Amish and Mennonite Communities: God Has Remembered You

I wept during worship. I have never felt the Lord’s presence so strongly as when I worshipped with these precious people.

These were the words I heard the Lord speak to the Amish and Mennonite communities the other weekend, as I was privileged to minister in Lancaster, Pennsylvania: “God is remembering you. The time to favor you has come.”

He continued to speak: “The Amish are My hidden secret weapon that will become a great force in this nation. I see their tradition of unity, sticking together, honoring one another and building one another’s barns. I wish I had that kind of unity to build My house. I plan to use that in My kingdom as I pour out upon them My goodness and mercy that will draw them to Me. And their spiritual unity will shake this nation. They will help build My house.”

God focuses on the good in people, not the bad. Aren’t you glad?

The Lord continued to speak: “I don’t see the words “Amish” or “Mennonite.” I only see people made in My image. We all bleed red blood, as I did on the cross.”

I am convinced that we are the ones who put titles and names on people that create the barriers that separate us. We all have mindsets and ways of religion that we get ourselves stuck in by our own understanding. But God is coming to dig us out, and that means all of us.

What I Learned in Amish Country

1. When you plow, you reap. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt” (Amos 9:13, KJV).

There is so much talk of a great harvest these days that I fear many have put the plow away. I received a great revelation as I ministered in these farmlands that are well acquainted with the plow. As I ministered, there were moments when I felt the “plow” digging deep with resistance. But the Lord spoke, “Son, I am anointing plows in My fields of harvest, so whatever the amount of opposition coming from people, the tip of My plow is piercing their hearts. So, when you plow, you are reaping! In this land where crops grow large, because of the fertile soil, so are the hearts of this people because of their great hunger for Me. Their stomachs growl loudly.”

2. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved.  One of the messages I sensed the Lord wanted me to share was when He first called me to blow the shofar into families. The family ties are so tight in the Amish and Mennonite communities that it can be difficult for those who hunger for more of the Lord to step forward and go further on to know Him. As many are currently doing that, they are often misunderstood and even excommunicated from family and loved ones. But as they move forward, because of their obedience, I see a chain reaction like dominoes falling, confirming this Scripture: “‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household'” (Acts 6:31, NIV).

3. Love will open the heavens. I shared a recent word I received for all of us: “Love God and love people, and don’t mess that up!” Love will move us forward and open the heavens over our loved ones and even our enemies. As I blew the shofar into families, and as they shouted, “Jubilee!” I saw harvest angels activated in the rafters of Amish barns. They began swinging from the rafters and descended upon that region far and near.

4. The Father’s blessing: love that casts out fear and restores identity. The next day (on Father’s Day) I sensed that the Lord wanted to release an earthly father’s blessing for those who seemed to miss the affirmation and blessing of an earthly father. I stood in proxy of their earthly fathers and spoke an earthly father’s blessing over them. The Lord used this to open the heavens and release the Father’s perfect love upon them, casting out fear and restoring their identity in Christ with His words.

He said, “You are My beloved son in whom I am well pleased. You are My beloved daughter. You are Daddy’s favorite little girl in the whole world, and that is who you are!” This spoken blessing was being downloaded to a thousand generations, breaking generational curses and an orphan spirit. Of course, I shared the importance of forgiving our earthly fathers who, for reasons only God knows, didn’t show love or know how to say it. Usually, there was a generational hindrance in their own lives.

5. Sometimes you must first do for others what you would want them to do for you. I will never forget a brother who came up to me after this message. He shared how he went to see his father who was about to die and hoped that his father would bless him and say that he loved him before he passed away. While he waited, he felt the urge to hug his father anyway and said, “I love you, Dad!”

His father showed no response. He left his father’s side and never saw him alive again. Later, someone from the hospital told him, “After you left your father’s room, I never heard any man bawl as loudly as he did.”

This testimony taught me that many times, we must step out first and do what we want other people to do for us before they respond.

Whispers of Truth from the Amish Barns

— Jesus says, “Don’t try to change people. If you change them, they’ll become like you. But if you love them unconditionally, by letting My love flow through you, they’ll become like Me.”

— God is remembering the United States of America. The nation’s hunger is returning.

— As you pray for your enemies, God’s pen moves to write their story—and He’s not through writing yours either.

—  Many are being called to do things they’ve had no training for. Your trust in God will be your training.

— Love God and love people, and don’t mess that up.

Bill Yount has been a member of Bridge of Life Church in Hagerstown, Maryland, for the past 40 years and is in leadership. He faithfully served in prison ministry at Mount Hope Inc. for 23 years and now travels full time, ministering in churches and Aglow circles. He is currently an adviser at large for Aglow International. Bill has authored several prophetic books. His latest book is Handfuls of Purpose. Subscribe to his prophetic emails and visit Bill’s website at billyount.com or email him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared at elijahlist.com.