Leaving the Pain Behind

Kris Vallotton

When I was at the Heaven Come Conference in LA this past weekend I felt like God spoke to me about some very specific things, including the subject of pain. There’s something profoundly available in this season for people to walk out of pain and I believe there’s an anointing available to change your season. Even though I’ve taught on pain before (whether that be depression, anxiety, physical sickness, heartache etc.), I actually feel like this is more than a teaching today—it’s a prophetic declaration. We’re in the 500th year of the reformation when the protestant movement was birthed. I felt like God said that we are entering Reformation 2.0 and that He’s going to do some crazy things in this season. So, all that to say, get your hopes up!

LEAVING YOUR PAIN BEHIND

I want us to take a look at a story in Scripture that’s a beautiful representation of what it’s like to step away from pain. John 5:2-8 (emphasis added):

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 

Think about it. This man was at the healing pool for 38 years. He had watched others get healed while he was still waiting on his miracle for 38 years! Can you imagine the discouragement he was living in? I’m surprised he hadn’t given up yet! Then Jesus asked him a question. I think this is a question we all need to ask ourselves—do we want to get well? Some people go to the doctor or the healing rooms and never get well because they come with hopelessness and the expectation that they will leave that place sick. This is because they’ve learned how to live and cope with the pain. Many people come to the of pool promise but hopelessness reduces them to the pallet of pain. However, Jesus wants to take your pallet of pain and transform it into pulpit of purpose! Today is the day your pain is supposed to go, and I want to encourage you to pick up your pallet and walk! 

HEALING IS BETTER THAN NUMBNESS

Many people reduce their life to accommodate their pain instead of deal with it. The truth is that we’ve all experienced pain in life. An adage I live by is that you can’t always help what happens to you but you can always help what happens in you. I’ve been with people who are in tremendous pain and don’t feel the emotion of it anymore because they’ve reduced their life to accommodate it. They’ve numbed themselves. When we numb the pain we can’t figure out the source, so we try to fix the symptoms but our lives just get worse and worse. I encourage you to step into the pain because God wants to heal you, not numb you.4 things you should know about pain:

1. Pain is rarely the problem; it is almost always the symptom. Give yourself permission to dig deep and find the root of what’s going on.

2. Pain will lead you to the source of your problem. It’s actually a gift and a lead to follow.

3. The level of your pain does not always determine the depth of your problem. For example, a sliver in your finger can feel like you need to chop off your hand because the pain is so bad!

4.Ignoring pain or being afraid of pain often leads to bigger problems.

A CULTURE OF WHOLENESS

When you’re walking out of pain it’s important to create a culture of wholeness around you. Don’t listen to sad music or watch sad movies when you are processing through your pain. Don’t sing songs to your pain, but rather sing songs to your victory! Don’t minister to your pain or make it comfortable! Don’t try to live with it, rather make sure you’re working through it and getting it out. The Bible says we WALK through the valley, so don’t stop and camp out there. So how do you do this?

Recently I asked pastor Bill how his weekend was and he told me he had a great weekend and spent a day listening and watching to the prophecies that were given to him and Beni over the years. I was like, “Uh… I dug a ditch this weekend!” Haha. I just want to say that Bill has developed a culture of testimony and prophecy around himself, so that his weakness became his strength. He has fed his soul and spirit with God’s truth, with testimonies of what God has done in his life and in other people’s lives, and the prophecies that fill him with the hope of what’s to come. He has truly strengthened himself in the Lord. Over the years he refused to be a depressed man and rather created a culture of prophecy and testimony around him. We, myself and I’m sure many of you, now get to feed off of that. What I want to propose to you today is that you can do the same thing! You can feed off of the testimonies of breakthrough you’ve heard and the prophecies spoken over you! You can create a culture that others get to feed off of. But you have to leave pain so that you can get up and walk in breakthrough.

DO IT AGAIN

I feel that we are in a kairos moment for stepping out of pain, which reminds me of a passage in John 21. When Jesus rose from the dead he went to find the disciples in a boat. They had been fishing all night and Jesus yelled out to them from the shore to ask if they’d caught anything. They replied to say no, and that they’d been fishing all night. Jesus told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Now let’s just think for a second. You’d think that if they were fishing all night that they’d tried their net on both sides of the boat! But Jesus asked them to do it one more time. My point is that sometimes it doesn’t take a new action, but rather a renewed action to see breakthrough. Sometimes Jesus asks you to do the thing you’ve been doing just one more time. I feel like this is a “try it again” day—whether that means going to the doctor one more time, going to the healing rooms one more time, calling your son or daughter that you haven’t heard from in years one more time…Today is the day that you can walk out of pain. The Lord is saying “take up the pallet of promise and move on.”

AFFECTED RATHER THAN OFFENDED

Some people may be offended at this blog. It’s not always easy to hear “get up and walk” when we’ve been waiting for our breakthrough. Think about the man at the pool of Bethesda… when Jesus told him to pick up his pallet and walk he could’ve jumped into a myriad of reasons for why he was sick and honestly taken offense. But when God is giving us the command to get up and move on, we have to purpose to not be offended! He’s not saying it with a calloused heart; He’s saying it with profound authority!

There’s something powerful about refusing to get offended when the Lord says to be strong and courageous while you’re looking fear and discouragement in the face. Receive the grace that comes with the word even if it feels harsh, and determine to be affected by His command instead of offended by it.

TODAY WE DECLARE BREAKTHROUGH!

Today, regardless of why you’re in a hard season, I want to encourage you to declare this out loud over youself. The power of life and death is in the tongue so let’s speak life over ourselves! Ready? Here we go: “I am leaving my pain behind. This is my day of deliverance. This day, the Lord will deliver me from the things that have plagued me and my family for generations. This is the day that the Lord decreed that I would walk out of a place of misery in every area of my life. Today’s breakthrough will affect and infect my children and my grandchildren. We will create a legacy of breakthrough. Hope and peace will be named among the attributes of my family lineage. Our family will create a culture of wholeness. What feeds us and walks us out of pain today will become our strength, and thousands of people will come to our house to get out of pain and find promise!”

Like I said before I’ve taught on walking out of pain a few times and I want to give you my teaching notes today. Simply click here to check them out. They include steps for walking out of pain that I hope will help you! I’d also love to hear from you in the comments! Let me know your thoughts and testimonies below.

September 27, 2017, Kris Vallotton

Apple of Your Eye Anointing that He is going to release over the state of Washington and over Seattle, Washington.

Washington Stand.

In worship the Lord began to show me a massive Apple in the Spirit. I said, God what is that, and he said it is what I am releasing, I am releasing the Apple Wine in Washington.

He said in Seattle, Washington, in the northern part of the country, in the northern part of the west coast, the Apple Wine is going to flow from the Mountain of God.

I see the New Wine of Heaven coming and I see God releasing a Fresh Marking, a Fresh Release of the Peace of God, of the intimacy of God, the Apple of Your Eye Anointing that He is going to release over the state of Washington and over Seattle, Washington.

I also see the firestorm moving in and moving out and moving in and moving out and the Lord is marking you today with New Wine in the Glory He is marking you today with the Apple of His Eye anointing of Intimacy with God and I see the Peace of God being released right now the peace that surpasses all understanding being released in Jesus name!

Released at The Fire and Glory Outpouring, San Diego, CA

Jerame Nelson

February 13, 2016

Pillars are Changing

“Many of My children are and will be experiencing a change of PILLARS in their lives, individuals
that they have looked up to for personal strength and support. As your Mother has always been a pillar for you, many of My children have pillars as well.

This is a season of rapid change and for the replacing pillars. These pillars have done their work well and it is now time for them to move on, some to come home to Me, others to new endeavors.

However, in order to raise the ceiling for those who I have called to new heights – I must replace the pillars.

Many may not see or appreciate what is happening at this moment in time, but soon they will see and know that I have set in motion a plan for the next season of their lives that will see them rocket to new heights.

So do not despair at the loss of your pillars, yes for some there will be a grieving process, but as My process says I will never leave you nor forsake you, so trust me as things are changing and be prepared for the new heights that I am leading you into.”

~Martin  Best, July 2017
Shelton, Washington

A Season of Bumbling Around

One of the things that I do is I look at the seasons, the “big picture” view of what’s going on in the Spirit.  

This is an interesting one.  I call it the Season of Muddling Around. My brother Craig refers to “fuzzy-fog of not-quite-sure-what's-next.”

It’s a season where God doesn’t seem to be giving as much direction as he has in other seasons. You may experience it as “OK, what do we do next” in your home group or your church gathering. Or you may be having a hard time finding clarity in life choices or in addressing perplexing situations.

Paul went through a similar season. In Acts 16, Paul and his traveling ministry team finished one project, and had trouble finding the next one. They were “kept by the Holy Spirit” from ministering in Asia, and “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them” to minister in Bithynia. This was a challenging transition season for him.

What’s this? The Holy Spirit is preventing them from preaching the gospel? That’s the Great Commission; God can’t be stopping them from obeying what they’re called to do! Yep, that’s what it says.

It seems like a number of believers are experiencing this sort of thing: just trying to do the thing that God has called you to do, but God’s not blessing it, God’s presence isn’t in it, or he stops you before you ever get started.  

So a lot of us are in a season of “bumbling around.” We’re trying this new thing, or that tried-and-true thing, and it’s not working. It’s easy to get frustrated in this season.

If you’re feeling some of this, let me say a couple of things to you:

1. No, there’s not something wrong. God does different things, or does the same things in different ways, in different seasons. This is that season. This isn’t because of sin, or because you’ve “missed God.” Remember, this is a transition period. It’s temporary.

2. This is actually a season of promotion. You’ve been maturing, growing up. You don’t need as much direction from Daddy as you used to need. You can make more decisions for yourself and for your place in the Kingdom. Think of this as a season of taking new “baby steps” and learning to walk as mature sons and daughters.

3. Of course we stay plugged in with God, we stay intimate and connected, eyes on Jesus and ready to hear. Paul eventually had a dream that told him where to go, and it led to a surprising new ministry.  The end result of his transition was pretty awesome.

4. Don’t be shocked if God leads you in a surprising new direction. Don’t freak out if he takes you in an entirely new and unexpected direction. Likewise, don’t choke if he takes you in the direction you expected, but it turns out to be completely different than the way you thought it would be, or than it has ever been before.

5. In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing, and keep your ears open. Stay in healthy relationship with solid people, and keep talking together about what God is doing, what he’s saying.

6. And stay ready to change gears, quickly if necessary.

So congratulations on the new place in God! Well done! Now, are you ready for the next step? 

nwp

A Word for the Prophetic Movement

by Mark Sandford,

In mid-April I began to feel purposeless, as if I were going nowhere (in spite of the fact that the opposite is true). I felt heavy and dead, and could take little joy in ministry. I have encountered many prophetic people who have been feeling the same way. But when I tell them why, their heavy feeling lifts.

Have you been feeling this way? Here's what I'm sensing. A change is coming in the prophetic movement. The movement began with a vibrant vision: we would rediscover the prophetic gift and office, and bring them back into the life of the Church. Joy came to many as prophetic words were fulfilled, but immature zeal has had its way. The need for accountability has been eclipsed by a quest for the excitement of prophecies (especially personal ones). We want so much to hear from God that we often fail to test prophetic words, as Scripture commands (1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:20, 1 John 4:1).

Although the Bible regards false prophecies as a very serious matter, too many Christians treat them as a non-issue. A prophetic leader may give false prophecy after false prophecy, and it doesn't even occur to followers to test his words. When even our watchmen are not held accountable for their actions, who is left to warn teachers who would stray into heresy or pastors who would fall into sin? Ample objections come from the internet attack dogs who spew their vitriolic fire hoses not only on fires, but on the very fire of the Holy Spirit. But not enough prophetic voices are speaking out with the balance of firmness and compassion needed to protect the precious gifts with which God has entrusted us.

I sense that in order to protect His children from themselves, at this point the Holy Spirit is applying loving discipline by sending thousands of prophetic Christians into what St. John of the Cross dubbed, "the dark night of the soul." . If you are feeling the heaviness I have described, you may be one of them.

Or, if you have already been through the dark night, such feelings may signal a call to pray for others who are entering into it. God often causes us to feel what others feel, to prepare us to pray from a stance of empathy rather than judgment. If this describes your situation, you are probably beginning to feel lighter even as you read this, for you are realizing that the emotions you have been feeling are not your own.

In the sixteenth century, in his book, "The Dark Night of the Soul," St. John noted that when Christians discover spiritual gifts and mystical experiences they too often fall into spiritual pride, either knowingly or unknowingly, desiring to use these to gain notoriety. Some, aware of this temptation, become overly scrupulous. They desperately attempt to scrub every imperfection from their souls, unaware of a hidden motive to find peace in their own perfection rather than in the arms of a gracious and forgiving God.

St. John saw both of these reactions as expressions of "spiritual gluttony." Through his own suffering he learned that whether we are ravenous for notoriety or perfection, God cures us by putting us on a "spiritual diet." The following are signs that this is happening:

-- You may no longer find pleasure in the things of God or life in general.

-- You may no longer easily feel God's presence, have mystical experiences or hear prophetic words.

-- You may find it difficult to pray, feeling little or no enjoyment in it.

-- You may feel spiritually dead.

-- Because of all this, you may feel like God has abandoned you.

-- You may feel like you are backsliding.

--You may feel like everyone has forsaken you, especially your friends.

You may take all this to mean that God has removed His presence. Quite the opposite is true; He has increased it! It only feels like He has removed it, for two reasons. First, during the dark night you may feel like you are walking from a dimly lit room into full sunlight. The brightness of His holy presence can seem blinding, so that you can't see the light of His presence until the eyes of your spirit slowly adjust. Second, Malachi 3:3 says that God refines us like gold and silver. His increased presence can heat up the metal of your heart, causing dross to surface more quickly. You can become so aware of your sins and the deadness of your soul, that at first you do not perceive that His presence has increased.

You may also think the dark night is punishment or reaping for wrongdoing. It is not; it is God's way of leading you to despair of relying on your own strengths, abilities or gifts. In the process, you may discover sins you were previously unaware of, but these did not cause the dark night; they were merely revealed by it. So don't blame yourself for the dark night; be thankful that God is using this experience to build humble character that reflects more of His likeness.

How long must the dark night last? St. John suggested that in order for it to be effective, it should last at least a few years, but that is not absolute; there are many exceptions. It will last however long it takes to get you to the point of despair of self and then beyond it, to where you can abide in Christ, resting in the knowledge that without Him you can do nothing (John 15:5). Only God knows how long that will take.

Meanwhile, do not try ever harder to hear God or spend extra hours in fasting or Bible study in order to jump-start your stalled spiritual sensitivities (not that you should avoid these activities, but do avoid basing them on this motive). Rather, lean into God's embrace and cling to Him like a child in need. Jesus said, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all. And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them" (Mark 10:15-16, NAS).

To live in Jesus' embrace is, quite simply, God's goal for the prophetic movement. For what is the ultimate purpose of any prophecy, whether it be a word of encouragement, a warning, or even an announcement of impending discipline? Simply to draw us closer to God. What, then, is most destructive to the prophetic movement? Focusing on prophecies instead of God.

For those of you who have been feeling the heaviness in brothers and sisters who are entering the dark night, pray that this will not be a time of torment for them. Torment will come if they strive to recover the thrills His gifts once gave them. Pray for the grace to let that go and to embrace the choice fruit which God designed this season to produce -- sweet contentment in the arms of a loving God. Imagine the babies Jesus took into His arms in Mark 10. Were they prideful? How could they be?

Babies have no gifts or achievements in which to take pride. Did they seek gifts instead of God? Babies know nothing of such things. All that matters to them is the rapturous heart-to-heart and spirit-to-spirit flow of the Father's love. "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." How we squirm in His arms! We would rather be down on the floor where we can play with our spiritual toys.

If you go through the dark night, spend a great deal of time in the quietness of God's embrace. Choose to soak in His presence, even if you cannot yet feel it. Eventually you will! The wait will cultivate patience and humility. Having endured a period without spiritual accomplishments, more than ever, you will know that you truly can do nothing in the power of your flesh. You will become more aware of your shortcomings and sins, yet be far less self-conscious and more self-accepting than before.

And when you finally begin to imbibe the deep satisfaction of the Father's love, it will make you "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), for you will no longer feel the need to become rich in spiritual gifts. When gifts come, you will enjoy the God who gives them. When they are absent, you will enjoy God.

When the dark night has made you into a child who knows no reason for pride, it is then that God will increase the gifts, not only because you can be trusted with them, but because there will be less danger that you might use them to bring harm to yourself and others. And although you will be more able to feel God's presence and power, you will no longer see feelings as the measure of God's presence and power.

Lust for emotional highs will fade within the placid stillness of God's heavenly hug. And you will be able to invite others into that peace; you will be able to speak the truth -- even hard truth -- from no other motive than love.

Not everyone's "dark night" will look exactly like that outlined by St. John of the cross. Throughout Scripture we see saints who experienced elements of it, but each one's list of woes had its own configuration. What was common to all is that their time of suffering always led to the same blessed place.

David wrote, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1 NAS). But he also wrote many of the most joyful Psalms. Job complained, "I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me" (Job 30:20, NAS). But his life after his time of trial was twice as blessed as before (Job 42:12 NAS). In Lamentations 3:1-33, Jeremiah mentioned many of the elements of the dark night. He complained, "He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light (vs. 2, NIV). "Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer" (vs. 8, NAS). "My people...mock me in song all day long" (vs. 14, NIV). "I have been deprived of peace" (verse 17, NIV). "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord" (vs. 18, NIV).

Although Jeremiah's prophetic gift brought him nothing but rejection from his countrymen, he found his blessed place in God's embrace: "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (vss. 21-23).

In Lamentations 3:24 (NIV), Jeremiah said, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait on Him." This outlook was what got him through his trial, and the increase of this outlook was the end-result. What is your portion? The extent of your gifts? The "high" they make you feel? The admiration they inspire in others? Being right when others are wrong? Your mind might protest that this is not so, but only God knows your heart. He knows how long it will take you to learn to really live the words, "The Lord is my portion."

You may pray that the length of the dark night be shortened, but do not be dismayed if it is not. I sense that for many, it will last for the next three to four years. For you, it may last for any length of time within that time period. During that season, prophecies may be scarcer than before. Spiritual highs may be harder to come by. But afterward, you will find yourself in a place to be guided by a new vision -- one centered on the simple premise that it's all about the Father's love.

Jesus said, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24, NIV). In order to bear the fruit God intends, the current prophetic movement must die -- not die off, mind you, but die to its present form and state, to be resurrected into the balance that God intends for it.

"The Lord is my portion." When this season passes, for those who have allowed God to have His way, this may become the catch-phrase of the new vision for His prophetic movement.

http://www.elijahhouse.org/topical-articles/topics/a-word-for-the-prophetic-movement-april-30-2013/

http://www.hiswholehouse.org/blog/from-the-archives-a-word-for-the-prophetic-movement-by-mark-sandford 

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Some backstory: 

Recently, I was reviewing old posts, and my attention was drawn to this word, and my spirit jumped on it. "This is for a lot of folks right now."   

Mark Sandford (the author) contacted me about it and pointed out that this was a word given four years ago about the four year period that just ended.

He adds, "For those who have been through that time in the dark night, it would bring hope to let them know that the four year period ended in mid-April. Please mention that. And mention that this doesn't mean that everyone's dark night lasted for exactly that four-year period, but it does mean that many people are now getting beyond it."

In any case, yes, he'll have a follow-up word for it this summer. 

Excellent!