Beloved Intercessors,
As I was getting out of bed this morning, I heard these words in my spirit: “Wake up and take your post!”
As I meditated on that thought, the words of Isaiah 52:1a came to me: “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion…”
The word in Hebrew that is translated here “awake” is uwr (Strong’s 5782). In other places in the KJV it is translated (stir, lift….) up (40x), awake (25x), wake (6x), raise (6x), arise (1x)… 1 It is the word that is used for an eagle “stirring up” her nest (Deut. 32:11). Uwr is utilized in 2 Samuel 23:18, and 1 Chronicles 11:11 where Abishai and Jashobeam (David’s mighty men) each were described “lifting up” his spear against three hundred. It is applied to how the Lord “stirred up” the spirit of Cyrus to fulfil His Word to Jeremiah (in answer to Daniel’s intercessions) to encourage the people of Judah to return to their homeland. And again it is the “stir” of the Holy Spirit in Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest and the remnant of the people to come and build the House of the Lord in Haggai 1:14. It is used four times in Judges 5:12 when Deborah and Barak were singing the victory song after the defeat of Sisera, calling Deborah to “awake” and utter a song.
It’s time to ARISE! It’s time TO STIR OURSELVES UP! It’s time to LIFT UP OUR SPEARS to do battle, even when we appear to be grossly outnumbered! It’s time to OBEY THE STIRRING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to declare the fulfilment of prophecy, SET THE CAPTIVES FREE and RESTORE GOD’S HOUSE! It’s time to AWAKEN and burst into songs of praise and victory!
The Sleeping Bride Whenever I hear this subject of awakening and getting stirred up, I always think of the vision Linda Gladman had many years ago of a woman sleeping in her bed. Linda asked the Lord who it was that she was seeing. The Lord said, “That’s my Bride, and she’s asleep.” Then Linda heard the alarm clock going off, and the Lord said, “I keep sounding the alarm, but she keeps turning on the snooze. But I’m getting ready to sound the alarm that will shake her to the depths of her being, and when I do, she will leap off her bed of complacency.” Then she saw the Bride leap up out of bed feet first and land at the foot of her bed. Her armor was laid out on the floor, and in one swoop of motion, she bent down and slipped into her armor. As she was walking out to go into the battle, she heard the Lord say, “Take up your bed, and make no provision for a relapse!” She knew that this was the end times and she wouldn’t be coming back to her bed anymore.
In Psalm 108:2, David calls to his psaltery and harp to awaken and declares: “I myself will awake early.” The Holy Spirit reminded Philip and me that we hadn’t been keeping up with a commission He had given us some years ago: we were to start the day with worship at 6:00 a.m. At the time we did it for a while and then we probably forgot to get back into the habit when we returned from travelling at some point. I think it had been on and off a few times, but certainly more off than on. As we began this new year of 5780 with “the ten days of awe,” I was asking the Lord if there was anything we were missing—anything that He had told us to do that we hadn’t been doing. That commission came back into my mind and Philip agreed that it was the Lord. So we have stepped up our worship in obedience to the Lord. Philip awakens our “psaltery and harp” by tuning our guitars. And we have to awaken early to be able to start worship at 6:00! But it’s so satisfying to join our voices to the heavenly hosts and sing His praises!
Take Up Your Post! What is a post? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary2 1a : the place at which a soldier is stationed especially : a sentry’s beat or station b : a station or task to which one is assigned c : the place at which a body of troops is stationed : camp …. 2a : an office or position to which a person is appointed
It is time to wake up and realize where we have fallen short of the Glory—that makes it sin. We hardly know when we are being lulled and our senses dulled, or when a subtle fog or smokescreen begins to roll in and reduce the Lord’s visibility to us. It happens almost imperceptibly. But the blast of the shofar on the Feast of Trumpets should have awakened us to prepare to meet the King! He’s coming—the Lord of Glory is coming and we are to prepare the way and make His path straight!
We are to take up our post, our position, our station as watchmen and intercessors. What is our position? The Apostle Paul spells it out for us in Ephesians 2:4-6. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Our post is in Jesus Christ first of all, and He is seated at His Father’s right hand. So our post, our station, our job, can only be accomplished from this heavenly perspective IN Jesus. Ephesians 1:20-21 explains that God “raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” That’s where you are stationed! That’s your post! In Christ in the heavenlies!
Most of us are living far below the revelation of our post! We are actually there already IN Him—all we need is the revelation of that truth! Walking in the Spirit, praying in tongues, letting Him renew our minds to think IN Him will cause us to occupy our post.
Bi-location We are really occupying two places at once: we are living on the earth in the physical realm, and we are positioned in Jesus Christ in the Spirit realm in the heavenlies. This is the key to see the Lord’s Prayer answered: “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). It’s not only that we are praying for His will to be done in earth in the same way that it is being done in Heaven, but also that His will be done at the same time as it is in Heaven. Because we are in Him in the heavens and He is in us in the earth, the synchronizing of Heaven and Earth can take place as we see ourselves in two places at once. The instant we pray in the Spirit, the words that the Holy Spirit is uttering through our mouths take form and shape in the unseen realm that affects the seen realm in the same way that His words, “Let there be light” caused light to be! Genesis chapter one repeats, “God said…and it was so.” We have to wake up to the realization that when the Holy Spirit speaks through us, it is so! Our confidence in this principal is the substance that the writer of Hebrews defines as faith, we have the evidence in the Spirit realm because the Holy Spirit spoke it. It happens in the earth when we speak it in the earth, even though we may not see it yet. The frequency of the sound initiates the creation of the physical manifestation. It’s not something we do by our own will, but that we line up our will with the will of God and His will will be done!
In John 3:13, Jesus declared to Nicodemus: “And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” In other words, Jesus was declaring that while He was walking the earth, He was also in Heaven— He was bi-locating! That’s how He could see what His Father was doing and do just that! He was our model, our pattern. He is on His post at the right hand of our Father, and we are in Him—now!
Let’s wake up and step up to our post, seated in Christ in Heaven. Let His Spirit speak through you to take dominion in the earth as He gave it to Adam. Jesus died to restore that authority over the earth to Himself and we are His body. Begin to make declarations in tongues over the news that you hear and put a “lead lid” over the evil so the angels can carry it away! (Zechariah 5).
Take Up Your Post in the Jerusalem Summons February 29-March 11! The team is forming, the tour is filling up, but it’s not complete without each one whom the Lord is calling. Are you one who has been slumbering and hitting the snooze button? You have to pray through—help us pray through for the whole team! All the details, the itinerary, videos of some of the places we are going, photos, etc. are on our website https://globaloutpouring.org/js2020/
The deadline for full payment to get the $200 discount is November 22. The cost is $4177 from Newark Airport3 . Even if you are not being called to go at this time, please help us pray for each one who is on God’s passenger list to have the necessary finances, family agreement, employer agreement, healing, favor, and heart desire to obey God.
Generation Awakening Please help us get the word out that the “Generation Awakening” youth event will be December 28-January 1. We will have the details on our website shortly, but start encouraging youth and young adults (16-30) that you know to plan to be with us for this life-changing event.
Thank you! We are deeply grateful for each and every gift of every size. Thank you for praying and thank you for giving.
Your handmaiden and servant,
Sharon and Philip