Posts Tagged ‘spirit’
The religious system’s fight against revival : A threat is coming to the church
Revival is a serious threat to the prevailing church structure as it will put at risk every comfort zone we know.
The reformation that revival will facilitate will cause quite a resistance even from many of the most devoted Believers due to some significant threats to their comfort zones.
It’s important to understand that it’s a religious spirit that is the force behind anything that might resist a costly revival.
Religion is: man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants
Jesus threatened the church of the day—so the church killed him. They got what they wanted.
Today, it’s normal for many to attempt to use God or to use the church to get what they want. They want life to be comfortable and convenient. They want the church experience to be a certain way. They might shop around until they find the spiritual experience that meets their desires and demands. If people aren’t careful, they can unwittingly embrace a spirit of religion while minimizing the cost, the cross and the mandate to surrender all for the sake of Kingdom advance.
As revival approaches, here are some of the issues we will have to wrestle through:
- All traditions are at risk: Traditions have the power to void the Word of God (Mat 15)! It’s no wonder God is so intent on resolving this issue. The coming reformation will impact many traditions that have become signatures of church as we know it. It’s imperative that we don’t resist the change that will affect the days and times we gather together, the style of worship we’ve become familiar with, programs, etc. The coming church will look nothing like the church we know today. Kim Clement said recently, “The church as we know it is being abolished.”
- Pastors will have to face the risk of losing people, money and their reputations: The pressure for church growth, and the temptation to compete with other pastors and churches for the best ministry, is pretty extreme. Additionally, drastic change to the familiar church experience will be a serious threat to pastor’s salaries and retirements. The fear of loss will hit many. If people who are unwilling to buy into such a drastic change and such a zealous experience decide to leave the church, their money leaves with them. Further, if people leave the church, accusations of pastoral failure will start to fly. Reputations will be lost. The question is, is a move of God more important than security and position?
- Local church missions will have to adjust: When revival lands, it will probably land in a single location. That location most likely won’t be our specific church. This means that local church leaders will have to have open hands and and be quick to release the people in their church to participate at a high level in the revival. The pastors will need to lead the people out as they join forces with the greater city church. When I went to the outpouring in Lakeland, Florida I was saddened that no church marquee gave any indication that they were cancelling some services so they could participate in the revival. Not one. I wonder if the threat of that revival caused them to lock everybody down and keep them far from that tent where the fire of God chose to manifest.
- Investment will increase radically: The time, money and focus required to steward a revival is off the charts. Cares of life must finally be dealt with and preparations to spend day after day and dollar after dollar must be made. Lesser priorities will have to take a back seat to the coming ‘all hands on deck’ season.
- Acts 2:46 (NKJV) 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple…
- We will have to release control: The Holy Spirit is going to manifest in such bizarre and extreme measure that those who are nervous about such environments will be tempted to shut it down.
- Acts 2:12-13 (NKJV) 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
- Most people don’t like change, and that is a problem: Leaders tend to shy away from alienating the people they are leading, but a crisis is coming. The change that’s coming to the church will cause most to vehemently resist. Will we as leaders respond to God or man? Peter, interested in man ahead of God, unwittingly renounced the great change and cost of the cross, and Jesus gave him one of the strongest rebukes in scripture. Peter was embracing religion, the desire to use God and eliminate the cross. This religious disposition is a serious risk to revival.
- Mark 8:31-33 (ESV) 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
- Sharp yet love filled prophetic messages must be preached: In Acts 2 direct and prophetic teaching was a direct result of the outpouring. The days of sloppy grace and tickled ears must come to an end.
- Acts 2:36-37 (NKJV) 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
The systems that we have developed are about to be destroyed as God paves the way for the coming church. The revival that’s nearly hear will be both great and terrible. It won’t be a series of nice meetings, but rather it will break a lot so that the love and abundant life of Jesus can be felt in much fuller measure.
A fearful vision of what the church will soon look like
The change that’s coming to the church is absolutely unnerving and fearful
First: The following article may provoke the burning inside of you to rage. Join us for theLab Internship and help establish a model of fire that will reform the identity of the church. $100 discount now available. www.revivallab.com
I had an encounter that left me shaken and shocked.
What I saw was clearly a picture of the church…clearly in my spirit, that is, because my intellect was confounded. It didn’t make sense.
Before I share the vision, and some very interesting confirmation and insight, lets look at the current model of the church:
THE CURRENT CHURCH
There’s no way I’m going to attempt to present a comprehensive picture of the church with all of its varying streams and complexities. The point I’m focusing on is the simple, common experience that the current structure and function of the church presents.
- Teaching driven: In most churches, the Sunday service revolves around the message, the teaching.
- Sunday only: The average attendance for a church goer in America is less than two services a month. Most of those services occur on Sundays.
- Predictable & scheduled: Each service and ministry of the church is mapped out and scheduled, and while there is often some flex, you can usually have a pretty good picture in your mind of what to expect during each event. Several songs of worship, a few announcements, receiving the offering and a 30-40 minute message is what most have come to expect.
- Mostly natural: While some churches do experience a measure of supernatural activity, the overwhelming experience is logical, natural and humanly comprehendible.
- Locally focused: Most churches have a vision that is limited to themselves. Their local church is where most of their energy is focused.
- Seeker focused: Even churches that aren’t identified as “seeker sensitive” tend to be intent on attracting visitors and they gear their ministry to do so.
- Personal gain highlighted: God blesses and that message when presented in appropriate context is a necessary one. But, most churches highlight personal benefit while keeping the bar of personal surrender and commitment quite low.
THE VISION
In my encounter, the vision I saw was shocking and quite mysterious. I have had many visions of the church, of reformation, but this one was markedly different. It sure didn’t look like a vision of a church, but it immediately felt like one.
I was standing in an apocalyptic looking environment. It was dark and weighty. In front of me was an absolutely massive crater. God immediately revealed to me that I was looking at the soon coming church.
Really? It sure didn’t look like a church. My initial analysis was that what was coming wouldn’t be defined by what is logically communicable. The building and steeple and Sunday experience was gone, and what replaced it was frightening.
My spirit was provoked and raging, but I knew that those who were more logical than spiritual in their life experience would most probably resist what is just over the horizon.
1 Cor 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Note, this doesn’t mean the unsaved, it means those who are naturally minded. That’s a lot of Christians. Here’s what Paul says next:
1 Cor 3:1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready…
The crater that I was looking at looked alive. It was moving and churning. There was glowing red lava coursing throughout.
The closer I got to the edge of the crater, the church, the greater the fear of the Lord was, the more ominous the vision was. I couldn’t casually participate as the shaking and trembling rocked my whole being as I approached this invasion of Heaven into Earth.
Then the vision ended.
I shared this vision in a class at theLab Internship and one of the interns about came out of her skin.
She just watched a National Geographic special on craters on the Earth!
THE CRATER
She shared some dramatic revelation about the coming crater based on what God was revealing through my vision and the program she watched.
- The asteroid that caused the crater was huge. When it impacted the ground, the top of it was still 30,000 feet up—that’s where jets fly!
- When it hit, a pillar of fire instantly exploded and reached from the surface of the Earth up into the heavens.
- Balls of fire shot out from the pillar and scorched regions far away from the point of impact.
- A cloud of smoke then rose and actually surrounded the entire planet. The entire Earth was covered by the residual impact of the asteroid.
- Celestial elements, parts of the asteroid that don’t exist on this planet, were implanted into the ground. Heaven was brought to Earth.
- Earthquakes rocked the Earth all around.
- Molten rock filled the crater.
THE COMING CHURCH
We won’t be able to define ‘going to church’ the way we do now.
God is coming to reform, to crush structures of old for what is to be introduced very soon.
The force from Heaven, the celestial asteroid, is going to impact the church, and most pastors and people will resist with everything that’s within them. Man-made support systems will be removed. People’s financial and relational structures will be threatened by this strange, new spiritual invasion.
The human wisdom and natural common sense that has been involved in the development of the current church structure will not be usable in the new. Those who walk by sight are in danger.
We will have to rely on a new set of senses as we, in faith unlike any we’ve ever allowed ourselves to embrace, begin to walk blindly into a fearful new church reality.
- Encounter driven: We will gather together with the primary goal of having an overwhelming encounter with an invisible God. The burning of God will engulf us day after day. A 2 Chronicle church will be the normal reality.
- The 24/7 church: The thought of only gathering in the crater, in the lava of God’s shocking presence, on occasion, a few times a month, will be laughable. Our entire lives will be empowered by this tent of meeting and our energies will be spent gathering the desperate masses into the fire to experience an otherworldly spiritual encounter together. Most days of the week we will easily make room to be in the church, on our faces, trembling under the weight of God.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1 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.”
- Unpredictable: Finally we will begin to know a God who is limitless in expression. Every moment with him, in our corporate gatherings, will be unlike any other. The fierce burning will never stop, the myriad of emotions we experience as God hovers over us will surprise and overwhelm us continually. A gathering of burning ones will result in fire balls of worship that lead to sharp swords of prophetic teaching that shake the people to their core. Wave after wave of fiery shock and awe will never disappoint. Services will be open ended and will overlap each other as room is made for an uncontrollable Holy Spirit to orchestrate the events in his wisdom.
- Supernatural: We will take the leap from mostly translating God into our natural language and understanding to allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us out of the natural realm and into a supernatural culture that can only be understood via our spirits. The lost will finally have hope as we stop trying to give them logical reasons to ‘get saved’ and we start introducing them to a supernatural God that they have been craving to meet.
- Regionally focused: The level of impact that the rock from Heaven will bring will not be confined to a local church. Pastors and leaders will stop focusing mostly on developing their own local ministry and will instead shelve much of what they did in the old church model and focus on serving the regional mission. The local will give way to the regional as leaders ‘lead’ the people into encounter, into regional mission and into the greater vision of revival and reformation. The spirit of Pharaoh that focuses on personal goals and keeping people locally focused will give way to the spirit of reformation and Kingdom advance that was manifested through Moses and Joshua.
- God focused: Instead of attempting to ‘grow the church’ by focusing on visitors and seekers, the leaders will be fully devoted to a 2 Chronicles 7 strategy of compelling God to show up in extreme, weighty power. The pillar of fire that connects Heaven to Earth is the new goal. In fact, an empty church is a better goal than a full church if we understand that passage of scripture correctly! Many people will leave the church as a more serious devotion to Holy Spirit activity is given, but the supernatural invasion of fire will result in fire, smoke and earthquakes that will rock cities and nations.
- Personal surrender highlighted: Instead of compelling people to ‘join our church’ through the promise of personal gain, we’ll highlight the cross. The cost. The Rich Young Rulers will leave while the end-time remnant will gain confidence in leaders seriousness for revival and will flood in and serve with military level commitment. You will know leaders have turned the corner toward the new model of church when they actually raise the bar so unapologetically that those with money and influence are allowed to go. How many RICH RULERS are in our churches because leaders have compromised the call, just so they don’t lose their money?
The new church will look nothing like we see now. We must learn how to live in the Spirit if we hope to embrace this uninvited yet deeply needed invasion from Heaven. Everything is at risk. Will you embrace or resist this reformation?
Revival in Detroit for Dummies : The clear plan and how you fit in
Here is a clear explanation of the vision for revival in Detroit—and how you fit in.
First of all, nobody out there is a dummy… but, you know, that’s how those books are titled!
For 2011, I felt it was important to explain as clearly as possible what is needed to see revival land in Detroit.
People have some honest questions:
- What exactly should I do?
- What are the expectations on a personal and corporate level?
- What are the key focuses for the new year?
Here’s my personal perspective. I didn’t move to Detroit for anything other than investing like mad into the process of full blown revival. That’s why I’m here, and if you live in this region, that’s why you are here too. The fervent advance of God’s Kingdom in Detroit is both demanding and urgent.
So, what’s the plan?
First, I’d encourage you to watch the most recent video on our NEW media site: http://media.johnburton.net. The 2011 Vision video will explain all of this in vivid Technicolor.
Second, determine to give yourself with wild abandon to the call.
THREE DISTINCT MESSAGES
REVIVAL CULTURE
At Revival Church, a prophetic center of revival for the region, the culture and lifestyle is all about the experiential fire of God. For everybody in Detroit, it’s time to transition our Christian and church experience into that of continual, night and day burning. Simply learning principles and trying to apply concepts that will enhance our lives week after week as the extent of our life focus won’t cut it anymore. We must BURN.
The call is to such a holy, fiery, passionate reality that atmospheres melt when we walk into the room. Be together, all the time, with others who cause you to tremble, people who are having perpetual encounters with God, who are continually undone in His presence.
What’s Expected?
- Become a person who is giving everything you have to ensure the fire of God is raging in you, around you and into others.
- Stay right on pace with the most fiery revivalists in the region.
- Understand the extreme cost every day that’s necessary to launch revival—and then pay it.
- Study on revivals of old.
REVOLUTION MANDATE
This is the tough one, yet it cannot be ignored. I’ll be honest, since I’ve been in Detroit a handful of people have truly impressed with the level of their commitment. However, the general body has been largely absent, distracted and hesitant.
This call to revolution is a call to EXTREME reformation in the structure and experience of the church. It’s RARE to find people who are willing to go to this place.
The 24/7 church is absolutely necessary if we are to see revival initiated and sustained. This means that we cannot just tweak our calendar. Everything must change. Everybody must be alert, in position, responsive, communicating, battling, praying and ready to move according to what God is revealing.
What’s Expected?
- Start to schedule every day around the prayer room. Participate in as many of the weekly prayer meetings as possible (Mon, Wed & Sat at noon, Friday at 10pm).
- Every Friday night from 10pm-midnight, theLab is an “all hands on deck” event for the city of Detroit. We pray in a different location each week, and we intentionally scheduled it during a time when most nobody would have any conflicts. Kids and everybody is invited and needed to pray together. www.revivallab.com
- Rarely miss any church service, prayer meeting or special event. Truly, this reformation will require radical changes to our daily focuses and agendas. The season is way too important to have a casual approach to the corporate mission.
- Communicate daily. Critical information, prophecies, instructions and other revelation is being sent out from this revival center, and other places as well. Thoroughly read, watch and listen…and then respond back to the sender. We must all be on the same page and in literally daily communication. Again, the mission of revival is job one for all of us, and staying on task continually is imperative.
- theLab Broadcast. Every Monday night, every revival minded person in Detroit is needed to join us online for prayer and key instructions for the coming week. Go to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/thelab to tune in every Monday night at 8:30pm.
- Understand the vision. Read my book 20 Elements of Revival for starters. It’s a very clear, step by step process toward revival on a city level. It’s rare to find someone who’s willing respond to the call of that book, but many have said how it is an absolute must read. Also, watch podcasts, read articles and follow the many men and women in the region who are sending out prophetic insights and instructions.
REVELATION DRIVEN
Everything we do, every day, in every church, at every turn must be birthed and fueled from the prayer room. In fact, the church IS the prayer room!
As we see the church return to its original and primary purpose, to be a house of prayer for all nations, everything else will be sufficiently powered and supported.
We need to see Revelation Driven churches and ministries all over the city who are calling every member and participant into a lifestyle of zealous, interactive and fervent prayer. The prayer rooms must be full all the time. Sunday services must be mostly prayer and intercession. This is how we will see revival launch and continue in great power.
What’s Expected?
- Be a person of continual prayer. Pray in the Spirit, allow the groans to erupt!
- Eliminate everything that hinders prayer, hinders encounter with God.
- Learn to hear God’s voice.
- Do everything you can to never miss a prayer meeting.
- Embrace holiness.
- Stir a prophetic atmosphere in your life.
Please understand. This is a regional call to action. However, historically it’s a remnant that responds. Can you really imagine yourself NOT being included in that remnant?
The choice is yours… but, I implore you… don’t miss this. You are needed more than you know.
Audio and notes : A must hear message : A spirit of insignificance
Last night’s service was simply indescribable—freedom reigned as spirits of insignificance were broken off!
Man, I have to tell you—if you make a habit of skipping out on the services at Revival Church, change your habits! You are missing a lot!
God was moving in dramatic fashion all night last night! The prophetic was ramped up and lives were rocked! Aaron Crider brought us into a place of encounter through worship and I delivered a message that people are already requesting so they can listen again and share it with ministry teams and friends.
The sermon is now ready for you to stream or download!
Head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching and listen to A Spirit of Insignificance.
PLUS—I’ll be discussing this topic further LIVE online TONIGHT on theLab radio show at 8:30pm EST.
Go to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/thelab tonight and listen in OR call in and listen at (323) 679-0954.
Here’s the notes from last night’s teaching, A Spirit of Insignificance:
A Spirit of Insignificance
I. The Gathering
a. A massive mission requires a massive response
i. Key moments in history require two things:
1. Gathering together
2. Prayer
ii. Acts 2
iii. Gathering and praying in the garden (vs. sleeping)
1. Joe Sazyc- The mosque was packed at 6am, and he went to his prayer meeting where there was one person.
2. The major issue I’m seeing right now is the lack of the prayer fueled corporate gatherings.
3. Exhortation- the churches must be full! A weak person’s simple prayer on a night like tonight can be what it takes to launch revival!
a. I’m calling the church of Detroit to be in position… we are declaring that we don’t participate based on what we get out of it… the church isn’t there to entertain us… we must work! We must understand the tactical needs… we need everybody in church all the time. The vision is huge, and we’re awaiting an army.
b. Pastor Loudermilk- we need you in church!
c. IHOP- every day
d. Brownsville- 5pm-1am every day! 2000 in line by 7am every morning!
iv. This call to gather, the call to the 24/7 church is being fought against by the enemy incredibly.
1. My thought was that due to the hunger of revival in Detroit, it would be easy to sound the alarm and gather a desperate army.
2. However, the hunger is overshadowed by a variety of issues.
v. People are kept from the corporate mission for many reasons
1. Distraction
2. Business
3. Apathy
4. An inability to look past personal struggles to focus on the city
a. The church is inundated with fixing people’s problems instead of the people coming together and fixing problems.
vi. Today I want to hit on the issue of insignificance
1. It’s common to feel that our participation, our attendance, our prayer, our response isn’t important.
2. We’ve discussed the definition of religion quite a bit.
3. A spirit of insignificance will cause us to believe that we have no hope of bringing anything to the mission, so we default on participating based on what the mission can bring to us.
II. Insignificance
a. Judges 6:1-2 (ESV) 1 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
i. We see the enemy scattering the church.
ii. The power of unity and corporate advance was diluted to the point of having no effect as they separated and hid in caves.
b. Judges 6:3-6 (ESV) 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian…
i. Step one: In the time of desperation, it’s time to cry out.
1. Verse 6: And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD.
c. Judges 6:7-8 (ESV) 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage.
i. Step two: God sends a prophet with instructions and encouragement.
d. Judges 6:9-10 (ESV) 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”
i. Step three: Obedience
ii. Enter- Gideon!
e. Judges 6:11-13 (ESV) 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
i. Gideon was complaining that things were bad, that things weren’t changing, but he didn’t realize that he was the reason! It was his fault and the fault of the Israelites that things were bad… and it is him who must turn things around.
f. Judges 6:14 (ESV) 14 And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”
i. God spoke to Gideon based on his true identity, not his perceived identity.
g. Judges 6:15-16 (ESV) 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
i. Those who perceive themselves to be insignificant are but a moment away from initiating a move of God that will be felt throughout the city!
ii. Moses felt insignificant… he stammered. One of the greatest stories in history was in front of him.
iii. Gideon remembered that God delivered them from Egypt… what he didn’t realize was that someone with the same insecurities as himself was the deliverer.
h. As the story unfolds we see God continue to advance his plans through seemingly insignificant means.
i. An insignificant man, Gideon, is now called to lead an insignificant army against a city.
i. Judges 7:2-7 (ESV) 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
i. The least and the weakest is leading 1% of the army available to him.
ii. Now, an insignificant man with an insignificant army was to attack with an insignificant method.
iii. Remember David, an insignificant man with an insignificant army (none) used an insignificant method to defeat Goliath. Joshua used an insignificant method to take down Jericho. Let’s see what Gideon did.
j. Judges 7:15-18 (ESV) 15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’ ”
i. It makes no sense!
k. Judges 7:19-22 (ESV) 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled…
i. You are significant!
ii. A small army is significant!
iii. A strategy of prayer is significant!
Tired of church and religion? New Teaching : The Spirit of Gideon
Are you just tired of church? Has your hunger for God led to disappointment?
Do you ever find yourself getting frustrated because people aren’t moving ahead in the power of God, with fire in their eyes, to advance the Kingdom?
Stop! In a day where people are tired of church, where people are moving from church to church, conference to conference in hopes of finding a move of God, where they are nearly giving up in frustration… we have to reconsider our strategies.
Instead of waiting for others to change and systems to change, we can just take on the attitude of a mighty man of valor. We must, in humility and in boldness, move out in fervency and might!
You should not be frustrated, discouraged, casting blame and waiting around for things to change—YOU should be moving… as a weak person with little resource, little experience… moving out in the spirit of Gideon.
There are religious altars to be torn down and cities to be taken!
Sunday night at Revival Church I taught an impromptu message on this in a powerful, prophetic atmosphere. God was teaching us something important for our mission here in Detroit. We can’t wait and hope for God to pour out… we must move, we must initiate… NOW!
Open your bible to Judges 6 then head on over to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/teaching and listen to “The Spirit of Gideon.”
Tonight : The Spirit of Pilate in the Church : Revival Church
FIRST: Be sure to REGISTER ASAP for the upcoming Radiant Worship and Michele Perry Events! Go to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/events right now!
The extreme reformation that’s coming to Detroit and the church in our nation will be a challenge beyond anything we’ve ever encountered.
This teaching will help us prepare for the coming change. Pilate in the Church is a prophetic message to the church and I’ll be sharing it tonight at Revival Church.
See you for prayer at 5pm and the service at 6pm!
We’re excited to have Bob Ladendorf leading worship for us tonight!
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!!
Special prayer for Detroit TONIGHT
FIRST: Let’s spread the word about the vision of Revival Church! Point your friends to our new welcome magazine! Send Facebook status updates, tweets, emails and whatever else you can to get the word out! I did the hard part (designed it!) 🙂 and now I need your help! Point people to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/welcome.
SECOND: In lieu of our Wednesday prayer meeting, join me online for a LIVE video broadcast! We’ll gather a larger group together for prayer, discussion and teaching at 7pm every Wednesday. Just head to www.detroitrevivalchurch.com/live!
I’ll be at a special prayer meeting tonight (Friday) from 11pm-1am, and would like to invite you to join me!
I’ll be at IHOPE as usual at 7pm, and will then head on over to the prayer meeting.
Here’s all the info that I received:
Dear Praying Friends,
Bishop James Williams has asked me to lead a prayer time called Midnight Cry at Spirit and Truth Ministries this Friday at 11:00 pm til about 1 am. You can read the details below. This is an important opportunity to seek God for the metro region.
I would love for you to come and join in this united calling out to God. This "city" church is enlarging its vision for the whole region. I SOO appreciate Bishop Williams larger than normal desire to see God affect the region and build bridges to the suburbs! Will you encourage him by standing with him and the sweet people of Spirit and Truth?
The details are below. Let me know if you can go. Feel free to extend this invitation to others.
Humbly,
Eric Moore
Greetings Eric and thank you for consenting to share with us this coming Friday in our Midnight Cry prayer service. The month of January is our Month of Outpouring. It is a time of consecration when we come together to worship and pray and to hear prophetic direction from the Lord for the course of the new year.
This year we are having special services every Sunday afternoon and the Midnight Cry services every Friday at 11:00 p.m. Scriptures tell us that Paul and Silas prayed at midnight from the Roman prison and God responded by opening the prison doors and loosing their bonds. We expect God to open doors and loose bondage over His people in this new season.
We really have no set agenda. Last week for example, each of our Intercessors, who have been given specific assignments to cover individual ministries of the church, were given opportunity to lead prayer in their specific areas of responsibility. Then, we heard from a visiting evangelist and a visiting Bishop. I gave some closing words of prophecy and prayer and we were done.
I'm looking for you to help us expand our prayer beyond our ministry and our people and help us pray strategically over this region. You and your guests are free to move as the Spirit leads you. I'll begin and we'll just move from there. We're usually done about 1:00 a.m. but that's not set in stone – a little before or a little after is fine.
Hope this helps. See you Friday.Blessed to Prosper in the Year of Harvest (Lev.25:22; Ps.126:1, 5)
Bishop James A. Williams, II.
SPIRIT & TRUTH CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
KINGDOM BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF FULL GOSPEL CHURCHES & MINISTRIES
1335 Oakman Boulevard, Det. MI 48238
(313)-867-7729