That is an accurate quote from yesterday by my husband, after we spent time with two other members of our Ekklesia in an intimate time with the Lord. In case you think that sounds arrogant and even a touch blasphemous, let me explain the context in which it was spoken...
Our little Ekklesia has around 15 faithful followers of Jesus, and after this last week when 5 of them (that's 33%!) were hit hard with "the virus", we made a deliberate decision to suspend our usual study and fellowship. Then a few days later, the Lord prompted me that we needed to stand as the government of Heaven on earth and pray for not only their health and recovery, but the restoration of our nation to God's will. So we called a gathering of the remaining members of our Ekklesia. We did it on short notice, so those that could not attend agreed to pray with us in spirit. So, the four of us gathered together in our living room, got quiet, submitted our flesh, souls and spirits to the Lord, and went into the presence of the Father.
Now, I don't know what that looks like to you, but it is a very effortless action for us. We come before the throne of God, expressing what is on our hearts; what we are burdened with; sharing with God what [and how] we see the strategies of the Enemy on the earth. In short, we just have an in-depth conversation that is a characteristic of our relationship with Him. After all, a relationship is defined as "the state of being connected by blood or marriage". We are both! The blood of Jesus covers us and we are His beloved Bride, making ourselves ready, that we might be holy and without blemish before our Bridegroom on His return.
We simply got quiet, and asked Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit to speak to us and show us how to pray and what to pray for. We asked them to show us what they wanted us to see, and we let our spirits receive the heart and will of the Father, just as Jesus did. We were just four people with no pre-planned agenda or rule book to play by; no restrictions on expressing what we saw or heard; and no limitations put on God with what He wanted to share. It was pure, unadulterated relationship with our Creator -- uncontaminated by this world or dictated to by its "authorities".
We interceded on behalf of those among us who are fighting for their health, and for those among us and our families who have lost that battle. We asked for discernment regarding what heavenly strategies to use against the evil agendas that are in play, and which realms need to be torn asunder. We asked for an increase of the Lord's strength and power to enhance our own, so that we can be more effective in tearing down strongholds. We declared the Word spoken over Israel's enemy, Moab, and applied it to those in power over us and in the world ... "You will end their pride and all their evil works. You will bring down the high walls of their fortifications. You will bring them down to the ground, to the dust". We brought the testimonies of the afflicted before the Courts and Councils of Heaven as evidence of the injustice on earth, and asked for judgment and restitution to a hundred-fold. We prayed against weaponized grids in the spiritual realms; to close all the portal access points of demonic infiltration; to dismantle the structures of invasion; to destroy the webs of deception; and we pleaded for the uploading of a "Jesus virus" into the quantum entanglements established by wicked entities. And then we all concentrated on establishing the importance of true relationship with God among the Body of Christ. We declared that God does not need [nor desire!] long-winded speeches or empty phrases of praise. He wants our hearts aligned with His heart and with His purposes. He wants a holy interchange between Him and us -- we seek His voice and His heart, and then we act on what He reveals to us! It's really that simple!
And that's where my husband's comment comes in. I'm sure -- no, I know -- that his words will be misunderstood by those within the Body of Christ who possess a religious spirit. They will not understand that he is a man of direct and frank language, but with a loving and compassionate heart. His name literally means "Peace-Loving Warrior", and he is the perfect embodiment of every characteristic of that appellation. And, if I can speak for him, he is tired of the same old modes by which we Christians identify ourselves. We need to be more than subservient sheep to habitual and predictable methods of engaging God. We need to become more than our titles and giftings; it can no longer be about how we appear in the world. We are not of this world, and if we don't start acting from our place in the spiritual realms, there will not be a place for us in the world!
My husband has tried to speak and act within the restraints of accepted Christian practices, but it is becoming more and more difficult for him to walk that line. I believe God is calling those who will be bold and undeterred from His purposes during this time. These are men and women who know that the hour is approaching when compromise and conciliatory gestures towards the Enemy will no longer hold back Evil. These are men and women who know they are watchmen on the wall -- but they are not just warning about the players from their position on the physical walls of the earth, but also from the spiritual walls in the heavenly realms. And the magnitude of what they see coming does not fit any paradigm of the modern Church. And that can put them in conflict with the traditional Body of Christ. But thank the Lord that God has a purpose for them that both includes the hope and encouragement of victory that their Christian brothers and sisters espouse, but also includes the honest, outspoken, and open dialogue of a John the Baptist, a Jeremiah, or an Elijah ... a remnant that is willing to look different, sound different, and swim against the current of conventional Church-ology.
I will tell you that this is not a place of faith that is for the faint-hearted. You will be despised, discounted, dismissed, and disregarded. You will be called a heretic and worse. But you can no longer go along to get along, and you can no longer pretend that you don't know what you know. As a wife who marches in step with my husband, I sometimes wonder if more grace and mercy would soften the message God has given us. But God has time and again told me that there is a time and place for His grace and mercy [and He will make those times discernable], but now is the time for clear, concise and deliberate discourse with the world. It's no time to hold back, or ease the pain of the reality of this Age. God needs more Peace-Loving Warriors who can carry out His purpose in witnessing to both the wise and the ill-advised. My husband might appear foolish to some within the Body of Christ, and misdirected by most who are on a different path, but he's ready to lay it all on the line for Christ and His Kingdom. Hence, the statement, From now on, I'm gonna wear comfortable clothes and start running my mouth. Translation: "I'm going to be free from worrying about what others think, and instead, be comfortable and content in my Kingdom assignment. And I'm not going to worry about how the message God has given me is received or interpreted. I'm going to be bold in declaring it ... within every realm of influence God gives me ... and without hesitancy, trusting Him to transform lives".
It might not be your style of presentation. But know that he, and the members of God's remnant like him, recognize the time is critical, and their severe and stern demeanor is evidence of their compassionate heart for those who have not yet perceived or entered the Kingdom. Call it tough love, if you will. But it is precisely because they love their fellow man, that they are willing to be controversial. May God strengthen them, protect them, and encourage them to finish their race.
2 Corinthians 11:19 And since you are so smart and so wise to gladly put up with the foolishness of others, now put up with mine.
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