3 THINGS HOLDING BACK THE FLOOD

I was sleeping soundly after our first Friday evening session at the Unconference in Nashville when I awakened from a dream.

In the dream I saw myself speaking at the conference - something I was scheduled to do first thing on Saturday morning - but instead of speaking about how we should untangle our faith from politics I heard myself speaking about another topic.

I laid there in the bed, located in the basement of Steve and Ernie Simms' house in Nashville and looked up at the sea of glow-in-the-dark stars which were glued to the ceiling above me.

A glance at my phone said it was 3:10 a.m.

There was no doubt in my mind that the Lord wanted me to speak about this new topic. I quickly rolled out of bed and got on my knees to pray about what I'd seen.

After a few moments I felt a very strong urge to write down the message so I wouldn't forget it.

What I had heard was simply this: There are 3 things holding back the flood.

I knew this was a specific message for the people who were with us for the Unconference. The night before had been filled with expectation and I had sensed a strong sense of hunger for experiencing the kind of ekklesia where Jesus is the Head and the people operate as fully-functional members of the Body of Christ.

But, now, the Lord was highlighting three specific barriers that were holding back this flood of the Lord's anointing and presence.

After writing it all down I was too wired to sleep so I picked up my iPod and checked my messages.

As I was responding to a post on Facebook my cell phone buzzed to let me know I was receiving a text. "Who was texting me at 3 a.m.?" I wondered.

It was Richard Jacobson. His text read: "What are you doing up at 3 a.m.?"

I texted back to let him know that the Lord had given me a new message for our morning session. He said that he had also received a new direction for the Lord for his sessions too.

By the time the morning session started I was anxious to share what the Lord had given me.

I started things off by inviting the young girl up who had the vision from the night before about the giant fire hose being lowered down to us and gushing spouts of living water over all of us.

After she finished, I let everyone know that my session was not going to be about faith and politics but about 3 things that were holding back the flood.

Here's what I shared:

Many of you here have been hurt by your brothers and sisters in the Church. The Lord sees your pain. He knows how much it hurts when they slander you, and when they shun you for seeking to experience the ekklesia and practice the Headship of Christ. He understands and validates your suffering.

But, you need to forgive them. You need to let it go. The Lord cannot put something new into your hands if you haven't let go of your pain. He can't move you forward until you allow Him to heal your wounds.

Give this hurt to Jesus. Let Him heal you. Let Him show you how to love your brothers and sisters.

Pray for them. Pray a blessing over them. Pray for their marriage. Pray a blessing over their ministry. Pray for their finances to increase. Pray for their children. Pray the Lord's favor over them. Not because you feel it, but because the Lord has commanded you to bless those who curse you and do good to those who mistreat you.

At first it will only be words, but as you continue to pray for them, the Lord will soften and change your heart and eventually you will mean every word of what you are asking, and that's when you'll know you have surrendered your pain to Him.

Some of you are waiting for permission. You're not sure you're qualified to start a church in your home. You're afraid you don't have the authority to do this.

But the Lord says, you are already licensed and ordained into the ministry of the Gospel of Christ by the Holy Spirit of the Living God.

If you are sensing His calling to go and do this - go and do this! He will be with you all the way.

You are called. You are chosen. You are qualified.

Do not wait to be equipped before you step out. As you step out, you will be equipped.

You've been waiting for the guru to arrive and show you what to do. But the Lord says, the expert you are waiting for is within you! You have the Lord Jesus Christ living inside of you.

Go. Just go, knowing that He will never leave you, nor forsake you.

Finally, there are some of you who are waiting for a road map. You're ready and willing to go, but you're waiting for someone to navigate every step that may come your way.

The Lord says that you are pioneers. Where you are going there is no map.

The map you are looking for will be drawn as you go and others who come behind you will follow the trail that you have cut for them along the way.

Cut the path. Blaze the trail.

Remember: The Lord loves to do extraordinary things through ordinary people. Every "hero" of the faith in the Bible was a weak, flawed, broken person. This is why the Lord touched them and did magnificent things through them; because He knew they could never take credit for the great things He would do in their weakness.

As Paul told us, "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." [2 Cor. 4:7]

Many of you came here today because you thought this was a conference. But this is not a conference, it's a launching pad. The Lord wants to fill you up and send you out.

The countdown has already started.

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So, this is how we started things off on Saturday morning. It only got more awesome from there.

More testimonies to follow.

-kg