We’ve been in another season of increased seeking of God’s direction for how to proceed as we have entered 2013. 13 in the Bible is connected with apostasy, defilement, corruption, governments of men in rebellion against God, the devil, but it is also a number of revolution and is connected to the fall of Jericho when the children of Israel began to take the Promised Land. Rather than a year of apostasy and rebellion, we pray this year will be turned to one of revolution for good. And the primary revolution we believe He may have alluded to us in 2011 for this year is the Revelation of Jesus Christ; a renewed unveiling (revelation) of the real Jesus.

The Lord is still speaking to us about the coming destruction of Babylon.

“Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple.” Jeremiah 51:11

He is still emphasizing over and over that in our present condition our nation has set ourselves in a position of being His enemies and that He Himself is now against us (James 4:4). He has shown us examples from Israel’s history of when He wanted them to know that He was the One fighting against them in order to bring them to repentance. (We pray He is not indicating we are about to witness these same things in our nation b/c we have not yet returned to Him, but from what He’s showing us it sounds as though our nation now has a front row seat to see what it looks like to have God opposed to us.) He has also spoken of judgment against idols and false prophets whose false words/teachings encourage people to remain in their sins (or lead them into sin).

Last year I mentioned that He spoke to us through the story of Gideon about pulling down the “idols” and “altars” to false gods, and rebuilding the altar of the Lord (Judges 6:25-26) and I asked Him how we were supposed to do this. Immediately afterward, our pastor returned from Uganda telling what he’d learned about this very thing through Pastor Joshua Lwere, who later came to the church to share what the Lord has taught him in this regard.

The Lord has continued to confirm this message. He has recently given us passages about King Asa, one of the Kings of Judah whose heart was fully committed to the Lord all of his life (I Kings 15, II Chronicles 15). He too tore down the idols in the land and rebuilt the altar of the Lord during his reign. II Chronicles 7:14 has been a key passage the Lord has given many regarding the need for our nation to humble ourselves, repent of our sins, and seek Him wholeheartedly, that He would heal our land. The name Asa means “physician” or “healer.” I believe the Great Physician (the Lord) is using the life of Asa (“physican,” “healer”) to once again give the prescription for how to heal our land. The message hasn’t changed. The prescription is still repentance from sin (tearing down the “idols” in our own lives, in the church, and in the nation) and returning wholeheartedly to the Lord (rebuilding His “altar,” and returning Him to the throne of our individual lives, the church, and the nation, so that we truly worship and follow Him).

If we keep trying to fight political battles and solve the crises in this nation without first taking care of this issue, it will be to no avail. We will be fighting the symptoms and never getting to the root of the problem, and we will be fighting against the Lord. He is not going to bless “armchair quarterback” rants about what’s going on in Washington while we continue to “dance around our golden calves” ~ occupying ourselves with pleasure-seeking, entertainment, and other “idols” that keep us from wholeheartedly seeking Him and His Kingdom as our first and highest priority. He is looking for the remnant who will follow His prescription for healing the land and will boldly speak out and lead the way for the rest of the nation. He is still saying we must lay down our lives to do so, not loving them (trying to preserve them), but losing them for His cause (Matthew 10; 16:24-26, John 12:24-26; 15:12-14, I John 3:16, Revelation 12:11). When we follow His prescription for eradicating the root of the problem, He will once again fight for us, and no matter how insurmountable the problems seem, He will make a way where there is no way for us to overcome.

Yet, even now, how many have truly recognized the severity and urgency of the situation enough to put aside all that distracts in order to passionately pursue the Lord, diligently pray for our nation, and take the God-inspired action that He directs? Again, the question posed to us is how hot does The Refiner’s fire have to get before we will do so? If the things He’s been showing us are truly about to happen, I believe we will eventually be brought to our knees and will finally be ready to listen and act. But we pray it will not take those things to bring us to that point.

At the same time He has been continuing to give these sobering words concerning the nation, He has also continued repeating the words He gave us last year that He is about to do a NEW THING. He has been continuing to help us in the process of becoming the “new wineskins” He is calling us to be – emptied of self and ready to be wholly filled with Him and what He is about to pour out on His people who have been made ready. (link to parts 1-8 of Longer Version of Prophetic Word for the Church/Nation)

He is still emphasizing the need to crucify the flesh, consecrate ourselves, and seek and follow Him with all our hearts.

Collect your thoughts, yes, unbend yourselves [in submission and see if there is no sense of shame and no consciousness of sin left in you], O shameless nation! [The time for repentance is speeding by like chaff whirled before the wind!] Therefore consider, before God’s decree brings forth [the curse upon you], before the time [to repent] is gone like the drifting chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you—yes, before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you! Seek the Lord [inquire for Him, inquire of Him, and require Him as the foremost necessity of your life], all you humble of the land who have acted in compliance with His revealed will and have kept His commandments; seek righteousness, seek humility [inquire for them, require them as vital]. It may be you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. Zephaniah 3:1-3 AMP 

Again, whatever happens, He wants those who truly belong to and follow Him to know through every fiber of our being that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:28-39). Though neither silver nor gold will be able to save from the Lord’s hand (Zephaniah 1:18), for those who have intimate relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Almighty is our gold and is faithful and able to take care of all our needs (Job 22:25). He wants us to remember that He is the same God who supernaturally provided for millions of His people in the wilderness for 40 years. We should have our faith built up through our intimate relationship with Him and His Word to experience His same miraculous power to deliver, protect, provide, and enable us to do continue to do His will to reach the lost.

Though He has spoken to us in terms of tearing down what He built and uprooting what He planted (our nation), we pray we still have time to avert the course we’re on before things get worse. In order for this to happen we must follow the Great Physician’s prescription for healing our land:

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, craving Him as your soul’s first necessity], He will be found by you; but if you [become indifferent and] forsake Him, He will forsake you.Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and [in desperation earnestly] sought Him, He was found by them. And in those times there was no peace to him who went out nor to him who came in, but great and vexing afflictions and disturbances were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. Nation was broke in pieces against nation, and city against city, for God vexed and troubled them with all sorts of adversity. Be strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak and slack, for your work shall be rewarded. 

And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and put away the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim; and he repaired the altar [of burnt offering] of the Lord which was in front of the porch or vestibule [of the house] of the Lord. 

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and the strangers with them …, for they came over to Asa out of Israel in large numbers when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. … And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to yearn for Him with all their heart’s desire and with all their soul; … They took an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him [yearning for Him] with their whole desire, and He was found by them. And the Lord gave them rest and peace round about. II Chronicles 15:1-9, 12, 14-15 AMP

*After I had finished writing this, during the time I was praying about posting it, this is one of the powerful confirmations the Lord led me to:

Confirmation – A Call to Anguish – David Wilkerson

May we all be people after His own heart, who fully receive and carry out His heart, His passion, and His purpose as our own.

Copyright © Laura Jewell Tyree

Due to all the Lord started speaking to us about His soon return, the deception of lawlessness and great falling away of believers, etc. at the end of 2010-beginning of 2011, we’ve been praying that He would break open the seals on all revelation that we need in order to understand the times and know what to do (I Chron 12:32) ~ “LORD, Let the reader (seeker, hearer, seer, dreamer, pray-er, writer) UNDERSTAND!” (Mt 24:15). He has showed us some things that have been mind staggering ~ in a freaked out evil (at times mixed with sci-fi coming too close for comfort) kinda way. (Still seeking Him about these things.)

Earlier this Spring when He was calling us to speak again, He talked about the intense war we are in and brought to mind Revelation 12. I posted 12:17 a couple of times along with Revelation 17:14 because of this:

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 12:17

 

They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:14

Last week I felt like the Lord was prompting me to read a note Robin Gatto had written about the Red Dragon. I did a search for those words on all 27 pages of her blog and only found one mention of it ~referring to the note she’d previously written, but the note was nowhere to be found. I didn’t know if she’d deleted it and I’d missed the Lord or what. Later, I felt like He told me it was on her FB page, not her blog. Found it. It had been posted back around the same time the Lord was reminding us of those passages in Revelation 12 and speaking to us about this critical time of spiritual war we’re in. Many think 12:7-9 is referring to a war that took place when Jesus defeated Satan; others have believed this described an event which would take place in the last of the last days. I’m not sure what Robin may have previously believed, but in this note she shared that she believed the Lord was showing her and confirming that this has happened NOW ~ that this war has just taken place in the heavens and the dragon (satan) and his demons have NOW been cast down from their position into the earth to make war against us (those who keep God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus v. 17), enraged because he knows his time is short (v.12).

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:7-9

 

Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:12

This does not diminish the truth that the church has been at war with him for more than 2000 years, but would only mean that we have gone to another level.

There were other confirmations mentioned in her post from what’s going on in society:

~ the new TV series “Hannibal” (as in Hannibal Lecter) based on the book The Red Dragon
~ that this is the year of the dragon in the Chinese calendar
~ and the Lord even led us to a link about the closing ceremonies of the Olympics that described occult symbolism in the ceremonies and showed the disturbing image of the huge red dragon (or phoenix) that rose up out of the fiery cauldron/sphere at the end of the closing ceremony. (Images of this from the closing ceremony can be seen online).

Interesting. Thought provoking. But we were still not entirely convinced that the Lord was confirming this has just now happened. Those of us who were watching 2012 to see how “God’s Divine Government” would be established/enforced should certainly be able to see how this would be a fulfillment of that (and a significant milestone toward the ultimate fulfillment). We asked the Lord if this is truly what He’s saying, to continue to confirm it.

Sunday morning, after the worship team dismissed, we arrived back in the auditorium just in time to hear our pastor open to Revelation 12 and read about the war in the heavens and the dragon and his demons losing their place and being cast into the earth! (He used this passage to make a different point, but we were in awe at the confirmation). I wrote a dear friend yesterday to tell her these things. She also responded in awe, saying that the pastor at the church she visited Sunday read and talked about the same chapter and passage!

If this is truly what the Lord is saying ~ What a dramatic explanation for why the world seems to be darker than ever, why so many have fallen into deception, and why the warfare has been so intensified against those who still hold to the Truth of God’s Word. The Lord has been telling us of the critical importance of continuing to stay as close to Him as possible, pressing in wholeheartedly, seeking Him diligently, and becoming as sensitive and yielded to Him as we can be. The church needs to have a heightened awareness, more than ever, of the tactics and schemes of the enemy to distract us, keep us from pressing into our relationship with the Lord, and to prevent us from completing what God has called us to do. In the past weeks as we’ve sought Him for how to proceed, He’s once again surrounded us with instruction to be rock solid, immoveable, unshakeable, determined, to set our faces like flint and keep moving forward to complete His call, not giving up or backing down. (As He put it,”The only way to lose is to quit.”). He showed us that at times, as we stand in faith for what He has promised, there is a period of obedience (to continue believing and faithfully doing what He has asked us to do) which must be completed in order for Him to bring judgment against the spiritual enemies of darkness that have warred against the fulfillment of our promises and assignments (Eph 6:12-13, II Cor 10:6). As we keep moving forward in obedience to God’s call, they will eventually be crushed under His feet and ours.

Again, God is still emphasizing repentance in the church (individually, corporately) and nation – that we must wholeheartedly return to Him, to Truth. The morning after the election He showed me a series of headings (which seemed to give an order of events). The second was “Judgment Not Postponed.” He had made clear that He was giving us a window of time to turn back to Him, thereby pushing back the judgment which is eventually inevitable in the earth, but this is not what our nation chose. I believe what is coming is to judge our idols, that they will be shaken and shattered so we will truly turn back to Him. He is continuing to stress the necessity of His Lordship in every area of the lives of all who claim to know Him. As we return to Him we must allow every agreement and alliance with the enemy to be severed, all idols exposed and evicted, all spiritual adultery with the world that has given the enemy invitation and access into God’s house (our lives) to be renounced/divorced, so that we wholeheartedly return to our exclusive marriage covenant with Him. There is no more time to give God a few hours on Sunday morning and the world the rest of the week. It’s time to be consecrated to Him and become the mighty army and holy, royal priesthood He’s called us to be 24/7/365. We must be made ready for what’s coming, including the end-times harvest and His return. In this time of intensified spiritual war and deception (and what’s about to come), if we try to live in compromise with the enemy, lukewarmness, one foot in the kingdom of darkness and one in the Kingdom of Light, we have stepped out of our secure place “in Him,” put ourselves in the “red dragon’s” territory, and are in great danger.

“… For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial [the devil]? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? What agreement [can there be between] a temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. So, come out from among (them – from alliance with sin, lawlessness, darkness, Belial/satan, unbelievers, and idols), and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor, And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, since these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God.” II Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1

 

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:7-10 (verses 1-10)

“Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the dominion (power, authority, rule) forever and ever. Amen (so be it).” I Peter 5:6-11

As I believe the next to last heading I received in the series indicated, The King of Righteousness is soon to come!

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16

And the kingdoms of the world will become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15).

Laura Jewell Tyree

(Posted to FB Nov 13, 12)

word from 11-10-12 ~ Last week as I was reading Jeremiah 45, I felt verses 4 and 5 were a word from the Lord ~

“I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.”

These words had come back to mind several times since, including this morning (referring to Saturday) as Jesse and I were in different rooms seeking the Lord. So I continued to ask the Lord if this was truly a word from Him.

In the early afternoon, Jesse asked me if I wanted to hear what he got from the Lord that morning. He then read this to me from his journal:

“Today I read Jeremiah 45 – a short chapter, but one which bears some interesting encouragement. Baruch, who is Jeremiah’s scribe, has evidently been complaining about his workload. He had said, “Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.” … it seems apparent that Baruch could use a little encouragement. God’s encouragement to him, though, is not exactly what I would have expected. If I were called upon to encourage someone in this situation, I would probably find out something about how long the project was expected to last and give some verbal encouragement by pointing out the distance covered or brevity of the remaining distance. But no, in this case, God informs him that his reward for his assignment is his very life. God says “I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.”

I did not immediately recognize the chapter Jesse was reading as being the same one I had received, but when he got to verses 4-5 I gasped out loud. I told him I’d read the same passage last week and felt verses 4-5 were a word from the Lord. Now I knew the Lord was confirming this word. Jesse continued reading what he’d written,

“The part that is highlighted for me is where God says ‘Should you then seek great things for yourself?’ It sounds to me as if God is implying that Baruch is too concerned about what he’s having to endure to fulfill his task. God is correcting him for complaining about not getting rest and being worn out. He knows he needs to stay focused on finishing his assignment and that once this destruction occurs, concern for self could cause Baruch to lose focus on his purpose and be concerned with self-preservation. I think God wants him to understand better the gravity of what they are about to experience. In essence He is telling him, “Just be thankful you’ll still be alive after all is said and done!”

“Baruch was an essential part of the process of getting God’s word out through Jeremiah to those who needed to hear it, and having those words inscribed forever through the written word we have today. He likely did not realize the importance of his assigned task. We may have to suffer for a while in order to accomplish what God is purposing through us. But our job is to press through whatever circumstances arise that would attempt to distract us or deter us from the task at hand. If it was easy to do, then God could have asked any number of people to do it. But He assigned it to you because He knows that with His help, you have every tool needed to complete the task, remaining focused on His purposes, and ignoring whatever temporary discomfort may arise in the process. You may not even understand the severity or impact that your task will have on the future. But trust God to have your back and safeguard you while you finish His assignments. He’ll take care of the ‘rest.’“

We knew this was a word from the Lord. It would be a gross understatement to say the past 2 years have been intense. And now that it’s been revealed that the urgency of the assignment is not going to lighten there has been a temptation to wonder what life will look like from here on and whether we will see the seasons of rest we’ve longed for this side of the Lord’s coming reign. But God has clearly told us “There is no time to faint!”

As I prayed about posting this word, I believe the Lord spoke something else to me. He reminded me of the president’s words which outraged many ~ “You didn’t build that.” I felt He showed me this is, again, the natural mirroring what’s happening in the spiritual realm. After giving us warnings and time to repent, the election showed how many in our nation are still rejecting Him, His Word, His Truth, and our Christian foundations. In doing so, they are, in essence, saying to Him, “You didn’t build this (nation)!” Thus, the Lord’s response,”I will overthrow what I HAVE BUILT and uproot what I HAVE PLANTED….” He brought back to remembrance the word He gave me from Ezekiel 17 (“Two Eagles and a Vine“). 

As I asked the Lord about the full implications of these words, He rushed in again Saturday and Sunday to give us more words of assurance of His faithful, loving, perfect watchfulness, care and provision for His children as we seek and follow Him. His people need this engraved in our hearts and minds no matter what happens in our circumstances.
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Lord, help us not to be weary in doing Your will, but to keep our eyes fixed on You and the joy set before us. Continue to strengthen us with Your power in our innermost being, causing Your iron to enter our souls, so we will endure hardship and warfare as good soldiers with boldness and courage, continually pushing back the kingdom of darkness and advancing Your Kingdom of Light. Help us have single-minded focus and commitment to train and run our race like professional athletes who will win the gold. Help us work wholeheartedly like farmers, as You’ve told us, to till the ground, plant and water the seed, and bring in the full harvest. Let every heart be made good soil that will receive and retain the seed of Your Word, that it will never be stolen, uprooted or choked out by the enemy, but will produce the hundred-fold harvest of righteousness in every life. May each one of Your children daily draw close to You, be daily filled with Your Spirit, and truly know You as much as You can be known this side of perfection. Let us be sensitive to Your voice at all times and hear with crystal clarity all You have specifically called and assigned us to do in this time. Help us be DOERS of what You say, not to be deceived by only hearing, but never following through. May every gifting, calling, anointing and appointment be activated, stirred up and on fire in each of us, and come forth in full measure that Your people may reach our full potential in You. We believe to see Your desire fulfilled that Your people will reach unity in the faith and attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Help us faithfully, fearlessly set our faces like flint and FINISH our assignments by the power of Your Spirit, no matter how challenging, no matter the risks or opposition, and no matter the time, effort or cost. No matter what happens, help us all be deeply and securely rooted and established in faith and trust in Your provision and care so we will never be shaken, even when all else is. Help us forget about ourselves and truly live out what Paul said that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” so we will be emptied of self, filled to overflowing with You, and completely consumed with You and Your will, fearlessly doing the great exploits You’ve called us to do. By You living in us and through us, help us leave NOTHING undone that You’ve told us to do, to possess the entire land, to finish the work You’ve given us, and to hear “Well done good and faithful servant (and beloved bride who has made herself ready)” when we see You face to face! We ask this in the Power of Jesus’ Name!