Posts Tagged ‘prophetic’
Gathering the hungry for revival in Detroit
We have been experiencing an overwhelming atmosphere at Revival Church recently—one young lady mentioned, with tears in her eyes A WEEK LATER, that she’s forever changed. The saturating presence of the Holy Spirit has resulted in many powerfully rocked people!
**Michele Perry said that she feels that the mission in Detroit is more difficult than her mission in Sudan. This means that we need the masses to join together each week as we strategically contend for an outpouring in Detroit.
What’s radically important in this season? Several key points:
- This is a season of gathering the hungry—As a regional center of revival, Revival Church is connecting with people from all over the area each week to contend for an outpouring.
- This is a season of precision positioning—Simply, those currently connected to Revival Church, and many other we have yet to meet are being awakened to the extreme need to be alert, in position and intentionally advancing the mission of revival.
- We are praying in pastors, leaders, intercessors, musicians, etc—As a regional revival center, it’s important that we have key city leaders on our team. We’re praying in people who are running the race of Kingdom advance in the region.
- Joy, freedom and abundant life are to be the norm—As we find ourselves deeply refreshed and healed in God’s presence each week as we minister to God and each other, the life of God will explode into our city.
So, can you help in this mission? It’s a big one and we can’t do it with a small team!
A few thoughts:
- Participate in prophetic prayer every Sunday from 5-6pm
- Bring friends, pastors, intercessors, family and others to our primary revival and refreshing event every week on Sunday at 6pm
- Join a small group
- Ask how your gift and passion fits at Revival Church
- Share the vision with pastors and leaders, and request they book a Revival Team in their church or at their camp or conference.
Ministry sites:
- www.johnburtonministries.com
- www.detroitrevivalchurch.com
- www.facebook.com/johnburton
- www.facebook.com/johnburtonministries
- www.facebook.com/detroitrevivalchurch
- www.twitter.com/detroitrevival
- www.twitter.com/johneburton
We can’t wait to see you THIS SUNDAY at 6pm!
Also, don’t forget to REGISTER for October’s THE THINNING OF THE VEIL conference with Michele Perry! Discounted registration through June!
www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events
Blessings!!
My notes for tonight’s prophetic teaching at Revival Church
FIRST—Don’t forget to register for the upcoming THE THINNING OF THE VEIL CONFERENCE with Michele Perry. The registration goes up on July 1st. You can do so at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events.
I don’t usually post my sermon notes (they are in outline form and I wonder how easy they are to follow), and I certainly don’t usually post them before I even teach them, but I feel this is a strong prophetic message for the church and it has the chance to really bless you.
I’ll be teaching this tonight at Revival Church at 6pm. If you are within 100 miles of Detroit, and don’t have a church service of your own tonight, BY ALL MEANS drive on out and join with us in a joy-packed, prophetic-filled atmosphere of fire!
We’re meeting in the First United Methodist Church building at 24036 Greater Mack in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. We’re easy to find, between 9 Mile and 10 Mile roads.
Here’s my notes—I pray the spirit of interpretation come upon you as you read!:
Revelation Unto Mission—Jonah’s Story
I. The Word of the Lord
a. It’s troubling to me that people attempt to live their lives outside of God’s Rhema activity.
i. Jonah 1:1 (ESV) Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
ii. Of course, Jonah was being called into a world changing mission, and it’s a mission he would not even know about if he didn’t hear God.
iii. This issue plagues Believers around the world. The Word is rare to them.
iv. Let’s look briefly at the story of Samuel and Eli.
v. 1 Samuel 3:1-11 (ESV) 1 Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli.
1. Note that Samuel was involved in ministry to God.
vi. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
1. He was where the ark of God was… just being in God’s presence changes everything!
vii. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
1. God’s voice was so clear that Samuel mistook it for a human.
2. When God talks, we should know him.
3. If our spouse were to show up at the house, we wouldn’t require their ID and a DNA test before we let them in. We know them. In similar fashion, we should know God!
viii. 6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
1. Did you get this? Samuel was involved in ministry, but did not know God! He never had an encounter, never communed with him! He never heard his voice!
ix. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
1. This isn’t a simple statement! This is a key goal of this ministry and of God—to get his servants to hear!
x. 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
1. The mission was about to be revealed.
b. Now, back to Jonah and his impending mission
i. We want to do all we can to avoid living a Jonah 3:1 life.
ii. Jonah 3:1-2 (ESV) 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
1. What happened between Jonah 1:1 and Jonah 3:1 is enough to destroy most people.
2. Chapter two is the prayer of Jonah… he’s is begging God to rescue him from his hell… it’s a common cry of Believers everywhere.
3. Let’s look at Jonah 1:1.
c. Jonah 1:1-2 (ESV) 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
i. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, and one of the largest. It was three days journey in circumference.
ii. Some estimate that 2,500,000 people lived in Nineveh.
iii. It’s also presumed that as a prophet, Jonah had but this single mission.
iv. He was born for Nineveh.
d. Being open to God’s voice in our lives will result in a lifestyle of inconvenience, challenge and impossible mandates. It will cause huge, huge problems in our lives, and it will cause damage and bring calibration to our lifestyle.
i. But, like Samuel, as we understand our roles to bring reformation and calibration to the church and to the world, we’ll see that our words won’t fall to the ground. We will function in power as we hear God and release decrees and declarations.
ii. Unlike Samuel, who was residing in God’s presence, and responded to God’s voice and delivered a difficult message to Eli that had every opportunity for offense, Jonah ran from God’s presence. The message and the mission was too costly.
iii. Jonah 1:3 (ESV) But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
iv. Jonah 1:4 (ESV) But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.
1. Some of you might be there.
a. Your goal? Hear God’s voice and run in the right direction. Simple.
b. Is everything around you breaking up? Are you on your way to your mission or moving away from it?
v. Jonah 1:5 (ESV) Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
1. Jonah was asleep, full of apathy, seeking out comfort.
2. This is plaguing the American church! We have created a place of comfort instead of advancing in a prophetic mission!
3. God is sending the waves and that boat is close to breaking up!
e. Now, watch this—this same scenario is about to be played out in the Church.
i. Jonah 1:6 (ESV) So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
ii. Authorities are going to come to us for help—will they be disgusted as they find the church asleep?
iii. They will cry out, “Wake up! Perhaps your God will be the answer!”
iv. Now, watch this.
v. Jonah 1:7-10 (ESV) 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
1. It will be CLEAR to the world why devastation has come.
2. The church tends to blame the liberal left, the homosexual agenda, abortionists… but, judgment comes first to the house of God!
vi. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation?
1. That is a critical question! What are we occupying ourselves as a prophetic people with? The world will ask!
vii. And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
1. They knew! Pagan idolaters’ knew Jonah was fleeing God’s presence!
viii. The world is angry… and this next statement is eye opening:
ix. Jonah 1:11 (ESV) Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
1. So life can get better, what must we do to the Christian church?
2. They are mad!
3. They are looking to eliminate us not because our values collide, but because we have failed to bring life to their reality!
x. Jonah 1:13-16 (ESV) 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
f. Take Two:
i. Jonah 3:1-4 (ESV) 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
1. That is an excellent verse to use in regard to ‘failed’ prophecy.
2. Of course, we know that Nineveh was not overthrown.
3. Today, heresy hunters would be all over Jonah and decry him as a false prophet.
4. Often, a purpose of prophecy is for it NOT to come to pass!
ii. Jonah 3:5 (ESV) And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
1. God’s plan worked.
2. All of Jonah’s running and fear and disaster could have been avoided… his mission could not have been more simple… he simply went to a city and voiced a single sentence: In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown! Mission fulfilled.
3. His whole life was about saying that single sentence and saving a city!
g. As Kingdom people respond or fail to respond, authorities will be impacted.
i. We see the captain of the ship seeing out Noah as he slept.
ii. We see the king of Nineveh respond as Noah obeyed.
iii. Jonah 3:6-9 (ESV) 6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
h. The last chapter of Jonah reveals what may have been the problem all along.
i. He was so distraught after the miraculous taking of an ENTIRE city!
ii. How can this be? Because of his selfish nature… his prophecy didn’t come to pass… the city was not destroyed… and he was concerned about his reputation… he didn’t want to be called a false prophet.
iii. He seemed to be more about reputation and self-preservation than he was about his Father’s business.
iv. This uncrucified quirk cost him dearly.
This song is a taste of tonight’s soaking service
This song will move you to tears as the presence of God envelopes you.
Jenn Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding, California starts by explaining how the song was birthed, and then behind a piano sings it over the people. She calls it “The Mom Song.” Click the player below to listen.
We’ve been experiencing a surprising ‘open Heaven' the last couple of weeks at Revival Church, and with a great deal of expectation and desire we are setting tonight’s regular agenda aside.
Tonight is a night to soak as the Holy Spirit swirls over us like a whirlwind.
We’ll be soaking, reading scripture and stirring a prophetic atmosphere as God readies Detroit for a supernatural visitation of epic proportions.
BRING YOUR BLANKET (seriously!), a pillow, comfy clothes and find a place to camp out next to the fire of the Holy Spirit.
It starts at 6pm.
As usual, we meet in the First United Methodist Church building at 24036 Greater Mack in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.
ALSO, it’s time to REGISTER for the upcoming Michele Perry meeting!
Head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events.
See you TONIGHT!
(Here’s another soaking ministry pic from Revolution Church in Manitou Springs)
1000 Prophetic Intercessors : Revival Church Detroit Strategy
Our intercessors, ministry staff and I are deeply in the place of prayer in our current season concerning the advance of LIFE and the power of Jesus in Detroit.
This will be no small movement. Mega. That’s the word that God has burned in my spirit. We have an opportunity to dream and see well beyond our own abilities right now—God is provoking many in this region to awaken, move into position and cry out for fire from Heaven!
The Revival Church strategy continues to unfold, and it has become clear that the foundation of night and day prophetic prayer all across the region must be developed—and quickly. It’s time to decree and declare in unity. The groans of our spirit must roar out in unison!
Romans 8:22-23 (ESV) 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:26 (NIV) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
1000 PROPHETIC INTERCESSORS
There are three types of people we are seeking to identify:
- People who will be uniquely connected with Revival Church team on Sundays and other key times of the week to prophetically pray and advance the mission. They will additionally help serve and give leadership to our satellite churches and ministries in the area, our traveling revival team and other Revival Church entities.
- People who are connected primarily with other ministries of the city church of Detroit, and want to be counted among the 1000 prophetic intercessors.
- People from other parts of the nation and the world who sense a calling to contend for revival in Detroit and desire to be a part of the 1000 intercessors.
All three groups will be intentionally connected with the Revival Church team via a weekly interactive radio show. That show currently airs on Mondays at 8pm EST at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/radio.
Additionally, the 1000 intercessors will receive “Rhema style” prayer points each week as we receive them in prayer. They will also be responsible to report back any prophetic data they receive concerning the mission.
REGIONAL STRATEGIC IMPACT
Revival Church is a prophetic and apostolic ministry that has a mandate of helping facilitate revival. As a prophetic revival command center we desire to communicate with other likeminded leaders and help develop strategy for our area.
Revival Church itself will have a central hub, a command center. Out of that central ministry, our plan is to launch satellite churches and ministries in several different sections of the Detroit region. While we will develop according to God’s timeline, our vision is to see twelve or more churches planted throughout Detroit. As a multi-site ministry of night and day prayer for the region, and as we work closely with other churches and ministries, we will develop the reach and the leadership necessary to cover Detroit in continual intercession, ministry and the fire of revival.
If you would like to consider joining with us at any of the levels, we would love to connect. If you are a ministry leader and would like to consider working with us as a partner ministry, let us know. Our heart is to develop a “Revelation Driven Network of Ministries” all around the world.
You can email me at [email protected] or call me at 313.799.FIRE.
Let’s see Detroit experience a fiery outpouring of the Holy Spirit right on schedule!
John Burton
Photos : Detroit report : Tonight at Revival Church
What a night we had at the monthly Ministry Staff meeting last night! WOW! (Did you know that YOU can join the Ministry Staff?! Contact us at [email protected] for info!!)
AND I have to let you know that Amy and I lead the BEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD!! Our Ministry Staff surprised Amy and me with a 5-day trip to the “Growing River Churches” conference at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship next week!!! Ahhhhh!!!!! Thank you! We love you all!!!!
Last night was full of revelation and intercession—Joshua 3 is our chapter… and we know that we’ve never been this way before! A BRAND NEW apostolic move of God is upon us!! It’s time that we sanctify ourselves… for tomorrow wonders of God are coming!
Wow! Wow! Wow! I’m BURNING!!
TONIGHT at Revival Church (www.detroitrevivalchurch.com) is going to be FIERY! Get ready to EXPERIENCE GOD together with other burning men and women of God at Revival Church! Prophetic prayer starts at 5pm!
I’m still trembling even as I type this. God is BURNING in our midst!
God spoke very clearly when we launched Revival Church that we must find a ‘greater groan’ of the Holy Spirit so that “all things will work together for good…” (Rom 8)
Our revival team groaned and cried out with fire and depth last night as we contended for the next steps in a MASSIVE vision for revival in Detroit.
The words “mega” and “venues” have been deposited in my spirit… and are key for us as we continue to move toward the development of a multi-faceted revival command center for the region. We don’t have all the details, but our vision is quickly expanding. We want to see every geographic section of the Detroit area (for starters!) strategically impacted by teams of prophetic revivalists, intercessors and lovers of Jesus. (If you’d like to book me and our revival team in your church to cast the vision and impart some life and fire, contact me here: www.praytherevolution.com/booking.)
We’re contending for a 100-fold increase of key prophetic intercessors, which would mean well over 1000 people in Detroit who are tightly & continually connected and interceding in agreement with the blueprints of the Lord. They will contend night and day and prophetically release the plans and purposes of God in the city.
We want to see various venues—Revival Church directed ministries AND a network of other likeminded churches and ministries—set up as revival command centers all across the region. It’s important to have a lot of strategic cross-pollination between churches in Detroit. This is a city-church movement that will apostolically break and take new ground.
Here’s some pics from last night… if you are local, don’t miss Revival Church tonight! If not, you can still join our revival team!! Contact me for info: [email protected].
FIRE!!
Flags and Fire : Special service tonight at Revival Church
People couldn’t stop raving about Amy Smith’s flag ministry teaching and demonstration they took part in at a special event recently.
Well, I LOVE flags! I feel there is a significant breaker anointing on the ministry of flagging, and I want you to understand the purpose and strategy behind their use.
As I often say, we can beat the devil with fabric and a stick! 
Tonight, at 6pm sharp, we’ll begin the night with Amy’s teaching and demonstration, and then move into worship.
And, don’t forget, the most important hour of the week—prophetic prayer from 5-6pm!
That’s not a catchy phrase to convince more people to show up for prayer—I believe it’s an accurate statement. Throughout my ministry, from the days as a volunteer youth minister in Dayton to our youth events in San Diego to the church plant in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and now here in Detroit the pre-service prayer has ALWAYS been the most important time of the week. No comparison.
Without being fueled by God together in that place of zealous, contending and declarative prayer, it’s like showing up to race at the Indy 500 without filling up the tank with gas.
So, come tonight at 5pm if you can, and certainly at 6pm for a night of flags and fire!
Come full, alert and ready
Sunday’s at Revival Church are geared more toward facilitating a holy staff meeting than a typical church service—we must set a pattern of arriving full, alert and ready to pour out and then to receive key instructions. As a revival command center, we must all assume a military mindset and be exceedingly discerning and ready for advance.
The reason we planted this church was to gather together likeminded people who are contending together for a weighty move of God in Detroit. As we meet and encounter God together in a prophetic atmosphere, we’ll all receive divine mandates and strategies.
THE MOST IMPORTANT HOUR OF THE WEEK
We would like to see as many people as possible rushing through the doors at 5pm every Sunday evening. From 5-6pm we have the opportunity to initiate and facilitate a deeply prophetic atmosphere. As we all pray with passion an hour prior to the service, we’ll be ready for God’s plans for the rest of the night.
A FULL TIME MANDATE
Come full. This is such a key directive for all of us. We have to change the trend in the church world where we burn out through the week and try get refilled on Sundays. This pattern of living is extremely self-defeating and it threatens the mission of Kingdom advance.
Every day be in the place of extreme prayer and intercession. Dive deep into scripture. Listen to sermons from anointed men and women of God online. Be so full and deeply burning in the passion of the Holy Spirit that we experience a spontaneous explosion when we connect on Sundays.
THE OPPORTUNITIES
Revival Church is not a ‘Sunday only’ ministry. We’ll never even begin to fulfill our mission by connecting for a few hours one day a week. Be encouraged to connect at several different points every week so we can compare notes, grow together and stay on the same page. We’ve made it easy by having several of our connect points online, so people can participate from their homes.
- Mondays- Join our weekly Prophetic Revival radio broadcast. At 8pm EST every Monday head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/radio.
- Wednesdays- Head on over to Revival Church for prayer at 7pm.
- Fridays- Connect at the International House of Prayer East Detroit at 7pm for prayer, worship and teaching.
- Revival Teams- Join with others each week for discussion, prayer, strategy and other mission critical activities.
THE PLANS
There’s a lot of vision for the future that are connected to our ability to build a strong foundation now. As we grow and develop with fire, love and passion, we’ll watch some important ministry launch in the months and years ahead. Some examples:
- Revelation Driven House of Prayer- We will be functioning as a 24/7 prophetic prayer center for the region and the nations. As we gain prophetic intelligence from people from around the world, we’ll intercede, proclaim and release the life of Jesus into those situations. This will result in serious shifts in cities and atmospheres around the world.
- Revival Teams- As we take this fire into churches, conferences and events in cities around the world, we’ll want a team of people who know how to walk in the Spirit, pray with passion and impart the fire of God.
- Revelation Driven Ministry Project- We’re launching this now, but for it to thrive we’ll have to give it a lot of attention. The call is for everybody to connect at least twice a week with us. Once by submitting dreams, visions and prophecies to www.propheticpulse.com and a second time by participating in the weekly Monday 8pm EST radio show where we’ll discuss those prophecies.
There’s more, but that will give you an idea of the scope of the mission. As we all contend together, with smiles on our faces and fire in our eyes, we’ll be right in the middle of a consuming end-time move of the Living God!
And, in case you haven’t seen it, check out our welcome magazine here!
See you TOMORROW for a night of fire!
Why is the Holy Spirit so commonly minimized in churches today?
Are we ready for an Acts 2 style outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our churches?
There’s an ongoing discussion on my Facebook wall about this issue. I felt it would be good to broaden the discussion and see what some of you might bring to the table.
I’ll paste some of the comments first, and then present my thoughts:
Original post- Have you noticed how focus on the Holy Spirit, speaking tongues, ,etc. has been minimized in the church today?
- Yep, noticed it! The enemy doesn't want us uttering the mysteries of God!
- Yes sir. It's easier to have a "seeker" driven service, than to Preach a Prophetic message under the Power of the Holy Spirit. That takes time in the prayer closet-the former can happen with a slick marketing team (sometimes hired as the "pastoral" staff).
- There definitely has been a move away from experiencing the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the use of tongues in the 80 got so beyond what scripture says. It was pretty abused.
- That may be true, but we are entering a Decade where there will be a parting of the waters. Those who have been trained AND utilize the weapons of the Spirit will thrive; others will suffer much pain.
- I just heard a George Barna stat about this recently less than 2% of the churches will hear their pastor preach a message on the Holy Spirit this year. Its alarming.
- A couple of years ago I heard leaders from a main line denomination speak at a Rocky Mountain regional meeting for that denomination. The leaders saw that the denomination that they led was becoming Spirit Filled in name only. They felt the need to see 500,000 people receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Yet the churches in this region still take the approach of the Holy Spirit isn't for Sunday morning approach. Its scary.
- Interesting, the Holy Spirit in benched on Sundays…until we need a big play, then he get's play time like Michael Vick…what a sad way to treat my Best Friend.
- The Holy Spirit misses His church. He's going to get it back though.
- Many pastors have been reduced to a role as MC and the show must go on, on schedule, or peeps won't come back.
- Absolutely.. If people knew the incredible power that is released in you when you pray in the Spirit, they would never stop lol. I encourage it in those I teach. God bless.
My thoughts:
There are some realities that we need to consider:
- From what I've discovered, a significant percentage of Christians, pastors and leaders included, don't easily hear God, encounter him. This makes it difficult to even consider embracing a Holy Spirit driven environment. Prayerlessness is a key reason for this problem. The average pastor prays 6 minutes a day. Leonard Ravenhill said, "Pastors who don't pray two hours a day aren't worth a dime a dozen." It's a difficult but important point that would be well worth considering.
- In an environment driven by the Holy Spirit, these people who don't easily hear God can get quite frustrated. They will tend to find another place to go to church. So, the natural church preservation strategy is to minimize the invisible/supernatural and maximize the logical/tangible.
- There has been a huge misunderstanding of the primary purpose of the church. Many feel it's to be a socially focused entry point for the lost. The church actually isn't to be a house of evangelism or a house of relationships. It's a house of prayer first and foremost. It's a believer's ministry. We have lost faith that God, in his wisdom, set it up this way. If we truly have a church of people who are releasing the ‘groans that can't be uttered', who intercede for the nations, who pray in the Spirit, then we will have the ‘expected outcomes' of mass salvations, a huge harvest, life-giving small groups, etc.
- There can be a knee-jerk reaction to the problem of people who abuse freedom in such an atmosphere. Trust me, I understand the issue of people who just want to be seen and heard, who are manipulative, who are emotionally unstable or who operate in charismatic witchcraft. But, the answer is not to shut down a prophetic, Holy Spirit driven environment.
- The focus on teaching. I'm a teacher, I love to teach and I value greatly the ministry of teaching. However, I think a valid question is, "Why are most church services teaching-centric?" If the Holy Spirit breaks out, if there's deliverance going on in the room, of a spirit of intercession erupts, would people be OK with forgoing the sermon? The Holy Spirit (the Teacher) can impart more biblical truth in two seconds than we ever could in two hours.
What do you think?
“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
A prophetic message: The process to leave Egypt has begun : A financial strategy for Detroit and the nation
This week I have had a strong impression to start focusing on three ‘zones’ in regard to prayer and strategic advance:
- Local (Individual/the Church)
- Regional (Detroit/Michigan)
- National
As we participate rightly with God’s divine plan, we will find ourselves recalibrated with Him locally, regionally and nationally.
There is a large scale move of God in process now, and it in many ways mirrors the Exodus from Egypt. If we can prophetically peer into that story, we will discover some key lessons and strategies.
I also believe there is a financial message in the midst of this story that will help all of us advance as we understand the schemes of the enemy. (2 Cor 2:11)
This story must launch from the same place it launched in the life of Moses—the burning bush. The cry for prophetic messengers to humbly yet boldly declare the potentially offensive, extremely costly and problematic designs of God must come now. There is a burning bush in Michigan and in our nation—but is there anybody there with their shoes removed ready to receive that message?
Exodus 3:4-5 (ESV) 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
God is calling, is anybody responding? I actually believe the answer is at least a limited ‘yes’, but I wonder if any of us realize the severity of the call. We must receive the call from a position of holiness and humility and we must then boldly relay the call to the opposing system that’s keeping a nation in bondage.
Moses did just that. I believe we are also at an initial phase of the mission to break from from a worldly system.
Note what happened immediately after the prophetic word was declared by Moses to Pharaoh:
Exodus 5:1-3 (ESV) 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
Of course, Moses’ mandate was met with immediate resistance. However, this resistance to the prophetic wasn’t simply in the form of a dispute between two leaders. The prophetic message, as delivered through the prophetic messenger, caused problems for the whole ‘church’.
The call was to move from an Egyptian system into the wilderness of encounter with God.
Exodus 5:4-5 (ESV) 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!”
I believe we are most certainly in a season of transition—from a tiring focus of necessary but unfulfilling production into a miraculous season of supernatural rest and life.
Sarah Palin declared last week in Grand Rapids at the launch of her national “Going Rogue” book tour that something miraculous is coming to the economic structure in Michigan—and I believe this is surely the case.
However, we in Michigan may very well be in the midst of this next part of the Exodus story:
Exodus 5:6-8 (ESV) 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’
The enemy is reacting with anger right now in this early prophetic season. While the church is being called into a new chapter, we have not yet made it there. We’re still in the old system. Reformation has not come yet. The bricks of old, the provision of old has not yet faded away. People need to make bricks, need to produce, need to pay the same bills, etc. However, I believe the enemy has removed the straw.
At a time when people are losing jobs, losing their homes, a time when stress is high and the ability to produce is significantly more difficult than it was just a couple of years ago, we must know that the prophetic message will get the job done—if we don’t relent.
Exodus 5:10-13 (ESV) 10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’ ” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.”
The only way to break out of this bondage is to rely on God’s supernatural methods and his decrees. The coming new system’s principles must be applied now, as we are breaking out of the current system.
Are we prepared for the greatest of battles? The church itself will turn on prophetic voices, prophetic strategists. Change will bring significant discomfort and struggle, and most will strike back in anger and accusation. Will we still contend for freedom?
Exodus 5:20-21 (ESV) 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
We will also have opportunity to question ourselves, as Moses did:
Exodus 5:22-23 (ESV) 22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
I’ve often said that the enemy, who is the accuser, loves it when he convinces children of God to embrace his methods, his giftings, his anointings. He wants us to become accusers, and not just accusers of the brethren, but accusers of God Himself. Moses fell for this in the midst of extreme rebellion and pressure from his own people, and threats from Pharaoh.
Exodus 6:7-9 (ESV) 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
We see in the above passage that God has a plan, and it’s a big one. However, the extreme process will be difficult and many will turn away.
But, the end of this story is extreme. God wanted it all, without compromise—and he got what he wanted. And the people ultimately realized that they didn’t need straw to make their bricks—because they didn’t need the bricks at all. The old has passed away and the new season was upon them.
They dropped the bricks and picked up the riches of Egypt and moved out into the pursuit of their destiny.
In the beginning I shared a three-fold focus:
- On a small scale, we must individually and as local churches prepare for and lead the way in that spirit of Moses. We must run to the battle with fire from a bush in our mouths.
- Then, we must have a regional understanding—for us, Michigan is our next immediate focus. We must shout to the state the plans of Heaven, and let that prophetic message penetrate the darkness.
- Then, ultimately, we must prepare for a national movement. The Israelites were a nation, that was stepping into their ultimate destiny that hasn’t even fully played out yet.
Again, I feel we are in the place where the message has begun to be proclaimed, the plan of God has been released. The enemy has been enraged and straw has been removed. It’s more difficult to produce in our families, in our city, state and nation.
However, a new system is coming where bricks of old will be dropped and the plunder of Egypt will be picked up.
Proverbs 13:22 (ESV) A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.