PROPHETIC WORDS

SHIFT, SIFT AND LIFT

by Catherine Hoekendijk

This prophetic word was given at the NZ Council of Prophets gathering in Christchurch, March 2023.

Shift Happens

We have seen lots of change in the last 3 years. The world has changed and it is never going to be quite the same. The world looks different, it’s a new operating system. We need to understand the season and times we are in and not hope to return to what it was. Some are grieving for what was, but it won’t return. If we try to keep things as they were we will miss the new that’s coming. There’s been a shift.

The page is turning. It’s not just a turning from 2022 to 2023, but much bigger than that. I sensed God turning the page, giving us new opportunity. He is wanting to bring renewal in every area we have felt ‘stuck’ in. He is bringing a new day, a new time, new opportunities, and renewed strength and new hope for the future. He is wanting to bring a new alignment into His purposes in our lives, as we leave the past frustrations and disappointments behind and fully yield in surrender to Him. We don’t need to walk in fear; we are in the world, but are not of this world. We live out of a Kingdom paradigm, not an earthly mindset.

This shift is at a Global level. I believe we will see a change in many governmental spaces. We will see geographical lines shifted. We will see economic shifts. God is in the shift! We will see shift in the church. There are going to be more changes than what we’ve already seen in 2022. I believe that 5 five fold ministry is going to be emergent and will train the Body, so that we are able to steward what God is going to do with the harvest. There will be new songs released to go with the new wave of the Supernatural that God is going to pour out. This comes as we learn to walk in extreme obedience. There is a new call to holiness. Nothing is more important than what the Lord is doing. He is drawing us closer and deeper.

Sift Happens

In this time there is a sifting happening. To sift means to seperate. Satan desires to sift us and seperate us from our source, and from God’s purposes in our life. The only way he can do that is if we take our eyes off Jesus. When wheat and chaff are sifted, the chaff blows away in the wind, as it has no weight or substance. It’s lightweight. In the last days we will start to see a dividing between believers who walk in power and those who are without power. 2 Tim 3:5 says that there will be those who have an appearance of godliness, but denying its power. We are called to radical, or extreme, obedience in this time. God is calling us to a new level. Sometimes we get stuck, as we have not yet been obedient to the last thing God spoke to us. Even delayed obedience is disobedience. God is calling us to position ourselves in Him. He is able to do the incredible. When we choose obedience over comfort, over fear, over unbelief, over doubt, we release God to do the most extraordinary things in our lives. There has been a sifting on the world stage and it is still continuing. High places are being brought low, and low places are being raised up. We’ve seen leaders moved, who have been in place for a long time, and we are seeing a new leadership arising. This is going to continue this year.

We have seen a real challenge to the family unit. The undermining of the family as we have known is it being targeted. There will be attempts to break down the family unit even further. Even amongst the family of faith there has been an undermining of the Godly standards for marriage and family. The enemy is wanting to bring great disruption with the breakdown of the family unit, but God is wanting to raise the standard and realign people with the truth. Godly marriages and families will become highlighted as God raises the standard. Leaders who have been quiet will start to speak out and call us back to God’s plumb line, re-establishing the family as it was intended to be.

Lift Happens

We lift our eyes to God. We fix our eyes on Him. The more we become aware of God’s presence, the more we become aware of how He wants to use us. Instead of being self conscious, we become more and more God conscious. He lifts us up on eagles wings. He is the Shepherd King. He knows the faces of His sheep.

John 10:11, “I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and am known by my own.”

Psa 25:14 – There’s a private place reserved for the lovers of God, where they sit near Him (Proximity with God) and receive the revelation secrets of His promises (God reveals His secrets to His friends).

God wants to bring revival, one transformed life after another. He wants to lift us up and bring His power to effect in our lives, which, when multiplied, is what reaches a community, a city, a nation, and eventually the world. He is the ‘proximity key’.

As part of this lift, I believe there is going to be a real move of prodigals returning home. Those who have wandered in the deserts of darkness and confusion are going to reset their compass for home. As they return, they will help raise the water level in the Spirit and increase will be all around. What the enemy has sought to cancel, God is redeeming and promoting.

God said, “The ‘Camels are coming’ and returning with treasures from ‘Egypt’ to be used for the Kingdom.” The Camel is not only a sign of provision, but also a sign of the prophetic. Along with supernatural provision, I believe there is also coming a new discernment and clarity in the prophetic.

Priorities change when we seek Jesus. I also see a geographical lift happening where new ground is gained.

BIO