Awakening in Our Day
Dutch Sheets Glory of Zion’s “Starting the Year Off Right” Friday, January 2, 2009
Dutch told the audience that he has ½ to 2/3 of the meeting prepared, but the Lord showed him that the last part will be prophetic words. Not prophetic messages, but words or decrees spoken out. He believes this is the model for the stream today. It’s an Apostolic-Prophetic-Prayer Anointing. He has a corporate message and the prophets will finish it.
For the last few weeks, Dutch has been studying about and focusing on Reformation. It’s an awakening for our day and the reformation will follow. The Awakening is coming soon. And God is giving strategy to him. This is the third hotel room Dutch has been in where the clock radio has been flashing. It’s never been the right time. It took the third hotel room, here in Denton, for him to “get it.” The Lord was speaking to him. The clock was flashing 8:12 even though it was 6:00.
Dutch knew it was Joshua 8:12 and he heard the Lord say, “I’m reversing things.” and he knew it was Genesis 12:8. Joshua 8:12 And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. Genesis 12:8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.
Dutch knew he was going to talk about Bethel and Josiah, the reformer, and what he did at Bethel.
Genesis 12:1-9 Abram Journeys to Egypt 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” 4 So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land ” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. 8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.
Importance of Shechem
Notice that Abram passed to Shechem and built his altar between Bethel and Ai. It was a CHOICE. It’s important to know the meanings of places. Of course we understand Bethel means the House of God. But Shechem is important. It is:
- The place of government
- The place of choosing
- The place of choosing blessing
- The place of choosing government
- Its geography is important as it is between the Mount of Blessing (Gerizim: Deu 28) and the Mount of Cursing (Ebal: Deu 27)
Shechem is in a valley and is a natural amphitheater. Remember, Joshua went to Shechem (Jos 24) This is where Joshua made his impassioned speech to put away idols and made his choice: “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (v15) This was his place of choosing and he called Israel to choose as well. Bethel: We also remember Bethel because of Jacob where he dreamed and called it the House of God. (Gen 28)
Back to Genesis 12:8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. Ai means “a heap of ruins” and Bethel means “house of God” or My house, My blessing. Abram pitched his tent at Shechem, the place of choice and Abram built his altar there.
#1 THE PLACE OF THE ALTAR BECOMES THE PLACE OF THE PROMISE
Abram’s altar represents worship. This is the place where we lay down our lives. It is ultimately the cross. We are blessed through the cross. We get on the altar, we choose the altar, we choose the blessing and we choose the promise. 12:8 on that flashing clock radio means the Lord is calling us to choose. Earlier in the conference, Cindy Jacobs prophetically prayed that God would reverse the misfortune, the loss, what the enemy has brought us and our nation through sin. We can STILL choose life and align ourselves with Him. Choose Him. Choose the Altar.
#2 THE PLACE OF THE PROMISE BECOMES THE PLACE OF THE DREAM
In Genesis 28 we see Jacob at Bethel. (click & read) The Lord promises Jacob that the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac were now his. God wants to speak to some of us about your dream. The dream is alive! Many of us have thought it was stolen. We’ve been beat up and battered. Things have been delayed and hope is deferred. The dream needs to come alive. It needs to come alive and be resurrected.
NOTE: the place of the altar becomes the promise and the promise becomes the dream. Stir up faith, cast off all hope deferred, grief, the spirit of unbelief, hopelessness, fear, loss and confusion. It’s important to the Lord that we dream. Feel free to dream again. What is YOUR dream?
DREAM GOD’S DREAM
Dutch went on a 3-month sabbatical to rest and seek the Lord again. He talked to him about dreaming. He’s seen the movie, “The Ultimate Gift” and there was a statement made that impacted him about dreaming. Dutch is at the end of one phase of his life and he’s moving into the last half. He believes it’s the most important and significant part. Dutch is 54. The Lord said, “I want you to dream.” The last week, Dutch had reserved a cabin. When he arrived, he knew it was not right. He called to cancel and was told he wouldn’t get his money back. That’s okay. His wife found him another cabin nearby. When he walked in he knew it was right. The bedroom was decorated with all sorts of American flags.
The Lord told him to dream about our nation with him. There was a stream below the cabin. The stream split into a Y around an island and then came back as one stream. On the island was an altar with a cross. Dutch pledged his life fresh and new and to put himself back on that altar and dream God’s dream. The Lord is saying to us, this January, revisit your dreams. Dream with Me. Lay down like Jacob and wake up with a dream. Get to Bethel, whatever it costs you. Resurrect the promises.
#3 THE PLACE OF THE DREAM BECOMES THE PLACE OF DESTINY
God is ready to awaken us. It’s a movement. We’re just at the starting line and it took us 20 years to get us out of the negative. See it like this:
-1 0 +1
5-fold ministry restored We are here Bill Hamon’s Saints Movement
Restoration has come. God has been restoring ascension gifts the last 20 years. We’ve only begun to taste our destiny. Out of loss and lack, we are being restored to the Church. Dream bigger and bigger and bigger! We’re just beginning. Dutch reminded us he’s 54 and it feels like he’s just starting. Move into the new.
It’s leading to your destiny. Like Jacob, dream at Bethel. This is where the Lord spelled out his destiny. Think about destiny. Dream. Make sure you’re dreaming God’s dream. There are uncertain, unnatural days coming. Dutch has a foreboding and sees turbulence coming with financial difficulties increasing. [Jim says this is just the eye of the storm.] This should be our finest hour. These are the Esther days. We were made for these days. THIS is the church. The doors are open – for me – have panoramic view of the future. I AM an answer for God in this day. Dutch is gearing up for his greatest influence. I AM going to get there.
Notice Again… Joshua 8:12 And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. Genesis 12:8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.
Dutch’s clock was 8:12 and the Lord said “Reverse it. I’m reversing what the enemy is trying to do.” Recall that Joshua 8:12 was AFTER Israel had begun the conquest of the land. They had had an awesome victory at Jericho, but then suffered failure at Ai. They became arrogant and didn’t seek the Lord. They were routed. God would have fought for them, but there was sin in the camp. They had stolen what belonged to God. Once they dealt with the sin, God gave them the strategy to go and conquer BOTH Ai and Bethel.
Joshua 24 The Conquest of Ai (click & read)
Note in verse 17 that not a man was left. Notice also the location… just where Abram was in Gen 12:8. God is connecting the ALTAR, the PROMISE, the DREAM, the DESTINY. God was going to reverse the situation. This place means COVENANT to Dutch. God will teach the lesson again. Come back and He will ambush the enemy. Choose MY house, MY altar, MY promises, MY dream, MY destiny. Give back what belongs to Me. IF! I’ll ambush your enemies. God is coming to reverse the demonic work—what was stolen—to reverse it. Resurrect my dream and destiny. Just hold on until God can reverse it and get you into your promise and your destiny.
#4 THE PLACE OF THE ALTAR, PROMISE, DREAM, DESTINY WHERE SETBACKS ARE REVERSED AND LOSSES ARE OVERCOME
This is where God will ambush our enemies. It will bring us harvest in this land. Remember, to Abram and Jacob, it was just a promise and just a dream. They didn’t possess it. They didn’t possess the promise. It looked like the enemy would prevail. But God says, “Align with Me. Get rid of sin. Align with Me. I’ll restore the dream.”
Judges 1:22-26 22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 The house of Joseph spied out Bethel (now the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city and we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz which is its name to this day. It was the house of Joseph that inherited Bethel. Joseph: the dreamer, the double-portion. Notice that a man of the city actually showed them the entrance to the city. [Dutch thinks this should be very significant to us.] God is saying, whatever it takes, I will get your destiny to you.
1 Kings 12:1-10 King Rehoboam Acts Foolishly (click and read the passage.)
Notice: the enemy tries to steal the inheritance. There’s a well-planned strategy, but it will fail. The enemy has tried to derail our movement. He attacks to divide and get us going in the wrong direction, to get off-based. In their finest hour, the enemy says I’ll steal their Bethel. The enemy wants to steal our dream.
#6 SATAN WILL ALWAYS TRY TO STEAL THE DREAM OR PROMISE.
Jeroboam caused them to make 2 calves to have the people worship them locally rather than in Jerusalem. They set them up in Bethel and in Dan. The kingdom is divided because of sin. [Just like in the desert where the people had Aaron build the golden calf.]
1 Kings 12:25-31 Jeroboam’s Idolatry (click & read) This wicked king wanted to defile the dream and built idolatrous altars in Dan and Bethel. But notice, the Lord sent a prophet.
1 Kings 13 Jeroboam Warned, Stricken (click & read) 2 Kings 22 through 2 Kings 23 is a fulfillment of this prophecy. Josiah became king at 8 years, seeks God at 16, and begins as the Reforming work at 20 years. The next generation will be dreamers. They are the generation of destiny. They will pick up the torch of reformation. Notice that Josiah tells them to carry the ashes to Bethel and he doesn’t know the prophecy. He tears down the high places and Jeroboam’s altar. He saw the graves and burned the bones as prophesied. He wonders about the monument nearby and hears that it was a monument to the prophet who spoke of Josiah by name. Prophecy gives faith. It awakens destiny, dreams and promises. Josiah tore down everything that was idolatry. The zeal of the Lord was on him.
#7 YOU CAN’T HAVE MY FATHER’S ALTAR AND YOU CAN’T HAVE HIS DREAM
This represents the past into the future. It represents the promises, the dreams and the destiny of a nation. God’s chosen people are to bring forth the redemption of the human race. You can’t have my altar, promise or dream. God’s redemptive purpose for America will come and it will be fulfilled. Don’t worry about the economy or the culture. Stay focused on the mission. Dream and destiny are alive and will live.
PROPHETIC WORDS/DECREES FOLLOWING PREACHING
Chuck Pierce: This message given by Dutch today is linked personally, corporately, territorially and generationally. The prophets will come forth in presbytery to us. Cindy Jacobs: Three times we hear Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob represents the little children. The Joshuas and Josiah generation. She saw children standing up in white at the pulpit preaching. There is a revival anointing. We’ll see it in the schools. They will tear down altars of humanism, idolatries, sexual sin and promiscuity. There is a river of purity and holiness coming. This is a no-compromise generation. They will preach in the churches. God has named them by name and marked them in the womb. There will be a holy fire of purity. You can’t stop them. Josiahs, arise!
Barbara Wentroble: She sees a Davidic generation arising. They are called and have a heart for the Kingdom. Many have been in the hidden place in a cave. You’re my people. They have a vision of the Kingdom. They waited in the cave for their release. I’m opening the door. Even as David, bringing forth Kingdom people, Davidic people. I will restore all. You were born for this hour. This is a Kingdom generation and will be the finest movement. By the 8th month and the 12th day, you will see a change. (August 12). A Davidic government is about to invade government, education, political. It will invade every sphere. Receive your marching orders.
Unknown Gentleman: This is the day to engage yourself. Don’t hold back. God is releasing prophetic intercession, the Melchizedek anointing and spirit. It’s a new level of intercession. Only on a basis of an offering can intercession be made. Jesus’ blood was offered. This is a year of great offerings. God will pour His Spirit on our offering. Run to the battle. Prophets are being raised up to tear down altars. Don’t be stingy.
Unknown Lady: God is calling a kingdom of warriors. Angels are dismantling earthly structures and altars. David had 5 stones, but he only used 1. The Lord chooses the stone and your target. God will make you the head and not the tail (Deu 28) And you will cut off the head with your sword. She saw a fire of holiness on the east coast and the west coast and a flood in the Midwest. America, get back to your feet.
Sharon Stone: Fresh covenant is released when people make a choice. There is clarity of destiny and it defies confusion. She heard “convenanteers” – not reformers. They will have discerning of spirits with an addiction to His presence. There will be birth pains of expectations. The hero spirit will rise up. We are not under Laban’s control or false debt. There will be sheep and goat states as well as nations. She sees that the 9th month and the 12th day that a new cycle will begin. It will be My presence and glory and not just in the church but in the spirits. Acts and pro-activity for destiny. The Lord says I’ll speak to you in a dream. It’s a time of suddenlies. Signs and wonders in lives, land, and nation. Those who don’t know Me, ASK! The covenanteers will seek My presence and authority. The Gift of Faith will be seen in the land because of God invading the atmosphere.
Chuck Pierce: Remember, this is for the person, the corporate body, territory and the nation, especially the US. I will appear to you again. Through August, I must give you a new strategy. It will appear in defeat. Don’t allow pride to exalt yourself above my plan. 5,000 units will become 25,000 units to arise. Weapon to lock in based on covenant. It is the dividing season of choice. Watch the strategies of division. Some must go a different way. There will be one month of reprieve: August to September. I will no more allow the enemy to rule. November 3rd and 4th there will be a drawing away of my purposes. The Judges of this land have a strategy against my plan. Judges in the present position are not to rule. I contend with your judges. Realign yourself now. Hold your tongue. There will be a new sound. Fear and Mammon control are placed on the altar. We make a shift. Be patient. The nation will determine in August. Watch Israel relationship as it determines the course direction. Don’t get out of My timing. Remain aligned. This is a moment of choice. Backwards or foreward? America, I am contending with you now. We will surprise the enemy’s camp. God is bringing a new troop. There will be a generations drawn to the Word. 1 generation will prophesy and 1 generation will uncover the Word. God will unite us in a peculiar way. Judges, you haven’t completed your assignment to overthrow. Now, rise up, retake and overthrow that which you choose not to.
Cindy Jacobs: Joseph knows the way. Marketplace leaders will find the open door gate. Deep pockets and deep wells. Now it will be done.
Chuck Pierce: 12 false altars of this land will be thrown down.
Dutch Sheets: For some time he kept losing his reading glasses. At least 10 to 12 were lost. His puppy even ate a pair. He finally got it that God was speaking to him and he told God, I’m ready to see! He was in bed at night using a Level 3 pair of large glasses – the kind his dad would wear to see fine print. His father passed away a year ago. Dutch’s wife asked why he was wearing his dad’s glasses and he said they were just a pair he’d picked up. His wife said that was what the Lord was trying to tell him. It was the word of the Lord: He will give you the Father’s eyes… His lenses. God will give us lenses for us to see through His eyes. We are putting down the old. And picking up the new #3 lens. Father/Son/Holy Spirit. He decreed for the Davidic order, Josiah Generation, Melchizedek anointing, the Joseph Company and the risk takers. Like Joshua, we will pretend that we’re defeated and knocked down, BUT GOD!!!
