As I have been seeking to process a "breaking in of God" here in Jerusalem, I was awakened this morning with these words in my spirit: "The shift has begun." Back in March, I shared in a gathering of our 24/7 people here in Jerusalem that we were to press in for a major shifting in the Spirit to happen by July. This morning, I sensed God speaking to me that we have now entered into that. Here are some areas I believe are part of this shifting:
From Acceleration to Velocity
A year ago, a brother prophesied over me in Cyprus: "You have been in a time of acceleration." I could certainly agree with him, and was waiting for him to say I would now enter into a time of relaxation. Instead, he said: "But now you are going to move into a time of velocity. But don't worry, you won't burn out, because God has tempered you over many years to have a type of 'heat shield,' like you would find on a space vehicle."
At the same time, a year ago, we were saying "yes" to God's direction for us to call for an Israeli and international youth gathering we would call "One Thing Jerusalem." In speaking with the main local tour company for this sort of conference, they asked how many we hoped to have attending. I answered, "A thousand." Their representative replied that 300 would already be a large number for a first conference in Jerusalem. We just had this conference this past weekend, and had over 1,500 attend. Of these, over 500 were Israeli believing youth--both Jewish messianic and Arab Christian youth. GOD TV asked us if they could come and broadcast it live globally! As it was broadcast, emails arrived from viewers in places as unusual as the United Arab Emirates and the Cayman Islands giving thanks for the word of the Lord going forth from Jerusalem!
Even as one of our speakers, Heidi Baker, has seen a shift into rapid church-planting in Muslim areas of Africa--many areas that have seen slow growth are even now shifting into much more rapid growth.
From the Caves to the Mountain
One of our speakers, Lou Engle, felt he had to go to the "cave of Elijah" at Mt. Carmel before ministering to our conference, and before leading "The Call Nashville" on 7-7-07. We also went beforehand with a team of our leaders and his to pray in the "Ben Hinnom Valley" where children had been sacrificed to Molech. We prayed that altars of Baal would be torn down, and that there would be a shift away from the death assignments against this generation. I sensed we were shifting into a time like that of I Kings 18 and 19, where the prophets came out of their caves, and boldly confronted Jezebel and her followers on the mountaintop. Then the rains came back to Israel. As a prophetic sign, on Jerusalem Day this past May, at a time when we normally have no more rain for at least three months, we had a major downpour of rain here in Jerusalem.
Even as God answered Elijah with the miraculous, we saw the Lord break in with many healings as Joaquin Evans, from Bethel Church in Redding, CA shared with the youth. A deaf ear was opened. A young Jewish messianic girl was healed of a separation of a bone in her foot. She threw away her crutch, danced to the Lord, and then prayed for two other people who were healed of conditions they had suffered from for years. I believe there is a shifting into a new outpouring of healing and miracles that has started.
From Apathy to Intensity
In many ways, this generation of youth has been marked in most places by apathy, little interest in spiritual things, and a preoccupation with material things. But that is shifting!
We were so encouraged by the intensity of the response of these youth/young adults in explosive praise, intensive worship, and crying out to God for their generation. After challenging messages from Asher Intrater and Lou Engle, a young Israeli messianic believer named Joel gave an impassioned plea for the youth here to fast every Wednesday for revival in their schools. He told me yesterday that the response he is getting by email is phenomenal. He said, "I think you need to pray about reserving a stadium for what God is going to do among the youth."
From Barrenness to Multiplication
Speaker Mike Pilavachi (leader of the "Soul Survivor" youth events in England that will draw about 25,000 youth this summer) shared about Hannah's cry to God that brought her out of barrenness. I shared in my message that God is calling this generation to both spiritual and physical multiplication. I shared that God had revealed to me that there has been a major demonic assignment against this generation of the "fear of marriage, fear of having children, and the fear of having dysfunctional families." I realized this struck a chord with the youth by the level of their response back to me about this. Let's keep praying for this demonic stronghold to be fully broken over them.
From Martha to Mary
How encouraging to see these youth/young adults in about six hours a day of passionate worship during the conference! The times of worship were lead by David Ruis, Kevin Prosch, Merchant Band, surprise guest Joann McFatter, Bethany Rosenfeld, Shelley Meyers, David Seguin, Esther Ridings, Jess Cantelon, Melissa Beaudoin, Emily Schiavi, Kish Johnson, Anna Boyd, and John Mark Davis. The response ranged from dancing that must have reminded God of David dancing before him, to kids prostrate on the floor before His holiness, to kids sitting on the floor lost in intimacy with Him. I believe this hunger for worship is shifting a generation away from the busy, dead works of so much of my generation into the ONE THING that Mary sought--which will lead out of barrenness into multiplication.
A World-Wide Shift is Taking Place
Two intercessors with Succat Hallel, one Jewish and the other from Taiwan, saw visions that seem to describe some of the shifting throughout the earth. The Jewish lady saw two huge angels with huge swords: one out of the "One Thing Jerusalem Conference," and a second out of "TheCall Nashville," and when the swords touched, there was fire. The Chinese intercessor had seen a vision last January, of huge angels with three swords raised out of Jerusalem, Nashville and a third out of Beijing, China with a mighty move of God among university students.
She also saw a vision of a spiritual tsunami arising out of California, resulting in huge waves of the Holy Spirit--breaking upon China and causing another wave in central Asia, resulting in another wave across the Middle East, which produced another wave that covered Israel. Let us press in for the fullness of God's desires to be fulfilled in the shift which has begun.
Rick Ridings
Co-Founder, Succat Hallel
24 Hour Worship and Prayer in Jerusalem
www.jerusalempraise.com
