New Wine for New Wineskins May 2021

By , May 1, 2021 10:07 pm

Give Him Five (Part 2)

In Part One I referred to the prophetic word I received last year in regard to the response of government to the coronavirus outbreak and the restrictions placed upon the gathering of the church.

This ain’t no lockdown. This is a siege. It began with a backdown and it will end in a shakedown if there is no showdown.

A siege is defined as a military operation in which enemy forces surround a city, town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling the surrender of those inside.

Hebrews 10: 23 – 25 (Amplified)

23 Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; 24 and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, 25 not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ¿s return] approaching.

I titled this series ‘Give Him Five’ because it is our responsibility to host the Lord’s presence in his church in accordance with his directions as we come together to give him thanks and release our praise to him and to receive instruction and direction from him through the five-fold ministry. Something unique and entirely supernatural takes place when we gather together for worship and instruction, something that I believe cannot be fully replicated in any other format.

Matthew 18: 19 – 20

19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

We are thankful that it is not necessary to have a large crowd in order to host his presence [although there can be something very exciting and encouraging in being a part of a large group of worshippers]. However, the Lord himself has placed a lower limit of two or three gathering together in agreement if we are to be the ekklesia – the manifestation of the local church where he presences himself in a special way.

It is not that his presence is not with us continually as individuals, but he designed the church in a way that we would recognise our need for one another if we are to fulfil our calling and our commission in being the city set on a hill that cannot be hidden and as a people set apart to proclaim the praises of the one who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Remember the declaration of the song I shared last time. “I don’t go low, I go high.” What a powerful declaration. Give him five, give him a high five.

In this the year of the local church I believe it is essential that we contend for the corporate coming together of the church so that the world has the opportunity to hear the good news of the kingdom from a people who are fully equipped and are standing strong in their new identity because their supplies have not been cut off.

Remember what I said last time in that the only way to avoid being the victims of a shakedown is to have a showdown, and the best showdown we can have is a kingdom hoedown. We will not be silenced and we will not deny or rob the Lord of the praise of which he alone is worthy – the praise which he inhabits and which brings the manifestation of his presence that assures us of victory in every battle.

Psalm 149: 6

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand 

As I was reading and meditating on Judges 5 recently I received some prophetic revelation that really blessed and encouraged me and I hope it will do the same for you.

Judges 5

1 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying: 2 When leaders lead in Israel, When the people willingly offer themselves, Bless the Lord!

“When leaders lead” can actually be translated as “when locks are loosed”.

When Paul and Silas were arrested and thrown into the darkest depths of a pagan prison they did what warrior leaders do in such circumstances – they continued to pray and praise the Lord as the prisoners listened to them, and the locks were loosed.

They sang, “I don’t go low, I go high.”

I have said consistently that this time of supposed lockdown has given us as the church the greatest opportunity to proclaim the praises of the one who has called us out of demonic lockdown while those who have succumbed to the terms of lockdown are listening.

The keys to the chains that bind people are not in the hands of the scientists, they are in the hands of the church. The soul of our nations and our world has been oppressed to the point where the mental health of many of all ages has been damaged.

Please let me ask you a question, and I would say that it is to your benefit to answer this question as honestly as you are able. Have you allowed lockdown to impact you, to limit you and the enjoyment of the fullness of life that Jesus came to give you? Have you come under it, or have you stayed over it? Have you maintained the anthem of “I don’t go low, I go high”?

Have you worked from home when the mission field is in the workplace, where the prisoners need to hear your song?

3 Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

Remember, our battle is not with flesh and blood. Our warfare is against demonic principalities and not human personalities. Those who think they can lock you down need to hear you boldly and fearlessly proclaim, “I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.”

Say I don’t go low, I go high.  Give him five, give him a high five.

We are here to bring a consistent testimony to the goodness and faithfulness and supernatural protection and provision of our Father in heaven and to the saving, healing, and delivering power that is in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are here to proclaim that there is power in the blood – that there is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

Say I don’t go low, I go high. Give him five, give him a high five.

Listen to how Deborah in her song recounts the wonderful woks of the Lord that stir up faith and confidence in his ability….

4 Lord, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom,

The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water;

5 The mountains gushed [flowed] before the Lord, This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.

The song then goes on to describe and contrast life under Canaanite oppression.

6 In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways.

Have you noticed how the heart of our towns and cities have been virtually deserted?

7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel

When I read this it boomed at me.  Community and village life has ceased to a great extent. I have heard people say every day around the villages of this island that they never see or interact with anyone anymore since lockdown began.

The words the Lord spoke to me many years ago exploded in my spirit – he said, “You can’t have revival in a community where there is no community.”

This lockdown mess is nothing more than a siege strategy of the enemy to attempt to break down society and prevent the greatest awakening this world has ever seen from happening. But it will not succeed because the Lord always finds someone – a man or a woman, men and women – who will rise above the parapet, and go over the top to break the siege.

Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

Deborah rejected the status quo because she knew in her heart that her God was bigger and stronger and more powerful than any of his enemies. She rejected the new gods, the powerless and impotent gods.  I have actually heard people say that science is going to save us from this so-called pandemic.

Deborah sang, “I don’t go low, I go high.”

She arose amidst a desperate and powerless people who had no shield or spear, a people who had no appetite for defence or offence, but who passively accepted their lockdown. She arose as a mother in Israel and she said, “I don’t go low, I go high.”

Say I don’t go low, I go high. Give him five, give him a high five.

Is there a stirring on the inside of you?

Every praying mama knows that a mother is not to be messed with when she sees her family in danger, being plundered, and under attack. Where are the fathers and the mothers is the question?

Will you arise? Will you say I don’t go low, I go high? Will you say, I don’t backdown, I’m joining the hoedown showdown?

Deborah heard from the Lord and she called for Barak and told him that the LORD had commanded the deployment of ten thousand troops, and that he would deliver their enemies into their hand.

The enemy thought he could shut down and silence the church and bring her under siege and shut down the supply of her power and authority, but it is time to arise. The people of God don’t need lockdown leadership, they need breakout leadership. Only the church can accomplish victory because only the church is fearless in the face of the enemy.

Back in 1991 the Lord told me to enlist people for the SAS. Obviously I knew the he wasn’t referring to the actual SAS who are described in Wikipedia like this:

The Special Air Service is a special forces unit of the British Army¿.The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Their motto is ¿Who Dares Wins¿.

The LORD said that his SAS are the Saved and the Sanctified. They are those who know that their destiny is to be set apart by God for God – his own special forces set apart to proclaim the praises of the one who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light as Holy Spirit stormtroopers.

Back then my only knowledge of the military unit known as the SAS was based on what we had all witnessed on television news of their dramatic ending of the siege at the Iranian embassy in London. Images of these scenes remain imprinted on my mind and on the minds of many who saw them at that time. As I took some time to find out more about the SAS and could see many spiritual parallels.

As I said, they were siege-breakers and engaged in hostage rescue.

This ain’t no lockdown. This is a siege. It began with a backdown and it will end in a shakedown if there is no showdown.

What we all witnessed the SAS accomplish back in1980 was nothing short of inspirational and all of a sudden the SAS were national heroes.

Listen to how Deborah as she honours the leaders and the people who volunteered willingly to be a part of the breakout army.

9 My heart is with the rulers of Israel who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the Lord!

Village life had ceased and community was broken down because of a lockdown strategy, but Deborah arose and gave inspirational leadership that refused to go low and determined to go high. And many rallied to the call of the Lord to come up.

They sang a new song – “I don’t go low, I go high” – and the siege and the enemy’s grip was broken.

There is much more that could be said, but listen to Judges 5: 31

31 Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun

when it comes out in full strength. So the land had rest for forty years.

There is no true peace where there is a locked down church.

Ecclesiastes 3: 8 says there is a time of war and then a time of peace. If we want to see the shalom – the nothing missing and nothing broken – of the true peace of God in our communities then the local church must be deployed in its full armour with the high praises of God in our mouths and a two-edged sword in our hands.

Our battle cry must be, “I don’t go low, but I go high.” Give the Lord five and he will give you the victory.

Say, I don’t go low, I go high. And give him five, give him a high five.

More next time….

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