New MorningStar Ministries Publications

Understanding the Spirit - The Path of Life, Part 15

Rick Joyner — 05/29/2012

In our pursuit of the Lord and knowing His voice, we must always keep in mind the basic truth given to us in I Corinthians 2:12-16: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. We cannot understand the ways of the Spirit, the writings of the Spirit, or the voice of the Spirit, without having the Holy Spirit. Our natural reasoning will never lead us to spiritual truth. Before we can understand the truth, we need our minds transformed from their natural, earthly perspective, until we can see with the eyes of Christ, hear with His ears, and understand with His heart. This is to have His perspective on everything. For true disciples, this is the ultimate pursuit. ... Read More

Understanding the Scriptures - The Path of Life, Part 14

Rick Joyner — 05/22/2012

One of the great questions is how people can read the same Scriptures and derive different conclusions, or even doctrines, from them. We have likely all said things that someone would interpret the exact opposite of what we meant, and this happens to the Lord and His Words as well. One question many have is: Why would the Lord allow biblical prophecies to sometimes be so ambiguous or seemingly conflict the way that they do? One reason is that the Lord obviously has a purpose in separating the real seekers of truth from the pretenders. In short, He does not want them to be easy to understand—He wants those who are trusted with a depth of understanding to have a resolute searching heart that will not give up because they value this understanding enough to persevere through any obstacle. As the Lord told His disciples, this is why He spoke to the people in parables. When I was a young believer and started reading The Bible, I was profoundly astonished at its depth and brilliance. I had spent years reading Marx, Freud, Jung, May, many of the great philosophers, and ultimately leading to the existentialists like Camus and B.F. Skinner. I concluded quickly that the wisdom of The Bible trumped the most brilliant human wisdom by an insurmountable distance. Yet I had tried to read The Bible before, but it did not make sense to me. After my conversion, I could hardly believe it was the same book. The... Read More

The Government of God - The Path of Life, Part 13

Rick Joyner — 05/15/2012

In Psalm 97, we have one of the most illuminating prophecies of what we are now seeing unfolding in the earth: The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; yet the many islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him, and burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; the earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory. Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols; worship Him, all you gods. Zion heard this and was glad, and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of Your judgments, O Lord. For Your are the Lord Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the... Read More

Focus On The Light - The Path of Life, Part 12

Rick Joyner — 05/08/2012

We know from Scripture that with unity there is a multiplication of spiritual authority. There is the biblical testimony that one can put a thousand to flight, but two can put ten thousand to flight. The Lord also taught that if any two could agree, then it would be done for them. Of course, this agreement is more than just an intellectual assent to a matter; rather it implies an actual and deep union between the two. This takes an investment in both the matter that we are uniting about and the people we are uniting with, but it is not superficial. Just as Elijah, a prophet and seer, was deceived into thinking he was the only one left who stood for the Lord, when in reality the Lord had many thousands more, we are not alone. The Lord has many more than we know who are standing for His truth. However, even if we are alone and we die for our stand, is there a better way to die? We are seeing a remarkable miracle take place in the body of Christ in America right now—the body of Christ is starting to come together in unity. It may still be far from what our idealism would imply unity is, but it is happening. We are coming to the greatest opportunity we have ever had to be who we are called to be—faithful witnesses who esteem the truth of the gospel more than their own lives. We will see those who we may... Read More

Earthen Vessels - The Path of Life, Part 11

Rick Joyner — 05/01/2012

In Scripture, healing and prophetic ministries are often linked. As we’ve discussed, one way that the prophetically gifted can discern problems in others is to feel in their own body what those whom they are praying for feel. If your kidneys start hurting while you’re praying for someone, it is probably not your kidneys, but the person you are praying for. Usually, as soon as you get the message, the pain will go away. Why does the Lord have us discern problems like this? Often people do not know what is wrong with them and cannot tell us what to pray for, and this helps. Also, when someone who is burdened or sick knows that you were given knowledge of something that you could not have known, except through a revelation from God, it not only deeply touches them with how much God cares for them, but also raises their faith level for the healing. Our goal always should be healing, restoration, and victory over any work of the devil. The ultimate victory is a revelation of the Lord’s love. We are told in the Gospels that even Jesus was hindered in doing things when there was great unbelief. If Jesus could be hindered that way, how much more can it hinder us? If the work of the Lord can be hindered in this way, it helps if we cultivate faith, which is also expectation. ... Read More

Abiding in the Presence of the Lord - The Path of Life, Part 10

Rick Joyner — 04/24/2012

We discussed in a previous Word for the Week how discernment may operate through impressions, which is where we start to feel in ourselves what someone else is dealing with. One reason many prophetic people suffer depression is because they pick up on so much spiritually around them that they think it is their problem and fail to distinguish this as the gift working. Just because we feel depression does not mean that we have depression, but we may be feeling what someone close to us is dealing with. If we inquire of the Lord about these feelings, He will lead us to the truth about them. As we mature, we will learn to distinguish what we are picking up from others, or other situations, and what is actually in our own hearts. That being said, many prophetic people are of the melancholy temperament that can be prone to depression. This is something no child of God should be subject to, and we can be free of it. There are reasons for depression that we do not have to be subject to. All who know and serve the Lord should resolve to not be subject to depression. Of course, depression may be the result of chemical imbalances, but if this is the case, let’s get it right. We cannot see the world or people as they are if we are looking through the eyes of depression. This is a serious hindrance to prophetic revelation that we must overcome. When I first read in Isaiah 6:3 where the cherubim were saying... Read More

Devotion to the Word of God - The Path of Life, Part 9

Rick Joyner — 04/17/2012

Continuing the theme of how some multilevel marketing groups are using principles of the kingdom more effectively than the church at this time, I do realize that some seem to be building on greed and material attainment more than godliness. I don’t deny this and would never condone it even for business if we are Christians, but this does not negate the truth. I know people who pray in the wrong spirit, using prayers to preach or manipulate others, but this does not mean that we should stop praying because some are not doing it right. About the charge that all these multilevel groups do is talk about money, I must ask: How is that different from many churches today? If this is not the case with a church, more times than not, they have been reactionary to this and instead promote what is in fact a spirit of poverty. Remember, a ditch is on either side of the path of life, and if we react to one, we will usually fall into the ditch on the other side. It is also a sad fact that many who are in a spiritual ditch, stuck and going nowhere, often do not even realize they’re stuck. You can have a car putting out 300-horsepower, but if the car is just spinning its wheels, it’s still not going anywhere. Where is all of the energy we’re putting out really taking us? Again, I’m not trying to be an... Read More

The Greatest Hope

Rick Joyner — 04/11/2012

As we just celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, let us resolve to live by this truth. Spurgeon once said, “Very few Christians believe in the resurrection.” When I read this, I thought it was a misprint, but I immediately had the witness of the Holy Spirit that it was true. We are told in Romans 10:10 that we must believe in our hearts, not just our minds, for it to result in righteousness. We believe in the doctrine of the resurrection, but if we really believed in the resurrection in our hearts, our lives would be radically different. How would they be different? First, we would not be so consumed with the things that are temporary, but rather with the things that are eternal. There is a saying that some are “so heavenly minded that they are not earthly good,” but the truth is that many Christians are so earthly minded that they are not doing much good for heaven or earth. The historic truth is that those who were the most heavenly minded are the ones who have always done the most good for this present world. Those who are heavenly minded, who are obeying the exhortation to seek first the kingdom, are the freest people on the earth, and they will become more and more obvious in the times to come. We are told in Colossians 3:1-4: Therefore, if you have been raised up with... Read More

Community: The Common-Unity - The Path of Life, Part 8

Rick Joyner — 04/10/2012

If you were a little challenged by the last WFTW, I understand. I’ve been challenged often with things I’ve been shown until I had the chance to thoroughly check them out. My goal is to preach the gospel of the kingdom, not promote multilevel marketing, though I do have a high regard for it. Even so, I always cause a lot of controversy when I say that “in some ways” multilevel marketers understand “some” principles of the kingdom better than many church leaders do. I don’t mind causing controversy with the truth. This is the truth. I readily admit that for many the multilevel fellowships have displaced the church as the central society in their lives. It is not supposed to be that way, but it is, and it wouldn’t be if these people could find the same level of fellowship and discipleship that they are finding in some multilevel marketing groups. We should not condemn that which is showing us something important we need to see. Christians need real fellowship and discipleship that many are not able to get in their church. I’ve sat in board meetings of large multilevel companies that were more like a Bible study than a business meeting. I loved it, was edified, and my hope has been that the church would become the community we are called to be. Community comes... Read More

Invest in People By Loving Them - The Path of Life, Part 7

Rick Joyner — 04/03/2012

Two of the most enjoyable and interesting people I’ve met are Dexter and Birdie Yager. They had one of the largest organizations within Amway. I have never been part of Amway, but my wife and I used to get together with the Yagers for dinner occasionally, and each time it was an evening we would never forget. I was always amazed at how Dexter would seem to know the name of every waiter and waitress at whatever restaurant we went to. He treated each one of them like they were the most important person in the world, and they would swarm around him like moths to a light. It was always as fascinating and inspiring to watch this as anything else we did. The Yagers loved people, and I think this was by far the biggest secret to their huge success. It will also be the biggest reason for our success, if we are truly successful. One night we were at the Yager’s house until almost 3:00 a.m. Dexter and Birdie were still as full of life as when the night began. There was a knock on the door, and it was one of the guards. He said a waiter from a local restaurant was there and wanted to see Dexter, who had told him to come by “any time.” Dexter laughed and said, “Sure, bring him in!” We used this as an excuse to go home, but I’ll never forget what Dexter said... Read More

The Gift of a Word of Knowledge - The Path of Life, Part 6

Rick Joyner — 03/27/2012

I was involved in another prophetic experience that I think has some great lessons. It happened when I was flying our ministry plane to Nashville with some of our musicians to do some recording. After taxing to the General Aviation ramp, a line girl directed us to a parking spot. After we deplaned, the wife of one of our musicians said to the line girl as she walked past her, “You get along with animals better than you do people—you should have been a vet.” The line girl looked stunned, and I couldn’t help wondering if this had insulted her. Our team left with their ride, which had been waiting to take them to the recording studio. Before I left, I gave my fuel order at the service desk when the line girl came in and blurted out, “Was that girl with you a psychic?” I said, “No, but why do you ask?” She told me that when she was parking our plane she was thinking about how she gets along better with animals than she does people and that she should have become a vet. That’s when the musician’s wife spoke to her. It was just a small terminal, and this conversation was so loud that everyone in the terminal looked intently at us. I explained how this lady was a Christian, and how Christ loves all people and has a plan for their lives, and sometimes He gives His servants information like this about them to confirm His will for their life. The line... Read More

Words of Knowledge Bring Awe and Wonder of the Lord - The Path of Life, Part 5

Rick Joyner — 03/21/2012

The word of knowledge that I was given, which is my personal favorite, seemed very strange to me when I received it. I actually resisted sharing it. In a meeting, we were praying for a couple and their fourteen- year-old daughter. I heard the Spirit say, “Tell the daughter that she is not an accident.” Immediately, I thought about how embarrassing this would be for the daughter and her parents, who were standing in front of the whole congregation for prayer. I assumed she must have been one of the “surprise” children, but I did not want to embarrass the little girl or her parents. Then the Spirit said, “Do it.” When I did, both the daughter and the parents burst into tears and were almost wailing. Concerned that I had insulted them terribly, I asked what this meant to them. They said that their daughter had been the product of a rape, and had found out, and felt that she was not even supposed to be alive. This family was new to the church, and knew I could not have known this. That one word instantly healed a major wound in their family. The little girl left thinking that God did know her, and that she was “not an accident,” but that God loved her and He had a purpose for her. The parents left deeply touched by how God had so personally cared about them and that they could rejoice in the victory of this whole situation... Read More

Compassion: The Foundation of Spiritual Authority - The Path of Life, Part 4

Rick Joyner — 03/13/2012

As we’ve discussed, even if you’ve read many books on the characteristics of a person’s voice, if you have never heard it with your own ears, you will likely have a very hard time recognizing that voice in a crowd. You may not have even thought about the technical characteristics of their voice, but if you have spent a lot of time with that person, you’ll recognize their voice as soon as you hear it, even if others are talking. Likewise, there is simply no substitute for spending time with the Lord and hearing His voice for ourselves. Even so, there are some principles that can help us until we come to know Him that well. First, what is coming from the Spirit of God usually has an obvious touch of His love and compassion attached. What is often coming from the other side, or the human side, usually has another agenda, either to puff up the prophet, or to influence the target of the word in a wrong way. The Holy Spirit exists to reveal Jesus and to draw us to Him. People who are obviously using the gifts to draw attention to themselves, or to establish their own ministry or authority, are at best immature. The immature can be very real and useful, because no mature prophet ever started out mature. I would love to have the gift where I could just lay hands on people and say, “Be mature... Read More

The "Super-Natural" - The Path of Life, Part 3

Rick Joyner — 03/06/2012

Supernatural means “super-natural.” As C.S. Lewis pointed out, almost all of the miracles of Jesus were simply the speeding up of a natural process. There was never any wine that did not start out as water and go through a process—Jesus just sped up that process. There was never anyone healed that God did not heal through the “natural” processes He placed in us, but through Jesus and His workers He sped this up. Words of knowledge, which is receiving information through the Spirit about someone, is like touching one little cell of the mind of Christ. When Jesus looks at something, He knows all that there is to know about that person. When we look at someone in the Spirit, He can give us just a tiny fraction of that information and it seems spectacular to us. If we are given a name, birthday, or other details, we’re astounded, as the person usually is too. Even so, this is not to wow people but to help them. When we receive a bit of supernatural knowledge like this, if we will not get too excited and keep inquiring of the Lord, He will often give us more. Sometimes He’ll also give us a “word of wisdom,” so that we know how to use this knowledge to help that person. Again, it’s not just about getting the word of knowledge, but about helping the person,... Read More

Growing in the Prophetic Ministry - The Path of Life, Part 2

Rick Joyner — 02/29/2012

Most prophetic revelation is on the impression level. It is the “still small voice” of God, and we may be tempted to think these are just thoughts coming from our own souls. Test them. A good way to do this is to ask a question of the person you’re getting something for in the beginning. For example, if a person comes close to you and you start feeling grief, ask if they are grieving about something. You will find that often they have recently lost someone close to them, and they will be amazed at how you knew this. Just tell them that at times you can pick up in the Spirit what others are feeling so that you can pray for them. Most of the time, they will ask more questions and then ask you to pray for them. Remember that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and He is very sensitive to people who are grieving. If the person you ask says “no,” that they are not grieving about anything, then just say “good,” or something similar. Yes, this can be a little awkward, but that is a small price to pay to grow in such a powerful gift. If they want to know why you asked, tell them that sometimes you pick up things, or whatever seems right, while being honest. Often the conversation will go on, and you will find they are in fact grieving over someone—maybe even someone they lost... Read More

A New Breed of Leader

Rick Joyner — 02/28/2012

What would the perfect President be like? What would the perfect Senator or Congressman be like? Of course, we do not have perfect people to choose from for these positions, but if we set the standard of what we’re looking for, and then start looking for the right people to fill the positions, we would likely end up with much better leaders than we have now. This is how Ronald Reagan was found. Conservative movements began looking for what they needed in a candidate rather than just looking at the available pool, who at the time, were clamoring to be chosen. Reagan was not a perfect President, but he seemed to be the perfect one for the times. Under his leadership, the nation not only emerged from its worst economic problems in half a century, but vision and hope for an even greater future were restored. It was this faith that ultimately unraveled the power of our greatest enemy—the Soviet Union. Nearly two decades of prosperity followed until the recipe for this was forgotten. We can have the best form of government but will still have bad government if we put bad people in it. We have the best form of government, but we are not putting the best people in it, and we have an increasingly shallow pool of people to choose from. A reason for this is because the system that has evolved for choosing our... Read More

The Path of Life

Rick Joyner — 02/23/2012

Christians are not called to follow a philosophy of life or a moral system of behavior; we are called to follow a Person—Christ. The Way is not a formula but a Person. Truth is not just getting our doctrines accurate, though we want to do that, but the Truth we are to follow is a Person—Jesus is the Truth. He must be our Life if we are to really know Him as the Way and the Truth. Jesus said in John 10 that His sheep would follow Him because His sheep know His voice. This is why a primary focus of our ministry has been to know His voice and to help others to do the same. This was a main theme of the Word for the Week last year, but we can go much further than this and will this year. As we have discussed, there are two basic ways that people recognize others—by their face and by their voice. Many books are written about knowing the voice of God, and these teach many wise sounding principles. However, I don’t think there is any principle that will help us know the voice of the Lord. For example, I could write a paper on someone’s voice and describe it accurately, but until you have heard it yourself, you probably would not be able to pick that person out in a crowd. What I’m saying is that many principles can help us... Read More

The Summit

Rick Joyner — 02/15/2012

On February 9-11, we hosted the 2012 Oak Initiative Summit. It was an exceptional gathering with many calling it the best yet. It began with a stunning presentation by Kevin Freeman, the author of Secret Weapon, which well deserves its present rise on the New York Times bestseller list. It is a brilliant and scholarly work on one of the greatest threats to America in these times—economic terrorism. It is well-known that events like the 2008 stock market crash were caused by someone trying to do great harm to America. On an otherwise normal day, suddenly more than five hundred and fifty billion dollars was pulled out within just one hour, and the ensuing cascade led to the Fed declaring an emergency and shutting the trading down after estimating that five trillion would be pulled out in just a matter of hours. Congressman Jankowski related the following about the briefing Congress was given on the event, “We almost lost our entire economy and government.” This leads to several questions that our government has never publicly answered: How have we been allowed to be in a place where something like this could be done to us? Who did this to us? Why did they do this to us? Are we still in such jeopardy? The entire world is still... Read More

You Shall Be Holy

Rick Joyner — 02/14/2012

True holiness is not legalism but love. The reason the bride wants to be without spot or wrinkle is not out of the fear that if she is not perfect her Bridegroom will smite her, but because she is so in love with Him that she wants to be perfect for Him. This is the difference between being driven by legalism, which is fear based, and being motivated by the love that fulfills the Law. This is why the primary goal of our lives should be to love more. The Lord affirmed that the most important commandments were to love God above all things and to love one another. If we do this, we will automatically fulfill the Law. If we love God, we will not worship idols. If we love others, we will not steal, murder, or even envy them. The Lord replaced all of the “do nots” of the Law with positives—love God and love one another because then we will fulfill all of the “do nots.” The key to loving God is simply to learn about Him and His ways. I don’t think we can see a single aspect of God or learn one thing about His nature that will not compel us to love Him more. This includes seeing His judgments because they are perfect, and even these are motivated by a love far above human love. This is why true Christianity is discipleship—disciples are devoted to learning all that they can from their masters in order to become like them. True Christian... Read More

Law vs. Grace

Rick Joyner — 02/07/2012

Years ago, I read a study on alcoholism about how this problem affected different people groups. It was very illuminating. The great surprise was that the group who had the highest percentage of alcoholics was a conservative evangelical denomination that forbids the drinking of any kind of alcohol. Just as surprising was the finding that the people group who had the lowest percentage of alcoholics were the Jews who drink freely. Over the years, other similar findings have been found, highlighting a biblical truth that the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:56: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” We do not use science to establish our theology, but sometimes it confirms it. Legalism tends to work the opposite of its intended result, actually empowering sin, and will never be the antidote to lawlessness. Of course, the entire U.S. learned this under prohibition. Not only did the drinking in America continue under prohibition, but it seemed to increase, as well as other crimes. Prohibition made criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens, which seemed to just open them up to all sorts of crime and disregard for the law. Even so, alcoholism is a terrible thing, destroying many families and lives in a most cruel way. Though I do not know of any alcoholism in my own family, I have seen its scourge close up, and it is... Read More

Calling the Sons of Zadok

Rick Joyner — 02/03/2012

America is suffering under a vacuum of leadership. This is not just in government but also in virtually every major center of influence, including the church. In Isaiah chapters three through five, we are told that capricious, immature leaders are the beginning of the judgment of God for the nation that turns from God and falls to the ultimate depravity of calling good evil and evil good, and for dishonoring the honorable while honoring the dishonorable. That is an accurate description of America. It will take more than an election to get us out of the mire we’re in. We must have revival. We must have another Great Awakening or we will not survive much longer as a Republic. This is not to imply that the elections are not important. America and the rest of Western civilization have been led to the edge of a most dangerous precipice. Even Tony Blair, the recent Prime Minister of Great Britain who is from the liberal Labor Party, warned recently that Europe could not long survive if they did not forsake the entitlement mentality. The whole world is about to crash on the rocks of financial bankruptcy, but financial problems are just a root of something worse. The West has lost its spiritual and moral underpinnings without which we cannot survive as a free people. A financial change of direction could buy us... Read More

West Coast Disaster: Sounding the Alarm - What is the Spirit Saying? Part 3

Rick Joyner — 01/31/2012

One of the greatest revivals of all time began at Azusa Street in Los Angeles in 1906. The wretched former stable burned so brightly with the glory of God that for a time it was called “the second most famous address in the world.” God can do it again, and will, if we want it enough. Every revival in history seems to be the result of a few people becoming so hungry for God that they wanted Him more than oxygen. Those who have such hunger will not be denied. It’s time to seek a revival that becomes the most famous address in the world. It’s time to seek a move of God that won’t quit moving. I’ve seen in visions and dreams the destruction that is destined, especially on our West Coast. This has caused some to say that I have a hatred for our West Coast, which is not true, but rather the opposite. I really can’t help what I dream, and though a psycho analyst might say it is the result of deep feelings, I know these are prophetic dreams. They never leave me pleased, but rather I’m grieved enough to take all of the heat for sharing them with the hope that people will listen, repent, and they will not have to come true. I’ve also seen the harvest that is coming at the end of this age. Why can’t the destruction be preempted... Read More

Honoring Fathers and Mothers - What is the Spirit Saying? Part 2

Rick Joyner — 01/24/2012

California and the Northwest have produced some of the greatest spiritual leaders over the last century and a half and are still producing them. Some are not just teachers but true spiritual fathers and mothers. As we covered previously, one of the ways Israel honored their fathers and mothers was to keep drinking from the wells that they dug, acknowledging and being thankful for them. We should be honored by drinking from the wells that they dug, not only because of all we can still learn from them, but also because the Lord will honor His commitment to bless those who do this. One of the great spiritual and moral toxins that has been originating from Hollywood and polluting the world has been the dishonoring of fathers and mothers. For more than half a century, it has been especially resolute to attack fathers and fatherhood, but recently it has begun to attack mothers and motherhood as well. Think about it: Almost any father figure in a movie or television program from Hollywood over the last half century has been mean-spirited, evil, or an idiot. This has opened one of the biggest gates of hell of perversion and lawlessness in our country, as well as in many other countries. This is one of the main things that the Lord can no longer tolerate. In contrast to this, He will release the spirit of Elijah again to... Read More

What is the Spirit Saying?

Rick Joyner — 01/19/2012

What is the Spirit saying to the churches? Jesus. It is always about Jesus. As our friend Peter Lord used to say, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” and the main thing is Jesus. The main thing the Spirit wants to do with each of us is to conform us to the image of the Son. If we want to understand the things that are happening to us in the light of God’s purpose, it is that He is using everything in our lives for this one thing above all other purposes—to conform us to the image of His Son. “God is love,” and Jesus is the most powerful and clear revelation of the love of God and always will be. The driving force of the One who is the love of God is to honor His Father God. There is a connection here we must understand. This is why the only commandment with a promise is that if we will honor our fathers and mothers, it to go well with us and we will have longevity (see Deuteronomy 5:16). Are there any who would not like these? We might be tempted to think that it was easy for Jesus to honor His Father since He was a perfect man, and He had a perfect Father. The promise does not specify that we honor our perfect fathers and mothers or even good ones. Neither does it say that our honoring has to be perfect,... Read More

Meat and Manna

Rick Joyner — 01/13/2012

As we are now walking through increasingly intense and troubling times, it is more important than ever that we fortify our foundations. As a professional pilot, I was in continuous training to keep my skills sharp, and 90 percent of this training was fortifying the foundations. If my fundamentals were strong, they helped me to do the most important thing in dealing with an emergency in the air—fly the airplane. You have to keep flying the plane while dealing with the problems. Likewise, there are fundamentals in life that we must keep doing regardless of what else comes at us. This is why the most successful people in every field are those who do the basics best and devote themselves to constantly practicing them. This is why I unashamedly repeat certain truths and teachings throughout my writing and speaking and why I read the Bible every day. There is the “meat of the word,” which is the illumination of the deeper truths. Every believer should be weaned from just milk so that they can eat this more solid spiritual food. We get this through our own in-depth studies, such things as going to conferences, maybe taking courses, reading books, or listening to the teachings of others on the subjects we’re pursuing. Every strong and advancing believer will have such studies going almost constantly, sinking their roots deeper and deeper into the Word and knowing the Lord’s ways.... Read More

A Year Like No Other

Rick Joyner — 01/11/2012

This could be the best year of our lives. It will also likely be the most challenging. It’s not either/or, but both. Many ultimate issues will be determined this year. They can be determined in a way that gets us back on the path of greater peace, stability, and prosperity. They could also be determined in a way that leads to the worst economic and political meltdown in history. Even if this is the case, if we’re prepared to resist the tyranny that always seeks to gain entrance in such times, this could be a reset, a kind of jubilee that enables us to return to the foundations of our greatness and strength. One thing is for sure: We may die of a lot of things, but boredom will not be one of them! The Mayans saw 2012 as the end of the world. In a way they may be right—it could be the end of the world as we know it. Key civilization markers are pointing to this year being one of the great demarcation points in history. Major changes are inevitable—for good or bad. This is no doubt a time fraught with dangers but also opportunities. Are we ready? The prepared prosper in any situation. Studies have shown that even the most profound civilization-wide changes can be wrought by just the square root of one percent of the population. This means that just a few hundred people can radically change the culture of millions. In times of profound change, the prepared will dictate... Read More

A Year For The Ages

Rick Joyner — 01/05/2012

The New Year is always a time for hope, and hope is one of the most powerful forces. It is often a time when we resolve to fulfill certain vows like getting in shape, spending more time with family, or being faithful to certain spiritual disciplines like more prayer or Bible study. These often help people focus enough to actually accomplish them, certainly a good thing. This is the year the Mayan calendar, which indicated it would be the end of the world. As the Apostle Paul wrote about the Cretan prophets, that they were right about what they were saying about the Cretans, even false prophets can be right about some things. In a way, I think the Mayan calendar is right—this year will mark the end of this world as we know it. I am not prophesying that this year will be the end of the world, or the end of the age, or the second coming of Christ. I am saying radical changes are coming to the whole world this year. Whether they turn out for good or bad will depend more on the body of Christ than any other factor. This year will be the greatest opportunity we’ve had, not just in our generation, but maybe ever. Times of change are usually steered by a small number of people, and if just a small part of the body of Christ wakes up and gets engaged, the impact this year can be greater than ever. ... Read More

The Judgments of God Will Result in Repentance - The Judgments of God, Part 15

Rick Joyner — 12/27/2011

We are entering the times that the prophets and righteous of old desired to see, and we have been chosen to live in them. In 1987, I was given a two-and-a-half day experience in which I was shown an unfolding panorama of world events that I wrote about in my book The Harvest. Many of these events started coming to pass within a couple of years of the vision, and the greatest of all that I was shown will soon be coming upon us. The greatest of all of these events was a harvest of believers into the kingdom that would come in two waves. The first wave began just a couple of years after I received this vision, and though it hardly touched North America and Europe, it swept more people into the kingdom than any previous move of God in history. This next one will not miss North America or Europe. After the first wave, I saw that there would be a time of relative spiritual quiet before another, far bigger wave of revival would come. We are now approaching the end of the time of quiet, and the greatest move of God to ever come upon the earth is approaching. It will be a spiritual tsunami, and we must get ready. As this great ingathering begins to sweep the earth, it will be largely the result of and accompanied by the judgments of God. As we have covered, we almost... Read More

God's Justice Becomes Mercy for Sinners at the Cross - The Judgments of God, Part 14

Rick Joyner — 12/21/2011

We cannot understand the ways of God without understanding His judgments, yet this may be the most neglected of biblical teachings in modern times. This is because many think of the judgments of God as condemnation and/or destruction. These are actually very rare consequences of His judgments, but the un-regenerated do tend to think in extremes. It is not possible to understand the coming of God’s kingdom without understanding His judgments because Scripture is clear that He is coming to judge the earth. As the Scriptures also make clear, this is a good thing, not something to be afraid of, unless we are evil. Consider this first mention of God’s judgments in Scripture in Exodus 6:6: "I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments." The redemption of Israel was the result of God’s judgments, and so is ours. The judgments that set God’s people free from Egypt were on the gods of Egypt, and the judgments that will set God’s people free at the end of this age will likewise be on the gods of this world. A false god is anything that we give our affection to that eclipses our affection for God, or that we put our trust in instead of God. We are told in Hebrews 12 that the great shaking which is coming upon the earth will be so “everything that can be shaken will be shaken.” We are also told that this is so what cannot be shaken will... Read More

Repentance + Hunger for God = Revival - The Judgments of God, Part 13

Rick Joyner — 12/15/2011

As I write this Word for the Week for the 50th week of the year, I thought about how 50 is the number of freedom, the Jubilee. In the biblical Jubilee, all debts were canceled and all slaves were freed. Why can’t we ask God for a Jubilee now? The world is burdened with unprecedented and unsustainable debt, and even worse, it is burdened by unprecedented sin. As great as this sin and debt is, it is not beyond the power of the cross. There is an equation that can turn pending disaster into the greatest of all blessings. It is: Repentance + hunger for God = revival. Repentance is the result of the realization and acknowledgement of our transgressions. This is the opposite of what Adam and Eve did when they sinned, which was to hide and cover themselves. Repentance is when we run to God and not away from Him when we fail. Revival means to revive—either from sleep or from the dead. Both are needed at this time. Much of the church is asleep, and some churches are dead and are only breathing because of artificial life support. We need reviving. We must have revival! Of course, great churches and great things are taking place in the body of Christ. However, with research showing that only about 6 percent of those who claim to be Christians have a biblical worldview, we obviously have a very basic problem.... Read More