Beloved Intercessors,
Loving greetings from Engeltal! We are surrounded by literal mountains here (the
Ozarks are small ones), but it gives us a picture of something in the spirit realm.
Here are some significant “mountain” scriptures:
“Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth”
(Luke 3:5).
“What are you, O great mountain [of obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel [who will
rebuild the temple] you will become a plain (insignificant)! And he will bring out
the capstone [of the new temple] with loud shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
(Zechariah 4:7 AMP)
“…truly I say to you, if you have faith as of a mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. And nothing will be
impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20 Berean Literal Bible).
Facing the Obstacles: We are about two weeks away from the School of the
Supernatural, Translation by Faith! The excitement is building as the waiting list
gets longer and longer. We still have repairs, painting, and cleaning to be done
to make everything fresh and lovely for the students who are coming. Many have
never been here before and we want to make a good first impression. But we
have had some significant challenges and we need your prayers! Two major
winter weather events have slowed down the progress on our renovations of
buildings. We have had a sewer line problem in Bethlehem (our women’s dorm)
and the weather hindered the repairs for two weeks (we are so glad it didn’t
happen during the school!). Our painter has been having back problems. One of
our staff is standing by with family as her grandmother is in hospice, waiting to go
home to Jesus. We are very few here, etc., etc.
This afternoon I went around the office singing a new song, “We say, ‘Grace!
Grace! to this mountain!’ It’s time for the mountain to move!”
Mountain-Moving Faith: One of my favorite stories from history took place about
975-979 AD. The Moslem Caliph in Cairo, Egypt, challenged the Patriarch of the
Coptic Church to move a mountain for him because he understood that the New
Testament said that he should be able to have the faith to do it. The Caliph gave
him an ultimatum that if Mount Mokattam didn’t move, the Christians would have
three choices:
1) To espouse Islam and abandon Christianity on the account that it is invalid.
2) To leave Egypt and immigrate to another country.
3) To be smitten by the sword altogether.
The Patriarch asked for three days to prepare and called for prayer and fasting.
The night before they were to move the mountain, the Patriarch had a dream that
gave him instructions to go out in the night and find the one-eyed man carrying a
water jar. That man would help him move the mountain.
As soon as he awoke, the Patriarch went out into the street and found Simon the
Tanner/Shoemaker, carrying a water jar.2 When the Patriarch told him of the
dream, Simon was flabbergasted! He knew he was just an ordinary man and had
no special powers. In his humility, he told the Patriarch that he should gather the
important men of the Church and other believers. Simon consented to stand with
them in the crowd to agree in prayer. Then he told the Patriarch the words of
Exodus 14:14, “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (he
was not to respond to the jeers of the unbelievers). Simon told him to simply pray
the Kyrie Eleison: “Lord. Have mercy.”
As the sky was beginning to lighten, a crowd had gathered with the Caliph to
watch what would happen. The Patriarch followed the Lord’s instructions through
Simon, and as he and the believers repeatedly implored, “Lord, have mercy,” the
mountain lifted up high enough that all could see the sunrise underneath it. When
miracle was complete, Simon had humbly slipped away so that he could not be
given any credit.
Now we all know that details can get blurred in the retelling, so there are various
accounts of this miracle that have been handed down over the last thousand
years. We visited Cairo with the World Mission Alliance Team in 2016 and had
two opportunities to visit Mount Mokattam and the beautiful churches that are built
in the caves there. We had already heard from Sister Gwen years earlier that the
Holy Spirit has been moving there in a powerful way in recent decades. When we
heard the local guide tell the story of how this mountain on which we were
standing had moved, he added that when geologists studied the makeup of the
mountain, they discovered that the content agrees with stones that are in the area
of present-day Tahrir Square. That’s the place where the demonstrations were
held that toppled the Mubarak government! Looking at the map, it appears to be
about 3.6 miles or so, as the crow flies! That’s some genuine mountain-moving
faith!
How Does God Want Us to Deal with Mountains?
First, we realize that we must expect the Lord to be literal with His promises, and
approach Him in humility, asking for His mercy! (Three days of prayer and fasting
are also a good idea!) We put our trust in Him and exercise the entirety of our faith
even though it may by tiny! The mustard seeds you get in the grocery store aren’t the
ones Jesus was referring to. This is the tiny seed that grows a tree tall enough for
birds to next in (see mustard seed photo).
Isaiah 41:13-16 shows us what the intent of our Father’s heart is when we cry out
for His mercy, grace, and favor in trouble: “For I the Lord your God hold your right
hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not; I will help you! Fear not, you
worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is
the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make you to be a new, sharp, threshing
instrument which has teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them
small and shall make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, and the wind
shall carry them away, and the tempest or whirlwind shall scatter them. And you
shall rejoice in the Lord, you shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.”
When we view ourselves with humility (as low as a worm), He will turn us into a
sharp threshing instrument with teeth to pulverize the mountains—all of them! He
wants to work with us to bring the miracles! We must use our mouths—that’s
where the teeth are. We must declare His Word of mercy and grace over our
situations and speak those things that are not as though they were (Romans
4:17).
So please stand with us in prayer and declarations as we stand against the
hindrances and complications here in Engeltal! We also continue to labor in
strong prayer daily regarding the situations in Ukraine, Israel, and the nations, as
well as our own nation (southern border, ending abortion, cleaning up corruption
in government), and clamoring for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh!
Exciting News! Now that the restrictions have been lifted in Israel, Gene and
Marylois are finally able to return to the House of Peace in Jerusalem, after more
than two years! Hallelujah! They have been a blessing to have here at Engeltal—I
don’t know who is going to answer the phones when they leave, and Philip and I
will be doing more preaching on Friday Nights. We will miss their help here, but
Israel needs them now! We earnestly need your prayers regarding their tickets.
Due to rules that began in Israel a few years ago, Gene and Marylois can only be
there for three months at a time and have to leave for three months before they
can return. This gets expensive in terms of their tickets, and inflation has also hit
the airlines. The Littles plan to leave in early April and return before the
Convention. Then they will go back in time for the High Holidays in the Fall.
Because many travel at that time, we feel that we should go ahead and pay for
both sets of tickets now at a total cost of $5,573.32. There’s a serious mountain
to thresh with our declarations of calling them paid! For the moment, we have to put
them on our credit card to secure them.
More Exciting News! We learned on March 1 that our Global Outpouring
Podcast had bounding success in the month of February: 36,639 copies of our 97
episodes were downloaded in 158 nations! That brings the total of downloads
since we began two years ago to 85,771! There is great fruit coming from these
messages. We continually pray that they will be life-changing! Two of the new
nations that received a message from us were Tunisia and Libya! That really
excites us, but we are equally blessed to see the nations of Europe, Asia, Africa,
South and Central America, Australia, and the Islands of the Seas that are tuning
in. Please pray seriously with us that we will be able to continue to do this
missionary work right from the Valley of Angels with our weekly broadcast.
The time has come to pay for another year of connection with the Charisma
Podcast Network. Please pray for the Lord to raise up those with a love for the
nations to help us to present content that will meet the needs of the listeners and
draw them deeper into their relationship with the Lord. We will have to put that on
the credit card as well.
Another Mountain to Move: Before the lockdown began two years ago, our
credit card charges were astronomical with all the travelling Philip and I were
doing in addition to the Littles going back and forth to Israel. Thankfully, we have
been chipping away at them while charging relatively little to them. We still have a
total of about $35,000 to pay off, including the new charges for our Israel Team’s
tickets and the podcast network affiliation. Will you agree with us to thresh this
mountain by the mercy and grace of God and call them paid? If you feel prompted
by the Holy Spirit to help us pay them down/off, we would be very grateful!
Seminar: “Your Place in Eternity, How Judgment Began” with Dean
Braxton, May 27-28, 2022. Dean Braxton died for one hour and forty-five
minutes while his doctor worked desperately to bring him back. Meanwhile, Dean
had a life-changing visit to Heaven. While he was on the Mountain of the Lord, he
was shown how everything started in the war between good and evil. This is an 8
1/2-hour seminar in three sessions, Friday evening, Saturday morning and
afternoon. It will help you grow in your understanding of eternity and how God
intends to use you. Come and attend this entire fascinating seminar. Don’t miss a
minute! The event will be held at the Glory Tabernacle with bed and breakfast
available at Engeltal. Registration will be available soon.
Global Outpouring Convention 2022, July 19-22: Join us this year as we
gather to celebrate Jesus and be equipped for the Outpouring that is on the way!
Speakers include Tony Kemp, Mark Bristow, Rona Spiropoulos, Gene Little, and
me. We have details on our website: https://globaloutpouring.org/
Registration will be available soon.
We are deeply grateful to you for your heart being in unity with ours as we pursue
our Father’s heart for the Outpouring! Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for
your help!
Your handmaiden and servant,
Sharon and Philip
From an Intercessory Prayer Warrior:
“We need as the Body of Christ in the earth living today, discernment.
Holy discernment.
Anointing, to not be played by the enemy in our thinking, understanding, focus,
prayers.
The most I know for certain about the Ukrainian/Russian conflict now is that
things are not as they appear.
I know there is a strong gospel missions-sending church in Ukraine. I know
believers are praying.
I know there is a strong resilient body of believers in Russia, who pray & some
who have learned thru hardship to see thru the temporal to be led by the Spirit.
I know our part is to pray right on thru the smoke screens of lies & lawlessness in
the earth that currently shrouds the earth, to see Gods heart & agree with it in
absolute fulness. We must become heaven into earth focused. Centered in His
plans in the earth.
I’m without concrete earthly vision (we’re in unsteady times in the earth),, but my
resolve is strengthening to have anointed heart connection with Him such that I
am led by the Spirit & not by sight. Be that actual eye sight/understanding, or
sight that comes via my ears of what I hear.
I bless us to be those who keep our ears to the ground, listening to the Father’s
heartbeat as it moves throughout the earth.
I bless us to love well.
I bless us to stand strong in faith, not ensnared by enemy traps laid throughout
the earth realm.
I bless us to be beacons of righteousness, hope filled lovers of God who love His
ways as we partner with HIM to deal with the enemy in ways HE leads us to
encounter to win.
I bless us with resting in the boat, knowing our destinies remain alive & vibrant,
and so those who go alongside us are also brought thru storms.
I bless us with peace.
I bless us to be effective in our callings in Him, aware & trusting that He designed
us well and anoints us perfectly.
Prayer Opportunities:
Join with us with us daily (except Fridays) as you are able as we pray and
decree together on our Firewall Prayer Call at 6:00 PM Central. We intercede prophetically over
whatever subjects the Holy Spirit leads. It’s different every day—sometimes it’s national issues,
sometimes international, sometimes praying for prodigals, etc. We welcome you to join us! Dial
(425) 436-6348, when the recorded voice answers, dial 7411925#. Normal toll charges apply as any
long-distance call would normally on your phone. If you have unlimited calling, you should have
no additional charges.