I Am

John 18:4-6
4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.

6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Just as the Romans and the temple police were about to arrest him a SUPERNATURAL power was suddenly released that was so strong it knocked an entire band of 300 to 600 soldiers backward and down to the ground.

It was if an invisible bomb went off.  After Judas’ kiss, Jesus stepped forward and said “Whom are you seeking?”

Look at Vs. 5.

Jesus said “I AM HE” or translated “I AM”.
Jesus had said this before.

The Bible Dictionary says, “The name signifies the active presence of the person in the fullness of the revealed character.”

Tell him the One who has always been is sending you.

In other words, tell your enemy “you’re about to see all of who God is.”

John 8:58
Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John 13:19
Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.

These soldiers in John 18:5 wanted to know “Who are you?” expecting to hear him answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

But instead he said “I AM” and they fell down.
In the Greek when it says “they fell to the ground” it means they staggered and stumbled backward.

It pictures like a person hit so hard, it appeared that they fell dead.

Think of it, 300 to 600 soldiers and temple police with weapons and torches and Jesus says “I AM” and a great blast of God’s power was unleashed so strong it caused them to stumble and stagger and wobble and then hit the ground hard.

What a shock, with all their weapons … JUST A WORD KNOCKED THEM DOWN.

Could Jesus be taken by force?  NO WAY.
He went by choice.  The Jesus we serve is so powerful.

No force is strong enough to resist his power.  No sickness, financial problem, political force, NOTHING has enough power to resist the supernatural power of Jesus.

When the great “I AM” opens his mouth and speaks, every power that attempts to defy him on his Word is pushed backward and shaken until it staggers, stumbles and falls to the ground.  I wonder what the soldiers said after that.

What do you need TODAY?  Get your mouth into agreement with his Word and you too will see I AM unleash his power against the forces coming against you.

Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong

He Is The Lord Of Breakthrough

Matthew 1:3
Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.

Psalm 114:2
Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

Judah, the father of Perez.
Judah means “PRAISE!”  Actually “Praise unto the Lord.”
Perez means BREAKTHROUGH!

Judah, the father of Perez, means, “Praise unto the Lord brings BREAKTHROUGH.”

In 1 Chronicles 13 God is moving mightily in battle.  And when an unfortunate thing took place they name the place “Perez Uzza” or “Outburst” or “Exploded Uzza”.

When God is in our lives there are BREAKTHROUGHS all around us.

Our circumstances are EXPLODED.  What brings us into His presence?  PRAISE.

He inhabits the Praise of His people!

Psalm 111:10 (AMP)
The [reverent] fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom;

A good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the Lord;
His praise endures forever.

We are supposed to shout out His praises.  SHOUTS go ahead of us.  They alert the world around us that something is happening.

I believe that when we shout with a voice of triumph, we declare in the SPIRIT realm, that God is ARRIVING in the camp.

Jericho didn’t just come down because of the marching, NO, those walls fell because the sound waves collided with A WALL, and the wall could NOT STAND.

Sound that becomes praise is like a supersonic bomb.
It blows up your circumstances.

Your praise is about to blow up some stuff you’re going through.

Praise will break down those walls and it tells the enemy that God is bigger than anything He can throw at us.

Right in front of your enemy he declares, “I AM THE LORD OF BREAKTHROUGH!”

You get a diagnosis of cancer, SHOUT, “GOD IS MY HEALER.”
You can’t pay your bills, SHOUT, “GOD IS MY PROVIDER.”

You feel hopeless about a situation, SHOUT, “GOD IS THE LIFTER OF MY HEAD.”

We need to praise Him with our voices.
With our instruments.
With our bodies.
With our groanings.
With spiritual songs.

All of these praises usher in the presence of God when done from the heart.

Praise helps us engage with God.  When we engage with God we form a spiritual connection that acts like a conduit for God’s power to actively work in our lives.

Like a spiritual Shofar, our shout of praise becomes a clarion call that announces to the enemy, “GOD IS HERE”!  satan has no power here anymore.

Out of this praise comes BREAKTHROUGH.  Strongholds are broken; chains fall off our lives and real joy takes root in us and brings a peace that NOTHING in the world compares to.

We live GLORY to GLORY!
Breakthrough to breakthrough.  Blessing to blessing.

What gets us through the IN-BETWEEN is PRAISE.
Judah was the Father of Perez!

Ruth 4:12
May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.”

May YOUR HOUSE –

Psalm 67:5-7
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.

6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.

7 God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Praise Him.  THEN!  Shout, “THEN!” the earth yields her increase.

So when we are called to Praise Him, it means to VENT what’s in your heart.

Worship can be silent but praise never is.

Praise secures God’s presence.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14
13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:

“For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever,”
that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,

14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Praise secures VICTORY.

Psalm 149:6-9
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,

7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;

8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute on them the written judgment—
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the Lord!

Praise releases the burdens.

Isaiah 61:3
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Praise brings release.
Acts 16 at midnight Paul & Silas.

So somebody ought to be praising Him.

Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong

Don’t Leave Him Alone

Hebrews 11:32-39
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:

33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.

They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—

38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,

Our lives in 2016 are so BUSY.  We are running, running, running and can’t catch up.

We are busy people on a busy planet.  Day-Care, sporting events, school, work, shopping.

O’ you need a new wineskin and you have to reach beyond for something.

Church, God is LOOKING for people who will spend time with Him.

Prayerlessness is leaving God alone and He does NOT want to be left alone.

When Jesus was physically on the earth, they were there, always around Him, until He got crucified, then they scattered.

I believe one of the greatest sins in the church IS LEAVING GOD ALONE.

HE is why we must NOT leave God alone.
There are trials we will face that we must have faith for.

Hebrews 11:32-33
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:

33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

I refuse to lose my levels of authority.

These heroes of faith in Hebrews received miracles because they were persistent in KEEPING what was theirs.

Prayer is what made the church powerful.

Acts 12:1-3, 5
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

Herod is either killing, harassing or putting into prison Christians.

But the church was in constant prayers for Peter and an angel broke him out.

It was the cry of refusal.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I have made my mind up.  At the beginning of the year it was “Whatever He tells you to do, DO IT.”

And now it will be “I refuse to leave You alone.”
Then I will know what to do.

Elijah would not leave God alone.

What about:

Jacob – He would not leave God alone until God blessed him.

Problem for some, they won’t wrestle because they don’t want to walk different.

Moses – When God wanted to be left alone – Moses refused and saved his nation.  Exodus 32.

Hezekiah – refused to die and got 15 more years.

Acts Church – Prayer during persecution grew the church.

The lady who needed her daughter healed was willing to eat crumbs and her persistence saw her daughter healed.

Bartimaeus refused to be quiet and got healed.

When people refused to leave Jesus alone, He blessed them.

Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong

What Sound Are You Giving & Hearing?

1 Corinthians 14:8

For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?
 Life is a battle.  There are ebbs and flows in this battle, but it is real none-the-less. Many people in Canada battle addictions, battle in their marriage, battle over kids, battle for kids. We battle in life; even in the church and with other churches we battle. 1 Corinthians 4:8  “for if the trumpet gives an UNCERTAIN SOUND, who shall prepare himself to battle.” The context of this verse is in relation to tongues and the interpretation of those tongues. He uses instruments as examples that are meant to carry a CERTAIN SOUND. IF THEY ARE not played right, how will anyone know what they are meant to sound like? Then, vs. The word “UNCERTAIN” means, “without manifestation, not apparent, CONCEALED. It’s applied to graves, overgrown with weeds and thus concealed. Church, you and I were created to carry a sound. Yet because of miss-use, ignorance, hurt, battles, we are making NOISE but it’s an uncertain sound. It’s not the sound of Christ or heaven that comes out of us at times.  It’s instead the sound of carnality and hurt. It’s a sound, but an uncertain sound, and because of it, we are unprepared for battle. Church, the devil wants what is in you to be concealed, hidden, never sounding right, just enough to get you by but never change. Wineskins never change when the sound is uncertain. So the uncertain sound creeps into our music, our message, and our methods. Now watch, a trumpet then was not like the trumpets of today. The trumpet was a WIND instrument. When the breath, the wind of God is able to blow through these earthen vessels we carry a CERTAIN sound that changes atmospheres. Trumpets were used for war and to assemble the army. Gideon’s army rallied under the sound of the trumpet. Trumpets were blown to announce Jubilee. It was used in battle. When it was offering time, they blew the trumpet. All and more had a certain sound. Now imagine the watchmen on the wall and he sees an enemy approaching and instead of blowing it with the sound that let’s them know, he instead blows the sound of Jubilee. So as the people gather for Jubilee, they are NOT READY for the attack that’s coming.  Why?  Because the trumpet gave an uncertain sound. Out of your spirit must come a CERTAIN sound, a clear sound. Every other group on the planet tells people what they think, but the church comes across with an uncertain sound. Not clear, concealed etc. Our message MUST BE CLEAR AND CERTAIN or who will turn the tide of the evil sound of the enemy. Watchmen on the wall are not blowing the trumpet, so the enemy does.

So atheists blow the trumpet.
Immorality blows the trumpet.
SEX Ed. Blows the trumpet.

Church, we must arise with a certain sound, a clear sound and blow the trumpet in Zion and sound the alarm on My holy mountain.

Church, you and I were born again and we are to carry a sound.  We must not conceal what heaven has put in us.

Yours for Revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong

No Limits

Zechariah 2:1-5
1 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.

2 So I said, “Where are you going?”
And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him,

4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.

5 For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

Mark 16:2-6
2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

3 And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.

5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

Ask a man in a wheelchair to climb three flights of stairs and he will say, “I CAN’T DO THAT.”

Ask a blind woman to walk through a stranger’s house and she will say, “I CAN’T DO THAT.”

A person without legs can’t play football.  Can they do other things?  Yes, just not those things.  Why?  They are LIMITED in what they do.

And so because we are all LIMITED In some way, we tend to LIMIT GOD.

What limits you?
What is stopping you?

Maybe you feel your life is a bunch of NO’S.
Will I ever get over this?  NO.

Will I ever feel better?  NO.
Will my job ever get better?  NO.

Will my finances ever get better?  NO.
Will I ever see my dream fulfilled? NO.

In Mark 16, Jesus was their HOPE.  The cross had just seemed to say NO to the life of Christ.

Now they are heading to a tomb to pay respects.
They were not expecting resurrection, they were grieving.

“What about the stone?  How will we move it?”
Kind of like our problems.

So big.  They block us, too big for us.  What are we going to do?  Who will help us?

But when they got there, THE STONE WAS ROLLED AWAY.
Now in Zechariah he sees a man measuring Jerusalem.

We are always trying to measure what God’s Word says thus we live a measured life, a restricted life.

Then another angel shows up and says Jerusalem will be a city without walls.

It shall extend BEYOND its present dimension.
Who am I talking to?

You are too limited.
Too restricted.

God says you are going beyond and breaking all LIMITATIONS.

You’re trying the hem God in to your little life.
But God wants to use you beyond your natural ability.

So while you are trying to LIMIT Him, He says, “I WILL BE A WALL OF FIRE all around and I will be the GLORY in her MIDST!”

All your enemies will be defeated.

So stop trying to LIMIT God.  We need to put our measuring lines away.

We measure how things work out by our standard.
Our measuring lines keep us safe in our boundaries.

Jesus did not do many miracles in His hometown because they measured Him.  They thought they knew Him.

Isaiah 54:2 – this banner is on our sanctuary wall.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.

Enlarge, EXTEND.

Your comfort zone is the limit you put on God.
“What if it does not happen”?
“Shut up, devil”.

You can’t measure God by yourself.  With God, ALL things are possible.

There are NO WALLS, no blockades, no barricades, no screens, no enclosures, no barriers, NO LIMITS, NO BOUNDARIES.

Sickness can be healed.
Families can mend.

Demons can be cast out.
Your direction can change.

You can be saved.

Here is how we live a life without measure.
Take RESPONSIBILITY.

Fulfill your call, measure by God, NOT MAN.
Do what you are responsible to do.

If not you, then who?

Be MATURE.
Grow up in Christ.  Believe His Word.

Believe beyond what you can see.
LIVE A SELF-SACRIFICING LIFE.

If you died then HE LIVES and you can do ALL THINGS through CHIRST who died of us.

Enlarge our territory, increase our ability to LIVE.   Increase my responsibility, increase my maturity, and increase my self-sacrifice.

Take away my measuring stick and show me your WALL OF FIRE and Your GLORY.

God is saying, “Dream again, believe again, and take the limits off.”

RELEASE HIM to do miracles.  Take the limits off your marriage.

Take the Limits off your ministry.
Take the Limits off your finances.
Take the Limits off your education.
Take the Limits off your relationship.
Take the Limits off your church.
Take the Limits off your Pastor.
Take the Limits off your Country.

TAKE THE LIMITS OFF

Late on Friday, through the thorns, through the beatings, I can hear Jesus say, “NO LIMITS”.

Through the nails – “NO LIMITS”.
From the hill to the grave I hear Jesus, “NO LIMITS.”

The lamb that was slain for your sins says “NO LIMITS, NO BOUNDARIES”.


Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong

LIMITLESS

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

If Christ is in your life there is NOTHING you cannot do.

You can climb any mountain and weather any storm.

Others may turn back, others may quit but you will keep going.

Limitless living refuses to be bound by fear because a giant is talking.

Limitless living will always find the right stone.

Limitless living will discover this pit is NOT your destiny; a palace is waiting.

His wisdom is limitless, so ask for it.  Where others failed, you will NOT fail.

So be a plumber
Be a doctor
Be a truck driver
Be a nurse
Be a pastor
Be a business owner
Be a laborer

But do it without LIMITS.

You took the limits off, now live without limits.

Live free.

John 8:36
 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

You broke barriers so now don’t go back.

If you could only lift one hundred pounds in the gym, keep building muscle and soon it will be two hundred pounds.  NO LIMITS.

Be like Abraham and look up and see LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES.

No fear!

John 3:34
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

There is NOTHING you cannot do if you trust Him and walk with Him.

Take the LIMITS off.  Would to God if all of us would live a life without LIMITS.

You conquered.  You prevailed.  Because He conquered and He prevailed.

Now LIVE LIMITLESS.


Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong

The Supernatural Kingdom

Matthew 11:1-5
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:

5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

We serve a supernatural God, yet so many of His followers are stuck in natural.  Can’t see that God wants to use us.

Moses said, “I can’t, I have a speech issue.”
Gideon said, “I’m not qualified”.

“WE CAN’T DO IT”

10 spies’ negative report poisoned the whole nation.
Instead of a breakthrough, it was a break-down.

Why?  Was it the devil?  The giants?  What caused over 1 million people to lose faith and destiny?  4 words, “WE CAN’T DO IT”.

Not just words but what those words contained.
Those words EXCLUDED GOD.  Full of unbelief/fear.

Words filled with possibility, potential, power.

His words can move you from:
Sickness to health
Weakness to strength
Loser to winner
Stressed to blessed
Fearful to fearless.

I don’t care what the skeptics say.  I don’t care what the economy says.  I don’t care what religion says.

WHAT IS GOD SAYING?
WHAT IS GOD DOING?

That’s what I care about.

A word from Him changes everything.  He speaks and things are created.

A Ginomai is here for your health.  IT SHALL BE.

One word and cancer is driven out of your body.
One word and He supplies your need.

One word and drug addiction leaves.

He is supernatural.

One word from Jesus and Peter broke the natural law of Physics.  He stepped into the supernatural.  THEN, shout, “THEN”.

Peter went where they said he could never go and did what they said he could never do.

I Prophesy this church is getting ready to step into a REALM with God where you have never been, go to places you have never gone, see things you have never seen.  It’s A SUPERNATURAL KINGDOM!

"CAN’T" must be removed from our speech.  Use what God gave you.

Give your weakness to Him.
Can’t talk
It’s just a staff
This thorn

And God will make you strong.
Just a little oil.

Now watch our supernatural God.  When you and I were born again we were not just born out of sin, sickness, disease, poverty and lack.  We were born into the Kingdom of God.

We were born into the realm of the supernatural and the miraculous.  We were born into the realm of Signs/Wonders and miracles.

The atmosphere of the Child of God is the realm of the supernatural.  Supernatural peace, joy, power, prosperity, wisdom, glory.

The devil is so afraid of you stepping into that supernatural place in the spirit.

He wants to keep you in the boat.  He knows Jesus gave you power to cast out devils.

He knows you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
He knows your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost.

He knows the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, dwells IN YOU.

He knows it’s normal for us to operate in Signs/Wonders.  He just does not want you to know.  He wants you stuck in the boat.

GET OUT OF THAT BOAT.

To move in the supernatural you have to be willing to step into the UNKNOWN.

Abraham stepped out.
Joshua was told, “You have not passed this way before.”

You have to be willing to look foolish.
Elijah put water on a sacrifice while praying for fire.

Peter got out of a boat.

Yours for revival,
Pastor Francis Armstrong