© March 22, 2006, Nicki Black. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
I posted the below 2 paragraphs on another site yesterday, as it's relevance is so clear. Following these thoughts is a word from the Ellijah List, dated today, 3/22/06. Both work hand in hand.
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Today as I was getting dressed I heard the Holy Spirit say "the keys.. the keys...1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4". ... I am feeling really, really pensive and quiet today.. more so than usual. To liken this feeling to something, I feel like I'm spinning, spinning inside my head... caught up in a whirlwind.. it's moving quickly over the earth, yet I have a feeling of calm. At lunch I told my husband that I heard the Lord say that it's time.. be ready.. yes, those words exactly.. to be prepared. He is preparing us.
The day progressed.. I went about my work quietly. Then without warning I felt pulled toward my keyboard.. it sits to left of my desk... and a wave came over me.. a flooding of sounds and cries and angelic praises and warmth and colors .. millions upon millions of each.. concurrently. And the Holy Spirit came upon me and I started to play a new song.. strange odd chords yet all working together... sweeping and sweeping across the keyboard .. soaring.. I see like I have the eyes of an eagle. I am flying above the jagged clifftops along the ocean. The waves crest and rush against the shore.. furiously.. faster.. faster they come.. I fly in circles, looking out to the horizon. I am awaiting something. .. something is coming quickly.. soon.. I can not get this melody out of my head. I am interceding through sound... transparent.. the fullness thereof.. The Holy Spirit is not done with me.. I am feeling intensely as though I must worship until I have release. And so I will..
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And so continuing on today, I must mention that dated 2/8 in my journal, I spoke of this sensing from the Holy Spirit of "1-2-3-4" for the first time, and that I sensed it was a combination lock, of sorts. The heaviness of the Lord is thick upon me, like a garment.. a garment of praise. My limbs are weak from the intensity of worshipping on my keyboard. I am suspending in this moment. I spoke with a dear sister of mine tonight, sharing deep unto deep. Truly, as I say these words to you, it is a time of deep unto deep on so many levels.
The Elijah List (http://www.elijahlist.com) posted this word from Dean Mitchum today. I am held with a gasp. It is unfolding... 1-2-3-4.. the keys..
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Bill Hamon posts this word by Dean Mitchum: "Four Keys for Entering Into Warfare Worship"
The prophets and apostles have been proclaiming that this is a season of war, so we need to prepare (Joel 3:9). The following are four essential keys for understanding and entering into warfare praise and worship (Psalm 47:7).
Prophetic Revelation
(1 Samuel 13:22) states that when the day of battle came there was neither sword nor spear found in the hands of any of the people. The enemy had taken the blacksmiths out of the land "lest the Hebrew make swords or spears". No one in the land had the ability to turn metal from one form to another. The Church cannot afford to be without our weapons on the day of battle.
In the spiritual realm prophets are like blacksmiths. Until the prophets were restored to active functioning in the Church, we had no revelation of warfare praise. We had no understanding of (Joel 3:10) on how to turn our plowshares into swords. We understood that praise could plow, but we did not know that this same "metal" could be used as a sword by beating it into a weapon. Now revelation has come, and we already have what it takes to create the weapons of warfare from our praise. We simply need to let the red-hot fire of the prophetic stir us up as mighty men to beat our plowshares into swords, and our pruning hooks into spears, and our praises into a weapon of war.
Spiritual Weapons
(2 Corinthians 10:4) Let's remember some of the weapons that pertain to warfare worship:
* Playing an instrument like David did (1 Samuel 16:23)
* (Psalms 144:1) says, “God has trained our hands for war and our fingers for battle.” Singing praises silences the enemy (Psalms 8:2)
* Shouting scatters the enemy (Joshua 6:20) and brings down the walls of strongholds like Jericho
* Clapping strikes the enemy (Psalms 47:1)
* Dancing places the enemy under our feet (Malachi 4:3) and rhythm creates the tempo for God to beat the enemy through our praise (Isaiah 30:32)
* Prophecy is the voice of the Lord that shatters the enemy (Isaiah 30:31)
* The ultimate weapon is the presence of God which causes the enemy to melt like wax (Psalm 68:2)
A New Pattern for Worship
Often we have viewed our worship as following the pattern of the tabernacle of Moses. We start with the outer courts, pass through the inner courts and finally enter into the Holy of Holies. In Moses' day, the Holy of Holies was where the presence of God rested. God's presence was separated by a veil, which represented the fact that men were not reconciled unto Him. However, because of Christ we are now reconciled unto God. David's tabernacle, which prophetically spoke this truth before the Messiah came, is God's choice for the pattern of worship today. (Acts 15:16) says God is restoring the tabernacle of David.
David's tabernacle had no veil (2 Samuel 6:17) and allowed many priests, not just the high priest, to come before the Lord. David's tabernacle is a better representation of the new covenant than the tabernacle of Moses or the temple of Solomon. God declared the glory of the old covenant was fading away and the priesthood was changing from the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11-12) to the priesthood of Judah (Judah means "praise"). The acceptable sacrifice would no longer be animals but sacrifices of praise, joy and thanksgiving. The veil is taken away in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:6-18). The Davidic Tabernacle created a new place for the presence of God on Mt. Zion and established a bold new freedom in worship (Hebrews 10:19; 2 Corinthians 3:17).
A Kingdom Mentality
This is why we war--to establish a new Kingdom. When we enter into warfare praise, the focus of praise changes from an altar of redemption to the throne room of the King. The picture of a throne room carries a more powerful, majestic sense of the King of the universe who rules in the midst of our praise and then ministers through us. (Psalms 22:3) states that God is enthroned in our praises. This is an actual setting up of His throne on earth. Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10). The words "in Heaven" speak of the Kingdom of God being immovable and unshakable. "On earth" actually speaks of a superimposing of God's Kingdom on the earth.
So, by praising, not only is God enthroned in our praises, we also "superimpose" His Kingdom on the earth--His presence, His will, His way, His Word. The latter part of (Psalms 108:8) says that Judah is God's lawgiver. This is where God rules and releases His prophetic decrees in the midst of praise. In superimposing the Kingdom on the earth, we repeat the words of Heaven through our prophetic voices, and then we mirror on earth what God is saying in Heaven.