Q: What has God been showing you prophetically for 2022 and the current season we’re in?
A: I think we are on course for a head-on collision in the spiritual battle over perspective this year, and God is about to give His people the victory. Perspective – or what we focus on – develops and defines our faith. We are about to see the greatest move of faith the Body of Christ has ever experienced. I believe God is opening the eyes of believers to see what He wants, what He is doing, and what opportunities He is giving us.
I also believe that God is commissioning a huge amount of influence on believers in media this year to drive narratives and engage in incredible discussions from which Christians have been absent. God is going to raise up some spiritual powerhouses in the media world who not only have Christian roots, but have a Biblical world view. This will clash with other media sources, but will feel organic to the audience they gain who are so desperate to rebalance from this season of onslaught we have been in.
I sense that God is going to give Christians in the marketplace an edge in tech industries. He is going to entrust some of the breakthroughs, ideas for inventions / inventions, influence, and platforms that He is allowing to be released to Christians and we are going to see a great technological leap forward – but this time Christians won’t be the last to adapt, we will be the head and not the tail. We’ve already seen this begin as local churches transitioned into online formats because of the shutdowns that happened all over the world. These events propelled the Church forward, teaching us to engage in a way that would have taken a century to catch up had it not become necessary. We are going to see an advancing of purposes into the technology and social media world that will help to bring about the great end-time harvest. Something is stirring this year that is really a “set apart time.”
Lastly, I believe God is bringing encounters with the supernatural to reveal His heart in ways that only encounters can. These encounters will bring solutions to real problems in society, they will bring options to the table that man’s wisdom just can’t provide, and they will change the way we view God and His love. They won’t happen to just a few token people in our generation, but God is going to encounter many, many believers from all different backgrounds and denominations. Don’t be surprised when you start hearing Christian friends say things like “I had a spiritual dream last night” or “An angel saved us from a car accident yesterday.” These supernatural encounters are coming!
Q: In your new book, Encounter, you share a series of prophetic visions the Lord has given you over the past several years. What made you decide to share them with the world?
A: In past seasons in the Church, these kinds of encounters were only shared around the dinner table with trusted friends or in a prayer meeting with like-minded believers. But God is encountering so many people right now and opening our spiritual eyes in such a way that I felt I needed to be vulnerable with my own experiences. To share the encounters themselves, but also to give the book as a signpost that encounters are coming to many. These encounters helped me to understand Jesus – how He loves and what He wants to do in the world that is transformative. I felt released to share them that they might have impact others in the same way.
Q: Shawn, you talk about how God is releasing His mind to this generation. What exactly do you mean by that, and how will this play a pivotal role in the upcoming revival?
A: One of the most powerful Scriptures in all of the New Testament is when Paul lays out what the working of the Holy Spirit does in 1 Corinthians 2, yet most believers aren’t even aware of it. Paul shares how the Holy Spirit searches the depths of God and relates that depth of God’s perspective, His inner thoughts, His passions, to us. Then he caps off the chapter by making one of the most amazing statements in our faith: “You have the mind of Christ.” Not just the Word or the teachings of Christ, but we actually have His Spirit within us – teaching us, convicting us, encouraging us, placing us in His plan that He dreamed of before time even began (Ephesians 2:10-11). We hear God through His Spirit within, and we have His brilliance inside of us. If we would learn to listen and be formed by His thoughts and perceptions, it would change everything.
Q: Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we now have access to seven specific keys that allow us to build and expand the Kingdom of God through our relationship with Him. Tell us about that.
A: Jesus restored us to God’s original plan by teaching us how to become like Him from within. But the goal, just like we see in Solomon’s life, Esther’s time, Joseph’s career, and Daniels’s impact, was never to simply create a religious practice. It was to reveal a God who loves us and wants to build the world around us back into His original vision through us. He has given us keys to agriculture, to energy, to technology, to science, to medicine, and to everything that can give Him glory – but we have reduced much of the Kingdom narrative to building ministries and churches. I love those, but we need to recognize that the keys that most of humanity hold when it comes to building Kingdom reach into every area of society. We are called to build God’s dream with Him and through Him in our generation.
Q: The Lord gave you a vision of a giant oak tree, and through it, He gave you a lot of insight into what is going to happen in this next revival. Share about that with us.
A: The Spirit of God called this “the time of great maturing.” Those things that He formed us for and has planned for us are on the verge of coming in our generation because He is taking so many through a depth of character building, identity strengthening, and Language education with help from primary school english tuition centers. I saw believers in our generation being what the Bible calls Oaks of Righteousness. Oaks are considered one of the strongest, longest lasting trees and are the national trees of all the greatest nations. The Bible refers to them quite a bit because they are pillars of the forest, providing so much life. We are about to see Christians becoming the oaks of society and culture, bringing so much life.
Q: The book of Ephesians is clear that God loved us and chose us to be His before He laid the foundation of the world. What did the Lord show you about this truth that made it come alive in your heart?
A: I had vision of before time began. In this encounter I saw the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit all sitting around looking at each human that would ever be and dreaming about us, planning and crafting our passions, our opportunities, our destiny, our relationships. There was so much care and love and excitement. It was one of the most formational spiritual experiences of my life because it opened my eyes to understand how great of a master artist and Father God really is.
Q: Shawn, you say that God is raising up many Josephs, Esthers, Daniels, and Solomons in this season. Tell us about that and how they’re going to impact the Kingdom in the days ahead.
A: In past revivals, we saw the Church expand through a missional ministry focus – building more ministries around the world in places of culture, in unreached places, and anywhere people could be reached. In this next outpouring and until Jesus returns, we are going to see the same passion and missional mindset, but it won’t always be geared towards building ministries. We are going to see people raised up as influencers who will guide many of the kings of culture. Just like Joseph interpreted the dream of a pagan king then became second in command of his kingdom, we are going to see modern Josephs raised up who are serving on multi-national boards or in politics who will bring God’s Spirit and design into those areas, and this will result in more freedom for the Church to grow with more fruit. People are being raised up for unique purposes like Esther, “for such a time as this.” This generation of believers is ushering in something that is accelerating. Just like we can see lawlessness accelerate, iniquity on the rise, technology jumping forward and globalization, something in the Kingdom is moving at the fastest rate that has ever been assimilated into humanity.
Q: Many Christians feel like they have a hard time hearing God’s voice, but the reality is they’re constantly being led and guided by Him. Unpack this mystery for us.
A: When God created us, He wired us to be connected to Him. The whole Bible is God leading man, restoring us, and ultimately promising us full connection again through Jesus. We see the first release of the Church in Acts being one of prophetic witness as the believers all prophesied in the languages of everyone present because God was no longer outside of them, but living from within. Our God, who we know doesn’t live in space and time and doesn’t fit into the universes He created, somehow shares space in us and calls us His temple or place of dwelling. And it’s through this indwelling that we are connected to share His perceptions, thoughts, and heart. He teaches us through His Spirit, gently guiding us from within. Most people have had a time when they felt to give money to someone or when they felt guilty for doing something wrong. When we start to recognize the accumulation of how many of these experiences we’ve had, we see a pattern for how God is truly speaking within us and we can develop this to be our most powerful resource: knowing the voice of God and knowing His perceptions for our lives and the world around us.
Q: Shawn, we are more connected to our heavenly Father than we could ever realize… what has the Lord shown you about this and how we’re called to carry His very nature?
A: Well, as you get to know God as a Father and as you allow yourself to come into the full identity of a son or daughter, you realize how powerful His love is. You see how His love can change everything and everyone. I remember when my wife was pregnant with our girls how I would dream over their lives and ask God for provision for their destinies and callings and passions. My love for them put a demand on me. It redirected all of my heart, resources, and work towards the goal of making their lives as full as they can be. God is much better Father than I am, and He has abundant resources for all the passion and destiny and works and life that He has prepared for us. And if we fail or fall away, He can recreate our full destiny as if we never sinned if we return to Him. When we receive from the Father in this way, it enables us to also give out as fathers and mothers, guiding the way for others to live out God’s original plan. We become contributors and givers because we can’t help but love through our talents, skills, passions, callings, and finances.
Q: Because of the suffering we see around us, sometimes we start believing that the enemy has more power than he actually does. What has God revealed to you about this?
A: Suffering is one of the greatest mysteries and devastators, but it is also something that God promises to use for good in our lives (Romans 8:28). It can sometimes see as though the enemy and fallen humanity have God in check. But when you walk with God, you get to see how He always has them in check mate. He is never losing or one step behind. He is so brilliant that He is constantly recreating opportunities and destiny for everything that gets lost through sin.
Q: One of the natural byproducts of pursuing God’s heart is that we gain wisdom. Tell us more about that and how wisdom is a vital key to living an abundant life.
A: Wisdom is the essence of understanding God – what He is thinking, building, and bringing to the earth. We see people with a measure of wisdom in one area being paid richly in our generation as experts. We have access to the God of all wisdom! And He has generously offered it to us, not just as advice or help, but as the current of our connection with Him. Wisdom makes complicated things simple and allows us to thrive in the abundant life Jesus talked about (John 10:10).
Q: The night Marcus Lamb passed on to heaven, you had something interesting happen involving light. Can you tell us about that?
A: I was only made aware that night that he was in critical condition. At 2am I was awakened to a lightning flash that was a rather long one – it wasn’t raining, and LA doesn’t have many lightning storms. Just as I was trying to figure out what was going on, I heard a pack of coyotes screaming as if they were tearing something up and my dogs started barking. So the whole moment was chaotic…the light, the screaming, the barking… but God’s presence filled the atmosphere. I knew in my Spirit that the flash of light involved Marcus and that it was either a miracle of healing or that He was taken up to be with Jesus for a purpose. I knew that if he was in Heaven he was definitely doing more effective work as part of the intercessors and cloud of witnesses than he would have done here. The coyotes felt almost like a taunting of the enemy about the situation – like the enemy had gotten a hold of something – but the presence of God was so strong that I knew God was in control, that the Lambs were going to have a strength that didn’t make sense in this next season, and that Daystar was under God’s command in a way that is simply sovereign. When I found out the next day that Marcus had gone to be with Jesus, I was shocked when they told me it was at 2am Pacific Time – at the exact same time as my encounter. Although I am filled with sorrow that he is not here with us, I understand that he is like a general there… and Heaven is about to break loose because Marcus is with Jesus.