Since June of this year (2021), I have been hearing the Lord say, "If you build it, they will come."
Many of you are aware of the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams." I just watched it again recently. In this film, Kevin Costner plays a corn farmer in Iowa. In the film, he keeps hearing the message, "If you build it, he will come." In response, he builds a baseball field from a portion of his corn farm.
This film was the inspiration for this word, along with a recent clip from Major League Baseball. When I saw this clip, I knew it was confirmation for releasing this word I had been hearing in my spirit for a few months. This year, due to COVID, Major League Baseball built a baseball field in Iowa, not far from the original set of the film. The Yankees and White Sox both came out to play on this 'Field of Dreams.' (To view the inspiring clip from Field of Dreams, click here.) I love the question Kevin Costner asks during this clip, "Is this Heaven?" Seems very prophetic to me!
Let's dive into what the Spirit is speaking in this building season. There are five things I believe the Lord is releasing right now. Most of them come from Isaiah 40.
1. Prepare the Way
Mark 1 describes the ministry of John the Baptist. When he first stepped onto the scene of history, he began to cry out as a voice in wilderness: "...'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight'" (Mark 1:3 NKJV).
I believe many of us are in a wilderness season at present. It's time to prepare the way of the Lord by bringing the Kingdom into every aspect of our daily lives. There needs to be a clarion call right now for repentance. After all, what did John the Baptist repeatedly cry out? "Repent and be baptized!" The Church—His Bride—needs to rise up and be bold in this hour when our voices are being systematically silenced.
Amidst the terrible persecution occurring across the globe (particularly in Afghanistan, Iran, China, Pakistan and India), we need to prepare the way of the Lord, making His paths straight. We do this by declaring the good news of the Gospel. Jesus is the ONLY hope for this world. We are not making converts or proselytes. We are making DISCIPLES of every nation as Jesus commanded us to do. We are not just getting people to recite a sinner's prayer with no inward change.
It is time to raise up sons and daughters who know who they are in Christ. These are burning ones who live in righteousness, peace and joy amidst the chaos and darkness of this present age. We are raising up those who submit to the Lordship of Christ. This is not about 'doing church' but walking with people intentionally to raise them up. That's how we can make His paths straight and prepare the way.
2. Reclaim the High Places
I have heard the phrase "Reclaim the high places" resounding in my spirit for a few months now. Traditionally, high places in Israel and Judah were hubs of witchcraft and idolatry. They were also places of authority, as those who occupied them could speak over the land. These high places became defiled by sin and idolatrous practices. I hear the Lord saying that we need to retake these high places; not just the places in the spirit, but also real, physical localities.
I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. My husband and I have just recently purchased a property about one hour west of where we are currently living. It is a large rural plot of 80 acres or 32.4 hectares. It is also a high place where we can stand and declare over the Brisbane Valley and South-East Queensland.
I've been feeling for some time now that the promised revival (the third and final Great Awakening) would burst forth from South-East Queensland. It has been prophesied by many prophets. Most notably, it is said that Smith Wigglesworth stood on the mount of Toowoomba (not too far from our new property's location) and declared that the Great Awakening was coming to everything his eye could see. This includes where we currently live, our new property and all of South-East Queensland. Something is happening in our land. It includes the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and surrounding regions and Brisbane. It is coming! We need to reclaim the high places in Jesus' name!
"Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 40:4-5 NKJV) (Photo via Unsplash)
As we reclaim these high places in our land and strip them of the stronghold of witchcraft and idolatry, we are going to see the glory of God burst forth in our spheres of influence. Many of you reading this are outside of Australia. Let me tell you this: What is happening in Australia is going to touch the whole world! You can go into your city, your town—wherever you live—and reclaim the high places too. You can tear down the altars of Baal and whatever has been constructed there. Speak the name of Jesus! It is far greater than any idol erected and any witch's curse.
3. Retake the Land
We are in uncertain times right now. Governments are certainly pushing back against Christianity and conservatism in the West. It has been a wholesale attack on our values. In this uncertainty, I have felt an urgency in the spirit to take back the land. We are to take ground in the realm of the spirit. He has also resourced many of us to go and purchase land, physically. Now is the time! I know the portion of land my husband and I are purchasing is enough to host tent revival meetings, raise up training and equipping hubs and much more. It is time to dream big with God.
"O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'" (Isaiah 40:9 NKJV)
We are called in this season to retake the land. If you are not called to make a physical purchase, then go in as an intercessor, see the lay of the land and retake it in the spirit realm. It is time to stand up and be counted in this hour and bring good tidings to the high places. Lift up your voice with the strength He is imparting to you and be not afraid! Be bold in this season, in Jesus' mighty name!
4. He Gives Strength to the Weak
Are you feeling weak and weary right now? I know I have been. What a battle! The enemy has done his level best to bring about weariness, tiredness, distraction, apathy and complacency. I have been fighting through this season as if I'm wading through sludge. Can you relate?
The Lord is imparting strength to you right now in the name of Jesus. Reach up and receive it by faith. He ALWAYS gives strength to the weary. He always strengthens the arm of the weak. What a GOOD God!
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31 NKJV)
Are you lacking in might?
Spirit of Might, breathe on Your people afresh and infuse them with Your mighty power in the name of Jesus! What a beautiful promise from God for this testing season.
5. This Is a Season to Rise and Build
Nehemiah was sent by the king of Persia to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem:
"And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, 'Let us rise up and build.' Then they set their hands to this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?' So I answered them, and said to them, 'The God of Heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.'" (Nehemiah 2:18-20 NKJV) (Photo via Unsplash)
What is in your hands right now? Don't look at your hands and think, "I don't have much. There isn't anything I can do with this." Think of the boy with the five loaves and the two fish coming to Jesus. It didn't look like very much, but look at the multiplication which came from that simple offering given in faith. Build with what you've got and watch the increase manifest.
Have you got naysayers in your life at present? Know any Sanballats? Tobiahs? Geshems? Are there people trashing your dreams? If you've got one of these 'Sanballats' (or his "mates," as we'd say in Australia) in your ear (whether they are speaking through people or it is just the enemy with an earworm) remind them that they have NO inheritance in Christ. We need to rise up and build and say, "I'm not listening to you. I'm going to do what God has placed in my hands right now."
This is a season to rise and build. If we build it, they will come!
Who are 'they'? I believe they are all the weary and the broken. Remember the parable of the feast?
"Then He said to him, 'A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, "Come, for all things are now ready." But they all with one accord began to make excuses.
"'The first said to him, "I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused." And another said, "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused." Still another said, "I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come." So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind." And the servant said, "Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room." Then the master said to the servant, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."'" (Luke 14:16-23 NKJV)
The master of the feast invited 'whosoever' after he had been rejected by the 'people of influence.' These are like the lost and the broken who recognize they need God. If we build what He's asking us to build in this season, they will come! Does that excite you?
Prayer
Father, in the name of Jesus, we submit ourselves to Your plans in this season. We grab ahold of Your promise that we can bring Heaven to Earth. If we build what You have put on our hearts, we get an opportunity to partner with Heaven. We thank You for the 'whosoever' that will listen and be willing to repent and turn to Jesus. We thank You for the harvest of souls, ripe for the taking, such as we have never seen on planet Earth before.
Empower us in our weaknesses. Give us strength to overcome in this season. We take authority over the naysayers—the spirits of Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem—in the name of Jesus. Let us not be distracted by these plans of the enemy. We renounce distraction, complacency, apathy and discouragement. In the name of Jesus, get OFF the people of God! Give us divine focus in this season to keep our eyes fixed on the prize—to rise and build. Hallelujah and amen!
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Naomi Byers
Naomi Byers Ministries
Email:Â inquiries@naomibyersministries.com
Website:Â naomibyersministries.com
Naomi Byers is passionate about training the Body of Christ in their prophetic gifting, and teaching sound, biblical doctrine. She is a teacher, wife, mother, and author. She spent 15 years as a high school chemistry and science teacher and is deeply passionate about education. Naomi is submitted to the leadership of Glory City Church and is a member of the Glory City Network for Itinerant Ministers. She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her beautiful family.
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There is so much going on in Australia right now...and we need to be standing and praying for the country and our brothers and sisters in Christ there.
