Like a roaring lion

Sometimes a subject, a number or an object comes up over and over again in a person’s life. This object or phrase seems to keep showing itself in conversation, dreams, stories or testimonies, and it makes one think to themselves, “God, what are you trying to tell me?”

I have a good friend who is always seeing the numbers 18 or 19. On the clock, in scripture or in normal conversation, when she hears or sees these numbers, she takes notice because God seems to be telling her something and she had better listen. Much like myself, ever since the bombing of the twin towers, I always am drawn to look at the clock at the exact time of 9:11. I always say a prayer for those who lost a loved one on that day when this happens.

So when the two subjects of “authority” and a “roaring lion” came up time and time again over the three days Karrie and I spent at the International Association of Healing Rooms Summit in Spokane, I took notice.

It wasn’t just hearing it in the guest speaker’s words, although it came up again and again. From Australian speakers, from African speakers, from Montana-ites and Canadians and others, they all used a lion of some kind in their presentation. But that wasn’t all. It got more personal.

It also wasn’t that the artist working up front during worship painted a lion right before all of our eyes. It was even more personal.

At least a dozen people came up to Karrie and me personally and spoke the word “authority” to us. Or they said they could see a roaring lion in us, near us or on our shirt. Our shirts had no designs on them; there were no lions in the building that we knew of. You see, many years ago when I was sick, Karrie’s sister gave me a walking stick. I used it a lot during my sickness. When I was healed of that sickness, I put the stick away. But not long after I got better, that walking stick, sitting in the corner collecting dust, started to become a prayer staff. Then Butch and Kim Stanger blessed it for me. Then God did. When others saw that staff for the first time, they sensed something. When they held it, they felt something. When they saw me with it, they knew something. They all used the word “authority.”

But it gets even more personal. I did see Jesus at this conference. Some of you will think I am crazy, and that is OK. Come talk to me sometime, and I will tell you the whole story, and if you still think I am crazy, well, that will be on you, then, because I know what happened to me. I will give you a little summary here if I can.

I had what some might call a vision. Not my first, but by far the most intense and personal. I did see Jesus and he did talk to me. I also saw roaring lions with our King. But, to put it in a little more perspective for you, I will break it down for you like this: We are all meant to be like roaring lions; we are to take authority over what God has given us. And what God gives us is power over our one and only true enemy. We are to act, on his behalf, with that authority, knowing the whole time that it is not by anything we do, but because of Christ and what he already did. Because we can do nothing without him. We think we can, the world thinks it can, leaders think they can, but really God is the only one with that kind of power and authority. I had a wake-up call from on high.

I am nothing special, just a man obeying a call from the Lord God Almighty. There is a shift coming in our atmosphere — I think it has already started — when we must wake up as a body. Wake up as a future bride of a King. We must wake up and take that authority mantle that was placed inside of us all and roar. Roar like we were meant to. Like a roaring lion, walk in that authority that Jesus gave us. An ultimate sacrifice of love so that we could live in authority. I and many others are praying for every one of you to wake up and roar.