Apostolic DNA, Spiritual Fathers, and Biblical Covering

'Covering' is a covenant relationship appointed, designed, and orchestrated by the Holy Spirit in order to help facilitate the future of emerging Kingdom leaders.'  

The key thing to remember about both covering and spiritual fathers is that they are prophetically relational.

This is far different than just being affiliated with an organization.  Organization without Spirit-appointed relationship provides no biblical covering, just organizational or doctrinal affiliation.  

Organizations and networks can give you papers but they can't give you empowerment and they can't unlock the latent gifting and Destiny DNA that only spiritual fathers are mantled to release.  

If you're not called to connect by the Holy Spirit, the organization will profit you nothing. This is why the Spirit has called many out of denominational structures that aren't apostolic and fathering in nature. 

The Father Factor

There's been a Spirit Exodus of sorts over the past number of years where He's called many emerging apostles out of organizational systems in order to facilitate Destiny Connections so that a fresh apostolic movement can be born in the earth. 

The Holy Spirit is literally shifting many things (that's why so many have found themselves in a time of transition) so that He can create a new generation of leaders who are built and who build upon biblical models, not humanistic ones.

The strategy of the Holy Spirit is to connect emerging apostles (those who carry apostolic DNA but who are still in the process of coming into fulness as an apostle) with established apostles in order to further individual destinies, to create new apostolic alignments, and to establish a prophetic momentum in the earth where miracles, divine movement, and Kingdom enlargement are accelerated through strategic apostolic connections.

Also, keep in mind that the biblical model of 'covering' speaks to covenant relationships that are orchestrated and established by the Holy Spirit.  This is at the core of who spiritual fathers are and what they're called to affect in the lives of others.

When the Holy Spirit wants to take us to a greater level in our personal development and ministries He will connect us with men who are mantled with anointing, authority, gifting, and wisdom (prophetic DNA) that are equipped to unlock and empower the greater that's resident within us (see Elijah/Elisha).

From a biblical perspective one's covering should be their spiritual father (Joseph told his brothers that God had made him a father to Pharaoh; Elisha cried 'my father, my father' when Elijah was taken into heaven; Paul was Timothy's spiritual father, etc). 

Paul writes in I Corinthians 4:15 that there 'are many teachers in the Body but not many fathers...' 

In other words, teachers are common and numerous in our lives but fathers are rare and exclusive. 

He then goes on to say to the Corinthians that a spiritual father is one whom the Spirit uses to father, birth, nurture and develop the destiny of specific individuals and people groups by citing the example of his affect in their lives.

The main difference that Paul reveals about teachers vs. fathers is that teaches inform but fathers impart.  

Teachers communicate information but fathers release revelation.  

The impartation of a covering father comes via relationship, not merely affiliation (see I Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2,6).  Timothy and the churches Paul fathered spiritually received gifting, apostolic order, and relational impartation that came directly from their unique relationships to Paul, not just as an apostle but as their spiritual father.

This is the essence of spiritual fathering. Because is is highly relational, spiritual fathers are 'covering agents' in much the same way that the Holy Spirit covered the dark, chaotic, undeveloped cosmos in Genesis 1:2,3 and brought creation, destiny, and order out of the chaos the cosmos had been in due to Satan's rebellion.

Spiritual fathers 'cover' and their movements (gifting, voice, wisdom, anointing, mantles, revelation, etc.) serve to call forth greater destiny and purpose in the lives of those they cover.  

Just as the Spirit's 'covering' and moving over the face of the deep ('dark, wasted, nothingness' are the literal Hebrew meanings) served to bring destiny development out of darkness (a type of what has yet to be developed in us), so to must we be under the covering of a greater authority in order for our greater purposes and capacities to be revealed and released.

The Holy Spirit is always facilitating the future.  Always.  

He continually works with an eye toward creating legacy in that He's perpetually moving to ensure that no leadership gaps exist in coming seasons and generations.  A quick study of biblical history regarding Kingdom leadership, whether Old Covenant or New, bears this out. 

That said, it is essential to understand that from a biblical perspective, we cannot come into the fullness of our divine purpose and calling without the key connections that spiritual fathers bring to our lives.  

This statement may bother some but if you'll look at the biblical models of destiny activation you'll see that this is true (I've listed a number of examples a little later in this article for your consideration).  

Quite simply, when the Holy Spirit is ready to launch an emerging leader into an new dimension of destiny development He will connect that leader with a spiritual father ('covering') in order to help facilitate the potential for greatness that resides within the emerging leader.

Biblically speaking, it takes a greater mantle to help unlock a lesser mantle so that the lesser may itself become greater and achieve it's fullest potential.  

This process takes place via covenant relationships through spiritual fathering (as God does everything via covenant).  By covenant relationship I simply mean that the Holy Spirit establishes the relationship, as explained in detail below, and that we recognized that we have a covenant with God in that relationship and that we honor the relationship as such.

As a result, we then treat the relationship with honor, consistency, and integrity. This is the order of the Kingdom. When we begin honoring this destiny key we discover the Holy Spirit working, moving, and activating hidden things that yearn to emerge in us and before us.  

It's through the process of honoring our spiritual covering that we begin to see the Holy Spirit breathing on our dreams.


Before we look further into what a spiritual fathering is, let's qualify what it is not.  
True spiritual father 'covering' IS NOT:

• Manipulative
• Abusive - verbally, relationally, financially, or doctrinally
• Controlling
• Man worship
• Ego-centric relationships where one uses their 'spiritual authority' to place Un-scriptural demands on their 'followers'
• Spiritual fathering/covering are not about consolidating power around the 'leader'. It's about empowering, equipping, and releasing sons and daughters to fulfill their divine purposes in their respective spheres of influence.
• Spiritual fathering/covering is not a hierarchy that's top-down in nature. It's spherical, much like the spokes of a wheel with the spiritual father 'centering' things and the sons and daughters extending beyond the center.  In other words, true spiritual fathers help to bring a center (accountability, doctrinal balance, prophetic wisdom, experience-based perspective, and apostolic impartation) that balances and extends their son's and daughter's reach in the earth.

It must be stated that we have entered a new apostolic age where the Spirit of God is raising up spiritual fathers to help activate and unlock the prophetic DNA of a generation of men and women who are emerging into places of purpose, influence, and destiny.

When the Holy Spirit is ready to take your life and ministry to a greater level of purpose and fulfillment He will assign an apostolic father to help facilitate the process.  He will orchestrate that connection in such a way as to affirm and confirm that the connection has a spiritual foundation, not merely an emotional one.  The end result is that a covenant relationship is born out of the connection that serves to facilitate the greater purposes that are resident yet dormant within you.

If the connection is of the Holy Spirit He will affirm it, confirm it, and testify to it either via direct revelation, confirming voices and/or experiences, and Scriptural direction.

In order for us to come into the full experience of the benefits of spiritual fathers, we must have a mature understanding of the biblical concepts of covering and spiritual fathering.  

In a nutshell, spiritual fathers are Spirit-appointed 'covering' relationships that the Holy Spirit orchestrates in order to enlarge the Kingdom and to help maximize the potential of an emerging generation of Kingdom leaders who haven't fully arrived on the scene.

The Biblical models for these types of Spirit-appointed spiritual fathers are: 
Elijah/Elisha, Joseph/Pharaoh, Ruth/Boaz, Paul/Timothy, Jesus and the apostles. 

When you look at each of these scenarios the same pattern emerges: the Holy Spirit orchestrates the connections and brings the leader into the life of the son/daughter or disciple by divine connection and prophetic appointment. 

These connections generally happen seemingly out of no where.  They are quite literally prophetic happenings and destiny events.
 
The bottom line is that destiny connections are something we can't make happen: God makes them happen. 

In a real prophetic sense, it's not something we pursue as much as it is something that's pursuing us (in that God appoints it prophetically, then He orchestrates the real time events in our lives so that it comes to pass experientially at the appointed time).  Often times, these events come about unexpectedly.

On a practical level, it's impossible to just successfully pursue a high-level ministry leader you don't know and to get them to respond positively.  Most leaders wouldn't respond to you if they don't know you.  Here's why:

Any leader with a strong authority level is going to be very busy and won't have the time to do a lot of personal mentoring or coaching.

Also, there are so many people with agendas (as well as cooky, flaky, biblically-unbalanced people) lurking out there who are trying to use other ministries as a stepping stone to promote themselves.  Most ministry leaders are very insulated and you can't get near them because of this.

They do this to protect themselves.  Unfortunately it's a necessary factor given how many agenda-driven people exist in our church culture. The bottom line is that it's virtually impossible to gain relational access to high level leaders because of this.  It has to be a God-thing.

The positive aspect of this is that when God orchestrates a destiny connection, He transcends this normal lack of access by giving you access to a leader you can't get otherwise and you know it's Him not you making it happen.

That said, it is possible to receive mentoring without a personal connection.  A mentor isn't necessarily your spiritual father or covering, but they are essential in helping equip you nonetheless.

If you are a Kingdom leader I owe it to you to tell you that you need to have a spiritual covering over your life and your ministry. Like the biblical examples mentioned earlier, this must be the covering that the Holy Spirit assigns you to. 






What is Covering?
 
Covering is not about control, it's about connection and protection. It's about furthering the DNA, purposes, and destiny that the Holy Spirit is working in your life.  It's about someone the Holy Spirit assigns to you who's got your back.

You should be praying about this because it has many practical benefits.  Specifically, ask Him to show you and connect you to the spiritual covering that He's appointed to your life.

What Next? 

When the Holy Spirit establishes this connection in your life you need to begin consistently tithing to the covering minister or ministry He connects you with.  Your family and your ministry simply cannot prosper without it.

This is a profound truth and has the power to break famine, to create and open up financial resources to fulfill your life-assignment, and to unlock miracles. The tithe is literally the financial covenant that we have with God.  

Connecting with the spiritual leader the Holy Spirit has appointed to your life and then honoring the tithe principle is a major key to God breaking famine - financial famine, relational famine (personal isolation and disconnectedness), circumstantial famine, and revelational famine out of your life.  

Famine exists when the heavens over your life are closed.  

Honoring the tithe covenant through your 'spiritual father/covering' will open the heavens over your life and release an untold number of destiny resources that you need to succeed.
 
Consider that the model in the Word is that even the priests were commanded to 'tithe up' to the high priest that was over them (Numbers 18:26-28).

The bottom line is this.  We need spiritual fathers in our lives.  Without the proper Spirit-appointed covering in our lives we simply cannot succeed and experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit's plans and purposes for us.

If you don't have the benefit of being covered by a spiritual father, ask the Lord to facilitate that relationship in your life.  Begin making it a matter of prayer focus and then be willing to listen and to move in the direction He sets you in.  

Most importantly, when you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to begin moving you in new directions, dimensions, and through new voices.  He wants to open up new things to you.  

Newness emerges out of nothingness so expect Him to answer this prayer.  

When He does, move forward with great expectation knowing that He's setting up the right connections that are key for you to achieve all that He's purposed for your life.

Stay Connected,
Pastor Howard

Battling the spirit of Jezebel

The spirit of Jezebel is a high level devil; a ruling power of demonic darkness that opposes apostolic & prophetic leaders and as such is drawn to apostolic & prophetic churches because they  are 'foundational' churches (Ephesians 2:20) and because apostolic & prophetic leaders are the highest levels of Kingdom authority that exist in the Church.


*It's important to note that a spirit of Jezebel will seek to masquerade as a legitimate prophetic anointing.  It seeks to convince leaders and others that it is a bona fide Kingdom authority when it is quite the opposite.

It is also essential to know that the spirit of Jezebel is drawn to prophetic ministries and mimics legitimate prophetic flows.

WARNING: the spirit of Jezebel is highly deceptive and manipulative.  It's power is  
                   based upon a sophisticated network of deception. It is subtle, crafty and 
                   sophisticated.  
    
                   It's ultimate agenda is to network it's way into senior levels of ministry 
                   leadership so as to subvert and ultimately supplant the set man and woman 
                   of God from over the house.  It's end game is total domination and control.


Please take note: The spirit of Jezebel has an other-worldy lust for power.  
                             It is driven to be seen, validated and affirmed by senior leaders 
                             in a church.
  
Following is an outline of points that help to diagnose that a spirit of Jezebel is at war against a church or a Kingdom leader.

I.   The spirit of Jezebel always challenges Kingdom Order and Divine Authority.
     It is a highly accusatory spirit.  It is vehement and highly sophisticated in its
     campaigns of slander and deception.
 
II.  The spirit of Jezebel will look for a leadership vacuum in a ministry so as to subvert
     God-appointed authority in the house
    
      It is obsessed with getting power and being seen as possessing spiritual authority.
      It is a ‘spot-light seeker’ and uses ‘gifting’ to impress the unknowing.

III.  The spirit of Jezebel is subtle, creative, crafty, and manipulative and will not show
      itself for what it really is.  In the early stages of it seeking a place of control, it will not
      confront directly, it works through subtlety and like a snake, it is very cunning and
      prefers to remain hidden until it wants to strike.

 IV.  The spirit of Jezebel will mask itself in highly spiritual/religious clothing and will
        attempt to show itself as possessing legitimate Kingdom authority.
  
  V.   The spirit of Jezebel will attack your revenue streams and supply lines in the
        natural realm.  You know it’s actively opposing you due to extreme financial
        hardship.

 VI.  The spirit of Jezebel will work against you to block your heavens even when they are
        legitimately open.  It seeks to block your blessings from getting to you.

VII.  The spirit of Jezebel will oppose you with great psychological and emotional warfare.
        It’s goal is to overwhelm you with stress so as to destroy your composure and
        self-control.

VIII.  The spirit of Jezebel will send inordinate fears and torments against you:
         Weird Warfare is it's calling card.

 IX.  The spirit of Jezebel operates thru people on a political-network basis and feeds off
        of clickishness and racism.  A spirit of Jezebel feeds off of segregation and a sense
        of spiritual superiority.

  X.  The spirit of Jezebel hates Divine Order, despises Apostles, and abhors genuine
       prophets of God.



Evidence that you're dealing with a Religious spirit (the eunuchs of Jezebel) in people or in a church

1.  People will have an inordinate and unhealthy focus on deliverance, the
     demonic, and angels.  There will also be a lot of focus on 'spiritual experiences'
     that are not validated in the Scriptures.  I want to qualify this as 'strange fire'.

2.  There will be an emphasis on hyper-spirituality that draws attention to 'gifting'
     and distracts people from evaluating character.  They emphasize gifting, not fruit.

3.  There is a desire to receive apostolic validation and space to operate in a house
     without a willingness to be processed and vetted over an extended period of
     time or to serve in more humbling parts of the ministry and to integrate into the
     larger team.  They are 'lone rangers who like to do things their own way.

4.  A religious spirit is highly critical of others and uses 'strategic criticisms' to sow
    seeds of doubt and innuendo in the minds of others.  It specifically targets
    apostolic leadership teams for the express purpose of dividing the leaders of a
    house with suspicion.  A religious spirit feeds off of suspicion amongst leaders.

5.  A religious spirit will alternate between praise and criticism so as to keep it's
     targets (leaders, people) off balance and in a semi-state of confusion.  It will
     praise one minute, then criticize the next and the criticisms will be unfounded
     so as to put it's target on the defensive.

6.  A key evidence that a religious spirit is operating against you is that you wrestle
     with significant mental confusion.  There may be an element of 'reasonings and
     rationalizations' that produce emotional turmoil as well. 
    The emphasis here is on the turmoil you feel, whether it be mental or emotional.
   

In the words of the apostle Paul, 'consider what I say and the Lord will give you understanding'.

Your partner on the journey,
Bishop Howard L. Bass

 

The Pursuer is the Possessor

'When the Pursuer awakens the Possessor rises and Recovery is born

I Samuel 30:8 'Pursue, for you shall surely overtake your enemies and without fail, you shall recover all'                                                                                                                                In the ashes of your meltdown God has appointed your turnaround. I Samuel 30 gives the account of David and his men returning from a business trip to find that their city had been sacked and burned to the ground.  Their families and their possessions had been taken captive and were missing.  In that moment David was literally standing in the ashes of what used to be. Can you relate to 'standing in the ashes of what used to be'? When David and his men arrived at Ziklag to discover it burned with fire and their families taken captive they wept until quote 'they had no more power to weep'.  Translation: they had exceeded their breaking point and were paralyzed in the chaos of exhaustion. Out of the ashes of great despair a chaos ensued that caused a break down of confidence in David's leadership. The men that knew David best, who understood his battlefield prowess and who had staked their lives on the prophetic promise that he would become king now spoke openly of killing him. This level of accusation and attack took David to a place of soul suffering that intensified the pain he was already experiencing.  In that moment he was 'excessively squeezed'.  Not only had he lost his family but now he had lost his support system.  Chaos reigned in the ashes of an unexpected meltdown. Can I be real for a minute?  The truth is, we're all like David.  No matter our destiny, gifting, prophetic promises or our resume' of success, each of us has a breaking point.  All it takes is the right enemy hitting us in the right place at the right time and it shatters us. Newsflash: You're susceptible to being breakable! One of the first casualties of transition is Confidence in your Sense of Being. Isn't it interesting that when David and his men were processing the chaos of their meltdown that they lost their sense of identity?  In essence, the 'ashes of what used to be' obscured their identity. These men were hardened warriors, battlefield geniuses.  They were entrepreneurs who had built a successful business providing personal security for wealthy men in the badlands of southern Judah.  They were possessors by nature and they had the resumes to prove it. Most importantly, they were survivors.  They had successfully survived the relentless attempts of King Saul to find and kill David.  Your enemy wants to create a disconnect between your prophetic identity and your present reality. Your enemy wants to so overwhelm you with negative emotions that you forget who God built you to be.  He wants to shatter your confidence.  He seeks to break your focus and to paralyze you with grief over all that's gone wrong so that you don't have the capacity to move forward. Make no mistake, you're enemy knows you've got what it takes to emerge from your meltdown in a posture of victory and success.  That's why he hits you so mercilessly, so relentlessly, so overwhelmingly.  In spite of your meltdown, you were built to bounce back.   The good news is that God will not leave you broken.  While ashes surrounded David's life and his soul was excessively squeezed by the chaos that sought to consume him, God had recovery on His mind. I Samuel 30:8 was God's assurance to David that the Amelekite victory over Ziklag would be reversed and that David would prevail if he pursued his enemy.  In the middle of his meltdown this prophetic promise gave David confidence that God would give him a turnaround. I've got good news: you're coming out of the chaos that has sought to consume you! In recovery you discover a renewed sense of Courage, Confidence and Conviction. In the midst of the emotional desolation David was experiencing, God awakened the anointing of recovery deep within David's spirit and he began to bounce back.  God supernaturally broke David's soul paralysis and romanced the pursuer in David with the promise of recovery. Suddenly, David began to act like the 'king' (his prophetic identity, not his present reality) he was, not the beaten man he had become.  This is a critical point.  In seasons of great warfare the temptation is to become so spiritual that we miss the simplicity of faith.  What God wants and needs from us is to believe Him in spite of the meltdown, then to base our behavior on that belief.  He will not place more on you than you can bear.  He's not after great sacrifice, He's after great faith. The result for David was that he experienced a supernatural recovery of his courage, confidence and conviction, all of which had become casualties of his meltdown.  Within a few moments, David recovered his capacity to pursue like the possessor he was and he shifted the atmosphere in the ashes completely in his favor.  He rallied his men, broke them out of their soul paralysis and forecasted a vision of recovery that completely empowered his men to come back also.  David recovered his sense of credibility (prophetically, relationally and politically) as God built him back and focused him on pursuing recovery. In a Kingdom sense, 'recovery' is a 'restoration that leaves nothing broken'. I'm writing today to provoke the pursuer in you! I firmly believe this is the direction that the Holy Spirit wants us centered and focused on.  God has recovery on his mind and He's provoking His kings to rise up and pursue the impossible dreams, desires and drives that He's placed in us. As I wrap up this word I want to leave you with several action steps that you need to take to realize the recovery that awaits you.  Remember, God's got your recovery on His mind.  He wants to partner with you to create miraculous outcomes in the scenarios you're facing.    Embrace your Prophetic Identity not your present reality Believe your time is NOW and build everything around that belief Focus on your turnaround, not on your meltdown Boldly pursue the things God is speaking into your spirit knowing that He's your partner in the pursuit process Don't be afraid to step out in faith.  Embrace the fact that God knows where your 'stuff' is and that He's orchestrating your steps to be in the right place at the right time    Refuse to allow your enemy to intimidate you into remaining 'where' you are    Refuse to be defeated by a fear of failure Allow yourself to dream again Allow the Holy Spirit to romance your hear and mind with the rewards of faith's pursuit, then go after them   Lastly, I want to remind you that the DNA of a possessor is resident within you.  You come from a long line of prolific pursuers.  You possess the DNA of an overcomer.    Embrace the fact that you were built to bounce back and to break through.  No matter where your enemy's hiding, he cannot keep what belongs to you.   Relentlessly pursue the things God has placed in your spirit, moving forward in courage, confidence and conviction.  You are not alone.  The God of Heaven has decreed victory over your life.  The only way you lose is if you refuse to pursue

Every assignment has an enemy.  Every anointing has an adversary.  Every dream attracts  detractors who seek to devour it. 

Your destroyer will not prevail against you.  The unholy alliances that have aligned against your destiny will not stand.  The arm of the Lord is warring against your adversary and victory is in the NOW. 

 

Your partner on the journey, 

Bishop Howard L. Bass

Transition & The Emergent Joseph Company

Many of you have been in a season of turbulence.  Be encouraged:  God's up to something strategic in your chaos.

You don't need me to tell you these are challenging times in the earth.  We've entered a period of volatility, uncertainty and shaking among the nations.  There is great anxiety among the masses as tremendous difficulties continue arising from every corner of the globe.  Economies are struggling, wars are raging and natural disasters are plastered all over the headlines.  It seems there's been an eruption of sorts that has released a wave of upheaval in a way that our generation hasn't seen.

I feel it important for us not to attach prophetic meaning to every natural disaster or conflict that comes across our TV screens and web pages.  Many in charismatic & prophetic circles assign prophetic meaning to every event that happens and some have erred because of this.  When we overstate natural events we become like the boy who cried wolf until people tune us out.  What good is legitimately having something to say if no one wants to listen to us anymore?

Not every event has prophetic significance.  In times of crisis it's important to release what God is saying.  It's equally important not to sign His Name to every thought or opinion we have.  I believe there is great need in the Body of Christ at this time for maturity, balance, wisdom and prophetic caution.

Since Adam fell the earth has groaned in pain, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.  While natural disasters can have prophetic importance, most often they are simply the result of the earth's groaning in it's fallen state.  It's important as believers that we have a well-balanced theology and world view.  We must avoid extremism and resist attaching a 'thus saith the Lord' to everything that happens in the earth. 

To be heard in the marketplace of ideas we must possess credibility with our audience.  To possess that credibility we must earn the right to be heard.  The wisdom of God must rule the day if we are to reign effectively as sons & daughters of God in secular realms.

The aforementioned being said, it does seem that we've crossed a threshold where the nations are entering a Time of Transition.  While I'm not referring to any singular recent event I do believe that the volatility we see on multiple levels in the earth is evidence that we've entered a time of global transition that has Kingdom ramifications.

On a Kingdom level, many have already been in deep transition for some time. 

Interestingly, Joseph is the paradigm for this.  Joseph entered his time of transition long before his family or the nations did.  Simply stated, he was a prophetic forerunner for the coming moves of God amongst the nations.  In other words, there was a divine set-up in Joseph's storm.

Joseph spent time in deep transition so God could strategically position him to lead Egypt and the surrounding nations through their time of transition that was coming in the form of famine.

My point is that God always has prophetic forerunners that He processes in preparation for what's coming among the nations. 

I believe the transitions that many in the Kingdom have been enduring have prophetic & strategic significance in the times and seasons of God.  I also believe we're beginning to see the nations enter their time of transition.  As such, this will present tremendous opportunities to advance the Kingdom. 

I believe there is an emergent Joseph Company that has been transitioned in darkness, processed through brokenness and prepared via uncommon sufferings.

This Joseph Company is being strategically positioned by the mastery of the Holy Spirit to affect Kingdom outcomes in a multitude of marketplaces, both in the Kingdom and in the secular arena.

Let me be up front.  I am not a doom and gloom prophet.  God gave us a Dominion Mandate and the transitions many have been through are preparation for deeper levels of anointing, greater dimensions of influence and higher-quality mantles.

Transition and Increased Influence

Real authority lies in the ability to influence outcomes.  If you look a the Joseph Model you see that in every season of transition, God increased Joseph's influence.  Influence is what authority really is.  As the nations enter a time of transition, this Joseph Company is going to operate in an unprecedented level of divine influence that will create the victories God has purposed to affect.
 

Let me be clear: there are staggering victories that God has appointed for His people. 

With Joseph you'll recall that as the nations entered their time of transition, Joseph exited his time of transition and stepped into his time of promotion.  This is a model for us.  There is a prophetic shift that is coming.  There's a 'lift' in the 'shift' and God's bringing His forerunners out of their prisons, wildernesses and caves to strategically set them in times of promotion and places of influence.

For those of you who have been in deep transitions, be encouraged.  There are new mantles coming upon many in this season.  I'm not just referring to ministry mantles, although this is inclusive of that.  I'm also referring to marketplace mantles of influence.  God's setting-up 'marketplace moves' where He'll work through His Joseph Company to intersect a world in transition that is receptive to the wisdom and the prophetic perceptions of God.

Please hear me when I tell you that promotion is coming to many in this season.

Joseph's promotion was in direct connection to the shaking of transition that God was sending amongst the nations.  I have every confidence that the season of transition we've been in in the Kingdom has everything to do with what God is setting up to do in the 'marketplace of the nations'.

Over the past couple of years the Lord has made it clear to me that one of the assignments that He's set upon my life is to speak prophetically to the Body of Christ regarding the Kingdom dynamics of transition.  It's become evident to me that part of my leadership DNA lies in the realm of of leading others who are in transition. 

Interestingly, most of you are connected with me because of experiencing transition yourself.  Through the process, God has orchestrated the steps of our journeys to intersect us and bring us across each others' paths.  As such, it is my prayer that this ministry is having a deep impact in your life as your process through your transitions.

Much like Joseph's steps being orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to end up in Potiphar's house and to connect with the butler in prison, so has He ordered our steps.  We've connected with each other in the various stages of our individual and corporate transitions by the divine designs of the Master. 

Trust me when I tell you that He's a Master Strategist & Tactician.  There's a divine blueprint to the times & seasons of your life, especially and including the transitions you've been in.

It is my sincere desire that this ministry is an ongoing source of encouragement, strength, impartation and prophetic insight for you.  My greatest passion is to bring you the wisdom of God that it might become a critical weapon in your hands as you press your way through the seasons of your life.

Be encouraged today my fellow warrior.  God never leaves a Joseph bound in his prison: there's a palace assignment on your life

Transition, Hard Heavens & The Rainmaker

As we continue to 'shed the skin of an old season' many exciting truths are emerging. 

I want to share some things with you that I think will stimulate your prophetic self and provoke your faith on multiple levels. 

Today I want to focus on battling Hard Heavens and the moves of the Rainmaker.
 

The Dawning of New Era's are preceded by Hard Heavens

Many of God's people have been an intense time of battling 'Hard Heavens'.  Contrary winds and Hard Heavens are partners in the transition process.  If you've walked through any level of transition at all then you understand what I'm talking about.

Consider the results of Hard Heavens:

• Hard Heavens create Extreme Seasons of harsh difficulties

• Hard Heavens produce stiff winds of opposition & resistance

• Hard Heavens create sterile environments that are hostile to the fulfillment of desires, dreams and drives

• Hard Heavens birth famine & drought 

• Hard Heavens produce harsh 'earthly' outcomes 

'Earthly' in both the external conditions created by the lack of rain (a type of favor, blessing and resource) and the internal 'earth' of one's thoughts, feelings, emotions and stress points.  One of the byproducts of a Hard Heaven is harsh mental & emotional stress.

                      

Hard Heavens and the moves of the Rainmaker

The quintessential Hard Heaven is found in I Kings 19.  You'll recall that God had closed Israel's heavens and for 3 1/2 years there was no moisture in Israel. The season was so harsh that there wasn't enough moisture to produce a drop of dew on a single blade of grass.  Israel's heaven closed up and their 'earth' became hard.  Drought ensued.  Famine set in. Hard Heavens produce harsh climates.

A 'Prophetic Pattern' is the dominant spiritual climate that governs the times & seasons of your life

Most importantly, while Israel was under the prophetic pattern of a hard heaven, the prophet Elijah entered a time of transition.  It's essential to see that Elijah was under a Transition Pattern while Israel was under a Hard Heaven Pattern.  In this we see the pattern of personal transition accompanying, indeed result from a Hard Heaven. 

Hard Heavens and Transition are partners in the overall process of destiny fulfillment.

It's important to recognize that God kept Elijah in the transition. God provided for Elijah in transition.  He had to endure the harshness of the Hard Heaven but God orchestrated his steps, outcomes and provision in every stage of transition.  At every moment God strategically positioned Elijah where he was supposed to be. 

I state this because when you're battling Hard Heavens in times of Transition it's easy to feel ineffective, insecure and out of synch. Rest assured, those thoughts and feelings are stress related responses to the chaos and lack of clarity that you have in transition. 

An interesting fact about a snake that's shedding it's skin: it goes blind for a few days while it's shedding the skin of it's last season and totally loses it's ability to see anything!

Elijah is a type of a Rainmaker

A rainmaker is defined as someone whose 'influence initiates progress and ensures success'   

There is a Heavenly Rainmaker and there are earthly Rainmakers. In the marketplace, a rainmaker is someone who possesses the ability to create success and bring in new business.   

In the Kingdom, a rainmaker is someone who battles hard heavens in times of transition and emerges from the process mantled to release the success of heaven into earthly environments.   

Rainmakers birth the release of miracle moments.  Rainmakers are human conduits to the heavenly Authority, Voice and resources that shift the dynamics on the ground.

• In Transition God qualifies you to become a Rainmaker!

When God shifted Israel's Hard Heavens pattern, the Heavenly Rainmaker sent His earthly Rainmaker (Elijah) to release into Israel's natural atmosphere the miracles God had appointed that were waiting the heavens, desiring to emerge for them.

   

You'll recall that Elijah declared there to be 'the sound of an abundance of rain', then positioned himself in a posture of intercession at the summit of Mt. Carmel until the natural atmosphere reflected that the pattern of Israel's Hard Heaven had been broken.   

You know the rest.  In the space of a few minutes, the heavens were filled with clouds and wind and there was a great rain.   

      

Not only was Elijah Israel's national Rainmaker but he was also Elisha's personal Rainmaker.  He was the one God had appointed and assigned to 'rain' on Elisha's destiny, to activate the dormant DNA and dreams that were resident in Elisha's life.   

It was not until God sent Elijah the Rainmaker to Elisha plowing in the field that Elisha's destiny, dreams and DNA awakened within him.  Elijah walked in a dimension of divine influence that was directly linked to the future Elisha carried within him but did not know God had purposed for him.    

Rainmakers carry the prophetic influence to unlock the gifting, assignment and destiny DNA that God has deposited within you.  Their presence in your life releases things in you that you were never aware of.  In reality, their presence releases His Presence in new dimensions in your life and new seasons of forward movement are born from the experience  

• Recognize the Rainmakers God's assigned to you and pursue them with relentless perseverance

Rainmakers and the Perseverance Factor

To close this word I want to shift from the Elijah Model of Hard Heavens and Transition to the Elisha Model of Hard Heavens and Transition.  Just as Elijah endured personal transition and battled a hard heaven, so did Elisha in order to get his hands on the mantle he'd been dreaming of.

In 2 Kings 2, when God was shifting Israel from the Elijah Era to the Elisha Era, Elisha had to endure a significant transition cycle of resistance, opposition and Hard Heavens.   

In order to possess his destiny and dream (the double portion of Elijah's spirit) Elisha had to press through repeated resistance and opposition from his personal Rainmaker when Elijah repeatedly, vehemently opposed him in Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho.  Each of those cities represented a dynamic spiritual season of victory and breakthrough, yet because Elisha was in the transition of shedding the skin of his old season, he could not experience the blessings those seasons represented.

Instead, he kept encountering repeated resistance from his Rainmaker and opposition by the other prophets who were located in these cities.  This is a type of a Hard Heaven and weird warfare.  It's one thing when your competition opposes you but how do you handle it when your 'Rainmaker' opposes and resists you? 

• Resistance from your Rainmaker is evidence that you're transitioning through a Hard Heaven 

Elisha's response was powerful in that he kept speaking what was in him and continued walking it out no matter what he endured in the transition process.

When they got to Jordan, everything changed.  They crossed over Jordan after Elijah parted the waters with his mantle.  Once they were on the other side of Jordan, everything changed for Elisha.  His atmosphere, experiences and dynamics were completely different from those he'd just endured in the repetitive transitions and Hard Heavens from Gilgal to Jericho.

• Jordan is the place of a Positive Shift

• Jordan is the place of your 'Finally'!

• Jordan is the place where you step out of the jurisdiction of old prophetic patterns 

Suddenly, Elisha's Rainmaker stopped resisting him. Instead of opposition, he discovered:  

• A prophetic audience that was in synch with Heaven's intentions
• A new dimension of dream hospitality  
• A Rainmaker's attention turned in his direction 
• An affirmation of his Right to Possess what he'd been Pursuing 

Elijah suddenly asked Elisha 'what can I do for you?'

Translation: Now that you've persevered through transition, you've broken the jurisdiction of your Hard Heaven, SO HOW CAN I MAKE IT RAIN FOR YOU? 

What a stark contrast.  The contrary winds of resistance ceased.  Elisha was comfortably distanced from his competition (the sons of the prophets in the cities) and he had an exclusive audience with his Rainmaker.  After 14 years of service, sacrifice and seed sowing, the Rainmaker wanted to know how the Sower wanted it to rain!

The key to it all lies in the prophetic revelation God gave Elisha about the experience he'd just been through.  When Elisha said he wanted a double portion of Elijah's spirit, Elijah said qoute 'you have asked a hard thing'.

The word 'hard' literally translates 'fierce, harsh, severe, extremely difficult'

The Heavenly Rainmaker was releasing a prophetic key to explain why Elisha had kept experiencing harsh opposition, fierce resistance and severe testing in the repetitive transitions from Gilgal to Jordan.  Elisha's Hard Heaven was in direct proportion to the scope of the future that was in him and the destiny that lay before him!

Never underestimate the Prowess in your Perseverance  There's an Interceding in your Persevering Recognize your Perseverance as a type of Intercession.  It's interesting that under the Elijah Era, effective intercession came in the form of Elijah's 'effective, fervent prayer posture (James 5:16-18) at Carmel's summit. In the Elisha Era however, effective intercession against the jurisdiction of Hard Heavens came in the from Elisha's relentless pursuit and perpetual perseverance as he kept walking in the direction of his destiny.  He persevered in the path that his Rainmaker had awakened in him years before.  The result was that his perseverance broke him through the hard heavens and positioned him in the place of destiny possession.      You must embrace the truth that your relentless pursuit & perpetual perseverance has an intense intercession element about it    When you're in transition battling hard heavens you may well feel inadequate and ineffective in your prayer realm.   The lack of heavenly response and the limited results you see work together to bring confusion and discouragement. The real truth is, while you're persevering through transition your walk becomes intercession.  Your enemy wants you to miss this because he needs you to underestimate the power of a relentless pursuit & and perpetual perseverance.    Interestingly, Jesus never taught His disciples spiritual warfare prayer.  He did teach them to relentlessly pursue and to perpetually persevere.    I point this out because your testimony, your authenticity and your authority don't come exclusively from your prayer closet: they come from your walk through times of Transition when you're battling Hard Heavens! When Abraham was entering the era when Isaac would be conceived, God showed up and told him 'walk before me...'  He didn't tell him 'pray to me'  but rather 'walk' because he was about to walk out of the transitions and hard heavens he'd been in straight into God's Promised era of fulfillment. There is something essential, dynamic and prophetic about your walk, your endurance, your relentless pursuit & your perpetual perseverance.   Real, effective intercession takes place when you walk out what's in you!  By no means am I mitigating the importance or place of your prayer life.  You know me better than that.  What I'm releasing to you is that He wants you to know how effective your relentless perseverance is, especially when it seems your prayers are blocked by Hard Heavens. Many of God's choice servants are enduring harsh seasons of discouragement, exhaustion and fatigue in direct proportion to the depths of their transitions and their hard heavens.  In the harshness of their warfare the enemy has sought to overwhelm them with feelings of inadequacy.    Like the snake, when you're shedding the skin of an old season, you can't see clearly.  Your enemy knows this, so he speaks against you in the language of discouragement and fatigue.  He's told you to quit.  He's told you that you're ineffective.  He's told you that your endurance, pursuits and perseverance are all a waste of time.  He's told you that God doesn't want you to have the things you're pursuing. He doesn't want you to know is that your perseverance demoralizes him!    You need to know that your walk is effective warfare!   You must keep walking because your perseverance is positioning you to be in the right place at the right time.  It doesn't matter that you can't see it or feel it.    If your perseverance wasn't working your enemy wouldn't be attacking it and resisting you.  Embrace the contradictions as confirmation that you're still headed in the right direction. Recognize that your relentlessness is having a greater impact than you've been able to perceive while you've been in transition. Every transition has an appointed conclusion and Hard Heavens always precede seasons of Divine abundance.   Your old season is losing it's grip on you! Believing for your success! Pastor Howard L. Bass The Destiny Center