New Blog Location!

We are very happy to announce our blog has a new central location within our new website. If you haven't found it already, here is the link. We're posting new blogs every week! From here forward, we will be posting all new blogs there exclusively. If you would like to know when a new blog has been posted, just join our email newsletter; we announce it! Here is the link to sign up.

Blessings!
The Lionheart Team

Tearing Down Our Idols, Part 2 By Mike McClung

Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life; they have not set God before them. Selah. (Psalm 54:1-3)

What does it mean to be “vindicated” by the Lord? I have found myself praying the prayer of the Psalmist for vindication for several years now. There have been literally years of misunderstanding, slander, offense, etc, that I and Lionheart Ministries have been on the receiving end of. Some of what has been said is deserved, as many mistakes and weaknesses have been exposed over the years. But most has been accusation that is beyond plausibility for rational thought. This type of regressive warfare and stress (friendly fire) begins to take its toll on the spiritual, mental, emotional, financial and physical health of both individuals and a corporate covenant community. In light of these “momentary light afflictions,” one begins to cry out to the Lord, as the Psalmist did, for “vindication.” Is it righteous, Christlike vindication that one seeks? It is now my experience that what I thought it was to be vindicated by the Lord is actually the seeking of human retribution, at least at some motivational level. Such is the insidiousness and subtlety of the deception of the “idol” of self-preservation.

Tearing Down Our Idols, Part 1 By Mike McClung

Jonah 2:8: Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. (NKJV)

1 John 5:21: Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

On June 7, 2011, right at the beginning of the festival of Shavaot (Pentecost), I began to have serious heart arrhythmias combined with classic symptoms of heart malfunction – shortness of breath, chest pain, etc. I believe we are entering a new season where, if we will position ourselves biblically, we will have a great refreshing, infilling release of the Holy Spirit. This is to prepare us for a new season described in scripture as the “season of the restoration of all things” (Acts 3:19-21). I was expecting a great release of deep repentance and power to come. I still have those expectations, but with the state of my heart problems at that time, the Lord radically altered my conception of what is required.

Some Hindrances to Entering the New Season of Restoration By Mike McClung

Oftentimes, it is ungodly soul-ties with something or someone that prevent us from advancing. The Israelites were so “tied” to Egypt, they would not enter into God’s full promises. Ungodly relationships form one of the worst hindrances to fully entering God’s purpose for our lives. If we want to fully serve the Lord, we need to stay single. Why? 1 Corinthians 7 encourages the single life, unless we find that one person who is totally devoted to what God has called us to be and to do. We will be judged for what God has purposed and planned for us at the judgment seat of Christ. By marrying out of loneliness, sexual frustration, etc, we have chosen to disobey the Bible. Once we are married, God says that marriage covenant takes precedence over all others. If we are married to someone who is not called to our purpose, we will probably end up never fulfilling it! (We will still have to give an account before God for the gifting, calling and graces.)

Impartation of Generational Mantles and Inheritance By Mike McClung

Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse (Mal. 4:4-6).

Curses crumble when generations are joined together.  Curses impact generations in a specific bloodline through a family, and they also impact cultures or nations, through a tribe or people group. The cause and cure remain the same.  The generations must join together, through the redemptive power of the cross and blood of Christ, or the bondage, habits and mindsets of peoples and nations will change little.  But…this is changing.  When God begins to answer the cries of His people for deliverance from bondage, he first moves on the “fathers,” or leaders, to make the initial step for change.

Turning the Hearts of the Children

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… (Heb. 1:1-3).

I grew up without a father.  My father abandoned my mother when she was three months pregnant with me.  He left and never looked back.  Any child growing up without the blessing of a father knows the emptiness, rejection, and anger that can accompany fatherlessness.  We are now living in a period where the majority of young people have grown up fatherless, either by abandonment or neglect.  Since the higher courts of this nation escorted God out of public life in the early sixties, several generations grew up without a true knowledge of their Father in heaven.  The toll has been tragic, but hope lives, because the most unprecedented move of God the world has ever seen is at hand.

The Compassionate Father

In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God (John 16:26-27).

Turning the hearts of the children to the Father begins with the revelation and experience of the Father’s burning passion for messed-up human beings.  The average Christian sees a perverted image of the Father.  They base their relationship with Him on a perception of Him being an arbitrary, untrustworthy, aloof despot, demanding perfection before He can or will interact with us.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Being male and female, both sexes reflect aspects of the glory of the Father.  There is a tender, compassionate heart at the center of the Father’s existence that Paul describes as the kind of love and care a mother would show for her children.

Has Anyone Seen Jonathan? Part 2 By Mike McClung

Jonathan, A Type of Dissatisfied Remnant

Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man's plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone (1 Sam. 13:19-14:3).

In the very land of their inheritance, the nation of Israel sat in bondage, due to the poor leadership of the self-centered, fleshly King Saul. 

Has Anyone Seen Jonathan? Part 1 By Mike McClung

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Pet. 3-5).

Hopefully, through the years I have mellowed…at least somewhat.  Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t bend when it comes to the truth, but, by the grace of God, I have learned to temper truth and mercy better over time.  Years ago, I was much less “pastorly” than I am now.

Back in the late 80s, I planted the first church I ever pastored, and it lasted all of 5 months!  During that time, I was invited to a dinner-reception by a local home fellowship in East Tennessee welcoming the man and his family they had just asked to pastor their growing house church.  I had several friends that were a part of this group and I was glad that I could be there to rejoice with them. 

Preparing to Enter a New Season of Fullness and Harvest By Mike McClung

Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD…For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper…who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end…. (Deut. 8:1-3, 7-9, 16)

To those in the body of Christ who are willing and prepared, we’re about to enter into a time of fullness, restoration and harvest unprecedented in the history of the world.

What Are We Waiting On? By Mike McClung

My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be moved. (Psalm 62:5-6)

Waiting on the Lord is one of the hardest things for the flesh to embrace. One of the biggest obstacles to moving into the new season, and moving into greater glory and harvest, is impatience. Impatience caused Moses to be set on the backside of the desert for forty years as the Lord dealt with his life and character. Impatience caused King Saul to presumptively take matters into his own hands when it seemed Samuel was delayed in his arrival to bless the troops before battle (1 Sam. 10), thus causing a hardening of his heart in pride and ultimately losing the kingdom. Impatience by the newly saved Saul of Tarsus caused unnecessary turmoil and problems for the still infant church in Jerusalem, causing the senior leaders to send him back home to Tarsus for the discipline of silence and solitude (Acts 9:27-31). Part of the Lord’s refining process to prepare us to enter into the fullness of His presence and purposes is learning to wait on the Lord. There’s nothing more irritating and deadly to the fallen nature, but conversely reviving to the Spirit of God within us, than waiting on God. Waiting on the Lord is part of the sifting process where the precious (His presence within the believer) is separated from the worthless (that which is under the dominion of the world, the flesh and the enemy). This has always been a necessary stage in the sanctification/training process in a believer’s life before moving forward into the fullness of the Lord’s purposes.

The Apostolic Ministry - The Apostolic Shift - Part 2 By Mike McClung

(This article is a continuation of the previous article on “The Apostolic Shift – Part 1”)

Becoming a “Nail Scar” in His Hand

Paul, Timothy’s spiritual father, tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12: don’t let anybody look down on your youth but be an example. The first place in the New Testament the word for “example” (Gr. – tupos) is used is in John 20:25:

The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’

Thomas was absent in the first encounter with the Lord Jesus after the resurrection. The others tell Him of seeing and communing with the resurrected Lord, and he says, “I will not believe unless I see the nail scar (tupos).” This is what the lost, hurting, sin-loving, hell-bound masses are crying out for – a nail print! This is the beginning of true ministry. This is where the veil of unbelief is lifted off the hearts and understanding of the lost, blind and skeptical (Eph. 1:17-20), and where the Spirit begins the work of transformation in lives. This happens when people encounter the “nail scar” – the physical imprint of His life in us!

The Apostolic Ministry - The Apostolic Shift – Part 1 By Mike McClung

Several times, I’ve had ministers give me business cards that stated, “Apostle (their name)”. I’ve also been asked to speak at churches where the senior leader is titled “Apostle (their name). The title someone carries should FOLLOW the fruit of their life and ministry/work. I’ve known too many friends who served in the military, especially in theaters of war, who have been on the field of battle with recently commissioned, but green and untested officers, given charge of their platoons or squads. Their horror stories of theirs, and everyone else lives put in grave jeopardy because of these untested, though titled officers were all too often a correlation to what we’ve seen emerge in the body of Christ over the last two decades.

The Battle: Set in Full Array, Part 2 By Mike McClung

[This is Part 2 of a two-part article. To read Part 1, click here.] 

Babylon

Just as the first Tabernacle of David stands as a type and shadow of the city of Zion, the tower of Babel and the Babylonian kingdom serve as the template to understand the nature of the mindset of Babylon. The nature of Babylon is both political and religious. Genesis records the construction of the tower of Babel.

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel (Gen.11:1-9 NKJV).

The Battle: Set In Full Array, Part 1 By Mike McClung

The war between light and darkness has raged from the beginning of time, but now is escalating at an unprecedented rate of speed as it draws everyone into the fray.  Soon we all will be forced to choose sides and fully engage. What we have watched and witnessed from a distance will soon come knocking on our door. In relative apathy and silence, we have allowed darkness to encroach and shroud every aspect of society.  Now the lines of demarcation will clearly delineate the two emerging, opposing global forces: Zion and Babylon. Catastrophic and cataclysmic events will reveal the best and worst which reside within all of mankind.  World shaking events will expose the weaknesses of every structure we have tried to invent and erect.  What we have been able to cleverly disguise and hide behind will be brought out into plain view for all to see.  Who we are and what we believe will be clear to everyone.  What is the nature of these two global powerhouses: Zion and Babylon? To whom will you align?  

2016 – The Year of the Open Scroll By Mike McClung

This coming year promises to be one of the most chaotic, yet exciting years for the body of Messiah since Pentecost. It will be a year of restoration – the beginning of our seeing restored what has been lost, stolen, destroyed by the enemy, and willingly laid down in sacrifice unto the Lord.

The scripture that the Lord gave me for 2016 is Revelation 1:18 (NKJV): I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. The following are bullets of what I believe the Lord has spoken to me of what we’ll see and experience as a beginning of this kingdom restoration movement:

• A year of resurrection, restoration and transformation. Plans, purposes, promises, visions, etc, that have seemingly “died” will have the breath of the Spirit come upon them this year. While the world grows darker, His resurrection power will begin to release glory in and through those who have remained faithful to Him through intense times of testing, persecution, loss and endurance. Just like Isaac who sowed in a time of famine and reaped 100-fold (Gen. 26), there will be a corresponding reaping to those who have continued to do likewise. Many prophets and pundits are calling for worsening times in our country and the world, and this will continue to happen as we cannot pray away what the Lord says He will allow to happen in scripture. However, the enemy has continued to try to push things out of time, because the body of Christ is woefully unprepared to stand in the day of battle (Ezek. 13:5). The Lord is putting His hand sovereignly into the affairs of this earth and putting a stop to the actions of the Luciferian elite and their control. In an extraordinary display of His mercy and patience, He will even give these evil-consumed puppet-masters one more opportunity to repent, as He did King Manasseh. They will have one more opportunity to “kiss the Son” (Psalm 2) before He executes greater judgment on them.

Word of the Lord to the Restoring Remnant - By Mike McClung - November 8, 2015

This morning, during one of the most awesome teachings on healing I’ve heard by Dr. Richard Mays (who is a member of our covenant community), the Spirit spoke the following to me in a very strong way. I trust this will bless, challenge and bring great strength to His awakened remnant....

The Lord spoke and said that He has always been looking at the position of our hearts before Him, and not necessarily our actions, and He has continued working His plan of restoration and reformation over the last few years of testing, right up to the current hour, many times in spite of us.

The "Times of Refreshing" Are Here... By Mike McClung

Acts 3:19-21: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

I have been trumpeting, teaching and proclaiming this passage of scripture for the last five years. The Spirit has been calling to a remnant within the organized church system to awaken, repent and come out of the existing structures in order to be prepared to enter this end-time season where the world will see the manifest glory of God established in the true temple of God - the body of Messiah, the Lord would see His bride made ready for Himself, fully mature and one with Him, and the Son would have the final harvest of the world promised Him by the Father in Psalm 2. Everything the prophets prophesied in scripture, and every true, Spirit-born prophetic word and promise must be fulfilled...and the time is NOW!

Time for Separation and Judgment in the Body and Nation By Mike McClung

May 14, 2015 was the day after I have had major neck surgery. For almost eight months, especially the last four, I have had daily, almost continuous pain in my neck, left shoulder and arm, with tingling and numbness in my forearm and hand. The pain has been constant, but at times it's been almost unbearable when the pain spiked. We have prayed, declared the promises of God in Psalm 103, various other passages, ad infinitum. Finally, after months of seeking the Lord, it became very obvious, after discussing it with my wife and my own personal physician who loves Jesus, to seek other doctoral care.

I went to see an orthopedist I've seen before, because most of the pain was in my shoulder. After having X-Rays and an MRI done back in January, and after several physical therapy sessions, the orthopedist said all that could be done was to give epidural injections to manage the pain or have surgery. The MRI showed I had a compressed nerve by a bad disc and some bone spurs coming from my spine through the C5-C6 pathway to my left shoulder and arm. From here I contacted a well-known neurosurgeon, one who had done some surgery on my wife's back some years ago. After finally seeing him, I was told I would have to have an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion. The doctor's appointment was on May 7 and the surgery was scheduled yesterday on May 13 (on the seventh day). This was no minor surgery as the surgery would come within millimeters of my spinal cord. This means a mistake could leave me with paraplegic muscle weakness at best, paralyzed, at worst.  But, we knew this was the Lord's will. I was completely at the mercy of the Lord and His best surgical team! That was yesterday. Today, other than pain from the suture and a little swelling, all the pain and numbness from my neck to my hand is gone. But I still have a six-week recovery time before I'm allowed to lift anything over the weight of a gallon of milk!

Dismantled to be Remantled By Mike McClung

On February 26, 2015, when I sat down to read and meditate in the scriptures, the Lord told me that we're beginning to enter into the second half of Jeremiah 1:10 - for the remnant that is coming out of Babylonian, church system captivity. He said, "It's time to begin to build and plant." It’s time to plant the MATURE word (meat) of restoration and build the body of Christ into partnership with Him, exhibiting His nature and kingdom (authority), and preparing our communities and nations for harvest and His return. Since the mid-1990s, the ministry of "tearing down and plucking up" has been released, with only a small remnant of the organized church willing to let Him "dismantle" them, and the man-made system we've been a part of for centuries.