Posts Tagged ‘church’
Surprise! The Coming Church is ready to order NOW…
he Coming Church is ready to order right now!
Read with care. This is the future. ~Barbara Yoder
I am thrilled to announce that my brand new book The Coming Church is available to order now!
You can read the forward by Brian Simmons and the first chapter of the book below!
ORDER NOW: https://www.createspace.com/4499646
~ Forward ~
Brian Simmons Stairway Ministries & The Passion Translation Project
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The anointed Baptizer refused to yield to the status quo; the lethargy of those around him couldn’t stick to him, for he was sent from God. The atmosphere of heaven’s reality clothed him, and his words lit a fire. He was the greatest man who had ever lived in human history, up to his time. A burning and shining lamp for God. Everything he said and everything he did was to point people to the coming Messiah, the King who would seize the hearts of men.
The Lord is giving us another glimpse of that powerful grace in the lives of awakeners today. The anointing of John the Baptist is being restored to the Church! There is a desperation growing in the hearts of God’s people, for desperate times will always demand that desperate men arise. I am thankful to see that anointing rise upon God’s men and women today who refuse to march to the incessant drumbeat of this culture. But instead, they will eat locusts and honey, wearing not the religious garments of pride and superiority but the humble garment of a camel’s skin. There is a company of men and women who will turn the dark night into a bright light-daybreakers are rising to bring the dawning of awakening to the nations!
I’m thankful for men like John Burton who hear a sound coming out of heaven, a trumpet sound, calling this generation to something more than good meetings and life as usual. We need men and women who are more than echoes of the past, but voices who prophesy what is to come. I believe those men and women are being prepared to arise and take their place in human history. A message of The Coming Church is needed more than ever! The Holy Spirit has anointed this message, and it will roll on throughout the nations. The call of God is gripping hearts of awakeners to leave the predictability of the church and move into the reality of the ever-fresh kingdom of God!
God has in store a day, a day of glory, that will unveil Jesus Christ before our eyes. But we need to be awakened by the sound. I’m glad to hear that sound as I read through The Coming Church! I see the awakening in my soul, I hear the sound of the church migrating from our lax Laodicean ways and rushing into the dawning of a new day! Revival is in the air and The Coming Church will be alive and well, exporting the glory to the nations. You can be thankful that you live in this day. I am. I’m very thankful to be alive and serving God. I will tell my grandchildren that we lived for days of His manifest presence. Be encouraged as you read this book, written by another John, sent by God for our generation. I know you’ll want to read it more than once and share it with your friends. Get ready for the fires of awakening, and keep your heart tender and pure, for the coming of the Lord draws near!
Brian Simmons Stairway Ministries The Passion Translation Project
ORDER NOW: https://www.createspace.com/4499646
~ Chapter One ~
The Encounter
The Coming Church will be shocking.
Spiritual encounters, whether they are visions, dreams or visitations can go a long way in preparing individuals, groups, and even nations for the otherworldly, dramatic and critical shifts that God is setting into motion. Of course, we know in Scripture that spiritual things must be discerned spiritually, and it’s important to understand clearly what’s being communicated. We also know that all dreams, for example, are not necessarily spiritual dreams. That must be discerned. I challenge you to stay up until 3AM and then consume a bucket of hot wings, a can of Mountain Dew and a half a gallon of ice cream and see what kind of crazy images dance around in your head when you finally fall asleep. Experiences like that won’t shake nations. However, the encounter I had absolutely must.
I had a vision of the soon coming Church. For me, a spiritual revelation, a message delivered directly by the Creator of the world, is usually very easy to discern. It’s rare that I have to go to someone seeking out an interpretation. The scene and the message are almost always extremely vivid and revealing. I immediately understand what the players, atmosphere and story line are attempting to communicate to me. This particular encounter was no different-in fact, it was so striking, fearful, engulfing and overpowering that the imagery and message will keep me trembling in my spirit forever.
In order to appreciate the magnitude of the message that was communicated to me in the vision, it will be helpful to understand the context. Try to imagine, at least to an incredibly small degree, the picture of the true Church that God himself sees. It shouldn’t be a stretch to realize the picture of the compromised Church that we see on the Earth today clearly cannot match up. Meaning, when God drew up the designs for the glorious Church, leading up to its launch in the book of Acts, the blueprint that was before him looks little like the Church we see today. God’s Church looks little like the Church we have come to know.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. Acts 2:1-3
Do me a favor and read that passage in Acts chapter 2 one more time. I want those three verses to dive into your spirit and shake you up. When God started diagramming the Church, this is what he envisionedﾗthis is where he started. When you compare this passage of scripture with descriptions of the modern-day Church as we know it, it seems like we are comparing apples and oranges, or even the living from the dead. I’d like to ask you to read the passage one more time. As I’m writing this, I feel the Spirit of the Lord starting to burn in my inner man. Let me pray for you right now just before you read it again:
Mighty God, I pray the burnings of your Spirit would be transmitted into your friend’s heart. Give them a glimpse into the supernatural yet strikingly real realm of the Church. Give them the capacity to release old paradigms, structures, traditions, mind sets and cultures as they come alive to the reality of the Church as you see it. Amen.
Okay, go ahead and read the passage in Acts chapter 2 one more time.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. Acts 2:1-3
Is it becoming a little bit easier to understand just what the Church should look like? You see, as God designed and then launched the Church, it was literally blowing and burning and every one of those in that upper room experienced it. As we begin to embrace the truth that passages like this are not science fiction, and that they communicate actual phenomena that are expected to be normal for us as believers, it will become easier to leave behind what we know and press toward the soon coming Church. We will suddenly find ourselves so deeply dissatisfied that any thought of maintenance becomes quite ridiculous. America doesn’t need another bed-and-breakfast church that comforts our flesh (our natural desires). Our nation needs a Church with a volatile atmosphere that explodes, burns human flesh and shocks our culture. Now, keep in mind that this fiery Acts 2 reality was communicated to us by the Spirit through the Word. This passage is the Word of God, not simply a descriptive, historical report. So, God’s plan is for the Church to be a supernatural raging furnace of Holy Spirit activity.
Mark 7:13 reveals how powerful tradition of man is. It actually makes the Word of God ineffective! The traditions of man overpower the greatest power in existence-Jesus Christ himself. Do you feel the weight of that? Is it possible that we need to embrace the fear of the Lord again? There is a holy tremble that will come as the fierceness of God is revealed to us at the same time the burning love of God does. The thought of allowing man-made concepts, structures or agendas to push aside and nullify God’s plans seems nonsensical. Yet it happens with stunning regularity every day all over the world.
…making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down… Mark 7:13
Of course it’s true that the definition of the Church cannot be limited to a perspective of one segment of the greater structure. It is certainly true, as is revealed later on in Acts chapter 2, that the healthy Church will include Kingdom-focused fellowship, breaking of bread, bold proclamation of the Gospel, discipleship, evangelism, prayer and other critical activities. However, what we see in the Church today is a lot of activity, even good activity, but usually without the tangible burning and blowing of God’s Spirit.
The Crater
If you take a look at the cover of this book, you will see a futilely poor attempt at visually communicating what I experienced in my vision. In the vision, I found myself in a dramatic, apocalyptic scene. Everything seemed to be colorless, or at best a variety of dark blues, grays and greens. The ominous clouds matched up with the dark and wild landscape all around me.
Directly in front of me was the focal point of the vision, a tremendously massive crater. I can’t begin to describe in human language the overwhelmingly weighty, urgent, and fearsome atmosphere that gripped me and demanded my complete attention. I was trembling as I looked at the edge of the crater in the distance. As I slowly walked toward the gigantic hole in the ground, I knew I could not approach it casually. The fear of the Lord surrounded me. I couldn’t imagine what type of alien invasion could have created an impression this deep in such solid ground. The force had to have been greater than anything my human mind could comprehend. As I was analyzing the drama that I was experiencing, God revealed to me that the crater I was drawing near to was not simply a hole in the ground. It was, in fact, the coming Church. The Church? My mind certainly couldn’t even begin to analyze what that meant, but my spirit was raging. My mind presumed I should be looking at a small white church building with a steeple, but that was not at all what my spiritual eyes were seeing. My spirit was provoked and alive, but I knew that those who were more logical than spiritual in their life experience would most probably resist what is just over the horizon.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
Note that this doesn’t mean the unsaved; it means those who are naturally minded. That’s a lot of Christians. Here’s what Paul says next:
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 1 Corinthians 3:1-2
I continued to tremble as the increasingly intense, colorless atmosphere engulfed me, and as I ever so carefully, fearfully, yet with intense curiosity approached the edge of the coming Church, the crater. Again, I realized I couldn’t casually participate. This was a very clear message that I was receiving. The days of casually connecting in secular fellowship in the Church were over. The shaking and trembling rocked my whole being as I approached this invasion of Heaven on Earth.
Once at the edge, I was stunned and my senses were overwhelmed as I looked at what seemed to be alive. While everything else around me was grayscale, I saw vivid, bright and glowing, neon hues of orange, yellow and red and a prism of colors in between. The bright, colorful, burning lava was living and active. It was moving, coursing throughout the crater. My trembling intensified.
Holocaust?
I received an email from someone in theLab University, our ministry training center, here in the Detroit area. The message instantly received my attention when I saw the content contained the word holocaust. Of course, that’s a provocative and sensitive word and it takes some care to handle it when applying it to current situations.
The email was sent to several of us at theLab in reference to a conference I was about to minister at. I’ll share the complete, unedited email so you have a full glimpse of what was being communicated. Keep the vision of the crater in mind as you read.
Hey Fellow Fireball Launchers! I’ve been hit w/ this urgency thing to pray for John, his upcoming trip to Connecticut to speak at the conference w/ Brian Simmons & James Levesque, & well, the conference as a whole. I just feel like we need to rally around him & call down fire on this conference! I’m feelin that God is gonna break through in a crazy way during this, & John is carrying this crazy powerful message. As the Lord impressed it on my heart to pray, I heard 1 word… holocaust. At first, the only thing that came to mind was “the holocaust” of World War II. After my initial thoughts on the word subsided, I started to think about the word. As I was talking to the Lord, I kept asking “What do you mean?”. He prompted me to look up the definition.
Here it is:
hol-o-caust noun a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire. a sacrifice completely consumed by fire; burnt offering (Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/HOLOCAUST)
Hah! How crazy is that? I’m not even sure what else to say right now, but whoah! It feels like the meaning He’s relaying is not negative. It feels powerful! Still grasping the full context of what’s going on here, but I do know that God is bringin down the house with this one!!
This word was given right after I shared the vision of the crater with the students and staff at theLab. What is coming to the Church is not an enhancement or an adjustment. The destruction (or we could use the word deconstruction) will be so comprehensive and total that it will not only remove current structures, but also the faulty foundations (anything other than the foundation of Christ) they were built on. The coming Church will look nothing like the Church we now know.
This transformation will take us well beyond our human ability to understand. I believe God intentionally overwhelmed me with such a vivid vision while also leaving almost every question unanswered. This plan for reformation won’t easily translate into a formulaic church growth process. The only way we can apply it to our own situation is by falling on our faces, being consumed by another world and submitting ourselves to the risky, vulnerable and shocking process of transformation.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7
Check out this simple yet profoundly important quote by Andrew Murray:
Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. (Christian Reader, v. 32, n. 4.)
We are all too often guilty of praying for what we can see or imagine. The dynamic life of prayer and faith doesn’t even really begin until we venture outside of the realm of human senses. It’s too easy to get consumed with what seems to be obvious and natural in our pursuits while forgetting that the majority of our answers and adventures sit just beyond the reach of our human understanding.
If this is true (which it is), then we must agree that God’s picture of the Church is also painted with colors that exist outside of our earthly realm. This invasion of Heaven on Earth will result in an explosion of brilliance that we could never have imagined.
This is precisely what happened in the Upper Room. God was birthing the Church as only he could with revelation and power that only he had. There was no way for anybody in that room to possibly imagine what was coming no matter how creative they may have been.
In fact, their human futility was obvious just prior to the outpouring in the Upper Room. They were required to fulfill the mandate to find a replacement for the fallen Judas. Their process actually looks a lot like the decision-making processes of Christians today. They prayed and then cast lots.
And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Acts 1:26
They were so limited in revelation because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to them-that they relied on human methods of decision making. They could do no better than pray and cast lots. Today’s church is much like that-there’s little revelation and little power so we do what is humanly understandable. The coming Church is both ancient and emerging. It’s ancient because it’s the Church founded through an empty tomb and a burning Upper Room. It’s emerging because it’s been largely forsaken. Humanism has replaced supernatural power. Humanistic efforts result in a limited, disappointing life.
However, when the Holy Spirit is in the mix, what is humanly impossible becomes the launching pad of Kingdom life. The transition that is coming will result in a shift of manifestation. Instead of hoping for God to manifest in our natural realm alone we will begin manifesting in God’s supernatural realm!
As wonderful as it is, when we focus solely on God touching life as we know it in our earthly realm, we limit God. But when we venture beyond this world into the great expanse of the heavenly world, the possibilities of encounter, adventure, abundant life and Kingdom living are limitless.
I trust the idea of the Church being defined by a Sunday service with some worship songs and some teaching is looking quite ludicrous right about now.
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~ Endorsements ~
This book will rock your boat! John Burton isn’t an ordinary church leader. He is one of the emerging, cutting edge and at times raw (cuts to the chase) ministries who are changing the face of the church. Some will be upset with this book. Those lovers of God, radical revelatory types will jump up and down. John’s book will set them on fire. Read with care. This is the future.
Barbara J Yoder Senior Pastor and Lead Apostle Shekinah Regional Apostolic Center Breakthrough Apostolic Ministries Network www.shekinahchurch.org www.barbaraYODERblog.com
Want to grow your church? Increase your success and influence in the community? Don’t read this book! John Burton isn’t going to give you the latest Church growth strategies or messages that will make your life easier. This book is a clarion call to the Church to quit selling her birthright and to accomplish all God has for her. Anyone can criticize the church, John tears down while building up and calling fourth the Coming Glorious Church!
Chris Ferguson Internships International House of Prayer Kansas City
The Coming Church is a must read for every Christian. This is a timely word and challenge to seriously get aligned with the Kingdom for such a time as this. It will ignite an urgency and fire in any reader who is willing to wrestle and respond.
Amy Smith Director of Intercession Revival Church
A praying remnant will birth a great awakening that will change the church as we know it today. John, in this publication, provides some spiritual snapshots of a coming profound transformation of the church.
Rick Warzywak Transformation Michigan
The spirit of God has rested upon John Burton; the Lord has placed fire in his hands. That translates in the intercession-driven ministry that pours out of him. The power & revelation the Lord has released into John Burton is a breath of fresh air. It is so fresh that I have not seen the uniqueness he bears elsewhere.
This book carries fire on every page. That fire leaps out bringing awakening to the deep places within you as the Holy Spirit moves through the revelation of the coming church and our part in it. There’s no denying it, and there’s no hiding it as the revelatory words are laid out on the table. This book screams “Ready or not, here I (the church) come!” Are we ready to receive the revelation? Better yet, are we willing to receive it?
Jill Janco Experience Department Director Revival Church
This is more than a book, it’s a mandate from heaven! It is a culmination of the revelations from heaven we have been learning through Apostle John Burton. The coming church is volatile and ready to explode! There is much danger ahead as we come against systems, tradition, and everything that is held so dear to the hearts of those not willing to come to the mountain. This is a calling out to those who will see the vision and respond with brokenness, humility and boldness!
I believe many will respond to the call. Though it will be amazing and many will be set free, it will cost everything! Are you willing to respond or are you going to stay where it is safe? The structure that is seemingly safe now will be destroyed. Now is the time to take a stand on new, dangerous ground, the solid rock of The Coming Church! Whatever city God has you planted is where you are needed to become the awakening and birth many more laborers through intercession, modeling Christ and revival (biblical normalcy). Allow God to do a new thing in you and your region! Many are called to take a city, how many will submit, respond and endure!?
Nick Carrier Product of Jesus’ Holy Spirit & theLab School of Fire Intercessor at the Detroit Prayer Furnace
I just finished reading your book and it’s excellent! The only way I would have enjoyed it more is if I had been sitting with a group of like-minded people while I read it and we could have gotten excited together! It was kind of like watching a football game by yourself where your team is trouncing the opposing team and you have no one to cheer with and shout, ﾓYES!ﾔ I so wanted to do that!
Personally, I say, yay for the confrontation. It’s time! It kind of reminds me of the confrontation in 1 Kings 18 with the Elijah and the prophets of Baal. What you write in this book certainly resonates very deeply with me. At times I have written in our Community Healing Rooms email newsletters or made a post on Facebook with nearly identical sentiments. I have always liked your fiery hot passion for the Lord, John! Please keep going! Don’t stop! We need you; Detroit needs you. Keep running with His torch!
Beverly Bubb Healing Rooms Michigan State Directors
From a vision of Hell, to Pikes Peak and Manitou Springs to Detroit! This riveting book details John’s incredible journey and message that may shake, rattle and roll your current lifestyle and belief systemsﾗjust as John the Baptist’s message did in his day!! This book is a wake up call to the sleeping Bride of Christ to take her place and be the church God has mandatedﾗa House of Prayer for all Nations! This is our destiny. This is our call!
Leah Hanrahan Children’s Director Revival Church
Are you a sold out, on fire, disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, walking in the tremendous power and dominion God has ordained for His last days Church? If not, this book will show you how to become one. It will enable you to take your position in God’s victorious end-time army and prevail against the forces of darkness that would steal your destiny. In it, John Burton exposes the snares of the enemy pervasive in the culture and the doctrines of demons that have invaded God’s church. Get equipped, put on your battle armor, take your position and prepare to wage war with the enemies of The Cross. The eternal destinies of perhaps a billion souls are hanging in the balance. Will you receive, internalize and walk out the message of this book for King Jesus, the Glory of His Kingdom and the souls He has placed within your sphere of influence?
Ed Hull Revival Church
The Coming Church will bring reformation to what religious systems have been teaching as a doctrine and of what they communicate church is “supposed” to be like. This book will bring awakening to anyone that reads it. It isn’t a “feel good” message, it’s one that will bring awakening through the truth and revelation that God has given to John Burton on what The Coming Church will be like.
David Gooding
A coming civil war in the church—centered around the fear of the Lord
A civil war in the church is drawing near—and it will be centered around the fear of the Lord.
Before I get into the meat of this message, I want to address something that I’m sure many of you have wondered about.
Yes, I am absolutely intentional regarding my “unbalanced” approach on the end-times, the church and the call to reformation. The reason is simple—the situation in the church is so dire that an urgent, radical response is necessary.
We cannot casually sit back and initiate Christian small talk as we seek to find common ground anymore. Billions are headed to Hell, and in their ranks are a very high percentage of those who call themselves Christians.
Many believe the church is mostly doing well with a few minor, non-essential issues to address, and an upgrade in positive, encouraging messages will help nudge us back on course. A focus on God’s goodness and love alone will be enough to convince people to veer back on course. If that were the case, I would absolutely be more subtle in my approach. However, it is not. The church is way off balance, and an extremely weighty counterbalance is necessary.
I let my son Skylar get behind the wheel of the car for the first time in a parking lot the other day to begin to teach him how to drive. He was getting used to the steering, gas pedal and brake responsiveness, and, under my watchful eye in the passenger seat, he would jerk the car left and right, brake too hard, step on the gas too quickly and give us quite a ride. My response? Subtle, encouraging words to straighten it out, to ease up on the gas, to brake more softly. He was on the right track, but was simply learning how to stay on it.
That is not where the church is today. Things are not mostly good. We are not on the right track.
How would you react if the person driving your car decided to go the wrong way down a highway, at 100 miles per hour, at night with the headlights off, with his eyes closed and not a care in the world?
You would scream! You would grab the wheel! You would not passively, subtly encourage him to straighten it out. You would not talk about how lovely an evening it is. It wouldn’t be the right time to teach him how to parallel park or how to change the oil. You both are near death and immediate, continuous cries and alarms must be sounded! Not only are you near death, but others will be crushed by your wayward vehicle as they come over the next hill!
The church is also near death—and is putting many others at risk. Many in the church are on their way to Hell—and they have no idea. This is why I sound alarm after alarm after alarm. If you choose to turn a deaf ear, so be it.
However, I challenge you to be receptive and responsive, and not shut out the warnings of the Lord, no matter how irritating and repetitive they are. In fact, join me in my cry. Cry out REPENT! Turn around!
Matthew 3:1In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Preparea the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”
A Coming Civil War
I needed to explain what I did in the opening section to help you understand what I’m going to share next.
Entire popular movements today are in the wrong lane, going the wrong way and putting the church at risk of eternal death.
We are going way to far with our ecumenically driven strategies of unity within the church. The false-love movement that focuses on friendships and affirmation has led to a false-unity movement where we presume anybody who goes to church and professes Christ to be a legitimate Christian worthy of our alliance.
I’ve said before and I’ll say again—I will love everybody with the fiery love of Jesus, but I absolutely, unapologetically refuse with bold resolve to unite with anybody who isn’t carrying their cross, dying daily and burning hot for Jesus Christ.
I do not presume people to be saved simply because they say they are.
We are all in process, and as long as we, in our weakness, in our struggles and in our brokenness are truly running after Jesus, I will be right there with you. However, if that is not the case, you heard me right—I will not run with you.
I will love you. I will pray for you. I will honor you. I will encourage you. But I won’t run with you. I won’t unite with you.
You might be wondering how, with that type of resolve, we can avoid a civil war in the church. We can’t. We don’t want to.
The sickle is about to be taken to both the wheat and the tares, so we will all be hit with the judgment of God. This will be a very difficult season for everybody, but it is a necessary one.
Matthew 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Matt 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.36And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Jesus boldly revealed what a true believer looks like. His sword of truth is about to strike the church and those who are not fully his will be revealed.
North vs. South
The true remnant will rise up with spiritual violence to liberate masses from the slavery that has been granted them through inappropriate theologies and religious systems.
Matthew 11:12From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,d and the violent take it by force.
There will be great confusion in the nation as the world watches this happen in the church, yet it will only be for a season. The true church will eventually emerge, finally, with the power and love they have been craving to see.
Great leaders will rise up in the spirit of Elijah and John the Baptist to initiate conflict (instead of avoid it) and to wrestle with spiritual forces of darkness.
Ephesians 6:12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
“The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong.” – September 1862 – Abraham Lincoln – Meditation on the Divine Will
The Fear of the Lord
Please consider what I’m about to communicate very carefully.
We must be humble, teachable and repentant. As prophetic messengers, we cannot move in the flesh and come against what may be a true move of God. Take your viewpoints to God and ensure he confirms them to you. Allow your theologies to be challenged by the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit of Truth reign in your life.
That being said, we cannot stay silent when there is a clear and present danger in the church. To do so would be treason! When God sounds an alarm in your spirit, you must respond to that alarm!
The coming civil war in the church will hinge on the issue of the fear of the Lord (among a handful of other issues).
There are entire movements that are vocally opposing the validity of the fear of the Lord. The civil war in the church will form as the camp divides on this primary issue.
Of course, the false-grace movement and the false-love movement (that refuses any scriptural reality that doesn’t feel like love) are devoid of the fear of the Lord. There are other significant movements out there that may not be as extreme as this, but are at least silent if not resistant to any discussion of the fear of the Lord.
Spiritual pride is a direct result of the absence of the fear of the Lord. So is apathy, a focus on personal experience, the rejection of the call to live a repentant life and having a benefit and blessing mindset.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Luke 1:50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
While I understand, and even affirm to a degree, the desire to call God “Daddy,” I am at least a little troubled at how casual we have become with such a fearful, mighty God.
God is not our personal emotional warm fuzzy. He cannot be limited to that. He is mighty indeed!
Does he comfort? Oh my, YES! Does he encourage? Yes! Is he your Daddy? Absolutely! But, my friend, he is so MUCH more.
We can and MUST experience both comfort and fear simultaneously! The civil way in the church will see a departure on this issue. Many will reject this mandate to fear God.
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Without the fear of the Lord, his true nature cannot be discerned. Without the fear of the Lord, there is no friendship of the Lord.
Psalm 25:14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile
This fear of the lord is indeed the beginning of wisdom. This consciousness of sin is the straight pathway to heaven. ~Joseph Barber Lightfoot
It is critical that we allow the fear of the Lord to expose issues of our heart that put our relationship with him at risk! This is very good! This is desirable! And, the fear of the Lord is not “respect” of the Lord. The Bible calls it dread. Terror. It’s quite the mystery indeed that we can experience both terror and love at the same time! How mighty is our God!
2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
The fear of the lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death (Proverbs 14:27)
Vision of a Chess Board
I once had a vision of a chess board, and on the appropriate squares stood actual humans, Christians. They each were fervent and focused as devoted warriors. They all seemed to be spiritual mature and responding to their call of duty.
Suddenly, the chess board began to shake violently. It was clearly a tremor from Heaven as God was causing everything to be hit by his loving judgment. He will shake everything that can be shaken.
What happened next was remarkable. Most of the Christian soldiers remained standing, while a few hit their faces in humility and brokenness. Those who stood, in pride, were suddenly shaken so violently that they turned to dust.
This shaking is coming to the church. Those who pridefully reject the fear of the Lord are in great danger, though they are fervent in their religion.
A Concentration of Government
I shared at a recent regional church leader’s prophetic prayer meeting that we must be careful.
There is a lot of pride in this region—especially within the church of Detroit.
Acts 10:35 But in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
It’s right to respond to God’s mandate to focus on our region and on the state of Michigan. I am friends with some phenomenal leaders who are spearheading a movement of prayer in this state, and they are doing so with great humility.
We must follow their lead, and we cannot allow the pride of Detroit to manifest in our zeal to see a great end time revival land here.
While geographic boundaries do have extreme significance, we have to understand the greater reality.
Washington DC is not important to this nation because of its geographic boundaries. In fact, it’s a very small area. The reason Washington DC is significant is because of the concentration of government. It is our governmental center, and the governmental activity is greater there than anywhere else in the nation.
Yet, the Pentagon is also important and strategic to our nation. So are our military bases. Why? Because of their affiliation and alliance and responsiveness to the governmental leadership in Washington.
Michigan is no different. Pride would cause us to presume that there is something special about our geography. Humility, and an accurate analysis of the situation would reveal something very different—Michigan will be special because of the concentration of humble, cross-bearing, anointed Kingdom government officials and offices that will be established here. Heaven’s authority is coming, I believe, to Michigan. Our impact will be determined by our willingness to humbly respond to God’s governmental leadership.
Just as with Washington DC, it’s not about making Detroit famous. We have been given a sober mandate—to serve our nation in the midst of a coming national, civil war.
A Dividing Line
As God’s government increases, no matter where it is, the division will increase. Gray will become black and white. People will have to choose where they stand. It sounds terrible, but in a wheat and tare season, it is absolutely necessary. God is bringing judgment to the church, and people will absolutely choose sides.
1 Peter 4:17For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And
“If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
This is why the fear of the Lord is so critical! We are scarcely saved and judgment is coming!
Those with a casual disposition and a resistance to the fear of the Lord, and a focus on “Daddy God” without also acknowledging him as “Fearful Judge and Father” will be disturbed beyond description.
Their understanding of who God is will be threatened and they will end up choosing to resist the one they say they know! My God!
Thus, the civil war will commence.
The false-unity, “can’t we all just get along” hopes will be crushed as the fearful reality of the Judge brings his sword of division. His love will provoke him to call the true bride of Christ out and give those compromised by faulty theologies a clear and compelling chance to run to him.
The false-grace, false-love, false-unity movements are radically resistant to the fear of the Lord, yet they won’t be able to escape it when it all comes crashing down.
The world is getting better and better?
The glorious fear of the Lord results in radical and continual repentance as we joyfully encounter the lover and judge of our souls at the same time.
The grief and mourning is multi-faceted, yet much of it comes from an understanding that great destruction is upon us and Hell is expanding as millions are sucked into its horrors.
Those who reject this idea are focused on blessing and benefits. The belief is that the world is getting better and better, and we can rest easy—eat, drink and play.
Exodus 32:4And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a goldena calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
So many have fashioned a god of their own design—and have given it glory for rescuing them from Egypt! The plan is to play instead of forging ahead to save the world. They want to stay at the bottom of the mountain with their hands in their ears saying, “La la la la la!”
I’ve heard it said that God is always in a good mood. This is not only ridiculous theology, but it’s dangerous. Why? When those who subscribe to this idea experience the fearful shakings of God, they will reject him as a foreigner or as a demon.
John 8:48The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
I honestly have no patience for the argument that God is always in a good mood, and that he no longer judges. We need his judgment!
How can 4000 babies a day murdered in our nation, an increase in radical terrorism, absolutely disgusting moral decline, pornography viewed by most people—in the church and increasing suicides, murders and other atrocities cause anyone to presume the world is getting better?
The goal is not to live a great life now—it’s to rescue a dying planet and prepare the way of the Lord!
The fear of the Lord will result in a sobriety that will shake us terribly. We will see the heartbreak of God and join him in his distress.
God is absolutely not in a good mood all the time. If he was, he’d be a monster as he laughed and did a happy dance as he cast people into eternal torment in Hell.
No, God is very often sad, disturbed and heartbroken.
Now what?
Pray. Pray like your life depends on it. It does.
Mourn. Cry out. Sound alarms. Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
Be broken. Be humble. Be repentant.
A civil war is coming. Will you choose the way of comfort and pleasure and personal benefits as you fashion a god of your own design? Many significant movements and churches will do so. The pressure to join them will be extreme. The deception will be convincing. Will you seek after peace and safety with them?
Or will you drop your toys, leave the remote on the couch, let the dead bury their own dead and head up the mountain where the lightening, thundering, shakings—and God himself are?
Exodus 19:16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain[b] trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
The forsaken focus on the reality of Hell : Where are they now?
The reality that MOST people in the world and MANY in the church will be tormented forever in Hell grips me night and day.
Yesterday I wrote an article titled “Shock Christianity.” I strongly exhort you to read it as this is a follow up message. You can read it HERE.
You can also listen to a provocative podcast on the same topic of Shock Christianity and what love really looks like on that page.
We have been duped.
So many in the church have been deceived into believing in a costless, easy salvation—and it is so penetrated our culture that any argument against it is aggressively rejected.
The false grace message, as I have shared many times, is lulling people into a spiritual coma, and that is the best part of the news. The worst? Many of them will move from coma to trauma as they enter eternity into the terror of Hell.
Just as I shared yesterday, I am beyond concerned and troubled regarding the state of the church.
When I walk into even the most vibrant, Spirit-filled church, the grid I see is that of many people who are intimate with Jesus, and potentially many who are following Jesus in an unsaved condition.
In fact, in a life-giving church of 1000 people, it wouldn’t surprise me if 100 of them are truly saved.
False Love
As I wrote in yesterday’s message, there is a false love movement that is exceedingly popular in the world today. The focus is on self—our experience, our emotions, our feelings. The goal is affirmation and emotional intimacy that masquerades as true love.
The result? People avoid dealing with the tough issues in the hopes of encouraging and affirming people. Many people in the church who are on their way to Hell are affirmed in their journey—by other Christians! No alarms are sounded. No warnings shared. No grief and tears. Just a smile and a hug for their friend who is in a treacherous, lukewarm condition.
Consider the shocking statements by the Pope this past week:
“The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone,” the pope told worshipers at morning Mass on Wednesday. “‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”
Francis continued, “We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”
Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, said that although he has been skeptical of Francis' outreach to the nonreligious, he welcomed Wednesday’s comments.
“I gather from this statement that his view of the world's religious and philosophical diversity is expanding,” Speckhardt said. “While humanists have been saying for years that one can be good without a god, hearing this from the leader of the Catholic Church is quite heartening.”
Regardless of whether his true intent was lost in translation or not, the message he sent is being received by many that they can simply do good and that they are safe. My God.
Hell isn’t for bad people. It’s for those who reject intimacy with Jesus. It’s for those who reject his Lordship.
This passive approach of false love extends well beyond the landscape of the church. We have overestimated the power of being nice and passive with those in the homosexual movement, for example. How is this working for us? Many churches functioning in a spirit of false love and overreaching sympathy are now affirming people in the lifestyle that is killing them!
Churches “very rarely talk about sin and refuse ever to say that homosexual behavior is a sin.” Only a minority of people in the churches in Britain, “speak out the word of God. And they get a lot of aggression for it,” she said.
“The church is doing a disservice to homosexuals by denying sinners their liberty in the lord Jesus Christ. They are blind guides leading others into a ditch of destruction.” ~Lesley Pilkington
So, what is true love for the homosexual community? Warn them! Awaken them! It’s not about being moral or talking about how it affects them here on Earth as much as it is about their eternity.
We have to have the guts to tell them that Hell is their future and we desperately don’t want them to go there! Staying silent is not love.
Jesus made mention of Hell and a coming judgment dozens of times in the Gospels. Jesus had more to say about Hell than He did about Heaven!
And Jesus made it absolutely clear that people who refuse to repent, who turn away God’s provision of forgiveness and salvation, will spend eternity separated from God in a place of conscious torment that He often called “Hell” (Matthew 5:29).
Now in spite of the Bible's clarity on this issue, Satan has deceived millions of people into believing a variety of other “softer” options. Satan, “the father of lies” (John 8:44), never ceases to take advantage of those who are willing to lay aside Biblical revelation for something that is more palatable. ~Charlie Campbell
Where are they now?
Rest in peace. That phrase is spoken at most every funeral in the world, yet it’s only truly applicable in a small percentage of those who enter eternity. Most don’t rest, and most have no peace.
I have heard many say that it’s not loving to mention the reality of Hell to people. When evangelizing, many completely leave out the truth about eternity without Jesus. Hell isn’t mentioned. The cross isn’t mentioned. Repentance isn’t mentioned. And, as a result, people are lured into a false religious experience that gives them false hope. Some say that we only need to reveal the love of Jesus, and it’s actually detrimental to mention negative things such as sin and Hell. If that’s the case, Jesus himself failed. He mentioned Hell often.
Let me make it clear: It is deep love that warns people about eternity separated from Jesus!
Some say it’s a fear tactic to mention Hell. That is absolute insanity. With the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus didn’t say that it was unloving to mention Hell. He said that it’s a part of the presentation of the prophets, yet it is ignored! Jesus said that people needed to hear about Hell and be convinced about it!
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers —so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” [Luke 16:19-31 ESV]
So, just where are people who have died right now? Just who is resting in peace?
Some suggest that just one in one thousand avoid the torment of Hell. This would be a narrow road indeed.
Where are Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Andy Griffith, Steve Jobs and other stars who have died recently? Really think about it. Of course, we can’t arrive at a definitive answer, BUT we must consider the question.
If we default to believing Whitney Houston, for example, went to Heaven, that belief will impact the way we live our own lives. Of course, my sincere hope is that she is there…that goes without saying. But, lets think about this very difficult question.
Another way to ask the question is, is it truly rare for even professing Christians to make Heaven? Is it possible that a small percentage of church goers will truly make it?
Now, compare the two perspectives.
The point? Hell is real. Hell is expanding. Most go there. They are not resting in peace. Affirming people in unsaved, lukewarm conditions is aiding them in their journey to Hell. That is not love. Not even close.
This is the issue that grips me every day of my life. My primary message is for the church. I can’t get too excited about teaching on anything other than awakening if that teaching will only help people in the few years leading up to their plunge into Hell. The spirit of awakening is upon me!
The Good News
I don’t believe you can preach the Good News without it being in the context of the bad news.
Approximately 100 people die every minute. This means, possibly NONE of them are in Heaven right now. Possibly all 100 are in Hell. Or, maybe one or two made it.
In the time it has taken you to read this article so far, approximately 500-1000 people have died. It’s possible that 950 or 975 or 990 of them, for example, are in Hell right now.
Many of them are absolutely shocked to be there. This very second, as you are reading this, somewhere in the belly of the Earth, they are freaking out. They thought they were saved, but were not. Nobody sounded an alarm in their life. The Gospel was possibly dumbed down and diluted—and that is what they bought into.
Getting saved is simple but not easy. Free but not without great cost. Few are interested in salvation like that.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said,“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” [Mark 10:17-31 ESV]
Who then can be saved? The disciples wrestled with the issue of salvation, and so must we! We must work it out with fear and trembling. We must endure to the end. Few do that, and a prayer decades prior with some cleaned up living and church attendance is not what saves.
Without intimacy with Jesus and a willingness to surrender all, Hell is the future.
So, the Good News is truly good news when seen on the backdrop of eternal darkness.
The love of Jesus is clear when presented in contrast to such hatred.
It’s time friends to shout from the rooftops this message. The fear of the Lord must grip us and the hunger for intimacy with Jesus must overwhelm us!
It’s those who aren’t intimate with Jesus who will be cast into Hell. People who he didn’t know.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers! ’ [Matthew 7:2 HCSB]
Do you know anybody who’s not intimate with Jesus? Warn them. Call them higher. Pray for them. Do not presume that they are safe. They absolutely are not.
Shock Christianity: Can this be love? Just what does love look like?
Shock Christianity: A prophetic alarm is sounding as a code blue church is under the shock paddles of the great Physician.
I’m going to take the opportunity to lay some very important things out on the table—in the hopes that God will bring clarity to what is expected in this end-of-the-age season that we are in.
**Near the end, I will share very important information about why I focus on such a narrow, offensive, troubling message. It’s important that you hear my heart on this.
Here is a provocative podcast on this topic:
I had planned on writing an article dealing with the issue of love as it’s revealed through prophetic voices for the last week, and since then I’ve had at least a few key unexpected discussions regarding what one called “Shock Christianity.”
I believe this is evidence that it’s time to both humbly ask God to inspect our hearts (as I always do when I find myself in such active and controversial seasons) and clearly communicate what is truly to be expected.
It’s extremely easy to point out self-defined lack in another’s life with the accusation that they are not acting in love. This is an accusation that I and many other aggressive & prophetic leaders, who shock and rock and tear down idols and altars, have received more than once.
The problem? There’s confusion about what love is, and also about how to react when someone isn’t manifesting love in the way we think they should.
Friendship & emotional intimacy
For many, especially those with a high mercy gift, the seemingly obvious, non-negotiable manifestation of love is close friendship and deep, emotional intimacy.
This isn’t an inappropriate desire—it’s the way many are wired. But, it is inappropriate to presume that a lack of emotional intimacy is evidence of a lack of love.
It’s too easy to point a finger at someone who has healthy boundaries setup and accuse them of not loving you. The accurate analysis would actually be that they most probably do love you, but they don’t desire emotional intimacy with you.
In fact, it may hurt, but we have to understand that not everybody wants to be our friend! That doesn’t mean they don’t love us, it just means that they don’t feel impressed to develop that type of relationship with us. They are limited in their ability or desire to befriend certain people, and that’s OK. It’s normal.
I personally know that not everybody will like me, and not everybody will want to be my friend. It would actually be really bizarre if that weren’t true!
Additionally, for many leaders, their primary goal isn’t to connect with everybody, but rather it’s to connect everybody to God. That is a valid and important ministry.
I think of Mike Bickle who isn’t going to just befriend anybody who walks into IHOPKC, but he absolutely will invest every ounce of his energy to help you connect to Jesus. What love that is!
What is love?
That’s a loaded question. I feel all of us would agree that the answer is wildly expansive and multifaceted.
And that it is. If the definition of biblical love is so deep and wide, why is it that we get offended when someone doesn’t fit our shallow and narrow definition of love?
If you search for “God’s Love” on Amazon, it returns 311,863 available books. It’s an inexhaustible topic!
When you read scripture, it is, again, inexhaustible. Of course, we do have quite a wonderful definition here:
1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (ESV) 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I personally consider this passage often. Really, I do so continually. For me, loving with God’s love is non-negotiable, though it is so easy to fail. The fear of the Lord is on me regarding the issue as this passage reveals a sharp warning to those who minister without loving. For someone with a “shock Christianity” mandate, this is all the more sobering. I must love without fail while shaking the sleepers. If love doesn’t drive the shaking, if it’s selfish ambition or greed that does it, I am in big trouble.
Now, this passage isn’t to be used as ammunition against others who don’t measure up, but rather it’s to be a sword to our own hearts. We need to let God break us. Don’t look to others who seem to be failing in love and accuse them of failure. You love them without reserve! Cover them as Noah was covered by two of his three sons. Don’t be the son that exposed his father’s nakedness! That results in a curse!
Genesis 9:20-27 (ESV) 20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”
Here’s the questions we have to ask ourselves to ensure we are personally living in the love of God:
- Am I patient? This doesn’t mean we aren’t bold or that we don’t challenge people to pick up the pace. This is a heart issue. Can we advance with determination while also honoring people who are slower than us?
- Am I kind? This is also an attitude of the heart. It doesn’t mean we are passive or soft spoken. It just means we are looking out for the needs of others.
- Do I envy others? Jealousy divides. Enough said.
- Do I boast? Do I have pride that results in attempting to outshine others?
- Am I arrogant? Boldness and arrogance are closely related. One is Holy Spirit driven, the other is not. I’m sure people might accuse me of arrogance due to my aggressive, urgent focus on life, and my unwillingness to entertain lukewarm theologies, but I am consistently asking God to search my heart on this. I desire to be bold without reservation, even if it looks like arrogance. I’m not out to prove I love people. I’m to love them, and sometimes it can get testy as I promote God’s messages that irritate the resisters.
- Am I rude? I post a lot on Facebook and Twitter. My goal is to be extremely provocative (to shock!), and I’ll talk about that more in a bit. But, it is always extremely important for me to not be rude. It’s critical that while I provoke, that I also honor and refuse to react in a rude or condescending manner.
- Do I insist on my own way? This is about selfishness. Am I self-centered and demanding? Or, do I prefer others above myself?
- Am I irritable? I will admit that I wrestle with this one at times! It’s usually small but nonetheless meaningful issues. I have to be sensitive to my family by not getting irritated when they aren’t in the car ready to go on time or when the kids chores aren’t done. I have improved much, but I must remain sensitive to this.
- Am I resentful? When life doesn’t go as planned, do I resent God or other people who didn’t live up to my expectations?
- Do I rejoice at wrongdoing? Or, do I do the opposite as revealed in Ephesians 5 by exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness?
Even when accusations of lacking love fly, we can humbly go to prayer, let God search our hearts and review the above scriptural revelation of what love looks like.
So, if someone is aggressive, bold, focused, not easily approachable, confrontational, controversial, troubling or intent on tearing down false ideologies that people hold dear, does that reveal a lack of love? Not according to the Bible. In fact, they may love with such a passion that they are more focused on loving than on convincing people they love.
False Expectations
In our culture, love is defined in a way that is often different than what we see in scripture. For example, there is a false-love movement on the rise that presumes that relational friendship is a required manifestation of true love. I disagree. That false expectation will leave many wounded when one who does truly love them doesn’t show it the way they would prefer. Offense will follow and division, hard hearts and cold love are next.
This is an eternal issue! We cannot allow false expectations result in cold love! If others don’t love us the way we want, do we ourselves lose our love for them?
Matthew 24:10-13 (ESV) 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
I’ll say it again—true love doesn’t demand that others respond lovingly. True love is seen on the cross where Jesus didn’t demand any affirmation, friendship, encouragement or any outward manifestation of affection. We know from the encounter in the garden just prior to his arrest that he desired relational closeness, but he didn’t get offended when his friends slept while he sweat and bled.
True maturity comes from our garden experiences. If we can’t escape the lonely bleeding in the garden without offense toward unconcerned, selfish sleepers rising up in our hearts, how can we expect to take up our cross for them? Do we demand that they manifest love toward us, or do we simply love them unto death?
People who struggle with fear and rejection are often hit by the enemy regarding this. They so crave affirmation (which feels like love), that when they don’t get it it’s easy to accuse the person of not loving them. The problem? Affirmation and love are not the same. You can love someone without affirming them, befriending them or even talking to them!
John doesn’t love people
I told you I was going to lay it on the table!
This one hurts so deeply!
There was a situation in Colorado many years ago that resulted in an underground, “spirit of Absalom” situation that was fueled by offense. I started to hear the rumors: John doesn’t love people. Amy and I felt like we were hit by a train.
Someone on my staff had a false expectation about something incredibly minor. I was unable to meet that need due to needing to be somewhere later that night. It wasn’t until months later that I put two and two together and realized that an underground movement of gossip was setting my staff and team against me. The accusation? I don’t love people because I wasn’t there for them that day, and since that situation revealed my true, unloving heart, and my motives in ministry were now compromised, there must be an effort to resist the ministry—and, for them, it was in the name of ‘love’!
My initial split second reaction when I received knowledge of the situation was this: That doesn’t make sense! I love that person and the others so much. Of all things how could that be the accusation?
I was really saddened that those who I expressed love to by welcoming them onto our team, supporting them in their ministries, encouraging them to be free to lead with passion, etc. were rejecting my expression of love! Wow! Isn’t it interesting how it all works together—how the enemy can twist and turn things in such a dastardly way!
This was the same individual that had come to me with a dilemma. She had to deal with a situation in the church, but she didn’t want to make waves. She asked, “John, how in the world can I handle this explosive situation and convince the person that I love them?” I simply responded, “Why are you trying to attempt to convince them you love them? Simply love them.”
If we try to convince people we “love” them, we won’t actually love them by administering true tough love, biblical discipline and challenges. True biblical love at times does not feel like the love our culture has defined.
This is the power of love languages at work. We can’t expect someone to respond in love according to our love language. They will naturally respond according to their love language.
Of course, we can try to reach out to people according to their love language, but, here’s the point I’m trying to make—a failure to manifest love according to another’s language doesn’t mean they don’t love—it means they aren’t expressing or manifesting love the way that seems obvious to us. That accusation must come to an end.
Can an introverted recluse so deeply love people he has never even met by writing checks for millions of dollars to charities? Yes! That is love though he would never hug you, seek friendship or even smile when you enter the room!
My heart breaks over situations like this. Can I love better? Oh man, YES! But, I also need to help bring this issue to the surface. Too many leaders are not living according to their calling because they are so busy modifying their personality and mandate to match what others expect!
We must love according to how God designed us. The cross wasn’t welcomed, but it was the method Jesus was mandated to use. It didn’t feel like love then, but boy was it.
True Expectations: Same love, different manifestations
I once mentioned to Chuck Pierce that it would be powerful to have a resource that explained how we can relate to various personality types, giftings and offices. What type of manifestation of love is typical in a pastor? What about a prophet? I was hoping he would write this book on interactive Christian love, but maybe I’ll have to tackle that at some point!
For example, I often hear people slander the prayer movement by shouting that those who lock themselves in the prayer room for hours a day don’t love people. If they did, they would be out on the streets feeding the homeless or doing something else that relational and meets and immediate need. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While certainly some people who pray all day might struggle with issues of love, the same is true across the board. It has nothing to do with the manifestation (intercession, serving the homeless), but rather it has to do with the condition of the heart.
So, what should we really expect from others? Here’s a short, extremely simplified explanation that should set you free. If you don’t expect someone to express love in a certain way, you won’t be offended when they don’t!
Pastor
In America, church leaders are almost always called “Pastor.” We need to fix this. Why? There are expectations associated with the offices, and if someone is not truly a pastor, when you call them pastor you are putting a burden on them they can’t bear.
In a true pastor, you might expect someone who loves to listen to your story and is ready to encourage you in it. They may be very relational, conversational and invested in people one-on-one.
Teacher
A teacher might spend most of his time behind closed doors in study, and might not have a relational bone in his body—but he loves people by rightly dividing the Word. He love is manifested not through smiles and handshakes but through hours of investment in you through study and prayer.
Evangelist
An evangelist will show love by leading people to Jesus. This can get confusing for some who get saved, and then don’t understand why the evangelist isn’t his best friend. After all, they shared a life changing moment together! The reason? The evangelist is off loving the next person!
Prophet
A prophet will show love through irritating you! I’m a prophetic Apostle, so this is my area of expertise. Prophets may have tears in their eyes and fire in their veins in the place of prayer that results in an uninvited confrontations. In fact, you can consider a prophet an uninvited teacher. He delivers what is not desired to a people who are asleep. Whenever you awaken someone from their sleep, you can expect them to be irritated—yet this irritation is a result of a man or woman of God who loves you so much that they can’t leave you in your condition.
So, you can expect sharp words of warning that are love-fueled alarms designed just for you. You probably wouldn’t expect a prophet to be ultra-relational (they make too many enemies for this to work!). They make horrible counselors most of the time. They love you much as the teacher does—through prayer-driven messages from God.
Apostle
Apostles are always on the move. They show love by inviting you on the journey. However, they usually don’t wait for too long for you to catch up. For some that feels unloving, but the opposite is true. Their love compels them to move and build and advance into new territory so that many can be saved! While an apostle may not wait long for you, he will always be there to pick you up on his next loop through!
Don’t expect apostles to be locally minded. If you need someone to help with your current life situation, an apostle will show you his love by inviting you on a journey regardless of your current situation! You may need to find a pastor if you aren’t looking for that quite yet!
A one string banjo
As someone who’s not a pastor, I find myself, by design, extremely limited in my message. I’m a one string banjo. Maybe two string.
If I asked you what a particular pastor’s message is, you probably wouldn’t be able to answer. He will usually teach on many different topics.
But, if I were to ask you want John the Baptist’s message was, you’d have an answer—REPENT! PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD! Like John the Baptist, prophetic leaders are one string banjo players.
For me, EVERYTHING I do in ministry stems from one encounter and one message. After an encounter of being dragged toward Hell, God spoke this to me: John, many Christians will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day.
My love for mostly nameless, faceless people burns so hot that I simply cannot deviate from my message of warning. I am loving through provoking people into safety. I am, as someone used the terminology yesterday, a shock Christian. I’m a prophetic messenger that sees time running out.
The horrific confusion regarding the issue of salvation in the Western church is the key reason why I am so intense. I am intentionally WAY off balance due to off-balance theologies. People are going to Hell. They think they are saved.
Just so you know how I see things, due to this encounter that I had 22 years ago: when I’m in a vibrant, Spirit-filled church of, lets say, 1000 people…people who are lifting their hands, worshiping Jesus and paying their tithes…I see maybe 100 of them, on average, ending up in Heaven. That’s not a judgmental statement, as I have no way of truly judging that on a person by person basis. It’s a spiritually analytical reality for me. How can I stay silent even for a day if billions of unsaved people are going to Hell PLUS many more others in churches who are following Jesus in an unsaved condition?
In fact, I’ve often said that I give myself only an 80% chance of making Heaven. If I were to die today, I’m about 99.9% sure I’d be there. However, the Bible is clear that there will be a great falling away. Even the elect will be deceived. If I presume myself to be exempt from that, I am presuming myself to be among the elect—and I am surely deceived. I absolutely can fall away from Jesus, and I don’t take that lightly.
George Barna revealed in a recent poll that only 8% of Americans are Born Again. Only 4% have a biblical world view!
My mandate is simple—love people by communicating to them truth, sounding alarms and tearing down doctrines of demons and humanistic religious idols.
Additionally, as a prophetic Apostle, those warnings come with an invitation—to get equipped to do the same, and to run with me as I charge ahead. I’m looking for modern day Paul Reveres who will love people through shocking and shaking deadly systems!
Running with me will be a joy if you want to be rocked and challenged as your destiny is called out of you.
The label of “shock Christian” fits the movement I’m a part of. I’d rather you be shocked with truth now than shocked to find yourself in Hell one day.
I am extremely thoughtful, prayerful and boldly intentional with what I communicate. Do I always do it perfectly? No way. But I try. But, you can know that I love you deeply and will be in prayer continually as I get the ‘now message’ of the Lord. The message will probably trouble you at times. It is supposed to. The paddles must be placed on ALL of us at times to shock to life a dying part of our lives.
You may wonder why I don’t deviate from this approach. I hope you now know why.
And, let me say this. I think it’s an indictment on our passive, timid culture when, what I consider to be mildly jarring truths, seem to be so extreme and impacting. It’s an indictment on the church when truth is shunned when it troubles or causes discomfort. What I post, honestly, is simple, old school Christianity. I’m saddened that people find it drastic—but so be it. I will continue preaching it until drastic becomes normal again.
Tonight at Revival Church: A Very Important and Burning Message on the State of our Nation
Expect extreme visitation from the Burning One & a message that will rock us to our core TONIGHT.
I am absolutely on fire right now—burning with a message for the church and our nation.
I’m expecting the unexpected and a suddenly from Heaven tonight as we cry out for God to move in America.
PROPHETIC MESSENGERS
Much more than a night of prayer and intercession (though that would be sufficient!), I will be releasing a very important message that every one of you will be impacted by.
If you are within 100 miles of Detroit, I implore you to cancel your plans tonight and head on out to Revival Church. Come early if you can—we will be in the WAR ROOM at 6pm in fervent intercession.
If you can’t make it, you can LISTEN LIVE beginning at 7pm EDT here: www.detroitprayerfurnace.com/live.
You will discover your simple yet profound opportunity to shift the direction of our nation.
What better time to begin a new series on Prophetic Messengers than today—a time when an attack on Syria is impending, and the enemy is raging.
Revival Church is located at 26091 Sherwood, Warren, MI 48091.
A culture of failure: Failure in ministry and in life—should it be avoided, managed or expected?
One of the greatest fears man has is that of failure. It invites scrutiny, accusation and mocking—but society’s greatest leaders embrace a culture of failure!
You can order Piece of Cake here: https://burton.tv/resources
A culture of failure? Yes!
The goal isn’t to look like you know what you are doing, the goal is to experiment, try, fail, try again, grow, have epiphanies, gain knowledge, fail again and ultimately succeed!
I implement a strategy in ministry called “Rapid Prototyping.” Simply, the moment a concept is conceived, there are immediate steps taken to initiate it—fully understanding that early experiments will most probably fail, but the knowledge and experience gained are critical.
Here’s a chapter from my recent book, Piece of Cake. This book is in itself an example of rapid prototyping. I received the download of an idea, designed the cover and wrote the first few chapters within hours! The entire project from conception to having an edited, printed copy from the publisher in my hands was less than three weeks!
I encourage you to try, fail, try, fail and try again! Here’s the chapter titled, Sweet Failure:
Chapter Two
Sweet Failure!
Success doesn’t develop experts nearly as well as failure does.
Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” (attributed to Thomas Edison)
Edison, when queried by a reporter about the seemingly incredible difficulties associated with his work on the lightbulb rebutted, “I have not failed 700 times. I’ve succeeded in proving 700 ways how not to build a lightbulb.” (attributed to Thomas Edison)
If we understand the scope of our project, it’s actually quite insane to presume we will accomplish it without significant and repeated failures.
In fact, the inventors of the famed lubricant WD-40 were so unintimidated by failure, that they actually included it in the name of their product. If you knew you’d fail thirty-nine times and succeed one, would you proceed?
From WD40.com:
In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry, in a small lab in San Diego, California. It took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD–40®—which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try—is still in use today. (quoted from www.wd40.com)
Yes, you are going to fail. Go ahead and wrestle with it now, you can’t avoid it. I don’t mean ultimate failure, of course. But, I do mean that you will pray much, do your best to gain insight from God, consider your best options, seek wisdom from others and then move out with at least a measure of confidence—and you will experience failure!
Thomas Edison could have named his light bulb, Lightbulb–1000! Maybe you can name the church you are considering planting First Church–100! Failure should not intimidate you! People will presume you to be inadequate, confused or immature during your experimenting.
Most young ministers crave for others to see them as successful and steady with a pipeline directly into the command center of Heaven. The reality? We see in part. We understand little. We have clarity on a small part of the big picture, and when we initiate action, others will watch as we stumble and struggle. Are you OK with that?
Thomas Edison said, “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” (Quoted in Artifacts: An Archaeologist’s Year in Silicon Valley (2001) by Christine Finn. p. 90)
Your job is not to be so careful that you avoid failure, it’s to be instant in obedience! In fact, failure is sweet when you learn how to handle the pressure it brings. Failure is an effective and desirable teacher. You may actually find yourself enjoying the various failures you experience, as a researcher would in a laboratory, in your pursuit toward efficiency and success. Really, the main thing standing in the way of the sweetness of failure is pride. If our goal is to impress people instead of developing ministries that set them free, we have no business even considering entering into a ministry project. We need to mature a little bit more first.
I stumbled across a blog article that I thought was interesting. It does a good job of explaining how to quickly initiate and develop a project:
“We only win in the long run by getting out there and bloodied in the short run.” (attributed to Tom Peters)
This blog is an example of rapid prototyping.
One week ago this blog did not exist except for a few ideas in my head so I thought it would be helpful to show how I went from step one to launch for very little time and money.
Now I own about 25 film books to every business book I have, but I think I first learned about rapid prototyping from Tom Peters. Some have called Thomas Edison “the father of prototyping,” but I imagine it goes back to a time closer to starting the first fire or inventing the wheel.
What is rapid prototyping? In filmmaking terms, it’s Edward Burns having a meeting at the end of 2010 with the Tribeca Film Festival people and coming up with an idea that he should make a feature to show for the festival’s 10th year and a few months later the film is written, cast, shot, edited and premiered. In an industry where the typical film can be in development for 3 to 5 years before it gets produced (or dies in development) Burns’ Newlyweds is definitely prototyping. Sylvester Stallone writing Rocky in six days is an example of rapid prototyping.
In the manufacturing world, a team of people may be put in charge of a project to design a widget quickly to meet a need in the marketplace. Rapid prototyping is messy business as it tends to follow the motto “fail early, fail often.” Because in the failing is where breakthroughs happen. (Scott W. Smith, efilmmaking.wordpress.com)
It’s always at least a little interesting hearing about someone else’s failures, and how they grew through them. When my wife and I moved to Colorado Springs to begin the process of starting a church, we honestly had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t have any money set aside for our church plant and we weren’t sent out by an organization. It was simply a boots on the ground venture. We showed up and started into the trial and error process.
One of our first steps was to connect with the largest church in the area, a ministry that we absolutely loved. They had a massive, vibrant small group ministry, and we thought it would be good to at least connect there as we waited for clarity on when to actually start the church. So, we attended the small group leader training and started planning our new small group. We were excited! We weren’t starting our own church yet, but we didn’t care. We wanted to connect with some new friends who shared our values, and we wanted to support the ministry of that church.
The weekend of the huge ministry fair came. This is where small group leaders were given a booth somewhere on the campus of the church where people could stop by before and after the Sunday services and get information about the various groups. Our booth was one of the best! We had looping video, excellent information and a powerful vision. It felt like a slam dunk!
Well, since this chapter is about failure, you know what’s coming! We were given one of the rooms in the church to hold our small group meeting as we hadn’t gotten settled in our own home yet. We prepared for the group and arrived early to setup.
When it was about 6:45pm, we had expected at least a few people to arrive early, but nobody did. At 6:55pm, we peeked down the long hallway to see how many people were walking toward our room. There were none. At straight up 7pm, Amy and I started to feel sadness rolling in, and by 7:15pm our dreams were fully crushed. At 7:30pm we packed up and snuck out with our tails between our legs, defeated.
We mustered up the courage to do the same thing the following week, just in case some people got the news of our amazing group a little late. This time by 7:05pm, we exited the building and went out for a lonely dinner, just Amy and me. Sweet failure didn’t feel so sweet that night. The group ended as fast as it started.
But, of course, we could not give up—though we did adjust our sails. We ended up launching Revolution Church a while later in our small living room with our family and a couple of other new friends. From there we grew into a 700 square foot building which held around 25 people, and then into a 2,000 square foot building where we peaked at 70, and finally into a 20,000 square foot building where we regularly ran around 100 in a very difficult region that was steeped in the occult. You see, in Manitou Springs, Colorado, at least 14 churches have started and failed in their first two years since the 1980’s. Revolution Church thrived.
Missing God
One of the most prevalent issues that I come across on a regular basis as I talk to emerging leaders is the fear of missing God. Often people feel led to initiate a ministry, or to make a move in that direction, but they are afraid of being outside of God’s plan. This is a legitimate concern, but fear should not drive us. Wisdom should.
There was a time when I was living the life as a youth pastor in a church in the San Diego area. It was amazing! I was at the beach every Thursday and had a stress free, invigorating position in the church. I had full liberty to develop the youth department according to my vision and ideas. After a year and a half in that church I was offered a position in a large church in the Dallas area. It was a completely different environment, and making such a move would be a huge decision. I felt I had confirmation and I was excited about the possibilities this new opportunity presented, but I was afraid of missing God.
A good friend of mine gave me some of the simplest yet most profound and life changing advice I had ever received. He simply quoted scripture and said, “The steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.”
The revelation was instant. If I was living a righteous life, and was making righteous decisions, God would order my steps—even if and when I made a misstep! The fear and pressure of making a right versus a wrong decision lifted off of me! I have used that counsel countless times in my life since. When I feel led to make a decision, I ensure I’m living in righteousness and am doing my due diligence through prayer and seeking counsel, and then I step! I trust that God will direct my steps, and if I’m off track a little bit, he will lovingly guide me back. It’s really a glorious way to live!
As I do this, I am fully confident that a lot of sweet failure is ahead of me, and I learn how to stay joyful and teachable as I learn from every ministry experiment.
Keep in mind, I am not advising a haphazard life. That will only cause you unnecessary frustration. Measure your decisions and step according to wisdom as you live in the spirit, and refuse to fear knowing that both temporary failures and ultimate victory are both ahead!
I’ve heard it said that we should make quick, pretty good decisions as opposed to calculated, perfect ones. Using this book as an example, I could have pulled out various resources, created a perfect outline, pondered it for a few months and eventually start writing. But, instead, my quick, pretty good decision has resulted in writing chapter two just one day after I started designing and writing the book. If my schedule allows, I can have this entire book written, in less than perfect but fully acceptable form, in just a few days! I’m literally sitting here in the prayer room unsure of what I will write next, but that’s OK. My goal is to pour out my heart, get the message out and move on to the next project sooner than later.
I have no fear of failure. Many will enjoy this book, many won’t get past the first chapter and many will think it’s a ridiculous concept and never pick it up. That is OK! There are people who will be unlocked into their destiny and that is all that matters!
I’ll share another failure with you. I value the advance of the Kingdom through church and house of prayer planting. I personally love the process of starting with nothing and watching God build a ministry that truly touches lives.
While leading Revival Church in the Detroit region, my family and I moved about thirty minutes north into a more rural area by the apple orchards. It is a different environment than where our church is, and I felt the birthing and planting bug start to buzz in me again. So, we planted Revival Church North in my living room.
We met for several weeks on Sunday mornings and drew a handful of interested people, but, I could sense early on that the necessary traction wasn’t there. Just as quickly as I decided to plant the church, I punted. It was fourth down and we could go for it or we could admit failure and move on to the next project. If I was walking in pride, I would have fought to keep it going, but, rather, it was easy for me to let it go. That plant failed. So what? Clearly it wasn’t meant to be, or the timing was off, and that’s OK. Believe it or not, I lost literally zero emotional energy through that process. I woke up the next day and refocused, prayed more and talked to God about next steps. There was still much burning in me and there are missions to attend to.
Thomas Edison said, “None of my inventions came by accident. I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes.” (Statement in a press Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel & Charles Lindbergh (conference (1929), as quoted in Uncommon Friends: Life with 1987) by James D. Newton, p. 24)
If there is a need that you are picking up on, get to work! Trial and error are both your friend! Don’t allow an insecurity to keep you from being the one that God wants to use to bring transformation, whether it’s in leading a Sunday School class, developing a Kingdom business, starting a church or doing anything else God is leading you to do!
Remember Gideon? All he knew was that he was the weakest and the least, yet all God called him was mighty man of valor! Gideon was cowardly, as was his entire community. They were in hiding from their enemy, afraid of losing their crops, their livelihood. They were experiencing failure after failure and their confidence was gone.
Judges 6:14-16 And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
This is God’s call to you! Don’t fear opposition! Don’t fear failure! God had ordered your steps you mighty man of valor! Don’t wait for others to affirm you–you will be waiting for decades possibly! Don’t wait for the perfect plan. Gideon advanced with one percent of the army available to him and told them to blow their trumpets and smash their jars. That doesn’t sound like a good plan at all, but it was what God led them to do. God has a Gideon’s army waiting for you to have the courage to respond immediately as an insignificant person with an insignificant plan and an insignificant army to lead them into their destiny! Those who perceive themselves to be insignificant are but a moment away from initiating a move of God that will be felt throughout the city!
Remember that failure is an event, not a person. ~Zig Ziglar
Truths about testing | 8 Tests in the Life of Every Leader
This is an excellent article on the trials of leadership!
The original article can be found here: http://www.faimission.org/principles-of-pioneering-8-tests-in-the-lives-of-every-leader
Every leader needs to have a theology of testing. If we do not wake up every morning and view our days as God ordained tests that form us and forge for His purposes and for His glory, we will live beneath His intentions for our lives. Every believer needs to understand divine testing; pioneering leaders all the more.
Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. (Psalm 26:2)
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. (Psalm 66:10)
In school we are tested so that the institution can determine whether we are competent enough to progress. Wise students who have a vision for the future prepare for those tests by studying and making sure they have what is required to face the test and pass it. Far too many leaders don’t approach divine testing the same way.
Too many leaders waste tests, fail tests and keep taking the same tests over and over again because they don’t realize that God intends to forge them.
Right now you have just been tested by God, are being tested by God, or are about to be tested by God. Are you prepared to face them and pass them?
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts. (Proverbs 17:3)
Below are four truths about testing and eight tests you will face if you are a leader. I have in my mind’s eye pioneers in particular. If you are going to lead in a pioneering context, you better be prepared for these tests. They are coming! And with force.
TRUTHS ABOUT TESTING
- They are frequent (almost perpetual) – In the early days the mistakes we make as a leader has the least amount of consequences. But as we grow, and our influence with us, the impact of mistakes becomes greater. We always need to be tested and receive critical analysis so that our blindspots are acknowledged and dealt with.
- They must be passed – Tests are not arbitrary. They are given to be passed. They are given for our good. The qualities possessed in a test is what you will need in the future promotion. Without those qualities He will not promote you. There are seasonal tests and tests of a lifetime. These tests define us. Consider Saul’s hasty sacrifice or Peter’s denials. Tests matter.
- They always precede promotion – God tests us for the purpose of promoting us. With that said, we need to know the difference between Self-promotion and God-promotion. They are not the same. Self promotion can come without testing. But when we promote ourselves, we are not safe. When God tests and promotes, we are safe. Divine promotion is the one we want. It is invincible regardless of who opposes us or how. Climbing a ladder isn’t evidence of promotion. We should always ask “Am I passing the test Lord?” and “What do you want to do with my life Lord?”
- They are necessary – In order for us to be greatly used by God we must be greatly tested by Him. Some leaders are tested in private and some are tested in public. One copes with hiddenness and the other with public humiliation. But all are tested. And all are tested necessarily. We need to be tested.
EIGHT KINDS OF TESTS IN THE LIVES OF EVERY LEADER
- The test of small things. What do you do as a leader when you’re asked to fulfill a task that we are overqualified for? What do you do when faced with something that feels beneath you? The test of small things is critical in establishing integrity, meekness and authenticity. Jesus washed feet and bled on a cross. The higher the call to lead, the lower we must go to serve.
- The testing of our motives. The testing of our motives can come in a million different ways. Sometime through the offer of favor and blessing (like Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness) or through opposition and persecution. This text reveals whether we are true to ourselves and through it we gain integrity.
- The test of hiddenness. We need to be true to our calling before we are given a platform and given an opportunity for our calling to be expressed. We develop personal integrity in our calling by investing time and energy into the formation of our gifts before they are publicly seen and acknowledged.
- The test of possible promotion. Will we stay true to ourselves and our calling when a potential promotion or platform is on the horizon? Do the prospects of blessing and prominence deter us from our course? Can we be bought? Will we compromise when we are faced with gain? What if we are offered a promotion in an area that is contrary to the path that we are walking? Do we speak to leaders differently because we perceive they have the ability to promote us? Or do we trust the Lord to promote us and honor our leaders as brothers in the Lord?
- The test of showing up when the stakes are low. Will we be present and punctual when no one is looking? When the stakes are low, will we cultivate integrity and character in the grace of God living before an audience of One? One of the fastest ways to erode the unity and vibrancy of a team is when people on the team show up late or don’t show up at all. It maximizes the opportunities to bear offense towards brothers and sisters.
- The test of stewardship. Will we be wise and generous with what we have? How we use our resources when we have little is how we will use it when we have much. It is a delusion to think that we will be wise and generous when we have wealth. This doesn’t just apply to finances but every kind of resource. Some people are wise and stingy, and some people are generous and stupid. We want to be wise and generous.
- The Test of Injustice. When we are slandered, stolen from, lied to, gossiped about or betrayed, how do we respond? Do we respond in humility and mercy or in pride and anger? Do we believe in divine vindication? Or do we feel the need to defend ourselves? The test of injustice will come in the life of every leader. Most leaders I know would say that the test of injustice is THE test that makes or breaks leaders. Every fruitful leader has stories about injustices done against them. This test accomplishes more than we can possibly imagine.
- The Test of praise. When men speak well of us, we are tested as to whether our identity will be rooted in what they say or what God says. When we are perceived in a good light, will we “read our own press” and feed our spirits on what people say about us or about what God says about us? What people think and what God thinks are rarely every similar.
These are only a few tests. There are many more. But these are essential for every leader to understand and prepare for. We will all face each of these tests; some of them multiple times at several critical junctions in our walk with Jesus as we shepherd His people.
Dalton is the Founder of FAI. He and his family are based in the Middle East.
A season of shift | God, church, ministry and revival
My gut says there is a remnant that is feeling the same raw emotions I am about God, the church and revival.
- First: TONIGHT at 7pm, you are invited to experience the fire of the Holy Spirit with us at Revival Church! He has been showing up in an EXTREMELY powerful way over the last week!
- Second: You can now sign up to join the1000 Intercessors for Detroit here: www.detroitprayerfurance.com/the1000, AND request info about joining theCore Leadership Team at the Detroit Prayer Furnace here: www.detroitprayerfurnace.com/thecore.
Sometimes it’s therapeutic to simply write—and let the raw emotions of one’s heart to be exposed to the masses in the hopes that a few can relate. I’m absolutely wrecked and near tears regarding the dire need for end-time warriors to emerge! Rise up burning ones! Be awakened to the alarms of Heaven!
23 years ago I was alone in an empty church room in Dayton, Ohio. It was a crossroads moment for me, much more than I realized.
I had witnessed a lot of what we are familiar with in the Charismatic stream—people dancing, falling over, praying in tongues and exhibiting a lot of passion. Some of it was legit, some of it was not—and I knew it.
I craved God so deeply, though I had never truly experienced him—or, at least I hadn’t in a way that I was immediately convinced I had an encounter with a supernatural force. I wanted God to touch me in an undeniable way—but, I had no patience for anything fake. It must be a legitimate move of God in my life.
I told God, “If you aren’t really a healer, a powerful force, a mighty God, a sign and a wonder, I don’t want anything to do with you…but, if you are, I’ll die for you.”
That simple yet profoundly deep, emotional cry of my heart changed my life—and it has caused me trouble. I didn’t realize it then, but I had just signed up for a very lonely life. Those who would run with me at that pace would be the most precious people in the world—but they would be very few and far between.
I signed up as a forerunner—and today my heart isn’t satisfied if I’m not moving aggressively, with extreme commitment, with a team of other end-time forerunners—or raw, hungry emerging forerunners. I am possessed by the Spirit of God with a never ending passion for finding those people.
SHIFT?
If you know me, you understand the daily wrestling of my heart. I’m provoked, troubled, wrecked—yet joyful and expectant. The vision God has given possesses me, and I will see it to the end!
That being said, can I try to relate to you? I, like you, have emotions and a lot of unanswered questions and I wonder what in the world is going on at times! It’s not uncommon for me to consider just what God means when he says it’s time to shift. What is that cost? What will I really have the guts to lay something down so that I can pick the new thing up? Is it possible that he’s calling me to something radically uncomfortable and out of the box? Absolutely.
I have actually come to the place of understanding the true impact of the ministry may not be felt for another one hundred years or more. This is actually not uncommon. Consider Jeremiah. I think of people like Leonard Ravenhill who may not have seen even a fraction of the impact that they will ultimately have during their lifetime.
I tend to ponder and pray a lot, and I’m at my best when I lay all of my cards on the table and give God permission to radically shift my life. I’m in that place now. What is God saying? How will our current, ongoing efforts of intercession and training emerging leaders in our ministry impact the world? Of course, as we continue to pray and equip at Revival Church and our various ministries, there will certainly be a significant handful of people who will be transformed now—but what about the vision for masses of people who will live and breathe Jesus, serve with passion, pray continually, burn hot and change the world? When will they emerge? The laborers are truly few.
I think about the hundreds of houses of prayer that closed last year alone. Where are the forerunners and intercessors that were assigned to those ministries? Will they not respond?
CHURCH?
One of the greatest challenges is leading a “church” with all of the baggage and false-expectations that are attached to our American understanding of it.
Though I hear so much about how people are “tired of church as usual,” when presented with the cost of the reformation, church as usual becomes the more desirable direction.
I’d strongly encourage you to watch a video about a dream I had the other day. It’s titled “Assisted Suicide.” The dream was intensely personal and it revealed something hard core: the church is attempting to kill off the prayer movement. Those who don’t pray will aggressively react against those who do—and it will increase as the end draws near.
Of course, as you’ll see in the video, quitting is not an option—but the emotional desire to do so is an important indicator for us! The enemy is most forceful with the breakthrough is near.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: http://youtu.be/VXP3h6SHrls
WHAT’S EXPECTED?
We have to break through the resistance, cares of life and other life issues and lock in. Period.
The end-time army of forerunners will be so radically distinct from typical church goers that it will sear your spirit just by looking at them!
The coming church won’t fit into our busy lifestyles. It will jealously demand our full attention and that we take captive the distractions to the prayer movement.
For me, I need 40 people—weak yet disciplined and hungry for revival—who will run with joy this race with us.
The call? Show up. Pray always. Burn continually. Serve passionately. Die daily. Give cheerfully.
Sign up for theCore Leadership Team here: www.detroitprayerfurnace.com/thecore.
I still hold out hope that this small group of zealots in Detroit will have enough Upper Room power to turn this city upside down.
I’m also looking for 1000 people, from all parts of the world, who will pray every week for Detroit. This mission is so simple, yet the enemy is fighting fiercely!
Sign up for the1000 Intercessors for Detroit here: www.detroitprayerfurnace.com/the1000.
WHAT’S NEXT?
What’s next? The advance of the prayer movement! The enemy will feel the impact of burning prayer!
If it’s only me and a handful of other fiery people, so be it. It’s time to pray and shock the planet!
Let’s go!
A call to reformation in the church : 27 points of reform
The following was written after being awakened in the night—a word of reformation for the church.
It was delivered to the church of Colorado Springs many years ago, but it is applicable to the church of America. I shared this at Revival Church recently. It’s time for reform!
Reformation: The Church of Colorado Springs
God has given the Church of Colorado Springs every resource necessary to initiate a fire of revival that will burn our city, our nation and our planet.
We can all agree this fire is not raging- and the current structure in our city can neither initiate nor sustain a move of God of this magnitude.
It’s time for a radical and momentous change in the Church of Colorado Springs. It’s time for a reformation.
1. We must repent of prayerlessness. A call is being made for every believer to pray with hunger and passion to an extreme degree. Spiritual leaders of this city must model such a lifestyle of prayer on a daily basis. It must be our primary activity. Pastors and leaders- let’s agree to a minimum of one three hour prayer watch every day.
Leonard Ravenhill said, “Pastors who don’t pray two hours a day aren’t worth a dime a dozen”
Acts 6:4 “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
2. We must repent of competition. It’s time to promote the City Church ahead of our local Church. Are we willing to lose people, money, our ministries and our reputations in order for God’s corporate dream of city-wide revival to explode?
Phil 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
3. We must repent for being mindful of man ahead of God- and then resign our positions as salespeople. We are to once again lead with a bold prophetic mantle. As a leader, the primary role is to hear God in prayer and to declare his Word to the people. The body must renounce consumerism in the Church by asking not what our Church can do for us but what we can do for our Church.
Mat 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
4. We must repent for forsaking the house of prayer. There is a call for every church in the city to maintain a 24-hour prayer center as its primary ministry. It is to be modeled and led by senior leadership. The primary purpose of the Church is not teaching, visitor assimilation or fellowship. It is undeniably night and day prayer for the nations. Lengthy prayer should be taught and modeled as the dominant activity of every believer.
Is 56:7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
5. We must repent of pride. God resists the proud, and this city can’t afford for God to move away from us. We must repent, humble ourselves and cry for Jesus to come!
James 4:6 “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
6. We must repent for quenching the Holy Spirit. Our cry must be, “Come as you are and do what you want!” Sunday services should be marked by significant and earth-shaking supernatural moves of the Holy Spirit.
1 Thes 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
7. We must repent for resisting the prophetic. Now, more than ever, we need to hear the Word of the Lord. We must teach every believer how to hear God, how to steward that Word and how to take responsibility in the fulfillment of that Word.
1 Thes 5:20 Do not despise prophecies.
8. We must embrace and teach on the experiential reality of the presence of God. If someone were to be on the moon, would he want to learn about air or experience air? Colorado Springs must experience the fresh flowing air of the Holy Spirit again.
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
9. We must be willing to forsake programs and policies set in place by the demands of man in favor of the divine vision of the Holy Spirit.
10. We must release control of our services and expect to stay late, burn hot, experience much, cast out demons, prophesy, proclaim the Word, worship intensely and enjoy a wonderfully messy but Holy Spirit ordered event. The first Church was birthed supernaturally in such a way that many marveled and many mocked. It must continue now as it started then.
11. We must raise the bar of expectations and do now what we will be doing when revival breaks out. Pray continually, be in the House of Prayer daily, cry out for justice, establish the 24-hour church, give, serve and enjoy God with other believers..
Luke 18:7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
Luke 2:37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Acts 2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
12. We must repent for canceling services, closing the church doors and lowering the expected commitment. We have submitted to a deadly and apathetic American culture, and it’s time to lead the way and bring reformation to that culture. The Church must dominate our calendars again.
13. We must cry out for the love of God to weigh on His church in the form of both mercy and judgment. Pray for God’s judgment to rest on you, your church and this city so as to ensure wrong things are made right, holiness prevails and God reigns supreme.
1 Pet 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
14. We must teach Acts chapter two style- experience a move of God and then teach on it. Experience an overpowering move of the Holy Spirit to such a degree that highly anointed biblical teachings penetrate hearts. What God does is taught and explained from a supernatural perspective.
Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
15. We must admit there are demons and that they must be dealt with. Not through programs and projects but through prophetic proclamation. A unified assault on the kingdom of darkness will result in mass deliverance in our city.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
16. We must be available for repositioning and do away with the redundancy that a church on every corner invites. Many churches in our city should close. Those pastors would then assume more appropriate positions of service in other churches. Teachers would lead centers of teaching, pastors would lead small groups, and other leaders would serve in a variety of physical locations within the City Church. The goal is one City Church, many departments, unified leadership and individualized roles.
17. We must again become Holy Spirit sensitive instead of seeker sensitive. People aren’t looking for something worth living for, but rather for a cause worth dying for. Show them the cross. The normal New Testament Church experience is one of extreme manifestations of God, death to self, prophetic preaching and an unapologetic invasion into the culture which results in momentous change.
Mark 8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
18. We must again embrace dreams, visions, praying in the Holy Spirit and extreme encounters with God.
1 Cor 14:39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.
19. We must repent for presenting a watered down, socially acceptable gospel. Salvation requires death, surrender and commitment to the plans of God.
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
20. We must repent for emphasizing what people can get instead of what they are to give. To enter a church with the expectation of leaving with more than you entered with is to embrace the same spirit the money changers did. We must again, with fear and trembling, enter the House of Prayer with the expectation of making a sacrifice and giving an offering.
Mat 21:12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.' ”
21. We must encourage every believer to grow intentionally, rapidly and independently. And then, to step into their assigned ministry role.
Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
22. We must call for the fear of the Lord to return to our Churches and city.
Prov 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; 18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.
23. We must repent for rebellion, self-government, lawlessness and an independent spirit. This is evidenced through church hopping and by leaving a church without being sent out by the leaders. This results in compromised missions, a divisive spirit and a splintering of the body. Accountability and submission to authority must again return to the Church.
Heb 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
24. We must repent of gossip, complaining and other forms of witchcraft.
Prov 6:16 These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
25. We must repent for embracing a religious spirit. Religion is man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants. It’s time to cry out for God to remove our man made structures and advance his Kingdom in our city!
26. We must repent to the nation for misrepresenting Colorado Springs as a significant national Christian center of Holy Spirit activity. It is not. We have wrongly stewarded this responsibility.
27. We must repent for not praying intently for our leaders. Their failure is our failure.
1 Tim 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
As we pray, unify, preach the cross, love God and the people of our city with passion and embrace the present Word of the Lord Colorado Springs will be a propellant for revival around the world.
Written trembling in the fear of the Lord,
John Burton
Hell, Holiness and Fear of Man | The true, prophetic church must emerge
When did it become hateful to warn people of the reality of Hell? Most go there and we have to get that message out.
Ephesians 5:11 (ESV) 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
I have no patience for the current trend in the church to ensure hearers of its messages suffer no troubled emotions or theological crisis.
If we read the Bible, and believe it is our blueprint for ministry, we cannot buy into this strategy. The Gospel troubles.
Ignoring Hell does not keep people from Hell—it increases the number who will perish. Ignoring sin in media, music and entertainment must stop—the church is devouring the vomit of Satan in media and is unconcerned about the effects because of an unbiblical view of an indifferent God.
We as Christians have NO OPTION but to shine the light on works of darkness, of unholiness—especially within the camp of the church!
There is a growing resistance by shepherds to the idea that judgment of God is in force today, and that somehow the better approach to the issue unholiness is to minimize its potency.
Romans 1:18 (ESV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Strong delusion has hit the church—and many in Spirit-filled environments are on a path to Hell, and they have no idea.
Christians are watching R and PG-13 rated movies like The Wolverine and Paranoia , TV shows like How I Met Your Mother and Two and Half Men and listening to music by Beyonce, Jay-Z and others.
YES, being entertained by sin, watching and listening to such media ABSOLUTLEY PUTS PEOPLE AT RISK OF HELL—Christian or not.
This is why the prayer movement is so critical! You cannot be fervent in prayer and be fervent in sin at the same time.
A lifestyle of fervent, burning prayer and legitimate salvation are more closely related than today's religious teachings reveal.
FEAR OF MAN
God is raising up a people who have the boldness of the Holy Spirit, and who will, in humility, stare the enemy in the face and renounce him and his strategies! It’s time to tear down our father’s altars!
You will lose friends! Family will shun you! Are you OK with that?
Judges 6:30 (ESV) 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.”
It’s time we stop using Facebook to post pictures of kittens and start using it as a platform to expose darkness and to declare the word of the Lord!
The evidence of declaring truth is not a growing sphere of friends, but a growing revolt by those who want you shut down. I’m talking about other Christians. Truth presents a clear and present threat to the lukewarm, casual lifestyles of the majority in the church today.
Fear of man will keep you silent with a sleeping prophetic spirit as you embrace false-humility and false-love in the hopes of maintaining friendships.
I refuse to honor immorality. I will not respect darkness. I won’t befriend the lukewarm and rebellious. I will love them instead.
WILL YOU REJECT THE FEAR OF MAN AND HELP ME SOUND THE ALARM? Use Facebook, Twitter and other outlets daily to shake and provoke the sleeping church! Here’s the message:
Enjoying media and participating in activities that approve of sin will result in a delusion that puts even seasoned ministers and other Christians at clear risk of going to Hell. This is not a rare situation in the American church, but, rather is the norm! Many will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day!
“There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity.” ~Jonathan Edwards speaking on Hell
Jonathan Edwards had no fear of man, none that we could see anyway. Read on:
“It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For “who knows the power of God's anger?”
“How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell?”
“Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one fly out of Sodom: “Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.””
And the reaction of the people that day? It is what we must see in today’s church!
“Before the sermon was done there was a great moaning and crying out throughout the whole house, “What shall I do to be saved?! Oh, I am going to Hell! Oh, what shall I do for Christ?!” etc. etc. So that the minister was obliged to desist. Shrieks and cries were piercing and amazing. After some time of waiting, the congregation were still so that a prayer was made, and after that we descended from the pulpit and discoursed with the people, some in one place and some in another, and–amazing and astonishing!–the power of God was seen, and several souls were hopefully wrought upon that night, and oh, the pleasantness of their countenances that received comfort.”
Lest one believe that Jonathan Edwards was dour and sad, here is the text of his sermon, Heaven, A World Of Love:
“…But heaven is his dwelling-place above all other places in the universe; and all those places in which he was said to dwell of old, were but types of this. Heaven is a part of creation that God has built for this end, to be the place of his glorious presence, and it is his abode forever; and here will he dwell, and gloriously manifest himself to all eternity. And this renders heaven a world of love; for God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light. And therefore the glorious presence of God in heaven, fills heaven with love, as the sun, placed in the midst of the visible heavens in a clear day, fills the world with light. The apostle tells us that “God is love;” and therefore, seeing he is an infinite being, it follows that he is an infinite fountain of love. Seeing he is an all-sufficient being, it follows that he is a full and over-flowing, and inexhaustible fountain of love.”
(from http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2013/07/sinners-in-hands-of-angry-god-not-so.html)
THE CHURCH’S DIMINISHED AUTHORITY
Hosea 4:1-3 (ESV) 1 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; 2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish…
We have a controversy in the land!
Swearing, lying, murder, adultery, bloodshed! It results in the Earth crying out!
The Earth is waiting for a holy army of sons of God to emerge!
Romans 8:19-22 (ESV) 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
I know that I will have no authority to preach in the anointing of the Holy Spirit on holiness if I enjoy anything that is unholy. The Spirit is holy, and for him to minister through us requires that we too are holy.
Revelation 22:11-15 (ESV) 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” 12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Be holy!
1 Peter 1:14-15 (ESV) 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
Again, my authority to speak on holiness relies on my agreement with holiness!
If I watch a sitcom that has homosexuality as a theme, whether overt or subtle, I simply need to know that I will not be able to speak to that with anointing in my ministry. Why do you think it was so important for the homosexual agenda to overwhelm media with homosexual characters and situations? So the church would become entertained by that spirit, and, in turn, become sympathetic to it.
Did you know that a popular Disney show is introducing a lesbian couple? Good Luck Charlie has been extremely popular, and now, when hooked, Disney knows they won’t lose viewers when they introduce immorality into the storyline. http://www.christianpost.com/news/disney-channels-popular-sitcom-good-luck-charlie-to-feature-married-lesbian-parents-100704/
Do you wonder why the church has near zero impact on the increase of violence in the world? Pastors and their flocks are playing first person shooter video games, watching violence in movies and ignoring calls to holiness.
The church is deceived! People are being given up by God to a debased mind! A falling away has begun in the church!
Romans 1:28-32 (ESV) 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Every time we are entertained by a sin that required the death of Jesus, we are approving of those sins, and our future is terrifying.
Ephesians 5:10-12 (ESV) 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
If even talking about sin is shameful, how can we presume God is indifferent to us being entertained by it in media?
To approve of being entertained by sin in media, and to communicate that there is no fear of punishment, no repercussions, is to function as an end-time false prophet.
What about legalism? The moment we start preaching against something that we are participating in, we are devoid of power. But, we can preach the same message from a place of holiness, brokenness and Holy Spirit anointing and it will explode in power out of us! It’s not legalistic to call people to holiness. It is legalistic to call people to human works.
Sin hardens hearts, and deception and darkness will overwhelm us if we entertain sin.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (ESV) 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Pleasure in unrighteousness will result in great apostasy and falling away—in the church!
Telling people only about the love of God without also discussing the fierce judgment of God not only won’t work, IT’S NOT BIBLICAL.
We see warnings from cover to cover, Old Testament and New Testament.
Check out this video. It’s simple, basic, scriptural preaching—and it actually made the www.rightwingwatch.org website. What?
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/georgia-pastor-day-tony-byrd-compromise-leads-catastrophe
WAKE UP CHURCH!
At the Detroit Prayer Furnace we are calling together those who are ready to be trained as loved-fueled prophetic messengers.
I want to invite you to participate in a movement of fire and holiness in Detroit. We are calling together awakeners!
Contact us TODAY: [email protected].
Here is the info about how you can become equipped and ready to move in boldness and fire that I posted yesterday:
Give leadership to the prayer movement in Detroit • The Detroit Prayer Furnace is a contending house of prayer for revival.
Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV) And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.
The staff at Revival Church, theLab and the Detroit Prayer Furnace are focused on two numbers:
40 core leaders at the Detroit Prayer Furnace and 1000 intercessors for Detroit
the40
You are invited to join our team of revival minded core leaders at the Detroit Prayer Furnace. (Check out our NEW website here: www.detroitprayerfurnace.com.)
The process is simple and you are encouraged to start into it today!
There are three designations at the Detroit Prayer Furnace: theField, theLab & theCore
theField
Simply gather together with us and grow through prayer, teaching and by enjoying our community.
A variety of opportunities to grow are available to you including:
- Saturday Prep Room Prayer & Primary Weekly Service
- Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday Prayer & Teaching
- Friday Prayer Events
- Prayer Watch Teams (coming soon!)
- Life with John and Amy (monthly small group)
theLab
We strongly encourage everybody in our community to enroll in theLab University. This is a focused, intense training environment that will unlock your destiny and set you ablaze!
Everybody interested in joining theCore, a team of 40+ leaders in the Detroit Prayer Furnace, must successfully complete one three-month session of theLab.
You can learn more about theLab University here: www.thelabuniversity.com
theCore
A team of 40+ leaders will head up the Detroit Prayer Furnace revival movement.
Opportunities for those on theCore include leading prayer watch teams, teaching, developing ministries and advancing the prayer movement with a family of burning men and women of God.
theCore team is devoted to consecration and modeling the lifestyle of an end-time forerunner.
This commitment includes:
- Three prayer & ministry events per week
- A high standard of holiness
- Traveling locally (and further if available) for ministry events
- Financial partnership (tithe)
- Continuing education
If you are ready to start your process toward leadership as a part of theCore at the Detroit Prayer Furnace, talk to us at an upcoming Saturday service. We can’t wait to help you get started!
the1000
theCore are automatically a part of the1000 intercessors for revival in Detroit.
That leaves an additional 960 people who are needed to respond to this prophetic assignment!
The commitment is simple but significant:
- Sign up for a weekly prayer watch through www.hiddenonesmi.com (Transformation Michigan’s prayer effort)
- Sign up for our email alerts so we can communicate with you
- Attend a monthly prayer event at the Detroit Prayer Furnace OR another connected prayer ministry
- Communicate monthly by filling out an online form
This enables us to stay connected and locked in while serving in our various local ministries.
If you want to join the1000, we want to hear from you! Please email us at [email protected] TODAY! We will give you info on how to get started.