While I was in worship, I
had an intense mental picture of the throne room with glory flowing off
the throne and into the sanctuary where we were worshipping. I AM
depicts the throne in heaven, surrounded by the emerald rainbow (Rev.
4:3). From the seat of the throne, glory is flowing off and
filling the room.
From
the time of its conception, Beloved was a process of increasing
intimacy with the Lord. I first became aware of this banner while
worshipping one Sunday and the focus was about intimacy. I physically
felt as though I was being wrapped up in something that was very loving.
I
had been thinking and praying about being passionate for the Lord when
during a worship service I could see flames engulfing a
worshipper. I knew God was revealing Himself as Consuming
Fire… but with no understanding of what that meant.
This
is a quality of God that is difficult to depict. What is faithfulness?
To each of us it is something different. In Scripture God is never
actually called Faithful One, but His attributes of faithfulness are
recorded many times.
During
one evening of intense Tehillah worship I had a picture of a whirlwind
going through the church with fire coming out of its top. I knew
immediately it was Holy One. I tried to draw it but I was shaking and
could hardly stand under the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Eventually I was able to get what I saw down on paper, but it
represented a small degree of what was actually happening. The dilemma
then was this: how do you make a whirlwind out of fabric?
This banner was birthed while reading Malachi 4:2 “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”
In my mind I saw an exploding star or sun – very brilliant
against a black background with the accompanying impression of healings
breaking out around us.
This
banner was on the back burner for almost three years from the time I
knew it was to be created. The holdup was, what does King of kings look
like? It was not until the Ladies’ Bible study was studying
the names of God that the design unfolded.
Lord
of Hosts was first conceived in my spirit while I was reading the book
“Worship Warrior” by Chuck Pierce. The book is about the
church rising up in its call to warfare through worship. The Lord of
Hosts is the commander of the armies of heaven and those on earth who
serve him. The name is used when the Lord declares he will work on
behalf of those who serve him or judge those who don’t.
Our
healing comes from the work done on the Cross. The Nations will be
healed by the leaves on the Tree of Life, but our healing is because
Jesus died and rose again. Therefore the central figure on this banner
is the cross.
This
banner comes from the passages about the River of Life in Revelation 22
and Ezekiel 47. The top has a crown and gold fabric symbolizing the
throne room in heaven.
Of
all the banners, it is most difficult to know when to bring this one
out, probably because its message is one of intercession rather than
worship. It came from the verse in 1 Kings 18:41 - I hear the sound of the abundance of rain.