Published on July 15th, 2010 | Devotionals, Guest Posts, Worship

This guest post comes to us from Don Potter at PotterHausMusic.net.

God Cannot Be Lightly Esteemed

By Don Potter

One of the hardest things I ever faced as a young man growing up was being ignored. Though I wanted to fit in and not attract any attention, I still didn’t want to be overlooked. I could handle anger and even mockery better than being disregarded. I don’t expect the world to fall at my feet and say, “Wow, what a wonderful guy you are,” but somewhere inside us all is the desire to be accepted and even admired by others. We are made in the image of God and if I want to be accepted in my small way, then so does God in a much larger way. The difference between God and me is He
deserves to be admired, worshiped and revered for who He is. I, on the other hand, can only expect esteem from men for what I can do, and that is usually short lived. As I pondered this subject of esteem, I found some things that are alarming and even dangerous to the well being of mankind and anyone who takes the God of heaven and earth too lightly.

The Messiah

Isaiah 53:3 reveals how men will treat the coming Messiah. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Though this scripture is believed to be a prophecy of what would happen to Jesus when He came 2000 years ago, I feel it is prophesying of things still yet to come. The only ones who rejected Jesus then were the religious people. Isaiah writes men will despise Him and “we” did not esteem Him. The multitudes that gathered to listen to Jesus speak accepted Him. Only the religious leaders wanted to kill Him. I believe this word is yet to be completely fulfilled.

The prophet makes it clear that the first problem mankind would face when encountering their Savior was despising and not esteeming Him. However, there is something worse than not esteeming the Lord and that is “lightly” esteeming Him. Not taking God seriously is a big mistake. It would be better to disregard Him than to treat Him like you could take it or leave it.

This is exactly what is still being faced today when some encounter Christ for the first time. Because of a cynical spirit and the exposure of hypocrisy in the church, Jesus is being taken lightly in this generation and it is feeding a spirit of mockery that has risen up in the media and the hearts of those who have come to hate the church.

In a human relationship, it is not uncommon to love a man but dislike his wife. On the other hand, a man is admired if he is able to win the heart of a beautiful woman. The church of today is only beautiful to itself while the rest of world has strong doubts about her worthiness to marry such a righteous King.

The Fear Of The LORD

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. Malachi 3:16

Esteeming God is a lifestyle not a momentary idea. Talking about God is only a sign of an excess of what’s in the heart of those who fear Him. I think the key word in this verse is “those who fear the Lord.” With that fear firmly in your heart, conversation will have excitement and awe about the Lord. However, without fear, reverence lessons and soon lightly esteeming will follow. The more fully someone gets to know God the more fear and reverence will rise up until real worship is present.

That is the natural chain of events that should happen to a new believer. On the other hand, there are not many who actually fear the Lord and that can leave the believer in a lukewarm state. When “fire and brimstone” was preached in years past, the hope was to create a fear for the Lord but it only succeeded in causing contempt for that kind of preaching. Will it require a shock to bring a healthy fear of the Lord to this generation?

All this didn’t mean much to me until I found out that lightly esteeming God is a sure way to death—spiritually and physically. Not considering God as significant is much worse than hating Him or rejecting Him altogether. God cannot be taken lightly, or be lightly considered.

There is a phrase I read in the dictionary and it said, “familiarity breeds contempt.” This means; extensive knowledge of, or close association with someone or something leads to a loss of respect for them or it. The contempt comes in when you
discover the faults or shortcomings of the one you are familiar with. You may have started out the relationship seeing great qualities in this person and after some closer looks you found reasons for contempt. This is why the church cannot rely on its leaders to get to the Lord but rely on Jesus alone.

I know a young man whose father is a missionary and was loved by many for the work he has done in other countries. When the son grew up and saw some of his father’s faults he became despondent towards God. Since then he has drifted from a relationship with the Lord and is waiting for God to do something to prove Himself. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; Matt. 12:39 I have met many who think as this young man does. There will be no supernatural sign to turn their hearts to God if they have known Him in some way and then turned against Him. If it is not in someone’s heart to want to know God on their own, then the Lord will not force that to happen. Waiting and expecting God to do something to prove His existence is high-level pride—especially since He already has done something. It is like saying, “I would vote for the president if he would just call me and personally explain his policies.”

In spite of this there is an awakening coming to the church and a great revival coming as a result. Young people by the millions finding hope for the first time in Christ. Father’s coming home after abandoning families—drug addicts being set free in one moment and miraculous healings being a daily occurrence. There will be nothing more wonderful and more terrible than these days.

With all of this said, there remains one thing in the way of this move of God – altogether too many people in the church are lightly esteeming Him. Just saying the words, lightly esteeming doesn’t seem like a bad thing but after some research I found out that the most insolent thing anyone could do concerning God is to lightly esteem Him. I will try to explain what this means and why it is so bad a thing to do.

A Friend Of God

The Lord asked me a question one day that has stayed with me. He said, “What should a friend act like?” My answer was, I think a real friend is someone I can have a bad day in front of and that will not go on my permanent record as a flaw. Then the Lord revealed that this is the kind of friend He is to those who love Him. I know this makes it sound like the Lord is not holding anyone accountable for their sins but it is really saying that He knows the heart more than the action. A heart of repentance brings out God’s heart of forgiveness and that is true friendship.

On the other hand, when God does something I don’t understand, do I hold my affections back from Him because I don’t agree? The answer is yes, sometimes openly and other times unconsciously. After the many teachings on God’s unconditional love, is my love wrought with conditions? Shamefully, this is a common condition for the believer—offering only conditional love to God.

During my years in ministry I have been told that I was a friend of God. In addition, I’ve been told I was a warrior for Him and even a general in His army. I have treasured all these things in my heart and wanted to believe every word. However, being called a friend of God doesn’t mean I can freely call Him my friend or treat Him like one. I may be a friend to God but He is God to me. He must remain God to me, and nothing less.

I don’t have any friends that I fear unless it’s a boss/friend relationship and even at that I don’t fear that person. Fear of man is not a good thing in anyone’s life but fear of God is essential. That seems to be in reverse right now. Many more fear man than fear God and that doesn’t seem to be improving. James 2:23 says, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness and as a result he was called a friend of God.

John 15:15 records Jesus saying, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

When Jesus asked Peter, “who do you say I am?” Peter’s answer was not, you are my friend, but you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. (Matt.16:15-16) This revelation came from heaven (Matt.16:17) and it states just what man-kind, through revelation, is to call the Savior – The Christ; the Son of the Living God.

In our present time the idea of honor and respect is at an all time low. It is common for people who call each other friend to openly mock one another in fun. I’m not finding fault with that kind of friendship but it cannot be the kind of friendship we have with God. No matter who I am to God and no matter what He decides to call me, He must remain God to me.

Esteeming

“Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. 1Samuel 2:30

“Despise” in Hebrew means to dis-esteem, distain, be contemptible; while “lightly esteemed” means to lightly value, to plot or contrive in a malicious way, to lightly consider someone or their work; in more basic terms it means to curse. If you lightly esteem God you are cursing Him. If He lightly esteems you, God Almighty is cursing you. Again it seems impossible to imagine anyone when faced with the Lord would despise or lightly esteem Him—but that is just what happened then and is happening now. There is a greater danger in lightly esteeming God then these scriptures are revealing but in Job there is a message that comes through loud and clear.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9

The word “curse” (barak) is a Hebrew word that means to bless, and in this case it is like blessing in a mocking or in a light way. It means to bow the knee with contempt in your heart and not gratitude. This is what the soldiers did to Jesus when they put a robe and crown of thorns on his head, and bowed to Him in a form of mockery. Cursing God is lightly esteeming or lightly considering Him and only casually praising Him. What does that look like was my first question?

Praising God on Sunday and going right back to your old way of life on Monday is one way of taking God lightly. Trusting God after all other things have failed, is another. Doing all the right things without true adoration in your heart is most common. Many young people make a habit of mocking one another and it is all in fun until it becomes a lifestyle. Each seed of disrespect yields a limitless harvest of contempt, distain and condescension until it becomes the norm and no one notices this spirit is now being directed towards Jesus Himself. The term “whatever” is a rude way of saying, “I’m bored with what you are saying, and I don’t have any intention of receiving correction from you.” The phrase, “chill out” simply means, “Don’t get excited about the small stuff.”

In the case of Job 2:9 and his wife’s suggestion; she is saying and I’m paraphrasing, “Why don’t you lightly esteem God and that will bring your death.” This makes taking God lightly a little more serious than first thought. This is why Jesus warns so strongly against being a lukewarm Christian. (Rev.3:16)

Earning Respect

I know that trying to encourage a spirit of respect in a person who has embraced a lifestyle of insolence is all but impossible without a shock. I also know there has been little reason for many young people to have a spirit of respect when there has been so much dishonor in the generations before them. They are only carrying the iniquity of their forefathers.

During the revival meetings of Charles Finney in the early eighteen hundreds, there were three young men that lifted up their voices in mockery in one of the meetings. After refusing to quiet down and being asked to leave, two of the three young men dropped over dead only a short distance from the meeting place and the third raced back to repent before he died.

William Branham held healing meetings where the power of God was very present and after a request for all to bow their heads in prayer for the sick, one man refused and was heard saying, “I’m an official in the local government and I’m not
required to bow my head.” He lost his mind in a few short weeks, lost his job and all his friends accept for his wife. She found Branham more than a year later so he could pray for her completely broken husband. It took Branham beseeching God to change this situation so the man could return to normal society. Branham, who carried an amazing anointing from God, had to contend for over forty minutes in prayer to bring deliverance to this man.

Does this say, God is mean and will kill anyone who doesn’t do what they are told, or is this the result of lightly esteeming the most High God? The power of God is coming in a more authoritative way then any have known in the past. This move is the power of salvation, God’s most treasured gift to man. If this move is mocked or lightly esteemed in any way there will be terrifying repercussions.

I cannot imagine what I would be like if my son were sacrificed for someone and the beneficiaries of the sacrifice treated it only lightly. If I can feel that much righteous indignation in my spirit, how much more a righteous God through a spotless Son?

Self Importance

Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed? (Is. 2:22)

This scripture in Isaiah is after many warnings about the high things coming down, as well as the proud and haughty faces of man. This scripture paraphrased is, “Stop paying attention to a man whose spirit is in his pride. What is the point in regarding such a one?”

I was in church one Sunday and watched a dynamic that has stayed with me for a long time. There was an area in the front of the church that the ministry team leaders sat at a table. They often took notes on their computers, which is a pretty good idea if that is where you store all your important information. The only draw back is the need for some electricity to keep your laptop charged. This particular Sunday was no exception and when one of the leaders arrived late he stood at the table looking for the extension cord that was needed to plug his computer in. The intern who did all the running around for the ministry team leaders quickly realized as the late arrival stood holding his open laptop and glaring at him, an extension cord was needed. Here is the scene; someone is preaching while the entire church is intently watching a man standing in front glaring at an intern who is now literally running through the church to the back to find an extension cord. The leader continued to stand in front of all until the cord was found and the crawling around on the floor was complete. He then sat down without acknowledging anyone else and proceeded to check his emails. This felt like self-importance to me and I was offended by what happened.

Then the Holy Spirit brought to mind for me the many times I drive down the road thinking everyone should comply to my set of rules concerning how they drive. He reminded me how indignant I get when someone doesn’t show me the respect I think I deserve. In a matter of minutes I realized how I live unconsciously in self-importance. I could spend many pages trying to justify why so many people feel a need for significance or just to be recognized by others as important. However, self-importance is pride finding a way to manifest without anyone knowing it. With every effort I have tried to stop acting like I think I’m important, but so far it is an act. Only God can break out of us the pride that drives our lives. The idea of esteeming God is a distant thought when self-promotion, self-importance and selfish ambition are ruling in our lives. The only way to give glory to God at that point is through lip service.

Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, (Is. 29:13)

This cannot be the chapter of the church that precedes the return of the Lord. There is an opportunity being offered now to rise up in praise and honor of the one God. By fulfilling the commandments of Jesus to love one another as He has loved us, and being known for that love, this will awaken the hunger to know the Lord. The world could see the church as the beautiful woman this great Lord has won. The bride who esteems her Lord with sincerity and truth.

Published on July 11th, 2010 | Articles, Worship

The Pursuit Of Joy

By Charles Hamilton

Many people strive to be happy. It’s even written in our constitution that as citizens of the United States we should pursue happiness. However, once we are born again and become citizens of the Kingdom of God, we must pursue something more noble. We must pursue fullness of joy.

What’s the difference? Happiness is not a state of being. It’s totally dependent upon external circumstances, however joy on the other hand is a spiritual condition. If you don’t believe it, simply have a bad day and your happiness melts away like wax under the heat of the sun. Joy is eternal and will sustain you even in the worst of times. Wisdom therefore is the pursuit of joy. There is a key verse in scripture that shows the wisdom of the ages. It’s in Psalms 16, verse 11 which says.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

As you can see from this verse its God who will show us the path of life. The key secret being that in His presence there is fullness of joy. Not just a little bit of joy here or there — but fullness of joy. We discover therefore that joy is not some outward expression based upon external circumstances but rather joy is a person — the person of Jesus Christ. We learn then that simply seeking to be happy is rather a pointless pursuit. Why? Because we have good days and we have bad ones. If we’re waiting for the conditions in each day to be perfect — they rarely ever are.

Our conclusion therefore, is the pursuit of the person of Jesus. Because in His presence there is fullness of joy… and oh by the way… at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. People today seek after external pleasures without ever once considering Jesus. They are looking in the wrong place for their happiness because they will never find it apart from Jesus Christ. We were created by God to have Jesus living in our lives and when we refuse Him — we were designed to malfunction. Apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ we will be forever bound by external conditions and circumstances. If we have a good day then we’re doing good… If we have a bad day… well you can finish the sentence. So, seek to know Jesus and purse Him in all you do. Because in His presence is fullness of Joy and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Published on July 3rd, 2010 | Articles, Guest Posts

This guest post comes to us from Paul Keith Davis at White Dove Ministries.

The Voice of the Sign

By Paul Keith Davis

Obviously, the question most often asked in recent days concerns our prophetic perspective of the calamities associated with the oil spill. This is something that we are very personally and intimately involved in as it is occurring right outside our home. Clearly, I have spent countless hours praying over the subject both as a defense mechanism for our region and prophetic understanding of its implications.

In the process, I personally felt it was imperative to not take a hindsight position and prophesy after the fact with various impressions or opinions. That posture has a place of value to spearhead intercession and mobilization of resources; even so, I have felt a greater need for a more sure word of prophecy that bears the insignia of Heaven and provides valid direction and insight to mobilize God’s people.

The biblical pattern has always been that prophets foretold key events with direction and insight attached to it. When the event occurred as prophesied, a greater measure of faith could be attached to the message associated with it. Exodus 4 outlines the model for ministry in the life of Moses; spiritual signs were given with a voice or message. It is the message that is of paramount importance.

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. Exodus 4:8

According to Amos 3:7, the Lord will do nothing unless he first reveals His secret counsel to the servants the prophets. Furthermore, Jeremiah articulated God’s perspective in Jeremiah 28:9 saying:

“The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”

It is imperative that we now contend for a greater measure of prophetic understanding and foretell events before they occur with the corresponding heavenly message. With that said, I felt it essential to only prophesy of what we may have seen before the event. In December 2006 I had a prophetic experience that I now believe has direct application.

Further below I will share a transcript of the full message as I preached it in 2008. However, there are two quick points I would like to highlight. In this experience I saw what appeared as a “manhole” being lifted from the bowels of the earth. In various times of sharing this message throughout the last three years I have used the expression “manhole” as the best description of the image I saw being opened over the “bowels of the earth” or the “bowels of hell.” (I used both expressions in various accounts of sharing the experience)

When I finally began to understand the implications of this experience with the oil spill, the Lord reminded me that this is a “man-made hole” that has opened the bowels of the earth to this deep reservoir of oil. The footage shown on news networks of the oil billowing up into the Gulf are almost identical to the images I saw as the manhole was lifted and clouds of evil began to pour out. In my experience the lid or manhole looked like this:

As a further confirmation, there was an article published in Petroleum World magazine entitled, “The Well from Hell.” In the article the author made this statement:

According to the New York Times , BP’s internal “documents show that in March, after several weeks of problems on the rig, BP was struggling with a loss of ‘well control.’ And as far back as 11 months ago, it was concerned about the well casing and the blowout preventer.” The problem is that this methane, located deep in the bowels of the earth, is under tremendous pressure.

This article utilized some of the exact language that I used while describing my experience. Furthermore, while in Connecticut in early June we were discussing the oil situation and one of our hosts commented that he had listened to me share my prophetic experience concerning the lid being lifted over the bowels of the earth. He reminded me that I saw spirits ascending that had the appearance of Hitler and other tyrants of the past. He pointed out that Hitler was born on April 20 and this event started on April 20. Just in recent days we have seen an escalation in anti-Israel sentiment that is demonically inspired.

This seemed to be a further affirmation of the application of the experience. The Bible predicted that during the last days darkness would cover the Earth and deep darkness the people; but also marked the exact time that God’s people would ” arise and shine for our light has come.” (See Isaiah 60:1-5)

The Oil Spill

From my perspective, I feel this is not an act of God but the foolishness and greed of mankind that the enemy has influenced and fueled as the “devourer.” Even so, God will use this as a signpost that we have crossed a line of demarcation in end-of-the-age events.

The good news is, I heard a Voice say in my 2006 experience that great hosts of Heaven will be dispatched to work with Christians to prepare and equip them to walk in realms of glory to facilitate the harvest and become the mature sons of the Kingdom. That is our hope and the object of our prayerful focus and determination.

When evil abounds, grace will much more abound. This is not a time for fear, but faith filled decrees and proclamations in agreement with God to activate His people to meet the challenges of this age and overcome the enemies attempt to hinder and impede the harvest.

The following is a written transcript of a message preached in 2008 in which I share this experience.

Encounter

December 2006 I had a revelatory encounter that I have shared in various places of travel. But the Lord is beginning to give us the next installment of understanding it. I was very restless one evening and couldn’t sleep. I prayed for a while and finally went to bed.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I went into a revelatory experience. I saw as it were a lid that looked like a manhole being lifted from the bowels of hell. The unique thing about this experience was that as I was experiencing it, I was also articulating audibly what I was seeing. Wanda was able to listen as I spoke what I saw. I watched as these spirits came pouring up out of hell, and I even recognized the appearance of some of them.

I saw spirits that had a resemblance to Hitler and Stalin, and other tyrants of the past. . . I knew we had crossed some form of timeline in the plan of heaven, and that this end-time darkness had been released on the earth.

I watched as these spirits were coming out of hell and literally manifesting themselves in the bedrooms of people. And I watched as these spirits were teaching individuals how to walk in realms of evil and darkness.

When it seemed I couldn’t watch anymore, I heard a Voice come booming out of heaven. And the Voice said, “The sons of light must respond in like manner.” I watched as angels were coming out of Heaven and were manifesting themselves in the bedrooms of individuals and speaking to them and training them to walk in Heavenly realms never before so freely accessed by a generation of people.

And the good news of this message and what the Lord is doing now is revealing to a certain degree the nature of these angels being dispatched from the Throne room. Interestingly I had this experience on a Friday afternoon, and I went through the weekend contemplating it. On Monday morning the Holy Spirit told me to write the experience down and e-mail it to Neville Johnson.

It turned out that very day he had exactly the same experience. He even saw the identifications of the same spirits of darkness being released by name. He shared his experience with friends that morning and received my email 12 hours later outlining the exact same experience…“Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, let the Word be established.”

If you’ll remember in the experience that Neville and I shared together, there would be angels coming out of Heaven to meet with saints to prepare them for this calling. Now we are discovering these are not just going to be ordinary angels. These are angels of a very extraordinary nature coming from standing in the presence of Almighty God. Isaiah 63:9 declares:

In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.

The Angel of His Presence saved them! We’re finding out that this could have been more accurately translated in the original language, “Messenger of His Face.” The word used here for “angel” is most often translated “messenger.” The word for “Presence” is most often translated “face.” The Lord sent the Messenger of His Face to save them.

So what I’m prophesying to you this evening is, “That messengers of His face are coming from Heaven to empower us to become messengers of His face.”

It says in some rabbinical writings, that the “Angels of His Presence” are high level angels, also known as the “Angels of His face.” According to the Book of Jubilees, “Angels of His Presence,” are angels of sanctification, and are among the highest order of angels. According to rabbinical tradition the “Angels of His Presence” are the carriers of His Glory.

There was an incredible promise given to the patriarch Jacob. He had one of the most fantastic experiences ever given to a human being. There was something that distinguished him from his brother Esau; I submit to you it was his un-denying desire, even though his methods were poor, to be blessed with a very specific and unique blessing. A very specific and unique blessing is what He was contending for.

If you’ll remember, Abraham had been given a promise that he would have a son through Sarah. However, the promise seemed impossible since the Bible says his body was as good as dead. Then, the Lord appeared to him for the first time in human history as El Shaddai.

I was in Dallas, Texas, several years ago, preaching on the ministry and anointing of El Shaddai. I had shared that El Shaddai was the “All Sufficient-One, the many-breasted One,” like I had read in dictionaries. There happened to be a professor of Hebrew in the meeting. He came to me after the meeting and said, “Can I help you a little bit.”

He said, “What you shared about El Shaddai is not inaccurate, it’s just incomplete.” He said, “The truest definition of El Shaddai is, ‘I am the God of utter ruin and devastation and I am here to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.”

Abraham was not able to fulfill the promise now in His own strength. God did for him what he could not do for himself. That’s called the El Shaddai blessing. Can I submit to you what Israel needs in this very hour is the El Shaddai blessing. Can I equally submit to you that the Bride of Christ needs the El Shaddai blessing.

That blessing was then transferred and imparted from Abraham to Isaac. Isaac received the blessing given to Abraham; to be fruitful and multiply and occupy the land of his sojourning. That was the blessing that Jacob had to have, even if he were to become a “supplanter” to get it.

When the time came, Isaac laid his hands upon Jacob and blessed him with the El Shaddai blessing. He said, “May God Almighty, or El Shaddai, bless you to make you fruitful and multiply, and occupy the land of your sojourning.”

That very day that blessing opened the Heaven’s over Jacob. With that blessing Jacob traveled one day’s journey. When evening came he laid his head upon a rock and saw the Heavens opened and angels ascending and descending. We need the El Shaddai blessing to open the Heavens for us as it did for Jacob.

We need the El Shaddai blessing tonight to open the Heavens and release the “Angels of His Presence.” The Bible tells us over in Genesis 48:3, when Jacob is recounting this experience to his son Joseph, he said, it was El Shaddai that appeared at the head of that ladder when the blessing was given to him. In Genesis 28:13 he said:

Behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

When Jacob awoke from the experience he said, “This is none other than the House of God and the very gate of Heaven.”

Later on we then find his descendants, the children of Israel, in Egyptian bondage but they had a promise of deliverance. There was a very specific and unique anointing that was released to them to bring them into this promise that was given to Jacob.

The Bible records in Exodus 23: Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries…But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.

That was no ordinary angel; it was the Angel of His Presence. That was the Pillar of Fire in the burning bush; that was the Pillar of Fire that met Paul on the road to Damascus; that was the Pillar of Fire that we saw revealed before thousands one generation ago to reveal the secrets of the hearts.

The Lord manifests Himself as the Angel of His Presence, but He has in His jurisdiction angels of His presence or messengers of His face.

Remember what Gabriel said when he appeared to a little 15-year old Jewish girl? ‘I am Gabriel, and I stand in the Presence of Almighty God.’ The greatest revival that the modern church era has ever seen was commissioned in a very unique way.

A little free-will Baptist minister withdrew into a cabin deep into the woods of Indiana. He was having supernatural experiences for which he had no grid of understanding. He had told his wife that day, “I’m going into my cabin to pray, and if God does not meet with me, you’ll never see my face again.” He said, “I’ll die in that cabin before I leave it, without the Lord coming to talk to me.”

Three o’clock in the morning, after having prayed and weep until his eyes were practically shut; he sat on a chair with no more prayer left in him. 3 o’clock in the morning, deep in the woods, no electricity, no running water, no wife to hold on to if he got scared, when suddenly a ball of Fire came into the cabin. And if that weren’t enough to scare you, a man came walking into the room and stood under the ball of Fire.

The Angel said, “Fear not, for I am sent from the Presence of Almighty God.” Can I submit to you tonight that we need to hear an angel come and say, “I am sent from the Presence of Almighty God!”

The man was released into a commissioning. The Angel said, “Your peculiar life and your misunderstood ways are to indicate that you’re to carry the ministry of healing to the nations of the earth. You’ll pray for kings and princes and monarchs.”

He said, “How can that be? I’m an uneducated man, and a poor man, and I live among poor people.” The angel said, “As Moses was given two signs to validate his ministry, so will you.”

That was on May 7, 1946. By 1948, the entire world was in revival. Millions of people came into the Kingdom. Millions of people were healed supernaturally by the power of God.

Never before has any generation been more desperate than ours to see a demonstration of the power of God. But we’re discovering there is something greater than that; that is, to encounter the God of Power.

Right now all over the nation there are people that are following signs and wonders. But I submit to you there will be a company of people emerging today and signs and wonders are going to follow them!

And the secret that is going to release us into that mandate is when the Messengers of His face come who are the carriers of the Glory of God.

The prophet Moses stood face to face before the Lord Jesus, under a covenant sealed with the blood of bulls and goats. I had an experience where I saw the Apostle Paul sticking his bony apostolic finger right in my chest. He said, “Moses had to veil his face because of the residual glory under a covenant sealed with the blood of bulls and goats.” He said, “You have the covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ, what’s your problem?” This is his admonition from 2 Corinthians 3.

In other words he wasn’t saying that we should timidly say, “Can I come into Your Presence?” He was admonishing us to prepare ourselves and come boldly before the Throne of grace and meet with the Lord face-to-face. We can’t do that flippantly… there is Throne room protocol; but the grace to live in that place was purchased at the cross and it is attainable.

Zechariah 6:1-2 declares: Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses. Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth.

I submit to you there is a host of Heaven that has been reserved for this end-time confrontation that go forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth; the very same ones that will bring the Bride of Christ into her end-time mandate will be the very same ones that cover and protect Israel.

You and I are called to be messengers of His face; we have a calling to see the Lord face-to-face. Jacob had an experience with God. He saw the Lord face-to-face and lived to tell about it. Moses saw the Lord face-to-face and carried the Glory of God. There is about to be a release from Heaven that is to begin to cause you and I to be illuminated, and we’re going to shine with the Glory of God.

Daniel said, we’re going to shine as the brightness of the expanse of Heaven, and we’re going to lead many to righteousness. The Lord Jesus said, “The Son of man is going to send forth His angels that gather out of His Kingdom all stumbling blocks and everything offensive; then the righteous shall shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father.

We have an invitation to “come up here.” I believe the El Shaddai blessing is going to be released upon us to open the Heaven’s like it did for Jacob. The Lord is going to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Then He gets all the Glory. No flesh is going to glory in His Presence.

Angels of His Presence – Messengers of His Face

I believe they just came in. Something just shifted in the room a moment ago. I’m contending for this to take place now. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could leave Israel carrying with us messengers of His face? Wouldn’t it be incredible if the Angel of His Presence descended to protect the borders of Israel?

He will cover them and He will protect them. I submit to you that the enemy is trying to escalate things before their time. Several years ago I heard the Lord say that the Prince of Persia is once again trying to withstand the birthing of God’s purposes. And the way he was trying to do that was to facilitate things that are legitimately going to happen, but he is trying to initiate them before its timing.

It says in Zechariah 14:1-3, “Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.

But it doesn’t stop there. “Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split.

My point in all this is all about Jerusalem. It says on some level that there will be a splitting of Jerusalem. It says it here in Zechariah; But not right now! I’m not sure what it’s going to look like when this prophecy is fulfilled, but I know when it happens, the Lord Jesus is coming down to set His foot upon this mountain.

And you see the battle is taking place in the heavens right now, as the enemy is trying to make these things happen before the right timing. He’s been trying to bring you and I into a battle before we are ready for the battle. But I’m telling you angels are coming to visit with people to facilitate the preparation. He can do for us in a day what we think will take a year. The messengers of His face are the carriers of His glory.

End of the Transcribed Message from 2008

Conclusion

I feel confident the circumstances surrounding the oil spill highlight spiritual parallels marking the release of great darkness in our nation and around the world. Correspondingly, the prayers of the saints in agreement with God will facilitate the release of Heaven’s host to work closely with the Last Day Church to:

1. Fulfill Biblical End-Time Admonitions
2. Prepare for the Harvest
3. Activate the Bride/Sons of the Kingdom
4. Function in our Role as Priests/Kings
5. Stand in the Gap for Israel in a Greater Way

All spiritual seeds are coming to maturity simultaneously, just as the Bible predicted. I see these events as a signpost in the natural to emulate spiritual realities primarily targeted against Israel and the Church. The ultimate objective is to hinder our ability to achieve our mandate and influence our generation socially, economically, spiritually and culturally.

It is my prayer that God will take what the enemy intends for evil and utilize it for good by opening doors of opportunity for Christian ingenuity and words from God to help resolve this overwhelming situation involving the oil spill.

On a personal note, I believe the enemy is attempting to utilize these events to circumvent the promised outpouring for our region. We must look at it as a personal assault on our inheritance and begin to take a stand as the mighty men of valor described in the Bible. I’ve always admired the story of Shammah in 2 Samuel 23:11-12 saying:

Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.

At the time of harvest the enemy routinely rushed in like a flood to steal the inheritance of God’s people. The lentils could represent all things brought to the place of harvest promised during the latter days. Shammah is a representation of God’s Army filled with courage and valor imparted through God’s lion-like nature who refuses to run even when faced with overwhelming odds. That noble act will strike God’s heart and He will give a great victory to His remnant. That is what I am believing for!