Posts Tagged ‘church’
theLab 2013 and the birthing of houses of prayer and fire
Get trained in the fire in Detroit—and experience an aggressive house of prayer planting movement.
theLab School of Fire’s next session begins January 10, 2013 and runs through March 28th.
The Revival Tribe (www.revivaltribe.com) movement that is launching 50 churches and houses of prayer in the Detroit region will be uniquely infused by theLab students and team.
The opportunity to be baptized in a culture of extreme fire and a prayer-fueled atmosphere of wonders is exciting and available for any passionate and serious disciple of Jesus Christ.
You will receive training in planting ministries, fulfilling your calling and much more!
THE COST
$75. That’s it! That price includes registration and all materials.
THE SCHEDULE
TRAINING Thursdays 7-10pm
The night starts with an hour of burning intercession and prophetic ministry, continues with an hour of life rocking teaching and concludes with personal ministry and prayer.
LOCAL CHURCH Sunday 4-10pm
Participate in an exciting local church team that helps set the atmosphere of fire at Revival Church each week.
REGIONAL CHURCH Various evenings (1 per week)
We will travel to various Revival Tribes, church plants and other churches in the region to burn and minister. This is a key expression of theLab and it is sure to change your life.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
We will also be involved in special revival and prayer events in the city. Students will be expected to serve at these events.
CLASSES
THE MINISTRY OF THE FORERUNNER
There is a rising remnant of prophetic messengers who are consumed by fire and propelled by a burning zeal for advancing God's Kingdom. Discover more about this critical end-time ministry.
INTIMACY/LOVE
The most critical fuel the church needs to go empower every key ministry is the same fuel we need to launch us in our personal lives. That fuel is the burning desire that results from an intimate encounter with the Lover of our souls.
UNOFFENDABLE
Offended hearts are imprisoned hearts. This teaching has set many people free, and you will learn how to grow in God without the hindrance of offense slowing you down.
REVELATION DRIVEN PRAYER
There is a dramatic and wildly dynamic life of revelation that is available to all of us. Learn how to hear God clearly, encounter his heart and advance with a precision focus of prayer and intercession.
INTERCESSION
You are a carrier of the mighty presence of God. As you pick up the Ark of God's presence and move ahead through rivers and around imposing walled cities, you will lead the people through their own seemingly impossible situations.
DELIVERANCE
First, you will discover the wonder of freedom from personal struggles, fears and obstacles. Then, you'll learn how to set the captives free!
20 ELEMENTS OF REVIVAL
There are over 19,000 cities in the nation, and none of them are experiencing the biblical normalcy of revival. You will investigate how to initiate a step-by-step process of transformation and revival in your city.
A SPIRIT OF INSIGNIFICANCE
Many in the church are convinced they do not play a significant role in God's great plan. That strategy of the enemy will be dealt with directly as we learn how God sees each of us-as mighty people of valor.
ENCOUNTERING AND RELEASING THE FIRE
There is a baptism of Fire for every Believer in Jesus Christ. Experience this Fire personally and learn how to release as burning men and women of God.
COVENS AND PHARAOH IN THE CHURCH
There is a way to interact with authorities in our lives that will result in a great escape into the wilderness of encounter. Learn how you can move out in abundant life and extreme freedom while running well with the leaders God has put into your life.
Tonight: An otherworldly encounter in store for the Detroit region
Last night we experienced a sudden shock in the spirit realm, and the critical next step comes tonight at Revival Church.
TONIGHT: I’d like to invite EVERYBODY in the region to join us for an hour of white hot prophetic intercession for the service TONIGHT at 5pm!
Brian Simmons carries an otherworldly anointing that provokes people into extreme encounter with the Holy Spirit.
The service last night was indescribable, but suffice it to say, a new wine is being poured out that will mark the church more significantly than Azusa did.
A strange, troubling and wonderful disturbance is coming to the church—and most will flee, while a rare remnant responds to the call into a mysterious new life.
Those who have been looking to the church experience and to God himself for personal benefit are at great risk of rejecting this new wine movement that will mark the end-time church.
The seeker sensitive movement results in the satisfied masses participating in church. A movement of fire & wine results in a dissatisfied remnant participating in revolution.
Tonight, this new wine will be eagerly received as Detroit is prepared for radical renewal.
Revival Church meets at 6pm at CENTRAL CHURCH, 1529 E. 12 Mile Rd, Madison Heights, MI 48071. www.explorerevival.com
theLab & 1000 Revivalists
We are working on the next phase of strategy for theLab—and let me just say that it’s going to be a thrill ride.
We’ll be launching teams of people who will grow together, plant together and start fires together in Detroit and beyond.
Stay tuned.
Lindell Cooley & more: Four powerful conferences and events in Detroit
This could be a perfect storm of Holy Spirit activity in the Detroit region.
The next several weeks are going to be extremely powerful and strategic for the Detroit region. The church has an amazing opportunity to unite and breathe fire over Detroit!
TOMORROW THROUGH SUNDAY
Brian Simmons and Catherine Mullins will be at The Crossing in Farmington Friday and Saturday, and then Brian will be at Revival Church in Madison Heights Sunday evening.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12TH
Right in the middle of all the action, we scheduled an all night white hot prayer event at our home in Washington Township. Everybody is invited. Contact me at [email protected] for details. You don’t want to miss this!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20TH
Lindell Cooley and Nathan Morris will bring an impartation from the Brownsville/Bay of the Holy Spirit stream. I absolutely cannot wait for this!!!
Are solemn assemblies working? When will God pour out in our nation?
Are solemn assemblies the answer to revival?
First, I MUST encourage you again to listen to one of the most important messages you may hear this year. It’s spreading around the internet… listen and share it with everybody you can. Listen here: https://burton.tv/2012/10/01/listen-now-a-sudden-outbreak-of-the-spirit-of-revival-in-detroit-last-night/
Charisma Magazine just posted a great article on the effectiveness of large corporate prayer gatherings and solemn assemblies. You can read that article here.
As I shared in my previous post, there have been many prophecies about stadiums in Detroit being filled with intercessors and revivalists. I agree with that prophecy.
I agree with Jennifer Leclaire, the author of the article on prayer rallies in Charisma Magazine, that large corporate prayer gatherings and solemn assemblies absolutely do work and are wildly necessary.
She said, “I believe every prayer lifted to heaven in the name of Jesus makes a difference. I believe every intercessor’s Spirit-inspired utterance is making up a hedge of protection around this nation. I believe if the prayer stopped, the skeptics would start asking us to pray again.”
I couldn’t agree more.
We need the stadiums full, but, there is a much more challenging and costly strategy that revival is tightly hinged on.
The church must become a house of prayer again, and the corporate body must live a life of such extreme sacrifice that the prayer house is filled most every day of the week.
Yes, the price is our time and the costly surrender of our American lifestyle and the eradication of the cares of life.
Again, let me make it clear:
The average American Christian who works a 9 to 5 job, who has kids in sports and school programs, will need to shift most everything in their daily schedule and gather together under key apostolic and prophetic leadership to pray and respond to instruction most every night of the week.
The stadium level prayer events must happen, but, they won’t have lasting impact if we don’t also live a disciplined life of white hot, deep corporate prayer most every day.
We often talk about Easter Christians who only attend church on Easter and Christmas.
I want to offer a comparison. Today we have event Christians who trust in the conferences and stadium events to carry them and to advance the Kingdom on the Earth. That strategy alone won’t work.
We must pray together continually.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47 ESV)
I’ve said this countless times, and I’ve written about it in my book 20 Elements of Revival: The 24/7 church will arise again and Christians will gather together every day to pray and contend for Kingdom advance.
I don’t know if it will take a national calamity or if it will come as the church suddenly awakens, but the 24/7 church is coming—and it will require a passionate, disciplined, undistracted people.
Ephesians 6:16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance…
As we are driven by faith, pray ALWAYS in the Spirit…persevere and stay alert, we will establish a biblically normal church: A house of prayer that’s filled continually with zealous, surrendered Christians who feel the weight of the hour and intercede with passion for the nations.
We can’t meet in a stadium once a year and hope for revival. It’s time to gather together with the fear of the Lord provoking us into intimacy with God and bold Kingdom action.
THE CITY CHURCH
When this biblical model has matured, we’ll see it function on a city level very powerfully.
The apostolic/prophetic leadership of the city will call regular corporate prayer events and the entire city church will show up. Stadiums will be filled regularly.
Then, between events, the local expressions of the city church will be together day after day in prayer and response to local apostolic instruction.
I want to encourage you to order 20 Elements of Revival as I go into detail on the structure of a revival ready city church.
You can order it for print or Kindle at www.johnburton.net/resources.
Listen now! A sudden outbreak of the spirit of revival in Detroit last night!
I didn’t see it coming! The spirit of revival surprised a zealous people in Detroit!
This message will absolutely rock you with violence! Is it possible you have a crisis of revelation? Listen and expect a powerful experience with God HImself!
Listen NOW here: http://media.johnburton.net/4086197
I boldly share three motivations that keep me burning every day—and this strategy will cause you to burn through every obstacle in your life.
In a day when unity in the church is so critical, I refuse to unify with anybody who is lukewarm! This means that we must discover a burning, white-hot remnant that loves not their own lives, who are ready to explode!
Are you in this remnant?
Are we ready to lay down our lives for our city, or are we simply interested in a move of God that brings personal blessing and prosperity?
There is an awakening that must happen! When we start desiring encounter more than breakthrough the spirit of revival will come.
Listen now and follow along with my notes below:
My Three Motivations
I. We must burn
a. We were born to literally and aggressively awaken the sleeping and to change environments.
i. I believe to live an average life requires continual sin.
1. Our call is to live by the most fervent faith and have the most zealous disposition.
b. Night and day, never taking a break…we are to be consumed with the fire of the Living God!
c. I’m going to share three personal motivations that ensure I stay on fire.
i. If our foundational relationship is with God as problem solver, we’ll find ourselves to be sleepy, tepid and dry.
ii. We are called to govern and to bring about the change ourselves. We are to solve the problems!
iii. You awaken! You prophesy! You pray! You burn!
d. Church at Sardis- we have a problem.
i. Revelation 3:1-3 (ESV) 1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
1. God will actually come against the church!
2. Our very good God will take on the role of adversary, as thief, against his church if it isn’t pure, white, spotless.
e. Church at Laodicea-we have a problem.
i. Revelation 3:15-19 (ESV) 15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
1. We must burn!
2. We can’t make declarations of our own satisfactory condition if God sees us as poor, blind and naked!
3. White hot devotion is a must!
II. Motivation #1: Deep, experiential intimacy with Jesus
a. Critical point: I’ve met many who identify with one of the three motivations, and that single focus is not enough to sustain us.
i. Many would say that all we have to do is experience God’s love and everything will just fall into place.
1. Not true!
2. Have you ever met someone who loved God and then sinned?
3. Have you ever met someone who just soaks in God’s presence but isn’t available to do the work of the ministry?
b. That being said, nothing else will work if we don’t have a deep, abiding, experiential, overwhelming and intimate relationship with Jesus!
c. Intimacy with Jesus will form us!
d. A. W. Tozer: The love of Christ both wounds and heals, it fascinates and frightens, it kills and makes alive, it draws and repulses. There can be nothing more terrible or wonderful than to be stricken with love for Christ so deeply that the whole being goes out in a pained adoration of His person, an adoration that disturbs and disconcerts while it purges and satisfies and relaxes the deep inner heart.
i. My personal life is marked by continual and intentional encounters with Jesus.
1. I am extremely devoted to intimacy!
ii. It’s a major, daily focus of my life!
1. Worship music is playing almost continually in my office.
2. I pray in the Spirit, soak, mediate and spend time just enjoying the Lover of my soul, the bridegroom.
3. My desire is alive!
4. E.M. Bounds: The deeper the desire, the stronger the prayer. Without desire, prayer is a meaningless mumble of words. Such perfunctory, formal praying, with no heart, no feeling, no real desire accompanying it, is to be shunned like a pestilence. Its exercise is a waste of precious time, and from it, no real blessing accrues.
iii. Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV) 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
1. Asking, seeking and knocking must be continual.
2. God isn’t resisting us, he’s wooing us!
a. We too often want God to manifest in our natural realm when he’s hiding just on the other side of the border of natural and supernatural.
b. He wants us to manifest in his realm!
c. The Great Commandment
d. Matthew 22:37 (ESV) 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
e. Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV) 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
e. This is why the cares of life must be violently eradicated!
i. David Wilkerson Many of those who once were so passionately in love with Christ now run about pursuing their own interests. They're burdened down with stress and problems, chasing after riches and the things of this world.
ii. If we are distracted by life, the Bible tells us we won’t mature, and we see a church out there that is immature and without time to be intimately involved with God.
iii. Luke 8:14 (ESV) 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
1. J. Oswald Saunders : We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but when it comes to the point, we are not prepared to pay the price involved.
iv. I’m looking for a store front for Revival Church North where we can devote many nights a week to fervent, intimate prayer! It’s a must!
1. Anna: Luke 2:37 (ESV) 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
2. We must pray and refuse to allow anything to get in the way!
3. Oct 12.
III. Motivation #2: Fear, Trembling and Obedience
a. David Wilkerson: Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.
b. Every day of my life I have a keen focus on working out my salvation, on obedience and on allowing God to reveal his justice to me.
c. Keep in mind we are not dealing with the friendly spirit, the cozy spirit…He’s the Holy Spirit!
i. Revelation 15:4 (ESV) 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
1. Yes, he is the comforter…but, if you find yourselves comforted in sin instead of comforted from sin, it’s a demon you are dealing with.
2. God’s comfort comes in holiness!
ii. Philippians 2:12-16 (ESV) 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
d. Am I blameless? Do I grumble? Do I obey without questioning?
e. Adam Clarke: Considering the difficulty of the work, and the danger of miscarriage. If you do not watch, pray and continually depend on God, your enemies will surprise you, and your light and life will become extinct; and then consider what an awful account you must give to Him whose Spirit ye have grieved, and of whose glory ye have come short.
i. One way I know I’m doing well is if I experience the fear of God and not the spirit of fear.
ii. If the spirit of fear is there, I know I’m not pursuing intimacy with Jesus sufficiently.
iii. If the fear of God isn’t there, I know I’m blinded to his righteousness and judgment.
1. There is simply no way to approach God in fullness without trembling and considering our own depravity!
2. Abu Bakr: When you advise any person you should be guided by the fear of God.
3. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV) 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
4. Matthew 10:34 (ESV) 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
a. The call to partner with God is a call to a hard core, sobering mission—and to sleepwalk through life, to pursue comfort and ease is to intentionally depart from God at the point of mission.
b. The fear of the Lord won’t allow us to leave when the loving feeling lets up.
c. I know my walk with Jesus will eventually lead me to the garden of Gethsemane, and I’ll have the option to sleep or to be with Jesus as he is about to shock the planet.
IV. Motivation #3: My Mission
a. If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? – David Livingstone
b. I simply know that I can’t take a day off in my fervent pursuit of God because of the importance of my calling.
i. The same is true for 100% of you out there.
ii. If I don’t burn hot every day of my life, people will go to Hell.
1. James 3:1 (ESV) 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
iii. I have been seeing 11:11 everywhere!
1. I don’t know exactly what it means.
2. Could judgment be coming on Nov. 11?
3. Revival?
4. I believe 1 Cor. 1:11 is a key verse.
5. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV) 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
6. Follow me as I follow Christ.
iv. Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV) 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1. Since I know others eternities are dependent on my connection with Jesus, I cannot be one that doubts!
2. The moment I am faced with circumstances that challenge my faith, I have no option but to cancel everything and stir up my faith!
3. Tozer: “Any faith that must be supported by the evidence of the senses is not real faith.”
4. Also, I am to teach others what I’ve been commanded.
a. If I am not a student, if I’m not in deep contact with God, I won’t be able to disciple the nations!
b. And successful or unsuccessful ministry always results in either heaven or hell.
c. That keeps me motivated every single second.
c. This is why I simply cannot ever understand how people can excuse themselves from ministry by giving into distractions and excuses, relaxation and personal pursuits.
i. Every day I have eternity in my windshield. Every single day.
1. – Luis Palau A nation will not be moved by timid methods.
2. – David Livingstone Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone.
3. Do you have an overwhelming, all consuming heart to change the world for Jesus?
4. Consider Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China:
a. As child, at age 5:
When I am a man, I mean to be a missionary and go to China.
b. As a young man:
I feel I cannot go on living unless I do something for China.
c. Late in life, as a veteran missionary:
If I had 1,000 lives, I’d give them all for China.
Disturbed: An open letter to the church of the Detroit region
It's time we stop looking for God to resolve issues, to revive economies, to fix society… and just start looking for God.
Living here only 3 1/2 years, I’m the new kid on the block in the Detroit region, but it’s not my first time around the block.
In my 22+ years of ministry I’ve experienced some great moves of God. Unfortunately, I’ve also had front row seats to an often sleeping church.
The only reason I uprooted my family, sold our house and moved to Detroit, with no promise of an income or position of any kind, no guarantee that anybody would welcome us with open arms, was for the sake of revival. Full blown regional transformation.
I have no reason to be here. I had no connections in Detroit. I have only visited a couple of times in my life prior to my six destiny filled ministry trips here in 2008. We were not even thinking of moving here—until God spoke. We are here on assignment—a mission for revival.
ENOUGH!
Enough is enough.
I am disturbed in my spirit beyond description. If I were to state it most honestly, I would have to describe it as sickening. I don’t want to use a dramatic word to grab your attention, but I can’t deny the sick and disturbing grief that I’ve been sensing in the spirit in this region lately. Something is going on.
Before I continue with that thought, it’s very important that you tap into the depths of my heart. First, there is a good measure of very important and effective work for the Kingdom occurring. I am humbled by having the privilege of knowing some of the most faithful men and women of God here in Detroit. There is a small remnant of revival minded people that includes pastors, intercessors and servants of the Most High God. You all have blessed me and I honor you! I know God sees you and is moving on behalf of you. You have done more than I could ever hope to do. It’s been amazing running with you!
In spite of some potent relationships with these anointed men and women of God, I can’t shake the disturbance.
Since I’ve been in Detroit I’ve heard a lot about revival. It seems the whole region is crying out for it. However, this is where the root of the disturbance in my spirit exists.
Most every time revival is mentioned, the intent of that desire is to experience some sort of breakthrough, blessing or restitution.
I believe the disturbance in my spirit is linked with the rapidly increasing jealousy of God. He is jealous, and he refuses to be replaced by material satisfaction.
Let me make this very clear:
It’s time we STOP crying out for God to revive the economy, for resolved issues, for racial tensions to subside, for a fixed city… and START crying out for God and God alone!
God is jealous and he won’t allow Detroit to be satisfied by money, security or anything else until we are satisfied in Him and no one or nothing else!
DO NOT expect revival until we return to our first love. It WILL NOT COME! In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the situation in this region got dramatically worse. The choice is ours, however.
I STRONGLY recommend you read my recent article The Spirit of Abortion…in the Church? The spirit of selfish ambition that drives mothers to kill their babies is the same spirit that convinces Christians to abort their costly missions if they don’t get out of it what they want. If they don’t believe their participation will result in personal breakthrough, a greater personal experience, they abort mission and it has deadly impact on the cause of revival.
CONDITIONAL REVIVAL
It’s absolutely shocking to me that so much emphasis is placed on the pursuit of breakthrough yet the call to breakthrough into a pursuit of God falls on deaf ears.
Will we only gather and pray if we have a hope of personal blessing? So far, generally speaking, the answer in Detroit is yes. Where are all of the hungry people in Detroit? The stadiums should be filled with zealous, praying people every night of the week! Have the cares of life and entertainment so bewitched us that we have become convinced that being with God is not worth it?
I propose starting a movement of encounter which only has one goal—to be fully satisfied in enjoying and responding to the Lover of our souls. Nothing else matters. If we all have to live in a cardboard box on the streets of Detroit to encounter God, so be it! Our goal is not financial! It’s not selfish! It’s to be with God! That is all!
Have you noticed that the majority of conferences emphasize the personal blessing we’ll receive if we attend? Church offering sermonettes all too often focus solely on the breakthrough we’ll get if we give. What if we show up to bless others? What if we gave with no expectation of return?
Listen church! It’s time to die! Instead of reading a book about “how to become a better you,” I believe God wants us to discover how to become a “deader you!” Revival at all costs! We die so that we can live and be fully satisfied in God alone!
CHURCH COMPETITION
I must again state my humbled admiration of a segment of extremely unified, love driven pastors and leaders in this region. You amaze me.
That being said, the fear driven competition between so many churches in Detroit is an embarrassment to this city. And we think revival is near? Not until repentance is deep and unity is strong.
I believe its time that we are willing to lose our people, lose our salaries, lose our reputations, lose it all for the sake of blessing other churches and ministries in Detroit.
It’s time to celebrate every new church and ministry that launches in this region! Encourage them! Support them! Even if they start on the same block as your church! Even if all of your people leave your church to join theirs!
I firmly propose an open hands policy in Detroit. This is our policy at Revival Church. Any leader, any person, can come to Revival Church and openly, without fear or guilt, recruit any person in our church, including any of my staff or leaders, to leave Revival Church and join their church. Our hands are wide open. You can’t steal my sheep if I don’t own my sheep. We don’t own people, we are there to serve and bless them and encourage them into their destinies, even if that’s in another place.
We must stop building our own kingdoms. Brian Ming wrote a chilling worship song that included these words: God forgive us for building kingdoms of man on doctrines of demons in your name.
I included that in my book Pharaoh in the Church, and I sent that book to 200 pastors in the Detroit region a couple of years ago. It is a bold call to self-less unity. I was saddened that I only received a few responses.
RACIAL RECONCILIATION
As someone who has led my amazing team into over 60 churches in the Detroit region, both urban and suburban, over the last year and a half to pray and unite with pastors, both black and white, I do feel I have a right to say what I’m about to say:
When I pray with people of any color I feel absolutely no racial issue in the church of Detroit. Many, many have agreed with my perspective as Spirit-filled people of all colors have smiled ear to ear in the joy of the Lord as we have prayed in power together.
If you do battle with the race issue, you don’t have a racial problem, you have a humility problem. You have a prayer problem.
When I was one of the leaders of a remarkable prayer movement in Colorado Springs several years back, we prayed in fire with pastors and hungry people every Friday night—in over 100 churches. Pray! Magazine interviewed me and asked, “How do you handle the issue of competition between pastors as you are gathering them together in this movement?” I simply answered, “It’s not possible to hate someone you are fervently praying for. If I’m praying for another pastor to have more success than me, a bigger church than me, more money than me, more influence than me, I simply can’t at the same time be divided against him.”
I don’t care if revival breaks out downtown Detroit, down in Toledo, over in Windsor or in a wealthy suburb. If we really understood what revival was, we’d shut down our lives and run hard and fast anywhere it broke out!
I have no patience with the absolutely ridiculous racial distractions in the church that are keeping us from serving and praying in fire together. Yes, I’m the new kid on the block with a different perspective. I humbly pray you check out the view from my perspective. It’s much happier here.
A CASUAL APPROACH
This issue is directed to Christians in general—where are you?
Are you so sleepy that you aren’t active and vibrant enough in the spirit to hear the alarms? Wake up! Wake up!
Never again treat the call to battle casually. Never again participate in your local church casually. It’s time to awaken and advance with an alert and ready spirit! If you don’t know how to connect, ask! Ask again! Show up! Be a warrior! Serve!
Pastors aren’t there to entertain you! They are their to gather you, to equip you, to assign you and to ensure you fulfill your mission.
Show up early. Stay late. Be at every prayer meeting. Cancel date night. Cancel Little League. Bring the kids into the streets of Detroit. Evangelize. Pray. Serve. Work!
The 24/7 church is coming…yes, we will be in church every day of the week in the not too distant future. The question is, will it take a terrifying calamity to convince us to gather together in God’s presence, or will it result from a simple desire to be with God continually?
I’ve been to some regional revival events in Detroit, and the venue is often nearly empty! Are you serious? Muslims can show up in mass, on time, without any excuse or conflicting activity standing in the way…to pray…at inconvenient times…yet, Christians, who serve the Living God, can’t show up to contend for revival? Pastors, it’s time to lead your people out of your own church and into other churches for the sake of an outpouring! Be the example that Detroit needs!
WHAT NEXT?
It has been prophesied that if the church of Detroit doesn’t come into agreement with revival, God will bypass this city and give Chicago the next chance.
I’m beginning to believe that that may just happen.
So, what’s my response? To give up? No. Quite the opposite.
My family just bought a house here. We planted roots. We are starting a second church. We are helping three others launch home churches out of Revival Church this year. We are planting 50 churches in this region over the next few years.
And, we are ready to lock arms with anybody who is sold out, zealous, available and committed to extreme unity, hard work and a lot of time invested in this city that is very much worth it.
The revolution in Detroit continues: Revival Church North
Tomorrow morning at 10am the revolution in Detroit continues at Revival Church North!
If you are ready to dive into a prayer-fueled mission of revival in the northern Detroit suburbs, come hungry TOMORROW, Sunday, at 10am!
We’ll be going hard after God, encountering him in prayer and worship and catching the vision of widespread fire in the region!
You can watch a video where I share the vision of this exciting new church plant here!
FOOD AND FUN!
After the service ends, we’ll hang out and fire up the grill and eat, talk and get to know each other!
I would love to have a room full of people I’ve never met before! Come out and bring everyone you can find to this brand new church plant!
If you’d like to let us know you are coming, that would be great! We’ll be ready for you! Contact us here: http://revivalnorth.com/contact-us/
LOCATION
For a map and directions, click HERE.
THE VISION
We are gathering a team of hungry people who are ready to experience God in this region in unprecedented fashion.
As one of what will ultimately be 50 Revival Church locations in the Detroit region, we are devoted to starting fires and inviting people to watch us burn!
These fires will spread—and fast. The harvest is ripe and God is gathering those who are ready to help infuse them with the abundant life of Jesus!
THE CULTURE
What should you expect? Freedom and fire!
Revival Church has a passionate and fun atmosphere, exciting and challenging teaching, God’s amazing presence and a environment to nurture life-long friendships!
If you are looking for a point of reference, we affirm and appreciate a variety of ministry streams including the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Bethel Church in Redding, California, Barbara Yoder, Steve Gray and World Revival Church, John Kilpatrick and The Bay of the Holy Spirit, Catch The Fire in Toronto, Lou Engle and many others who embrace the power and presence of God and his advancing Kingdom.
So, plan your visit by contacting us here, dress any way you want (most of us dress in jeans), bring the family, grab some free coffee and enjoy Jesus!
The Culture is our set of core values at Revival Church. It sets the pace and clearly communicates the culture we are called to establish and steward.
- Our mission is your freedom – The mission of freedom from sin, sickness and poverty drives everything we do at Revival Church. We reject a casual approach to God and affirm abundant life, passion and fire for all.
- Honor is in our DNA – Honor is something we are. No matter the issue, you can’t stop us from honoring you! We believe that honor is a condition of the heart and not dependent on someone’s actions toward us.
- We rally around the vision – Revival Church is built on the vision God gave John. As a company of burning ones, we are passionate defenders and champions of it. Every person is responsible to catch fire and burn hot every day. The resulting corporate torch will inflame our region with revival.
- We are a threat to the status quo – This is a ministry of extreme reformation. As we storm against the prevailing flow of the church and society, we fully believe many will be provoked to turn and follow our lead into freedom.
- There is one church in the city and we aren’t it – Revival Church is one department of many in the landscape of the city church. Our focus is regional impact and the increase of the harvest that will be felt far and wide.
- We affirm ridiculous faith – We simply believe that God is extreme and his plans are bigger than what we can imagine. If it doesn’t look ridiculously insane, it’s less than what God has in mind.
- We are all about the numbers – We are unapologetically intense in our mission to gather and equip people of destiny.
- Corporate mission prevails – We are focused on preparing for the influx of zealous people the harvest will bring to Revival Church. We launch and support only those endeavors that fit into the corporate mission.
- We refuse to live below the Biblical norm – Healings, signs, wonders, miracles, extreme love and bold prophetic teaching were and are the standard.
- Poverty has no chance – Extravagant giving in every sphere of life, whether it’s in the church or a big tip at the coffee shop, will displace a spirit of poverty, transform individuals and reform the economy of our region.
- Sickness and disease have no right to torment believers – The Lord Jesus Christ has been given power and authority over all sickness and disease. He has delegated that authority to us.
- We err on the side of freedom – Revival is messy and is to be stewarded, not controlled. We embrace an atmosphere of bold prophetic declaration and Holy Spirit initiated freedom.
We look forward to getting to know you!
The Revival Church Team
The spirit of abortion…in the church?
The spirit of the age is overwhelming the church in ways we may not have considered.
As is necessary when addressing an ultra-sensitive issue, I will make some qualifications on the front end:
God is without question, and I will declare without apology, passionately interested in blessing his children. It is fully appropriate to give a measure of attention to the wondrous process of discovery of God’s abundant life, overwhelming benefits and blessings.
That being said, I now must move on to offering some analysis on a hidden crises.
THE SPIRIT OF ABORTION…IN THE CHURCH?
As a prophetic messenger, a primary driving force of my daily life is to reveal and help destroy any barriers to Kingdom advance and the revelation of the cross and resurrection of Christ. In fact, we all must have our eyes wide open to this disturbing movement that is overtaking the church and stand in unity against its advance.
Now, of course, the thought of the spirit of abortion in the church is potentially offensive and certainly provocative. It’s a bold statement to say the least.
It’s important at this point to understand our discussion isn’t about all of those other Christians or all of those other churches that just don’t get it. We must look inward. Yes, we have to boldly and humbly ask ourselves the question, “God, are the same spirits that drive the abortion movement also driving me?”
Check out this quote which highlights the issue quite well. Notice how this person affirms killing a threat to other “good” endeavors:
Abortion is not the lesser of two evils. Abortion is profamily, prolife, moral, and good. For many millions of women, abortion has meant getting on with their lives and continuing to meet their responsibilities to themselves, their families, and society. PATRICIA W. LUNNEBORG, Abortion: A Positive Decision
Is it possible that we in the church are also more focused on getting on with our lives at the expense of God, the church, our mission, the Word and other people?
It’s shocking to me how Little League, school, family vacations and rest and relaxation are not looked at as threats to our personal freedoms, but a call to the prayer room is.
With that in mind, here’s another qualifying statement: The demonic abortion strategy is multi-faceted. It includes spirits of murder, violence, hatred and many others. While we as Christians may not be driven by those spirits, there is one spirit that has a foundational, comprehensive assignment. This spirit is what has infiltrated the church, and it’s, in my opinion, a key reason why we haven’t had the authority to eradicate it from its assignment of murdering babies.
This spirit has one key focus, one goal as it ministers to the minds and hearts of people:
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
People are focused primarily on their personal experience.
You could also call it selfish ambition.
Check out this passage of scripture:
James 3:13-16 (ESV) 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
Selfish ambition is demonic. Jealousy, which results when we focus on our own personal experience, is also vile, earthly and demonic.
When a woman is carrying an unwanted baby, her focus immediately shifts to her own personal experience. Her ambition. Her dreams.
The call to lay down her life for another, to make a great sacrifice, to change her priorities, to embrace a life of struggle and inconvenience for another person all fall on deaf ears. After all, it’s her body and she can do what she wants with it, right?
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living. AYN RAND, The Ayn Rand Lexicon
The unwilling mother has rights! It’s her life. It’s her time. It’s her dreams. It’s her decision, and in the case of abortion, she makes the decision for self instead of for another. Her personal experience was instrumental in her decision.
Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
So, how does this affect the church? This issue is impacting the church and Christians in very deep, disturbing ways. It’s not a minor issue that’s affecting a few. It’s a major problem that’s a primary driver in the very fabric of Western Christianity.
We have to understand that so much of preaching today has been fashioned to appease people looking for a positive personal experience. This must end.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV) 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Do you know how difficult it is to find churches that preach the cross? Cost? Death? Surrender? The personal experience must be positive and without much cost if we hope to fill the pews. The same thing happened at the cross. The place Jesus died was empty except for those killing him and those closest to him. Where were the crowds who were looking for a message to satisfy their itching ears? They left when the message included death. When you preach the cross the masses will run and you will be left with those who are the closest to you and those who are out to kill you.
“If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.” ~Leonard Ravenhill
“The early church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.” ~Leonard Ravenhill
“I believe that there are too many accommodating preachers, and too many practitioners in the church who are not believers. Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.' The gospel is something completely different. In fact, it is directly opposed to the world.” ~C. S. Lewis
What should send us to our knees is that it’s the very gospel of Jesus that is being rejected for the sake of the pursuit of personal blessing and benefit! There are preachers in churches with crosses on their steeples who refuse to call people to the cross at the altars! A minimized cross results in Christians that are only artificially vibrant as they pursue blessing, but dead and dying inside—and this has eternal implications!
It’s time for us to respond positively to what many have called negative messages; these piercing, demanding, shocking negative messages of death at the cross were born through God himself and delivered to us in the form of the Jesus.
“I doubt that more than two percent of professing Christians in the United States are truly born again.” ~Leonard Ravenhill
Just like the woman who wants to remove the threat of a baby for the sake of her own personal experience, we in the church are all too often looking for relief and blessing instead of carrying a heavy cross for the sake of others! The refusal to sacrifice time, money, energy and our very lives on a daily basis results in a prayerless, self-centered, quasi-Christian that’s driven by the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Have you noticed that the biggest offerings tend to come when the emphasis is on what we can expect in return? The biggest conferences tend to be those that highlight personal breakthrough. The most appreciated sermons are those that reveal the blessings we can expect as Christians. I often wonder what would happen if we held a conference titled, “Come and die.”
We live in a day when we unwittingly embrace a deadly, self-centered spirit of religion.
Religion is: Man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants.
When we don’t get what we want out of God our the church, we have an opportunity to accuse, to get angry, to place demands and to flee. When Jesus was here, the spirit of religion killed him because they didn’t get out of Jesus what they wanted.
The crowds were crying out, “Hosanna!” during the Triumphal Entry, which literally means, “Save us now!”
Jesus had of course decided to do just that—but not in a way they wanted.
In the next passage Jesus goes into the temple to overturn the moneychangers tables. Why? Because they were using the church for personal gain! The spirit of religion was in the temple! We are to enter the church with the expectation of leaving with LESS than we entered with, not more! We aren’t to use the church, but we are to bring an offering and to be a living sacrifice for the sake of others!
Then, that spirit of religion ended up killing Jesus. Jesus didn’t give them what they wanted in the way they wanted it. So, that spirit of abortion, of murder, took care of business.
Theocentric simply means we exist for God rather than He for us. Egocentric praying is our attempt at managing and directing God to accomplish our will instead of His. If “covetousness is idolatry” then attempting to harness the power of God to the priorities of self-centeredness is SIN! ~Harold Vaughn
The emphasis today seems to be on God alleviating our struggles instead of joining in on the great end-time struggle!
“If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there’s something wrong!” ~Leonard Ravenhill
Again, God loves to bless his children, but we must discuss the approach:
I absolutely love to give my kids presents. I come alive! My son Jet’s birthday was yesterday and I had so much fun watching his face beam as we opened presents, and as Chuck-E-Cheese led out in singing happy birthday. I also couldn’t wait to get him home, after he thought all of the presents had already been given, and see his face as he opened the shed to ride his bike…only to see his brand new bike sitting there! What a moment! Later that night we were laying on the hammock under the stars together, and he very casually and thoughtfully said, “Yep, this was about the best birthday ever…the best Chuck-E-Cheese birthday ever.”
Now, compare that to other days when I take the kids for a routine shopping trip to Walmart. From the moment they hit the door their sad, frustrated faces reveal what’s coming next. “Dad, please, can I have…”
No. No. NO! Over and over again. The tears come. The sadness increases. Their carnal nature is showing in radiant brilliance! Their consideration is not for mom and dad, our focus on saving money or anything else. It’s on self! You see, I often bring my kids with me when I go out just because I want to be with them, and to their credit, my wonderful children often want to be with me too! We love being together. But, something happens when the focus turns to self. What’s in it for me?
TROUBLED
When threats to your dreams or your time or your personal endeavors come, how do you react? When preaching cuts instead of satisfies, how do you respond? The answer to these questions can go a long way in revealing what spirit you are driven by.
When the threats came to Jesus, he didn’t resist—he died. He surrendered for the sake of the world.
However, when the threat of a new King being born was discovered by Herod, he was troubled. The threat to his own personal experience, his reign as king, resulted in the spirit of abortion entering him.
Matthew 2:13 (ESV) 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
Matthew 2:16 (ESV) 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
We see this pattern repeating itself throughout history. Massive resistance comes when a threat to personal experience arrives. It emerged, for example, when the African-Americans threatened a segment of society’s idea of racial purity. That resulted in the Ku Klux Klan and the horrific murders of many innocent people.
We saw it during the holocaust as Hitler was threatened by the Jews and other groups. Again, millions of innocent people died for the sake of one demented person’s overzealous aim to ensure his personal life experience was protected.
Today, terrorism is on the rise and murder is the strategy of choice for many who refuse to allow their life experiences to be threatened by other cultures.
This demonic spirit is incredibly crafty. The call of Christianity is to die for others and the call of this demonic spirit is for others to die for us.
ANGRY PEOPLE
Of course, the act of murder isn’t the strategy of choice for those who are threatened in the church—or is it?
Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV) 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Jesus equates anger to murder. In the church the manifestation of anger usually results in gossip, which is a deeply destructive spirit. Gossip results in dark hearts manifesting outwardly against those who threaten them. The same accusation that the abortionists hurl are used by the uncrucified, angry Christians—”You are threatening my freedom and my rights!”
No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother. MARGARET SANGER, Woman and the New Race
When we become Christians we gain freedom but we lose our freedoms.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (ESV) 16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
It’s also possible to take on the offense of others. We have to be very careful! If we allow others who have had their own personal experiences threatened to lure us into a inappropriately merciful, sympathetic position, we are at great risk of taking on their offense and embracing anger against the threatening person. We saw Absalom do this as he took on the offense of others who didn’t get what they wanted out of King David.
Again, we are to expect a sharp sword, a high bar, a challenging life and a call to die to everything, including our own opinions, for the sake of others.
The spirit of abortion fights for personal rights no matter what the cost to others is. It resists the preaching of the cross with a vengeance. The cross threatens our very life!
REPENTANCE
Repentance must hit our churches. We have to return to the cross and refuse to buy into the demand for messages that tickle our ears. It’s time to once again be OK with deep inspection of the Lord into our hearts.
It’s this type of life that is a manifestation of deep, selfless love. This love will result in a great authority against the mission of murder against the millions of precious babies.
If we embrace the same self-centered spirit that drives the abortionists while at the same time crying out against them, we will be powerless. But, if die to self we will have the authority to defeat the spirit of abortion, murder and death that has overrun our nation.
Men tell us in these days that sin is what you think it is. Well, it is not. Sin is what God thinks it is. You may think according to your own conscience. God thinks according to His. –John G. Lake
People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated. –D.A. Carson
It is perilously easy to have amazing sympathy with God's truth and remain in sin.– Oswald Chambers
No more division or offense…ever. A powerful teaching now ready for you.
Offense leads to imprisoned people and hatred…and it must end!
Offense immediately divides you from the ones you are supposed to be serving.
Listen to my number one most requested message, Becoming Unoffendable here: http://media.johnburton.net/3194395
Offense has very serious eternal implications attached to it. In 1000 years everyone of us will be somewhere…based on what we do right now…and if we are offended, we are at great risk of falling away.
Also, another key message, The Tone of the Groan is a MUST hear! Listen to it here: http://media.johnburton.net/2232968
Check out this testimony I received today:
Hi John,
I listened to your cd “The tone of the Groan” and all I can say is OMG!!!! I have NEVER heard a sermon preached so powerfully especially about the groan! Nobody talks about that!!! You so have to come here and preach that!!!! The CD rocked me! Blessed me!!! It was soooooooooooo good!!!!!
After hearing your CD – well first I was mad because I stopped the groan, I stopped the Holy Spirit. Then I repented for being embarrassed, for grieving the Holy Spirit and for denying the preciousness and power of the groan. And now I am thrilled!!!! I was born to groan!!!!!!!! I’m so happy I heard your CD – you have no idea!!!!! Oh I wish you were my Pastor!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! What a blessing you are!!!! I’m so glad God crossed our paths!!! You have no idea!!!!!
Here’s my personal, raw notes from Becoming Unoffendable if you’d like to follow along!
Becoming Unoffendable
I. The greater the mission, the greater the opportunity for offense.
a. PS 119:165- Great peace have they which love your law: and nothing shall offend them.
b. The call to the Christian life is a call to challenge and great cost.
i. As the end draws nearer, we will have to become more broken and surrendered.
c. Jesus warns that, as we near the end of the age, a majority of people will be offended to such a degree that they fall away from the faith.
i. “Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another . . . and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:10-12 KJV)
ii. Francis Frangipane- Paul told Timothy to “reprove, rebuke, exhort” (see 2 Tim 4:2). He didn't say, “exhort, exhort, exhort,” but exhortation is what we receive in most churches. Certainly, we need to be encouraged, but there are also times, beloved, when we need to be reproved and rebuked. Today, there are preachers who are afraid to preach truth for fear people will react and leave the church. The end result is a church of easily offended people who cannot grow beyond their inability to accept correction.
People don't change by exhortation alone. There are areas in all of us that need to be confronted and disciplined. The pastor who refuses to discipline and correct those in sin is in disobedience to God. He is unable to lead people into any truly transforming changes in their lives; they will not “endure to the end” if they cannot be corrected (see Matt 24).
iii. If your emotional health is dependant on you being right and others acknowledging that, you will not last. You will not endure. You are at great risk of falling away!!! Please understand this!!
1. It’s so important that we endure! We cannot be offended! We cannot abdicate our responsibilities and leave our missions due to offense!
2. As the mission intensifies, you will have every opportunity to be offended.
a. You may not be acknowledged the way you think you should be.
b. You may feel rejected as you are challenged to grow beyond where you currently are.
c. The call to participate at a high level may offend.
d. You may have expectations go unmet.
e. And on and on.
d. Ezekiel 36:26-28 (NKJV) 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 “Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
i. Offense leads to division. We see that everywhere—between people, in the church, small groups, etc.
ii. However, this scripture reveals to us that there aren’t to be multiple, divided groups—there are only two distinctions: God and his people. We shall be God’s people and he will be our God.
1. This means we are all called to unify, to be agreed and to be the body
2. For this to happen, we must go low, serve others and not ourselves
iii. God desires to put a new heart and a new spirit in us.
1. He desires no division among his people.
2. To make God's dream come true, many things must happen in us.
a. One of those things is that we must allow God to remove our hard heart and make it impossible for us to ever be offended.
i. Why is this important?
b. Proverbs 18:19-21 (NKJV) 19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20 A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth, From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
3. Wow… offense is a death sentence! It imprisons us! It consumes us, we speak it out, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Jesus understood the power of offence, and he went out of his way to ensure others weren’t ensnared by the prison of offense.
- Matthew 17:24-27 (NKJV) 24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
- It's not a matter of right vs. wrong, but rather on serving.
- 1 Corinthians 10:32-33 (NKJV) 32 Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
- Look at the extent that we are called to go to ensure we do not offend others!
- 2 Corinthians 6:2-10 (NKJV) 2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
- This tracks back all the way to the Garden of Eden.
- Offended: to feel vexation or resentment usually by violation of what is proper
- There are two trees by which we can live.
- The tree of knowledge of good and evil.
- The tree of life.
- The tree of knowledge of good and evil just pumps out the fruit of offense.
- I'm right, you're wrong
- You hurt me
- You made a bad decision
- You don't care about me
- The reason ‘Christians’ so often look defeated, angry, bitter, hopeless and desperate is because they looked to these rules and regulations as their bridge to God and they have left them dusty and dry.
- The difference between Christians and the World is not the ability to keep rules or even the different believes but it is that we have found life and they have not yet found life.
- Formulas will never set us free. We hear people say all the time that ‘I’m a good person’.
- The reality is that Christians that live in the TKGE have the exact same attitude!
- In this world of blinded eyes, dull ears and hardened hearts, the life of God isn’t imparted according to formulas, but rather by dynamic, life-giving relationships.
- A person living in the tree of life loves and serves in the spirit of Truth (Jesus) while those living in the tree of knowledge of good and evil are fueled by facts.
- Genesis 3:1-7 (NKJV) 1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
- Interestingly, Satan appealed to Eve's desire for godliness… but, while it resulted in knowledge it was void of life. A form of godliness but void of power.
- Their recognition of their own nakedness was correct, but it was different than the revelation that God wanted for them.
- He wanted them to be childlike, but now they didn't have that capacity
- Kids are dependant, innocent, needy, vulnerable, fragile.
- Those that leave that become self-sufficient (fig leaves), not innocent (no payment for their sin), protective, defensive, proud, puffed up.
- When they ate of the tree, they became servants to it.
- Genesis 3:22-24 (NKJV) 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”– 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV) 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it': “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
18. The tree of life that grew out of the same ground that God created Adam from was there to feed them… now, the tables were turned… they were now assigned to serve the ground, to till it. Their knowledge of good and evil resulted in slavery.
xix. Many live in the TKGE their entire lives. Many Christians.
xx. John 5:39- “You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
xxi. Remember, we should seek Truth ahead of facts!
xxii. If we live in the TKGE we tend to always blame! Parents, pastors, politicians, our boss, the way we were raised, etc.
xxiii. The TKGE always makes us point at somebody and say “I can’t, because they didn’t”, but the TOL says “I can, no matter what they do.”
xxiv. Jesus said the truth must be written on our hearts, not just our brains!
1. John 8:30-36 (NKJV) 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free'?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
2. Proverbs 3:3-4 (NKJV) 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
a. Facts have the power to divide, but truth delivered in love, with mercy, as they are written on your own heart, will result in favor with man! It's a powerful contrast!
b. We cannot elevate our opinions above the opinions of others.
c. Remember God's dream is for there to only be two involved parties- God and his people. We are knit together in love!
Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV)
2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Like-mindedness requires submission!
. Whenever two disagree, the result must be agreement!
i. The tree of knowledge of good and evil just grows and grows as we attempt to figure out right vs. wrong!
ii. We must learn to die to our opinions!
This tree is absolutely deadly.
Matthew 24:9-13 (KJV)
24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
That verse reveals three things that will happen if we allow ourselves to become offended:
. Betrayal, hatred and cold love.
i. This is the enemy at work to divide and conquer!
ii. We must see this!
iii. Gossip is actually revenge and hatred!
iv. For someone who is offended, betrayal, hatred and cold love all go hand in hand.
v. The last verse told us to endure. If we are to endure we have no choice but to deal with every issue that has an opportunity to cause us offense.
vi. We don't have the option to be offended, to withdraw.
vii. Between now and the time we die we will have huge opportunities to be offended.
viii. It will imprison us!
Proverbs 18:19 (NKJV)
18:19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
vii. We have seen this happen- people that are offended become defensive, lose their freedom, lose their love, retreat, leave churches, etc. The enemy wins day after day as he places the spirit of offense in people's hearts.
viii. We can't underestimate the power of the enemy on this one.
9. As Christians who are fighting against the enemy, we must never embrace the enemy!
. If we do, surrender the tree of life for the tree of knowledge of good and evil- and die.
a. We'll find ourselves unable to connect with God.
b. We won't be able to forgive.
c. We'll do everything we can to prove our point.
d. Gossip will be what makes us feel good about ourselves!
Jude 1:16 (NIV)
1:16 These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
j. God hates gossip, complaining.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (NIV)
6:16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
xi. The tree of life is very different!
0. When people negatively affect our lives, we heap blessings upon them!
a. We smile a lot!
b. We encourage them!
c. We allow ourselves to be refined and even corrected through them!
d. Joan Harmon- never stopped smiling!
e. Others refuse to smile until they finally have nothing to complain about.
Philippians 2:14-16 (NKJV)
2:14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
12. To live in the tree of knowledge of good and evil results in complaining, which God says is a sin.
13. However, if we hold fast to the word of life there is rejoicing!
n. Repentance is wonderful as it causes us to immediately start feeding off of the tree of life.
. Francis Frangipane- An offense can strike at our virtues or sins, our values or our pride. It can penetrate and wound any dimension of the soul, both good and evil. I once brought a series of messages about gossip. Most people saw their sin and repented, but a core group of gossips were greatly offended and ultimately left the church. When the Holy Spirit exposes sin in someone's soul, if they refuse God's transforming grace, they often become offended at the person who brought the teaching. We need to become a people who say, “Lord, show us what needs to change in me.” I'm talking about growing up. A wise man will receive a rebuke and he will prosper. But a fool despises rebuke. (see Prov 17:10)
Opportunities for Offense
. When we're not recognized for our good works and ministry.
Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
i. I understand the wonder associated with being fulfilled in ministry, but we must be very careful!
ii. Ministry literally means- to serve.
iii. It's not a stepping stone to greater ministry, to recognition, to public accolades.
0. There are people who are on public platforms simply to stroke their own ego when in reality God is calling them to serve behind the scenes.
1. Paul often starts his letters with, Paul a servant of God.
Hebrews 13:17 (NKJV)
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.
d. False expectations
. This is when we expect people to fulfill our lives rather than God.
0. We look to man to validate us, encourage us, love us and speak well of us.
1. When this doesn't happen, when we look to people to do what they really aren't designed to do, our false expectations lead to offense.
2. People will always fall short!
3. People can't meet our every need!
4. They won't meet needs that maybe we think they should!
5. This is why marriages can be so rough.
6. This is why church relationships can be difficult.
7. We want people to jump through our hoops! Stop it!!
8. When God becomes 100% of our provider and rewarder, what people do really doesn't matter that much anymore.
9. Francis Frangipane-
the very power of our expectations can choke out the sweetness
>of a personal relationship. Suppose that, instead of burdening people
>with our expectations, we simply learned to appreciate them for
>themselves – no strings attached. The fact is, our loved ones are not
>under any obligation to fulfill our expectations. If they do fulfill
>them, it is their free choice, not our demands, that makes for a loving relationship.
5. Train yourself- don't ever tip a waitress based on service, but rather out of love.
6. Jesus said the greatest among us would be the servant of all.
. We serve the waitress, those we hire to fix our plumbing, people under us at work, our spouse, and on and on.
7. God's offense
. Before God will elevate someone, he will often give them an opportunity to be offended.
0. Our pride and false expectations must die.
1. The Holy Spirit moves most freely when we lose our dignity!
2. God will rebuke and challenge and put people in unfair situations to see how they will respond.
3. Dreams must die, we must lower ourselves.
Matthew 15:25-28 (NIV)
15:25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
8. He called her a dog! He was testing her pride and she responded in humility.
2 Kings 5:1-12 (NIV)
5:1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” 8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” 11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
ix. God will give us opportunity after opportunity to become offended.
0. We must stop saying, “I thought”.
1. Naaman's own expectations did him in!
2. Lean not on our own understanding.
3. Live in the tree of live.
4. Bless those who curse you.
5. Love and serve and talk well about your enemies.
6. Turn the other cheek and allow someone to hurt you again.
7. Become a servant to all.
Audio: A major prophetic word for the church and fervent prayer for Ellen DeGeneres
Last night I delivered what I consider one of the most important prophetic messages of the hour. It ended with wild intercession for Ellen DeGeneres.
Here it is. Last night was one of the most critical in the life of Revival Church, and I believe the message I delivered was a key message for every single church in the nation.
You can listen to a very clear, biblical and powerful call to repentance here: http://media.johnburton.net/2710877
I believe there is a mighty wave of deliverance and undeniable love that is scheduled for the homosexual community. As the church responds to the call to repentance, we will have the honor of participating in this great revival!
And you can follow along with the notes here:
Almost Homosexual
I. Come Full
a. One of the traps of being involved with a ministry based on prayer is that we can unwittingly use the ministry for our own personal edification.
i. We can minimize our own life of prayer in the hopes that the activity at church will make up for it.
ii. It won’t.
1. We must become well accustomed to praying fervently, alone.
2. Romans 12:11-12 (ESV) 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
a. Fervent: hot, boiling
3. Romans 15:30 (ESV) 30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,
a. Fervent, urgent
4. James 5:16 (KJV) 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
a. Fervent: To be active, to be mighty in, to work
iii. E.M. Bounds: Our Lord warns us against feeble praying. “Men ought always to pray,” He declares, “and not to faint.”
iv. E.M. Bounds: The atmosphere about us is too heavily charged with resisting forces for limp or languid prayers to make headway. It takes heat, and fervency and meteoric fire, to push through, to the upper heavens, where God dwells with His saints, in light.
v. E.M. Bounds: While fervency is not prayer, yet it derives from an earnest soul, and is precious in the sight of God. Fervency in prayer is the precursor of what God will do by way of answer. God stands pledged to give us the desire of our hearts in proportion to the fervency of spirit we exhibit, when seeking His face in prayer.
b. When we lose this intimate and active encounter with God, we unwittingly embrace spirits that are out for our destruction.
II. Almost homosexual: A crisis in the church
a. I had a dream. Email to Ellen:
i. Here's a strange story for ya! I'm a pastor & author, and I had a dream about you last night. It was crazy long and detailed and the first two part dream I've had (I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle and the dream continued after I went back to sleep). You aren't someone I think about often at all (sorry!), so I have a feeling God may have dropped that dream on me. It started with you at the Academy Awards (or something similar) and you called me on stage from the audience. I was overwhelmed with grief and whispered to you, “Please forgive me for judging you.” Later, you went on to share with me from your heart about some pain and you talked about your mom. Later on I met your mom and your brother at their home. (I didn't realize you had a brother until I googled it just a moment ago.) There were other pieces to the dream, but I thought I'd leave it at that for now. A little about me; I may appear to fit the stereotype as I do believe any lifestyle that embraces activities that God, in his wisdom, deems unhealthy must be avoided. Homosexuality included. However, what's also included is pride, which the Christian church is often steeped in. So is selfish ambition and having cold love. All deadly, all have hit the church at large. Again, please forgive me. After the dream I decided to preach tonight on a crazy controversial message calling the church to repentance titled, “Almost Homosexual: The Church in Crisis.” God likes you, he loves you. Me too.
b. From Kathy Mack: Matt 23:12Whoever exalts himself with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor.13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to do so.14 [Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you swallow up widows’ houses and for a pretense to cover it up make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation and the heavier sentence.15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one [a proselyte], you make him doubly as much a child of hell (Gehenna) as you are.
c. As I begin this urgent and troubling prophetic message, I must do my best to make several points extremely clear.
i. God is passionately jealous and zealous for his beautiful bride, the church. His emotions are extreme and deep as he yearns for love fueled intimacy with those he laid down his life for. His affection cannot be described by even the most romantic or poetic language.
ii. When I mention the church in this message, I am referring to the global body of Christ. The global bride of Christ. I’m fully aware and thankful that there are many local expressions of the church that are radically surrendered and given to the lover of their souls—Jesus Christ.
iii. The primary points I will expound on have little to do with sexuality, or sexual sin. You will have to intentionally keep this in mind so as to ensure you understand the issues when I deal with the spirits behind homosexuality and how these spirits are being embraced in the church (again, the global church; or, the church in general).
III. Massive Repentance
a. There is a MASSIVE movement on the earth that’s impacting millions of Christians… it’s being fueled by the message that we don’t have to repent, we should not let God reveal our sin to us.
i. It’s clearly unbiblical.
b. Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
i. This is a powerful verse, and the more time we spend on our face in the presence of God, the more we realize how true it is.
ii. If we don’t allow God to search our hearts and test our minds, we are doomed! We will be dealt with according to what’s in there… so, we must find it and repent!
1. Before we can go any further on this topic of homosexuality in the church, we have to all agree on the above point that is found in Jeremiah 17: Our hearts are both deceitful and wicked.
a. What does this mean? Very simply, it’s possible and common for impure motives to be rooted deeply in us even though we may be devoted followers of Christ.
2. The more time I spend in prayer the easier it is for the Lord to dig deep and bring to the surface issues that wouldn’t normally be evident.
a. My heart has harbored pride at times though at the surface I felt meek.
b. Other times I’ve verbally forgiven people, but then the Holy Spirit revealed to me a deeper reality—that I hadn’t truly done so.
3. This is why we must not only be OK with messages like this one, but we have to eagerly invite God to shine his burning light into every part of our lives.
4. Is 6:5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
5. When God is in our midst, a revelation of our own sin and issues are made known.
a. A key problem today is that God’s manifest presence isn’t with us as He should be! Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. He is the Revelation. He is the Word. Where God is, revelation is. You can’t separate the two.
6. As God, in his burning love for us, reveals our hearts to us, we will find ourselves falling to our knees.
7. God is calling the church to massive repentance.
IV. The Word: Almost Homosexual?
a. God has suddenly revisited me with a prophetic word that shocked me and those I shared it with a few years ago—and he’s added to the revelation.
i. I’ve considered the trouble it may bring.
ii. I’ve also considered God’s thoughts about the matter and I’ve chosen to trust his wisdom that this will free many more people than it will disturb.
1. God’s word and his wisdom must return to the pulpits again.
2. “If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.” — Leonard Ravenhill
b. As I was on the airplane flying into Colorado a few years ago, the Lord surprised me with a strong and striking word for the church. I was shaking.
c. The church is almost homosexual.
i. This is a word that I’m confident is tearing at the heart of God… he’s watching his bride become bewitched.
ii. Question—Is it possible that we in the church are embracing the same spirits that fuel the homosexual agenda?
d. As I was watching the mountains of Colorado draw closer during the final approach to the airport that day, the Lord revealed three drivers of the homosexual agenda:
i. Pride
ii. Identity
iii. Lust
e. Understand—the driver of the homosexual agenda is not same-sex attraction, but rather there are strong deceiving spirits of pride, self-promotion and identity, and lust.
i. I was on a train where two homosexual girls were very visibly hanging on each other, making it very clear that they were together. Their actions were not a result of raging hormones, but rather, they were making a bold declaration, a prideful pronouncement of their chosen identity as lesbians.
ii. They wanted to force affirmation, be noticed and demand acceptance and equality.
1. This same spirit is in the church!
iii. “All of the acceptable sins in church are keeping us sick.”-Steve Gray
iv. “Be careful about what you think is innocent. It may come back and choke you.”- Steve Gray
f. The church has been bewitched by the same spirits that give fuel to the homosexual agenda—and this is a primary reason we have not had success in winning homosexuals to Jesus. We can’t cast out the same demonic spirits we embrace.
g. This is the prime reason we are accused of being hypocritical: Homosexuals are picking up on the reality that the church is fueled by pride, identity and lust just like they are… but they aren’t afraid to admit it!
V. Driver #1: Pride
a. We’ve all heard of gay pride. Pride is a hallmark of the homosexual movement, and, all too often, it’s a driver of the church as well.
b. I hear continually that it’s rare to find a church where the tangible, manifest presence of God can be experienced.
i. I believe, sadly, there are more Ichabod churches than we realize. An Ichabod church is simply a church that is devoid of God’s glory. The ark of God’s presence has been captured. It doesn’t mean God hates that church. Quite the opposite—He is grieved that he must be removed from his lover, his bride.
1. 1 Samuel 4:21-22 (ESV) 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
ii. 1 Peter 5:5 (ESV) 5…Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
1. You may not have thought about it this way, but God, though he loves so deeply, actually opposes, or resists, those who are proud. God’s glory departs.
2. We live in a culture where we fight for success, we jockey for position and we can’t imagine being hidden or failing. Compromise has consumed the church as it seeks success, a larger building, more people, more influence, more money and other demands. Pride has resulted in worship of images made of gold where humility demands the gold is given as worship to God. Pride has resulted in worshiping a packed house where humility calls for laying down our lives for even one.
3. We wonder why the church isn’t having more success in the culture.
c. I believe a key reason is that we are attempting to attack worldly pride with religious pride.
i. We are actually retaining the services of the very same demons that we are attempting to battle! A spirit of pride! God resists the proud!
ii. Is it possible that we are attempting to change culture from a position of religious pride all while God is not standing with us?
iii. When humility reigns, the church will have the grace that God promises in 1 Peter 5.
VI. Driver #2: Identity
a. This point is the most burning issue in my spirit right now.
b. I am fully given to seeing people step into their destinies, discover their true identity in Christ and finding freedom from lies and emotional scars that the enemy has given them. It’s a significant focus of my own ministry.
i. However, we have a growing problem.
1. Focus is on self more often that it is on God.
2. Focus is on living more than it is on dying daily.
3. Our goal as humans cannot be to seek and demand our own happiness, but rather to fulfill God's glorious desires.
c. 1 Corinthians 4:10-13 (ESV) 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
d. Please understand, I believe we are seated in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus.
i. We are kings and priests. We have great authority. We have overcome. We are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath.
ii. But, our identities, when rightfully understood, don’t lead us to focusing mostly on personal benefit.
1. When we embrace the cross of Christ, which is where our identities originate, we are now focused on going low, humbling ourselves, serving with passion and identifying with the scum of the world—so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
iii. A focus on our own benefits, our own healings, our own identities as it relates to personal gain has actually resulted in us aligning with a key spirit that drives the homosexual movement.
iv. God loves homosexuals and the church too deeply to affirm a false identity—no matter how desirable and convincing that identity may be! God’s wisdom is much higher than ours, and it takes humility to admit that.
1. This is a huge, huge point!
2. When we fight for a false identity that feels so overwhelmingly a part of us, and when our focus is on acceptance, affirmation and human rights, we give up the call to die to our own desires. Suddenly securing our own identity is more important than serving the masses.
a. The discovery of our true identity starts with crucifixion not affirmation.
3. The goal is not to be affirmed, accepted, liked or honored. We aren’t to look for equality. We don’t compare ourselves with others. We can’t make demands when life is unfair. The church is to die so that others may life. Our identity is to be fully and entirely in Christ.
4. An improper attention given to the pursuit of identity (acceptance, affirmation, etc.) causes us to forsake the call to focus on our mission for the sake of devotion to narcissism.
a. This is where the temptation to disobey God and submit to the demands of man can happen.
5. “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” James 3:16
VII. Driver #3: Lust
a. Lust is oozing through the church today. Yes, it’s true that sexual lust is rampant as pornography has been viewed by as many as 50% of Christian men recently.
i. However, lust is not limited to the sexual variety.
ii. Simply ask the question, “What causes you to get excited, to come alive?”
iii. Many honest Christians would admit that everything from money to fame to popularity to sex could be the answers.
iv. James 1:14-15 (ESV) 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
b. Lust results in death. It really is that simple. The life is sucked right out of people. Suicide is on the rise. Eternal death is another threat as well.
i. This is a tragic reality in the church today—we’ve lost our first love! False intimacy in the form of lust has take the place of a deep, satisfying, truly intimate and never ending encounter with Jesus! He yearns for us while his beautiful bride is yearning for other lovers!
ii. The church has lost its desire for intimacy with Jesus. Many Christians don’t even know what it is to be overwhelmed by his deep, burning love. Jesus is more of a principle or a foreign character in a book than he is a real, tangible, literal person you can feel.
c. This lack of revelation and encounter in a very intimate, life giving way with Jesus has resulted in one more comparison with the homosexual movement:
i. The bride is becoming intimate with the bride.
ii. What does that mean?
iii. We have become more interested in reproducing after our own kind than in receiving a fresh impartation directly from God himself. How does this play out? Several ways:
1. We become enthralled with a certain stream in the body (Word of Faith, house of prayer, etc.) and want to have a relationship with that stream hoping that it produces life.
2. We turn to other people in the church instead of to God through prayer and study of the Word in the hopes that the union can result in the outcome we are looking for.
3. We are move connected socially to people than we are spiritually to God.
4. We believe our church growth comes through people, so we comprise the mission, cancel prayer, water down the message and get intimate with the body!
iv. An intimate union with God will result in a fresh stream birthing through your ministry!
v. A deep encounter with Jesus will bring the results that a million human counselors never could!
vi. “You can have all of your doctrines right—yet still not have the presence of God.”Leonard Ravenhill
VIII. The Solution
a. Intimacy. Repentance. Falling in love with Jesus. Humility.
i. “A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning” — Leonard Ravenhill
ii. Yes, fervent, zealous prayer must return to our churches again!
iii. 2 Chronicles 7:14-16 (NKJV) 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
b. We cannot anymore develop systems that enhance our own identities, stroke our pride or fuel our lust for power, recognition or anything else.
i. It’s time again to declare the cross, holiness, humility and passion from our pulpits and on our faces!
ii. The core call is for a movement of humility and holiness.
iii. It’s a call to become broken and undone, desperate and deeply intimate with Jesus.
iv. It’s a call to a fasted lifestyle, to full surrender and complete saturation in the advance of the Kingdom.
v. It’s a call to the deeply humble, yet powerfully bold life of John the Baptist.
c. Are we ready to let the Lover of our souls invade the deepest parts of our inner man? He is wooing his glorious bride back to him…will we respond?
d. Song of Songs 1:4 (ESV) 4 Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers.