Posts Tagged ‘outpouring’
An Invitation
Well, it's happening. The fire is burning in Detroit as so many have been expecting. After years of preparation, it's time to launch.
People are buying airplane tickets and loading up in cars from far away to travel to Detroit for the upcoming meetings at The Fireplace! People are so hungry for revival that they are paying a great price just to get here!
I'd like to invite YOU to dive into the burning presence of God with us as Brian Simmons is clearing his schedule to be with us starting this Friday.
He has actually cleared his calendar for 21 days in the expectation that revival will break out and the week long meetings will extend! He is leaving an event with Che Ahn, Jim Goll and others in Aruba early so he can follow the smell of revival to Detroit!
INTERCESSION
I'm looking for as many fiery people as I can find to join me one hour prior to every service to pray with passion and precision. This is a critical, foundational structure that must be exceptionally strong.
SCHEDULE
- Friday, March 4th at 7pm at First Assembly of God in Dearborn Heights www.dhfirstag.org
- Saturday, March 5th at 6pm at First Assembly of God in Dearborn Heights
- Sunday, March 6th at 6pm at Revival Church in St. Clair Shores www.detroitrevivalchurch.com (with Brian Simmons, Leonard Jones and Aaron Crider!)
- Monday, March 7th-Friday-March 11th at 7pm each night at First Assembly in Dearborn Heights
Check out the new website- www.thefireplacedetroit.com.
Join our Facebook group- simply search for The Fireplace.
If you have any questions, just let me know!
Do you want monthly outpouring meetings in Detroit? Response requested
If the response is HOT, pastors in Detroit are considering planning monthly outpouring meetings in Detroit.
**Send me a quick email at [email protected] (by 2pm today if at all possible!) if you are interested in participating in monthly events—I have a meeting with some pastors today from 3-5pm, and we’ll be discussing the level of interest, the prophecy behind it and the timing.
Everything that happened at the Fire in February conference is leading us to believe that God is preparing his church for a very unique and heavy manifestation of his presence in Detroit.
Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Pastors and leaders who will rally their churches and invest their time and resources into this movement
- Hungry people who will spread the word and participate at a high level as we pursue revival together
SHOULD THE CHURCH BE ALIVE?
This movement absolutely depends on the response of the church to be together on a city level. People can’t be alone, and churches can’t be alone.
I was watching the TV show I Shouldn’t Be Alive the other day, and a warning for the church jumped out at me.
The show is a dramatization of life and death situations—people lost at sea, climbers injured on Mt. Everest, etc.
This show was about a man who decided to go rafting alone in a remote part of the Grand Canyon. His raft was lost and he was alone, wet and freezing in the night air. He had a small fire that he was working hard to keep burning.
Then, the narrator said, “If he falls asleep, and the fire goes out, he will die.”
There it is.
Here’s the breakdown of this clear message to the church:
- We can’t be alone. Our individual church pursuits are important, but only as they fit into the larger city church mission. Instead of wondering how we can reach our local church goals, we must start asking the question, “What must I do to help fulfill the greater city-church mission.” The local congregations must gather together regularly with the greater city church in prayer and mission advance.
- We can’t fall asleep. To be asleep means that we are not alert, focused and engaged in what is most demanding. We seek comfort and relaxation ahead of advancing toward the fulfillment of the mission. It’s possible to be wide awake to finding friends, climbing the corporate ladder, being entertained and also to anxiety and fear and stress…while being numb and disengaged to prayer, ministry and mission.
- We can’t let the fire go out. Simply, we must be burning continually. We have to be people that pray in the Spirit, who know God deeply, who are wrecked, undone and full of the never ending burning of the Holy Spirit.
If we are alone, asleep and without the fire, we are near spiritual death. If we gather together continually, stay on task and are alert corporately and burn as a single unit, Detroit will encounter God in power.
This vision of monthly outpouring meetings, along with weekly prayer gatherings will ensure we’re not alone, we’re wide awake and the fire is hot and getting hotter.
**Please let me know if you are ready for a movement like this in Detroit.
I’m accessible. Here’s how you can contact me:
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnburton
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/johneburton
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/johnburtonministries
Three prophecies about video : You can help
The outpouring is drawing close in Detroit—and we’re ready to chronicle it all!
We have received three very specific prophecies about a video documentary on the revival that’s coming to Detroit and Revival Church.
- Michele Perry of Iris Ministries Sudan was with us this past weekend, and she was adamant that we needed to start recording our events.
- A ministry partner of Georgian Banov was with us and prophesied that he saw film crews in our building recording what God was doing in the revival.
- Another friend of the ministry saw the same thing… and felt a documentary, before and after the outpouring begins… must be made.
So, we need to get video setup in our services!
A lot of people have asked me when we’d start recording our services, and I believe now is the time.
We need some help from you.
In addition to a quality video camera with an audio input and the ability to connect to a laptop for live streaming, we need monitors for the worship team (God is growing our worship team!).
This should cost no more than $1500 total. We’d like to get the equipment this week… can you help us by making a donation?
We’d be so thrilled if you could! These are exciting times and we want to display God’s love and power to as many people as we can all over the world!
You can donate at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/donate.
Thank you very, very much!
John
Are you a reformer?
A key mission at Revival Church is to effectively communicate and advance
reformation in the church that is necessary to handle the coming outpouring in Detroit.
We are calling together people who are being made ready by God to run the race with us.
My favorite definition of religion is this:
Man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants
It has become normal to settle into a church that gives us what we are looking for. It’s the same mindset people use when making most decisions in their lives.
What career will give me what I’m looking for? What movie should I watch? Where should I go on vacation? Should I buy something now or wait for a sale?
Now, many decisions in life warrant this kind of analysis.
The way we participate as the church, however, is not one of them.
I like how Bill Johnson talks about trains and tracks they run on. We have become so accustomed to choosing our own course, our own level of participation, our own pace. However, with a train, everybody is on board, nobody can choose to divert from the track by going left or right. Everybody is moving at the same pace. I love that! That’s the call of reformation in the church! We must lay down our own plans and move in unity with the rest of the body at the pace God sets through apostolic ‘engineers’! This is what happened in the Upper Room! One goal, one agenda, everybody together, everybody responsive. There were no other life focuses that took precedence over the call to mission!
What’s more honorable—a soldier who enlisted in the military because of the opportunity to advance his or her career, or a soldier who enlisted simply because of their love of their country. And, they are willing to pay a great price because of that love.
The church has a mission and we must not put that mission at risk by determining our level of participation based on what it can give to us.
I believe the watering down of the call to mission in the church is a direct result of our human nature and the Western culture to get as much as we can at the lowest personal cost.
The problem is that the call to the church is a call to paying a great price for the sake of mission fulfillment with little promise of personal gain.
I’d love to find a dusty warehouse somewhere, open the doors, spread the word, start praying with fire and see who shows up.
No air conditioning, no chairs, no plethora of ministries… just a call to be in position, stay long, day after day, pray in unity and contend together for the days, weeks months or years necessary for an outpouring to occur.
So, the question is this—are you one who would respond? There will be several movements like this in the Detroit region, and Revival Church is one of them. IHOPE (www.ihopedetroit.org) is another.
I challenge you to drop your demands and desires for what you are looking for in a church and simply embrace the exciting call to zealous prayer, passionate community and to take up our crosses in pursuit of a dramatic encounter with Jesus!
See you tonight at 6pm!
(You can read more about the coming reformation in my books 20 Elements of Revival and Covens in the Church. Order online at www.johnburtonministries.com/resources.)
Audio and Notes : Massive change in the church : New Teachings
There’s a message of reformation that’s been burning within me for years, and it’s intensified radically since I moved to Detroit.
In a day where normal church attendance means less than two times per month, there’s an alarm sounding for the soldiers of God to gather corporately on a continual basis! I believe we’ll move from two days a month to over twenty. We’ll be receiving apostolic instruction on Sunday, responding strategically as a corporate body on Monday and Tuesday and through the rest of the week. Prayer will be 24/7. Ministry to the lost will have dramatic impact. Everybody will raise their families in a revival atmosphere of fire day after day!
Martin Luther brought us a reformation of doctrine. Today, we need a reformation of culture. Churches are limiting services to an hour or even less today. Why? Because they have become reactive to the demands of people instead of being drivers of the culture!
Busy lives and full calendars have demanded that the church submit and drop in priority—or die.
I taught on this last night, and you can listen to it now at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching. It’s titled A Drama for the Ages.
This call isn’t for the feint of heart. Many are what I call revival participants. They will jump in when the outpouring comes.
But, the outpouring won’t come if we have a revival participant mindset. We must be revival builders.
I’ll include the notes below for you to follow along with as you listen to the teaching.
There are also some other brand new teachings available:
- The Spirit of Pilate in the Church
- Six Enemies of Fulfilled Destiny (two parts, taught at the IHOPE Intensive)
A Drama for the Ages
I. The Blueprint
a. Joshua 3 is our blueprint, and we’ve focused on it considerably.
II. Joshua 3:16 (ESV) 16 …And the people passed over opposite Jericho.
i. A massive focus on the church, on preparing the army will come before we find ourselves staring at the city of Detroit.
ii. We need to pray for revelation so we can understand the magnitude of this mission that we are involved in.
iii. We’re about to be in the middle of a magnificent drama that will compare to some of the most magnificent times in history.
iv. The skeleton outline for Joshua 3 is:
1. Be alert and in position
2. Sanctify yourselves
3. Carry the presence of God
4. We’ve never been this way before
5. Step into an impossible situation
6. Cross over opposite Jericho
b. Understand, you are not simply sitting in a church.
i. This isn’t just a place to gather together, to worship God and to grow in the Word. It is that, but much, MUCH more.
ii. You are sitting in a Joshua 3 level military operation where normal people are about to do extraordinary things—and the masses will be changed forever.
iii. We are fervently calling people from all over Detroit to gather and follow the Joshua 3 protocol of readiness, holiness and wild faith.
III. Radical Preparation
a. We’re in the phase where we are awaiting dramatic deliverance and miracles, we’re setting a pattern of Kingdom living that results in extremely dramatic manifestations of God’s provision, glory and intervention.
i. The cost is crazy huge!
ii. I understand Detroit is tired and discouraged, but we cannot simply look for a quick fix. It’s imperative that every one of us understand that this call is a severe one, and this mission is the big one.
iii. God was ensuring that the Israelites understood the magnitude of their season of advance as well.
1. The precision of leadership that Joshua was exhibiting was phenomenal.
2. After this wild river crossing he told people to run back into the dry riverbank and bring back some heavy stones. They immediately responded.
iv. Joshua 4:4-7 (ESV) 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
1. God was drilling home the extent of his power and how deeply involved in their process he was. Remember this! I told you in Joshua 3:5 that I would be working wonders and I was true to my word.
2. This was mentioned way back in Exodus:
a. Exodus 13:11 (ESV) 11 “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
b. Exodus 13:14 (ESV) 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
3. What memorial stones do you have?
4. We can look back over the last 14 years of our marriage, and I can look even further back than that and fill a notebook with miracle after miracle of God working in dramatic fashion in our lives.
5. Having memorial stones will make it easy to advance through mission after mission, season after season—and you’ll have something to share with your kids!
b. Joshua 4:13-14 (ESV) 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
i. 40,000 people ready for war.
ii. I’m looking for 1000 intercessors.
iii. What caused them to be ready for war?
1. Radical intentionality
2. Being together and in position
3. Carrying God’s presence—a lifestyle of intercession
4. Watching God move in power
5. Remembering what God had done
c. Joshua 4:23-24 (ESV) 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
i. God desires to establish a testimony, to function in dramatic fashion so that people know he’s mighty and that we fear him.
ii. We aren’t there yet. We’re in the process prior to this, which means we must follow the instructions of God carefully.
iii. It’s worth it! A city will be taken!
d. Joshua 5:1 (ESV) 1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
i. This is a significant goal! In order to take Detroit, we must cause fear of God to settle into the principalities and powers over the city.
ii. This was a fulfillment of a recent prophecy:
1. Joshua 2:24 (ESV) 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”
iii. Now, you’d think that the Israelites would be full of fire and ready to charge ahead.
1. In fact, they might have been.
2. But God understood the magnitude of the mission and the struggle that man has with pride, with emotions getting the best of them.
3. So, bring out the knives!
e. Joshua 5:2 (ESV) 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.”
1. And here’s a ‘duh’ verse:
f. Joshua 5:8 (ESV) 8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
1. Ummmm, yep. That’s what I’d be doing.
2. They went from being ready for war to whimpering in their tents.
3. Adam Clarke—When adults were circumcised they were obliged to keep their beds for about three weeks, or at least during that time they are not able to walk about but with great difficulty.
4. Adam Clarke—Joshua, as an able general, would at once perceive that this very measure must expose his whole host to the danger of being totally annihilated; but he knew that GOD could not err, and that it was his duty to obey; therefore in the very teeth of his enemies he reduced the major part of his army to a state of total helplessness, simply trusting for protection in the arm of Jehovah!
5. God didn’t call them to circumcision on the east side of the Jordan where they were safe from their enemies. He removed all measures of safety as he knew he was capable of protecting them all by himself—and he wanted them to know this too.
6. Not only were they immobilized, when they crossed over the Jordan, out of the wilderness, the manna stopped too. Everything was changing.
7. Joshua 5:11-12 (ESV) 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
g. Then, a dramatic encounter prepared them for what was coming next.
i. Joshua 5:13-15 (ESV) 13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
h. This launched Joshua and the Israelites into what was a dramatic and world shaking mission—the taking of Jericho.
i. Joshua 6:1-2 (ESV) 1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.
IV. Conclusion
a. Do you understand the magnitude of this mission that you have been called into?
b. Under Moses there was disorder and dispute as people refused to move into the Promised Land.
c. Under Joshua everything changed.
d. What’s your plan? Are you ready? Alert? Sanctified? Circumcised? Ready for war?
e. Do you remember what God has done? What specifically are your memorial stones?
A letter to Detroit area pastors and church leaders
Many of you know that we are praying for key connections, 1000 new intercessors in the Detroit area and an infestation of new church plants.
The outpouring that’s coming is going to rock the entire world—and we have to get ready!
Detroit has a sufficient army of believers, but we don’t know each other! We’re not organized.
I wrote a letter to the pastors and church leaders in the entire Detroit region, and I’d love some help!
If you know a Detroit area pastor, apostle or other leader, would you direct them to read the letter on our site at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/pastors?
That would be a HUGE help!
All of us at Revival Church want to pray for and serve the greater city church with a lot of love and passion!
Last Sunday’s “Bring your blanket to church” event was sweet! So, we’re doing it again! This Sunday at 6pm bring your blanket and get ready to soak and pray and worship in the presence of God!
If you need refreshing, this night is for you!
And, last but absolutely not least, have you REGISTERED for the Michele Perry event?
Do so VERY SOON at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events! It’s FREE!
Something Shifted : Everybody using their gifts
I wanted to say that last nights service was absolutely incredible. What amazes me most is that it was only a "taste" of things to come!- Testimony from last night’s Revival Church service
That was awesome last night!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for giving the Holy Spirit free reign in the church! Never been in such a great place!!! Praying for you guys! Can't wait till Friday!!!- Testimony from last night’s Revival Church service
I’m still trembling as I write this. Something shifted at Revival Church last night.
Honestly, it wasn’t a complex strategy or a huge new idea. It certainly wasn’t planned or scripted. God simply moved.
In the midst of the outbreak and as people were burning and drunk as they were sprawled out all over the place I said, with a grin, “Man, and I had a really great sermon for you all tonight!”
In truth, I did! It’s a prophetic word that I’ll be sharing Friday morning with my Revival Road Team at Revival Nation Church in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada instead. (Come on out with us! We leave Grosse Pointe at 8:30am this Friday!)
But last night had different designs.
The launching point seemed to be a very strong unction in my spirit that many people in Detroit are yearning to worship God in spirit and in truth—without human restriction. They are deeply hungering for an opportunity to step out of the natural and into the supernatural and worship with fire.
The groans, the cries, the dances, the passion that is increasing deeply within so many is looking to be released as spiritual worship unto a spiritual God!
The word continued that many will follow our freedom. As we launch into freedom many will dive right in behind us.
Then, I asked several fire-breathing ladies to come to the front and cry out, release the fire of God into all of us. Wow! Talk about heat! I crumpled to the ground in drunkenness and just soaked as they gave leadership to that part of the night.
Here’s another recent testimony:
I have never experienced a congregation like Revival Church where EVERYONE is using their gifts. I've known that it's not for the Pastor to do EVERYTHING, and Revival Church is a great example of God working in the people who attend.
We have such amazing people at Revival Church! I am so blessed!!!
I did share a snipped of my sermon—there’s a significant difference between the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that exploded the church in Acts 2.
Between the two events was the cross. Around 1/2 million people celebrated Jesus on Palm Sunday. Only 2 remained as Jesus went to the cross.
The power of the resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit resulted in an outbreak in an upper room that was exponentially more powerful than what happened on Palm Sunday—even though the numbers were significantly less.
We don’t need Palm Sunday Christians. We need Believers who go to the cross and experience the Promise.
So, let’s get ready for more fire! Let’s see the outpouring that’s assigned to Detroit arrive right on schedule!
By all means, if you don’t attend church on Sunday nights, come out to our Revival Command Center and contend with us for fire!!
“This has the makings of an outpouring”-Jeff Garvin
“This has the makings of an outpouring.” During an unusual and weighty flow of worship last night at Revival Church, Jeff Garvin walked over to me and said that. The feel of a legitimate outpouring was flooding the church.
Words cannot describe the new sound and the supernatural Force that was engulfing the church last night. God was moving—and it wasn’t until midnight, five hours later, that we finally made it out of the building.
I’d encourage you to arrive early TONIGHT, at 5pm, for a powerful release of prophetic declaration at the pre-service prayer meeting. Then, we’ll move into a third and final night of ministry with Jeff Garvin at 6pm.
Forward this to everybody in the Detroit region that you can. Encourage pastors, leaders, intercessors, the lost, the hungry and every other person you can to be in the building TONIGHT!
Come very expectant… Revival Church is a ‘whatever’ church, and this is a ‘whatever’ season. God has full liberty to move us, heal us, deliver us and impart into us at any point of the service. Whatever he wants.
Get ready for the surprise of your life!
PRAYER- 5pm
SERVICE- 6pm
Meeting in the First United Methodist Church building at 24036 Greater Mack, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080
From Lakeland: Jeff Garvin THIS SUNDAY at Revival Church
We are preparing for the coming Detroit Outpouring, and we are excited to have Jeff Garvin running the race with us in this region THIS SUNDAY at 6pm.
Visit www.detroitrevivalchurch.com for our address and a map.
Forward this flyer on to everybody you know who has a burning in their spirit for revival in Detroit.
