God chooses YOU

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 02:06:06 -0400

God has a plan and an answer, and you are it!

Judges 6:1 - 14

“The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 7. When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8. the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. 9. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10. And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

The Call of Gideon
11. Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13. And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14. And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (ESV)

I want to point out in the beginning here of how fear can hold a person in captivity and stop them from moving on their own behalf. The Midianites were the hostile people in the lives of the Hebrews at this time. And I think that it is interesting that they didn’t even occupy the land of Israel. In truth, they kept their homes in Midian. But when they wanted supplies, they would not labor in the fields for it, but would wait until the people of Israel did all of the hard work for them. Then they formed very large raiding parties and came and literally stole at will what they needed.

This shows me two things: first that when a society is lazy, and not willing to work for a harvest, they will always be full of manipulation and bullying. And secondly, that they are able to do this evil because of the fear of man. It may perplex some who read this, and I enjoy that kind of thinking. For you see, if we dwell in the fear of man, how can we ever make the change that brings the Lord into staying with us? Proverbs 29:25 states “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” When we are involved in the fear of man, it always holds us captive in our thoughts and in our daily living. And as this scripture tells us, in essence it stops us from trusting in our God! We are to be a people who make a positive difference today not only in the church, but outside of it. And when we refuse to be the element that makes a difference, we walk in a loss of destiny, of hope, and sometimes even having the knowledge that we have a great future.

Deuteronomy 6:13
“13. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.” (ESV)

It should also be noted here in our text at the beginning, that the people of the Lord were told not to fear the gods of the Amorites (verse 10). That does not mean be afraid, but in truth, that they were not to give reverence to these false gods of other nations. And yet, it is recorded here in Judges 6 that they did indeed leave the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for a false god. When we fall into the trap of idol worship, we can become disassociated with our True Heavenly Father. And then, because our intimacy is vanquished, we are not hearing, seeing, or even obeying the voice of Holy Ghost. And this is part of the problem with the people of God in the time of Gideon.

Now let us look at Gideon and his dilemma.

Have you ever considered what the scene must have appeared like with Gideon trying to thresh wheat? When a farmer would thresh wheat, he would take the harvested grain to the top of a hill, and then he would beat the stalks of grain against the ground, or against a rock. Then he would throw the everything up with the into the air. The farmer would use the wind to help him. The wind would blow the chaff of the harvest stalks away from the workings and the heads of grain would fall back down to the earth. This was because the kernels were heavier than the chaff. It was always done in the open as the process was indeed very dirty.

When a person would press wine, it was important to not have the air become contaminated. If you were to press wine in the open air, the sweet aroma would attract insects. Also, if the temperature were to get too warm, it would spoil the quality of the grapes. So whenever you pressed wine, it was done in an enclosed area free from the wind, which would not allow for the bugs. Also, man discovered that when you want to control the temperature of the room, it was easier to do when you went underground.

And here in our text, we see that because of the fear of man, Gideon is hiding his harvest by going underground into the winepress. Can you even imagine what it must have looked like? With no wind to blow the chaff away, everytime Gideon would throw up the grain with his hands, it would all fall back down. And since the chaff was lighter, it would fall back down on the wheat. It would almost seem pointless to continue with trying to complete the process. Gideon would have to literally find each single piece of grain and then place it into a container. For sure it would have to been a very tedious operation.

Now this next part that of the word of God is very inspiring to me. Now remember, that Gideon is hiding his harvest from the Midianites. He is not necessarily afraid as some have taught. In truth, I do not read this here in our text. So I do not look at him as a man who has ungodly fear. But what I notice is that he is trying to outsmart the Midianites by hiding his labors. And it is here in this moment, that the angel of the Lord speaks to Gideon. I think it is interesting to read that the angel sat down by a tree and watched the activity of Gideon. You know, angels do this very often. They will observe what we are doing for quite some time before they will come and carry out the orders that are assigned them from the Lord of hosts. I really have to think that the angel of the Lord was probably trying to figure out all that Gideon was doing in this moment. He must have wondered at the activity that was happening, as well as the creating of a very big mess in the winepress. Perhaps the angel was even desiring to make some sense of Gideon and his actions.

But finally the angel of the Lord addresses Gideon and calls him a “mighty man of valor.” You know, it is very important to notice this phrase because often times we do not see ourselves as the Lord does. We can get so caught up in the thinking of circumstances, that we miss out on the potential of what Christ in us wants to do. And it can even cause us to doubt our destiny that the Lord has intended for us from when we were in our mother’s womb.

Gideon’s response is very unique in that for many people, if an angel of the Lord came to them they would probably first of all scream or shout, then after seeing the angel, then perhaps they might think what is the angel here for? But Gideon seems not to be surprised by the appearance of the angel. If you look at this writing, you discover that we do not read anywhere that Gideon was surprised by this supernatural event. Have you ever wondered about this? I was wondering if in fact Gideon was dwelling on what he had heard of the old days and the mighty miracles that were done for the people and for the land.

But is this not what we hear from time to time today in the pulpits? We may hear, “where are the Smith Wigglesworth’s, the John G. Lakes’, etc…?” I tell you that they are here today and that you and I are them! Yes, because that is the way that the Lord Himself sees us! Just as in the book of Acts we read about the apostles and their miracles, we have that today as well!! Yes, this is true! God has chosen each one of us to be the messengers today and the executors of the teachings, signs and wonders, and movements of God by the ruling, leading, and direction of Holy Ghost.

Again, please allow me to remind you that God always has a plan, and while we may not think of ourselves so highly, but “Daddy” does! He has made us to be successful and to win in this time of life and even into eternity. Our heavenly Father looks at us differently and He sees us larger than life! This is why today He is asking for those who are in relationship with His Son, and led by Holy Ghost, to establish His culture now on the lands that we occupy.

So the next time that you are hearing someone say, “where are the ones of today that can do the mighty acts of the Lord?”, tell them that you are one and so are the others standing in front of them. And let Holy Ghost arise in you and take you forward.

America and its future 2

Sat, 15 May 2010 19:34:26 -0400

Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ!

I am sending this letter out to those who are our friends, relationships, and covenant people. I ask that in this day and for the next several weeks, you would listen carefully to what I am giving you and resolve to stand in the gap as prophetic intercessors on behalf of America.

You see, I have been receiving that the Lord is going to send a calamity to the nation because of several things that have not happened by the body of Christ as well as some things that have occurred as a result of wrong choices in our government. In this word, the Lord was going to shake the heavens and the earth.

When I received this word from the Lord, there was clear instruction that if the people would repent for the things that have happened in the past years with the United States, then God Himself would not bring a judgment at this time. I was reminded of the city of Nineveh and of how eight words from Jonah changed a whole city (“Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” ESV) and brought a 100% commitment by everyone, from the king down to the infants, to change from their evil ways. And as a result, the Lord God Almighty changed His mind and withheld the judgment for 100 years.

I believe that the reason for this is because we are not, as a country, carrying the fear of the Lord as our Founding Forefathers did. Now understand, that the fear of the Lord is not where God is sitting on His throne waiting to strike you dead with a lightning bolt if you laugh at a joke. The fear of the Lord is about having the awe and reverence of the Lord (Psalm 33:8 - "Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him”). That means that we love God so much we do not want to make Him unhappy.
The other aspect of the fear of the Lord is found in Proverbs 8:13, where it is written - “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. “

It is because of this that we as a nation, may be headed into tumultuous times. As I stated in the newsletter that I sent out earlier, we are being examined by the Lord for what is happening in our government, our handling of the relationship with Israel, the issue of abortion, and for the body of Christ procrastinating in being a people of dominion and kingdom thinking on the earth. This is why there is such a need for repentance.
Earlier in the year, Dutch Sheets was awakened by the Lord at 5 am. In that time, the Lord discussed with him the condition of America and the need for repentance. Dutch Sheets actually called for a national meeting in Missouri for the people of God to attend and repent. I was delighted to read about this because of what I had received by Holy Ghost. Unfortunately, the meetings will not take place as previously desired, as the issue of very large sums of money to deposit came up.
And while I was at first alarmed, I quickly resolved that in some way, I know that we can all make a difference if we can join in our churches, conferences, house groups, and fellowships, and declare the call to the Lord for repenting for what is going on.
So this is the intent of what I am sending to you! I am asking that the people I know, would notify the people they know, and all would spread the word to call the body of Christ to pray, intercede and decree that we are once again a nation under God, and that we will always be a Christian Nation! In this, we will pronounce that our God, the One True God, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is our God and that we are part of His family and tribe.
First we must come before the Lord and speak on behalf of our government leaders, and our judges. We must speak that our government will become one that carries the fear of the Lord. In  2 Samuel 23:3 – 4, it is written, - "The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, 4. he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.”
When the fear of the Lord is established in the lands of politics, we will see major shifts of policies, as well as dramatic shifts in the voting of our officials.
 Next, it is important to decree righteous judges, who will overturn the actions of previous judges who have allowed the abortion issue to rise up into an increase of the murder of destinies.

2 Chronicles 19:4 - "Jehoshaphat . . . 5. He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6. He told them, 'Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7. Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully. . . '"

As you and I speak that these new judges, as well as those already established, to have a major shift in their thinking and to value life, the wishes of people, and to issue justice, we can hope that they will take seriously that they are judging for the Lord.
Next, declare that our nation will be the strongest, most loyal ally of Israel, and make a stand with Israel to see Jerusalem be the city of God. You see, in this, our nation will also be blessed by the God that we serve. I also have a vision, a hope, that one day the spiritual fathers of Israel will meet with the spiritual fathers of America, and a spiritual coalition will happen that will result in brotherhood! The word of God tells us that God will cause the nations to prosper who stand with Israel. So let’s do this and initiate Kingdom thinking in North America.
Finally, please call out to the Lord for the church, the Ekklesia, to arise in America and be the culture of heaven on earth. If we take seriously what Genesis 1 tells us about dominion, we will be such a loud voice on the land, that every living thing will hear what we have to say and join in with the cry of the tribe of Judah. That’s right, it is a roar, not a meow. And we in the fellowship of saints must again roar like the lion. We are the example, the movement of Holy Ghost, and the ones who can and will speak that our nation is righteous by the works of Jesus Christ.
Then call out that we are going to change and no longer sit on the sidelines of the game, staying in the four walls of an established building. But we will be the people that take the mountains of religion, family, media, arts, government, the marketplace, and education! And the world will see that there is a new gathering of saints that occupy America and we are going to walk with the sword of the Spirit and armor of the Most High God.
It also means to repent as believers for how we have treated the leaders, that apostles of our lands, regions, and nation. When we do this, we will see a new church arise that will not be what we have today, but will be the Church of Antioch, part two! When we are committed to this thinking, we will no longer be the church of 200, but the church of the city, of the region. And the church will be the whole population of the land.
This nation will become a place of great victory for the body of Christ and for those who live in the United States. But it is we who must make a difference now. You know of the scripture that speaks out in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
And many times people have used this to get our attention in the past. And yet, I know that this word from the Lord is not just about destruction, but notice the promise at the end! I am looking for this from our God of Love and Blessing.

So join with me in this time, and let us cry out to our Lord for intercession, and to the Father of the heavens for greater grace. And in this coming summer time, we will see an America that will flourish and prosper. God Bless You My Friends, In Jesus Christ’s Name!   Patrick Holloran

America and its future

Sat, 1 May 2010 01:43:06 -0400

I sit here and I find myself almost groaning on the inside about America and its future, or rather, the lack of a future in God. I am not sure if I can put into words the emotions of my spirit as I pray and contemplate where our nation is headed in this time.

Please understand that I love America, and I love God our Father, Jesus Christ His Son and our King, and Holy Ghost who fills us and leads us in all truth. Of course you already know this. But today, I find myself experiencing vision after vision of a coming time when the United States will not be united at all, and there will be many consequences that are the result of our government decisions as well as church decisions that have been made in the recent past as well as over the last thirty years.

I have been reading the word of God to gain a better understanding about the words that I am hearing in the supernatural world, as well as the images that I have seen of a very near future. In Isaiah 45:7 – it says - “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.” (ESV)

According to Dictionary.com, calamity means “An event resulting in great loss and misfortune.” I have sometimes wondered, what does a calamity look like? And by Holy Ghost, I have seen some things that are going to come unless we, the body of Christ, choose to become a very strong people today.

Please realize that for the last few years, the Lord has been saying through different prophets that the saints must get prepared for the days ahead. I am not, to this day, still certain as to all that this means. And yet, I know by the times of prayer that I have had, the times of meditation and of inquiring of the Lord, that this warning is about to see its peril come forth.

My friends, I do not need to get into all that is happening in local, state, and national government. I believe that there are apostles of the nation that are inquiring right now for the Lord to show them the strategies of heaven that will alter a coming judgment or calamity. God has been instructing certain spiritual leaders of the nation to arise and bring the body of Christ into gatherings that will give forth a cry of repentance for our failures first, and then for our governmental and judicial leaders. Some leaders that I am in fellowship with are asking their churches to arise and call upon the name of the Lord in this hour to cause a new effectiveness that will bring the saints to the forefront of the situations that we face today as a people. And this is because we are in truth the ones who must have the solutions, the answers that people need to hear. Perhaps you have heard of some important activities happening where people are gathering to call upon the name of the Lord.

But in truth, I am asking the Lord how much time do we have to change things in the culture as well as in other nations? It is up to us today, as the people, saints, and children of the Lord, to call upon our God and to declare that He is the One True God and He is the God of America. In this, we are taking the first steps to re-establish Him into our lives and that of the people. Now I am aware that not everyone on the land calls Jesus Christ King of kings, but I know that with one mighty move of the hand of the Lord, things could change a great deal.

If we as God’s people would decree His sovereignty over the different lands that we occupy, I am sure that God, who wants to be a part of our lives, would hear it and move on our behalf. You and I know that God is a wonderful Maker and Father. He is emotional towards us and the word of God tells us that He is so interested in us, that He even knows when we sit down and when we get up; (Psalms 139:2 “You know when I sit down and when I rise up;…”). He wants to be so involved in our lives that He waits for us to call on Him.

We know that He truly loves us. In fact, have you ever contemplated what may be the greatest act of love ever made? I know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God giving of Himself on the cross for all mankind is a great love for sure. But have you ever considered how much God loves us? He knew that we would hurt His Son, and He knew that mankind would even lie, torture, disfigure, and murder His Son. And yet, He showed how much He loves us because with all that He knew of things to come, He still made man! That is such a love that is beyond my understanding. And because of this knowledge, I know that He does want to help us. But we must not try His love / Patience any longer. He has a demand on us to be the people who place Him on the land.

So today, I am asking that as you read this, you will respond to a cry of Holy Ghost to speak out that our God reigns on earth and in America. I am praying that this will happen and that we will be able to speak to our God that He, who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is also the God of Israel, and the God of the United States. And for you who are reading this that live in other countries, would you also declare that God is the God of your nation as well as pray for America? And that the church will arise, in the power of Holy Ghost, to take back the lands, hills, and title deeds of places for the Glory of the Father and in the name of Jesus Christ? In this declaration, heaven will hear and I believe that we will see the revivals and the reformations that have been spoken of come to our lives now, without ungodly delay. And we will be a people who will see His mercy even greater than in times past.

You all know the story of Jonah and Ninevah. You know how the Lord used Jonah to tell the city of Ninevah that God had seen their evil, and that He was going to destroy “that great city” in forty days. But the people did something so great, and that was that all the people, including the king and his nobles, asked for forgiveness, and even fasted in order to hopefully persuade God to change His mind. And it worked! And like that time, I believe that if we can show God a sincere repentance for our times in the past of not becoming involved in our nations stature, our lack of spiritual fathering and mothering, as well as the churches decisions to not arise with a strong voice and to speak life, then perhaps we too can change God’s mind in the matter of America being shaken. And please realize that while many think of fasting as being away from food, consider Isaiah 58:9 and the command to remove from us the negative words that cause death (“Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,”).

So my friends, it is a very important time in the history of America. We have much to think about and many things to decide upon in the immediate future. I ask you to arise with the apostles of your lands, and gather to pray for the Lord to stay His mighty right hand against the nation. But let us also resolve to make a strong difference that brings the United States of America back to its Christian Heritage and the intent of our nations forefathers, and I ask this in Jesus Christ’s Name!

The Prophet’s Reward

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:01:49 -0500

In today's cultural climate, it is important to have a clear understanding of all the tools the Lord has provided for us in His word. One of the tools that is so often talked about is the power of partnership. Partnership is outlined in Matthew 18:19 as well as Romans 8:28.

Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” (ESV)

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV) Here it is talking about partnering with the Father for His purposes. It means to come into agreement that He knows better than we do for our lives.

It is important to acknowledge that in this partnership of either being with the Lord or with one another, there is also the concept of partnering with a prophet. And yet, I seldom hear anything about this. In 2 Chronicles 20:20, we are told “…Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” (ESV) Are you interested in succeeding, or as the King James says, to prosper?

In Matthew 10:41, Jesus Christ said, “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward.”

In the word of God, we discover that the people who partnered with the prophet Elisha, prospered through their co-operation with the prophet.

2 Kings 4:1-2
Elisha and the Widow's Oil
“1. Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.’ 2. And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” (ESV)

2 Kings 4:8
Elisha and the Shunammite Woman
“One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food.”

So let’s ask “What is the Prophets reward?”

Remember earlier in the introduction about Matthew 10:41? Notice the part of “will receive a prophet’s reward.”

Matthew 10:41 “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward…” (ESV)

The word reward means, “something given or received in return or recompense for service, merit, hardship, etc…” (Dictionary.com).

This means to receive something physically as the result of a deed being done. And here in Matthew 10, the part to realize in this scripture is to receive. It is an action.

So in the context of what I have introduced, the prophet’s reward is the blessing, benefit, or fruit of the prophet’s ministry.

Take a look at what happens when the words of the prophet are hearkened unto in obedience.

In 2 Chronicles 20:1-13, we see a threat coming against the people of the Lord. And in this time, the King of the land petitions the Lord. And please allow me to bring to your awareness that this is not the only king in the history of Judah who, when faced with danger and defeat in the natural, did not whine or moan, but established God by telling Him who He is to the people (Hezekiah is a truly great example of establishing God, but that is another study).

2 Chronicles 20:1-13
1. After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you... 3. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4. And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6. and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8. And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9. ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10. And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11. behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13.Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

Now please pay attention here to the next part of this reading. 2 Chronicles 20:14-17, “And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel... 15. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.” 16. Tomorrow go down against them… 17. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” (ESV)

When the people received the prophet and the prophet’s word, they received the benefit of his ministry.

2 Chronicles 20:20 “And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” (ESV)

2 Chronicles 20:22 -23 “And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.” (ESV)

This is just one example of how receiving and obeying the word of the prophet brings forth the reward.

However, there is a flip side to when you do not receive the prophet or the counsel. In this decision process, the disobedience can lead to losing everything.

Perhaps one of most well known and talked about acts of disobeying a prophet is Saul, the first king of the Hebrew Nation. It is unfortunate that as we read about Saul, we see that he goes from being the one who was appointed by God, to the king that was rejected by God.

1 Samuel 9:15 “Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel: 16. “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people.”
But as we find out in I Samuel 10, the beginning of his reign was very auspicious. In fact, he didn’t fulfill what the people thought their king should be. Nevertheless, God placed him as the king.

But throughout his life, Saul made numerous mistakes, and each one involved disobeying the word of the prophet. In 1 Samuel 13:8-9 “He (Saul) waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9. So Saul said, ‘Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering.”

Please notice that Samuel told Saul that he would be there for the time of the offering (1 Samuel 10:8 – ”Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do”). Yet, because of selfishness, as well as false and unholy ambitions, and the fear of the man, he decides to take matters into his hands and deny the counsel, advice, and protocol of the prophet. And because of this, leads the sacrifice and he loses the kingdom.

The final part of failure came when Saul was given the orders to go after the Amalekites and destroy them and the king of that land. Instead, they destroyed all that was despised, but kept the earthly riches for themselves. At that moment, Samuel received the word of the Lord, even though he was not with Saul.

1 Samuel 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.’ And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.” (ESV)

It really is not a happy moment when God Himself says “I regret…”

Regret means: “to feel sorrow or remorse, a sense of loss, disappointment.” (Dictionary.com)

1 Samuel 15:26 “And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” (ESV)

Reject means: “to regard as useless or unsatisfactory; to cast off, cast out, eject, vomit.” (Dictionary.com)

So it is very clear that that when the true prophets give the word of the Lord and it is not obeyed, the repercussions lead to death of destiny.

So How Do We Get the Prophets Reward?

In order to receive the prophets reward, or as we have determined - the ministry of the prophet, we are no longer despising the prophetic or its call to faith.

So what must a person do in order to receive the blessing that comes from the ministry of the prophet? First of all, it is important to recognize if the person that is speaking forth into your life has the mantle of the prophet and is a part of the five fold gift for the equipping of the saints for ministry.

We read in the gospels that Jesus was called the Prophet. So I would comment that a prophet must indeed reflect the King of kings in what they say, do, and live. What this means is that they are not promoting themselves, but truly know they are accountable to the Lord for what they say. They must also walk in the fear of the Lord. In this way, you as the observer and the one to be receiving the blessing will know that they will only say what the Lord has for you and that they will be speaking with the authority of heaven.

I tell people that when the prophetic is given to someone, it is important that they not only offer the word of the Lord, but instruction as well in the word.

In this first step of getting the blessing, make sure that you follow through on the instruction that is given. Many people receive a word from the prophet, but they do nothing but wait for God to move. They determine that if it was from the Lord, it should just happen without them doing anything. In truth, there are steps that each person must do in order to see the words come into bearing fruit.

Second, a person should record or transcribe the word that has been spoken to them. This will create a journal of what has been given to the person in their life.

After scribing the word, a person can keep it fresh by reviewing it. As they review their journal of what the Lord has said, they will start to see a pattern of what the Lord is trying to show them. This will cause the faith of the individual to come into the expressed purpose that God has for them in walking in their destiny.

In the discipline of keeping this before you, a maturing comes that will enhance the faith of the person. They will gain strength, not just to hope that the word is true, but to believe that in fact it is a real truth for them. The clarity of this comes by obedience to 1 Thessalonians 5:20, which states, “Do not despise prophecies.”

If we receive a word from a someone who is walking in the mantle of a prophet, but we do not take it seriously, or we just look at the message as another feel good announcement, and nothing more, we are in fact despising that prophetic word. When this happens, a person is literally negating the effects of the announcement that has come from heaven for them. Personally, I would think that the person who despises the word of the Lord for them is creating unbelief and doubt.

Interestingly enough, I believe that this attitude also applies on the regional, territorial, and national levels as well. How many words are being spoken today of our governments, and the people are either not listening or have decided that it is not in their best interest and that it should not be hearkened to. There are many words going out today by the prophets that speak of nations and their destinies. There are decrees of what the Lord wants to do with countries. And yet, in most cases, the leaders of the governments, the leaders of the body of Christ, and even individuals are not giving their attention to this. It would be a very sad commentary if God wanted to bless a nation and because of the lackadaisical approach to the word, the promise and the hope would not come to pass.

Remember the ministry of Jesus Christ when he was in Nazareth? Matthew 13:54-58 describes to us the following; “and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55. Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56. And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57. And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.’ 58. And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” (ESV)

Since the people of Nazareth could not, or would not, approve of the ministry of Jesus Christ (because of familiarity), they could not experience his grace for them, even though it was evident in his life.

So the second step to receiving the prophet’s reward or blessing is to have faith to record and accept the word.

The third step to receiving the blessing is to be responsible for the word that was given. Remember how we should transcribe the word? This makes a person accountable for what was issued by the Spirit of the Lord. You see, God is trusting you with the word that is given. That is right! Many a word that is given today would not be ignored if we realized that there is a trust that God Himself has given to you about what He says. Look at Luke 12:47-48: “And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

This says that when great gifts are given out, there are great responsibilities that come with it. And yet, it is because of this call to obedience that some people will either reject the word of the prophet or avoid it altogether. I have thought on occasion of how many people I have given the word of the Lord to and they did not follow through in obedience? And then Holy Ghost reminds me that there are many people who have taken the words that I gave them and are willing to pay the price because they know that there is the release of destiny and blessing coming into their lives.

If we are realistic today with the words that are given in a prophetic announcement, we can accept that these words of the Lord often disrupt our lives because it takes us out of the daily patterns that we consider to be normal. In truth, to really be pro-active with the word of the prophets, you and I must now accept that this requires a real love of our heavenly Father that is above our own considerations.

We know that today the ministry of the prophet is for the whole church age. I know that there is coming a time when we will not have so many personal words from the prophets as we will have national and international words. And that is because of the things that the Lord is getting ready to do with His Church. And since we will be hearing more and more of the national level of words from Heaven, let’s now position ourselves to start discerning, planning, and succeeding in carrying out the will of our Lord.

In Jesus Christ’s Name!

New Time of the Ecclesia

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:52:38 -0500

This newsletter is a bit different than what I have sent to you the last few months. You see, I believe that we have entered into a new time of the Ecclesia worldwide, where the prophets have to start pursuing more than ever before relationships with apostles and their fathering mantles.

You see, we have called the Ecclesia the church, but we have not really made it the power that it must be. The "Ecclesia" was not a Christian term, but in fact a Roman term.   The apostle was a Roman citizen who was appointed by the Senate of Rome to go with the army to the land of the barbarians. In the battles that would ensue, once the Romans were victorious, the apostles would come in and enforce Roman culture in that land.

Well, if you research this in its fullness, you will discover that its governing power was in fact called Ecclesia. Ecclesia was important because it was to cause the Roman thinking, culture, and economics to rise up all over the world. The reasoning behind this was that if all of the conquered cultures could be transformed into Roman culture, and mindset, they would not turn around one day and attack Rome. This worked for several centuries.

However, one of the reasons for the failure and the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire was that the senate, which was at one time the culture initiators, started to give up their vision, and failed to cultivate relationships of mutual understanding with each other. This caused the betrayal of the generals towards the political realms, extreme poverty to come to a once affluent society, and darkness came over the Mediterranean regions. I am not in any way condoning the culture of the Roman Empire, as it was very bloody, all about sensuality, and the worship of demons (as well as many other evils). Yet, for a time, there was a unity of government and culture together that shaped a new social time in the history of man.

In bringing up this part of history, what I want to do is show the importance of teamwork and of different types of leaders working together, and the results they had. This is important to those who are in the position of a prophet and of an apostle. The foundation of the church is established by apostles and prophets. This is very important for what the real culture of God must do on this earth.

Now I really would like to address something that I am not convinced is happening in the churches today. You see, Ecclesia means to change the culture. But to be truthful, what changes to the culture of the world are we doing? In all seriousness, the culture of the church is only in the church building.   For most, it is only happening on Sunday mornings.

A culture change or shift is about changing the education systems, the governments, media, business realms and other parts of culture. To be doing the Ecclesia today means to make a total change of every aspect of society that we are currently in. That is what it means to be a Kingdom person in walking through the Kingdom principles of heaven on this earth. We are not really supposed to be called the church as many translations speak. In truth, it is about us becoming the Ecclesia.   That is the name that is used in the word of God.

Matthew 16:18 "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (ecclesia), and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

The Lord is stating here that on this rock I will build MY CULTURE! You see, the Kingdom is here because we have Holy Ghost inside of us. That is a part of the Kingdom of heaven on earth. But our Lord told us that we are to build His culture. If we have the foundation of the church being established by apostles and prophets working together, we have the initiation of a culture change in the process. But how many of us in actuality, are being the culture in our stores, in our jobs, in our restaurants, in our homes? That is truly what it means to be the Ecclesia of today. To be a culture changer means to be the head and not the tail. That means in everything; in our language, in our marriages, in our commuting, in all aspects of daily life.

I must get this out to the people of God as I know that we are behind in the Chronos of the schedule of the Lord in what we are to do.  If we are content with the culture that is inside the church today, we will fail. That is because many people who go to church are more church people than Christians. They hide inside the four walls of the church and separate themselves from the rest of the world. There comes an attitude in the churches (not all of them, but many of them) that a Christian should not have friends who are not in the church building, or that a business man should not have partners who are walking in the world.   If this were true, how could we change the culture around us?

The word of God tells us that Christ went to the people. What if He had the mindset that many have today in the church and isolated Himself? Would there have ever been a church of Acts? Ask yourself this; if we are to do greater than He did, shouldn't we also go out into society and make it come into the right standing of heaven on this earth?

It doesn't mean that we party with the world, or that we adopt deceptive practices in the business world or government like the world does. But we must enter into the cultures of the world in order to change them.

I know that this newsletter is more of a preaching than a teaching, but I really desire to stir you today to make a difference in the land that you live on. And I know that I have been doing the newsletters on the position of the prophets, but it is important to realize that many who read these articles have been asking me and other friends of ours why is it that we are not making the major differences that are necessary in order to have victory? And I believe that this small article is part of the answer that must be brought forth today.

Now some may not appreciate this writing, but before you get upset, ask yourself if you are making a difference in where you live. Is the church full? Does it offer so much excitement in the King of kings that people do not want to miss the gatherings? Are the churches full of full-time, born again people, full of future testimonies?   Are the churches of the region meeting together as one? Is your church affecting local governments? Are the corporate leaders of banks, businesses, as well as education superintendents in your churches? Are the leaders of the media in your gatherings? If you answer no to these questions, then you must decide to start now to be the Ecclesia of the land that you occupy.

We must examine the ways of how we have always done things and if it has not worked, it is time to receive a new strategy and plan of Holy Ghost. And we need to come to an understanding that Ecclesia is governmental in nature, and driven by the apostolic. This is important for reformation and this will cause an empowering of people to take the culture and make it ours as the Lord Himself intended.

Let me be perfectly clear that it will be with the word of God in our vocabulary, hearts, and spirit man that things will change. Because our thoughts will be His thoughts.

You must realize today, we are coming into a whole new season of life that will either bring about the changes that are necessary for a great and victorious future - or our destinies will be accomplished by another generation.

It is time the apostles and prophets get together and agree to be what our Christ has asked us to be. Let's change our mindset from all that comes with the title of "church" to "Ecclesia". In this, we will be a victorious people, an army of saints, that leads the world out of Egypt and into the Kingdom of our God.

Some guidelines for the Prophetic 3

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:30:37 -0400

What is part of the mission of the Prophets?

I Corinthians 14:3
“But he that prophesies speaks to men to EDIFICATION, and EXHORTATION, and COMFORT.” (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 14:3
“On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their UPBUILDING and ENCOURAGEMENT and CONSOLATION.” (ESV)

Hello and many greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. This month, we are continuing with the study on the prophets and part of the task that they are to have in the body of Christ.

Today I am starting with these two versions of the same scripture. The first is from the New King James Version, and the second is from the English Standard Version. Both translations are good for this subject matter.

There is a real fear that is permeating right now in many parts of the Church all over the world. The fear is that when a prophet, or a person who says they are a prophet, comes into a fellowship, gathering, or church, will they speak life or focus on the sin, death, and darkness of a place? This is a real question that must be answered correctly.

In our travels, we have been to places where people had previously come into a place and made announcements that were not of the Lord, but His name was used in the speaking forth. I have personally seen the devastation that some have caused by acting more on impulse than with wisdom.

One of the things to always remember in the ministry is that when you travel to a place to release the anointing of the prophet, it must be able to first of all build up a place. Sure, there are times when you see something that is not in order, but rather than address it publicly, talk to the leadership in private first. This will allow for a dialogue to hear the heart of the leaders and to also show yourself if they see what you have discerned.

I was in a church one time in California, and I noticed that the angelic warrior servants of the church were faced inward instead of outward. This meant that there was a battle on the inside of the place. Instead of the war being outside the church walls, it was actually more dangerous inside the walls of the church. I sat with the senior pastor and some of his staff. They asked me point blank what I was seeing and what the Lord was giving me for them.

I shared with them the activity of the angels. In this, they admitted that the church was in an active battle with some of the people wanting to keep the services holding on to old traditions. But the pastor was given a vision of how the church should pursue the new things of the Lord and establish Holy Ghost in the services. The leadership was very concerned about losing the people, hurting some so much that they would quit going to church at all. It was in this time that we all prayed together. In a matter of minutes, Holy Ghost gave a strategy and tactic to put into effect that would occur during the service that day.

When the service was started, the pastor asked me to share what I had seen, and then he asked me to put into place, the strategy that I had received from the Lord. As I let what I was seeing be announced, people started to cry, to repent, and to also go, at the instruction that the Lord had given, to the walls of the church and to speak healing scriptures into the building.

You see, even though I knew that there was a war inside the church, I also realized that my very words could affect the destiny of the people and the fellowship. In praying we were able to find the life giving words that would produce success. Not one word was condemning, or accusatory, or defaming. It was all about giving a word of knowledge that would produce life. And as far as I know, that church is today still in operation.

In the very word that I had for the church that day, there was indeed correction, but also in that same word, there was brought forth instruction and the promise of blessing if the instruction was followed through.

Now some may say, “but where is that in the bible? Didn’t prophets give warnings all the time and that it didn’t need instruction?”

Let’s use Jeremiah as an example. When he addressed the king, Jeremiah told him that he was going to see the kingdom fall to another country. And that the king would see his sons killed before he had his eyes plucked out. And while this all came true, I want to emphasize that more than once, Jeremiah was before the king and often warned of what was coming. But if we dig deeper in our studies of the word of God, we would see that he also spoke forth that if the king would remove the idols of the high places, and turn the people back to Almighty God, then the blessing of the Lord would be with them and disaster could be averted.

It is important to remember this please. You see, I have met too many people in the church today, who think that they must be the ones who bring the message of correction without looking at their own lives. They do not even attempt to do it the way of the Lord and with His compassion, grace, and love for people. They think that they must always see the negative and report only that. This is not true!

One time when I was invited to be a speaker at a church in Washington, in the middle of the message I received a word from Holy Ghost for the church. I looked at the pastor and said, “Pastor; watch out when someone comes into your church and pronounces that they have a word from the Lord for everyone. They will say that the church is a group of bottom dwelling, scum sucking fish, and God hates you.”

I advised the pastor to have some people open the front door of the church and have some others grab the person and give them the right foot of fellowship out the door. I then proceeded to tell the people that the Lord does indeed want improvement in their walk with Him, but He wants that for everyone. I also spoke to the people that their destinies were so wonderful, full of victory, and that God would give them an even bigger place in the future, that would be at one of the gates to the city. And that God the Father loves them so much that He made sure that His Son became the sacrifice of life for us all.

The very next week, an elder (who was not in the church the week that I was there), stood up and told the pastor that he had a message for the people. It was, “God hates the people and the way they are living. They are all like carp.”

The pastor remembered the word that the Lord had given me to speak to the people. They realized that a carp is a bottom dwelling scum sucking fish. When they comprehended that the warning I had given was coming true right then and there, they knew that this condemning word was not from the Lord. They then proceeded to remind themselves of the promises of the Lord for their future as a church.

The prophet today must examine their own life first, and then, as they become even more intimate with the Lord, realize that they are to show people that they have Christ in them the hope of glory. In this way, we will all speak as the true mouthpieces of the Lord that promote His Kingdom on this earth.

So the next time that you see a need for correction, start to pray for the solution that will be important and needed to give the situation the blessing of the Lord. Then and only then, should you speak forth. Never think that to give a word of correction is all that a prophet does. We are the messengers of the Lord Most High, and we have a great accountability to be a blessing. I love to bring the words of life! It fills my soul with thankfulness to know that our Lord would use even one like myself to promote Himself into the lives of the people.

Join with me please, as we all learn this valuable lesson of life that will remove darkness, death, and condemnation from the lands that we live on.

God Bless You Once Again, In Jesus Christ’s Name! Pat

Some guidelines for the Prophetic 2

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:15:26 -0400

Happy September!

It's time for another update on the lessons of the prophetic and establishing some much needed guidelines in this gift that Holy Ghost gives to the body of Christ.

Again, I would like to clarify, that before sending this out, I must first examine myself. You will see throughout the times to come that I really believe the scripture that says, "...first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye" (Luke 6:42b - English Standard Version).

I would like to bring to your attention two items that are needed in the working of the prophetic for today.

The first has to do with Amos 3:7 - "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets."

Notice that it says "servants". This is very important. You would be very surprised how many people do not pay attention to this part of the word. Many will actually recite this scripture saying, "God does not do anything until He tells His secret to His prophets." This is something that must be rectified today. The reason is quite simple. For a prophet to be used of the Lord, they must be willing to serve others, especially the body of Christ and its leaders.

To be a servant is to attend to the needs of others. That means to be a benefit to others in their visions, their destinies, and in relationship. In this way, we show that we are willing to be used by the Lord to promote others into what they were created to do by the perfect plan of our Heavenly Father.

In Ephesians 4:11-14, it reads "11. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12. to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13. until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14. so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."

Did you notice in verse 12 it says "to equip the saints..."? Have you ever realized that when you choose to train someone, you must lead by example? That means that you become the prototype to show others what the end result is when the training occurs. When I was in the military, part of my duties were to train others to do the tasks that would help to complete the mission statement that was assigned the units. The people that I trained knew that I had gone through the training myself, and had excelled in order to be an instructor.

When we are going to equip others, we must choose to show them by our example of what is to be done. In the case of being a prophet, those who make the best teachers are the ones who have set a foundation of right standing. And I believe that when we show that we serve, we are showing that we are standing for the precepts of the Lord and obeying the word of God that says to "outdo one another in showing honor" (Romans 12:10).

Did you know that in serving, you can get revelation from the Lord and Holy Ghost can speak to you in the actions that you are doing? I have often thought that a good school of the Prophets building would be a very large hotel with many toilets. Allow me to explain. When people come to me and ask me to help them in moving into the prophetic, I always ask them if they are willing to serve others. When they say yes, I hand them a toilet bowl brush. I explain to them that this is their new rod or staff of authority. I am not making fun of them, but I am showing them a practical way in which to step into a gift that shows Christ to the rest of the people. One thing is for sure; that hotel would have the cleanest toilets in all the land!

Our Lord served the people. He was patient with them, and even mingled with them. He did not consider Himself elite, and high above the ones following Him. I think that is very unique, because He knew He is the Son of God. And yet, he humbled Himself in order to let the people be close to Him. If we are going to show our identity of Christ in us the hope of glory, then we should start with this part of serving just as our Lord and King has done.

I want to encourage you to always be willing to serve. It helps to create the freshness by Holy Ghost of the word of the Lord prophetically. In serving, we discover that God honors us with His revelations and words of His heart for the people.

The second issue that I would like to mention today is about fellowship. Prophetic people are not to be alone in their lives. The word of God tells us to be in fellowship with one another.

Hebrews 10:23-25
"23. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25. not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

In this new covenant that has happened because of the cross of Christ and the empty tomb, we usually do not see prophets who live by themselves in the mountains, woods, or deserts. I believe that this is important to know, because today, the church is about city dwelling, and being involved in a local church, not apart from it. Remember what I mentioned earlier? Prophets are to serve within the church as part of the group that supplies equipping. This happens by being involved in the family of God.

Have you ever thought of what happens if you stay away from fellowship? There is an excellent example of a prophet who got away from being with others, and it caused the death of over 100 people. His name was Elijah. That's right! He was a very brave and strong prophet of the Lord who took on the false prophets and priests of false gods. And he won the battle of the false gods against the True God. After this time, we read that he went away from the people and we do not know for how long. There came a time later in his life, when he came out of his isolation and gave a message to Ahaziah the king. You know the story.

2 Kings 1:1-18
"1. After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness." 3. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4. Now therefore thus says the LORD, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah went. 5. The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, "Why have you returned?" 6. And they said to him, "There came a man to meet us, and said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the LORD, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" 7. He said to them, "What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?" 8. They answered him, "He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite." 9. Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "O man of God, the king says, 'Come down.'" 10. But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11. Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, "O man of God, this is the king's order, 'Come down quickly!'" 12. But Elijah answered them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 13. Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, "O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. 14. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight." 15. Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he arose and went down with him to the king 16. and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron-is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?-therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" 17. So he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?"

Now please realize that I am not being critical of Elijah! He was the spiritual father of the country, and he was recognized as a prophet who heard the voice of the Lord and his integrity was strong.

Yet, I believe that because of his being out of fellowship with others, doubt came on him. Notice the parts that I have underlined. This is a man of God who has called down fire from heaven in the past. And now I submit to you, that because he was out of fellowship, he started to doubt his very anointing and the gift of God in him. He speaks when the first captain and his fifty soldiers show up, and he says, "IF....". That is important to notice. He then makes a request for fire to come down. AND IT DOES!

Then a second captain comes with fifty men, and Elijah says again, "IF..."! This is really a lesson for all of us. When we are out of fellowship, we tend to doubt our destiny. That is why we must keep in relationships with people, and in this movement we will find friends from the Lord who will help us to not to doubt the leading of Holy Ghost in our decision makings. And when we are in the company of others, we gain greater faith because we are hopefully promoting the word of God in each of us in order to go to new levels of intimacy with the Lord.

If you are not in fellowship with fellow believers, may I encourage you to find a gathering place of saints and get into that family of God. You know, as much as I travel, I have a home church that I attend. In this place, I can come and receive instruction, friendships, and even receive words of encouragement. After all, isn't that what family is all about?

God Bless You In Jesus Christ's Name!
Pat

Some guidelines for the Prophetic

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:50:58 -0400

I want to discuss some things in the ministry of the prophets that should always be a help and at the same time, generate accountability to leaders that are apostles and also to the body of Christ.

Throughout the recent times of the church, we have seen a movement that involves an increase in prophetic words (words of wisdom) and words of knowledge. However, it is important to really weigh the announcements that are being given in order to make sure that it is really the anointing of Holy Ghost.

As many people have become aware, there have been more promptings by the Lord to have the body of Christ hear the heart of God for these times that we live in. However, in this activity, there can come a danger of false words that proceed from a person's soul rather than the Spirit. Because of the assignments that come to people, that are to create a spiritual orphan (having no spiritual fathers), or due to the fact that a person's identity is in ministry instead of Christ in them the hope of glory, the church is experiencing a time of misleading revelations and division.

In this brief newsletter, I want to help in some way to remind the saints that there are certain conditions that the Lord has given to help us recognize the correct workings of truth and life in the prophetic.

I have seen part of the tactics and strategies that the enemy of our souls has for us in this very day. And part of this plan that they have for the church is to remove the fear of God (the awe and reverence -- Psalm 33:8 - "Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!") and replace it with the fear of man. If the fear of God is removed from the ministry of the prophets, or from the prophetic anointing, then people will push their own words forward and make it sound spiritual. When the fear of the Lord is not in a person's life, they will promote themselves and try to make people believe that they are important in the ministry of the church.

It is also true, that if a person does not have the fear of the Lord, they will not honor leaders by being willing to serve them in the visions of what God has given to the apostles. And they will usually be out of fellowship with the saints or go from church to church trying to impart a word that they feel would be something that gives them a purpose.

I know that today, the five fold gift of a prophet is to be active and in this current church age. We have Holy Ghost talking to many about the heart of our Father in heaven for us. Make no mistake, there are many words being brought to the people of God today that carry instruction, life, exhortation, and comfort. When people speak to a gathering, they can be the mouthpiece of the Lord in order to cause others to know that God really cares about them and that their prayers are going to the Father's presence.

Often times a person will say, "thus says the Lord," or "the Lord is showing me," or even "the Lord is telling me..."

It is important to realize what is happening at these times. In the supernatural realm, when someone starts to say these words (or phrases that imply or speak of the Lord giving them something for others), an angel will come and stand beside the one who is making the announcement.

This angel will then start to scribe into a book what the person is speaking. It is important to realize the colors of the words that are being written down! When a person is truly speaking the word of our Lord to the people, the ink that comes out of the writing tool is blue. This tells us that the one making the prophetic announcement is speaking with the authority of heaven. This is really wonderful as the Lord wants people to come into the knowledge of what He has for them.

However, there are times when the color is grey. This is unfortunate, as it shows that the word being spoken is not from God, but from the speakers soul. Let me explain. There was a time when I noticed that the book that held the words that I had proclaimed in meetings or to individuals was opened for me to see. I noticed that there were pages that had the blue ink, but others that had grey. In asking the Lord about this, He revealed that the blue was speaking as He wanted me to (the authority of heaven).

When I inquired of Him what the grey meant, He then told me that those were the times of speaking from my soul. The soul is the part of our lives that has our emotions, our thoughts, and personalities. In the early days of ministry, I would have a word for someone. As the word was being delivered, the person or people would start to cry. In my immaturity, I would sometimes have a thought that this was the subject that I should continue speaking to. The more I spoke, the more the tears came. However, I was to learn from Holy Ghost that this is not always the way the Lord works on people. You see, at the beginning of the prophetic word, or word of knowledge, the color would be blue. But as I continued in the direction of what had brought out the emotions of the person, the color changed to grey. This was because the Lord did not want to continue in this path, but to give some instruction to help them see the benefit of letting the Lord have all of what they were going through.

Perhaps when this occurs in some peoples lives who are speaking, they think that they are showing everyone how spiritual they can be, as they are able to bring that person to tears. I believe many do that today in church gatherings or private meetings of counsel. I was alarmed when the Lord was revealing this to me, and in my heart, there was immediate repentance. At that moment, I discerned the blood of the Lord washing away the grey words, and making the page blank. I then had to ask Jesus Christ to forgive me for these words that I spoke using His name. As I asked to be forgiven, there came a peace and a reassurance that I would be alright.

The body of Christ must start today to realize, that there will come a time when this book that holds what people have said in the name of the Lord will be read by the Lord in heaven. And the person will stand there in front of the King of all kings. Realize that when the pages of grey are read, there will be a look that no one wants to face, that will come from Jesus Christ. At that moment, I pray that none of us will hear "...I never knew you: depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Matthew 7:23.

This has to do with the prophetic words of people. The subject matter is in Matthew 7:22 ("On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name..."). This is not about the whole church. Just those who would speak that the Lord is saying something when He is not.

In the New King James this verse actually says "workers of iniquity". That is important, because it literally means that those who are the workers of iniquity are speaking the initiation of generational curses into the family lines of the people they are prophesying over!!! So today, we must not say words of idle speaking anymore in the prophetic.
Now I would like to remind everyone that we are in the time of grace because of the cross of Jesus Christ and the empty tomb. Yet, once we get this knowledge of only speaking what the Lord says and we add to it, I must ask "Can the grace continue?" I believe there will come a time when the Lord will say "ENOUGH!" And in that moment, may those that He says this too realize that their folly, their pride, or their false spirituality is going to hurt them. As Paul wrote to us all in Romans 6:15 - "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!"

I have thought lately, what would happen if the experience of Ananias and Sapphira were to occur today in the church (Acts 5:1~11)? What would cause a change in the hearts of the prophetic if someone stood before leaders, or a group of people, and said "Thus says the Lord", and because it wasn't the word of the Lord, they were struck dead in that moment? I think that would definitely get everyone's attention. I would hope that it doesn't come to this, but if the prophetic gifts and anointing will continue to give the words of flesh and soul, this swift movement of the Lord will happen.

Today, if you are not sure of what you have spoken to people in movements of prophetic thinking is of the Lord, at least ask Him for forgiveness. Then ask daily that Holy Ghost leads you in all truth (John 16:13 - "However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.."). With this conviction, really start to inquire of the Lord if that which you receive is to announce, or instead, to make intercession. Many times I will receive something from the Lord, but it is not always to give out. It is for me to pray and to make intercession so that the next time a messenger of the Lord comes to the people, they will be ready to receive it.

I will be presenting to you other aspects of the prophetic in the coming months. I know that it is important to get the fear of the Lord not only into the prophetic, but into the body of Christ. But know that there are many other aspects of what is a real prophet, and what does it mean to walk in humility.

Some of the subject that we address are:

-Being in fellowship
-Honoring authority and the foundation of the church
-Amos 3:7 and the real prophet who serves
-Keeping the prophetic alive inside of an individual
-What is a prophetic word and a word of knowledge (this one will surprise you as to how much we are calling words of knowledge, prophetic).
-Correctly testing a prophetic word
-When to speak, and when to intercede
-And more

Again, I want to reassure you that this is not about correction. It is about being able to establish some much needed guidelines today that may be missing in some fellowships and gatherings. And of course, it will be done with love. Always remember, the Lord told us to "...first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye" (Luke 6:42b).

God Bless Each And Everyone Of You, In The Wonderful Name Of Jesus Christ!

Pat

We need the Fear of the Lord!

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:20:48 -0400

Greetings to all of you from Poland!

I am sending out this important newsletter to all of you because of the seriousness of the day that we are living in. I have received a large amount of emails of the concerns of the people in the United States who are pressing into the Lord right now on behalf of our nation and the proposed health care program that our President is trying to get activated in the country.

It is important to realize that the expressions of alarm are justified. Yesterday I received a general email that many have received from Rick Joyner. Here is a link to his special bulletin. It is important to not have ungodly fear in this time, but to instead raise up a unified voice that says we are not going to stand for this expression of what in truth has to do with Euthanasia, governmental dictation of who should live and who should die.

I do not know if you are aware of what is happening, but there is a plan in the proposed bill that after a person retires, and they receive Medicare/Medicaid, and Social Security, they will be counseled to consider after a time what I call assisted suicide! This is what was done by other dictators throughout the history of mankind. Man is not the one to consider the end of a person’s life. God has given every individual in the world a destiny, and He has a plan of days that we should exist. In fact, as you study the word of God, you discover that we all have a book of Destiny that has the plans of the Lord for each of us. He is the author and finisher of our lives.

We need to arise all over the world as prayer warriors and come into the heavenly places on behalf of all mankind. We must immediately dismiss any apathy or complacency that would hinder the body of Christ from praying against this evil that is attempting to come upon the land by the government of man. It is time to make the saints aware that we are accountable for how we respond to this attempt of premature death in the lives of many people.

The truth is, that in this time of what is showing itself as crisis, we are being called of the Lord Most High, to prophesy a victory of righteousness, and to petition the Lord to take the scales from the hearts and eyes of our leaders. A friend of mine describes the Chinese word for crisis and two things; danger and opportunity. In this dangerous moment, there is an opportunity to gain the triumph of the Lord that all the world may know He is Lord! Yes, this is about us as True Believers coming into the frontline of the battle for life, and demanding that the fear of the Lord come back into our lands. The fear of the Lord is the awe and reverence of God Himself. The bible tells us that without the fear of the Lord, governments do not stand. Without the fear of the Lord, plague can come to your tents, and without the fear of the Lord, our children will not be safe. It also mentions more than once, that without the fear of the Lord, we cannot have wisdom!!

Deuteronomy 10:12 pronounces - "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." How many of us would have put the fear of the Lord as a top priority? But this is the day in which we live. God is not only speaking to Israel, but to all of us! Will we answer the call from the heart of our loving, life giving Father?
So my friends, loved ones, and family in God – start to pray now, not in panic, but in determination that we are the ones who can change our cultures, and together exercise our God given gift and obedience of dominion. For as you have heard me say before, dominion is about being caretakers of this world, and as Rabbi’s teach – using it for our advantage!
God’s Blessings On All Of You, In Jesus Christ’s Name! Pat

New Testament Church properly structured?

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:47:52 -0400

I want to bring something to your attention that may help you to realize how today, the church in it’s thinking, has missed the proper leadership perspective.

Is the New Testament Church today properly structured?
The answer to that question can be found in a very simple test.
Question #1 — Which three of the Ephesians 4:11 ministries are mentioned most in the New Testament?
Question #2 — Which two of those fivefold ministries are mentioned least in the New Testament?
The answers may surprise you. They indicate how far out of balance the contemporary church has grown compared to the original church that Christ established on the earth.
Answer to question #1:
The word “apostle(s)” occurs 75 times in the New Testament.
The word “prophet(s)” occurs over 136 times in the New Testament, about 20 of those occurrences referring distinctly to prophets in the Church Age.
The word “teacher(s)” occurs 125 times in the New Testament.
Answer to question #2:
The word “evangelist(s)” occurs only 3 times in the New Testament.
The word “pastors” occurs precisely one (1) time in the entire New Testament! One time! (Ephesians 4:11) And if you will notice here that the word in the bible is plural. There is not a singular word called pastor.
Consider those numbers. The Bible speaks of New Testament apostles, prophets, or teachers an approximate combined total of approximately 336 times. Pastors and evangelists are mentioned a combined total of four times!
And yet the modern day church calls most ministers by the term “Pastor” and almost denies the words “apostles” and “prophets” like poison ivy! Man’s traditions, religious prejudices, ungodly fears, or misinterpretations have robbed the Lord’s Church of the two foundational ministries — apostles and prophets — that He Himself placed on earth. The Church today, wherever it denies these two ministries, is improperly structured. Pastors, evangelists, and teachers alone cannot bring the church to maturity. They were never intended to. Jesus gave all five ministries for that purpose. This is why we must start to look with fresh hearts at the gifts that God the Father has given to us all. What I am demonstrating is that apostles and prophets are for today, and not a thing of the past.
However, we must also re-examine the thinking of the apostle in the church. For too long, many have thought that the apostle five fold gift is the top of a pyramid. Then come prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists. On the bottom of this stack of ministry are the saints. There are also those who believe, (although wrongly) that the saints are to exist for the sake of serving the apostles. Let me show you something that I pray will release you from this falsehood.
The five fold gifts are to serve, and not to be served. The true physical structure of how the things should be in the gathering of saints today is that on the top of the pyramid, it should be the saints. Then come evangelists, pastors, teachers, prophets, and finally apostles. That’s right! Apostles are at the bottom. That is because they are not promoted as some would think. They are demoted! And everytime God demotes them, they gain more responsibility, more accountability, and more to answer for! WOW!
This is why we must start to help with the movement that calls for adoption. When the true apostles of this age rise up into spiritual fathering and mothering, we will all discover that they are the ones who love to serve and to cause excellence in peoples lives to come and exist.
So prepare for a time of what I hope will be exhortation, comfort, and edification in your life.
God Bless You In Jesus Christ’s Name!

Kingdom Living & Fathering

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:11:13 -0400

Greetings to all of you! Valeria and I have just returned from 85 days of ministry, which involved Florida, Switzerland, and Germany! It was a very profitable time, as well as an important one!

I wanted to share some brief thoughts with you on this last trip, and to reveal a part of my heart that must be known. I have really enjoyed the past days, and knowing that I am in my destiny, which can affect a whole country, or even more. In this time of reflection, I have much to consider with regard to the next part of what our God has intended for us all in the moving of Kingdom and Dominion living!

For many years, I have talked about a Kingdom living that exudes Dominion and its cause for the body of Christ. And yes, even now, I am more emphatic about it. You see, it is in Kingdom living that we have real fathering, and in this fathering we have adoption. It is to say that we are a people who become part of a family when the Spirit of Adoption is extended to those around us.

In adoption, we are not only brought in to a family, but I like to think of it as being born into a family. It is more than paperwork, legal documents, and the law. It is about receiving a family name, an inheritance, and the blessing of a father. I have found that in this time, this is the calling of God on my life. It is important that we remove what I call the orphan curse, its assignments, and the unworthiness that is associated with this.

I have written from time to time of my heart to see fathering arise by apostolic people who are caring, willing to serve, and believe in the commissioning of spiritual parenting by Holy Ghost. Today the passion, the zeal, and the insistence that this takes place in the Body of Christ is much greater than ever before.
 Jesus Christ told us that He would never leave us as orphans (John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”). That is a truth that cannot be denied. It must be realized today that the people of God are not orphans, and we must start now to act like sons and daughters of the Most High God.

It is in this that we will gain a belief system in our souls that tells us that we are the ones that God has intended to rule and reign on the earth. (Genesis 1:26 & 28 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 28. “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth”).

I cannot tolerate the delays any longer on our family origins that God has for each of us in Jesus Christ. In fact, I even want to start a revolution that is not only in the thoughts of people, but also in their actions. This revolution involves changing the heart and minds of God’s people into believing that we are the culture, the society of today.

In the system of the enemy, there are ungodly fears, ungodly isolations, and the emphasizing that a person is not good enough. Oh, I really want to remove this from all of the people. You see, if we are going to succeed in showing the King of all kings as the true Redeemer, we have to discover the spiritual fathers and spiritual mothers of a movement that has been delayed long enough! We must find these people of God, and petition the Lord God Almighty for them to come into agreement, without selfish ambitions, selfish promotions, and make the church move from being one of salvation to one of Kingdom!

I say this of the church, because I am already discovering that there are many in the business ministry that are Kingdom minded and Kingdom moving at this time of history. And soon there will come a time when these Kingdom minded marketplace ministers will invite the church to join them as they extend the vision of Kingdom to the church.

Those that are being placed in this unique authority must be willing to serve one another and to promote the ministry of equipping the saints for the true calling of God in their lives.

It is time for us to realize that we are destined to make a difference in the culture that we live in. If we do not do this, what will happen to the generations who are coming after us?

What boat are you in for 2009? Part 3

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 03:32:08 -0500

I mentioned in Part 1 of this article that while I was in Florida at a conference, I was able to hear an interesting view of the new year, the Jewish new year Samekh Tet.

Tet is the number 9 in the Hebrew. This number creates a picture of submission to the King. In this case, the King of kings, Jesus Christ. It is important to resubmit all that we have put our hands to, back into the heart and hands of the Lord in this time of new structures. If we do this, we will find a new strengthening in the relationships that we hold dear to our lives, as well as the accomplishing of the visions that the Father has made us to do. When we submit to a king, what we are saying is that our lives are not our own. That we trust and obey that king, even when we are not sure of what is coming in the future.
When we submit to the king, we are telling them to do whatever is in their heart and in their soul, because our heart is for them. Some would say that it is wrong to follow someone else blindly, not knowing the vision or the hoped for outcome of a strategic move. Yet, if we really are the vessels of the greatest of all Kings, we must voluntarily place ourselves into His hands and petition that while we have visions that we know we must do, the overall vision of the Lord is prominent.

The truth of the matter is, when we place the vision of the Lord first in our lives, the successes of what we believe is in our destiny will come to pass quickly. So now you know why I earlier mentioned that in 2009, we must once again re-submit to Jesus Christ as our King and let Him be our Dominator!

Another aspect of the number Tet is that it is the picture of a womb. And it is because of this feature in the Hebraic symbology, I believe that we are going to, in this time of releasing old structures and grasping the new, give birth to a new future. And in this future, we will see such a great outcry from all the generations for greater teachings, accountabilities, and leaders that will be used by the Lord to make them into imitators of Jesus Christ.

Have you ever thought about what it means to birth a future? It means to bring in the necessary changes that provide hope, disciplines, and leadership. It causes us to place a vision in front of us that says we really do make a difference!

But know that in the birthing process, the delivery will require a time of pushing that we have not known before. It will be so different when the future arrives, and because of the effort to push this future into reality, we will be very surprised at the amount of travail that it requires.

Now that I am highlighting the new things in relationship to the number Tet Tet (9), let me give you another picture of what this represents. As we had learned at the conference, the number Tet also looks like a wineskin. Now this you can all realize. God is telling us in this new year, to remove the makings and the trappings of old wineskins. If we do not do this, we will not be able to hold the new wine that is coming that is full of revelations that will affect the dominating that we are to do on this planet.

New wineskins will be used by the Lord to hold, and to make available the new sounds of heaven that will be ushering into our spirit man the music that ministers to God.

And of course, the new wineskins will hold the wonderful wine of Holy Spirit and His leading us in all truth. While this has been going on in the past, I believe that there is such a newness coming by the ways of Holy Spirit that we cannot yet give out what He is unctioning into existence until we have the mind of heaven. The old mindsets, the old lessons, will not carry us into this freshness.

I would liken this to something so dynamically different just as Toronto was when it first arrived into our laps. People will question if it is the Lord, while others will run into the fray of what will look like chaos to many. But in that chaos, we will have God’s order.

I want to have the new wine, and for myself, it must be 100 proof!

Now for the last part of what I had learned about the number Tet. It also paints a picture of a snake that is ready to strike. Could it be that in this new year of 2009 (Hebrew calendar: 5679), that once the shipwrecks happen, there will be a snake waiting on the shore for each one of us? I believe again, that the answer is yes! The snake will represent evil, and this will be waiting at the door of this new year, with the desire to overtake us.

So again, I must reiterate that we are being called to establish Jesus Christ our King as our Dominator! The enemy, the viper against our destinies, will try to create a crisis time in our lives. A crisis time is a decisive moment that creates a turning point either for better or for worse. Situations will arise that will become unstable or crucial points that we will have to face. And I believe that the Lord will allow it in order to create a state of affairs where a decisive change will be made. And in this, we will each discover an emotionally significant event or radical change that will re-direct each person’s life.

That is why I mentioned earlier that we will have to turn up the heat in order to burn away the crisis that would take us away from our Lord making us into His image.

I believe that part of this reason is found here:
Haggai 2: 20 The word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, everyone by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts.”

God is wanting to take the Son’s bride, and make it into a signet ring. And there will be multitudes that will represent this. In the days of Haggai, it was one person (Zerubbabel), but today, there are new spiritual fathers, mothers, leaders, that God is going to cause to rule the lands. And I myself want to see it happen and also be a part of it! And that will be the cry of new structure that will come into all of us.

Our Father in heaven, our Daddy, wants to put into position a new administration that will remove the iniquity cycles of the past from all of us and place us in new territories. Do you remember when God asked Solomon what it was that he wanted? And Solomon asked for wisdom. Proverbs 7 tells us that “wisdom is our sister.” Today, God is asking us what mountains do we want? And the reason is very clear; He is offering to give you and I the transfer of what we ask if we will let Him do what He wants to do in us.

You see, our Father is inquiring of us to disciple people. That is why we must change our structures. The things that many have tried in the past, myself included, will not work today. If we are to father and mother, we must choose to make disciples just as Jesus Christ did when He was on the earth. And being in His image, we must start to act like Him all the way.

Revelation 5:11-14 is for right now!

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

If the seven mountains teachings are taken seriously by the body of Christ the results are as follows:
  Mountain of Religion is taken / Honor is established
Mountain of Family is taken / Strength is established
Mountain of Education is taken / Wisdom is established
Mountain of Law/Government is taken / Priesthood is established
Mountain of Media is taken / Blessing is established for the land
Mountain of Art / Glory is established
Mountain of Business / Riches are established

If we are to truly be the ones to do all of this, we must see our ships of the old masters put into the grave of the sea, and then allow training to bring the new ships into our lives. It just has to happen.

My friends, I sincerely tell you, that this is perhaps a year like no other. It will be one that re-defines our visions, our goals, and our finances. It will either cause us to be a pro-active people, or a reactive group. This year, we will see, hear, grasp, and enjoy a whole new authority on the lands if we can set aside the time that the Lord is asking of us to become something that we are not yet. For myself, it means re-examining the ways that I do things, the plans, the seminars, the schools, the visions. It means inquiring of God more than ever before for His perspective and then when I receive it, moving into it completely. And we will see many who will not want to do this out of fear that they will lose what they currently have. And yet, God will not take us to less, but to greater. If we lose what is ours right now, how much is the recompense of what we will gain in His economy and prosperity? Give it all to Him, and let Jesus Christ rule as the absolute dominion King that He is for our lives.

In Jesus Christ’s Name, God Bless You All!

Pat

The Preeminence of Christ
COLOSSIANS 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled bin his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

What boat are you in for 2009? Part 2

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 03:19:37 -0500

It is important to share a lengthy scripture that is very pertinent to the day that we are living in and the new year of what we are to face.

Acts 27: 9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.”

“ 21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me san angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”

“30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go.

33As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. It will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37(We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.”

“ 41 But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.”

Paul on Malta Acts 28:1-6 “1 After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.”
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome 11 After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead.
In the beginning, you will notice that the centurion would not listen to Paul about what was going to happen. Paul gave a warning about it not being wise to set sail as it was late in the year. The centurion here would not listen to Paul, but rather to the pilot and the owner of the vessel.
This was because Paul did not really know his assignment yet from the Lord. And it is true of each of us. When we do not know our assignments, our destinies or even a hint of what they are to be, those around us really do not listen to us. And let’s be honest, when we do not know our assignments, the world will not listen to us.
This is something that will change in the new year, and it will be important that we learn the lessons of our inquiring of the Lord now.
But notice when Paul knows what is about to happen, all the authorities on board listen to him. He tells them that an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him of what is to come. Now I am not saying that you need an angel of the Lord to come and speak to you about what is coming (although it would be nice if it happened on a regular basis), but we must take notice here that Paul must have spoken with a different tone of voice than before.
I mean people will listen, even if it is just for a brief moment to us, if we announce that an angel came and spoke to us. It is definitely an attention getter. But there had to be more than just his tone of voice that caught their attention. Perhaps it was his matter of factness. We may only speculate, but I believe it is important that we really grab a tenacity in our own lives that says, “God spoke to me and it is imperative that we do it His way now!”
For this to happen, our thinking, our rationale, our presuppositions must change. When we were in Orlando, I heard the remark that in order to get to the top of the seven mountains, we must have a new zeal, and be “100 percent full of passion.” This is because it takes a lot to get there, and there are not many dwelling at the top.
One Sunday, our pastor shared with the church about the seven mountains and gave the people an introduction to this teaching. In it, he made very clear that in actuality, there is only 5-6% of the population that defines our culture and our financial realm. It bears witness to my thinking and to what I heard on the subject of getting to the top of the mountains. My friends, if we do have the passion, the zeal of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord, there is no way that we cannot grab hold of the top and make it where we are all a part of this mountain dwelling percentile.
So I submit to you that our thinking has to now become not of the old schools, but of the new school of Holy Spirit that drives us upward into a true thinking of dominion and success. That is one structure that will become shipwrecked in the future as we let our Lord cause us to examine our lives and purposes, as well as plans and programs.
Notice in the scriptures that there is a part where Paul takes the Table of the Lord (Communion) in front of all the crew. It is appropriate for us today to look at this and take a serious part in it. The stand of the Table of the Lord is about declaring again, that Jesus Christ is our Dominator! Notice that it was after Paul established the dominion of the Lord, that the shipwreck happened. I am telling you, that in this day, as we once again re-establish the Lord as the One Who is to dominate us, we will see the old structures sink, as well as the old mindsets! It has to happen!!!
Yet, many will hold back from this being allowed to happen out of fear. None of us like to battle. It is not fun. In fact, whenever we have wars or battles, there are casualties. Things get stripped away. And we find no joy in going through this time of warfare. But there is good news about this if we will let the Lord remove our old structures and replace them with new. More about that later on.
As I stated previously, it was after the table of the Lord that the shipwreck happened. But notice here the favor and the confidence of Paul. First of all, he makes a very brash announcement. He says that no one will die, if they stay in the boat. After this proclamation, the life boats are cut away and everyone is forced to stay until the last minute. When the ship hits the reef, and starts be torn apart, I must remark that even here the hand of God is on the people.
Those that can swim, are told to jump overboard and make for the land that they have seen. These are those who hear the Lord’s command to jump out of the old structures and make way for the new shores of destiny. They will rely on their times of intimacy with the King of kings in the past in order to swim to the land that the Lord has prepared for them that is a temporary and new harbor that offers a temporary safe haven.
Conveniently, the Lord also provides by the broken timbers of the ship, a way for those who do not know how to swim to make it to safety by hanging on to the wood and floating into the shore.
Don’t forget, there are some who will not know how to go forth out of fear of the unknown depths that they will encounter in their thinking. These will be the ones who, if they will plunge into the deep, will find Holy Spirit providing a way to get to the shore of this temporary new land. But one of their initial tests will be to abandon everything that they have been in throughout the past and realize that it cannot carry them into 2010 and the new times of the Lord in our lives and that of the world.
This ungodly fear must be overcome in order to have the success of a God ordained destiny and to fully operate in it. There is no options here but to obey the Lord and jump in to the newness of things to come.
As you read this, you must ask yourself, “which one will I be? Will I be the one who does not hesitate and relies on my nurtured intimacy with the Lord in the past?” Or is it possible, that you may ask, “Am I the one who needs to have help to make this leap to leave the old ship of structure?”
Either way, we will have to decide now to jump the old ship and make a way for the new land that is just temporary.
Next, you can read that Paul and everyone one board the old ship, did in fact make it to the island, which is discovered to be Malta. It was a land that Paul had not been to before, and yet it was here that testings, and evidences of God being with him manifested.
Did you know that the word Malta, in the Greek means ‘honey’? This causes me to think about the promises of God for His people when it comes to going to lands of milk and honey. This is just a private thought, but I think it needs some pondering.
Honey has to do with the things being sweet, and also having a sustenance that is very nourishing. If we jump the ship of the old structure, we will for a short season, end up in the land of honey. But notice here, that while we are in that land, there are vipers waiting for each and every one of us.
Paul finds this out quickly. As he is adding sticks to the fire in order to turn up the heat, a viper comes at him and bites his hand. The people stand and watch, thinking that it is inevitable that Paul will die. But of course, we read that nothing happened to Paul, and in fact, it was the serpent who perished in the flames.
For us, the analogy is that in this time of being on the land of honey, as we ourselves turn up the heat, there are vipers that are going to come and attack us. In fact, I tell you that these vipers are waiting right now for each and every one of us. They will attack us as we come closer to the fire of Holy Spirit in being lead in all truth and in a daily increase of intimacy on a scale of what we have never known before. As we desire and accomplish in obedience our willingness to go into the newness of God, we will be attacked.
The vipers that are waiting are the ones from our past. These are the ones that have in times gone by, harassed us to the point that we decided to play things safe, and not try to do things in a new way. The battles of the mind, of finances, of relationships, became so tested, that we moved backward so that the pressures would relax. It became a way of us using our own strength. That was safe, and since it worked in the past, and did not cause the enemy to take notice of us, we stayed in that pattern.
Yet, today is the time when the enemy of our souls will really start to notice us. He will become afraid that if we move forward into the knowing and leading of Holy Spirit, fresh and anew, we will become so dominating in the lands that he will have to flee.
Of course, there will be those who will be on the sidelines telling us that we are not thinking clearly, and that we are doing things wrongly. Some I believe, will even tell us that they will not be able to be in fellowship with us because of the way we are doing the ministry now. That’s okay, because it is all about doing things in a whole new way. A way that is according to the perfect will of God the Father.
But please take courage, because in this time, while we are maturing, and growing in faith, the people will start to come to us and want to inquire about what it is that we are after. And in this short stay on this island of honey, we will be discovering that we are moving outside the four walls of the church. We will be moving into a new understanding that causes us to do as Peter says, and outdo one another in honor.
We will start to see the miracles that we have been petitioning the Lord of the heavens about becoming all of the time. I know that it will be the enunciation of a new time and a revival that will bring a true reformation.
You know, I’ve heard many definitions of revival and of reformation. But in truth, I believe the simplest one of all is that revival is a move of God to win people’s hearts to receive the heart of Jesus Christ! And reformation is a move of God to win people’s minds to receive the mind of Christ! We talk so much about reformation, but in order for it to happen, we have to come to the reality of a true revival. And if you will take time to hear Holy Spirit on this matter, you will discover that this is one of the reasons for the shipwrecks of businesses and ministries, as well as churches now.
This new structure that God wants to put us into is for our sakes, and that of the people of the world. We were given a long time ago a command to have dominion over the earth. Our Father in heaven made us to be the ones who make government, who rule the marketplace, and take care of the people of whole countries. But we have not done it because of the past issues that made us think, “if it worked for that person, then that must be the way that I should do it as well.”
I speak to all of us when I say that the plans that God has for us, they are in our hearts. We just need to accept this and not dwell on the programs of man or the thinking that the plans are in some one else’s heart. God has given out so much that is not being taught yet. These are part of the plan of the Lord and I have to tell you that now is the time to move into this acquisition of destiny.
Now please allow me to give you an encouragement here. As I stated earlier, there is a good report in all of this. I ask you to notice in the scriptures that I have given in the beginning of this writing. It tells us that Paul and the others were there on the island for three months.
I believe that if we will allow the Lord to take us from the old structures, the old ships, and place us in the land of honey, He will bring another ship to pick us up after a three month period. That is right! Now you may say, “wow! Three months! Okay, let me get it done!” It would be good to have this kind of attitude. You see, the sooner we relinquish our souls to what God wants to do, the quicker we will see the new ship of destiny come to pick us up.
I am not saying that the time will be a cake walk. It will be about discipline, about character, integrity, the fear of the Lord, and truth! It will about becoming refined in the fire of our God in order to remove any strange fire that has caused compromise in the past.
But if we can submit the next three months to our Father who is in Heaven, we will see a new turn around! I have heard an apostolic friend state, “we must be a people who walk with initiative and not ambition.” In this way, we are a people who are pro-active, and not reactive. In this, we must come into agreement. The reason is very simple. When we are moving with the initiative of the Father of the heavens, we will stay away from the selfish ambitions that come by jealousies and coveting of reputations. This is part of what our Lord is calling us into change.
There are new structures, new ships coming to pick us up and to put us into new relationships that will fuel even more triumph for a destiny that is changing the world that we live in. We are going to learn assignments by Holy Spirit to be the voice of our communities, of our lands, and I believe very strongly of our governments. We are being requested of the Lord to be the vessels of heaven on this earth that will promote the authority of the King of kings now!

What boat are you in for 2009? Part 1

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 15:47:13 -0500

I have heard many words at this early time of the year, but I must confess that it does not all speak into my life. In myself, there is a Holy Spirit gnawing that calls me into something that is so great and different, and in particular has brought my thought life out of the box of what I had thought it should be in.

Last December, I attended a conference in Orlando, Florida. There were several speakers there, and many had important messages for today. Several of them was stating that the structures that we are in now will fail, and in fact crash.

There are new structures that we must get into now. I am going to share some of those thoughts, as well as what I have received by Holy Spirit as I have specifically sought to have answers. Please realize that as I type this out, I am realizing that what is coming is so much bigger than anyone has any concept of. Church is about to change, and it must. Businesses are about to be altered, and ministries are going to dramatically be exposed for what is the real part of the heart of why they exist.

I consider this as life changing to me as the time of going into the principalities war-room. I realize that what I am sharing is so important, it must be done with the fear of the Lord and the realization that our accountability is increasing.

I am not wanting in any way to be critical of the current established way of how things are done, and you must remember this. I am in fact, going to be transparent as never before. In the past, I have refused to be anyone but myself. I will not wear masks that make me look like someone I am not. With that said, I want to speak to you from more than my heart. There is inside of me, a welling up, a rising, almost of geyser proportions, of letting people know that there is so much more than what we have now. And there is so very, very much more of what we are to be doing in order to really show that the Kingdom of God is now and it is here!

The newness of 2009 is still around us. Yet, I believe that God Himself started a shaking that is going to go to new extremes back in September of 2008. As I looked into this, I remembered that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, started on September 30, 2008. In this time frame the new things have begun.

“Hebrews 12: 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ 27 This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.”

This shaking that God is doing right now, will remove the chaff, the false expectations, and the false foundations of our lives. We will even see relationships shaken, as truth and placement by Holy Spirit come into a true reality. It must happen in order to prepare us to be the kings of the lands. It has to occur in order to bring in to habitation the role of the priest that we seem to have forgotten about in our meetings, businesses, and activities.
To have a shaking from God is very uncomfortable, but it is necessary. We must now examine very closely our reasons for why we do things in our lives. It must be asked of each one of us, what is the real purpose of why we do ministry, or do business? God is saying that He wants us to know this now, and that if we will let Him have His perfect will, we truly will survive this time.
You will see ministries, businesses, churches, come to a halt by 2010. But this will only happen to those that do not want to get out of the old structures and into the new ships of destiny that God is requiring of each of us.
Today, we must ask ourselves what ship are we in and what is the condition of that destiny vessel? And we must pray and ask the Lord to do things His way, in His day, and in His love. We must live in the day, and seek our King of kings for what is His will in this time. If we dwell in the past, we will do things that are not fresh. Living in the past, causes us to do things as they have always been done. It does not offer change, refreshment, or the time of refreshing that is what God commands us to do. When we live in the past, we become fearful of change. I heard this saying from a man I was ministering with in a worship camp once, who said;
“Lord, Give us freedom from the fear of the future and freedom from the fear and failure of the past.
I receive the gift of living in the present:
- there is provision in the present,
- there is living in the present,
- there is success in the present.”

It is so important that we take this and really run with it in order to know that we are equipping God’s saints in this present day. But to do this we must release our mindsets, our patterns, even our old habits, so that we can become new, and even more in the image of Jesus Christ.

It’s time to let God change us

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:57:03 -0500

Greetings Everyone!

Well, here it is the end of another year, and there has been a lot going on not only in our personal lives, but in the history of our lands. In looking back on 2008, there is a lot that we could reflect on, but I think it is important to ask what is the main purpose of this year that is ending?

I believe it is important to notice that this is a year of bridging to the future, and fulfilling the orders of God for our destinies. There is a bridge that is being established of our future when it comes to opportunities for letting God become evidenced in our lives. I heard a business man named Dennis Peacock speak in Orlando a couple of weeks ago, and he made mention that “right now, the future belongs to those who prepare for it.”

In this new time of the new year that is coming, we are going to find out how prepared we are for where God wants to take us, and if we are going to yield to this change in our lives.

You see, in the very near time, the Lord is going to start causing us to re-examine ourselves in order to see what it is that is keeping us from going deeper in intimacy with Him. These will include being tossed to and fro as the waves on the water, having doubt, ungodly fears, anxieties in the heart, selfish ambitions, and also the curse of being a spiritual orphan.

It is in this time that I believe the Lord will bring a new igniting of the body of True Believers coming together. Please know that we are going to find out just how relational we are in the year of 2009. In the year of “New Wine”, it is time to remove the whine of the old and its victim mentality that creates a schism in the body of Christ. Where we no longer become jealous of one another, and we do not turn on one another. Instead, we will have a new structure, a new outlook, of relationships, and it is only in this that we will find each of us going into something totally new and powerful.

When I tell you that the future belongs to those who are prepared for it, this is part of what that involves. If you want to go forward in business, in ministry, in destiny, you and I must now become prepared for the Lord to remove the old habits that causes our souls to interfere with the move and direction of Holy Spirit. We have no real choice but to let Him re-organize our ministries, businesses, and homes in order to have any part of the new revivals, reformations, and successes that are going to occur.

We are going to see a burning of the chaff in our lives that has been used to stop us from going into a totally deeper life with God. A deep unto deep that no one corporately has experienced in modern times. Folks, this is the time of proving what is our identity, and if it really is Christ in us the hope of glory.

I know that there will be many ministries that will not make it through this re-proofing, and it is important that we be prepared for this. That is why we must seek our Lord now in new ways that make us go so much into the Father heart of God that we truly discover we are in virgin lands of the supernatural. Where we totally abandon our own structure of thinking, and delve into the perfect, most wonderful mind of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Church is about to change, and it is necessary for this to happen now. When I was in Dover, Florida, the Lord gave me a prophetic word with regard to 2009. Part of the word given said:

“I declare, that the times have changed. So change also, for I will have a house of worship become established, that will be where leaders direct the call for the future of My people. Those who come into this, who obey, who choose to serve, and to outdo one another in honor, those who come in and say to everyone, ‘I am getting my feeding and I am getting my understanding in this time and place. I am part of a revival and reformation. And I am aligned in that system which is of the Lord.’ These will know that I will have an ear to hear, and their hands will be prosperous in what they are put to. And it will be declared of you that you are moving in the perfect will of God to change a nation.

Hear very earnestly, that the days of change are upon you now! Church will no longer be done as it was in the past. Come into the flow that I am requesting of you to partake of, or you will lose your way. And release the plans of the last seasons from your hands now. If you have known defeat, if you have known delay, if you have known failure, now release this and let it be the new bridge of wisdom that will give you the revelation for a future that has great victory.” See the whole prophecy here. 
Know that we must see the church change and the ministries become new. Or we will not enjoy that which is to make us a victor, a celebration of victorious Christian living and eschatology. So please, let our Lord draw you now into the depths that you have been reluctant to go to in the past. And when you get there, you will drink from a well of spiritual filling that had previously only been imagined.

God Bless You and have a JOYOUS NEW YEAR!
Pat, Valeria, Daryn, Rachelle, Joshua, Isaiah, and Katie (and all our grandchildren!)

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