Again I voice with a great deal of humility that I feel the blessing of this hour. We’re receiving golden secrets as God brings to our heart the guidelines and the principles in which we’re going to walk before the King. We will see this Word go to the ends of the world.
The Lord has laid upon my heart to impress upon you the way Satan works and the way God works. So many things are taking place on the earth today, and because of the activity of Satan, it is very difficult for us in this generation to come to an accurate appraisal of anything that is happening. Every Christian is aware that when he turns on the television or reads the newspaper, he cannot be sure that he will learn what is actually happening. This is the day of image makers, of illusions. These are the days when Satan is creating a lie.
The first problem we want to deal with is very important for us. It is this problem of the image, of appearance. Unless you have a lot of faith, you’re not going to look at the men God raises up, and choose them above some of these clever fellows who know how to come on strong with eloquent oratory and a pleasing personality. The Church has always been in that position. They would bypass the Apostle Paul because they found his speech contemptible and his bodily presence weak (II Corinthians 10:10). They didn’t want to listen to him. He didn’t impress anyone. But God’s purpose is not to create an image. Paul didn’t come with enticing words of man’s wisdom. He didn’t try to create oratory that would sway his hearers. He said, “I was with you in much weakness and trembling and fear, lest your faith would stand in the wisdom of man and not in the power of God (I Corinthians 2:3–5). And yet people today still bypass the man who is truly speaking the Word of God, because they don’t find in him the image they want or expect.
They will get the image all right, if that’s what they’re looking for. Satan will be transformed into an angel of light. His ministers will come with great deception. Prophets will come and perform exactly the way a prophet is supposed to act. They will come on strong, those false apostles, those “wonder workers.” They’ll come as super-apostles. “If it were possible,” the Lord said, “they would deceive the very elect” (Mark 14:22).
At this time we need revelation that will show us the reality of things, beyond the illusion, beyond the images that are created. If we don’t do that, we’ll follow the man who looks like a prophet and we’ll be led into destruction, while turning aside from the real man of God because he has only one thing in mind: to speak a word from God—not to create an image.
Millions of dollars are spent by family dynasties to create an image. Yet when members of that family are in disfavor, newspapers and magazines are filled with articles that speak of the almost unmentionable things they have done. Then when they want to again create a favorable image, all the major magazines print articles portraying that side. The illusion makers become busy, trying to create an image the American people will believe in and trust.
It’s very popular today to destroy an image. Much of what has happened in Washington D.C. recently is the result of image makers trying to create illusions and appearances. Thank God we’ve heard a word that says nothing is going to be hidden. For a little while the world will be deeply moved by illusion and deception, and in these days when the Kingdom is coming forth, it is very important that we understand this and know how to proceed.
We will read and expound from II Corinthians 11:1–21. I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
Notice now how Paul speaks with pure sarcasm. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself (No, apostles aren’t ever supposed to humble themselves; they’re not supposed to make mistakes. Paul, you made a mistake there, trying to create an image that you were just human.) that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?
I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to serve you; and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia, they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.
As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! But what I am doing, I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
He didn’t take one penny from them. Why? Because all of these super-apostles were coming through, projecting a beautiful image. However, Paul knew one thing about them: they were greedy. He said in effect, “Maybe I stumble along when I speak, but those boys are not working for nothing and they never will. Just look what they’re after. They’re robbing you. They have their motivation, and it’s money. Everybody is after something, and no matter how beautiful the image is, take a look at what he’s really working for.”
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds. Do you understand what he’s saying? Paul took money from other churches, but he wouldn’t take a penny from the Corinthians in order that he could prove his motivation to be pure. Did he do this everywhere? No, only where it was necessary, because the false Christs, the false deceitful ministries had come through and their carnal motivation had to be exposed.
Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, that I also may boast a little. That which I am speaking, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh (he’s talking about all of these false Christs with the big put-on, the big show), I will boast also. For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly. For you bear with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the face. To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison. (In other words, “I didn’t have the gall to do that to you.”) But in whatever respect anyone else is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am just as bold myself.
In spite of the biting sarcasm with which Paul speaks, the anointing of the Holy Spirit is on his words and they are included in the Word of God. He’s trying to establish something that is extremely necessary for the believer in any age, but especially in our day. Do not be deceived by the image creators. Do not be deceived by illusion. Look beyond what appears on the surface. Look beyond the evidence of your senses. Don’t just notice how the fellow comes on strong, and reason from the evidence of the senses that what he speaks must be the truth. You must have a revelation from God in order to know what is right and what is not right. In Revelation 2:2 we read of the Church, “Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.” It was a deep thing about which they needed discernment.
In II Corinthians 10 Paul speaks about the great authority he had as an apostle and how the weapons of warfare were mighty and not carnal, with which he pulled down strongholds. Then he continues in verses 7–10: You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If any one is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we. For even if I should boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I shall not be put to shame, for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence (appearance) is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible.” I doubt if people could listen to the Apostle Paul preach without a struggle and an effort to concentrate, because of his outward appearance.
I really wonder how much the Walk will be shaken as the false apostles and the false Christs begin to fill the earth. I wonder how many people will be swayed by them. I’m concerned about this because this is the generation which thrives on the images that are created by the press, by the television, by prestige and acceptance. We’re coming to the place where the real Kingdom of God is coming. It’s what you don’t see with the naked eye that God is producing. And that is not the images. Don’t let them deceive you.
The Pharisees loved the beautiful robes and the appearance of being very religious. I must confess to you that I have never allowed the Walk to appear religious. I have not been an illusion creator or an image maker in any way. I’ve never tried to teach our brothers how to come on strong and create an image. I’ve taught you not to be professionals. I’ve refused to allow you to appear religious just so certain people would not take offense. I’ve used crude language, which has often been criticized. I refuse to eliminate the jokes. I refuse to polish up this Walk to resemble some great religious move.
You may say, “The Walk would be way ahead if you just had not done all those things that people criticized.” No it wouldn’t, for it eliminated the people who were victims of illusion and it thrived in the hearts of people who were there by revelation. Many of us have had enough experience in the ministry so that we know how to turn it on. But believe me, it’s not a temptation for any of us. We’re so glad for these days of reality.
This is what Christ did. When we see Him, there’s no form or comeliness that we should desire Him (Isaiah 53:2). The way Jesus is usually portrayed by artists is not true to life. If you had seen Him, you would have followed Him only if you had had a revelation. He wasn’t a big handsome man who came on strong and caused people to say, “This must be God.” No way! I think you do know that this is the truth. You may ask, “Was He homely?” Christ could never have been homely. You understand, don’t you?
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed.” Oh, did you think we would see another marvelous movement sweeping across the country, with everyone being taken in by it? No, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘there it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst” (or “among you” or “within you”). Luke 17:20, 21.
It’s not what we see, but what we have revealed to us, that is important. Satan will use the senses to deceive, but God uses the absence of a manifestation to the senses in order to turn away the unbeliever. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the ages (ages is a better translation than worlds) were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:1–3.
When an age comes forth, it is not created out of things that are visible. It remains for some man who doesn’t know anything about what has happened, who was not even there, to come later and say, for example, “I’ll tell you about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. I’ll tell you the factors that brought about the French Revolution.” And so he proceeds to relate all the contributing factors that caused it to happen. But if certain factors caused a revolution in France, then why didn’t England have a revolution just as bloody, when the same factors were in effect there? Because there were men by the name of John and Charles Wesley, and George Whitfield, who spoke a word from God. Ages are created by a word from God. And the things that happen do not come about through what you can see or through any scientific analysis of the factors.
There’s no reason for Babylon to be falling. The denominational structure should have remained standing for another thousand years. Christianity in its organized form has enough of a stranglehold on the political world so that it could have held back the tide and been preserved as the richest institution for many centuries, I believe. Except for one thing. A few years ago a group of seemingly foolish people began prophesying against Babylon—prophesying when there wasn’t even a crack in her walls. But there is now! The ages are prepared by the Word of God. And things do not come from things which appear, but from faith in the hearts of the people. God brings them forth. He does not say, “Behold, I will show you the wonders of the Kingdom of God.” He comes to you and gives you a Word, and it comes forth—not by what you see, but by your faith in that Word.
The third chapter of Mark begins with the story of the man with a withered hand. Christ did not come and say, “Here, I’m going to convince you. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll speak a few words and then you’ll be healed. Now wait until the crowd gathers around here.” Mark 3 tells that Jesus was in the synagogue and people came, singing the old songs. Here came a man with a withered hand. Jesus said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” The scientific minds and the religious minds complain, “How cruel, telling that poor man to stretch out his hand. Can’t He see that his hand is withered?” Ah, but the Word of the Kingdom is in this man and he has to respond. Shall we give him something to convince him? No, the Kingdom can’t come from outside of him by observation; it must start within him. He has to believe. He has to trust God. In faith he must try to do what he cannot possibly do. That’s the way the Kingdom comes.
It won’t come by us looking out here and saying, “Oh, we see all the things that are coming to pass in the world,” as we rush to take advantage of the world’s situation. The world situation will never look favorable again. Men’s hearts will be failing them for fear, while we look up and rejoice. They will never understand what we’re doing, but we have a Word from God.
The fifth chapter of John tells about Jesus asking a man, “Do you want to be healed?”
“Yes, I’m trying to get down into the pool of Bethesda before somebody else gets ahead of me.”
“Well, we’ll take care of that. Get up and take your bed home.” He’s been crippled all those years and the Lord is telling him to get up and walk? He isn’t even able to get down in the water. “Come on, do the impossible.”
The lame man could have said, “I don’t see anything to convince me that this is the day for it. I don’t have any feeling about it, really. I don’t even know You. You’re a stranger and yet You tell me to get up and carry my bed. I’ll have You know I’ve been lying here for a long time. I have squatter’s rights on this corner. Everybody knows this is my corner and it has been for years.”
Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed? Do you really want to be well? Okay, then. Move!” Do what you can’t do. You’re doing it in obedience to a Word from the Lord.
The Kingdom will not come with observation. They’ll not say, “Look, here it is. It’s over there.” No, it’s within you, and then it begins to flow out. After a while it will knock down all of these problems outside of you. But first it’s going to take care of all the problems inside of you and come to grips with them.
This is where the Kingdom starts—not by any illusion. And that is what will deceive this generation. The false prophets and the false apostles will come on the scene, creating signs and wonders, and saying, “Look, the Kingdom is coming. Look at the signs.” It doesn’t come that way. It has to start inside of you. “But they look so good.” Yes, and you probably want to believe them. Don’t believe them! Not when they say, “Lo here, lo there.”
See that old man with palsy being let down through the roof? Jesus says to him, “Your sins are forgiven. Get up, take your bed, and go home.” Don’t you love that? Is it what we see that counts? No, it’s what He says to us, how our hearts are open to revelation.
These are the principles of the Kingdom. If this message would be received and retained in the hearts of the people, it would eliminate the great waves of deception that will come across the earth. And don’t think that it won’t make inroads into what we call the Walk, into the remnant. It will make inroads because the people are still suckers. They still want to see something spectacular. They are still moved by the image.
I repeat—the people who will make it will be that prophetic company. With all alertness, they move by revelation. They go by what God says. They’re not moved by what they see. They’re not moved by what they hear.
They’re not moved by any illusion. They weigh it all and follow the course that God reveals to them. Let me impress upon you—the gifts and the ministries are not luxuries at this point. They’re absolutely essential for your spiritual survival. If you would walk in the Kingdom, you must be delivered from the deceptions of Satan when he comes as an angel of light, and from his workers who come as ministers of righteousness, with lying wonders to deceive those who are deceived already. But you’re not deceived.
O God, open our hearts. This message is important because it speaks about the days that are ahead, telling us to look for the true word, for the true authority. Don’t look for something that seems to have in it illusion and an image that could be so deceitful. Weigh it and learn to be submissive in your heart, because there will be times in which your own mind would deceive you if your heart were not set on obedience to the Lord.
How is the Kingdom of God going to come? The Pharisees wanted to know, “How can we believe that this Jesus is really all right?” I don’t think they felt that Jesus gave them a very satisfactory answer. They wanted a sign. What sign could He give that generation? “There is no sign for you except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.” What kind of a sign is that? What kind of a word was that? They wouldn’t believe it.
The Lord is producing an age that is being framed by the Word of God. I’m going to make some statements that will seem a little outrageous and then we’ll read some Scriptures that are even more outrageous. We do not realize how far we are in the Kingdom already, how the age has dawned upon us. Even at this point, we have to look back through the years and say, “This Walk was so deep in the Spirit that God was doing a hidden work.” I think there have been many miracles of healing and deliverance, but God was careful to cover them up.
This is different than the ordinary healing ministries who publish a magazine every month, filled with glowing testimonies and with the healer’s picture on every page—everything that is so exalting to man. Many people follow that, rushing from meeting to meeting. And well they should, because after they are healed, they get sick again, and so they are always ready for the next meeting. Much of it is psychological. We know that. I wonder if these people are dedicated to healing the sick, or if they are dedicated to creating an image. I wonder what their motivation really is. Oh, I don’t either wonder; I know very well what it is. And so do you.
How many times did Jesus heal the sick and when the crowd began to gather, He would slip away? He was moved with compassion. He healed because He loved them. He didn’t stand around waiting for the press; He slipped away. He told one man, “Now don’t tell anybody I did this. Go and tell no man.” He was trying to heal the sick, not create an image. Then finally, without any image having been created, He asked, “Who do men say that I am?”
“You’d be surprised what they’re saying. Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets.”
“Whom do you say that I am?”
“You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
“Ah, blessed are you, Simon Barjona. That knowledge didn’t come from flesh and blood. No one had to talk you into that. My Father revealed it to you.” And if you walk in the Kingdom, it will be because God reveals this to you. He reveals Christ as Lord and you open your heart and get ready to walk in the days of the Kingdom.
Perhaps you are thinking, “We’re just waiting for a big break.” No, no. Don’t wait for a big break. Start prophesying now. “Oh, we’re just a small group of people. What could we do?” Everything. Everything! You’re what God chose. It’s true, you don’t look like the army of the Lord or exploit workers. Out there in Babylon there are people who are better educated and brighter than we, who have more money, who create a better image all the way around. But don’t sell us short. Even though we’re the poor of this world, we are rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom. “But,” you say, “there are so few of us.” Little flock, it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Don’t go by the illusion. We’re in the new age. We’re in the Kingdom. Don’t look for something spectacular. Don’t wait for it. Make it happen.
This message is simple and so easily digested, but it is brainwashing us from those old responses that belong to Adam, to the old nature. God bring us to the place where we learn what it’s really all about.
We want to see how this righteousness comes forth. Romans 10:6–11 will tell us. But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus (this goes back to the book of Deuteronomy), “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
This explains our previous illustrations. Hello there, friend. Stretch your hand out. “Ah, I’m healed.” Hello there, you palsied man. Get up. Walk. Take your bed and go home. Do the impossible. The Word is nigh you; it’s in your heart. Speak it into being. Believe it in your heart. “But we’re waiting. We’re waiting for the Kingdom.” The Kingdom is here. “But I don’t see it.” It’s in you!
I’ve never before seen this so clearly—why Jesus would speak to people and make them act, make them respond. It was because He could see that the seed of the Kingdom was in them and He brought it forth, the hidden thing that was down in their heart. The Word was nigh them, in their heart and in their mouth. All they had to do was just say it, and they would turn loose the mighty power of God. Through faith we understand that the ages are framed by a word of God so that the things that come forth are not made of anything that does appear (Hebrews 11:3). There is nothing visible.
There’s something so tremendous in this word. In its simplicity, it is deceptive. We don’t realize that this is a way of life. This changes our attitude. It changes our response to our own self. It will free us forever from this idea of self-condemnation. You often wonder if you are anything at all, because you are still judging things after the flesh, following the old standards of evaluation, instead of accepting what God says about you and recognizing the mighty power of the Word of God that is in you. Turn it loose. Get rid of the unbelief that is so dependent upon the senses, and the illusions that are created by it. That is Satan’s forte, not ours. His illusion is going to deceive the whole world; but the revelation that depends not on what is seen, but upon what God has spoken, will bring in the Kingdom.
Many people have withered spirits instead of withered hands, and they need to respond to the Word of the Lord. They need to reach out and turn loose that which is withered and atrophied within them. Let’s have a few short prophecies—creative, directive words from the Lord that shall turn the people loose. We’ve not only received a word, but we’re going to get up and walk. We’re going to take our bed and go home. We’re going to stretch out our hand. We’re going to do the thing God tells us to do. We’re going to be released.
“No longer shall we accept the false images that come before us. The Lord is loosing us that we shall walk as sons of God. This is a time that we shall come into the image of the Father and no longer the image of the world. God, we loose it now into creation, in the name of the Lord.”
“No longer shall we accept the withered spirit. We shall take up our walk with God. We confess the word with our mouth and we walk in the victory of our Lord.”
“No longer shall we fail to glorify God by not being the person He’s called us to be. We prophesy against every spirit of reservation, every spirit of reluctance, every mind that would say, ‘Our worthiness is not acceptable in the eyes of God.’ He looses upon us His righteousness that we should walk and fulfill every Word He’s spoken over us, without doubt or wavering or unbelief.”
“The Lord does loose every spirit and every mind to the plane of revelation from which He speaks. For thou art surely become the prophetic community. The Lord is opening thine eyes and thou shalt see the tactics of Satan and not be fooled. Because thou hast received revelation and believed it in thine heart, thou shalt see as the Lord does see. Thou shalt have the very eyes of God. Even now the Lord imparts to thee a discernment into the ways of the Lord and an understanding of His very heart.”
“If you want to follow on to know the Lord, you shall desire His will above everything else. Your head shall be turned away from the theatrics of the world and the religious realm, and you shall continue to follow on to know the Lord and His Word. You shall digest and hunger after the pure Word of the Lord, and God will see that you have the pure Word from the Lord.”
“The voice of the Lord says, ‘Blessed is he who keepeth from stumbling over Me.’ There shall not be that which shall stumble any longer over the Body of Christ that the Lord raises up. We shall not be self-condemned over thinking we’re inadequate, that in ourselves we have nothing; and then trying through the energies of the flesh, through the self-images and achievements and accomplishments of our own flesh, to try to compensate for this. The Lord releases a compassion upon His people. Behold, we shall be able to look to one another, be able to help one another and bring forth the Christ.”
“The day of the authority rests upon thee, O house of the Lord. Be it known that it is released upon thy spirits now. Thou art the identical people unto Christ. Thou shalt speak a creative word in this hour and no longer shalt thou exhort one another, for the creative word is within thee. That seed of the Kingdom is formed within thee and thou shalt begin to speak unto creation and see creation released. Thou shalt begin to speak unto the mountains and they shall be removed. Thou shalt speak unto the trees and they shall be cast into the sea. Let doubt be far from thee. Let it be an hour when thou hast all faith, the faith that Christ has given unto thee. The mind of Christ is thy portion and thou shalt create, O house of God.”
“This day the Lord has broken thy reservations, thy limitations, the thinking of thy own carnal mind, the lies of Satan have been upon thee to say that thou art limited, that thy ministry is far from thee, that you’ll never attain to it. This day the Lord has lifted thee out of those lies. I believe the Lord has done it. Accept it.”
This word must be sealed in your heart, absolutely. Obedience is an integral part of faith. Now you will think of yourself the way God says you’re going to think of yourself. That doesn’t mean you’ll overlook sin. But you’re not going to wipe out all that God is, all that He’s become in your life, and all He’s done for you. You’re not going to make an unbeliever out of yourself because circumstances and problems come up. You’re going to think of yourself as a vessel that God has chosen.
The Scriptures often illustrate that problem. The Lord says, “Hail, thou mighty man of valor.” And Gideon looks around, thinking, “Who’s that? I didn’t know there was anyone around like that.” And God was talking to him! God meets Moses on the backside of the desert and tries to convince him. Moses says, “Not me. You’ve got the wrong boy. You must have been thinking about somebody else.”
We always have a tendency to impose our limitations on God. But God is saying that He is going to impose His omnipotence on us. God doesn’t want your limitations, so you will just have to submit that it’s the other way. He’s going to put His omnipotence on you; you’re not going to put your limitations on Him. Do we have that straight? You’ll do the works God has called you to do because that’s His will. I don’t think you ought to fight the Lord in it at all. Just yield to Him. Don’t downgrade yourself and say, “I’m nothing.” Just because you’re nothing doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. God can do it. Even if you are nothing, God is everything. Open your heart to prophesy the words of the Lord.
What makes people out in the world open up to one another? The Word says that in the last day there will be many seducers, deceiving and being deceived. It’s because they are on that ego trip. Why will a man and a woman go to such pains and effort to score with each other and commit adultery, when all the time they know there is no respect or esteem in their relationship? They are just being used. It’s a matter of total, absolute deception. Everything of sin is based upon that illusion and deception. It all began back there in the Garden when Satan said, “How about that fruit up there. Did God say you couldn’t eat it? Boy, doesn’t that look good?” With the illusion, he was trying to stimulate the senses. That’s the way sin came into the world, and by the same principle, but in the opposite direction, the Kingdom is going to come. It will come, not because we’re enticed by illusion, but because we dare to believe what God has said about us. We dare to believe that He has chosen us. The whole Walk could fall apart by just one thing—if we begin to look and judge one another after the flesh, instead of believing the prophecies over our lives.
The early Church believed they could do what God said and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. They weren’t concerned about anything else. They didn’t try to create any image. The rest of the religious world couldn’t understand their effectiveness. All they could see were ignorant and unlearned men. They were down in that religious rut of deception, where an appearance, an illusion, your credentials, your background, and your professionalism are so important. What about the disciples? They knew one fish from another, but that’s about all. Ignorant and unlearned men, but they were out there speaking the Word of the Lord and changing the world.
Speak the Word of the Lord and keep right on speaking it. Let every service be open for prophecies to flow, not only to edify, but today the words come for destruction, for creation, for everything that is necessary—for the destruction of the establishment and the bringing forth of the Kingdom. Prophesy it. For the ages are framed by the Word of God.
This is the way we’re going to walk. Day after day, whether the sun is shining and it’s hot or whether it’s cold outside with snow on the ground, speak things into existence. They are all yours. Everything else is an illusion.
We’re always needing a lot of money, and I think that can be very deceptive too, believing that God needs money. We tend to think we must have great resources before we start. When Jesus sent out the disciples to preach the Kingdom, He told them, “Don’t take two cloaks, just take your staff in hand and go.” You have to believe that the Kingdom is in your word, not in your resources and equipment. God bless us to get the equipment, but God help us not to trust in the equipment as the means by which the Kingdom comes. The material world is just not that important. And this word proves it. Just start prophesying the release of things.
Prophesy your own release. Prophesy the release of your neighbor. Prophesy the freedom of the church and its growth. How are you going to get anyone in the church? Advertise on the church page of the newspaper? Pass out circulars? Go out on the street corner and try to talk people into it, saying, “Come on. We have a marvelous church. We’re the end-time remnant.” Do you think they’re going to believe you? They’ll turn around and say, “Those people are so deceived.” And the truth is that you’re the ones who are walking in revelation.
How do you get someone in? The same way you came in. You bind the strong man and prophesy that man’s release. Go up to him and give him a word from the Lord. Get through his barriers and through his walls. Can you tell me another way? “Lord, I want to find a soul for you.” Good. “Who will I find?” Look around until you see a very unlikely person, someone who is bitter, defeated by life, the lame, the halt, the blind. Give him a word and he’ll come in. It’s by revelation to the poor of this world, to the little flock. The things of the Kingdom are becoming so real! It’s the day of the Kingdom. It’s the day! Hallelujah. We enter into it with all our heart.