loren r covarrubias - the new awakening.pdf

The New Awakening CFM Publishing4453 Clintonville RoadWaterford, MI 48329

Unless otherwise identified, scripture references are New King JamesVersion (NKJV) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Additional emphasis in the scripture quotations through bolding reflectthe authors added emphasis.

ISBN 978-0-9832084-2-6 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-9832084-3-3 (Hardcover)

Copyright 2015 by Loren Covarrubias

Cover design by Grey Christian

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of theUnited States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted forcommercial gain or profit without permission in writing from thepublisher. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying forpersonal or group study is permitted.

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to all of the women in ministrywho have been such an important part of these last day moves ofGod. Women have always been at the forefront when moving intonew things in God. They have been willing to pioneer into therealms necessary for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Iunderstand their importance having seen it first hand, as a pioneer,who relied upon women willing to make the sacrifice and stand forsomething unknown and uncertain. As women, God has made youmothers, those who bring forth new life. I feel confident thatwomen will once again rise to the forefront of this great move aswe advance to another level in God.

Acknowledgements

As I share the insights of the New Day in God, I would also liketo acknowledge the history that has brought us to this point. Sincethe inception of the United States, God has raised up godly peoplewho have inspired the church and impacted the nation. It startedwith the First Great Awakening, with the emphasis on a personalrelationship to Jesus Christ; and continued with the Second GreatAwakening that led to the great Holiness Movement and thePentecostal outpouring. Since that time, God has been movingupon His people and using them to impact a nation.

In 1948, there was a revival called by many the Latter RainMovement. In the Eastern part of the United States, the BethesdaMissionary Temple in Detroit, Michigan, under the leadership ofM.D. Beall, became a well-known center in this revival. Sister Beallunderstood the need to build on a revival with a strong church anddoctrinal foundation, so she shifted the churchs direction throughthe word of the Lord to become a place of teaching and empower-ment. Her obedience led to the preparation of her church and min-istry to be an influential church during the charismatic movementwhen many people hungered for teaching and instruction in theWord. Her children, Patricia Beall Gruits and James Beall, wrotemany books and influenced many people.

As this revival spread, becoming the great Charismatic Re-newal Movement, it impacted not just the churches, but the nationsof the earth. It was through this ministry that I was trained and em-powered for the work I began in 1978. I would like to say: Thankyou Bethesda and the Beall family for your strong commitment tothe Holy Spirit and for understanding the necessity for instructionin the Word of God. Thank you for the foundation that God hasbuilt upon in my life.

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Introduction xi

Chapter One 15

e Forward Move of the Church

Chapter Two 27e Call to New Leadership

Chapter Three 39

Its Time to Arise

Chapter Four 53

Encountering More of God in the New Day

Chapter Five 67

More than Just You

Chapter Six 81

More than Just Emotional FervorWe Need Wisdom

Contents

Chapter Seven 95

More than What We DoIts Who We Are

Chapter Eight 107

More of the Spirit and the Word

Chapter Nine 119

Demonstrating More of His Love

Chapter Ten 131

Focusing More on the Father

Chapter Eleven 143

Becoming More than ServantsSons

Chapter Twelve 159

Find the Life of Satisfaction through His Purpose

Conclusion 173

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IntroductionAnd so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you dowell to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the daydawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; (2 Peter 1:19)

I am writing this book from a prophetic perspective. I be-lieve God has spoken to me to declare that this is a New Day. Hefirst spoke this to me in 2003. The prophet Isaiah when speakingconcerning the word going forth from the mouth of God said,That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Tome, this means that some times God speaks; and it is a word forthat moment or season of time. It comes as bread to feed us. Othertimes when the word comes, it is to have a long-term impact thatwill bear fruit in time. I have seen this over the last thirty-six yearsas I have pastored a church. When the Lord first spoke this to me,I began to prophesy it in a service at our church. It was a word thatstayed with me. It began to work first in my heart, then in our localchurch, and now I believe God is saying to take it to the nations ofthe earth.

In the early 1900s, the Pentecostal movement began. It wasaccentuated by the Latter Rain Revival in the late 1940s that grewinto the charismatic renewal that seemed to spring forth in the1960s. This has been an amazing time; and yet, I believe it is timeto move to another level. The last move has come to pass, andnow God is doing a new thing. Whenever God intends to move,He always first reveals His plans to His servants the prophets.

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His se-cret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who willnot fear? e Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?(Amos 3:7-8)

I feel the roar and cant help but prophesy and declare thethings God has given me for this time. I am not the only person en-couraging a day of new things. Although not everyone is seeingfrom the same perspective, I believe everyone who will tune in willknow there is a New Day dawning on the horizon; and we musthear what the spirit is speaking to the churches. When the Lordgave me this word He said, If my people want to receive the bless-ing of this New Day, they must open their hearts and spirits to me.I am asking you to open yourself to what God is speaking, so youcan experience something fresh from God. I believe there are manymindsets we must change. Therefore, after each chapter, I list a newperspective we need to be open to. Whenever God moves in a sig-nificant way, there is an accompanying revelation of the Word.Things that always were, now, begin to take on a new light. Part ofthe change of perspective in this important time will be from a child-ish perspective into a mature one.

When I was a kid, my brother and I used to ride down a hillin go-carts he made out of the crates we got from the grocery store.I remember thrilling and scary rides down that big hill. When I wasolder, I went back to the house and saw the hill. It wasnt much tolook at and certainly wouldnt provide a thrill for an older person,but boy was it amazing when I was four.

When you grow up, everything takes on a new perspective ifyou take time to survey the land. I believe it is time for the churchto survey the land, so to speak, and let our perspectives change soour understanding and expectation can be adjusted upward. This isan exciting time! Yet, it is also a perilous time in the world. God islooking for a mature people and the world we live in needs us to beeverything God wants us to be. Along the way, you also will bene-fit as you let God give you new vision.

Jesus said, You cant put new wine in old wineskins or thewineskins will burst and the wine will be lost. The wineskins thatneed to change are the mindsets we have that will hinder Godsmove expanding and accelerating at this time. Many Christians arepraying for a breakthrough. Many are promising breakthroughs, yetsomething is holding us back. If you want a breakthrough, chances

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are the first thing that needs to happen is for you to let the HolySpirit blow your mind!

Many of the things I am sharing with you have been revealedover a long period of time. I would preach or teach it thinking Ihad a full understanding only to have the Lord continue to expandmy thinking. An example of this is in 1994 when the Lord beganto speak to me that He wanted to reveal Himself to me as FatherGod. I always knew God was my Father; yet, it literally took metwenty years before I can say I fully understand what He wants meto know.

I wrote a book on the subject in 2001. Though I had quitea grasp on what He was saying, the word had to not only come asfood, it had to become a part of me. I can say I now understandwhat the prophet meant when he said, . . . it was as sweet ashoney in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach becamebitter. (Revelation 10:10) When the Word is working in you, thechallenge of the Word can be difficult. Like with Joseph, untilthe time that his word came to pass the word of the Lord testedhim. But when the day of fulfillment comes, the day of trial be-gins to fade. Like Jesus said:

A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hourhas come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, sheno longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human beinghas been born into the world. erefore you now have sor-row; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, andyour joy no one will take from you. (John 16:21-22)

Many of you have also been in travail. Perhaps that is why youare reading this book. I want you to know it is time to bring forththe promise. It is time to bring to birth something new, and I trustthat what you read in this book will help you in your labor.

I want to make you understand that I am not just presentinga prophetic word. I am proclaiming prophetic insight on the Scrip-tures. Whenever God moves in a fresh way, He gives insight to theScripture in a new way. As I proclaim the power of this New Day, I

Introduct ion

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will endeavor to show you the scriptural models that declare thatwith God there is a third level or dimension to our experience withHim.

My prayer is that God gives you revelation as you read.

Loren Covarrubias

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The Forward Move of the Church

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Chapter One

Behold, the former things have come to pass, And newthings I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.(Isaiah 42:9)

This is a day of new things. God is calling the church to a higherplane. Jesus Christ said, I will build My church and the gates of hellwill not prevail against it. For the past 2000 years, He has beenbuilding His church. When He is done, we will see it as the glori-ous church He set out in the beginning to make it.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved thechurch and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify andcleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that Hemight present her to Himself a glorious church, not havingspot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holyand without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Like in marriage, the beginning commitment isnt all a groomneeds to make. Marriage is a lifetime commitment that requires loveto grow. It also requires facing obstacles with a commitment toovercome them. Jesus was the embodiment of love, so His love cer-tainly did not need to grow. The expression of that love over timeand the commitment to overcome has been an ever -ncreasing rev-elation of His goodness and care for His bride. He didnt just give

Himself; He gives Himself continually and with purpose. Thechurch is Gods eternal purpose, and He will see it through until itreaches its ultimate destiny.

to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might bemade known by the church to the principalities and powersin the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose whichHe accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we haveboldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.(Ephesians 3:10-12)

This is why when we declare it is a day of new things, we arenot discounting the value of the past. God builds line upon line, sowe must always be careful to let Him build on the old. We must notjust think that each time frame of church history is a random event.I believe the charismatic movement has reached its full expression,and now it is time to let it come forth to the next level. Many timeswhen God wants to move in a new way, people resist the change. Wemust be careful not to resist change; and hence, become an adver-sary to Gods plan. He will need to resist us if we resist Him.

God will hear, and aict them, Even He who abides from ofold. Selah Because they do not change, erefore they do notfear God. (Psalms 55:19)

We must be very careful in times of change. Sometimes wecan have a vested interest in the structures of the past, so we resistfor personal reasons. This is often true when denominational struc-tures are threatened. This can involve pensions, promotions, status,and any natural securities that could be easy explanations for one toresist a fresh wave of God. For the people in modern independentmovements, this could involve the loss of fellowship circles one hasdeveloped. It could even threaten book and tape sales if the freshmove involves change in our understanding. This is why we musthear the admonition of the apostle John as he sought to bring afresh revelation to the churches of his day.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to thechurches . . . (Revelation 2:11)

Before we talk about what God is going to do, lets discusswhat He has been doing in recent times. The major movement ofthe last 100 years has been the Pentecostal-charismatic Movement.This wave came from the Holiness Movement that came from themove preceding it. Early America was greatly influenced by whatwas called the First Great Awakening. This movement began in theyears leading up to the Revolutionary War and was credited bymany as the catalyst for the war. This first revival stirred people tounderstand they could have a personal encounter with God. Thiswas far different than the earlier experiences most people were fa-miliar with.

In Europe, where most of the earliest settlers came from, mostcountries had state churches. These churches were supported by thestates, and people were born not just in the country but into thechurch. Many saw the church like the early history of the childrenof Israel. You were born into the church through your family. Thefamilies confirmed this through baptism. Most were baptized as in-fants following the admonition God gave to Abraham. The sign ofthe covenant was circumcision and was to be administered by achilds eighth day of life under the old covenant. The new covenantinitiation, baptism, would be administered in like manner throughthe church; and your affiliation with the church was a birthright.

This concept was challenged by the Anabaptists who believedonly believers should be baptized. They also stood for the biblicalexample of baptism, which was through immersion in water, ratherthan the prevalent practice of sprinkling. The Anabaptist movementflourished but did not have a state supported partner, so it was morea popular movement than an established one. Many popular move-ments were led by people motivated to reform the establishedchurch since most people saw this as the only pattern they knew.When the New World began to be settled by Europeans, some sawthis as an opportunity to escape from religious persecution their dif-ferent ideas brought to them. These people sowed the seeds for a

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time of revival that would not only shape the thoughts of the peo-ple, but would become a great influence on the United States ofAmerica.

Without the established state churches watching over the peo-ple, revival became a big time event in the New World. The em-phasis in these revivals was that each person could have a personalencounter with God. These revivals stirred the people in their walkwith God and made them want freedom from the future influenceof an established state church. The early American Christian wantedthe separation of church and state in order to allow each person toget in touch with their call and destiny in God. Contrary to mod-ern times, this concept was not to hinder Christianity but to releaseit. No one would have been in favor of the separation of God fromcountry, but individual freedom to pursue God was very important.

This call for freedom from the state also set the groundworkfor the call for independence from Europe; hence, contributing tothe force of the early revolution and the Declaration of Independ-ence in 1776. This is why it was called an awakening rather thanjust a revival. It awakened and influenced the land. We need anawakening today, not just a revival!

As the move of God stirred the country, a strong voice washeard through many spokesmen of God seeking for the church andthe individual Christian to be everything God wanted them to be.One man, who had a great influence on this country in this firstawakening, was John Wesley. Johns message of Christian perfec-tion sowed the seed for the next revival, which was the HolinessMovement. The Holiness Movement not only spoke of Christianperfection, but spoke of a second work of grace. This second workof grace would lead to an experience in the Holy Spirit. This laid thegroundwork for the Pentecostal-charismatic Movement.

The reason I wanted to share this brief review of the move ofGod is so we could understand the need for progression andchange. The changes should not just prepare us for the times, butshould give us the ability to impact the times. This has been a con-stant throughout the history of the United States of America. Thecountry has changed, but the church has helped shape those

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changes. If ever there was a time when this was important, it istoday. We, the church, need to move forward in God so we can bethe catalyst for proper change.

It is a common thing for Christians to long for the good oledays. Because Christians have a tendency to a conservative bent,we often have an initial response of being reactive rather thanproactive to the events of our time. As Christians, we must believethe progression of history is in Gods hands. I like to say it is HisStory, but this doesnt work in every language. However, it is ab-solutely true that God is indeed the God of History; and for thechurch, this means the future will lead to a greater glory.

There was a time when the people of God in the Old Testa-ment were very discouraged. They had been in captivity in Baby-lon for seventy years. In the fulfillment of prophecy, God tookthem back to the land of promise. Their job was the restoration ofthe temple and the City of Jerusalem. As they paused to look atwhat they had accomplished the people said, This isnt as glori-ous as the old days when Solomon built the temple. They re-membered the glory of Solomons temple and lamented their day.God sent the prophet Haggai to encourage them. He wantedthem to see the glory of what was before them, but He also gavethem insight into the days far into the future. We must always re-member that we are all just building a part, and each generationis building for the ones to come.

For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once more (it is a littlewhile) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the De-sire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, saysthe LORD of hosts. e silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,says the LORD of hosts. e glory of this latter temple shallbe greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And inthis place I will give peace, says the LORD of hosts. (Haggai2:6-9)


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We are now living in another day when God is shaking every-thing that can be shaken. We must be very careful not to thinkabout the good old days, but we must be empowered for this day.God is not the God of the past only. He is the God of today and to-morrow.

And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and theOmega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the foun-tain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who over-comes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and heshall be My son. (Revelation 21:6-7)

The apostle John saw the finished work of God. He sawsomething glorious and powerful instigated and completed by theAlmighty God. The capstone of His purpose is when the childrenof God become the sons of God and learn to be an overcomer orconqueror in this life. It is time! The former things have come topass. It is a New Day! The Pentecostal-charismatic moves haverun their course. It has been an amazing time, but God is saying itis time to move forward.

Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holymountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For theday of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: (Joel 2:1)

The Lord is going to move in an amazing way. As He shakeseverything that can be shaken, we must be aware of the reverbera-tions.

A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thickdarkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.A people come, great and strong, e like of whom has neverbeen; Nor will there ever be any such aer them, Even formany successive generations. (Joel 2:2)

This is why we, as the people God, must remember that whatGod is doing may be totally opposite of what we see in the world.

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As a matter of fact, in the day we are called to arise and shine, theworld will be covered with great darkness.

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of theLORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall coverthe earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD willarise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. e Gen-tiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness ofyour rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

God is looking for us to arise as the light of the world. Theworld needs us as a guiding light. The term gross darkness in theoriginal words speaks of a heaviness or emotional distress. The wayof man leads to emotional distress and death. In these times, we arecalled to be the healing balm of God to our world. It is time for thechurch to arise and have an impact on our world!

I would like to emphatically declare that the Pentecostal-charismatic Movement has run its course. It is a New Day andtime for a new visitation and refreshing that will take us to anotherlevel. This movement must be initiated by a fresh revelation of theWord. Our theology forms the mindset that limits us from follow-ing God. When Jesus Christ came to the earth, He was the fulfill-ment of the expectation the people of God looked to for manyyears. Yet when He came, their preconceived ideas created a worldJesus couldnt fit into. What a sad story that when Jesus came to Hisown, they rejected Him.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him,and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, andHis own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him,to them He gave the right to become children of God, to thosewho believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor ofthe will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John1:10-13)

We must open our minds in this time to receive the fresh vis-itation from God. In the book of Isaiah 42:9, God admonishes the


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prophet to announce the day of new things and declares, Beforethey spring forth I tell you of them. The reason God tells us be-fore hand is so there is a scriptural mindset to receive them. Thechildren of Israel had the word, but they were not open to a freshrevelation of these things.

The Lord doesnt do anything the Scriptures declare withoutfirst speaking it to His prophets. The prophetic voice prepares theway for the Lord to move. The example of this in the time of Christwas the ministry of John the Baptist.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilder-ness of Judea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heavenis at hand! For this is he who was spoken of by the prophetIsaiah, saying: e voice of one crying in the wilderness:Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.(Matthew 3:1-3)

Many of the followers of Jesus Christ were the former fol-lowers of John the Baptist. His ministry prepared them to receivethe Christ. In every fresh visitation from God, God will first raise upa messenger to prepare the hearts of the people. This will breakdown the mindsets and traditions that will hinder us from receivingthe word.

Sometimes the move of God will coincide with new inven-tions or times of great change. These changes may not seem directlyrelated, but you will be able to see Gods hand as time progresses.The invention of the printing press helped pave the way for the ref-ormation. These inventions and sometimes cultural changes notonly have facilitated change, but allowed change to happen at amuch quicker pace. The actual reformation that birthed the Protes-tant Reformation didnt come until the church was over 1500 yearsold. This could give the impression it did not fit in with what Godwas doing since the other part had been so long in coming. Yet fromthe time of the reformation until today, the moves have been in-creasingly effective in bringing change at an amazing speed. In

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human history, change seems to be accelerating. It also is accelerat-ing in the church.

The next component of change, and more important to us, isthe work of people in the plan of God. Martin Luther, and otherswho followed, set the stage for God to move. Although not for-mally recognized as prophets, they certainly fulfilled this ministry.The history of the church is one of progression always instigated bya messenger with a fresh perspective on the Word of God. The mes-senger prepares the way for the message and the refreshing of God.The Lord came on the road of revelation and repentance made pos-sible through the Word of God. It was true for Christ when He firstcame, and it is also true throughout the history of the church. Hecame to bring His people to a new level of experience and under-standing.

Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the waybefore Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly cometo His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whomyou delight. Behold, He is coming, Says the LORD of hosts.But who can endure the day of His coming? And who canstand when He appears? For He is like a refiners fire And likelaunderers soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of sil-ver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as goldand silver, at they may oer to the LORD An oering inrighteousness. (Malachi 3:1-3)

As it was in the early church, God needs an apostolicprophetic witness to establish this order. As the apostle of the Chris-tian church, Paul set the example of the true role of an apostle. Therole of the apostle is to bring revelation and enlightenment to thepeople of God. This was expressed by Paul to the church of Eph-esus.

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesusand your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to givethanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that


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the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, maygive to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowl-edge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlight-ened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling,what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in thesaints, (Ephesians 1:15-18)

In order to be a messenger of revelation, it must first be im-parted to you.

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for youGentiles if indeed you have heard of the dispensation ofthe grace of God which was given to me for you, how that byrevelation He made known to me the mystery (as I havebriefly written already, by which, when you read, you mayunderstand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), whichin other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as ithas now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles andprophets: (Ephesians 3:1-5)

As I mentioned earlier, not every person who has the apostolicor prophetic ministry may call it that; yet, when God gives a personrevelation and they declare it to the people of God that is what it is.From Martin Luther, who had a revelation of grace, to John Wes-ley, whose heart was strangely warmed and traveled countlesshours to share his experience, God has raised up this apostolic andprophetic witness throughout the ages of church history. I come toyou with a word from God. I have been inspired, instructed, andtested by this word of the New Day; and now I bring it to you. I donot ask you to believe it because I say it but because it is clearly re-vealed in the Scriptures, and now I declare it to you. You can go tothe website of the church I pastor and see these things have a tan-gible expression. I hope to help you open your mind and heart toa fresh move of God! Lets hear what God wants us to hear in thispresent day move of God!

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New Perspective: Every time God has moved in a new way, theformer move has always been the opponent of change. Manypeople in the Holiness Movement resisted the Pentecostaloutpouring. Quite naturally, the Pentecostals initially resisted thecharismatic movement. The ones who stepped out and embracedthe change not only had a great experience but found themselvesbecoming leaders in the new move. Dont just say no to what Godis speaking; taste and see!


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Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over thisJordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am givingto them(Joshua 1:2)

In the opening of the book of Joshua, the Lord declares to thepeople, Moses my servant is dead. This was an obvious state-ment, but one that needed to be made. Moses had led the peopleof Israel for over forty years, and now there would come a time ofchange. Their circumstances and challenges would be different,and this would require a change of leadership. The people hadmany complaints about Moses over the years, but there is always asense of security one has from the stability of leadership. Thischange would not only be of the person, but also of the style ofleadership. Moses led as a pastor who guided and fed the sheep.The burden of the people quickly became his burden, and he will-ingly laid down his life for them. Moses was a true shepherd. Thegood shepherd Jesus said, He gives His life for the sheep.

Now would come a time of transition. The new era would re-quire a commander of the people. They needed someone whowould lead them into the Promised Land. The new leader wouldhave to be someone like Joshua who had been a military leader. Thenew leader would be one who would challenge them to accept theresponsibility to take possession of the promises of God.

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Chapter Two

Forty years earlier, when the children of Israel first encoun-tered the Promised Land, they were afraid to take possession of theland. They had sent spies ahead into the land, and they came backwith the report that there were giants in the land. When the peopleheard there were giants in the land they said, We are like grasshop-pers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. This is an in-teresting verse because it is very true that people will see us as we seeourselves. If you see yourself as a grasshopper before your enemies,then they will certainly sense your fear and apprehension. Joshuaand Caleb were of a different spirit than the rest. When Joshua andCaleb saw the giants, they saw a spiritual dinner.

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh,who were among those who had spied out the land, tore theirclothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the childrenof Israel, saying: e land we passed through to spy out isan exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, thenHe will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land whichflows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against theLORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread;their protection has departed from them, and the LORD iswith us. Do not fear them. And all the congregation said tostone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appearedin the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.(Numbers 14:6-10)

Joshua and Caleb stood for the truth but were rejected by thepeople. I am sure it was very disappointing that the people could notsee what they saw. Yet, God had Joshua and Caleb reserved for an-other day. They would one day be in a position to lead, but the timewas not yet. They had to be prepared for another day. Perhaps, eventhis rejection was a part of their training.

As I share this word of the New Day, I know there are manyGod has prepared for this time, to be a part of the training of oth-ers. You may have even been through a time of rejection. God wantsyou to know this is just a part of your training; but in this day, be

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bold and strong for the Lord is calling you for such a time as this.Joshua and Caleb didnt respond the way Moses did nor the way thepeople did, but the time would come when this experience wouldbe revealed as them having the spirit necessary for the New Day.

When God announced His judgment upon the children of Is-rael, the children of Israel would wander in the wilderness until allthe men of war died. Only Joshua and Caleb would be spared. Theywould return as the leaders of the people who would go in and pos-sess the land. God needed bold and strong people, and they wouldbe lead by strong leaders. Joshua would spend the next forty yearspreparing for the time when He would assume the leadership of thepeople. As the assistant to Moses, Joshua would lead the men ofwar in the time of the wilderness judgment.

In 1972, I was invited to a place called the Prayer House. Iwas seventeen at the time. I had been raised in a full gospelchurch but had not entered the walk of the Spirit, although I had apersonal relationship with Jesus Christ. This Prayer House was aChristian coffee house that was part of the Jesus People Movement.This was a specific youth oriented ministry, part of the greatercharismatic movement. The charismatic movement had been rec-ognized for about ten years at this time, but it was now becominga tidal wave that would sweep the world and bring in a great har-vest to the kingdom of God.

The charismatic movement was a wave that came after thePentecostal Movement. Pentecostalism had reached millions; butnow with this next thrust of the Spirit of God, literally hundreds ofmillions would be reached. I was filled with the Holy Spirit at thePrayer House and received my call into the ministry. These wereamazing times when many great influential leaders and ministrieswere raised up. At this time there was a great hunger for the Word,especially instruction. Many teachers and teaching ministries wereraised up by God for the occasion.

For me and my family, this meant a connection to a church inDetroit, Michigan about forty miles from our home. Through theradio ministry of James Beall, we heard about the Bethesda Mis-sionary Temple. Bethesda had been a voice during what was com-

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monly called the Latter Rain Movement. Myrtle Beall, Jamesmother, had founded the Bethesda Missionary Temple when awoman in the ministry was not the norm. Bethesda was part of therevival of the late 40s that was like a second generational wind fromthe Pentecostal Movement. This movement in many ways was theprecursor to the charismatic movement. Bethesda was a revival cen-ter who for three years had church almost every day and often twotimes a day.

During the revival, God spoke to Sister Beall that there was aneed for sanity in service. She began to turn the ship of theirchurch ministry from everyday and night church services to achurch with a strong structure and teaching ministry. Althoughmany disapproved of her shutting down the revival, the changemade them ready to serve the needs of the charismatic movement.As the charismatic movement hungered for instruction, Bethesdawas ready to receive thousands and instruct them in the Word. Sis-ter Bealls son, James, became well known in the charismatic move-ment and her daughter wrote a foundations course that wasembraced by many churches.

You see, if we will listen, God will not only feed us but He willprepare us for the next level He wants to take us to. If we are will-ing, we can also be prepared to lead when the occasion rises.

The 1970s and 1980s were a great time of hunger for in-struction in the charismatic movement. It was during this time in1978, we started the church I now pastor: Mt. Zion Church inClarkston, Michigan. We grew as a church in this environment. In1990, we moved into a new facility on 52 acres of land. In thosedays, the Lord began to speak to us about the need for the Joshuageneration to be prepared to go into the next level in the things ofGod. I spoke about this quite often. My wife, Bonnie, and I wentto a ministry conference in St. Louis, Missouri and heard a womannamed Fuchsia Pickett. She said God had called her out of her pas-toral ministry to raise up the Joshua generation. I was very excitedabout this confirming word and about the call I sensed, not only formyself, but for the body of Christ.

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As I mentioned in the introduction, Isaiah 55 says that theword goes forth as bread for the eater and seed for the sower. Tome, this means that sometimes the word will come and bring a senseof nourishment and satisfaction. This is the bread for the eater.Other times, the word will come and will plant something in us thatwill grow over time. These seed for the sower words will stick inour spirit, and we will know it is something we are to hold on to andnourish for another day.

A few years ago the Lord spoke to me once again that it wastime for the Joshua generation to rise up. I said, Lord, I said thesethings twenty years ago; and although there was a great movementand a confirming word, nothing really of substance happened. Thiswas when the Lord gave me a new perspective on what He wasgoing to do.

When the Lord called Joshua to his full call, it would be afterforty years of serving under Moses. Moses laid hands on him andconferred his mantle of leadership on Joshua.

Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom,for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israelheeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet likeMoses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signsand wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land ofEgypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all hisland, and by all that mighty power and all the great terrorwhich Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteron-omy 34:9-12)

Joshua had some big shoes to fill; but Moses had conferredhonor and recognition on him, so the people willingly accepted hisleadership. I am sure it helped that Joshua had also displayed hisloyalty and service to Moses as a witness to the people. It wasthrough this service experience and the conferring of the spiritualblessing through the laying on of hands that Joshua would be pre-pared to take over the leadership of the people. God is a God who


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prepares us ahead of time; and when God starts to move in a freshway, we should be able to see continuity in what He is doing. NowI could see how God had laid the foundation for a new time.

I realized at this point, that the Joshua generation was not thepeople who go in and possess the land; but they are the leaders Godwould prepare to take the younger generation into the land. Joshuaand Caleb stood for God and showed themselves to be of a differ-ent spirit than their generation. God called them as leaders for thenext move. I believe there are many people who are being preparedby God to lead this next generation. God has put it in their heartsnot just to move forward in God, but to lead others in. This gen-eration of leadership was trained through the Moses leadership,but for this move a whole new leadership mindset is necessary.Moses was a true shepherd who led the people; but in the end, hewas not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Although Moses wasalways motivated for the people, in the end of his ministry, it was hisresponse to the people that caused him to transgress against God.

And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together be-fore the rock; and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels!Must we bring water for you out of this rock? en Moseslied his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; andwater came out abundantly, and the congregation and theiranimals drank. en the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron,Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes ofthe children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this as-sembly into the land which I have given them. is was thewater of Meribah, because the children of Israel contendedwith the LORD, and He was hallowed among them. (Num-bers 20:10-13)

Moses did two things here that brought his loss of steward-ship. When the people complained they had no water to drink in thepast, God had told him to strike the rock. Now they were facing thesame situation. This time God told him to speak to the rock. Be-cause he was angry with the people, in his emotional outburst he

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followed the pattern of the past and did not obey God. The in-structions from God may change because of the time and what Godwants to accomplish. We must listen to God and obey His words.With God it is obedience that matters. Moses blamed his behavioron the people. It was obvious from the past experience that Godcould not have leadership that blamed the people for their actions.He wanted leadership that would stand against the people if thiswas necessary. Joshua and Caleb had already demonstrated this at-tribute. Unfortunately for Moses, his unwillingness to change ex-cluded him from going into the Promised Land.

People do not easily accept change. Leadership that initiatesthe change must be strong and able to handle adversity. WhenMoses went to deliver them, the people were not willing partici-pants because of the brokenness of their spirits. Although not nec-essarily willing to be delivered, the Lord brought the children ofIsrael out with a mighty hand. Moses was the vessel of Gods mirac-ulous provision. When it came time to go into the Promised Land,the people had to be willing to fight for themselves. This requireda new focus for the leadership.

It is one thing to exercise faith when you dont have a choice,but it is another thing to exercise faith as a choice. It takes a level ofmaturity and strength to say, I will exercise faith even when I donthave to. Most people only live in the level of faith that is necessaryfor their need. For many this is just saving faith. The declarationof this level of faith is: As long as I accept Jesus Christ as my personalsavior, I will be able to go to heaven when I die. Throughout mylife, I have found that Christians promoted this level of faith bytelling people to make the choice for Jesus so they wouldnt go tohell. This why not believe has caused people to think it is okay tohave a single faith experience that they can settle on for the rest oftheir lives. This is not what God says about those who are justifiedby faith.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith tofaith; as it is written, e just shall live by faith. (Romans1:17)


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This was the kind of faith the children of Israel walked inwhen they were delivered from Egypt. They simply had faith inMoses as he went to God for them and confronted the Pharaoh.When they were wandering in the wilderness, even in the extendedforty years of time, faith was only exercised when they were forcedto. When they needed bread, God sent them the manna. When theyneeded water, God performed a miracle and brought water fromthe rock. When they wanted meat to eat, God sent them quails in asupernatural fashion. So faith for the need became faith for theirdesire; but in both cases this was not a faith of choice, it was a faithdemanded of them in their circumstances. When they came to thePromised Land, it would be time to exercise the faith of choice.When they surveyed the land flowing with milk and honey andweighed in the giants, they voted no! We do not want this Prom-ised Land. What they did not understand about God is that Hedoesnt accept it when we decline His gifts. Jesus Christ is the per-fect of example of this.

Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kissthe Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, WhenHis wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who puttheir trust in Him. (Psalms 2:11-12)

God wants us to move forward. This is the time for the glo-rious and victorious church to arise. This will not be the church thatlives in the dimension of required faith but those who will accept thechallenge of faith to take possession of all things God has for us. Itwill be a church of faith who will also take possession of what He hasas a part of His eternal purpose to bring forth His glory in the earth.This level will be for the mature believers. This level will be for apeople that are not self-seeking but a people who are God seeking!What is God seeking? The Word is very clear. God has an eternalpurpose and plan for the earth and for His people. He first declaredHis intent when He declared He would create man in His imageand likeness. This creation of God would be given dominion andstewardship of all the works of His hands.

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What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son ofman that You visit him? For You have made him a little lowerthan the angels, And You have crowned him with glory andhonor. You have made him to have dominion over the worksof Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, (Psalms8:4-6)

Like the writer of this Psalm, we might think it incredulousGod would have such a grand intent for man. We may even have de-veloped a theology to reinforce this doubt. What would that theol-ogy be? We would think the history of man recorded in the Wordis a documentation of human failure and utter depravity and be con-vinced our only hope is a divine rescue. We should take note thatafter the initial failure of mankind to live up to Gods intent, HeHimself declared that even in the midst of their failure He wantedthem to know that before history was over the seed of the womanwould indeed triumph over satan!

So the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you havedone this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more thanevery beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And youshall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmityBetween you and the woman, And between your seed andher seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise Hisheel. (Genesis 3:14-15)

This prophecy is confirmed in the book of the Revelation.

en I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation,and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power ofHis Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, whoaccused them before our God day and night, has been castdown. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb andby the word of their testimony, and they did not love theirlives to the death. (Revelation 12:10-11)


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We are living in a time when God is calling us to a new timeof refreshing. We are in the midst of it. When I was a part of theJesus People Movement, I saw a group of people who were madealive and refreshed but who often lived carnal lives succumbing tothe flesh more often than walking in the Spirit. If I looked at myown world, I could have thought there was no power in this moveand nothing would come of it. In hindsight, this was not the case.The greater charismatic movement and the accompanying movesliterally were a wave that had an amazing effect. The move of Godspread to the nations of the world bringing forth a powerful witnessin Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Now these far-flung nations ofthe world are adding a whole new dimension to Christianity andPentecostalism that has outgrown the core in the United States.This is why we need the prophetic and the apostolic move. Throughthese ministries, we can see the bigger picture while God is work-ing out the details in our local ministries.

It is time for a refreshing from the throne of God. Each timeGod sends a refreshing it brings us closer to His long-term purpose.His purpose has been revealed through the Word. It has been fore-told through the prophetic words God has sent to us. As I men-tioned earlier about the original sin of man, the first propheticdeclaration was made by God Himself. Before the end of timecomes, all things foretold by the prophets will come to pass.

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may beblotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from thepresence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, whowas preached to you before, whom heaven must receive untilthe times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken bythe mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.(Acts 3:19-21)

To fully receive this refreshing, we must repent and allowourselves to be changed. Repentance is a change of mind thatbrings a change of direction. It is time for a new direction for thepeople of God where we set our aim in the direction God wants us

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to move towards. The most important change in this move mustinvolve our turning from a self-centered approach to our theologyto a God centered one. Our expectation must be set on His ex-pectation. It is time to mature to where we are looking for whatGod is looking for.

Like the children of Israel as they approached the PromisedLand, we must understand Gods plan includes a blessing for us,but also a challenge. Moses always confronted the challenges facedby the people and offered relief with divine assistance. Joshua wouldnow come forth as a new leader who would encourage the peopleto face their challenges. Joshua sought the Lord for the divinestrategies, but the people had to take possession of the inheritanceGod had for them. This is the difference between an apostolic leaderand a pastoral leader. This is leadership that will take the peoplewhere they need to go, not just where they want to go. The Joshuageneration of leaders will be strong in their commitment to Godand strong in their exhortation to the people to fully follow whatGod has for them.

Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity andin truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served onthe other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! Andif it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselvesthis day whom you will serve, whether the gods which yourfathers served that were on the other side of the River, or thegods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for meand my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Finally, we must understand our individual purpose and walkwith God is tied into the whole purpose and counsel of God. Eachof the children of Israel had an inheritance in the land, but God hada stake in this land as well. This is why the individual promise couldnot be ignored. Failure to go after Gods promise for them wouldalso not give God His part. Putting God first is the key to power andauthority in our life. Jesus put it this way:


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erefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? orWhat shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For aer allthese things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Fatherknows that you need all these things. But seek first the king-dom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shallbe added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

Give yourself to a greater purpose than your own. The king-dom of God has a tangible expression in the church. The church isthe visible demonstration of what God is doing. We need to com-mit our lives to the church, and as ministers we should set ourchurch ministries on Gods purpose and not our own!

New Perspective: Have you been discouraged because things havenot gone the way you thought they would or should? Will you stopand say, Lord I believe I am in your hands, and I want to see whatyou want me to see. Do you think you missed out when it maybe you have been reserved for another day? Was what you calledfailure simply training for something better than you could haveknown? Your prayer should be: Open my eyes and my ears Lord!

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Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, butHe will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. Aertwo days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise usup, at we may live in His sight. (Hosea 6:1-2)

The third day is a significant concept to the believer. JesusChrist died, was buried, and He rose on the third day. The thirdday is the day of resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ cameafter a time of pain from a crucifixion imposed for the eternal pur-pose the Father had for Him and for the earth. Before the crucifix-ion, Jesus Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane. In the garden,He struggled with the pain He would face; but He ultimately said,Father not My will, but Yours, be done. If you notice here inHosea, it says of God, He has torn; He has stricken. This wasdefinitely a messianic prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. He wasstricken by the Father for the sins of the world. It was only His sac-rifice that could atone for the sins of the people, so there could nothave been any other choice.

This is an important observation concerning biblicalprophecy. This Word was first for the people of the time who hadcome under judgment from God for their sin and iniquity. Yet, italso had a prophetic declaration concerning the future. We can seethis in many of the prophetic declarations in the Scripture, and it is

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Chapter Three

very important in our interpretation of prophetic things. Also, withprophetic insight we can draw personal and prophetic insight intoour time. The prophetic word will always reveal a divine principlethat is applicable even though it was spoken for a specific time. Thisis true of all Scripture.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitablefor doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction inrighteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thor-oughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We can see this when reading the book of the Revelation.Many have argued the prophecies of this book are historical andshould only be seen in the setting of the time John received them.The whore who sits on the seven hills would obviously be theRoman Empire, which was the great power of the time. Rome ac-tually is situated on seven hills. Many of the allegories could be eas-ily applied to the time John received them. Yet, many of theprophecies of this book could have been applied to numerous eventsin human history since then, because the principles have been re-peated time and time again. Many of the things mentioned in theRevelation were applied by Bible prophecy teachers during theGreat Depression and World War II. Hitler and Stalin were certainlyanti-christs who received power from the devil to deceive nationsand spread death and persecution to many.

The problem we have had in the past is that the end did notcome; so we assumed the prophecies to be wrong, and have lookedfor their fulfillment to come at another time. It is important to seehow the principles of sin, iniquity, and godliness have an applica-tion at all times with the same results. Sin brings death; and right-eousness, sometimes after a time of persecution, will prevail.

I want to exhort those who are reading this book to hear theadmonition of the apostle John to the people to which he wrote thebook of Revelation.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to thechurches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from thetree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.(Revelation 2:7)

To each of the seven churches John admonished the ones whohad an ear, to hear what the Spirit was speaking to the churches. AsChristians, we have to have an ear to hear what God is speaking tothe church. Just as it was true in the time of John, so it is true in ourday. Even though we have the ear, we must choose to hear, or lis-ten, to what the Spirit is speaking to the church. God gives us thisability through the Holy Spirit.

But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Norhave entered into the heart of man e things which God hasprepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed themto us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes,the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of aman except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so noone knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Nowwe have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spiritwho is from God, that we might know the things that havebeen freely given to us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12)

The people in the time of Jesus Christ did not exercise theirspiritual perception to see what God was doing in the earth. As amatter of fact, they not only did not receive Jesus Christ, they cru-cified Him.

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yetnot the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, whoare coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in amystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before theages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew;for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lordof glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-8)

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Fortunately, God factors human failure into His plan. He evenuses our mistakes to enhance and advance His plan. What an amaz-ing God we have! It is more amazing for us when we matureenough to be in Gods plan with awareness and not ignorance. Thisis why the apostle speaks about the wisdom for the mature. Thiswisdom requires us to be spiritually perceptive and not just to re-spond emotionally or even intellectually to what God is doing. Themature way is to first hear what the Spirit is saying, then filter itthrough the Word of God before we limit it by our own human lim-itations.

It is the third day resurrection in this scripture that appliesto Jesus Christ. On the third day, He not only was raised from thedead but He also took His place in the heavenly sphere making in-tercession for the saints. It is important to note that to get to thisplace He had to go through a place of suffering. It doesnt take aprophet to note that in these days many Christians have beenthrough difficult times. This can be seen in its most drastic waywith the persecution of many Christians in Africa and the MiddleEast. For Christians, martyrdom is becoming a common thing inmany places of the world. The Christian church in China is grow-ing and prospering, although, it is facing great persecution from thegovernment. Even in the United Sates, although we are not underdirect persecution, the secular culture is coming against Christiantraditions that have enforced Christian values.

Why have so many been in conflict? I believe it is because theLord is getting ready to move in a powerful way. The persecutionor problems we have faced will be part of the plan of resurrectionin this third day. First, we experience Gods healing, then we will ex-perience revival; and finally, we will stand up and live in His sight.

This is also a picture of the next move of God. Our first ex-perience in God is when He comes and heals us from our sin andbrokenness. Our second experience is the reviving of the HolySpirit. The second day has been experienced in the Pentecostal-charismatic Movement. This is the third day when God will trulyraise us up, and we will live in His sight.

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This was the vision Ezekiel saw in the valley of dry bones.What he saw was threefold in nature. As Ezekiel prophesied to thedry bones, first, they came together; then, flesh and sinew wasadded; and finally, the breath of God caused them to arise.

Also He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son ofman, and say to the breath, us says the Lord GOD: Comefrom the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain,that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me,and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upontheir feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezekiel 37:9 -10)

You may think youve already been made alive. This prophecyis not to the individual, but to the body of Christ. This is the timewhen the body will come together as an exceeding great army. Thework God will do in this time will truly cause us to live in His sight.This literally translates to living before His face. This representsanother level of relationship with God which is much more personalthan we have known in the past. This may seem impossible formany, but we must all prepare ourselves for a greater revelation ofGod and His glory.

During the days I spent in the Pentecostal-charismatic Move-ment, I often heard sermons on Ezekiels army. We saw the ex-ceeding great army rising to its feet. We were excited about beinga part of that army. Unfortunately, we misunderstood the third step.Although we understood about coming alive and the power of re-vival, we did not understand what it took to rise up. Although weexperienced the coming together and the resurrection breath of theliving God, we had not understood the experience that was requiredin this third level. This present move is more than just a revival.

In the past move, after we were made alive by the power ofthe Holy Spirit, we would have revivals to keep the life we had re-ceived flowing. Revivals were wonderful but often didnt go any-where. When you heard of great revivals, in time, they would runout of gas; and we would be looking for the next move of revivaltrying to figure out why the last one did not go on forever. The


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problem is that we didnt understand revival was not an end in it-self. Revival comes so we can stand up to or for something. Oncewe are made alive, we need to realize this experience has a purpose.We shouldnt be trying to re-enact the same experiences over andover, but we should be asking God what we are supposed to do withthe anointing He has laid upon us. This isnt the time for anotherrevival. This is a time to arise!

The prophet Isaiah had much to say about what God wantsto do in and through His people. The Bible is very clear that manydark things will befall the earth in these latter days of time. But inthe midst of the great darkness of the time, we need to arise as neverbefore.

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of theLORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall coverthe earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD willarise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. e Gen-tiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness ofyour rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

This is a time when God wants the light of His Word to bemanifested in and through His people. The world needs us to bewho God has made us to be. We need to be both light and salt toour world.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor,how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to bethrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are thelight of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on alampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Letyour light so shine before men, that they may see your goodworks and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

To walk in this level, will require maturity. To arise and shinewhen gross darkness is all around us requires a high level of faith.Not just faith, but faith perception. This means we are not just look-

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ing at the world from normal, logical, or emotional dispositions butwith the eye and the perception God wants to give. This is why theapostolic-prophetic ministry must be a vital part of this time. Theseministries are required to bring us to the level of perception wherewe see the world from the divine and spiritual perspective.

The prophet Elishas ministry demonstrated how this works.He had such spiritual perception the King of Syria thought he had aspy in his midst; since, somebody knew everything that was goingon. Someone finally informed him what the problem was. Israel hada prophet by the name of Elisha who could inform them of infor-mation he received from God. The king was so upset he sent an armyafter Elisha. When the prophets servant saw the army that wasagainst them, Elisha opened his eyes to a whole new dimension.

And when the servant of the man of God arose early and wentout, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses andchariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! Whatshall we do? So he answered, Do not fear, for those who arewith us are more than those who are with them. And Elishaprayed, and said, LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he maysee. en the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, andhe saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and char-iots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17)

A prophet isnt just someone who prophesies. A prophet isone who sees the reality of the kingdom of God and makes decla-ration of these things to others. When we see the kingdom realityand not just the natural one, we are able to function in a time ofdarkness as the children of light in our world. Hosea said that on thethird day we would live in His sight. This literally means we will seeGod face to face. When you see God for who He is, it changes yourperspective on everything.

Many people who claim to be prophets are only people whoprophesy. How can you tell the difference? You look at the responsethey seek from the people. A prophetical ministry will produce thelife of the Spirit. When you see what the true prophet sees, you will


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walk in the spirit and not the flesh. There is a big difference be-tween a spiritual and a carnal response. We need to know the dif-ference to understand what is motivating us.

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lustof the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spiritagainst the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, sothat you do not do the things that you wish. But if you areled by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works ofthe flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, un-cleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in timepast, that those who practice such things will not inherit thekingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,longsuering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who areChrists have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let usnot become conceited, provoking one another, envying oneanother. (Galatians 5:16-26)

It is time to have a present tense experience with the king-dom of God. When Jesus began His ministry, He spoke of the re-ality of the kingdom for the day. His message was the kingdom ofheaven is at hand. It is time to both see and enter the reality of thekingdom.

When speaking about prophets, Jesus Christ spoke about theimportance of judging the prophet.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps cloth-ing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will knowthem by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushesor figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit,but a bad tree bears bad fruit. (Matthew 7:15-17)

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It is interesting that this verse is in the same chapter that beginsby saying, Judge not, that you be not judged. Many Christians pickthis statement out of the Bible and think we are never to judge any-one. When seen in the context, it is obvious Jesus is telling us not tobe judgmental; but at the same time, we must understand that theability to judge, or to be discerning, is a sign of spiritual maturity.

But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself isrightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind ofthe LORD that he may instruct Him? But we have the mindof Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)

As Christians, the call to the third level requires us to be a dis-cerning and mature people. Many Christians are immature in theirunderstanding. Because of this, they are either judgmental, alwaysfinding fault; or they are always accepting and approving withoutthe spiritual discernment to make proper choices. Spiritual imma-turity is when we walk with our natural senses and understandingrather than walking with spiritual understanding.

ese things we also speak, not in words which mans wisdomteaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiri-tual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not re-ceive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness tohim; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually dis-cerned. (1 Corinthians 2:13-14)

As the church begins to rise up to walk in His sight, wemust be careful to learn the difference between what is of God andwhat is of the world. We need to learn how to walk with spiritualdiscernment, and the church leaders must teach the people of Godin this understanding. It is no longer a time when the people ofGod can walk in immaturity, but they must be able to discern whatis of God and what is not of God.

And they shall teach My people the dierence between theholy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the


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unclean and the clean. In controversy they shall stand asjudges, and judge it according to My judgments. ey shallkeep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings,and they shall hallow My Sabbaths. (Ezekiel 44:23-24)

The most important consideration we must make about aprophet, according to Jesus Christ, is our willingness to judge thefruit of a person; their ministry; and the results of their ministry.This is quite different from the normal charismatic judgment thatwas based upon gifts rather than fruit. A person can be gifted andnot at all spiritual. One can have a spiritual gift as soon as they re-ceive the Holy Spirit, but this does not mean the person is spiritualin their motivations.

When I received the Holy Spirit at age seventeen, I immedi-ately operated in the gift of prophecy; the word of knowledge; anddiscerning of spirits. These are all revelatory gifts important inprophetic ministry. These gifts did not make me a mature Chris-tian. The use and operation of those gifts needed the refinement ofmaturity through knowledge, experience, and allowing God to dealwith my heart. The Scriptures are clear that the fullness of the giftswill come as we learn to walk in the perfection God wants to bringall Christians into.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they willfail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether thereis knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and weprophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come,then that which is in part will be done away. When I was achild, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought asa child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. NowI know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.(1 Corinthians 13:8-12)

Many Christians teach the perfect thing was the Bible, so allspiritual gifts and apostolic-prophetic ministry ceased to be neces-

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sary because of the witness of the Word. Those of us who have ex-perienced the Pentecostal-charismatic Movement know this isnttrue, but do we know what perfection we are looking for. God iscalling us to the place of perfection.

erefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principlesof Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foun-dation of repentance from dead works and of faith towardGod, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of res-urrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this wewill do if God permits. (Hebrews 6:1-3)

What is perfection in this context? It is completeness or full-ness that comes with maturity and the manifestation of fruit. Thisis the time when God is saying, I am giving permits for completionand fullness. This is the time for maturity as Christians. It is thetime for maturity in the ministry of the body of Christ. This matu-rity, or perfection, can only come through a process. It is a processthat even Jesus Christ Himself went through.

As He also says in another place: You are a priest forever Ac-cording to the order of Melchizedek; who, in the days of Hisflesh, when He had oered up prayers and supplications, withvehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Himfrom death, and was heard because of His godly fear, thoughHe was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things whichHe suered. And having been perfected, He became the authorof eternal salvation to all who obey Him, (Hebrews 5:6-9)

This is the going on to that chapter six of Hebrews calls usto. This process will produce the ministry of Melchizedek. This willbe the king-priest ministry that will truly transform the church andbring forth a vital and powerful witness the world needs. It will bea pro-active and powerful ministry that will impact the nations. Itwill be the ministry that will release the greater things Jesus spoketo His disciples about!


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Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, theworks that I do he will do also; and greater works than thesehe will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you askin My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorifiedin the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John14:12-14)

The process Jesus went through led Him to the place whereHe cried out to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane for re-lief from the pressure that was confronting Him. Yet, in the midstof His pain He willingly said, Father not My will, but Yours, bedone. Many of you have been learning in the hard place in thesedays. Do not despair. As you surrender yourself to the will of theFather, you also will see the release of supernatural resurrectionpower. As the body of Christ, we will arise; stand to our feet; andbe the army of the Lord that will perform great and mightyworks.

Before Jesus could be resurrected, something had to be cru-cified. We are made alive to live for God. The army of Ezekiels vi-sion knew death before life. Before Jesus died on the cross, He diedto Himself. Many people want resurrection life without death.When Jesus said, Not My will, but Yours, be done, He opened adoor of sacrifice that would provide a new life for Him and multi-tudes of others. Those who see and experience the life of the Spiritof God need to understand that we cannot arise in God and walk inthe flesh!

And those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with itspassions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walkin the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25)

New Perspective: Christianity is not just about being made alive. Itis about a change of perspective. When we are first born again, ourperspective should change. We need to hold on to our spiritual per-spective and to develop it. God uses both circumstances and min-istries to develop our perception. We are living in a time when our

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spiritual perception will be essential to living out our Christian wit-ness! The world needs us to arise in this day, and we will only be ableto do so with a New Day perspective.


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Encountering More of Godin the New Day

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Chapter Four

Moreover God said to Moses, us you shall say to the chil-dren of Israel: e LORD God of your fathers, the God ofAbraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob , has sentme to you. is is My name forever, and this is My memorialto all generations. (Exodus 3:15)

One major emphasis of the Pentecostal-charismatic Movement wasrevival. We all love revival. Someone who is dead is made alive. AllChristians experience this new birth, since before we come to theLord we are dead in our trespasses and sins. When we come toJesus, we are made alive. It is often hard for people who have expe-rienced this new birth to believe there is another level of awak-ening. Those of us who have experienced it, however, know thereis another breath God has for us, which is the breath of resurrec-tion we receive when we receive the Holy Spirit.

I can testify to this. I grew up in church and have always hada personal relationship with Jesus Christ that was very fulfilling tome. When the Jesus People Movement came and I received the bap-tism of the Holy Spirit, I was amazed what a difference it made inmy life. We like revivals because the more we can feel this experiencethe better. But I feel a call in these days to something higher. It iswhat Hosea spoke about as the third day when God said, He

would raise us up, that we may live in His sight. (Hosea 6:2) It istime to live in His sight!

In 1 Corinthians 13, we see that there is a progression of re-lationship and revelation of ourselves in the presence of God.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. NowI know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.(1 Corinthians 13:12)

Those who see His face will also see the opening and revela-tion of His glory.

is is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seekYour face. Selah Li up your heads, O you gates! And belied up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shallcome in. Who is this King of glory? e LORD strong andmighty, e LORD mighty in battle. Li up your heads, Oyou gates! Li up, you everlasting doors! And the King ofglory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? e LORD ofhosts, He is the King of glory. (Psalms 24:6-10)

Just like in the natural, so it will be in the spiritual. As chil-dren, we see our parents one way. When we mature, we begin to seethem in another way. I jokingly referred to this at a funeral by say-ing that we come into the world thinking our parents are gods.When we become teens, they become satan, our adversary. Whenwe mature, we will begin to see them as just people.

There is a different progression with God. When we firstcome to Him, we want Him to be what we want Him to be. Hope-fully, as we mature we will let Him be who He really is; and in theprocess, we will become who He wants us to be.

This is the time for the Jacob generation. Remember fromchapter 2, the Joshua generation is the leadership that will bringforth the new generation who will take the Promised Land. I willcall the generation that is produced through the leadership of theJoshua generation the Jacob generation. Jacob is significant to thelast day move of God. Isaiah said in the latter days of time the

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mountain of the Lords house would be established on the moun-tains and be exalted above the hills. People will say, Come and letus go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God ofJacob. (Isaiah 2:2-3) Jacobs God is the God who matures us andbrings us to our full identity in Him.

As I mentioned in the last chapter, this is what the Hebrews6 admonition declares: Let us go on to perfection. This wordmeans completeness, or fullness. Jacob had a desire that mo-tivated him to be very aggressive in seeking the blessing in life. TheWord says that one day he had a meeting with God; and in his strug-gle, what he desired was made possible.

So He said to him, What is your name? He said, Jacob.And He said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, butIsrael; for you have struggled with God and with men, andhave prevailed. (Genesis 32:27-28)

This meeting place with God was not an isolated event. It wasthe culmination of a process he went through in his life experiences.He had been through many struggles trying to find his place in life.God met him in his struggles, and this made them more than justa natural occurrence. By seeking God in his struggle, Jacob was ableto reach his full potential in life becoming perfected as Israel, aprince with God and man. This is the picture for all of us in our de-velopment to the place of authority God wants to bring us to as anation of kings and priests to our God.

And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to takethe scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And haveredeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe andtongue and people and nation, And have made us kings andpriests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth. (Reve-lation 5:9-10)

I believe many people in the world today, like Jacob, are beingprepared for this great day. God has been working through yourcircumstances to bring you to the place of perfection or complete-

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Encounter ing More o f God in the New Day

ness in Him. The process involves struggle, both naturally and spir-itually.

Jacob began his walk through seeking to get something outof life he wanted. His name Jacob meant supplanter which meansto take something that belongs to someone else. Jacob had desires.He didnt care what it took to get what he wanted, or who it hurt.If you were in Jacobs life, he would do what he needed even whenit meant deception. This is how he stole his brothers blessing. Hedeceived his father, Isaac, into thinking he was Esau so Isaac wouldpray the family blessing over him. The result is he got what hewanted, but his brother ran him out of town threatening to kill himfor what he had done. It was in his escape he had his first meetingwith God.

How wonderful our God is who meets us in our place of sinto bring us to the place of righteousness and destiny. God came tohim at Bethel through a dream. Jacob saw a vision of the heavensopening and the angels of God ascending and descending. He wasso amazed by what he saw that he made a sacrifice and a pledge toGod.

en Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the LORDis in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid andsaid, How awesome is this place! is is none other than thehouse of God, and this is the gate of heaven! en Jacob roseearly in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at hishead, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And hecalled the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that cityhad been Luz previously. en Jacob made a vow, saying, IfGod will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going,and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that Icome back to my fathers house in peace, then the LORD shallbe my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shallbe Gods house, and of all that You give me I will surely givea tenth to You. (Genesis 28:16-22)

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Notice how Jacobs initial experience with God is very self-centered and conditional. It really describes for all of us our initialexperience with God. How can it be any different when we firstcome to God? The very invitation to come is based on what Godwill do for us. But God wasnt done with Jacob. He would useJacobs life experiences to develop him into the person He hadcalled him to be.

Jacobs journey took him to the house of his Uncle Laban.When he gets to Labans house, he finds a person just like him. Hisuncle is also a deceiver willing to use people and circumstances forhis own gain. One way God causes us to see ourselves is to put peo-ple in our lives that are just like us. If we dont like our family, weshould ask ourselves the question: Is the problem that I am just likethem? That is exactly what Jacob saw; although, the Scripturenever tells us if he recognized the person in the mirror. The decep-tions began when Jacob made a deal to work for the hand of Rachelonly to be given her older sister, Leah, instead. As time continued,Jacob was the victim of his uncles deception many times over.

So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to hisflock, and said to them, I see your fathers countenance, thatit is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my fa-ther has been with me. And you know that with all my mightI have served your father. Yet your father has deceived meand changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow himto hurt me. (Genesis 31:4-7)

God rescued Jacob by giving him a dream. Jacob entered intoa business agreement with his uncle where at a given time all the an-imals of a certain color would go to him as wages. The others wouldgo to his Uncle Laban. He did this based upon a dream from Godas to what would happen in the future. Through a vision, Jacob re-ceived the power to overcome his uncle.

To me, this is very similar to our second experience with Godthrough the Holy Spirit. Through faith, we believe and receivesomething from God in order to overcome our circumstance. In

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Encounter ing More o f God in the New Day

the charismatic movement, we learned how to use faith to obtainthe blessings of God in this life; but now, it is time for another di-mension in God. Jacobs life exemplifies this next stage for us. Thisnext level would not be about changing Jacobs circumstance forhis advantage, but it would be about God bringing a change inJacob that would bring him to his eternal destiny. The key to thischange is what Jacob called the meeting place.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: For I have seenGod face to face, and my life is preserved. (Genesis 32:30)

Now, the reality for Jacob was not about the advantage Godcould give him in life; but it was about who he was in this life. Theprophecy of Hosea says, . . . and we will live in His sight. Thisliterally means we will live before His face. It is time for us to see theface of God. It is time for us to see Him in the reality of who He is,so we can be who we are. This is 1 Corinthians 12:13 realized whereGod is not a dimly seen person, but one we clearly see. In seeingHim, we will be like Him. This is the reality of the church that willsee Jesus when He comes.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet beenrevealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is re-vealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, justas He is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

It is time for a new experience before the face of God that willcause you to see Him and to see who you really are. The Jacob gen-eration is coming forth. They are those who seek the face of Godand who will help release the glory of God to our world. Jacob rep-resents a third level.

His grandfather, Abraham, also went through a transforma-tion process. He was first Abram, or exalted father. God changed hisname to Abraham, which meant father of many. Abraham repre-sents the first level of change. His name was changed when God an-

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nounced to him He was the Almighty God, and Abraham was con-vinced what his God could do.

who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he becamethe father of many nations, according to what was spoken,So s

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