Coming soon! Prophetic word.

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns” Revelation 19:6.

For several months the song “Raise a Hallelujah” by Bethel church has been resounding in my spirit and I’ve been listening to it endlessly. There are five words in the song that I’ve been meditating on, “My weapon is a melody.”

A Song as a Weapon

        I realized that the times I most felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, I was the closest to the Father—they almost always involved music. Whether worshipping in a formal church service, in my car or prayer closet, or just singing the songs that I have for Him in my heart—music is always front and center. I realized there is more to worship music than just a song. It is warfare against the evil one. The truth is that we are in a battle, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm” Ephesians 6:12.

        One of the tools that God gave us to defeat the evil one is a melody. Therefore, I will worship Him in “the middle of a storm, louder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roar, up from the ashes, hope will arise, death is defeated, the King is alive. I raise a Hallelujah—in the presence of my enemies. I raise a Hallelujah—louder than my enemies. I raise a Hallelujah—my weapon is a melody. I raise a Hallelujah—heaven comes to fight for me!” “I raise a Hallelujah!”—Bethel Church

         In 2 Chronicles 20 we read about the King Jehoshaphat of Judah who reigned there 25 years. The sons of Moab, Ammon, and some of the Meunites came with them to wage war against Judah. The Lord gave Jehoshaphat a strategy to defeat the enemies of Israel [He has not changed His strategy even to this day]—raise a melody! “…he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His loving-kindness is everlasting”” 2 Chronicles 20:21.

        The worshippers went even before the army of Judah to defeat their enemies. They were singing praises to God and in doing so the Lord set traps for the enemies of Judah. “When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed” 2 Chronicles 20:22.  This strategy of God is a major weapon in our spiritual armory. The more we engage its use the greater our victory!

        In my 45 years of ministry and pastoral counseling, I still counsel my clients to incorporate worship in their daily prayer life. It is God’s way of giving us power over our circumstances that the enemy has influenced in order to keep us from intimacy with the Father resulting in the taking of our freedom, liberty, peace and joy. The Lord is good and only desire goodness for us.

The Melody of Worship confounds the enemy

I began to expound on the principle of worship as a weapon for our benefit in defeating the enemies of our soul. King Jehoshaphat was engaged in a war against the Moabites and the Ammonites. The strategy God gave to him was to engage the praise team and Judah’s worshippers in a warring atmosphere of radical worship. There were two requirements the Lord gave Jehoshaphat in determining who would lead this battle with honor;

1-They had to already have a song in their heart for the Lord [2 Chronicles 20:21].

2-They must be represented in Holy Attire when going out before the Army of Judah [2 Chronicles 20:21].

When we set out before the enemies of our soul and present a heart of worship before the Lord, God begins to confound the enemy and they are turned against one another. Their defeat becomes our victory and we did not have to raise a sword to do it. God, by His Holy Spirit, intervened and caused them to turn against each other. “When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir…so they were routed” 2 Chronicles 20:22.

Our Victory…A Song and Holy Attire

        In lifting up the name of the Lord, as worship leaders and their teams do, we are making Our Lord the center of focus in our situations. “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name…” 1 Chronicles 16:29. Invoking the name of the Lord and ascribing the glory that He is worthy of in our worship tells our enemies that our God is the defender of our souls. We give Him charge over us and our circumstances when this is done.

        Jehoshaphat knew that if he sent his worshippers into battle before he commissioned the army of Judah to do so, that God would win the day for the nation. As they began to praise Him, He set ambushes against their enemies. Our battles are not temporal as many would like us to believe. Our battles are spiritual and have everything to do with the final resting place of our souls. The term ‘ambush’ in 2 Chronicles 20:22 is a plan of attack, a strategy to lie in wait until the enemy is upon you and then take them by surprise to drive them back and repel their purposes against you. It is God’s way of utterly defeating them.

       The angelic host of Our Lord lies in wait when our enemy approaches seeking to cause us harm. It was so with the people of Judah. The Lord had caused the enemies of Judah to turn on one another until each of their armies was utterly destroyed (v22-23).

        I noticed something very important about this passage of Scripture in 2 Chronicles 20. Looking at verse 24, it says that “…Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness…”  As Christians we are in a constant state of judgment when we or someone else in having a wilderness experience. Yet this passage of Scripture teaches us that the wilderness experience that Judah faced was a victory! In fact, the Scripture is clear that they did not have to even lift a sword against their enemies except to worship the name of the Lord.

        Jehoshaphat required by the Lord’s instruction to place worshippers with holy attire before the army of Judah. Our praise to God should never be without an attire of His holiness. 1 Chronicles 16:29 calls it an array of His glory. The holy attire and array of His glory is His covering upon us. Our covering is the blood of Jesus Christ. We can approach our enemies with the holy attire of the blood of Christ while worshipping His Holy name and fully expect God to cause our enemies to turn upon one another and be destroyed. We no longer have to come to expect that our enemies can continue to vex us in our daily circumstances, our life journey, and the salvation of our souls. The Lord through praise has given us the victory!

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe” Proverbs 18:10.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

The Lord is looking for brokenness in His church. We might think of this as a misplaced idea, but it is not. It is the true power of a Living God. I am not of the belief that God is the author of suffering in our lives, however I do believe that He uses every situation that brings brokenness to make us more like Christ.

            We can think of brokenness as the oxen yoke where our power and personality are harnessed and yielded to Him. When the Lord allows our brokenness, He is putting down the old man, our self life, and raising in us the Christ-life of being yielded to His perfect will.

            Psalm 51 is an inscription David penned after committing the sin of adultery and murder. God used David’s genuine repentance to break his heart and give him the final authority for leadership and service. His repentance led to his brokenness and ultimately the worship that filled David’s life deep within.

            The Hebrew term for brokenness is ‘shabar’. It means to break in pieces, rend violently, wreck, crush, maimed, crippled, and shattered to brokenness. It is, at its core, the birthing of something. In essence, brokenness is not the end of a thing but the beginning of something new. Consider the seed. It has a cover and it is tiny in retrospect to its completed fruition. The cover must be broken in order to start the growing and new birthing process. Without the cover being dissolved there can be no new fruit. In other words, when we are broken as David was broken, it is not the end of us, but the beginning—something of God is birthed in us. In our brokenness God deposits a part of Himself.

            We tend to think of brokenness as the end—something is destroyed and rendered unusable, but in God’s economy, true brokenness is the beginning of Godliness. The world wants greatness. God wants brokenness. In God, brokenness is the first step to greatness.

The Four Things That Lead to Brokenness

            We are often broken over the things we love the most. I have found four things that the Lord uses over and over again to weave brokenness into the hearts of His servants.

1. The Presence of God—(Moses)

Moses journeyed from being a prince in Egypt to becoming the meekest of men. Moses had many encounters with the manifest presence of the Lord, and it was in the presence of God that Moses’ heart was broken. His presence breaks our heart when we are confronted with His awesome greatness. The sight of God involves the sight of self. When we see Him, we see ourselves, and a moment of honesty is forced upon us. Our encounter with God’s presence is not simply to give us an ‘experience’ of God, but to build into us the character of Christ.

2. The Word of God—(Ezra)

God’s Word is not any other book—His presence is found in the pages. When Ezra read from God’s Word all the people worshiped and wept. “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: and Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground” Neh. 8:5-6.

            It is a blessing to see how the people of Israel reacted to the Word of God. The Lord really wants all of us to find Him in His Word. It is here that our hearts are made soft and we plough the hard places—becoming ready for His still quiet voice.

            I believe the Lord intends for our hearts to be broken in these ways—through His presence and through His Word. However, if we refuse brokenness, then the Lord will allow us to go down these next paths—they are infinitely more difficult, but the lessons are the same, and God’s promises to be with us on this journey are certain.

3. Sin (David)

2 Samuel 11-12:22 tells the story of David’s great sin before the Lord, and the punishment God used to bend David’s heart back to His presence. It is through genuine repentance that David came to the place of brokenness.

            There are eight steps that David walked through as he arose from the place of repentance to brokenness where his heart was formed to be pleasing to the Lord (Acts 13:22, “God testified concerning him: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”).

            2 Samuel 12:20— “So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.”

• David arose—sin is not the end of the story about us—we have a Redeemer. You cannot stay in your sin—or even in the shame of it—we must rise up. We cannot fully face what we are in Christ until we face what we are without in Christ. David faced himself and was then able to rise up and become who God planned him to be.
• David washed himself—There is washing that we must do for ourselves. Repentance is a great washing: Ephesians 5:26, “…that He might sanctify and cleanse her (the Church) with the washing of water by the word.
• David anointed himself—true repentance brings with it a new anointing.
• David put on fresh garments—robes of righteousness and garments of praise.
• David went to the house of the Lord—sometimes we run from God’s house and His people when we have sinned. The opposite should be true—we need to run into God’s house and make His presence our refuge.
• David worshipped—worship is the greatest fruit of the broken heart.
• David went to his own house—True brokenness was not complete until David was restored within his own family. We need to be restored among the people who have known us the most. Sometimes we run from those we know, and unfortunately, the Church has been better at uncovering the sin and not restoring the brokenness (Gal. 6:1). This should never be—we need to be like Jesus—champions of forgiveness and restoration.

• David ate a meal with his family—this is a beautiful picture of the Church as we share the great meal (communion) of forgiveness, restoration, and hope.

4. Circumstances (Job)

Job suffered catastrophic loss—he was launched into a season of unprecedented suffering. So many of us would crumble under such a weight (he lost all of his children, health, property, servants and his livelihood), and yet he bowed and worshipped before the Lord and professed:

            “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” Job 1:21.

            As you read through the book of Job, you can clearly see how the suffering he went through strengthened his faith and took him from being a Godly man even more devout and gracious than before.

            It is so true that character is not made in a crisis—only exhibited. The strength of character exhibited by Job did not just appear at the moment of suffering—it was formed in him during the every day decisions to serve God with all his heart throughout his life.

            There is something about suffering that sculpts our character if we allow it. I think life hands every one of us some degree of suffering from time to time. In fact, there are many things in life that are not fair. But the decisions we make when we are facing trials are some of the most important decisions of our lives. When we choose to honor the Lord as Job did, we will see the glory of the Lord. Every trial brings with it a seed for equivalent or even greater blessing. We just have to find that seed and plant it in our patient, yielded hearts.*

_{*excerpts from Dr. Rocco’s new book, “Prophetic Worship,” available at http://www.Dr.SteveRoccoministries.org or Amazon Prime}

• 

A group from church returns from an amazing conference totally on fire, and more passionate than they have ever been at your regular services, but the drive only lasts for a few weeks. A big-name artist just came through town and pulled off an amazing worship set at the local civic center, and the attendance was more than we have ever seen and the zeal in the arena was electrifying. But, the church service without the big-name artist was dull and like revving up a lawn mower; the whole first song was wasted reminding the church body why they came to church in the first place.

Three things will create an incredible atmosphere to facilitate your church’s heart for worship and jump start your community to a passionate worship culture:

1. Be Relational—meet with people from your team, your church, and all over the community. Meet with them outside of church and get to know their hearts so that you can better champion them in worship.
2. Make Room for It—if you are buying a new couch but have no room for it in your house you really aren’t going to use it! Same goes with creating culture. Create environments that encourage people to dive in. Create a safe place to try new things in worship. Be it at an extra service, house worship, or just longer practices.
3. Pray—prayer is the fuel behind every movement. Let the Lord know your heart and pray with the community around you. Prayer stirs hunger, desire, zeal, and over-all anticipation for God and what He has planned for your church.

What will you do?

What will you do to ignite worship? Just as true worship doesn’t just happen, neither does growth in the greater depths of worship.  It’s not a by-product of showing up at church on Sundays or even singing all of the songs that they flash up on the screen. It’s not something that you just come by passively at all. But it’s something you pursue passionately—just as you pursue Him passionately.

It’s something that will naturally pour out of your being as you seek Him first…love Him first…choose to bow before Him first. And since our worship is offered to the unsearchable, unfathomable God, we can never out-seek, out-love, or out-worship Him. There will always be greater depths. And exceedingly more wonders.

What can I do to grow in the greater depths of worship?

How will my worship life look differently? What will I do to deepen my knowledge and love of God that will ignite my desire to pour it back out at His feet? God is never satisfied with stagnant. He loves new. “Behold, I will do something new, Now, it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert” Isaiah 43:19. (see also Lamentations 3:22-23; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24). “And even when it comes to worship: “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD” Psalm 40:3.

Igniting the worship we offer God

We need to commit to spend more time in the Bible and in prayer to grow in our knowledge and intimacy with Him. Dig deep in the Word to learn from the Lord about His plans for us as worshippers. We need to work on worshipping in the tough times of our lives. Learn to fight the distractions that prevent stillness and worship intimacy. Determine to spend more time worshipping throughout the week. There are a few steps can take to enter into the greater depths worshipping Him:

Memorize Scripture—Scripture passages that relate to worship will play a greater role in being able to enter into the Holy Place and a deeper more anointed worship in your Christian walk.

Memorize the Names of God—Several years ago Pastor Larry Lea published a Bible Study on “The Lord’s Prayer.” It was called, “Will you not tarry one hour.” In the prayer… “hallowed be thy name,” Pastor Lea instructed us to pray the names of the Lord. In doing so, it would release accolades to His throne and stir His heart toward us.  

The names/titles of God are powerful and they exalt Him in the Holy Place; the temple of our bodies. The Lord desires that we grow concerning our worship life. Let your small groups at church commit to take steps together to pursue Biblical worship. Wait and see what new work God will do in your life in response to your humble obedient act of responding to His glory.

“Engage in this incomparable journey with all your might. The humble privilege is beyond comprehension—the ultimate reward exceeds description. It’s the deepest hunger of your soul. And it’s a taste of glorious eternity here on earth. Let the passionate pursuit begin!” —Worship and the Word

Igniting Spirit-Led Worship and Prayer

The Bible paints a vivid picture of what it’s like when the presence of the God encounters man. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s interactions with His creation are recorded in detail.

Moses on the mountain longed to see his friend, crying “Show me Your glory.” And God graciously passed before Him and proclaimed His name: “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before Him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation” Exodus 34:5-7.

This memorable encounter has forever expanded our understanding of the relational possibilities between God and man.  In this moment we receive a great understanding of God’s nature. The I AM that I AM is merciful, just, and patient and every aspect of His character works without contradiction. As God declares His name, Moses’ natural response is much like our own; “So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped” Exodus 34:8.

The revelation of the beauty and holiness of YHWH provokes us to wonder and awe, and our only response, from our innate weakness, can be worship. Some of the most striking passages throughout Scripture are God’s response to man’s worship, even in his weakest state. One very clear example occurs after the ark of the Covenant is brought to the temple built by Solomon. “Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” 2 Chronicles 5:13-14.

We marvel at these moments that occurred so long ago. But for the body of believers in the earth and for the Living God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, these days are not solely part of the past. In this time before Jesus returns, the Spirit is maturing His church, causing it to walk out the reality of the first commandment. One display of this is ongoing adoration of our King through night-and-day prayer and worship in anticipation of the Advent.

Jesus is worthy of all worship and adoration. And yet He has designed us so that worship benefits us as well. Worship allows us to have a clear perspective of who God is and who we are in Him. Whether it’s in the quiet of our own homes or in a massive convention center with thousands of believers, the power of worship impacts us more than we know.

In atmospheres of corporate worship, we are often able to more easily agree with truth that God speaks over us through the prophetic voice brought forth in worship. During these moments, as we draw near to God, He faithfully draws near to us. Although our God is always present, the One who is near becomes noticeably tangible, making us aware of how close He has always been. This simple act of thinking upon truth, particularly during times of corporate worship, can help ease the weight of burdens from everyday life.

We often think of expressions worship can take instead of what actually is—the conforming of our will to God’s will, our agreement with God. That’s why Abraham was able to pack his belongings and lead his son and his servants on a journey to surrender his son to God and still confidently say , “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you” Genesis 22:5.

When we outwardly express the inward conforming of our will, we choose words of surrender, submission, and agreement. We lift our hands and declare truth to be greater than brokenness of our own souls, the disappointing actions of loved ones, the hurtful statements from those we’ve trusted, or the injustices of life. This is not easy, in a world in which the impact of sin is evident on a daily basis in the form of hatred, lies, and violence. But the truth remains; God is greater.

In a world marked by war, famine, injustice, and fear He is great and greatly to be praised. We don’t worship because we feel good and everything in life is perfect. We worship God because He is worthy of being worshiped. Despite the confusion and terror in the world around us, the Lord is cultivating intimacy through prayer and worship and strengthening the hearts of His followers. Our eternal hope is doing what He does best—drawing hearts into the place of love and truth amidst the turmoil of the day. And in that secret place, He shows us His glory and everything changes.

Just as He met Moses’ request to reveal His glory, the Lord is yet again revealing His name to His children. Just as He drew David into that place of knowing Him intimately, the Lord is doing the same in our day, particularly among worshipers. Although songs led by talented and trained musicians and singers aren’t required to lead a group of people in times of corporate worship, they are effective in calling masses to times of unified worship. In response to followers worshiping in Spirit and truth, the Lord reveals His nature, truth, and love. “[I pray] …that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me” John 17:23-24.  

From this place the Lord is strengthening the church to move into fully living out the second commandment. As we love the body, we reveal His glory to a broken and dying world: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” John 13:35. In these moments the Lord opens our hearts that we might see Him as He truly is—great and glorious yet closer that a breath. Just as Moses did, we too cry out, “Show us Your glory!”

When His Glory Fills the Atmosphere

Ignited worship is not necessarily a shouting and dancing event. In most cases, prophetically, the glory of God fills the atmosphere when we have quieted ourselves before Him. Even though His anointing in our services can and does at times lean to a shout and a dance, when His glory fills the room, we are usually rendered quiet. A sense of awe envelopes us and His train has covered us in the splendor of His attributes. The King of Glory has chosen to become our habitation and His visitation is worth every aspect of life.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” Ephesians 6:12

In this time of His visitation, He will use the gifts of His children to become a witness to the lost and dying. We begin to receive revelation, visions, and dreams. I recall a recent service I attended when the worship team was so tuned in to the anointing of God that His glory began to fill the atmosphere. I immediately began to see a vision of future events for the region. God showed me a darkness over the land that had been sitting in the seat of spiritual government for generations. I was shown in the distance a bright light moving towards the darkness and dispelling it as it approached. As I looked closely into the light, I could see the cross of Christ and the work of the cross was emitting the light across the darkness. Behind the cross I could see millions of saints walking in victory and approaching the land to settle it and to harvest the fruits of the gospel. Angelic forces were separating the tare from the wheat in the land. An atmosphere of revival was in the land and a great harvest was taking place. The Spirit of the Lord was instructing me to tell the church to get ready a great harvest of revival and the salvation of souls was near. The Spirit was saying, “REVIVAL, REVIVAL, REVIVAL IS IN THE LAND! Will you answer the call church?” I cried out to God, “Lord, when will it happen in Connecticut? In New England?” The Lord said to me, “Tell the church to get ready, prepare their houses, and set My strategies in place to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

It was then I realized and received revelation that

• ignited worship is a strategy!
• Being quiet before the Lord is a strategy.

These spiritual practices enhance our spiritual senses to receive a revelation of His will and future events through visions, dreams, and prophetic declaration. Not praying out loud but soaking up the atmosphere of worship music and the presence of God, relaxing our minds and bodies increases our spiritual senses to His presence. Often times God speaks to us when we are still.

I was ministering at a Full Gospel Business Men’s meeting in Westfield, MA several years back. The night before I was to minister; I was in deep prayer before God. The Lord began to show me the faces of two particular women who would attend these services. He had given me specific instruction of what He wanted done for these two women. As I was preaching, I had an altar call, this is a usual practice for my prophetic ministry, and the two women came forward for prayer. God had given me their names and I began to lay hands on one of them calling her name, Corrine. I gave a word of knowledge to her concerning her infirmity. The Lord immediately healed her. The second women, Janice, had a more difficult infliction. She was possessed of a demonic sexual spirit. As I began to pray for her the demon showed its ugliness and began to speak to me that I will never have the power to rid her of it. I spoke to her never addressing the demon until she was willing to release it. “I said, Janice, do you want to be made free?” Once she gave an affirmative response of yes. I commanded the demon to release her and come out. Immediately the Spirit of God fell upon her and she was made free.

        The practice of ignited worship in the service that day released the gifts of healing throughout the meeting. That day I laid hands and prayed over many in the service but one in particular after seeing the two women delivered of their afflictions was a certain man with emphysema. He was burdened with carrying an oxygen tank with him wherever he went. As I laid hands on him the Lord showed me his lungs. They were black as coal. I immediately began to see the Lord peeling back the blackness and replacing his lungs with a healthy pinkness to them. I instructed him to remove the oxygen tubes. When he did, the Spirit of God fell upon him and he took a big gasp of breath. He no longer needed the oxygen. God had healed his emphysema. A few days later I received a phone call from his pastor telling me he had been to the doctor’s office and tests were done to his lungs. The doctor was baffled. His lungs were as new as a newborn baby. He was healed.

If we are willing to step outside the box of our limited understanding beyond our deductive reasoning and trained scientific minds [science creates spiritual doubts to the miraculous], the Lord will move in an atmosphere of anointing and His glory will manifest miraculous events. I ask you, if God can create the universe, the stars, the heavens, the earth and all that is in it in six days resting on the seventh, if He can raise Jesus and others from the dead, why do we doubt His desire to manifest the miraculous in our midst?

The Lord wants to manifest His gifts in our services. Why do we doubt? Several years ago, I was ministering in Garden City, GA. I was prophesying in a friend’s church. It was a Church of God denomination. Sitting in the front row was a woman distraught with fear and anxiety. Her teenage niece had gone missing several nights before. They overcome with the fear of an abduction or worse. The woman did not ask for prayer. God had given me a word of knowledge about her situation. I walked up to her and told her what the Lord had just revealed to me about her niece. I was not given this information beforehand. I as spoke she began to weep uncontrollably. So as not to shout over her I bent down, she had fallen prostrate on the floor, and whispered in her ear, “Go and call your mother. Your niece has been there for several days.” Apparently in anger the niece ran away from home making the grandmother promise not to say anything. I lieu of this, no one in the family had knowledge of what had happened to her. After that word, it was quickly resolved.

Ignited worship releases the ever-present power of God in our midst. If we are willing to be stretched for His glory, He will cause supernatural things to happen.

Dr. Steve Rocco

Our faith in Him plays an intrinsic role in understanding that we have untapped potential in our gifts.

We must come to the knowledge of the greatness of our heavenly Father and His unfailing love for us.

• God’s life does not change—Psalm 93:2, “You are from everlasting.” Created things have a beginning and an ending. Not so with God. When asked who created God, the answer is simply He was always there. His eternal nature brings His unfathomable existence expressed through His creation.
• God’s character does not change—Exodus 3:14, “I AM who I AM.” The name YHWH (Yahweh) is not a description of God but rather a declaration of His self-existence and His eternal unchanging. It is a reminder to us that God has life within Himself and that what He is now, He is eternally.
• God’s truth does not change—Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.” The words of man are unstable things but no so with the Word of God. His word stands forever. It is the binding expression of His mind and thoughts.
• God’s ways do not change—Deuteronomy 32:4, “The Rock! His works are perfect, for all His ways are just…”  The Lord is eternally moving upon the hearts of men to lead them to salvation and restored relationship with Him. He does not shy away from judgment and He is ever-present to offer grace and mercy.
• God’s purposes do not change—1 Samuel 15:29, “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” A.W. Pink, “One of two things cause a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: want of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of foresight to execute them. But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent there is never any need for him to revise his decrees.”
  

• God’s Son does not change—Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He never changes. This is the strong consolation of God’s people. Those who come to Him, He is able to save completely and intercede for them to the Father. In His touch there is the power of salvation.

“Every aspect of your Christian walk is motivated by the Prophetic Word of the Living God.”

— Dr. Steve Rocco

Dr. Rocco’s new book “Untapped Potential” is available at http://www.drsteverocco.org.

The Church is in a transitional age. We sit at a crossroad in time. What path should we take? One leads us to the church of Thyatira doing good deeds for the kingdom of God yet never attaining the holiness that God desires, and the other is a path less desired; a path of sacrifice and suffering for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christlikeness…

• It is not the size of your ministry, the amount of gifts you walk in, or the ability to preach that makes you Christlike.
• Paul tells us if we have all manner of prophecy, all miracles, signs and wonders, yet do not have love we are but a clanging symbol.
• The fruit of the Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22 is love…
• Love is the foundation of Christlikeness.