Revival (50)

Charred Stones & New Wineskins--Which Are YOU?

It’s an oversimplification to say there are only two kinds of Christians in the U.S. today, but let me try to make a case for that view nevertheless.

 

      On the one side, there are “Charred Stone Believers,” most of whom are Baby Boomers like me. The “charred stone” imagery reflects the cynical words of Nehemiah’s critics: “Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” (Nehemiah 4:2)

 

      I meet these charred, burnt out Christians all the time. They typically came to Christ during the Jesus Movement or charismatic renewal, with exciting dreams of God restoring the church to its New Testament glory. Although they’ve had some great spiritual experiences from time to time, they’ve also been burned by disappointing circumstances and unfaithful leaders.

 

      Instead of seeing the glorious end-times church they once envisioned, my fellow Boomers often feel like their Christian lives are now piled on a rubbish heap of broken promises and unfulfilled dreams. As Nehemiah’s detractors pointed out, burned stones must be “revived” if they’re going to be of any value as building materials (NKJV). Some of these charred believers have dropped out of church life altogether, while others have resigned themselves to sitting on the back row, with little ongoing ministry in the body of Christ.

 

      However, I’m also beginning to meet another category of Christ-followers, which I call “New Wineskin Christians.” This new breed comes primarily from younger generations. Feeling little sense of obligation to attend “church” in the traditional sense, they would much rather BE the church. They’re rightfully bored and unimpressed with our focus on Sunday morning meetings instead of 24/7/365 spirituality.

 

      Young generations like the Millennials are looking for reality and community, not showmanship and hype. Life is about transformation and relationships rather than endless programs and pointless activities. They are yearning for a sense of purpose, but they’re skeptical that their purpose can be fulfilled within the four walls of a church. They’re usually more motivated by the prospect of being salt and light in the marketplace.

 

      Of course, there also are phony new wineskins, just as Satan always tries to counterfeit the work of God. An authentic wineskin is something organic and flexible. It stretches as the new wine ferments and expands. In contrast, some of our modern church wineskins seem more like plastic imitations. If you’ve ever tried to put fine wine into a plastic bottle or Styrofoam cup, you get the picture.

 

      Authentic wineskins are the creation of God, birthed by a move of His Spirit in people’s hearts. Fake wineskins are man-made knockoffs.

 

      Thankfully, God is faithful to raise up genuine New Wineskin Christians in every generation. In fact, once upon a time, those of us who are now charred stones were enthusiastically heralding that we were God’s new wineskin.

 

      Don’t get me wrong. I believe there is hope for the future—both for the Charred Stone Believers and the New Wineskin Christians. Through His resurrection power, God can revive the charred stones, making our later days even better than our former days.

 

      It’s also important for the New Wineskin Christians to recognize their need for the charred stones—not to control things, but to offer perspective and wisdom. Having gone through the fire, we’ve learned a few things along the way. Like the aged Simeon and Anna in the temple (Luke 2:25-38), God wants to use us to affirm and bless the new breed of Christ-followers He is birthing. As the old saying goes, it’s not time to retire, but to re-fire.

 

 

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Are WE on the Road to Damascus?

As you probably know, the capital of Syria is Damascus—the same place Saul was headed in Acts 9 when he had a life-changing encounter with the risen Jesus. And in case you haven’t been watching any news lately, Syria is the place President Obama is apparently headed too.

 

      Saul was on his way to Damascus to kill or persecute Christians. In contrast, President Obama seems poised to send cruise missiles into Syria as “a shot across the bow” to punish Syria’s president for allegedly using chemical weapons.

 

      Saul’s story took an unexpected turn: “When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?’” (vs. 3-4 MSG)

 

      After setting out on his mission full of pride and his own self-importance, Saul was knocked to the ground and struck blind by the intense searchlight of heaven. Someone had to take him by the hand and lead him the rest of way.

 

      We’ll soon see whether America is on a similar collision course. The good news is that Saul’s story had a happy ending. God not only restored his sight, but Saul—the self-righteous Pharisee and persecutor—was transformed into Paul, the apostle of grace.

 

      I love our country. But could it be that we, like Saul, are in need of a Damascus Road experience? Could it be that we’re on the wrong path, desperately in need of an encounter with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

 

      Time will tell whether the current events in Syria have any major prophetic significance. But 2 Chronicles 7:14 is true regardless: It’s always time for God’s people to humble ourselves and pray…to seek His face to turn from our wicked ways. If we do this, He has promised to hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

 

      And who could doubt that our land needs to be healed today?

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Water Into Wine

I’ve recently been captivated by the story of Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). I’ve concluded that we all have “water” of some kind that needs to be transformed into wine.

 

Water is an essential, elemental part of life. But in this story it also stands for the plain, the ordinary, and the bland. Wine, in contrast, has flavor and fizz. Jesus said this kind of wine must be put into “new wineskins,” because it is needs room to expand and grow.

 

Take a second and ponder what boring, bland parts of your life may be due for a transformation like this. Your job? Your ministry? Your marriage? Your relationship with the Lord?

 

The good news is that Jesus can turn ordinary things into something extraordinary. If you’ve lost your fizz in some area of your life, He can help you get it back. And if you’ve been stagnating instead of expanding and growing, your turnaround can be closer than you think.

 

But transformation comes with a price. Jesus’ mother told the servants at the wedding feast, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (v. 5). I guarantee that if you follow this profound advice, your water will surely be turned into wine.

 

But it’s a pretty radical statement, isn’t it? Are you willing to do WHATEVER He tells you to do? Think about it. That’s the price of transforming your circumstances and your life.

 

The wedding feast “ran out of wine” (v. 2), and perhaps that’s how you’re feeling today as well. You had money…but it ran out. You had love…but now it seems to be gone. You had dreams…but somehow they evaporated or turned into nightmares.

 

 At such times, it’s easy to feel frustrated or disillusioned. “I never thought it would be this way,” you moan. That’s exactly how the people at the wedding feast must have felt when they ran out of wine.

 

But the story isn’t over yet…or at least it doesn’t have to be.

 

No wine? No problem! All you have to do is find out what Jesus is telling you to do. More often than not, He will tell you to give Him something you HAVE (like water) in order to get something you NEED (like wine). Sounds fairly simple, doesn’t it?

 

So what do you have today, and what do you need? Like exchanging water for wine, I promise you it will be a great exchange indeed.

 

Those who taste the newly made “wine” in your life may well be like the master of the feast, who did not know where it came from” (v. 9). They’ll wonder where you got such peace, joy, and zest for life, even amid difficult times. What a great chance to tell them about Jesus, the one who can turn their water into wine too.

 

If you’re a Baby Boomer like me, you may have been tempted to feel that life has passed you by and your best years are now behind you. But this story ends with some additional good news. Jesus didn’t just replace the old wine with something new: He saved the BEST for LAST! (v. 10) He can do the same for you, when you do what He says and give Him what you have.

 

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Radical Obedience


“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:26-29).

 
God is shaking everything that can be shaken. That which is true and righteous will remain. He is awakening us out of slumber and apathy, and challenging us to a radically obedient lifestyle. There is not one of us who does not struggle in our Christian walk with the reality of radical obedience. We may obey in the big issues of life, but when it comes down to every single detail every day, we find it difficult. It is just too hard, but Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we must be perfect in our obedience just as our Father is in heaven (Matthew 5:48).
 
How can this be possible? We know we cannot attain perfection in this life, but we can do this by seeking to walk in all the light that the Spirit gives us in every season of our life.
 
Let’s make this our primary goal in life: To walk in all the light we have and to live radically obedient for God.
 
If we look back in history, there are several instances where we see how God moved powerfully when His people walked in radical obedience. An obedient lifestyle is key to those who want a powerful prayer life. We read in James 5:16b: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” This is an important verse for intercessors. We must walk in obedience and righteousness if we want a powerful prayer life.
 
The Sermon on the Mount Lifestyle
 
“In every detail of their lives—in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties—they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet.” 
Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians
 
The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest evaluation of an obedient lifestyle. It gets down to the nitty-gritty issues of daily life and of whether we are walking in obedience or not. The Sermon on the Mount is the core values of the Kingdom. It is the lithmus test to accurately measure our spiritual development and ministry impact.
 
The Sermon on the Mount was central for the prayer movement and for the revivals. Two examples in history where the practice of a Sermon on the Mount lifestyle brought great results in the spiritual realm were:

  • Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians - Their dedication to prayer and the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle led to a 100-year prayer meeting and a worldwide mission’s movement.
  • The Welsh Revival - Evan Roberts, the young man who was used so powerfully by God in the Welsh revival of 1904, prayed passionately that God would purify and bend the Church.


Evan Roberts prayed that God would break his own heart over the condition of mankind. His heart was set on obedience, and agonizing prayer was his daily life style. He believed and preached perfect obedience.
 
“Evan Roberts captured the spirit of the whole revival with the theme: Bend the Church and Save the World. James E. Stewart claimed that this is the secret of every true awakening. Christians must humble themselves and get right with God so that the Spirit can break through in converting power upon the unsaved. There must be no hypocrisy; the Christian must bend to all the will of God for His life in perfect obedience before the Spirit of God is released. When we are bent to the will of God we will be intercessors, because as He ‘ever lives to intercede’ for His people, if we are abiding in Him we will do the same.” Rick Joynor   
 
Revival and Radical Obedience
 
Look at Joshua and how he obeyed God. From the standpoint of the human mind, walking seven times around Jericho did not appear to be a wise thing to do for spiritual success. Imagine the pressure and tension he was facing before that battle. Joshua obeyed God and was victorious. It was exactly what God wanted. He loves obedience even when it doesn’t make sense.
 
We must learn to say “yes” to the purposes of God every day of our lives. Many of us are praying for revival. If we want to see revival, you and I must be revived ourselves. God is after us—all of us. He is raising-up a Church that is steadfast and radically obedient. 

When I was a brand-new missionary many years ago, living on an old ship that sailed from nation to nation preaching the Gospel and encouraging the Church, I remember how I felt after the ship left port from my own beloved country. We were sailing towards South America and would be there for the next two years. 

I felt so lost and lonely, not knowing the language and so new to the whole mission’s world. Being young and inexperienced, I felt like two years on board that ship was a lifetime. We had no e-mail in those days, and I would call home only once a year. I was with over three hundred strangers from over forty nations on board and had left everything behind except for a few personal belongings. I was living in a tiny cabin with three others from three different nations, and we had nothing in common but our commitment to Christ. 

Not being a seasoned sailor, I would often feel the movement of the seas and didn’t even know how to swim. And here we were, all sailing by faith towards South America in an immense ocean and with an unknown future. I was feeling deeply the cost of commitment and obedience to God. It was a big step for me during those days, but I knew that God was inviting me to live a life of radical obedience. Since that time years ago, God has challenged me again and again with the same level of obedience:

  • Am I willing to give up everything for the cause of Christ?
  • Will I let God have His way with me each and every day?
  • Am I willing to pay the price of commitment and radical obedience?
  • Do I really want revival and a visitation from God?


Where are you with God? 
Is He wrestling with you over some issue in your life? Can you say “yes” to Him today? Can you say: “Lord, have Your way with me. I will pray for this end-time revival and choose to obey You at all costs. I will live out commitment in my life each and every day in prayer. I am Yours totally, and I accept your invitation to radical obedience.”Are you willing to pray this prayer and pay this price for revival?

When crowds of people came to visit our ship and when there were endless lines of people waiting to get on board, we realized that obedience is no small thing. We had to work when we didn’t feel like working, we had to serve when we didn’t feel like serving, we had to pray when we didn’t feel like praying, and we had to smile when we didn’t feel like smiling. The result? Many came into the Kingdom and turned their lives over to Christ. 

Revival and a visitation from God are not going to be all fun, excitement, and dancing. It will be sheer commitment and a dedicated life style of radical obedience for all of us. Are we ready for God’s visitation? Are we ready for revival? God is raising up a Church that is willing to pay the price.

In whatever way God is challenging your life today, take a small step forward and say “yes” to Him. It’s step-by-step, choice-by-choice, yes-by-yes, one day at a time and one act of self-denial at a time where you will find true life. Jesus calls you to radical obedience and says in Matthew 16:24-25:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” 

When we accept this invitation to radical obedience in following Christ, we find real fulfillment. Let’s prepare for this worldwide revival. It is in daily obedience that we find life and are ready for a true visitation from God. Let's live a radically obedient life and worship God with reverence and awe. He is a consuming fire.  

“When you pray for revival and a visitation from God, you’re asking God for life-shaking experiences that will cost you plenty. Revival is agonizing: It so terrorizes you over your sin that you repent deeply. Revival is consuming: It leaves you no time for hobbies, for chores around the house, for work, for sleep. Revival wrecks your appointment calendar, interrupts TV times, demands your full attention.”
 

Intercessors Arise News

Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise 
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org

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Each of us has a gap between our Rhetoric and our Reality. In some cases, the distance between the two is enormous. Remember the Jerusalem crowds shouting “Hosanna” one moment and “Crucify Him” just a few days later? There was quite a gap between their enthusiastic Rhetoric on Palm Sunday and the Reality of their hearts when Jesus was on trial.

 

How can we explain such big gaps between Rhetoric and Reality? Sometimes this is simple hypocrisy, reminiscent of politicians who persuade voters with lofty promises they have no intention of keeping.

 

At other times, there’s a major problem with self-awareness. We’ve all met people who sincerely believe their glowing press clippings—the Rhetoric—but are oblivious to the Reality of their situation. That’s why we all need a few honest friends in our life, those who will lovingly reveal our blind spots (Ephesians 4:15).

 

This is not a minor issue. When there’s a large gap between a believer’s profession and their possession, the stinging words of Romans 2:24 come into play: “God’s name is blasphemed among [unbelievers] because of you.” Ouch.

 

But sometimes the gap is completely well-intentioned, a matter of “confessing the Word” when we aren’t yet walking in what it promises. We tell people we’re healed and then sneeze all over them. Or we proclaim that God has touched our aching back, but we’re still bent over like a Neanderthal. Whatever maladies we still face are just “lying symptoms,” we like to tell people.

 

In the case of Mephibosheth, there was a wide chasm between his calling as a prince and his deplorable experience living in the squalor of Lo Debar (2 Samuel 9). But this huge gap between the Rhetoric of his calling and the Reality of his experience was suddenly and dramatically bridged by three of the most beautiful words in the Bible: “I WILL RESTORE” (v. 7). This is God’s powerful message to us as well, no matter how wide the gap may be right now.

 

Often the gaps we face are not the result of any misdeeds or lack of effort on our part. Abram (“exalted father”) was renamed Abraham (“father of a multitude”). All the while, he and Sarah had no children, though they had tried for many years.

 

What a lesson! Often it is humanly impossible to bridge the gap between our calling and our experience. We need a miracle from God in order to finally get our “Isaac.”

 

And be clear on this: The first step in transformation is being honest with yourself and recognizing your need.

 

What gaps are you facing? What Realities in your life are falling short of your Rhetoric? Once you’ve truly faced the gaps, you can believe God for healing and restoration. But transformation will remain elusive if you insist on putting your head in the sand and pretending there aren’t any gaps to bridge.

 

Your turnaround can start today. Leaving behind any frustrations or failures in your past, you can press on toward God’s best for your life (Philippians 3:12-14). No, this doesn’t mean you will suddenly be perfect. But it does mean your new Reality will become much more in line with your Rhetoric. And that will bring peace, wonderful peace.

 

 

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When Narcissism Comes to Church

Have you ever visited a narcissistic church? Even worse, do you attend—or perhaps lead—a congregation that is self-absorbed and in love with itself?

Not long ago, I had the unpleasant experience of visiting such a place. I had heard good things about this church, and I had high hopes for what I would find there. And lately I’ve been trying really hard to see the good and not be critical toward other believers.

 

Of course, you probably wonder how I knew the church was narcissistic. For one thing, the name of the church and the name of the pastor were mentioned about 10 or 15 times more than the name of Jesus. So even though there was considerable evidence that people were in love with their church, I had a much harder time finding evidence of their love for the Lord.

 

On one level, it’s certainly a good thing that people take pride in their church and their pastor. I’ve met some Christians who are ashamed to tell me where they go to church—a clear indicator that the church has low morale and a downward trajectory.

 

However, what about Paul’s statement to the Corinthians? “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). When the church itself becomes the message, or our focal point is the pastor instead Jesus, it’s a sure sign we’ve become narcissistic. 

 

And although I realize churches may want to market themselves and let the surrounding community know they are there, shouldn’t we beware not to follow the motivation of the men who built the Tower of Babel: trying to make a name for ourselves? (Genesis 11:1-9)

 

After my visit to the narcissistic church, I’ve had to search my own heart and ask God to give me a sincere desire to see HIM lifted up: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalm 115:1). As John the Baptist recognized, Jesus only will increase if we allow ourselves to decrease (John 3:30). Help us, Lord.

 

I was grieved by one additional observation about the narcissistic church: There was absolutely no evidence of God’s presence or anything supernatural. In other words, everything that took place in the worship service could easily have been attributed to human effort instead of any involvement of the Holy Spirit. The singers sang, the musicians played, the preacher preached—but where was God in any of it?

 

You see, the church is called to be much more than a social club or humanitarian organization. If we’re no different than the Moose Club or Kiwanis, we’re in big trouble. Shouldn’t we reflect our glorious design to be “built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”? (Ephesians 2:22)

 

Yes, I understand the need to be culturally relevant and able to reach “seekers” and unbelievers with the gospel. But shouldn’t the Holy Spirit be involved in the process? How will lost people be persuaded to become disciples of Jesus Christ if we’re content just to “play church”?

 

One of the signs of the End Times is that many people will be narcissistic, even in the church: “lovers of themselves…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-7). So what’s the antidote for this terrible malady? My prayer since visiting the narcissistic church is that I will die to myself and fall in love with Jesus more than ever before.

 

I’ve also been praying for renewed evidence of the Holy Spirit’s fruit and power in my life. Shouldn’t we expect that Paul’s example would also be true of us today? “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

 

Are you content with your Christian life right now? I’m surely not. Rather than allowing me to remain judgmental toward others, God is challenging me to deal with my own narcissistic heart and lack of spiritual power. Are you willing to join me on this uncomfortable—but necessary—pathway to revival?

 

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Passion, Purpose, Power and Prayer


9651008479?profile=originalI’ve watched the influence of the church ebb and flow for the past 30 years, and I have to confess that in most cases, the message and energy behind a movement was much more impressive than the fruit it created. Maybe my expectations are high, but based on the time, money, energy, promotion and presentations strategy that’s flowed into the public arena in the name of modern Christian ministry, I believe that, if Christ-followers were giving our time and attention to the right things, we would see much more lasting fruit in the world.

Before I go too far into the deep end of the pool where it sounds like I’m just splashing around and complaining, let me preface these thoughts with my confession. I’m a committed member of a local body that is using it’s time and resources to build the kingdom and send the gospel around the world. We’re not a perfect church, and I’m not a perfect Christ-follower. Yet I have to return to the standards by which Jesus gave us to measure myself, and periodically ask “How am I doing? How is my church doing? Are we fulfilling the commands Jesus gave us to make disciples, expand his kingdom and transform the world?”

In business or ministry, it’s easy to be busy – and still accomplish little of lasting value, and the larger the church, the more momentum the congregation can create, and by mistaking momentum for God’s presence and anointing, churches can carry on for years (decades), never fulfilling the great commission in a way that is commensurate with their abilities, gifts, resources, and calling.

Ouch. As Christ–followers, we all know this is true. We just want it to be true of other churches . . .  “those guys over there” . . .  not us.

Looking Back

In the past 40 years, since the Jesus People movement of the 60’s, the corresponding Charismatic movement in the churches, and the explosion of creativity which followed, contemporary Christianity has become its own subculture. Social calendars in every major city are filled with Christian concerts, conferences, cruises, musicians, magicians, comedians, authors, and events in ways that would have never happened just 40 years ago. When I came to Christ, contemporary Christian music was only found in dimly light coffee houses, street corners, and barn pastures. How things have changed.

My lament is not meant to criticize, but revolves around this single idea. As the culture changed, and contemporary Christian ideas became part o the larger church culture, Christians thought, and popular magazines of the contemporary Christian movement proclaimed that the cultural acceptance and transformation would carry with it deeper Christian influence in the world. We thought that because Christian music was appearing on the airwaves along with other top 40 and rock and roll music, that Christianity would be more accepted, and have greater influence. As money flowed into the Christian subculture grew in the name of evangelism, missionary and outreach budgets shrunk, and yet Christian influence in our culture diminished. Something is wrong with this picture.

At the same time Christian concerts, music, conferences, art, t-shirts and book stores have proliferated, the church’s influence on the secular world has measurably decreased. Virtually every survey has revealed fewer people attending churches, fewer people believing and regularly reading the bible as a source of their faith. The country and the church has more divorces, more violence, more single parent homes, and more brokenness. By any objective measurement, the gospel is making less of an impact on the American continent today that is was 50 years ago.

Jesus said that our Father’s will was that we bear fruit, and that our fruit remains, and this is the reason for this retrospection. I’m not writing to condemn or criticize. I’m writing to say, with the exception of a few pockets, the church today has a huge disconnect between our effort, activity, and outcome. We are called to be salt and light in a decaying and dark world. Over the past 40 years, we’ve lost ground.

Spending our Resources for Eternity.

I’m not writing today to propose one size fits all, uninformed solutions. I’m not that arrogant. I’m writing to ask four simple questions.

  • Is there passion in your heart for what you’re doing, and for what your church is doing? Confirmation of God’s blessing and purpose is passion. If our hearts are cold, it’s time to do visit the Heart Surgeon, empty our hands of everything that consumes our time and energy, and give him permission to change things, and change me.

  • Are you living on purpose or just spending time?  Jesus and his followers in the church’s first centuries were clear about their mission. They didn’t allow the needs of the day, hour, or moment, extraneous entertainment and time hungry hobbies, and to pull them away from God’s Word, prayer, and doing the things which God entrusted into their care. They knew they were stewards who would give account, not owners who could do what every they wanted.

  • Is there power in your life, church, family, and ministry . . . real, life changing power? The early church and the Christian church throughout history, during times of revival embraced and flowed with supernatural, life-changing, relationship-healing power. Like a vineyard which no longer yields fruit abundantly, maybe it’s time to ask God to prune our lives, and surrender leaves and branches that consume energy without returning anything of eternal value.

  • How is your prayer life?  In Jesus’ life, passion, purpose, and power all flowed from his connection to his Father in prayer. When the disciples got up in the morning, and Jesus wasn’t around, the gospels tell us that they knew He was off praying. In fact, the only thing that the disciples specifically asked Jesus to teach them was how to pray. They knew his life flowed from his Father, and they wanted to live the same way.

At the heart of what I’m asking is this question. Why don’t we have revival? Why doesn’t the church live like, look like and have the influence on the world like the first century church, and like the church in the US during the Reformation, and the first and second great awakening. The late revivalist Leonard Ravenhill wrote that today's Church didn’t have revival because we are content to live without it. While we can’t manufacture revival, every outpouring of God’s power that changed the course of the world was connected to a period when his people loved and obeyed passionately, lived purposefully, walked in the power of God’s spirit, and prayed fervently.

The world is becoming a darker place. Are we the generation that will start the next great awakening? 

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Revival, God's way

9651008861?profile=originalA quick study of the history of revivals since the days of John Wesley through America’s Second Great Awakening, and into Billy Graham, and Dwight Moody in America reveals that at the core of these preachers’ message was a call to live a life separate and different from the world around us. Two favorite Bible verses that come to mind are Jesus is prayer in John 15 where Jesus told his followers to be in the world of not of the world. A second verse, in Peter's first book, describes Christ-followers as people who were called out of the world, a chosen nation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Yet just as much controversy surrounds these two vintage versus as does the way these verses were interpreted and applied. Through the centuries, these verses have been interpreted to mean many things.

  1. For the monks in 15th century Europe, being separate from the world meant hiding themselves away with the scripture in monastic castles, away from the corrupting influences of the world. Their approach didn’t work too well, and the absence of God’s word in the culture contributed to the Dark Ages, the Crusades, corruption in the church like no other time in history.

  2. For the Amish, who came to America with roots in the self-same Germanic, separatist ideals, living apart from the world means living on farms without electricity, in cloistered communities. I respect the dedication and hard work of this modern separatist tribe, but it seems like they missed something along the way. Is it really holier  to have to work a farm behind a horse-drawn plow? I’m not sure that’s how Jesus would define holiness.

  3. For the Catholic Church through the centuries, living as the “one true church” apart from the world meant that its members had to do what the church prescribed. Members still focus on partaking regularly in a list of seven sacraments in order to be considered part of the “holiness club.” Also dating back to Medieval Europe, this approach worked well when poor peasants were dependent on the wealthy land owners, (who were also church leaders) for land, food, and blessings, (which unfortunately were available at a price for those who could afford them.)

  4. Today in America, historically traditionally structured denominational churches are dying in record numbers, especially here in West Michigan. For the past 50 years, these churches have remained static in the midst of a changing culture, because that is just the way, they always did things. Their decision to demand that the world do things they way has left their seats and budgets empty.

 

No, I don’t think being a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation is about building walls around our religious club, and demanding that the world must learn, and keep our particular membership rules if they want to be included. Am I being too harsh? Maybe, but what does the church accomplish when we approach those who don’t come through the doors a Sunday morning with this kind of attitude? I believe that Jesus taught a lived a different interpretation of “in the world, but not of it.”

Jesus lived an example, and left us large footsteps to follow. His command to go into the world and make disciples of all nations was built on two other foundational pillars. Jesus said first that all authority under heaven was given to him, and therefore, we go forward in his power and unction.  Secondly, Jesus lived an example that was in the world, eating with the “sinners and tax collectors” and those outside of the religious life of his time. He made a difference in their lives by the way He treated them. He gave up his rights to stay comfortably in heaven, demanding we meet the standard of the OT. He expanded the kingdom and gave us the same charge, by living a different sort of life. Then, after setting the example personally, Jesus’ asks us to:

  • Transform the culture, not hide from it.
  • Expand the kingdom by inviting those who don’t know him into a relationship with him,
  • We have to demonstrate what that love relationship look like by engaging those outside the world with his love, and demonstrating that love between us.
  • Reveal God to the blind, help the deaf hear, and heal the lame, both literally and figuratively.
  • Be filled with power so that our words, works, actions and relationships all point the same direction.

For three years, the disciples watched Jesus's model these five principles in EVERYTHING he did. Jesus lived with power, focus, and love they had never encountered in anyone else. Jesus didn’t “have a ministry” he ministered. He didn’t write books or distribute podcasts; he gave divine, power-filled life to those he met. His platform pylons were driven deep into the bedrock of prayer. In fact, the only thing Jesus's apostle asked him to teach them was how to pray. They knew the source of his strength, wisdom, power and faith because, again, Jesus modeled a life built on prayer.

Like Jesus, the solution to powerlessness and path toward revival starts in prayer. The course corrections for a drifting life, ministry, or church are anchored in prayer. Like the example Jesus gave of what a revived life looks like, the early church left was the example of where revival starts.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord, in one place.
(Acts 2.1 KJV)

The apostles left the mountain after watching Jesus ascend into the clouds and obeyed him. He told them to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit; they gathered together and waited. Because they listened when Jesus taught them about prayer, they followed his example, and applied the lessons. Then, when they were all together, gathered, obedient and open, and in one place, joining their voices in prayer and study of God’s word, he filled them with his Spirit’s power.

We don’t know when revival will start, but it always starts with God’s people. We don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but he’s asked us to be busy about the affairs of the kingdom until he does. Let’s start the New Year with a commitment to increasing the intensity, frequency, commitment and duration of our daily prayer. 

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Praying for Revival

9651008083?profile=originalI don’t like blogs. I write content for half a dozen blogs on a regular basis, but I have to confess I only tolerate these 21st century publishing platforms. The source of my displeasure is that an ideal blog post, so I’m told, is 400 to 600 words, just enough space to make an unsubstantiated claim, or spout some cultural cliché. Like seeing and smelling the golden off brown skin of a Thanksgiving Day turkey, 600 words doesn’t get down to the meat and bones of an issue. A blog leaves me hungry for depth, meaning and life changing content.

This topic, praying for revival, is the perfect example. Readers have as many varied expectations of this topic as the number of people reading these words. For some, praying for revival is an evening-long special service, or week-long series and accompanying heightened emotional fervor. Like listening to a carnival barker, we are drawn in by promises of amazing and wonderful ___ (fill in the blank) _________, and a few days later, as the tents are pulled up, and the trucks packed, we feel better, but possessing no lasting change . . . not really. We are still hungry for spiritual change.

A blog post is a lot like what the church accepts for a revival. We read short paragraphs and bullet pointed ideas, feel better, and then life goes on as normal.  No, I don’t like blog posts, and I’m not satisfied with this accepted definition of a revival either.

The term revival was coined to describe periods in history through which entire cultures were affected. Significant portions of the population returned to a deep religious faith and renewed religious practice. The First Great Awakening in the US happened prior to the Revolutionary War, and was responsible for the distinct God-centered message in our countries founding documents. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington were greatly influenced by, among others, David Brainerd and George Whitefield. The latter was an English cleric who preached with the Wesley brothers. Together they were responsible for the revival which saved England from the social and moral turmoil which nearly destroyed France during the late 18th century.

During America’s Second Great Awakening (1830-1860), traveling preachers like Jonathan Edwards and Charles G. Finney traveled New England by horseback. Their preaching emptied bars, taverns and closed burlesque theaters. They didn’t preach against the businesses, rather their message of holiness and a Holy God affected measurable cultural change. The power of God’s Spirit was so intense that accounts of Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” include the story of men and women falling out of their pews, holding to the hard wood seats for fear that the ground were going to open, and they would be sent directly into the flames of hell.

Finney would arrive in a town, and take a room overlooking the town square for prayer and fasting. In one New England town, Finney wrote in his autobiography that after 3 days of intense intercession, men and women wandered out of the bars, and stopped each other on the street, wondering why they felt so unsettled. Finney’s sermons didn’t boast the benefits of heaven as much as he assailed his hearers with the fear of hell. He wouldn’t offer an altar call until his listeners knew their fate apart from Christ. Only then were they invited to repent, and receive new life. This process sometimes took days, and Finney didn’t stop preaching until his hearers “brought forth fruit, suited for repentance.”

At this point, I must backtrack. I started this post with a bit of a complaint, and now I’ve continued to question our modern view of revival. My purpose is not to assail churches, or insist that revival preaching must be hell fire and brimstone. No, my point is much more radical. If we are to pray down heaven’s favor and men’s salvation, we must have an accurate vision of the revival we seek, and not settle for counterfeits.

Genuine revival praying and revival itself brings forth fruit, identifiable visible and measurable fruit. Revivals like the ones recorded in history books are measured by the visible affects they left in our culture. Genuine revival is centered on repentance and holiness, which creates evidence that an entire people group is fundamentally changed. Revival brings transformation in the way men and women conduct their businesses, relationships, and families. Revival is built on the foundation of prayer which leads to and starts with repentance, which interestingly enough means “transformation or metamorphosis” in the original Greek.

So here are my obligatory blog bullet points:

  • Can we have revival without prayer? No, I don’t believe we can. Beginning with the Elijah’s sermon on Mt Carmel and Peter’s sermon in the Book of Acts, revivals begin with intense, extended prayer.
  • Can we have prayer without revival?  Yes, we can, for that is the state of the church today. We pray, yet the Christian church is losing numbers and influence in our post-Christian, secular nation.
  • What will it take to pray down revival in a way that one brings the other, so that we see genuine revival in our times? I close this short blog post with my real point.

 

I’m writing to cast a vision, and I do so with the words of late revivalist Leonard Ravenhill. “The reason the modern church doesn’t have revival is that we are content to live without it.”

1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear . . .
6b . . . Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. (Is 59. 1-2, 6b-9)

Every revival mentioned herein began from a place where God's people acknowledged their evil hearts and deeds, and then accepted God's terms for renewal. If my people, who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray, seek my face, and turn from their own wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. 2 Chr 7.14. 

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Worship

9651008281?profile=originalIn the 15th century, Martin Luther wanted to renew genuine worship. For centuries monks had kept the scriptures and sacred music locked away in monasteries. But after printing press put the Gutenberg bible back in the hands of the common man in the 1450’s, Luther worked to put worship back in the hands, and minds of the common man to fuel the revival that swept Europe. History says that Luther wrote new hymns to bar tunes and folk songs. His goal to implant the seed of God’s word deep in the hearts and minds of his listeners centered around these common melodies. He hoped that when men  went about their daily routines, the Holy Spirit could bring to mind eternal truth. Charles Wesley continued this approach when we wrote over 6000 songs for Christian worship on the 18th century.

Between Luther and Wesley’s day, the Protestant Reformation gave birth to another explosive renewal in the arts. Symphonic composers like Handel, Beethoven and Mozart rose to the forefront of their craft, and many of their works were dedicated to the King of Kings, and Lords of Lords. Today, concert hall audiences still stand and sing along at the climax of Handel’s Messiah. Imagine pipe organs and orchestras performing the Halleluiah Chorus on stately cathedrals and vaulted concert halls throughout the last 3 centuries. Classic music in the 21st century, Handel and Beethoven were contemporary musicians of the 16th and 17th century.

In the 20th century, the Jesus movement and the charismatic outpouring that flowed across the American church gave birth to another revolution in contemporary music. Even though the traditional church was hesitant to change, today contemporary Christian music is on its way to becoming traditions for the 21st century church.

Worship is never about the outer form, or style of music. Worship is about the heart of the worshipper. Whenever our hearts are more concerned about what is on the outside than the whole hearted devotion on the inside, we are in need of another revival. Real worship must be genuine, contemporary worshiper, heartfelt, and surrendered.

Looking into the scriptures, another idea is essential to genuine worship. Abraham stood at the foot of Mt Moriah. He’d waited for 25 years for his son Isaac, raised him for another 13, and now he’d traveled three days to a mountain’s name whose name means “God will see” to offer him, at God’s request, as a sacrafice.

Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. (Gen 22.5 KJV)

Abraham’s worship included:

  • He was obeying God, without hesitation.
  • He was going with the full intent of sacrificing his son.
  • His faith and relationship with God was so deep, that he knew that Isaac was the son that God had promised.
  • He intended to kill his son, not to please god, but to obey him
  • He knew that he would also return with his son, because God is faithful to keep his promises.

Genuine worship, praise and prayer that changes our hearts and pleases God includes personal cost. Abraham learned the lesson by obeying God, and trusting him with the results. David also said that he wouldn’t offer a sacrifice that didn’t’ come at personal cost to himself, and he learned these hard lessons the same way – by what he did.

And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, "To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Sam 24.20-24 KJV)

Genuine praise, worship and prayer aren’t about how we feel. These essential pieces of a Christ-centered life aren’t about the environment around us, or the music we listen to. Genuine worship flows from a heart that’s surrendered to God, loves Him, gives up your rights voluntarily, obeys Him and follows wherever He leads.

 

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PRAY FOR AMERICA PART 2

It seems as if a lot of bad things happen to America in September. It is almost as if September is the hangover from summer madness. We all know about September 11, 2001. However in September 1856, the signs were all around the developed cities. New York City was already the financial capitol of the world.  Exhibits A to Z are thus: the economy and accompanying social decline were picking up speed. Bankruptcy was high and morale was low. Preachers were just as ineffective as they are today and fast becoming irrelevant. Many of them had predicted doom and gloom and the end of the world which never happened. Politicians were just as horrible as they are today and unemployment just as high as 2012. Civil War talk was in the air. America was in a bad place. The enemy was domestic.

 
With this background, 156 years ago, a humble employee of the North Dutch Reformed Church named Jeremiah Lanphier, was given a vision by the LORD GOD, to call many to prayer. He wrote up a flyer inviting people to a prayer meeting in the church consistory on Fulton Street - anyone who could come. The prayer meeting was just that - an hour of prayer from noon to 1pm. The flyer indicated the room was open to anyone from the store clerk to the business owner. On the first day of the prayer meeting - September 23, the first man showed up at 12:30pm. Finally 6 men showed up and they prayed. There was no preaching or worship band or hysteria or... you name it. Just quiet humble prayer as the Lord delights in it. Weeks later, the numbers had doubled and tripled. 
 

Finally on October 10, the New York Stock Exchange crashed. Did you know that 10,000 immediately showed up for the noon prayer meeting called by Lanphier on Fulton Street?! They had run out of space on Fulton Street, so the prayer meeting expanded across the street to the larger John Street Methodist Church...then all over New York City....and then Chicago, Philadelphia, Louisville (Kentucky) and so on! This led to the greatest Revival ever in America - the Third Great Awakening. There has been nothing like it since, and it began with one layman, like you and I, who was used by God.

America has lost its way and does not even turn to God in evil and terrible times as we have seen this week. There is no righteous, moral or faithful leadership. We have the best and fastest of social networking and instant media, yet those who are called by God to be the leaders of the church are not proclaiming "THUS SAYETH THE LORD" or calling for National Prayer Meetings or Fasting as President John Adams once did when the hounds of hell were nipping at our heels. If the preachers and pastors of America would rather play church and lose their credibility just like the preachers of September 1856, then you and I have to do it.  The wonderful thing is, there is nothing to it. All we need is a Bible, a quiet room and a love for Jesus and the Lost! Are you ready?

Here is the rest of Psalm 35. Choose the verse, or the verses of the passage which Holy Spirit custom fits to YOUR calling as a His Prayer Warrior, then press in. I see several which appear to match up with the situation in America today - terrorism, moral and religious crisis and more. Our enemies are not just the islamic terrorists, but even worse than them are the enemies from within....the kinds we have allowed because of our own sin of sloth, laziness and unfaithfulness to God. The only remedy is Repentance and Restoration. Here is Psalm 35 (NKJV) in full. Therefore, place names in the appropriate verse, in place of personal pronouns. This will not alter the inerrant word of God:

PSALM 35 (A PSALM OF DAVID)
Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for my help.
Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the angel[a] of the Lord chase them.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 All my bones shall say,
Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
11 Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own heart.
14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But in my adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16 With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people.
19 Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21 They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.
22 This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27 Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
 
(Scripture is courtesy Biblegateway.com)
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Does God have to Tell Me to Pray?

9651008070?profile=originalI listened to a conversation between pastors John Piper and Rick Warren recently. From their theological towers, one can barely see the other’s camp on the edge of the horizon. Piper, a died in the wool Calvinist, wanted to talk with “whosoever will can come” Warren about Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life. While the two could have staked out their own territory like medieval lords protecting their castle, they lowered their theological drawbridges and met in the valley to honestly talk about faith and life in Christ.

At one point Warren said “When I find two scriptures that seem to be opposed to one another, I accept them both.” So when Piper asked his friend about Calvin’s predestined approach to salvation, Warren replied that he accepts the idea, that God draws men He foreknew and predestined to salvation. He also believes that whoever confesses Jesus as Lord becomes part of God’s family, and that the door is open to every man - opposing ideas, yet one faith. Warren was comfortable with a God who is bigger than his own understanding.

I have a similar problem with two other scriptures. I hear Christ-followers say “I felt the Lord prompt me to __ (fill in the blank here) ______,” and so they make sure to do, or not do ____ (whatever) _________. This personal interaction with God is like a faith merit badge, worn as proudly as any Eagle Scout’s sash.

At the same time, friends from the less charismatic crowd tend to focus on obedience. They study scripture and are so sure to follow the biblical principles that the idea of hearing God’s voice is almost unnecessary. Their lives are often stable, prosperous and fruitful . . . evidence of God’s presence.

A vital prayer life and prayer ministry has to move out of the “either / or approach” to an intimate relationship with God, and embrace both hearing and obeying God’s voice.

  • If we only do that which we feel prompted into, we become selfish, self-focused children. We demand God meet our requirements, rather than opening our hearts to follow his. 
  • If we only act on what we read in the Bible or learn in a Sunday school class, we become stale, and quite the opposite of the “hear before we obey” crowd. We miss the prompting of the Holy Spirit because He often doesn’t fit into our programs. God asks us to change, take risk, and move into new territory.
  • If we use our comfort zone as an excuse to nullify our brother’s approach, we miss the blessing of what God can, and wants to teach us. We risk becoming bigoted, closed hearted, and quenching the Spirit we so desperately need.

Even the quickest historical survey reveals that the men through whom God changed the world were men who lived by both creeds. No one had to tell Wesley, Spurgeon, Wilkerson or Moody that God’s heart was broken over poverty, orphans, and widows. They preached the word in season and out, ministered to the poor, and listened for God’s voice on a daily basis.

The man who won me to Christ had this plaque on his desk.

All Word and we dry up.
All Spirit and we blow up.
With the Word and Spirit, We grow up.

Jesus demonstrated both. Shouldn’t we?

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Who am I Praying for?

9651008260?profile=originalThe men’s ministry in our church recently held a daylong event, and I had the privilege of being part of the prayer team. As the guys gathered in the gym surrounded by camo-netting, motorcycles and 4x4 ATV’s,  I was welcomed into the church's prayer chapel by the presence of God’s Spirit. I expected to fight with my roaming mind to stay focused on the prayer-task at hand. I expected to consciously have to still my mind, and wait for my emotional wheels to coast to a halt before I would really enter into God’s presence.

Instead God’s Spirit met me at the door, and for the first hour, I was overwhelmed by a single idea. I sensed God ready to meet with me, not standing off in the distance waiting for me to fight my way into his presence. While I didn’t hear an audible voice, I overwhelmingly sensed God say:

 “You are here to ask me to do things for you, but you don’t have to ask. You don’t even have the right to ask for anything of your own accord. I want your prayers on the basis of my promises to you. I want to answer your prayers, and I offer you my grace, power and presence on the basis of my Unchanging Word.”

As I’m writing this, I’m having a hard time describing how this single idea transformed my prayer expectations. I often spend time in extended prayer. I have my prayer lists, and I pray for my kids, my church, my finances, family and country. I ask God to glorify himself, reveal himself, and cover those who spend their lives in service of the ministry. I have my shopping list that I lug into my prayer closet, but so often I feel like I have to walk up hill before I can talk to God. I have to clear away the brush in my mind to find a peaceful place in the middle of my mental forests before I pray. For those of you in an intercessory ministry, I trust you understand the struggle my inadequate words are trying to frame

Prayer is hard work, and if we don’t pray, there are events in the kingdom that will likely never happen, miracles left undone, souls left unchanged. I do, and God will; if I don’t, God won’t. It’s hard to dance with this humble task without becoming arrogant in the execution.

Yet that day, God reminded me that I am in a covenant with him, and He wants me to pray. God wants and waits for me to enter into his presence. I don’t have to come up with the perfect formula of words before God hears me. He has promised to hear me . . . hear us, and we get to stand before him on the basis of his unchanging commitment to us, our Father, Redeemer, Savior and Friend.

Years ago, a musician named Scott Wesley Brown told this story. Sitting in a prayer meeting, he waited his turn while trying to find the perfect words to impress God and the people around him. He didn’t feel the pride in his heart until a young girl spoke up and said slowly:

“Dear God, A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.   
Father, I don’t know what to say, so here are all the letters I know.
You put them together in the right order. Amen”

Irritated at first, Brown was humbled by the time the girl finished. He wanted to get it right, to impress and declare. The girl just wanted to pray.

When I go into prayer, do I remember that prayer is a conversation? I hear it all the time, but too often I act as if it’s all up to me. Why aren’t more people coming to the prayer meetings? Didn’t Jesus call all of us to pray? Why are there so few people in the prayer room this morning? It’s so easy to be quietly proud in my prayer closet. That morning in the prayer chapel, God illuminated my pride from his perspective.

I pray because he asks me to come. I can expect an audience because he promised to answer. I am welcomed because of what Jesus sacrificed for me. I can love, because I was first loved. If there’s anything I have to get right in my prayers, it’s humility, and the conviction that God will keep his promises when I ask. Now I can ask in faith.

 

 

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Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody

9651007487?profile=originalFor two years, a handful of members at my church have gathered for prayer in our Lighthouse Prayer Chapel during at least one weekend service. Every weekend, we lay down our own agenda and life’s general busyness, and pursue one thing. We ask God to be increasingly present and powerful in Kentwood Community Church (KCC). ministries and services. We ask Him to reveal Himself, and lead the services to a deeper experience of his purpose, presence and power.  (see Jer. 29.11-13)  Without God, our efforts at ministry fall flat. There’s not one heart we can change, one life that can be lifted, or one program that will be successful without the Power of God through is Holy Spirit, and the Word of God guiding us in truth.

 

Most KCC’ers, and many believers haven’t experienced an extended prayer time. The idea of praying together in a group for 70 - 90 minutes is intimidating and unknown. At the same time, we mentally agree that praying together for the church ministries is a good thing. Prayer is something that ‘somebody’ should do. This reminds me of a poem I heard somewhere long ago.

 

The Parable of Responsibility  

 

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody came to church one Sunday.

There was an important job to do and Everybody was asked to do it.

Everybody was sure that Somebody would take up the challenge.

Anybody would have done it, but in the end Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry because it was Everybody’s job.

Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Anybody wouldn’t do it.

In the end, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

 

We started the Outlet Prayer Ministry to end Everybody’s, Somebody’s Nobody’s and Anybody’s dilemma when it comes to prayer. Jesus encourages us all to pray.

 

  • He set the example for us to follow.
  • He chided his followers when they couldn’t minister to others because of their lack of prayer.
  • He longed for their support in the Garden, asked them to come along with Him.
  • He lamented when they couldn’t pray just an hour with Him.

 

Jesus promised power, and positive results when we follow his example, accept his invitation, and then follow through by laying down our agenda, and spending time in prayer. Maybe your church could establish the same kind of prayer group. I would love to know what you think about this idea.

 

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The next 33 Years

shapeimage_1.jpgToday was my church's 33rd anniversary celebration, and I think it was a sign of God’s pleasure over us and his joy that 33 people were baptized on Saturday and Sunday between the three services. During the 9:15 service, a few prayer warriors met in the our Lighthouse prayer chapel and interceded through the early morning service, and for the next 33 years. We prayed for our church’s future history, and in this ministry we call the Outlet Prayer Ministry, we often wrestle with silent questions:

  • What does God want?
  • How can we get there?
  • How can we glorify Him?
  • We ask God to draw more KCC’ers into a saving relationship with Jesus.

At the core of these questions lies the idea of revival, and getting back to the influence on the world around us that the early church exercised. After Peter’s first sermon, over 3000 people were saved and baptized. (Acts 2) Throughout Acts, sermons brought conviction and conversation. As we prayed this morning, two ideas bubbled to the surface.

1) The apostles waited on God’s promise of anointing and power at Pentecost before they began to preach the gospel. Jesus had asked them to wait for this promise before venturing into the world with his message of grace and forgiveness. One the Day of Pentecost, just before God’s power fell, Luke writes that the apostles were “all together, and in one place.” Did the detailed doctor repeat himself, or is this an important component to the day’s miraculous events?

In another translation, this phrase is rendered “the apostles were together in one place, and in one accord.” It wasn’t enough for them to be physically together. They had spent the 10 days between Jesus ascension and Pentecost praying, reading the scriptures, and building deep community. I imagine that they talked through Peter’s denial, Thomas’s doubts, James and John’s desires to have the first place in line, and how Jesus had to appear to them two or three times before they were ready to really, really believe. They came to a place where they were not only all together, but they were in one accord, ready to speak to the world about this life-changing Jesus.

2) The church had lost everything. Those who believed in Jesus cowered in that upper room for fear of the Jewish leaders and the Roman guards. For three years these young idealistic disciples followed Jesus around the country learning his Way, Truth and Life. They had gone all in, and now Jesus promise was all they had.

These conditions describe the hearts that God found when he poured out his power, and the church began to change the world. They didn’t have any allusions about building kingdoms, businesses or fortunes. The One they loved most had been cast out, and eventually crucified by those who were threatened by his power. As his followers, they could not expect to be “better than their Master.”

I’m not writing to suggest that Christians should choose a path to deliberately create conflict with the world around us, or that being a ‘real’ Christian means selling everything we own and finding a room to rent in a hotel somewhere. I’m saying that Jesus brought his followers into a place there they could honestly say that they had Him and only Him on which to rely. They waited in that place, and in that place God poured out his power which equipped them to change the world.

As we prayed this morning, we prayed and asked for God’s power to once again fall, and continue to fill KCC, our people, staff and services in the years to come. Yet in the midst of our prayers, I had to confess that too often we are dependent on ourselves, serving divided interests, and at odds with each other. . .  and yet we still ask God to come and do great things. Throughout the scriptures, God connected the dots between the condition of his peoples’ hearts and lives with his ability to answer their prayers in great ways. As we start our 34th year, let’s pray with King David, and ask God to:

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Ps 139. 23-24

 

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Am I Praying for my Agenda or His?

9651007487?profile=originalAs a Christ-follower, I have a laundry list of things, important things on my prayer list. Children, finances, job issues, friends going through tough times – I can go on. God I need this. God, I want you do that. I don't know about you, but when I pray this way, focusing on my laundry list, my prayers seem like they bounce off a brass ceiling, and fall to the ground around me. I'm not saying that we shouldn't pray for situations like these, Yet if all I do is ask for stuff, it's not long before I sense something in my prayer life is missing. I wind up spiritually dry and unexcited about the eternal.

There are no rules when we pray, yet God's Word gives gentle instructions. We can't manufacture God's power. Yet when we pray, and follow his pattern, He promises He WILL show up. The purpose of a prayer ministry, any prayer ministry, is to find and follow God’s pattern in order to find God’s promised response. Based in God's Word, we know when we pray and wait expectantly, our Heavenly Father does what we can't. The acronym ACTS is a great way to focus on his pattern as a guide.

Adoration (Praise): Psalm 100 says: “Enter into God's gates with thanksgiving, and come into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him, and bless his Holy name. (Ps 100.4) When we gather together, intercessors should resist the temptation to start with our laundry list. Instead we take time to praise, and worship God for who He is. We take time to recognize we are coming into the courts of the Creator of the Universe, and He is worthy of our praise.

Confession: Psalm 66.18 says: “If I regard, (or hold onto) iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Jesus encourages us to take this idea seriously. He says that when we come to worship, if we remember that we have something against someone, that we should leave our sacrifice, and reconcile or make the situation right before we come to worship. Does this mean I have to be perfect before God will hear my prayers? No. It means that God expects that we live what we say we believe, and do what we can to live in right relationships with others.

Thanksgiving: Phil 4.6 says: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Thanksgiving naturally flows from a heart that is filled with worship, and that has been cleansed of sins. We are naturally thankful when we can see God's greatness, our humanness, and how Jesus has bridged the gap. Thanksgiving differs from praise and worship in that worship lifts up who God is, thanksgiving focuses on what God's done.

Supplication (Intercession) : 1 Thess 5.16-18 says: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Finally we get to our laundry list, but when we start by focusing on God, and his requests of us, theirs is a change in my attitude. After focusing on God's glory, dealing with our sins, and spending time thanking Him for all the things He's done in our lives, my laundry list isn't all about me anymore. It's about God, His glory and how we can be a part of His plans.

If you’re involved in a prayer ministry or prayer group at your church, I challenge you to change your focus for the next few times you gather. Put your laundry list in the pocket of your bible case until you spend time in God’s presence, longing for him instead of stuff. In Jeremiah 29.11-13, God says that when we seek him, we will find him, when we search for him with all our hearts. The condition resides with us. We have to lay down our agenda, our to do list, our expectations and wait on him before we will see clearly to pray according to his priorities.

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Why Movement Matters

Movement:

  • A change of place or position or posture
  • A trend or tendency
  • A discernible, measurable and lasting stirring of God’s Spirit in a life, a church, a city or a country

If you follow these kinds of things, you may know by now that there is a genuine movement of God stirring in many cities in the US. This movement is very much still in the early stages, but its presence is undeniable. Here’s what it looks like.

There are multiple cities with:

  • Increased unity among churches across denominational, racial and theological lines
  • Churches are coming together to address needs in their cities and using their massive volunteer bases to address problems that have previously been unaddressed
  • Attendance in churches is increasing in cities that have previously been known for being largely unchurched
  • There is significant increased activity by Christians and churches in the social justice arena

Stated more directly, what many of us have been praying for over the past 30-40 years–a third great awakening in the US–is showing encouraging signs on being well on its way.

And that means three very important things for you:

1. Living for Jesus is going to get easier. With movement comes momentum, and momentum means that we will all have an easier time living lives that honor Jesus. Think of it like running with the wind at your back. When movement comes, the wind of God blows to such a degree that crime drops, violence decreases, fidelity and faithfulness increase and morality actually becomes cool. That’s we can look forward to.

2. There has never been a better time to talk to people about Jesus. Depending on where you live, you may find unprecedented levels of receptiveness on the part of people who previously showed no real interest in hearing about Jesus. Movement means that the hard soil of people’s hearts is going to get softer, that they are going to be more open to talking about Jesus, and that countless numbers of them–millions and millions, are going to embrace Christ.

3. Hostility toward Christians and the Church is also going to hit unprecedented levels. Movement produces friction, and friction always comes with true spiritual awakening. As God’s Spirit continues to move across our land, you can expect that the enemies of God will become more vocal and emboldened in their resistance to his movement. Satan will see that his strongholds are being threatened, and he will pull out all the stops to resist the advancement of God’s Kingdom. This is one of the main reasons I believe that true awakening is coming–because those who really are hostile to God are fighting tooth and nail to hold their ground.

Followers of Jesus, take courage. Our best days in this country we love are still ahead. That’s not a political statement, it’s a theological one.

Read more at willdavisjr.com

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OK, so some of you have already branded me as a heretic. "How can this guy not care about revival?"  Others are at least curious and will read on. Maybe one or two (my best friend and wife perhaps) can't wait to hear more.

Trust me, at least here at the start, when I say that I would love to see revival in my city (Austin), country and the world. I've read about the great revivals in our past (of which there have been few) and heard many messages and exhortations to pray for the next one. I certainly don't criticize others of you who long for a revival of some sort in your lifetime.

But let me tell you why I'm not currently spending a lot of time praying for one.

First, I'm not sure what I'm praying for if I do.  Am I asking for large crowds to pack stadiums, for millions to suddenly march to their statehouses and kneel on the steps, for churches to suddenly be filled with worshipers? What would a revival in the classic sense look like?  And if revival isn't going to occur like it has in the past then what do I ask God to do today?  I would suggest most of us don't have a clue.

If some sort of spiritual awakening is going to happen then perhaps only God knows what it will look like and He wants us to simply till the soil well in our churches and communities so that fruit will easily grow.

Second, there are a lot of other things that need the passionate prayers of God's people right here, right now. In America we need our government leaders and politicians to get a grip on reality and start leading our country with wisdom, discretion and integrity. Marriages in our churches are tanking every day. Families are struggling and priorities are way out of line when it comes to the things of God and what really matters for eternity. 

It seems to me that if we pray for God to work in lives and  homes from the inside out that the revival we seek will more likely occur in some way than if we just pray for the revival itself.

Third, I don't see much Scriptural evidence or encouragement to pray for or seek revival. We are admonished to be holy, to go into the world and make disciples and to love God and people radically.  I feel more compelled to pray for those things to be true in me and in other believers and see what God does as a result.

Finally, I think we are often praying for something that God can do much more subtly and slowly. I remember a man in my former church who was put into a coma to basically save his life. I don't remember all the details but I do know that he miraculously lived but had to be revived from his coma slowly.  Revival isn't necessarily going to be quick or stupendous. We may never see the kind of revival, at least on the surface, that we've seen in the past.

However, God can still do something amazing in our churches, cities and country. Perhaps he'll do it one person or church at a time. Maybe we won't see it while it's happening but we'll look back five years from now and realize that Christians have been renewed and revitalized by the power of the Holy Spirit. I've written elsewhere that God is doing something special in my city of Austin, Texas. It's happening slowly but it's happening. Somehow I'd rather keep praying for that.

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Revival Passion

"Every significant outpouring of the Spirit seems to have been preceded by earnest, agonizing intercession, accompanied by a heartbrokenness and humiliation before God... Let no one pray for revival—let no one pray for a mighty baptism of power who is not prepared for deep heart-searchings and confession of sin in his personal life. Revival, in its beginnings, is a most humiliating experience. When one, like Isaiah, sees himself in the light of God's holiness he must inevitably cry, 'Woe is me!' Deep spiritual awakenings, whether in local churches or in whole countries, begin with desperate people." Rick Joyner

There has never been a revival without passionThere is a deep heart-searching and desperation over personal sin and the sin of the people. The Welsh revival had these characteristics—a deep conviction of sin along with intercession and repentance. Many of us find it very hard to add prayer meetings into our already busy schedules—but when a mighty revival is moving—all of this doesn’t seem to matter.

Prayer and getting right with God become all important. 

In pondering such moves of God and seeing our need for passionate prayer and a greater concern for souls, certainly our desperate cry should be for revival to sweep across the nations. We need to search our own hearts and cry out, “God, purify me!” Evan Roberts, the young man who was used so powerfully by God in the Welsh revival of 1904, prayed passionately that God would purify and bend the Church. He prayed that God would break his own heart over the condition of mankind—His heart was set on obedience—Agonizing prayer was his daily life style. Well-known author and founder of Morningstar, Rick Joyner, said this about him: 

"Evan Roberts captured the spirit of the whole revival with the theme: Bend the Church and Save the World. James E. Stewart claimed that this is the secret of every true awakening. Christians must humble themselves and get right with God so that the Spirit can break through in converting power upon the unsaved. There must be no hypocrisy; the Christian must bend to all the will of God for His life in perfect obedience before the Spirit of God is released. When we are bent to the will of God we will be intercessors, because as He 'ever lives to intercede' for His people, if we are abiding in Him we will do the same."

Are we willing to pay the price to actually let God bend us as he did Evan Roberts?   


Characteristics of Revival Passion

It is helpful to look at some of the meanings of the word “passion” in Webster’s Dictionary as we think of the characteristics of revival passion. The word “passion” means “highly excited, expressing strong emotion, with strong feeling, zeal, eager desire.” Great passion and zeal were expressed in the past revivals. This passion was for holiness, for purity of life, and for obedience. 

Those in the revival had strong emotions as they yearned for the salvation of the lost. Because of their great passion for souls, preachers were zealous for a fearless proclamation of the truth and brought God’s Word with deep conviction and mighty unction, bringing sinners face to face with the Almighty God. As a result, multitudes would weep with great agony of soul as they were confronted with the sin in their own heart. These were the characteristics of revivals in the past. This is what we need in our present day. 

  • A passion for God’s Word and anointed preachingRevivals are characterized by a powerful and passionate proclamation of the truth. The preaching is extremely anointed, spontaneous, and fearless. Revival preaching centers on Christ, bringing conviction of sin to all its listeners. The words are spoken with a demonstration of the power of God with a supernatural boldness and unction. People are hungry for God’s Word.

    “In the Evans Mills revival, Finney recalls: ‘The Spirit of God came upon me with such power that it was like opening a battery upon them. For more than an hour, the Word of God came through me to them in such a manner that I could see was carrying all before it. It was a fire and a hammer breaking the rock, and as the word that was piercing… I saw a general conviction was spreading over the whole audience.’” Winkie Pratney

    "With a demonstration of the Spirit's power" (1 Corinthians 2:4).
     
  • A passion for prayer and holiness. Those in the revival had a deep passion for prayer and for getting their lives right with God. There was no toleration of sin. There was humility, an urgent confession of sin, and a holy fear of God. Worldliness was forsaken and large numbers would attend early prayer meetings on a daily basis. People were bent on obeying the will of God.

    "Thousands of believers, often unknown to each other, in small towns and great cities, cried to God day after day for the fire of revival to fall. This was not merely 'a little talk with Jesus' but daily agonizing intercession. These were devoted saints who had given their lives to the sacrifice of prayer and worship. They were so jealous for the name of their God that they agonized day and night because of the way Satan was being glorified all around them and they yearned from the depths of their beings to see the Lord's name lifted up in Wales. They constantly reminded God of what He had done in 1859, through the Second Great Awakening, and begged Him to pour out His Spirit again.” Rick Joyner

    "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10).
     
  • A Passion for the Lost. The concern for the lost during the revival was extraordinary. There was praying with tears and a passion to see souls saved. The joy of knowing Christ could not be hidden. Everyone was a brightly shining lamplight to neighbors and co-workers, powerfully attracting unbelievers to that light.

    “There can be no revival without soul-winning. In saving lost souls the Welsh Revival must be considered one of the most intense and effective revivals of all time. This was not a program for a few preachers or a campaign to get church members testifying to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. There were no classes given on how to reach the lost. It just seemed that every Christian in Wales erupted simultaneously with a burning agony for the lost. The joy of salvation simply could not be contained by the believers as every coal mine, tramcar, office, school or ship became a pulpit for the gospel… There was no set pattern of strategy for the witnessing; it was simply born out of an overflowing joy and faith that could not be contained in those who knew the Savior.” Rick Joyner


    "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand souls were added to their number that day(Acts 2:42).
     

Fervent, passionate prayer for revival in our churches will change the messages in the pulpit into ones of tremendous power.

Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, and they decided to go and hear the well-known preacher, Charles Spurgeon. While they were waiting for the doors of the church to open, a man greeted them at the door and asked, “Gentlemen, would you like me to show you around the church? Would you like me to show you the heating plant of this church?” It was a very hot day in July and so they were not very excited about his offer. But they said, “yes” because they didn’t want to offend the man. The young men were taken down a long stairway, and the door was quietly opened. Their guide whispered to them, “This is our heating plant.” The young college students looked through the door in complete surprise. 

In that room were 700 people bowed in passionate prayer seeking God’s blessing on the service that would soon begin in the auditorium above. The guide softly closed the door. He turned to them and introduced himself as Charles Spurgeon.

Passionate prayer was the secret to his powerful preaching. 

Passionate and desperate prayer will be characteristic of the coming revival. God wants to take us deeper in passion and fervency in our prayers. Holy desperation for the presence of God is the key to transformation.

Are we desperate enough to change our life styles for God?  
      
"Both international and local revivals have been distinctly linked to special prayer… The coming revival will be no exception. An extraordinary spirit of prayer, urging believers to much secret and united prayer, pressing them to labor fervently (Colossians 4:12) in their supplications, will be one of the surest signs of approaching showers and floods of blessing." Andrew Murray


Have your Friends sign up for Intercessors Arise here!

Become a member of the Intercessors Arise International Network here. Connect with intercessors and what God is doing in prayer worldwide! Discover many resources and training on prayer in this network.
 
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
International House of Prayer KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
http://www.intercessorsarise.org

 

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Finding Answers to my Prayers

9651006676?profile=originalIn Ps 24, a young King David asks, and then answers a question burning on the young king's heart. 

Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the LORD’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Such people may seek you, and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob. Ps 24.3-6 NLT


In my prayer time a few days ago, I felt God asking me to take these words seriously. What would it look like in my life if I made sure that I was walking and living with clean hands, and a pure heart? How would I spend my time? How would I spend my money, and the other resources that God has entrusted into my care?

What would it look like if I made sure that in every relationship, I was completely honest, and didn't treat someone as if I had to lift myself up, and come across as though I'm better than another? Are there any idols in my life, things that I give my time, talent and attention to more than I devote my energies to my Father? I know that I'm forgiven, and saved by the grace of God, so these questions aren't about earning his love or favor. But that's not the question that David is asking. David is asking who is the person that will walk with God, that will live with God showing Himself active, present and powerful in his life.

Jesus challenged his followers with the same high expectations regarding our relationship with Him and others. He connected the dots between the quality of our relationships with others, and the temperature of our relationship with Him. In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God." Matt 5,23-24


I'm not trying to be legalistic, or tell our pastors what to teach on a Sunday, but what would it look like if at the beginning of a weekend service, before the worship started, your pastor said something like this: 

If you have a dispute with a friend, if you have a broken relationship with a family member, co-worker, etc. it's time to go and make it right. We're not going to have service today. Go, take care of the relationship issues in your life. I'll see you again next week.


And that was it. No songs, announcements, teaching or prayers. The worship ministry left the platform, and the lights came up. What would that be like? 

Maybe a more exciting question is this – What do you think the service the following weekend would be like? Coming into God's presence with a clear conscious, with the weight of damaged relationships lifted from our hearts and hands. What kind of blessing would we then receive from God? David writes, and promised that blessings from come from the Lord, and we would enter into his righteous, powerful, healing presence.

Prayer is more than asking God to do stuff . . . to take care of this, that and the other thing. Prayer starts with God moving in our lives, to change who we are, how we treat others, and how we interact with the world. When you pray, you can expect God to challenge you, to work on changing your heart. Then in the future God is free to move through you, and answer your prayers for others through what He can do through you.

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