The New Month of Elul
Elul is the sixth month on the biblical calendar, and it is known as the month when the King is in the field. In ancient Israel, the king would come down from his palace for one month to set up a tent and dwell with his people. This is a reflection of what Jesus did for us! He left his heavenly palace and came down to earth to dwell with us.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
In the month of Elul, God is directing our hearts toward His greatest expression of His love for us, which is the giving of his only Son. Jesus is the King of all kings, and He is in our midst. He rules with love and righteousness.
Hebrews 2:9 says that Jesus was made “a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”
Jesus restored the relationship that was lost in Eden, and now we can come boldly to his throne of grace. The Messiah calls us to receive Him as our King, and to let him rule in the most important field of all: our hearts. When we do, he puts down his tent pegs, sealing us with His Holy Spirit, and we become his permanent dwelling place.
Watch the video below to learn more about the month of Elul, which begins at sundown on August 17 and ends on the evening of September 15.
- Published in Appointed Times
A Season to Feed Your Faith & Starve Your Doubts
We are in a spiritual season when God is igniting our faith. This is the time in biblical history when the children of Israel were poised to go into the Promised Land. They sent 12 spies to survey the land, and 10 gave a negative report, causing the entire nation to turn back to the wilderness. This was supposed to be a time of blessing, but instead, it became a curse. It was because of their unbelief that they missed what God had waiting for them.
This is a season when we need to feed our faith and starve our doubts to death. We must choose to believe God and reverse the curse, turning it into blessing. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “… I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”
We must choose to believe the report of the Lord; not that of the enemy or our circumstances, but the word of God.
Choose life, not death. Choose blessing, not cursing. It’s time to enter into a brand new season of faith!
Watch this video to hear more from Pastor Kent:
- Published in Appointed Times, Spiritual Growth
The New Month of Av
Last month, we walked through the open door of Tammuz and focused on opening our eyes to see things from God’s heavenly perspective. Now, in the month of Av, the Lord is calling us to focus our attention on our hearing, specifically, on hearing the good report of the Lord.
There are so many voices bidding for us to lend them our ears. So, the question is, “Whose voice will we listen to? Whose voice can we believe?” We know this: God is not an author of confusion but of peace and clarity. It is safe to heed our Father’s word.
Av is the Hebrew root word for Abba, which translates to “Father.”
I sense the Lord saying in this time:
“Be still before me, and you will hear the voice of your Heavenly Father. It will rise up above all of the others, for My sheep know My voice. Listen to Me, for My words are spirit and life. Believe me and follow Me, and I will shepherd you safely into your promised land because of my great love for you.”
May you be blessed as you listen to the words of this teaching and hear from our Heavenly Father.
- Published in Appointed Times, Spiritual Growth
Release Your Faith & Starve Your Fears to Death
One of our main assignments here at Word Alive is to ensure that God’s people are connected with God’s timing.
I want to tell you about a very important date on God’s calendar this month called the Ninth of Av. Something significant happened on this day. The children of Isreal were about to enter the Promised Land and God had instructed Moses to send in 12 spies to survey the land. Ten spies returned with a negative report and two gave a positive report.
Because of the ten negative reports, the child of Israel did not have faith to enter the Promised Land and perished in the wilderness. From there, you see that for generations as a nation, very destructive things happen on this particular day. We see a trail of history proving that lack of faith allowed a curse to move among a nation.
But thank God that the Holy Spirit has given us the revelation that we are no longer under the curse but are under the blessing!
It is so very important for us to choose faith over doubt this month, and to choose to believe God’s report instead of the world’s.
Hear more from Pastor Kent on this significant date and what it means for us today.
- Published in Appointed Times, Spiritual Growth
Revelations Regarding True Worship
By Pastor Kent Mattox
We recently spent some time in the mountains with a team from Alabama to hear from the Lord and gain new strategies for the future. It was such a powerful gathering! The Lord really blew us away with some incredible revelation regarding true worship and the times we are living in.
As we step into the Hebraic month of Tammuz when great wars over worship took place in ancient history and the Israelites fell into the trap of developing a golden calf, it is SO important to review how we see the Father and how we respond to Him in worship.
Here are a few power-packed points we received during our time together:
- When you’re developing what you are doing and the glory begins to manifest, don’t let it distract you from your course.
- The minstrels that the Lord is raising up are those who will wait upon Him in fellowship, worship and presence.
- Resting in the Lord is not stressing in the Lord. We must learn how to take it easy and trust in Him.
- When we resist God’s Spirit repeatedly and push back against His refreshing, it becomes destructive to our lives. We have to awaken and respond to Him when He pours Himself out.
- It is the shiny things and the busy things that will tempt you to take your focus off of the Lord.
- If you don’t download, unload and reconcile in this season, then you are running a high risk.
- We must honor the Lord by being willing to lay down everything to go where He tells us and to wait on Him to receive what we need.
- The Lord is growing us up in His Word and developing in us a greater understanding than we’ve ever had before if we will be willing to sacrifice our opinions and listen to Him.
- The issue is not our confession of Christ, it’s the denial of His way in favor of our own. Too frequently, we pray our own opinions and not the will of God.
- Some of the things we face in our culture today are a direct result of our denial of Christ. We must know Jesus personally and the images we have of ourselves must be consumed in His presence in order to come into this place of intimacy and reality with Him.
- Not only is it important to lay down our own opinions in this hour, but also to lay down our desire to control the opinions of others. We can’t enter into the Holy place while wanting to control other people.
May these life-changing revelations bring you into a place of awakening, refreshing and clarity of vision in the power of God’s Spirit as you meditate on them this month!
- Published in Spiritual Growth
The New Month of Tammuz
The new biblical month of Tammuz began on June 19.
Tammuz is the fourth month on God’s calendar. The number four is connected to a picture of a door. It’s as if the door is opening wide, not only into a whole new month but into the whole new season of summer. Summer is also referenced as the holiday of the eyes because there is so much to look at. Everything is in full bloom and everyone is getting up and going out.
In this new month, I sense the Lord saying, “Watch what you watch. Keep your eyes on me, for I do not change. There is more than meets the natural eye. Look to see things from my heavenly perspective and do not fear.”
He is asking us to seek first His kingdom, so that everything will be added unto us.
I pray that you are blessed by this teaching as we open up our doors and our eyes to hear what the Lord is speaking to us this month.
- Published in Spiritual Growth
The New Month of Sivan
Sivan is the third month on God’s spiritual calendar when we move out of transition into a time of extravagant provision. Provision, by definition, is supply made in advance for future use. This is how the God of the Bible operates.
We see this principle demonstrated in the account of creation in Genesis. God made everything man would ever need before He created man himself. He provided lavishly for Adam before He breathed life into Adam’s lungs.
God is the giver of all good things. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” He does this because of His great love for us, as shown in John 3:16.
God’s extravagant gifts are displayed in both the Old and New Testaments. Leviticus 23:15-22 outlines God’s instructions for the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot, which occurred 50 days after Passover. This feast was connected to the grain harvest and also commemorated the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
In the New Testament, before Jesus ascended to heaven, He was with His disciples in Jerusalem celebrating the same feast. He told His followers to stay in the city and wait for the gift the Father promised. “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:5) The Holy Spirit was given to the believers on Shavuot, also known as the day of Pentecost.
God initiates covenants with his people because of His love for us. These blessings are ours in Christ — all we have to do is receive them!
Watch the chalkboard teaching on Sivan to learn more.
- Published in Appointed Times
222: God Will Validate Us with Signs, Miracles & Wonders
Do you ever feel like numbers are following you?
There have been several moments in my life where the same numbers turn up time and time again. At one point it was 555. Recently I’ve been seeing the number 222. I believe this is the Lord speaking.
What is the meaning of this number? A few things come to mind.
In the Bible, two is the number of a “faithful witness,” or someone who is set apart for God. Also worth noting, the word “wisdom” is mentioned 222 times in scripture. Lastly, Acts 2:22 is the only scripture in the whole of the Bible that mentions “signs, miracles and wonders” in the same verse.
Watch this short video as we unpack what this revelation could mean for us. May you be blessed as you seek to align with the Lord!
- Published in Spiritual Growth
Join Us For Pentecost Sunday
We are in one of the most important spiritual seasons that we encounter each year: The 50 days between Passover and Pentecost.
Did you realize that the gestation period after a woman conceives a child until the child is recognized as a fetus and their identity as a human is imparted is 50 days? Pentecost is like this: We transition from the redemption of Passover into the new identity of fresh revelation, new fruit and spiritual manifestation that comes with Pentecost.
I want to encourage you during these next 50 days to process the revelation that the Lord is speaking to you about. Get ready, because Pentecost Sunday will be a very powerful time when we are renewed and refreshed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Please make plans to join us on Sunday, May 28 at 11 a.m. and we encounter the Holy Spirit during our Pentecost service.
- Published in Events
Led By The Spirit: A Conversation with Pastor Benny Hinn
We have officially launched Led By The Spirit: What Pastor Benny Hinn Taught Me About Empowered Living!
It was such a blessing to be in conversation with Pastor Benny recently. It was intimate, powerful and revealing as we discussed the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The book covers several specific attributes that the Spirit imparts on Believers and several ways Spirit-led importation is activated.
We believe that in this decade, we are to be reacquainted with the Holy Spirit in a new and supernatural way. God declares that those who are sons and daughters are led by the Spirit.
Take a listen to my conversation with Benny and be blessed today.
To preorder a copy of the book, visit lifeoffreedom.site.
- Published in News, Spiritual Growth