Prophetic Word: Treasure Hunting Season

I wanted to take a moment to encourage you with what God has been speaking to me about the current season we are walking in right now. What we have discovered as the months have continued onward is that we are in a prolonged season that does not have a clear and definite end in sight. When God chooses to hide the end of a thing even from His prophets, it is because there is something within the expanse of the current season that is of incredibly tremendous value.

This lack of clarity speaks of how good God is to us. What!? Yes, really. By closing off the exits and cancelling the timelines that so many are fixated on, it is a demonstration of His mercy and His help. This runs contrary to conventional understanding. When things go unclear, when we can't see ten steps ahead, there are many that see this as a confirmation of their rebellion, inadequacy or even twist their perception of the goodness of God and His desire to prosper them in their lives. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2 (NASB)

If things seem concealed from you in this season, take joy, it means God considers you to be a king! What a huge promotion for many of us especially in our own minds. God is calling us to several things in order to partner with this new, unknown place many of us find ourselves in.

1. Take a Royal Perspective

- Slaves fret and walk in constant fear, Kings sit in the confidence of wise council. It is time to confront every slavery mindset and though about ourselves with the reality of our royalty and that we sit in the council of the Holy Spirit.

2. The Treasure Lies in the Valley of the Now

- Fascination with the future and what is yet to come can point to something within us that desires to escape God's dealings and hand which is present in the realm of right now.

- Settle in, embrace your current season, place your face within His hands and there you will find a habitation of His presence that will fill you to overflowing.

- When we allow ourselves to be filled in this way, His Spirit will illuminate the treasure that lies within the ground of our season

3. Treasure Reveals Itself In Pieces, But is Brought Together By the Embrace of Your Entire Heart

- Like roots of a tree that are buried, treasure may not reveal itself in its entirety at once.

- Don't overlook it just because it seems unexpected.

- God will reveal treasure and what He has to us in sections and pieces so that we treasure each portion and give it the attention it deserves.

- Take the treasure, embrace it and hold it dear. Allow gratitude to wash over it.

- God will reveal to you how these pieces fit together.

The treasure that God has hidden for you in your current season is of far greater value than trying to get out of it. If you feel like you've been in a holding pattern, I encourage you to consider that it is because there is something in your current season you have yet to uncover. God cares too much about you to let you walk by it and not be blessed by it. The good news is that we don't have to search alone. One of the strongest prayers we can pray in this season is, "God I cannot see, please help me to see".

In Jesus' name, I declare that this prolonged season will reap a treasure that will exceed every expectation or limitation. I speak to your eyes and ears to be sensitive to discern God's voice to uncover what He has prepared for you.

Best,

David

Your Divine Mix : Discerning God's Voice

I wanted to share some keys on how to discern God's voice more clearly in this season. Below you will find one that I hope will help you flow in this amazing gift more while also dispelling some misconceptions that may be holding you back.

God Speaks To You In Various Ways

I don't know who started this way or thinking or behavior but there are many people who try to limit the way God speaks to them to just one way.

"I'm a seer" "I only feel things" "I only hear things" or "God only speaks to me when the clock on my phone shows 5:55" That last one I'm only partially joking.

Part of this way of thinking can be connected to different times when certain ways of hearing God were "in-vogue" I can remember for a time that those that heard a small voice in their spirit were looked down upon by others that had dreams. Still yet, those that had visions condescended to the dreamers because, well the vision people had to do more work while the dreamers just had to sleep through everything. And of course, all three of these kinds of people had to bend the knee and kiss the ring of the one that had angelic visitations. It's so funny the things we compete with in the Church.

I want to encourage you that God doesn't communicate to you in just ONE way. One of the most beautiful things about God is how He creates a unique mix for each of His children on how He speaks and communicates to them. Part of learning to hear God is discovering what your unique mix is and having the sensitivity to notice it in whatever way it comes. In God there is expansion, forward movement and rivers that spring forth with life. Why then should we expect God to talk to us in the same old way day in and day out? It makes no sense and this improper belief has robbed people of the full color and vibrance of God's communication to them. Don't let that be you.

THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE FULL MIX OF YOUR ABILITY TO HEAR GOD

1. Ask Him

So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Matthew 7:11 (NASB)

This seems basic but it's something most people don't dare to do. Most people don't receive from God because they don't even ask Him. Don't let the lie of unworthiness keep you from your portion. Ask God to expand and sharpen your ability to hear Him. If you want to have more visions, or dreams, ask Him.

2. Desire Earnestly (Unwaveringly, unrelentingly, increasing in your fire to attain it as time goes on)

Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.

I Corinthians 14:39

Prophecy is the one thing in the Bible that God commands us to covet. That is how much intensity He wants us to have in our pursuit of His voice. For many of us, the intensity of our pursuit to hear His voice looks more like a game of hop-scotch than it does a man wide-eyed and frantic in his pursuit to fill an addiction. Intensity and deep desire helps with the third component.

3. Allow Your Eyes to Be Opened

The desire and earnest burning to attain what God wants to give you causes your senses to be awakened to see God wherever and whenever He presents Himself. When you combine these three things, you will find yourself swimming in an ocean of His voice.

Best,

David

Interpreting What Prophets Prophesy Corporately

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.” 1 Corinthians 13:9

The Danger Lies Not In the Prophecies You Do Not Understand, Rather in the Ones That You Think You Do But Actually Don’t

One role of a prophet is to discern what God is saying to His people amount what He is doing in the earth. Comically, sometimes what they discern and release requires a good amount of discernment and interpretation as well. There have been many prophetic words that I’ve received or heard where both the prophet and myself scratch our heads not really having a clear picture in the moment of what it means. Those are times when we have to dig deeper and seek the Holy Spirit to illuminate the meaning to us. It’s common sense to do this when prophetic words don’t make sense. However the danger lies when we don’t default to this because the prophecy we hear or receive seems so clear and unmistakable that we feel we already know all we need to know about it.

For example, you could receive a prophetic word that seems to fit point for point the family situation that you are having to deal with right now. This can cause us to immediately and without thinking, apply it to the situation that it seems most logically lines up with it. However it could actually apply to a season that is yet to happen. Or it could not relate to your family situation at all but be fore someone else’s family situation that you will be able to help with. It is important to not take for granted our own natural ability to discern a prophetic word and avoid leaning on the illumination of the Holy Spirit to help us properly understand and apply it.

Prophets Can Fall For This Too

Prophets fall into this pitfall too. Sometimes when we receive revelation it can feel like we are strapped into a fully immersive experience. Things seem so clear, so charged, so alive that it feels like we are living the reality of the prophetic word in real time. This is amazing, however this can mislead a prophet into feeling that they know with absolute certainty what it is that God is saying.

We Are All Given a Piece, But Rarely the Whole

The key to help keep us safe from this pitfall and trap can be found in 1 Corinthians which was quoted at the beginning of this post. Our understanding of what God is saying even through prophecy is only partial. Our natural understanding and even our spiritual understanding is only a piece of the full pie of understanding what God is saying. In other words, no one person is going to have the entire interpretation. We must lean on the Holy Spirit to help us fully understand.

I feel this is very important to go over during this very charged season of corporate, national and worldwide prophetic words that are being released by prophets from all over the globe.

In a time where hundreds and thousands of prophetic words are being released every single month, it is important that we take the time to seek God and properly discern and interpret what He is saying personally through His prophets for ourselves.

We cannot farm out this important part of our prophetic life to others, even if they are prophets. The reason for this is that ultimately, we alone are responsible for how we walk out this prophetic word in our personal lives. The excuse, “well, prophet XYZ didn’t explain or interpret it the right way for me, that’s why I didn’t carry it out correctly” is not going to be valid when we account for how we steward the words of God.

Do not allow how specific a prophetic word appears to be, prevent you from discerning for yourself what God is saying in the midst of it and also how it is to apply to you. Again, prophets are not infallible and they only see in part, it’s up to us to lean on the Holy Spirit to illuminate our part of the pie to us.

Keys to Interpreting Corporate, Worldwide or National Prophetic Words

We will discuss keys for personal prophetic words in the future but I want to give you a few important questions you need to ask the Holy Spirit when you come across prophetic words on social media, email and on television that are meant to address large groups of people that you relate to. For example, there are a lot of prophecies that have and continue to go out regarding the election in the United States. Another example are those words that start out like, “I feel that the Body of Christ needs to…” or something along those lines.

These will help keep you from being overwhelmed by all these prophetic words, confused by them and also help you be able to understand how they are to apply to you personally. The key to hearing from God is your ability to step out and faith and hear Him. So when you ask God these questions, step out in faith and be ready to write down what He tells you even if it does not make sense initially. Take note of it, pray on it and watch God expand the answer in your spirit and into your understanding.

Question #1: Is this a prophetic word I should be paying attention to RIGHT now?

• if the answer is no, then go ahead and file it away. Don’t let it take up any more current headspace.

• if the answer is yes, then move on to question #2.

Question #2: What portions of this prophetic word are You highlighting for me to pay attention to?

• often times there are only portions of this corporate word that God is applying to you

• take what He highlights and separate them out from the rest of it. It’s not that the rest couldn’t apply later on, but we are trying focus on the first things first.

Question #3: How do these portions apply to me? What are you saying about these sections to me?

• allow God to show you what He is saying personally to you out of these portions.

• also, if the word is speaking about things that are to come to pass or take place, allow Him to speak to you about the timing of these things.

Question #4: What do you want me to do with this revelation?

• our responsibility to act on what God is saying is very important. Equally important is that we act in the right way.

• sometimes God shows us these things simply to pray about them. Other times there are specific actions that He wants us to take regarding them.

• This will give convert a prophetic word into a tangible action plan for you. Now instead of having a mountain or prophetic words, you now have a Holy Spirit-inspired strategy on how to move forward.

Hopefully these four questions will help you be able to filter though the deluge of prophetic words that are out there and also spark a deeper dialogue with God. Sometimes we can get overloaded with all of the words coming into our lives that we find ourselves being pulled in a thousand different directions. My heart is that this will help you pierce through the overload and uncover the main core of what God is saying for you personally in the midst of these prophetic words.

A thousand prophetic words spoken is good, however one single prophetic word, paired with strategic, God-inspired action is often much more impactful. As we know in part and prophesy in part, we need to remember that our main focus should be doing our part. It is God that is going to be responsible to carry out the whole.

Strength in Brokenness

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

John 21:10-11

We are continuing with John 21 and the prophetic insights it holds for the times we are in. I invite you to refer back to the previous posts to get the most out of this one.

The Strength of 10 Men

Jesus invites them to bring some of their catch to join him by the fire. I love how extra Peter is in this moment. The operating word that Jesus uses is “some fish” and yet Peter decides that he must with his own bare hands, drag an entire net of fish to the shore to where Jesus is. You have to love Peter.

Math wasn’t my favorite class in school but firing up the calculator, at 153 fish at an average of 3 pounds each equals roughly 459 pounds. That’s some major strength demonstrated by a man that just a few hours earlier was fishing with no clothes on in the pit of depression.

Moving Through Pain

The advice many give us when we are going through a dark season is to keep on going in spite of what you feel. Someone puts a hand on our shoulder and offers something along the lines of “we move from glory to glory but boy, it’s hell in the hallway.”

This is only part of the equation to getting through a broken season. The other part of this puzzle is knowing who you are moving through the brokenness to get to. Your “WHY” behind moving past your pain is not to bring the pain to an end, it is meant to lead you towards the ONE that seeks to bring you wholeness.

Sometimes we think we are moving past our pain when we are really just avoiding the brokenness until the pain passes.

Strength to Pursue Jesus in the Midst of Brokenness

Paul, second only to Judas, was the disciple that was in the toughest spot. He had denied Jesus three times and everyone knew it. He was wrapped in shame and in a tremendous amount of pain. However when he hears Jesus beckoning them to come eat with him, the boats cannot get him to shore fast enough so he jumps out hauling a massive amount of fish with him.

Paul was endowed with supernatural strength (over 400 lbs of fish in a net all of which were most likely swimming and flailing frantically to get away. Think about the scene from the movie Nemo of all the fish swimming together to break the net) in his pursuit to get to Jesus.

Hear What Jesus is Saying and Receive an Impartation of Power

You might be feeling more aware of your shortcoming and brokenness now than ever before. I encourage you that it is especially in a season like this that Jesus’ voice is closer to you than ever before and He wants to share with you things that beckon you closer to Him. Not just for relationship but also because in that point of connection, there is tremendous healing, above and beyond just an ending the pain you might be feeling. There is also an impartation of strength for you to run to where His voice beckons to encounter Him. You aren’t to do this on your own, you aren’t to trudge and claw and scratch uphill to get to Him. He isn’t cruel, He isn’t a tyrant, He is a loving savior that wants to bring you freedom.

In Jesus’ name I declare that today, it is Your heart Lord, to make your voice known to your people. I ask you to speak to them so clearly that it will be unmistakable that it is you calling them through.

Right now, raise your hands up and declare that you are receiving that fresh impartation of strength to run to Him. Now RUN!!!!

Seeing Jesus in the Dark

John 21:7

“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord…”

In this week’s writing about John 21 and the prophetic revelation and strategy that it holds for this season, we pick up the story of Peter, John and some of the other disciples as they return from a long, cold and ultimately unfruitful fishing trip.

If you haven’t checked out the post from last week, I encourage you to check that out before continuing however for those that just want to dive in, remember that the story begins with the disciples that are still discouraged and in anguish. Even though they have seen an empty tomb and many of their friends have witnessed Jesus having risen, they are still broken from the trauma of what has taken place. Peter especially is going though it because regardless of whether Jesus has risen or not, he’s in the dog house in his own mind. If Jesus had not risen, his leader, friend and the only one that truly understood him was gone. If Jesus had indeed been resurrected, how could he face the one that he so adamantly and devoutly denied not once, not twice but three times? Rock and a hard place indeed. (You see what I did there? #biblicaldadjokes)

Peter and a few others, in the pressure cooker of an uncertain future and a less than stellar week, take to what is easily accessible and familiar…which produced NOTHING.

On their return trip from this exercise in futility is where we see another golden nugget of revelation come.

Discerning Jesus, and Your Breakthrough in the Dark Night of the Soul

It’s dark out, the disciples are cold, wet and miserable. While it is of their own doing, they have caught nothing. A man calls to them from the shore and asks them if they had caught anything. They tell the truth about their catch and say no, which for a fisherman to be wholly honest about his catch means things must be pretty bleak.

The figure tells them to put their nets on the right side of the boat. Wait a second, this sounds familiar. There was another time long ago when an upstart Rabbi asked them, after a fruitless night of fishing, to also cast their nets down.

4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, y“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, zwe toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, athey enclosed a large number of fish, and atheir nets were breaking. Luke 5:4-6 ESV

I’m sure the disciples’ ears were perked at this, remembering the events from long ago. They cautiously place their nets in the water. Sure enough, just as before, their nets creak from the massive amount of fish in their nets. As they fight to hang on to the catch, John, the one who leaned his head on the chest of Jesus, gasps, “It is the Lord”

Hearing this, Peter leaps into the water and heads towards the man on the shore. They saw something familiar in the encounter they were currently in and that educated the way in which they should respond. That response, based on what Jesus had done with them years earlier, positioned them to be obedient in the moment of darkness and turn around their failure into a massive harvest.

Remember Your History with Jesus

In this moment, things are not going according to what many of us expected. We look back at our prophetic words and scratch our heads asking, “did I miss something?” These are the moments when we should take inventory of all that we have gone through in our prophetic journey with Jesus so far. Many of us think that we have this continually in the forefront of our minds, until we sit down with pen and paper and begin to list all the things we have walked with Jesus in just the last six months let alone years. When we do this, we become ultra sensitive to the whispers of the Holy Spirit beckoning us to realize we are in a divine moment.

A helpful activation is this:

1. List the top 5 things that God has spoken over your life.

2. Think of situations over the last 6 months where God has either confirmed or opened up opportunities in those 5 things. List them as sub-points under your main headings which are the 5 things.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate situations and moments that you had not previously known were Him moving on your behalf in those 5 things. List them.

4. Allow God to show you how you responded and interacted with Him in those moments. Allow Him to teach you ways in which you could have been more aware or sensitive. Allow God to immerse you in this so you come to a whole new awareness of His hand on your life. Write this out in detail. Don’t remain on the surface, have the curiosity to ask the deeper questions and the courage to sit and hear the answer.

5. Go about your daily life with these now-heightened spiritual senses. Pay attention to all that happens and take note of how they confirm and open the way for those main themes that God has spoken over your life.

There is nothing especially unique or original about this activation, one simply needs to read about King David’s prayer life of meditating on the thoughts and words of God (Psalms 139:17) to know that this has been around for a long time. This practice which served the greatest King Israel would most certainly help all of us in recognizing Jesus in the midst of our dark season and serve as a light house to lead us to the other side.

Life Boats or Destiny Anchors

John 21:3

Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately and that night they caught nothing.

Beware of Destiny Anchors Masquerading as Life Boats.

Setting the stage, the verse above happens after Jesus has been resurrected and showed Himself to some of the disciples. However in this chapter, we see that sorrow and despair is still very much what Simon Peter and several other disciples are living under. They are down, dejected, isolated and despondent.

Peter is in an especially dark place. He saw Jesus whom he loved, hung on a cross. Beyond his affection for Jesus as a mentor and friend, He represented the entirety of Peter’s hopes and future. As if that were not enough, his own personal failings had compounded things even more. In Jesus’ darkest hour, he had denied him not once, not twice, but three times.

It is in this moment, that Peter declares that he is going fishing. Curious that of all the things Peter could do, he chooses to return to something that resembles his past life. The verse takes care to point out that they went into the boat “immediately”. Funny how in our darkest moments, our past is always eagerly available to us, beckoning us into the embrace of familiarity.

FRUITLESSNESS

The writer makes a point to tell us the grand total of the disciples night of fishing. Zero, zilch, nada, nothing, goose egg. In our effort to reduce the pressure of the moment or to try and gain a foothold in an out-of-our control situation, if we retreat to the familiar or what may have worked in the past season, we make a covenant with fruitlessness. This is the opposite of what God wants for us. Momentary relief will come at a huge price. As we see in this story, the only way to the other side of something, is by confronting it face to face.

FAMILIAR AND AVAILABLE DOES NOT = DIVINE OPPORTUNITY

Many will be deceived into selling their birthright in the marketplace of the familiar and the comfortable. Be careful in this season when doors begin to open to you. Discern whether what is opening before you is exciting and feels good because it is the Holy Spirit leading you or whether it is because it looks familiar and comfortable and along the lines of what you have been called to before and in your own assessment, being the next logical step.

DO NOT GET INTO THE BOAT

When you are on the verge of stepping into your new season of promise, it is a very tumultuous moment. You will find yourself in a sea of activity happening around you, underneath you, above you and inside of you. Still yet, others on the verge will find themselves in a moment where they perceive everything is pointing to the death of their destiny and future rather than to the beginning of it. It is in these moments that God is saying, “Do not back away from your promise or your future”

DO NOT DISQUALIFY YOURSELF

Peter has disqualified himself from his destiny and future but not in the way you might think. It is not his actions that have done this, it is his own assessment of who he is and how royally he has messed things up.

When things are crazy, we are rarely the best versions of ourselves. We say things we don’t mean, we do things we aren’t proud of, and for many of us, much of our time is spent rehashing ways that we could done things better. This results in us declaring to ourselves, “You know what, maybe this isn’t for me. Who would want me now? Who could use me now?”

In getting in the boat, Peter is declaring to himself and the other disciples that he is not worthy of the investment that Jesus had placed on him. When he immediately gets into that boat, he is giving up on his future.

EMBRACE THE GRACE

It is in this dark place that Jesus must intervene to save Peter from this difficult season of self sabotage. We have the benefit of being able to read ahead in the story and see the beautiful way in which Jesus leads Peter out of his shame and into his future as a pillar in the Church that is about to be birthed into existence. If we have not behaved the best in our season of transition, if we wish we could have done things differently or flat out failed, we have to be willing to embrace the grace that Jesus wants to extend to us.

This will be one of the hardest things we have to do in this season but it is essential if we are to trade in our anchors for sails. (sorry that was really cliche)

I encourage you to take some time out to allow God to illuminate areas in your prophetic process that you might need to grab a hold of His grace and let go of some toxic beliefs about yourself and how you’ve been doing that have been keeping you from transitioning into the new. Also, my prayer for you is that God would illuminate your eyes with a greater level of discernment in this season to see from His perspective how to navigate as doors open to you.