10/9/19 Miracle City Global
Anna Love. On Sunday I talked to you about decreeing and declaring the Word, and that we all have the ability, especially if we are pressing into the Lord, spending time with the Lord, spending time in prayer, that we can all individually hear the Lord for ourselves. It’s not just about what the Lord is telling me or telling them, or telling the Worship Team, but we all have the ability to hear.
The Lord has been speaking to my heart that whenever we come in here that we all have a portion to bring. And that we are the army of the Lord. So it’s not right to come in here and not release your portion or not bring your portion because we all have a part to play.
Tonight I encourage you in the worship to bend your ear to hear what the Lord has to say, and I would also encourage you to come and release it. How do you know that the word you have isn’t going to unlock something in me. Your portion is just as important as my portion.
As we decree and declare, we’re not going to bring forth a long teaching or something from last week or last month, but it’s what the Lord reveals and wants us to step into and has to say about tonight, what he wants to do tonight. As we do that, we’re not just trying to get another prophetic word to stack up with all the other prophetic words. But we want to hear what the Lord is saying for tonight, and we want to step into it. We want to bring it into the now and function in it.
I encourage each one of you. Don’t hold back. Don’t shy back from releasing, even if it’s just one word. How do you know that one word isn’t what the whole night is about? This is a safe place and I encourage you to be bold tonight.
Betty Love. I want us to ask the Lord right now to bring us into alignment. This is the thing I know. Someone, you are just here with a Hallelujah. ?I raise a Hallelujah in the presence of my enemies. Really. I know you. This morning I woke up knowing the challenger is challenging us. There are people on many different levels across this nation, believers that are losing their place, and I don’t mean their salvation. I’m talking about their stand. Compromising the Word.
The enemy is a big bully. But tonight, you’re not alone. We’re going to join together as one and heaven’s going to fill this place tonight. We’re going to make an exchange where we need to make an exchange. I understand. Some watching. Maybe you’ve felt like you’ve been hanging by a thread in your soul, but I believe he is going to bring wholeness.
One can put how many to flight? A thousand. And two? Ten thousand. So we’re going to come together in The name and we’re going to release our sound. And the Lion of the tribe of Judah is going to roar. And he’s not only going to roar here, but he is going to roar over your life, over your family, over your marriage, over your children, over your situation, over your circumstance.
You might say to me: You don’t know what I’ve been going through. I can tell you I know who does. I would say, In the last six months this has been one of the greatest wars, battles—the battlefield of the mind. I can guarantee that no temptation has seized us but what is common to man, and our God is faithful. If our God is for us then who can be against us?
So we’re going to rule tonight with joy. That word count: Count it all joy. Consider it all joy. We’re going to rule it with joy. We’re going to judge joy into our situation. So I call our spirit men to rise up right now. ?We’re gonna rise up. Spirit, soul, body, birthright, and destiny. We’re gonna raise our gaze. Gonna fix our eyes on you, Jesus. We’re gonna set our hearts and minds on things above. We receive it.
Come on, Lord. I ask you to open the eyes of our hearts in this room tonight. Open the eyes of our hearts. Those that are watching, that are joining in with us tonight. There is no distance in the realm of the spirit. I want you to reckon where the Word of God says we are seated. And it’s at the right hand of the Father. You need to look down on your enemy. You need to get a view from the top.
Lord, I don’t know what to do. I’ve got good news. He does. There might be one word or one decree tonight that’s going to come out of one of our mouths to fell your enemy. Because our God is faithful. I want you to know. I’m just being transparent. I woke up Monday morning, and as I sat down my soul was so tired, my body was so tired, and I felt like I had ulcers all the way down my throat. As I was talking to Anna I started crying. Just tears rolling down my cheeks because I was tired.
You know what I did? I went out to dig in the yard a little bit. Within an hour every symptom left me. Yesterday, I can’t explain it, but maybe somebody in here or watching knows what I’m talking about. Sometimes it’s personal, but more than not, when I begin to go through some of these things, it’s about people. It’s about the body. Even as we rallied yesterday and came down here and began to work, I could feel tears. I know you know what I mean. Just a little bit tired.
?And I just began to praise him. Cause I know where my help and my strength comes from.
And it lifted. So I’ve known and I’ve realized for the last several days the enemy has been coming to try to wear you out and wear you down in some areas, get you to give up and cave in. When the Lord revealed the scheme of the enemy to me this morning, He said, He is challenging my people. And you’re going to come in the power of the name and you’re going to take down your Goliath. And you’re not taking down your Goliath alone. Because there are many running toward the enemy round you, coming up and over.
?Coming up and over. We will not be moved by what we see or hear. And set our hearts. And set our minds. I believe the Lord has revealed the scheme and the strategy of the enemy tonight, and I’ll unpack it in the teaching, but we’re going to worship. And I can guarantee you; I know from experience how it works. I might be crying in the moment, but I’m going to start praising anyway, Shelly.
I’m gonna keep praising till that thing lifts off of me. I did what I needed to do, and what some of us need to do. I Sabbath rested. From the time we got home Sunday evening until Monday evening, I put everything down. Sometimes you need to put it down. And you’ll get twice as much done later.
Kimble Love. We’re going to enter in tonight and I want you to be attuned to what Holy Spirit is doing and what he’s revealing. Don’t get so caught up and distracted by the voice of the enemy, by the naysayers, by the voices that are out in the world, trying to pull you off of your stand and who you are. Because we’re in a time and a season where we have to stand and know who we are in Him—a people that can’t be shaken, that won’t be shaken.
We won’t put up, shut up, or back up, but we’ll stand for righteousness. We’ll walk in the joy of the Lord. And we’ll flow with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Father, I thank you tonight that you have called us for such a time as this. I thank you that your hand is upon us and your Spirit is within us. Lord God, that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So Lord, we’re here tonight to worship you in spirit and in truth, to hear from heaven, and to bring forth the decrees and declarations that you are releasing.
Father, I thank you that you are for us and not against us. And I thank you that you have made us more than conquerors, that you have put your word in our hearts and in our minds, within our souls, our spirits. That you have made our tongues like the pens of the ready writers, to speak your word with power and authority, and see it go forth and accomplish what it’s sent to do.
So Lord, we honor you tonight and we bless you. We say, Have your way. Have your way, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
Shofar
?Come and let your presence fill our praise, fill this place. We have come to give you highest praise. We have come to love you in this place.
It’s all for you. Here we are. Here we are. We have come to give you highest praise. We have come to love you in this place. Jesus shine through all the praises that we sing, for you are the one we want to meet.
I hear the sound of heaven, the sound of angels coming down. It’s coming down right now. The hand of the Lord is stretched out, pushing back the resistance now.
Stand your ground. Here and now. You can stand me up against the gates of hell but I won’t back down. Stand your ground.
Left, left, moving in step, one foot in front of the other. Left, left, moving in stride, running to the battle line. I will be David. I’ll run. Run without fear. Running to the battle line. Gonna take back all the enemy has stolen—tonight.
It’s Christ in me, the hope of glory. Let hope arise tonight. We prophesy, Let hope arise before our eyes, in our hearts and minds. Let my faith arise.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to feel your presence in this place, to see you move here right now. I lay down my life. I lay down my will. All I want is you, Jesus. Nothing else will do.
Nancy Pitts. As we were singing the first song where God has his hand stretched out, he actually has both hands stretched out tonight. One hand is reaching out to you. The other is pushing back the enemy. He has made a way for you. He has made a way.
Then we say, I will stand against the gates of hell, and I’m like, Lord, that sounds scary. And he brought this to my attention. It’s Revelation 1:17. But he placed his right hand on me saying, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last and the Living One. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever. And I have the keys of death and of hades.
You can stand against the gates of hell because who holds the keys? It’s the Lord Jesus. Nobody else can hold those keys and nobody else can take them. Are you afraid to plunder the pits of hell? Don’t be afraid to plunder them. Jesus has you. He is pushing back the enemy. He has opened those gates to let you go in and take back what he paid for through the blood of Jesus and get your stuff back. Take your place. It is your place. You can get it. You stand in it. Jesus paid for it.
So, don’t be afraid. He has the keys. He has pushed back the enemy away from your stuff. Go back and get it. You can’t imagine the ride that you can go on with the Lord Jesus when you have your stuff that he paid for. And he will lock those gates. You are not going to be there very long. Just long enough.
Father, decree and declare that you are enough. You hold the keys and we do not have to be afraid. We do not have to be afraid to take back what was stolen because your precious blood, Jesus, has paid for it all. And you are alive. You were alive when John was there. You were dead, but you are alive now. We honor you and we praise you. Lord, what do you want us to do?
We can plunder the gates of hell if that’s where you want us to do and we can be seated with you in heaven. But we want to see you move. Whatever you want us to do, we want to see you move and we are willing, Lord. Set our feet to dancing, Lord. Let us bring you praise wherever we are, right where we are. Let us sing a Hallelujah in Jesus name. I give you praise.
Betty Love. Praise you Jesus. I want to decree and declare the words of the Lord. It’s the place in Matthew 16 where he asks his disciples, Who do you say that I am? We need to visit that again tonight. Who do you say that Jesus is? Simon Peter had the response and Jesus acknowledged that man did not reveal that to you, but my Father in heaven. The response is, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. I want to decree and declare this scripture.
Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock—you’re a little rock, Petra, Peter; but on this rock of revelation—I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail.
We’re not on the defensive, we’re on the offensive. We are moving. We are kingdom moving. The kingdom of God suffereth violence, but the violent take it by force. The Ekklesia is the called out ones. Tonight you have come to this place because you are called out, and right now we are seated in the heavenly realm in Christ. And as you hear the voice of the Lord speaking to you, Yay God, you don’t have to be afraid.
Because he said the gates of hell will not prevail. As Nancy set us up for this, Jesus Christ took the keys to the kingdom. He has those keys, to death and hades. Look at what he says here.
I will build my church and the gates of hades, the gates of hell, will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
It actually reads, Whatsoever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven. Whatsoever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. Whatever you see there, you can decree it here. Yay God. And all heaven will move on it.
We have power and authority in Christ. He is saying, Come up in your authority. You’re not trying to get authority. You have authority. Yay God.
So Father, right now in the name of Jesus, we recognize, Jesus, that you have taken the keys. But Lord, you are building your Ekklesia. You are building your Church. You’re building us into a governmental legislative body to bring heaven on earth. And Lord, we receive and take hold of the keys of the kingdom. And I decree and declare that we are a people that binds and looses according to the Word of God.
Lord, I just want to decree and declare, Thank you for the keys to bind and to loose. Right now in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I bind all enemy activity from us. I decree and declare, where the oppressor has come to oppress us, it is an unlawful thing. For the Word of God says, In righteousness you have been established.
Oppression is far removed. Terror will not come near you nor fear. If anyone does attack you, says the Lord, it’s not my doing. And whoever or whatever attacks you has to surrender to you. Isaiah 54:13-14.
Then he says in :17 This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. This is our inheritance. And their righteousness is of me, says the Lord. Stand up in your righteousness. Lord, we just stand up in who you are. You are the Christ, Jesus, the Son of the living God. And we receive the authority that you have given us. Greater are you that’s in us than the one that’s in the world.
I decree and declare, No weapon formed against us will prosper. And we refute every tongue that rises to accuse us, in your name.
?You go before I know you’ve even gone to win my war. You come back with the head of my enemy. You come back and call it my victory. All I did was praise. All I did was worship. All I did was bow down. All I did was stay still. Hallelujah you have saved me. So much better your way. Great Defender.
When I thought I lost me, you knew where I left me. You reintroduced me to your love. You picked up all my pieces. Put me back together. You are the defender of my heart.
Our God is moving among us. We step into your love, God. We step into your move. Come move in us. I will be your move, God. Come and move our hearts for what moves yours. We’ll be your movement.
Anna. The Lord’s reminding me of a word he’s been speaking to me for the last two days. He said, Don’t major on the minor things. He kept saying that to me over and over again. Don’t major on the minors. This is a season not to be distracted by the minor things. Because if we’re distracted by the minor things then we’re going to miss the major things.
As the Lord was speaking this to me, and if you know me, you know I’m not really a sports person, but every time he said, Don’t major on the minors, it kept reminding me of baseball. The minor leagues and the major leagues. In this season the Lord is calling us to play in the major leagues, to not play in the minor leagues.
That is saying, don’t settle for a lesser role. Don’t settle for a lesser call. Don’t settle for a lesser thing. But press onward and keep your focus, because the Lord is calling us to the major leagues. It’s all about Fulfillment.
So Father, right now I thank you that we are focused on you. But that we see the majors. And that we don’t get so caught up on the minors that we miss the major things you want to do, the major things you’re calling us to. I thank you that you are stopping the little foxes that spoil the vines. I thank you we are already in a season where the little foxes have no access to what you’re doing in the people, to what you’re doing in us. I thank you that we’re off limits.
I decree and declare that we are off limits. I thank you, God, that our borders are secure. That our fences around our gardens are secure. Lord, I thank you that there is a ripe harvest and there is no devouring of that harvest that you have for us. So Lord, we say, Yes, we will go to the major leagues. We won’t settle for the minor leagues, but we press on and we move up and we come up higher.
Father, we decree and declare that we will know who we are in this hour, that we will know our identity and our authority in you. We will take our rightful place. Just as Matthew 16 was released, I thank you that we will know and understand and grasp the fact that what we bind on earth is bound in heaven; and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven.
Father, I thank you that you put such a guard, such a governor, on us through Holy Spirit in this season that all we can speak is Life; all we can speak is Life; all we can speak is blessing, no matter what the circumstances are, Lord.
Father, I thank you that we don’t get hooked on the minor circumstances, the minor problems; that we don’t make the minors, majors. Father, I thank you that you are cleaning out our eyes and bringing a healing solution to our eyes tonight. That even when problems arise, Lord, we don’t see the problems but we see the solutions.
Father, I thank you that that kingdom mentality, that kingdom mindset, that heavenly mindset, takes hold of each one of us, me first. Father, I decree and declare it so. I decree and declare change to minds; change to eyes; change to ears; change to our mouths in Jesus name.
Betty. We receive the word. I’m hearing the Lord say in Hebrews 10:35, So do not throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you’ve done the will of God you will receive what he has promised. For in just a little while he who is coming will come and will not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.
Father, I thank you that because you are our confidence, you will not allow our feet to slip or be moved. Jesus, you have taken hold of us so we can take hold of it. And Lord, I thank you that our faith is in you and your ability to do what you said you’ll do, to uphold your word.
And I decree and declare that you are watching over your word to perform it in our lives. And Lord, I believe, therefore, we spoke it.
?Jesus, I trust you.
Betty. Praise you, Lord. Father, we thank you for your presence that is here tonight. We thank you for the now of heaven. Father, I thank you for eyes that see and ears that hear and a heart that is open to you. And even now, Holy Spirit, you are the Revelator and we thank you that you are present in us and with us.
Father, as this word goes forth tonight, I thank you that it’s going to accomplish and complete the assignment that you are sending it forth to accomplish. Father, I speak encouragement and strength to the sons of God, to the body of Christ tonight. I thank you Lord, that you are our Champion, our Dread Champion. And you are upholding us by your victorious right hand.
Lord, I thank you that you are a wall of fire round about us and that your glory fills us and fills our land. You are our shield and our very great reward. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. So we say, let the faith of the Son of God arise in us tonight.
Father, I thank you for refreshing and renewal coming to your people tonight. Father, those that have been assaulted in their soul, I bind up the broken places, and I speak healing and wholeness to our mind, will, and emotions. I ask you to bring refreshing and renewal by your Spirit. Pour out the oil. Pour out the wine. Let there be an exchange in the Spirit. A crown of beauty instead of ashes. The oil of gladness instead of mourning. And a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
Father, I thank you for hearts and minds being renewed. I thank you for your peace that passes all understanding guarding our heart and our mind in Christ Jesus. Lord, we lay ourselves before you tonight. You know our frame. You said in your Word in Job 22 that you would say, Let this one be raised up and they would be raised up. So Father, I pray those in this room, those that are watching, that need to be raised up with resurrection power and life tonight, Let there be resurrection of lives, of bodies, of souls.
Lord, infuse our entire beings with your Glory Light tonight.
?Have your way in us. Fill us up, Lord. Overflow.
I want to share this word with you tonight that the Lord gave me this morning because I think it’s going to speak to hearts and bring clarity.
Daniel had an incredible prayer in Daniel 9. At the end of that prayer he said, O Lord, listen. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hear and act, for your sake. O my God, do not delay because your city and your people bear your name.
Now he was praying a prayer of national repentance for Israel because he recognized the times and the seasons and he knew that the seventy years was up. In keeping with the word spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, he knew it was time for Israel to come out of captivity and be restored to their land.
I do believe and I know that I know there is a time to come out of captivity. There is a time to come out of the wilderness. There is a time for that battle to end. There is a coming into the blessing. I remember reading and hearing Chuck Pierce say if you are in the wilderness, there is still blessing in the wilderness. We should not be in a perpetual continuous cycle without coming to the end of that.
The Lord is saying to us again tonight, Do not become weary in well-doing. For in due season you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. I think the enemy has been trying, like it says in the book of Daniel, to wear out the saints. He does. It’s really a battlefield of the soul. It really is. That is really where the greatest war is. I know we have physical battles. We are dealing with things in the natural, in our families, and different places. But really and truly, where it boils down to is the soul. Who is going to rule there.
I know the Lord has given us a mandate. It’s something we all know, but the Lord is really saying it to us in this season in view of God’s mercy. His mercy is new every morning. When that sun comes up, it’s a new day and mercy is standing at our gates. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy is the currency of heaven, thank God.
He says, Come boldly unto the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. These are life scriptures, and these are promises that we don’t need to let go of when our soul’s tired, when we’re weary. When I don’t know where I left me.
I will say this. The Joint Task Force prayed. We had been on the road for weeks, and Thursday morning we were leaving for Southaven. Obviously I missed the alarm, and Anna came into the room.
Anna Love. I said, Do you have any idea what time it is? Granted, it’s not that late. It’s 5:30, which is late for us. We’ve got to leave at 9:30. There was no response. I told her again that she needed to get up. Still no response. Then I pressed in even harder and said, Hey, you need to get up. And she said, What day is it? (Laugher) It’s Thursday. She said, Oh okay. I said, We’re leaving. She said, Where are we going? (Laugher)
Betty. You know you’ve been in a lot of different beds when you wake up and you don’t know where you are. It was that I had had such a good night’s sleep that night and was in such a deep sleep at a time when I’m usually wide awake. I had rested and I was refreshed and renewed. I do know that sometimes we are dealing with circumstances and situations and it is one thing after another out here, and that when you come to your spot and have a moment, you’re like, I don’t know where I left me, but I have come again again.
We’re never lost. He knows where we are, always. I saw this morning that the enemy is trying to use self, circumstances, and Satan is trying to rally a force and challenge us. The Lord said it is time to challenge the challenger. Because you are coming out victorious. His Word says he always—it’s not sometimes. The Bible says he always leads us in triumphal procession—always. We need to take God at his word and receive it, because he is faithful.
Never have the righteous been forsaken or their seed begging bread. Nancy came and released the word. I am the Author and the Finisher of your faith. There is a beginning and an end. He is the first and the last. The world and Satan does not have the last say. Our God does. And his word was, It is finished. The prince of this world now stands condemned.
All the fullness of the deity—Father, Son, Holy Ghost—all the fullness of the deity, of the Godhead, rests upon Jesus in bodily form. And he says in Colossians, And you have been given Fullness in Christ. The thing about it is that Satan knows what the Word of God says.
But if he can wear us out, torment us, keep bullying us, he’s going to keep doing it. The Lord says, Enough! He took me to the passage where Goliath was taunting an entire nation that had covenant with God. And it took a 17 year old young man that was on the back 40 taking care of some sheep who had an intimate relationship with God. I can’t imagine being out where there are no street lights.
Now I like being out where there are no street lights, but I mean being way out somewhere where there are lions and bears. Oh my. And it’s you and the sheep, but there’s more than you and the sheep. His name is Yahweh. Jehovah. David had private victory before he had public victory. He reckoned the Philistine was just like the lion and the bear. But more than that, he knew something above that.
Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Who do you think you are? And the enemy is screaming at us and trying to shake us from our identity. If you are the Son of God. If—and Jesus had something to say to him.
Satan will come when we’re tired. We know it. Satan will come when we’ve had great victory. We won the battle. When we are in transition, he will sit at the gate. When you’re ready to give birth.
The woman was giving birth to the man child and the dragon was chasing the woman. And spewed a river out of his mouth to consume the woman and her child. But, the earth opened it’s mouth and swallowed the river and helped the woman. That’s what Revelation says. The earth will help you.
Creation will respond to God and help you and me. It’s in the book. If God is for us, who can be against us. He who did not spare his one and only son, but gave him up, will he not give us all things with him, through him? The whole reason Jesus came is for us; the Father, because of God’s love and his plan; and he is not going to let the enemy win.
So the fullness of God is resting upon us in Christ Jesus. It says, He took the written code, Colossians, that was against us—that is the law—and nailed it to the cross through his body. Then it says, Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, an open show. He has disarmed the enemy. We need to quit arming him by believing his lies. Because he is a liar. And he comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
I hear the Lord saying, Enough! There are gavels going off in heaven. There is the sound of the strike of a gavel saying, Enough.
The Lord said, Challenge the challenger. The enemy is taunting and trying to tempt my people. He is using self, circumstances, and Satan. I want you to look at David and know the power of the covenant and the power of my name to defeat the enemy. I want you to remember David’s mighty man. One of David’s mighty men had a lentil, a bean field. Every season—the enemy has a time and a season; he usually comes in cycles or at the same time. After a while, we need to get a clue.
This brother decided, This isn’t happening. This is my bean field and I’m not giving it up. The Word of God says that the sword froze in his hand and he slayed more of the Philistines. He didn’t give up his land. Those that know their God will be strong and go forth and do great exploits. We are overcomers. And the Lord is making a way for you. I don’t know your particular situation but I know that the Lord does and he’s got the solution.
Weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning. What is sown in tears will be reaped in joy. Sometimes we just need to take a minute in the presence of the Lord. When I’m at that max point I like to go outside, just to be outside. It’s like chicken soup to the soul. I started thinning out ginger lilies and pulling up stuff. Anna came out there and I had a good time with Anna helping me. He was with me in the garden, renewing me, strengthening me.
You were out there working hard, picking up stuff? Every step I take, every move I make, I make in you, Jesus. I could feel myself being resurrected in life, ready to go again. The Lord wants to refresh you, to renew your heart and your mind.
Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world. Don’t let this world put you in a crunch and a press. Paul said, I know what it is to be hard pressed on every side. I know what it is to feel like, I am dying here! Any moment now, you can just come take care of this! I’m at the max! Ever been there? I hate to say it. You’ll probably be there again. But in that moment, in that place, we obviously didn’t die. We’re still here. What you thought would break you did not break you. It did not kill us.
We are still alive and we still believe and we’re still standing. And we’ve seen victory in areas of our life, and we’re going to keep seeing victory. If I don’t see it today, I’m confident that one day I’m going to see the manifestation of what God said to me. Because I’m not going to let go of his promise. And he won’t let go of his promise. In fact, the whole season we have entered into is the season where he is watching over his word to perform it. Watch me do this. Watch me work. Watch me work through you. He will give you the see and the say.
The Lord took me back to the challenge. This is interesting. We’re in the season of Rosh Hashanah. We had the Head of the Year moving towards Tabernacles. I wrote this down 145 days before Rosh Hashanah. The Lord said Challenge.
“I’m going to give you language to answer every challenge of the enemy.” How many of you want language to answer every challenge of the enemy? That’s a promise that God gave me, and had me release in this house. The word challenge is call or a summons to engage in any contest as a skill or a strength, sometimes that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, or effort.
That’s exactly what Goliath was doing. He was challenging the armies of Israel to a contest. And he thought he had conquered them. And he had. What were they doing? Cowering in fear. Afraid. And he would just come out and rail until a little boy, David, came to the battle line. He left his baggage with the baggage keeper and then he ran to the battle line.
God is in us and God is with us. And he is going to show you how to advance. And he is going to give you wisdom and strategy and language to answer every accusation, whatever the enemy will bring. Sometimes it might just be what he said to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. You just need to stand still and watch me do this. It might be, Just open your mouth and praise me.
Whatever he tells you to do, I can guarantee you that if you’ll do exactly what he says, you’ll see the victory. Sometimes it’s just, Let go. Sometimes it’s, Walk away. Sometimes it’s, Say nothing.
A challenge is a demand to explain or justify. I love the revelation Anna Love had about truth. You don’t have to defend truth. Truth defends itself. You don’t have to defend the truth. The truth defend itself. When Jesus’ accusers came to accuse him, he said nothing to them.
A challenge: difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to the one engaged; but the takeaway here is that the Lord has said, I am going to give you language to answer every challenge of the enemy.
We all know the story of David and Goliath. We know he came down and went to the battle line. I think the enemy tries to cause us to lose heart and give up. I believe the Lord wants to strengthen your heart tonight.
I Samuel 17:32. David said to Saul, let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him. Saul said to him, You’re not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a young man. (You’re only a youth. I love young people.) And he has been a warrior from his youth.
But David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it, and killed it.
Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.
How many of you has the Lord rescued before? We all have stories. Not just one-time rescues. He has rescued all of us many times. Is he not a God who rescues? Is he not a God, a good Father, who has come through for us in the past? And will he not come through for us in the present? He said, I am a present help in times of trouble. Jesus said, In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I’ve overcome the world. Take heart.
Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you. Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on a sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to them.
Can you imagine? He’s got on armor he has never worn before.
Anna. And Saul stood a head taller than everyone else.
Nancy Pitts. We built Goliath last year in my classroom, and he’s 9 feet tall. That’s an 8 foot ladder with a box on the top, and a helmet on top of that. He was huge. But the word of the Lord was, Defeat him by the word of the Lord. He said he came to Goliath in the name of the Lord.
Betty. So David said, I cannot go in these, he said to Saul, because I’m not used to them. So he took them off.
Now the Lord has given you weapons and he has given you gifts. And the takeaway there is, We don’t need to try to wear somebody else’s armor. God has provided armor, and it’s Jesus. We just need to put on the armor of Light. We need to be clothed in Christ. We need to use what God has given us. It’s really a matter of, if we will hear him and just do what he says, we’re going to have the victory. I can guarantee it.
Then David took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, and with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
You know everyone is watching this. You know what the Philistines thought. Israel was afraid. I don’t think they had the confidence David was going to do this deal. I think they were all watching to see what was about to happen. This poor kid is going to get killed.
Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield-bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health, and handsome; and he despised him. He said to David, Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Come here, he said, and I will give your flesh to the birds and wild animals.
David said to the Philistine, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
That was real good now. I think there were angelic beings right on the scene. I think God clothed David with some power now.
Anna. David didn’t only stand on the testimony of the lion and the bear, he spoke forth his victory against Goliath before it ever happened.
Betty. He prophesied it. He decreed and declared it. He said, This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands and I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and wild animals. And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
He did prophesy it. He decreed it. You will decree a thing and it will be established.
And all those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands.
I think that’s what we need to understand. When the enemy challenges us, he is not just challenging us, He is challenging the Lord. You might say, Betty, how do you know that? Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Remember the encounter of Paul of Tarshish on the road to Damascus? He got blinded by the light. Jesus said, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?
If the enemy or circumstances come to persecute you, it is an ungodly, unrighteous thing. They are not persecuting you, they are persecuting Him. And your Defender will rise up to defend you. He will bring you out of the circumstance or the situation. He will deliver us from the hand of the enemy again and again and again because it’s who he is.
Brad Roney. I don’t think I ever noticed this until tonight. David kept calling him an uncircumcised Philistine. Circumcision was an outward declaration of covenant. So he’s basically saying, I’ve got a covenant with God Almighty and you don’t have covenant with God. So we have covenant with God. Our enemy doesn’t.
Kevin Long. When you talked about the enemy attacking us is really attacking God, that’s what is going on in our government right now. Trump even said it. They’re not really after Trump. They’re after the Christians. It’s the enemy going after God.
Betty. I can tell you with confidence, the thing with Anti-Christ, Leviathan, Jezebel spirit that is trying to rage in our nation is not going to win. I decree and declare Trump is going in the second term and is going to lead this nation in what God has ordained. I’m not saying he is a perfect man, but I will tell you that he is God’s man.
And this nation will see awakening, transformation, and reformation because God is not done. We’re in the greatest decade that we have ever stepped into, and place and time. So I expect good things. I am not discouraged. I am not disheartened. It is just a matter of time. Because there is time when sin becomes full and things are dealt with. There are things that are shaking in this nation. But God is on the throne and his plan for America stands. He’s not done. We’re just getting started.
Kevin Long. Just like when David looked back to when he defeated the lion and the bear, in that battle. We’ve got a lot of things to look back on, where God has proven himself. And he’s going to prove himself, just like you said, in this battle.
Betty. Amen. I’m not going with names. I don’t do that. But there are more and more national figures and leaders that are coming out and changing their position. I’m talking about in the church. Changing their position on foundational Christianity, homosexuality, what defines marriage, abortion. You cannot change what the Word of God says.
I also thought about this morning as that news came to me, we vetted it. You hear stuff all the time. Just because it’s on facebook doesn’t mean that it’s true. You need to vet out what you hear before you repeat it to anybody. As we vetted the information that was given us this morning, I know there is a place in the book of Daniel where it talks about in the season where there are many that fall. But then there comes a time when they are restored.
So I began to pray for those that have been moved. It’s time to lock and load now. We won. And we’re going to win. But the enemy is going to try to challenge us on our beliefs. He is going to challenge us when he can in our identity. He is going to try to challenge us in the Word. The Lord is in us and with us and we need to hold to the Word. We need to hold to Him. And we need to hold to the Truth. Because we will know the Truth and the Truth will set us free.
I am not surprised. If you don’t think there is a war. Be careful when you start throwing people under the bus because they’re falling. If you’ve not had a battle in the mind before, or felt like you were going over the edge. I can’t imagine some of the battlegrounds that hit us or hit me in the last six months. And I’m thinking, but by grace. Do you hear what I’m saying?
In those moments, in those times, the Lord was like, Now you know. Now you know. Now you know. No temptation has seized us but what is common to man, and God is faithful. He’ll not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. It can be, but I’m not talking about temptation to sexual sin. That can be one of the things. But I’m talking about where there is that bombardment in your mind of all kinds of stuff. Like, Where did that come from? I feel like that is what the enemy has been doing, assaulting the soul. He has not won.
So as the Philistines moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into the forehead and he fell face down on the ground.
You know where he defeated him? In the place of the skull. You know where Jesus was crucified? In the place called Golgotha, the place of the skull. If you’ve ever been to Israel, that place, that hill, looks like a skull head.
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. (Now watch this.) David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath.
I’m sure it tells somewhere how much that sword weighed, but you’ve got a 17 year old young man that pulls out a giant’s sword and does the deal.
He drew it from its sheath and he killed him. He cut off his head with the sword. And when the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
There might be one giant that is taunting you, and making a big whoop-de-do. I think the Lord is saying, Yeah, whoop-de-do! Come on and cut off his head. Tired of the talking head? Cut it off. We don’t need to be like those movies we used to watch. Where we see the villain get knocked down or knocked out, and then he’s getting up; and everybody is saying, Kill him. Just end it.
You know, the giant, the enemy you don’t deal with—I’m not talking about flesh and blood; I’m talking about a spiritual war—and cut off their head, is the one that’s going to try to run you through. Saul refused to deal with fear. He feared the opinions and faces of men. And he did not follow what God said; and as a result he lost his place as king.
What happened? The very enemy, the Amalekites, that he was supposed to completely destroy; in the end it was an Amalekite that ran him through with a sword. So we need to take out the enemies. And I do know the enemy has come again to try to traffick with fear. It’s been years I’ve dealt with any kind of fear. But he is trying to bring fear. Are you afraid right now? Absolutely not. Tread, tread, tread, tread, tread, No! It’s gone. And it’s not coming back. Period. The end.
So it’s time. Take your place. Take your stand. Know who you are and whose you are and what you have.
When Brad said covenant. This is a promise from God. He says in Zechariah 9:8. But I will defend my house against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch. We have entered into the decade of the Watchmen. The prophets and apostles in this nation are saying what we were releasing in June, that this is not a time and a season for the church to be on the defensive. We’re on the offense. We are moving.
Remember what the Lord said. I have made a way up the middle and I am moving. He has made a way for you and me. He is running out in front of us. He is our shield and our very great reward. When he says, I have made a way up the middle for you, you just start going with him. Do what he says to do. Don’t be like you’re in the ballgame for the first time. And I know what that is.
When Kimble and I first got married, I worked in banking. They had a softball team for the bank. The coach was one of my brother’s best friends and he knew my brother could hit. He said, I know you can hit the ball. I could hit the ball and I was excellent in practice. But what I didn’t count on was the game.
It’s one thing to practice with your team. It’s another thing when you have the crowd screaming. There are people on the basses. And some of those girls playing softball, especially in their 20s and older, they are mean; they’re tough girls. I’m a little bitsy girl. Yeah, I can hit the ball and I can run. But I’m not expecting the growl and the roar and the noise. I was like, Oh dear God, I’m like no stop here now, trying to get okay.
I think that’s what the enemy’s trying to do, Danette, and trying to do again in our lives. He’s trying to bring a lot of noise from the crowd. He’s trying to intimidate us with the enemy on our base that belongs to us. And the Lord is saying, Fix your eyes on Me. Shut out the noise of the enemy. Shut him down and play ball. It’s time to play ball. I’m playing to win. If I’m going to play, we’re going to win. Right?
Because that’s who our God is. He didn’t play to lose. He played to win. And he’s already won. He’s saying, I’ve got this. Just follow me. And I’m not leaving you on your own. It’s not like he’s up there and we’re down here and we’re trying to navigate this thing. His Spirit is in us. His fullness is in us. He’s given us weapons of our warfare.
He’s given us his name and his Word. He’s given us his authority and his anointing and his ability. He says, You’ve got the goods, now rise up in it and know who you are. You belong to me and heaven will run with you and war with you. Don’t give up now.
So he says, No more marauding forces, an enemy that comes through your land and ravages it, destroys it; it’s like a hurricane coming through. And then after it’s over there’s all this debris, all this destruction. And you begin to clean up the mess and put everything back together. You know what a marauding force does? It comes through and it goes to war over here and brings more destruction, and then when it comes back through when you’re just getting on your feet, it just does it all over again. The Lord says, No more.
No longer will my people be oppressed. If we just took Zechariah 9:8 and worked with it for a while, and every time we felt like the enemy was trying to do that, But Lord, you say, No more marauding forces. I thank you, Lord, that you are keeping watch.
Then he says this. 9:11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, oh prisoners of hope. Even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. I will bend Judah as I bend my battle bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, oh Zion, against your sons, oh Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.
Then the Lord will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with sling stones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be. Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.
Because of the blood of the covenant.
Matthew 4 is where Jesus was tempted by the enemy. We’ve looked at David tonight and what did he bank on? Covenant. And he prophesied. He decreed his victory. That’s an example. He came in the power of the name of the Lord and he defeated the enemy.
Kimble Love. He exercised extreme prejudice on the enemy. That means annihilation. He killed him, then he cut off his head, never to rise again.
Betty. The cutting off of the head is cutting off the authority. Cut off the authority. Then we see Jesus. It is written. Man does not live by bread alone. We see Jesus. Satan asked, If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. And Jesus countered with the Word. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Satan took him to the highest point of the temple. Them he took him to a high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world. He tried to come through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. But at every point, Jesus said, It is written. Do not put the Lord your God to the test. It is written. Worship and serve the Lord only. Our victory is assured when we respond to God in us, God with us, and let Him speak through us with the Word.
I encourage you, whatever you’ve been going through, whatever we have been going through, you are not alone. We are coming through. And I believe because the enemy knows he is in such trouble, he would not bring such an onslaught if he did not know that he was losing his grip. But heaven is greater.
So Father, right now in the name of Jesus, I thank you for all that are watching, all that are gathered in. And Lord, I decree victory over every individual, victory over every family. Father, I thank you that you have decreed victory over Jacob. And Lord, we take hold of your Word tonight because you have taken hold for us.
And Father, I thank you for what you have released here tonight. I thank you, Lord, for the power of your name, the power of your Word, the power of your authority, your anointing, and your ability you have vested in us. I thank you for the power of praise. Our praise is a weapon.
I pray for a reclothing and a refreshing and a renewal that as we go forth, Lord, that we go forth in victory. I speak blessing and life over your people in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.