Three strategies for delivery

By Christy Johnston

Are you feeling a sudden and intense pressure in the spirit and don’t know why? Are you wondering why it feels as though you have been placed in a pressure cooker of sorts? Are you feeling worn out and ready to give up, wondering if you heard rightly from God for this season? And if so, why does it seem as though everything is upside down? If any of this relates to you, then be encouraged. You are not going crazy and you have not missed God. You have in fact gone into labor to birth a new gift that God has prepared for you and you are not alone. Many are in this time of birthing right now. I saw a vision of multitudes across the body of Christ who were heavily pregnant (I saw both men and women – as odd as that may sound). They were pregnant with new mantles, new visions, strategies, and destiny.
I then saw a picture of an ultrasound of these ‘babies’ that they were carrying. Just as an ultrasound details the babies' bone structures and physical traits, I saw that these ‘supernatural’ babies of the hour were filled with the DNA of heaven with specific answers that the individuals and the earth alike are in desperate need of. Each ‘baby’ had a unique fingerprint, a unique imprint of answers from God’s heart for individuals, families, and nations. I saw these heavily pregnant individuals being ushered by angels into supernatural delivery rooms. I saw that many had reached their due dates, and some were well and truly overdue. Some were prepared for the births and intensely focussed, while others felt confused and scared. I then heard the Father’s gentle and reassuring voice speaking to those who were in fear. He spoke the words of Joshua 1:9; “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” He is with you, you are not alone, do not be afraid. I felt the Holy Spirit impart some strategies to my own life for this season of birthing that I wanted to share with you.

Strategies for delivery.

1. BE STRATEGIC ABOUT WHO YOU ALLOW TO SEE YOU IN LABOUR

The Holy Spirit recently reminded me of my own physical labor with my second daughter Sophie and how there are some valuable lessons that can be applied spiritually from the experience (don’t worry – I won’t get graphic). From start to finish, my labor with her lasted three days. You read that right - THREE DAYS. Looking back, I realize I played into some distractions that essentially caused my labor to last longer than it should have. During my earliest contractions, I allowed people into my home thinking it would help with the process. How wrong I was. While I lay on my bed in agony, I had a steady stream of individuals – people who I thought would be of help - came through my home laughing and pointing at my distress whilst helping themselves to my fridge, rather than encouraging me through it. At the time though, I thought they were just trying to help me get my mind off it, but looking back, I now know it was the worst possible thing for labor. It elevated my stress, prolonging the birth.
If you are in spiritual labor right now and you can relate to the intensity of pressure in the spirit, you need to be VERY strategic and intentional about who you allow to come in close at this moment. Labour and birthing – even in the spirit – are both an intimate time and a vulnerable time. If you have a crowd of people that have all access to your life, you are going to need to close the door to all but one or two strategic cheerleaders at this moment. You cannot have people degrading you and laughing at you as you go through the contractions of birth. You need cheerleaders in the delivery room, not fear-mongers, mockers and distractors. There will even be those who may appear good, but want to ride on your delivery. I’m not suggesting to be critical about every person, but I am saying – be strategic, you cannot have people draining your time and resources as you labor. You are going to need very strong boundaries and locks on the doors if needed, to keep anyone out who would try and distract you with all of their own drama. If not, you may end up with a prolonged and delayed delivery, just as I experienced. This will allow you to focus intently on the contractions and deliver what God has assigned to you rather than face delay or worse, still-birth.

2. BREATHE, BREATHE, BREATHE!

For the past number of days, I have heard a particular word on repeat in my spirit and that word is ‘focus’. The Holy Spirit is saying to you today, “FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!” In a time of birthing, intense focus is required. After two days, I was finally admitted to the hospital, but when I got there, the newly built hospital was under-staffed and they were unable to admit me into a birthing suite. Instead, I was placed in a side-corridor alongside other women who were birthing, just like me, with only curtain partitions to separate us. Just when I thought I could finally focus; I was more distracted than ever by the sounds of other women in labor filling the entire corridors. It was then that Nate gave me headphones with gentle worship playing so I could tune out the distractions I was hearing and focus intently on my breathing. There is a reason you always hear people in movies coaching a woman through labor by saying, ‘breathe, breathe, breathe.’ It’s not just a saying, it is a direction of focus. No sooner did I begin focussing properly on my breathing, than my labor progressed rapidly and a door for a birthing suite was opened up to us and it was not long after that I gave birth – in the peaceful surroundings of a beautiful suite.
It’s likely that you are surrounded by other people in labor right now. You’ve probably noticed that you are surrounded by the intensity of their problems as others push through their own barriers and deliver the promises ordained for their own lives. But know this, you cannot labor for them, so again, you are going to need to ‘tune out’ the noise and focus in on what the Holy Spirit is breathing over you right now. What has He spoken? What are the promises God has declared over you for this season? Don’t lose sight of them in this pivotal moment. You are going to need to rehearse them, breathe them in deeply, and breathe them out. Speak them, fix your eyes on them and declare them. You are about to give birth to what has been promised, don’t get distracted by the intense needs of those around you. God will carry them just as He will carry you – but you NEED to FOCUS. Focus is FAITH in action. This is what Hebrews 11:1 directs us to do;
Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]
Interestingly, a definition for the word ‘focus’ says, ‘adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.’ Isn’t that amazing? Adapt your focus to what God is speaking – not everything else that is surrounding and distracting you. Take your eyes off the problems and fix your eyes on THE light and you will see clearly what is before you and OBTAIN what has been divinely GUARANTEED to you. As you focus, you will deliver the baby quicker than expected.

3. PROTECT THE PROMISE!

In the dreamlike hours following Sophie's birth, we were visited – uninvited I might add - by a very boisterous person (evidently, Nate and I had no idea about the concept of boundaries in those days). He came into our hospital room yelling, screaming and shouting and picked my toddler up in the air and was throwing her about in the room. I remember feeling as though I was about to pass out from the noise, following three days of delivery, it trigged me into a near-panic attack. Thankfully, my midwife happened to be in the room and immediately saw the pale look on my face and ordered him out of the room abruptly. So much so, he became offended. But she looked at Nate and I and said, “It’s fine for the family to come to see the baby, but Mum is just as important as the newborn. If you don’t protect this space, you’ll fall into depression.” I didn’t listen. In the days and weeks following her birth, we had yet another steady stream of people visiting, and I felt the intense pressures to be ‘up and about’ like normal, going to church on Sunday immediately following her birth, making coffees for all of our visitors – giving the impression I was a ‘do it all’ Mother who was all put together. But in reality, I was crumbling inside.
I feel this lesson is imperative for those of you in labor and delivery of your promises right now. Just as western cultures have depicted a narrative that modern mothers should be back on their feet in no time, there is also a subtle belief within the western church – that has a similar storyline, ‘the more you do, the better and the more effectual you are for the Kingdom.’ Whereas, I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking, just like the midwife – ‘PROTECT THE PROMISE! PROTECT YOUR TIME!’ You are important to God, and He doesn’t want you burning out in depression because you felt you needed to rush into the assignment once it was birthed or say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. I believe that now more than ever, we need to be intently focussed on what we are specifically called to do – we need to be nursing the ‘assignment’ and allow recovery and time. This is an era where the enemy is attempting to trap the body of Christ, first into immense amounts of distraction to both prolong the births of mantles and assignments, and even to cause stillbirths of promise. However, if he doesn’t succeed there, he will attempt to draw you into burnout. I believe God is protecting you in this season by preventing either to happen, but we also need to vigilant just as 1 Peter 5:8 states; ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’
Notice the enemy is ‘like’ a lion – which gives us keen insight into his strategies. Many lions hunt on their prey when the prey is giving birth. A time of birthing is a vulnerable time, so be vigilant to protect it. Breathe on the promises of God. Shut the door to all distractions… and protect the promise once it has been birthed. Allow yourself time to adjust and for the promise to grow. Don’t rush it. This is not a season to rush. For what you are about to birth will grow in the months and years to come into the weighty call and assignment upon your life. You are birthing destiny for the years to come.

Congratulations on the birthing of your promise 🥰

Sow a Seed

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RELATED prophetic WORDS:

PIONEERS, GOD SHOWED ME THE FRUIT OF YOUR YES

By Nate Johnston • May 8, 2025

I have a word for the pioneers today... Just a few days ago, I was walking around the house praying when I saw a vision of an apple tree. It was being shaken violently. And although it was full of apples, they weren’t falling off. I thought, Hmm, that’s interesting, the fruit isn’t falling. Then, I felt prompted to speak and prophesy: It’s time for the fruit to come. It’s time for the fruit to come. We’ve had enough delay. We’ve had enough confusion. It’s time for the fruit to come. As soon as I said that, I saw the vision again and this time, apples were flying everywhere. They covered the ground until you couldn’t even see the grass. I kept walking around the house, praying into this, and I knew it was the Lord speaking about pioneers, those who had walked through seasons where it felt like they hadn’t seen the fruit of their yes to the Lord. They hadn’t seen the fruition of what they sowed. But I sensed the Lord saying: You haven’t seen the next chapter yet. You haven’t seen what I’m doing next. And I truly believe this is a massive prophetic indicator for this season. Many have even been afraid to step into new assignments from the Lord because it feels like, God, how can I step into something new when I haven’t even seen the fruit of the last season? But the Lord is saying: Stop measuring a season by its fruit. As a pioneer and forerunner, sometimes you don’t see the fruit until later chapters. Your faithfulness to say yes, to do what He told you to do, that was enough. But now, you’ve stepped into a new chapter. You’ve got to release the old season. Surrender it to the Lord so you can step into what He’s pouring out now. Grab it with both hands. I believe this vision is also a powerful sign for this moment in history. There’s shaking all around us, and many are afraid of it. But don’t fear the shaking because it’s revealing the fruit. Then I went into a second vision. I saw large storehouses almost like warehouses lining both sides of a freeway. They were being filled, overflowing. I knew I was seeing the fruit, the fulfillment, the fruition of years of prayer, obedience, and contending. I could see the expressions on people’s faces “I can’t believe it. I never thought I would see this day come.” But it has come. And I believe this is what the Lord is declaring: You are going to see the fruit of it. It reminded me of Zerubbabel - the one God gave the signet ring (Haggai 2:23), the one who led the people out of exile and laid the foundation of the temple and also lived to see the capstone placed (Zechariah 4:9). He didn’t just begin the work. He saw it finished. As pioneers, we often feel like we labor and others walk into the fruit. But I believe the Lord is saying: In this season, you’re going to see it. You will see what you gave your yes to. Now let me speak into the shaking for a moment because I felt it was significant that I saw the tree being shaken violently. The tree was being shaken so the fruit could come. Think about that for a moment. You don’t have to fear the shaking when you know that the glory comes with it. And right now, many people are in fear in this shaking because their focus is on the wrong thing. The shaking isn’t here to ruin you, but to dismantle demonic principalities and systems that have oppressed you for a long time. The shaking is here to shake the earth back into order and alignment with the Kingdom and take back ground. The shaking is here to ready the church for harvest. It’s not punishment for us, it’s actually the sign that FRUIT IS INCOMING! And the shaking is right now producing what you’ve been praying for. The shaking is bringing you into breakthrough because you’ve already been through the breaking. This shift that’s happening right now is not a shift into doom and gloom. It’s a shift into bloom and increase. It’s a shift that’s taking you into the ripening, personally and corporately, because you’ve already been through the pruning. You’ve been through the fire, through the adversity, through the dark night of the soul where you wanted to give up, and where everything was stacked against you. So now it’s time for the glory to be revealed because you held on to Jesus through the battle. And God’s about to reveal His faithfulness because you were faithful. He’s about to reveal His goodness in your life because you chose to believe He was good, even when others walked away. You hit your knees when others turned back to Egypt. So today pioneers, look through the right lens. Get back your faith eyes. Shake off the doubt. Shake off the fear. And choose to see not through the eyes of foreboding, fear, delay, and hope deferred but through the eyes of hope again. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” Romans 8:18 FRUIT IS COMING!

SIGNS YOU ARE LEVELING UP IN THE SPIRIT REALM!

By Nate Johnston • May 7, 2025

You’re starting to notice your discernment sharpening - what once felt confusing is now spiritually clear, and you are trusting your spiritual senses more. You’re beginning to lose your appetite for entertainment and conversations that carry compromise, and what once felt normal now feels spiritually heavy. You’re becoming more intentional about who speaks into your life. You are choosing depth, truth, and alignment over comfort and familiarity. You’re beginning to feel less tempted by old patterns like lust, fear, striving, and insecurity and they no longer have the same grip they used to. You’re starting to recognize spiritual assignments early, and what once blindsided you now gets discerned before it can take root. You’re no longer taken out by witchcraft, gossip, or slander because you’ve learned how to stand in peace and stay hidden in God. You’re beginning to feel the power and authority you have over demonic spirits and strongholds because you’re releasing it right away in hard moments instead of hesitating or shrinking back. You’re starting to refuse to be bullied by people, manipulation, or spiritual assignments the way you used to and you’re standing your ground more. You’re beginning to see the thing behind the thing. Your discernment has sharpened to the point that you recognize what’s masquerading as surface issues. You’re seeing small but significant shifts in areas where you used to be bombarded and robbed, and there’s now fruit where there used to be cycles. You’re beginning to realize that you don’t have to defend yourself. God is your defender, and you’re resting more in that truth. You’re noticing the Jezebel spirit can’t lure you into manipulation, fear, or silence like before and you’re quicker to walk away from the drama and reclaim your voice. You’re starting to speak truth with boldness instead of apologizing for your calling, and you’re stepping into spiritual authority with more confidence. You’re becoming more aware of the orphan mindset when it tries to creep in and you’re rejecting self-pity, comparison, and the need to prove your worth. You’re choosing sonship over survival, rest over hustle, identity over performance. You’re beginning to notice that your spiritual hunger has increased, and you’re craving the Word, the presence of God, and purity more than ever. You’re less shaken by resistance and more aware of your assignment. You see warfare as confirmation of your calling, not discouragement. You’re beginning to recognize when God is promoting you, even when it comes through pressure or pruning. You’re not offended by closed doors, you’re learning to see them as God’s protection and redirection. You’re finding joy in the hidden place. You don’t need the spotlight to feel secure anymore. You’re beginning to respond with spiritual authority instead of reacting emotionally. You take it to prayer before you take it to people. You’re starting to feel a deep shift, less striving, more surrender. Less fear, more fire. You’re not just surviving anymore, you’re starting to rule. You’re not just reacting to darkness, you’re displacing it. This isn’t just spiritual growth. This is spiritual promotion. You have leveled up! Well done!

PIONEERS, GOD SHOWED ME THE FRUIT OF YOUR YES

By Nate Johnston • May 8, 2025

SIGNS YOU ARE LEVELING UP IN THE SPIRIT REALM!

By Nate Johnston • May 7, 2025

DON’T LET THE ENEMY ABORT “THE NEW THING” IN YOU!

By Nate Johnston • May 5, 2025

Have you been battling with a sudden wave of discouragement, and attack against the dreams you are carrying in this season? Does it feel like the enemy is trying to make you forfeit them by bringing distractions and voices of fear, intimidation, and caution so you don’t bring them forth? Are you even questioning if you heard right and are even doing what God has told you to do? Sounds textbook for what the enemy does in a birthing season.. Last week, I shared a word about how, in this season, God is birthing unusual ministries and movements that feel unfamiliar and don’t fit the old mold. Many are stepping into assignments purely out of obedience, even when it doesn’t make sense in the natural. These new expressions of ministry break away from traditional methods, and they challenge what we’ve come to define as “legitimate.” It reminds me of when we began our ministry. God called us to train and equip online, back when that was nearly unheard of. At that time, a legitimate school or training ministry had to be run through a church. Because we weren’t, we were labeled rebels, heretics, and lone rangers. But as we remained faithful through the criticism, God vindicated us. He proved, even to some of the loudest voices that we were going to obey Him, not a system and see the fruit from it. John the Baptist birthed his ministry in the wilderness. So did Jesus, He was affirmed by the Father at His baptism and immediately led by the Spirit into the wilderness. It was only after overcoming the enemy there that He emerged in power. You see, the wilderness isn’t a punishment, it’s often the birthing room of the most pure movements because they aren’t birthed in the comforts we are accustomed to. They take radical steps obedience to bring forth. Think of the Covid days where many hospitals had such high restrictions that many babies then were born at home because of it. It wasn’t the norm, but it became the norm. You see, God isn’t birthing the most potent movements in shiny and clean rooms, or boardrooms, but in the messy, the wilderness, the MANGERS! Right now, many of you have conceived something from the Lord. You’ve received a download, a vision, an assignment, a calling, but it doesn’t fit the current mold of ministry. It feels risky. It feels uncomfortable. You don’t have the full picture, just enough to step out. And when you try to explain it to others, you’re met with blank stares, doubt, or even accusations. But hear this: God gives you the seed, not the whole blueprint. Why? Because if He gave you the full vision at once, it would overwhelm you. And if you share it too early, it invites discouragement and resistance that can derail the very thing He’s birthing through you. I had a dream after our most recent gathering in Orange County. In it, I was in a birthing class like a Lamaze class and the atmosphere was thick with fear and nervous anticipation. One woman shared how hard her last birth was and how afraid she was that this one would be the same. Suddenly, a group burst into the room, laughing, mocking, completely unaware of the sacred moment happening. I shouted, “Get out! You’re distracting them!” And they cursed me and said, “What are you even doing? This is silly!” And I woke up with fire in my spirit. The Lord spoke clearly: In the birthing season, you must protect what you’re carrying. Like Jesus clearing the room before raising Jairus’ daughter, not everyone can be allowed into the birthing room. Here’s What the Lord Showed Me About Birthing Seasons: You cannot cast your pearls too early. Sharing the vision too soon can open you up to spiritual attack, discouragement, and mockery that wounds and aborts what God planted in you. Spies sent to extract information will come disguised as caring voices. These may be former mentors, religious authorities, or even well-meaning friends. But they’re there to gather intel to discredit you or twist your assignment into something more palatable to them. Jezebel will rise against it.. The spirit of control and manipulation hates pure, Spirit-birthed movements. And it will often use familiar voices, former leaders, influencers, or spiritual “fathers and mothers”to make you feel illegitimate, rebellious, or dangerous. These are witchcraft assignments in disguise. Provision may seem to dry up, doors may shut. Don’t let temporary lack cause you to question the vision. You’re not seeing fruit yet because you’re still planting the tree. Don’t judge the season by the fruit, judge it by the weight of the seed. And then just yesterday I received another confirming dream - a warning dream from a prophetic friend. In it, people offered Christy and and I the funds to purchase the land we’ve been believing for. But their condition was this: “Do it our way. Make it fit our mold. Make it a church not an apostolic hub” And bit by bit, they stripped the uniqueness from the vision until our friend shouted: “DO NOT TAKE THE ABORTION PILL.” That hit me like thunder in my spirit. Weighty, and smothered in the fear of the Lord. And so I say to you, pioneers and forerunners: DO NOT TAKE THE ABORTION PILL. Do not compromise the movement. Do not water down the mandate. Do not shift the vision to please men. Do not hand over your assignment to gain comfort or applause. This is not the time to conform, this is the time to protect, guard, and bring forth. What God is birthing through you is pure. It’s holy. It may not look like church-as-usual because it’s not. It’s the Kingdom breaking in. So as you move into this week, I urge you: Shut the door. Guard the room. Listen to the Spirit. Be obedient. You’re not crazy. You’re not rebellious. You’re pregnant with a movement. Birth it purely. Birth it boldly, and don’t be distracted, In Jesus’ mighty name.

WE HAVE TO BIRTH DIFFERENTLY RIGHT NOW

By Nate Johnston • April 26, 2025

To the pioneers and forerunners who carry the Lord’s heart. To the remnant who are no longer following where man is leading, but are constantly seeking the Lamb - This is a word for you. This is a reminder of what God is speaking to us right now as we step into the new. The Lord keeps saying to me: “Build differently. Build differently. Follow Me. Build differently.” And He is persistent about this because we have been so used to building a certain way. Our mindsets have been shaped by old paradigms, and old blueprints of how we’ve done kingdom and ministry. But as we step into the new things God has placed in our hands, the challenge we will face is confronting the old mindsets. We will wrestle with old patterns, old methods, and old cycles, the ways we previously approached the kingdom, and God is asking us to break new ground and step into a whole new mindset and focus. The word over you is simply—birth differently. And here’s the difficult part; When you birth differently, many around you will say you’re doing it wrong. They will think you are being rebellious, foolish, or unwise. But unless we build His way and steward His mission His way, we risk birthing an Ishmael - something man-driven and powerless. We must build according to the blueprint of God’s heart, not according to proven systems and methods that have lost the wind of His Spirit. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) That has been the trap for many in the past seasons. John the Baptist built differently. He birthed his ministry outside of the city walls. He rejected the religious systems and Pharisaical traditions (Luke 3:2-6). He did what looked simple, grassroots, even foolish, something many would have dismissed as just a momentary uprising, yet it caught fire. John was preparing the way of the Lord. He was awakening people to the transition between old and new wineskins, between old and new covenants. It says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) John ignited a holy hunger for true kingdom realities that had been buried under religious systems. You, remnant, were not called to tame. You were not called to maintain the status quo. You were called to lead the Church into her truest expression of relationship, intimacy, and becoming the true Ekklesia (Matthew 16:18). This is why we must build differently now. Because as we build, we are also unbuilding. As you establish what God is birthing through you, you are simultaneously dismantling what has been unhealthy, dysfunctional, and demonic. As you build healthy communities, you are unbuilding years of conditioning where the Church was a clubhouse or a hierarchy. As you build healthy leadership, Davidic leadership, you are unbuilding years of Saul-like leadership marked by control, fear, and intimidation. As you build healthy mothering and fathering, you are unbuilding years of Jezebelic influence that has sat at the tables of our ministries. As you build healthy prophetic culture, you are unbuilding the orphan spirit and celebrity-driven ministry. As you lead people to behold the Lamb, you are unbuilding the false idols, false gospels, and false “Jesuses” that have captivated the Church’s gaze. This is why birthing differently takes courage. It takes faith. It takes complete surrender. This week, I felt strongly not just to deliver this word, but to pray for you that God would begin giving you clear dreams and divine redirections. He is going to show you where you need to build differently. Where you must not fall back into the familiar patterns of the past. He will give you dreams, conviction, clarity, and specific next steps. And as you step out in obedience, you will feel the wind of the Holy Spirit behind you. And I prophesy that He will surround you with the right people, resources, and everything you need to walk into the fulfillment of this promise, In Jesus’ name!