Signs and wonders of gold, silver, and precious stones are other manifestations of God’s being and voice in the realms of glory.

Gold dust actually began to appear upon my hands as I started writing the angelic wonders chapter...
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Angels also carry this shimmering substance, which is no doubt abundant in heaven, to us from the glory of God. And the stones and shimmering particles that we see are also mentioned throughout Scripture. One of those places is the foundational stones of heaven:

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst (Revelation 21:19-20).

Alongside the regular manifestation of gold and silver, I’ve been so honored to see the sapphire, the emerald, and the onyx in glorious manifestations of His expression and voice.

One time while in prayer I was taken into a vision where I saw the Lord Jesus open up a Bible and blow into it.

At this, sapphire dust came out of the Bible and onto me. Several days following, this very same shimmering sapphire dust appeared upon my face. This was a sign and wonder in God’s glory. Jesus was opening up greater revelation to me. Blue represents revelation, and opening up the word and breathing it upon me was obviously the breath of the Spirit behind the revelation to come.

So in this case I saw a vision, which was soon confirmed by a sign and wonder.

I have learned, with the realm of the eternal, that if you can see it on that side, you can have it...
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If you break it open through the eternal, you can access it through the temporal. You see, heaven is obviously the superior realm, and if you can obtain that which you desire on that side you can release it on this side. This falls in line with the famous verse,

“Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19).

It’s just mere protocol. Handle your business in the superior realm (heaven), and it will take care of itself in the inferior realm (earth).

If you want to learn more about this topic you can read a free preview of my new book God of Wonders here: Free Preview or you can get your own copy here: God of Wonders on Amazon.

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Many years ago

Often when my schedule permitted I would be in His presence for up to 12, 14, and even 16 hours at time. There was a supernatural grace like never before to just be with Him. I was only requiring around four to five hours of sleep per night at this time.

It was like I was literally living off of the life and virtue that proceeded from the throne.
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This season of pursuit contributed to much of what I see and operate in today in life and ministry. There was so much opened up to me concerning His voice, presence, and kingdom during this span that only eternity will tell all that was deposited, released, and imparted at that time.

Early in this window of pursuit that the Lord had sovereignly called me into, I began to notice this praying mantis that would come appear on my back porch time and time again. For months he would come just sit on my back porch in prayer posture, as praying mantises do. Often I would find him sitting on the back of my chair. I’m no rocket scientist by any means, but I had an inner knowing/inclination that this praying mantis could very well be a sign of some sort. This point in time was still quite early in my days of experiencing signs and wonders, which I now know to be very common ways God speaks.

The praying mantis continued to come and show up on my back porch in his precious little prayer posture and look at me with those buggy eyes. He became my little buddy for the time being, and I even ended up taking pictures and video of my praying little friend.

I then was intrigued and began to look up the praying mantis by way of an online encyclopedia. To my surprise, I found out that the actual origin of the name praying mantis means praying prophet! I couldn’t believe it! God was sending a parallel sign in nature to coincide with the season of prayer that He had me in, as well as the joint call of a prophet that I was already aware of.

Not long after I realized the meaning within this sign, the praying mantis appeared no more.

I have come to realize something about how God performs signs and wonders, which I would like to point out. This is absolutely imperative in learning how to hear His voice in the sign and realize how He operates within the function of the sign.

Most often, if there is an authentic sign and wonder being displayed within your life from God to you, this sign will continue to manifest until you get the meaning of the sign.

He will gladly go out of His way to perform a supernatural display of a sign or wonder over and over again until He knows that you have understood what He is trying to say.

God is so good and loving and considerate and patient in everything He does.
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I thank God for this, as many times I wasn’t the sharpest tack in the box if you know what I’m saying. I needed His patient yet continual pursuit of me to know what He was trying to say. You will notice that when you have come to fully understand the message at hand, the sign and wonder will stop. This is a good thing. Do not be concerned. This is often merely because you have understood the message.

If you want to learn more about this topic you can read a free preview of my new book God of Wonders here: Free Preview or you can get your own copy here: God of Wonders on Amazon.

Have a question or comment about this article? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.

Increasing Your Understanding of God’s Vocabulary

The rhema or living word of God can be conveyed beyond words. God is not limited to using mere words or the Bible, for that matter, in the ways that He wants to communicate to us. When Elijah threw his mantle over Elisha, not a word was spoken, but in that act, Elisha knew he was called to follow and come under the tutorage of the prophet of Israel (see 1 Kings 19:19). Elisha finally picked up that same mantle later and used it to divide the Jordan (see 2 Kings 2:14). When we recognize that it is the word of God that divides, we realize that, in the throwing of the mantle, God spoke without using words (see Hebrews 4:12)!

NO PLACE TO LAND

Similarly, when the dove flew to Noah with the olive branch in its mouth, God was speaking (see Genesis 8:11). In that incident, Noah had previously released a raven from the ark, which flew to and fro and found no rest for its feet (see Genesis 8:7). The raven is a picture of the devil being cast from God’s presence from which time he likewise goes to and fro throughout the earth without finding rest (see Job 1:7; 2:2). Subsequently, Noah, which means ‘Rest’, released the dove, which also initially found no rest (see Genesis 8:8-9). Why could the dove find no landing place? The dove at this stage could find no rest because the world was under water which signified that mankind was dead in sin (see Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 10:2).

Then, a week later, Noah released the dove and it returned with the olive branch in its mouth (see Genesis 8:10-11). Who is The Branch? Well according to Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah, His name is Jesus (see Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 6:12). So, when the dove returned with the branch in its mouth God was saying Jesus has been resurrected. Noah waited another week and released the dove again, and this time she did not return because now mankind was coming out of sin and the Spirit of God was able to alight on mankind (see Genesis 8:12). This whole episode with Noah was a prophetic layout of key world events: the devil cast from heaven to earth, mankind dead in sin, Christ’s resurrection, and the infilling of the Spirit of God.

“BREAK IT DOWN”

There was a very significant day in the life of the disciples after the resurrection when they hauled 153 fish up onto the shore (see John 21:11). When I asked God why there were specifically 153 fish He told me to, ‘Break it down’. How do you break 153 down? In the secular world, you would probably say 100, 50 and 3. How would you do it scripturally? Well what about 120, 30 and 3? What do these numbers mean within scripture? A hundred and twenty in scripture is,  ‘a period of waiting’: 120 disciples in the upper room, 120 years before the flood judgment (see Acts 1:15; Genesis 6:3). Thirty is marked by, ‘the right time to reign’: Joseph was 30 when he came to power, David was 30 when he became king and Jesus was 30 when He declared the kingdom had come (see Genesis 41:46; 2 Samuel 5:4; Luke 3:23).

Three can be interpreted many ways. It can mean, ‘resurrection’, it can mean,  ‘witness’, it can be representative of the Holy Spirit, or it can mean, ‘fullness’ (see Matthew 20:19; Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 28:19; Luke 4:1, Ephesians 5:18). Which of these last options do we choose? Well, the key to interpreting correctly is to interpret in context. So that, when the disciples brought those fish onto the shore God was speaking. He was saying, ‘There is a period of waiting before you come to the right time to reign in the fullness of the Spirit!’ If you know the story, the disciples were then prepared for 40 days by Jesus to receive the kingdom before the Day of Pentecost came (see Acts 1:3; 2:1).

When God speaks through events around us, He often does so by using uncharacteristic happenings to get our attention: a flock of birds in an unusual formation, unseasonal sightings of fauna and flora, or people repeatedly using the same phrase throughout the day may all be examples of God’s rhema word to you. The key to understanding uncharacteristic events, and particularly those that appear to make no sense from an earthly point of view, is to have the presence of mind to look at them from heaven’s perspective to hear what God is saying.

Don’t go looking for omens, but when something unusual does get your attention, reference it against scripture and ask God what He is saying (see 1 Corinthians 2:13). God will speak to you in whatever way you are prepared to listen.

The Holy Spirit has a very specific mandate for us in this hour,

Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. (Ezekiel 37:4)

Recently, the Lord told me that I am to pursue activation over affirmation. I want to be real and raw with you. At the same time, I do not want to take the “easy” road and venture off into the ditch of criticism. It’s so easy for me to do that. My schooling was actually in criticism, to a degree, as before I was called into ministry, I wanted to be a movie critic. Go figure! Its something that demands some deprogramming in my life.

The Easy Road 

Criticism for all of us is the easy road—whether we are criticizing the church or a friend or family member. We do it because often, it gains quick support and affirmation from other folks. People recognize that there is a problem in the church as a whole, or in contemporary Christianity. While these things are indeed obvious, and while it is easy for us to get worked up over what is not happening and what is not in agreement with what we see in the Book of Acts, I sense such a strong, almost militant directive from the Holy Spirit to embrace the call of Ezekiel 37 in regard to the present state of Christendom. It’s time to stop criticizing and start prophesying.

The Status Quo

To criticize is to actually come into agreement with the current state of affairs—a state that we recognize needs changing. The problem is that the Word of God is what produces change and transformation, not our critical words. If we truly want to see the modern church step into its season, and become the Kingdom-advancing agent it was destined to be, rather than being so critical, we need to call forth her prophetic destiny. What does this look like? Simple. We need to start praying and saying what Jesus defined the church to be. This involves us wearing a prophetic mantle, and declaring the decrees of the Lord, even if they are not yet visible in reality yet. This is not denying reality or rejecting the current state of the church. The key is balance. Our focus needs to be more on God’s vision than our problem. The emphasis must be on the calling forth rather than the calling out, although both are needed.

In fact, the Holy Spirit told me, “Don’t call out unless you plan to call forth as well.”

What does this mean? We cannot be silent about the crisis of modern Christianity, and how far things have strayed from the original model. We need to be vocal about calling these things out, yes. At the same time, I don’t want to be a prophet of doom and gloom. I don’t want to make the church’s issues my personal ministry and become some type of heresy hunter. This is living below my inheritance as one created in the image of a creative speaking God, whose words released worlds and brought substance to what was in His very heart.

Living Bones

I don’t want to simply talk about things the way they are, but rather, I want to creatively prophesy the will of the Lord over our churches, over our Christian culture, over our pastors and leaders, over our next generation of seminarians and Bible school students. We must, must step into the prophetic office if we are going to see dry bones live in a generation.

As previously stated, it’s time to stop criticizing and start prophesying! Above all, this word is for me.

Is Your World in Ruins? You Can Prophesy the Solution!

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

Here is what New Testament prophecy is not. 

Prophecy is not staring at our sin-laden cities, regions, or people groups, and pronouncing judgment upon them.

Prophecy is not declaring the forthcoming wrath and vengeance of an angry God Who is intent on destroying people, places, and planets.

Prophecy is not picking up some spiritual “signal” and speaking forth that signal, as if the signal is the solution. (for example, if someone is supernaturally informed of oncoming crisis or calamity, the prophetic response is not to run about, declaring the catastrophe as an inevitable expression of God’s anger and wrath towards sin). God’s wrath was poured out and satisfied on Jesus Christ. Period.

God Restores to Greater Glory

The New Testament prophetic protocol is described beautifully in Isaiah 61, verse 4. We are not denying a world lying in ruins and the countless lives wallowing in sinful shambles. This is the unfortunate reality we are confronted with every day. However, our call as a prophetic people is to release words, decrees and acts that raise up the former desolations and rebuild the old ruins. In fact, Paul describes prophecy as that which “builds up” (1 Cor. 14:3) in the same way we read about re-building the old ruins in Isaiah 64. Prophecy sees beyond the ruins – it sees the glory of their former state, calls them back to that place, and, through the supernatural power of God resting upon these prophetic words, actually increases the glory that the ruins once displayed. God’s restoration process always brings about greater glory than the former condition.

For example, Eden. The former glory was God walking with man. It is unfortunate that we consider Eden the benchmark of mankind’s spiritual experience. It was glorious, but the restoration produced by the blood of Jesus released an even more glorious reality. Man fell into sin, and now, because of God’s restoration process, with man has bee upgraded to in man because of the Holy Spirit. Glorious!! This is what brought the Apostle Paul to a place of sheer awe in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 as he considered the glory of the New Covenant compared to the glory of the old.

You Too Can Prophesy! 

Oh and by the way, you do not have to occupy the office of a prophet to be considered a prophetic person. Because of the Holy Spirit, the cry of Moses has been fulfilled: “Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29)

All of us have the opportunity to prophesy. In fact, we are often faced with one of two options when it comes to life’s problems: Prophesy solutions or agree with disaster. Release supernatural answers or decree destruction. Call out or call forth.

This is not “name it, claim it,” find some proof-text in Scripture, confess it twenty-times, and bam, all of your troubles are over. God wants to take us deeper than that. He wants us to model Jesus, Who only said what He heard the Father say. God wants your words to carry the very life and creative power of heaven into the darkest places on Earth. Some of us will physically go to these places, but we all have the opportunity to prophesy in the place of prayer and intercession. Again, it’s asking ourselves: “Will we speak the problem or declare the divine solution?” Declaring God’s solutions releases prophetic power, rebuilds ruins, raises up desolations, and sows into radical societal reformation.

You Can Access God’s Supernatural Solutions

How do we access these divine solutions? It’s simple, really. Intimacy with Holy Spirit and grounding in the Word. 

True prophetic ministry is birthed out of intimacy with God. Jesus moved prophetically. Think about it. What he said and did often had the people hailing Him as a prophet. Why? Because during His earthly ministry, Jesus Himself continually called forth that which was a reality in heaven and released it into the Earth. It was normal for Him to call into today that which was reserved for another day.

Think about it. By enjoying intimacy with the Holy Spirit, we actually discover and hear what the Father is saying! The Spirit of God searches the deep things of God (see 1 Cor. 2:9-12) – and more than that, He reveals them to us. I promise you this, the Spirit does not merely clue us onto forthcoming problems or calamities to talk about how bad they are going to be. His agenda does not involve us talking about how desolate our cities are, how deeply in sin certain regions are, how lost the people are, and how hopeless a state the world is presently in. We don’t deny these realities. At the same time, we refuse to bow to them either. We call them out for one purpose, and that is to call forth the divine plans and restorative purposes of God into the Earth!

You Can Speak What God is Saying! 

If we are enjoying true intimacy with Holy Spirit and have hearts anchored in the Word, we become a people possessed with supernatural solutions. In short, we start hearing what the Father is saying.

To ruins, He says – be rebuilt!

To desolate places, He says – rise up!

To ruined cities, He says – be repaired!

Is God speaking these things audibly out of heaven, causes the Earth to shake at the thundering of His voice? No. He’s given that mission to you and to me, for when we speak what He is saying, we cease becoming carriers of mere words. Our words become that of Christ’s, Who said -  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

And you know what? As your mouth becomes His mouthpiece and your words become apostolic and ambassadorial for the government of Heaven, the earth will shake. The ground will tremble. Governments will shift. Entire nations will be saved. Your city, regardless of how dark, sin-stained, and in-shambles it is, will experience an in-breaking of God’s restorative power. The key? We need to stop agreeing with the ruins and start declaring “be rebuilt in Jesus’ Name!”

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith (Romans 12:3-6 KJV).

Clarifying the Distinctions of Gifts

Many members…one body…multiple gifts. God’s Spirit is poured out on all flesh. Yet, unity does not imply uniformity. The gifts function according to the grace and the proportion of faith we possess as individuals. This diversity strengthens us. By it the house of God is edified, meaning it is built up, established, and emboldened.

Keep in mind the distinct and separate meanings of “your sons and daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2:28) and “He Himself gave some to be…prophets” (Eph. 4:11). The first statement refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon God’s prophetic army, while the second refers to the giving of specific leadership gifts. Men and women called to the office of prophet not only prophesy but are prophets—fivefold ministers who bear a heavy burden of responsibility and are subject to a high level of scrutiny. They are called to speak, often into weighty matters; therefore, their prophetic track records must be scrupulously assessed.

I want to look at the distinctions in gifting. My intent is to eliminate confusion and empower believers to move in the gifts without hindrance and in direct proportion to their individual faith. This clarification will help us distinguish spiritually silly, lawless, false “prophets” from those who are called of God to love and nourish His Church.

The Proportion of Faith

An analogy will help us to see the various levels at which spiritual gifts operate. Think about an occasion when you or someone in your family was sick. How did you handle the need? Did you take your position of spiritual authority and pray for the sick person? Or did you ask your favorite healing evangelist to fly in and do it for you?

Having a sick person prayed over by someone with a gift like Kathryn Kuhlman or Smith Wigglesworth would be wonderful. Certain people are powerfully anointed in the area of healing. But they don’t necessarily live at your house. But you do. Therefore, my guess is that you relied on your measure of faith and you prayed.

Now let’s assume that your prayers were marvelously answered. Did your success prompt you to rent out an arena and hold a massive healing service? The answer is probably not, unless the healing ministry is your God-ordained calling and you have been maturing in it for some time.

Every believer is called to pray for the sick. What distinguishes most Christians from Benny Hinn is a matter of proportion: Benny Hinn has been set apart by God for the healing ministry. He is one of God’s “generals” in that realm, and the faith in which he operates is proportional to his assignment.

Faith and Prophesy

Now apply the analogy to the prophetic. Joel prophesied that all would prophesy. That means all. Yet, not all are called in the same way. Some are set apart by God to prophesy at a high level of magnitude and accountability. They don’t just prophesy; they are prophets—to nations, destinies, cities, churches, and leaders. They are sent by God to plow specific prophetic roadways and release specific prophetic direction.

A high level of faith is required for the office of prophet. Moral excellence, prophetic accuracy, precise articulation, and boldness are critical to the mission. Not everyone is called to operate at that level in the prophetic realm. That does not mean that others whose central callings are focused elsewhere cannot be used as God’s mouthpieces in the course of their everyday lives. God raised all of us to be oracles in our spheres of influence. We are His mouthpieces in our homes, businesses, schools, and communities. And we are called to speak in proportion to our faith.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Want to learn more about prophesying in proportion to your faith? Start reading Dr. Tim Bagwell’s new book The Prophetic Generation for FREE here: The Prophetic Generation Free Preview or find it at bookstores everywhere!