From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Bob Hartley has deep encounters with the Lord which are full of HOPE messages, and we sure need messages of hope in this day! This word by Bob was scribed by one of his ministry friends, Michael Sullivan. It's an excellent word with vision for our present day. Make sure and tell everyone you know to SUBSCRIBE to the Elijah List as well. You won't want to miss out on the latest prophetic words we'll be publishing.
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Bob Hartley with Michael Sullivant:
The Lord's "Triumphant Hope Face" in 2013
Prophetic words and encounters by Bob Hartley – scribed by Michael Sullivant:
Part 1: The Backdrop: Hope for Cities and Nations
In 1983, when Bob Hartley was a young man and just newly converted, he had several dramatic encounters with the risen Christ that seeded his heart with divine information that he could not fully comprehend at the time. These seeds are rapidly germinating and taking root in recent years and months. In addition, the Holy Spirit is providing ongoing understanding into those initial prophetic experiences and continuing to confirm and build upon them through a number of visitations that are occurring in the context of our Voice of Hope team members who are continually adoring the Lord and asking Him about what is on His heart for our day.
The outstanding feature of the 1983 encounter relates to a supremely confident declaration from Jesus Christ that "a hope reformation is coming forth through His initiative" in our world that will lead to whole cities and nations significantly turning to Him. As a result, "they will love God well and become radiant with the glory of God" in every dimension of human life and activity. He stated that lost divine inheritances will be regained and that these places will become "habitations for the God of all of life."
When the Lord stated this, Bob knew Jesus could sense his unbelief that such a thing could actually happen in our world. The Lord abruptly interrupted his doubts to add, "Tell Nineveh such hope to believe on Me doesn't work! Tell Samaria...tell New York City in 1857...tell the Hebrides...tell Wales...." Jesus referred to even more places and times when He has powerfully visited the earth. This was before Bob had ever learned about most of these historic divine visitations. In this encounter, God revealed Himself to Bob as a laughing, celebrating and hope-filled Being. (This stunned him due to his traditional religious background through which he viewed God as primarily austere, severe and unapproachable.)
He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things. Psalm 107:7-9
Part 2: The Bottom Line: A Hope-Filled Christianity
Five years ago, while ministering in Norway to government officials, business people, spiritual leaders and many others in that nation, Bob had another dramatic encounter with the Lord. Jesus literally appeared at the end of his bed and confided in him, "I hate this misery Christianity," and said He will act to "bring forth a new nature of Christianity – a hope-filled Christianity."
He revealed that the spiritual pollution of misery has even hindered people whom He has invited to accomplish great things and that would otherwise believe from embracing their divine calling to become hope reformers sent into all aspects of human culture. The Lord declared it is His desire to "banish this gloom and despair" in a revolutionary way and that the Body of Christ is to be a "greenhouse" for the development of such hope reformers. Jesus also made it very clear the devil is vehemently and violently opposed to this hopeful expression of our faith coming forth in the earth. Of course, the essence of the battle surrounding all of this is in the invisible realm and we truly need to band together to overcome.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against he cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
This very same revelation was repeated and confirmed to Bob just a few weeks ago in another vivid divine visitation. The Lord also said that He is going to show His "triumphant hope face" in 2013. He has "trump cards" to play that will dramatically turn situations around for our good and that will dramatically frustrate and thwart the schemes of the devil and reveal to us a more hopeful narrative that He has been authoring.
Other members of our Voice of Hope community are experiencing dreams and visions that are confirming the coming hope reformation. The Holy Spirit is causing our revelatory experiences to "dovetail" together. God is even giving us dreams about one another's dreams thereby bringing even greater clarity and weight to them. A reformation of genuine hope imparted by the Holy Spirit to God's people and then released through them as God's agents is the desperately needed antidote for this widespread spirit of heaviness.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
Part 3: A Second Reformation: Sparked by a Living Hope
This coming second reformation has been confirmed to our team many times over through ongoing encounters with the Spirit of God. Back in the late 1980s, Bob received a clear word from a prophetic leader who discerned that God was calling him out of pastoring into the marketplace where he would meet the "God of all of life" and "dig up hidden treasures of the knowledge of God to share far and wide."
The first reformation initiated on the heels of the dark ages in the 1500s answered the profound question of the human heart, "How will we be saved?" It restored to the Church the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." This understanding of how we are saved is now widely understood and accepted throughout the Church.
This second reformation now coming forth answers the question, "How shall we then live?" This divine initiative significantly relates to how we are to live and minister to God and with God in a spirit of hope in this world, in this age. Hope is a relentless force and an earnest expectation of seeing God's goodness and the fulfillment of His many intentions and promises for this age, not just for the one to come.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom Heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago. Acts 3:19-21
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 1 Peter 1:3
God's Spirit will restore more fully to the Church the companion truth of the very next verse quoted in the Ephesians 2 passage above – verse 10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." We know that we are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works – marvelous works – prophetically preordained, that can transform whole earthly cultures and kingdoms. The first reformation secures our hearts in God's love and the second reformation advances our hearts in hope to literally accomplish His will in the earth without taking credit for it at the end of the day.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
We will not be able to walk into these marvelous good works unless we live in the vitality of the hope that we can literally see what the Father is doing and hear what He is saying, and then simply do and say, as Jesus did, those things on His behalf by the Spirit's power. This kind of hope reformation is a difference-maker – a critical key element that becomes a game-changer for our personal lives and for the effective release of Christ's presence into our cultures. It is the spark of life provided by this hope reformation that will advance our hearts into the fullness of God's plans and purposes for us in this world.
God will cause this joyful hope that prevails to conquer troubling situations. Through the power of hope, our trials become stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks.
...Then I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor [trouble] as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. Hosea 2:14-15
Through the transforming dynamics of this second reformation, we will receive a healed and greatly expanded view of God Himself. The pain and troubles of our lives and in the world tend to suppress and warp our image of God. In the word we published on The Elijah List on October 23, 2012, we reported an account of a literal angelic visitation. The heavenly messenger said that in regard to the experiential knowledge of God, we presently know only one percent of the one hundred percent that He intends to reveal to us in this age! This stunning statement makes us think of Paul's equally stunning apostolic prayer for the Church of Jesus Christ:
[That you]...may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18-19
The promised power of a hope reformation will result in the formation of mature spiritual matriarchs and patriarchs, hope reformers, who will break through into new depths of knowing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They will eat problems and troubles for lunch!
Part 4: A Hope Eschatology: Living Well In This World
Jesus told Bob, that we are "not to focus on being the tribulation generation, but on being the hope generation." Many Believers associate Matthew 24 with what is happening in our world today. But even if this is partially true, in the bottom line of the chapter, Jesus speaks to our maintaining a proper concentration on the noble earthly tasks at hand despite any troubles in the world.
Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Matthew 24:45-46
The focus of faithful servants of Christ in our generation is to be His representatives and the productive stewards of His household in His absence. We need to have more confidence in God's design and power to grow and multiply His blessings and provisions! Will He find this kind of faith on the earth when He returns? (See Luke 18:8.) We are called to live and labor in hope in this age, doing all kinds of good, as we attend to the affairs of His Kingdom on earth and produce good food in a timely manner for its inhabitants. It was immediately before Jesus left this world to ascend to His heavenly throne that He emphasized to His disciples to not allow their hearts to be troubled (see John 14:1).
It is in the same eschatological discourse of Matthew 24 and 25 that Jesus gives us His paradigm for living well for Him in this age. Jesus uses the fitting analogy in Matthew 25 of a wealthy man leaving a country after entrusting riches to his servants. He leaves them with the expectation that they will put those resources to work for him. The faithful servants do business in the confident hope that they will, while he is away, generate even more wealth for his honor. It is the fearful servant who had no vision to invest that he disciplines upon his return and leaves impoverished. Our theology even affects the world's economy! Multiple demonically energized fears about terrible tribulations are attempting to paralyze God's people from doing great things in this world for God's glory and the good of humanity.
It is also in Matthew 25 that Jesus does refer to the final judgment. Here, truly at the very end, we find that there are whole "sheep" nations that have loved and served Him well in this age. This kind of massive impact through our partnership with Christ in our world needs to be factored into our eschatology!
Peace, courage and indomitable hope that counter the pessimism of this age are elements of our inheritance and generated by the sure promise of Christ Himself expressly stated in the face of any tribulations (pressures) in this world.
These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
The heavenly messenger that visited us in Redding, California, in early September stated that many theologians and Believers have actually "pushed their expectations for the fulfillment of many Biblical promises God intends for the here and now off into a future age." He said this is because a greater "hope is needed to reach for the promises now and believing God for their fulfillment in this age."
The Holy Spirit is obviously challenging certain erroneous man-made boundaries and limits we have set on what God can and will do in this age before Jesus returns. Jesus is truly coming, but He is also waiting to come! This big idea is absent from the most popular teachings on eschatology in our generation.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. Hebrews 10:12-13
Action Item: Praising and Proclaiming the "God of the Trump Card"
On the eve of 2013, we have a grand, divine invitation to enter a chamber door that leads to a hope "reformation room." The Lord has also shown us a bothersome spirit of negation stationed at the threshold that seeks to minimize and distort our image of God and thereby quench our hope, weaken our faith and steal our praise.
...for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there [i.e. at the doorway] are many adversaries. 1 Corinthians 16:9
We must band together with like-minded friends and resist our enemy's influence, firm in our faith, in order to press into receiving our fuller inheritance. This demonic spirit is not as powerful as it puffs itself up and presents itself to be. If we will persistently and confidently praise and magnify God for Who He is and boldly proclaim that He holds and will lay down the "trump cards" for our challenging situations, then these evil spirits will be scattered. We will actually be strengthened through surmounting the adversity.
We intend to share more about both past and present heavenly encounters and their practical implications that are relevant to the hope reformation in the coming months. We are sure we do not yet have the full and wisest application of these revelations, but we are confident that our heavenly Father will grant this wisdom to His servants throughout the world as we respond to what He is revealing.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Bob Hartley and scribed by Michael Sullivant
Deeper Waters Ministry
Email: deeperwatersofhope@gmail.com
Bob Hartley is the founder of Hartley Institute/Deeper Waters Ministry in Kansas City, Missouri. Bob served as a pastor at Metro Christian Fellowship with Mike Bickle before entering the marketplace in 1983, with a vision to see the marketplace redeemed and cities established that value and love the person of Jesus. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Hartley Group, a "Hope Center" for the marketplace, consisting of Hartley's Executive Cleaning, Swift Chemicals & Supply, Prize Properties and H&H Management in Kansas City, Missouri. Bob is a frequent speaker to youth, churches, businesses and national leaders throughout America and the world. His quest has been to bring the Kingdom of God into every arena of life and give spiritual tools and equipping to those seeking to know and love God in the midst of their everyday lives. Currently, Bob resides in Kansas City with his wife and four children.
with Michael Sullivant
Radius Group
Email: info@radius-group.org
Michael Sullivant resides in the Kansas City area, has been married to Terri since 1977, and is a father of five adult children. Their lives have been marked and shaped by a naturally-supernatural relationship with God as unashamed followers of Jesus Christ. Terri and Michael have been involved in active ministry since their days at Miami University in Ohio. They have given themselves to planting communities of faith in several U.S. states, pastoring, teaching, writing, coaching, building leaders, and traveling to offer ministry in many nations. Michael is the author of Prophetic Etiquette, Your Kingdom Come and a devotional commentary called, The Romance of Romans: God's Big God-Story (2011). Michael and Terri are co-founders of Radius – an equipping ministry that reaches out to many people.
