From Pastor Randy Lopshire:
This morning, I heard the Lord say: “My people must stop resisting their positioning. Their question should not be ‘How do I get out of the situation I’m in?’ Rather it should be ‘Lord, why do You have me here?’”There are prayers that God DOES NOT answer:
- prayers outside of faith
- self-serving prayers
- prayers that do not line up with God’s Word.
- Here am I, Lord, send me.
- I will do whatever You tell me to do.
- Not my will, but Yours be done.
Sometimes, God places us physically in workplaces or communities to execute prayer assignments and release faith decrees. Remember, He lives in us, so everywhere we go, He is there. We carry His Presence into those places.
Other times, we operate in the realm of the spirit through prophetic prayer and intercession. In this capacity, there are no boundaries because space and time do not matter in the spirit. Through prayer and worship in the spirit, the Lord can use us to do powerful things in many different situations and circumstances.
How amazing is that?
I recently preached a message from Acts 16:23-32:
“And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.”
As I studied these scriptures, the Lord drew my attention to something interesting. I noticed after being set free from their chains, none of the prisoners ran for their freedom. Instead, they waited. EVERYONE waited, including Paul and Silas.
What were they waiting for? They knew how God works. They sensed a purpose in all of this.
That purpose involved a man who most would have given zero consideration for—the jailer. This man punished people in prison as an occupation. He would have been an expert in torture. Most prisoners, suddenly freed, would have ignored the jailer, maybe thinking, “Let him fall on his sword. That’s what he gets for being a jailer.” But God doesn’t think like most people! Aren't you glad?
Paul and Silas waited because Holy Spirit had planted them in that prison for a purpose—a higher purpose. Not so they could prove how much they loved God or how far they could be pressed without giving up. There was a greater reason for their pain. It was for the jailer to be able to ask the question that mankind had been asking since the fall: “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)
God was using the jail to get the Kingdom through to the jailer, the other prisoners, and to the rest of the world. God always has more in mind than what we may know or understand.
Satan tried use the situation to destroy Paul and Silas, but God planted them in that horrible prison—the worst of human conditions—as a seed, so that through them a sound from heaven could come forth through their praises and penetrate the atmosphere of darkness and despair with ground-shaking, earth-quaking power.
God sent Paul and Silas who were “Ready to Rumble,” and rumble they did! He did this so ALL THE CAPTIVES could be set free.
To most, jail would seem an unlikely launching point for a Kingdom campaign. But it was perfect for God because it displayed everything that everyone needs to know about Him.
- He is a good God!
- He sets captives free!
- He delivers people.
- He heals people.
Most of us will never be thrown into prison for the sake of the Gospel. Thank God! But we are all sent:
- To set the captives free
- To heal the sick and raise the dead
- To places where our sound causes earthquakes
- To where evil foundations can be shaken and innocents are released.
Just as God heard the cries of desperation of Israel and raised up a deliverer, God has planted many like Paul and Silas in prisons throughout America. Places:
- where sin abounds
- where wickedness is elevated
- where the spirit of antichrist thinks it controls.
BUT…
Many in the enemy’s camp think they have it all in the bag. But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger He rebukes them, terrifying them with His fierce fury. (Psalms 2:4-5 NLT)
The Lord continued speaking to me:
“I have a Rumbling Remnant—key people who know how to use their Kingdom Keys, who by human appearances are the least likely to be used by God.
“I have planted them strategically throughout prison places. People who, in spite of the feelings of desperation and assault against their minds and bodies, are going to release a new Sound from Heaven.
“A reverberation is coming forth from them into the air, out into every space where people have been persecuted and abused. The vibrations created from the Sound that is coming forth from their song, the song of their faith, are going to shake those places where sin and wickedness has abounded. I will use Rumblers to reclaim authority over the places of bondage.”
What a great word!
Church, I’ve seen that in the days ahead, we need to watch for spiritual earthquake zones, places where sons and daughters of the Kingdom will come forth from the prisons of hardship and despair. After a massive move of chain-breaking freedom, they will be bringing with them a harvest of former prisoners ready for spiritual battle. God will be moving them from the Earthquake Zone to the Harvest Zone. In a moment…just like that! Souls will be saved, Sons and Daughters sent forth.
We need to be Ready to Rumble! We need to practice releasing our Rumbling Sound NOW. Your sound is in your voice through your faith, your declaration and your worship.
You can bet this wasn’t the first time Paul and Silas had released their sound! No, they were:
- familiar with their faith
- disciplined in their declaration
- practiced in their praise.
Right there where you are, be the seed and release your sound, interwoven with the sounds of the Rumbling Remnant and the heavenly hosts. As we do this, God will shake the very foundations of America, and indeed, all nations. Are you ready to Rumble?
Pray with me:
Father, we thank You for the honor of allowing us to be part of what You are doing on the earth today. Keep us mindful that no matter what situation we find ourselves in, You have a plan and a Kingdom purpose. Amen.
Our decree:
We stir up the Gift of God on the inside of us so that we are ready to release the Rumblings of Holy Spirit into the earth to break open chains of bondage and to set captives free. In Jesus' name!
Today’s post was contributed by Pastor Randy Lopshire. You can find out more about Randy here.
Copyright © 2022 Dutch Sheets Ministries, All rights reserved.
2 comments:
I was told by my plant manager that I was passed over for a management position.
I told him that although I didn't like being passed over, I prayed about it before hand and if I didn't get it, I'd take it as if God didn't want me to have it, that it might not be a good fit.
God wants us to bloom where we are planted. Much like plants of the real world, we should not worry so much about where we are planted as much as we do how we will bloom in that place.
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