When we think of how God comes into a territory to affect change, we often immediately go to our acts and strategies. Actually, everything begins with Him. Jesus did so many miracles on the Sabbath (rest)! We find our delight in obedience to His creativity and heart.
We speak of "paradigm" often and also speak of "paradigm shifts". This word literally means to show alongside so that something becomes an example or model. Models of action or thoughts become a paradigm as we simply follow what we have always seen or experienced. We form concepts, values, and practices as a way of viewing reality. Then that reality captures entire communities as they share life together. Satan can gain entry if our paradigms do not line up with our Father's justice and love.
I may be communicating with people who have not considered that God really can shift the paradigm of an entire territory or I may be expressing my heart to people like myself who have been engaged in that calling and desire for years. Here is the beginning of it all -
"Only God is able but O how He is able!" Seeing and comprehending my place as a co-partner with Him has been a process of having my own paradigm changed first. I am still in process and stand amazed at what He is doing in my territory. We have seen two years of miraculous testimony!
When God moves to change a territory He comes to a people so that when they look into His eyes, they see their boundaries. "This region is where God put me." This is the first step for any transformer. I will stand before God with what happens in my boundaries. Wow! When this revelation penetrates my heart I buckle and bow because it is too big. Yet the change of mind many Biblical heroes had to make stands before us all. Is my weakness big or is God bigger? Will I fall before my weakness or will I worship Him? This is a foundational choice. God comes to a people who will worship and look at their territory through His eyes. There is so much that could be said here but we must worship Him above the obstacles and the injustices in our territories. He is above it all and the Most Trustworthy One.
As He comes to change His territories through worshipping, triumphant people, then He connects them. We are so blessed to be a part of the apostolic reformation! As one who has moved in prayer since the early 80's I know this is "that" we have waited on. Together we form a weapon of oneness! He has taught us to worship and enthrone the ONE who makes us ONE and then listen as He makes decisions from the throne. We just decree behind Him! We then allow Him to connect us with those who can take us forward in our territories and in our calling. I am thankful for those in my life at Glory of Zion, Chuck Pierce, Jim Hodges and Tom Schleuter, Falma and Anne to name a few. I felt we needing a commissioning to our region and Apostle Barbara Wentroble came to do this. That was a huge piece! For one thing, I need people in the war who tell me when I have spinach in my teeth or when my armor is crooked! Worshipping people are not afraid of adjustment correction because it is a key attitude in any army. This type of connection takes us into destiny.
Once His people are seeing His throne and His bigness and taking responsibility for a region, this becomes their position:
2 Chron. 20:12-13
12 O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee." NASB
So, He looks for and finds worshipping people who will see their territory. He gets them aligned into a weapon of oneness and then...He gives them their first step! He may give it through a prophet or He may give it prophetically as we worship. The most important thing is that we allow Him to show us our first step.
After we were apostolically connected in my region we DID NOT have a method. Remember, that is a paradigm and we are looking for His. As we worshipped, Father spoke that we would see articles in the newspaper on how our river was being cleansed. Well, we knew that in itself would be a miracle because in most areas such as mine we do not admit anything needs cleaning up. Yet, in two weeks the first of the news articles was in the paper - "The Dredging of the River Begins"! Then we read of the other "cleansing" projects and we were on the move.
Doing what? More worship and listening! From this point on He led us into miracle after miracle.
I want to share at least one miracle to give example of how He moves. Anne Tate came to help us and after our meeting of worshipping and listening we were called to the night watch, which we did. At some point Anne shared how deliverance was effective from the curse of generational Masonic involvement by reversing prophetic symbols of the Masonic ritual. So, Holy Spirit drops and the next thing I know I am asking her to please come lead us in the deliverance of the whole city. Anne is a very bold person and so she went back (remember the connection thing) and after a time a "one people" knew this was right and so she brought a team to my town in Texas. We worshipped and we all went through the process of deliverance (your heart better be in line first!). Then we went to the city boundaries and did the deliverance process over an entire town! Listen, all I can say now is that within weeks the city decided to reverse hiring and pay scales and all sorts of things linked to the secret handshake of the Masonic and then it even got more miraculous! God had removed a dark veil over their minds and they saw the injustice of hiring and paying in the old paradigm. The model of the old was removed!
How does God move in a territory to change paradigms? He gathers a people who worship and listen and obey (same word in Hebrew). He makes decisions and we go say and pray His decisions and the demonic gets judged and the people's minds just don't seem to work the same way!! He is God.
He is also God over bacteria! Our river was polluted due to greed and wrong stewardship of the land. We were obeying God and dropping a plumb line on the city square when Father called our attention to the clock on the courthouse that had just been repaired. It had stopped dead still at 4:20. What was He saying? At a Texas Apostolic Council meeting I learned that 4/20 was Passover. After consulting the One we love, we rented a riverboat and worshipped on the river on Passover for over two hours with a very awesome sound. Within weeks we were told we had the smallest percentage of e-coli ever in the river. We knew this was a prophetic sign that He would cleanse our area and deal with the greed. He is!
I could recount so many miracles but let me just say the area is transforming. Racism is ending (our new leader of the ministerial alliance is a wonderful black leader), droughts have been defeated, injustice exposed, new covenants on the land, new freedom to worship and a very open heaven! We are not finished but we know WHO to follow and WHO does the changes. As He does them, we follow with actions that line up His changes. We have It is a new day because He forms new paradigms!
- Read the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 and insert the name of your territory.
- Meditate on Romans 8:14-18 and see your territory as inheritance.
- Pray 1 John 4: 17-19. Pray this over your heart and ask God to deal with any paradigm that does not align with His bold love.
Merrie Cardin, via Chuck Pierce.
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