Paul’s Secret Spiritual Warfare Weapon Against Principalities and Powers
Warfare is a way of life for me. I am careful to put my armor on, stay alert to the spirit realm, and walk as closely to the Holy Spirit as I possibly can.
Still, there are seasons where the battle rages and I grow weary. There are times when I need reinforcements in the face of surging enemies that are intent on killing me, stealing what is rightfully mine and destroying my family and ministry.
A Deadly Deception Emerging in the Prophetic Movement
The church needs prophets who can rightly discern the moving of the Lord—and the moving of the enemy. We need prophets who will stand in the gap and make up the hedge so the enemy cannot infiltrate.
Anyone with a sensitive spirit can pick up on the rising level of spiritual warfare in this hour. Just look at the attacks on major cities in our nation. Just look at the persecution of Christians. Just look at the number of church leaders who have fallen. Just look at how many churches are closing. Just look. Clearly, darkness is raging against the church.
Spiritual warfare is real, despite some who insist we don't have to fight because the devil is already defeated. Spiritual warfare is biblical, despite those who argue we should ignore the operations of the devil. Spiritual warfare is necessary because principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness (Eph. 6:12) and other forces are raging against all those who call Christ Lord.
Lester Sumrall’s 7 Troubling Prophecies Over America
Lester Sumrall went home to be with the Lord in 1996, but his legacy continues—and his God-breathed prophetic words are still alive.
In a 1987 video capture, Sumrall, whose spiritual father was Smith Wigglesworth, shares seven prophetic insights God revealed to his heart earlier in his walk with the Lord. I wish they weren't accurate, but it seems he heard rightly. You can watch the video to see all the warnings. I'm going to focus on just one of them.
“I said, 'God, I don't understand this at all.' He said, 'You're going to see it and here are seven things to watch.' And God gave me seven things to observe. Number one was, America will depart from its historic faith. Now at that time, the Supreme Court hadn't done any of those strange things, such as permission to kill unborn babies and giving such rights to homosexuals. See, none of that happened.”
You Won’t Believe the Pitch I Got From One False Prophet
When Jesus said false prophets would rise in the last days, He wasn't exaggerating. We're certainly in a season of accelerated false prophet activity.
Check out this message I received:
I've made a mistake. In this season of transition, there have been piles of bills, problematic equations and mountains of new financial challenges that seemed poised to try to overtake me. At times it has overwhelmed me, but never has it interfered with me going before the Lord with your situation(s). This morning, as I was in my prayer chambers meditating on the Word of the Lord for you and countless others, the Lord screamed a mighty scream in the form of a strong wind blowing from the north and commanded me to look up from which cometh my help.
Grappling With Error in the Church
After I got saved, I received only two instructions: “Read the book of John and go to a Pentecostal church.” Unfortunately, a charismatic false prophet led the only one I could find.
Despite the marvelous worship experience, I knew something was wrong as soon as the “prophet” started hawking for cash with false gimmicks that deceived desperate believers. I went running out the door clutching my purse tightly in both hands, but I didn't throw out the baby with the proverbial bathwater. I didn't reject all prophetic ministry because of one false prophet, or the false prophets I've encountered since.
Shortly after I moved to Alabama, my wilderness place, I was drawn to charismatic teachers like Joyce Meyer. I actually got baptized in the Spirit at one of her conferences. Soon, I plugged into a Word of Faith church, but to my dismay, I saw excesses there also.
Romans 10:17 Revelation Drives Over 1 Million People to Listen to These Messages
Faith comes by hearing. That's the Scripture that inspired the Charisma Podcast Network, which just surpassed the 1 million download mark.
Launched less than a year ago by visionary and Charisma Media publisher Dr. Steve Greene, CPN features a variety of shows, including news, leadership, inspiring stories, women's topics and more. All told, we've developed 11 unique shows for this growing network as readers keep coming back asking for more.
“I believe in the power of the pen, but the Holy Spirit showed me the power of the spoken word. Podcasting allows Charisma Media to reach hungry Christians who enjoy listening to Spirit-inspired content in the car, at home or anywhere else,” says Greene, who has worked in TV station management at major stations and in marketing capabilities with Fortune 500 members. “I knew our audiences—and new audiences—would appreciate this mobile audio platform and that our advertisers hoping to reach this target market would flock to it.”
A Dream and a Rhema Word From Isaiah 54:1-5
It's Time to Break Out! (By Kim Potter) The Lord gave me a dream recently that I have pondered in my heart for days now. In the dream the Lord had me expand my dining room area. I literally had to push out walls and move things around to make my dining room large...
When Awakening Comes Full Circle
I'll always remember the night I stepped into a Florida Panhandle church in the midst of full-blown revival. Rick Curry invited me to check out what was known in 2014 as the Gulf Stream Revival.
Being a journalist by trade, I stood back and watched as revivalist Damon Thompson declared everyone who needed healing should run a circle around the church. After one lady passed me a second time, the Holy Spirit spoke these attention-getting words to my heart, “I've called you to be a participant in revival, not just an observer of it.”
With that, I started running around the church with the rest of them. That night awakened in me a newfound hunger for transforming revival. Not long after that night, I had a dream in which Dutch Sheets shared advice with me about the next step in my journey—and weeks later, I heard Dutch's appeal-to-heaven message for the first time.
Why You Shouldn’t be a Pushy Prophet
Have you ever received a prophetic word that you absolutely, 100 percent, clearly no-doubt-about-it knew was from the Lord—only to have the one you share it with forcibly reject it?
If you've been operating in spiritual gifts for any length of time, the answer is likely yes. What you do next will reveal your maturity in the prophetic and how much the Holy Spirit can trust you to rightly exercise the His gifts.
And remember, they are His gifts and He distributes them individually as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11). If you consistently misuse a spiritual gift or bring others harm when you exercise prophecy, the Holy Spirit may stop talking to you about other people until you learn how to steward the gift responsibly.
Why You Shouldn’t Feel Sorry for Jezebel
If you feel sorry for Jezebel, she'll not only pull on your heart strings, but she'll play you like the proverbial fiddle. This master manipulator will seduce you into her web of witchcraft using your own compassion as bait.
Remember my sixth point in 15 Ways to Discern Jezebel in Your Midst: “People influenced by a Jezebel spirit play the victim. They want your pity.” The reason this seducing spirit wants your sympathy is strategic: Pity opens the door for this devil. Soulish compassion blocks discernment—but that's no excuse for tolerating Jezebel. In fact, if you tolerate a Jezebel spirit, Jesus has something against you.
In Revelation 2:20, Jesus declared, “But I have a few things against you: You permit that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, but she did not repent.” I talk more about this in my book, Jezebel's Puppets.
5 Reasons You Really Need More Holy Ghost
We know Jesus and we know the Father but fewer know—really know—the Holy Spirit or have a relationship with Him in their daily lives. The truth is the Spirit of Truth—the Holy Spirit—will revolutionize our lives if we'll let Him.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son. He is not a mist, a cloud, or a strange feeling. He has feelings just like you and me. He can be grieved. He is sensitive and compassionate. He is powerful and mighty. He is the change agent on the earth—God in action in the world.
Listen to Jennifer's podcast on how the Holy Spirit can help you.
5 Ways the Holy Spirit Can Help You Right Now
I don't know about you, but sometimes I just don't know how to pray. Sometimes I don't know what the will of the Lord is in a situation. Sometimes my natural wisdom doesn't get the job done. And sometimes I need help in sticky situations.
Thank God the Holy Spirit is our Helper. Jesus told His disciples that it was good for them that He went away because He could not send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, until He ascended to the right hand of God (John 16:7).
Listen to Jennifer's podcast about the Holy Spirit as Helper.
When Awakening Comes Full Circle
I'll always remember the night I stepped into a Florida Panhandle church in the midst of full-blown revival. Rick Curry invited me to check out what was known in 2014 as the Gulf Stream Revival.
Being a journalist by trade, I stood back and watched as revivalist Damon Thompson declared everyone who needed healing should run a circle around the church. After one lady passed me a second time, the Holy Spirit spoke these attention-getting words to my heart, “I've called you to be a participant in revival, not just an observer of it.”
With that, I started running around the church with the rest of them. That night awakened in me a newfound hunger for transforming revival. Not long after that night, I had a dream in which Dutch Sheets shared advice with me about the next step in my journey—and weeks later, I heard Dutch's appeal-to-heaven message for the first time.
Why You Shouldn’t be a Pushy Prophet
Have you ever received a prophetic word that you absolutely, 100 percent, clearly no-doubt-about-it knew was from the Lord—only to have the one you share it with forcibly reject it?
If you've been operating in spiritual gifts for any length of time, the answer is likely yes. What you do next will reveal your maturity in the prophetic and how much the Holy Spirit can trust you to rightly exercise the His gifts.
And remember, they are His gifts and He distributes them individually as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11). If you consistently misuse a spiritual gift or bring others harm when you exercise prophecy, the Holy Spirit may stop talking to you about other people until you learn how to steward the gift responsibly.
2 Miracle Stealers We Need to Bind and Break Right Now
I've been decreeing and declaring—and witnessing—more miracles in the past year than I've seen in the past 10 years. We saw stage 4 cancer healed at Awakening Healing Rooms, and I saw legally blind eyes opened in my recent California meetings.
Indeed, we've entered into a season of astounding miracles in America—and this is just the first fruits of a new healing movement emerging even now. I am convinced only two things are holding back a mass outbreak of God's miracle-working power: unbelief and a works mentality. The unbelief will fade away as the number of undeniable miracles increases, because faith not only comes by hearing but also by seeing. The works issue is a different story.
Even after we've witnessed miracles, many times we try to work our way into kingdom manifestations due to teachings that insist we must confess our way to breakthrough. I believe in declaring the Word, but the Lord declares, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zech. 4:6). On the other end of the spectrum, we have religious spirits that deny the gifts of the Spirit still operate today (2 Tim. 3:5). Paul said we are to turn away from religion that denies the power of God.