Posts Tagged ‘revival church’
Very Special Event! Michele Perry of Iris Ministries Sudan
The Thinning of the Veil : October 29-31, 2010
THE THINNING OF THE VEIL conference with Michele Perry, founder of Iris Ministries Sudan, will impact your life in dramatic fashion!
Michele shared with me that she is experiencing the supernatural realm with significant ease, and wants to see the church step into that same life of encounter.
Halloween is commonly known to be the time when those involved in witchcraft and the occult can move into the spirit realm most easily. The veil is thinnest that night of the year.
Of course, everything the enemy does is a reproduction or a skewed version of the pure are real. God loves it when we go deeper into his presence, when we walk in the Spirit and when it becomes normal to know and hear him continually.
Michele will be teaching and coaching you into this amazing reality!
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
The main sessions, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, are FREE, but you must register at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events.
The three Saturday workshop sessions require both registration and a small fee.
THE THINNING OF THE VEIL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION- OCTOBER 29-31, 2010
Friday (FREE, registration required, no child care)
- 7pm
Saturday (Special workshops, payment and registration required, no child care)
- 10am-noon: Connecting with the supernatural/hearing the voice of God
- Noon: Lunch (on your own)
- 2pm-3pm: Driven by revelation (John Burton)
- 3pm-4pm: Changing a regional atmosphere/carrying God's presence
Saturday (FREE, registration required, no child care)
- 7pm
Sunday (FREE, registration required, nursery only, no additional childcare)
- 6pm
If you have questions, please contact us at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/contact.
We can’t wait to see you in a few weeks!
Amy Burton
Senior Leader
Revival Church
John Burton
Visionary Leader
Revival Church
Our Current Situation in Detroit
Our Current Situation in Detroit
Amy and I and the Burton family would be honored if you would read through this and contact us this week. God is really doing some amazing things around here!
Last May we made a seemingly crazy decision to move against the massive flow of people out of Detroit, and to move here to help prepare the region for revival.
Since then we’ve developed some amazing and important relationships, started Revival Church, ministered in churches and raised up a solid team of revivalists.
The reason for the mass exodus out of the Detroit area is the tragic level of unemployment. I’ve heard it said that there’s ONE JOB for every 90 people looking for a job!
We knew we were taking a huge faith step, and with little guaranteed monthly finances we’d have to live on the miraculous giving of our friends and partners.
Those of you that know me understand very well that I embrace a lifestyle of thankfulness, joy and faith. The following situation is not a complaint or an expression of frustration, but a simple and very real analysis of our current situation.
- Since I had to start working outside the church, my actual time involved in ministry has been reduced to near zero (the goal is to be invested 40-60 hours a week, and I’m currently ministering less than 5)
- Church plant coaches say that a key and initial goal is to raise enough money so the planter doesn’t have to divide his time and energy by working outside of the church. (The time necessary to be involved in prayer, study, pastoring, networking, developing, creating teams, marketing, etc. is quite extreme… it’s way more than a full time job in itself.)
- Due to the high time requirements and demands of church and ministry leadership, Steve Gray of World Revival Church in Kansas City recently said, “…every pastor, if they are working a job outside the church,their goal should be, as fast as possible,to get rid of that job."
- My energy and focus has been divided significantly due to the need to get a job (again, thankful, but wisdom demands an evaluation of this)
- I currently work until around 6pm every day, and then work for my own design business most evenings from 6pm to bedtime and also on Saturdays.
- I’ve been preparing my sermon for Sunday’s Revival Church service the hour before I leave for service every Sunday, which just can’t continue.
- The preparation of revival requires a massive time commitment, and I don’t want my part of the mission to remain on hold for much longer. The work to be done is huge, and I must give myself to it fully.
We are boldly asking for you to financially partner with our ministry. We need to raise at least $3000 a month to replace my job, and another $1000 or so to replace my design business.
You can give via credit card at www.johnburtonministries.com/donate. If you setup recurring monthly donations, that would be a huge blessing. If you’d prefer to make a special donation, that would bless us as well!
The donations are tax-deductible. If you’d prefer to send a check, just contact us and we’ll get you the info. My email is [email protected] and Amy’s is [email protected]. My phone is 313.799.3473.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. We’d love to hear from you and share more about this huge mission in Detroit!
We love you!
John, Amy, Skylar, Parker, Jet and Ella
Party atmosphere at Revival Church
Healings in a Party Atmosphere at Revival Church
That last two weeks at Revival Church have been amazingly free and alive. Laughter has been breaking out, and last night we had at least three instantaneous healings.
God is AMAZING!
There was such life and freedom throughout the night… I was buzzing as I was preaching on the pleasure of God.
That teaching can be heard at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching, and the full notes (I only made it through the introduction last night) will be included below.
Enjoying God!
I. Our Vision
a. We started this church with one big idea.
i. To know God, in the depths of his personality, is incredible!
ii. Our job is to make it easy for people to thoroughly enjoy God.
iii. He is so worth it!
iv. John Piper- we value most what we delight in most.
1. God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.
2. We spent our money on a trip to Disney World.
3. It was incredible and worth every penny.
a. The $4 hot dogs, $3 Mickey ice cream bars, the long lines, the hot weather- all worth it!
b. We were there 8 days and we were up at 7am on 7 of them to enjoy as much pleasure as possible!
c. All of this pleasure doesn’t even come close to the pleasure that knowing God brings!
d. Psalms 16:11 (NKJV) 11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
e. The idea here is to live our lives in the presence of God!
4. If we truly understand what we have in knowing God, the church, not Disney World, will be the happiest place on earth!
b. This idea is in direct contradiction to religion.
i. To have a relationship with God is to enjoy him, to trust him, to love him and to be satisfied in him alone.
ii. However, religion is man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants.
1. That’s very different.
2. C.S. Lewis- Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
c. As we continually and aggressively grow in God, we will discover the greatest, deepest and most overwhelming satisfaction comes as we are simply with him.
II. He Is Passionate About Us
i. John 3:16 (NKJV) 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
ii. Rev 4:11 (KJV) 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
iii. If you saw the Passion of the Christ, you have an idea how passionate Jesus is for you, for the one who drove the nails.
III. Five Steps To Enjoying God
a. Surrender
i. Salvation
1. We can’t enjoy life if we aren’t free!
2. Our sins and our separation from God make it impossible to enjoy God.
a. That’s why Jesus came!
b. Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, F29 To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
3. Best decision I’ve ever made!
4. Not because of some hope of going to heaven, but because of how amazing life on earth really is!
5. Isaiah 12:3 (NKJV) 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
a. It’s wonderful to be free!
b. When our savior was on his way to the earth, the angels declared- rejoice!
c. Luke 2:10 (NKJV) 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
6. Wildman
ii. Surrendering our thoughts and opinions
1. After salvation, the act of surrender must be continual for us to flow in the life of God.
2. 2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ
3. The word ‘arguments’ could be translated ‘reasonings’.
a. Every thought that rises up in our minds that speaks against the truth of the Word of God must be brought into captivity.
b. Another translation of that word is ‘imaginations’.
c. No matter how logical something may seem, if it contradicts the Word, it’s merely an imagination.
d. As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians–and I am one of them."
e. We surrender not only our lives, but also our frustrations, our fears, our doubts, our arguments against the truth of the Word.
f. This brings us to the next point- we must trust God entirely in order to enjoy him.
b. Faith/Trust
i. We can accept Jesus into our lives, but if we don’t trust him with everything, we can’t truly enjoy him.
1. We will be leery of him and that causes us to remain at a safe distance from him.
2. This is why he told us from the very beginning to die to our selves.
3. Matt 16:24-25 (NKJV) 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
a. What a dilemma!
b. So many Christians live their entire lives trying to find life- if only they would lose their life, carry their cross- then their lives would be amazing!
4. Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV) 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
a. If we have set our minds of discovering human answers to life’s challenges, we won’t give room for God to bring a supernatural answer!
b. Heb 11:1 (NKJV)1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
i. There is a very important truth here- if we truly live by faith, then our enjoyment is based upon what is unseen vs. what is seen!
ii. Circumstances cannot steal our joy!
iii. The reality of what our faith is based on is more tangible than the unpaid bills, the sickness in our body or the struggles in our lives.
iv. In the midst of it all, we rejoice because we know God’s taken care of us.
v. Jer 29:11-13 (NIV)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 upon 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.
vi. So- how do we know what to have faith in?
c. Romans 10:17 (NKJV)17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
d. This bring the third critical element needed to thoroughly enjoy God- The Word!
c. Growth in the Word
i. It’s easy to enjoy God when we believe the Word is true!
ii. It’s alive!
1. Phillip Brooks- The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope he sees worlds beyond; but if he looks at his telescope, he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it and so they see only the dead letter.
2. So we find ourselves in a trial and our initial response is to complain and lose our joy.
3. But then! We open the 100% true Word of God!!
a. Hark, what do we have here?!
b. 2 Cor 4:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
c. Behold! Now our misery can turn to joy as we believe the Word of God is true!
d. Psalms 119:103-104 (NKJV) 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
e. C.S. Lewis- I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much.
iii. In addition to making it easy to enjoy God by feeding our faith, the Word reveals the incredible depth of God!
1. What could be better?
2. Rev 19:11-16 (NKJV) 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
3. Wow!
iv. The way we see God, the way we make decisions, the way we perceive challenges will change as we stand on the Word.
v. Challenges can become thrilling instead of heavy.
vi. Burden is light.
vii. We can easily enjoy God as we devour his written word to us!
d. Worship/prayer
i. Deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, Italian poet Dante Alighieri failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, "If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing."
1. To get lost exalting God is amazing!
2. The greatest part of the Christian life for me is prayer and worship!
3. I am fanatically addicted to it!
4. 1 Chron 16:11 (NKJV) 11 Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
5. For many, prayer is the means to the end.
a. It should not be that way!
b. Being with God is the end!
c. Col 4:2 (NKJV) 2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
ii. It seems strange that God calls us to exalt him.
iii. He knows that we will experience life and freedom if we do!
iv. In order to enjoy God, not only must we trust him, but we must interact with him always.
v. It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.
vi. Alfred Lloyd Tennyson- More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.
vii. When asked how much time he spent in prayer, George Muller's reply was, "Hours every day. But I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk and when I lie down and when I arise. And the answers are always coming."
e. Right relationships
i. In regard to relationships- Make sure there is a fire breather in the mix!
ii. Spend time with people who are can’t stop talking about God!
1. In order to enjoy God always, we must hang with people that share our passion!
2. Acts 2:42 (NKJV) 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
3. This is why it’s so important to come together each week at church- to fellowship, to worship, to grow together!
a. 3 times a week- Sunday, Wed, small groups.
b. Heb 10:24-25 (NKJV) 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
4. It’s a critical element of life on earth- finding joy and life in relationships with others.
5. People crave intimate relationships!
iii. Testimony of kid in mall
IV. Conclusion
a. So, to enjoy God we simply pursue him!
i. Surrender
ii. Faith/trust
iii. The Word
iv. Worship/Prayer
v. Relationships
A Revival Family
God is doing something wonderful in Detroit!
I’m so blessed to be a part of a family of revivalists—people who love each other a lot, and who are moving deeper into the fire of revival together.
At Revival Church, we’re passionately calling zealous, hungry people together who are ready to lock in and have a blast praying, serving and developing a foundation that will withhold the pressures of a massive move of God.
You are invited to join us! We would absolutely love that!
The plan is simple—we gather, we pray, vision is cast and we grow together, at the same pace toward strength and maturity.
We’ll also be attending another fiery church TOMORROW morning at 10am. Salt River Christian Church in Chesterfield. I love the converging of churches and ministry… the city church is a huge part of our vision! See you there, and then at Revival Church Sunday evening at 6pm!
Salt River Christian Church
50955 Seaden Drive
Chesterfield, MI 48047
They are located 1 mile east of I – 94, 1 building south of 23 mile on Seaden Drive.
Transition is coming but the church is breech
THE CHURCH IS BREECH
If you have been following the ministry recently you know that I’m zeroed in on a critical issue—an issue, in my opinion, that can result in the further fracture of the church, or in a powerful reformation that will shock the world.
Sunday at our Revival Church staff meeting, there was a strong prophetic word that must be given attention.
The message was that the church is in a time of massive transition, much like you’d find in a delivery room. When the mother is transitioning into the process of birth the room is filled with chaos and even confusion for the untrained, nervous or unprepared.
We are seeing this same chaos and confusion in the church today. People are scattering, searching for traction, for fresh new life that they sense is near.
Then, the person who gave the message declared, “The church is breech! The church is breech!”
Of course, a breech delivery is a cause for serious concern. The chance of death to the coming baby is much greater than in a normal, head first birth.
Immediately, God revealed to me what the word meant. What the meaning of a breech church was.
The confusion, frustration and wounding that’s impacting so many Christians is resulting in an intentional divorce from pastors and leaders. It’s a movement that either greatly minimizes or even renounces governmental church leadership.
It’s a feet first movement. The church is breech.
A common cause for a breech delivery is prematurity. Premature babies tend to deliver breech, and we need to consider this for the church. We can’t allow our dissatisfaction and impatience to cause us to move out ahead of leadership.
Many believe this chaotic transition, this reformation in the church is the answer to their frustrations and pains that they experienced in the organized church. They feel it’s a transition out of body life and away from human leaders.
That is a devastating and terribly incorrect analysis.
The coming reformation will in fact highlight God’s established apostolic leaders and will call the church to rally around them in radical unity and advance into the darkness of the world.
Further, there’s an incorrect mindset that every Believer is identical. That we all have equal giftings and equal authority in every situation. Usually this idea is embraced as a defense measure after feeling slighted by Christian leaders. I understand the pain that this can bring, but the answer isn’t to artificially level the playing field. God loves us all passionately, but he does flow through us differently. Our abilities and responsibilities vary.
Those with a gift of healing have a greater grace to heal people. People with the gift of helps can function in that role much more easily and efficiently than others. If someone has an ordination from God into a prophetic office, he or she will be receiving information that most others won’t. Apostles have breakthrough ability that’s unique to that office.
As we embrace true biblical order, and understand that we can’t cut off the heads (small ‘h’ vs. the capitol ‘H’ reserved for God alone—God is the Head and he establishes heads of ministries) of God’s ordained leaders simply because they have disappointed us.
Man will always disappoint, but it’s God’s wisdom that has resulted in the establishment of significant responsibilities, anointings and missions through them. It’s always been this way, cover to cover in Scripture. God raises up men and women to lead. We can’t avoid it.
So, it’s time to gather together in love, passion and mission as God readies a massive advance of God’s government that lies just on the other side of our current birthing room season of transition.
The best sermon I’ve ever heard : New teaching and notes
First—Friday I taught at New Wineskins Ministry on “Becoming Unoffendable,” and my son Skylar ran up to me when I was done and said, “Dad, that was the best sermon I’ve ever heard!” And, get this, it was nearly two hours long!
Go to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching and search for “Unoffendable” and listen to that sermon. I regularly hear that it’s one of the most powerful messages people have ever heard.
Also, I strongly urge you to listen to Sundays teaching on the Prophetic Mandate for the Church. I’ll include those notes below. It’s also found at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching and as of today it’s the most recent message (should be right on top).
I discuss four key messages that we’re mandated to run with including the pandemic of ‘false assurance of salvation’.
Here’s the notes. (The first segment is from last week’s sermon and this week’s picks up at “The Terror of Hell”):
Some Key Prophetic Mandates for the Church
1. Introduction
a. We’ve been given a clear mandate at Revival Church to help introduce revival to Detroit.
i. This means the way things are now must morph into something very different.
ii. The most successful way to ensure the coming outpouring remains for decades is to introduce reformation before it arrives.
iii. It’s the upper room strategy—respond to an extreme lifestyle call and carry it out forever.
iv. Do you ever get frustrated when a new road is under construction forever?
1. This situation is just like a road under construction—hundreds of thousands will benefit from it. But, it’s still being built. We are not those who are frustrated, we are the ones with the hard hats and gloves on. We are the workers!
2. The fact that it’s a long term project doesn’t frustrate us because we understand the scope of the project. We know it takes a long time to pull together a work force, to survey the area, to bring in the bull dozers, to dig, to lay asphalt… for it to harden, and on and on.
3. We need the work force to simply show up for work every day.
4. Greek: technites- an architect, one who plans, calculates and constructs a building
5. Have you ever gotten frustrated watching construction workers just standing there by the side of the road doing nothing while you are backed up in traffic?
b. Hebrews 11:8-10 (ESV) 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
1. The process of building is critical
2. This passage is true for individuals, and it’s also true for mission driven churches.
3. Luke 6:46-49 (ESV) 46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
4. Now, the enemy understands what a unified group of people who are determined to build can do.
5. In fact, he borrowed this Godly strategy himself and was on pace to do great things for his kingdom.
6. Just as the Holy Spirit is calling us together to build, an unholy spirit was orchestrating things behind the scenes here.
c. Genesis 11:1-8 (ESV) 1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
1. We are seeing the enemy do to the church what God did to his mission—people are being scattered.
2. So, our goal, and God’s goal is for us to put on the hard hats, pick up the shovels and have one language.
- Rom 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
i. If we agree, if we align ourselves together in the purpose of God for Detroit- who can stop us? Who can be against us?
ii. Every noble work is at first impossible. Thomas Carlyle
1. On the contrary, if we are not aligned, we cannot win- we need each other, in a place of agreement, in a place of health and maturity and fully devoted to taking city for Jesus!
2. I challenge you—take inventory of your alliances. Who and what you are aligned with will determine your destiny.
3. Agreement is a powerful force.
ii. Matthew 18:18-20 (ESV) 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
1. This is usually used when talking about prayer—but this is really talking about mission.
2. Do you see the focus is on being together and warring against the enemy and moving ahead in agreement?
iii. You know the old saying, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall." This saying is applicable within the church too. In the battle for Stalingrad during World War II the Russian commanders ordered their soldiers not to give up any more ground. Any soldier who fled from the Germans was shot on the spot. The Russian commanders knew that if even a couple of soldiers fled their post the Germans would have an opening through which they could pour into the city. Likewise, when the church is divided, Satan finds it so much easier to attack and to conquer.
1. We have to know that we are aligned, agreed, together and committed as builders, workers and warriors.
iv. Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Native American warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, "What are we going to do?" Tonto replied, "What you mean ‘we,' Whiteman?"
v. 1 Cor 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1. In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
2. So, what must we be agreed on?
2. The Terror of Hell
a. Intimacy
b. Salvation
a. Many in the church will be surprised one day, just as you were surprised in the dream, to find themselves under the control of demons as they are taken to hell.
a. Proverbs 14:11-14 (ESV) 11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. 13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. 14 The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
b. Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
b. This message is probably the number one mandate from God for me.
a. It’s all about two things:
i. Intimacy- seeking, knocking and finding Jesus, hunger, desire
ii. Lawlessness- in control of ones own life, not surrendered, not responsive, following Jesus on one’s own terms like the Rich Young Ruler.
1. There’s an anti-authority, anti-submission, scattering spirit in the church today, and it’s exceedingly dangerous!
2. 2 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV) 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
c. House of prayer movement
a. The house of prayer is not a splinter movement, it is a call to calibration for the entire church.
b. Luann Zettle- "..a house of Prayer for all Nations..yep, totally agree with you John. Biblically this is so clear. And there are SO many I know that do see it that way. But, I think the biggest problem is that we don't know how to get there from here. The current church structure just seems to throw prayer in as an "add-on" or an additional ministry/program or that 10 minute exercise we do in the morning as opposed to the driving furnace of the Church, through which all other church Life flows. And i agree. IHOP,KC looks a lot more like Church than most anything else I've seen. "
3. Reformation in the Church
a. 20 Elements of Revival
b. Ancient and emerging
c. Dangerous scattering in the church
d. Cares of life
e. Misunderstanding of the purpose of the church
i. A wrong understanding of why we go to church will immediately result in a faulty understanding of how to participate.
ii. Many are saying that they don’t need the church anymore, or they only need the church a few times a month. This is an indicator of a wrong understanding of what the church is.
iii. Have we ever considered whether the church needs us?
iv. Can you imagine the USA military being strong if the soldiers only reported one day a week? No way! America would have been defeated and held captive long ago—and this is what has happened to the church.
v. Old paradigm- God first, family second, ministry third
vi. New paradign- all of it happening in the same places at the same time
1. We’ve come to believe that our families are healthier as we sit in front of the TV together instead of in the prayer room.
2. We might have a measure of personal health as we participate at a low level, but it comes at the expense of the church.
f. Some are saying that the Kingdom must advance out of the four walls of the church and into society. I agree! But, this can only happen if we are strategy minded and mission oriented in a place of burning prayer within the four walls of the upper room.
4. Encountering God
a. Making it easy for people to thoroughly enjoy God
b. We want people to know God, not just know about God.
c. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (ESV) 1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
5. Prophetic Atmosphere
a. A command center for the region.
b. Manitou Springs—a revival command center for the nations.
Prophetic Mandate
First—I thought you’d enjoy notes from our Revival Church staff meeting. I charted Elements 1-10 from my book 20 Elements of Revival. You can see the PDF here: www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/files/20ElementsofRevivalChart1-10.pdf
Yesterday’s teaching on the Prophetic Mandate is ready to listen to at www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching.
If we are looking to lead a generation of fire-breathers, we simply have to go deeper, burn hotter and give more then the wild radicals that are multiplying on the face of the Earth.
Here’s the notes:
1. Introduction
a. We’ve been given a clear mandate at Revival Church to help introduce revival to Detroit.
i. This means the way things are now must morph into something very different.
ii. The most successful way to ensure the coming outpouring remains for decades is to introduce reformation before it arrives.
iii. It’s the upper room strategy—respond to an extreme lifestyle call and carry it out forever.
iv. Do you ever get frustrated when a new road is under construction forever?
1. This situation is just like a road under construction—hundreds of thousands will benefit from it. But, it’s still being built. We are not those who are frustrated, we are the ones with the hard hats and gloves on. We are the workers!
2. The fact that it’s a long term project doesn’t frustrate us because we understand the scope of the project. We know it takes a long time to pull together a work force, to survey the area, to bring in the bull dozers, to dig, to lay asphalt… for it to harden, and on and on.
3. We need the work force to simply show up for work every day.
4. Greek: technites- an architect, one who plans, calculates and constructs a building
5. Have you ever gotten frustrated watching construction workers just standing there by the side of the road doing nothing while you are backed up in traffic?
b. Hebrews 11:8-10 (ESV) 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
1. The process of building is critical
2. This passage is true for individuals, and it’s also true for mission driven churches.
3. Luke 6:46-49 (ESV) 46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
4. Now, the enemy understands what a unified group of people who are determined to build can do.
5. In fact, he borrowed this Godly strategy himself and was on pace to do great things for his kingdom.
6. Just as the Holy Spirit is calling us together to build, an unholy spirit was orchestrating things behind the scenes here.
c. Genesis 11:1-8 (ESV) 1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
1. We are seeing the enemy do to the church what God did to his mission—people are being scattered.
2. So, our goal, and God’s goal is for us to put on the hard hats, pick up the shovels and have one language.
- Rom 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
i. If we agree, if we align ourselves together in the purpose of God for Detroit- who can stop us? Who can be against us?
ii. Every noble work is at first impossible. Thomas Carlyle
1. On the contrary, if we are not aligned, we cannot win- we need each other, in a place of agreement, in a place of health and maturity and fully devoted to taking city for Jesus!
2. I challenge you—take inventory of your alliances. Who and what you are aligned with will determine your destiny.
3. Agreement is a powerful force.
ii. Matthew 18:18-20 (ESV) 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
1. This is usually used when talking about prayer—but this is really talking about mission.
2. Do you see the focus is on being together and warring against the enemy and moving ahead in agreement?
iii. You know the old saying, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall." This saying is applicable within the church too. In the battle for Stalingrad during World War II the Russian commanders ordered their soldiers not to give up any more ground. Any soldier who fled from the Germans was shot on the spot. The Russian commanders knew that if even a couple of soldiers fled their post the Germans would have an opening through which they could pour into the city. Likewise, when the church is divided, Satan finds it so much easier to attack and to conquer.
1. We have to know that we are aligned, agreed, together and committed as builders, workers and warriors.
iv. Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Native American warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, "What are we going to do?" Tonto replied, "What you mean ‘we,' Whiteman?"
v. 1 Cor 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1. In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
2. So, what must we be agreed on?
2. The Terror of Hell
a. Intimacy
b. Salvation
a. Many in the church will be surprised one day, just as you were surprised in the dream, to find themselves under the control of demons as they are taken to hell.
a. Proverbs 14:11-14 (ESV) 11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. 13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. 14 The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
b. Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
b. This message is probably the number one mandate from God for me.
a. It’s all about two things:
i. Intimacy- seeking, knocking and finding Jesus, hunger, desire
ii. Lawlessness- in control of ones own life, not surrendered, not responsive, following Jesus on one’s own terms like the Rich Young Ruler.
1. There’s an anti-authority, anti-submission, scattering spirit in the church today, and it’s exceedingly dangerous!
2. 2 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV) 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
iii.
c. House of prayer movement
a. The house of prayer is not a splinter movement, it is a call to calibration for the entire church.
b. Luann Zettle- "..a house of Prayer for all Nations..yep, totally agree with you John. Biblically this is so clear. And there are SO many I know that do see it that way. But, I think the biggest problem is that we don't know how to get there from here. The current church structure just seems to throw prayer in as an "add-on" or an additional ministry/program or that 10 minute exercise we do in the morning as opposed to the driving furnace of the Church, through which all other church Life flows. And i agree. IHOP,KC looks a lot more like Church than most anything else I've seen. "
3. Reformation in the Church
a. 20 Elements of Revival
b. Ancient and emerging
c. Dangerous scattering in the church
d. Cares of life
e. Misunderstanding of the purpose of the church
i. A wrong understanding of why we go to church will immediately result in a faulty understanding of how to participate.
ii. Many are saying that they don’t need the church anymore, or they only need the church a few times a month. This is an indicator of a wrong understanding of what the church is.
iii. Have we ever considered whether the church needs us?
iv. Can you imagine the USA military being strong if the soldiers only reported one day a week? No way! America would have been defeated and held captive long ago—and this is what has happened to the church.
v. Old paradigm- God first, family second, ministry third
vi. New paradign- all of it happening in the same places at the same time
1. We’ve come to believe that our families are healthier as we sit in front of the TV together instead of in the prayer room.
2. We might have a measure of personal health as we participate at a low level, but it comes at the expense of the church.
f. Some are saying that the Kingdom must advance out of the four walls of the church and into society. I agree! But, this can only happen if we are strategy minded and mission oriented in a place of burning prayer within the four walls of the upper room.
4. Encountering God
a. Making it easy for people to thoroughly enjoy God
b. We want people to know God, not just know about God.
c. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (ESV) 1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
5. Prophetic Atmosphere
a. A command center for the region.
b. Manitou Springs—a revival command center for the nations.
Last chance to register for The Lily Band
This is going to be a BIG weekend at Revival Church!
The Lily Band will be with us, and all I can say is get ready!
The event is FREE, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Bring a blanket to soak on if you’d like. The entire night will be given over to basking in the heavy presence of the Holy Spirit.
If you crave impartation, refreshing, healing and God’s touch on your life, this is a powerful opportunity to receive!
You can get a taste of their prophetic expression of worship at www.lilybandmusic.com.
REGISTER HERE: www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events
Crisis in the church : Misunderstanding of the purpose of the church
I just tweeted:
I don't buy into the ‘church isn't a building' mantra we hear so much. Church requires corporate gathering. Acts 2 model. Daily in the temple.~www.twitter.com/johneburton
I don’t know if most realize it, but we are very literally at what might be the greatest crisis point in the church in history—certainly in recent history.
Everywhere you look you see pastors promoting short, ‘schedule friendly’, casual commitment style church services. There’s validation of our ridiculously oversaturated American daily agendas via the diminished emphasis in the church of the corporate gathering.
Now, there’s are several reasons why average church attendance in the nation has dropped below two services a month. One of them is the reality that it’s becoming rare to find a place that full of the fire and passion of God.
While we must stay radically faithful and connected at a high level regardless of how vibrant the services are, we must also refuse to settle for anything less than tongues of fire resting on everybody!
THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
It’s unreasonable to presume that there is only one purpose of the church, and there isn’t enough time to dive into all of them. However, we must start at the point where reformation and redefinition is necessary.
Most people, pastors and congregants alike, presume the church is primarily setup to meet needs. You see this play out through church marketing all the time. You hear words and terms like ‘relevance’, ‘come as you are’, ‘world class children’s ministry’, etc.
While we should have world class ministries, the problem is that many pastors and leaders have forsaken their prophetic mantle of challenge and advance for one of salesman. The call must not be to check out our church because of what it offers, but we must have fire coming out of our mouths as we declare the inconvenient word of the Lord!
Simply, the church is not primarily there to simply meet the needs of the people, but rather it is to gather and equip the people (meeting their needs in the process!) AND ensure the people are together, strong, alert and in position night and day so the church can accomplish it’s mission.
Another way to say it is this: The mission of the church isn’t to draw people in and meet their needs, but rather it is to gather people and develop the corporate strength necessary to fulfill the greater mission.
People must not use the church to meet their needs… and stop participating when they are ‘full’. I challenge everybody at Revival Church to arrive at the service full (through personal prayer, study, etc.) and overflowing so we can focus on our corporate mission together.
At most churches, summers, for example, see a huge drop in participation. They will cancel services and special events. This cannot be! We can’t allow our personal schedules to violate the holy call to the corporate gathering. For example, at IHOP in Kansas City, they pray and worship 24/7. They don’t take any breaks. They pray and worship on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and every other day of the year. They pray and worship right through the Super Bowl while other churches actually cancel or shorten services in honor of that holy day (lower case ‘h’).
I believe when we start looking at the church as an supernaturally organized army of likeminded, alert, responsive and burning men and women of God, we’ll actually be able to see entire cities taken for the Kingdom!
Thoughts?
Are you a reformer?
A key mission at Revival Church is to effectively communicate and advance
reformation in the church that is necessary to handle the coming outpouring in Detroit.
We are calling together people who are being made ready by God to run the race with us.
My favorite definition of religion is this:
Man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants
It has become normal to settle into a church that gives us what we are looking for. It’s the same mindset people use when making most decisions in their lives.
What career will give me what I’m looking for? What movie should I watch? Where should I go on vacation? Should I buy something now or wait for a sale?
Now, many decisions in life warrant this kind of analysis.
The way we participate as the church, however, is not one of them.
I like how Bill Johnson talks about trains and tracks they run on. We have become so accustomed to choosing our own course, our own level of participation, our own pace. However, with a train, everybody is on board, nobody can choose to divert from the track by going left or right. Everybody is moving at the same pace. I love that! That’s the call of reformation in the church! We must lay down our own plans and move in unity with the rest of the body at the pace God sets through apostolic ‘engineers’! This is what happened in the Upper Room! One goal, one agenda, everybody together, everybody responsive. There were no other life focuses that took precedence over the call to mission!
What’s more honorable—a soldier who enlisted in the military because of the opportunity to advance his or her career, or a soldier who enlisted simply because of their love of their country. And, they are willing to pay a great price because of that love.
The church has a mission and we must not put that mission at risk by determining our level of participation based on what it can give to us.
I believe the watering down of the call to mission in the church is a direct result of our human nature and the Western culture to get as much as we can at the lowest personal cost.
The problem is that the call to the church is a call to paying a great price for the sake of mission fulfillment with little promise of personal gain.
I’d love to find a dusty warehouse somewhere, open the doors, spread the word, start praying with fire and see who shows up.
No air conditioning, no chairs, no plethora of ministries… just a call to be in position, stay long, day after day, pray in unity and contend together for the days, weeks months or years necessary for an outpouring to occur.
So, the question is this—are you one who would respond? There will be several movements like this in the Detroit region, and Revival Church is one of them. IHOPE (www.ihopedetroit.org) is another.
I challenge you to drop your demands and desires for what you are looking for in a church and simply embrace the exciting call to zealous prayer, passionate community and to take up our crosses in pursuit of a dramatic encounter with Jesus!
See you tonight at 6pm!
(You can read more about the coming reformation in my books 20 Elements of Revival and Covens in the Church. Order online at www.johnburtonministries.com/resources.)