Understanding Authority to a Greater Degree
Any time the Lord begins to bring breakthrough, one of the first things He does is to bring forth revelation (a key) concerning it, which is permission. He gives you the exact key for the exact door. When the Lord reveals something to you, the Lord is giving you permission to have access to it and authority in it.
I sense the Lord releasing this understanding of our authority to access the doors He is opening for us. What good does it do just to know that God is opening a door? Revelation helps us recognize the door. He does not want you to play a guessing game wondering what the door is. Nor does He want you out door-knocking or pushing on doors. Your key fits your door and authorizes your access to it.
Throne Room Ministry
Another vital key I feel He is releasing now is the open door of Revelation (see Revelation 4:1)—Throne Room ministry. Many of you reading this article are heading for a supernatural promotion this year, the blessing of understanding the operation of the Kingdom. What does that look like? Examine the Apostle Peter's breakthrough in Acts, Chapter 2, the day of Pentecost. Recall that previously he had denied Christ, but there we see the sudden filling of the Holy Ghost. Afterward, he preached the Gospel and 3,000 people were saved. He walked up to a lame man and said, (paraphrased) "Give me your right hand; as I have received, I freely give," ministering out of the gift.
But head over to Acts, Chapter 5, with me where Peter had a bigger breakthrough—a spacious door opened whereby wherever he walked the sick were healed in his shadow. He had a promotion in glory! Whoa. How would you like to have that kind of promotion? Some open Heaven ministry!
Guess what? That door has already opened to us through Jesus' finished work but, for the most part, we have groveled in an earthly mentality. The Church is awakening now into the fullness of who we are in Christ and the unlimited Throne Room access that we have. God is releasing to the Body the revelation of a deeper understanding of our permission to access the Throne.
Gift of Faith
Here's another key—the gift of faith. The gift of faith brings with it a season of breakthrough. The world looks a mess right now, but this is the time for breakthroughs that defy all odds in the natural—like the supernatural opening of prison doors, a time of prison-to-praise opportunities. Long-closed doors and doors that have kept people in bondage—imagine them opening up in instant breakthrough!
How many Josephs are about to be birthed? You may be bound in a prison, but in reality, you have just been kept safe until it was time for your door to open, a time of transition from prison to palace. This type of favor, this type of faith for breakthrough is being released right now.
Other Keys
There are many other keys of the Kingdom mentioned in the Bible. Revelation 1:18 references keys for the unseen realm, the keys Christ has of Hades and death. Matthew 16:17 reveals to us, through Christ talking to Simon Peter, that our Father who is in Heaven reveals things to us. This would be a key of knowledge: "...for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven."
What a key! I want to know what the Father is saying and doing. That is some promotion! We are all frustrated and dissatisfied in the Church—so desiring to see the things we have not seen...we are ready to see them! The Lord is causing our frustration; He is ready now to break you out of your prison and promote you to the palace! This is a kingly anointing and commissioning of God.
Further on in Jesus' reply to Simon Peter, He said, "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 16:19). You will know what is bound! Do you know what this authority looks like? You can decree a thing because you have seen it with your spiritual eyes.
As Believers, we already have liberty and freedom because we can "see" the victory that Jesus has already secured at Calvary. We are coming to fully awaken to our inheritance and we will point to the power of the Cross as we walk everyday life under its victory. We will say, "No! That is already won!" God will cut off and shut once and for all those constant besetting doors in your life as you realign for your greater opportunities. The grace for it is here right now.
Favor for Evangelism
I know that in my own life I can see examples of God's promotion after periods of being faithful to the calling that He has placed on my life. For several years, I worked as a youth pastor, then as a senior pastor. I was faithful in those things and then the Lord led me into a traveling ministry. It did not start big. I would preach to small home groups and on street corners near schools to reach out to the youth. To get their attention, we would make a lot of noise, a real scene.
One time we visited the second poorest county in Texas. Everyone told us, "Don't even try—it's hopeless." We bought a thousand hotdogs, a thousand buns, two huge big coolers of Kool-Aid, and transported it all to a gang-infested area. We set everything up inside of a tennis court and shouted, "Free hot dogs, free Kool-Aid!" When they converged, they tried to intimidate us, and I have to say, my legs shook a little.
So the main guy, the "big kahuna," the gang leader for the region shows up outside the courts—and he is ferocious looking. But I knew I had the favor of the Lord. As he grabbed a cup from my hand, his hand trembled and I thought, "He's just as scared as I am." Bolder now, I fed his crew and started to preach. The gang leader was the first to come forward to give His life to Jesus. Listen, he didn't walk up, he ran! Five of his pals followed suit. That's favor! We just heard a few months ago that the fellow is preaching his heart out! Praise God!
Favor for Restoration of Desolate Heritages
These are the words of God the Father to His Son: "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages" (Isaiah 49:8).
An acceptable time means favor. In a favorable time, God has heard you. In a favorable time, He will cause you to inherit the desolate heritages. Why? "(So) that you may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'" (verse 9). The New International Version (NIV) reads (paraphrased), "...those who are hidden in darkness will see a breakthrough..."
It is the acceptable time, the favorable time to see a restoration of the things that have lain desolate for years; true works of the Lord. Doors about to re-open, double doors, wells that will flow again to see salvation go forth, to see the Covenant of Christ go forth, and to see people come out of darkness.
"Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."—Isaiah 58:12
"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations."—Isaiah 61:4
Not only does the Lord desire to put favor upon you for new fields of opportunity, but I know that I know, as I stated in Part One, that if there were ever a time when we've seen trickles of the old wells, the time is now for them to burst forth. We have seen little breakthroughs, little trickles from some old wells, but the Lord is about to break open the earth—wells will flow again.
"Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it."—Isaiah 45:8
The earth will open up and bring forth salvation. The Lord doesn't want us just to look back to say, "1948." That was the year of healing revival in the land. Thousands of people all over the country descended on revival tents to see the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't want us to just look back to what used to be. He desires those things to flow even greater than they did before. That takes favor!
Only God can favor us that way. When He favors a group of people or a generation to receive the restoration of dormant desolate heritages, the flows will be tremendous, the breaches will be repaired, and places to dwell in will be restored. You can be a part of that. He wants to favor us. I am convinced that many things we have endured over the course of the last few years have been preparation for when the wells begin to flow again. Moreover, we will not just look to the old wells but also the fullness of everything that He promised.
Favor for Wells
I have had visions of the old tent revivals. In those visions, I stood in the back to watch the proceedings and mostly I saw hungry, desperate people. It is time for cities to be hungry and desperate for God again, for people like that young gang leader to run desperate to the altar of God to be born again. Won't it be great when the news of the city isn't the football game win but what is going on down the street at the great tent revival?
When people cannot understand why they want Jesus and it is because the earth has opened up and the rivers are flowing again! These are great and spacious old and new opportunities for us! Yes, we need the old, but we need to see the new as well—the greater flow!
Expect the restoration of old mantles, too—similar anointings to those of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, Aimee McPherson, Kathryn Kuhlman, Smith Wigglesworth, William Branham, and others. But they're all just little tokens of the Well, the Holy Ghost! When the favor of God was upon them, masses came to know Jesus, many were healed, and many celebrated and lifted high the banner of Jesus. These old wells can flow again, but they can be greater.
New wells can be dug for transformation of entire cities. A city transformed in a day, how about it? God might use you to affect that! Are you ready to see canopies of glory so on a city that anyone who enters its gates is set free by the glory of the Lord? How about masses of humanity crying out for a loving God?
A Job 29:6 Walk
"When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!" You have said, "I've longed for that." You have said, "Yes, Lord," time and again, but let me tell you, a time is coming when He says, "It's now!" When His favor is over you as part of a favored generation who will witness the earth break open, the wells of salvation pour out, and righteous rain pours down, with thousands coming to Christ.
I pray He saturates you with His favor, that the next two years of your life are the most blessed ones you have ever had in the Lord. I pray so much favor upon you that multiple doors open for you. I pray a Job 29:6 walk of favor on your life! I pray favor on your children and your children's children. New opportunities are coming!
Favor for Freedom and Confidence
God will give you the ability to recognize your new opportunities in the Lord. You will see yourself in a fresh, new way and emerge out of a prison mentality and into a palace mind-set. Our stinking thinking can really rip us off! But guess what? Isaiah 22:22 will happen for you.
"The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open."
Old ways will shut down and old sources won't be able to feed you any longer. "If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt" (Job 12:14a). "...He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens" (Revelation 3:7).
No more lies, no more deception, no more oppression, no more depression. You will see yourself as who you really are in Christ Jesus. You will walk with a new step. You will walk with Holy Ghost boldness. You will walk in the confidence of Christ in you, the hope of glory. You will walk in a place where the giants in the land will not overwhelm you. This is a place of saying, "We are well able!" You will walk as Paul says in Ephesians 6:10, STRONG in the power and the might of the Lord.
God promised me this. I have no doubt! I can't wait to see you this time next year. Listen, your decree will be, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" Your decree won't be lip service. YOUR LIFE WILL BE THE DECREE. You will be a living epistle. It will not be what you say but what you live. It is what your life will display.
Spontaneous Combustion
Do you know what it is like when the Lion of Judah roars? I call it "spontaneous combustion." It transforms the atmosphere. When you walk into heavy prison-like atmospheres, roar, "No!" and the heaviness will lift.
Ears to Hear and Know
"Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound..." (Psalm 89), that is, who recognize the sound. "...they walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance."
Sometimes in my meetings where the atmosphere was heavy with doubt, unbelief, oppression, or depression, I have felt like just giving up and leaving. But the Lord wouldn't let me. Something would rise within me, and I would hear the sound, decree it, and breakthrough would come. Hearing the sound is to hear the unseen. As you decree the unseen, the unseen invades the seen and the breakthrough comes.
Take it NOW!
Do you want to see the favor of the Lord and desolate heritages restored? Why not now? Why not this very moment? Agree with me, and ask the Lord right now:
Lord, break open the double doors. Let the whole earth open up. Let salvation pour out. Let the old wells flow again and new ones bubble up. Let the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear. Let thousands upon thousands come to Christ. Let cities become places people flock to from the country because of the glory of the Lord. Amen!
God promises to bless the generations through our yeses: "(They'll) raise up the foundations of many generations" (Isaiah 58:12). Right now, pray,
Favor me, O Lord. I want favor for new doors. I want favor for the blessing of the Lord. I want favor to behold and grab hold of my inheritance. But O Lord, if you would so grant me favor to see the wells of salvation flow again, for my children and my children's children to get that anointing.
I am telling you, the atmosphere is heavy for that now. It is called the ache, the groaning and moaning of cities. I have never felt it as strong as I do right now, as I travel the nation and the world. Cities are crying out because everything they have put their hope into is falling apart. But you and I, each of us can ask the Lord for favor to see the wells of salvation pour out again in the city. That is a great anointing of favor!
Closing Prayers:
New Doors Open, Old Doors Close
Believe for those great and effective doors of opportunity to be opened to you. Ask for the keys that bring you fresh access to His Throne. Remember, access brings authority and gives you permission to enter doors and gates. Revelation opens up deeper depths in Him for your life. Any areas of your life, whether in the natural or in the spirit, that have been prison-like, any kind of bondage or hindrance, ask the Lord to release a key for you to be set free, and for Him to deal with every adversary, that you would go from prison to palace, ruling and reigning in Christ.
It is your time to come out of the place of groveling, for the valleys to be lifted up such that you are living out of the realm of being seated with Christ in heavenly places! It is my tag line: Live life as an overcomer, not as one who is overcome!
Also ask God for the favor to see the wells of salvation, spoken of in Isaiah 12:2-3, that they would erupt out of the earth again for thousands to drink from and "therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." You can be an integral part of the massive harvest that will see thousands of people born again. It will happen, and it will be different from before.
If you have gates that are access points for the adversary that you know need closing, seek to shut them right now! I want you to say to the Lord:
Thank You for favor to shut those doors. Just shut, just shut them. Done! They're done! They're closed! Slam it shut, O Lord. Shut the doors that no man can open back up. Shut the doors, that when they're shut, they're shut forever, and not even I will open them back up, O Lord. Those gates have no access anymore. They were once open and had access, but I say right now by the power of the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the sealed power of the Blood of Christ right now, those doors are shut right now. The old is gone. The old is gone. The old is gone!
Listen now for the voice that says, "You are well able in the Lord." God is dealing with the adversary, for access doors in your life that others before you have opened—He will deal with those past permissions, too.
An anointing is here right now to those reading this. There's a battle going on in your mind, that God can't or won't use you in the future because of past mistakes or bad decisions. You are still trying to pay for your mistakes with your own penitence. The Lord does not want you to do that anymore. He wants you to know the freedom that He has already given you in Christ Jesus. He wants to shut the door for good. Stop running from the shadows that have chased you. You don't need to hear the footsteps of the shadow of your past any longer. You just need to hear the knocking sound of the Lord saying, "Breakthrough!"
I decree breakthrough and a closing of those doors in Jesus' name. And I decree that every adversary has been dealt with by the Blood of Jesus Christ! And I decree the new, spacious, great, effective door is opening for you, and you will walk through into your promotion as the Lord deals with the enemy who would try to hinder you from passing through. It is all done through the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name, Amen!
