Shouts of Joy and Victory

Shouts of Joy and Victory

Ps. 118:15 says, “Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous.  The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things.  The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things.  I will dot die, but live, and proclaim what the Lord has done.

As I looked up many of the scriptures that had the word “shout” in them, I began to find that shout was not merely a loud sound made with the mouth.  I began to see that shouting, more often than not, has to do with a sound of victory, coupled with joy.  Some of the meanings were: to split the ears with sound; i.e. shout with alarm or joy, destroy, make a joyful sound.  It could also mean acclamation of joy, battle cry, especially the clangor of trumpets, joy, jubilee, loud noise; rejoicing.  In almost every instance, I found that you cannot have a shout of victory, without a shout of joy.

In Ezra 3:11, the people shouted with joy, as the foundation of the temple was laid.  Psalm 47:5 indicates that God has ascended amid shouts of joy (amid shouts of jubilee).  As we keep the sound of victory in our own tent, it causes God to arise.  As we shout in joy, God reigns over us and is allowed to be seated on His holy throne.  I think of the little chorus we used to sing, “Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart, when the King is in residence there.”  Joy is the evidence of the reality of the eternal life working in me.  The Bible says that the kingdom of God is known, or marked by, righteousness, peace and joy.

As I allow the joy of the Lord to have sway in my life, I give witness to a higher kingdom at work.  Joy is something that is imparted to me as I contemplate God.  He reveals who He is, and I am awed that Almighty God desires relationship with me; not just relationship alone, but covenantal relationship.  He has pledged Himself to me.  He is a faithful God and keeps covenant to a thousand generations.  I rest in that reality and receive peace.  I choose to walk in righteousness before Him; to stand rightly before Him, equally embracing holiness and rejecting evil.

Joy is a Third Day or a Third Dimension necessity.  Joy is the keeping power of the Father.  It is the distinguishing mark of God’s people.  It is the portion of the remnant.  It is the sound that will attract God’s attention. 

This came home to me very clearly in the story of Baalam and Balak.  The story is found in Numbers 22-23.  In a nutshell, Balak wanted Baalam to come and curse the Israelites for him so he could gain military victory over them.  Baalam, a man who may have been a true prophet at one time, but had turned to the power of divination to influence events and people, recognized that it would be unprofitable to curse the Israelites unless God was cursing them.  He sacrificed animals and inquired of the Lord three times, but each time he said, “I cannot curse them.”  The final time he said, “I have received a command to bless; He has blessed and I cannot change it.”  In Numbers 23:21-26, it says of the Israelites, “No misfortune is found in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel.  The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.”  This is the reason Baalam could not curse the Israelites!  The shout of the King was in their midst.  Balaam had to agree with the sound coming from their camp.

There is a dimension of prayer that is assured of results.  When we come into agreement with what God is saying about a situation, there is a power, an energy, a creative force that occurs.  It is a cataclysmic synergy between the heart of God and our declaration that creates something new.  We see this in Ezekiel 37; the “dry bones” scripture.  When Ezekiel understood the word of the Lord for those dry bones, he agreed with God and spoke it forth.  God used Ezekiel’s words to bring to pass His intention. 

There is another dimension beyond that, where the Glory of the Risen Lord, His Victory, and Kingship is being declared in joy and confidence.  It is a place where the Covenantal purpose of God is recognized and released.  That sound gets the attention of God, so to speak.  God looks over at that and says, “What is that sound I hear?  That sounds a lot like Me.  Let Me just step a bit closer and have a look.”  It is the sound of victory calling to the Victor.  It is the sound of confident assurance, calling to the One it is assured of finding.  It is the sound of the Son coming from a people.  God cannot resist that sound.  It causes Him to move closer.  As He does, he brings all that He is.  He brings redemption and deliverance.  He brings healing and strength.  He brings victory and more joy.

When we release this sound, God Himself, comes into agreement with the sound He hears emanating from our camp.  He is coming to meet Himself as he is coming out of us.  This is a dimension beyond passively trusting.  It is a dimension above prayer.  It is the dimension Jesus talked about in John 17.  (That all of them be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent Me.  I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as we are one.  I in them, and You in Me.  It is the dimension where Jesus and the Father become co-mingled in the victory and joy of oneness of understanding, oneness of purpose and oneness of expression.  It is a place accessible by choice. 

We can choose joy.  In that choosing, time and time again, to remain in the place of joy, we release a power like no other.  We are invincible because the power of God floods in to transcend earthly situations and release the kingdom purposes of the Father.  I believe the martyrs of yesterday and the martyrs of today know that place.  Those who are being pressed on every side, are coming to know that place.  Those whose faith is being tested must come to know that place.  Those with a Divine calling will need to live and operate from that place.  Difficulties challenge us to come into that place.  I pray that we all will embrace the Joy that is within, come to experience Joy in a transforming way, and begin to refuse to operate in anything less than the full shout of victory.

Releasing Our Unique Sound

Today, I wanted to spend a little time talking about each one of us releasing the sound of the Lord.  Not just any sound, or a general sound, but an individual sound; a sound that is unique to me: unique to you.  Hopefully, we will have a fuller understanding of the sound and the placement of each one of us in a particular sphere of influence. God has given us each a place where we can release that sound and change the atmosphere to come into alignment with the sound of heaven. 

Recently, I had an experience with the Lord as I was in worship.  I felt like the Lord came close to me, and stooped down until He was at eye level.  He took his right hand and ran His fingers over my forehead.  I could see Him gazing intently and reverently at the Name that was engraved there.  It was glowing golden with living light.  I couldn’t read what it said, because it was written in Hebrew letters, but I understood that there was a reverence in His attitude; a softness; an honoring.

As I began to contemplate the vision, I was reminded that in Gen. 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  This is a picture of  Creator King, announcing His crowning work of humanity, to the members of His heavenly court, and giving humanity authority to rule over that creation.  God placed a creature in His visible creation to represent His claim to kingship and to BRING ITS FULL POTENTIAL TO REALIZATION, to the praise of His glory.  I could pause right there and contemplate that sentence for a long time.  It is awesome to think God delegated authority to mankind to bring the full potential of creation into realization. 

In the ancient Near East, kings marked their territory by setting up images of themselves in a region they had conquered, as a sign of their authority.  We are His living stones.  We are God’s living, breathing markers. Wherever we go, we are announcing the kingdom of God has arrived.  We serve as the boundary marker saying the limit of the kingdom is here!

We are the sons of God who are the climax of God’s creative activity, crowned with glory and honor, and made rulers over creation. We are made in His image with delegated authority bestowed upon us.  According to Psalm 8:4 that is also echoed in Hebrews 2:5-8, we are now made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor and have everything put under our feet.

We resonate with the sound of God’s nature and victory that He spoke when He created the heavens and the earth.  That sound, or word, holds all things together.  Since we are made of the dust of the earth, we also have that sound as part of our DNA.  Each of us has the sound of the kingdom, and it produces a unique expression through our lives. 

For instance, I know that the unique sound God has given me has to do with the restoration of understanding of Israel in the plan of God.  I am called to awaken the church to her prophetic purpose regarding the land and the people.  I am to bring clarity to leaders about the prophetic thing that is swirling around them. I have known that for 7 years.   That means the mountain God wants me to influence is the Mountain of Religion.

I have other assignments where I am called to release a sound, but I wanted to use that as an illustration that all of us have a place and a sphere of influence.  Your place might be the mountain of Business.  One of my friends is called to influence the mountain of Arts and Entertainment.  Family may be the one some of you are primarily called to.   There is also the mountain of Education, Government and Media.  Some of you may be called to one or more of those.

We are here to be a voice and a presence to release the Kingdom of God in whatever sphere of influence has been delegated to us.  We are here to change the culture of that mountain to release the glory of God.  One is enough.  You are enough.  I am enough.

I wanted to look at the life of Daniel for a minute to illustrate this from a Biblical perspective.  I chose Daniel on purpose, as an example for us because he blows our excuses out of the water. Daniel was in captivity.  He was taken out of his home environment where he was comfortable, and thrust into an unfamiliar culture against his will.  It was not only culturally foreign, it was spiritually foreign.  

Nebuchadnezzar saw the potential in Daniel and his friends, and decided to groom them for his own court.  Daniel remained true to his God, uncompromising, in the culture around him.  He used wisdom and tact, but released a sound of worship that protected him, and ultimately gave him influence in a kingdom that was diametrically opposed to the kingdom of His God.

It is interesting to note that Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue of himself that was a pillar of gold.  He was named after the god, Nabu.  Nebuchadnezzar means, “Nabu protect my son or my boundary.”  Here we see again, that erecting the image was his way of marking the territory of his conquest.  Nebuchadnezzar required everyone to bow down to his image when they heard the sound of worship.  How many of us are in environments where there is another god that is honored above the God of heaven? How many of us are being required to bow at the sound of another system?  

Daniel and his friends were tuned to a different kingdom sound.  That sound was in conflict with the sound of the earthly kingdom.  They refused to bow down.  As you know, the three friends spent time in the fiery furnace, and God honored their sound of worship to Him, by saving them from the flames.  Sometimes the sound we need to be releasing is “no", but I believe there are many more positive sounds God is wanting released through us that will capture and intrigue the hearts around us.  It is not just that Daniel said no to what was being demanded of him.  He was releasing a sound that the culture around him did not understand and had no paradigm for.  Because he was faithful to release that sound, or be who God called him to be, he and his friends were given privilege and influence in that culture.

In chapter 6, Daniel is faced with another test.  This time he has to go it alone. This time, there is a conspiracy to undermine him and take him out because he would not forsake the worship of his God.  He is in conflict with the ruling forces around him.  His co-workers scheme to create a law that will trap only him and get rid of him, and trick the king into making it immutable law.  We still find Daniel releasing the sound of worship in such a way that his enemies hear and report him to the king.  Daniel does not change his behavior.  When the situation is brought to the attention of Nebuchadnezzar, the king realizes there is no way around the law, and so he is forced to order Daniel thrown into a den of lions.  

When I say Daniel was releasing a sound, I really mean he was being himself.  He was just doing what he was called to do, and he was responding to God.  It just so happens, that he was worshiping in a way we can relate to, but the sound does not mean just worship.  It means being true to yourself and your convictions no matter the audience, no matter the cost, no matter the outcome.  (It also requires tremendous wisdom.  Daniel was not offensive in his convictions.  He was gentle when he asked to eat food that would not require him to compromise his beliefs).

We know the rest of the story.  God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lions.  This was God’s endorsement of Daniel before the rulers of the land.  King Darius recognized that Daniel’s God was the living God, and issued a decree that in every part of his kingdom, people should fear and reverence the God of Daniel.  Daniel gained influence in the kingdom.

The awesome result that resounds today may be of greater effect than Daniel had on his culture.  Because Daniel loved his God and was willing and courageous enough to agree with the sound of heaven and release it in his own unique way, we benefit today.  One man can make a tremendous difference that can endure for generations.  Daniel is a first fruits type of a people that are beginning to arise today.  Daniel is a show and tell for us today.  Daniel is our prototype, not just in a general way, but for THIS DAY.

Why do I day that?  I say that because, right after the lion’s den incident, he is given his visions and dreams about the end times.  He is seen reading scripture and understands that the days of Jerusalem’s captivity are about to end.  Gabriel comes to him and reveals things that are to take place in the future.  There are specific things in the Book of Daniel that are for us to know and understand for today.  Some of them didn’t make sense even a century ago, but now with hindsight, we can see some of these things have already unfolded.  We can see possibilities in place that were hidden before. 

We are living in the times that Daniel saw and wrote about.  He is a NOW prophet.  He is a very real example and prototype of what we have the potential to be and are called to be.  One man, one woman can have influence far beyond our imagination or current circle of influence.

We have each been given a sphere of influence and a unique sound.  We are called to advance within the sphere we have been entrusted with; not to merely occupy our present territory.  We are called to influence and change the atmosphere by remaining true to the sound God is developing in us. 

We are called to be a Matthew 22:37 people.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments." 

We cannot win what we do not love.  It is all about the people in the sphere God has given us.  It is all about sound of the love of God being released in and through us, to captivate and enthrall hearts with the beauty and the hope and the victory of the King and his Kingdom.  It’s all about releasing the kingdom of God within us; being Jesus’ representative to cause my sphere of influence to realize the full potential of that kingdom in the here and now. 

Daniel gives me great encouragement.  I think it is note worthy that Daniel was found praying at the time of the evening sacrifice when there hadn't been any sacrifice for 70 years.  Daniel was honoring his God and remaining true no matter the circumstances. That's faith.  That's the quality God honors.