A Key to Breakthrough in 2010: A Broken and Contrite Heart
by Paul Keith Davis
Unquestionably,
we are entering times of heightened spiritual activity and confrontation. We
believe 2010 will be a year considerably different from the past, with measures
of breakthrough experienced by the remnant who qualify; those having positioned
themselves before God with humility, contrition and who tremble at His Word.
This
truth was recently re-emphasized to me while conducting meetings in New Zealand.
While there I was reminded of a story recorded in the life of the notable
healing evangelist Smith Wigglesworth. It involved a key secret in his walk
with God and the release of divine power through this great champion.
In
1922 Wigglesworth journeyed to New
Zealand for a series of healing campaigns.
At the time, he was unknown to New Zealand's
leadership, but with great confidence various pastors rented the Wellington Town Hall to host the meetings. To
everyone's delight, the Lord was wonderfully present in power bringing healing
and salvation to scores. The services were so successful that additional
meetings were arranged and each was filled to capacity with God healing the
most difficult cases of sickness and disease.
At
the conclusion of the campaign one of the host pastors, while walking along the
seashore with Wigglesworth, asked what his secret was to walking in
demonstrations of God's power. Wigglesworth responded, "I am sorry you
asked me that question, but I will answer it. I am a brokenhearted man. My wife
who meant everything to me, died 11 years ago. After the funeral I went back
and lay on her grave. I wanted to die there. But God spoke to me and told me to
rise up and come away. I told Him if He would give me a double portion of the
Spirit-my wife's and my own-I would go and preach the gospel. God was gracious
to me and answered my request. But I sail the high seas alone. I am a lonely
man, and many a time all I can do is to weep and weep
A
broken and contrite heart was the secret to Wigglesworth's success with God. It
is written in Psalms 51:17,"the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart, oh God you will not despise."
As
the two men continued walking along New Zealand's seashore,
Wigglesworth emphasized what he carried in God was not to be envied, but
instead he envied what the last generation will see. Wigglesworth explained
that he had experienced three open visions with the Lord. Two of them were
already fulfilled at the time of these meetings in 1922. However, he expressed
the third would take place after his death. Wigglesworth explained, "Oh it
was amazing! Amazing! I cannot tell God's secrets, but you will remember what I
say-this revival we have had is nothing to what God is yet going to do."
The
pastor to whom these comments were made recorded that he clearly understood
Wigglesworth's comments were directed towards the spiritual outpouring within
the generation preceding the Lord's return. He said, "It was quite evident
that the evangelist had a special vision granted to him of the coming
outpouring of the Spirit in an unprecedented effusion in the days just before
our Lord comes to snatch away the Church."
Taking it to Another Level
Clearly,
Wigglesworth was given a glimpse of God's plan for this present hour. It is
also recorded that while in South
Africa in 1936, Wigglesworth accurately
prophesied what has now become known as the Charismatic renewal. He along with
many other prior champions was allowed to prophetically observe and forecast
what we as a generation can enjoy in God. Even so, the same qualifications are
necessary for us that existed with Wigglesworth and the others.
It
is incredibly sad that Wigglesworth lost his precious wife Polly. Nevertheless,
it produced something in him that God was able to use to change a generation.
Although we may not go through the precise loss that Wigglesworth experienced,
our ultimate goal is to present ourselves before God in humility and genuine
brokenness of heart because of our condition and the present need for godly
character. Such a heart God will not despise and will powerfully anoint with
demonstrations of His Spirit.
Following
the meetings in New Zealand
I felt a profound challenge being placed upon my life and that of God's
leadership to take our consecration and devotion to a higher level. He deserves
greater than we have been able to present thus far. Clearly there are many who
have sacrificed notably throughout the Church to see His Kingdom revealed. Even
so, for the most part-on the corporate level, we must aspire to something more.
Our Need for True
Leadership
There
is a present need for clarity and honorable leadership to emerge with a
credible prophetic voice to provide direction and divine wisdom. With an
increasing emphasis on the emergence of God's divine government there is an
equal demand for biblical understanding of God's promises for the end-of-the
age generation. There are clear spiritual endowments being imparted to those
groomed and prepared for governmental responsibility. Never before has there been greater need for
the spirits of wisdom and revelation promised in Ephesians 1:17-19 saying That the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of
revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are
the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the
surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
Like
Daniel and his three friends in Babylonian captivity, we desperately need the
impartation of Heavenly wisdom and knowledge as well as intelligence in all
manner of writing and literature. We
desperately need insight and interpretation of our dreams and visions. (Daniel 1:17)
It
is my perspective that all true spiritual leadership is birthed out of
friendship with the Lord. He once told
His disciples that He no longer considered them servants, but friends. From that place of intimacy, God's mysteries,
secrets and strategies are imparted that convey the Father's thoughts and
aspirations for this generation.
Therefore, our foremost pursuit should not necessarily be a spiritual
office, but friendship with Jesus. Who we are and what we are called to be will
become clearly recognized as we delegate Kingdom authority and walk with God
like Enoch.
Supernatural Endowments
I have often studied and written on the life of Daniel; a man highly esteemed and
greatly beloved in Heaven. The Lord told me years ago that Daniel was a prototype
of the generation he foresaw. In many ways, Daniel and his three friends
provide a prophetic picture of the manner by which the Lord will equip His
people for special end-of-the-age assignments.
The Babylonian captivity of natural Israel provides a forecast of our
present condition and the Lord's promise for deliverance.
Daniel
1:17 describes Heaven's special empowerment imparted to these loyal young
men. God gave them: Knowledge and skill in all
learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all kinds of visions and
dreams.
The
Lord gave them by inspiration, revelatory knowledge and intelligence in various
matters of writing and literature. The
Lord quickened in them special skills to apprehend and articulate spiritual
understanding and Heavenly wisdom.
Daniel was notably gifted with supernatural perception into all manner
of visions and dreams.
There
was a specific impartation from God that empowered them to excel in the
apprehension of wisdom and governmental scholarship. The Lord bestowed by spiritual transference
the blessing of unique knowledge and exceptional capacity in literature and all
manner of written work.
This
pattern will also be followed in this day when the Lord discovers devoted
hearts of obedience and loyalty. There
are vast storehouses of revelatory insight and supernatural knowledge involving
Scripture, creation, science, the arts and many other subjects that will be
entrusted to saints who follow the model established by Daniel and his three
friends.
A Prophetic Standard
These
four young men provide a prophetic standard for the spiritually strong who know
their God and carry out great exploits.
They will intimately know God and engage the revelatory realm of Heaven.
In them will be an excellent spirit granting acute perception and understanding
to interpret dreams and visions, clarify revelatory experiences and solve
difficult and enigmatic problems. They
will be people who apprehend insight from the throne room and respond to the
invitation to "come up here" to be shown things to take place in the
future.
A
few years ago during a prophetic experience, the Lord specifically stated to me
that Daniel 1:17 was spiritually linked to Ephesians 1:17. These are parallel passages stating the same
promises from different time frames. One
is from the Old Covenant outlining God's dealings during difficult times but
also pointing to a future day of supernatural intervention into the lives of
mankind. The other is expressed in the
New Covenant recording for all generations the heritage of the saints.
Despite
our perceived personal limitations, the Lord is a quickening Spirit. He has promised to give life to our mortal
bodies with His Spirit and grant to us the spirit of revelation that will
access mysteries, secrets and revelatory knowledge as our legacy in Him.
Tokens of the Past
Many
who attended Maria Woodworth-Etter's meetings at the turn of the 20th century
would be caught up in the Spirit to experience visions and revelations of the
Lord. These accounts are well documented
and verified. Some would be commissioned in their encounter as missionaries to
foreign lands and emerge from their visionary revelation capable of fluently
speaking the language of the nation to which they were called.
It
is the Father's good pleasure to reveal to us the Kingdom and perform awesome
deeds that only He can achieve. It was a
small thing for Him to rejuvenate the bodies of Abraham and Sarah and quicken
them with strengthening virtue. Even
after Sarah's death and well over one-hundred years of age, Abraham continued
in the strength imparted to him by his encounter with El Shaddai and bore many
more sons through Keturah.
Likewise,
the Lord is more than able to equip us to access the unfathomable treasures
hidden in Him that require supernatural gifts like those entrusted to the
apostle Paul. As the Bible also clearly promises, the Holy Spirit knows what is
hidden in darkness and reveals the deep and secret things. Light dwells with
Him bringing illumination to that which has been set apart and reserved for the
generation of destiny. (Daniel 2:22)
Even
now there are individuals engaging the revelatory realm of Heaven receiving
downloads of insight into physics, light, sound and spiritual colors. The visitation of the apostle John to the
throne room was both visual and audible.
His experience disclosed awesome sights, sounds and vibrant colors
surrounding the Lord's seat of dominion and victory. The more understanding we have of that realm
the greater our ability to cooperate with Heaven in the demonstration of the
Kingdom dominion on the earth.
Mysteries and Secrets of
God
In
like fashion, the Lord is releasing by the spirit of revelation, keys of
understanding and interpretation into Kingdom mysteries and secrets reserved
for the Last Days. Passages that have
been present all along but with limited understanding will become illuminated
and saturated with Spirit and Life. There is now being released from Heaven a
spiritual endowment that will provide divine wisdom and revelatory
insight. The prophecies of Isaiah point
to this saying:
You
have heard [these things foretold], now you see this fulfillment. And will you
not bear witness to it? I show you specified new things from this time forth,
even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known. They are created now [called
into being by the prophetic word], and not long ago; and before today you have
never heard of them, lest you should say, Behold, I knew them! --Isaiah
48:6-7 AMP
During
the days of the early Apostolic
Church, unprecedented
events were taking place. The disciples
were compelled to examine the prophetic writings of the prophets to provide a
scriptural basis for their experiences.
No one could have anticipated the prophetic fulfillment that transpired
on the Day of Pentecost. The Scriptures
pointing to Pentecost were present all along but now the experience itself
unlocked revelatory insight into the mysteries of the Kingdom that were
imparted during the early Church.
There
are notable thoughts and plans resident in God's heart that have been sealed
and held in reserve until the appointed time.
That day has now arrived and the Lord is releasing spiritual
impartations that will be dynamic in their applications. The scriptural truths and Kingdom mysteries
that are imminently before us will have as much impact today as Martin Luther's
ninety-five theses nailed to the Church door in Wittenberg
Germany
did in the early 16th century.