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A Changing of the Guard...
In my recent prayer times with the Lord, I have been sensing a seismic shift in the Spirit, and as I have been praying, I have been hearing these words, “There is a changing of the guard in My Church.” As I was asking the Holy Spirit what this means, I heard Him say, “I am leading My people back into intercession. I am removing the distractions and the unnecessary works; I am leading My Church to be a people of prayer once again.”
I began to see a vision of a church service, where I was looking up close into one congregation which I knew represented His people across the earth. I saw about one hundred people in this gathering, and there was something strikingly different from the regular church services we are used to in the Western Church. The entire body of people, both men, women, and children were on their knees, even sprawled out flat on the ground, and they were each uniquely gripped in prayer. Gone was the typical and expected church ‘service’ that one might be used to, for the entire Church was in the grip of intercession, crying out in accordance with the cries of the Spirit of God. All I could think was, “This looks like the Church of Acts.”
I could then see the Holy Spirit; He appeared like a large and mighty eagle hovering over the congregation. With wings outstretched wide over His Church, He was beating His wings as He hovered just above them. With every movement of His wings, a new wave of intercession would be birthed across His people, and I realized, the wind of His wings was releasing wave upon wave of intercession, prayers that were in accordance with His heart. Travails of prayer could be heard in unison with every beat of the eagle's wings. It was then that I noticed something was happening in the atmosphere around the congregation.
A fresh wind was beginning to pick up, a bit like a tornado, around them, but it was not destructive. It reminded me of the burning bush with Moses—a burning fire that didn’t singe one leaf on the tree. This tornado was beginning to form around the people through their intercession, yet, it was not causing any destruction in their midst, but rather, I noticed, their intercession grew wilder and more powerful. I then saw in this vision, an expanded bird’s eye view of the streets around the church. I noticed the Church was positioned in the middle of a dark and poverty-stricken neighborhood, the streets looked ‘war-torn’, covered in trash and run down.
At first, I noticed these winds of intercession remained around the people in the building, however, as their cries continued to increase, and their prayers continued in travail, the wind began to move outside of the four walls and pick up momentum within the streets. Again, the wind was not destructive, but I began to see physical demons hiding in the shadows of the poverty-stricken streets, and at first, they could only hear the sound of the wind and it sent them into a wild panic. Then, as quick as the sound came, the wind soon followed. I saw these demons and recognized them as stronghold principalities over this particular region I was witnessing in the vision. They began to shriek in terror, running to and fro trying to escape the forces of this intercessional wind. I even saw one demon try and hold onto a trash can, desperately clinging to its ‘territory’, to no avail. The wind swept it away, and along with every other principality, they were blown into a chaotic tornado until each of them was no more.
At this moment, I could still see the Church, in ongoing prayer, and I could see the mighty eagle of the Holy Spirit, continuing to beat His wings as He hovered over His people. Each beat of His wings, continued to release a new wave of prayer, followed by a new wind that at first swirled around His people, and then went forth into the communities around them. This was a wind that was setting all things right again, exposing darkness and unseating principalities. At that, the vision ended.
"For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind
And declares to man what are His thoughts,
He who makes dawn into darkness
And treads on the high places of the earth,
The Lord God of hosts is His name."
Amos 4:13
There is a Changing of the Guard.
Pondering over this, I kept thinking about the phrase I have been hearing in my spirit, “A changing of the guard.” When I was a girl of just five years old, my parents and I visited the United Kingdom, and the highlight of our trip for me was visiting Buckingham Palace, where I was hoping I would get to see the Queen. While I didn’t get a sighting of the Queen as I had hoped, we happened to arrive at the exact moment when we got to witness the Ceremony of the Changing of the Guard and I’ll forever remember it. According to the Royal Family website, “The Changing of the Guard ceremony marks the moment when the soldiers currently on duty, the Old Guard, exchange places with the New Guard.”
I believe we are about to see a new guard of intercession grip the hearts of God’s people across the earth, as the Lord is leading His people back into their positions as people of prayer. I believe this will come suddenly, where Pastors and leaders will become seized with the unction to lead their people into repentance and prayer. The religious spirits will be in an uproar because the Church is about to change guards, it won’t be “service as usual”, our gatherings will shift into a supernatural dimension where I can hear the people of God crying out in unison, “Holy Spirit, have Your way.”
There is a new guard, a new order, and a shift that we are about to step into the throes of, and I encourage you, don’t resist this changing of the guard. To Church leaders and Pastors, I encourage you, to prepare for what the Spirit of God is doing—and be open to going where He leads—for it is not going to look anything like you had planned. The Holy Spirit is looking for a people He can rest upon in this hour, for a people who will be open to lay down their will and their plans, for a people He can birth this new wind of His Spirit through.
"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
There is a sound coming, and it is about to break every sound barrier before it. There is a wind coming, and it is going to violently topple religious thinking and mindsets, it will unseat demon principalities and expose the hidden workings of darkness. He is longing to release this sound through you, His people. Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you surrendered? Don’t hold onto your plans tightly, be willing and pliable to surrender to His will and His way, for in this hour, there is a changing of the guard, and I can hear His wings beginning to beat.
"Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting." Acts 2:2
RELATED prophetic WORDS:
RELATED prophetic WORDS:
By Nate Johnston
•
08 May, 2024
I've had the same dream consecutively for the last three nights in a row, and I believe this dream is the Lord speaking about what He is about to pour out upon the body of Christ in this next season. Before I share the dream, I need to speak about the season that we have been in. It's what I have called a spiritual and natural recession. Since 2020, there has been an assignment or recession constantly trying to make the church back peddle on faith amidst so much shaking. It's the season where finances have felt tighter because the enemy is anticipating this great wealth transfer that he dreads coming to the church. That's why financial systems have been shaken, interest rates have skyrocketed, and people have gone into survival mode. Yes, the enemy has been afraid that the church will not be able to build the infrastructure for the years to come. He has tried to bring back a poverty mindset upon the body of Christ and a hope-deferred spirit to cause us to feel deeply let down by God and doubt His promises. This is why we have seen a great delay in promised provisions, breakthroughs, and plans. It's where many have had an endless assault on their bank accounts and things that used to flourish in past seasons. This is why it has felt that things have been falling to the ground and failing, and many of your plans and ideas have been shipwrecked, and you have not seen them flourish as you used to in years past. But I feel even before I share my dream, I need to say to you - this is all changing. We've been in a season that has felt like recession, and the news is only backing up this fear agenda, but just as we are on the cusp of what the world is saying is going to be another great depression, the Lord says today that you are going to experience my EXPANSION! GO TO THE RIVER! Now, let me share the dream. In the dream, I am simply told that I must go to the mouth of a river and catch a fish. As I catch this fish and bring it in, I open up its mouth, and there are three gold coins inside. On the first coin, it says DEBT. On the second coin, it says SOW. On the third coin, it says BUILD. Do you remember the story of when Jesus owed taxes and what He told Peter to do? "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth, and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." - Matthew 17:27 I believe this dream was shown to me three times because three represents restoration and fullness. When Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus restored him three times by saying, "Feed my sheep!" I believe this dream is speaking into a season of such endless provision in those three areas - debt repayment, Sowing, and Building. We are about to see a season of the repayment of debts that is not just the debts that you owe, or that God wants to wipe clear, but the debts that people owe you. We are coming into a time where the Lord is repaying that which the locust ate in your life. You have lived in such a deficit and been living in a deficit mindset constantly - always under and never above, but the Lord is coming to repay that which has been stolen and robbed from you for many seasons past. And where you've been living stewarding debt, the Lord wants to switch that so that you are beginning to steward the endless resources of the Kingdom. Regarding the second coin, The scripture that came to mind was Ecclesiastes 11:1; "Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days." I believe we're entering into a time again when the Lord is restoring the joy of sowing. He's restoring the principle of sowing and the joy of sowing where many have felt like they've been in that survival mode and being unable to give, or even just being afraid of giving because of endless hardship and financial assault. The Lord is demolishing that mindset, and he's releasing joy upon the body of Christ to be the sowers and givers that we are called to be. I believe this is a promise that we're stepping into a time of great sowing where the Lord doesn't want us to be given wealth for the sake of hoarding it up, but for the sake of being a river, a flow-through, whereas He gives into us, we continue to release that finance through us and to those around us. We begin to help others build their dreams, build the things that God has given them, rather than just building what we have been given. We are entering a time where the world will look to us because we will be flourishing like a Goshen in the midst of so much ruin in man's systems on earth. THIRD COIN - BUILD Regarding the third coin, Many have been saying for a long time, "God, how do I build when I don't have the resources to build?" And so, for many years, people have been contending; they've been bringing the plots of land before their eyes. They've been printing out their vision and praying over it. But over the last year, I've noticed that people have begun to grow weary because it's like, "God, you've given us a massive vision, but we don't even have 1% of the finances to be able to build this vision!" It has felt like a deep cloud of discouragement and soul sickness has hit many because the enemy has been delaying these plans for so long now. It's begun to feel like a pie in the sky. It's begun to think like fool's gold. People have begun to get despondent and frustrated. There have been people who have lost their homes and their livelihoods, and in the midst of that, it almost feels like a cruel joke to have to believe in the promises of God for a big vision when you're barely surviving in some of these other areas. But I believe this dream is speaking that the Lord is about to release the resources to build. He's releasing the provision to finally build what He has given us. But today, the Lord says, "Get ready, the body of Christ, because you've been in survival mode for a long time. You've been in a time where you've had to manage and juggle and shuffle. "But I'm leading you out of that limited place into a time of a great reset of finances and provision of mindsets, and in your heart where you've grown hope deferred, you're about to build and see that which I've given you to build, get ready body of Christ, get ready body, get ready!" it's time to go down to the river. It's time to pick out the gold coins from the fish's mouth. And it's time to see a new era of provision come to your house in Jesus' name.
By Nate Johnston
•
01 May, 2024
This is burning in my spirit to share for those who have felt stuck or put on hold especially in the last 4 months. It seems like you are back in waiting but aren’t sure what for. You feel like you have been on a wild-goose chase that has suddenly shipwrecked you in “no mans land”. It feels like you have been robbed of your vehicle - your purpose. Like you have been pulled over and forced out. You feel like you have ended up in a situation that looks nothing like what you envisioned, grieving what makes you come alive but is now out of reach. Looking behind you it feels like your best days are over like you hit your peak - but you haven’t even seen your best days yet. I saw the word I NTERRUPTION being crossed out and in bright red the word LEGACY was written over it. None of this is an accident - where you are right now is a setup. THE UNEXPECTED PATH None of this was a mistake. Your unusual path. The detour. The treasure hunt and blind faith journey. It wasn’t a tease. It was designed to go somewhere you couldn’t have found on your own. You wouldn’t have chosen the mess and the unknown, the struggles and wrestles, pressing and crushing - and you also wouldn’t have seen what was waiting for you at the end of this. But now your heart needs to adjust to the new landscape. The new thing that you didn’t expect or envision. It’s not settling - Its surrender. It’s not giving up - it’s finally moving with the new flow and accepting the new script. ADDRESSING THE LIES The lie of failure has shut down your creativity and confidence. It’s made you drop your sword and begin to bargain your way out. The lie of being abandoned has questioned your first call and whether you heard God at all. No, you didn’t miss it. The lie of “this is as good as it’s going to get” has made you begin to settle for second best and make your bed in the valley but you are moving through! THE SEED FALLING TO THE GROUND Many have been in an extreme 4 months of what has felt like a “falling to the ground season” where it has felt like everything they once held has had to be laid down. “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” - John 12:24 I heard the Lord say “If my people don’t lay down what they are holding how can they pick up what I am giving them next?” It feels painful to let go of a dream or expectation you built your life around but God isn’t taking it from you to hurt you but to ADD TO IT! God wants to multiply you! Have you been fighting it? The enemy has. He wants you to stay in the same place you have been. He wants you to hold onto the old seeds that have worn around your neck like a necklace, but if you don’t let them go they will become like a lead weight! As quickly as you lean into surrender God will pour out what he wants to give you. This refining and shaking moment is protection and promotion. It’s advancement and the breaking of apathy. It’s the pure ointment clearing away the old husks of an old season. ENTER THE RESURRECTION! I then heard the Lord say “I am resurrecting my people!” and then I saw the 4 winds of the Spirit whirling and could see the purpose behind this process - God has been seeing his people in bondage, trauma, and constant conflict with the enemy and so He sent us through the fire to DELIVER US! What emerges from this furnace now is going to be so potent. New movements, ministries, messages, and voices. New synergy, partnerships, family, and tribe. Watch what and who leaves the tomb in this season. Watch who comes out of complete disablement with a fresh sound and voice for this season. “In the midst of fiery hot trials, persecution, shaking, opposition, and warfare, heavyweight ministries and movements are emerging and birthing. This is far from a “stuck” or “decrease” season for those who have held onto the hem of Jesus garment. This is where we see the cross outwork powerfully in crisis” “He must increase, but I must decrease” - John 3:30 God didn’t cast you off or send you into isolation - He is REFORMING you and readying you for the next chapter of this pioneering adventure! THE NEXT SIX MONTHS The six months from now til September (Rosh Hashanah) are going to be WAY OPENING months. New direction and coordinates are coming where there has been only roadblocks and no options. New blueprints and fresh vision for the days ahead are coming. Old wineskins will keep falling away. Powerless seeker sensitive Christianity will keep losing its grip and fiery red hot believers will emerge to lead the way forward. Veils of religion and fear are going to drop off the ears and eyes of Gods people so we can see this season clearly and embrace and seize it instead of running and hiding. We won’t fall for the lies of false prophet media. Regardless of what we hear on the news or see in some circumstances. God is tapping us into the newsroom of heaven to see beyond the storm. We are going to shake off the death of this past season and begin to live through the glasses of hope and the victory of the finished work of the cross again. Foundations will keep shaking as God reveals the true rock to build upon on. Structures on sand won’t survive this season. We are coming back to what matters and shedding the weight of every thing that has cluttered us and held us in bondage. We are going to resurrected seeds multiplied. We are going to increased anointing on those who have walked through this shaking season and kept their eyes on the Lord. Jesus is taking center place again in the church. We will see the broken merchant tables of the old expired movements begin to make way for the oil lamps of the burning ones. We are entering an extremely high revelatory season - and Jesus will share this heart with his friends. We are stepping out of defeat and into strategic alignment to hear the counsel of the lord and action it. The Josephs will make themselves known with practical insight of how to plan and prepare and build. We are entering a season of visitation that turns the hearts of the cold back to the Lord. Families that have even under fire will begin to see their broken foundations rebuilt and God is bringing joy and recompense to those who have suffered loss and sowed in tears. And Jesus gets all the glory.
By Nate Johnston
•
08 May, 2024
I've had the same dream consecutively for the last three nights in a row, and I believe this dream is the Lord speaking about what He is about to pour out upon the body of Christ in this next season. Before I share the dream, I need to speak about the season that we have been in. It's what I have called a spiritual and natural recession. Since 2020, there has been an assignment or recession constantly trying to make the church back peddle on faith amidst so much shaking. It's the season where finances have felt tighter because the enemy is anticipating this great wealth transfer that he dreads coming to the church. That's why financial systems have been shaken, interest rates have skyrocketed, and people have gone into survival mode. Yes, the enemy has been afraid that the church will not be able to build the infrastructure for the years to come. He has tried to bring back a poverty mindset upon the body of Christ and a hope-deferred spirit to cause us to feel deeply let down by God and doubt His promises. This is why we have seen a great delay in promised provisions, breakthroughs, and plans. It's where many have had an endless assault on their bank accounts and things that used to flourish in past seasons. This is why it has felt that things have been falling to the ground and failing, and many of your plans and ideas have been shipwrecked, and you have not seen them flourish as you used to in years past. But I feel even before I share my dream, I need to say to you - this is all changing. We've been in a season that has felt like recession, and the news is only backing up this fear agenda, but just as we are on the cusp of what the world is saying is going to be another great depression, the Lord says today that you are going to experience my EXPANSION! GO TO THE RIVER! Now, let me share the dream. In the dream, I am simply told that I must go to the mouth of a river and catch a fish. As I catch this fish and bring it in, I open up its mouth, and there are three gold coins inside. On the first coin, it says DEBT. On the second coin, it says SOW. On the third coin, it says BUILD. Do you remember the story of when Jesus owed taxes and what He told Peter to do? "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth, and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." - Matthew 17:27 I believe this dream was shown to me three times because three represents restoration and fullness. When Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus restored him three times by saying, "Feed my sheep!" I believe this dream is speaking into a season of such endless provision in those three areas - debt repayment, Sowing, and Building. We are about to see a season of the repayment of debts that is not just the debts that you owe, or that God wants to wipe clear, but the debts that people owe you. We are coming into a time where the Lord is repaying that which the locust ate in your life. You have lived in such a deficit and been living in a deficit mindset constantly - always under and never above, but the Lord is coming to repay that which has been stolen and robbed from you for many seasons past. And where you've been living stewarding debt, the Lord wants to switch that so that you are beginning to steward the endless resources of the Kingdom. Regarding the second coin, The scripture that came to mind was Ecclesiastes 11:1; "Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days." I believe we're entering into a time again when the Lord is restoring the joy of sowing. He's restoring the principle of sowing and the joy of sowing where many have felt like they've been in that survival mode and being unable to give, or even just being afraid of giving because of endless hardship and financial assault. The Lord is demolishing that mindset, and he's releasing joy upon the body of Christ to be the sowers and givers that we are called to be. I believe this is a promise that we're stepping into a time of great sowing where the Lord doesn't want us to be given wealth for the sake of hoarding it up, but for the sake of being a river, a flow-through, whereas He gives into us, we continue to release that finance through us and to those around us. We begin to help others build their dreams, build the things that God has given them, rather than just building what we have been given. We are entering a time where the world will look to us because we will be flourishing like a Goshen in the midst of so much ruin in man's systems on earth. THIRD COIN - BUILD Regarding the third coin, Many have been saying for a long time, "God, how do I build when I don't have the resources to build?" And so, for many years, people have been contending; they've been bringing the plots of land before their eyes. They've been printing out their vision and praying over it. But over the last year, I've noticed that people have begun to grow weary because it's like, "God, you've given us a massive vision, but we don't even have 1% of the finances to be able to build this vision!" It has felt like a deep cloud of discouragement and soul sickness has hit many because the enemy has been delaying these plans for so long now. It's begun to feel like a pie in the sky. It's begun to think like fool's gold. People have begun to get despondent and frustrated. There have been people who have lost their homes and their livelihoods, and in the midst of that, it almost feels like a cruel joke to have to believe in the promises of God for a big vision when you're barely surviving in some of these other areas. But I believe this dream is speaking that the Lord is about to release the resources to build. He's releasing the provision to finally build what He has given us. But today, the Lord says, "Get ready, the body of Christ, because you've been in survival mode for a long time. You've been in a time where you've had to manage and juggle and shuffle. "But I'm leading you out of that limited place into a time of a great reset of finances and provision of mindsets, and in your heart where you've grown hope deferred, you're about to build and see that which I've given you to build, get ready body of Christ, get ready body, get ready!" it's time to go down to the river. It's time to pick out the gold coins from the fish's mouth. And it's time to see a new era of provision come to your house in Jesus' name.
By Nate Johnston
•
01 May, 2024
This is burning in my spirit to share for those who have felt stuck or put on hold especially in the last 4 months. It seems like you are back in waiting but aren’t sure what for. You feel like you have been on a wild-goose chase that has suddenly shipwrecked you in “no mans land”. It feels like you have been robbed of your vehicle - your purpose. Like you have been pulled over and forced out. You feel like you have ended up in a situation that looks nothing like what you envisioned, grieving what makes you come alive but is now out of reach. Looking behind you it feels like your best days are over like you hit your peak - but you haven’t even seen your best days yet. I saw the word I NTERRUPTION being crossed out and in bright red the word LEGACY was written over it. None of this is an accident - where you are right now is a setup. THE UNEXPECTED PATH None of this was a mistake. Your unusual path. The detour. The treasure hunt and blind faith journey. It wasn’t a tease. It was designed to go somewhere you couldn’t have found on your own. You wouldn’t have chosen the mess and the unknown, the struggles and wrestles, pressing and crushing - and you also wouldn’t have seen what was waiting for you at the end of this. But now your heart needs to adjust to the new landscape. The new thing that you didn’t expect or envision. It’s not settling - Its surrender. It’s not giving up - it’s finally moving with the new flow and accepting the new script. ADDRESSING THE LIES The lie of failure has shut down your creativity and confidence. It’s made you drop your sword and begin to bargain your way out. The lie of being abandoned has questioned your first call and whether you heard God at all. No, you didn’t miss it. The lie of “this is as good as it’s going to get” has made you begin to settle for second best and make your bed in the valley but you are moving through! THE SEED FALLING TO THE GROUND Many have been in an extreme 4 months of what has felt like a “falling to the ground season” where it has felt like everything they once held has had to be laid down. “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” - John 12:24 I heard the Lord say “If my people don’t lay down what they are holding how can they pick up what I am giving them next?” It feels painful to let go of a dream or expectation you built your life around but God isn’t taking it from you to hurt you but to ADD TO IT! God wants to multiply you! Have you been fighting it? The enemy has. He wants you to stay in the same place you have been. He wants you to hold onto the old seeds that have worn around your neck like a necklace, but if you don’t let them go they will become like a lead weight! As quickly as you lean into surrender God will pour out what he wants to give you. This refining and shaking moment is protection and promotion. It’s advancement and the breaking of apathy. It’s the pure ointment clearing away the old husks of an old season. ENTER THE RESURRECTION! I then heard the Lord say “I am resurrecting my people!” and then I saw the 4 winds of the Spirit whirling and could see the purpose behind this process - God has been seeing his people in bondage, trauma, and constant conflict with the enemy and so He sent us through the fire to DELIVER US! What emerges from this furnace now is going to be so potent. New movements, ministries, messages, and voices. New synergy, partnerships, family, and tribe. Watch what and who leaves the tomb in this season. Watch who comes out of complete disablement with a fresh sound and voice for this season. “In the midst of fiery hot trials, persecution, shaking, opposition, and warfare, heavyweight ministries and movements are emerging and birthing. This is far from a “stuck” or “decrease” season for those who have held onto the hem of Jesus garment. This is where we see the cross outwork powerfully in crisis” “He must increase, but I must decrease” - John 3:30 God didn’t cast you off or send you into isolation - He is REFORMING you and readying you for the next chapter of this pioneering adventure! THE NEXT SIX MONTHS The six months from now til September (Rosh Hashanah) are going to be WAY OPENING months. New direction and coordinates are coming where there has been only roadblocks and no options. New blueprints and fresh vision for the days ahead are coming. Old wineskins will keep falling away. Powerless seeker sensitive Christianity will keep losing its grip and fiery red hot believers will emerge to lead the way forward. Veils of religion and fear are going to drop off the ears and eyes of Gods people so we can see this season clearly and embrace and seize it instead of running and hiding. We won’t fall for the lies of false prophet media. Regardless of what we hear on the news or see in some circumstances. God is tapping us into the newsroom of heaven to see beyond the storm. We are going to shake off the death of this past season and begin to live through the glasses of hope and the victory of the finished work of the cross again. Foundations will keep shaking as God reveals the true rock to build upon on. Structures on sand won’t survive this season. We are coming back to what matters and shedding the weight of every thing that has cluttered us and held us in bondage. We are going to resurrected seeds multiplied. We are going to increased anointing on those who have walked through this shaking season and kept their eyes on the Lord. Jesus is taking center place again in the church. We will see the broken merchant tables of the old expired movements begin to make way for the oil lamps of the burning ones. We are entering an extremely high revelatory season - and Jesus will share this heart with his friends. We are stepping out of defeat and into strategic alignment to hear the counsel of the lord and action it. The Josephs will make themselves known with practical insight of how to plan and prepare and build. We are entering a season of visitation that turns the hearts of the cold back to the Lord. Families that have even under fire will begin to see their broken foundations rebuilt and God is bringing joy and recompense to those who have suffered loss and sowed in tears. And Jesus gets all the glory.
By Nate Johnston
•
01 May, 2024
To all of you facing giants this week: As I was praying I heard the Lord say “This is a moment to REMEMBER a what I have said and what I have done” “This is a moment to remind yourself of the breakthroughs you have seen and the impossibilities I demolished in front of you” “This is a time to find your greatest trials that you saw me move in and anchor yourself to that testimony that I will do once again” “This is a time to dig up the words spoken and prophesied over you and go to war with them, arm yourself with them, and stir up your faith to see them come to pass” “I know it’s hard to get your hopes up right now, and it’s been so long since you have seen opposition budge but you are about to see mountains move!” “Cut off the sources of fear, and stop listening to the giants trying to talk you out of your inheritance because soon they will be gone and you’ll hold the keys to the land” “Reject the lies and the failure, and ask yourself; who is fighting for you? Who wages war with you? Who is by your side? Who will never let you do this alone? That’s right, I am with you” “So this week raise up a shout and press into my presence. Lift up your sword and pierce the thick air with your cry, because your worship is going to disarm the warfare and unlock the gates” “The giants in the land are no match for my power and anointing I have given to you. So shake off the defeat and feeling powerless because you have the same power in you that resurrected Jesus from the grave” Let every obstacle, principality, roadblock, and demonic assignment shake in their boots as you March into this week with your hopes up and your sword raised high... we are going to see VICTORIES for the battle belongs to the Lord! “I will sing of you, the one who gives victory to kings— the one who rescues David, your loving servant, from the fatal sword” - Psalm 144:10 “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s” - 2 Chronicles 20:15
By Nate Johnston
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28 Apr, 2024
Many are right now experiencing “People fatigue” which is the bewildering burnout after long seasons of being used, manipulated, and pulled in every direction by people for extended periods of time. People fatigue is the result of being constantly coerced and controlled, told what you should and shouldn’t do, being pulled into drama and situations there was no grace on, and/or worn down by people who keep overriding boundaries, and then gaslighting you when you confront it. People fatigue comes to the surface when you realize that you are either bitter and resentful at any level of relationship or involvement with others, overly wary, cynical of all people, or are noticing yourself hiding and retreating. Other signs are anxiety at gatherings or events, scrolling through social media, and anger/frustration seeing others in healthy relationships. If this is you, it’s because the enemy wants you to never find family and genuine covenant relationships. In fact, I believe it’s one of the enemies tactics to isolate you further after you have already come out of a long wilderness, sending you back into obscurity and a Lone Ranger lifestyle. If he can cause you to fear people or have you attempt to do kingdom without people, then he knows he has won in keeping your calling at bay. But let’s go one step further. People fatigue at the surface is people burnout but underneath it’s a triggered area of soul trauma that is rooted in feeling abandoned or used by God. What? How does that work? Let me explain; Think of a pastor who knows his job is to look after his flock. He gives his life to that congregation often at the expense of his family and own wellbeing. Then one day he crashes hard with a moral failure or just mentally/emotionally. Who does he feel let down by? People? Not necessarily. He feels let down by God. “Why did you call me to something I couldn’t keep up with?” He says. But the issue isn’t that God overloaded us, but that religion did. We did. Hang on, how were we part of the problem? It’s easy for us to accidentally slip into the role of fixer when we are in ministry or doing kingdom because we see the great need and think that if we don’t do it, who will right? Before too long we have been spread thin, see the warning signs, but often don’t stop until we have become completely shipwrecked. Is this where you are? Are you in people fatigue? The first step, is dealing with your heart towards the Lord. Ask Him to show you what He called you to without all of the extra baggage and hats that he didn’t tell you to wear. Make the clear distinction between that which He called you to and the over bearing religious burden you have taken on. Also, ask Him to heal and restore your heart from the weariness of the last season. Secondly, deal with any areas of people pleasing in your heart that keeps you in bondage to people or feeling like you owe everyone your time and energy. Is there a reason you keep getting to a place of burnout? Ask the Lord to show you. Thirdly, forgive people who have worn you down and whether knowingly or unknowingly, used you over and over. Maybe you also need to forgive people who have promised things or said things but haven’t delivered. And lastly create some boundaries. Write out a list of rules for yourself of how to effectively do relationships. How can you be in connection to others and a community of people where you feel valued, can pour into them but not feel like you get drained of everything? How do you interact without getting pulled on in an unhealthy way? Decide to up your communication game and value yourself more. You are not being unloving or mean by stating your boundary lines. LAST THOUGHTS Learning to trust people again is a big deal and can be easier said than done but it’s worth fighting to achieve. There are aspects of God we don’t get to experience without community and a close knit group of people to run with. This doesn’t mean we have to open up the floodgates of our hearts to everyone either. In fact, we need more discernment in the days to come and need to know who we are meant to do covenant relationship with and it’s not everyone. One other source of people fatigue are those in “wrong companies” or yoked to people or leaders who are using them to do their bidding. You keep wondering why you are depleted in every way when you are “serving the man of God” but it’s because you are being used. It’s time to break those yokes and as you do you’ll start to be healed and get refreshed again. Some people attract drama and by being in the pig pen with them you keep getting their mud on you. Leave it! Shut the door! “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way” — Isaiah 35:3
