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The Contender Has Met Darkness Head-On

 

MARTY GABLER–The Contender Has Met Darkness Head-On.   The soaking-worship began at 6:30p.m. last Wednesday night. Melissa stepped up to the mic as the instruments began playing and she began to spontaneously worship Jesus. Pastor Bill, who was scheduled to teach on healing that night just laid down on the floor. About 6:55p.m. Kathy and I walked into the auditorium. We walked down to the third row under a heavy presence of the Holy Spirit.

I began walking, worshipping and interceding along the right wall. After a while I was leaning on the wall. A few minutes later, I was holding myself up with one hand on the wall and the other hand on a chair back. That wasn’t working so I knelt at the chair.

About half-way through the evening I and several others began intermittently releasing a yell as we were stirred and touched by the Holy Spirit in the midst of holy worship. It was at this point that Melissa stepped back from the mic and the instruments began to play a new song.

The music began to gently swell and recede in a most beautiful way. (As we compared notes after the meeting, we discovered that several of us had heard a keyboard though no one was at the keyboard.) As the music began to swell I had a vision like I have never had. I saw gently-rolling hills that seemed to be alive. Over the closest hill came a great hoard of powerful horses with flaring nostrils and great flowing manes. On their backs were fierce warriors who stood in the stirrups with hands fast upon their reins and leaning forward, alongside the horses necks. They seemed to be speaking to the horses. The warriors’ long hair flowed in the wind as did the horses’ manes. While they listened, the horses eyes were focused intently upon what was ahead.

The view was panoramic. On the far right were the horses and riders. There didn’t seem to be any ground that was not being covered with horses hooves. There didn’t seem to be any spaces between the horses. Their great strides were covering an amazing amount of ground with each gallop.

Suddenly, my attention was drawn to the left side of the panorama. Up from behind a rock a dark, startled creature popped up and began staring at the flowing tide coming down upon him. A ways over from this creature, another popped up from behind a bush and yet another popped up from behind a small knoll, all terrified at what was soon and inevitably going to happen. At this point, 2K 6:16 “more are those who are with us than those who are with them” came to mind. Then, the advancing tide of horses and warriors rolled over the creatures as though they were nothing before their fierce and focused momentum.

Just moments after I had seen the vision Melissa, without knowing what I had seen, stepped back to the mic and began to sing, “He is The Great Contender and He has met darkness head-on tonight.” Jehovah-Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts, is contending with those who oppose His purposes.

Psa 2:1  Why the big noise, nations? Why the mean plots, peoples? 2  Earth-leaders push for position, Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks, The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers: 3  “Let’s get free of God! Cast loose from Messiah!” 4  Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing. At first he’s amused at their presumption; 5  Then he gets good and angry. Furiously, he shuts them up: 6  “Don’t you know there’s a King in Zion? A coronation banquet Is spread for him on the holy summit.” 7  Let me tell you what GOD said next. He said, “You’re my son, And today is your birthday. 8  What do you want? Name it: Nations as a present? continents as a prize? 9  You can command them all to dance for you, Or throw them out with tomorrow’s trash.” 10  So, rebel-kings, use your heads; Upstart-judges, learn your lesson: 11  Worship GOD in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe. 12  Kiss Messiah! Your very lives are in danger, you know; His anger is about to explode, But if you make a run for God–you won’t regret it! (Msg)

We are not helpless and ineffective before the opposition of darkness. Darkness is not the insurmountable, indefatigable force its propaganda is meant to conjure up.   ( > This is a post I found in my notes from sometime back. I felt I should post it again today.)

(martygabler.com)

Feeling Bombarded?

MELISSA GABLER–It’s been something else the last month or so! There have been many calls, reports and instances that could keep one in the prayer closet 24/7 (let alone what’s going on nationally). It’s one of those moments that, while feeling bombarded, you realize there are many feeling the same way so there must be something bigger afoot. If you are nodding your head in agreement right now I would just like to encourage you. In the middle of a rather intense evening recently my mom said, “This is a threshold war.” That was the hammer that struck the gong right there! I then saw me and my family pushing through a clear membrane into a new place. Then around 3:00AM the next morning, I woke up and kept hearing, “You are there.” The only thing left was writing on the wall! We are at a new threshold!

Give Careful Thought to Your Priorities

KATHY GABLER—Hag 1:5-9,  “The LORD Almighty says “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what The LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.  Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.” (NIV)    The instructions were clear: “Give careful thought to your priorities.  Don’t decide your day according to your problems or your feelings or your circumstances.  Order your life according to my wisdom and honor.”  He was telling them to think differently so they could change their world.

An Invitation to Come Up

MARTY GABLER–When God says: For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa 55:9), He is not attempting to get us up under severe condemnation, He is offering an invitation to come up to where His ways and thoughts are so that we can know those ways and have those thoughts. Why would He do otherwise when going up to His ways and thoughts will bring glory to His name and cause the Kingdom to advance in the earth? He is saying that we are not quite there yet but just keep coming. He called Abraham up on top of the mountain and instructed him to “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. (Gen 13:14-15) Abraham had to get his eyes off himself and off his immediate failures and limitations and off the economic condition of the surrounding nations and off the hurts he received in his relationship with Lot. He had to lift his eyes to the Word of God, to the promises of God. Look up from where you are and get your eyes on the victories of the risen Christ and… what you can see, your children will inherit (Gen 13:15).

Take the Time to Pay Attention

MELISSA GABLER — What do I do when these prophetic things occur?  Here’s where I start: TAKE THE TIME TO PAY ATTENTION.  Remember, this life is meant to be EPIC. Take time to act, pray, speak it/declare it, write it down or simply agree in that moment. If it’s not obvious what to do, ask God for instruction. You may need to hold on to it for future reference.  Don’t get impatient and jump into action if the action is not clear.  That could lead to an unpleasant outcome.  He could be training you in that moment, getting you ready.

Contaminating Mood or Conversation

KATHY GABLER—I remember once that a spirit of depression came into the house. It was almost visible like a cloud of fog. Marty and I both noticed the plaguing presence and realized neither of us were down or worried so that we had generated such a downer-atmosphere. (One sign you are dealing with a spirit is they are irrational and cannot be explained through logical processing.) That spirit had come in trying to contaminate the air to influence our mood or conversation so that we would give agreement to legalize its presence and agenda. This is why the air is a crucial battlefield. It is unseen, yet present, so we must learn to discern and pick up on what has blown in. When we are conscious of these things then we can counter them. If we don’t discern it, we can add to the toxicity of the air because we allow our moods or thoughts or words to just go with the flow. That is coming under the influence of the air and that is agreement that empowers it’s agenda. We have to discern and refuse to agree through our reactions or words or moods.

The Hands That Hang Down

As the people of God assemble today, may they lift up and strengthen the hands that hang down and are tired; may they strengthen the knees that are weak and trembling from heavy loads and stress. May many leave the meeting and go into the coming week with strength and encouragement from their brothers’ and sisters’ words and prayers.
“Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness. 4 Tell everyone who is discouraged, “Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.” (Isa.35:3-4, GNT)

Most High is Involved in Current Events

MARTY GABLER–This is the day the Lord has made so…
I will rejoice because the Lord God Most High is actively involved in current events. He will not overlook or ignore unrighteous ploys and will not allow ours or His enemies to prevail. (Ps74)
“Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun.
You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter.
Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled, And a foolish people has spurned Your name.
Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the Land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.” (Ps74:16-21)

One of Those Defining Moments

KATHY GABLER—When I heard “and the moment before” it was one of those defining moments that declares God is in charge and that He has the last word on all that concerns me.  (The fact that He takes time to define a moment in our life is a shot of impacting love.)  Those defining moments bring a clarity that pierces every other influence we may be under.  The subtle snare is how easy it is to come under the influence of a thought, an emotion or an atmosphere and be in agreement before we even realize we had a choice not to.  Recently, I realized this as I was packing to leave for a few days of meetings.  The phone rang and the host pastor mentioned something in passing that really had nothing to do with the meetings, but it bothered me.  My excitement for the trip was slammed.  A slammed, emotional state is an open window for an unwanted wind of influence to enter and preside.  Of course, we can choose not to allow the influence over our mood or our day, but emotion can swing from excitement to dread so quickly that the will does not get involved until it too is under the same influence.  Then once the mind is under the influence of a negative atmosphere, it is amazing how your whole world is suddenly mulligrub grey.

May Good Things Spring up Out of You

MARTY GABLER—May good things and giftings, and words of encouragement and enabling spring up out of you in this season like a spring that is beginning to flow. May all the debris of uncertainty and past failures and criticisms blow completely away as the good things flow unhindered to bless others. Get into the Word of God and let it speak more loudly to you than the voices that would remind you of your history.  Be reminded that the former things are cast into the sea of forgetfulness.  The forgiveness and enablements of Jesus Christ override past failures and insure future victories.  ”The good man, from his [inner] good treasure, brings out good things…” (Matt.12:35a, Amp) We are praying you discover daily God’s forgiveness in your life.