In my last blog, I wrote about a fresh wind of the Spirit that is moving in the nations, outlining four statements that will assist us in evading the enemy as he seeks to hinder us from connecting to the Spirit's work.

This week let’s consider the following five statements:

• Be willing to be creative in confronting the enemy. Therefore, never presume upon God that you can confront the enemy using the same approach as you did in your last season of grace and victory. Don’t let fear block God’s creativity from working in you. Remember the Lord’s word to David when he enquired of the Lord whether he should go up again against the Philistines: “Yes, but listen for the sound of the wind in the mulberry trees”. So listen for the fresh new sound that is blowing in the nations, and be creative in your obedience to the Spirits voice.

• When your way appears blocked, take timeout to pray and fast for a day or two; spend time seeking the Lord and wait for His revelation. In the Old Testament there’s a story of an enemy alliance coming against Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles. 20) - fear gripped him. So he fasted and sought the Lord saying, ’…we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.’ God moved on the prophet Jahaziel and he began to prophesy God’s strategy for victory.

In this season of change, be every ready to listen for God’s Holy Spirit word. It will lead you into God’s appointed position.

• In this season there is a need to guard against the spirit of unbelief. Don’t let an atmosphere of unbelief influence you or stop you from taking steps of faith and in speaking out. Jesus in Luke 4 returned from a time in the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. He had gained victory over the enemy out in the wilderness. But when He entered his hometown of Nazareth, He had to declare that the atmosphere of unbelief was rife; this spirit sought to prevent him from being about His Father’s business.

Like Jesus did, recognize this spirit at work, for it’s time to be about your Father’s business out in the midst of the environment of unbelief as it attempts to obstruct you from connecting to this fresh new move of the Spirit – be bold and speak faith!

• Jesus learned how to outwit the enemy – so can you! He did it often in His three years of ministry. He was successful in outwitting His enemies, because He knew when to withdraw, hide himself and on occasion, escaped the hand of those trying to seize Him and do Him physical harm. Similarly it’s important that we learn when it is appropriate for us to take a different direction in life.

• We need to believe and expect greater things from God in this fresh new season of the Spirit; because faith is the key that unlocks the Spirit’s capacity within us. (Mark 9:23). That’s a real issue in the Western church today. In the book of Acts we see how as the church prayed an earthquake occurred; the result was, that Peter walked free. As we seek to move forward and connect to what the Spirit is doing in this season of change, it’s important to watch for natural circumstances and relational opportunities to work in your favour and for your benefit. However remember not to be like those who, when Peter turned up at their door, did not believe it was Peter standing there.  So, when you pray, believe and expect God to move!

In conclusion:

It’s important to be men and women of faith ready and willing to move in agreement with this fresh wind of the Spirit in the nations. Therefore listen to the Spirit’s voice and be ever ready to speak faith and walk in obedience.

Therefore don’t surrender your position and do not submit to a blocked path.

Last weekend I gathered with our Australian Prayer Network Regional Coordinators and members of the national team on the beautiful central coast of NSW. This was another wonderful time of being together, seeking God for the way ahead and giving thanks for the past year and the season that we have recently come through. In our closing session, I brought the following word to our leaders.

There is a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit moving in the nations!

This is not a time for timidity or for drawing back: instead in obedience to the Spirit’s voice, we must move with courage and determination, yielding to what the Spirit is doing in the nations. As we do this, we need to challenge the enemy and move past the obstacles that He will erect to discourage us from connecting with this fresh wind of the Spirit.

To do this, we need to quieten our soul and listen carefully to the Spirit voice within us, for the Spirit of God is wanting to do a deeper work of grace in all of us. Because it’s within us that the Holy Spirit will grant us fresh victory, from which, we gain new momentum and direction to connect with this wind of change. Therefore, seek to abide in the grace of His presence within and don’t be knocked out of your abiding place in Him. Fight for your birthright to connect to your kingdom inheritance in creation.

As you do, let me encourage you to consider the following nine statements; they will assist you in evading the enemy, as he seeks to prevent you from moving forward and connecting with this fresh wind of the Spirit:

• It’s time to break free from old patterns of religious activity – including prayer, and to have a fresh abandonment to follow God in a new way of surrender; then in faithfulness to Him, be willing to serve others no matter what the cost. Each of us has a specific measure of authority that God has given us, so with unbridled passion begin by exercising that measure and a way will start to open up to you.

• As you circumvent the enemy, as he seeks to block you from moving on in God, don’t be afraid to address previous issues that may arise because they have not been fully dealt with in your life. Surrender them to the cross of Christ and let God’s love open up for you new spheres of grace and healing. Isa. 43:18-19, ‘forget the former things, don’t dwell on the past. See I’m doing a new thing!’

Therefore settle your past so that it doesn’t sabotage your future.

• As you move into position to catch this fresh new wind of the Holy Spirit that is blowing in the nations, allow the Lord to reveal to you unexpected ways to overtake your enemies. Sometimes it will be necessary to go through the ‘thistles and thorns’ of life, in order to gain victory. If this happens, it’s important to keep your eye on the Lord and He will show you how to move to that place of victory: as you do, His presence will be established with in you, sustaining you and enabling you to hold onto His vision and voice.

• Watch for the enemy’s retaliation, like the Philistines in David’s day and the religious right of Paul’s day, the enemy will come to torment you and to rob you of your anointing and to prevent you from moving forward in God. Therefore, don’t let your guard down once the initial victory comes, because the enemy often regroups and tries to attack again. As scripture clearly demonstrates, Satan detests it when we move forward with a new sense of Holy Spirit power and purpose.

To be continued next week…