Prepare the way of the Glory!
By Justin Akers
This is a pioneer generation. That is what I heard the Lord speak. “This is a pioneer generation”. Of course, to some degree, every generation is a pioneer generation, but some generations have leaders that pave the way for something completely new. I have heard for years, prophets, worshippers, and preachers talking about pioneers or pioneering something new in the spirit. However, I do not use that term. I use the term “forerunner”. So recently while in an intense time in worship, I heard the Lord speak to my spirit so loud:
“This is a pioneer generation. Just as Elijah was a voice crying in the wilderness and just as John the Baptist was a voice crying out of the wilderness, this prophetic generation is coming out of a wilderness season crying out: “Prepare the way!” “Prepare your hearts for the Glory!!” “Prepare the way for outpouring!” We have not been this way before. There is a new way of doing things. The old wineskins will not work anymore. This is a new season requiring new wineskins. We are preparing the way for not only a move of this generation, but we are laying the foundation for an even greater move for the generation to come!! In the past, great moves of God would end with the same generation they began with, but not this time!! We are not only preparing the way for a move of this generation but paving the way for the next move of the next generation. This move will be great! The move of the next generation will be even greater!!”
Over the next day or so after the Lord gave me this, I was praying for more understanding and God led me to Isaiah 40:1-5, which says: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (English Standard Version)
In Hebrew, the word comfort means to breathe or sigh as in relief. It means to breathe a sigh of relief! This is a Messianic prophecy in Isaiah, but the Lord is saying this to this revival seeking generation! The Church has been entangled in battles with Jezebel, Absalom, and so forth. Jezebel was the queen who attacked from within. Absalom was the son who attacked form within. The Church is supposed to be defeating the enemies of the territory, but we have been so tied up with the internal battle with the Jezebels and so forth that our forward motion has been limited. But the Lord is saying “Comfort, breathe a sigh of relief, because your warfare has ended. The Lord has given victory!! I am convinced we will always fight resistance and warfare, but what this is talking about is the warfare they are currently facing. The warfare of this past season is over!! Now in this passage God tells the prophet to proclaim to the people that the warfare is over. Why? Why would the prophet have to tell them the warfare was over? Because, the conditions had not changed. Our warfare of this past season is over even if you still feel you are contending with the same things. Declare the season has changed and your warfare has ended!
The second verse says, she received double for her sins. This puzzled me. So, I really began seeking the Lord why the people would receive double punishment. This is not the typical reaction of God to pour out double punishment. Then it made sense. When judgment is rendered, it happens to the individual and to the whole. When God withheld rain for Israel, the righteous and unrighteous both had to deal with drought. In the 90’s, there was a sovereign move of God in this nation. We had major revivals like Brownsville and Smithton, but beyond that, churches around this nation were lit on fire with an awesome move of God! Then in 1999 that began to wane. By 2000, the revival move seemed to have stopped. Yes there have been moves of God and waves of glory but not across the board like we saw in the unique season of outpouring of the 90’s. So for 18 years we have been in drought. We have been suffering the consequences or drought for individual reasons but also the compromises within the Church in America – double punishment. Oddly enough, this is 2018. This wilderness season has been going on for 18 years. 18 is a number in Scripture referring to bondage, more specifically, coming out of bondage!! This generation is coming out of this wilderness season, this time of spiritual bondage, and we are crying out “Prepare your hearts”!! Prepare means to make ready. This is why you are hearing so many prophetic words about the altars and God separating the real prophets and ministers from the fake or compromised. God is crying out for all of us to prepare our hearts for His Glory to manifest!!
So, lay your heart on the altar of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to transform your heart for His Glory to come in!! Prepare your hearts! Prepare your homes! Prepare your churches for the next big wave, the tsunami of GLORY!
Justin Akers is a senior pastor who believes in the simplicity of loving God and loving people. He pastors The Upper Room Church Ministries in Bastrop, Louisiana. His focus is on the training and equipping of believers through the power of the Holy Spirit to impact the world around them as we, the global Church, pursue the greatest move of God man has seen.
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