake us if we remain in our faith agreement with God. He is a covenant God with promises to grant. Those promises have allotted boundaries. Our authority lies within those boundaries. We war from our authority against any enemy set against those boundaries. We are given dominion, and no other force is called to gain an upper hand over us. The blessings are propelled forward by prophetic revelation and strategies given from the heavenly realm into our spirit man, nurtured by Holy Spirit, and demonstrated by our faith.

We speak forth the blessings that He pours into us. We give Him our best in tithes, offerings, alms, and firstfruits so we will eventually see a fulfillment of His plan for our life. We can live a life of blessing and renewal.

FUNCTIONS OF THE RENEWED SPIRIT

He redeemed your spirit, your eternal part, so you move and have your life in Him. The spirit man within us should constantly be exuding the blessing of God to the atmosphere around us. The spirit of man, when filled with the Holy Spirit, should:

■ Worship and exalt God (Luke 1:4).

Remain "willing" and submitted (Matt. 26:41).

"Know" or interpret the moment of opportunity around us (Mark 2:8).

Sense danger or be troubled (John 13:21).

Travail when you cannot explain something in your spirit (Mark 8:12).

■ Live in fervency (Acts 18:25; James 5:14).

Be determined and persistent but not stubborn (Luke 9:51).

Sing and bless God and His people and creation (1 Cor. 14:15-16).

Always be buoyant with faith and exhibiting love (Col. 1:8; Matt. 14).

Be filled with wisdom and revelation (Eph. 1:17).

No matter what losses you have experienced, the redemptive power of the Lord Jesus Christ can revive you, fill you, and restore your heart to triumph in this new season.

POVERTY AND MAMMON: THE WAR AGAINST GOD'S REDEMPTIVE PLAN AT EACH NEW SEASON

In every new season in church history, the Lord renews His vision, call, and purpose to His body. Therefore, He is saying the time has come for His people to enter into the promises He has released in their lives, spheres of authority, and territories. There is a perfect time. In this time of chaotic change and rearranged supply lines, we must understand the concept of increase and supernatural multiplication.

The greatest spirit that we seem to be contending with in our material society is the second cord in the braid of captivity: poverty. Poverty is "refusing to become what God has created and destined us to be" and "not believing that the Lord can branch us into the fullness of His plan." Poverty is not just the experience of lack but also the fear that we will lack. Poverty occurs when we conform our circumstances to the world's blueprint, which surrounds and influences us with only a world perspective. In response, we forget God's ability in the midst of our circumstances. Poverty is the voice that says, "God is not able!"

Poverty can occur through various means. It may happen through oppression and wrong authoritative structures (Isa. 5:8). It can occur if we develop a mentality of covetousness or gluttony (Prov. 23:21), or become indolent or lazy (Prov. 24:33-34). Haste leads to poverty (Prov. 28:22), which occurs when we fall into getrich-quick schemes. Poverty can occur if we resist Holy Spirit and therefore negate the blessings of the Lord.

The main cause for poverty in our lives is the failure to harvest. When we do not gather the harvest, a poverty mentality is set against us. Many times the enemy will wait until our harvest time to develop strategies of devastation against us. Like the Midianites who always stole the harvest from the Israelites (see Judg. 6), the enemy has already devised a plan to eat up our assets and returns.

We can plant. We can watch our crops grow. We can even have a time of harvest. But if we do not take our opportunity to gather and steward the harvest, a strategy of poverty will begin to develop against us. When we increase without developing the storehouses to contain what we have harvested, the enemy will gain access to our excess and to our future.

Other causes of poverty include aligning with structures that cause interest rates to go beyond a godly mentality of interest (Neh. 5:1-5), fear and an unwillingness to face our enemy (Prov. 22:13), and succumbing to a persecution of faith (2 Cor. 6, 8).io

GIVE AND RECEIVE

Giving is a way of life for Pam and me. As a matter of fact, most people think I am motivated by prophecy because I am a prophet. However, what motivates me is giving. God has shown me the power of seedtime and harvest. The issue of giving is probably one of the most controversial topics in the body of Christ. Giving does not mean bringing a check or dollar to the church. Rather, giving is built around a covenant relationship that is linked around an altar of worship. Giving occurs when we recognize that our King is righteous and legitimate. We bless the Lord so that He will take His stand righteously on our behalf. Giving occurs when we worship. Giving occurs when we respond to authority with generosity and blessing. Giving occurs when we realize the lesser is blessed by the greater-that God is the greater King and we should want to give all to Him. Giving occurs when we do not hold back what we have been entrusted with by the Lord.

Here are some things to remember about giving:

God gave! He sent the expression of Himself through His Son as man. His Son gave His life for our freedom (John 3:16).

We should give because we recognize that our King is righteous and legitimate. When you give, only He can rise up over you in certain dimensions and serve as your judge. Only He can make you righteous.

We give when we worship. Worship is an expression of faith in someone greater than ourselves. Our being gives of its life back to its Creator when we worship.

We give when we respond to authority with generosity and blessing. I love to give to those who cause my destiny to move forward.

We give when we realize the lesser is blessed by the greater.

We give when we do not hold back what we have been entrusted with and that over which we have stewardship.

This is a kairos or strategic time for the body of Christ to enter and harvest the fields throughout the world. This is a key time to unlock what has been held bound by the enemy, mainly our inheritance. The story of the widow in 2 Kings 4 reveals much insight on how to take what we presently have and multiply the resource for our future. This will produce an unlocking of what we need to keep our inheritance or portion intact.

This concept is so important for us as we enter into the harvest season that the Lord has prepared ahead. Within every field on earth, there is a harvest. When you study harvest in the Bible, you find that there was a short window of opportunity to gather the crops of the field. I believe we are entering into that window of opportunity and must begin to pray accordingly.

You have a field of assignment-the place to which the Lord has called you. Each person has such a place. In that field are many resources. The most precious resource is people. When the Lord talks of harvest, He expresses His heart for harvesting a field of souls on Earth. "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, `The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."' (Matt. 9:36-38).

To operate in the Lord's call to harvest you must have eyes to see the multitudes, a heart of compassion, and a willingness to be sent to the fields to which the Lord assigns you. To accomplish God's call to harvest, there are material resources that have to be unlocked as well. Without the wealth necessary to harvest the field, it grows fallow. Notice how Matthew 9:36-38 introduces the commissioning of the disciples to go forth into the field. This is how apostolic authority begins. Remember, these were the Lord's disciples. The word disciple means "learner." However, the word apostle (or apos- tolos) means "a special messenger, a delegate, one commissioned for a particular task or role, one who is sent forth with a message." Apostolic authority must be established in your field to unlock the harvest of that field. Therefore, we find in Matthew 10 the Lord promoting and commissioning His disciples into a new apostolic realm to go forth and cultivate the harvest where He sent them.

Every time we enter into a new season of history, the Lord releases new authority, commissions new leadership, causes a people to desire a new level of His holiness, communicates new strategies for victory, and transfers the power to gain wealth so that His kingdom purposes can be established. Just as the Lord waited 470 years before His people were ready to "enter in" and fulfill the promise He made to Abraham, I believe He is waiting for us today.

Our minds must think INCREASE. One of the most important mind-sets to have is a biblical understanding of increase. When we look at increase in the Word of God, we see that it is linked with government. Isaiah 9:7 says, "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end." Increase is also a harvest principle. Increase rises through faith and follows effort and deeds linked with faith. Increase comes through connecting with one another. There is a need for us to link together and gain strength in multiple and corporate measure as opposed to independence. Increase is also a reward for obedience. There is joy in obedience, and joy causes our strength to increase. And from strength we are capable of building God's strategic plan for the future.

WHAT IS WEALTH?

There are several ways to look at wealth in the Bible. However, the Lord tells us in Deuteronomy 8:18, "It is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers" (emphasis added). Power means "vigor, strength, force, or capacity-whether physical, mental, or spiritual." Wealth means "material substance, strength, and the spoils of war necessary to accomplish God's plan on the earth." The Bible has two basic attitudes toward wealth: one of blessing from God, and one in which wealth is worshiped as mammon. Wealth is acknowledged to be a blessing from God. All the patriarchs became very wealthy. Solomon's wealth was seen as God's favor. Job had wealth, lost it, and then regained a double portion.

Jesus admonished us to multiply whatever we have (Luke 19). However, He did warn us that the pursuit of riches and pleasure could keep our faith from maturing. Jesus viewed money or wealth as a spiritual power (Matt. 6:24), therefore warning us not to let it become a rival with God. Christians should view wealth only as something to be used for the advancement of God's kingdom. With one of the greatest spiritual harvests ever witnessed by a generation on earth approaching, we need to begin seeing a transfer of wealth just as we read about in the Book of Joshua. This is a season in history when wealth needs to be channeled into ministries that serve people and spread the gospel.

Do not fear the concept of wealth. We must not fear the concept of harvesting what God has given us to harvest. We must not fear multiplying and increasing. Money in itself is not bad. First Timothy 6:10 says, "love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." This does not mean that money is evil or amoral. The morality of money comes from the person using that money. One must never confuse money with the attitude of our heart.

Resist the idea that to be poor is spiritual. This teaching has its roots in pagan thinking termed docetism, which states that matter is bad and mind is good. Docetism has caused many problems in Christianity, including the separation between sacred and secular. We must also separate our personal worth from how much money we possess. Our worth is not linked with the money we have but with our stewardship for God. Once these mind-sets are overturned, we are free to go forth looking at the harvest field that we are a part of and asking the Lord how we can harvest that field. This also gives us the vision and focus to overthrow anything that is set against the harvesting call that God has on our life for our field.

Avoid the traps linked with wealth. When we consider the issues of wealth, we need to be aware that there are very real traps to avoid. When we go up against an enemy to fight for the transference of wealth into the kingdom of God, we must guard ourselves against the love of money (1 Tim. 6:10). Philarguria refers to avarice, which is the insatiable greed for riches, and covetousness-to inordinately or wrongly desire the possessions of others. If we are not careful, this is the fruit that money can produce in our hearts. Deceitfulness of riches (Mark 4:19) is another issue to be aware of. This deals primarily with the perceived power that comes with money. This produces an attitude of heart that seeks to manipulate through false pretenses and appearances.

Money is good when it is a servant to us. However, when we become a slave to its dominion, we are in trouble. There were people in the Word who were cursed by wealth, or had impure motives to gain wealth, such as Judas, Esau, Gehazi, Ananias and Sapphira, Lot, and Achan. They were trapped by impure desires. As we move forward against the enemy, we must renounce every issue of covertness that is tied to mammon.

Do not covet. The real root that causes us to misuse or missteward wealth is covetousness. Luke 12:15 says this: "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Covet means to have a strong desire for something. This sin is linked with uncontrolled, inordinate, selfish, emotional desire. That is why the enemy loves to lead us into illicit forms of idolatry. Idolatry misdirects our desires from a holy God to flesh-filled, demonic-inspired forms of lasciviousness. This is what James says in James 4:1: "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?"

Stay in God's covenant timing. We must detect any patterns in our own lives that are listed above. When you get God's wealth out of God's time and way, you will get the curse that is on that wealth. Much money has curses attached to it. Therefore, if you don't know how to break the curse before you get the money, you will get the curse that comes with the money. As Malachi 3 tells us, one way to break the curse off of money is to tithe and give offerings. We must pray for the body of Christ in this area.

Consider the ant! In The Future War of the Church, I wrote about the war over the transfer of wealth. That section discusses the wisdom of an ant. We must have a stewardship mentality before the Lord will release wealth. We must persevere against all odds and strategies of defeat. This is a necessary characteristic of God, which is needed to establish the kingdom. "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty" (Prov. 21:5, NIV). "Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?" (Prov. 17:16, Niv). We need to understand both the issues of money and that wisdom dismantles demons. Therefore, if you are asking for money, get wisdom also!

One day while flying to a ministry destination, I had a vision. I saw an ant. The Lord then quickened the following verses to me: "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, 0 sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep-so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man" (Prov. 6:6-11). The ant is an example of the wisdom of providing in the summer for the wants of the winter. Not all ants store up seeds for winter use, but among the ants of Palestine there are several species that do. Their well-marked paths are often seen around Palestinian threshing floors and in other places where seeds are to be obtained. The path sometimes extends for a great distance from the nest.

In every country in the world the ant is proverbial for industry. Here are some important facts concerning the ant for you to consider:

1. Ants can lay up vast stores of grain in their nests.

2. To facilitate this, they place their nests as near as possible to the places where grain is threshed or stored.

3. The grain provides their food during the winter season.

From this example from the Word of God we see that it takes diligence and perseverance to have the necessary supply to accomplish God's purposes.

Robbing God is one of the great, inherited iniquities in a family. I come from a family that had much potential to prosper. My dad was a creative, self-made man who probably felt the lack of money was the root of all evil. It seemed whatever he touched succeeded. He really didn't care about an impressive resume. He just felt that you should succeed and prosper in whatever you do, and it should multiply. However, he never really mastered the power of money. Money and wealth have a power, and if you do not bring that power under the subjection of the Holy Spirit, it will overwhelm and ensnare you. Therefore, he fell into the covetousness and strife of wealth. His ability to succeed drove him to forget God. In forgetting God, he forgot God's portion. I believe this was his downfall. Malachi 3:10 says, "`Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, `If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."' I believe if you forget this, you fall under a curse. Even though Jesus died to deliver us from the curse, in order to prosper we must agree with the boundaries and principles that He has given us throughout the Word. Of course, He taught so much more than just the giving of the tithe. He taught an ultimate giving of self and all desires linked with self. He wanted all of our desires to come under subject of His lordship.

You can read my full testimony in Possessing Your Inheritance. This is an incredible book about restoration. My dad violated the above scripture, and the abundance that he had been given to steward was lost. Once God showed me that He could restore that which had been devoured by the enemy, He revealed to me the power of giving. I believe that giving not only of your resources but also of your time, mind, heart, will, and emotion can unlock any destiny. One key area to consider is if your generations have robbed God. If you find this is your case, then it is important that you confess this as sin and break the power of the iniquitous bent that has developed in your bloodline. This will release a power for you to secure the inheritance for your future. To put this another way, you will have the strength to harvest your Canaan.

This is a time when God is giving us strategy for the harvest fields. Deuteronomy 8:18 states, "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." The Lord spoke this as He prepared a people to get ready to go into the land He promised. He knew they would be in spiritual war with mammon. When you study Canaanite history, you find that the ruling god of the Canaanites was mammon. The assignment or mission that Joshua and the tribes of Israel had to accomplish was transference of the wealth from all of the inhabitants of that region into God's covenant, kingdom plan. Therefore, Mammon had to be defeated, and the wealth held by its false worship transferred.

There are two economic systems on the earth. God has one economic system, and He teaches the necessity of being a good steward in this system. Satan has another economic system. Mammon rules this system. This god, through demonic forces, controls the administration, transfer, and distribution of the wealth within this system. Matthew 6:24 is a great verse to understand. It says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Mammon controls all the world's finances, especially the issue of supply and distribution. Mammon is assisted by other demons in the administration, transfer, and relay of wealth. Mammon is both a prince of economics and a prince of religions. Mammon is linked with the Babylon system. Proverbs 13:22 says that we can transfer the chayil of sinners to the righteous. Wealth or chayil means might, strength, power, army, forces, riches, spoils of war, and fruits of warfare.

You have been redeemed to be rich in Him. You are called to no lack. The Lord is my Shepherd. Follow Him into new vision, freedom, and provision.

CONCLUSION

KEYS TO WALKING IN

OVERCOMING JOY

OU WILL OVERCOME, and you will become a refreshed member of God's triumphant reserve. A fresh anointing is available. Submit or yield your spirit to His Spirit. Learn to receive from Him. Embrace His power. Let the divine exchange of His blood occur. Dwell in His glory. Leave the trauma of the past behind, and begin new and fresh. Guard your emotions, and do not get easily offended. Get revelation on your strongholds, and topple the thrones of iniquity. Express your faith by worshiping in a new way. Receive the angelic hosts that will lead you into a new dimension of breakthrough. Catch the new wave of Holy Spirit, come alive, and awaken to His best purpose. Let the healing flow of God burst forth! Expect a divine visitation of the Lord, and see His supernatural workings in your life. Declare that the seeds you have sown are getting ready to pour out, increase, and flourish. Optimize your resources, and develop multiplication strategies.

HE HAS REDEEMED YOU AND WILL RECOVER YOUR VISION (PSALM 23)

Without a vision or prophetic revelation, you perish. Lost vision is one of the most difficult dynamics to recover in life. When vision is lost, you begin to go backward. If you cannot shift into the clarity of the path that God has for you, you find yourself wasting away and wasting time. I find that we lose vision because we lose the interaction with Holy Spirit of the prophetic gift that produces our next direction. We all prophesy according to the measure of our faith. I always pray that He will restore the prophetic call on a person who has gotten lost in the midst of trials and circumstances (Ps. 105:19). He can restore lost and broken relationships (Isa. 58:12). He can restart your spiritual clock and overtake your delayed promises (2 Cor. 1:20). He can cause faith to be renewed and heal your heart and soul and cause you to rise up in new strength.

You HAVE UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS

Go boldly into His throne room! He is waiting. Be like Esther, and ask for favor. Be like Joseph, and wear a new mantle of favor wherever you are located. Favor, even in confinement, will open a new door of entry. Ask the Lord what "one thing" you need to do to unlock your next phase. Jesus had to be baptized by John. Let your right standing come forth. The Lord is longing to crown you with righteousness. Do not allow the accuser's condemning voice to stop you from wearing that crown. Dominion comes when we wear the crown (Ps. 9). We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, but you must wear the crown of that righteousness. Our righteousness must become experiential. Stand in your righteousness. Set your face to obey and to do what will keep you in right standing so that the enemy can't accuse you later for not doing something you should have done. Ask the Lord to reform the foundation for your standing. You may have to make a shift because the foundation you stood on in the past season is too shaky for you to stand on in the next season. Allow the Lord to solidify your stance so you walk in the fullness of what He will cause to blossom.

Do not let joy robbers stop you from experiencing God's best. The Spirit of God will see to it that you celebrate. If you feel like your celebration is dwindling, just ask Him to release an anointing of gladness. This will sanctify you and cause you to press past that old season. Stop and hear the trees clap their hands. When you hear the wind blowing in the mulberry trees, you will receive a new strategy to come from behind and overtake the enemy that has blockaded your path. Watch where the winds blow. Catch the wind. You can catch up quickly. Move into that new place of victory. You will surprise the enemy. The Lord is saying, "I will give you cautions well in advance so you can shift the direction of your path."

Ask for your root system to be reformed and that the roots of righteousness deep in you would be watered and begin to flourish. Ask the Lord to bring you past milk. Begin to digest the protein the Lord is giving you at this time. Declare that you will step through the gate of life into a new type of nourishment. Go out of your old place with joy, delight, and happiness.

Ask for a realignment of your heart desires with His heart desires. Then ask the Lord to allow you to hear the stillness of the heavens. In the midst of your chaos, ask Him to let you hear the stillness of His shadow. Ask Him to let you hear sounds you have not heard. Tell Him you are listening, and let Him circulate the atmosphere of heaven around you. Ask Him to bring and activate your atmospheric change. Let the cares of the day slip away so you hear the will of heaven. Don't go out in your own strength. Wait for the pulsating heart of God to propel the blood in your heart forth. Do not contend over how others are moving forward. Rid yourself of anxiety, and stop questioning how you will ever get everything done so you can advance into your best in days ahead.

LET YOUR HEART BE STILL AND KNOW

The Lord has this prophetic word for you:

"My heart is not anxious. Wait for My heart to align yours. Stay in time with My heartbeat. Sit before Me and listen now, and you will be energized to bring everything into order that seems confusing or that is bringing disarray into your life. The beating of My heart positions My ark. You can't go forth this hour without My presence, so you must wait for the positioning of My presence. Give Me space. If you walk too quickly, you will stumble. Let the ark go before you. In My presence you will be sure-footed. In My presence you will see your way. In My presence you will see your enemy. So look up, for the heavens are clear. Even though there is fog and debris in your path, the heavens are clear before you. In My presence you're aware of all of your surroundings. You know when to turn right and when to turn left. Your scheduling of time is allowing the enemy to come in and find a way to change time and set legalistic structures. You are not choosing the best. The best is what My heart has for you. Allow My heart to beat within you so that best can be yours. I am a God who can move just as easily behind you as in front of you. Align yourself with Me, and I will open up the way and will guard your mistakes so they do not catch up with you again.

"Don't ford the next stream in front of you too quickly. It is deceptive and deeper than you know. Allow My presence to go before you, and you will see the bottom of that place become a way before you. You will see dry ground before you step into the river that would attempt to sweep you away. Let My presence prepare the way before you.

"I will be able to redirect you to move to the right and then to the left to avoid the crash that is already in your path. That which would hit you head-on will find its way past you, and you will find the path that will bring you fulfillment in your life.

"The concern you have over supply is driving you out of time and driving you ahead of what I have for you. Stay in My presence so you can see the path of supply that is ahead of you.

"Many of you are seeking deliverance, but that path has not formed, and My ark has not entered your path yet. Wait until you see My presence beginning to transform and open up and do surgery, then deliverance will come quickly. My path is a path of freedom. It is not one that I would have you strive to enter and walk in.

"Now My heart will beat with yours, for you have crossed over into a new beginning. Let My ark go first! Let My ark go before you. This will be a time of starting and stopping. Because of the new beginning you are in, you must start and stop with Me. You must not try to come up without Me calling you to come up. You must not go to a platform that I do not call you upon, for the winds would be too brisk for you there. The winds would be too strong for you and you would blow away instead of standing to see your next step.

"Don't celebrate too quickly before Me. Watch and wait, and you will see yourself celebrating; you will see the victory ahead and will be liberated into the fullness of the next war that I have for you.

"For there is a beauty that I bring when I come. No matter how torrential it seems around you, it will unfurl before you. For you have not understood how you have even caused your freedom to be furled up. But now I will bring changes that will cause an unfurling. I am a God that watches every decision. I am a God of history. I am the God of history. I have decisions in the past that I must now unfurl and set into a new order. I speak to My people to remain holy. For you have allowed your emotions to become fragmented and separated. There must be a holiness in My remnant people this hour.

"For there is a divine return now that My people must take in the earth. You must step back and watch Me go before you. I'm a God that goes before you. You must understand that I know the way this day. Step back before your path begins to split into ways that would cause My army not to align properly. Step back and return to your place of rest. Return to a place of divine rest in Me. I will rise up faith in you that has been bottled and stopped. I will cause your mission to come into a new order. There is a divine return.

"For I will have a people that rise up in the midst of the chaos ahead. I'm calling for many who have been asleep to awaken this hour, for curses have strapped you down, and the dragon has breathed and stopped My saints from entering into releasing the captives. But there is a sound that is producing an awakening. My people are rising up. In the midst of the chaos in the days ahead there will be unity in My people. They will rise, link arms, and once again march the streets.

"This is a time when you must war for your will to go forth. For the enemy is contending for the path that you would walk into the future. Allow your will to be aligned with Me. Praise Me with your will, and then I will loose the anointing for you to feel. When I fill you, you will press through in a way like never before. Let Me grab hold of your will and choose this day whom you will serve.

"For this is a time of promotion and expansion. You are not seeing from My eyes. I know those whom I will position in their new place now. The enemy now knows that the anointing is coming forth. So regroup! Regroup! Do not allow that religious force from the order of your past season to stop you from hearing how I'm going to move you in this season. This is the time that I will cause you to come into a place that you've not known. You will surprise the enemy!

"Many of you have tried to enter into a place where you know you're to go but the enemy has blocked your way. I am standing on the other side of the gate now. When the enemy backs you down, know that I am going to be standing behind him. So do not back up! Face him off and I will come from behind and surprise the enemy this hour."

APPENDIX

PULL UP ANCHOR, AND CATCH THE

WIND FOR NEW BOUNDARIES

T THE END of 2008, the Lord spoke to me in an unusual manner. That Sunday morning was one of those surprise .moments when He came suddenly and began to release revelation for the days ahead. This seemed unusual after all the Thanksgiving festivities, but the Lord's timing is perfect. These prophetic words from the Lord can be used by you during your prayer time.

"This is a time that I will kindle a fire again, stir the embers, and return the flame of My people. I will have a people who burn again. This will be a season like none other you have known. This will be a season of resetting boundaries. I am coming into your life and sphere to set your boundaries in new ways. I will be reordering the way you have walked. Your finances will have new boundaries. Your vision will have new boundaries, and many will be positioned in new territories. The way you love and express My love will have new boundaries, for in days past, your trials have pulled your emotions from their abiding place in Me. Your passions must have new boundaries, and your desires must be encapsulated in a new way. This will cause you to burn again. I must have a fire in My people this hour!

"I must gather the embers that have been scattered, because this last season you have been scattered in many areas. I will regather your scattered emotions and get them into a new place within you. I must gather the embers together so I can blow on them and create a new flame. Do not resist the new boundaries. Do not resist the way I will have you doing your assignments this season. This is a time of bringing forth the fire again. I am the fire, so give me liberty to burn!

"I will release the wind that will blow on the coals and embers that have laid dormant, smoldering within you. Today is a day of a reverberating sound within the heart of My people. What you are hearing in your heart is My sound, filled with My love, the love of the Father.

"The wind will come gently at the beginning, but by March it will be a torrent upon you. Receive the gentle wind that will begin to blow today, which will push you within the boundaries I have for you. Do not resist My wind. If you resist the blowing of My wind and the boundaries that are being reformed around you, My wind will become adversarial to you. If you will receive My wind and your new boundaries, I will become an adversary against your adversaries. In March, there will be conflicting, contending winds. Therefore, you must have your feet planted. Receive the gentle wind now at the beginning, for My winds will increase, and the enemy will also increase his winds, and you will see the whirlwinds come by March. If you do not plant your feet and refocus your vision, you will be blown outside of the fence that I have given you, and you will say, "Lord, I'm wandering again. The warfare in this field and the food in this field is not what I need for my future. How did I get here?"

My brother, Keith Pierce, had a vision during the prayer time when the Lord began speaking to me. This is what he saw and heard from the Lord:

"The Lord showed me that some people have let their sails down. As a prophetic act, if you will begin to raise your sails, God will release the wind to bring you out of a troubled place, and you will begin to gain momentum to move forward in a new way. Where wandering and wilderness have latched onto you, the Lord says, `Raise your sail. I am releasing the wind so that you can gain momentum this day to come into the fullness of March where there will be a new roar of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. I am building My people and gathering this day, so raise your sails and catch the wind. Raise your sail of expectation, for you have lost the power of expectation that I will do anything. If you will raise your sail of expectation today, I will send a gentle wind that restores your desire and your emotions within the new boundaries that I'm setting. Raise your sail of expectation today, and you will sail into a new port in days ahead. Raise your sail of expectation today."

I led us in asking forgiveness for letting our sails down in the middle of a crisis time instead of pressing through the adverse waters to the other side. I asked the Lord to forgive us for allowing our expectations to be lessened and to fall in this last season. The Spirit of God began to speak again: "I am reordering your boundaries, and you will have to raise the sail in these new boundaries for you have let it down in your old boundaries. Now bring your sail up in a new way, and watch a new wind begin to come into the new boundaries that I will set for you this month. Let go! Do not worry about depleting your resources. Don't worry about getting to the end of this season. You will raise sail in this new boundary, and the wind will blow, and you will sail into a new port."

I love how the body of Christ works when we are free to express ourselves. Somebody else began to prophesy:

"Regret is like an anchor. Many in this hour have dropped an anchor of regret that is holding them in place. Cut the rope linked with the anchor of regret. You might drift for a while, but at least you will start moving again. Hope is in the future. Regret is in the past. Cut off regret so that while you are raising the sail of your boat, My wind can catch you and take you further than you ever thought you could go, into places you have not even dreamed possible. This is the hour for raising the sail, but also for cutting off all regret so that hope can become the anchor of your soul."

I found myself looking at people or thinking about people and declaring that they would pull up their anchors and get ready to head to another shore. I would look at someone and find myself saying, "Pull the anchor up!" At noon, I heard the Lord say, "Decree that the thing that has been taunting and mocking My people to distract them and get them outside of My purposes for their lives and bring them into a place where they are confused or warring amiss will be addressed in a new way. Declare that where some have attempted to settle and protect an old shore and refuse to hear and enter into what I am doing, they will now pull up anchor, end that season, and begin to row to a new shore. Watch Me bring you into new boundaries. Watch Me move My people forward. If you will tell them to get up and get in the boundaries, no matter how small or even if they have to start over, I will move on them in a new way. I declare now is the time to get in the new place that I am calling you to come to. Reform your boundaries with Me. Raise your sail, lift your anchor, and expect the wind to come. Declare a season ended. Declare old thoughts to be pulled out. Declare changes in alliances. Let go of losses. Let go of bruised expectations. I have new assignments. Flow to a new shore!"

NEW TRADE ROUTES-WATCH NOW FOR YOUR SUPPLY TO CHANGE

During this incredible morning, Keith prophesied to me:

"I see this scripture over your head. I saw a light come up over your head like a lighthouse. Isaiah 60 was beaming above your head as waves in the sea began to lap at your feet. This caused ships to begin to change their directional path and change their courses and come into new ports. The Lord said, `You lived in Houston, which is a port city, and you have always had a great love for it. It has changed, and now I am extending the port inland all the way to this area. I will begin to dig from Houston to here and the supply that comes into the Port of Houston will make its way to here."'

Keith then read Isaiah 60 over me. Here are some excerpts from that chapter:

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.

Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests? Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.

-ISAIAH 60:1-9, NIV

REDIRECTING THE SHIPS OF SUPPLY

"This will be a season of redirecting the ships of supply. I have held ships in bay for a while. I have kept them in port, but now I will take ships from unusual places and bring them into new places. I am causing a new group to arise who understand trade and the shipping system. These will redirect the ships of supply throughout the earth realm. In the boundaries I have set you in, learn how supply is attached to its source. In other words, if you work for Neiman Marcus, you will have to know how the trade is coming into Neiman's. I will then give My positioned people the ability to redirect and open up new trade systems. If My people do not understand the power of redirecting trade at this time, then they will not pull in their supply for My kingdom advancement. This is a time of redirecting supply and causing supply lines to form in new ways. Lines of supply have been flowing in one way, but now My people will redirect them throughout the earth.

"You will know how you are being supplied. You have been taking supply, but not understanding the root of the produce. That is why My plan of giving is so important. Without giving, you cannot break the power of supply received from a bad root. Most provision that comes into your hands is from Me. However, it must be sanctified. For everything that I allow you to steward on My behalf, you will ask the question, `Where did this come from? How do I prosper when I lay my hand upon something?' This will be a different season for My people. Their sources will not always be `holy,' but they can redeem the provision. They will know and cause lines that have not formed to open up. They will cause lines that have been closed down to be reformed. I am changing the supply lines of nations, and port cities must know now that they will change. Watch the ports throughout the earth."

PIRATES ARE IN THE WATER

"There will be great contention for ships to reach their destination. Even though the pirates have risen to take the booty at the ports, My people will be redirecting the booty, for they have the law of booty built within them. Because you have the law of booty in you, you will know how to cause lines of supply to come into My house. Even the airline industry will start making a great change in days ahead. You must know the flight patterns and how they are changing. There will be a great change coming in the airline industry in this administration. This is a time that I am replanting your feet. Some will say, `I am called to the 7-Eleven [gas stations].' Others will say, `I am called to the newspapers: Some are resisting the change I am moving you into. Some will say, `I am called to the music industry.' You will have to understand the supply lines from the source. You must go to the next level if you want to see My kingdom make its shift in this generation. Don't try to understand by using old skills and mind-sets. For the enemy is developing new ways to pirate the booty. Start thinking in a new way, for I will quicken your spirit in the place I plant you, and everywhere your hand extends and touches something you will cause growth to occur. Every contract will have meaning. Watch for supply structures to change."

TEACHERS MUST TEACH DIFFERENTLY

"I say to the teachers of the earth, you must understand the resources that I have given you and how they affect My kingdom. You have not been sent into the school system just for jobs. You have been sent there to see the resources that I have in the next generation. This is a different time. You have not yet seen how I will cause the next generation to be used. Change the way you are teaching. You will see roots.

"This is a new day of understanding. You will understand the drug trafficking that is going on around you. You will understand how supply is being shifted illegally, and I will give My people the ability to shift it back. You have been focusing on how illegal drug trade is occurring but not the mammon system behind it. If I allow drugs into a port, you will have the ability to redirect them into the right place. If you ask Me then I will reveal to you in the night where and what has come in. You will be able to stop illegal spending.

"I have new supply strategies. Gather My supply into the new supply lines. I am delivering you from a system that you have been built into. This system has produced familiar spirits around you. I am pulling you out of that system and replanting you all over the earth. This will allow you to gather new supply in fields that are now forming. I will show you new provision that is springing up all around you. You will cause the right path to form for this provision to be brought to the right harbors.

"This is a different season. Your mind is still in the last season, and that is why your fire is going out. I am redoing the housing system and opening up homes for My people to gather so I can reposition them in various areas. Watch what I am doing. See the recession differently than you have in the past, and prepare yourself. Some of you need new skills. Be willing to learn in a new way. You are relying on your understanding and knowledge of the past. Be willing to learn. Know what I AM doing, and develop your skills around the opportunities that I place on your path. Study to show yourself approved. Prove Me NOW!

"You are entering a war season over supply over the next seven years. You are being put on the front line to redirect it. Watch every canal system. Watch the Suez and Panama Canals. Watch the trade systems coming in and watch what I AM doing. I will show you boats. The boats and ports that I reveal to you are the key to your future in this generation. You will direct the ships of the earth and where they are bringing supply into the nations and the kingdom development of My plans this hour. Whether they are in the air or in the sea or in the port, My people will now redirect the ships of the earth. If you are in a port city, this is your assignment: to tear down mammon systems and to control what is coming into your port.

"There is a change that is occurring in the earth. The enemy has had a sound that has caused the ships to crash upon the rocks. But I am giving My people a sound that will redirect the ships to bring them into the harbor. This will release the supply that is intended for a kingdom advance this hour. Receive your sound. There is a turning of the waters, and ships are being redirected. Release the sound I give you, and turn My supply for your future into the right harbor.

"Do not look at your wilderness job the same way that you have viewed it in the past. You have seen your job as menial. Every position is a divine appointment-whether you stay there one day or one year. I AM divinely appointing and positioning My people for them to understand supply lines. I AM even going to give you the ships of the desert. You have resisted your desert place and have not seen the ships in the desert and have misappropriated and misdirected the supply of your desert. This is a time, no matter where you are positioned, for you to gain your skills for the next season. I will not release you from your desert until you understand the supply line of that desert. If you are being released, this means that you are ready to learn something new from Me. This is a new season. Hear Me now: the season has shifted!

"You are trying to change the flow of supply and the way things are done. You are looking at a government and becoming bitter over the way that government is doing things. Get to the root of your bitterness. I have a people that I can take into the root systems of control structures, get to the root of where the supply originated, and redirect the flow of supply. I have given you the authority to say, `Dry up.' You have the authority to say, `Flow.' You have the authority to say, `Unlock the fruit.' You have the authority because you are grafted into My covenant plan of prosperity. Because you are grafted, you can graft in new creative strands that will produce new prototypes. Many whom you have been reporting to will now harden their hearts toward you. Do not resist the training that I am bringing you, for I must harden you to circumstances until you understand that it is Me who has positioned you to take the spoils that I am training you to take in days ahead. You are relying on old supply methods, and now they will shift, and you will have dreams and visions that tear down old methodologies and cause new systems to come forth."

A woman in the church then began to sing:

The Lord continued, "Move past spirits of divination. Divination is always linked with supply and lust. You will get past divination, and you will lead My people past it in days ahead. There is creative ability in each one of you, but you do not understand the root system. You do not understand how to grab the opportunities that I am bringing to you. They are floating right past you, and you are unaware of your opportunities that I am producing around you daily. This is a different time and season. You must not think religiously but must see what I want you to see.

"Leave, step above words spoken over you in the last season, and step into the words that have been prophesied for your future. If you will move into those words and rely upon Me, I will open doors that will astound you. You will rise up into a call that you have not known. Because of that call, you will shine in new ways. I am changing national alignments and have repositioned you for such a time as this. Learn and follow. Though you might not know, you can get behind the wagon of which way you are to go.

"You will move in new ways to see how to multiply your past resources and gain new resources. This generation must learn of Me, sing of Me, and move with Me. You will lead them in a new way and cause them to see in new ways-past their old methods of seeing. This is not a season of prejudices. You are fighting for your future, and it has nothing to do with your bloodline or your race. You are fighting for a release that I AM bringing. I am a God who purifies your blood and causes old iniquities in your blood to be released, and My Spirit will cause your blood to become new again. New blood flow will cause your conscience to come alive to Me. I am a God who unlocks things that have been held up. This is your day of change and rearranging. I will use everything in your past. Instead of seeing things you don't like, make a list of the things you want to know, and I will not limit My revelation to you this hour. I will make you a father to pharaoh systems in days ahead, and you will administrate My new plans in the earth.

"The times have changed. Change with Me, for this will be a house that I throw into a directing call for the future of My people. Those who line up, those who bow down, those who come in will say, `I am getting my revelation. I am reforming the way I am doing things. I must let go of the system I have been part of and align with the system God is giving me. I will gain the revelation I need and have an ear to hear what Father is saying to me.' Hear carefully now for the days of change are upon you. You will not do church the way you have done it in the past. You will get in the flow I have put you in, or you will lose your way to go.

"LET GO of your expectations from your last spiritual season. They mean nothing anymore except that they will become new strength for your future. Your loss and defeat can now become the bridge of revelation for your victorious future. Get past the structures that come into your path. God will cause demon forces to stand before you so that you can cause them to disintegrate and be bound for a season.

"The camels are here! Open the gate. The supply has turned. The flow has shifted. Receive the camels. For today is a new beginning for those who have received My word and are willing to shift and catch the wind in their sails. The supply lines have turned. Grab the new lines, and enjoy the journey to the destination. Do not worry about how you are going to do this-just receive the grace you will need to make the shift. My grace is abundant in this hour, and My revelation is flowing freely. Receive, and you will prosper in the future."

Wow! Remember, you have unprecedented access to creativity!

NOTES

I-THE NEW CALLS-YOU CAN MAKE THE SHIFT

1. World Trade Center, "Memorial and Museum," http://www.wtc .com/about/memorial-and-musuem (accessed December 23, 2008).

2. "Barack Obama and Joe Biden," http://www.barackobama.com/ index.php (accessed December 23, 2008).

3. From a personal communication dated November 5, 2008.

4. Chuck D. Pierce, Interpreting the Times (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2008), 160.

5. Ibid., 161-163.

6. Chuck D. Pierce, God's Unfolding Battle Plan (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2007).

2-HOW TO KEEP TIME IN THE CRISIS OF CHANGE

1. From a personal communication, October 27, 2008.

2. Pierce, God's Unfolding Battle Plan, 44-45.

3. Ibid., 44.

3-A TRIUMPHANT RESERVE UNDERSTANDS HOW TO REDEEM THE TIME

1. Chuck D. Pierce, Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, The Future War of the Church (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2001, 2007).

2. Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1983), 201.

3. Dutch Sheets, Roll Away Your Stone (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2007), 18.

4. Ibid., 19-20.

5. Heschel, God in Search of Man, 201.

6. The previous two paragraphs are excerpted from Chuck D. and Pam Pierce, One Thing (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 2006), 43.

7. Excerpt taken from George Swinnock, The Works of George Swinnock, quoted in Banner of Truth, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1992).

of Richard Sibbes, http://www.the-highway.com/ imagination_Evans.html (accessed August 15, 2008).

9. This section about my wife and Dutch Sheets teaching is taken from my book Interpreting the Times, pages 11-12.

10. Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th ed., s.v. "careful."

11. Ibid.

12. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, s.v. "akribos." Can be viewed at http://vines.mike-obrien.net/ (accessed January 5, 2009).

13. Webster's New World College Dictionary, s.v. "wise."

14. Ibid., s.v. "redeem."

15. This quotation from C. S. Lewis from Mere Christianity was quoted in: Chuck D. Pierce, Interpreting the Times, 11.

16. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, s.v. "kairos." Can be viewed at http://vines.mike-obrien.net/ (accessed January 5, 2009).

17. Oswald Chambers, The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 2000), 711-712.

4-You CAN RESHAPE YOUR FUTURE AND EVEN YOUR HISTORY

1. Chuck D. Pierce, Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, God's Now Time for Your Life (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2005), 47.

2. Personal communication.

3. Pierce and Sytsema, God's Now Time for Your Life, 50.

4. Chuck D. Pierce, Rebecca Wagner Sytsema, Possessing Your Inheritance (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1999), 74-75.

5. Definition adapted from Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986).

6. Adapted from Peter Koestenbaum and Peter Block, Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2001), 90-96.

7. Nehemia Gordon, "The Month of the Aviv," Astronomically and Agriculturally Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar (2000). Available online at http://74.125.77.132/search?q=ca che:37v6PKR2XsoJ:www.michaelroodministries.com/pdf/ Nehemia%27s%252OAviv.pdf+biblical+year+begins+first+new+m oon&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=l&gl=us (accessed February 6, 2009).

5 -YOU CAN START AGAIN!

1. Michael English, The Prodigal Comes Home (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 12. Permission applied for.

2. Ibid., 198-199.

3. Charles Van Doren, "All the Answers: The Quiz Show Scandalsand the Aftermath," The New Yorker, July 28, 2008. Permission applied for.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

6-You CAN REDEEM ALL THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

1. Pierce, God's Unfolding Battle Plan, 107.

2. American Dictionary of the English Language (San Francisco, CA: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1987; republished facsimile edition of Noah Webster's first edition of American Dictionary of the English Language), s.v. "secure."

3. Pierce and Sytsema, Possessing Your Inheritance.

4. Fuchsia Pickett, The Prophetic Romance (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 1996), 9, 108.

5. Pierce and Sytsema, The Future War of the Church, chapter 9.

7-REDEEMING HEALTH, WEALTH, AND WHOLENESS

1. Adapted from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986).

2. Pierce and Sytsema, God's Now Time for Your Life, 100.

3. Robert A. Weinberg, PhD, Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, "Health for Life: Your Lifestyle, Your Genes, and Cancer," Newsweek, June 23, 2008. Permission applied for.

4. Ibid.

5. Pierce, God's Unfolding Battle Plan.

6. Weinberg and Komaroff, "Health for Life: Your Lifestyle, Your Genes, and Cancer."

7. This section has been adapted from: Chuck D. and Pamela J. Pierce, One Thing (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2006), 134-135.

8. Ibid., 136-137.

9. Carl Zimmer, "The Brain," Discover, August 2008, 20-22. Permission applied for.

10. This section was adapted from: Pierce and Sytsema, God's Now Time For Your Life, 107-108.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7