Covered by Covenant! I want to drop some things in your spirit today that I think will benefit you as you reach toward your dreams, desires and goals.   For the next few minutes why don't you grab your favorite beverage, kick back in a quiet place and journey with me through the pages of the Word to discover what the Holy Spirit has to say about what He's up to in this season.    Now, let's look at Joshua chapter 3!

The 'Separated Place' is a Destiny Space As Israel was shifting from their wilderness season (the place of cycles, preparation and processing) into their destiny possession (the inheritance, assignment and destiny for which they were created) in Canaan, they first had to cross the Jordan river.  It's important to recognize the two territories of the wilderness and the Jordan as they are the context of Israel's season. First, recognize that 'the wilderness' speaks to us of a place of cycles, transitions, preparation and processing.  It's that in between place where you've come out of something but you've not yet come into a new thing.  The Jordan river represents an identity transition, a Kingdom authority threshold and a prophetic boundary.  It's the place where you experience a transition in your identity, where you cross a threshold into greater Kingdom authority and you access a boundary in the prophetic. Furthermore, the Jordan is a prophetic boundary where old seasons/dimensions die and new seasons/dimensions are born.  Quite specifically, the Jordan is the border of a Divine release! With that groundwork laid, let's look at Israel's transition out of their wilderness season. In Joshua 3:3-4 they Israelites were instructed 'when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place and go after it.'  But  before Israel could 'go after it' they had to allow a distance to be placed between them and the ark.  Notice verse 4: 'Yet there shall be a space (distance, separation) of 3,000 feet between you and the ark: do not come near it that you may know (to perceive, distinguish, recognize) the way that you should go: for you have not gone this way before.' I want to focus on the destiny keys that are revealed in these two verses, for they are essential for us in a time of transition. As Israel was shifting out of their wilderness cycle they were required to think differently and allow the Lord to move differently.  You'll recall that the ark of the covenant had been positioned in holy of holies inside the tabernacle at the center of Israel's camp for 40 years while they were in the wilderness.  In order for them to be able to thrive in their transition thru the Jordan and see God work miracles, they had to allow the Lord to reposition things.    Quite literally, God removed the evidence of His Presence & Promise from their midst (at least that's what it looked like to Israel).  He was shaking and shifting their perception so He could show them greater things. Get the symbolism here.  At a strategic moment in Israel's history, when they were positioned on the brink of destiny, God repositioned Himself! God told them the reason for this was because they had never been 'this way before'.  In other words, the Lord was opening up a new pathway of discovery that required a significant shift in how He moved, where He moved and how Israel responded to His move.   You've heard me say recently that there are new things that want to emerge, indeed that are waiting to emerge before us in this season.  The Lord was revealing to Israel here that old patterns and pathways must be removed in order for new patterns and new pathways to emerge and newness to be created.  The same holds true for you and me at this season.  A Destiny Shift will stretch you and can create a sense of Separation Anxiety!   Anytime you're being repositioned to discover a new pathway you will go thru 'separation anxiety'.  Due to the transitions, the shifts and being in 'the place of the unknown' anxieties will arise within you.  You need not fear them as they are merely reflective of the fact that you're in a transition unlike any other, therefore you have no frame of reference for 'getting thru' this place.  The ark going before Israel is reflective that He has already gone before you and is leading you prophetically thru this place. Further exacerbating the challenge for Israel was that God demanded 'separation, space, distance and time' to be placed between Israel and the ark of the covenant.  This had to stress the Israelites because they were accustomed to being close to that 'box'.  Now, in the time when they were shifting out of the wilderness and into their inheritance, God repositioned the 'box'.  God was literally stretching them to think 'outside the box' as He was moving 'the box' outside of them.  He was thinking, moving and doing 'outside the box' as Israel was on the brink of their destiny!   Remember that everything Israel recognized as their covenant with God was symbolized by and represented in that box.  It represented Israel's concept of security.  Now He was removing it from them their midst, repositioning it outside their frame of reference and requiring them to trust Him, waiting patiently in confidence while they watched their leadership put a distance of over half a mile between them and the box.  No doubt this created some separation anxiety in their hearts and minds. Have you ever been in the place where God seemed to put a separation between you and His Presence, His Voice, His direction, His provision and His counsel?  Have you experienced that place where it seems that time and space have distanced you from the fulfillment of His covenant promises? Are you in a place where it seems like God's moving but leaving you behind?  This dynamic creates separation anxiety, which is the fear of being separated from Him and all that He has for you. I want to encourage you with several truths revealed here that will empower you with strength and equip you with divine strategies to walk thru this place. I.  Separated to be Elevated God repositioned the ark outside their frame of reference because of what He was about to do and where He was taking them.  They were stepping into a better, sweeter, richer life and were headed into territory they had never known.  They were in a destiny space of exiting wilderness-living and entering promised-land inheritance.  They were shifting from the identity of being wilderness wanderers into the identity of being destiny-warriors.  They were entering a brand new state of being. II.  Separation brings Vision Clarification Remember, they were told the reason for God repositioning the ark away from them and the ensuing time and space that separated them was so that Israel might 'know the way' they were to go.  The word 'know' used in the verse means 'to perceive, distinguish, recognize'.  The principle here is that the separation served to bring them clarity of vision, specificity of direction and certainty of where and how to move. In other words, when you wait on the Lord while He's moving outside your frame of reference, He will reward you with a new dimension of perception and recognition as well as the ability to distinguish things correctly.  This in turn leads to deeper insight and greater foresight about the way you are to go.  This speaks to your ability to see clearly and make wise decisions that bring you into everything God has for you.  There is a whole new dimension of 'knowing' that you will possess as a result of how God is moving at this season. III.  Their Separation was 'Future' Preparation While we struggle with the 'outside the box' thinking, shifting and moving of God and we wrestle with the separation anxiety that's created in times of transition, we fail to see the separation for what it really is: that He and His covenant are standing in our future preparing a way and revealing a pathway of prosperity.  In other words, He's already worked out your tomorrow and He's already made your way!   When the priests removed the ark and placed it more than a half mile ahead of them, God was illustrating that His covenant had gone before them and that He owned their future.  Their present place and their future space were covered by His covenant.   You may well be dealing with some separation anxiety in your life right now.  What I'm assigned to tell you today is that the Lord and His Covenant with you are standing in your future.  He possesses it in authority and victory.  Waters are stopping, enemies are dropping and victories are being achieved! He dominates your tomorrow and there's nothing you need that He hasn't already positioned in place.  In fact, everything you need already awaits your arrival.  As you walk thru this season you're going to discover a new pathway of provision.  Pathways of prosperity are being opened up to you and God's going to blow your mind with blessing.  He's going to give you your own authentic miracle-experience and your life will never be the same! Hear me child of God: you have absolutely nothing to fear!  The separation you sense at this time is not abandonment, it's divine appointment.  Your sense of separation is all about the appointed places and destiny spaces that He's created before you.  You're in a place you've never been because He's taking you to places you've never been! Indeed, new pathways of discovery are opening up within you and before you.  We've shifted into the third phase of a the night season, which is the Phase of Dawning Discovery.  New discoveries are being released and revealed as you allow God to move outside the box. You future is sweet with victory and rich with prosperity.  As you walk with Him thru this place He's going to part waters, release miracles and unblock the obstacles that have kept you from your inheritance.   One final thought.  In verse 3 Israel's leaders told them that after the separation period when the ark of the covenant was repositioned ahead of them they would be released to 'go after it'.  I want to let you know that the Spirit of God is going to release you to 'go after it'.  Whatever 'it' is, it's yours and Hes' giving you permission to go after it.  Indeed, your separation is sanctioning your authority to go after it.  Much breakthrough, success and accomplishment is ahead of you! Oh by the way, when Israel began to walk thru the  Jordan river the waters parted, breakthrough was experienced and they exited their transition because they were covered by covenant. Go after 'It'! Stay Connected, Pastor Howard

Shifting from Leanness to Enlargement

I wanted to share with you some thoughts that I think will be beneficial to you as you press forward in your faith journey.

In thinking about the Israelites crossing Jordan in Joshua chapter 3, I am reminded of some destiny keys that we have to employ in order to possess the things that God has for us. 

First, recall that God required Joshua's generation to do it differently than Moses had done it. 

The transition through the Red Sea required Moses to stretch out his rod over the sea and God sent an east wind to move the waters.  In Moses' generation, the waters parted before Israel went into the sea, or before they stepped into their situation. 

When Joshua was leading them into Canaan, God required the priests (a type of leadership) to step their feet into the waters of Jordan before God moved the waters.  This is evidence of being at a brand new level of maturity as well as the fact that Israel was now walking in a new dimension of authority that they did not possess when they came out of Egypt.  Remember that authority is 'the ability to influence outcomes' and the permission to 'get it done'.

Destiny Key #1:

The Strategies & Methods that 'Got You Out' will not be enough to 
'Take You In'

New seasons demand new strategies.

If you're unwilling to change you become inflexible and you run the risk of tying God's hands from releasing a fresh flow of blessing in your direction.  When you become inflexible you run the risk of becoming irrelevant.  If you become irrelevant you cease to have any influence whatsoever.  You never want to get stuck in an old season, an old mold of thinking, an old method of doing and an old way of being when God is doing new things. 

You've heard me say many times that one of the greatest abilities we must possess is 'flexibility'.  God required it of Joshua's generation because their destiny demanded it.

Practically speaking, don't fear change.  Condition yourself to mix things up and do things differently.  As your seasons change, your strategies must change as well.  

Destiny Key #2

Enlargement Demands a Repositioning

When God released Israel to 'take their promised land' (a type of your inheritance, assignment and destiny) He shifted them from 'leanness to enlargement'. 

Remember the staggering size of the grapes that the spies brought back from their reconnaissance mission 40 years earlier?  They were so big and succulent that two men had to carry one cluster on a beam of wood.  That was symbolic of the 'flowing with milk and honey' dynamic that awaited Israel in their place of inheritance. 

God had worked through their transition period in the wilderness to reposition them into enlargement.  Their diet was changing, their housing was changing, their economic status was changing.  Indeed, they were being repositioned to live large!

My point is that in order to step into their time and place of enlargement, God required them to reposition their strategies, mentalities and methodologies in order to 'get thru' the Jordan river.  The Jordan is symbolic of a transition threshold where one season ends and another season begins.  It is the place of old endings and new beginnings - see Joshua 5:12.

I know that we have crossed a thresh hold in our transitions where old things have passed away and new things are emerging before us.  This dynamic holds true for each of us in our personal journeys of faith and destiny creation.

One final thought I want to drop on you regarding Israels' shift from leanness into enlargement.

When the Lord instructed Joshua to have the priests bear the ark of the covenant upon their shoulders and step into the waters of Jordan, He was requiring them to step into 'the waters of the unknown'.  Remember that the river was at a flood stage at that time and that the waters of Jordan are very dirty, muddy and murky.

This represents a threshold of change where God requires us to take a step of faith in a place of risk.  It speaks to the fact that we carry the authority of kingship and the certainty of covenant (both of which are symbolized by the ark resting upon the priests' shoulders) into our murky, cloudy or unclear scenarios.  

Simply stated, the Lord required them to place their feet where the couldn't see them or what was there.  They had to 'find their footing in the place of not knowing'
 
The principle is this.  There are 'certain things' in your uncertainty, there is clarity in your cloudiness and there are miracles in your murkiness that are waiting to emerge as you repositioning yourself and press to find your footing in your place of 'not knowing'.

Indeed, there are some 'submerged things' that God is going to do for you that are waiting for you to move forward in faith.  As you do, these submerged things (breakthroughs you can't see) are going to emerge with clarity.  Not only will God make a way but that path will absolutely reposition you in your place of enlargement.

Don't be afraid of the shifting of this season.  There are new things that are waiting to emerge for you and things that have been submerged in your life are going to emerge with clarity, prosperity and enlargement.   

What look like the waters of the unknown are really the waters of breakthrough!

Stay connected,

Pastor Howard

P.S.  If the Lord is using this blog to speak into your life, would you take a minute and shoot me an email at pastorhoward55@verizon.net or sign up as a follower?  Your cooperation will help me better track the impact we're having and to connect with you in return.

Chaos, Transition and Repositioning

Last week in this space I released a word from the Lord regarding our entering into a time of enlargement.  While enlargement is a great place to be, you need to know that a time of enlargement is preceded by chaos, opposition, transition and repositioning.  

The word 'transition' has taken on many identities, definitions and symbolism in our modern lexicon.  It's a frequently used term that describes the changes and shifts that emerge in every human life. While transition is a modern word it has it's roots in the ancient texts of the Scriptures and was at work in the earth long before our generation seized upon it to describe the stuff we experience when we're in a time of change.  

Indeed, the 'Transition Dynamic' is a Kingdom principle that began manifesting in the lives of biblical leaders, heroes and difference-makers as they pursued their destinies several millennium ago.  For the purpose of this writing I want to qualify transition from a Kingdom perspective.  

Transition is a period of time where you experience unexpected losses, situational uncertainty (not knowing how things will end up), a deep sense that your life is being shaken, significant upheaval and changes that produce deep discomfort for you.  Transition is also evidenced by your wrestling with a deep sense of personal inadequacy as to how to manage your thoughts and emotions, change your situation and break your loss cycle.  

Furthermore, transition creates dynamics that are beyond your ability to control them.  It will seem to hit you suddenly and without warning.  You will struggle to find your footing and regain your center for a time.  Lastly, you'll know you're in a time of transition when chaos seems to surround you as you try to process your way out of it.  You will feel like you're not in control of the transition but rather that the transition is in control of you.

With that said, it's essential for you to know that 'Transition' is a signal from God that the order of how things have been in your life is coming to an end.  It means that 'where you are' has gotten old and that God's in the process of creating something new.  

Newness is always preceded by a transition.  When your present level of living becomes old it's because it has become inadequate for who you are, for what God's up to and for where He's taking you.  Transition therefore is a shaking that births a new journey in a new direction.  

While the transition can be unsettling and uncomfortable, it's God's way of preserving you from becoming irrelevant.  Anything that becomes inadequate has the potential of causing you to become irrelevant.  Irrelevancy is your enemy's way of limiting your reach and of sequestering you in wrong places because he fears your future.  Make no mistake, your enemy fears your future!

Transition is God's way of delivering you from inadequacy and irrelevancy.  He wants to keep you on the cutting edge of what He's up to.  He'll use transition to make you more effective, give you greater influence and to increase you on multiple levels in your life.  He's designed you to be a multidimensional, multifaceted game changer in multiple atmospheres, arenas and realms.

He's created you to be a game changer.  He built you to be an odds-beater.  He's designed you to shift atmospheres.  He's empowered you to co-create new realities with Him.  He has substantial, strategic investments in you and transition is one of the ways that He preserves His investment in you, maximizes your potential, preserves your future and makes you more effective.

Today I want to give you three dynamic principles found in Jesus' experience as He was transitioning from Nazareth to Capernaum, from rejection to promotion and from nothingness to greatness.  There's nobody who's ever been more of a game changer than Jesus so we can take confidence in the principles of transition that He walked through as His old season in Nazareth come to an end.  You can find these dynamics enumerated in Luke 4:16-32.  

• Transition is Designed to Reposition You

Transition's assignment is create repositioning and distinct endings so that God can form new things in your life.
     
Transition is God's way of signaling to you that He has new things ahead of you.   

• Chaos is Evidence that God is Closing Old Doors 

Chaos is 'the confused, disorganized state of something before a distinct form appears.  I've qualified 'chaos' as all hell breaking loose in your life!
   
Chaos is evidence of a structural breakdown in the order of an old season.  
When your season changes, chaos will hit your life because the old order or 
pattern of how things were is resisting the change that God is birthing.   

While chaos releases confusion it is also evidence that God is closing doors. 
     
Old seasons want to contain you in their grip thereby keeping you from the 
'more' that God has waiting for you.  Your old season desperately fears 
your new season.  Your enemy desperately fears your repositioning.  The 
enemy knows that once you get repositioned, he cannot contain your 
enlargement, your authority and your influence. 

• Enlarged Opportunities Create Blow-Backs of Opposition   

A 'blow-back' of chaos and opposition will hit you as you're about to exit a 
wrong atmosphere and enter a right atmosphere. 

A 'blow-back' is an eruption of hostility, resistance, negativity or fear that attempts to block you Exit from an Old Season/Wrong 
Atmosphere into a New Season/Right Atmosphere.

Finally, I want to drop some truth on you that I believe is essential for each of us to contemplate and implement at this time:
  
'Discovering your destiny is a journey of faith and risk. In the struggle to step out of your comfort zone remember that miracles don't happen in safe places. Abraham 'went out not knowing where he went' and found that God's plan was bigger than his. It's in 'going without knowing' that destiny moments occur and limitations are broken. Take a step of faith in a place of risk and watch God show up!

I pray this nugget of wisdom will open a whole new realm of insight and perspective in your heart as you assess your seasons, situations and storms.  Don't be afraid to shift forward at this time: God's got more on His mind.


Go make it happen!
Pastor Howard

Prophetic Word - Stepping into a Time of Enlargement

'The blow-back of your enemy will succumb to the authority of the Christ in your chaos'

The words that follow are a prophetic word that the Spirit of the Lord gave me today regarding the season we are stepping into. The paradigm for this is Jesus’ transition out of Nazareth into Capernaum as found in Matthew 4:13-24 & Luke 4:16-31. 

Like Jesus in Nazareth, many of God's people have been in a time of transition wrestling with adversaries, opposition, rejection, wrong atmospheres and weird warfare.  Like Jesus Himself when the crowd tried to throw Him off the cliff, many of you have been in the chaos of transition without any evidence that the Christ has been in the chaos.  He's there but you haven't been able to 'see evidence' of His Presence.  I write today to tell you by the word of the Lord that the Master is closing the door to that season.

I have been ministering on this dynamic over the past several weeks at Dominion Church but today the Holy Spirit released a fresh prophetic word in me regarding this being the prophetic pattern that we are now under. In the space that follows I will release the prophetic word as it came to me, then in a day or so I will be posting some patterns from Jesus' experience in Matthew & Luke that form the paradigm for this new alignment. Be encouraged: you're exiting your time of transition and you're entering a time of Divine enlargement!

'The Word of the Lord for this season is Enlargement'. We are exiting a Time of Transition and shifting into a Time of Enlargement. In this season of Enlargement we will begin experiencing new alliances and new alignments that create new assignments. These will be the unscripted 'suddenlies' of God that shift us into new dimensions of authority and greater spheres of influence. They will also change the repetitive cycles we've been experiencing. One of the fruits of this season is that God's people are going to walk in a supernatural dimension of recovery that has eluded us for a protracted season. New mantles are coming upon many in this season. The Spirit of God says that our level of living is shifting.'

Furthermore, the following bullet points are dynamic experiences that the Spirit of God is going to give His people:

* Doors of Deliverance are Opening Suddenly

* Enemy schemes are being disrupted

* The anointing is canceling enemy’ assignments from the previous 
   season and they will not follow you into your future

* Your place of wrestling is giving way to a place of refreshing

* Prosperity is replacing lack and loss

* You’re going to be able to 'Breathe' again

Many of God’s people have been in a 'suffocating season' but God is giving you  breathing room  and what had been a struggle is giving way to a settled state of ease. The ease of God is settling like a mantle upon His people, for we’ve been warring to enter a new dimension of authority and rest.

* The Spirit of God is putting distance between His people and their 
   enemies

* We are possessing new Mantles of Authority

* New Alliances are being formed

* New Alignments are coming into being

* New Assignments are emerging in this season

* New Destinies are being shaped

* New Opportunities are being created

* New Outcomes are being experienced

* Inheritances are being released, possessed and activated in this 
   season

* We are emerging into new dimensions of destiny that we had not 
   perceived lay before us.  
   This is why our warfare has been so protracted, elevated and exhausting.  

   I declare that season is over!

* The creative energy of the Spirit will be released and 
   creative miracles will manifest in the following dimensions:

       1. Prophetic Creativity

       2. Imaginative Creativity

       3. Entrepreneurial & Economic Creativity

       4. Assignment Creativity

       5. Relational Creativity

       Note that these five creativities will emerge in the  

       form of fresh prophetic strategies that create solutions and open 

       pathways to prosperity and peace.

* Blessings that have been Blocked and Backed Up will be 
   released in this Season

* Move forward Expecting Miracles: they’re coming in a flurry

As I stated in the beginning of this post, in the next couple of days I'll be bringing out some things from the Word in the aforementioned passages enumerating the biblical paradigm.

Set your expectation level for miracles. The word of the Lord has been released and enlargement is yours!

Stay connected,

Pastor Howard