This word is submited by Chuck Smith (chuckandtrista@email.com)

------

                A Divine Shift in the Spiritual Realm 

The Lord showed me a vision of the earth, and on the North, East, South, 
and West regions I saw four angels posted. Each angel was holding a corner 
of a quilt that covered the entire earth. Suddenly the angels all changed 
places; they changed assignments and moved from the spot they were to take 
on a new watch. The angel assigned to the North moved to the East, the East 
to the South and so on. The Lord made me to know that there is coming a 
shifting of the celestial guard that would affect the entire world and 
church as we know it. I was made aware that just as these were governing 
angels set over the earth, when they shifted position, it would affect 
earthly government, specifically Church government. This is going to have 
its greatest impact on the Apostolic and Prophetic ministries of the body 
of Christ. I saw that this would affect these ministries in four specific 
ways.

1. Apostles and Prophets would relocate.

I believe we are coming to an hour of relocation and reassignment. God 
is going to shake things up in the body of Christ for a number of diverse 
reasons, and even change location for many apostolic and prophetic 
ministries. We mustn't become alarmed. God has a specific reason if He 
is choosing to move you. It will have little to do with you, and everything 
to do with God's desire to penetrate the world with the Gospel of Christ. 
This will be an exciting time, but a time where the people of God must 
become increasingly assured of the details and location of their callings.

2. Ministries that are to remain where they are will have a misguided 
desire to move.

With this picture I also knew that there would be well-meaning apostles 
and prophets who would sense this supernatural shift and become misguided, 
having a sense that they were being moved by the Lord when really it was 
His specific will for them to stay. There will be a greater need for the 
personal discernment of one's individual spiritual assignment than ever 
before. I saw many governmental gifts who were called to stay in a region 
being tempted to move and relocate because of this shift, desiring to 
respond to the changing spiritual atmosphere. For the first group this 
will feel like a freeing, liberating move.  For others it may even seem 
restricting, but we must be faithful to the Lord and to the territory He 
has assigned us to.

3. Ministries will find themselves moving into new realms. 

This is just going to be great. There is a newness coming to God's 
ministries that will add a fresh fire to His people. Ministries that have 
functioned in a certain dimension or purpose for years or even decades 
will suddenly be visited with new grace, with a new enablement.  Just as 
some apostles and prophets will relocate physically, others will relocate 
into new spiritual territories, functioning in graces that may have been 
up to this time somewhat foreign to them. God is going to breathe a fresh 
wind into ministries. 

There is going to be a restoration of aged ministers. God is showing me 
that five-fold ministers that have gotten ready to "retire" are going to 
catch a "second wind" with this shift. They are going to find their 
destinies even late in life. And the Lord is telling me that He is going 
to cause aged ministries to "go out with a bang." touching many more lives 
in the last years of their ministries than they ever have before. It is 
due to this second wind, new grace that is given to restore the ministries 
of Christ to Himself and His purposes. I see older women, some never in 
their lives thinking of entering the ministry, answering a call to 
ministry during the second wind that accompanies the spiritual shifting. 

4. A Greater need for Horizontal Apostolic Ministry.

In the vision, the Lord pointed out to me that the different segments 
of the quilt were the various streams and networks of the Church.  He 
showed me the importance of the thread holding those segments of the 
quilt together. He made me aware that the thread was what has been 
referred to by Peter Wagner as horizontal apostolic ministry. Just as 
the Apostle James was graced to bring other apostles together to make 
a major decision for the Church, there will be special grace on the 
lives of many apostolic ministries to bring a strong unity to major 
networks and apostolic groups.  This will be needed to a greater degree 
with shifting. If the quilt is not strong and it comes under the heavy 
spiritual pressure that this change will bring, there is a danger of it 
not holding, and it will lack the unity Christ desires.  There is a call 
to pray for this type of apostolic ministry to find its place.  If you 
are called to this realm of the apostolic, this is a season to operate 
in this capacity with a boldness like never before.

The governmental shift in the heavenlies that is about to take place 
is for the purpose of giving acceleration to apostolic/prophetic 
establishing. It is timely and will produce a great amount of spiritual 
activity. There is going to be increase in every possible way, and the 
increase is going to be triggered by an increase in apostolic grace. God 
does what He does always for a purpose, and His purpose here is for 
global harvest. 

Prepare for change!! Change represents life and growth. And as we 
individually embrace change in our own lives and ministries, we will 
see momentum given to the Church so that it may impact the earth 
mightily in this generation.