Posts Tagged ‘prophecy’
Negative Prophetic Warnings? | Terrorism, Bombings and 9/11 | Get Ready
Terrorism, Bombings, Earthquakes and 9/11
In light of the Boston bombings and the earthquakes in Iran, Oklahoma and Papua New Guinea that followed, I thought it was important to share this message by Bill Click with you.
Before I do, I want to make one important point.
I often experience the resistance of some Christians to what they call negative prophecy. There is a movement away from warnings, end-times revelations and other prophetic insight that highlights disaster, wars, famines, etc.
- The easy point I can make is that such prophecies are biblical. We seen negative prophecies cover to cover from Joseph to John the Revelator.
- The additional point is this: Those who resist negative prophecies are fully supportive of natural intelligence! They support the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies as they listen to chatter and gain intelligence regarding planned terror events.
If the CIA reveals that they picked up on communications from a terror organization who is planning to plant bombs somewhere on American soil, we are thankful for that revelation! We plan accordingly, and urgently!
But, when the prophets mention that they have picked up on communications, they are ignored at best and discredited and resisted at worst.
The point? Listen to the prophets and don’t only receive the messages that tickle your ears. We need to hear the chatter about what is coming. God wants us to prepare for judgments of God and attacks of the enemy that are on their way.
It’s critical that we don’t put our heads in the sand and ignore what’s happening around us. That is not spiritual warfare, it’s abdicating our spiritual responsibility and it’s quite serious.
BILL CLICK
April 16, 2013
Early on Monday I was trying to decide on a message for the week. I felt impressed to reissue a previous one, and what is below caught my eye. I initially dismissed it as not really relevant for now, that it would need a major revision and edit for update.
I then decided on another one that I would look over a bit before sending.
But after returning home Monday afternoon, and beginning to see the reports from Boston, I decided to reissue the following message from late in 2004, without revision.
What the Lord is Saying at this Time Originally released on October 6, 2004 Bill Click
1. Something Worse than “911” is Going to Happen in the United States.
On September 14th of this year as Nancy and I were driving, the anointing of the Lord came upon me and the Spirit spoke these words within my spirit: “Something worse than ‘911' is going to happen in the United States.” I have not yet been told anymore about when, where, to whom or through whom. But I am released to share this with you.
Shortly after “911,” there were “Dirty bomb” scares– concerns that Usama bin Laden had nuclear capability. The Lord clearly showed me at that time that bin Laden did– in fact– have the means, but that God was going to protect the USA. Furthermore, it was a conditional word based on the church's continual willingness to be made battle ready in the Spirit by evangelizing the lost, equipping the saints and de-religiousizing the church through authentic spiritual reformation which will be evident by structural transformation. The church must be built as Jesus designed and the Word makes clear– around gifts and offices instead of talents and positions. For this to take place, the Spirit must be yielded to throughout continual processes which bring constant change until the church is totally designed, led, powered and directed by the Head.
It has not been revealed to me what type of calamity is coming to the USA, but the separate experiences concerning calamity and a nuclear disaster which has been averted to this point could very well be related. It is semi-common knowledge that many “close calls” (nuclear & otherwise)– that have never been made public– have been turned back by the military and other “intelligence” through God's merciful protection during past years.
Regardless of what is ahead, I am sure that the Lord is saying that the “something worse than ‘911′ that is going to happen in the United States” IS going to happen. It is too late to avert it, but not too late to get ready for all trouble by being battle ready in the Spirit, evangelizing the lost, equipping the saints and de-religiousizing the church through authentic spiritual reformation which will be evident in structural transformation– the church becoming truly established by Christ in gifts and offices instead of talents and positions.
2. The Body of Christ Needs to Retire all Credit Card debt by June 2005
A few days before I received the revelation of calamity I just shared, I was impressed by the Spirit (for reasons I do not claim to understand) “The body of Christ needs to retire all credit card debt by June 2005.” Does this relate to the above? I don't know, but I am confident in sharing this with you. Some reading this will despair, saying: “How will we do it?” Some can do it by discipline and budgeting. There are 8+ months left and it is easy enough to compute (although much harder for many to say “no” to borrowing against a very uncertain future). Most will need a “supernatural exchange,” like we did in 2002. At the beginning of 2002, the Lord spoke to us to double our giving and then said we would receive increase, with which we were to retire our personal credit card debt. The first four months things got worse instead of better. The increased giving resulted in our only making minimum payment on cards totally $10,000+ in debt. In late April, God began to move and all that debt was retired by the end of August 2002. There is still no debt. In July 2003 we purchased the building we meet in and there is no debt attached to it either. We are a debt-free ministry.
God CAN if we will listen to and follow Him completely. For many, giving and receiving will be the only way you get ready for June 2005. What will happen then? I don't know, but if it turns out that we will have opportunity to invest, or receive wealth transfer at that time (instead of a banking or market collapse that some may read into this), don't you want to be ready for God's increase, whatever it is? To do so, we must all obey the Spirit of the Lord. 3. Terrorism– No Matter how or through whom it Manifests– is the War that will Grip the World's Attention, Resources & Efforts until the Return of Christ.
I want to assure you as I continue that I am neither Democrat nor Republican. Terrorism is a war without borders that cannot be won, it can only be contained. I agree with President George W. Bush that warring against terrorism requires “perfection” to be successful. People of God, there is no such thing as “perfection” in the natural realm. There IS however, the merciful protection and blessing of God. Blessing, however, is reserved for the obedient. And there will be moments when mercy is to let us see how far we are from God and the severity of the need to continually turn toward Him.
I disagree with the President, however, when he asserts that we must fight terrorism “there” so we don't have to fight it “here.” We have to fight it everywhere– and it is already here. Begin to claim as your inheritance those who frequent the Mosque's in your area, and pray a laborer in their path– being willing to be that very laborer when the Lord appoints and anoints you for the task.
The Military will never win this war of “terrorism,” but it must continually fight for it to be contained. Those who are truly God's will be rise up and be strengthened when threats and fear abound however, not shrink back. The church WILL continue to be gathered, established and when all is ready– The Father will send Jesus and He will defeat the many differing “fronts” of the war Antichrist wages. But terrorism's root– no matter how or through whom it manifests (Jihad, White Supremacists, antigovernment groups, murderous antiabortionists, the Klan, the intimidation through organized crime, gangs and even vandalism, etc.) is the spirit of Antichrist.
4. Terrorism is only One Strategy of the Spirit of Antichrist's Efforts to Stop the Gospel of the Kingdom and Delay the Return of Christ.
There are others:
A. False unity in the church. This manifests in various ways, from “dumbing down” God for the seek of seeker sensitivity to “lowest common denominator” multi-church unity meetings to also the efforts to arrive at a “consensus” among gatherings of horizontal church leaders. Where there is no true function of an individual's spiritual nature and grace, there is no true assembling of the Body (Psa.133). Don't fellowship “down” to belong or to include, or to be included. If they want you, then be you when you're there. Don't settle for being rejected by the rejected. You cannot be rejected, you have been accepted by the One whose acceptance of you settles it forever.
B. Preference of false religions in our society through what is called “political correctness.” Whether it be in the government, the workplace, in education, in technology, etc. – if you are a “Christian” who proclaims Jesus Christ you will be increasingly singled out, ridiculed, minimized, passed over and otherwise left out in days ahead. KNOW your “place” in the world as a witness, and be ready to increasingly be bold and see the extent to which God is with you. God will protect and provide for those who truthfully represent Him with no apology. Although we ARE to gather resources from the world for the Kingdom (Dt.8:18), we are to above all else be witnesses of Him in that realm (Acts 1:8; Mt.28:18-20).
C. Nations who “cooperate” with one another schizophrenically– always requiring “consensus” before acting as a means of actually preventing that very action, not endorsing it. C. Peter Wagner's description of the “corporate spirit of religion” in his book “Changing Church” can be applied to this realm as well, albeit by another name: “the spirit of Antichrist.” To be included or sought out for the sake of being controlled does not insure that what God has given the church will continue to live, increase and reproduce. Instead, it guarantees its demise.
In the same way, for the USA to place their protection in the hands of other nations playing a schizophrenic “push-pull” of support and inaction while protecting their own interests and covering their own scandals should be easy enough to see for it is: deception at the international level for the sake of “controlling” the USA while protecting the spirit of Antichrist.
President George W. Bush has always cooperated more than enough, and has only acted when it was clear that every resolution to act was meaningless. Even though being in Iraq, Afghanistan and virtually everywhere else is a strain on all our resources, and precious lives have been lost– it is clear in my spirit that George W. Bush is God's choice for the next 4 years. I pray that he receives the support that his being “chosen” should provide. Why? “Because something worse than ‘911' is going to happen in the United States,” says the Lord.
Remember:
The Body of Christ needs to retire all Credit Card debt by June 2005.
Terrorism– no matter how or through whom it manifests– is the war that will seize the world's attention, resources & efforts until the return of Christ.
Terrorism is only one strategy of an Antichrist effort to stop the gospel of the Kingdom and delay the return of Christ.
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RIVER OF POWER MINISTRIES [email protected] www.riverofpower.org
Has revival bypassed Detroit? A voice of reason…
Has Detroit failed in the opportunity to initiate and steward one of the greatest revivals known to man?
Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
That’s an amazing, invigorating promise! Our God is a very good God and he has very good plans to prosper us. Amen!
Wait just a minute. Let’s look at the context of this popular, biblical word of encouragement.
Just because God is indeed very good does not mean we have carte blanche rights to provide false encouragement to others. We see this quite a bit in the prophetic movement. Well intentioned people desire to encourage others and, instead of giving the pure prophetic message, they focus solely on the positive.
Now, of course, when handled rightly, this has precedence.
1 Cor 14:3 …the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
So, it’s very good and right to prophesy with a motive of encouragement. However, the prophecy must also be accurate. We can’t depart from the truth in order for people to be encouraged.
In Jeremiah 29:11 we see an extremely encouraging word… but consider the larger story:
Jer 29:7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
First, God, in response to the unsatisfactory condition of Israel, is the one who led them into exile! A very good God did something that we might call bad!
Notice how the “church” was listening to the prophets that gave them the words they wanted to hear? God was clear. He did not send those prophets.
In fact, in stark contrast to the words of quick freedom from exile the false prophets were communicating, God tells them to get cozy in their current situation in captivity. They are going to be there for a while:
Jer 29:4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
What? We’re believing for freedom! For revival! God is telling us to get use to our captivity? We are to build houses? That takes a long time! Plant gardens? Get married? What?! Have kids? That takes years! Woah. Wait a minute! Then we have to wait for our kids to get married and have kids? This isn’t at all what we are praying for!
No wonder they wanted to listen to the false prophets.
Then comes the accurate prophecy:
Jer 29:10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
What a story!
God has a plan, but the process may be very different than we might presume. It may take much longer than we might hope.
REVIVAL IN DETROIT
I believe the Detroit region is still on the radar, but the first sweep, the first ping, has passed. How long will this region remain on target? I’ll say this—we can’t risk the time even to discuss it. It’s time to work.
The question is, what is God’s prophetic word for Detroit?
Are we to listen to words that declare that revival is unavoidable and then kick back and wait? Or, is there are greater, more inconvenient plan that God wants to reveal to us?
My view is that Detroit has missed it for this season, and we will need to regroup quickly and prepare for the next sweep. If you look at the radar image I’ve included with this post, you might consider it to represent God’s perspective as he is looking down on America, looking for a city that will rise about the others. Which city church will unite and initiate the greatest revival strategy since 120 people holed up in an upper room 2000 years ago?
It may take a year or five years before the next sweep of the radar comes and Detroit has the opportunity to send an unmistakable ping of revival vibrations heavenward. What will we do between now and then?
CLEAR, UNAVOIDABLE STRATEGY
I’ve heard it prophesied many times that stadiums would be filled with praying people in Detroit—and I agree with this prophecy. But, it’s a ways off. Stop and consider this. If we can’t even fill churches on Sunday with fiery people, how in the world do we think we’ll fill stadiums with people who are disciplined in fervent prayer? It’s insanity. We couldn’t even fill a stadium at The Call after months of preparation and alarms being sounded! The strategy must change.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
Take a moment and pull your head out of any mystical, hyper-spiritual fog you may be swimming in and consider reality:
There are over 19,000 cities in America and NONE of them are experiencing revival. We are zero for 19,000! There aren’t ANY! AT ALL!
That means the strategies must change with such extreme and sudden shock that anybody who isn’t locked in with God will be radically disoriented. It’s a necessary disorientation.
Can we be honest with ourselves? The strategies in Detroit, though often extremely honorable, and truly impactful to a degree, have not resulted in revival. In fact, I wonder if the region is spiritually worse off now than it was just a few years ago. The talk of revival is rare and the urgency to contend is falling on mostly deaf ears. People are experiencing hope deferred and sickness is hitting this region.
For this to change, a simple yet costly strategy must be initiated now. The cost is so extreme that anybody who is devoted to the typical American lifestyle just won’t pay it. The cost of revival includes the surrender of personal dreams, lifestyles and plans.
If you are a Christian, now is your time to lock in with great passion and without excuse to the corporate mission of prayer. Be together with other Christians and pray in the Spirit, with fire, continually. Upper room style. No excuses allowed. Cares of life can win no more. Cancel your life. Change your schedule. Your job now, every single day, is to gather and pray.
Check out the plan, and notice how similar it is to the passage in Jeremiah:
2 Chron 7:11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14if my people who are called by my name 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. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
- Step one: (verse 11) Leaders must build the house of prayer. In the last year alone at least two houses of prayer in this region have closed. That’s the wrong direction!
- Step two: (verse 12) God will make it clear that Detroit has been chosen. I believe supernatural visitations will help confirm this.
- Step three: (verse 13) A difficult season will come that will provoke the people and provide a clear mandate to them. Notice that leaders already built the house of prayer, and now it’s the people’s turn to step into position.
- Step four: (verse 14a) The true followers of Jesus will be revealed via a mass movement of humility, prayer and holiness. It will overwhelm this city.
- Step five: (verse 14b) A movement of healing will initiate not only on the people but on the city, on the land.
- Step six: (verse 15) The precedent of prayer and intimate communion between God and his people will be established.
- Step seven: (verse 16) The city will be known as a holy place that hosts God himself, exalts his name and has his attention forever.
THE PLAN SIMPLIFIED
The church is a house of prayer for all nations. The primary, most dominant activity in the church must be deep and continual prayer. It’s not a house teaching, a house of evangelism, a house of relationships or a house of anything. The church exists for prayer fueled people to conquer the world!
With this in mind, if you want to experience revival in your lifetime, start doing the following:
- Pray in the Holy Spirit at least an hour a day personally.
- Gather together multiple times a week to pray in the Holy Spirit corporately with your local church or an intercession movement in the region.
- Mirror the commitment of a fully devoted senior leader in the church. Never miss a service. Show up early. Stay late. Never gossip or complain. Take ownership of the mission.
- Pay attention to regional revival events—and attend with expectancy.
- Be responsive to leadership as they prayerfully give apostolic direction to the movement.
- Give extravagantly to the house of prayer (the church).
- Be humble.
- Live holy. Stop sinning. Stop watching most movies, TV shows and other forms of entertainment.
- Eliminate every distraction, even good ones, that keep you away from the costly, inconvenient daily mission of prayer and service.
- Stir up your faith, walk in the Spirit and prepare to build. There’s a lot of work ahead!
We can’t take a wait and see approach. Stop playing it safe. Dive in and pay the price and take the risk and participate in the mission of revival with a level of devotion that will help calibrate the church back to the fiery heart of God!
And, do it quickly. The next sweep of the radar is approaching. Fast. And it may not sweep again.
Catherine Mullins and Brian Simmons at Revival Church Sunday
Catherine Mullins and Brian Simmons are special people to us at Revival Church—they carry the spirit of revival and will release that this Sunday, September 25, 2011!
Come early at 5pm for fiery pre-service prophetic prayer, and then at 6pm stay for a night to remember as we worship with Catherine Mullins and go deep with Brian Simmons.
Immediately after the service the prophecy room will be open for anybody and everybody who wants personal prophetic ministry.
There’s a lot going on at Revival Church including our new Culture Groups, theLab, Friday night prayer for Detroit and so much more! See you Sunday!
We meet at THE TABERNACLE: 14205 12 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48088
Church Nightmares: We need a Gordon Ramsay style reconstruction in the church
Examine ten clear points the church must consider as we prepare for Kingdom advance.
The prophet comes to set up that which is upset. His work is to call into line those who are out of line!~Leonard Ravenhill
I always feel a bit strange when I cry most every time I watch the TV show Kitchen Nightmares. Then, the light came on. Gordon Ramsay is a prophet in waiting, a man who, in the natural, brings order to disorder in dying restaurants. He is doing in secular culture what prophets are called to do in the spiritual. He is doing what Leonard Ravenhill is talking about in the business realm and its time for us to see it in the church realm. That prophetic reality results in tears for me—and a yearning for action—now!
I’d encourage you to watch the entire teaching on this topic (it was a spontaneous prophetic message that God rocked me with Sunday night during worship as I was getting ready to preach).
I‘d recommend reading a similar article: 10 Threats to Revival.
CHURCH NIGHTMARES
- A CRY FOR HELP—Historically, when a cry for help sounded God sent a prophet. Judges 6:7-8 (ESV) 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. In Kitchen Nightmares, the restaurant owner is usually in a very desperate situation so Gordon Ramsay is summoned to help.
- THE ANALYSIS—In every episode I’ve seen, the restaurant owner is convinced that they are on the right track, and simply need some expert guidance and a little enhancement to see things turn around. For those who watch the show, you know that this is the place where things get ugly. On the first day of a several day process, Gordon Ramsay enters the restaurant, meets the owner and then sits down to order a meal. Without fail, the owner and the chef are absolutely convinced that the food they are serving is wonderful. At least an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.Without fail, Gordon Ramsay samples the food and is horrified. His unique and expert perspective grants him the ability to immediately determine whether the food is good or bad—an analysis that is contrary to the analysis of the owner and the chef. It’s immediately clear, after just a few moments, to Gordon Ramsay why the restaurant is failing, though the ownership, after hours, days and years of analysis is confused and clueless.
- OFFENSE & CONFLICT—Gordon Ramsay then goes directly to the kitchen and shocks the staff with his brash and direct approach. He is often extremely upset that he was served food of such a low caliber. He has accused them of lying to to the patrons by offering one thing on the menu and delivering something totally different on the plate. People’s faces show shock and anger as Gordon attacks ‘their baby’…their food, their dream, their way of doing things. Similarly, prophets, who are called to analyze situations and sound alarms for radical change, are often resisted vehemently when they touch the dreams and efforts of pastors and people in the church. Offense can spike and division can come if honesty and humility don’t reign. The prophet in his day is fully accepted of God and totally rejected by men. He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.~Leonard Ravenhill
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On the show, at this point of the process, people are radically offended, often in tears, shocked beyond measure and second guessing their choice to invite Gordon to help. They usually want him gone—and fast.
- THIS IS NOT AN ENHANCEMENT—As I stated previously, the restaurant owners on the show, and also pastors and leaders in the church, are expecting their endeavors to be affirmed and then enhanced so as to yield a better result. The reality? The mission of Gordon Ramsay and the mission of prophets in the church is not one of enhancement. It’s near total deconstruction and complete reformation—or nothing. What is presumed to be untouchable is touched—and torn down—without apology by Gordon. Staff is fired, food that has been served for years is removed from the menu, the owners are rebuked for their poor leadership, and on and on.In less than a week, Gordon Ramsay comes in and enhances nothing, but reforms everything. The décor is modernized, old equipment is replaced with new equipment, staff is reassigned to new, better suited duties and everything becomes instantly better.In the church we see the same issues. Leaders are often so set on the way they are doing things, on the vision of yesteryear, that they simply want their comfort zone of ministry to be affirmed and enhanced. Churches open their doors wide to consultants but slam the door hard to prophets. One brings enhancement and affirmation while the other shuts everything down in favor of developing a brand new wine skin.
- EXTREME MEASURES—More than once Gordon Ramsay has shut down the dinner service with a full house of hungry customers. He had the staff send them home due to breakdowns in the restaurant. The staff is usually embarrassed and furious. The risk of losing people through such a method is extremely high. They usually feel that Gordon, at that point, actually destroyed their business instead of helping it.What the owners determined was an acceptable way to run a business was actually so below the bar that Gordon Ramsay closed the restaurant for the safety of the patrons.I believe it’s critical to allow God to shut down programs and even entire churches, at least for a season, for the sake of a full deconstruction and reconstruction of systems, policies, functions and vision. Yes, many people will leave, but the resulting structure will be able to fulfill its mission.
- NEW IDENTITY—One of the most powerful moments comes when Gordon’s crew spends the entire night ripping out the old décor and refurbishing the entire restaurant. Everything changes. Gordon has gone as far as changing the name of the restaurant and hanging a new sign outside! He changed the restaurant from specializing on one type of food (sea food, for example) to another (burgers and shakes). The reformation went as deep as the very core of the vision that the restaurant was initially developed from. The prophet breathes the rarefied air of inspiration. He is a “seer” who comes to lead the blind.~Leonard Ravenhill
- NEW ASSIGNMENTS—Gordon Ramsay is an expert at analyzing people’s strengths and weaknesses. He reassigns people according to their passions and abilities. The chef may become a bus boy. A waitress may become the manager. The owner may be asked to stay out of the way and let more gifted people lead.We must see this happen in the church as well. Prophets and apostles are experts at bringing order to disorder. The pastor or leader of a church or ministry may not be gifted with this level of revelation, and it will make sense for them to give way to those who do.
- SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT—Gordon, when he arrives, assumes control to an offensive degree. But, he also invests himself, his time and his money. Thousands of dollars are put into new equipment, the new branding, food, remodeling, etc. More than once he has actually hired a world renowned chef for thirty days to help the restaurant stay on track after he leaves.We can expect this in the church as well. Prophets and apostles are often willing to cancel other appointments and ministry assignments to come to a city to help with the reconstruction.
- HUGS, TEARS AND THANKS—Every single time owners and staff—that absolutely hated Gordon and wanted him to leave almost before he arrived—end up thanking him passionately, usually with tears in their eyes. Gordon did what they could not do because of his unique calling and gift mix.Gordon Ramsay has such a tender heart and desires deeply that every restaurant owner would be prosperous and successful. You see him truly developing real friendships with people who once despised him.If pastors will trust the offensive and threatening process that prophets and apostles will call for, at the end of the day, they will thank them. Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the Lord,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Years back, Dr. Gregory Mantle was right when he said, “No man can be fully accepted until he is totally rejected.” The prophet of the Lord is aware of both these experiences. They are his “brand name.” ~Leonard Ravenhill
The prophet is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.~Leonard Ravenhill
- RETURNING TO OLD PATTERNS—Time and again it’s proven that those who revert to their old ways, and forget everything that Gordon Ramsay set into motion, end up failing. Some of the shows are devoted to visiting restaurants that Gordon had been in previously. Often, he’ll find the restaurants closed and the reports from the old employees he tracks down are always the same—the owner reverted back to their old way of doing things.On the other hand, those who stuck with the new menu, who embraced the rebranding, who fired employees who should not be there, and who ensured the employees who remained stayed in their newly assigned roles reported great financial gain and and a restaurant that’s packed every night. Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV) 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I’ve stated many times in recent years, and have written in my book 20 Elements of Revival, that the reformation that’s coming to the church is going to be extreme and everything we hold dear is at risk.
Another key point to understand is that every church in the nation is included in this massive reform. It’s easy to think that God is referring to the dead, dry, religious churches when he speaks of reformation. The reality? The most Spirit-filled, fiery churches are those who must be reformed first, so they can move ahead in the spirit of a forerunner and model the extreme change that’s coming to the rest of the church world.
What do you think?
Powerful teaching video : Prophetic Authority
The faith in the room was pulled on during this powerful and challenging teaching—watch now!
We are called to move from a life of low level prophetic influence, to a much more effective level of prophetic authority. Discover how in this teaching, Prophetic Authority. You can watch the video or listen to the audio at http://media.johnburton.net.
I received several comments about this teaching. It really hit home and impacted people deeply.
Here are some quotes from the video:
- When our prayer moves into the place of deep groaning, we move from intercession to legislation.
- Our natural analysis that fuels our prayer and our prophecy is locking us into a lesser life.
- Doubt fueled prayer actually causes more damage than good.There's power of life & death in the tongue.It would be better not to pray at all.
- Unbelief can cancel out even the most accurate and weighty prophecies and plans of God.
- Regarding petition: we should stop wasting time in prayer trying to convince God to do something we don't believe he'll do.
- If we don't deal with unbelief, our ministry will actually transfer unbelief to others, which will result in them being condemned. (Mark 16)
- In a day when we're trying to get the church praying more, there's actually a deeper
graduation into a life of less petition. - Unbelief keeps us from moving from having mere influence to a place of operating in great authority.
AND, don’t forget to submit dreams, visions and prophecies to www.detroitprophecy.com!
I’m teaching on revival Friday in Dearborn Heights—just before theLab
Tomorrow at Dearborn Heights First Assembly of God I’ll be teaching on (and bringing!) revival, and then at 10pm theLab prayer event starts!
FIRST: Get ready for a BRAND NEW website—www.detroitprophecy.com. You will be able to check out the up-to-date prophetic instructions for this region, send in your dreams and visions and ensure we’re all on the same page as we advance together. I’ll be designing it soon!
FRIDAY NIGHT: We’re looking for the remnant church to awaken and do the extreme work necessary to initiate revival in Detroit.
I’ll be teaching on the strategic plan for revival in Detroit tomorrow (Friday) at 7pm. We’ll experience some powerful worship, and we are intent on facilitating an atmosphere where we can all go very deep together.
The Fireplace has stirred us, and now it’s time to move to the next place in the process of revival in Detroit.
After worship, teaching and ministry, we’ll stay and give leadership to theLab from 10pm-midnight! Get ready for a night of fire that we won’t want to end!
Dearborn Heights Assembly of God : 5650 S Telegraph Rd, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125-2024
Ten Threats to Revival
What will it take for revival to land? What is standing in the way?
There are over 19,000 cities in America—and none of them are experiencing the biblically normal culture that revival would bring. Something is tragically wrong! Extreme, shocking and potentially offensive reformation is necessary.
To better help you take the pulse of your own life and your own city, I am suggesting some threats to revival. As we eliminate the threats, we’ll be steps closer to an outpouring. Some of what I’m sharing is from my book 20 Elements of Revival and some is from what I’m currently witnessing in my city of Detroit, Michigan.
First, consider this quote by Evan Roberts, the hero of the Welsh Revival, as he shares the simple formula for revival:
“Congregate the people who are willing to make a total surrender. Pray and wait. Believe God's promises. Hold daily meetings.”
You’ll notice Evan’s formula for revival is addressed throughout the following points:
TEN THREATS TO REVIVAL
The local church—Yes, I know that’s a provocative statement, and I must state very clearly that I love the church and I love pastors—and honor their amazing devotion. However, the alarm must be sounded. If a regional call to action is muted by the over-saturated, over-protected local church calendar, the necessary strength to both initiate and then support revival on a regional level won’t be there. Additionally, if we allow jealousy, insecurity, offense or other tactics of the enemy to keep us and the people in our churches away from the regionally emphasized mission, revival will most certainly not arrive, and the grace to run our local churches won’t be there. It’s a lose-lose situation. It’s time that we as leaders intentionally monitor closely where the fire is burning in a region—and then cancel our lesser activities so we can lead the people there. We must see the mobile, regional, 24/7 church emerge.
A belief in fate—Many people tend to believe that they have little effect on whether revival breaks out or not. They may say things like, “Nothing will stop God if he wants to pour out in a region,” or “If God wants to bring revival, he will.” A belief in fate minimizes the radical importance of our participation. Additionally, the many prophecies that have been revealing God’s plans for an outpouring in Detroit are conditional. In order to see them come to pass, we must involve ourselves in the process. As Mike Bickle says, “Prophecy isn’t a guarantee, it’s an invitation.”
Taking a “wait and see” approach—Related to the above point, many are sitting back waiting to see if this current outpouring in Detroit is in fact a move of God. The problem? God’s moving is largely dependent on you and me! We have been instructed to tend to the fire, and in our unwitting arrogance we have reassigned that job back to God! We believe God is to do our job of keeping the fire burning when he explicitly requires us to do it. If we don’t build the fire, the fire will go out—even though God’s prophesied plans are to bring the fires of reformation to Detroit.
The scattering movement—We are in the end-times, and it’s clear in scripture that we must gather together even more during this historic season. Satan’s plans to overthrow God were well on track as the greatest movement of unity in history was advancing. That unity gave strength to the building of a tower that would reach the heavens. God realized the threat and initiated ‘operation scattering’. The language was confused and they scattered all over the Earth. Now, Satan is using God’s own strategy against the most powerful governmental system on the planet—the Church. Instead of gathering in unity that would be strong enough to overthrow Satan’s kingdom, we are being scattered. We are not together. This is why stadiums will be critical in this next season. We must have the city church literally together, in the same place, consistently. Read more about the scattering movement in my article You are Not the Church. Remember, a key element of revival, which is emphasized by Evan Roberts, is daily meetings. Yes, it will be normal for people to be in church, together, under apostolic leadership most every day of the week.
A seeker-sensitive movement—I’ve often told the people in my church that I will never tone down the activity of the Holy Spirit out of respect of those less hungry. We need burning churches that result in people falling to their faces and crying “Holy!” when they walk through the door. It’s arrogance to presume that our human strategies are more potent than the supernatural capabilities of the Holy Spirit. When people are in desperate need they don’t look for Clark Kent, they are don’t want someone who looks just like them to come to their rescue. They need to experience the superpowers of the Burning Holy Spirit.
A lack of intercession—Evan Roberts declared that revival hinges on our obedience to pray and wait. The call in Detroit is for 1000 intercessors to gather together in the same place every Friday night as we release fire and cover this great mission. If we don’t respond, we probably don’t want the consuming fire of revival to come. We won’t be prepared for such a fearful burning.
Fear of loss—A key reason pastors don’t advance their churches into the experiential realm of encounter with God is that the risk of losing people, money and their reputation is high. It’s clear that a instituting a marginalized church culture is a much less risky option to develop a growing church in America. However, it’s also clear that such a culture is void of power and miracles. The world isn’t looking for another man-made system to join. In fact, the world does a much better job of building humanistic kingdoms than the church does. We’ll only see revival when we have the guts to call people into the wilderness of extreme encounter where the Fire and the Cloud leads them into a supercharged adventure. Pastors, let’s be willing to lose people, lose our salaries, lose our reputations, to allow our local churches to close if necessary—for the sake of the advance of the regional, city church! Such a disposition will result in a greater grace on both the local and regional levels.
Unbelief—Evan Roberts reveals one of the elements of revival is simply to believe God’s promises. It’s stunning how little the church believes in the supernatural. Healing, freedom, power and abundant life are tragically rare. Its no wonder that people are avoiding the church today. We are a people who are living on the wrong side of the Ascension. In Acts 1, the disciples were waiting for Jesus to snap his fingers and work more wonders. They wanted him to establish his Kingdom. But Jesus gave them clear instructions that would shock them to their core. They weren’t to wait and hope for something to happen (hope deferred makes the heart sick)—they were to do it themselves! They transitioned from disciples on one side of the Ascension to apostles on the other. Now, they, as ‘sent ones’, were to believe and act. They were to be the answer to people’s impossible situations. They waited for the necessary power to change the world, and when they received the Holy Spirit, they went everywhere in fiery belief healing, delivering and preaching the Kingdom.
Seeking an enhanced life—People generally want God to make their current lives better. They want an enhancement, an upgrade. However, the demands of revival include the willingness to embrace a fire that won’t warm your flesh—it will consume your flesh. Evan Roberts called for people to gather—but not all people—only those who were willing to make a total surrender. Revival doesn’t enhance lives, it crushes them. If we attempt to advance with a semi-surrendered people, the fire simply will not fall.
A lack of immediate response—This is one reason why church schedules must be flexible. It’s also a reason why daily meetings are critical. When prophetic instruction is received, the entire region must know about it right away, and the people must respond. In Joshua 3, the instructions were clear, and everybody responded in unison. There’s no way to fulfill this mighty mission if we are only together one day a week (actually 2 hours a week!). There’s way too much work to be done! As an example, Mike Bickle recently called an urgent meeting. Most of the departments at IHOP in Kansas City were immediately closed and the people all gathered together to receive an urgent prophetic message. In Detroit, we must promote extreme alertness and flexibility so we can respond moment by moment to the demands of regional revival. If we are mostly focused on our local, personal ventures, we’ll stay disconnected from the greater, regional mission. The response won’t be what is necessary and revival will most likely never come.
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
theLab Internship : Monthly revival events in Detroit
Check out the developing plan for facilitating the move toward revival in the Detroit region.
The last prophetic word I received before leaving IHOP and Kansas City for the new mission in Detroit came from a pastor and friend from World Revival Church—the ministry that hosted the Smithton Outpouring. The word was something like:
“John, you are a fire starter. You ignite the fires of revival when you minister, and now God is calling you to build a fireplace. He needs a place to host and facilitate that fire so it continues to burn hot, so it doesn’t die out.”
I often wondered how I was to do that. Then, Brian Simmons rocked me this past Saturday morning when he said, several times, that the Detroit region was to be a fireplace of God’s presence.
You see, my calling and focus in Detroit is very much regional as opposed to local. Revival Church is a regional prophetic center of revival. My heart is to see the fire of the Holy Spirit burn all over the greater Detroit Metro area.
Additionally, I have been feeling strongly the need for a monthly event, much like The Ramp in Alabama, in Detroit for quite some time. Now, that plan is starting to come to pass.
So, we are investing significantly into the regional revival strategy. Here’s some of what is coming:
- theLab prayer—We’re calling 1000 intercessors to gather with us each week as we pray in a different church somewhere in Detroit.
- theLab internship—We are raising up a team of revival minded, prayer fueled people who are interested in serving the coming outpouring. We are in pre-launch right now and are inviting those who want to join with us to show up at our next meeting (We meet at IHOPE every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from noon-1pm, ever Friday somewhere in Detroit from 10pm-midnight and at Revival Church Sundays at 6pm). We’ll have an info meeting in March, then we plan on launching in June. Contact me for more info at [email protected]. Also, visit www.revivallab.com.
- theLab sponsored/endorsed events—Pastor Joe Sazyc is giving leadership, along with several other pastors, to a new monthly gathering. The fire is simmering, and we will be stoking those flames once a month in a worship and teaching mini-conference once a month somewhere in Detroit. The Fire in February Conference started something that words cannot describe. I’m still trembling! Stay tuned… we’ll announce the schedule as we develop it.
I’d love to hear from you! What do you think? How would you like to participate?
I believe theLab internship will go a long way in covering the monthly events in intercession AND in serving the events practically. A well oiled machine, a unified team of revivalists will be working together each month to serve the mission of revival in Detroit!
Of course, there are other key movements under way as well including EACH, 24FLOOD, IHOPE and several others. We’re behind all of them and can’t wait to see how it all will come together!
This is very exciting! Contact me at [email protected] and share your thoughts!
theLab Staff : Cool confirmation : You are invited to apply
We are developing our launch team, and YOU are invited!
In this message:
- Amazing confirmation
- The Vision
- The Requirements
- The Plan
At noon prayer yesterday we prayed for two specific things:
- That there would be a rapid response to the call
- That people would respond from other nations
When I got home from prayer, Amy handed me a letter (snail mail!) from The Netherlands. He wrote, in broken English,
“I have heard about the teachings of Rev. John Burton… I desire to receive more information… I desire to come in contact with them who walks in the way that Rev. John Burton have teach. I don’t have email possibility. Thank you very much in advance.”
Amazing! No internet, no email yet God use him to send a confirmation from the other side of the world!
Then, later that day, I received a message from someone in Australia asking how they can participate.
That’s rapid, and that’s international!
The Revival Church staff is leading the charge in the development of theLab staff, and others have already come on board with us. It’s still very much in development, but here’s some of what’s being prayed and thought through:
THE VISION
The vision is really what it has been since we’ve arrived in Detroit. To gather together burning revivalists, intercessors and prophetic messengers who will carry the fire of the Holy Spirit to Detroit and the cities of the Earth.
We are very aggressively calling together 1000 intercessors to gather every Friday night in prayer, and theLab staff will be leading them.
Additionally, theLab will be developing a monthly large scale event where we’ll bring in anointed men and women of God to infuse life into this region.
THE REQUIREMENTS
In order to join theLab staff, there is a mandatory level of participation (you basically have to be extremely available and ensure theLab is your primary ministry focus several times a week).
- Arrive by 9:45pm every Friday night for theLab prayer event and be ready to impart into the church leaders and others through prayer and the transfer of our key values of intercession, prophecy, intimacy and deliverance.
- Attend every noon prayer meeting. The only excusable absence is for those who have to work during the noon hour. Those that have a job MUST still attend at least one noon prayer event. The noon prayer meetings are critical as we debrief, listen to God for further strategy and pray together.
- Attend Revival Church’s evening service (when we move to Sunday mornings, people who are on theLab staff who attend other churches will attend their own morning church service, but they will be required to attend the Revival Church evening service(s)). This service is the primary briefing for the week and it’s a time of deep prayer, corporate worship and impartation.
- Attend weekly training sessions. This has yet to be developed, but we plan on developing a ‘school of the Holy Spirit’ where we will train people in the core values of theLab so they can, in turn, impart them into others.
- Travel locally together when I’m ministering in another church or when theLab is serving in a particular function. The team will join with me as instruments of fire as we infuse churches and conferences. An example is the upcoming Fire in February conference where theLab has been asked to provide the intercession coverage for each of the event’s services. (be sure to register at www.awakeningnet.us)
- Traveling with me outside of the region (more than 2 hours away) will be optional, but is still encouraged.
- Participating in other ministries is allowed, but theLab must be your primary commitment. If there is a conflict between ministry schedules, it’s required that you fulfill your commitment to theLab.
- You will have the opportunity to serve in a variety of ministry functions at theLab. Administrators, teachers, singers, worshipers and others will be needed to run the ministry.
Keep in mind as you evaluate whether you can participate or not—these are minimum requirements, and are not optional.
THE PLAN
- We’re in the development stage right now, and we need as many people to jump on board during the pre-launch as possible. You will help pioneer and form this new ministry of revival!
- We are considering 4 or 6 month semesters/trimesters.
- The pre-launch starts immediately. Simply show up at the next prayer meeting and/or send me an email at [email protected].
- We’ll be training in the prophetic, intimacy, intercession, reformation in the church and other key focuses.
- theLab staff will be giving leadership to the 1000 intercessors who will be giving leadership to the entire region.
- This is open to anybody who is a deeply committed Christian, and who will be honorable in their commitment to the team and the mission at theLab.
- For those moving from other states or nations, you will be fully responsible to secure housing, transportation and the necessary finances to live in Detroit.
- **SPECIAL: those who join us in pre-launch any time in February will be exempt from any tuition that we may implement at launch time—for life! (this does not include costs for conferences, materials, etc.)
Contact me at [email protected] for more info or to apply!