Revelation: Gates of Jerusalem

Here is an interesting revelation with back to Jerusalem Movement connections:

Standing in Jerusalem, looking out of each of the 12 gates, there are 3 main gates that cover Asia.

• Japan, much of China, Mongolia and others are included in the Lion's Gate.
  
• The rest of China, most of India and most of the smaller South-eastern Asian nations are included in the Golden Gate.
  
• What's left of India, Indonesia, Australia & New Zealand are included in the Bethany Gate.
  

It is interesting that Japan is inside of the Lion's Gate. Surely this is no accident.

Abba, that you would continue to reveal the thoughts of your heart on this- that we may know how and what to pray. May we also have a deeper understanding of Your signs and symbols....

Please see the link from the Jerusalem HOP website for a visual reference: click here

"The Jabez Prayer"

"Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request."

1 Chronicles 4.9-10

The first time I had ever heard about or read this prayer was back in May 2001, around the time Bruce Wilkinson released the book titled "The Prayer of Jabez, Breaking Through to the Blessed Life."

I remember reading on page 33 where he challenges a group of students at a university in California, USA to ask God for big. He said, "You should ask God for Trinidad... and a DC-10." It was but one sentence and it forever changed the way I looked at praying.

I realized until that point, my prayers, the prayers I'd been taught to pray as I grew up in church, the prayers I heard others praying around me most of the time... they were too small. And because of their smallness, they were in fact a reflection of how we (I specifically) saw God. That the biggest I could expect was a feeble answer to a feeble prayer that affected me, myself and I and not much or anyone else of consequence.

Yet, when I read my bible, there was this God who drew out an entire nation of slaves from the nation in which they were enslaved to. I saw that this same God used one man to change the lives of millions, to birth forward a nation and release the awesomeness of Jehovah into the earth realm.

And here I was going, "God... please fix my life. It sucks."

True, at that time, it totally did. I was very much at the start of reaping a previous 7 year season of bad fruits that I'd so diligently sown much to my ignorance and youth. Though, much else was due to my own stubbornness, pride and anger which took a deep root in my heart. Yet, even in those dreadful seasons of reaping and sowing, God is merciful and his grace is abounding.

He used every one of those difficult days to teach me to pray. 

He uses Mr. Wilkinson's book to fuel that process along all the more. 

I remember after reading that page 33... I stopped what I was doing, and just sat there going, "God.. these guys asked your for a whole country. A whole island... uh... I'm on an island. I'm in Japan. I'm already here so I don't need a DC-10... but I think, I just may be crazy bold enough to ask you for something."

I continued on something in this vein, "Alright God.... whatever happens... I'll stay in Japan. But, the deal is, you give me Japan if I stay, you give me Japan. Ah... no. Actually, I'm changing my mind. I want Asia. Asking you for only Japan is too small. I want Asia. So, that's the deal. I stay here... endure this horrible hell that I live in right now... make it through (IF I make it through to the other side) and I want Asia in exchange."

"Oh.. and God... we'll need more people. So, send them on the DC-10's or 747's or boats or whatever. Just sent them here too."

Yeah. That's the deal I made with God. Crazy hu? 

Tell me about it. But, as I said my life sucked- well... it was way beyond that. It was a living hell and I figured I didn't have much else to loose by asking for some of the most outrageous things I could think up. At the time, asking God for Asia was as close to impossible as I could dream up.

And then, I prayed.... I think as desperately as Jabez himself... "Oh God.... that you would see fit to bless me. I know I've done so much to screw up that I don't even deserve to come before you with this request but, the fact I'm here now asking has got to mark for something. Right? I mean.... you can either kill me now or answer me. There's not much else that can occur."

"And... this territory thing. I don't know what Jabez was referring to when he asked you for increase but, I know ... well, I think I know what I'm asking you for. I want Asia. I want Japan and I want Asia. Somehow, to ask for anything less just seems like an insult to who you are. I want to have my own business so I can give things to people who need them. I want your hand AND your favor to be with me. I won't be able to do anything unless your hand of protection is over me and your favor is with me. And God... I NEED you to keep me from evil... from harm. For my own sake and for the sake of others- that I might not cause pain either to them or to yourself."

We now have a HOP in Tokyo. (Which was born out of much pain and tearful contending.) We are talking about starting to sow into some ministries in other Asian countries... God is bringing connections weekly world wide with other HOPs and ministries... He is indeed answering this prayer.

The next one I suppose ought to be, "Abba... show us what to pray for next.... and how to pray for more specific things inside of this request for Japan & Asia to become your territory. Continue to displace the thrones, powers, authorities, principalities and all others who set themselves up above Your Name in this region that this may be known among the nations as the dwelling place- the territory of the Most High."

Grace & glory to you as we content for His will over the Nations and the Peoples of the earth.

Thank you Abba for who you are!

jg.

Prophetic Date: 6/21/2009

It was no small task making the decision to move forward with the altar IHOP, tokyo's growth this past month.

Since our launch, back in November of 2008, it's been a given that we'll be expanding in many ways as we move towards our goal of night and day 24/7.365 intercession over Japan and Asia. Firstly, as Abba leads more people to join us and secondly, by the addition of prayer sessions, prayer & worship sessions and various types of teaching & training encounters.

On June 21, 2009, we marked our first Sunday Night teaching session in which a vision was cast in a stairwell with royal blue carpet cascading down and an automatic motion detecting light. A location just as prophetic and symbolic of things to come as the date.

Among them, that we are on the basement level of a new thing God's doing in Japan. We are fast ascending and heeding the calling He's extended towards us to "come up here my beloved..." That we (the body of christ) still need the keys to open doors... but that they are coming soon. And that we are firmly planted in the river of the water of life that's spoken about in Ezekiel's writings and so, so much more.

The date however being the focus of this posting, has a scripture to match and a very good one at that. Matthew 6.21 which states, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (NLT)

It is interesting that, before the throne of God, there is an altar containing golden bowls of incense which contain the prayers of the saints presented before Him. It is interesting that the name of this HOP is "the altar." It is also interesting that our focus is such a similar reflection to the things that are in the throne room. 

That the prayers of the saints are the treasures placed before Abba on His altar....

That we come to His "altar" to offer up our prayers as sweet incense before him and so often, those offerings... those prayers are a reflection of the treasures we have laid up on the altars of our own hearts.

It's through the act of prayer and humble worship of the King of kings that we transfer those oh so precious cares, concerns and loved ones from one altar to the next. When we lay our hearts, our hopes, our visions and our dreams upon Abba's altar our treasures become His and His treasures become ours. It is as simple as this yet, there is so much more.

What better way than to spend time dwelling in a place literally called "the altar" to represent the location of our most precious possession? Which is and always should be, Him. After all, wasn't He Himself laid up an offering of sacrifice upon an altar once too?

UPDATE: Cafe' Decision & The HOP

Hi again tribe!

This past few weeks at the HOP have been amazing. We've had 3 sessions in 2009 so far (one impromptu session last Thursday) and Abba's presence has really been so strong in each of them.

It's been such a sweet time of prayer & fellowship it's been hard to stop and go home in the evenings- we've all just wanted to linger a few minutes longer before heading back to "life." Oh, how great it will be the day we go 24/7! I just cannot wait for that season to arrive! What a huge celebration we will have and what an amazing victory it will be.

In our sessions, we've had times of personal prophecy and prayers for physical as well as emotional healings. A few of us have even started to notice the overflow of this time in prayer impacting our house church groups. In fact, just this last Saturday, we were able to move in a powerful time of visitation. Abba touched a number of members and set them free from fear. Fear of man specifically but, there was a new freedom from fear in general. It was, as always, such an honor to be involved and have a front row view of the transformation individuals experience when they step into new realms of freedom.

Come to think of it, in the prayer room before our fellowship, we started prophesying, "never the same, after today, never the same." Towards the end of ministry time, the group leader actually said, "after today, we'll never be the same again..." How much more of a confirmation of God's word for the hour can you get than that? Especially when the person who spoke that phrase was not present in the prayer session?

Since December, God has also been doing amazing things at Cafe' Decision.

He's brought a core team of individuals together to really dig in and build up the business through a wide variety of new and very creative avenues. Some of which I am a part of.

This team coming together truly is an amazing miracle. Especially since there was contemplation and much prayer the later part of 2008 over whether or not it was time to close down and do something else. Instead, Monday & Wednesday evenings have been dedicated to the HOP. Tuesday is going to be an English Village event. Thursday will continue as a bible study lead by Mr. John LaDue of YWAM. (Youth With a Mission) Friday & Saturday evenings will be very event focused with special emphasis on hosting "live-house" style performances. And Sunday will maintain itself as a church for those who have met Jesus while at the cafe'.

This church, I'm told, is about 30 individuals and nearly ALL of them Japanese! The cafe' has only been opened for about 3 years! In Japan, this number if new believers is pretty amazing especially considering most churches often average 30 members with only one or two new believers added to their community annually. Yay for God. He truly is building His church through some unusual and unconventional means.

I've written a bit on the cafe' before. Specifically, about the HOP being located in "the upper room underground." I'd love to share with you some additional interesting insights regarding its location.

The district in which Art Cafe' Decision is located happens to be the same district in which much of the government of Japan functions and is housed. This area is known as "Chiyoda-ku" and is one of the 23 ward areas which compile the city of "Tokyo."

Not only that but, twice to date (in 2007 & 2008) teams from Bethel Church in Redding, CA; USA visited the cafe' as part of their mission trip. On one of those trips, a picture was sketched of the cafe building with a tree growing up through the center of it.

The prophecy attached to the picture was of a seed being planted deep and growing into an amazing tree.

I believe we are in the process of seeing this prophecy come to pass- at the very least, the tree is starting to break ground and be a tree rather than a tiny seed.

As has been mentioned in at least one earlier writing, the sign on the front of the building is "Big Vision." Haha! Abba is so good to us. He has indeed given us a BIG Vision for this Cafe' Decision, the HOP and also Japan.

We ARE the upper room underground and we are indeed PLANTED in the field of government for the nation of Japan. In fact, to my best knowledge, the Kanji Characters used for the name of the area literally mean, "God's Field." Or something very close.　神田 is spoken, "Kanda." The first character meaning "God" with the second character meaning "field."

Taking that to the prophetic, The Altar IHOP, Tokyo & Art Cafe' Decision are planted in Abba's field of Government. Hee hee! Can't really get much better than that hey?

"of the increase of His GOVERNMENT, there shall be NO end."

Interesting statement I think- that Abba would plant a cafe dedicated to the "arts" and promiting artists in the center of His field so that it would grow up a fruitful tree. Haha! What a good God. I so love the way He hides His treasures for us to find.

In closing, please do be in prayer for the cafe'. This is one of our 10 main prayer points for the HOP and we could use all the prayers we can get. Both for the HOP team that meets there weekly and also, for the cafe' operations & administrative teams who are working very hard to ensure there is income coming in to pay the bills and keep the cafe' operational.

That's about all for now.
Grace-
JG