FEAR IS A LIAR. Fear is a predator. Fear is a spirit that takes captive and releases no prisoners unless commanded to do so by a higher authority. JESUS IS THAT AUTHORITY!!! Faith is that authority. Our song and prayer over you is this…LET FAITH RISE UP and LET FEAR FALL DOWN, in JESUS NAME! Here’s a song that God recently put on their hearts. Sing it over yourself. Sing it over your family, your community and our world. “But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7. We rise up in faith praying, God, YOUR will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Be at peace and of sound mind my friends; we are praying for you and with you and we WILL see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
On a Sunday morning in 2019, my friend Martin saw musical notes rising from the top of my head. He would pen his vision on a 3-hole punch lined paper, and later give it to me at the end of the service. “Take your flute everywhere with you, Bill” he said.
Spelled in large letters in the drawing was the word WAR, an acronym for Worship and Rise. The very act of worshiping and arising, a spiritual war that releases God’s power to have sway over our circumstances, allowing Him to change our circumstances.
This is a time to Worship And Rise, to prevail. It is a time for faith to rise up and for fear to fall down.
We are called to WORSHIP
We are facing a very dark and evil time in our world today. COVID-19 Coronavirus is an evil that is ravaging the entire world, bringing disease, death, and financial adversity. Yet, we are reminded that “in times of disaster we will not wither, and in days of famine we will enjoy plenty†(Psalm 37:19). In such a time as this, we are also reminded to Worship and Rise, to prevail. “I would have despaired otherwise had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I wait on You Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you! (Psalm 27:13-14)
King Jehoshaphat provides a great example of how praise and WORSHIP lead to victory.
When a great multitude from Syria came against Israel, Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, fasted and prayed. It says in 2 Chronicles 20:9 “When the worst happens—whether war or flood or disease or famine—and we take our place before this Temple (we know you are personally present in this place!) and pray out our pain and trouble, we know that you will listen and give victory.â€Â Stand firm, hold your position and see the Lord deliver you. This is a time to Worship and Rise, and to prevail. “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast invasion force (substitute Coronavirus), because the battle doesn’t belong to you, but to God†(2 Chronicles 20:15, ISV)
Praise and worship elevate us into God’s presence and power. In Psalms 22:3 it says God inhabits the praise of His people. “You are God-Enthroned, surrounded with songs, living among the shouts of praise of your princely people.†Yes, we are princely, not pathetic “o, woah is me,†sad, weak and helpless people.
Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD†(2 Chronicles 20:17–18). And when they arose to give thanks and praise to the Lord with a very loud shout, the Lord answered them and delivered them from their enemy!  Let’s declare that God will deliver us also from Coronavirus during this Passover season and that there be a shift in the spiriFtual atmosphere that brings healing to our nation. May the blood of Jesus be our covering, and a hedge of protection around us.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.†(2 Chronicles 20:21)
This is not the first, nor do I believe the last that we will see plagues and pestilence. God promises to protect his true believers “when we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High,our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm.How then could evil prevail against us or disease infect us?†(Ps. 91:9-10, The Passion Translation).
God is calling us to ARISE
Arise is defined as to get up, to jump up, to make a stand, to ascend. It is a positive action that conveys something coming into existence. It can be our prayer, our praise, our thanksgiving. It can also be courage rising up in the face of fear.
In Joshua 1:9 it says “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not fear; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
What!? Be strong and courageous? Do not fear? At a time like this? That may be easy for you to say, especially when the world is in a panic. I tried to wrap my head around the verse “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear,†yet anxiety does not always stand down. I feared just like Jehoshaphat in time of trouble, and so I cried out to God for more faith.
Doesn’t fear have to fall down to get courage? Profoundly, NO, it is not the absence of fear that makes you courageous, butit is “when faith and fear collide that courage can be ours … They always go together, so courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the ability to do what you need to do EVEN when you are afraid (Franklin D. Roosevelt). It’s “to act in Christ’s power even when your knees are knocking or your stomach is doing cartwheels. Or as John Wayne defined it: Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway! That is true faith in God to act with courage. And when we do decide to act with faith and courage, God will answer. “Courage is the very best part of me that is going to show up in a situation that is trying to chase the very best part of me away.†(Danny Silk, The Courageous Spirit).
The world is a scary place right now and so we must fully abide in Christ. When we do, He will show up, but we must completely empty ourselves and depend on Him to save us from ourselves and the pandemic. God will always make a way.
Have you asked Jesus where He is in your uncertainty and trouble? I bet if you do, He will answer you. Go ahead, ask Him. He will show up and greet you with outstretched loving arms. His arms of faithfulness will be a shield keeping you from harm. And You can be assured that you will walk unharmed because God is your refuge.
Jehoshaphat was a man of courage who lived by faith in God. By living faith in God, courageously, he would arise and be delivered from his enemies.
Yet, when Jehoshaphat heard that the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites were coming to wage war against him, “Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord.â€Â He then arose and called upon God to deliver Judah from his enemies. “O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art, not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand is power and might so that none can withstand thee. Didst, not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? … If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.â€Â And God did hear and deliver Jehoshaphat and all of Judah. I believe this can be applied today.
I keep Martin’s drawing under a clear writing desk pad on my desk as a reminder. In the drawing, he drew a flute and musical notes on a staff. He said he saw the notes rising from the top of my head as I worshiped. I was amazed at his prophetic vision as it was also mine. The musical notes rose up out of me and wafted through the air over those in the room. I believe those notes, as they arose into the room, were beckoning the Holy Spirit to come. As I imagined playing with the anointing of Almighty God in the office of a psalmist, a fiery wall of protection went up around me and the room. No enemy could penetrate God’s protection. People worshiped with hands raised and shouts of praise, bowing down, some prostrate fell, some dancing, and occasionally the sound of someone blowing the shofar summoned all present to greater awakening and awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
Recorded live at the International House of Prayer Eastern Gate Duration: 1 min, 55 sec
Every day I am reminded that it is time to WAR – Worship And Rise. It’s important NOW, more than ever, that we pray that there be a Holy Spirit increase, that there would be an increased spirit of prayer and song, that Jesus Christ would be lifted up in these days, and that the Word of the Lord would break out and turn the tide in our region and nation. God calls us to worship and rise!
“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous,for I have conquered the world!†– John 16:33, TPT.
Copyright 2020 by Bill Hutzel
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We often think of
infection as a bad thing, as a disease that invades a body’s organism resulting
in illness, and which is often communicable. It can cause fear and widespread
panic if not contained. However, there is another kind of infection – God’s
love. It too is infectious. It too is
communicable. It too is transmissible. God’s love is 1 Corinthians 13.
Here’s how Infectious Love affects your body:
Head – Your thoughts
become more loving, kind, compassionate, gentle, generous.
Eyes – When
you see the whole good in someone from God’s perspective, you will tend to
linger, gaze longer and more intently than you used to.
Ears – You will be more
prone to hearing good and loving conversation. Your hearing will shut down
when gossip and malicious lies are spoken. You will begin to hear what was once
faint, God’s voice more clearly – loving and guiding you.
Mouth – You will speak
words of love, kindness, compassion, and understanding. Your voice will become
more gentle and tender. You will call out, and talk to the least in the room,
the one who looks like they are hurting; your love to and for them easily
communicated.
Heart – Your heart will
bleed for the lost and hurting and will only stop bleeding when you pray for
the person and hand them over to Father God. Your heart is soft and pliable
like a gummy bear, not like rock candy.
Hands – You reach out to help steady someone who
is about to fall and pick up the one who has fallen. You stroke the face of
the elderly, or a child, or one’s whose face is tear-filled or dirty.
Arms – You hug without abandon and continue to
hug until the person begins to squirm; then give one more tight squeeze and say, “You
are now infected by Love. Go and do likewise.â€
“Go and do likewise,†Jesus said. Do not allow infectious love to stay localized
but go out and spread it. Note, however, once infected, there is NO CURE; there
is no inoculation against it once contracted.
God’s Infectious Love is of the most contagious kind. I hope you get it!
Copyright 2020 by Peggy Castorri
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During worship on Thursday night at International House of Prayer Eastern Gate, I had a vision of spears pointed upwards and a single horseman charging them. There was a spiritual war ensuing. Are these the end times or is this just some distraction? I wondered. Was the horseman who brings plague and death, famine and disease, the horseman depicted in the Book of Revelation? “When he ripped off the fourth seal, I heard the fourth Animal cry, “Come out!†I looked. A colorless horse, sickly pale. Its rider was Death, and Hell was close on its heels. They were given power to destroy a fourth of the earth by war, famine, disease, and wild beasts†(Revelation 6:7-8, MSG). Or is this rather a season where the Lord will take what the enemy meant for harm and turn it into good, to turn infectious disease into infectious love?
THE VISION was just a flash, although I sensed God’s assurance to believers that we are not to fear and that our faith should rise up because we are under His covering of protection. The horseman could not penetrate the spears, nor could disease be victorious over us! So, let fear fall down. Our faith will drive it out!
I believe the spears were symbolic of God’s protection over those who live every moment with Him in His house. I was comforted knowing that I was hidden in the shelter of the Most High God. The enemy will not penetrate God’s Stronghold shelter it says in Psalm 91:1-2. “When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High. 2 He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence.â€
That day, I had been previously meditating on Psalm 91:9-10. It says, “When we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High, our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm. How then could evil prevail against us or disease infect us?†(Ps. 91:9-10, The Passion Translation). How timely this word is in light of a worldwide pandemic.
God had, for the last few days, been impressing upon me to draw near to Him. Drawing near to Him is key to living our lives within His shadow, shielded from harm or disease. Later I would open my Bible randomly to Psalm 27:4, TPT. And here was His affirmation – “Here’s the one thing I crave from God, the one thing I seek above all else: I want the privilege of living with him every moment in his house, finding the sweet loveliness of his face, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. I want to live my life so close to him that he takes pleasure in my every prayer.†If you continue reading, it says that in his house I am kept safe and secure, and I will be triumphant. We need to be reminded of this always!
March 15th was declared a National Day of Prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.†Therefore, let’s pray for our nation that they might find hope and salvation in Christ Jesus and that our nation would be healed. Let’s pray that fear of contagion lead to revival, not survival; let outbreak lead to outpouring.
“The Lord says FEAR NOT! FEAR IS A LIAR. Fear is a predator. Fear is a spirit that takes captive and releases no prisoners unless commanded to do so by a higher authority. JESUS IS THAT AUTHORITY!!! Faith is that authority. So, LET FAITH RISE UP and LET FEAR FALL DOWN, in Jesus’ Name.” Sing the following song over yourself, your friends, family, nation, and world.
THE SONG IS BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND SUNG BY MY NIECE JESSICA (HUTZEL) GILLOTT AND HER HUSBAND. IT IS SO TIMELY FOR TODAY.
In Part 2, I learned to allow myself to relax, to get quiet and let go of stress. I was learning to sail. I invited God to reveal Himself to me and open my heart to His presence. I was becoming more focused and aware of Him.
God continues to surprise
God is always filled with surprises. For those of
you who are skeptical, remember, we
did not beforehand know which exit to take. Without either a global positioning
system (GPS) or roadmap, we had to tune into God’s Positioning Spirit to get where we were going.
While I was the one who wanted to get to Sedona to see the various
vacation spots, and Peggy more along for the “rideâ€, God had treats in store
for her. After sundown, on our return trip back to our accommodations in
Scottsdale, we pulled off for gas at exit 289. Remember? This was the other
exit that God dropped in my ear.
Exit 289 conveniently had a Sonic Drive-Thru, Peggy’s favorite place for a peach iced tea with lime wedges. There happened to be a casino at this exit as well. Continuing our adventure of flowing in God, Peggy asked, “Wanna have a little fun with a couple of bucks?†We are not gamblers; in fact, I can’t remember the last time I’d been to a casino. And this was totally out of character for my chaplain wife.
Peggy, a bit unsettled and nervous about entering the gambling hall and feeling a little like Dorothy entering the chamber of the Wizard of Oz, dug her hand into my arm. “Slots, poker, and gambling, Oh My!†“Slots, poker and gambling, Oh My!â€
The room was dimly lit and smelled of cigarette smoke. There was a sound of jangly music and the whir of spinning reels accompanied by loud beeps, bells and chimes from the gaming machines as people played their nickels and quarters. It was a cacophony of noises and smells that invaded and offended our senses. As we observed those playing the machines, with cigarettes between their fingers and lips, they seemed to stare mindlessly, without emotion, mesmerized by the brightly lit and colorful gaming monitors. In contrast, we were a breath of fresh air – figuratively, literally and spiritually.
On occasion, there was a happy and
celebratory combination of flashing lights and sounds when a machine announced
a winning combination. But more often than not, slot machines just took
people’s money. Looking at the player’s facial expressions, depression seemed most pervasive amongst those hypnotized by the sounds,
entrenched in their addiction to gambling.
Peggy and I were carefree about losing $5 and had resolved to walk away, win or lose. Nevertheless, we mutually agreed that if we happened to win, any proceeds would be donated to our church as an offering.When Peggy asked me which slot machine we should play, I didn’t immediately connect with the flow or receive guidance from God. Due to my hesitation, she proceeded to select one at random and played four quarters, only to lose them all.
This time we re-grouped, huddled, prayed and asked God to pick a machine. The slot machines were all numbered. What number machine do you hear?†Peggy asked. “I don’t know,†and then blurted out “395!†We located machine 395 and decided to “give it another try with four quarters.”
I stood there for the initial spin, not yet feeling any enjoyment. The machine remained silent and still, devoid of flashing lights or music, as none of the three reels aligned. Winning required all three reels to match. “Oh, well.†This time I eased myself into the chair facing the slot machine. “A quarter down and three to go,†I said to Peggy, who was peering over my shoulder. I spun for a second time, and gloriously three reels matched. It was a double payout win! I perked up, having a little fun now. On the third spin, again, “clang, clang, clang, clang!†the machine happily announced. We just won another double payout! The happy clanging noise and flashing lights again lifted my spirits. Peggy was doing the “Happy Dance.†We now had one more spin remaining. On our last spin, the machine went quiet again, but I was on a winning streak. All in all, the machine returned $5.00 for our one dollar. “That was fun!†I boyishly exclaimed. Peggy got the distinct impression from my jubilation that I was connecting with God. This was now just me and Papa time. Clearly, God the Father was wanting to show me personally a fun time, something which had been cut short in my life having lost my dad at age 11. He was restoring to me, even in this unlikely place, that which was lost, a part of my broken heart.
The joy and smile on my face spoke volumes. I was fully attentive and prepared this time when she inquired, “Which machine is God guiding you towards now?”
My initial instinct was 350. Among the six slot machines numbered 350-1, -2, -3, -4, etc., I faintly heard a whisper saying “350-3.” Although uncertain, I decided to trust it. Peggy also resonated with the number 3. So, we agreed to play another dollar. To our astonishment, slot machine 350-3 rewarded us with a DOUBLE payout for our four spins. In total, between the two machines, we earned $9.75. I know you’re probably thinking whoop-de-doo, woo-hoo; but it really was a big deal. Typically, odds are stacked against gamblers in favor of the house winning, but in God’s house, the odds were stacked doubly in our Favor!
I want to clarify that this experience isn’t about promoting gambling. Instead, it served as an exercise in spontaneity, stretching, listening, trusting, pressing in, and practicing hearing Papa God, not just on big things but also the small, even unorthodox things. Through this experience, we were being taught to listen attentively, trust wholeheartedly, follow obediently, and most importantly, to have fun in the process.
Our adventures were more than we hoped or imagined, more than a thrill-seeking ride at an amusement park. Just think about what it would be like to experience this kind of God-filled excitement every day!
