Introduction: Blessing Christian International
Welcome to 2024, the Word of the Lord at Christian International. I love this place. If I were you, I would start by extending a blessing to Christian International. What they have done to pioneer revelation in the body of Christ is beyond words, and I am so honored that they have included me to speak to you and share some of the insights I’m having for 2024.
The New Is Now
The first thing I want to say to you is that the new is now. My son Isaac wrote to me this morning and said, “I looked at the sky, and it was like a new blanket.” The thing about the new is that it isn’t fully defined yet because you’re walking in a path or something that has never reached the quality that God is going to bring it to. That’s what the word “new” means—it’s something that has never been before or something that will be of better quality in the days ahead. We have to step forward by faith into it, and then we will begin to see clearly.
A Year of Prayer, Prophecy, and Clarity
I like to compare it to the man who was blind, whom Jesus prayed for. Jesus put mud on his eyes, and the man could see people walking like trees. Then Jesus prayed for him again. This year, there will be times when you will not only prophesy but also pray and intercede. You may not always see the new as clearly as you would like, but the more you press toward it, the clearer it will become. So, I encourage you right now to tell the Lord you are ready to step forward into all the better quality, or even the unknown, that He has for you in the year ahead.
Starting the Year Off Right: The Lord of Hosts Will Triumph
One of the things we do is start the year off right. You can go to our website and look at that because I try to get 15 to 20 minutes from various people to share what they’re seeing. I called that gathering at the beginning of the year “The Lord of Hosts Will Triumph” because we need to understand the triumph of the Lord in this season. Triumph means playing the trump card. Now, I’m a card player from way back, and you always have to know the timing of when to play that trump card, and you always have to watch what’s being played around you. I decree over you right now that no matter what you’re doing, you will triumph within it.
Divine Revelations for 2024
The Lord has shown me several things this year. One thing He showed me, first of all, at the Feast of Tabernacles, was that He caught me up and showed me that our shoes were like swords. He said this won’t be a year of peace until you walk with the sword to bring peace. That gave me an indicator of what the year ahead was going to be like as we go into 2024. Another thing the Lord showed me at our recent gathering was four winds coming together, forming a whirlwind. The Lord is in the whirlwind, and it wasn’t an ominous type of storm; it was a torrential type of storm that was moving through and over the promises we’re a part of.
Understanding the Four Winds
What does that mean? One of the things we did was study all four winds—North, South, East, and West. If I have time, I’ll tell you what those winds look like. But what the Lord was saying was, “I’m going to bring many things together, and things are going to start swirling in a whole new way.” He said, “You’re going to have to learn, in the midst of your promise and your call, to speak directly into the eye of the storm. Don’t fear the storm; learn to speak into it. If you get caught on the outskirts of the storm, you’re going to be tossed to and fro.” I think that’s a word for us as we go into the year ahead.
Lord Sabaoth Takes His Stand
Another thing the Lord has shown me, which we’re going to start next week, is that He showed me Lord Sabaoth taking His stand. I think I shared this the last time I came to Christian International—He showed me Lord Sabaoth taking His stand over America. If you’re tuning in from another country, I want to encourage you to see how God is standing over your nation this year. There is a focus on America, and He showed me four ruling angels surrounding the entirety of America, including Alaska and Hawaii. Then He showed me 51 angels that filled in. One of the things we’re going to be doing is taking you virtually from state to state and hearing from people in those states so we know how to pray for our states as we go into the year ahead.
A New Remnant Identified
These angels had their swords in their sheaths, which meant they weren’t ready for war. This was last August that God showed me this. With that, He said that by Passover 2024, there would be angelic visitation going from state to state in America. Some angels would draw their swords and go to war, while others would just stand in the midst of the remnant that was there. This told me that a new remnant has been identified.
The Call to Be Part of the Remnant
Now, I want you to look at someone next to you, or wherever you are, and say, “I am part of that remnant.” The remnant that has been rising up during this new era, this new historical time we’re living in, has been identified in a new way. I believe it started in September 2019, and now the Lord has a new order to enforce justice against the evil that has formed in the earth realm.
Finding Your Real War
One of the things I want you to know is that you’re going to have to answer this question, probably every morning when you wake up, because war is going to be on every front: “Where is my real war?” You don’t want to get into a war that you’re not supposed to be in. War means conflict. You don’t want to seek after conflict, but when conflict is in your path or in your promise, you’re going to have the responsibility to rule within it.
The Valley of Decision and Vision
The atmosphere we’re living in worldwide is causing the nations to come to the Valley of Decision. If you want to look up and read about the Valley of Decision, you can read 2 Chronicles 20. The Valley of Decision has to become a Valley of Vision for your future. I believe we’re all in this Valley of Decision. I think we have to learn to pray, fast in a new way, and hear the Word of the Lord, just like in 2 Chronicles 20. In the midst of that, we must remember that the battle is not ours, it’s the Lord’s. However, the prophet told them in that scenario where to stand and worship, and if they went there and worshiped, the enemy would go into confusion.
The Harvest Sickle in Heaven
One of the things the Lord has shown me over the last seven years, with increasing clarity, is the harvest sickle in heaven—it’s moving. Because it’s moving in heaven, it’s beginning to move on the earth. The Lord has this incredible harvest, and I don’t believe we’re living in a church season where we’re inside the four walls, but rather outside those four walls, looking at the church as the storehouse for the future. I want to encourage you to keep your eye on the harvest. The Lord says, “I need harvesters for the harvest,” and that’s really important as we go forward.
The War for Abiding
Because of all the warfare, Dr. Alamu and I wrote a new book called Abiding in His Presence. The first chapter I wrote is titled “The War for Abiding.” I want to encourage you to read this book as we go into this year because we must understand our abiding place and know that there’s a war to get into it and a war to stay in it. The book is available now on our website, and you can get it wherever you buy books. This book is very important for us to understand the abiding place God is calling us to.
The Concept of Time: Circular and Covenant-Based
Now, let’s talk about time for a moment. Time isn’t like what we think—it’s circular. Biblically, it’s related to the entire universe that we’re part of. The sun is part of our timing, the moon is part of our timing, and the Lord wrote His covenant plan around harvest, seed time, and harvest as He began in Genesis 1. His times are important. Every year has great significance in progression. I always look at the year from a Hebraic standpoint, and I look at every month because I know each month is linked with harvest. There are dormant times, planting times, watering times, and harvesting times. If you learn to look and read the Word of God as it is written from a covenant standpoint of God’s heart for the harvest of the earth—the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24)—you’ll begin to see the progression that you’re moving in from year to year. You’re forming new cycles, moving in new cycles, and eventually, you come into a fullness, a summation as the book of Ephesians says, where things are summed up and full, and then you see the manifestation of what you’ve been praying for.
The “Pay” Era: A Time of War and Voice
Now, with that, the era we’re living in is an era of war. It’s called in Hebrew the “pay” era, and what it’s really about is the voice, the atmospheric change that’s going on. An era is historical; it’s not just a season of change, it’s where history is being written for the future. We see that happening—we see warfronts all over the world, and America is right in the middle of those warfronts. We see one with China and Taiwan, one with Russia and Ukraine and other previous satellite nations, and one, of course, in the Middle East surrounding Israel. The final war, in summation, comes with Israel. I don’t believe that happens until Jew and Gentile have become one new man as the Lord prophesied to us. That was the mystery God showed Paul in the book of Ephesians—us becoming one.
Unity in the Body of Christ
I do believe that this entire decade, this new historical era, is a war decade. I also believe that we are coming into a new identity of oneness with Him. That means, as He says in Romans, He’s not going to be concerned with gender issues, sectarianism, or racial issues because He’s making us one. God showed me once that the color we wear in heaven is glory—it’s not black, white, yellow, green, or whatever we think down here. Yet, those differences are necessary for us to blend into a kingdom of authority down here in the earth realm. That’s why I’ve been privileged, as the Lord has allowed me to go to so many nations, to meet so many people and different types of people, knowing that we are part of a kingdom.
The Importance of the Voice in This Era
Now, in this war, this era is about the voice. That’s what brings us back to Christian International and the importance of a gathering like this. The era is about the voice coming out of your house. Remember in Ephesians, He says He wants to be at home in you, and how you’re speaking out is what’s going to affect the atmosphere. It is a very supernatural, mystical atmosphere that is being contended for, for authority. We’ve always been a supernatural people; we’ve always lived in a supernatural atmosphere. But this one—there’s a contending in it that we’ve never had before.
Reviewing Last Year and Preparing for 2024
I want you to look beyond the natural and see the supernatural because, in this era, we are determining the rule for our future. Now, let’s look at last year, for instance, because we’re just crossing over. Biblically, there’s an overlay between the Feast of Tabernacles and Passover, so technically, you’re still warring for divine recovery and opening up new supply routes, and you’re warring with that as you go into the time we’re living in today.
The Significance of the Number Four in 2024
Now, let’s look at this year ahead. The year of the season of pay is linked with the number that is so important in this year that we’re living in—four. You’re in four no matter what. You have to understand biblically the power of the numeric. We’re not into numerology; we’re into understanding biblical numerics. I even took a course on that in the Baptist church because it was so important to understand. This year is about the door, the access, the entryway that we’re going through. You have a new gate, a new door, a new axis, but right in the center of that axis, where you’re moving from divine recovery into new authority in your promise, is the letter of this year. It means that throughout the entire decade, you’re going to have to speak your way through and into. You have to remember that the war always lies at the threshold. There’s always going to be a war at your new threshold, so that’s important as we progress forward.
Speaking with Authority in 2024
How you speak and what you see, how you speak what you do see, is the key to the year ahead. I want to say that in this year, I see the Lord pioneering new spheres, cities, and regions in a new way. He’s breaking reproaches. His heart is to cleanse the land because the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof. We’re retracing steps from the past, looking at iniquities in the land, especially in America. I see this as a hinge year for us as we enter into our future. Remember, God caught me up in 1986 and showed me through 2026. With that, He’s going to bring a new baptism upon us, producing a new awakening within us, so that becomes very important.
Transforming Chaos into Access
If I could summarize what the year is going to look like, it’s transforming chaos to gain new access. We’re living in a season of tension, and I love the way the Lord gave us this pattern when He said, “Okay, I’m going to gather this remnant after I prophesied 400 years ago to Abraham. I’m going to gather this remnant that’s down in Egypt. I’m going to make them a nation, and I’m going to call them out by war units—Judah, Issachar, Zebulun—first. The rear guard is just as important as those on the front line.” I want you to recognize the war unit you’re part of.
Understanding the Laws of War
Once He got them out, He gave them laws of war. There will always be war; there will be conflict until peace truly reigns. “I came not to bring peace but a sword.” In other words, you’re going to have to use the sword to produce wholeness, and there are laws of war that apply to the way we war in the days ahead. I love the book of Daniel. I am a Daniel, and I love how God shows how intense the warfare would be, even overtaking Daniel at certain points. Then He said that the enemy would try to wear down our minds, hearts, and thought processes until the Ancient of Days was seated, and then He would seat the saints over the nations. I believe we’re in a process right now where the saints are being set over the nations. The remnant is rising up. We’re a nation above all nations.
The Five War Arenas
You have actually five war arenas: the familial (your family war arena), the societal (your societal war arena), your religious structure (and religion, remember, the Lord warned us about it—it is actually a war arena), and religion will always try to stop the new move of the kingdom. Then, like never before, this year we’re going to see the political arena. But in the midst of that, and why I don’t have it listed right, you have an economic war going on in all four of those. The war will rage until we hit summation in a lot of areas. That’s what the whole book of Ephesians is about. I’m reading it every day so that I get a renewal because I think Ephesus was so key. It was a city, a people in that city, a remnant in that city. It had a godless environment, and yet it had the greatest revival that’s ever been known or recorded biblically. So, you want to understand that we are living in that sort of society. They had 44 entities that ruled that city, and the people had brought them into their homes, and there came an incredible awakening because the remnant got baptized in the Holy Spirit and then went into great revelation, great wisdom, and then warred for their future.
Navigating Tensions in 2024
With that, I want you to be careful—and this is that titanic thing again—I want you to be careful where you war and with all the tensions around you because there are leadership tensions, political tensions. Don’t get caught up in them. Be sure of the prophetic word. Be sure of the prophetic word. See, a lot of times we’re always interceding, and I think we intercede through the glass darkly until we get that word that needs to be decreed. Don’t let the provisional tensions around you overtake you. And then I want to remind you that there are supernatural atmospheric tensions. You’re going to see demonic hosts this year, and you’re going to see angelic intervention this year. And then, of course, we have the one new man tensions that are going on because the church has to come to represent God’s kingdom plan for this hour.
God’s Strategy for Dealing with Chaos
Now, in the midst of that, I went back and looked at how God dealt with chaos. Before, in the beginning, there was no distinction, no separation, nothing was distinguishable, there was no individualization, and it was just chaos and confusion. Lucifer, when he was cast down into this earth realm, took a third of the angels with him and created nothing but confusion. And what did God do? He loosed truth into the confusion. That’s why a gathering like this is so important for us because the Lord wants us to have a sure word to decree. There are certain words I decree almost every day because I remind the atmosphere around me of what God has said. So, see, He worked those six days to separate, divide, and distinguish: light from dark, waters above from waters below, seas and lands, species and kinds, and then He gave man authority. And once He got man created from the hummus of the earth, He blew life into it. Now that’s what the baptism of the Holy Spirit looks like. So the Word of God will always transform chaos. When you speak what you are hearing, that you know is a sure word, it creates manifold possibilities for your future. Speech creates your boundaries; speech actually goes beyond rules because, remember, the Pharisees had so many rules set up, and Jesus had to go beyond their rules and recreate the boundaries for the kingdom operation.
The Power of Words and Actions
How we act and the words we release into the atmosphere result in the atmosphere around us, and the world has to respond to the atmosphere because we’re reframing it by faith when we speak faith into it. So the Word of God transformed chaos. See, God organized society based on His desire to finally have a covenant. He started off with a covenant with man and woman. He knew man was not good to be alone, so He made woman to complete him, not to be subservient to him, to complete him. They were called to rule in the garden. He had one plan for them: it was to multiply, to watch over what He had given them, to look at their boundaries, and to see how to cultivate those boundaries and keep them fresh and provision flowing.
Discipline, Grace, and God’s Goodness
In the midst of what God is doing in the world today, it takes discipline like that from His people, and it takes punishment—both are necessary to balance mercy. We’re going to see a lot of that continuum this year, and our behavior has to be disciplined. It doesn’t come through more law; it comes through more grace. Now I want to encourage you with that. Grace produces better behavior because the more you give, and the gift of God is without repentance, the goodness of God leads to repentance. I wrote about this in Future War of the Church, which the first place I ever presented was at Christian International in 1999. The more law we get, the less freedom we get. See, it’s just the opposite of what we think because it’s grace that is producing freedom, and it’s liberty to express God’s highest law of love around us.
Access, Authority, and Power
So remember, the Lord did something, and you always want to remember this: You’ve been given access, you’ve been given authority, you’ve been given power. See, what the enemy did with man in his boundaries was he said, “God’s holding out on you,” but God is always working on your behalf. He gives all of that to you, and He’s working to present you with everything good. At the end of every day, He would say, “That was good.” So your boundaries are filled with goodness, and you need to call the goodness forth in those boundaries. With that, you’re operating dominion in those boundaries. What He’s doing is initiating your authority. This was the whole pattern God had, and it’s still His pattern today. But many people will ask, “Then why is the devil so present in the boundaries that I’m in?” Well, because it’s for you to develop your resistance and to develop your loyalty to the Lord.
Choosing What You Commune With
What it boils down to is that we have a choice in what we commune with, and we have to be loyal to God’s goodness. We have to be loyal to all that He gives us access to, and this year is about access. God is always watching over our trust factor because, remember, that’s all He did with woman. He said, “Has God really told you you can’t eat that fruit? You can’t have access to that provision?” And man already knew not to take access to that particular provision that was there. So man willfully sinned—I think they were seduced, and they willfully sinned—and they lost trust. Satan produces a thought process in us that says, “Can you really trust God, or is He holding out on you?” Do not let that happen to you this year. God is always going to evaluate how you’re responding to His voice, which is why a meeting like this is so important.
Reflecting on God’s Questions
So remember these three or four questions and just think on them: He’s always going to ask you, “Where are you?” He’s going to ask you, “Who told you you were naked?” Why? If I’ve given you access, why do you feel ashamed in your identity? And then God will always help you find out why you feel that way. “Have you eaten from the tree?” And then you’re going to have to answer this question back to Him: “Why have you done this?” He didn’t just curse mankind from then on. Once man told Him what had happened, He had Plan B to develop a sacrifice for them to move forward. God always has a plan for us to move forward. Now He did tell them, “I gave you this garden; it didn’t have thorns in it. Now you’re going to have to work with the land with thorns. There will be thorns inside your promise for the future, and you’re going to have to learn how to maneuver with those thorns.” Then He said, “But I have an ultimate promise: Woman will have a man that triumphs.” Now that’s the ultimate promise that we’re working from—your seed will triumph again. Now I want you to say that out loud: “Me and my seed will triumph now.” That becomes very important.
Establishing Apostolic and Prophetic Rule
Then, this apostolic, prophetic rule—you’ve got to learn to establish it. You’ve got to know your field, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10. You’ve got to know the sphere you’re part of. I know with my gifting I’m part of the sphere at CI, and I’m always there to associate with them. And then within that filled sphere, you have to know that God is raising up an army. Who are you warring with? Who’s in the kingdom rule that you’re warring with? Then you have to know your redemptive places. Where have there been breakthroughs in my field or in my sphere? Can I go back and refire those altars, or do I build a new altar?
Engaging in the Worship War
So with that, you’re going to have to look and see where the high places are in your sphere because Satan knows he’s got to build an altar there. So really, what it becomes is a worship war. That’s why the new book on abiding is so important, as well as the book that John Dixon and I wrote on Worship Warrior. You’re going to have to ascend higher, and God is giving you access to go higher and look down to see where the high places in your sphere are. Know that you can worship and bring down the presence of God with you, which can cause an eroding of those high places. That’s what we call sanctifying the land. Then they always performed and established new glory altars. I see lots of new glory altars coming forth this year because this era is linked with Holy Spirit movement and the wineskin that is developing and maturing. It usually takes seven years, so think time on that, for this explosive kingdom movement to occur.
The Role of the Holy Spirit in Ending the Curse
Why do I say that? Because Holy Spirit is also a “pay” word. Proclamation—PES—notice that “first” is in there, “last” is in there, and the whole necessity of voice is in there. Holy Spirit, one of His names, is He who ends the curse. And really, this whole statement says, “The one who ends the curse that was begun in my house.” See, when He is becoming at home in you, and you are delivering His voice, curses that might have been in generations are breaking. Now that’s important.
The Four Winds: Change, Judgment, Blessing, and Mercy
Now, let’s look at this. With that, I do want you to know there is a lot of wind activity going on. Those four winds coming together were totally different from what I have seen in the past. Let me give you a great overview so you know what’s coming together in your sphere or field. The north wind originates and is linked with change—lots of changes. It brings rain and is linked with the manifest presence of God. So this one wind that will come into your field or sphere is linked with the manifest presence of God, and that is going to cause a great upheaval with everything that is opposing the manifest presence of God. See, that’s how you determine a curse working—the absence of the presence of God indicates a curse.
So we’re going to call forth these winds at the end in just a moment. The next wind I want to address is the east wind. The east wind is linked with judgment. It opened up a way for the people to move forward, but it also judged that which would prevent them from moving forward. So I want you to know there’s a lot of judgment stirring that’s going on in your field and in your sphere. With that, you want to be sure that you are allowing your discernment to rise to a new level where you’re not just speaking judgment, but you’re watching how God is making a way through the chaos and letting Him deal with the enemies as you move forward.
Another wind is the south wind. It’s linked with blessing and prosperity. Now, when these winds come together, they start a motion going on in your field or your sphere, and there is new blessing and prosperity in your field and in your sphere. You want to find out how the wind is blowing in that.
Finally, the west wind is linked with mercy. God, we need mercy. God, help us. We need mercy, and it brings deliverance. So with all of these winds coming together in your field and your sphere, there’s going to be a lot of things twirling and moving, and you’re going to have to discern which wind is blowing and know accordingly how to speak.
Moving with the Winds
As I said earlier, don’t fear. Do not fear the torrential conditions of your field or sphere. Learn to move with the winds in that field or sphere.
Closing Decree and Blessing
Now that’s what I see for the year ahead. With it, the tensions that will come, especially politically, could catch you up and get you pulled out of your abiding place. The leadership tensions could pull you out of your abiding place. So I decree right now, I want us all to stand up wherever you are. You’re going to lose a new atmospheric condition in your field and your sphere. Father, we ask you right now—now I want you to give your boundaries up to Him and say, “Lord, we are bringing these boundaries to You. We want an awakening wind to come in. We want a refreshing to come into our boundaries. We want our sphere and field to be refreshed. But Father, we don’t want the things in there that can hinder Your move to remain there.” Father, we decree right now that You will begin to stir up the enemies and draw them up and out and move them from our boundaries. Father, we decree right now that there is deliverance and mercy for us this year in the midst of our field and in the midst of our boundaries. And then, Father, we say stir up the blessings, stir up the blessings, and cause us to see blessings we have never seen before.
I bless you. I bless Christian International, and I bless this year ahead and say you will find your bounty in the midst of it. God bless you.