On Easter Sunday, John Kilpatrick read a prophetic word by Dennis Cramer to his church. The word was powerful. It spoke about the brutality of the last 7 years for leaders, in fact everyone. Then he went on to declare that we have now entered a 7 year period of restoration. Stolen things of all sorts will be returned. Those who have suffered unfair judgments, actions, persecution, will be vindicated. He went on and on, reiterating the details of what God had said.

Basically what he was declaring is that we have entered a massive time of restoration and revival.  (Joel 2:18-27) In fact there are a whole bunch of “r” words that could be used here. Reform, Renew, Refresh, Repair, Rebuild, Refurbish, Reinstate, Revive, Recover, Regain, Revitalize, even Resuscitate.Some of us need resuscitating. Joel said,

And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten–the hopping locust, the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you.And you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord, your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never be put to shame.And you shall know, understand, and realize that I am in the midst of Israel and that I the Lord am your God and there is none else. My people shall never be put to shame. (AMPL)

Luke wrote about this in the book of Acts when he said, “Repent therefore and be converted, so that your sins will be blotted out, and the times of rest (refreshing) from before the face of THE LORD JEHOVAH will come to you.” To repent is simply to turn around. It is a turning away from something detrimental towards God. To repent is to make an about face. There has to be a conscious acknowledgment of something in our lives that is less than God longs it to be. It is an act of humility. And then there has to be a turning away from that.

“Forgive us our sins” in the Lord’s Prayer has always clarified sin for me. The word forgive in that phrase is hamartia, meaning to fall short of the mark, to miss the target. The mark we are to measure ourselves by is the Word of God as well as His specific, Holy Spirit inspired direction to us.

For some repentance is simply an acknowledgment of humanity. I am not God. You are not God. What we have been trying to hold up or save, only God can. It’s an act of surrender. I can’t save somebody or something, a business, church, marriage, family. I must let go and let God. It is to cease striving, trying to make something happen. The end result is that we come into a state of rest.  And the refreshing begins.

I can identify with what Kilpatrick said. The season was brutal, unrelentingly so, not only for me but for many I know. Many pastors and leaders were “brutalized” in this past season. It looked like nothing remained. And if anything did, it was in a shambles. Marriages, reputations, accusations, smear campaigns, failed endeavors, lost inheritances to state a few. I’m sure you can add another set of losses.

All of the warfare began when the prophetic words started flowing like water out of a broken dam concerning what God was getting ready to do. An unprecedented move of God, signs, wonders and miracles, awakening, a new wave of power evangelism, another Jesus people type movement . . . on and on. Then the plug was pulled and all power to fulfill those words was drained from us.

I believe at least two dynamics were at work. First the enemy was opposing us. There was an all out assault to try to stop what God said He was getting ready to do. And because God works through people, you and I was the target. The enemy desired to destroy us, the conduits of God’s Spirit.

Second, God was qualifying us; Revelations 2 and 3 states that we must qualify to inherit by overcoming. If we overcome, there has to be a hindrance, an obstacle of some sort in the way. If we are still standing, we’ve overcome and we qualify. If we fell down, then throw yourself on the mercy of God.It’s time to get back up, cut our losses, and move on. If we failed, forgive yourself, turn back to God and go on.

We have entered a season of revival, awakening, signs, wonders and miracles. It isn’t off in the distant, it’s now! Healing and deliverance are going to break out so miraculously, beyond anything we can imagine. Those who’ve lost their way are coming home. Prodigals are going to leave the pigpen, come back and make it right. Reputations are going to be restored. Those who have maligned others are going to come repenting and asking for restoration. Lost things are going to be restored.

What are you to do? If you don’t believe it is happening for you, just get up and start moving back towards God. Get back in the church, family you left, people you ditched, friends you turned your back on. If you are holding aught against someone, let it go. Ask God to help you forgive and let go. It’s a time to let go of offenses, grudges, and unforgiveness. Anger over how things turned out. God is doing a new thing and His heart is to totally restore. Begin to declare that you are in a new season even if it feels like the middle of winter. Act as if God has already started your restoration process because He has. Talk to God from your heart, pour it out to God and begin to soak in the Word. His presence will come and overwhelm you.

Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. Furthermore He will give you great grace. And watch the restoration process unroll in your life like a refreshing rushing stream in springtime. Revival and awakening are here.

Come all the way home! To God, to your family, to those you left out of hurt or bitterness. It is time.

I was on the other side of Detroit for an appointment and dinner meeting. At the restaurant, I’d turned off my phone and slipped it in my purse. What a meal, what a great friend time, then it came to an end. While my friend visited the restroom, I pulled my phone out of my purse. It was filled with both text and voice messages. The messages were all the same, “are you okay?”

“Are you okay?” Of course, I had just had dinner at one of my favorite places in Detroit, slowly devouring a steak broiled to perfection. I was in foodie heaven. What a meal, what a great time together!

Nothing unusual was happening where I was. It was a wonderful day, blue skies, unusually warm weather for March. The birds were chirping, frogs croaking. It felt so fresh and freeing. It was a perfect “do something fresh” day.

Little did I know that very close to home, a tornado had just touched down. The news said that it was within a mile or so of my house. Even my brother saw the news in the Middle East and contacted me immediately via email. As I scrolled down the text messages and listened to the voice messages; I was immediately thankful I was on the other side of town. But I wondered about my house and the people I knew in the storm’s eye. The church building was close to the center.

Then I remembered Chuck Pierce prophesied the following on January 8 of this year at our church. “When you have a tornado over Michigan this coming year it will be a sign for you that the winds have met.  The glory wind and the revival wind have met and it’s just going to be interesting to see where it meets, what happens and what goes on as God continues to move up in this area.”

I texted Chuck about the tornado.He wrote back, “the revival is here.”Revival has now begun right here in our church, in Dexter, in the surrounding area, in Michigan. But the intensity is where the tornado broke out according to the word Chuck gave.

Miraculously, no one was killed, nor was anyone injured. It was an EF-3 tornado, very strong and potentially extremely destructive. Over 100 homes had either been destroyed or damaged. The tornado was the sign to us of the revival outbreak.

Then yesterday morning, 3 days later, a double rainbow appeared over Dexter, the center of the tornado. Rainbows represent covenant. God was declaring to us His covenant with us, His church. Hosea 6:2 declares, “After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

Revival is for the church. It is the beginning of a fresh breaking out of the Spirit of God. Revival according to the Thesaurus means renewal, restoration, reinforcement, recovery, resurgence, rebirth, rehabilitation. Biblically it means fresh, renewed, recovery, brought back to life.

Revival always follows very tough times, times where we are brought to our knees through devastating circumstances. Revival is a result of repentance (a turning of our hearts toward God, a change of mind, a turning around), fresh humility, renewed and total dependency on God. Isaiah 66:1-2 declares where God loves to come.

Thus says the Lord:“Heaven is My throne,
and earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?For all those things My hand has made,
and all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.

Revival breaks out in the midst of dark times, impossible times, broken times. It begins to reverse accumulated grief, deep trauma, deferred hope, desolation, devastation, hopelessness, faithlessness, darkness, depression . . . all those oppressive and overwhelmingly negative circumstances which devastate people and their faith. God comes in a brand new fresh way reviving and raising His people up with new life, resurrection life, fresh vision and hope for the future.

God also spoke to us is that He is going to break out in Michigan with a revival of healing and deliverance, particularly along Lake Michigan. It is now here and we are to act on what God says. It is not how we feel, but rather what God has said.

I knew that God wanted to break out strongly Sunday based on Chuck’s prophetic word. It was to mark the beginning of a new pouring out of His Spirit in healing and deliverance. I had just returned from an unplanned trip to Toronto to be with a dear friend whose husband had died. Saturday night I hardly slept. I was weary Sunday morning. I felt as much like revival as a flower in a trash can.

But I knew what God had said. As Benjamin ministered the Word, I said “oh boy, this is a tough one.” He had been so fired up, so full of God. But his word seemed to be hitting some wall. Then Natasha had a prophetic word. (She didn’t feel very “revivalish” either) But she gave the word. Benjamin stopped preaching and the two of them interacted prophetically, Benjamin began to prophesy, then somehow I got in the mix, as the spiritual mother.

Suddenly young people began to come up to the altar. Demons growled. Broken hearts cried out and God began to move. How marvelously the Father’s heart went out to all those who came up! A revival Spirit erupted, not out of feelings but out of faith. Raw belief that something was the sign the revival was to begin now. We just acted out of raw faith in the prophet’s word. Two hours later, I crawled to my office, having poured out all I had. Exhausted but overflowing with a grateful heart. God’s word is true.

Revival has begun.

Who likes adversity? You can call it resistance, problems, hindrances, persecution, trouble, pressure, conflict, people issues, whatever you like. None of us are particularly fond of it however it comes and I don’t personally know anyone who has purposely signed up for it.

But . . . . without adversity, I have no idea what I really am willing to die for. And I’m not really sure what I am living for until it is tested. Adversity of any kind, (and the more intense and distressing the adversity), tests how badly we want something or how great our determination is to accomplish something.

Biblically, adversity is the qualifier to inheritance in that we must overcome it to inherit. (Rev 2-3). Adversity uncovers our resolve, our stamina, desire, groundedness, focus, priorities, and our future. If we overcome, we will inherit.

In other words, adversity uncovers our level of determination. The greater the adversity, the greater the test. How badly do we want something? What are we willing to die for? What are we willing to face incredible pain for; and get all the way through the pain?

We throw the word breakthrough around all the time. In services an incredible outbreaking of the Holy Spirit will sometimes manifest. We seem to suddenly be propelled forward into a new realm, past every obstacle, over every wall etc. What do we do Monday morning when the “thrill” of Sunday’s breakthrough pales in comparison to the challenge we are up against.

Golda Meir felt in her gut that Israel needed to prepare for an attack on Yom Kippur in 1983. However everyone around her, including Moshe Dayan, said“no, there wasn’t going to be any such attack on Israel.”Nevertheless when everyone had gone home (including all the soldiers), the men were in the synagogue, and Israel was at rest celebrating Yom Kippur, Syria and Egypt invaded Israel’s borders just like Golda Meir suspected in her gut.

The Prime Minister felt like a failure, like she had personally positioned Israel in harm’s way by not listening to her gut. She was ready to commit suicide, seriously pondered ending her life because it looked like Israel’s end as a nation. She felt personally responsible.

Golda had a dream, an enduring vision and mandate from God concerning the nation of Israel. She knew Israel was to not only continue but flourish as a nation. She knew this in God’s heart. Putting her sense of personal guilt and regret aside, she called President Richard Nixon in the middle of the night. She explained that if the United States did not help Israel, it was over for Israel. Nixon asked her what she needed. She outlined the military help needed and Nixon took detailed notes. He got off the phone and mobilized every bit of the help Israel needed. Instantly it was on the way.

Why did Nixon do that? He was in the middle of the Watergate scandal, publicly shamed by those circumstances.

While listening to Meir’s requests, he remembered when he was a little child his mother telling him about the Old Testament, biblical, Israeli battles, David and Goliath. He remembered her looking at himand saying, “someday Richard you are going to do something that saves Israel, that wins a big battle like David and Goliath.” Mired in shame, Nixon at that moment said, perhaps this is why I have become president of the United States. And he reached out to mobilize help, all the help Israel needed to turn the Yom Kippur war around. Israel was saved from total defeat.

Both Meir and Nixon were tested to the core of their being. There was something greater than the pain and trouble engulfing them, there was a mandate, a purpose for which they were born. That day both of them were tested over how determined were they to accomplish what had been put in their hands to do.

Both of them passed that test.

Paul said in Philippians 3 that he was pressing on to apprehend that for which he had been apprehended. Paul had to put the past behind, regrets, failures, shame, and disappointment. There was something greater, the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.

I suspect that’s what God was saying to Isaiah when He said don’t remember the former things nor consider (turn over in your mind) things from the past. I am doing a new thing.

Trouble, adversity has a purpose. It tests our level of determination. It uncovers our true level of determination. How determined are we to successfully accomplish what God has put in our hands to do; the purpose for which He save us in the first place; the reason He apprehended us?

Those who are determined will be the most tested. And from more than one ash heap, they will crawl out often temporarily crippled, in pain, and feeling defeated, to arise and go beyond their feelings to apprehend the prize. That was what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 4 and Philippians 3. That’s what propelled Jesus to drink the cup in Gethsemane, to go all the way to the other side.The side of Victory. Call it breakthrough.

How far are you willing to go? What is your level of determination? That will define your prize. (Philippians 3)

Sometimes a situation occurs that alters temporarily, even permanently the customary flow of life. Such was the case when I found myself being rushed to the hospital, then into surgery the end of August 2011. My life took a sudden drastic turn. Many things I was doing as well as things planned were cancelled. My life took a sudden downturn. I got slapped, flat on my back.

My blog followed suit; it traveled south. But with the warm winter, things that normally remain frozen are thawing or are in some sort of semi frost state. I think one is my blog.

Driving home tonight, the earth was covered with a dense fog. It was very hard to see so I drove more slowly than normal. I thought about the fog and started conversing with myself.

That’s how the last season was. The fog was so dense it was almost impossible to find one’s way. Yet we all just crept along at a snail’s pace to avoid total disaster. It didn’t work because one mess seemed to follow another. We kept hitting things shrouded by the fog. Yet we couldn’t see each other so we just kept on talking to ourselves.

Ecclesiastes 3 says that to everything there is a season. When seasons change, God first announces the change. (Isa 43:18-19) Then He expects us to adjust accordingly by moving into the new by faith. Raw faith.

When messes keep piling up because fog hides the way, it is challenging to believe that it is going to be different. Particularly when the fog is still there! Yet God always requires us to take action because we walk by faith not by sight.

We have been in just such a period of time where the season has been so long that we began to believe that problems, messes, crises, failures, losses were our new reality, permanent reality. To think and act differently seems suicidal. Therefore we play it safe, won’t take the risk. The fog engulfed us.

Back to August and emergency surgery. Being tethered to home was the best thing that happened to me. I did what the doctor told me to. That meant not much. So I had a lot of down time; time to think, rest, lie there, process life, meditate on the Lord, on His Word, do nothing. The more at rest I became, the greater the presence of the Lord came and overtook me. Suddenly I realized I was being retooled for the future. Paul calls it a renewed mind. I was living in the Presence of God.

During that time I received word after word from well known and not so well known prophetic voices. I didn’t seek out any of them but would get an email, a phone call, run into them somewhere and they would begin to prophesy. All pointed me in the same direction with the same end point in mind.

As I lay in bed, there were times when I didn’t know if I was in this world or another, if I was dreaming or having a vision. And I wasn’t high on drugs. I wasn’t taking any. I began to “see” things pertaining to the Church, see God, angelic hosts, pieces of the future. The more I saw the more rejuvenated I became. Then God told me to basically take the Fall off, not returning to normal activity until just before Christmas. By mid December, I was a changed person.

Now I find myself in a new place. God clearly pronounced to me that the book of the past was closed;now move into the new. The four months hiatus cleared my mind and rejuvenated my spirit to where I was able to position myself in the new. I understood that if the new era were to unfold for me, I would have to act as if I were already in it. That’s exactly what I did. What I prophetically knew was to begin to happen, I began to act, speak and position myself as if it had already burst into reality.  And guess what? It has begun.

I may not be as far into as I will be, but I am now in the beginning of the new era doing what God asked me to do. And His reality is now beginning to manifest in power and glory.

The fog has lifted. I see the new era. It is now coming into being.

Take courage, persevere, hold onto a God-given vision and its accompanying faith, and begin to strategically act. Take the next step, the new will break out little by little before your eyes. And keep moving, don’t stop.

Barbara J Yoder

Last night I had the privilege of not only attending a concert but also opening it up in prayer. Shana Wilson was recording her latest CD. She had done two of our worship explosions at church. I had connected her with Julie Meyer and both of them had done the worship event together. Shana is a Detroit native, Julie a Kansas City IHOP leader and recording artist/author. One black, the other white. Yet they connected over something, someone who bridges every barrier, Jesus.

I had seen something in Shana, not just another up and coming recording artist but one who had the capacity to reach deep into the well of God’s presence and release a sound that would touch people, cities, territories. Shana has a quality where I can close my eyes, get lost in the sound, a sound that transports me into God’s presence.

Technical excellence is necessary; talent and skill are amazing assets. But there is something greater, a heart that is relentless toward God. Call it radical, passionate, sold out, whatever you want. All I know is when I heard her last night I cried, felt washed, shouted, clapped, in fact did it all. It wasn’t because I was excited, though I love Shana, pray for her and watch over her development from a distance. It was because I finally heard the sound.

What moved me was the anointing coming out of her. I have heard many artists, attended concerts, watch people “wet their pants” in excitement. But this was something far beyond, she transported me into God’s presence.

Years ago I prophesied in Detroit that there was coming a worship revolution, a movement in that city. In fact it was 1989 when I prophesied it. I saw masses of people moving out of churches, houses and buildings into the streets worshipping God. I knew there a worship revolution coming that would transform Detroit. A spiritual revolution would burst forth in the youth of the city through worship.

When I gave that word, I was speaking at a conference hosted by Velma Rosemond, (now Clapton). The power of God was so strong it was the only time I have prophesied that I almost went down under the power myself. In fact Sylvia Evans was there and said if I never did another significant thing the rest of my life, that specific prophecy could have been what I was born to give.

I heard a sound last night. A sound I have been looking for since then. The concert was packed out with mostly young people, probably 2000. Because I was opening in prayer, I sat on the front row with Shana’s family, right next to Julie Meyer, my good friend. Julie and I were both excited, reveling in what we heard. We heard the sound! Jesus was in the house moving through multiplied young people packing the place out. It was the new sound in Motown, flowing out of an amazing young Black artist, it was God’s sound.

Shana you did it! Now take the songs, the sound and the Jesus’ anointing all the way to heaven’s bank and release the worship revolution in Detroit.

I Woke Up With Goliath

I was preparing to speak at a major conference. I was expected to have a significant word of direction or wisdom, something for the nation that would equip people in their battles with the forces of darkness.

But I wasn’t prepared. My mind was a million miles away. Because of a combination of situations, I was anxious, worried, and apprehensive. I felt frantic and panicked to the point of emotional paralysis. In that state, I did not care what happened to the nation; I was consumed with finding some way through my own maze of tangled, strangling thoughts. I could not find my way out of being absolutely shut up and shut down in the valley of despair.

Things only got worse. The more I tried to think about what I was going to say at this conference, the more my mind locked up and my emotions went haywire. My chest felt as if there were tight bands around it. My brain felt like it was going to explode and splatter against the wall. The more I tried to get myself under control, the more I found myself out of control.

I tried everything.

I read the Bible to myself, silently at first, then aloud, and using every translation I had. That didn’t seem to work.

I began to sing every praise song I could think of. I sang hymns. I put worship music in my CD player and turned up the volume so high that it rocked the house. I love music and music usually works, but not this time. I only got more aggravated, more annoyed, more irritated, and ultimately more hopeless.

I prayed silently. I prayed out loud. Then I just prayed really loud—so loud that I think my neighbors could probably hear me with both their windows and mine closed. I prayed in English. I prayed in the Spirit. None of that worked.

So I tried kneeling down. I hadn’t knelt down to pray in a long time. I usually stood or walked around. I thought that if I knelt down, maybe God would see how intent I was to reach Him and how desperately I needed to break through the war that was gripping me. It still didn’t seem to help.

Then I stood back up. I paced. I knelt again. I yelled, “Help!” None of it worked.

My mind searched desperately for something that would bring a breakthrough. I thought maybe it was because of sin. Had I committed some sin I wasn’t aware of? Was God hiding from me because of it? I asked God if I had disappointed Him in some area of my life. The next thing I knew, a horde of facts descended on me, condemning me. It felt as if all of hell had moved in to keep me company. In fact the horde even crawled in bed with me so that I could not sleep.

Now I was in an even greater emotional mess that I had been in the first place. On top of the already difficult situation, I had just piled on a mountain of self-accusations. I was buried under all of  the reasons I would never move forward. I might as well have called and asked the local garbage company to come and dump their week’s worth of garbage on my front lawn because it was there already—invisible to others, but not to me.

I realized that my mind was in such a state that I could only perceive the negative. In fact, I was displaying an amazing ability to turn any positive into a negative, almost instantly. This was suspicious. Finally I began to realize that I was up against something. What was that something? At that point, I recognized my Goliath.

(The above is taken from my book, Taking on Goliath, p. 15-17)

Have you awakened with a Goliath that you have not yet recognized? I declare that God is uncovering that which has set itself against you and delivering the key of victory to you.

And do not [for a moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of [their impending] destruction, but [a sure token and evidence] of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God.For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake not only to believe in (adhere to, rely on, and trust in) Him, but also to suffer in His behalf. So you are engaged in the same conflict which you saw me [wage] and which you now hear to be mine [still]. (Philippians 1:28-30)

The morning seemed strange. The dream was unique, unnerving. There were several parts to the dream that left me seeking, vigilant. It was like video streaming mixed in with stream of consciousness therapy. I’ve never experienced that kind of therapy, only read about it. But from what I read, my dream unfolded like what the author was referring to; disjointed thoughts of this and that, seemingly disconnected from each other, freely flowing through my brain.

I shook my head when I awakened. Was it on straight? Were my brains in tact? Was I in some sort of weird frame of mind? Was this dream significant or to be filed in the circular file? Was it the devil just disturbing me or was it God? For a while I thought I was just being harassed until I began to recall the totality of the dream and review all its parts. I finally woke up to the fact that God was speaking to me. I was not just having a pizza dream.

A couple parts of the dream are to be shared publicly.

I was in this huge building, a very old one with many levels as well as many facets. One level opened up in the middle of the city center (an old city) and was confluent with the city. I felt like I had stepped back in time—even centuries ago, and time stood still. I could not distinguish the building  (a Catholic church, huge, sprawling, influential and very old) from the city on the building’s ground level. They were one and the same. I knew when I stepped from the building into the city yet they were all the same building structure, one running into the other.

A couple levels below the ground there was a religious service going on. Though it was in this large sprawling Catholic building structure, the service was not typically Catholic. I could hear it; the people were singing. A large group had gathered and I could hear what was happening. Revival was breaking out. Underground! This revival was not out in the city square or someplace visible, it was underground and invisible. It was happening on the lowest level of this building.

A powerful presence of God was emanating from the room. I was drawn like a magnet to the meeting; I desperately wanted to get in there. However I was still in my pajamas and couldn’t find my makeup bag. I kept looking for the bag. I couldn’t go into the meeting until I had my makeup on. I remember feeling frantic over finding that bag. The harder I looked, the more elusive finding the bag seemed. I desperately wanted to go into that meeting but wouldn’t go in until I had my makeup on. I didn’t find the bag. I was beside myself. It didn’t dawn on me I didn’t have to put my makeup on. Then I woke up.

I believe that this dream has some real directional application to our understanding of as well as longing and desire for revival in this hour. There was a lot to the dream but here are a few nuggets.

First the city and the church were indistinguishable. They were not evil in the dream but neither were they filled with God’s glory. They were empty and neutral, just stone structures one blending into the other. I believe there is a way that we have come into such a cohabitation with the culture that we are blind to the distinctions, not recognizing how acculturated we have become as well as being blind to the territorial strongholds. We are bereft of a level of discernment that will destroy us in the days ahead. We cannot distinguish the church from culture and vice versa. We are blind to the power behind the structure. We don’t see it. Yet there was nothing of God’s glory there, it is godless.

We are not of this nation. We are of another kingdom which has no identification or membership in our national culture or nation. We are in but not of this world.

There was no distinction between the religious structure and the city. Both were godless, absent of God’s glory. As revival breaks out, we must be more sensitive to the demonic structure operating in the territory. If we are not, what erupts full of God one day, can go down in ruins the next day because we have failed to fully see what we are up against. We have failed to see that the city and religious structure are in unity with each other, both will oppose us.

Second, God was breaking out in the midst of a religious structure and city in an unprecedented way. However it was in a hidden place. It was not in a visible street level structure; it was hidden from most people.

I had to go down to the lowest level to get to the meeting. This revival was happening underground.

Something that is underground is hidden, concealed, covert. The underground church in China has been the hidden church. It is vibrant, alive and advancing but hidden to the general public and government. It isn’t visible.

There is something deeply significant of spiritual life, vibrancy and revival that begins in hidden parts and places. I believe this speaks both about individuals and corporate bodies, churches and gathering places where God is breaking out in a reviving power. What is starting to unfold must first start with hungry, humble, desperate people who have no agenda other than to know God and be known by Him. They aren’t seeking to be seen in any way, famous or become a famous revival center but are singularly desperate for God. A simple people, seeking a simple yet holy God, who above all else want God’s heart to be their heart and vice versa.

To go down is also to become humble. I couldn’t get in on this meeting unless I was willing to go all the way down, underground where nothing and no one is obvious. The meeting was not visible at the street level, to the general public. It was something going on in the depths. It started from the lowest part of this building, the heart of the building.  God is working at the root level.

Also in the meeting, nobody was identifiable. There was not an obvious leader. No one stood out in the gathering.

I had to be willing to go all the way down to the bottom. And what was happening was not obvious to the general public. It was not at street level.

There is a revival God is initiating at the deepest level but it is not yet obvious, not yet brought to public view. Because it is at the bottom level, it will eventually shake up, shift, change and transform everything above it.  It is at the foundational level and will shift everything that sits above it. Again, it’s dealing with roots, foundations, the starting point, Ground Zero.

I kept hearing, this thing God is bringing which we call “revival” is not what we think it is. It is not just the miraculous and supernatural, this revival that God is birthing will be a place where the awe and fear of God saturates the atmosphere like a cloud. To those who are of a pure heart, it will not be fearful even though the fear of God permeates it. Joy will erupt. All of us must come to anew level of purity of heart. We will know it when we see it, it is far more than miracles although miracles will be an outcome.

I also believe that what God is initiating has to start at the lowest level in our hearts. I find in myself this desperation, this sense that something is not right but I don’t know what it is, this longing to know God in a deeper way than I ever have and to be known by Him, this dissatisfaction with my current spiritual status. It isn’t that I am immoral; there is this vague indefinable something that has lost the clarity, the crispness of oneness with Jesus. I am totally His and He is mine.

Oh I know God in one sense, I am seeing God break out, I am seeing miracles take place. Don’t get me wrong. But there is this general dis-ease within me that God is after something deeper in me and in us. I don’t feel condemned, I feel desperate.

I am coming to the place where I sense some state of compromise, of coming into agreement with so much not just in the church but in me that is not really born of God, but is not outright evil, just cultural stuff that has snuck its way in. I have struggled with questions like how can we take mountains until the Mountain has fully taken us. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.

I felt part of the dream was saying stay low and break out at that “bottom,” the core, the deepest place first, at the core or root level. Jesus came out of the root, the stem of Jesse. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

I could have gone into the meeting just as I was. But I had my pajamas on. I didn’t have the right clothes on, daytime clothes. I felt I needed different clothes. (Clothes speak to identity and positioning)

No one told me I couldn’t wear pajamas or had to put on makeup. Yet I would not go in until I changed clothes and put my makeup on. Having to have my face made up was the main thing that kept me out of the meeting. It didn’t keep me from going to that level, but it kept me from entering the room.

I wouldn’t think of going into that meeting without makeup. Going into the meeting required a certain appearance in my mind. It didn’t dawn on me that I could go in, makeup or not. I didn’t think about being embarrassed. Being made-up had become so automatic, expected, that it didn’t register that it was keeping me out of the meeting.  In my mind, getting my makeup on first was essential. (For a man, it might be shaving.) I could no longer discern what was the most critical thing. My conviction about how I should look superseded the urgency of the draw into that meeting.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

This Scripture seems particularly pertinent, not in a condemning way but in an instructive way.

There are urgent and particular things God is after in this hour. Where we see Him, His glory breaking out and feel the draw, don’t let anything stop us. Don’t let our appearance, positioning or lack of it affect us. Let God get down to the hidden things in our heart, hidden even from us. And above all, don’t look for the obvious and public, look for what He is doing in the deepest and hidden places. He is starting at Ground Zero. God is doing something powerful that will shift entire personal and corporate structures, positioning them to overtake the entire structure eventually with His glory. Don’t be afraid to go underground.

Most of all, cry out, don’t fear desperation. It’s your ticket to get in His hidden room for an outpouring of His glory, for revival.

Check out my book, The Cry God Hears.

For the last 3-4 years, we have been tried in every nook and cranny of our lives. It has been extreme! At times we have wondered if we can make it? Other times, maybe we haven’t even wanted to make it. To everything there is a season. (Eccl 3)

There is a trial of our faith that is imperative if we are to inherit the promises of God.  (Rev 2-3) Peter said that this trial will be grievous, distressing for a season. In other words, we will be miserable, confused, pressed out of measure. (1 Pet 1:6-9) The purpose is not to torment us (though sometimes it feels like that may be the case) but to build a larger reservoir of faith.

Peter links faith with love. When we know God loves us, we can make it through every difficult test, trial. When God gives us a test it’s like school, he disappears like the teacher does, while we take the test. So it seems like He is removed from us. If we are not secure in His love for us, our faith will falter. So He has also been building a new level of security in us that knows He loves us.

One of my key intercessors had a dream. She saw two five dollar bills stacked on top of each other. Suddenly the top five dollar bill extended out beyond the bottom one. God is extending grace to us this year. And it’s double grace. He is giving us grace to get to where we need to be or lay hold of what we have been assigned to lay hold of.

This is the year of coming up out of the pit. Audacious faith is being birthed. True God kind of love is being birthed.  Again, faith is inseparable from love.

Those who have refused to be offended by God or people will now sit in new chairs of authority and honor. Favor is being released. The temptation to be offended has been overwhelming. Jesus even said we would be offended, He guaranteed it. (Matt 18:7) It’s not about who or what offends us but what we do with that offense. Do we hold it, build a case on it, etc. or do we turn to God and let go of our right to be offended.  Entitlement embraces and refuses to let offenses go.

The word for offense is trap. It is a trap set for us to keep us from apprehending all God has for us. But those who have let go of offense, refused to sit in the seat of offense are coming into a new place of favor. However do not judge those who have been overcome because the level of betrayal has been ruthless in this past season and shocking at times. There is no obvious reason for it. It takes time to recover.

There will be those who begin to “come home.”  They have been tried beyond measure. Some but not all have sat quite a while on the seat of offense. But this year some will get up, dust off the remnants of offense and return home. Children will be coming home to parents, family members will be restored, friendships will be mended, member of churches who left, some of them will be returning. Don’t hold the past against them. Receive them openly and freely.

Trials have left us strengthless, shattered as the British say, exhausted and worn down. Though we get up, we have but little strength. (Rev 3:8) Even so, God is setting before us an open door. He will multiply the little strength we have left just like the widows oil.

Lift up your heads and worship! (Ps 24:7-10) The King of Glory is now beginning to visit those who have come through clinging to Jesus with the little faith they have left and have refused to be offended.  Who is this coming up out of the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? (SOS 8:5) I am both encouraged and excited!

Heaven is touching earth and will begin to multiply through those who have passed the test. It’s a day for lavish love, lavish faith and abandoned trust in Jesus. Faith and works will touch each other and set off heavens fireworks.

The kingdom is about to be released through those who seemingly have lost much, even all, in the past season but have refused bitterness, anger and unforgiveness.

The test has been God’s doing! It’s time to now bow low and worship! His glory is now going to be seen and break out on these tested ones. I will go up to Zion and worship! I will ascend the hill of the Lord. It is about the King! Worship will unlock the kingdom as well as the heart of the King! Worship the Lord!

I’m sitting here looking out my window at a blanket of snow covering everything. There’s something about the winter snow that blots out, covers every blemish, in fact every ugly thing. Everything suddenly looks just like the words, a winter wonderland. I’m curious if that’s what God was thinking about when He stated that our sins will be white as snow in Isaiah 1:18.

My neighbors have this broken down porch swing sitting out by the woods. It’s the kind of thing that needs a whole bunch of snow to cover up all of its defects. In fact I wish there were so much snow that an avalanche would carry that thing away. It is a sore spot even in the middle of our local winter wonderland. Every time I look out at the woods, I try not to look to my right because there is that ugly thing that needs to be taken to the dump. And we have a nice neighborhood, so what’s it doing here?

Sometimes that’s what life is like. The Israelites had an ugly, banged up porch swing in the middle of the wilderness all the time. They couldn’t help noticing it and complaining about it. No amount of snow could have covered it up and made them forget it was there.

It got in their craw. They ended up complaining too much. God said they aggravated Him through their murmuring and complaining. He called it sin and decided to hide His face from them. What was so bad about them? Their complaining represented an absence of faith. He called them a perverse generation, one with no faith. (Deut 32:20) They became like that ugly swing set next door to God. No amount of snow could change how they looked to Him. He wanted to see and hear faith.

I do too. Last week I prayed with our congregation every night from 6-7 PM. By Friday night, we all looked different and sounded different too. We looked and sounded like faith. We were covered with snow, a winter wonderland. Snow also represents the Word being heaped up. (Isa 55:10-11)

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

As we move into 2011, God is looking for faith. It is a faith building and releasing time. Our words represent our faith. The Israelites expressed a type of faith in their words; a negative faith, unbelief. I am planting the heavens with my words this month. There is a harvest to be planted and released through my words; words of faith. I don’t know about you, but I am a winter wonderland, speaking forth glorious words filled with faith and glory.  I am preparing for an amazing harvest.

Throw out that ugly battered swing set that sits in the middle of your winter wonderland.

I have felt so strongly that we are in a season when God wants to bless us beyond our wildest imagination. I have no idea what that really means. I just sense that He is “on the way” to right some wrong or difficult situations, resolve conflicts, break us out of very narrow places, heal all kinds of things from physical to emotional to whatever, solve financial conundrums etc.

With that awareness has also been the sense that I must carefully watch what I say and guard my expectations.

Most of us are in situations that speak something very contrary to blessing. They evoke feelings like worry, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, confusion, depression, oppression, even outright anger. I don’t know what you are experiencing but I am aware of my own situations. It is very easy to let the wave of feelings overtake emotions and then suddenly, out my mouth pops a perfectly wrong string of pronouncements. Those words set the stage for the enemy of our soul to overtake us.

However, in the midst of these tough situations I have found a strange sense of hope, expectation arising in spite of the impossibility of circumstances. I have heard that still small voice say, guard your words and carefully craft your future. I expect God to come through and rearrange some situations. I don’t know how, I just believe He is going to do it. When? I’m not sure about the timetable, I just know He is coming. He is looking to me simply to believe.

And to all of you I say, I BELIEVE!

Because of God’s incredible love for me, it forms a three-fold cord that binds me to the plans of God for me. Faith, hope and charity or love. I know God loves me. Therefore I have faith in Him and that faith forms the substance of things hoped for, those things I have been expecting God to come through on. That faith also is my evidence for things that are coming but not yet seen. (Heb 11:1)

In the midst of thinking all these things for at least the last couple months, my assistant, Natasha sent me an email. This word so witnessed with me that I am including it so all of you can be encouraged by it.

This word was given on December 2, 2010.

Angels will Now be Sent to Guard your Mouth!

A Prophecy from Chuck Pierce, Barbara Wentroble, and Keith Pierce

“I have blessings that like the sea can cover you.  Because these blessings can cover you, enter in!  For if you will seat yourself with Me and have a cup of tea and talk with Me, then you will taste and you will see.  Taste and see for the blessings greater than the sea can overtake you.”

“We are entering a season where you need to watch your mouth and project your voice. I will watch the way you use your mouth this season. I will watch how you celebrate. I am sending angels to guard your mouth to assist you in what to say and proclaim! I will watch how you look for your provision. Will you look for provision by faith? Will you look for provision out of a heart of worship? Or will you strive to get what you need?  I will watch how you speak for your provision to come. I am changing the administration of your provision.  So this week be not distraught, but this week speak and watch the honey and the water come forth.”

“I AM saying: Speak!  I am not saying: Strike.  Beware, beware to speak and not strike!  In your striking there will be a drying.  But in your speaking there will be a watering.  Arise and put your hand over your mouth and let Me say, ‘I am One who will speak clearly to see what needs to be broken; come forth in My name.’”

“Be not angry, but rejoice, for your emotions must be displayed properly. Allow your emotions to rise up in the midst of your circumstances and speak to the rock and tell that mountain you’re coming through.”

“I’m raising up a Caleb generation in this hour. Even Caleb was one who said, ‘Give me my mountain!’ He spoke and commanded the mountain to come into his possession. I am raising a Caleb generation who will speak, who will take that which God said they could have — even a generation that murmured and complained and never came into the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord in the last season, and say, “NOW!”.  In this hour I raise up a Caleb generation, a people who will possess that which I say they can have. Even as Caleb, speak and declare that you have your mountain, your possession. This generation must arise and must speak the provision of the Lord.”

This is me speaking again, Barbara Yoder. Remember that we have entered Hanukah, the Festival of Lights, a season of unusual light, revelation, miracles and love. Expect largely, even in your darkest night. There is not one type of darkness that can extinguish God’s light.