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October 22, 2016
From the Desk of Steve Shultz:
 In times like this...it's important to remember to worship and praise the Lord!!! David worshipped the Lord before he went into battle...and won!
This is a great reminder of just how important our worship is unto the Lord by Nate Johnston.
Nate shares here:
Last week I woke up with this song on my heart, "He is God of the breakthrough; He is God of the breakthrough!" I felt such an authority surging in me to speak and sing this over the nations and declare God's will be done and to order and align things in the earth to Heaven's standards.
Be encouraged in your worship unto the Lord...in this season! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)
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Enjoy!
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com
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Worship in Crisis
I was ten years old when I first discovered the power of worship. Our home was a tough place much of the time. My brother and I were raised by a step-father who was being healed of his own father wounds, and a mother who was in the middle trying to keep the peace. The pain I felt was often too much to handle.
So one night, after it felt like a world war had broken out, I found myself downstairs screaming silently in the dark. I poured my heart out as if I was talking to someone when the strangest thing happened. It was like a tangible blanket of peace descended on me and I heard a voice on the inside of me say, "It's going to be OK."
Encounters like that one became the place I learned to know the Lord's voice and the power of worship in crisis.
In those years I was so drawn to King David. I remember reading the story of David at Ziklag. When the Amalekites had raided Ziklag, David and his men found all their possessions and family had been taken by the enemy. It says that David and his men were greatly troubled and his men were considering stoning David.
The end of 1 Samuel 30:6 says; "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."
In the original Hebrew text it expresses that David "encouraged" himself (see reference here). How did David do that? He worshipped the Lord. It was his go-to, his response in trouble, and his hiding place (Psalm 32:7). David strengthening himself in the Lord created room for God to speak a solution amidst a troubling situation, and they recovered EVERYTHING!
Taking Higher Ground
Last week I woke up with this song on my heart, "He is God of the breakthrough; He is God of the breakthrough!" I felt such an authority surging in me to speak and sing this over the nations and declare God's will be done and to order and align things in the earth to Heaven's standards.
I felt the Lord lead me to 2 Samuel 5:20; "And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, 'The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.' Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim."
What I also learned about this place David called, "God of the Breakthrough," or "God Bursts Through" was that it was also near the place where David defeated Goliath. Baal-perazim was in "Valley of Rephaim" or "Valley of Giants" (see reference here).
What I can't seem to get out of my head about the scene of David facing Goliath are the contrasts that took place in those moments. Imagine the jeering and mocking of Goliath who seemed powerful and undefeatable. Then imagine the trembling fear of the Israelites after enduring his threats for so many days.
Suddenly they hear the strange—and yet eerily piercing—sound of David's sling whirring in the air. As it circled around and around with a "whoosh" the atmosphere was changed by a true worshipper entering the scene. It was unorthodox, it looked stupid, but the very air was charged with the presence of God through David's obedience and act of worship.
In Isaiah 28:21, it mentions the place David defeated Goliath as "Mount Perazim" which is powerful because worship is about ascending, stepping out of a valley mindset and seeing how God sees.
I feel in this hour that God is calling us up to a higher altitude to triumph over the giants that are standing in front of us—and even surrounding us. As we lift up our song God will "breakthrough" for us! He is giving us His eyes to see how He wants us to see the problems we face in our nations so we can respond accordingly.
"After this, I looked and there before me was a door standing open in Heaven. The voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.'" Revelation 4:1
This year has been such an advancing year for the Body of Christ. We are learning how to reign as royalty while surrounded by a world that is very troubled. We, the Church, are rising up to meet the growing need for an answer and a solution in the middle of encompassing turmoil and the fact is, we will not be defeated!
The Songs From The Cave
I believe just like David, God is raising up a generation of worshippers to release the sound of the mighty flood of Heaven in this hour. These worshippers have been raised in the wilderness and equipped in the shadows. They have been anointed in the secret place for public exploits and victories that will lead the Body of Christ into her greatest years of outpouring and influence in the earth.
The thing about worshippers is: they aren't disadvantaged by the dark; it's where they develop their song. The dark is where they are the strongest! Many have been hidden for so long; but it's now time and they are coming out in droves to raise up the name of Jesus throughout the earth. They can't be bought or bargained, and they carry a conviction that terrifies the enemy, a shout so fierce it makes demons tremble, and a melody so powerful and sweet it ushers Heaven to earth.
Over the next few years we will see the greatest emergence of "Davidic" worshippers and creative pioneers that we have ever seen; a company of laid down lovers that will lead the Church into the inner courts. Revival is already churning in the hearts of these hidden ones, who are incubating the songs of Heaven that will reach into the darkest of places and reach the ones that seem unreachable, as well as restore passion to the pulpit.
I believe God has been doing this in you. Maybe in your season of waiting you have felt like you have been wasting away. Maybe it has felt like so many dreams are still on the shelf, unused and dormant. The truth is you have not lost anything, you have not wasted anything. Open your mouth and let your song out and you will discover the power and breakthrough that will come from lifting your voice in struggle and crisis.
"Your songs from the cave are going to be anthems sung on the rooftops."
Breakthrough power is on your own tongue. I pray today that you find your own song in this season. That you will find a song that will take you out of the "stuck" place you have been in for far too long; that will usher you into your greatest season of thriving and being enabled for the fulfilling assignment God has prepared for you. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)
Nate and Christy Johnston
Everyday Revivalists
Email: everydayrevivalists@gmail.com
Website: www.everydayrevivalists.com
Nate Johnston is a revivalist and worshipper who has a heart to see sons and daughters unleashed into passionate friendship with God and an effective supernatural lifestyle. Through his ministry "Everyday Revivalists," he teaches on intimacy and hearing God's voice which was birthed from a hunger for authentic, real, and powerful relationship with Jesus. Christy Johnston was born and raised in Australia. After living the majority of her life plagued with insecurity and fear, she came to learn the power of her identity in Christ. She now lives with the mandate to breathe fresh hope and life into Gods sons and daughters through her passion of writing, uncovering the truths of living in Grace and freedom through our identity in Christ. Nate and Christy have two daughters, Charlotte and Sophie, and currently live on the Gold Coast in Australia.
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