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Nate Johnston

LETTER 9 - GETHSEMANE

Nate Johnston

LETTER 9 - GETHSEMANE

LETTER 9 - GETHSEMANE

LETTER 9 - GETHSEMANE 


Dear pioneers, this is the letter that started it all. 


Gethsemane… I’ve thought about that painful night Jesus endured before the cross more times than I can count throughout my own life.


Not that I would ever want to compare or take away what Jesus went through but maybe more so because I see the heart of Jesus in that story in a deeper more real way than the rest of the gospels. 


I loved growing up reading about Jesus healing the sick and casting off demons but in Gethsemane, he was the one in deep pain knowing what he was about to endure. 


“Take the cup from me!” 


I think I have said the same thing to God many nights over as I walked through my own dark nights of the soul. 


Dark Nights Where it feels like you are stuck in the pain and anguish of midnight and morning just never seems to come.


 I’ve been in seasons of turmoil and isolation with no one to call to help, all the while looking around and seeing other believers seemingly skipping blissfully through life. 


I’ve felt like a leper, not a king. Defeated, not the head. Ever felt like that? 


Ok, we just got real. 


After years of that, It’s hard to break through the lies and see a life beyond the pain of midnight and a thriving life beyond the swirl of the storm. 


But why I am writing this? Because I need to address the elephant in the room the church doesn’t address and possibly also the gators lurking in your basement. 


MY PIONEERS HAVE BEEN IN PAIN


Last year I laid down our 13-year promise and journey of having visas in the US down at the feet of Jesus and let him have them, I felt like I was laying down a child at his feet. It sounds silly to say, but the grief felt that deep. 


I balled like a baby for an hour as years of painful heart sickness were also poured at his feet until somewhere at that moment it turned into powerful worship and my heart was freed from the trauma of unanswered prayer and I fully released it to Him. 


I gave him my scars and wounds I didn’t even know were attached. I laid them all to rest. 


I’m writing this to you because the Lord said to me “My pioneers have been in pain!” 


Is that you? Do you feel like you have been living the pioneer life and masking the pain? 


Do you walk into Christian environments and when asked how you are doing you just do the “I’m doing great thanks, praise God!” as you sit in your seat struggling to connect because you have 50 arrows in your back, thorns in your side, and gashes in your feet? 


Hmmm, see this is uncomfortable yet true. 


SHIPWRECKED, SHELL-SHOCKED & STUCK 


Over the years I have received many many emails from pioneers who have faithfully pioneered only to face their GETHSEMANE and been shipwrecked never to sail again. 


Every single email has broken me to read because I know that scene all too well. 


“We did what God asked and he abandoned us” 


“I left everything behind and sold everything for Jesus and it amounted to nothing” 


This has been the fate of many pioneers who have been through Gethsemane and never made it through to the other side of the battle. 


One of the bloodiest battles of the last 100 years was the battle of Somme France between 1916-1918 where the British fought the Germans in a very horrific battle for both sides. 


A young nurse who attended the wounds of survivors from the trenches revealed their haunting memories of the struggle to fight and stay alive at the front in WW1. 


Almost every account detailed the long days in the heat and cold, confined and almost sentenced to the hell of war's misery as they daily lost lives and witnessed the bloodbath that the trenches were known for. 


The casualties of this war were far from over even after the surrender as most of the survivors suffered such traumatic mental issues from what they witnessed and the term “shell-shocked” was invented when treating them. 


These men who endured such stressful and traumatic experiences daily for two years were never the same again and in essence, still fighting in the war long after the last shot was fired. 


I wanted to give this illustration today because just like these men in WW1 many of us go through the wars of life, down in the trenches surrounded by the mess, and even long after the battle is done we carry the trauma and pain of it everywhere we go, affecting every future experience, relationship, and dream. 


But we can’t keep living like this and we can’t let our darkest seasons keep defining us or lying to us about our future. 


Yes, there is a future beyond Gethsemane. 


PIONEERING THROUGH PAIN 


There is no other way around it. Pioneering will take you to depths of pain and anguish you never thought possible. 


It’s far from the romanticized adventure painted by the lukewarm church. It’s far from the 5-star jungle cruise advertised from the pulpit of recruitment pastors looking for their next religious hirelings. 


Pioneering will take you past the laughter and ice cream of the gospel and lead you to the garden of Gethsemane where you will feel crushed beyond crushed and your very soul broken in tiny fragments. 


I’m not making a very good case so far for those wanting to be pioneers for Jesus or are already in the middle of it, but I have to be honest. 


I have to share the real account of this lifestyle if I have any chance of helping anyone make it to the other side. And yes. There is another side which I will share at the end of this letter. 


Even as I write this right now I am on a long-haul flight with my family, on a journey we didn’t get the choice to make in a sense. In fact, one we didn’t want to have to if I’m being honest. 


In the last 3 years, I feel like I have experienced Gethsemane over and over til I felt like I too was crying tears of blood. 


I know what it’s like to be alone in the dark saying “If it’s your will, take this cup from me!” but then finding you have no other option except to keep walking. I know what it’s like to call your brothers to surround you and cover you in prayer during your dark night of the soul but opening your eyes to see them sleeping. 


Gethsemane is pure pain and I can’t dance around it or make it into a Hollywood musical. 


WE HAVEN’T COUNTED THE CROSS 


I don’t think this generation has counted the cost. We have reduced the Christian life down to a highlight reel of victories and “on stage” moments without being real about the in-between. 


We have led them out of the gate ready to take the world but not equipped for the process and preparation that feels like the death and burial of your appetites, desires, agenda, and personal will. 


Gethsemane strips you of it all leaving you naked and bare before the Lord. 


So let me ask you again, have you been there? 


THE ONLY WAY TO RELEASE THE FRAGRANT OIL 


Pioneering can have some mountain-top moments. It can feel like a garden of intimacy and adventure in so many ways and seasons, but there is another garden and this garden is Gethsemane. 


The garden where Jesus first bled for us. The garden where His spirit was pressed and crushed in agony as He prepared to go to the cross. 


The name Gethsemane means oil press. It was from that oil press that His broken spirit was poured out for you and I. 


Our lives surrendered to this call in many ways can feel like walking through an oil press. 


Pioneering can feel like that sometimes - it’s this tension between what you see with your eyes and what you know to be true or ahead of you. 


It’s the pressing of faith and the assurance that what you are clearing the road for is something significant and monumental. 


And it’s this kind of faith that releases oil... when we choose to trust him in the middle of the crushing. 


But there has to be a prize or a goal. Without that, what are we pioneering for? 


Jesus had a goal. He knew what he was in that garden for. Do you? Or have you forgotten? 


“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” - Hebrews 12:2 


But what we often forget in Gethsemane is that our darkest most pressing crushing moments aren’t wasted, but they are actually produced by costly and fragrant oil that becomes three things:

 ⁃ Oil of worship and sacrifice that ministers to Jesus. 

⁃ Oil of anointing that equips you for your pioneering mandate. Without it, you won’t have authority or unction without that office. 

⁃ Oil of burning that sets you on fire for Jesus and refines your character. 


Over the years I have dreaded the refinery season and the crushing seasons but I have found that I can always trace my life’s greatest breakthroughs and acceleration back to the garden of pressing. 


Yes, there is no shortcut. If you want to last the distance as a pioneer, you can go around Gethsemane. You need to go through it. 


BUT DO WE EVER BREAK THROUGH? 


There’s an old Bill Gaither song that sings:


 “Hold on my child joy comes in the morning Weeping only lasts for the night Hold on my child Joy comes in the morning The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight” 


As I write the end of this letter, It’s now 9 months after my plane ride encounter where this book was birthed and wrote the middle section of this letter about pioneering through pain. 


This was the first letter God gave me because I can feel his father's heart towards the pioneers saying “I know you have been stuck in the middle part of your journey, but there is light at the end of the tunnel!” 


You see we will never have to endure the cross like Jesus did, but we will have moments where everything looks upside down and like we have hit rock bottom.. but it’s not the end of the story. 


We pass through Gethsemane, get what we need for the road ahead, and KEEP GOING! 


So yes, pioneers there is an “other side”


I was put on the spot when asked this question on Daystar in May. Joni asked me “So is there another side? Do we ever see a breakthrough?” 


Suddenly my mind started racing like I was flicking through the pages of my book. The Dark Chapters and the Victories. I saw a repetitive thing, dark jungles and unknown terrain, dry deserts, deep waters then finally and suddenly - breakthrough. 


“Yes, there is always a breakthrough,” I said. 


“If you keep walking, you will always see breakthrough” 


You see, Gethsemane is just a front, a facade, a stage set for something God has set up, and that’s a land called PROMISE. 


Behind every dark night is an upgrade. But to see it you need to hold on. 


Our timelines are all different but it’s a guarantee. It’s who He is. And He doesn’t lead us where he can’t back up what he promised.


Is this still triggering your heart? Is this touching the Hope deferred still lingering in there? 


Is it reaching down into your soul and purging out the hidden lies? Stop reading for a moment and let Him minister to you. 


He is a good father and he is not leading you on. You may have seen you're fair share of dark night seasons but Gethsemane is just the shopfront for the wide open spaces and territory he has been speaking to you about for years. 


As I was asked that question, I was instantly taken back to when I wrote this middle section of the letter where my heart was in absolute pain thinking of whether I was leading my family to ruin or to victory. At the time I wasn’t sure. 


But only a week later, the facade of Gethsemane left the screen and God began revealing what that season was for. 


I have spent months upon months in tears as I have seen what looked like my greatest season of death turn into a season of promise and life more abundantly. 


But more than that, I’ve seen his heart for his pioneers shining through. And I think that’s the real reason he had me write this book. 


For you, the pioneers of his heart who are always leading others into their breakthrough and the church into her next days but rarely get your own arms held up. 


This is for you. This is me holding up your arms. 


Now look to Jesus and don’t lose your gaze. It will be worth it soon my friends. Let’s keep going together.

sow a seed

RELATED prophetic WORDS:

RELATED prophetic WORDS:

BEYOND THIS POINT EXPECT DIFFERENT

By Nate Johnston • November 20, 2024
A few days ago, I shared a few thoughts I had randomly posted on social media about how things were going to look different in the days ahead. They bubbled out of my spirit because it just felt overwhelmingly obvious and apparent that there had been a shift. But I felt I needed to give a little more language to this. Now that we are here, I can see how the last four years have been leading us to this very point. Maybe even the last 7 years too. While this word is not political in nature—and regardless of where you stand—it has to be said - the recent election was a major tectonic shift, not only for the United States but for the world. It was that significant. A marker moment. In the spirit, I could see it—a major eruption in the deep that ignited thousands more around the world. I knew right then and there that things were never going to be the same again. It’s crazy how one event can spark so many others, but that’s exactly what it felt like. The world I knew and the life I knew before that day were going to be different. It’s like when 9/11 happened. The world changed in a moment. And in the same way—except positively—this one event converged with the timing of heaven, where God was unleashing something upon the earth. WELCOME TO THE NEW DAWN I believe we are at the dawn of a new day in the body of Christ. But a change that I believe is going to challenge us all deeply. It’s going to challenge us to abandon the survival mentality we’ve grown used to over the years. Suddenly, a door has opened and we are on the other side of something. Soon we will see that the battles of yesterday will fade away as we discover we are no longer in that valley we have camped in for years. We will no longer wrestle with many of the battles that defined the previous season. We may no longer deal with constant red tape and bureaucracy, delays, hope deferred, constant difficulties, or relentless warfare over simple things. But it’s not that there are no battles anymore—it’s just that the nature of the battle has shifted. When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, the battle didn’t stop—it changed form. In the wilderness, their struggles were rooted in the harsh environment, discouragement, disappointment, and the mindset of slavery in Egypt. But as soon as they entered the Promised Land, they were surrounded by incredible wealth, resources, and food. They no longer faced the wilderness battles they once did. Instead, they faced new giants in the land. The battle shifted from mental and emotional challenges to an offensive conquest to take territory and evict its inhabitants. After years in the wilderness the Israelites had to learn to wield their sword again and fight with authority. But to effectively wage war in their new season, they had to believe they were powerful and walk in their authority. I believe that’s where we are right now - a season of governmental occupation. The things we’ve been contending for and persisting in may no longer be relevant. We’re shifting into an entirely new playing field of kingdom conquest. And if you are wondering what the next chapter looks like this is what I see. Battles and dead giants. Challenges and great victories. The stakes have gone up but you and I were born for this. It’s going to cause the spiritually dead to come alive and run into their destiny! Beyond this moment, the body of Christ is stepping into something radically different and we need new eyes to see it so we don’t fall back into the death of routine. THE WINESKIN IS CHANGING For years we have known that the old, tattered wineskin we’ve held onto for so long is no longer effective. It cannot sustain the move of God starting to crash on our shores. In fact, when God shows up our current wineskin will seem embarrassing if we are still holding it. Many will see that they haven’t been ready. We’ve been trying to contain God, use God, monopolize God, and brand every revival under our banner. But worse we have believed revival to be one thing based on old seasons when it now looks completely different. There will be no experts beyond this point —only novices at the feet of Jesus. Those sitting on lofty thrones of ambition and milestones will find their structures collapsing. We can no longer build our lives around museums of the past. We must fix our gaze on the future and where God is leading us. A NEW IDENTITY This is a season where God is redefining how we see ourselves in Christ. Over the last four years, God’s people have seen themselves in such a small light. We’ve underestimated who we are in Him, and God is now reinventing us. He’s reminding us of who we are. God is calling us to pull out the stones of remembrance. He’s saying: “Remember where you’ve been. Remember what I’ve brought you through. Now look ahead to where you’re going.” This is the dawn of a new day, a new beginning. We are shifting from survival mentality and wilderness thinking into a place of thriving. We are rediscovering what it means to live with inheritance. We’re returning to sonship and being fathered by God in ways we’ve lost sight of. We’re returning to the BURNING of the original call and fire in our bellies that sent us out. The old map is the new map I hear the lord saying. DELIVERANCE AND RESTORATION This is an hour of deliverance—not just from old methods and traditions but also from the things we’ve normalized. We’ve normalized mental health struggles, depression, and dysphoria. We’ve coddled demons and called it loving or comforting. Now, God is addressing these areas where the church has fallen for other lovers. He’s confronting the lies we’ve believed about ourselves and about Him. As we step into this new day, it will be both confronting and freeing. It’s the tension of saying: “Thank God that season is over!” But also: “Oh no, it’s time to put my big boy pants on.” Yes, this change requires greater maturity and responsibility. THE CICADA STUCK ON THE TREE As I shared that small word I had a glimpse of a childhood memory. Of a favorite tree I used to climb that regularly had hundreds of cicada shells on it. I knew the lord was speaking to me about the church. You see, we have talked for years about the new era, the crossing over, the new wineskin, and the changing of the guard in the church. We have said statements like “The age of empires is over, and the days of family have begun.” But what does that mean and what is the cicada? The cicada is the church and the shell is the church coming out of an old and outdated way. We have been in a season of grace to transition out but now it’s time to leave it in the tree. Let it die. And finally come back to the original plan. Why because Acts 2 is upon us! We are coming back, full circle to Gods first church and shedding off the layers of man. HUMILITY AND AWAKENING Right now many trying to sustain the old regime are growing weary. They’ll soon realize it’s time to lay down their hats and surrender at His feet. Even those who have been worker bees for the old hive are feeling the pull of this awakening. Blindfolds are coming off en masse. There will be a brief coup—a deviant sect claiming to be the new thing but rooted in humanism and man’s wisdom. They will reject the call to humility. For a while, it may seem to divide prophetic voices. But once the fresh move of God crashes upon the earth, even these will repent and surrender. This move will humble the proud, and brokenness will bring deliverance to the rebellious. We will witness thousands running to the altar to exchange their achievements for a glimpse of His face—the very thing they started out pursuing. ALL FOR HIM What we thought was the kingdom is being redefined. What we thought was Jesus is being made clear. All false gospels are being exposed. In this moment, the Father is delivering us from religion and our own ambitions. He is aligning our calling with His purposes. He is becoming our everything. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t do things the same anymore. It’s no longer a time to fear man, rely on common sense, or prioritize rationale. We must move where He is moving—at all costs. DIAGNOSING THE SEASON The change is in the air. You can feel it. It’s as if the spiritual temperature around you has shifted—something is different, and you can’t ignore it. Here are some practical indicators of a season change: You sense an internal shift. Your desires and appetites have changed. What once satisfied you no longer feels relevant, and you find yourself longing for something new, something deeper. You feel like you can’t go back, even if you tried. The door to the old season has been shut, and there’s no way to reopen it. God is making it clear that what was behind you is no longer an option. There’s an urgency or longing that wasn’t there yesterday. Perhaps you feel a fresh sense of expectancy stirring in your spirit—like the ground beneath you is about to move, and you need to be ready to act. You can feel the weight of the shift. Even if you can’t fully articulate it, you know that the path ahead is uncharted, and God is inviting you to trust Him in a new way. Take time to tune into what the Holy Spirit is saying in this moment. Ask yourself, “What is He calling me to leave behind? What is He drawing me toward? What doors are opening, and which ones have closed?” This is not a time to resist the shift—it’s a time to step into it with faith and courage. God is moving, and He’s calling you to move with Him. PIONEERING A NEW PATH And we have entered a season of fresh pioneering. The old ways of advancing the kingdom will no longer work because God is leading us into uncharted territory. We can’t rely on formulas, traditions, or comfort zones. We must embrace the new path God is carving out before us. This requires us to step out in faith, even when we don’t have all the answers. Pioneering isn’t about having everything figured out—it’s about trusting the One who goes before us. Just as the Israelites had to follow the Ark of the Covenant into the unknown, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and move where He leads. Pioneers it’s time again ti create pathways for others to follow. This is your moment to rise. THE CHARGE TO RENEGADES AND THE NEW DAY SCRIBES And just as we need pioneers, we need untamed renegades and new day scribes and prophets to write the introduction to this new chapter and lead us forward. This is not a time for polished perfection or cookie-cutter ministry. This is a time for wild obedience, raw passion, and unrelenting faith. Renegades, the body of Christ needs your courage. You were made to confront the giants in the land and tear down the altars of compromise. Your boldness will inspire others to rise up and take their place in this new era. Scribes and prophets, your words will ignite fires of revival. Pick up your pens. Open your mouths. The Spirit of God is ready to pour out fresh revelation through you. This generation needs your voice to declare the truths of heaven. Write the blueprints. Prophesy the new path. Lead the charge. We need your untamed hearts to step into this season unafraid of man’s opinions. We need your voices to call the church back to purity and intimacy with Jesus. This is your commissioning moment. I feel to say this - the fresh permission of heaven is upon you! Go where no one else will go. Say what no one else will say. Build what no one else will build. The world is waiting. The church is waiting. Heaven is watching. Let’s turn the page together. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” Exodus 14:15 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.” Isaiah 54:2-3 

A TIME OF DIVISION & DECISION

By Nate Johnston • November 19, 2024
On Sunday, the 17th of November 2024, I had a vision of a field being harvested by a massive harvester. As I got closer to the field, I could see that over half of it was not full of wheat but full of weeds. And I said, “Lord, what is this? What are we looking at?” Knowing already, I realized I was seeing the tares among the wheat. I began to feel discouraged that there were actually so many weeds. This isn’t the great harvest that I believed I would see in my lifetime. And the Lord said to me, “No, this is the harvest before the harvest. This is the time of division that brings repentance and a decision for the body of Christ, so that the next harvest we step into will be the great harvest that was prophesied.” It was then that I saw the harvesting machine crush down the weeds into the soil. And then I felt like the Lord was saying, “But this will be one of the most fruitful times, because the weeds that have been working against the wheat all this time will now be used as fertilizer for the harvest.” This is not a time to fear as things suddenly feel more divided, because it’s not a time of polarizing or dividing the church but of bringing those who have not been bearing fruit—and who have been listening to the voice of the enemy—into a time of great decision. “Will they choose Me, or will they choose man? Will they follow Jesus, or will they follow another version of Jesus?” I heard Him say. Friends, I believe that right now we can either look at the division around us on the earth as something negative, or we can see it as part of a harvest that is leading and pointing us to the greater harvest that has been prophesied. It’s not a time to get discouraged or to hang up our tools. It’s not a time to stop speaking or to stop forging ahead. It’s actually a time to celebrate and get ready because God is leading us toward the great harvest. We’re going to see an incredible reaping of souls in the days to come. I truly believe this is the time where the Lord is saying, “Get the barn ready. Get the barn ready for what I’m about to pour out!” Don’t look to the critics or the naysayers. Don’t look to those who are prophesying doom and gloom, because God is not done with America, and He’s not done with the nations. For while there will be great tension and clashing of ideals and kingdoms, this will be the shaking that shakes the church awake and the right way up! Acts 2 is already upon us and our best days are ahead. 

BEYOND THIS POINT EXPECT DIFFERENT

By Nate Johnston • November 20, 2024
A few days ago, I shared a few thoughts I had randomly posted on social media about how things were going to look different in the days ahead. They bubbled out of my spirit because it just felt overwhelmingly obvious and apparent that there had been a shift. But I felt I needed to give a little more language to this. Now that we are here, I can see how the last four years have been leading us to this very point. Maybe even the last 7 years too. While this word is not political in nature—and regardless of where you stand—it has to be said - the recent election was a major tectonic shift, not only for the United States but for the world. It was that significant. A marker moment. In the spirit, I could see it—a major eruption in the deep that ignited thousands more around the world. I knew right then and there that things were never going to be the same again. It’s crazy how one event can spark so many others, but that’s exactly what it felt like. The world I knew and the life I knew before that day were going to be different. It’s like when 9/11 happened. The world changed in a moment. And in the same way—except positively—this one event converged with the timing of heaven, where God was unleashing something upon the earth. WELCOME TO THE NEW DAWN I believe we are at the dawn of a new day in the body of Christ. But a change that I believe is going to challenge us all deeply. It’s going to challenge us to abandon the survival mentality we’ve grown used to over the years. Suddenly, a door has opened and we are on the other side of something. Soon we will see that the battles of yesterday will fade away as we discover we are no longer in that valley we have camped in for years. We will no longer wrestle with many of the battles that defined the previous season. We may no longer deal with constant red tape and bureaucracy, delays, hope deferred, constant difficulties, or relentless warfare over simple things. But it’s not that there are no battles anymore—it’s just that the nature of the battle has shifted. When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, the battle didn’t stop—it changed form. In the wilderness, their struggles were rooted in the harsh environment, discouragement, disappointment, and the mindset of slavery in Egypt. But as soon as they entered the Promised Land, they were surrounded by incredible wealth, resources, and food. They no longer faced the wilderness battles they once did. Instead, they faced new giants in the land. The battle shifted from mental and emotional challenges to an offensive conquest to take territory and evict its inhabitants. After years in the wilderness the Israelites had to learn to wield their sword again and fight with authority. But to effectively wage war in their new season, they had to believe they were powerful and walk in their authority. I believe that’s where we are right now - a season of governmental occupation. The things we’ve been contending for and persisting in may no longer be relevant. We’re shifting into an entirely new playing field of kingdom conquest. And if you are wondering what the next chapter looks like this is what I see. Battles and dead giants. Challenges and great victories. The stakes have gone up but you and I were born for this. It’s going to cause the spiritually dead to come alive and run into their destiny! Beyond this moment, the body of Christ is stepping into something radically different and we need new eyes to see it so we don’t fall back into the death of routine. THE WINESKIN IS CHANGING For years we have known that the old, tattered wineskin we’ve held onto for so long is no longer effective. It cannot sustain the move of God starting to crash on our shores. In fact, when God shows up our current wineskin will seem embarrassing if we are still holding it. Many will see that they haven’t been ready. We’ve been trying to contain God, use God, monopolize God, and brand every revival under our banner. But worse we have believed revival to be one thing based on old seasons when it now looks completely different. There will be no experts beyond this point —only novices at the feet of Jesus. Those sitting on lofty thrones of ambition and milestones will find their structures collapsing. We can no longer build our lives around museums of the past. We must fix our gaze on the future and where God is leading us. A NEW IDENTITY This is a season where God is redefining how we see ourselves in Christ. Over the last four years, God’s people have seen themselves in such a small light. We’ve underestimated who we are in Him, and God is now reinventing us. He’s reminding us of who we are. God is calling us to pull out the stones of remembrance. He’s saying: “Remember where you’ve been. Remember what I’ve brought you through. Now look ahead to where you’re going.” This is the dawn of a new day, a new beginning. We are shifting from survival mentality and wilderness thinking into a place of thriving. We are rediscovering what it means to live with inheritance. We’re returning to sonship and being fathered by God in ways we’ve lost sight of. We’re returning to the BURNING of the original call and fire in our bellies that sent us out. The old map is the new map I hear the lord saying. DELIVERANCE AND RESTORATION This is an hour of deliverance—not just from old methods and traditions but also from the things we’ve normalized. We’ve normalized mental health struggles, depression, and dysphoria. We’ve coddled demons and called it loving or comforting. Now, God is addressing these areas where the church has fallen for other lovers. He’s confronting the lies we’ve believed about ourselves and about Him. As we step into this new day, it will be both confronting and freeing. It’s the tension of saying: “Thank God that season is over!” But also: “Oh no, it’s time to put my big boy pants on.” Yes, this change requires greater maturity and responsibility. THE CICADA STUCK ON THE TREE As I shared that small word I had a glimpse of a childhood memory. Of a favorite tree I used to climb that regularly had hundreds of cicada shells on it. I knew the lord was speaking to me about the church. You see, we have talked for years about the new era, the crossing over, the new wineskin, and the changing of the guard in the church. We have said statements like “The age of empires is over, and the days of family have begun.” But what does that mean and what is the cicada? The cicada is the church and the shell is the church coming out of an old and outdated way. We have been in a season of grace to transition out but now it’s time to leave it in the tree. Let it die. And finally come back to the original plan. Why because Acts 2 is upon us! We are coming back, full circle to Gods first church and shedding off the layers of man. HUMILITY AND AWAKENING Right now many trying to sustain the old regime are growing weary. They’ll soon realize it’s time to lay down their hats and surrender at His feet. Even those who have been worker bees for the old hive are feeling the pull of this awakening. Blindfolds are coming off en masse. There will be a brief coup—a deviant sect claiming to be the new thing but rooted in humanism and man’s wisdom. They will reject the call to humility. For a while, it may seem to divide prophetic voices. But once the fresh move of God crashes upon the earth, even these will repent and surrender. This move will humble the proud, and brokenness will bring deliverance to the rebellious. We will witness thousands running to the altar to exchange their achievements for a glimpse of His face—the very thing they started out pursuing. ALL FOR HIM What we thought was the kingdom is being redefined. What we thought was Jesus is being made clear. All false gospels are being exposed. In this moment, the Father is delivering us from religion and our own ambitions. He is aligning our calling with His purposes. He is becoming our everything. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t do things the same anymore. It’s no longer a time to fear man, rely on common sense, or prioritize rationale. We must move where He is moving—at all costs. DIAGNOSING THE SEASON The change is in the air. You can feel it. It’s as if the spiritual temperature around you has shifted—something is different, and you can’t ignore it. Here are some practical indicators of a season change: You sense an internal shift. Your desires and appetites have changed. What once satisfied you no longer feels relevant, and you find yourself longing for something new, something deeper. You feel like you can’t go back, even if you tried. The door to the old season has been shut, and there’s no way to reopen it. God is making it clear that what was behind you is no longer an option. There’s an urgency or longing that wasn’t there yesterday. Perhaps you feel a fresh sense of expectancy stirring in your spirit—like the ground beneath you is about to move, and you need to be ready to act. You can feel the weight of the shift. Even if you can’t fully articulate it, you know that the path ahead is uncharted, and God is inviting you to trust Him in a new way. Take time to tune into what the Holy Spirit is saying in this moment. Ask yourself, “What is He calling me to leave behind? What is He drawing me toward? What doors are opening, and which ones have closed?” This is not a time to resist the shift—it’s a time to step into it with faith and courage. God is moving, and He’s calling you to move with Him. PIONEERING A NEW PATH And we have entered a season of fresh pioneering. The old ways of advancing the kingdom will no longer work because God is leading us into uncharted territory. We can’t rely on formulas, traditions, or comfort zones. We must embrace the new path God is carving out before us. This requires us to step out in faith, even when we don’t have all the answers. Pioneering isn’t about having everything figured out—it’s about trusting the One who goes before us. Just as the Israelites had to follow the Ark of the Covenant into the unknown, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and move where He leads. Pioneers it’s time again ti create pathways for others to follow. This is your moment to rise. THE CHARGE TO RENEGADES AND THE NEW DAY SCRIBES And just as we need pioneers, we need untamed renegades and new day scribes and prophets to write the introduction to this new chapter and lead us forward. This is not a time for polished perfection or cookie-cutter ministry. This is a time for wild obedience, raw passion, and unrelenting faith. Renegades, the body of Christ needs your courage. You were made to confront the giants in the land and tear down the altars of compromise. Your boldness will inspire others to rise up and take their place in this new era. Scribes and prophets, your words will ignite fires of revival. Pick up your pens. Open your mouths. The Spirit of God is ready to pour out fresh revelation through you. This generation needs your voice to declare the truths of heaven. Write the blueprints. Prophesy the new path. Lead the charge. We need your untamed hearts to step into this season unafraid of man’s opinions. We need your voices to call the church back to purity and intimacy with Jesus. This is your commissioning moment. I feel to say this - the fresh permission of heaven is upon you! Go where no one else will go. Say what no one else will say. Build what no one else will build. The world is waiting. The church is waiting. Heaven is watching. Let’s turn the page together. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” Exodus 14:15 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.” Isaiah 54:2-3 

A TIME OF DIVISION & DECISION

By Nate Johnston • November 19, 2024
On Sunday, the 17th of November 2024, I had a vision of a field being harvested by a massive harvester. As I got closer to the field, I could see that over half of it was not full of wheat but full of weeds. And I said, “Lord, what is this? What are we looking at?” Knowing already, I realized I was seeing the tares among the wheat. I began to feel discouraged that there were actually so many weeds. This isn’t the great harvest that I believed I would see in my lifetime. And the Lord said to me, “No, this is the harvest before the harvest. This is the time of division that brings repentance and a decision for the body of Christ, so that the next harvest we step into will be the great harvest that was prophesied.” It was then that I saw the harvesting machine crush down the weeds into the soil. And then I felt like the Lord was saying, “But this will be one of the most fruitful times, because the weeds that have been working against the wheat all this time will now be used as fertilizer for the harvest.” This is not a time to fear as things suddenly feel more divided, because it’s not a time of polarizing or dividing the church but of bringing those who have not been bearing fruit—and who have been listening to the voice of the enemy—into a time of great decision. “Will they choose Me, or will they choose man? Will they follow Jesus, or will they follow another version of Jesus?” I heard Him say. Friends, I believe that right now we can either look at the division around us on the earth as something negative, or we can see it as part of a harvest that is leading and pointing us to the greater harvest that has been prophesied. It’s not a time to get discouraged or to hang up our tools. It’s not a time to stop speaking or to stop forging ahead. It’s actually a time to celebrate and get ready because God is leading us toward the great harvest. We’re going to see an incredible reaping of souls in the days to come. I truly believe this is the time where the Lord is saying, “Get the barn ready. Get the barn ready for what I’m about to pour out!” Don’t look to the critics or the naysayers. Don’t look to those who are prophesying doom and gloom, because God is not done with America, and He’s not done with the nations. For while there will be great tension and clashing of ideals and kingdoms, this will be the shaking that shakes the church awake and the right way up! Acts 2 is already upon us and our best days are ahead. 

A WORD TO THE WAR EAGLES

By Nate Johnston • November 15, 2024

MONTHLY VISION CALL

By Nate Johnston • November 15, 2024
We would be honored for you to join us for a VISION CASTING call, where we deliver some strategic vision that the Lord has given Christy and I for 2025 and beyond! All are welcome to join us for a night of prophetic vision casting. In addition to this VISION CASTING call, we will be sending out a private message to all of our Partners, to join us for a special designated time of prophetic prayer! We can't wait to spend these upcoming evenings with you, as we are in great expectation for how God is going to move! VISION CASTING CALL 11.20.24 - at 6PM MT (US MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME - COLORADO SPRINGS) ZOOM DETAILS BELOW Topic: MONTHLY VISION CALL Time: Nov 20, 2024 06:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6729913267?pwd=ZktPbGpzbjFnMm5YQjBhbk9mSWRDUT09&omn=84985816884 Meeting ID: 672 991 3267 Passcode: 123 PARTNER PRAYER CALL BE LOOKING IN YOUR INBOX!
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