PIONEERS, EMPTY DOESN’T MEAN BROKEN
This is just a reminder for those who are struggling with the intense emptying of 2022-2023.
After a while, any process can tend to wear on our views of ourselves and preach.
It can preach - you weren’t ready so you had to be cut back.
It can preach - you failed that’s why God is stripping you back.
It can preach - this is who you are, always empty, always shipwrecked, always wounded, always broken.
But you aren’t broken at all.
In fact, the emptying is the sign of GROWTH.
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2
God is not emptying you to punish you, but to get you ready for increase.
There is fruit waiting but many of us are holding onto the overripe and rotting fruit of yesterday.
You have camped by that dried up stream long enough and the Father has been trying to lead you to new streams and a new flow.
The emptying is not personal, it’s practical.
When you are holding onto the mindsets and methods of yesterday how can you possibly have the capacity to hold what’s coming?
But this emptying is deeper than methods and ways.
This emptying has been a purging of everything your soul has wrapped itself around for many years - even decades.
The assignments, birthings, and movements that your identity has been emulsified with.
The mentalities, insecurities, and woundings that you picked up along the way.
Like a rare coin collector you have been picking up every penny along the way, but now those pennys are weighing you down.
They are keeping you in bondage when a new season of freedom is calling.
“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,” Malachi 3:3
That’s why this purifying has been needed. Not to tell you that you are faulty, but to give you back your laughter, life, and breath.
The fresh wind that you have needed is coming.
And He sees you pioneers, depleted, confused, and frozen in a moment.
Tired, and feeling like Lazarus in the tomb.
But you aren’t dead or broken, you have been emptied so you can be FILLED AGAIN!
Let me say this clearer, rock bottom can be your saving grace in an hour of idols and other lovers.
In a time of swirling agendas and heart motives, this emptying is what has come to save you and preserve you so you can last the distance.
And I hear the Father saying, “This is a time I am calling the church to come back into my presence and to be fathered. The road has been long and many have forgotten who they are. They have slipped back into the old lies and old yokes of their past. They have lost their way as sons and daughters and have been living as vagabonds, cast-outs, orphans, and beggars, but right now I am delivering my church and bringing them back into their inheritance!”
So lean into the emptying even if it doesn’t make sense, because soon it will.
RELATED prophetic WORDS:
RELATED prophetic WORDS:
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!
By Nate Johnston
•
April 26, 2025
Many right now are in a deep healing moment but while it’s intense and consuming, God is not punishing you - He is healing you. He is restoring you from years of suppressed soul trauma and pain from your pioneering journey. This is what it looks like: • Pain is coming to the surface - pain you forgot was even there. • Your dreams are stirring up old topics, old wounds, unresolved memories. • God is bringing back to mind things you had buried long ago. You feel like you are in a midlife crisis but it’s just a mid - calling shift. Out of the old and into the new. You feel deeply resentful of people and people from past seasons—forgive! • You feel discontent and frustrated with everything you once tolerated. • Your emotions feel out of control - volatile, raw, and unpredictable. • You have no patience for meaningless conversations and time-wasting activities. • Surface-level relationships feel intolerable - you crave real connection or none at all. • You feel like you lost your purpose and passion - but it’s not lost. It’s being reshaped. • You are in a deep, holy reset. • Your mind feels messy, unanchored - like you’re not who you used to be. • You don’t know how to “connect with God” the old way anymore and that’s okay. • You need to talk, to vent, to release and you’re not apologizing for it anymore. • You are done putting a religious spin on pain. • You just need to do normal things without feeling guilty. • Kingdom activities that once excited you feel empty and dry. • Old betrayals, mistreatment, and buried anger are rising - the toxins are being purged. • You have no capacity left for anything fake, performative, or superficial. This is not backsliding. This is healing. God is not calling you backward - He is calling you deeper. You are shedding old survival mindsets. You are shedding old wineskins. You are making space for a new move of His Spirit in your life. It’s messy because it’s real. It’s heavy because it’s holy. It’s painful because it’s working. You are being healed and re-formed for a new chapter of healing and WHOLENESS. Stay in the process. Let healing do its work. Let the HEALER do His thing. New life is coming.
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!
By Nate Johnston
•
April 26, 2025
Many right now are in a deep healing moment but while it’s intense and consuming, God is not punishing you - He is healing you. He is restoring you from years of suppressed soul trauma and pain from your pioneering journey. This is what it looks like: • Pain is coming to the surface - pain you forgot was even there. • Your dreams are stirring up old topics, old wounds, unresolved memories. • God is bringing back to mind things you had buried long ago. You feel like you are in a midlife crisis but it’s just a mid - calling shift. Out of the old and into the new. You feel deeply resentful of people and people from past seasons—forgive! • You feel discontent and frustrated with everything you once tolerated. • Your emotions feel out of control - volatile, raw, and unpredictable. • You have no patience for meaningless conversations and time-wasting activities. • Surface-level relationships feel intolerable - you crave real connection or none at all. • You feel like you lost your purpose and passion - but it’s not lost. It’s being reshaped. • You are in a deep, holy reset. • Your mind feels messy, unanchored - like you’re not who you used to be. • You don’t know how to “connect with God” the old way anymore and that’s okay. • You need to talk, to vent, to release and you’re not apologizing for it anymore. • You are done putting a religious spin on pain. • You just need to do normal things without feeling guilty. • Kingdom activities that once excited you feel empty and dry. • Old betrayals, mistreatment, and buried anger are rising - the toxins are being purged. • You have no capacity left for anything fake, performative, or superficial. This is not backsliding. This is healing. God is not calling you backward - He is calling you deeper. You are shedding old survival mindsets. You are shedding old wineskins. You are making space for a new move of His Spirit in your life. It’s messy because it’s real. It’s heavy because it’s holy. It’s painful because it’s working. You are being healed and re-formed for a new chapter of healing and WHOLENESS. Stay in the process. Let healing do its work. Let the HEALER do His thing. New life is coming.
By Nate Johnston
•
April 23, 2025
I have a prophetic word for those who have grown up under the demonic agenda of Jezebel, and for those raised in narcissistic environments and battled it their entire lives. Yes, the spirit of Jezebel has always had a target on your back because of who you are... Like Agent Smith from The Matrix, Jezebel keeps showing up, manifesting through different people, personalities, seasons, assignments, and alignments to take you out. It’s been the greatest battle of your life: figuring out how to steward your calling, how to be a voice in the midst of relentless attacks and constant attempts to cancel your calling. This spirit has tried to silence you, shut down your voice, reject you, belittle you, isolate you, and keep you in a cave. She’s tempted you to sugarcoat your words, dilute your message, and shrink your fire so you didn’t keep getting in her cross fire. I know the price many of you have paid for pioneering through this—for choosing health for your families, your marriages, and your future. I know the cost of refusing to tolerate her, season after season, and what you’ve walked through for the sake of not giving up on your calling. But in the hardest moments, you chose legacy again and again, yet it’s been costly. Recently, I was praying into this, especially in my own life, because I’ve battled this spirit for as long as I can remember, I asked the Lord, “Will it always be this way? Will I always have to fight Jezebel?” As I was reading through 1 Kings 19 - 2 Kings 10, the Lord highlighted the story of Jehu, the one who took out Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30–37). And the Lord said: “You are the Jehu. This generation is the Jehu generation, rising to confront and take out this spirit.” But here’s the thing: Jehu overthrew Jezebel, but he didn’t reform the land. “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord… he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam…” 2 Kings 10:31 He overthrew the person, but not the pattern. He tore down the idol, but didn’t restore the altar. He left a void, and that void became an open door. Right now, the test of our generation isn’t just about calling out what’s wrong. It’s about restoring the priesthood, rebuilding the altar, and leading the Church back into true worship. Because without worship, Jezebel returns. I’ve seen it in dreams repeatedly, Jezebel overthrown, only to be welcomed back through broken, unhealed, and unprotected spaces. Because where there is no priesthood, no purity, and no presence, she comes back to rule. So I asked the Lord, “What is the key?” He said: “Joash.” The name Joash means “The Lord has given.” The Lord said: “The generation of Joash and Jehoiada is now upon you.” Here’s what that means: Jehu may have exposed Jezebel but it was Joash and Jehoiada who removed her legacy. Athaliah, Jezebel’s daughter, rose to power in Judah after Jezebel’s death (2 Kings 11:1–3) . She was a generational extension of her mother’s spirit. But Jehoiada the priest preserved Joash, hiding him in the temple for six years. When the time was right, they overthrew Athaliah in the temple (2 Kings 11:13–16). That was so prophetic because they didn’t just confront the fruit of Jezebel they killed it in the place of worship, as a declaration: “We are taking this place back for the Lord.” They then led a revival of covenant and worship in the land (2 Kings 11:17–18), restoring God’s people to their true identity. And this is the battle we have today. We are not just confronting Jezebel, we are confronting her legacy, her influence, her strongholds in families, marriages, churches, and systems. But we can’t stop at exposure. We must rebuild the altar, restore the presence, and model the priesthood again. But here’s the word for you overcomers - the pioneers, the forerunners, the ones who refused to bow: You are not doomed to fight Jezebel your whole life. God is raising up a Joash generation, sons and daughters the Lord has given who will see and walk in the fruit from your persistence in battle, because you refused to tolerate Jezebel and have prevailed! Now because of you the next generation won’t face what you faced, because you confronted it, took it down, and established healthy! But here’s the key: You must restore your home, your marriage, your inner world into a lifestyle of worship and the right affections. You must refill the void with presence and priesthood. When we do that, we not only evict Jezebel, we close the door for good. And that’s Joash - living in the fruit of victory with no landing pads for the enemy. No more idols. Compromise. Other lovers. Just Jesus again. So the promise over you is this: You’re stepping out of the weariness. You’re stepping out of the endless fight. You’re stepping out of the cave. And you’re stepping into the fruit of obedience. You’re about to see legacy break forth in your children and those around you. You’ve walked through rejection, isolation, intimidation, and endless assassination as this spirit that tried to shut you down at every turn. But you didn’t bow. You didn’t break. And you prevailed. And now the Lord says - You’re stepping out of the fight and into the fruit. Because you chose wholeness over generational dysfunction. Because you confronted what others tolerated. And because you refused to shut down and be walked over. Your children will know peace where you knew warfare. They’ll grow up in safety, freedom, and peace because you tore up the contract you were born into and started a new bloodline. You were the target, but now you have become the testimony. You’re going to watch a generation walk in peace where you’ve known warfare. Because you chose to fight, they will be free. So in the days to come watch as you begin to see FRUIT where you only encountered the FIGHT because the tide is shifting mighty ones and you have overcome! “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” —1 John 4:4
By Nate Johnston
•
April 22, 2025
I want to release a word of faith and authority over you as we begin this week. As I was praying over this week, I kept seeing this image in front of me of a person that was stuck in a corner with no way out, and arrows were flying at them from all sides. I instantly discerned that what I was seeing was someone who had been in a season where they felt very much like their calling had somehow made them feel like they’ve just been through constant assailing by the enemy, with constant arrows from all sides. Thats where you have felt exposed. That’s where you have felt bombarded. You felt like you’ve just been attacked from every single angle. Then I began to really feel like it was similar to the scripture that says: “But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, ‘Restore!’” — (Isaiah 42:22, NIV) I began to feel authority rise up in my voice. I began to feel an authority saying, “No! This is injustice. This cannot happen. This must turn around now!” Then I began to prophesy: “Restore in the name of Jesus! Restore in the name of Jesus! Restore in the name of Jesus!” As soon as I said that, Deuteronomy 23:5 came to mind, where it says that every curse turns into a blessing. So I began to prophesy: “Lord, every curse will turn into a blessing. Every curse will turn into a blessing. Every single assignment of the enemy will turn into a blessing. Every area of robbery, every area of financial hardship, every area where the enemy has come after finances, after health - God is going to turn it all around.” And that’s when it hit me - THIS IS UNCTION OF A TURNAROUND! It’s the sensing that things had to shift! I began to prophesy: “Turnaround now in the name of Jesus! Turnaround now in the name of Jesus!” As I began to declare this, I began to see things beginning to shift in the atmosphere. Then suddenly I began to hear all this chatter in the spirit of people who had been worn down mentally to the point where they no longer believed that God could turn these situations around. And I suddenly realized the key: God is wanting to shift and turn around situations right now, but the enemy has worn down your authority and your faith to the point that you no longer believe He can do it. Hope deferred has crept in to such a degree that it’s made it feel impossible that God could move. And so I feel that even right now, God is coming against those mindsets. He’s coming against the fear. He’s coming against the intimidation of the army. He’s coming against the hope deferred that constantly makes you feel like nothing will be able to shift or turn around. He is restoring in you a boldness and authority to begin to speak to the things around you and cause them to be removed and those mountains around you to be cast into the sea. And that’s what God is doing this week. He is hitting up against your mind and the foreboding keeping you captive. You’ve been looking at the obstacles you’re facing right now in your finances, health, marriage, and everything else, and they look like mountains. The Lord says, “Where has your faith gone? Where has your authority gone? Where has your boldness gone? I am your protector. I am your provider. I am looking after you and watching over you. Yes, the war has been constant against you. Yes, the enemy has been trying to wear you down. But He says to you “this week, I want you to do what David did - and strengthen yourself in me!” “I want you to step out of the place of faithlessness and cowering, out of begging for the crumbs under the table” “I want you to shift your mindset, and as you shift your mindset, I’ll shift your circumstances!” “Even right now, begin to break every agreement with fear” “Break every agreement with hopelessness and despair that’s caused you to stop dreaming” “It’s caused you to drop your vision in the dust” “It’s caused you to stop wearing your mantle and slip back into survival mode in a time where I want you to thrive and dream with Me” Then I was reminded of something so special to us. Over the years we’ve experienced this strange but beautiful phenomenon in our lives. Whenever we’re in the thick of spiritual warfare, when we feel like we’re being preached at by our circumstances - that’s when God brings us a sign of His nearness. It happens like clockwork. But it’s so simple that you could miss it if you aren’t childlike. We see ducks in twos and they show up in odd places, at odd times. It’s always just when we’re beginning to feel overwhelmed or discouraged. It’s God’s subtle reminder: “I see you. I’m with you. It’s not over.” But this year, on our anniversary, it was different. Two doves appeared on our back fence and they stayed for a full week. It was as if God was saying: “Watch ME turn this around! Not by night nor by power!” And even though we were still in the middle of the storm the breakthrough hadn’t come yet His goodness showed up as a downpayment. Sometimes, the sign isn’t the full breakthrough, but it’s the reminder that He hasn’t forgotten you, and that the turnaround is closer than you think. There are many right now trying to ask God, “Where are my next steps?” but you’re not thinking with faith, you’re thinking with fear. And the Lord says: “It’s time to break that off. I’m reversing everything that’s come against you, and I’m turning it. And some would say, ‘Could this turn in a day?’ Yes, it can turn in a day. And the Lord says “you will watch in this season, as you partner with Me again not with the accuser, not with fear, not with lack but as you choose to partner again with Me, “You will see every single obstacle and every mountain around you crumble into the sea” But you need to partner with Me again. Will you partner again with My Spirit and reject the patterns and mindsets of this world? It is time to step back into a mind-renewal season that actually brings about the shifting of circumstances. Because the fruit of worry is actually causing that which you fear to come to you. But as you shift out of that, It will cause the fruit of your renewed mind to be that you see the kingdom of heaven invade your world, your lifestyle and you’ll see things shift around in a short period of time.” So give me your heart and mind and I’ll turn around the things around you that have tried to do in your strength and failed, and silence the storm”
