Prayer
Christians Consuming Porn
BARNA REPORT REVEALS DISTURBING TREND
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No naked people. For Believers, the clear, biblical standard is to live pure, holy lives free of forbidden sexual imagery. No naked people in our sexualized thoughts unless, and only unless, it’s our spouse. Sexual lust steals, kills and destroys in ways few other sins can.
A disturbing recent Barna report reveals that 54% of practicing Christians are consuming porn. Seven percent view porn daily. Fifteen percent weekly.
Possibly even more troubling are the arguments I’ve heard on the topic. Some Christians have challenged me by saying it’s not possible for a man to avoid lust, as if it’s an expected part of our make-up. Others proclaim Scripture doesn’t forbid all sexual lust, only lust about married women. The deception is widespread.
After writing an article on the topic several years ago, I was contacted by a Christian sex-therapist. In his long letter he vented his frustration and firmly renounced the idea that lust is inappropriate. In fact, he proudly revealed how he actually prescribes sexual fantasy about strangers and other people to those who are struggling in the area of sexual intimacy.
SEVEN DANGERS OF PORN AND SEXUAL LUST
ONE: No Intimacy with God
The authentic Christian life demands intimacy with Jesus. The parable of the virgins clearly reveals how intentional our pursuit of God must be. It wrecks my heart to know that people live outside of an all-consuming, loving relationship with the Lord.
When counterfeit intimacy takes the place of the authentic, only despair remains. Praying in the Spirit is not possible. Faith fades. Love dissipates. Hope is gone.
TWO. Shame
When the serpent told Eve, “You will not surely die,” he knew the result would be fig leaves. Shame. Adam and Eve did die, spiritually, and their innocence was gone. How often do people make that late-night decision to enjoy some sexual entertainment with the thought that, “I will not surely die?”
Of course, the “repentance” rarely works and, according to Barna, many will be back at it again the next day or later in the week.
THREE. Demonization
The Bible reveals that “the curse without cause shall not come.” Well, the counter is true as well. When there is cause, when we open the door to the enemy, all sorts of wicked schemes are initiated. When we view porn or lust, we open the door to the devil.
Demonization is when evil spirits attack, torment and refuse to stop. There is a license, a permission, that allows them to remain. Sexual lust is one such permission, and unless true repentance occurs, deliverance cannot be experienced.
FOUR. Wounding our Loved Ones
There are women (and some men, I’m sure) who worry continually about their spouses falling into porn. If it happens, it rips through their heart. The pain is extreme and difficult to heal. Further, parents often fear their children falling into this vice, knowing how spiritually and emotionally deadly it is.
FIVE. Failure to Fulfill our Calling
We are all ministers and we all have a ministry. I’m convinced that my failure to fulfill my ministry directly impacts people’s eternities. When we view porn, when shame overwhelms us, when demonization is deep and when there is wounding all around, any thought of advancing in ministry is shot until we repent.
SIX. Living in Adultery
Scripture reveals the true impact of inappropriate sexual lust. Adultery. When we watch porn, we are committing adultery with every person on the screen. When we lust, the same is true for every person in our thoughts.
SEVEN. Eternal Separation from God
Many Christians will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day. When we live in sin, devoid of true repentance, we cannot presume to be saved. An eternity of torment awaits. This truth grieves me like no other.
FREEDOM
If you are struggling with lust, don’t despair. Don’t quit contending for intimacy with God. You can absolutely find freedom! God loves you with a passion that’s deep…and he is longsuffering. He will be with you in your journey to freedom.
Wiser Than The Witches
This Halloween season we must be aware of the enemy’s schemes.
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When planting our first church in one of America’s darkest regions, where witchcraft and paganism saturated the atmosphere, it took us three years to learn how to fight. We were not wiser than the witches.
Over the years in that Spirit-driven, prayer-fueled ministry, we experienced many supernatural attacks, visits from witches and organized efforts to stop us.
Shortly after we planted the church, our oldest son was admitted to the hospital with a severe asthma attack. It was October 31st. One year later, on Halloween, he was admitted again with yet another asthmatic episode. Finally, when he was rushed to the emergency room and admitted for a third straight year, on the 31st of October, it hit me. This is no coincidence. It was an organized, strategic, deliberate witchcraft attack.
SCHEMES AND OPEN DOORS
To be wiser than witches requires us to level up in our authority.
Especially during the month of October, when the activity of the enemy is extreme, it’s imperative that we stay alert with our lamps filled with oil.
ONE. Christian Curses
If, according to Scripture, “the curse without cause shall not come,” when there is cause, we can be sure curses will hit with great and terrible force.
It’s possible Christians are hurling more curses into the atmosphere than all the witches in our nation.
Though we are commanded to bless and not curse, gossip is rampant. Shaming and cursing political opponents are non-stop. Villainizing all who disagree with our spiritualized opinions invigorates us. Speaking death over our own lives and the lives of others is common.
TWO. Celebrating Halloween
Dabble with the demonic, party like the pagans, dance with the dead and come dressed for the occasion.
The world’s largest coven meeting is about to commence, and shockingly many Christians will be in attendance.
It’s stunning that blood-bought, Spirit-filled Christians would ever slap the label, “innocent fun” on this most wicked of days. Most would argue that we are saved, covered by the blood and that we have no fear regarding simple costumes, candy and parties.
However, the blood of Jesus doesn’t grant us immunity. It grants us authority.
If we are participating in, enjoying and affirming death, demons, darkness and witchcraft, we have lost our authority against the wicked entities behind it all.
Evil isn’t innocent just because we invite children to the party.
THREE. Emotional Crisis
In nearly three decades of ministry, I’ve witnessed, time and again, solid, anointed, amazing people struggle emotionally. Feelings overwhelm and overtake them. Rejection, fear, depression and other emotions, at the least, can cause people to retreat into their caves.
We must be wiser than the witches, ready to go to war against the devil and discern the season we are in.
Instead of retreating into a cave, run to others who can stand with you, pray with you, love you, challenge you and, if necessary, cast some demons out.
FOUR. Prayerlessness
One of the greatest weapons against the schemes of the enemy is fiery, Spirit-filled, prophetic prayer. Tongues of fire will help fill lamps and strengthen us in ways that little else can.
Those who aren’t absolutely consumed with a spirit of prayer will typically struggle, especially during the month of October when the enemy is so active.
WE CANNOT TAKE THE ENEMY LIGHTLY
I’ve heard it said that we need to put on our armor every day. I disagree. I would question why they are taking it off every night. Put it on. Keep it on. Pray continually. Fight the devil. Close open doors.
27 Points of Revolution in the Church
This Reformation Thesis is a call to massive shift in the church and in our nation.
God has given the church every resource and opportunity necessary to initiate a fire of revival that will burn our cities, nations and planet.
We can all agree this fire is not raging–and the current structure in the church can neither initiate nor sustain a move of God of this magnitude.
It’s time for a radical and momentous change in the church. It’s time for reformation. It’s time for revolution.
APOSTOLIC CENTERS
Glenn Bleakney writes:
In this critical hour, Holy Spirit is revealing the significance of shifting churches away from conventional gathering places towards Apostolic Centers. These Apostolic Centers are not merely physical locations; they are communities where God’s people assemble to encounter the tangible presence and glory of God, and be equipped to advance His Kingdom.
Apostolic Centers are dynamic hubs where the Holy Spirit is actively moving, transforming lives, and empowering believers for kingdom work. In these physical environments, the gathered people of God experience His manifest presence, receive prophetic revelation, and are trained and mobilized as effective ministers of the gospel to advance the kingdom of God into the marketplace, cities, and nations.
Rather than focused solely on weekend services, Apostolic Centers foster a culture of ongoing discipleship, ministry training, and missional living. They equip believers to operate in the fivefold ministry gifts, and send them out as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to impact their communities and the nations.
This shift towards Apostolic Centers is a strategic move of the Holy Spirit to prepare the Bride of Christ for the harvest and the return of Jesus. As the church aligns with this vision, it will experience a new level of authority, anointing, and impact in the earth.
The “family-style” churches must quickly shift and embrace a governmental paradigm. We must gather laborers, pray with passion, equip a holy military and advance into the darkness as we pursue full-blown revival. An outpouring and a city-structure that can withstand the weight must consume our thoughts.
27 POINTS OF REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION IN THE CHURCH
The following was written originally in the mid-2000s to the church of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and then to the cities of the earth. While I don’t know the current landscape of the church of Colorado Springs, I’ve heard rumblings about the lack of five-fold, apostolic, governmental order in the city. If true, this shouldn’t come as a surprise as this is true in most cities.
The verbiage in the Thesis was adjusted to address our current city, Branson, Missouri, though any city could most probably be substituted. These 27 points are simple yet critical to consider. I address the problem and then share the benefits of extreme course-correction:
1: We must repent of prayerlessness.
A call is being made for every believer to pray with hunger and passion to an extreme degree. Spiritual leaders of this city must model such a lifestyle of prayer on a daily basis. It must be our primary activity.
Pastors and leaders–let’s agree to developing a furnace of intercession in every local church and a weekly city-wide prayer event that shakes the region to the core.
Keep in mind, your primary call is prayer and study of the Word, not visitation, program development, administration or other focuses that steal time energy and focus.
Leonard Ravenhill said, “Pastors who don’t pray two hours a day aren’t worth a dime a dozen”
“Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”” (Acts 6:3–4, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Literally everything changes when we adopt an intense, strategic, continual lifestyle of intercession.
The supernatural increases, miracles happen, intimacy with Jesus skyrockets, pretenders are exposed, the corporate mission is strengthened.
I’ve counseled pastors to incorporate deep, fiery prayer meetings to set the culture in their leadership team. These supernatural meetings will quickly reveal those who are resistant, opposed to the mission, apathetic, given to a spirit of control or who have embraced an Absalom spirit.
2: We must repent of competition.
It’s time to promote the city church ahead of our local church. Are we willing to lose people, money, our ministries and our reputations for God’s corporate dream of city-wide revival to explode? The “sheep stealing” myth must be exposed for what it is: insecurity, personal kingdom building and a spirit of competition. The truth is it’s impossible for someone to steal what we don’t own. We don’t own the sheep.
As Bring Ming said, “God forgive us for building kingdoms of man on doctrines of demons in your name.”
Further, our aim is not to grow our local church, but rather, as a simple, small department of the city church, we must promote connection in various ministries in the region.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3, ESV)
BENEFITS:
We have no idea the nuclear-level strength we’ll have if the churches of the city became the church of the city.
Everything is stronger, healthier, more precise, better equipped. Additionally, self-centered kingdom building and other idols are torn down in favor of a city-wide altar of worship.
3: We must repent for being mindful of man ahead of God–and then resign our positions as salespeople. We are to once again lead with a bold prophetic mantle.
As a leader, the primary role is to hear God in prayer and to declare his Word to the people. The body must renounce consumerism in the church by asking not what our church can do for us but what we can do for our church.
We must stop attempting to make our church more desirable, attractive and popular so as to attract the crowds. The prophetic messages we are called to shout will repel most.
“But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”” (Matthew 16:23, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Allowing God to give supreme leadership will offend many and will upset those who have built a “family-style church.” However, the resulting remnant will be firebreathers who are ready to lay down their lives and expose the darkness.
4: We must repent for forsaking the house of prayer.
There is a call for every church in the city to maintain prayer as its primary ministry. It is to be modeled and led by senior leadership.
The primary purpose of the church is not teaching, visitor assimilation or fellowship. It is undeniably night and day prayer for the nations. Lengthy prayer should be taught and modeled as the dominant activity of every believer. Those who refuse to buy into this mission must not be allowed to dictate the level of passion in the ministry.
As I’ve often said, “I refuse to tone down the activity of the Holy Spirit out of respect of those less hungry.”
“these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”” (Isaiah 56:7, ESV)
BENEFITS:
When prayer is not the primary activity of everyone in the church, the entire mission is compromised and underpowered. A culture of intercession results in unity, strength and ever-increasing passion for Jesus.
“Prayer is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man´s true spiritual condition (there is nothing so much as prayer life that tells the truth about us as Christian people). Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer.”- Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones
“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:11–12, ESV)
- Fervent: hot, boiling
“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,” (Romans 15:30, ESV)
- Fervent, urgent
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16, ESV)
- Fervent, To be active, to be mighty in, to work
5: We must repent of pride.
God resists the proud, and this city can’t afford for God to move away from us. We must repent, humble ourselves and cry for Jesus to come!
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” (James 4:6, ESV)
BENEFITS:
God literally stands opposed to those who are proud and the same is true for churches that are formed in pride. Renouncing this alliance with a wicked spirit of pride will result in deep intimacy with Jesus, great favor, a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit and a grace that is immeasurable.
(Scripture + commentary) Matt 23:12 Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor.13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to do so.14 [Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you swallow up widows’ houses and for a pretense to cover it up make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation and the heavier sentence.15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one [a proselyte], you make him doubly as much a child of hell (Gehenna) as you are.
6: We must repent for quenching the Holy Spirit.
Our cry must be, “Come as you are and do what you want!” Sunday services should be marked by significant and earth-shaking supernatural moves of the Holy Spirit.
“Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Where do I begin?! When the Spirit is not quenched AT ALL, the entire place erupts in fire!
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7, ESV)
Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, faith, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation; the benefits are immeasurable.
A church that is not moving in the supernatural must be scrutinized. The mission we have been given is impossible to accomplish without signs, wonders, miracles, dreams, visions and supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
7: We must repent for resisting the prophetic.
Now, more than ever, we need to hear the Word of the Lord. We must teach every believer how to hear God, how to steward that Word and how to take responsibility in the fulfillment of that Word.
“Do not despise prophecies,” (1 Thessalonians 5:20, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Leading a church without a vibrant prophetic culture is an experiment in futility. God has absolutely critical revelation to reveal to us.
We need the 100 prophets to emerge from the caves!
Obadiah hid them, Elijah was accused of being a troubler of Israel, the fire fell, the prophets of Baal were defeated. This scenario must play out again in Branson and the cities of the earth!
“And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)” (1 Kings 18:3–4, ESV)
8: We must embrace and teach on the experiential reality of the presence of God.
If someone were to be on the moon, would he want to learn about air or experience air? Branson must experience the fresh flowing air of the Holy Spirit again.
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1–2, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Revival. When the Kabod and Shekinah come, and demons flee, and the anointing overwhelms, people are literally transformed forever.
Check this out:
“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” (Acts 7:54–8:1, ESV)
Saul watched this! This was an experiential reality for him.
Saul would soon become Paul. The entire world would soon be turned upside down!
9: We must be willing to forsake programs and policies set in place by the demands of man in favor of the divine vision of the Holy Spirit.
Today people expect a vibrant worship ministry, children’s ministry, youth ministry, singles ministry, coffee shop, small groups and much more. While any of these ministries are not inherently wrong, they quite often are not what God desires for a particular church.
Gather “pavement people.” Those who don’t care about comfort, about the biggest and the best, about their own satisfaction are the remnant you are looking for. They are happy hitting the pavement and declaring the goodness of God.
“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”” (2 Chronicles 7:1–3, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Our energy will be reserved for what is most critical.
The vision will drive the ministry instead of what people presume to need or want. The trajectory of the entire church will be wildly different than if we were need-driven.
10: We must release control of our services.
We should expect to stay late, burn hot, experience much, cast out demons, prophesy, proclaim the Word, worship intensely and enjoy a wonderfully messy but Holy Spirit ordered event. The first church was birthed supernaturally in such a way that many marveled and many mocked. It must continue now as it started then.
“And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”” (Acts 2:12–13, ESV)
BENEFITS:
The unexpected must be expected. Limits to God need to be torn down and passion for the unknown, supernatural manifestations of God must overtake us.
11: We must raise the bar of expectations and do now what we will be doing when revival breaks out.
Pray continually, burn hot, be in the House of Prayer daily, cry out for justice, establish the 24-hour church, give, serve and enjoy God with other believers.
“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?” (Luke 18:7, ESV)
“and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.” (Luke 2:37, ESV)
“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46–47, ESV)
BENEFITS:
We will be crushed and sharpened, disciplined and ready when the weight of revival hits the region.
God will be able to use us in a leadership capacity and as stewards of the outpouring. We will be ready.
12: We must repent for surrendering to culture by canceling services, closing the church doors and lowering the expected commitment.
We have submitted to a deadly and apathetic American culture, and it’s time to lead the way and bring reformation to that culture. The church must dominate our calendars again.
BENEFITS:
The church will shift from cowering to culture to shaping it.
Our families will be stronger, full of fire and deeply intimate with each other and with the Lord.
Prayer meetings, prayer walking, equipping, worship and so much more should be our primary activities, not T-ball, ballet, movies or other lesser things.
“And day by day, attending the temple together…” (Acts 2:46, ESV)
13: We must cry out for the love of God to weigh on His church in the form of both mercy and judgment.
Pray for God’s judgment to rest on you, your church and this city so as to ensure wrong things are made right, holiness prevails and God reigns supreme.
“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Judgment is simply God making wrong things right. God will use the least severe method to get the greatest results.
When we trust God to judge and crush and break us, everything changes. The church is stronger. Our families are stronger.
14: We must teach Acts chapter two style–experience a move of God and then teach on it.
Experience an overpowering move of the Holy Spirit to such a degree that highly anointed biblical teachings penetrate hearts. What God does in the moment is then taught and explained from a supernatural perspective. Instead of teaching about revival to come, we need revival to break out, providing us the opportunity to explain the other-worldly invasion that shocked the city.
“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Acts 2:14–21, ESV)
BENEFITS:
We get to experience God!
A full-speed ahead pursuit of supernatural visitation should consume us!
15: We must admit there are demons and that they must be dealt with.
Not through programs and projects but through prophetic proclamation. A unified assault on the kingdom of darkness will result in mass deliverance in our city.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7, ESV)
BENEFITS:
The freedom will be immeasurable!
Demons will finally be forced out of hiding and we will be free and full of life.
The freedom will spread like wildfire as demonic strongholds are destroyed in the city.
It will be normal for demons to manifest on Sunday mornings, right in the middle of the service, as people pray, contend for freedom and witness supernatural deliverance.
16: We must be available for repositioning and do away with the redundancy that a church on every corner invites.
Many churches in our city should close. Those pastors would then assume more appropriate positions of service in other churches. Teachers would lead centers of teaching, pastors would lead small groups, and other leaders would serve in a variety of physical locations within the city church. The goal is one city church, many departments, unified leadership and individualized roles.
BENEFITS:
Huge unnecessary burdens will be lifted from leaders as they are released to focus on what they are called and wired to do.
The power of a city church can’t be understated.
17: We must again become Holy Spirit sensitive instead of seeker sensitive.
People aren’t looking for something worth living for, but rather for a cause worth dying for. Show them the cross.
The normal New Testament church experience is one of extreme manifestations of God, death to self, prophetic preaching and an unapologetic invasion into the culture which results in momentous change.
I believe the “seeker sensitive” movement has been the most destructive model of church in recent history. The devastation won’t be fully realized until people enter into eternity.
“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:34–35, ESV)
BENEFITS:
The pretenders will leave and the remnant will be free to advance with great unity and strength.
The anointing will skyrocket and those “seekers” who are truly hungry will run to the altar. It will be more about God’s invasion into their lives than their assimilation into an affinity group.
18: We must again embrace dreams, visions, praying in the Holy Spirit and extreme encounters with God.
“So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.” (1 Corinthians 14:39, ESV)
BENEFITS:
The mission of the church will be strengthened as people are receiving revelation.
Our personal lives will become powerfully effective as we are led by supernatural guidance instead of staggering around in confusion.
19: We must repent for presenting a watered down, socially acceptable gospel.
Salvation requires death, surrender and commitment to the plans of God.
“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:21–22, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Authentic salvations will result in a powerful church.
The Rich Young Rulers won’t be affirmed, the Money Changers in the temple won’t be coddled and the truth won’t be compromised.
20: We must repent for emphasizing what people can get instead of what they are to give.
To enter a church with the expectation of leaving with more than you entered with is to embrace the same spirit the money changers did. We must again, with fear and trembling, enter the House of Prayer with the expectation of making a sacrifice and giving an offering.
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”” (Matthew 21:12–13, ESV)
BENEFITS:
We will have clarity on our devotion to Jesus.
During the Triumphal Entry, Jesus was “worshiped” by people crying out “Hosanna!” That word, Hosanna, translates as, “save us now.” The focus was on self.
The moment they determined Jesus wouldn’t give them what they hoped for, they turned on him. Their next cry was, “crucify him!”
People will attend our churches as long as we give them what they want. Instead we may need nearly empty churches with the few who have the guts to gather around the cross.
21: We must encourage every believer to grow intentionally, rapidly and independently.
And then, to step into their assigned ministry role.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:12–14, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Strong leadership teams will develop as will strong, devoted people.
22: We must call for the fear of the Lord to return to our churches and city.
“Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:17–18, ESV)
BENEFITS:
We will be calibrated with the reality of who God is. Both the love and the severity of God will be made known.
23: We must repent for rebellion, self-government, lawlessness and an independent spirit.
This is evidenced through church hopping and by leaving a church without being sent out by the leaders. This results in compromised missions, a divisive spirit and a splintering of the body. Accountability and submission to authority must again return to the church.
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17, ESV)
BENEFITS:
We will shed demonic influence that has brought ruin to people, families and churches.
24: We must repent of gossip, complaining and other forms of witchcraft.
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16–19, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Alliance with demons will be eradicated.
The church will be much stronger and full of Holy Spirit activity.
25: We must repent for embracing a religious spirit.
Religion is this: “man’s attempt to use God to get what he wants.”
It’s time to cry out for God to remove our man made structures and advance his Kingdom in our city!
BENEFITS:
A spirit of religion killed Jesus. This same spirit resists the Spirit of God today.
When eradicated, the Holy Spirit will come in like a flood and give supernatural, divine leadership to our churches.
26: We must repent to the nation for misrepresenting Branson as a significant Christian center of Holy Spirit activity.
It is not. We have wrongly stewarded this responsibility. We hear a lot about “God and country,” and there is much that is very positive happening here. However, we can’t stop the analysis of the spiritual condition of our region with what seems to be healthy.
There are altars that must be torn down, wicked spirits that must be exposed and repentance that must overwhelm us all.
BENEFITS:
The humility repentance would bring will be a catalyst for a massive move of God.
It would also recalibrate the church of Branson and make it possible to effectively steward revival.
27: We must repent for not praying intently for our leaders.
Their failure is our failure.
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:1–2, ESV)
BENEFITS:
Leaders would be undergirded, their arms lifted and covered. Failure would decrease and the mission of Kingdom advance would be strengthened.
Pastors and other ministers would not be as susceptible to failure.
The people would not be as susceptible to disillusionment and falling away due to the failure of leadership.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As we pray, unify, preach the cross, love God and the people of our city with passion and embrace the present Word of the Lord Branson will be a propellant for revival around the world.
Written trembling in the fear of the Lord,
John Burton
Revival X
prayerteam.tv – Praying for Culture’s Influencers
POPE FRANCIS
Pope Francis made the decision to affirm the blessing of same-sex relationships (not marriage). We want to pray that God moves powerfully in his life and impacts him with love and truth.
Listen to the prayer session for Pope Francis HERE.
prayerteam.tv is a ministry of revival and intercession with a focus on influencers including politicians, celebrities, musicians, athletes and others who have significant impact in our culture.
Today we are contending in prayer for Pope Francis.
www.prayerteam.tv
MOBILIZING FIREBRANDS TO CONTEND FOR INFLUENCERS
My passion is legitimate, authentic and indisputable revival. Interestingly, I often find myself burdened for people I’ve never met, and usually, people I know little about. Yet, more times than not, those who suddenly land on my spirit to pray for are influencers. Celebrities, politicians and others who are shaping our culture.
I’m convinced God is speaking to many others who have been awakened to the call to intercede for them as well. This site is devoted to serving people in Hollywood, Nashville, Washington D.C. and other locales known for national and world impact.
Satan surely rages against us all, and possibly to a greater extent, those who have great influence over millions. Let’s contend in prayer for them together. Jesus died for them. Heaven wouldn’t be the same without them.
~John Burton
HOW THIS WORKS
Posts will be released on a regular basis. On most occasions, each post will focus on a single influencer. At times groups of people or special national or global events will be covered. Video or audio will at times be added to the post. The content? Fiery intercession.
While prophetic insights into current events can be challenging or even troubling, our focus on this site is positive, encouraging and powerful decrees. We want those who stumble upon the content to have a supernatural revelation of God’s fervent passion for them and all people.
YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
Pray with passion for the influencers we are highlighting.
And, by all means, please share this site with other revival minded intercessors. We can see Hollywood and the rest of our nation and world turned toward Jesus!
Revival X is looking for PAVEMENT PEOPLE
Are you part of a NEW WINE ARMY that is DONE with church as usual?
I wrote this several years ago as a traveling preacher. My viewpoint has not changed now that I have planted a new church in Branson, Missouri:
I know I carry a critical message in this end time season. There is a desperate need for awakening and activation, and I desire to be a part of that.However, I have no desire to leave my family and travel to various churches if those churches aren’t ready for the deposit I’m called to leave.
I’m done with nice Sunday services where the people resist the depths, are reluctant to contend and are more interested in getting out on time. I’m done.Pastors, train your people to groan in the Spirit. Turn Sundays into prayer meetings. Blaze the trail toward revival.A quick, one hour sermon just won’t cut it. A little worship and a nice prayer is laughable. Cultivate services where people never want to leave! Where are the revivalists? The intercessors?Church as usual is over and I have no desire to come to your church to preach if you are still trying to build an old wine skin.
Where is my tribe? Where are the burning ones? I’m ready to find those pillars of revival fire and contend together for an outpouring.
FIREBRANDS ARISE!
Church as usual is coming to an end—and prophetic churches must emerge to fill the void.
Among them are people who are bellowing out that they are “DONE with church as usual,” but, for some strange reason, refuse to shift into the new.
The firebrands are few who are truly willing to break out of the old wine skin and enlist as soldiers who are absolutely reliant on the new wine of the Holy Spirit. This is a rare breed, indeed.
“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”” (2 Chronicles 7:1–3, ESV)
An Old Testament experience with the power of God should cause all of us New Covenant Believers to be troubled. Why isn’t God moving like that in our church?
The supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit today should absolutely blow away the encounters prior to the cross and resurrection of Christ and the Acts 2 awakening. Yet, here we are, struggling to break out of typical, familiar, comfortable and tired church life.
PAVEMENT PEOPLE
For decades, I’ve been looking for pavement people. Hungry, desperate Christians who are no longer looking for personal comfort in their church experience, but rather are ready to pay whatever price is necessary to see God manifest in overwhelming power.
To them, church as usual is dead. The old wineskin will no longer suffice. It can’t. The new wine they are yearning for demands an entire new model and they refuse to live another day bound up in the old.
Pavement people, as we saw in 2 Chronicles 7, weren’t interested in anything but the glory of God. God’s glory filled the house so powerfully that nobody could enter. That didn’t stop these fiery zealots. They hit the pavement and declared the goodness of God.
Literally nothing else mattered. They didn’t demand a certain order of service. They couldn’t care less about comfortable seats. They weren’t looking for friends or position or promotion. Air conditioning, greeters, programs, child care, predictable services and most everything else does not matter to these end-time, new wine warriors.
They want God.
A NEW WINE CHURCH EXPERIENCE
Pavement people have no patience for church experiences that aren’t fueled by deep, continual intercession. The glory of God has no comparison. The pursuit of wide-spread revival is the goal that causes them to burn white hot. Their devotion results in many sleepless nights as they weep over their city and cry out for the Holy Spirit to move.
When intercession and glory become the driving pursuits of people craving the wildfire of the Spirit of God, very little else becomes necessary in the church experience. In fact, they are so sensitive to the mission that they refuse to embrace anything that threatens the primary purposes of the new wine church.
As an example, at Revival X in Branson, Missouri, we are intentionally staying laser focused. This means we currently have no need to implement many things that are expected in old wine skin churches.
Live worship, children’s ministry, youth ministry, small groups, etc. aren’t currently important in the church plant. What is? Prayer. Intercession. Glory. Fire. Equipping. Deliverance.
Will we implement some of this in time? Possibly. Probably. Eventually. It must be done with great care so as not to distract from the primary purpose of the church. Additions will only come as they reinforce, support and give strength to intercession and revival.
The call is for all to pray as wild men and women, consumed with the fire of the Holy Spirit, allowing dreams, visions and a strong prophetic spirit to emerge. We must be trained in the fire, by the Fire, the Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE
If you are “done with church as usual,” then get risky. Get out of the boat. Quit expecting “needs” of old to be met. Break out of old patterns and systems.
Don’t expect the new wine church to look anything like the old. The programs and purposes are going to shift dramatically. You will have to go deep in the Spirit, deep in intercession and develop a radically consecrated, holy, on-fire life of surrender. Literally nothing else will matter in comparison with your pursuit of God and revival.
A key reason pastors don’t steer their churches in this direction of Spirit-driven, prayer-fueled, revival-focused and risky ministry is they know few will respond positively.
What would happen if your pastor suddenly cancelled everything they do except for prayer and equipping?
What if they eliminated live worship and let the worship team get renewed in prayer for a year?
What would you do if there was no longer children’s ministry or youth ministry?
What about eliminating programs and ministries that you feel are extremely important?
How would you handle the shift? Would you take on your call to pray without ceasing? Would you go deep? Would you become the revivalist you were born to be?
Or would you complain, gossip, get frustrated, question leadership and look for a new, comfortable, old wine skin church?
I pray you’d accept nothing but the new wine. You’d be part of a very rare, special, end-time, remnant army that the world is waiting for.
How to contend in earth-shaking intercession without getting bored, tired and discouraged
Could you not pray for one hour? ~Jesus
Prayer doesn’t typically come naturally. Actually, it comes supernaturally, but even so, there is a learning curve.
At Revival X, I am excited about the opportunity to help train hungry people in the art and science of impactful, fiery, powerful and supernatural intercession. Once we are struck by the shock and awe of prophetic prayer, we will crave interacting with God night and day.
Could you not pray for one hour? The obvious answer is no. The couldn’t. Or, actually, they didn’t. They could have. They should have, but the impetus was not there. The passion had faded. The urgency was gone. Carrying the burden of another requires we are impacted by the Spirit of God at a pretty deep level. This is what makes an intercessor.
This isn’t an involved teaching on the matter (that will come on Tuesday nights at Revival X!), but these are some simple tips and truths that will help make intercession much more enjoyable and meaningful. We’ll want to pray, without ceasing, as Scripture directs.
Eleven tips: How to engage in impactful, supernatural, prophetic and addictive intercession
ONE: UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT
Burdens for intercession become weighty and tangible when we understand, adopt and own the assignment. What is the purpose of your intercession? Is that purpose captivating you? If not, go to battle over your mind and emotions and avail yourself to the Spirit of God.
The assignment might be naturally obvious, like praying for someone to be healed. Or, it may be sudden and unexpected. There are times I’m awakened in the night with a celebrity on my heart. It’s typically someone I never spend time thinking about, and I know the Lord has asked me to stand in the gap for them.
Understanding God’s assignments in prayer will also relieve us of other prayer focuses that aren’t as pressing or timely on God’s agenda. It takes some discipline to stop praying for what we want to focus on to make room for what God is doing. Doing so is the first step toward intercession that’s fueled by God’s supernatural grace.
When we become “assignment-driven” instead of “issue-driven” in our lives, our prayer lives tend to erupt.
TWO: UNDERSTAND YOUR AUTHORITY
Prayer becomes a frustrating exercise of futility if we don’t understand our authority. If we don’t know without question that we cause things to happen simply by declaring and decreeing, commanding and enforcing, then we’ll fizzle out after just a few minutes of tiring prayer.
However, when we acquire a revelation of just how potent and powerful our words are, and how atmospheres and enemies have no choice but to submit to our Spirit-revealed directives, everything changes! We become super-charged, supernatural agents of the King.
We move mountains. We cast out demons. We war in the Spirit. We dictate breakthrough. We condition atmospheres. We truly are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
THREE: PRAY IN TONGUES
Bold tongues originating from the depths of our inner man should be erupting out of us from the beginning of the intercession session to the end. If I had to put a percentage on it, I’d say 95% tongues, 5% English. The Spirit knows exactly what needs to happen through our legislation. The most efficient way for him to move is praying in tongues. There is no comparison.
The Bible talks about groans “that can’t be uttered.” These are overwhelming spiritual unctions that overwhelm and overtake us as we take on the Holy Spirit’s burden. There is no need for words and there is no need for intellectual understanding when this occurs. We can rest easy knowing that God is actively, literally and immediately moving. Faith explodes through tongues and groans.
FOUR: DECLARE SCRIPTURE
The Bible is true. It’s mandatory that we absolutely, without any doubt or hesitation, fully and completely believe it. We must never condition Scripture with our experiences, disappointments or personal insights. The Word of God rules.
When we believe Scripture at this level, our minutes of prayer can easily launch into hours.
Grab hold of a single scripture or a passage and decree it. Declare it. Enforce it. Meditate on it. If you aren’t seeing a particular biblical truth manifest in your life or in a situation, go to battle. Proclaim the truth to the enemy. Proclaim it to yourself. Command your mind and emotions to align with it.
When you are done, find another scripture and do it again. Another hour will pass before you know it.
FIVE: KNOW WHAT GOD’S WILL IS
It’s safe to say that a lot of prayer that’s offered up every day, possibly the majority, is little more than asking God for stuff as we wonder if he’ll answer. This is a recipe for intercessory failure. Our faith plummets. Our hope fades. Our relationship with God is negatively affected because we don’t truly understand his desire for us.
The easiest way to know God’s will is through the Word of God. If he wrote it, he means it. Review the previous point and get excited about all of the promises in Scripture that are chiseled in stone. God means what he says.
In specific situations that the Bible may not cover (like what job to take or how to spend our money), the next point will help. Suffice it to say, intimacy with Jesus is key. As we learn to hear God’s voice, our prayer time will take a dramatic shift. No longer will we gaze up into heaven wondering where God is and what he wants. We’ll move right past that point and have great confidence in our prayer. It will shift direction from asking God to commanding situations. We will be a walking, breathing, supernatural command center, enforcing God’s will, not aimlessly wondering what it is.
And, during the “in between,” the times between our intercession and the clear revelation of God’s will, pray in tongues and declare Scripture. Enjoy Jesus. Develop intimacy. Correct wrong theology (like God is resisting you, or that he doesn’t love or like you). Simply know that Jesus is interceding for YOU nonstop!
SIX: DISCOVER THE PROPHETIC
Prayer that isn’t infused by the Spirit of prophecy is doomed. It really is. We must learn how to receive revelation. This is a massive topic that can’t be even summarized here. However, we need to know that God is talking and the things he’s saying are weighty. Our job is to receive the transmission and respond accordingly.
It’s critical to flow prophetically during intercession so we get the right job done the right way. We don’t want to pray for something that God is actually opposing. We don’t want to focus on a point that God says to put aside. This is where tongues helps (a lot). God will suddenly and overwhelmingly impact us with skyrocketing faith on a matter. He will tell us what to decree and how to contend. His will becomes obvious. What’s on his heart in the moment overtakes our heart. When the prophetic meets intercession, miracles happen. This is where the realm of wonders exists.
SEVEN: EXPECT SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES
When we pray, and when the prophetic is hot, miracles, signs, wonders, healings, revelations and great faith result. They become quite normal.
The key is that we must stimulate our faith and develop extreme expectancy. Tongues helps. Scripture helps. Prophecy helps. Embracing our assignment helps. When all of this is working with synergy, the Spirit of God will often manifest.
A prayer-life without unwavering expectation of supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit is a prayer-life that’s truly on life-support.
EIGHT: FIGHT THE ENEMY
When all of the above points are in play, they will ultimately expose the activity of the enemy. When that happens, we must fight!
Understanding our authority will make this an obvious next step. It becomes clear that the enemy has been working hard behind the scenes (and often right on stage) to steal, kill, destroy, disrupt, discourage and stop God’s activity in our life and situation.
The prophetic is an invaluable tool as it shines a bright light on the darkness. The enemy can no longer hide. However, it’s absolutely critical that we engage in serious warfare. The enemy doesn’t like the light, but he’ll gladly stand there exposed if he knows we aren’t going to do anything about him and his schemes.
NINE: COMMAND VS. PETITION
If there anything that will kill a life of prayer it’s petition.
Yes, there are times to petition God. Scripture is clear about this. However, when we become petition-dominant in our prayer, our faith plummets. So much of what people petition God for has already been settled and revealed in Scripture.
So much more would be made known prophetically if we had fine-tuned that spiritual skill. Remember, part of our responsibility in prayer is to discover what God’s will is. Very often, his will is ready to be revealed, or at least the part that we need to know in the moment is. We just need to find it. Most often, petition is not the quickest way there.
TEN: FOCUS OUTWARD NOT INWARD
If I had to guess, nine times out of ten people pray about themselves or issues that directly impact them. There’s a time for this, but it’s certainly not ninety percent of the time.
Intercession demands we take on the issues on God’s heart. Keep in mind the assignment most usually will be mission oriented. Our call is to pray for souls, to contend for revival, to push back the enemy, to stand in the gap for others, to invade the darkness, to heal the sick, and on and on.
Intercession that’s focused outward is exponentially more potent than prayer for ourselves. Again, there’s a time to pray for our own situation. Even daily we can give time and energy to this. We can go to God with our desire for personal growth, concerns, questions and other such communication. We just need to know that staying in that place will drain us and weaken our faith. We were created to advance and to fight for others.
This is one reason why I personally feel prayer meetings at church shouldn’t focus much on their own church. Church growth, church needs, church challenges, etc. can be hit briefly in prayer, but don’t dwell there. Camp out on intercession for the city, for revival, for transformation and for regional and national issues.
ELEVEN: JUST DO IT
No matter the struggle, no matter how silent God seems to be and no matter how ineffective you feel your prayer is, do not stop. Go deeper. Go longer. Pray more deliberately. Intercede with passion.
You have to practice prayer continually in order to break through into new realms, new experiences, new victories and new revelations of how God moves through our intercession.
Simply know, God absolutely, without question, hears you, is moving through you and is training you as a mighty warrior of atmosphere-shifting intercession!
REVELATION DRIVEN PRAYER
Game changer! The most incredible, instructive and distinctive reading on prayer I’ve experienced in a long time. The writing is simplistic, refreshing and applicable. Every faithful Christian should read this to be renewed and empowered! ~Walkbyfaith
If, throughout the Bible, God causes men and women to do things that defy human logic, why do we default to common sense when making decisions in our lives? If God told Gideon to secure only 1% of his army to go into battle, which obviously defies solid and time-tested military wisdom, why don’t we consider that God may also cause us to advance in our lives via nontraditional and even bizarre means?
Job 11:7 “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?”
The message of Revelation Driven Prayer will help launch you into the unusual and deep things of God that he has prepared specifically for you.
Ancient & emerging: 5 major changes coming to the church
The Coming Church will look nothing like the church we know today. Here are some of the significant changes on the horizon.
Over the last 22+ years of ministry, one of the most difficult challenges I’ve faced has been effectively communicating just what changes are coming to the church.
The current church paradigm is so prevalent and saturating in our culture that people just can’t seem to wrap their minds around the shift that is coming. It seems nonsensical, threatening or just plain bizarre. They wonder how their ministry stream or focus or gift fits in that structure. The reality is that it may not, or it may be radically redefined. The discomfort level will be quite high, and it will take a radical remnant to truly sign up for the reformation—for the revolution of the church.
The disciples of Jesus had an idea of what it would look like in Acts 1, but Jesus radically violated their dreams, plans and comfort zones by leaving—and commissioning them to establish what they hoped Jesus would build!
Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, jwill you at this time krestore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, l“It is not for you to know mtimes or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive npower owhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and pyou will be qmy witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and rSamaria, and sto the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, the was lifted up, and ua cloud took him out of their sight.
The Coming Church
This book that I’m currently writing will be addressing some of the spiritual and practical changes that will be coming to the structure and expression of the church. Trust me, it will shock our nation severely. Those who hold on to a structure or a ministry instead of Jesus himself will not be willing to go where God is leading.
I call this the ancient and emerging church. Ancient because it’s rooted in scripture, emerging because the biblical structure has been largely forsaken.
What will this ancient and emerging church look like? Here’s just a small peek into a grand shift in the structure of the church:
- Services will become more like prayer meetings. One of the greatest indictments on the church today is that prayer is not the driving force. Today, people tend to choose churches based on the appeal of the teaching and the worship instead of the fervency of prayer. If the church was a house of teaching, or a house of worship, that would make sense, but it’s not. The church is a house of prayer for all nations. Every person in the church will function as a burning intercessor and the services will be marked by this unified groan of fiery prayer.
- Personal need will give way to personal mission. Today, churches are often more like organic, socially driven hospitals. People tend to use the church as a way to meet their personal needs instead of serving it as a minister of God. This is going to change. Of course, there will still be personal ministry and true needs will be addressed. However, instead of the church functioning as a hospital, it will once again function as a mission-driven military. The mission will take precedence. The saints will be equipped for service, not for personal survival. In this ancient and emerging model, their will be MASH units that will take very good care of the wounded with the primary purpose of getting the soldier back into battle. Apostles will again lead with governmental authority and pastors will be seen as the main leader less and less as they focus more on shepherding and less on primary leadership.
- Teaching will be minimized while instruction is emphasized. Teaching is mostly for personal edification while instruction is mostly for corporate assignments. Today, most churches focus on teaching principles of scripture, providing truths that will help Believers navigate through their lives and giving nuggets of biblical info. While there will still be important Bible teaching, apostolic instruction will emerge as a necessary new ministry. There is enough Bible teaching online, on CD’s, in books and on video to turn every one of us into personal spiritual giants. We need to take it upon ourselves to grow. What is lacking, however, is apostolic leaders, military commanders, who give instruction, assignments, to a ready army. Teaching is personal growth based while instruction is a call to corporate action for the sake of mission fulfillment. An example of apostolic instruction is this: The apostolic leader gives a corporate assignment for everybody in the church to fast for a week and then show up together to prayer walk through the city streets. It’s a corporate call to action vs. biblical study. It’s mission focused vs. personal growth focused. Personal growth will be largely our responsibility between services so we can be ready to respond to the corporate instruction where we will receive our assignments.
- We will gather together most days of the week. The 24/7 church will again emerge as the church drives culture instead of reacting to culture. Cares of life will lose their power as we simplify our lives and put corporate prayer and mission ahead of most everything else. This may be the most challenging change for Christians. Today, Sundays are the days to set aside for corporate worship while we give precedence to our ‘normal lives’. In The Coming Church, the very reason we live will be to pray on fire together every day, receive apostolic assignments and then move out into our lives as Kingdom ambassadors. It wouldn’t be surprising if a tithe of our time is what became the standard. Two to three hours a day, whether it’s in the morning, afternoon or evening, or even in the late night hours, will be given by every Believer to praying on site together with others, ministering, and giving ourselves to intercession fueled Kingdom ministry. Of course, much of what we have been giving ourselves to will have to be eliminated so we have the time necessary to devote.
- Worship will be supernaturally driven. There is a new sound coming to worship, and it’s not simply a new style. There is a supernatural, otherworldly groan of intercessory worship that will explode out of the entire body as a new breed of trembling worship leaders lead the way into the shock and awe of the glory of God. We will no longer simply sit in a pew or stand with a raised hand while a familiar worship song is sung. The prophetic, groaning sounds of Holy Spirit facilitated worship will make it normal to shake and fall to our faces as we cry Holy! The natural, logical sing-a-longs will be no more. We will have a hard time standing as God’s Shekinah and Kabod glory resides in his church. Worship teams will practice less and pray in the Spirit with tears in their eyes more.
Of course, this is an extremely limited glance into the many, many changes that are coming. I wanted to share this to provoke you to preparation. There is much that you and I enjoy in the church, or that is comfortable to us, that we will have to let go. Again, the coming church will be troubling and shocking, but it will result in the power and life that we have been crying out for.
God is about to answer that cry.
I strongly recommend that you read my book 20 Element of Revival. That book reveals much of the shift that we must embrace right now. If you truly take in all that it has to say, you’ll never participate in the church the same way again.
The only hope for America? Churches that promote extreme Holy Spirit encounters
Churches that don’t fan the flames of intense Holy Spirit activity need to go.
Like so many, I’m crying out for an earth-shocking move of God, an undeniable invasion of supernatural power that will drive us to our knees. The tears and the tremble that result will never leave us. Our very reason for existing will shift in an instant knowing we have just encountered Deity.
The church has both the call and the authority to usher in such a holy visitation. Tragically, many have left the church with deep frustrations, giving up after holding out such high hope that revival would be the prime focus. Hosting the presence of God with the ultimate goal of igniting a regional outpouring is simply not the supreme motive of most churches today. Sure, many pastors and leaders would give a hearty head nod to the idea, but when it’s time to contend, those who have refused to put down the weapons of warfare are few.
EMBRACE THE WEIRD
A pastor friend of mine recently mentioned the reason why so many in his Charismatic/Pentecostal denomination shy away from pursuing revival. They are “afraid of weird.”
I’ve said often that as a leader, I refuse to tone down the activity of the Holy Spirit out of respect of those less hungry. I fully embrace the weird. We need pastors who no longer care very much about how many mortals they have in the pews and start crying out for our immortal, fearful and omnipotent God to come! Oh yes, it will get wonderfully, supernaturally weird! Revival is messy, otherworldly, hard to understand and impossible to contain.
This is actually the problem. Many of today’s pastors and leaders prefer a controlled flame to a wildfire. God is yearning to blow the winds of the Spirit over fast spreading fire that threatens everything in its path. He wants to consume homes, businesses and all his fiery love can overcome. He doesn’t want containment. This fire must be wild.
NO MORE (SPIRIT-FILLED) CHURCH AS USUAL
Many have been campaigning for an end of church as usual. We need to take it a step further. It’s easy for the Spirit-filled crowd to presume they have it. They are open to the moving of the Spirit of God and, as a result, have somehow arrived. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
If a church genuinely wants the fire, they can no longer shut up the tongues. Tongues of fire must be unleashed in our churches again!
How rare is it to find supposed Spirit-filled churches that are roaring from groans that can’t be uttered? The explosive, guttural cries of supernatural fire erupting out of the mouths of desperate people is a rare experience today. After all, that’s weird and many of today’s Charismatic pastors avoid it like the plague.
We are all familiar with a typical Spirit-filled church service. You’ll get some extended, nicely polished worship along with some lifted hands, dancing and shouts. Sometimes people will fall over when prayed for which is a sure sign you are in a Charismatic church. A long, enthusiastic sermon comes next followed by quality time at the altars. You are with me, right? We’ve all been there, done that.
Of course, all of what I described, if authentic, is very good. Very, very good.
However, it’s not nearly what is needed if we want God’s supernatural presence to absolutely overwhelm us. Revival doesn’t launch from such a predictable, controllable church strategy.
A FORMULA FOR FIRE
To take the church from tired, predictable services into the mission of revival requires a significant shift in strategy. Carefully crafting a smooth, vibrant, mildly supernatural Sunday church experience will never suffice. Churches that refuse to go into the depths in these end-times should go. They are standing in the way of legitimate revival in their city and are robbing God’s people of the opportunity to experience an outpouring.
While churches may be exceptionally good at any number of things, including growth, outreach, teaching, encouraging and discipleship, if they aren’t doing it in the fire, they have become a liability in the Kingdom. Pastors may be brilliant leaders with thousands of people showing up to hear what they have to say each week, but without the knee-bending wind of the Spirit of God howling through the church, what’s the point?
Here are some of the key steps for promoting a wildfire revival.
A REMNANT MINDSET
In order for revival to become job one in the church today, the seeker mindset of old must go. We have to be ready and willing to allow the majority to exit our churches never to return if that is, in fact, the required cost of revival. Pastors, find your remnant and burn hot with them. Until we realize the church is more about ministering to God than it is ministering to people we’ll never even take the first step toward an outpouring. Pastors need an army of locked-in people who aren’t showing up for themselves, but rather as sacrificial warriors who are ready to pierce the darkness as a single unit.
TONGUES AND GROANS
From my article, The Tone of the Groan:
Throughout scripture we see groans preceding a great deliverance—and this deep groan of the Spirit must erupt in our churches and in our cities now. The days of quiet, sedate church services built upon human order must come to an end—Sunday mornings must resound with a prophetic shock and a new sound of trembling people exploding in groans of the Spirit.
We need Azusa-level reports to shoot around the planet as we explode in supernatural cries!
In a skeptical front-page story titled “Weird Babel of Tongues”,[17] a Los Angeles Times reporter attempted to describe what would soon be known as the Azusa Street Revival. “Breathing strange utterances and mouthing a creed which it would seem no sane mortal could understand”, the story began, “the newest religious sect has started in Los Angeles”.[20] Another local paper reporter in September 1906 described the happenings with the following words:
…disgraceful intermingling of the races…they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn’t talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he’s supposed to be running the thing… They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’
This is the most important and most effective step, by far, in promoting a wildfire atmosphere. Instead of nice, catchy worship and other typical church elements, introduce the raging glory and power of groans and tongues. Literally, when stepping into the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, the atmosphere will radiate with supernatural power as everybody is engaging in aggressive, expressive and booming groans and tongues!
When pastors lead the way by engaging everybody in 30-60 minutes (or more) of continual, intense intercession at this level, literally everything in the church will change. It will shift from a low-level, mildly spiritual atmosphere that is mostly dependent on coercing people to tithe more, serve more and attend more to one that has people lined up outside the doors for hours waiting to get in.
VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
I’m not talking about worldly vision or an entrepreneur spirit. I mean pastors and leaders must be living their lives saturated in prayer and the Word to such a degree that God exploded supernatural vision into their spirits. Dreams, visions and encounters will rock and shock them to such a degree that little else matters than running toward the fulfillment of what God has revealed to them.
Happy sing-a-longs, tepid prayer times, powerless sermons and a nice little family environment will give way to a vibrant, anointed, fearful and weighty atmosphere. Joshuas, Gideons and other bold, relentless biblically-modeled men and women of God will lead the charge into the great unknown. They know that only a remnant can get them where they need to go. Most will need to be released into the deserts of their own makings as they identify the few who have the courage to advance into the land of promise.
A PROPHETIC CULTURE
If authentic prophecy isn’t predominant in each and every gathering, the advance toward a glorious revival will be stunted.
While low-level, carnal, fake and invented “prophecy” must be rejected wholesale, true prophetic revelation must be embraced. Decrees and declarations based on the timely insight that God has revealed to that local body will shock the atmosphere with authority. The people, the remnant soldiers, should be trained and empowered to prophesy, and the entire body must be ready to shift and redirect as the winds of the Spirit move them.
Fire and brimstone preaching will have to make an appearance in such a revival-focused environment. Unapologetic calls to radical consecration are absolutely mandatory. Holiness and repentance must be a common thread through everything in the ministry. While an atmosphere of grace is key, allowing people to authentically reveal their struggles in a loving atmosphere, the severity of the fear of the Lord must also be felt.
THE WORD OF GOD
The Word of God must be read and fully believed, proclaimed and boldly decreed if revival is to be had. The mission must be based on extreme adherence to the challenging truths of Scripture. Those who know God will be strong and do great exploits, and the revelation of the Word along with an atmosphere of fervent prayer will result in a people who know their God.
Simply, Sunday School style Bible teaching won’t cut it. We need faith-filled, vision-driven and fearless proclamations of Scripture that rips apart strongholds and shatters the teeth of the enemy. We need biblical revelation that strikes us, marks us and wrecks us. We need the Word of God to pierce our hearts, captivate our minds and overwhelm our intellect.
THE SURRENDER OF CHURCH GROWTH
The pursuit of revival is a regional and national pursuit, not a local one. What I mean is, the end goal is not local church growth. It’s beyond time to forever surrender the annual goals of more people, more small groups, more offerings, new buildings and any focus on local.
If God starts moving powerfully in another local church in the city, pastor, you must shut your thing down for a season and support what God is doing on the other side of town. The goal is regional outpouring. The vision is much greater than four walls.
The moment the goal is the development of a single local church is the moment that church has been disqualified from the pursuit of regional revival.
INTERCESSION
I covered this mostly in the section about tongues and groans, but felt it necessary to doubly impress upon you the need for constant, fervent and powerful intercession. This is not a separate, side ministry that takes place before a service or on an off night. It’s not to be relegated to a side room or to be led by anybody other than the senior leader. It’s the most important, most powerful and most neglected ministry of the church.
The church isn’t a house of preaching, a house of relationships, a house of evangelism or a house of anything other than a house of prayer. That’s it.
Sunday services should be mostly vibrant prayer meetings. The cookie-cutter model we’ve become so used to must go. The worship, announcements, preaching, altar time paradigm must cease. The new wine skin is bathed in intercession, and every member of the remnant church must deliberately give themselves to it night and day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We are far from revival. I hear prophets and preachers talking about how near we are, and I just have to shake my head and wonder what exactly they are discerning. In terms of timing, can revival break out sooner than later? Sure. But in terms of distance, in terms of where we are now and were we must be as a church to see revival hit, we are far.
The church must experience a reformation that will shock it to its core. It’s this shock and awe of God’s supernatural invasion that will never let us do church as usual again, Spirit-filled or otherwise. Every goal will change. Board and staff meetings will never be the same. Strategies and how money is spent will morph over night. When God visits, nothing else matters. The result will be a church on fire that prays night and day with ferocity.