Posts Tagged ‘message’
Impacting Detroit area pastors
I will be sending my new book Pharaoh in the Church to as many Detroit area pastors as I can! The vision for a prayer-fueled city is on the move!
CHECK OUT the flyer at the end of this message!
YOU can help us reach every single church in the region! The effort to locate and gather 1000 intercessors, plus locking arms with pastors and key leaders of the city, can be realized!
Shortly after casting the vision of sharing this burning message with every Detroit area pastor, $700 came in to launch the campaign! God moved fast!
This will result in approximately 250 pastors receiving the book. That leaves around 1100 more for us to reach. Each book should cost around $3 to print and mail—you can donate toward as many as you’d like at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/donate. Please let us know that the donation is for the “BOOKS”.
ALSO—there’s a VERY EXCITING opportunity for us to develop a fiery, prayer infused television pilot that we’d pitch to a variety of Christian networks. The prophetic message of revival and revolution can get out to MILLIONS. If you’d like to participate, let me know. I’m working with someone who has big vision and abilities in this area. We looked at one possible venue that could be used to create the pilot. Imagine 30 minutes of our team contending for revival through prophetic intercession, teaching and worship—for the whole world to see! It will be hard core!!
Here’s a flyer that I’m including in the package for the pastors. Pray with me that it touches a lot of them deeply!!
Invite John Burton to bring a message of fire to your church or conference
“Last night your message was incredible! I was trembling the whole message and my spirit was coming alive!”~Ruth
Head on over to www.johnburton.net/booking and learn more about what John can bring to your church or conference. He’s a burning revivalist with a deep passion for the advance of the church.
He just finished his sixth book, Pharaoh in the Church, a burning message of reform and transformation in the wilderness of encounter. He is able to minister on that topic or on any number of others.
BIO
- Planted Revival Church in the Detroit region
- Directed one of the four major internships at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City
- Planted Revolution House of Prayer in Manitou Springs, Colorado
- Appeared on The Miracle Channel program, The Bridge
- Has written six books including 20 Elements of Revival
- Has led two city-wide prayer initiatives
- Is launching theLab internship in Detroit (www.revivallab.com)
- Have been active in ministry for 20 years
TESTIMONIES:
I listened to Sundays message again. I’m so messed up, tears, groans, trembling (can barely type) such an anointing…o God, give us your heart and let us take heed to the call to prayer. I see us on the verge of a deep valley (the glory) (the radical call) God is saying just take the step down and let go. Make the changes and you will see my glory manifest in Detroit! – Michele
So much fear and bondage has broken off my life. I am very grateful for John’s persistence in calling out destiny in people’s lives and the deliverance anointing that is on his life. I am grateful that he is not afraid to make clear the mandate for God’s people to raise the bar in their lives so they will be a people who are deeply in love with God and willing to follow Him wherever He leads. God is calling more to take the challenge and live the adventure! Don’t hesitate to respond! – Amy
God called you last night to rip open a revival in me, and it was REAL – building on the call and the BURNING I felt last Friday. Truly the Holy Spirit spoke into my life and burned through me – I was shaking from my feet up, like I was boiling. Your prophecies spoke to deep, deep rooted lies and hurts. I left wanting more -I woke up in the middle of the night still talking to God. I asked him to keep my revival going through my dreams so I would not have to let go of Him – and I dreamt all night of praising Him powerfully. There is such a strong desire in me for more intimate encounters with the Spirit. I ache – ACHE to hear his voice, and PRAISE JESUS I have HIM with me always! I will be back and I am ready to be part of God’s incredible work here in Detroit!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for ushering us into that closeness with the Holy Spirit. His calls keep getting louder – and I want nothing more than to respond. -Katie An offensive church
There’s a way to develop a church that will provide extreme opportunity for offense—and also the promise of great power.
FIRST—the situation in this nation is extremely serious. Pray with us for favor and open doors to get the prophetic message of revival, reformation in the church and city strategies out to the masses. Some have come to us feeling we must get on the radio or on television as soon as possible. If you can give toward this, please do! www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/donate. (15 minutes a day on a popular radio station in Detroit will cost around $2400 a month)
AN OFFENSIVE CHURCH
In a hyper-grace church world, the type of message that I was rocked with on Sunday night might be dismissed or even renounced. Our ministries have become conditioned by the perceived needs and demands of the seekers instead of the demands of scripture for radical surrender. Even when discussing the concept of revival, most believe that it will enhance their churches, while in reality revival brings us back to the cross—and anything in our churches that doesn’t embrace the cross will be crushed.
Revival, when it comes, may actually result in many churches closing down under the pressure of the offensive demands of the cross. Other churches will remain open but lose a lot of lesser committed people. Finances might plummet. Everything will be at risk. If we want God more than we want our churches to grow and our own personal security, then get ready for our paradigms to be violated and calibrated.
At Revival Church Sunday night, God wrecked me.
He said that churches could be birthed and developed from one of three different places:
- The Board Room—In Acts 15 we read about the Jerusalem council. The simple parallel here is that we can meet and discuss how church should be done. Come up with a great plan, follow clear wisdom, appoint leaders and let them run with a plan of action.
- The Upper Room—This one surprised me when God started talking about it. Of course, I love the idea of functioning out of a white hot atmosphere of prayer and prophecy. My book 20 Elements of Revival outlines this in detail. However, it’s true that there’s a certain temptation to participate in a movement that has the hopes of some power encounters, signs and wonders. We can inappropriately focus on the outward explosion while forsaking the true cost of participation. We can have upper room style conferences and churches that gather together the masses, but we’ll have limited impact if we don’t consider the next place that God spoke to me about.
- The Cross—Where two or three are gathered, He is there. This was never more literal than at the cross. The offensive call to full surrender, to the terrible cost of the cross, must sound louder than any other alarm. It’s rare to find churches that emphasize the extreme cost of a life in Christ. The call to the cross is inconvenient, extremely costly and wildly offensive—and few will respond. Many are called, but few are chosen. Our churches must be driven by repentance, by surrender to a fearful call. As we launch our churches with people who refuse to scatter (remember, even devoted disciples ran away from Jesus when confronted with the cross!), and with people who actually sit at the foot of the cross in the face of severe threat to their very lives, it will be a church that cannot be stopped.
STOP TRYING TO GROW HUGE CHURCHES—AND YOU MAY FINALLY GROW A HUGE CHURCH
The point? Start the development of your church, and continue it’s process, from the cross. Raise the bar as high as Jesus did. There’s a false doctrine in the church that rightly emphasizes that Jesus paid the price that we could not pay, but wrongly communicates that we have no part to play in the process.
I’m radically concerned that MANY, MANY people in the church…in really great, Spirit-filled churches, have chosen to avoid the cost of following Jesus, the cost of the cross (Jesus isn’t the only one assigned to a cross—we are as well), the call to deep intimacy, and due to a false grace message are convinced of their salvation when, in fact, they are not saved.
If we build churches around the cross, the crowds will be VERY small. Maybe only a few. Only two were at the cross with Jesus. But, the resulting victory and power will explode the church into the nations.
Then, we’ll move into the upper room, and into the board room as the Church develops in wisdom and power.
Shocking dream : Trust me, take time to listen to this critical message for the church
I had a shocking dream that communicated a critical message of prophetic realignment for the church.
Watch or listen to this message: A Prophetic Culture
In a day where churches are not even prophetically influenced, much less prophetically led, we’re experiencing a radical misalignment.
Most of us have grown up in a pastor led church model, and the idea of apostolic/prophetic leadership is quite foreign to us. Many are afraid of prophecy, while others embrace it, but only if it’s personally encouraging.
Follow along with the notes below, and feel the heart of God in this special message. I will share a dream that absolutely freaked me out, and share about the piercing prophetic alarm that’s sounding over the cities of the Earth.
A Prophetic Culture
I. A prophetic culture
a. We have to be concerned that most churches are not prophetically led.
i. The entire culture of the church has to change so the church moves from a simple teaching center to a missional organization.
ii. The church has such a phenomenal opportunity to radically change—if we respond to the prophetic instructions.
b. The restoration of the prophetic ministry is essential for the vitality of the church. Whereas the gift of prophecy can be given to any believer as the Spirit wills, the ministry of the prophet is a calling on a person’s life. The church urgently needs this ministry.
i. the role of the Prophet is :
1. to Speak for God
2. to exhort and direct the body of Christ.
c. The prophet will provide vision for the church and keep it on the right track. He will ensure that there is an emphasis on holiness. A prophet is really an elder, who challenges church members with besetting sins and specializes in getting vision for the church.
i. This means the city church!
d. People absolutely love it when they receive prophecy that foretells what’s to come.
i. They love simple encouragement. They love exhortation.
ii. However, most shrink back when instructional prophecy is delivered.
iii. It takes humility to know the difference between prophecy and exhortation. Exhortation is not prophecy (Mario Murillo- Prophecy).
iv. The prophetic alarms that are sounding now are going to require extreme and swift response by everybody.
v. God requires men with a vision. To do a great work only requires one man with a vision who is prepared to burn himself out for it. God takes a man and burns a vision onto his heart. To be a disciple means that God has to take everything that person has. If a vision is to be fulfilled we must give everything for it (Clark Taylor on Prov 29:18).
vi. In a day when people are trying to avoid burn out, I believe God is calling us to be willing to burn out…the call is that severe.
e. Isaiah 58:1-3 (ESV) 1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure…
i. It’s a prophet’s job to analyze the current situation in the church via the revelation of the Holy Spirit and then to call the people to respond.
ii. This is a rare manifestation of the prophetic office, but we must embrace it again if we are to experience God’s plans for our region.
iii. Definition: A prophet is a spokesperson for God. The prophet admonishes, warns, directs, encourages, intercedes, teaches and counsels. He brings the word of God to the people of God and calls the people to respond.
iv. Definition: The seer is one who has understanding of the times. This person has the ability to perceive and discern the spiritual significance of a situation and can give the Lord’s perspective on a given situation. This person’s strengths are giftings of illumination and discernment, though they may or may not communicate what they see in any one set or particular manner. This kind of prophet is extremely valuable as a watchman and intercessor in the midst of the Church.
v. As a prophetic center for the region, this is one of our key mandates. We serve through sharing critical analysis of the situation and offering solutions.
vi. Quote: Some prophets are watchmen or men of vision who stand on the walls of the city of God to see what God is doing. They look into the distance to see what is coming. They often see a long way ahead.
f. One place where the modern church often stumbles is in the understanding of revelation.
i. Many believe that God will speak directly to them when something is to be done.
ii. They don’t understand that at times God will be silent to them, but will speak clearly to a prophet, or to their leader, regarding what is to be done.
iii. You can have spiritual gifting and insight, but that does not mean God has set you in a position of governing authority. God gives gifts to men by His Spirit, but the governing offices are established by the Lord Jesus. We get into trouble when we mistake gifts for offices (John Bevere Thus Saith the Lord p.131).
g. Amos 3:6-8 (ESV) 6 Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? 7 “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. 8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
i. Share my dream of the apocalyptic city when the air raid siren sounded.
1. I wasn’t moved. I was casual. I went to the bathroom (it seemed necessary, but really wasn’t). I represented the state of the church.
2. Where’s the response?!
a. I’m so radically concerned about the hope for revival in Detroit.
3. Quote: The church will always be the prophet’s main concern.
4. The true church could not have become the “institution” it has, if the watchmen had not been rendered impotent (John Martin).
a. Meaning, the removal of prophets has resulted in a sterile church without vision and forward advance.