Calling the Songwriters

I originally wrote about this in 2018, and recently ran across it and decided to share again because it is so relevant to what God is doing and calling for in this hour:

“A great song is more than words and music. It's like a thumb pressing against the pulse of living that relates a simple truth about a very complicated process.

When songwriters do their job properly, they open up the world of emotion, process, truth, pain, power, love, etc. They make complicated things easier to understand, easier to participate in. They open up possibility for hopeless hearts. They open up the truth and power of love for a hungry world. They deliver understanding and justice to the chaos of the world.

The world needs songwriters to rise up and shift culture and atmosphere, to bring revolution and revelation. The songs of the nations shape those nations. 

Andrew Fletcher, a Scottish politician and writer, said, “Give me the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.” He understood the power of music to shape and shift culture. 

Songwriters, the nations need you. They need prophetic songs that are sung once and sent to accomplish their work, songs that are recorded for the ages and continue to be sung, songs with words and songs too deep for words. Write and watch the world change.”

©Elisabeth Cooper 2019

Leadership Nugget

Successful leaders serve. They don’t think in terms of hierarchy, they think in terms of building. Building foundations, building strong hearts, building honor into the culture. 

Successful leaders teach future leaders how to get in the trenches by being in the trenches themselves. They don’t mind getting their hands dirty. In fact, they value the dirt, they value the fruit that comes from putting their hands to some unglamorous work. They know that fruit comes from the roots up, the unseen portions hidden in the dirt. The cultivating agent of fruit is dirt. Unlikely, unglamorous, unassuming dirt. The door is in the floor. The door is in the dirt. 

Humility and servanthood will cause greatness to flourish in the culture you are placed in to create/influence. Leaders, take your place in the glorious dirt of destiny and greatness, let your eyes be opened to see beauty instead of drudgery, and call your heart into the glory of love and servanthood. 

©Elisabeth Cooper 2018

Poet Prophets Rising

This is a clip of a short word I gave at SRC during the August 2019 Camp Meeting. Give it a listen and share with the poets and creatives!

Poet Prophets

Poet Prophets

There’s a new breed of prophet rising in the earth. And they look like poets. 

They look like writers and storytellers and musicians.

They look like creatives releasing the mysteries of God’s heart in the earth.

These poet prophets will cause cultural, economic, and political shift in the nations. 

They will speak, they will sing, they will write and landscapes will transform into Kingdom landscape, strongholds will break, land and people will be healed, restoration and revelation will abound.

We have been used to a certain style of prophet in the earth in numerous recent years, so there is a tendency to look only for that and, therefore, recognize only that. But I am telling you that we need to begin to let heaven open our eyes to the prophetic movement that is currently bubbling up in the earth. Don’t miss the forest for the trees, beloved. Ask for eyes to see the fresh breath of the prophetic being released through vessels you have written off as only the artists who compliment the main act. 

The Lord has been speaking to me about this for years, but even more so this year, and intensely these past several months. 

I want to share just a portion of what He has spoken to me, “Watch and see that I will pour fire and revelation out of the poets of my heart that will change nations! I will rise in the grassroots places you do not expect. My voice will thunder through their music, through their writing, through their spoken word, bringing Kingdom order and justice to regions and lives. And the church will hear and observe what I am doing with my Bride in the earth and they will leave their old ways behind, pick up my ways, and rise to build My kingdom in the earth. The voices of the poet prophets will shine light on kingdom revolution and you will see the dawning of a new era as you receive this expression of my heart in the earth and engage with the prophetic anointing on it. Do not only look where you’ve always looked. Do not only hear from the sounding stations in the earth you have tuned your ears to. For I am raising up voices, poets crying in the wilderness, ‘Make way for Revolution! Make way for deeper expressions of the kingdom than you have sought for fear of ruining your own plans and purpose. This is the time, this is the hour, this is the time for revelation power.’ Get ready for sweeping wind in the church riding in on the voices of the burning hearted poet prophets I am releasing in the earth! Get ready for revolution! Get ready for the unveiling of mystery and beauty in their words” 

Let’s look higher to Him, beloved. Let’s tune our ear to Him and to all those He is releasing to speak His heart through in the earth. Let’s be the one’s who live in union with Him and release His heart in the earth. Let’s be about the Father’s business. The poet prophets are rising.

So I want to encourage and call forth the poets, the artists, the creatives. It’s time to dig deep, to let your full identity come to fruition, hone your craft and sharpen your skills. Rise up and take your place!

©Elisabeth Cooper 2019

A Creative Gate has Opened

I’m interrupting the prophetic worship series because I wanted to share the following word with you all, but hang tight because the next post in the series is almost hot off the press. This word does have a bearing on prophetic worship, though, and creativity of all kinds.

Photo by Seb Janiak

On April 20th I had an experience where I was caught up in a whirlwind of angels and chariots and the Lord told me that a gate had opened in the Spirit. On April 22nd I was caught up again and got more clarification regarding what it meant. Here is what the Lord told me:

“A creative gate has opened in the Spirit. Now is the time to move on ideas. There will be an acceleration and you will find yourself under a waterfall of inspiration and revelation. It will come constant and fresh and fast. It will seem too fast. It will be too fast for some. They will be uncomfortable. They will feel insecure. Do not let that intimidate you.

Move in excellence, but do not wait for what you deem to be perfection. The process of faith filled creation and production as you sit in Wisdom will act as a polishing agent in this hour. Things will look different. It will be fast. It will seem raw. But as you align with Wisdom in the creative process and engage with the angelic ready to assist, you will find that the ideas you implement in business that seem unconventional are the exact solutions needed, the art you create that seems out of your normal skill set will have the image of heaven’s heart all over it, the music you create as you step out from your normal mode of operation and into the grace that is on this season in the creative realm will carry sounds that have never been heard. These sounds, this art, these ideas/solutions, every creative thing that comes out of this place in Him will bring order to chaos in realms of society that will shock and surprise you. Major shift is coming to the systems of the earth as a result of those who will access this new dispensation of creative grace that is now open. “

As I was caught up into this whirlwind of angels and chariots again, and as He was speaking to me about what it meant, He said, “These angels, these chariots are waiting…they are caught in the whirlwind of the open gate waiting for the people of God to enter into this realm of wisdom and creativity. They are waiting to assist. They are waiting to deploy and carry this creativity to the nations and beyond. The entire cosmos is waiting. Come up into the whirlwind of the open gate of creativity and let a fresh baptism of faith and grace fall upon you like fire.”

I would encourage you, those who consider yourselves creatives and those who don’t, lean into His heart and enter into this open realm. This is for everyone in every sphere of society. Creative solutions await. The wisdom of the creativity of heaven awaits.

©Elisabeth Cooper 2019

A Movement of Prophetic Worship that will shift the Church into a New Era Part II: Sound that carries the Government of God and His Justice

It’s time for part two!

I’m excited about this post, but I’m also looking forward to unpacking and expounding on some of these themes individually in more depth over the course of the next few months. I’m touching on some subjects here that a portion of a post will not do justice. So, stick with me here as I begin to lay some foundation. I hope that this adds value to your endeavors and helps you. My prayer is that what knowledge and experience I have gained will benefit the church as we build together for His glory. This is a jumping off place for us into these themes. If these subjects I am beginning to talk about help you, make you think, make you curious, etc., I would love to hear from you with feedback and any questions you might have as we venture into these things. 

We are presently in an age and the age is increasingly upon us when the status quo the Western church has built, maintained, and guarded is not, and will not be, sufficient for successfully establishing on earth as it is in heaven (establishing the government of God on the earth). 

If you’ve been around prophetic/charismatic circles for any amount of time, you have, no doubt, heard the term “new sound”. My concern is that while it is becoming a more common phrase, people are getting used to it without diving into what it actually is. What does it mean? Why is it important? A good majority of worship leaders are frustrated because at some point they were passionate about it when they first heard it, but they haven’t apprehended it, and now the phrase is being tossed about more frequently and widespread. Recently, it seems to be in another cycle of popularity. I want to help ease frustration and point to some truth and revelation as best I can with the knowledge and experience I have to offer. I am still in my own pursuit of this after over 17 years because while I have apprehended it to a degree, I have not arrived. There is more. There is so much more. And I am unbelievable stoked to be living in a time when the “new sound” is being poured out on the earth. 

I want to lay some ground-work before we get into the worship and sound portion of the post because I think there are some vital keys to understanding where the Lord is taking us that we need to look at.

When I say government, I am referring to any structure of belief or power that seeks to build itself up in us and around us in order to govern us and, by extension, culture and society. 

There are false governments constantly seeking to frame up and rule in our lives and in the earth. Fear, for example, is a structure of belief that sets itself up in us and around us and seeks to govern the way that we feel, the way that we act, what we believe, how we live, etc. It is a false government, but a government, nonetheless. 

Sickness and disease seek to govern us. 

False government.

Death and decay seek to govern our lives. 

False government. 

Control and manipulation seek to govern.

False government. 

Depression, hopelessness, anxiety, addiction, you name it; these are things that seek to set themselves up as structures of government in our lives and in society and culture. They seek to control and maintain power over us, to dictate the events of our lives and the choices we make, etc. 

They are examples of false governments that must be destroyed and replaced with the government of God in our lives and in society. 

In Him all things are in order, all things move in freedom, all things are governed by love, righteousness, joy, and peace. When we live in the government of God, our entire being comes into order. When our entire being comes into order, the frequency of our lives and words bring that very government into situations around us, relationships, society, and culture. We are carriers of the Government of God as Sons, as the Bride, as co-laborers with Him; seated with Christ in heavenly places. The peace of God is true government. The justice, kindness, love, compassion, holiness, righteousness, gentleness, patience, wisdom, understanding, and counsel of God, etc. are true government. The entire nature of God and His attributes are all facets of true government. 

Now, I want to talk for a minute about justice. I’ve taught a lot on justice over the years, and if you hop over to the teachings and resources tab on my website, there’s a teaching on prophetic worship releasing the justice of God. I encourage you to listen to it because it will fill some blanks that I’m not going to go into on this post. 

My definition of justice: Making the wrong things right and the dark things light. This is the justice of God. His judgments are the means by which this is carried out. The judge makes a proclamation (pronounces a judgment), and justice is served. The justice and judgment of God are interested and invested in removing anything that hinders love. This is justice. The judgment of God on sickness is healing. The judgment of God on darkness is light, etc. This is the government of God. 

I have been saying this for years and I will continue to say it until I see the fullness of it manifested: There is a company of worshipers, poets, songwriters, creatives rising such as the earth has never seen before. They will carry and release sound that governs. They will come into supernatural understanding and wisdom regarding the power of sound. They will have cultivated such union with Jesus that the sound they carry will blast and destroy false governments; framing up life and order all around…bringing order in the the church, in the lives of those around them, in their cities, in their nation, and out to the nations. 

There is coming an exquisite and powerful governmental anointing on worship that will accomplish more than we could ever imagine. There is rising a David company who will wield sound like a weapon, who will bring (in part) a sound such as the earth has never heard. The government of God rests upon His shoulders. He carries it with Him. Psalms 22:3 says, “He inhabits the praises of His people.” That word ‘inhabit’ in hebrew is Yashab, means to sit down specifically as a judge, in ambush. To dwell, remain, settle, abide, marry. The word for praise in this scripture is the Hebrew word for spontaneous praise, prophetic praise. This scripture is not just a nice little opening exhortation for our worship services! It actually means that God, with the government on His shoulders, sits down like a judge to bring justice in the middle of spontaneous and prophetic worship. The function and purpose of prophetic worship is, in part, to host and carry the government of God! The King will sit down in the middle of this new sound like a judge to bring justice, to establish true government. He has committed and covenanted himself to this kind of worship! He is married to it and abides in it. We have not done ourselves any favors by mostly eradicating this type of worship in the western church. And the false governmental structures we have allowed to rule the church are threatened by it because the sound carries the government of God. It will obliterate and drive out those false governments.

Our worship services have become tame and sterile because we have been afraid of the wild sound that comes when worship hits certain places in the prophetic and becomes governmental. When this happens, it doesn’t always look tidy or make sense. There are times in prophetic worship when I hear a certain sound in the Spirit and know I need to duplicate it the best I can in order to let the Lord establish His government on earth as it is in heaven through that specific sound of worship. When that happens, it can sometimes seem hard to connect to. There are no words on the screen. There is sound. There is, perhaps, a proclamation or verbal prophetic word, but not always. We must learn to connect to the Spirit of God in worship again. We must first seek vertical engagement and not lateral engagement. 

As worshipers the world over, we must understand the power of sound to govern. The power on our worship and what it carries; the power on the frequency of our words and on the frequency of our lives; our thoughts and intentions. What we cultivate in our lives, in our hearts, in our minds, serves to establish things on the earth as we live and breathe union with God. Let us apprehend the sound of victory. Let us apprehend the sound of justice. Let us apprehend the sound of Him as we live and move and have our being in Him.

As worship leaders the world over, we must understand it is vital that we lay hold of the realm of the spontaneous and prophetic worship. It is vital that we understand the power of sound (I am going to write a blog and release some teaching to unpack this next), that we learn to cultivate our hearts in the sound of Him, wield that sound wisely and intentionally, and release that sound of heaven on the earth. 

It is vital that we understand the governmental nature of sound. Sound shapes everything we see and don’t see. Everything that is created was created and is held together by sound. He upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). The nature of sound is to create, establish, and sustain. Sound is a governor. And the nature of prophetic and spontaneous worship is to be a container for the sound that the King sits down in the middle of, carrying the government of God on His shoulders and riding in on to bring justice, to establish order, to remove anything that hinders love. 

The implications of carrying a sound that governs are widespread and mind-blowing. We are talking everything from shifting natural government, seeing supernatural growth in agriculture, entering into wisdom and establishing that wisdom on the earth in every sphere of society. Beloved, this is more important to the establishment of the kingdom than we have realized. Worship must become a priority and be honored in the church in every sense of the word. With our time, with our attention, with our words, with the way we frame up services verbally and logistically. If we want the new sound, it must be honored. We must make room for it, both in its infancy and varying levels of more maturity. 

“Springs of Life Key” By Lillis Boyer

And as worship leaders we must pursue the depths of it, honoring and cultivation a life of union with Him because where does this governmental sound originate from? Union with God, intimacy and communion, the place of abiding. This is the place we come into agreement with the frequency of His heart in order to release it in the earth. There is no power outside of our union with Him. There is a call for a David company rising that will turn the church and the world upside down and bring order where false governments have ruled. And this company of people will live so deeply in love with Him, so deeply in a life of abiding, and so utterly abandoned to Him that the frequency that is released from their lives will serve to establish the government of God in all its beauty. The new sound of union comes and His government comes with it. It’s time. 

I hope this small beginning look into a few really deep subjects has been helpful. In the next few blogs, I am going to unpack the power of sound. I’m going to go into some really cool science (nerd alert), so get ready, guys…this party’s gonna be crazy! Again, I’d love to hear from you. Send me your questions and comments. If you’d rather not comment publicly on here, feel free to connect with me on fb and send me a message or follow me on instagram @elisabethmcooper and send me a DM.

©Elisabeth Cooper 2019

A movement of prophetic worship that will shift the church into a new era, Part One:

Those of you who have sat in a worship set that I’ve led know that I approach things a little differently. The Lord has laid it on my heart to talk about an emerging prophetic worship movement, some of the challenges I have seen and experienced, some of the keys He has shown me, and the hope that I have for the church to shift into a glorious age. This will be the first installment in a series. 

There is a coming movement of prophetic worship that will build on past movements, but will carry such a unique sound, such a unique approach, such a power and authority that the Lord is going to use it to shift the church into a new era, and by extension change the world. As the church goes, so goes the world. The movement of prophetic worship that will emerge will carry an unprecedented sound causing unprecedented impact.  This worship will be untamed, organic, completely out of the box, rooted in the power of love, carry with it the flames of union and communion, and be steeped in truth, knowledge, and understanding. It will carry with it the very power of His heart poured out in the earth. It will shake us out of our habitual responses in worship and into real time encounters with God. It will sound like heaven. It will carry His heart. It will carry the fire, thunder, and wine of communion. And God is going to use it to usher in a great awakening of hearts.

There is a new breed of worship leader rising. They want more than a song-list, they will carry more than a few good hallelujah’s. They are fierce. They are called to be powerful prophetic voices. They carry wisdom and understanding in their words for the church. They move in the miraculous. They make room for the King to sing. Their aim is union. They cultivate an atmosphere for accessing the realms of heaven. They are more than a warm up act.   

The question is, will it be allowed in the church? 

I have spent many years of my life keeping faith that it will be.  

There are already churches that are hungry, open, and willing to give it space. They are hungry and seeking more, and they are courageous enough to make room for something new. I am so encouraged by this. It has become a spring in the desert for me as a forerunner. It feeds the hope that has continued to burn in me for 17 years.

We are so attached to the structure of worship we feel comfortable with in the western church. I have been pioneering a new sound and approach to worship for 17 years. In those 17 years I have experienced continual heartbreak and continual joy. It’s amazing to me how joy and pain can be two walls of the same house. Continual joy because I have seen such glorious glimmers of what is coming and I have seen downright moves of God in worship over the years. 

When worship is allowed to breathe, when it is uncontrolled by outside themes and directives, when the worship and the worship leader are trusted and honored, I have seen such amazing and miraculous things; spontaneous healing, prophetic words that shift regions and lives, salvation, supernatural manifestations, etc. When it is honored, when it is allowed to breathe. 

I have experienced continual heartbreak because of the resistance in the church. The resistance in the church to honor this emerging move and to honor worship the way it should be honored in general. 

Heartbreak because we continually foster a speaker centric culture in our churches and conferences when heaven fosters a worship centric culture. With our language, with the way we market and advertise, with the way we open and set up the meeting, we cultivate a mindset of expectation connected to speakers only. Meetings are typically opened up with something like this, “Get ready, tonight is going to be amazing, we have (Insert name of speaker here) in the house and God is going to do amazing things!” We’ve essentially already skipped over worship to some degree when we do this. By doing this, we have effectively cut off expectation of worship at the pass. I draw a loose comparison to Thanksgiving being constantly overshadowed by Christmas in the retail world. Does Thanksgiving come? Yes, it does. Do we celebrate it? Yes, we do. But We’re already shopping for Christmas, watching Christmas movies, planning for Christmas. The anticipation for Christmas is everywhere!  We have relegated the worship time and the worship leader to a warm up act for the main event. We want our feel good warm up, but we don’t cultivate the expectation of the very things that worship is inherently designed to carry. This is so heartbreaking to me. We are shortchanging ourselves. We want it to be anointed, but we don’t really want it to be different than what we are used to. We want it to sound good, but we don’t really want any exploration or experimentation too much on a Sunday morning…maybe we’ll allow more for a conference, but still…not too much. This is a tragedy. But I believe we are on the brink of true change. I believe we are moving from a platform centric church to a worship and glory centric church. I long to see giftings and callings flowing together in honor to cultivate the Kingdom of heaven on earth.

It’s interesting, I travel both as a worship leader and a speaker (I love and value both), and I get treated differently in each capacity. As a speaker I am treated more as the main event. I am typically, not always, attended to much more closely. Now, please understand that I am talking about a pattern of discrepancy I’ve experienced, but in saying that, I have been in so many places that have honored worship, and me as a worship leader beautifully. Truly wonderful things are happening, and honor is increasing for worship, but it still sadly lags behind. And this breaks my heart for a few reasons. One: because when I look at heaven, I see worship as the central and constant activity. Two: because life flows from honor. And I long to see the fullness of the life of God released in worship as it is intended to be. As a whole in the Western church, we’re missing it. We’ve buried it. We’ve relegated it to the corners of our comfort zone. We’ve tamed it. We’ve boxed it up. 

But it’s time for the wild sound of the worship of heaven to invade the earth! And it doesn’t sound like anything we’ve ever heard before. We’ve heard glimmers. But, when this is let loose, the entire landscape of the church will change. The entire landscape of the world will change. This is a primary key in “On earth as it is in heaven”. But are we willing to sacrifice comfort? Are we willing to sacrifice our song sets? Are we willing to face those who will be uncomfortable, oppose this prophetic expression, and decide to take their tithe somewhere with two fast songs and one slow one packaged neatly in 20 minutes? 

There are so many aspects of this that need to become a discussion for the church. One being, the people are hungry for more. Virtually everywhere I go I have far more than a few people approach me and tell me that they’ve been waiting for this kind of freedom in worship. Some say they’ve been waiting, that they still aren’t sure completely what to do with it, but that they are so hungry and want to delve deeper. 

Another aspect that needs to be discussed is that the church has done the worship leader a great disservice by relegating them to space and position we have. We have not expected them to develop their gifting in prophetic worship, so, for the most part, they haven’t. They have become what has been expected of them. They have stayed at the level they have been allowed to operate. They have delivered what is expected and permitted of them; what fits in the plan. They have become mostly a warm up act…because we wouldn’t let them be anything else. So we now have the beginnings of great struggle as hunger begins to stir. Struggle because the worship leaders are hearing the call to go deeper and get out of the box. Struggle because leaders don’t want the mess of a new emerging movement on the platform. Struggle because a new breed of worship leaders are beginning to understand they are called to much more than a song-set warm up for the speaker. We are quickly approaching a crossroad where this is concerned. The forerunners have been bumping up against this for years, but the number of those who are beginning to hunger, grow, and reach are rapidly rising. What are we going to do about this? They need to be released and freed and called up to the level of maturity necessary to walk in their destiny and release what they are called to release in the earth.

In order to get somewhere we’ve never been, we’ve got to go somewhere we’ve never gone. In order to build something that’s never been built, we have do things that have never been done. In order to pioneer something new, we must understand that it’s a process and won’t come blazing out all shiny and ready to roll. It needs to be allowed to grow. It needs to be allowed to breathe. And we need to get a little more ok with being uncomfortable in order to move forward. David didn’t show up on the battlefield with the latest technology of bronze armor, he didn’t even show up with a conventional weapon. He showed up with five stones. Organic. Raw. Tested in the wilderness. Effective. There will be awkward moments. Everyone won’t be into it at first. People will be uncomfortable. And we need to get over it; pull on grace to move forward into the depths of Kingdom change and awakening. As I recall, Jesus had some new methods that made people real uncomfortable. As I recall, He didn’t let it stop Him. 

Despite years of struggle, heartbreak, and swimming upstream, I am encouraged and filled with hope; especially in the last few years, because I am beginning to see the physical manifestation of a movement I have seen in the Spirit for so many years. I am seeing a hunger rise up in the church, in worship leaders, and in leadership in general. I’m seeing courage rising to break the mold, the beginnings of true honor for worship is starting to spring forth in the heart of the church, and glimpses of a new era are breaking through. 

But revolution costs something. It might cost us our longstanding structure and comfort. Are we willing? I have so much hope and faith in the church that we will move with Him, casting aside every hinderance of habit, old wineskin, and preference in order to enter into unprecedented glory in worship. I have faith we can work together, honor each other, and see the fullness of a Third Great Awakening.

Next in this series: A movement of prophetic worship that will shift the church into a new era, Part 2: How do we say “Yes”? 

©Elisabeth Cooper 2019

Who's Surrounds You?

I have heard it said, “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.” I continue to learn the depths of this truth as the years go by. Here’s a small glimpse into one of many facets of this truth:

I have learned, far too painfully at times, that a lot of the time, people are fickle. They are easily swayed by words on the wind regardless of truth. 

Your job is to, firstly, not be one of those people. Be honorable. Be wise and discerning. Be loyal. Be true. Be trustworthy. 

Secondly, do not be moved by them. 

Surround yourself with those who are wise, who tell you the truth, who are for you. There’s safety there. If you do this, you can rest easy knowing that the opinions of the fickle can fall by the wayside as you continue on in strength of purpose and grace. People will fall away and people will fail you. But some are true. Choose your friends wisely. 

Remember, iron sharpens iron. And those who walk with the wise will be wise. Lift your head from the scattered and shifting opinions of those who do not posses the strength of character or wisdom to stand with you in true, loyal, healthy relationship. Few will. But those who will are gold. Set your ears apart for the voice of One, for those who agree and speak the words of that voice over your life, and let the other voices fall away. 

You are loved. You are championed. You are worth loyalty and faithfulness. Hold that standard as you choose who surrounds your life. 
#steadyonwarrior #loyalty #friendship #wisdom #gofindiron

©Elisabeth Cooper 2019