What Have You Heard?

 In  his song "Enlarge my Territory" (From his "Live in South Africa" Album) Israel Houghton Of New Breed, sings these words:

"Say what you heard so you can see what you said.  Say what you heard, so you can see what you said."

Which begs me to ask the question, "What have you heard?"  and "Who are you listening to?"  

Because there is plenty of JUNK being said these days. It may even be fact. But facts change! Truth does not.   So tune into what GOD is saying!  Specifically, "what is He saying to YOU?"  That is really, really important.  But to dicipher what He is saying, we have to 1. understand it will not go against scriptural principles, and 2. learn to listen a whole new way!  We have to listen with not just our ears, but with our HEART.  The "ears" of our heart hear God much better than just the ears on the side of our head!  Because the ears on our head want to send everything through our brains to "analyze" it.  But the things of the Spirit are heard first in our spirit man and then relayed to our head!  

Somethings that God is going to speak to your heart, is going to rock your world. Your mind will be on tilt, and you'll be scrambling to hold on to something, anything, because it is so stupendous and mind boggling!    That is where this little song comes in.  

Israel goes on to say, "Jesus take the limits off of me..."  Now you must understand, it is not Jesus who put the limits on you, it is usually ourselves and most certainly the world around us; who wants to speak negativity and doubt into our life continually.  

So, even as we ask God to take the limits off of us, there are things that we must also do.  We must speak to ourselves the dreams that He has placed with in us. WE must nurture them with things that feed our faith- Scripture, Worship songs that fire up our faith, hanging with like minded friends who believe in us, and most importantly; spending time with the ONE who placed the dream there in the first place!

1Timothy 1:18 (GNB)  Timothy, my child, I entrust to you this command, which is in accordance with the words of prophecy spoken in the past about you. Use those words as weapons in order to fight well...

Here Paul is instructing Timothy that by the prophecies he has received, if he stores them in his heart and repeats them to himself, he can fight the good fight of faith, by remembering and saying what he has heard God speak to him!

Philippians 4:9 (KJV) Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. 

The word "received" here means "transmitted. "The things transmitted to you..."  Holy Spirit is the Transmitter, speaking to us what God would have us to know. Sometimes He uses men/women to speak them, sometimes He just impresses them upon our heart. Question is, do we have our antenna's up? Is our frequency clear, or do we have it jammed up with interference?  The enemy will always send a barrage of "chatter" to try to drown our Our Lord's voice.  

But Jesus has said, "My sheep hear my voice."  He also said , "I know my sheep and I am known of mine."  Not might or maybe, but "I AM KNOWN" (by those who are mine), and "THEY DO HEAR MY VOICE."  He said it, and so we need to start saying it too!

Stop speaking doubt and negativity or confusion to yourself. Quit saying, "I don't understand!" Start saying, "By Faith I receive both Wisdom and Understanding, because Jesus was made Wisdom unto me, and the Father said for me to ask for it and HE would give it to me!"  Start confessing, "Jesus is my Shepherd and I hear His voice clearly and the voice of a stranger I will not follow! I listen for and receive His instructions."


Isaiah 30:21 (BBE)  And at your back, when you are turning to the right hand or to the left, a voice will be sounding in your ears, saying, This is the way in which you are to go. 

Jer 33:3 (AMP)  Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand). 

God is more than willing to talk with us, are we willing to hear what He has to say?!

Prayer:  Oh Lord! Enlarge the territory of my heart, to receive more of You! Clear the channels of communication from all interference and "chatter." Help me to turn off those things that distract and pollute my spirit, drawing me away from you.  Not only do I choose to believe what you tell me, but I choose to "say" what I've heard (You say), that I may SEE what I have said I heard.  Though the vision may tarry I WILL wait for it, because you have said it will surely come Lord.

Journal:  What you've heard!  And Wage a good warfare against all the naysayers with it.

Word for 2012

This is what I have perceived thus far for 2012. I can only share what I have seen and heard.  I believe that 2012 will hold many choices for us to stay on the right path, or be diverted off by circumstances and appearances.  

I urge you to Hear From Heaven FOR YOURSELF and do not blindly swallow everything that comes you way, even if it looks good!  It is time to discern the TRUE from the profane and false. 

With that being said, below is my offering presented before the Lord to you to judge for your own edification and uplifting.  May you have a blessed and prosperous New Year in the Lord!

Heard:  2012 The Year to Hear From Heaven

Tom said while praying together:  2012 is the Gateway to the Future

Seen:   A stone fence with a white wrought iron garden gate with a beautiful path leading somewhere into the distance and the gate stood ajar and about half way open, inviting you to walk through it. In the middle over the top of this picture I saw a long golden trumpet pointed down from the sky, like a megaphone if you will.  The vision was all in beautiful pastels and light and bright but the trumpet was a darker golden color, like it was very old, (Not new shiny gold).  The path was smooth, well worn and light in color, like white sand.  There were wide expanses of green field on each side of the path and flowers around the front of the fence and gate, with a big old full tree near the inside of the gate to my left, (as if it were guarding the entrance.)  I could see that there were rolling hills in the distance.  It reminded me of a Thomas Kincaid painting!

I have been pondering what all this means.

Stone fence = Foundations. Boundaries. Line of Demarcation.  End of one thing, Start of something New. To set apart, distinguish.

Gate = place of authority, place where business is transacted. Also a place of judgment.

A wide expanse= prosperity, peace and quietness

A path= journey, walking with God, Way of Life

A Trumpet= Prophetic Proclamation, Revelation, Flow of the Spirit, Messages, Communication, Judgment

Hills or small Mountains= Strength, Stability, Refuge, Majesty

This is the Year to hear from Heaven, for you will hear many voices and many “prophecies” in the coming days.  Listen for my Voice and discern good from evil.  The voice of fear will be speaking loudly. Pay it no mind.  You have come to the place of no return. Will you step through boldly into the New Year?  Or will you allow your faith to be frozen by doubt and fear? 

Wisdom is yours for the asking. Come sit under it’s boughs and commune with Me. Shrug off the past and cast your gaze upward to the things of the Spirit, upward to the place that is your eternal home.  You have struggled in the past to hear Me clearly.  Know this; I am speaking, and it is specific to your part and your place.  HEAR what I AM saying to YOU. When I met with Paul on the road to Damascus, did not all hear a noise?  But only Paul heard the WORDS that were meant for his ears.  So it is with you. There is much noise in these latter days and many words.  Not even all of my words are for you, for I give direction to many all at once, but My Spirit, makes the words plain and quickens those that are meant for your ears.  Train yourself to breathe deep of Me and trust yourself in My hands as I teach you how to hear ME even more clearly. 

I have drawn a line, and I have mapped out the way.  

I will lead you step by step and day by day. The line separates you from things that have to go. It forbids passage of the old, for I make all things new. I am the God of new beginnings, the God of second chances, the God of Impossiblities being made Possible!  Only Believe, and Keep your eyes on Me. 

I am calling you into a new place.  A new place of freedom and openness. A new level of confidence. I desire you to be my Confidant, one in whom I can entrust My Heart with things that are dear to ME.  I AM calling you to a new realm of My Glory, to walk with surefootedness and stability.  I AM calling you to execute righteousness and judgment. Righteousness in your living and doing, and judgment against the works of darkness and the evil one. I aAM placing My Words in your heart, as My Voice you will hear, so listen carefully with your spiritual ear.

You have walked through many trials and fire. You have seen what seemed to be the death of dreams and desires.  Now look around at the Bright New Day. I am not saying there won’t be trials along the way.  But step into my Glory and there I want you to stay! 

It is time to dream again, so begin today. Be of Good Cheer, for I AM right here!  I will lead you on a plain path for the sake of your enemies. I will guide you with My eye, so look at everything with the eyes of your spirit and not your fleshly eye. You WILL hear my voice and if you obey, on the pathway of Life you will find new Pleasures day by day. 

When the storm clouds come, and even shakings too, do not fear, for I AM and will be with you.  I AM your refuge, your only safe place to be. So come into My Secret Place and there tabernacle with ME.

There in My Presence I will show you what will be, for 2012 holds many things in store, and not all of them from ME.  However, remember, I hold all things in My Hand.  By My Will this earth continues to stand! I AM the Master Planner, and I hold the keys. Although the heathens rage all the more, they shall all be silenced when the Lion of Judah roars! 

So, My Beloved, speak the Word back to Me, give My angels flight to do My bidding for Me.  I’ve told you it is My Pleasure and the Kingdom Keys I’ve given to thee.  So now unlock the doors and set many free!  Open your mouth my Beloved, and let ME roar through thee!

Psalm 18:19(MSG)  He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved--surprised to be loved!

Psalm 118:5 (JPS)  Out of my straits I called upon the LORD; He answered me with great enlargement.

Psalm 16:11 (YLT)  Thou causest me to know the path of life; Fulness of joys is with Thy presence, Pleasant things by Thy right hand for ever! 

Psalm 1:3 (AMP)  And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

Psalm 92:12 (AMP)  The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].

Revelation 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Taking Away to Establish

Remember the Robert Frost Poem, about two roads? It is actually entitled, "The Road Not Taken." It illustrates a biblical point actually that my Dad and I were discussing of recent..  Here is the poem first: 

Robert Frost (1874–1963).  Mountain Interval.  1920

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Now the most obvious thing about that poem is that for him
to go down one road meant that he could not go down the
other road.


I recently went through a situation that was most uncomfortable and a little perplexing to me. I sought the council of my Mentor Dad, who simply stated, “There is a Law of ‘taking away to establish.’”  This has set me pondering this, and of course looking for biblical examples.


The first that HE brought to my mind, has been a scripture that in my early walk with the Lord, quite frankly frightened me to no end! It frightened because I did not understand it, and so the enemy used it to condemn and torment me with fear of being cast out as worthless wood!

That scripture is John 15:1-8 Below is the Amplified Version

John 15:1  I AM the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.

John 15:2  Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.

John 15:3  You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].

John 15:4  Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.

John15:5  I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

John 15:6  If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:7  If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

John 15:8  When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

We are not worthless wood!  We are grafted in, by the Blood! But, He trims and prunes what He should, knowing it is for our own good. We may not understand, and that pruning may be severe, cutting to the quick. But scripture says, when He wounds HE heals, and there is a balm applied as the sword cuts deep and wide.He is divinding asunder bone and marrow… removing what will hinder us tomorrow.  He knows our thoughts and intents, even when we do not, and He calls us his own for with a price we were bought!

Look, He called “Abraham, come out and away.”  Abraham picked up and left that very day! He told him, “I must take away to make covenant with you.” And so, He removed from him, all that he knew.  Then put him on a journey of total trust and obey, saying. “Come I have a city prepared, I’ll show you the way.”

As I pondered these things, I heard Him say:

“For I am taking away some things, to establish something better.  This includes all things that would hinder you from following me, completing the Call that I have placed upon your life.  You will find that some people are removed from your circle because they will not help you in this journey with me, they are a stumbling block you see. 

There are commitments that you will put down.  And pursuits, that although they are good, they are not from ME.  I need you to see.  I NEED you to BE. Be what I have called you to be. Not what you think or what you think others think you should be.  I need you to be free. Free to follow Me in a bold new way, in a dimension of my Glory and in a freedom from fear and self-doubt.  Don’t you see, I am calling you to ME. I need you to BE. Be my witness, be my mouth, my pen with which I write upon peoples hearts. But to BE you must first BE STILL WITH ME! 

I am taking away to establish, far more than you can see. It stretches out to Eternity.  Yes my love, you are touching into Eternity, with every breathe you breath, every stroke of your pen, every Word shared that comes from ME. God breathed Words, God Breathed inspiration, God breathed moves at my direction.   

Ah, I heard your question, “how will I know, how can I be sure, that it isn’t just me?” You hear far well, and you see, now I’m teaching you, it’s all about leaning on ME. “Practice makes perfect,” in the things of this world. But, with ME, “Patience makes Perfect,” as you wait on ME.  Be Patient with yourself, Be Patient with ME as you hold out your being, heart and soul, waiting expectantly.  I will not be late, I will bestow.  Give yourself time to Grow in the Art of Waiting so you will know. 

Remember the scripture, Paul did write?  That these light afflictions, are really so slight in view of the Eternal weight of My Glory.  Afflictions are vexations, not just outward, but inward too.  These are the things I am taking from you.

For My Glory will cover and blanket you and you must learn to wear it well. The weight of my Glory is a “show and tell.”  I will show you and I will tell you, and it will show and you will tell.  For I cover you with my Glory, My Princess Bride, I take you for My Queen to live by My side.  You must know your worth, how dear to Me you are!  You are far more beautiful than the millions of stars. For you sparkle and shine with a light Divine that comes from within, as I bid you to “Come and Dine.”  Feast at my table, prepared just for you. At this table, there is room for only us two!  This is a private banquet, for my love and ME. For I desire your face to see. I desire you voice in My ear as you whisper sweet nothings of how I am so dear. Does that shock you, or surprise you that I would say, “I desire you My Love, so Come Away?”  For as much as you long to hear My voice, loud and strong, I long to hear your heart beat out to ME, it’s own special Love Song.  It is the song, that only “we” can sing, it is the song of My Bride in Love with Her King.”