(This blog was taken from my book, Carry On. It is chapter 8 of the book, in its entirety.)
“This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul
[it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]— a safe and steadfast hope . . .” Hebrews 6:19 AMP
In this urgent time the Body of Christ is awakening. The beneficiaries of His amazing spiritual inheritance are realizing the unlimited resources that have been made available to us as the Father’s heirs. If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we knock, the door will be opened to us. If we ask, we will receive (see Matthew 7:7–8).
Through the dreams, visions, prophetic words, and scriptural insights that we have discussed throughout the pages of this book, we are left with the understanding that our lives matter to God. Through us, He desires to reveal the reality of His power and Person to all mankind. He loves us, and through our acceptance of Christ as Savior, He has made us His very own children. The time has come for us to discover the full benefits of our spiritual inheritance and to be transformed by the full appropriation of its intended purposes. Jesus Christ has established us to be the Ekklesia, members of His Body, functioning in alignment with His leading as the Head. He works through us to do the will of God and to demonstrate the manifestation of His Kingdom power and authority. He’s calling us to receive all that He has made available, to dare to believe Him, and to humble ourselves to walk with—and work with—Him. Filled with His Spirit and clothed in His righteousness, we must put on the whole armor of God. We must watch and imitate Him as He works through us to reveal His power and to keep things in timing and right alignment with His eternal plan.
Much is happening as this great awakening has begun and continues to unfold. We rejoice for the movement that we have seen, but we must not become slack and complacent. The door is open; now advancement must be made. We know that what we have seen is only the beginning. There is more to come, and in this time, we must be attentive and instantly and completely obedient to His voice so that through us His will is done in our time . . . and for the sake of those who will come after us!
Work While You Celebrate
In February of this year, I had a very detailed dream that reveals strategy and instructions for the next several months and for the future. It reveals to us that God is serious about His original intentions for the Church and for our nation. While I do not yet understand all of the symbolism, I do know that Holy Spirit will give us personal and corporate clarity for assignments and events that will need to be carried out in the days ahead. I ask that you not just read through the dream, but pray. Pray about your part. Pray for the Church. Pray for the heirs to rise with revelation of their spiritual authority and, with undaunted determination, to take our place, release our supply, and see His Kingdom come!
I dreamed that thousands of people had been summoned by the Lord to gather in a certain place. I am not sure where this place was located, but we were gathered in a very large coliseum-type building. The seating was sloped downward, and the stage was at the bottom of the slope. There were thousands of people in the seats, and on the stage were hundreds of people sitting in chairs. I knew that the people in the auditorium were born-again believers from all around America, and the people on the stage were Christian leaders: leaders of businesses, ministries, churches, denominations, colleges and schools, political leaders, etc.
As we all took our seats, suddenly, there was a huge overhead screen that appeared. Everyone in the entire building, no matter where they were seated, had the ability to see it.
On the screen was a map of the United States. On the map, we began to see these geyser-type eruptions popping up in various cities. The first one was near Lexington, Kentucky. We knew this represented what was happening, at that time, at Asbury University. Then other “geysers” began to pop up on the map. When the “geysers” erupted, they would spew out fire, water, and oil that would immediately saturate the areas surrounding them. This was all happening in real time. We were literally watching the move of God, as it was quickly spreading to the nation. There was a thunderous applause and celebration that started to spread throughout the coliseum as we watched this happening on the map.
As the celebration broke out, suddenly, the voice of God resounded. It was like His voice came down out of the heavens through a sound system, and it sounded like loud, deep thunder. It created a vibration that we could literally feel as it shook the floor beneath us.
He said very adamantly, “Do NOT become distracted by the movement!”
You could then hear a collective gasp released from the crowd. We all wondered, “What does that mean? What is He saying?”
He continued, “Celebrate the movement, YES! But do not become distracted by it! Work while you celebrate!” He repeated that statement three or four times, and it gripped us deeply. It was like a jolt that readjusted our focus. There was great joy for what was beginning to happen, but in that moment, we all became captured by a sense of urgency. It was then that we realized this was not a “normal” gathering. This was an urgent call to attention.
As those real-time happenings continued to show on the map on the overhead screen, there were two MASSIVE, steel cable ropes that dropped down onto the stage in front of those leaders seated there. Each of these cables had a very large steel ring on either end—so, two cables and four rings.
As soon as those cables hit the stage, four angels suddenly appeared. The angels took hold of the cables and carried them out from our location. After a few seconds, we could then see the angels—with the cables—on that overhead screen. The angels worked in pairs. Two of them carried one cable, each holding a ring in their hands. One angel went north to an anchor that was located there. The anchor was something that had already been set in place. It was very old, and it went deep into the ground. The angel placed the ring over that anchor, securing his end of the cable in place. The other angel took his ring south to an anchor that was located there and placed the ring over that anchor and secured his end of the cable in place.
The other two angels went east and west, and in those locations, they placed the rings that were on the ends of the cable over anchors situated there and secured the cable in place.
When this was completed, two more cables fell onto the stage in front of those leaders. Immediately the four angels returned and did as before. This time, two angels took one cable and placed the rings over anchors that were in place in the northwest and southeast, securing the cable in place. The other cable was secured from anchors in a northeast and a southwest location.
Now, on the screen, we were looking at the map through the crisscross of these four cables that had been anchored in place.
Then the Lord said, “There is a shaking that is coming, but you must not fear! You must know and be convinced that this nation is anchored and surrounded. KNOW that! Be convinced of that!”
Next, there appeared a manilla folder in the lap of each of the leaders who were seated on the stage. We each opened our folder to find one sheet of paper. On the paper were listed four instructive bullet points. Across the top of the page was written: COMMAND THE FOREWORD!
When I read those words, I was a bit confused. The phrase was not “Command the Forward,” as in advancement; it read, “Command the Foreword.” I understood that a foreword is something written for the beginning of a book. Was He saying that everything was going to be destroyed by this “shaking” that He had said was coming and that a “new book” was going to be started for America?
There was a microphone on the stage, and I worked up enough courage to walk up to it and ask, “Lord, what does this mean?”
He answered audibly, speaking to us all in that coliseum, “It’s time to command what was written at the beginning. Command the foreword! Bring this nation back into alignment with that which was written in the beginning—when this land became a nation. It’s the purposes for which She was established. Those prophetic decrees were spoken in the beginning in agreement with My intended purposes. Now, I say to you, COMMAND THE FOREWORD! Know My purposes! Decree those purposes! Do not back down! Know what I have said and established. Agree and decree in agreement with Me, and your decrees will provoke a shaking that will bring this nation back into alignment with My original ‘Foreword.’”
In that moment, the place where we were gathered began to vibrate with what felt like an electrical current. A wind started to blow, and then it was as if fire just dropped down out of the heavens onto every one of us. It wasn’t a natural, flaming fire; it was the fiery presence of the Lord as He entered that room in a visible, tangible demonstration. When that happened, people began falling into the floor, overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord. Some fell to their knees and began to weep. Others were running around, lifting their hands with shouts of joy!
The thing that came to my mind in that moment was, “This is a true baptism of Fire!” And none in that room was exempt from it. No one questioned or debated it. No one was offended by the reactions to it! No one said, “We don’t believe in this!” or “This is not how we do it at our church!” This baptism of fire came with force and, everyone received it! Somehow, we all understood that we were being transformed by the Fire of God.
After some time, the leaders and all of those in the room were able to sit back down in their seats. As we each took our seat, a paint brush and a bucket filled with oil appeared at every person’s feet. The Lord instructed us, “Go from here. Carry the Oil and secure the perimeters of your states. Paint the perimeters with the Oil, and it will be secured.” We knew He was showing us that this, too, will help to secure us when the shaking comes.
Then the attention of each of the leaders was drawn back to the piece of paper that was in our folders. We began to look at and discuss each of the bullet points that were listed.
The first bullet point said: “Get it anchored! Anchor the nation.” Beside that point was a red check mark, meaning that this point had already been completed. We had just witnessed the completion of this point as the angels secured those steel cables to the anchors.
The second point said: “Secure the perimeters of all fifty states. Get the perimeters painted with the Oil!” We knew this was why we had been given the buckets of oil and the paint brushes.
The third bullet point said: “Establish an anchor in each state and connect it to the guide wire.” We all understood this to mean that each state must be anchored and connected to the cables, which the angels had secured to the anchors on the outer perimeters of the nation. The Lord was now referring to these cables as the “guide wire.”
The last point said: “Establish a prayer grid in each state.” We understood this to mean that prayer teams were to be to established in each state. There must be a grid of prayer teams, connected groups of people who are listening in prayer and ready to move quickly with any assignments the Lord would give.
Throughout the entire dream, the map was still on the screen, and the fire pockets were continuing to erupt in real time. There were many of these eruptions that popped up—first, in the eastern part of the nation, then slowly they began to pop up throughout the whole nation.
The Lord then instructed all of us to get into groups. Most of the people were grouped according to the states where they lived. These would be sent back to their state to watch in prayer and to carry out specific assignments that had to do with the bullet points listed on the page we had been given. So, there were fifty state groups formed.
Then others were assigned to regions. There were four of these groups formed. These would watch in prayer and be able to facilitate and assist in assignments that had to do with the state groups located within their region.
Then another group was formed that would be assigned to the entire nation. These would watch in prayer and be able to facilitate and assist in assignments that had to do with the regional groups, as well as all of the state groups.
As we each got into our group, everyone stood, holding the bucket of oil and the paint brush we had been given. We knew that our first priority was to get the perimeters “painted” with the Oil, and this must be done quickly.
Then on the overhead screen, there was a calendar that was laid over the top of the map. It was not a calendar with one month and its days; it was one page showing all twelve months with their days. On that page, the month of September was circled in red ink. We then saw the finger of God on the screen, tapping the month of September on that calendar. As we saw this, we again felt that rush of urgency, realizing that God was showing to us that there was not a lot of time to get everything done.
There was excitement for the “eruptions” that have already taken place, but there was also a deep knowing that this was just a beginning. There was still much that needed to be established, and we were being “sent” by the Lord to do the work. That was the end of the dream.
I am not going to attempt to interpret this entire dream. As I mentioned earlier, I think that it is so important for each of us to pray for personal revelation and understanding so that we have true clarity and instruction from the Lord concerning our part in this assignment of commanding His original “foreword.” However, I will share some insights for the dream that I feel are important for all of us, as the corporate Body of Christ, to understand.
Let me start by addressing the circling of the month of September on the calendar. I do not believe that this was a prophetic warning about the month of September. I do not know what will unfold in the months ahead. I believe the month was circled as a sign from the Lord to the Body of Christ that we must work diligently to complete those bullet points and any additional assignments that He will reveal to us by that time. For some reason, the month of September was important. I do not have any prophetic insight at this time as to what that may be. However, I do know that what God is doing now will not end in September, but what we do now, in obedience to the Lord, will have a profound impact on strengthening and securing the Church for all that unfolds both now and in the future.
We must settle in our minds the indisputable fact that God has not led us to this point in time for the purpose of allowing everything He has said and done to just crumble and fall to nothing. He sees the end from the beginning. He has already looked over into the end of time and of all things and begun the work to put everything in place so that His ultimate end-time goal will be completed. Every generation has been equipped and led by God to fulfill their particular part of His plan that had to do with each of their times. As each part was completed, the next part was set into motion. The common thread woven through every generation is the spiritual inheritance that He imparts to all who will believe on Him and humble themselves to walk with Him. He has given us access into His fullness, enabling us to hear, receive, and be empowered to effectively and successfully do our part.
In the dream, God made it clear that He has never forgotten the purposes that He has had for America since before She was even established. He referred to these purposes as His “original foreword.” Our true history records that an idea and a longing began to stir in the hearts of a group of men and women in the nation of England, as God placed in them a longing for a homeland where they could be free to live their lives productively and worship Him without restriction. That desire provoked them to eventually leave everything they had known, and taking huge leaps of faith, they set out on a long, arduous and uncertain journey of discovery.
That journey led them to the eastern shores of what would become one of the greatest nations on the earth. Her greatness would not be because the people did everything right—many dark moments have been recorded throughout our history. Her greatness would be because She was established as a nation “under God.” He led those pilgrims to these shores, and upon their landing, they planted a cross on that beach, and through them, God prophesied His intentions for Her existence.
On April 29, 1607, Reverend Robert Hunt stood and offered this prayer:
We do hereby dedicate this Land and ourselves to reach the people within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations, take the Kingdom of God to all the earth.
May this covenant of dedication remain to all generations as long as this earth remains,
and may this land, along with England, be Evangelist to the world.
May all who see this cross remember what we have done here,
and may those, who come here to inhabit, join us in this covenant and in this most noble work that the Holy Scriptures may be fulfilled.
From these very shores, the Gospel shall go forth, not only to this New World, but the entire world.
The following Bible passage was then read at the conclusion of his prayer:
“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. For the Kingdom is the Lord’s, and He ruleth among the nations (Psalm 22:27–28, Geneva Bible).
While I do not fully understand the symbolism and location of the anchors to which the angels secured the nation in the dream, I am sure that the cross they planted on that beach on April 29, 1607 marked one of them. As Robert Hunt released that prophetic prayer, right then and there, God revealed His purpose for the United States of America. From those words, we can conclude that at the very founding of this nation, God was deeply anchoring Her to His prophetic declaration, “America shall be saved!”
Though She has rocked and reeled in the tempest winds of evil agendas—and at times it has seemed She would surely fall—America still stands! She stands because God has purpose for this nation! He has never forgotten nor abandoned His original desires for Her establishment. His plan has not failed. His Word has not been altered!
Throughout America’s history, there have always been those who have held fast to the Lord and to His original purposes. God has seen to it that the people within these shores have been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, enabling godly generations to be raised up after them, and through them the Gospel has been, and continues to be, sent out from here. Through the years, thousands have devoted their lives to take His message to the nations of the world. In every generation, He secured a remnant of people, who believed on Him and were saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, enabling this spiritual inheritance to be carried on.
Now the fruit of the godly seeds that have been sown in previous generations is ripe, and the time of harvest has come. It is a harvest of the harvesters, and God is beckoning us to see, to hear, and to be reminded that He has always had a plan and a purpose! As members of Christ’s Body, we have been led into this moment on purpose for His purpose.
Our nation is once again rocking and reeling in the adverse winds that are being stirred as evil agendas have been set into place to seek to uproot the anchors and destroy the foundation of our nation’s Christian heritage. All around the world, sin is abounding and from a natural perspective, it seems that evil will surely prevail . . . but it will not happen!
God has summoned the Ekklesia. He is calling the Body of Christ to attention. I believe the Church, in America and worldwide, is experiencing a re-awakening to an awareness of God, and He is marking those, who will respond to His drawing in this season, with a true baptism of fire! He is filling us afresh with His Spirit and with revelation of all that belongs to us as His heirs. He is igniting us with a deeper passion for Him and to see His original purposes to be fulfilled.
Yeshua is positioning the members of His Body, and we must each take our place and give heed to His instructions. A shaking is coming, but He has secured us to the anchor. We must know that and be convinced of that! He has surrounded us with the hosts of Heaven, who have been sent at His command to assist us both now and in the days ahead.
Movement has already begun. Pockets of revival and awakening are beginning to spring forth, releasing the refreshing waters of the Word of God and of the transforming power of the Oil and Fire of the Spirit. It’s happening now, and for that, we greatly rejoice! But as we see what God has done and is doing, we must not allow ourselves to be so captivated by what has started that we think that He is done! Celebrate? Yes! How can you not, when we see lives been changed, bodies being healed, hearts being restored, and Jesus being sought after with sincere hunger and desire to know Him for real? Yes, we celebrate, but we must not become distracted by what has been started as though that’s all there is! We must work while we celebrate! We work in cooperation with Holy Spirit as He leads us and announces to us in detail the things that are yet to be done, and then we must obey Him completely as He instructs us in what we must do.
One of the things He told us to do in the dream was to establish a prayer grid in each state. Jesus is calling the Church to refocus on Him. He is connecting the Body. He is joining the parts so that we can each release our supply and work together with Him in prayer and assignments that He will make known to us. We must listen as He reveals His will to us and then pray and declare His will to be done! Respond when He tells us things to do. Use that key of faith in God to unlock what He is desiring to be unlocked. Allow that faith to provoke in us an undaunted obedience to Him. If He says pray, then we must pray under the direction of Holy Spirit as He leads us. If He says go, then we must go wherever He sends us. If He says give, then give. If He says witness, then we will witness to those to whom He will lead us. If He says write a book, then write a book. If He says start a business, then start a business. Whatever He tells us to do, we must do it without hesitation. As we humble ourselves to walk and work with Him, we are strengthening our cords of connection to Him so that we can “. . . hold tightly to the hope set before us. This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]—a safe and steadfast hope . . .” (Hebrews 6:18–19 AMP, emphasis mine).
We are anchored in hope, and that Hope has a name: Jesus! He is the secure and steadfast anchor of our souls! As we place our complete trust in Him, we will follow as He leads, not only securing ourselves to Him as our anchor, but we also become a vessel through which Holy Spirit will work to impact our territories. Jesus declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me . . .” (Luke 4:18, emphasis mine). As heirs of salvation, when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us, we receive the same anointing that was upon Jesus, which enabled Him to release the power of God everywhere He went. It is very interesting that the word anointed in this Scripture is the Hebrew word mashach, which means “to rub with oil, to anoint; by implication, it also means to consecrate; to paint” (Strong’s Definitions). Jesus has painted us with the oil of His anointing, which enables us to release decrees, prayers, and acts of obedience to God with such power and authority that we paint and smear our homes, our churches, our schools, our businesses, the marketplace, our regions, our territories, our states, our nations with the oil of His Spirit as He flows through us! In one sense, we each become His paintbrush! This is why we cannot quench Holy Spirit by hesitating to obey His promptings. When we allow Him to work through us, the anointing flows, and power is released to paint the atmosphere with the evidence of the transforming glory of God.
Influence a Nation with Revival
The operation of Holy Ghost power in and through our lives will further secure our perimeters because evil cannot resist—nor overpower—the anointing! Dwight Moody rightly stated, “The work of the Spirit is to impart life, to implant hope, to give liberty, to testify of Christ, to guide us into all truth, to teach us all things, to comfort the believer, and to convict the world of sin.” When the Church returns to a true passionate pursuit of the Lord, we will once again be enlightened with the revelation of our calling and purpose in Him. As we take our place in that calling and purpose, Holy Spirit will work through us to restore the demonstration of the power of God that will provoke an unstoppable awakening to an awareness of God. This is why we exist. My friend, Pastor Kim Owens, says, “We exist to influence a nation with revival!”
How do we influence a nation with revival? When we walk in obedience to the Lord, we become sowers of His righteous seeds! Through every act of obedience to the Lord, we are releasing a supply of the anointing that will provoke a righteous harvest that will transform our territories.
My daddy was a farmer. When he would prepare the garden each spring, he didn’t just till the ground and wait for a harvest. He released the supply that he had—he planted seeds. Once those seeds were sown, they had the power to grow and transform that field of dirt into a garden of abundance. The apostle Paul said that, “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed . . . Now He Who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:8, 10 NASB).
In this portion of scripture, Paul is literally referring to our giving, but I do believe his words are also applicable to what God is speaking to us in this moment. As those around us are influenced by the reality of Jesus as He reaches through us to make Himself known, reviving will happen! Change will come. Light will dispel the darkness, giving those who are blinded by the god of this world the opportunity to see and to hear truth that has the power to liberate them from the strongholds of deception. Lives will be changed. More glory-carriers will be awakened and rightly positioned to sow these seeds of obedience to God that will yield a harvest of transformation and righteousness.
This is the time that we must appeal to Heaven, not just for the purpose of petition for our wants and desires, but for the purpose of hearing God’s desires and His instructions for us so that we can work with Him to fulfill those desires. The days ahead are crucial. We cannot be influenced by what is happening around us; we should be influencing what is happening around us! As we hear the instructions from the Lord and follow those instructions, we will raise the Standard that will turn the tide of evil.
There is excitement for the “eruptions” that have already taken place, but there is also a deep knowing that this is just a beginning. There is still much that needs to be established, and we are being “sent” by the Lord to do the work. From this point forward, we should approach each day with the understanding that God has already looked out over that day and that He declares, “I know the plans that I have for you.” The intent of our heart should then be that of hearing those plans and humbly responding, “Here am I, Lord. Send me.” This is how we become imitators of Christ. Through prayer, we are able to hear and see what the Father desires, and, by faith, we become hearers and doers of His divine will!
To those who are ready and willing to work with Him to establish His original foreword, the Lord is saying:
You have entered a place of releasing divine purpose and destiny!
Things will begin to unfold that will surprise you and even cause you to ask,
‘God, what is this?’ And you will find signs that will alert you to the fact that you are indeed in a new place.
But do not fear, for I will guide you! Don’t follow your emotions; they are not trustworthy.
Follow Me as I order your steps. Listen for My instructions and free yourself to obey Me instantly.
Focus forward, not behind and not self-ward.
There is much to get done. I Am fulfilling My Word for this time.
This is a vital moment, and I need you to stay alert. Watch Me. Trust Me. Obey Me. Work with Me.
Divine connections are about to be made. Ways are opening! Ideas are coming!
There are prayers you prayed, thinking they were for the moment in which you prayed them,
but I provoked those prayers ahead of time to set into motion things meant for this time.
There are courses of events that have been working together to form this moment.
Now, you are entering the door of your “defining moment,” and things will begin to happen very quickly.
Stay above the fray so you can hear and see from My perspective. Move with instant obedience as I lead you forward!
