Rising Into Destiny

God made prophets, priest and kings. God made Abraham a Father of many nations. He made Moses a deliverer, Levi a priest, David a King, Solomon the wisest man in the world and Jeremiah a prophet. The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

God made Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Apostles. He made John a Seer who wrote everything he saw in the book of Revelation.

He made Paul a “letter-writer” to the churches. He said, “It was [God] who gave some to be...evangelist, some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ is built up.”

This verse has our names all over it. What Pastors do for Christ and the church is no accident or fluke. Paul wrote, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to [be set apart].” (Eph. 1:4)

The LORD does not call pastors to be shepherds of His flocks and then appoint others to work in opposition to them. God does not work against Himself; it’s contrary to His divine nature. It’s that simply. The Word of God says, “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

There are many ways to do God’s prophets harm. When you harm the prophet you harm the work of God. You hinder the work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul warned Timothy saying, “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”

Perhaps there’s a an “Alexander” in your life whose done you harm. Don’t fear; God is taking care of you. Keep your eyes on Jesus and remain faithful. Don’t be thrown off your course by those who are trying to harm you; any attempt to disrupt your work will be minuscule by God’s greatness.  Be confident that God has called you to ministry and find comfort in Psalm 121

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

Paul said, “God appointed some to be...evangelist, pastors and teachers, prophets and Apostles.” Congregants must release the leadership of the church for the work of the ministry by removing the limitations placed upon them. The church needs the five-fold ministry. Every Pastor needs a prophet and every prophet needs a Pastor. Every church needs to be linked to the five-fold ministry.

We are not cessationist. Cessation means something has ceased to function and it`s no longer needed or it’s no longer necessary. Cessationist generally believes that the miraculous gifts were given only for the founding of the early Church. Cessationism is the view that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy and healing, ceased being practiced early on in Church history. Cessationism says that the five-fold ministry is not needed in the church today. The opposite of Cessationism is Continuationism. Pentecostals are Continuationist not Cessationist!

We believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy and healing is for the church today; for the equipping of the saints and for the building up of the church. We believe the gifts continue to manifest in the body of Christ for the purpose of comforting, edification and for exhortation. The need for supernatural gifts is greater today than it’s ever been. We live in an age of confusion, darkness, and chaos. The church’s success depends on the supernatural equipment given by the Holy Spirit to win the war for truth! Cessationism is bad theology. The church need not be divided against itself along these lines.

I encourage you to be filled with the Holy Spirit, speak in tonques and prophesie.

Paul corrected the Thessalonians and rebuked the error of their ways when he said, “do not treat prophecies with contempt.” (1Thess. 5:20)

For crying out loud, the majority of preachers are muzzled by religious traditions. Leonard Ravenhill said, "If Jesus preached the same message preachers preach today He would never had been crucified." Don't be slaves to meaningless tradition or to the opinion of others. Pastors need not be slaves but to Christ only. God made pastors to be filled with the Spirit. God made Pastors to preach the Word in season and out of season. God made pastors to correct and rebuke. He made pastors to give oversight to His work on earth. (2 Timothy 4: 1 & 2) God made pastors to lay their hands on the sick that they may be healed. He made pastors to cast out devils. (Mark 16:18)

God made pastors to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3) God made pastors to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and return sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, and proclaim the year of jubilee. (Luke 4:18-19)

The most unusual observance that God commanded the Israelites through Moses was the keeping of the year of jubilee. For most people this celebration occurred only once in their life time, and for many, not even that, as it occurred only once every 50 years.

At this year of jubilee all Israelites who had sold themselves into slavery were set free, and all land that had been sold reverted to its original owner. This meant that no Israelite could ever be in permanent slavery; nor could any Israelite permanently lose his inheritance.

How is it, that some of God’s people have return to slavery? How is it that so many have lost the prophetic anointing? How is it so many have forsaken their rich inheritance? Hear what the Spirit is saying church.

Pentecost means fifty which speaks of jubilee. There’s fifty days between Easter and the Day of Pentecost. God is ready to restore our fortune once again. He is ready to restore our inheritance with a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  A new and fresh fire is coming to the church. We are coming into open heaven. God has shown me the first fruit of this revival: 50 men saved, 50 women saved, 50 young people saved, 50 healings, 50 Spirit’s baptism, 50 prophetic utterances given to the church, 50 called to ministry, 50 backsliders returning to Christ, 50 churches on fire for God, 50 regional revival centers strategically placed in Canada. This is the first fruit of the renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There’s much, much more to come. Great spiritual freedom is coming to the church and it’ll be the first fruit of revival!

“Those whom Christ has set free are free indeed!”

Speaking of freedom let me share a story.

The “House Divided Speech” was an address given by Abraham Lincoln’s June 16, 1858 on Springfield, Illinois, one hundred years before I was born. The speech became the launching point for his unsuccessful campaign for the senate seat against Stephen A. Douglas. The speech created a lasting image of the danger of disunion because of slavery.

The best-known passage of the speech is this:

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South.*

Of course we know Abraham Lincoln was quoting the Bible to make his point. In Mark’s gospel 3: 24-26 Jesus said, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, the kingdom cannot stand. If a house divided against itself, that house cannot stand; his end has come.”

There’s always a danger of disunion! As a church, we too must decide our status; are we slaves or are we free? It’s one or the other; we can’t have it both ways. We can’t be speaking from both sides of our mouths as Christ church. “It is not right for one man to spiritually enslave another and for the third man to allow it.”  We must decide!

Most famously, eight years before Lincoln's speech, during the Senate debate on the Compromise of 1850, Sam Houston had proclaimed: "A nation divided against itself cannot stand" (Mark 3:24). During the War of 1812 a similar line appeared in a letter from Abigil Adams to Mercy Otis Warren. Mrs. Adams wrote "... A house divided upon itself - and upon that foundation do our enemies build their hopes of subduing us."*

The aim and purpose of the gospel is to end slavery; every form of spiritual bondage.” God made anointed pastors “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners...to release the oppressed, and proclaim the season of the Lord’s favor?” (Luke 4:18-19)

We have entered that season; revival is in the air. The warm winds of the Holy Spirit is blowing upon us and the river of God is flowing, the sound of heaven is heard, the birds are singing the praises of the Lord, the Lily of the Valley and the rose of Sharon is sending forth its beautiful fragrance. Proclaim it now! Proclaim the Lord’s favor! Proclaim the anointing! Proclaim His glory! Proclaim the wonderful works of God! Proclaim healing! Proclaim freedom! Proclaim prophetic utterances! Be a voice of hope to a hurting and dying world.

Rise into Destiny!