The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it; their king will pass before them, with the Lord at their head.” Mic 2:13 NKJV

The love of God may be the great central theme of all scripture. The love and care of the mercy and grace of God empowers every statement, every word and even every letter of scripture. The desire of a Father for His children to be incarnations of Him, walking with Him in glory and blessing, and being fulfilled in all of life’s seasons and circumstances is evident all through scripture. For the very young and even the very old, and all in between, the desire of ABBA is blessing and fulness of life with rejoicing.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31-32 NKJV

Our victory over all circumstances, all problems, is always in the finished work of our Lord on our behalf. If its poverty, He became poor in scarcity, so that we could be alive in abundance. He bore our sicknesses so that we could healthy. He took our loneliness, our pain, our rejection and gave us the sweetness of life in fellowship with Him and with our brothers and sisters. Nothing can separate us from His love! Even in death, He gave us eternal life, so that the sting of death is lost in the love and grace of an eternal inheritance of the sons and daughters of God.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…2 Cor 10:3-6 NKJV

In the context of breakthroughs, it’s important to review again the reality of a stronghold. A stronghold is a mindset, paradigm or pattern of thinking impregnated with hopelessness that accepts that it is impossible to see the will of God done. It’s a surrender to Hell itself. Strongholds can become the ‘home’ of demons, even in born again ones. Strongholds are built through fellowship with darkness on social media, the ‘herd mentality’ of communities of people, even at times from the pulpit and the place you are supposed to have your faith built, the established Church. You must understand that the enemy is insidious and absolutely cruel. One time, a man of God stood up in church and proclaimed, “Consider your ways, says the Lord…” Instantly I was down on the floor in the aisle considering my ways. The Lord spoke to me and said, “You have three strongholds:…” I still to this day must guard against those strongholds!

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Ps 119:9-11 NKJV

In dealing with a chronic problem, you usually either grow out of it or you have a breakthrough. In overcoming poverty, for example, growing out of it by the right application of principles is key. You don’t need a breakthrough…you need to do things right, consistently. In our marriage, we started out very poor, but that’s to be expected. We both worked very hard, tithed and budgeted, and God our ABBA faithfully did miracles. We were living in an apartment, working secular jobs and pastoring a small group of house churches. We started to pray for a home to live in. One day, while praying, we both got the same idea to call one of our parishioners who happened to be a professional hockey player who was being traded to another team, to see if he wanted us to be ‘house sitters.’ Shortly thereafter we moved into a 5000 square foot mansion, fully furnished, for the princely sum of $1 rent for nine months.

But a breakthrough is needed when circumstances defy the normal application of principles. In our poverty or chronic lack example, let’s say you are budgeting and tithing, working hard, praying and believing but still not seeing results. You may need a breakthrough. You may have a stronghold of poverty. I’ve noticed there is a spirit that mimics the characteristics of the Alaskan king crab. These crabs are caught in pots in the ocean. Once they are in the pot, they will keep other fellow crabs from escaping the pot, even though the pot will bring their destruction. This spirit is rampant in communities of poverty. Sometimes you must break relationships to get free when others try to ‘keep you in the pot!’

The tools of revelation and power give us the ability to overcome the crisis and bring in the will of God. But first you must address the stronghold. I’ve taught people clearly how to operate the gifts of the Spirit over the years but they never seem to use them until they first break the stronghold. You must break the habit pattern of feeding your stronghold. Cancel all your social media accounts (doomscrollers, I’m looking at YOU), stop watching TV and reading newspapers (yes, Alicia, some people still do that!), and break relationships with people who enforce your strongholds – fellow crabs!

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him and burns up His enemies round about. Ps 97:1-3 NKJV

When I first got saved and filled with the Spirit, the HS cut off all my old relationships. I quit the sports team that I loved, I lost all my old friends, and I was immersed in the word of God and the spirit of God. I was a teenager but I went through an intense cleansing process. When I emerged from it about a year later I was strong, focused and excited, no longer a teenage athlete but a growing minister of God. My strongholds were broken! The Lord has led me through that process a number of times in my spiritual growth, as one season ends and another begins, and it has always been tough but refining. Do you hear me?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col 3:16-17 NKJV

When you are in crisis, and need a breakthrough, you must first address your strongholds. You won’t receive revelation if you think the situation is hopeless. The best thing to do is attack your strongholds before you come into crisis. Addressing crisis’ without addressing strongholds is the reason WHY people don’t get answers to prayer. People say, I tried prayer, it didn’t work. This is why! Use the law of three – every time you have a negative thought, decree out loud three godly, positive thoughts. Are you with me?

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7 NKJV

Joy is a great indicator that you are breaking through your stronghold. The joy of the Lord is your strength. The other day I was a little down but my wife put on a YouTube sharing of brother Kenneth Hagin teaching on faith and the name of Jesus. Brother Hagin was, in his own words, preaching himself happy! It truly was ‘timeless teaching’…the joy was coming through!

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt 3:11-12 NKJV

Now, once you have the joy back in your crisis, then you are primed for breakthrough revelation, faith and power. We take God at His word. He says that if you lack wisdom – wisdom being how to get things done, how to reach the promise of God – that He will give it to you if you ask in faith without doubting. Recently I had been praying in tongues for hours and I asked God for a specific amount of money. It wasn’t FIVE MINUTES LATER but someone texted me that they were sending the amount of money we needed to us. Breakthrough! Tongues will burn up your doubt…

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17 NKJV

Now, when your joy is filling up and the stronghold is being crushed, then you are getting quiet so that you can hear a RHEMA of God regarding your crisis. One time a dear pastor friend related how when he got prostate cancer, he heard a RHEMA from the Lord saying, I will walk you through this! That was all he needed. He was cured without any further medical intervention. Breakthrough!

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Ps 92:13-15 NKJV

In every stage of life, the Lord would have His children to be full of blessing, fresh and flourishing, still bearing fruit even in old age. The stronghold builders of the world and media would say just the opposite. But we have a say, we have the authority of decision-making to either live in a stronghold or live in the will of God. The Lord of the breakthrough will take us from one place to the other if we heed Him. Amen? Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…