Featured Preaching Woman

Dr. Mattie Nottage: The Chain Breaker

How are you feeling? Are you excited? Perhaps you are considering many of the past events of last year.  Either or, many people see this time as the perfect opportunity to "reset" or "reassess" their personal, spiritual, physical, and or financial goals.  So how did you do last year?  Did you keep and meet all of the goals and declarations you made last year this time?  Well if you did, congratulations! If you did not, no worries, we have a word of encouragement just for you.

Widely endorsed as a prophet to the nations, God has used Dr. Mattie Nottage (Dr. Nottage) to captivate people all around the world through her insightful, life-changing messages and revelation from God's word.  Mantled with an uncanny spirit of discernment and an undeniable prophetic anointing, Dr. Nottage is a well-respected international preacher, prolific teacher, motivational speaker, life coach, playwright, author, and recording artist.

With a heart overflowing with love and compassion for God's people, Dr. Nottage is frequently invited to minister in destinations such as Ireland, Brazil, Africa, The Netherlands, The Caribbean, and throughout the United States.  She also regularly appears as a guest on various television networks which include:  the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Atlanta Live: Channel 57, and many others.  In addition, she is the host of her very own radio show, Transforming Lives, which airs weekly.

With an extraordinary passion for ministry and seeing people enjoy their lives by fulfilling the purpose and plans God has for them, Dr. Nottage has emphatically decided that she will reach people for the sake of the Gospel "by any means necessary."  Accordingly, she is the Founder of The Mattie Nottage School of Ministry, The Youth in Action Group, Faith Village For Girls, and the Global Dominion Network (GDN) Empowering Group of Companies, in which she provides ministry services designed to cause people to live out their fullest potential.

In addition to her Gospel ministry, Dr. Nottage is also the author of her bestselling book, "Breaking the Chains-From Worship to Warfare," along with several other publications. Furthermore, she has been featured in Gospel Today Magazine as one of America's Most Loved Pastors; she has produced numerous riveting stage plays; she has served as Chairman of the National Youth Advisory Council; she has been recognized by the Government of the Bahamas for youth initiatives; and she has been awarded by The Miami-Dade County Office of the Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.  Her most recent accomplishment, the release of her #1 selling CD hit song, "The Verdict Is In...Not Guilty!"  continues to impact scores of listeners and  is widely applauded.

Further to, Dr. Nottage has earned her, Bachelor of Arts in Christian Counseling,   Masters of Arts in Christian Education, and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the prestigious St. Thomas University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. She has also earned her Certified Life Coaching Degree from the F. W. Life Coach Training Institute

Alongside her wonderful husband, Apostle Dr. Edison Nottage, Dr. Nottage serves as the Co-pastor of Believers Faith Outreach Ministries International in Nassau, Bahamas, in addition to a ministry  located in Miami, FL.  Together, they have embarked on a mission of transforming the lives of everyone they meet.

PreachingWoman.com's Founder, Evangelist Nichelle Early (NE), enjoyed speaking with Dr. Mattie Nottage (MN) as they dialogued about how, through our worship, we all can break the chains of the past, prophetically reverse present challenging circumstances, and experience the realm of divine possibilities now!  Get ready, 2013 is your year!

NE:  Dr. Nottage, thank you so much for accepting this interview, it is an honor to speak with you!

MN: Evangelist Early, the pleasure is mine, thank you for this opportunity!

NE: You are quite welcome! Well let's get started!

Dr. Nottage, please share with us the mission and vision of Mattie Nottage Ministries, International.

MN: Well first and foremost, I believe that God called and raised me up to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is my primary mission.  However in 2004, my husband commissioned me and allowed me to launch my own ministry apart from our local church, Believers Faith Outreach Ministries International (Nassau, Bahamas) that we pastor together, in order to fulfill the specific mission that God has given me.  That mission is to travel the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to set the captives free so that they may become empowered to walk fully in the things that God has called them to.

Now, in the initial phase of this mission, I was particularly burdened with the affairs that women were facing on a day to day basis, in terms of hurt, pain, or any type of traumas they may have been facing in their lives; however, God has expanded my ministry mission to include younger women as well as the total family unit.  If we are honest, we have a lot of adults that are hurting and in pain, and are living through cycles of various maladies experienced in their past.  Well, that pain had to start somewhere, and often times it is a seed that became corrupted during their childhood. Therefore, God has given me an even stronger burden to reach young people so that they may come in agreement, at an early age, with the purpose and plan that God has for their lives.

Therefore, accordingly, my ministry vision is to spread the Gospel around the world in order to reach people, by "any means necessary."  God has graciously afforded me the opportunity to do so through various forms of media, such as: radio, television, internet, print publications, etc.  Further, through these forms of media, I have been able to reach many individuals who may be suffering from various forms of hurt, pain, discouragement, or other disadvantages   which may have hindered their progress in life.   Many times, the Spirit of the Lord will use me in order to help them break painful cycles from over their lives so that they may come into the divine purpose for which God has for them. 

NE: Amen...Now, that seems befitting as you are the author of "Breaking the Chains: From Worship To Warfare," which also serves as the mantra for your global prophetic revivals, please share with us the core message of this book.

MN: The Lord gave me this book many years ago.  When I first started writing it, I was stuck at "Breaking the Chains," because everywhere I would go and preach the gospel, whether it was in mega conferences in Africa, or throughout the continent of Europe, the United States or even my home country, the Bahamas, I realized that people were bound by some of the same issues...

For the most part, I grew up in a very religious setting. My grandfather was a Baptist preacher, and my mother was a Christian.  However, my father was an alcoholic.  It wasn't that he was an abusive person, but he had an addiction that he could not control.  I can clearly remember he would say to my mother, "This is the last time I'm going to drink!"  But every weekend, without fail, as we waited for him to come home from work because there was no grocery in the house, my mother would receive a phone call that he was on the corner, drunk, and that we needed to come get him.  I am sharing this to say, I know what it is like growing up and experiencing so much hurt and pain on a daily basis - not only for myself, but for my mother and two other siblings.

Growing up, I was hurt and angry because it seemed as though I was in chains my whole life. Our family was forced to endure much hardship and oppression.   Although my mother wanted the best for me and my two siblings, we went through a lot of "having to share" and, at times, "having nothing", because of the chain of alcoholic addiction that had my father bound.  So later I realized, that even after I got saved at the age of 12, started preaching at age 16, and after having a visitation from God in my childhood home, I was still very angry. I was angry, because this father that I loved so much and wanted to love me in return, paid little to no attention to me at all.  Not because he did not want to, but because he had been totally overtaken by his addiction.

NE: This is very interesting...

MN: Yes, but to make a long story short, I can remember, as a child in my bedroom, in the middle of the night I would hear chains rattling in the ceiling.  I would be so afraid and my mother would pray for me, because I heard those chains.   When I went to church, I can remember seeing people who would come through the doors, clearly in bondage, and seemingly shackled as if they were in chains.   Some would even look as though they were possessed by demons and the ushers would just "usher" them right back out of the door. And, to be honest, I didn't understand that. So I would pray and tell God that if He was going to use me to preach the Gospel, I wanted Him to use me to be a "Deliverer" who He would use to break the chains off of those who were bound.

So, fast forwarding to my adult life by the time I am writing my book, I  am in full-time ministry with my husband, pastoring a beautiful church in the Bahamas, which when they ordained my husband as the Senior Pastor, they also ordained me as the Assistant Pastor to him. All around me, I would see beautiful pastors' wives, and people would tell me I needed to be just that, a good pastor's wife who "quietly" stood next to her husband.  However, I could not deal with the fact that it seemed as though everywhere I turned I could discern in the realm of the spirit that people were bound or that there was something painful going on in their lives.  So God would lead me to pray for people, and sometimes those spirits would manifest and God would set the people free.   It was during these moments of profound deliverance experiences that God continued to speak to me more and more about "breaking the chains."-

NE: Wow! So, Dr. Nottage, I know some may be wondering why from "worship to warfare?" I'm sure you've had many people ask you why not the other way around, from "warfare to worship?"

MN: Yes, a lot of people often ask me, "Why from "worship to warfare?" And to that, my answer is that when you go into any level of spiritual warfare, it needs to be preceded by a lifestyle of worship.  In order for the chains of bondage to stay broken off of your life and for you to walk in total victory, you must have a lifestyle of worship.  If you have a lifestyle of worship beforehand, when you do go through spiritual battle you will already know that you have the victory.   Also, when you come out of that battle, you will know that you will yet have to worship again.

Many people make the mistake of going into battle unprepared, without worship or any kind of sacrifice on the altar. Even more detrimental, they have no concept of how they will gain the victory in order to make it out of the battle.  Then there are some people, when they make it out they think, "Oh yeah, thank God, I made it out." 

However in response to this, God showed me the life of David.  No matter what David went through, whether it was battling the Philistines or the Amalekites, David worshipped. He would go back in the presence of God, build an altar and he would worship.  It was that worship that prepared him for the next warfare that he would encounter.  So, that is why I wrote this book, so that people would understand the necessity of worship before and after the warfare. 

NE: So, what are some practical steps people can take to transition from "worship to warfare?"

MN:  Well, Evangelist Early, I would offer the following:

NE: Now, Dr. Nottage, one of the messages that your ministry is well noted for is, "The Power of Prophetic Reversal." What does this mean?

MN: The word of God says in Revelation 12:10, that they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.  Then Jesus said, because He overcame the enemy, we too shall overcome.  Now, in order to explain prophetic reversal, I want to briefly share how God spoke to me regarding it.

There was a season in my life, where I became severely ill, so much so that I thought I was not going to make it. I could not travel, I could not minister, and I could not do anything.  For the most part, I was in and out of the hospital, greatly afflicted to the point of being bed-ridden.   I can remember lying in Memorial Hospital thinking that I was going to die.  I prayed and told the Lord that if He would raise me up, I would preach or do whatever He told me to do and go wherever He told me to go.

I vividly remember the Holy Spirit speaking to me saying, "I have given you the power of prophetic reversal." He said, "Whatever you speak, I will do it." And, I was like "Wow!"  So, I began to speak God's Word over my life.  Shortly after, I was allowed to come home, even though I was still quite ill.  However, I began posting the Word of God all over my bedroom, above the bed, on the doors, the closets, even on the ceiling.  After a while, I could not find a clear spot to post another scripture.   As time went on, I began to speak the Word of God and prophesy back to myself every word that God had ever spoken to me. 

I began to deal with the spirit of death, infirmity, and every demonic spirit that was sent to attack my life.   Suddenly, I began to realize that things were beginning to turn around in my health.  Then, the Lord spoke to me and told me that from this point forward, wherever I went,  He wanted me to begin to teach people everywhere about the "power of prophetic reversal."

Evangelist Early, more than anything, I believe that God wants His people to know that He has given them the right, might, ability, and authority to change their situations, no matter what the circumstances look like.  What we must understand is that the prophetic does not speak to that which is, but the prophetic goes ahead of the battle.  So to "prophesy" means that you are propelling the will and the mind of God in a situation!  You may not have the gift of prophecy or even function in the office of a prophet, but the Bible says there is such a thing as the spirit of prophecy.  Paul wrote it when he said in 1 Corinthians 14:5, "I wish that you all would prophesy..."  Therefore, by the power of prophetic reversal, you can open your mouth and prophesy or speak, in accordance with the will of God, what His Word says for your life and your situation.  The word reversal means an annulment, to turn around, to change direction, or retraction.  So, whatever your situation is, you can prophesy God's Word according to His will and it must come into divine alignment -- that is the power of prophetic reversal.

NE: "Wow! That is powerful!"

NE:  So Dr. Nottage, what are some principles necessary for people to experience the power of prophetic reversal in their personal lives?

MN: Well, I define a principle as a framework that something is based on or governed by. So, I would offer the following:

• Get wisdom from God- the Word of God says wisdom is the principle thing.  You must then discern, in that wisdom moment, what is going on by asking questions of the Holy Spirit, "What does this mean? Why am I here? How did this happen? Where should I go, etc.?"  And once you ask those types of questions, then you ask the Holy Spirit to grant you the spirit of wisdom to know the answer; to know whether you should leave or stay, come or go, etc.  So, you must ask God for wisdom to know if you are having an experience that should be reversed, and if so, how to reverse it.
• Know what God has said to you - Always remember the first word God has ever spoken to you.  I don't care how young you were or when it happened.  It may have been in a dream, or someone may have prophesied it to you, but always go back and reference the first Word God has ever spoken concerning you, because it is that Word that will carry you through the tough times.  So I would admonish the people of God to remember the first Word and most importantly remember God's Word, because demons are not threatened by tears, profanity, or physical weapons. The only thing that causes demons get out of the way and go is the name of Jesus Christ and His Word.
• Don't be afraid - Regardless of how it looks, or what you feel, just open up your mouth and say something...
• Take action - Be obedient and do whatever it is the Wisdom and Word of God tells you to do!
• Have a "made up mind" that you are coming out with something - In your season of prophetic reversal, have a made up mind to know that you will come out with something! I don't care whether you have gone to hell and back, a bitter divorce, separation, bankruptcy, or whatever the devastation - come out with more than just bruises and scars - come out with something!
• Come out with a book, with a CD, a preached word, a creative idea, a product that has never been invented before, come out with something!  If you are going through anything, make sure that you come out with a banner that you can wave that tells the enemy, "I may have been through a rough one, but I'm back with something far greater than I had before I went in!"

NE: That is so awesome! I agree that you have to come out with something.  So with that said, I recall one of your messages about the "Divine Realm of Possibilities." Please share with us about that.

MN: Wow! Well I first speak to the fact, regarding the "Divine Realm of Possibilities," that the word of God says, "All things are possible to them that believe [Mark 9:23].  Similarly, the Lord spoke  to me out of Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says, "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the sun." So essentially, looking at both of these scriptures regarding this divine realm where things are possible, God is saying that you first have to know that "it", whatever "it" is, is possible with Him.  You also have to know what season you are in.   So many people abort their assignment, divine purpose or god-ordained promise because they give up prematurely because of how things look.  They don't take the time to understand what season it is. 

You see, a "season" represents a moment in time.  It represents the window of opportunity that God will give you to do or accomplish something.  So that's important.  Now, also in Ecclesiastes, God mentions "time."  Time has to do with everything in the earth realm, because we must remember God doesn't really need time, God operates in the eternal realm.  Therefore, God placed time in the earth realm for man so that we can understand "when" to do something.  For example, "when" lets you know that it is "time to move?" When also lets you know that it is "time to go?"

So time, as it relates to "kairos" moments, speak to the "divine when" of God.  Now, we can't forget that God also mentions "purpose" in Ecclesiastes 3:1 and purpose is the original intent why something was created; it is the real reason why God did something, allowed something, or created something. So, in bringing it all together, the "Divine Realm of Possibilities" is that realm where all things are possible to them that believe.  It is that realm wherein God affords those who are willing to come into the divine timing of God a moment or a window of time (or "season") when ( or "the time") they can step on that platform, or go through that door, meet that person, or perform that "thing"  that God has placed in  their spirit.  In the right timing, there is no struggle or strain.  We come into His timing, the door opens, we walk in, and the door then closes. Therefore, the "realm of divine possibilities" is that spiritual dimension wherein we are walking by faith and not by sight, knowing that all things are possible to him who believes. I like to call it the "Realm of God", that dimension where you can do the impossible, and like they say on Star Trek, "You can boldly go where no man has ever gone before!"

NE: That is absolutely awesome! Well, Dr. Nottage, what do you believe God is saying in this hour?

MN: I believe that more than anything, God is saying "seek Him." I know that sounds a little bit antiquated, but I really feel that God is crying out that we seek Him so that we will know His will and understand the mind of God. The earth seems to be in turmoil as so many things are happening that we have never seen before.  So, I believe that God is saying seek him, and seek His Kingdom, His way of doing things.  We must seek Him for counsel, direction, and strategy.  I believe God wants us to seek Him so that we may also have intimacy with Him.  It goes back to what Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). God wants us to be one with Him.  So, that is what I believe God is saying.

NE: If there was anything the world could know about Dr. Mattie Nottage what would it be?

MN: As far as what I would like the world to know about me, it is simply this, I love God.  I love God with all of my heart, in the truest sense of the word "love."  I love Him.  I also love His people and the work He has called me to.  I just want to see the best for everybody. Whatever it costs and whatever it takes, I just want people to know that I love God and that God loves them!