The Task is Finished - The Work is Just Beginning

On April 21, 2011 we gathered intercessors at the San Jacinto Battlefield (east of Houston) on the 175th anniversary of the battle. One of our first prayers on site was 483 feet high in the observation deck.  There in that room - near the top of the tallest monument in Texas and our Nation, a plumb line was dropped to the room's floor. We called Texas into alignment with God's kingdom.  We declared God's victory over Satan and his principalities.

One of the intercessors was prompted to look up Psalm 48:3 (483 feet high): “God, in her palaces,  has made Himself known as a stronghold.”  We moved to the surrender site (the actual location where the captured dictator Santa Anna met Sam Houston). The Lord commanded us to worship Him.  The battle is His.  The victory is His.  He has destroyed the power of the tyrant over us.

Between the monument and the surrender is a large sundial. As we stood near the sundial, which is lined up with monument and surrender site – I was reminded of standing here 50 years ago. According to Daniel 7 the enemy attempts to align the laws and times according to his plan.  Man also tries to align things (monument, sundial and surrender site) but we have now broken that alignment.  We have now aligned Texas and the Nation with God’s purposes and plans.  Read Daniel 7.

He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him. (Daniel 7:25-27)

As we continued to worship under the oak trees of the park, the Lord declared through me:

The enemy established his laws and times but today, I the Lord, have lined up this land with my laws and times. This State and Nation is now aligned with me. My kingdom is coming but it won’t be coming to a landscape that you recognize.  Everything is changing, but it is changing in accordance with My will and My kingdom.  Say goodbye to the lifestyles, the times, and the locations that you have grown accustomed to – My kingdom is coming forth.  It will not look like the kingdoms of the earth.  You have passed over.  You have crossed over and this will change all things.  All things will shift. Do not fear or be dismayed for things will change in the days to come but I am changing them. Let go of your old times, locations and memories for I am bringing my kingdom to the state and nation. The State will look different, but it is good, for it is the look of My kingdom. I am this day declaring victory, victory, victory!

As we left the site, some of us traveled to Denton, Texas to celebrate the Passover of the Lord.  I personally journeyed to Washington DC to join other national and state leaders in calling our nation into alignment with God's kingdom, will and destiny.  The nation is the Lord's. We have passed over!

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
         And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
    For the kingdom is the LORD'S
         And He rules over the nations. (Psalm 22:27-28)

 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
         The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
    Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
         The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:11-12)

Here I Stand

For such a time as this.  Four hundred ninety years ago today (April 18) Martin Luther stood before the Diet of Worms in Germany and declared "Here I Stand."  The following is a quote from my book, Return of the Priests.

It was late February of 2001, and I was standing on the spot where Martin Luther declared his famous speech before the Diet or court, held in Worms, Germany. I was sobbing uncontrollably as I sensed the power of the Holy Spirit surge through me.  As His words gushed forth, I proclaimed:

I am blowing my wind upon the church. 
I am restoring worship. 
I am restoring the priesthood. 
I will move upon My people in Germany. 
I will move upon My people in the nations. 
I am beginning a new reformation.

I was in Germany on a prayer assignment with Intercessors International (now called Increase International), co-founded by Floyd and Beth Alves.  We were getting acquainted with German businessmen who had invited us to be personal marketplace intercessors for their corporation.  While there, one of the businessmen took another intercessor and me to Worms, the site of Martin Luther's trial.

In April of 1521, Martin Luther was called to make an appearance before the Diet.   Everything he had written and spoken about would be questioned. The Diet was not only a gathering of church officials from the Roman Catholic Church, but involved the Emperor himself. According to Roland H. Bainton in Here I Stand, Martin Luther was “a simple monk, a miner’s son, with nothing to sustain him save his own faith in the Word of God.”

Over a two-day period, Luther underwent an extensive examination of his writings about justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers, among other doctrinal topics.  To the demand of the Diet, that he renounce his heretical beliefs, Luther responded by declaring:

“Since then your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”

Now, centuries later on the same location, the Lord was proclaiming a fresh wind of reformation and revival. 

It is time for us to make our stand.  It is time for reformation.  It is time for true revival.  It is a time, even as "simple" people to confess that we are unwilling to move off of the foundation of Jesus Christ our Lord.

HERE I STAND.  I CAN DO NO OTHER.  GOD HELP ME.  AMEN!

You can order my book by going to: http://arsenalbooks.com/product/Return_of_the_Priests_Thomas_Schlueter/Christian_Living

TXAPN Regional Event - Panhandle Regions

Texas Apostolic Prayer Network - Panhandle Regions

Lamesa Christian Fellowship
201 N 22nd Place
Lamesa, TX
Friday, May 20 at 7:00pm - May 21 at 5:00pm
Hosts: Northern Panhandle, Central Panhandle, Southern Panhandle and Permian Basin Regions

Date: May 20 & 21, 2011 Friday evening and Saturday
...Times: Friday, 5/20, 7 pm
Saturday: 8am to 5 pm


Speakers:

• 

Dr. Tom Schlueter (TXAPN Coordinator) will speak Friday night and Sunday morning at Lamesa Christian Fellowship.

• Mark Gonzales (Hispanic Prayer Network) will speak on Saturday.

• Other Speakers are still being secured.




These will be open meetings for you congregations and you are welcome to invite your city/county leaders to attend. We especially ask that you invite your intercessors to attend. 



There will be information as to what/why/how Texas Apostolic Prayer Network is all about, the foundation and purpose.

Topics/discussions:

• Regional issues, problems within our regions, strongholds. 
• Prayer strategy to bring victory. 
• Islam, Freemasonry, Border, Drought
• Are we involved in our communities, interacting with other churches, the city/county/state government? 
• Reports will be given concerning the prayer journey across our nation, reconciliation with the Native Americans, reconciliation of different religious doctrines/ethnic groups.



Best Western hotel located at 506 North Dallas Avenue.
$70.00 plus $7.70 tax= $77.70 per night. Please request price for Lamesa Christian Fellowship. Complimentary breakfast.

For more information: Contact Pastor Gwen Aldridge

TXAPN Regional Event - Southeast Region

Texas Apostolic Prayer Network
Southeast Region Gathering

Morning Star Church
3515 Main
Groves, TX
Saturday, April 16 · 10:00am - 3:00pm

Open Heaven Intercession - This is a clarion call to enter into a time of corporate agreement for prayer NOW for our cities, regions, and nations! This is not a time of training or teaching. Instead, we are expecting this gathering to be a catalyst for Sovereign manifestations, demonstrations and information to be revealed.

This is a time for...

Praise and Worship
Declarations and Decrees
Proclamations and Acclamations
Focused Prayer Directives

Lunch will be available for $10 and will be served by the youth ministry. A love offering will be received. Contact Beverly Puckett by email.

Dr. Tom Schlueter - TXAPN Coordinator
Apostle Carolyn Hebert - TXAPN Region 11 Coordinator
Nancy Nicholson - TXAPN Region 11 Coordinator
Betty Johnson - TXAPN Region 11 Coordinator
Roger and Charlotte Merschbrock - Louisiana APN Coordinators

Anchor Bolts

I had a dream.  In the dream I was preparing to go to a wedding that was going to be held at our church building - Prince of Peace Church.  As I made my way to the church building I knew that someone else was performing the ceremony, but I would be a participant in it.  As I walked into the church's entryway, I was met by a flurry of activity.  People were making flowers, placing decorations and chattering with excitement.  Everything was a buzz.

I made my way into the worship area to a surprise.  All the pews had been removed and in their place were folding chairs.  At first (in the dream) I was excited because we had thought often about the possibility of making the room more multi-use.  Oddly there were no people in the worship area and only a few decorations.

But then I looked at the floor.  The shift emotionally in my dream was significant when I discovered that the restraining bolts that hold down the pews were all cut off.  I became livid.  I even remember thinking in the dream that it was silly to be upset.  If you are going to remove the pews, you need to remove the bolts as well, but again, I WAS LIVID.  I went out of the room and started asking people why the bolts were removed but everyone seemed disinterested or oblivious.  I was so upset in the dream that I woke up agitated.

In recalling the dream and asking the Lord what it meant, He directed me to Colossians 2:

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:6-10)

He revealed to me that the dream was about Him and His upcoming wedding to the bride.  He showed me the misdirected preparation of the bride. There is a flurry of activity and excitement in the entryway but there was no concern regarding the main issue - we were not anchored to the foundation.  He has been drilling this message into me.  See my past blog: How Are Your Roots? We are entering into a season of intense change and transition.  The world is in an uproar as nations teeter and finances shake.  Earthquakes are literally shaking us to the core.  In the midst of all the preparations and excitement, we must be sure of the true foundation - Jesus Christ - and build only on Him.  On Christ the solid rock I stand - all other ground is sinking sand!