First Canadians, chapter 1

I am currently in a taxi heading to the airport getting ready to fly to Canada, and I was about to pen a short WhatsApp message to my sons about some things they need to do in my absence, and as I was doing that, I felt I should pen some thoughts to the Tree Family about what to do this week while I am away too. Not sure what to write, but I will keep writing and see where we end up…

If you didn’t know, we are off to Canada. I’ve never been to Canada before, but we met a wonderful couple at a Pastor’s conference a few years ago, and they have invited us to come minister. We are very excited and honoured indeed.

Now, if you back around five years, we were at another Pastor’s conference (I invest so much in my personal development, that’s a revelation for some people – invest in yourself, buy a book on faith and read it, book in to Heal the Nations, make plans to be at church this weekend before seeing what you feel like Sunday morning!) and one of the speakers who is now a dear friend was Prophet Jerome Fernando.

During one of his sessions, Jerome prophesied over me that my apostolic ministry would come to the forefront and reach a new level after my first trip to Canada! This is my first trip to Canada, so right now we are waging warfare with our prophetic word to see this happen.

Maybe that should be the theme of this post. Waging war with a prophetic word. That phrase comes from 1 Timothy 1.18:

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before concerning thee, that thou by them mightest wage a good warfare,

1 Timothy 1.18, KJV

Paul, an experienced senior minister, is writing to Timothy, a younger and more inexperienced minister. Like any pastor in a charismatic church, Timothy has received several prophetic words. We presume he is able to separate the wheat from the chaff and isn’t moved by some word from some wannabe that doesn’t resonate with his spirit or doesn’t even agree with the Word of God. But Timothy may have been a bit passive… Well if God said it then it will happen. Well if it is meant to be, que sera sera.

And Paul had to interrupt this train of thought with the most strongest of language… Grab those prophetic words, Tim, and fight. War. The Greek word is stratia. It means to violently assault and attack something. It means to go aggressive and stop an enemy.

If you have got a prophetic word about anything, you cannot just sit there, twiddle your thumbs and say that you are under Grace.

We are saved, delivered, transformed by grace through faith, so we need to reread the genuine prophetic words we have received, we have to pray over them, dream them, imagine them, meditate on them, declare them, find Scriptures that line up with them and declare them. We have to be aggressive. We have to carve out time in our lives and do this.

I have several prophetic words about my future. About the churches we will plant, the Nations we will go to. We don’t just sit there and go, hey ho, that’s nice… We fight. We declare, we pray, we believe, we listen and read and reread. That is what we must do.

I believe that one of the most important things that we need right now in the UK, an attitude of aggressive war waging. I am seeing a creeping passivity forming in the church right now, at a time where we need to be extending God’s kingdom like never before. We need to grab the sword and fight. Have you spoken God’s Word over yourself today? Have you prayed in tongues and built yourself up today? Have you out some immense images in your mind, and cast down teeny tiny picture and selfish images and every high thought that exalts itself against Christ? Have you taken time to fellowship with the Lord and get your marching orders for the day?

Has God given you a prophetic word and you can barely remember it? FIGHT!

I was at a pastors conference (again! I know! Because that’s part of my warfare, going to the blacksmiths to get some weapons) last October. In that conference, Bob Nichols, prophesied over me about finances.

I have a huge dream and need a huge amount of money to do it. You could give me about £50 million right now, and I would know exactly what to do with it. I am dreaming like that. I know if God gave. Bob Nichols a word about my finances over anyone else in the room I have to listen and fight with it. So I bought a new wallet and I got it engraved with the first sentence from the prophetic word.

Every day I reread that first line and meditate on the word. I am not passive about it, I am aggressive with it.

It’s a war in my mind and I intend for God and glory and goodness to be on the winning. And then there is a war in the church to live the high life, not fall into petty doubts, small thoughts, and so on. Stop scrolling through Facebook looking for someone to sort out and bring down to your small level, dream bigger and get excited about your dreams…

Fight for the Words you have been given. Stand, be aggressive, you are a child of the living God. You have been called for such a time as this. Find out what God has called you to do and do it. Stand up and stand on what God has said to you.

Stop being so passive. One of the problems I am seeing recently that makes as passive is a sentimentality that has nothing to do with Scripture.

When someone falls over, we want to show love, but we show a sentimentalism, we get down with them and we say “poor you, that so sad, we understand” rather than say get back on your feet, stand on the Word, you are more than a conqueror, you are above this, get forgiven, move forward and keep fighting. That’s might sound unsympathetic but it is true love.

Paul didn’t tell Timothy to get counselling for his timidity, he didn’t tell him we understand life is tough. Paul said that spirit is not from God, you have power, love and a sound mind. You have prophetic words… Fight with those words, get aggressive, get off your backside.

That’s the Biblical way to change your life and walk in Victory. Fight, fight, fight.

The next verse after 1 Tim. 1.18 starts with “Holding Faith”. That’s my desire for everyone in Tree of Life while I am in Canada, hold the faith. Hold is the Bible word for pregnant! It’s first used when Mary had Jesus and was pregnant with him! We need to get pregnant with faith.

It was Fathers Day on Sunday and my thought was how much having my children changed my life. It changed Amanda more! We need to be pregnant with faith, hold that faith and trust in the Word inside us so much it changes our shape, our future, our priorities, our time keeping, how we spend our money, when we get up in the morning, what we do with our spare time. Grab faith and never ever let go.

When God speaks to you, whether through the Word or through a prophetic word, hold on tight, and do not let go.

Satan is trying to mug you and steal your prophetic word, Hold on tight, fight like a mad man. That’s my word for you all. Satan will try any trick to stop you getting to church this weekend, fight like a madman to get there. Satan will try to break your dreams, fight! Fight fight FIGHT!

And the good news for all of you is I am fighting for my word and my ministry will reach a new level. Ministry is a synonym for serving. So if my serving gets lifting to a new level, you all get served better and more effectively. Selah!

Love you all. See you all soon. Don’t forget http://www.tree.church/healthenations this August. It will be life changing.