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Monday, March 31, 2014

Baal Perazim- Part Five

Hindrances to Receiving Breakthrough
Before we look at how to receive a BT, we need to think about the hindrances that keep us from being able to do that. Frank Hultgren wrote in his book, Prophetic Insights into Spiritual Warfare in the chapter entitled “Anointed for War” that “we gain victory over our enemies through confrontation and by destroying the strongholds these demons have on our life” (p. 110). So to gain spiritual BT, we have to confront and kill the spiritual giants inhabiting our promise land just like David did.
Hultgren talked about the types of giants that keep us from establishing BT. Giants in the Bible are representative of demonic spirits or strongholds keeping us in bondage or blinding us from knowledge of the truth. What follows is a list of the "most frequent" demonic strongholds people deal with concerning BT.
  1. Fear (the #1 issue Christians struggle with), doubt, unbelief.
  2. Disappointment in God, discouragement; self-pity is one key factor (the Shunamite woman mentioned earlier experienced great discouragement when her baby died).
  3. Being lazy, passive or lethargic with the spiritual disciplines of prayer, reading the Word, fasting and worship.
  4. Natural or carnal thinking versus being spiritually minded.
  5. Not having true discernment- unable to discern truth from the deception of the enemy, being able to distinguish good vs evil or right from wrong.
  6. Presumption and spiritual pride versus humility.
  7. Believing the lies of the enemy- Satan's lies about who we are, who God is, lies about others.
  8. Trying to achieve BT by ourselves- Call upon someone who is “anointed for war” to pray for you. The power of agreement is needed to get results.
  9. Disunity and division- a sure sign demonic spirits are on the attack to destroy you. A house divided can not stand. You will experience a break down of spiritual authority and leadership-- if these giants are not defeated. These two strongholds are what empowers every church split and every Christian divorce.
  10. Not being continually filled with the Holy Spirit- not being taught by Him, or submitted to Him.
What other hindrances can you think of? If you are dealing with a situation and are praying for BT, you will need to ask the Holy Spirit to give you revelation on the specific strongholds blocking the way and how He wants you to deal with them. Just like we discussed in the part 4, you will need to inquire of the Lord and find out from Him what is His will and His Way to gain the victory over the enemy who is trying to hold you in bondage or attacking you. Be wise; don't go to war until you have heard clearly from God.

Breakthrough- a prophetic painting by Amy Hope Rylander

It's a time of preparation.”
One morning in January, 2014, I was awakened by the Spirit saying, “It's a time of preparation.” That's all I heard. To prepare for what? Several days later I began to understand what the Spirit was saying. Now is the time to prepare our hearts for breakthrough by repenting of every negative hindrance we have allowed to rob us of our destiny in God's kingdom. It is a time to purify our hearts of everything that would keep us from experiencing BT in our lives. Like David, it is a time to overcome all the ghosts of our past so we will be able to hear the Lord speak truth and life to us.

Occasionally, the Spirit wakes me up around 3:30 am to pray. So I get up and go to the living room and sometimes I hear something special which I record in my prayer journal. In February, 2014, I heard the Lord say, “I am coming for My Bride and it is time to prepare. There isn't much time left and you need to make the most of every day and every hour. Prepare yourself by spending time with Me in the Secret Place. You must be able to recognize my Voice so another voice you will not follow.”

Deception versus Truth
In the world, there are many voices trying to speak to us to influence our attitudes, emotions, behavior, beliefs, perceptions of reality-- all trying to deceive us. And within us there are voices trying to speak to us as well-- lies from the enemy trying to control us. 

For a Christian, however, Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd and He alone we must follow. To follow Christ wholly requires complete surrender and spending time in the Holy Place with Him-- listening and receiving His rhema words to us. Only if you have spent quality time alone with Jesus in prayer will you recognize the voice of another spirit trying to deceive you. 
 
5 Keys to Receiving Breakthrough
1. Anointing. It is the anointing of Jesus Christ that breaks the yokes of bondage. If we are born-again and baptized in the Holy Spirit, then we have the Anointed One living in us to do the works of the ministry. Jesus came to destroy the power of the enemy, to set the captives free, to release the prisoners from darkness (Is. 61, Luke 4:19-20). 1 John 2:20-27 tells us we have “an anointing from the Holy One” and we shall know the truth.

According to Hultgren, David had a double anointing to be a worshiper and a warrior. As a worshiper, he understood the importance of abiding in the Lord's Presence, abiding in the secret place of the Most High and under the shadow of the Almighty. As a warrior, he understood the principle that the Lord “gives our enemies into our hands” for their destruction. He was anointed for war by the Lord Jesus Christ and led into battle by the Holy Spirit.

Begging the Lord in prayer “to do something” will not work. Jesus has done everything already he needed to do to make us successful and now He expects us to do our part. Read the book of Joshua to get the full revelation of how God commands us to forcefully take our promise land and destroy all the “ites” remaining in our territory. Joshua 21: 44-45 explains that God hands our enemies over to us for their destruction. Then, and only then, will the promises of God be fulfilled in our life. Victorious overcomers have put Satan and his demons under their feet!

Gayle Sheehan, Director of Christian International Apostolic Network on 2-7-14 declared in the Elijah List newsletter that 2014 was going to be a year of double 7s, double portions, and double blessings. According to Apostle Sheehan, “The Lord is enabling believers to be Destiny Fulfillers. There will be a 'Double Portion' of His grace and anointing to cause destinies to be fulfilled. This upcoming year of 2014 and ongoing years will offer opportunities for Double 7 Prophetic Breakthroughs as we pursue them in faith. There will also be a release of angels to help us to fulfill destiny. Angels make up the victorious army of the Lord in the supernatural realm today.” Can I hear a shout of praise to our God! Lord, we receive your double anointing to fulfill our destiny in your kingdom! Amen!


"Baal Perazim"- God comes like a breakthrough of water.
2. Using the Keys to the Kingdom. Matthew 16:19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus has given believers the authority to bind and to loose spiritual forces of darkness in our lives and to exercise our authority over the enemy through the Name and blood of Jesus Christ. Simply stated, when we enter into spiritual warfare, we bind up those spiritual forces coming against us and lose ourselves to receive what God wants us to have. For example, in the spirit realm we bind up spirits of confusion and division and lose ourselves to receive clarity and unity from the Holy Spirit.

3. Rhema Words. The Holy Spirit has given the prophetic gifts listed in 1 Corinthians12 to help the church function in the kingdom of God: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues. The Holy Spirit will give us the gift of a supernatural prayer language to super charge our prayer life and enable us to know what the Spirit wants us to say and to do. The biggest mistake Christians make is to engage our brothers and sisters in Christ in conflict in the strong arm of the flesh, instead of the enemy behind the lines of battle causing the problems. It takes the operation of the gifts of the Spirit to know truth and walk in the Spirit.

4. Persistence. Be tenacious, set your will and be determined to get the victory. James 5:16 tells us to, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Even though we have power and authority over our enemy, he does not give up without a fight. He remains entrenched in our territory as long as he has a legal right to be there controlling us. By confessing our sins to one another and asking forgiveness from the Lord, we remove his legal rights. We engage the enemy on the basis of the righteousness of Christ at work in us and stand our ground until we see the victory.

5. Unity. First of all, unity is the power of praying in agreement with another Christian. Matthew 18:19. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” Secondly, God blesses the prayers of righteous believers that pray in unity for something that is according to God's will and according to His timing. Being in one accord is a basic principle in the kingdom and how we know God is directing us. Of course, the secret here is knowing God's will for a particular situation. 

In the final posting, we will look at one more important key to BT, a prophetic declaration you can use and a sample prayer for those interested in having some specific guidance for being a "doer of the Word" and not just a hearer only. Please leave comments or ask questions below or send them by email to: pjames@tolr.org.
 
References:
Hultgren, Frank. Prophetic Insights in Spiritual Warfare (1994). Frank Hultgren Ministries. Dallas, Texas. 
http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=13092 for Gayle Sheehan's article.
Painting used by permission from Amy Hope Rylander, a prophetic painter and art teacher in Jackson, MS. 
Photograph used by permission from Anne Grimes, Ayden, NC. 

 

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Baal Perazim- Part Four

Lessons We Can Learn from David in 2 Samuel 5
 
19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” 
 
King David in Prayer















1. David took time to inquire of the Lord. So often the people of God find ourselves in a difficult situation and we don't know how to respond. Often the situation involves confusion, conflicts of opinions and strife between two or more people, or groups of people within the family or organization. Since God gave us intelligence and reasoning, humans usually default to our own natural understanding and decide to do what we think is the right thing for us. Often we draw conclusions based on insufficient, incorrect or biased information. Sometimes our thinking is based on the Scriptures, but often it is not.

Christians are also real good at finding a scripture to support our particular viewpoint and find fault with the viewpoints, attitudes and behavior of other Christians who oppose us. When we get offended our natural tendency is to defend our position and find fault with what others think. Without the Spirit of Christ directing them, humans default to blame shifting and justifying why we believe we are right and others have to be wrong. Often during times of conflict both parties are wrong and refuse to compromise their position for the higher ideals of righteousness and being peacemakers.

Two of the biggest problems Christians have are self-righteousness and spiritual pride. When we are confronted with stress and conflict, we defend our rights, our opinions and our positions without taking the time to inquire of the Lord. When we do this we are operating in works of the flesh and not being led by the Holy Spirit. We open ourselves to deception from the enemy and fall right into his blinding trap. We lose sight of the truth as God's knows it, can't hear objectively from the Lord and make poor decisions we end up regretting later.

2. Failure to hear from the Lord results in NOT knowing God's WILL.
David asked the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? He needed to hear a fresh word from God in order to know-- the will of God for him in that situation. David understood the importance of staying hidden away until he heard from God. That secret cave in the desert was David's prayer closet, a place to spend time alone with God and to know God's will. It most certainly was a suicide mission if God was NOT going with Him into the battle against the heavily armed Philistines. He did not dare move out to fight the enemy until he got his instructions from the commander of the Lord's army Himself.

In the first battle with the enemy, God told him to go straight up and attack them. It was a full, head-on confrontation, a power encounter with the enemy. When David obeyed the instructions, God gave him the victory. When we are operating IN God's will, He will fight for us, defend us and enable us to walk in righteousness. When we are in God's will, we are doing the right thing in His eyes and His hand of protection and provision will be upon us.

3. Failure to hear from the Lord results in NOT knowing God's WAY.
David's second question to the Lord was, “Will You deliver them into my hand?” It is one thing to know God's will and quite another to understand His ways. Even a casual reading of the Scriptures informs us of God's commandments, His laws and statutes. We know from the Ten Commandments it is not God's will for us to murder people or dishonor our parents. However, gaining revelation regarding God's ways with His people and purposes takes years of study and divine revelation by the Holy Spirit.

Knowing the ways of God require that we become mature sons and daughters of God who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in all matters pertaining to life. We learn by experiencing His divine guidance, making mistakes, being convicted by the Holy Spirit, or being given revelation in the deeper truths found in God's Word. We learn by recognizing when the voice of God speaks to us, and when it is our own flesh, or even satan's minions trying to influence our mind, will and emotions.

23 “You shall not go (straight) up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

In verse 22 of 2 Samuel 5, the Philistines gathered a second time to do battle with the Israelites. David again inquired of the Lord, but was given different instructions. He was told to go a different way; to circle around behind the Philistines. God told him to wait in front of the mulberry trees for the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. At that point David could advance upon the enemy and God would go before them. In this battle God had a different way for David to defeat his enemies and handle the situation.

In this passage we see God gave David a different set of instructions. God told him to get in position and to WAIT expectantly for God to show up. If we want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, we have to wait expectantly in His Presence trusting the Lord to keep His promise to us. If we want to achieve victory over our enemies, we have to follow His instructions exactly for us in each particular situation in life. What worked before in a difficult situation is probably not what God wants us to do the next time. Assuming we know God's way in a matter, results in missing God and failure to do it God's way. Presumption has gotten more Christians in trouble with God than probably any other type of mistake.

God knew David and his mighty men would need supernatural help winning this second battle. The Philistines returned to the Valley of the Rephaim empowered with revenge and total annihilation in mind. The Israelites were told to wait in silence until they heard the sound of the army of the Lord coming; his angelic hosts marching overhead. God knew that David and his men were no match for the demonic forces of darkness gathering to attack. God sent his angelic army to go before David into the battle. After this confrontation, David and his mighty men marched triumphantly into Jerusalem into his destiny as the new king of Israel.

In summary, what is the body of Christ's number one mistake when it comes to confrontation with others? Remember our warfare is not with flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities in the heavenlies controlling people who may be blind and deceived. Our mistake is that we FAIL to inquire of the Lord FIRST, before we make decisions and take action. We fail to take time out in prayer and fasting to hear from God before we engage our brethren in disputes and disagreements.
We make false assumptions about what is God's will in a situation. We take action to fix the problem on our own and God is not with us! When God does not send us out to fight the battle, we will suffer the consequences of being out of His will. The Lord will not go out with us or before us to fight the battle with us. We are on our own and subject to the deceptions and destruction of the enemy.
Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark,  Tissot, c. 1900

4. Final warning about disobedience!
Look one more time at 2 Samuel 6 to see the consequences of not knowing God's way in a situation. David was marching triumphantly into Jerusalem with the ark of the covenant conveniently loaded onto a cart. The oxen stumbled and the priest Uzzah reached out his hand to steady it. Instantly, God's wrath broke out against him and he was struck down. David named that place Perez Uzzah- which means outbreak against Uzzah. The Lord shows no favorites! He breaks out against foe and friend alike. The ark of the covenant contained the glory of the Lord and the Israelites were instructed not to touch it. They were commanded to carry it on poles on the shoulders of the priest at all times when transporting it. David's failure to follow God's instructions resulted in the death of one of his priests.

The focus of this article was on how to receive breakthrough from the Lord. However, we also need to know that disobedience results in God Himself breaking out against us. Failure to take the time to inquire of the Lord and wait for His instructions may result in sickness, disease, accident or even death. God blesses us when we obey His commandments, but we bring destruction upon ourselves when we fail to obey. Another example of how God's people “failed to inquire of the Lord” can be found in Joshua 9 in the story of the Gibeonite deception.

The Good News!
God is in the business of redeeming our mistakes! If we will humble ourselves and pray, Jehovah Raphael will be there to counter attack with His mighty flood of power and anointing for deliverance. Last fall God announced through John Kilpatrick that He is going to bring Supernatural Breakthrough to His people! He is the Master of Breakthrough when the times seem to be the darkest. When the enemy attacks trying to kill, steal and destroy us, our God will be there fighting for us. God has declared this is a new season for breakthrough over all the power of the enemy and God's people will go forth to established God's kingdom on earth.


In part 5 we will look at some additional hindrances to breakthrough and keys to receiving spiritual breakthroughs. If these articles have provided you with new insights and wisdom, please share the link with others. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions below.

Paintings from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ark_of_the_Covenant

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Baal Perazim, Part Three


Baal Perazim- God of the Breakthrough” is the title of this message and comes from
2 Samuel 5: 17-25 and is also found in I Chronicles 14: 8-17. (Please take the time to read parts 1 and 2 first so you will know how this message came about and the three principles the Holy Spirit gave to me to include.) 

17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.
19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their images (idols) there, and David and his men carried them away (and burned them).
22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up (straight up); circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer. (New King James translation). 

Scripture Study
Let's go through a deeper study of this passage and see what we can learn from God's Word to help us today in our walk with the Lord. The Hebrew meaning of Baal Perazim is the Lord who breaks out” in the New International Version. The New King James translation says, “the Master of Breakthrough.” Originally, Ba'al was a word the Israelites used for the position, authority or function of “Lord or Master.” But the pagan religions began to use it for their gods as well, such as Jezebel's prophets of Baal. So the Israelites stopped using it as a title for God. Satan always manages to provide a counterfeit for God's truth so he can deceive people. Now let's look at some of the historical information I discovered.

The Valley of Rephaim
This was a fertile valley that bordered ancient Jerusalem on the west and southwest. In the Hebrew dictionary (#8329), rephaim means “the ghosts of the dead giants.” The Lexicon Aids section (#8327) says “spirits of the dead.” This valley was known in David's time for being haunted with the ghosts of the dead giants. These giants were the same race from which Goliath and his ancestors came.

In Strong's Concordance we learn that (H7497) râphâ' is the root word of rephaim and means invigorating, powerful, a giant. (See also H1051). However, when used as a name of God, (#8330) “Repha-el”, rapha means heals. So then we have “the God who heals.” Jehovah Raphael is the God who heals, repairs, recovers, restores (Strong's 7501).
Who were the Rephaites? (Gen. 14:5, Deut. 3:11, 2 Sam. 21)
The Rephaites (giants or mighty ones) were a race of giants with superhuman size and strength that originally lived in the large fertile valley west of Jerusalem. The Philistines hired the Rephaites to fight with them against King Saul. David's first encounter with these giants was during Saul's reign when he went out to fight Goliath. The Valley of the Rephaim was known for being haunted by the ghosts of this race of giants who were between 6-10 feet tall. Giants first appeared in Scripture in Genesis 6 where they were called Nephilim. Fallen angels saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and married with them.

Who did the Rephaites worship?
In the Valley of the Rephaim, archaeologists have discovered a pagan temple site. Just outside the temple were found the bones of numerous pigs and rats. It appears that the Rephaites sanctified themselves by eating the unclean meat of swine's flesh and rats before they entered the temple. In the center of this temple was an altar area with a large hole in the ground lined with stones. Laying in the center were the bones of a pregnant sheep carrying an unborn lamb still inside the rib cage. Evidently, this was the altar where the lamb was slain and burned as an offering, a fragrant aroma to the god of Baal.

The Rephaites practiced satanic worship in the Valley of the Rephaim near David's hideout. In the scripture above, the Philistine army was empowered by the spirits of the dead giants. They were gathered to kill David, the new king of Israel. Satan has been trying to prevent men and women of God from reaching their destiny in Christ since Eve's encounter in the Garden of Eden.

Ephesians 6 tells us that our battle today is with the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We are instructed to put on the full armor of God so we can take our stand against the devil's schemes. If we are to fulfill our destiny in God's kingdom we will have to overcome all the devil's schemes to kill, steal and destroy us.

Who were the Philistines?
Panaramic view of the area morth of Adullum
The Philistines were a fierce war-like people that occupied the promise land God had given to the Israelites. They were expert iron smiths and were fully equipped with the most advanced weaponry of the day making them nearly invincible on the battlefield. They migrated from someplace near the Aegean Sea to the land of Israel. The Philistines worshiped the pagan gods Baal, Astarte, and Dagon. They were renowned for both their production and consumption of alcoholic beverages and they engaged in week-long drinking festivals. 

The Philistine army was made up of fierce fighting men controlled by demons of war, alcohol and murder. Now you understand why God instructed David to destroy his enemies and why David did not dare venture out of his cave to go to battle-- unless the Most High God Himself was going with him!


Frank Hultgren, a professor at Oral Roberts University in the 1980s wrote a book entitled, Prophetic Insights to Spiritual Warfare. I just happened to re-read his book in September and found some interesting insight into what David was up against that day. Frank reported that, “David went out to meet the Philistines in the Valley of Rephaim, the valley of the dead spirits. It was a ghostly, sinister place of fear and suspicion. The giants loved to go there, because it was a satanic holy place. I believe it was the very place where David wrote the 23rd Psalm. David literally went into the valley of the shadow of death to fight the enemies of God; the demonic powers that came after his anointing” (p. 114-115).
 
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 
 
The entrance to the Cave of Adullum in Israel
The Cave of Adullam
Adullam means “Israelite” or "justice of the people" and was the the stronghold where David hid in the desert from King Saul with 400 of his mighty men. (See 1 Sam. 22:1-14 and 2 Sam. 5)

First of all, the cave of Adullam was a place of natural protection and provision. It was a place where David could escape from the clamor of war, the confusion, the chaos, the stress and the demands on him as the future king of Israel. Israel has thousands of caves in the mountain regions and some have caverns large enough to hold 200-300 men with streams of water running through them. God provided a place of safety in the mountains for David well in advance of when he would need it.

Secondly, that stronghold was David's secret place of prayer- a place of rest and peace hidden away in the dessert. It was a secret place where his enemies could not find him in the Presence of God. You can be sure that David battled discouragement and depression, but it was a place to pray and seek the Lord for His help. The Cave of Adullam was a place of worship, a place where David heard from God and soaked in His Presence.

Psalm 91 comes to mind. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty... No harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

In part 4 of this message, we will look at the important lessons we can learn from David's desert experience in 2 Samual 5. We will also look at the hindrances to BT and five keys to receiving BT in your life and ministry.

Resources: 
1. E-Sword- an electronic Bible program with Strong's Concordance for the Hebrew meanings of the words. 
2. Hebrew-Greek Study Bible, NIV with Kohlenberger's Dictionary. 
3. http://www.biblegateway.com- for scriptures used in this article. 
4. http://www.openbible.info/geo/photos/valley_of_rephaim.
5. http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/Special_Issues/Oct90/art16.htm- archaeological finds in The Valley of the Rephaim. 
6. http://www.biblewalks.com/sites/Adullam.html
7. Hultgren, Frank. Prophetic Insights Into Spiritual Warfare (1994), Frank Hulthren Ministries, Dallas, Texas.


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Baal Perazim- Part Two

Principle #2
In May 2013 I read another Elijah List article by Cindy McGill entitled, “Presence Breaths Life into the Promise.” She made two very important points about BT in her article.

1. Discouragement always seems the strongest just before breakthrough. She used the story of the Shunamite women whose son died in 2 Kings chapter 4. Elisha had prophesied to her years earlier that she would become pregnant with a son, and then years later one day he became ill and died. She was greatly discouraged, but did not give up hope.

So she called for Elisha to come to her house and pray for him. The boy was lying on the bed in Elisha's room upstairs when he arrived. I'm almost certain Elisha asked, “O Lord, what do You want me to do for this boy? And then he waited to hear God's instructions.

Next he stretched his body on top of the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hand to hand. Not something people usually do for a dead person. Then he got up and walked about the room praying. How long he prayed we don't know. He stretched himself out once more on top of the boy's body. Finally, the body grew warm and the boy woke up and sneezed three times. God brought about a supernatural breakthrough for the woman of faith who put her trust completely in God!

Elisha raising the Shunammite's Son
Elisah laid on top of the boy “mouth to mouth.” Is it possible that Elisah was breathing into Him the breath of God, the Spirit of Life which resuscitated him. We don't know for sure, but he was revived and brought back to life. God gave Elisah specific instructions to do which he obeyed and God performed a breakthrough miracle. God blesses our actions of faith and obedience!

2. Cindy McGill's second point was Where the Presence is-- there is life!”
The Shunamite woman laid the dead promise of her son on the bed of Elisha's Presence and the promise was resurrected into new life. When she did that God brought her boy back to life and he lived to fulfill his destiny. It is time we laid our dead promises out on the altar before God and beseech Him to bring them back to life. 

Have you had a calling to do something for God, but are facing impossible circumstances? Then you need a supernatural BT in that seemingly impossible situation so you can fulfill your destiny. 

Have you ever experienced discouragement and given up all hope at some point in your life?
Choose to have faith in the Lord and trust Him to bring supernatural results when you pray. Get into His Presence and cry out for the Lord to fulfill His promises to you. Put your trust completely in God and watch Him turn your situation around for His Glory!

Principle #3
One Sunday morning in October, 2013, I “just happened to watch” John Kilpatrick's service on-line in Mobile, AL, The Church of His Presence. John announced he had had a visitation from God that week and God had given him a word to deliver to the churches in America. 

God told John that October, November and December were months for breakthrough. The Lord reminded him about the ministry of angels and their chariots in the Bible and in his own life experiences. God was going to release the power and anointing of His angels to help God's people achieve breakthrough in their lives and ministries.
The Archangel Michael, Guido Reni, 17th century

During the Brownsville Revival which began on June 18,1995, millions came from around the world to experience this remarkable event. Brownsville Revival School of Ministry (BRSM) was established to meet the needs of people hungry for more of God. Hundreds of people were trained in the Word and equipped to go out into the mission field to serve God. Angels appeared several times in the services and there was a tremendous outpouring of the Spirit of God for many years.

God also reminded John how an angel came to help him when he received the news that his wife had cancer. He was traveling out of town that day with two men from the church and stopped to use a telephone in a booth beside the street. He wanted to call his wife and check on her visit to the doctor. When he heard the terrible news, he literally fainted and slumped down on the ground. A dark complexioned angel who spoke with a Caribbean accent showed up and literally carried him back to his car and placed him in the back seat. His friends asked, “What happened and who was that?” But the man/angel suddenly disappeared. And John's wife was later miraculously healed of cancer.


Principle #3 is that God is sending His angels and chariots to release a new season of growth, prosperity and destiny to the body of Christ. Churches need to enter into a season of cooperate spiritual warfare and intercession calling for a release of God's angels to wage warfare against the powers and principalities in the heavenly realms. As we overcome the obstacles the enemy has put in our path, we will be equipped to fulfill our destiny in the kingdom of God. As surely as spring follows winter, breakthrough is coming to those who position themselves in prayer. We will see the purposes of God prevail in America!

Review the 3 principles: What were they?
  1. Sometimes there has to be a breakdown before the breakthrough.
  2. Don't let discouragement rob you of your BT and God's Presence brings life.
  3. God's BT leads to a new season of growth, prosperity and destiny!
Are you in need of a BT in your life and ministry? Well, God Himself has decreed that a season of BT is coming to His people. He is going to remove all the barriers, restore the broken down situations, heal relationships, enable you to be overcomers in His kingdom and fulfill your destiny IN CHRIST. Can you shout Hallelujah?! 

In Part 3 we will look at 2 Samuel 5 to see what we can learn from David's life as he hid in the Cave of Adullum in the desert mountains of Israel. Are you gaining any new revelation or encouragement from this series? Please leave a comment below.  


References
www.elijahlist.com- for articles mentioned in this series.
www.wikipedia.org- artwork used in this article not copyrighted.
www.churchofhispresence.org.