Thursday, October 31, 2013

MONTH OF KISLEV—THE MONTH OF BENJAMIN (NOV/DEC)

Following is an excerpt from Chuck Pierce’s book “A Time to Advance.” This revelation will help you and your groups discussion during Rosh Chodesh as you prepare for the month ahead.

-Kent 

Month of Kislev—The Month of Benjamin (Nov/Dec)
Kislev at a Glance


Kislev (30 or 29 days-Nov/Dec)
Feasts: The beginning of Chanukah
Alphabet: Samekh—trust, support, coming full circle
Tribe: Benjamin, the most gifted with the art of the bow; the only child born in the Promised Land, so watch Israel this month.

Characteristics:
A month to develop your warfare strategies: to have prophetic revelation for war.
A month to enter in to a new level of trust and rest
A month to declare your life experiences to be filled with tranquility and peace—ask for the rivers of life to flow
Constellation: Sagittarius (the archer)—a time to fight against empires and cultures.
Color/Stone: Multicolor (like the rainbow)/ Opal or Rainbow Jasper

Kislev is the ninth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.
Kislev is associated with the Hebrew letter SAMEKH, which pictures trust, support, and coming full circle. We should be coming full circle in developing our trust and confidence. By examining our hearts and motives during Kislev each year, we will break up and out of old patterns of mistrust that hinder our walk with the Lord and others in our circle of influence.
The name Kislev derives from the Hebrew word for “security” and “trust.” This is the month to enter in to a new level of trust and rest.
Kislev is associated with the tribe of Benjamin, the most gifted of the tribes with the art of the bow, as you develop you warfare strategies this month, you can tap in prophetically to gain revelation concerning the war season ahead. This connects with Head of the Year so that you can start the year right.
Benjamin was also the only child born in the land of promise, so this is a month to watch Israel. Things happen during this month, which chance the course of Israel.
Kislev is associated with the constellation Sagittarius (the archer). This month is a time to fight against empires and cultures. This is a month to shoot straight and move quickly. Think of the archer, Cut your losses and move on.
I believe that if we participate in the covenant holiday of Thanksgiving we have in the United States, we will come into a new place of rest. God gives us cultural holidays to help us enter our covenant holidays, With Thanksgiving, as we pull aside and give thanks, we can regroup.
Review your support system during Kislev, including who is supporting you and who you are supporting. Consider who your friends and associates are and why you are connected with them.
Last month was the month of the flood, so this is the month of the rainbow. Examine what you have warred through in the past year to come into a place of peace. God makes a covenant with us so that we will not have to war with those things again, which was the symbolism of the rainbow. God says, “You have come through the flood and it did not overtake you. Now I will make a covenant with you that you will not war with that again” (Gen. 9:13-17 paraphrased). There are certain things every year that you want to make a spiritual locator and say, “I am not going through that again.”
In this month of tranquility and peace; even in the midst of warfare, you will have peace. Many people do not understand this aspect of warfare. This simply means that in the midst of the warfare, you are on the offensive so that you have peace in the midst of the conflict. When we get tangled up and get out of our abiding place, we get into trouble.
This is the month of dreams and night visions. Through the year the Lord has been pouring things into you, then all of the sudden He draws them out through dreams. Sometimes that is the only way He can communicate with you. You have pressed through and pressed through and then you fall asleep. That is when He can begin to stir up revelation. This is also a month to review your sleeping patterns so that you will be healthier in the year ahead.
One of my big problems came because of trauma growing up. My sleep patterns were all messed up. Most traumatized people have irregularities in their sleep patterns. Memories of the trauma came up in the night and caused me to have to stay awake. I had to go through a process of letting God heal me so I could sleep. At the same time, He was purging me of trauma.
I took a prayer journey to Vietnam; when I got back, I had a dream about a certain situation. Some dreams are just a replay of something that has happened. The Lord will replay your memories so that he can heal you. He replayed a traumatic memory in me, which I had not forgotten but had just never dealt with. I woke up soaking wet and having to deal with the trauma. Pam got up and prayed for me. She said, “Will you ever get healed so I can get a good night’s sleep? Your trauma is affecting my sleeping patterns.”
We have to deal with what God brings up during the night. Ask Him if there is anything else and go ahead and deal with what He shows you while you are awake. That way He won’t have to wake you up again.
This month is a time to let the river of God flow from your innermost being. There is a great relationship between tranquility and fullness. If we don’t relate to our inner being correctly, we cannot enter into fullness. When your river starts flowing, you can enter into your next measure. That is the whole principle of Ezekiel 47. The water starts out ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep, then over our heads. That is the way you should be processing revelation throughout the year. The revelation in this book is deep water. You have to process each level of revelation by swimming and deal with old traumas and issues at each level, before moving to the next.
Kislev is the month that Hanukkah begins. Hanukkah is the only holiday in the Jewish calendar, which connects two months, beginning in the month of Kislev and concluding in the month of Tevet.

The message of Hanukkah is that in the midst of destruction there is mercy. The issue with Hanukkah was that the light will not go out. In the midst of any destruction, God will find a way to impart mercy to you. No matter what aspect of destruction you are dealing with—external, internal, physical or spiritual—God has a way to impart mercy to build the future. His grace is sufficient and His love is everlasting. 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

REST and the Watches of the Lord


I feel that the message we shared this past Sunday is of upmost importance. I want you to catch this notion and get in line with it because I believe that this is how we will allow the Lord to reorder our day, and get our bodies in sync with Him. We believe this is the way we can enter His many blessings, including healing and prosperity, in the midst of this hurried society we live in. Darkness will continue to cover the earth, but as Gods people, we will gain knowledge in the night to rule in the day by radiating His presence.
Our new series “R.E.S.T.” is an acronym for:
Reordering our day
Exchanging the natural for the supernatural
Sabbath cycles
The simple life

The Lord said in His word, “Keep a sharp lookout! For you do not know when I will come, at evening, at midnight, early dawn, or late day break.” (Mark 13:35-37 TLB) Because I think this is so important, I want to share with you a small excerpt from last week’s sermon so that you can have it readily available when you wake in the night, and so you are ready for the task at hand.

1.    THE FIRST WATCH: The Evening Watch (6pm-9pm) or The Meditation Watch

Try to find 30 minutes you can meditate before going to bed. From your meditation, find time to release your anxieties to the Lord in prayer! This positions your spirit for the night ahead!

2. THE SECOND WATCH: The Midnight Watch (9 pm-midnight)

"At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you!" (Psalm 119:62) This is a time of thanksgiving and visitation! This is also the time when God deals with the enemies that are trying to keep us from entering His perfect plan for our lives.

3. THE THIRD WATCH: The Breaking of Day (cock crowing) Watch (midnight-3am)

Much spiritual activity happens during this time. Most spiritual dreams occur during these hours.
If you are struggling with doubt, unbelief or the direction of your life, do this watch for 21 days.

4. THE FOURTH WATCH: The Morning Watch (3am-6am)

This watch is linked with the morning light approaching and the day breaking. Most of Israel's watches in the bible were developed so that protection would be established for God's people. None was more important than the fourth watch. A lot of times the enemy would attack at first light when they could see. Thousands if not millions of spells are cast around the night hours. Many demonic ceremonies and expressions are released in the night, so rather than just tacking it up to another attack of the enemy, we should be wise to recognize the "attack of the enemy" and rely on the Holy Spirit. If we are awakened to watch a pray to counteract this activity with our prayers, we must answer!

I have great faith in this new revelation. We have already been hearing great testimonies! Make sure you tap into it as well. The Lord says, “you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13-14) What a great promise! I am claiming it for myself, for my family, and for you!



Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Prayer of Blessing/Sanctification of the Month

Birkat HaChodesh


May it be Thy will LORD, our God and God of our fathers, that You begin for us this month for good and for blessing. May you give us long life, a life of peace, a life of goodness, a life of blessing, a life of sustenance, a life of physical health, a life in which there is fear of heaven and fear of sin, a life in which there is no shame or humiliation; a life of wealth and honor, a life in which we love Torah (the Word) and fear God; a life in which the Lord fulfills the requests of our hearts for good. Amen. Selah.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Celebrating Rosh Codesh

ROSH CHODESH

Rosh Chodesh (head of the month) or for us the beginning of a new month was a very important festival in Israel and a significant event on the Jewish calendar.  According to Jewish custom ‘the sanctifying’ of the New Moon was the first commandment given to Israel (Exodus 12:1, 2) after being delivered out of Egypt.  The Jewish calendar being lunar (of the moon) was how all Jewish holydays and festivals were determined.  It was very important that that the new moon be declared every month to determine the date of Israel’s festivals.
The first time that the waxing crescent (new) of the Moon is visible from Jerusalem marks the beginning of Rosh Chodesh (head of the month).  The moon disappears into blackness at the end of each month and the reappears and grows into its fullness beginning in the new month.  The moon changing from darkness to light is symbolic of our salvation and deliverance.  The disappearing and reappearing of the moon are symbolic of renewal and blessings from the Lord. The word for month ‘chodesh’ is etymologically related to ‘chadash’ which means ‘new’.  Rosh Chodesh teaches us that we can have new beginnings, fresh anointings, restoration and abundant blessings because of the goodness of God.
We have just left the month of September which is Tishrei on the Jewish calendar.  The month of Tishrei is related with the tribe of Ephraim which means ‘fruitfulness in affliction’.  Ephraim was a son of Joseph who received “a double portion inheritance” teaching us that even in our afflictions God can bless and prosper us.  October which is Cheshvan on the Jewish calendar is tied to the tribe of Manasseh who was Ephraim’s older brother whose name means ‘I will forget’.  These two names are indicative of the redemptive plan God had for their father Joseph.  In this case one child is connected to letting go of the past and the other child with moving into the future! That is the theme of Rosh Chodesh, moving with faith and expectation for glorious things in the new month.
Rosh Chodesh is an expression of the ‘first fruits’ principle.  In life there is something very special about the ‘first’! The best way to honor God is to give Him the first of everything! So at the beginning of the month celebrate by doing some of the following:

  •          Have a meal with your family or life group
  •          Ask the Lord to show you someone to bless
  •         Give the first time of the day to Jesus by prayer or reading
  •     Declare that good and glorious blessing are coming to you this month
  •         Celebrate the joy of new beginnings!