We are in a season when God is speaking to us concerning different sounds. What I want to share with each of you is what I have been hearing for several days from the Lord. I heard Him say to "be on guard against the 'noise' of war!" I am presently gaining more understanding and realizing that there is a distinct difference between a "sound" of war and a "noise" of war.

Saints, it is my belief that if we are forewarned, then we can also be forearmed, right? This means that we need to be awake, on guard and ready, so that we can properly respond for battle. Remember that every great victory requires a great battle-this will empower us for breakthrough!

I am certain that each of you desire to be prepared to move forward as the Lord leads. In my recent book, Heaven's Voice Touching Earth: Hearing the Sounds of Heaven, I discuss the difference between the "sound of war" and the "noise of war." Allow me to explain and even expand the revelation I have recently received.

Sounds in the Heart

A sound of evil began in Heaven when lucifer said five different times these words "I will:"

"You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to Heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.'"-Isaiah 14:13-14 NIV (emphasis mine)

Satan has aspirations to exalt a throne above God's and be above the Most High. These were words voiced in his heart! If what was in satan's heart was heard, then it made a distinct sound in Heaven. As a result, there was "war" in the Heavens and satan, along with his followers, were cast out.

As a prophetess, I feel as if many "hearts" are making "sounds" in our atmospheres. Therefore, we must be willing for the Lord to reveal what is in our hearts during this season. Much of what is in our hearts is being exposed-actually, this is part of the warfare we are experiencing! The warfare we often face is the war between our own ears. Why? Because God is revealing heart motives and the enemy is speaking into our ears things like, "You don't need to change" or "You are a good person; you don't need deliverance."

During uncertain economic times as these maybe, the voice you hear sounds like this, "You don't need to tithe or give to God." And, as a result, we hoard our finances and rob God of what is His. Remember when Jesus addressed unclean spirits they cried out with loud voices-they were crying out, "Leave us alone!" Jesus addressed the Pharisaical strongholds (religious spirits) as unclean. Is there an area of legalism in our hearts that God wants to cast out? I know that personally I am battling the fear of the unknown. This is because my husband and I are an apostolic-prophetic team pioneering (along with others, I might add) a present-truth Kingdom message. We have to hear His sound and not the voice of the past. That is warfare within itself, let me assure you.

Much of the warfare we are witnessing is simply a call to war against evil. If we are praying for His Kingdom to come to earth, we can count on demonic opposition. If there is any evil in our own hearts, it needs to be dealt with first. We already have our weapons of warfare against this evil and, if we use them as God directs, the enemy will be cast out of our midst. Negative sounds of the enemy are the sounds of betrayal such as an Absalom spirit and maybe even Jezebel and Belial, but on a more personal note we need to realize that satan will always be attached with sounds of evil, idolatry, uncleanness, pride, rebellion, condemnation, greed, lust, perversion, etc. that is rooted in our hearts and actions.

The Sounds of War

I have heard several of God's prophets speak on sound and, as I mentioned earlier, I have even written a book, Heaven's Voice Touching Earth: Hearing the Sounds of Heaven, targeting that subject. When examining the Scriptures we notice that sound creates movement. When the trumpet or shofar was blown, the Israelites moved camp. In other words, when a certain sound was made it required some type of response and movement. It is the same with us today. A "trumpet" is also symbolic of God's voice being sounded. When we hear God speak, whether through His Word, a rhema word, or maybe someone to whom we are properly submitted to such as a prophet, pastor, apostle, etc., we need to respond properly-MOVE! When we "move," we also "change" position.

On the other hand, when thinking of a sound of war, if satan said in his heart, "I will," then it created a "sound" which began a movement in Heaven-in fact, the sound of his heart ended up with a "war" in Heaven. Basically a "warfare movement" began when satan attempted to exalt himself above God-and the warfare continues today when satan attempts to exalt his words about each of us over what God says about us. Satan says, "We are defeated, worthless, less-than, failures, unloved, rejected, abandoned, poor, weak, etc." But, God says that we are winners, victorious, overcomers, loved, sons and daughters of God, strong, etc.

The warfare we face is our being-determined to make the right sound that will shift the atmosphere and thrust us into victory, destiny and completion. In other words, we are to wage war against the negative sounds of satan and speak forth the Word of God, using our two-edged Sword against the enemy! I call this reading the enemy's mail backwards: whatever satan is saying to you, speak the opposite! We can trace the negative voice all the way back to the heart of satan as he says, "I will defeat God's chosen!" As you speak God's Words forth, you are warring against satan's "I wills" concerning you.

Revelation 12:7-11 speaks of a war in Heaven concerning Michael warring against the dragon:

"And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

Some theologians limit this particular passage to Genesis 3:14-15 where God cursed the serpent for the seductions of Adam and Eve. I personally believe the battle still wages against evil and that we are still at war with the dragon and his angels.

The Dragon: Leviathan and Rahab

The dragon described in Scripture is related to Leviathan, the king of pride, and Rahab, the spirit that opposed Israel at the Red Sea. Most of us are familiar with the Leviathan spirit and how it blocks communication, twists and perverts truth and manifests through pride and arrogance. However, Rahab is also a dragon named as a stronghold that opposed Israel's crossing through the Red Sea. I have gone to great length to expose this evil spirit which is operating within an antichrist system and wrote to expose it through my new book which is being released, Conquering the Antichrist Spirit: Discerning and Defeating the Seducer that Binds Believers Today.

I will explain briefly the effects of Rahab. First of all, it is a symbol of Egypt and a Pharaoh spirit. It represents the "old" and the evil seductions of the enemy which declare, "Don't cross over into the new"; "Go back and stay back," etc. Have you heard those words lately? I have to confess I have heard the unclean spirits crying out, "Leave us alone" and "Go back to what is familiar." Dear Believers, we are at war against familiarity! Let's look at Isaiah 51:9-10 and examine Rahab:

"(Zion now cries to the Lord, the God of Israel) Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You Who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, Who pierced the dragon (symbol of Egypt)? Was it not You?..."

I used the Amplified Version so that you could see the dragon's connection to Egypt and all that Egypt represents in our spiritual warfare. The enemy continues to cause warfare concerning our destiny and future. I have determined that it will always be there until Jesus comes and so I will keep myself fit for battle with my weapons of warfare ready to do battle.

The Noises of War

The "noise" of war is very different than the "sound" of war. When we hear a "sound," we need to move-but the movement is totally under God's direction. However, when there is a "noise," it is a seduction of the enemy to move under his direction-which opposes God's directives! Allow me to share revelation concerning the "noise" from the enemy.

Remember when Moses went to Mt. Sinai and met with God to receive the Ten Commandments? Well, the people grew impatient. Moses had not returned, they felt as if they needed him nearby to lead them, they grew impatient with God's timing and then, out of their own frustration, built a golden idol! The problem was that they did not trust God or their leader and felt as if they needed to "see" something moving forward in the natural. While Moses was with God, meeting with God and gaining instruction from God, the Hebrew congregation lost faith because nothing "seemed" to be happening in the natural. Their solution was to build a golden calf, an idol. For them it was some type of action being taken, and they could experience movement as they falsely thought.

Let me just say that I have been guilty of this myself. It is almost like birthing an Ishmael. I have said, "Lord, You're just not moving fast enough, so "I will" do this myself so that I experience movement and change." This particular attitude has caused me much heartache. I have moved ahead of God so often...and well, you know what the result can be. Have you grown impatient with God? Is what you "see" in the natural a true barometer of what God is doing behind the scenes? Be careful and on guard against the wiles of the enemy.

In one particular portion of Scripture, Joshua heard a "noise" that was causing a war in the spirit. Dear Believers, there is a difference between the two! The "sound" of war should create a positive movement with forward advancement against the enemy. A "noise" which causes war is a negative sound which is fueled by satan. When Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments, Joshua did not hear a "sound," he heard a "noise" of war. What was the cause of this noise? Read on:

"And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp."-Exodus 32:17

It was the noise of idolatry. As I stated in my book, Heaven's Voice Touching Earth: Hearing the Sounds of Heaven, noise denotes confusion, clamor, rumors and gossip. The confusion in the camp of Israel was not sent from God and is almost always a tool of the enemy to bring disunity. Dear ones, if ever we need unity-it is now.

Psalm 133 says that unity releases life-therefore, it seems safe to say that when there is unity there is also a life-giving anointing of life! Take some time to read Psalm 133 and meditate on the commanded blessing of godly submission, unity and life. I believe it will really bless you.

Warring Against Familiarity

Let's admit this one thing-we hang onto what is familiar. Why? Because it's familiar to us-we are used to it and we know how to respond in familiar settings. But, when God speaks a sound, He requires movement in a positive direction. Problem is-the enemy also comes with noise in the midst of a sound. I know this can be confusing, but don't let it be. If there is confusion, gossip, disunity-you can count on it being a noise rather than a sound from Heaven.

We must be ready to discern when to move and when to stand. Let's not allow the noise of the enemy to cause us to miss God's divine directives to move forward at His timing through His grace. If not careful, we will release a negative sound-being determined to NOT move or remain obedient. The enemy lurks behind every corner, every dark place (hidden motives of our hearts, hidden attitudes, hidden areas of any type) waiting for opportunities to overshadow us and impregnate us with negativity. During this season of uncertainty, we must be on guard.

Ask Jesus to Overshadow You

Our victory lies in God's overshadowing us. If we will pull aside for awhile, commit ourselves to Him and ask Him to overshadow us with truth and revelation concerning our future, then we will be empowered for victory. Let's simply ask for Him to make Himself known to us and ask for His overshadowing so that we can become pregnant with our future! We need a divine conception.

Remember, according to Revelation 12:1-4, the dragon (satan) is waiting at the time of our being birthed into our future. He desires to steal our destiny from us. Let's be determined that no matter what, we will not heed the "noise" of the enemy, but will heed the sound of war when necessary and rise up against the lies of satan concerning our future!

Our faith is being challenged at every angle. The recent presidential and congressional elections seem to have torn our belief systems apart from the seams. Please allow me to share my heart concerning disunity. We need unity of the faith. Though we may differ in opinion, our hearts must be fixed on God and His divine plan. He has "eternity" on His mind; we have "today" on our minds. His ways are higher, right? Therefore, we must look to Him and Him only to "fix" our nation. We must begin to "war" against the enemy who seeks to divide us in our Christian faith. We must war for the Kingdom of God rather than be distracted by a noise from the camp of the enemy which is built upon self, idolatry and individualism.

I know I am pounding this in, but I sincerely feel that it is so important for us to realize that according to Psalm 133, unity brings life-therefore; disunity allows death structures to be built amongst us. At the time of birthing into our greatest hour, let's not allow the dragon to steal our destiny from us. We are at the brink of doing the greater works of the ministry-yet, we have great opposition awaiting the birthing.

If this article has touched your heart and you agree that there has been a "noise" that you are at war with, please consider praying the prayer below. We can win the battle through if we will give Him our hearts!

A Prayer to Conceive Our Future

Lord, I ask You to examine every chamber of my heart. My heart is the temple, the house of God, and You desire to dwell in my heart. You stated that You will no longer dwell in the temples built by the hands of man, but in our hearts. I desire my heart to become the temple of God. Therefore, Lord, I am asking for the Light to shine into every area of my heart and reveal any area which needs adjustment. In the Old Testament, there was a divine order for Your temple. I am asking for that divine order to be established in my own life so that I can house your presence.

I repent for the sin of _____________________________ (fill in this area with your own words) and for listening to the noise of the enemy. The noise of satan has brought much confusion and I have responded improperly. I want to respond only to the sound of war to which You alert me. I am determined to no longer respond to an ungodly sound because I hear only Your voice and not the voice of a stranger.

I am a warrior for the Kingdom of God and will remain faithful and obedient to do all that You ask of me. Empower me, Lord, to be all that I can be through the Blood of Jesus. I will remain in unity with Your Word and Your directives, properly positioned as Joshua, so that I can discern a "noise" of war over a "sound" from Heaven.

I desire to now position myself before You and ask that You overshadow me with Your presence. Impart to me the wisdom and knowledge needed to fulfill my destiny. Impregnate me with destiny and future so that I can please You, Lord. And I ask for the joy of the Lord to be my strength as I continue in the faith. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Sandie Freed
Zion Ministries
Email: zionministries1@sbcglobal.net