Dear Friends,
Last year I had a vision of revival coming to our land that began in the hearts of the people and spread across our nation, up through Canada and across to Russia. It branched off from there with one stream literally pulled across Russia and into Ukraine by the tears of intercessors who were martyred over a hundred years ago, and the other stream pouring down and into the Asian nations—Korea, China, Japan, Philippines and so on. It then went into Africa, and Africa quickly brought Israel into this mighty stream of His outpouring.
This revival, birthed from the seeds of the Azusa Street Revival, watered today by the tears of the intercessors.
So, one my ask, when, or better yet, how is this to take place?
Every revival has been born out of two things: a tremendous need in the earth to be visited by God and an intense intercession by the saints.
Today, we certainly meet the “need” requirement, don’t we?
Do we meet the second element? Are we actively engaged in the intense intercession?
One might argue that in 2020, the stage has been set to bring forth the “intense intercession” element. January brought us the impeachment trials, February brought us Covid-19, by March we were in lock-down, April and May brought economic disasters, June brought us Black Lives Matter protests, ANTIFA riots, cities set ablaze, and a hostile take-over of a major city center that the mayor affectionately referred to as “Chaz” or “Chops” as they’ve since renamed themselves, and most recently, a call to defund the police. That is just in the first six months of 2020. It certainly provokes one to prayer, doesn’t it?
I shared last year that 2020 would be the year of shaking and that this shaking would impact everything—the entire nation would feel the trauma—the political realm, the people, and the church. I would argue that ‘shaking’ seems like a mild description of this year, but perhaps it depends on how close one is to the epicenter.
He often reminds me that He also promised that it would be tolerable if we remained diligent in our intercessions.
Typically, during periods of great shaking, the saints of God fall to their faces in repentance, intercession, and a great outcry for Him to visit the land comes forth from the depths of their soul. Alas, through this cry, a mighty watering occurs and our Lord, in His mercy, responds with His outpouring.
This time, however, it will be different. This time, it must be different.
How will it be different? What is God looking for in His people? What are our next steps? How do the promises of God fit into this intense shaking?
The Lord has been speaking to me the past several days, incorporating several prophetic experiences I’ve had to bring forth a tremendous hope for our future. Join me this Thursday, where I hope to answer these questions, bring forth prophetic revelation, and release hope back into the heavy hearts of the children of God.
Please join me at 5:20 PM PST on our corporate line, details are in the sidebar.
Blessings & love,
Ricci Wilson
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"Embracing the Shaking of 2020"
Part 4 (transcription from October 2019)
Ricci Wilson
I remember when I found out I was pregnant with my son and that absolute terror that I experienced. Even though I was a few years older at this point, I really thought long and hard about how I could go through labor again. My husband and I went through Lamaze class and during this process, I learned a few things about the labor process that I didn’t understand before. When I went into labor with my son, I realized when it was time to drive to the hospital because I remember the point of pain that I had when I had my daughter and I knew that I was close. We went to the hospital and admittedly, I was afraid that I was going to get there and they were going to tell me that I was dilated at 3-4 cm and had a few more hours. I was really scared about that but when I got there, I was at maybe 7-8 cm and in fact, things were moving so quickly that the nurse came in and said, “All right, I have called your doctor and I want you to know that I have delivered hundreds of babies and in the event that the doctor does not make it, we are going to be okay.”
So there she was, calm and collected in a situation that could have escalated rapidly. Nurses were flitting about, getting all the kits and prepping the tables. I felt a little panicky because I was expecting more pain but this nurse never left me. I overheard her asking a delivery doctor to come to my room immediately. She was very calm; she was wonderful. I do not think that the nurses get nearly the credit that they deserve, but she was right there with me. My husband was about to pass out, so it was really the nurse and I with him trying to stay upright.
She told me that I was going to need to focus. I looked into her eyes—they were the most striking eyes, a shade of brown so dark they were nearly black. I looked into her eyes as she walked me through contractions. She calmed my fears and brought me peace. She was so calm in the midst of my elevating emotions and she said, “Okay, you can do this.” She told me to breathe and, five seconds later, she told me to breathe again. She brought back to me the focus that we had learned while taking our birthing class. Lamaze is not really about eliminating your pain. Lamaze is about giving your brain something else to focus on besides the fact that your body is about to split into two. When you breathe and when you focus on that, you are really taking all of your energy and focusing on something other than your pain and how you are about to lose your mind. Before I knew it, she was telling me that the time had come to begin preparing for the birth and that my doctor was, in fact, not going to make it but “we” would be okay.
Within 45 minutes my son was born.
It was quite possibly the best experience you can imagine in giving birth. It is obvious that you would think that if your doctor is not there, your husband is about to pass out, and you hear the loudspeaker calling any doctor on the floor to your room STAT, it would create chaos in your heart, but it did not in mine because I had someone there who had immediately gained my trust. She was very honest with me, and walked me through the process.
That experience was the opposite of my first experience, so much so, that it healed me of the trauma of my first experience. I hate to be such a wimp, but I really went through trauma from my first birth because I was not prepared. They did not tell me that it would be the most pain that you could ever imagine, but “you can get through this, I will walk you through it. You can do this. We need to focus on something other than your pain and I will help you get through this, we got this, and at the end of this process, you are going to have life. Life! You are going to have your son.” It made all the difference in the world. After going through that period, that nine months of pregnancy and however many hours of labor, I really walked through that experience feeling like I could have ten more kids!
Why is THIS analogy the one the Lord brought back to me? I have not thought about either of those experiences in years; it has been almost 30 years. However, the last couple weeks, these two experiences kept coming to mind so strongly. This is why:
When we go through labor, there is a specific period when you have transitioned from the first stage of labor into the second stage: the birthing stage. When you have moved into the very last part, you are now in active labor, your contractions are coming every one to two minutes and they last 60 to 90 seconds because your body is at the very last part of giving birth to life. It is at this part that while I was in the hospital with my second child that that nurse took me from a place of panic to unbelievable focus. She convinced me, wholeheartedly, that I was going to make it through, despite the fact that my doctor was not there and my husband was about to pass out (poor guy). I knew I was going to be okay; I trusted her. Because of this trust, because she walked me through this, I went from panic to focused excitement.
When we are about to go through a difficult time, we have choices to make. Are we going to allow the difficult times to swallow us up? Are we going to embrace them? Are we going to “fake it ‘til we make it”… in other words, just survive them? Or are we going to allow the Lord to do a deep work in us during those difficult times? What is our response going to be when the shaking occurs?
To be continued next week…
Blessings and love,
Ricci Wilson
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Acts Book II (Part 4B) A Change Is Coming
by Nita LaFond Johnson
Moses was living in a time similar to today; life was very uncertain for the Jewish people and Egypt. His own people did not seem to be seeking the Lord the way they should and he, himself, was trapped in a kingdom he did not understand or desire. He knew there was something higher and that there was a God, the God of Israel. He knew that he was created for a purpose.
The people God wants are those who understand that they have a purpose in this life. He longs to download into you an understanding of your purpose in this life. If you know you were created for a purpose then your heart is open to receive direction because you are seeking it; you want that purpose fulfilled. God wants that purpose fulfilled. He did not create anyone to fall short of His ultimate plan for them. Never before in history has it been more important for everyone to fulfill their purpose in God.
There is one thing hindering the Church; we discover it here in Hebrews 11:25. The Church has a different mind than Moses did:
Hebrews 11:25 “Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life.”
This is where Moses differs from the Church today. The Church prefers not to have hardship or suffering; the Church prefers not to have to identify with that part of Christ and His ministry. They would rather identify with the world in creating its own comforts – extravagant, beautiful gardens free from thorns. And, since the Church prefers not to choose what Moses chose – the sufferings of Christ, it is also without what Moses gained in return – the glory and power of God.
Something inside of us has to awaken in order to come to the reality of knowing that if we are going to have a deeper life in God and live above the storm, then we must travel through the season of trouble to get there.
Hebrews 11:25 “Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life.”
God is calling us out of the sinful life, out of the place where sin is ruling and reigning, into the place where the life of God is ruling and reigning.
Hebrews 11:26-27 “He considered the contempt and abuse and shame [borne for] the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense). [Motivated] by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible.”
If you are going to leave Egypt, then you will have to pass through the contempt of Egypt, because Egypt is not going to let go of you easily. Pharaoh despises those who break free from his enslavement. You must be willing to pass through the narrow gate out of Egypt into the Promised Land. In this narrow gate is a place of pressure, affliction, misunderstanding, stress, and even confusion and doubt. I can promise you that when Moses was trekking through the desert he felt confusion and doubt, but he kept gazing inwardly on the purpose—the knowledge and understanding that he was created for a higher purpose. He knew he was created to be the deliverer; he did not know how or what it meant at the time, but he had made the decision to run from Pharaoh, from Egypt, and head out into the desert to discover his call.
This is where God is calling the Church. He’s asking us to leave Egypt and head into the desert. He is not asking us to head to the oasis. Personally, I have never liked deserts. I remember traveling through the desert in Israel; that desert was terrible. Even in a car with air conditioning and water in hand you still feel as though you are shriveling up because the heat is so dry. I do not think the desert is the prettiest place; I prefer the oceans, trees, and mountains. I would prefer to be anywhere but the desert but where did Moses have to go? He went into the desert, because that is where you have to go to find God. You have to be willing to leave your comfort zone and come out of the oasis where green trees shield you from the sun, where water is ever-present in plentiful supply, and come into the unknown and the uncomfortable. I can promise you, the deeper you go into the desert the hotter and drier it gets. Not that the desert gets drier. It is your body that is responding to the heat. You understand – the longer you stay in the desert, the thirstier you get.
To be continued next week…
In Him,
Nita Johnson
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