I’m sitting on the floor in a conference room at IHOP in Kansas City. It’s refreshing to see and hear first hand from people who are zealous for revival and the presence of God that they experience many of the same things that we experience at RHOP and in our region. The call for revival is heard by few, and received by even fewer.
I’m listening to someone who has a very similar story as mine- at least through my youth pastor years. He was pressured to grow his group, throw events that resulted in increased numbers, keep parents happy and, in his words, compromise his calling.
He talked about how he would attempt to focus on prayer and fasting, harp and bowl services and other very ‘normal’ biblical activities. He would have less than 10% of the people show up- and the pastor and parents weren’t happy with his ‘extreme’ and exclusive focus.
We MUST understand that an evidence of truly pursuing the heart of God is the result of only a remnant response! The attempt at including everybody is a violation of biblical Kingdom advance. If all are responding, the call must be quite comfortable. The bar must be very low and average. To be average is to live a life of disobedience! The higher the bar, the fewer will respond, but the more will be done. Do we want large crowds or successful missions? Can you have both? Of course- but if you must forsake one (and you will most often in the early stages of revival) always forsake the larger group! If you have an atmosphere of low commitment you’ll not be able to fulfill your mission as a leader. Always choose a group of just a few fire-breathers who gather together day after day over a larger group of people who treat the church as a soup kitchen- the only reason they come is to get something.
We are called to equip the saints- and I contend that those who are ready to receive that equipping may very well be shocked out of their comfort zone! We must not feed what people want, but feed them what they need in order for the mission (personal and corporate) to be successful. If people want to grow, they want to be taught, then they will be. Those that want the milk instead must be weaned!
I also experienced struggles similar to today’s speaker. As a youth pastor, so very few would respond to the radical pursuit though, those that did wow I think about some of them in San Diego and Dallas and they were and are world changers!!
In the speaker’s words, God doesn’t recognize what we know as American Christianity. It doesn’t exist to him. It’s deviates terribly from what is truly biblical.
A biblical church has everybody fasting, everybody praying hours a day, gathering together many times a week (daily?), everybody prophesying, everybody dreaming dreams and having visions, everybody completely committed to the pursuit toward a fulfilled vision. Of course, people will grow at different speeds, but EVERYBODY will have it turned on full speed!
The challenge that God has called me to present for the last 15 years of my ministry- both to me and to those running the race with me- is to simply live a normal biblical life. It both breaks my heart and causes me to rise up in fire when we find ourselves settling for less.
When just a small percentage of believers respond to the most basic of activities in the normal lifestyle of a Christian- lengthy, passionate and continual prayer, it should send shivers down our spine. In my book, “I’m Going to Hell? That’s Impossible!”, I deal with the issue of how hunger for prayer is a barometer for a healthy and saved individual. Salvation is a craving to be with Jesus (not a craving to do good and go to heaven). If we don’t desire to be with Jesus hour after hour, day after day- something is terribly wrong. This must be addressed. Many faithful church goers, board members, pastors, trustees, Sunday School teachers and others will be stunned in terror as they are introduced into hell. We have a responsibility to proclaim boldly- saved people evidence their salvation by craving to be with their Lover! Or, at least, they WANT to want to be with their Lover- and they spend hours upon hours disciplined in that pursuit!
Mike Bickle spoke last night on the crowns that will be passed out when we are at the judgment seat. He made the point that very, very few people will receive a crown at all. Maybe 1-2% of believers will receive a crown- because a crown is awarded based on fervent obedience and works based on our calling.
There is a vile sin of prayerlessness in this nation. So many are fooled into believing they are saved others, while saved, are fooled into believing they are living a normal Christian life. We must be shaken! It’s not enough to just go to church on Sunday mornings! It’s SO FAR from what our daily Christian life is to look like! Daily we must be contending in the temple!! There is an extreme focus that is actually normal! We as leaders must not perpetuate the problem, nor look for a comfortable solution we must see the current system torn down violently!
The speaker (can’t remember his name Wes, I think) repeated a Mike Bickle quote just now- “God, shock me now so I won’t be shocked then.” We need God to shock us, shake us and wake us up to a place of reality- that we are simply supposed to be in prayer, passionate, desperate and in pursuit of the extreme presence of God every moment of our lives! That is to be our focus!
There seems to be a widespread resistance to the extreme call in America’s churches. I wrote about it in my recent book- Covens in the Church. Pastors aren’t making the extreme prophetic call to extravagantly press and contend for revival partly because they know the people will leave the church. It’s as simple as that. When we made the decision at Revolution to call every member to be a man and woman of continual prayer and passion, we experienced horrific resistance. I heard things like, “That’s not my calling.”, “I don’t have the time.”, etc. Mostly, however, I heard nothing. People just disappeared.
God reminded me of a vision he gave me prior to the transition. I saw a group of 100 people shrink to around 35. This smaller group then started to glow and radiate with great power. God said he was purging us to the point where we had a group of 100% pursuit of revival and God’s dreams for Manitou Springs. I was shocked and saddened that so many would not want to pursue God in this fashion. I had to make a decision right there that my reputation wasn’t important- only the fulfilling of God’s mandates for me.
Though we’re still far from where we will be, we have accomplished so much more since our transition into a ministry of fire than we ever did the first 5 years. Those who weren’t responsive, and even those who resisted connected in other ministries and what was left behind is a small yet very passionate team of people.
Should all of the people have left? No. It wasn’t plan A. I know several were yanked out of critical positions of responsibility when the challenge was too extreme or offensive. Others didn’t see how ‘they fit’ they wanted to function in their ‘calling’ which is great, but, what was missed was the reality that such ministry, whether it’s teaching, evangelism, pastoring or any other venture can only be facilitated effectively through a life of lengthy and passionate prayer and the corporate pursuit of revival. To presume we can preach, teach, evangelize, pastor or accomplish any other ministry without praying hours a day is arrogant and ridiculous. I love the quote by Leonard Ravenhill that went something like this, “Pastors who don’t pray two hours a day aren’t worth a dime a dozen.”
I’ve actually had people sneer after hearing that quote! Why would anybody ever despise being in the presence of the one who died for them?
We must have churches, ministries, small groups and people who ARE worth a dime a dozen! We must all pray, on our face, with groans that can’t be uttered hours a day! Period! There is impartation that is needed, prophetic directives we must hear, glory of God that must come down and issues to be resolved!
All of this being said, we simply need to see the churches of this nation divorce American christianity and embrace true biblical Christianity. We all must discover how to press and contend and spend a lot of time hungering together with a missional team of people in the presence of God.
God is restoring prayer back into the temple again. The selfish pursuits of the ‘money changers’ are being dealt with directly and immediately. Ask yourself some questions- are you truly saved? Will you receive a crown? Do you go to church because of what you and your family get out of it instead of responsibly stewarding a ministry role? Are you passionate about Jesus? Are you contending hour after hour through the week? Is your reputation and position important to you? Or is God’s reputation and position what’s on your mind? When calls that violate your own personal desires and pursuits are presented to you, do you respond or flee?
There is but a remnant that will contend and partner with Jesus in a significant way Will I be one of them? I ask that question every day.
