Checkmate Is Coming
My brother, Tim Sheets, has an exceptional grasp of angels and angel armies. He understands, perhaps better than anyone I know, the activities of heaven and how the Godhead interacts with the Ekklesia, and has even written a book about it. At a prophetic conference Tim held not long ago, he stirred great faith in us as He spoke with passion about God’s plans on the earth and what He is trying to accomplish through the church in this hour. If you feel at all discouraged or beaten down by life’s circumstances or the national state of affairs, his message will get you back on your feet and ready to engage the enemy. Tim declared the following:
“We are entering into the most awesome era God has ever planned on this earth. Hell has never faced anything like it’s about to face. The Ekklesia of Christ’s kingdom is now going to be elevated into a greater level of authority. Hell won’t be able to handle it, and it will not prevail against us. The Godhead, through Jesus, came to this earth 2000 years ago to expand their kingdom. An Ekklesia was birthed to function and rule in that kingdom, and the Lord didn’t come to lose!
“The plans of the Godhead were not to form a weak Church that gets shaken when there’s devil-activity. They plan to win! They didn’t leave heaven and come to earth to be beaten by a reprobate, rebellious, fallen angel. They came to destroy the works of the devil!
“They came to activate angel armies to assist a glorious Church, not a whimpering Church over in the corner, begging to survive! They didn’t come to assist a scared, intimidated, bullied church, or one bound by feckless hypocrites. They did not come to nurse a church shaken by government tyranny or by demon propaganda.
“I’m hearing a different sound coming from the people of God. I’m hearing a different sound coming from the church Jesus and Holy Spirit are building. I’m hearing a boldness rising in the true Ekklesia. I hear a fierce, determined voice rising. I’m hearing the sound of war horses pawing the ground in anticipation of the charge!
“I hear explosions of dunamis power coming against strongholds! I hear the sound of revival. I hear the sound of awakening. I hear the sound of transformation. I hear the sound of radical change.
“I’m hearing the deep-throated roar of our Lion King! He is saying, ‘This is MY territory! This is My Pride! This is My nation! This is My world! America is MINE! I founded it and I won’t give it up!’
“The Lord Sabaoth says to the Ekklesia, ‘Stop looking for other options. I AM your option. I am your map. I am your Guide. I am the plan. I have plans you have not seen, but soon, you shall see. I have moves you have not seen, but you will soon see them. You will see the surprise moves of the King’s gambit. Yes, hell is going to hear, “Checkmate!” I am move after move after move ahead of the forever loser.’
“Hear the verdict of the King of Glory. Hear the resounding decree that will go throughout this nation and world. There’s a shouted decree from My throne against cultural evils. It’s a battle cry against government structures of darkness. It’s a voice of triumph against swamp creatures and diabolical orders.
“Hear the words of the Supreme Commander unveiling His plans. Hear the voice of His power. Hear the voice of His gambit. ‘Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!’ Then suddenly—breakthrough, breakthrough, breakthrough! Victory, victory, victory!
“Hear the roar of the Lion of Judah activating holy fear. Hear the roar of the King over this nation in triumphant challenge: ‘I said My Church would prevail, not fail! I said they will reign with Me, not run from devils. I said they would be strong and courageous, not trembling, passive, deserters. I have put steel in the backbone of My remnant. I have fashioned the heart of Joshua and Caleb and David inside of them. They are hearing the stirring call of My voice. They are riding Holy Spirit’s wind. They do not fear giants in the land! They hunt them!’
“Giants are beginning to fall. Cultural giants will fall. Media giants will fall. Government giants will fall. Tech giants will fall. Education giants will fall. Religious giants will fall. Giants hidden in gross darkness will not hinder My warriors, for I will give them night vision. They will own the night, intimidating My enemies hiding in dark demon territories. Using the spiritual weapons of warfare I have given them, they will tear down strongholds. It will be said, ‘The night hides the surprises of their God. The night hides His suddenlies. It hides His breakthroughs. It hides His victory plans.’
“‘I own the night,’ says the Lord. ‘I own the darkness. I own My enemies. I own the battlefield. I have determined that My heirs will live in My victory. They will fight and I will help them prevail. The raiding will cease and the spoils of war will come into My warriors’ hands. The supplies and the treasuries will transfer.’
“‘It is time for the great push. Push into times of great revival. Push into supernatural harvest. Push forward and see battles shift to great triumph! Push forward into the land of your inheritance and you will see the surprise gambit of your King taking out your enemies.’
Tim continues, “When the Lord first spoke to me about the King’s gambit, I had no idea what a ‘gambit’ meant. I discovered that it’s a term used in the game of chess. In chess, both players start with an equal number of pieces and they’re all the same. There are kings, queens, knights, rooks, bishops, and pawns. The goal is to trap the king until he cannot move. That is called, ‘checkmate.’
“A gambit is a rare chess move only used by chess masters. It involves making several moves that, several moves later, will give the player an advantage and will ultimately lead to a checkmate. The initial move may look like a mistake as it will involve the player actually losing a couple of pieces. The master player’s king may then look vulnerable, and moves might have to be made in a defensive way to protect it. In actuality, the board is being strategically rearranged for a sudden surprise the chess master will spring. The surprise gambit may be 15 moves ahead of the final move leading to checkmate. By the time the opponent realizes what’s happening, it is too late for him to recover. He is trapped. It will be ‘checkmate.’
“The Lord is saying, ‘Our God and His kingdom are moves ahead of our adversary. Checkmate is coming!’”
“It shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” (2 Samuel 5:24 NASB)
“The Lord your God, who goes before you, will Himself fight for you, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 1:30 NASB)
Pray with me:
Lord, we are living in extraordinary days. We are living in times that require great faith. Our faith may have been shaken by recent earthly circumstances, but that has not taken You by surprise. It has not shaken You! You came to earth to establish Your kingdom here in and through Your Ekklesia. You are determined to have the church You dreamed of. You have great exploits planned for us in our generation. And You never back down or lose to the enemy.
Stir us to shake off any disappointment. Roar over us, Lion of Judah! The devils hiding in darkness will tremble. You will use us to defeat them. We position ourselves to listen for Your voice and instructions. You will tell us exactly where, when, and how to strike the blows. We will shout Your decrees—Your battle cries – against rulers in darkness and governmental foes of Your Kingdom.
We decree checkmate is coming! Your gambit has begun. You have moves no one has ever seen. You are going to show them to this world. You have already begun this and soon many breakthroughs will occur. Satan and his kingdom will suffer another huge defeat. We call in our sons and daughters from afar for this great harvest – from the north, south, east, and west (Isaiah 43:5-7). We boldly declare that no weapon formed against us will prosper (Isaiah 54:17), that we always triumph in Christ, and He will reveal the fragrance of His knowledge everywhere, through us (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Today’s decree:
The Lord has been strategically moving in America and His enemies will soon hear, “Checkmate!”
Portions of today’s post were contributed by my brother, Tim Sheets. You can learn more about Tim Sheets here.