Be sure to check out our various ministry sites:

www.praytherevolution.com

www.detroitrevivalchurch.com

www.theinscription.com

www.propheticpulse.com

www.johnburtondesign.com

www.hometeamcareers.com

Coming in September 2009: theBurning : A Prophetic School of Revival

Landing here in Michigan has resulted in a shock to some systems, ours included.  We are more aware than ever of Satan’s intent to destroy us and those who are apostolically advancing here.  The ‘maddening spirit’ prophecy that I gave a few months ago is more real to me than ever.  You can read about that here and here.

There’s a large segment of the Church that doesn’t acknowledge the need to engage in spiritual warfare.  Many presume action against the enemy equates with fear or a lack of understanding of our victory in Christ.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, it’s because of our victory and position in Christ that we have the confidence to fight!

Others presume Christians to be immune from demonic attack, and that Christ’s work on Calvary deems it unnecessary to battle any more.

This is key: The blood of Christ doesn’t grant us immunity, it empowers us!

Just as we wouldn’t show a maddened, psychotic, masked man who has invaded our home with plans to kill us and our family a gun and presume he will go quietly, we can’t simply mention the blood of Jesus to the enemy. We must apply the blood. We must fight covered in the blood.  We must battle from the position of victory that we have because of the blood of Christ.

As we advance the Kingdom of God here in Detroit, in Colorado Springs and in other cities through efforts like theBURNING (www.theburningschool.com), we must be very aware of the enemy’s schemes.  We are developing a solid team of warfare minded, prophetic intercessors who won’t simply ‘say a prayer’, but who will fight with fury!

In 2 Corinthians 2:11 the Apostle Paul said, “Satan must not be allowed to get the victory here, for we are not ignorant of his devices, schemes or battle plans.”

Honestly, it’s foolishness to presume that there is no fight when Satan is ripping people to shreds every day.  Babies are murdered legally.  Marriages are torn apart by divorce.  Pornography has invaded the homes and minds of most.  The homosexual agenda is winning the battle for the family.

Of course we must fight- and with great violence!

We must intercede if we presume to have any chance at victory at all.

A lifestyle of warfare prayer requires much… and when the church finds itself on its face for hours at a time, day after day, we’ll have the glimpse into the invisible, supernatural realm that will sober us, shake us and educate us in a moment on the need to fight demons with violence!

Here’s the article:

The Nero Spirit
www.roberthenderson.org

As we continue to progress into what Dr. C. Peter Wagner has referred to as the second apostolic age, we can expect the same spirits that attacked the first apostolic age to come at us. The purpose of both of these moves of God is the reformation of society through the establishment of the kingdom rule of God. This is what Jesus came to earth to accomplish. This can only occur through that which is apostolic. It takes apostolic authority, strategies, and power to see the kingdoms of this world begin to reflect the splendor of God’s kingdom. The devil will not just lay down and allow this to happen. He has plans and plots to resist and stop this ultimate purpose of God in the earth.

Without being aware of this fully, I suddenly had a dream and heard what I understood to be the schemes of the devil to thwart the effort of the Lord through His apostles to see the reforming of society take place. What I am about to share, I have never thought of before. It came as a complete revelation from the Lord to me. I believe it is an uncovering of the devil’s plans and also some wisdom for us on what to look for and somewhat what to do about it. It may help explain even what some are presently facing or will face in times to come. As with any true revelation of the Lord, there is a comfort in knowing that if the Lord is showing us these things, then we are on the right track in seeking to see a demonstration of God’s rule come to the seven mountains of society. The Lord will uncover the devil’s wiles and will give us wisdom in how to counter them.

In the dream I became aware of the Spirit of the Lord speaking to me.  He said that “apostles” are in nature militaristic.  The word apostle was first used in the Greek as a military term that referred to a commander of a fleet of naval ships.  The term’s denotation as well as its connotation was military – not religious. I was then told that this is why Nero persecuted the early church with such vengeance. Nero, the leader of the Roman Empire beginning in A.D. 55, understood that when this church led by “apostles” was coming to his empire that they were coming as an army representing another government called the kingdom of God. The clue for him was the term “apostle” as he recognized the significance of its meaning indicating a military threat. This is what I understood in the vision. The purpose of this “government” was to take over and reform the earth including Nero’s government and reign in Rome. This was very threatening to Nero, hence the persecution that he unleashed against this military institution called the church led by these commanders called “apostles”.

I then became aware that there is a releasing and arising of the spirit of Nero at this time to resist and fight against the apostles that God has and is positioning to bring reformation and establish the government of the kingdom of God in the earth. The purpose of this spirit is to stop the apostles from unveiling and implementing strategies that will result in the reformation of society through the establishing of kingdom rule in the 7 mountains of society.

This Nero spirit has several means of doing this. First and foremost this spirit is anti-christ at its core. Revelation 13:18 says that the number 666 is the number of a man. We have understood this to be the anti-christ spirit embodied in a man. It is known that the early church recognized that Nero’s name had a numerical value of 666. Nero was the anti-christ spirit manifesting itself in mortal flesh.

We must realize that this anti-christ spirit is going to arise with a new power to fight against the apostles and prophets and their effort to bring reformation and implement the government of God in the earth. There is going to be a persecution against anything that is apostolic that is after the reforming of society.

One of the attributes of this spirit was manifested in Nero through the murders that he ordered.  He diabolically persecuted and martyred many, many Christian in the most inhumane of ways. He used Christians as human torches in his garden at night as he hosted parties and gatherings. He covered them with animal skins and turned wild animals loose on them before crowds in the coliseum until they were torn to pieces and dismembered before the cheering people.

This spirit is very cruel and hurtful and will stop at nothing to stop the reforming work of God through the apostles. We must cover with the blood of Jesus those who are true apostles in this reformation and those joined to them. This includes family members, children, spouses and anyone that is dear to these apostolic leaders. This spirit will seek to physically hurt and even kill those that have this assignment on their lives. We are in a battle with the utmost at stake. Let’s gird up our loins and go for it with full abandonment.

Another trait that characterizes this spirit is betrayal. Nero actually poisoned his own mother and other close family members. Apostolic leaders and their prayer team must guard and cover themselves and the ones in which they have their trust. This spirit will seek to invade the closest of circles and put betrayal in the heart of those who are assigned to help the apostles in their effort of reformation. These circles of kingdom purpose must be guarded with a wise and strategic prayer base and also those who are with the apostles being aware of the target painted on their backs. We are warned of this spirit of betrayal in Micah 7:5-6:

Do not trust in a friend;

Do not put your confidence in a companion;

Guard the doors of your mouth

From her who lies in your bosom.

For son dishonors father,

Daughter rises against her mother,

Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

This is not to say that we walk about with suspicion in our hearts, but rather that we stay on guard and encourage those who walk with us to do the same. We must endeavor to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3) Th3 passage in Micah continues in verses 7-8 declaring in regards to the betrayal targeting the leaders of this reformation:

Therefore I will look to the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

My God will hear me.

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;

When I fall, I will arise;

When I sit in darkness,

The Lord will be a light to me.

The Lord will support and fight against this spirit of betrayal. He will hear our cry as we seek to remove this spirit from our circles of apostolic life and ministry.

This spirit that drove Nero was also one of slander. When Rome burned in his reign, Nero blamed the Christians for the fire which released persecution on an unparalleled level against this group. This slander was designed to discredit and neutralize the affect of this move of God in culture. Paul encountered this in the Corinthian church when he was warring for his apostolic place in the house and that culture. II Corinthians 7:2 shows Paul seeking to battle this spirit of slander against him that was trying to stop his influence in culture:

Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.

The heart of this people had closed toward Paul as a result of this spirit of slander driven by an anti-christ spirit. It starts unfounded rumors and defames the character of those commissioned to lead the charge of reformation. We must take a stand in the spirit and dismantle this activity and function of this spirit. Any true apostolic leader assigned by God will encounter this devilish plot.

One final observation concerning this spirit is that it is full of perversion and sexual impurity. Nero was given over to all sorts of immoralities including incest, homosexuality, orgies and the like. Any apostolic person or team set for reformation must guard their heart and keep themselves free from this seductive spirit of sexual perversion. We know that this is one of the main realms that is used to bring down apostolic power resulting in reformation. This spirit of Nero will use these things against those who do not guard themselves and cause the apostolic authority to disintegrate from the inside out. We must be committed to a life of holiness, purity and blamelessness in these matters. The power of the Holy Spirit will empower us to live these kinds of lives of freedom so that we may be entrusted with what is necessary to see reformation born into the earth.

I am sure there are other aspects to this Nero spirit. These are just a few. I am convinced by the revelation of the Lord through His visitation that this is a spirit we must plan to counter and move against. It is one of the chief spirits that is being unleashed to counter the apostolic move of God to birth reformation. We must move against it with the plans of the Lord and take our military attack to the next levels. We will see the strategies of the Lord unveiled and reformation born in the earth. We are the army of God engaged against this Nero spirit and we will prevail.

Robert Henderson

NOTE: We will be discussing this topic LIVE TONIGHT at 7pm Central time! (Tuesday, April 7, 2009) : http://www.praytherevolution.com/live

As you may know, I’ve had a strong disturbance in my spirit regarding the handling of prophecy and prophetic people.  Scripture makes it so very clear that we are all to prophesy and we must not quench the Spirit nor despise prophecies.  Yet, it seems that many (most?) are suspicious and even deeply resistant to prophecy today.

Are there issues to contend with?  Yes. Is the appropriate reaction to shut it down? No.  The ‘false-berean’ spirit that’s invading the church today is doing much damage and we must humbly and boldly deal with it- quickly.

I have a very simple question: If we don’t embrace prophecy, how can we know what God wants for us? Of course, we have the perfect Word of God, the Bible.  However, there are also continual, daily, personal and corporate instructions that we must receive via the Rhema Word of God if we are to advance in confidence and obedience.  How would Gideon have known how to advance in battle via an extremely bizarre strategy if he hadn’t heard God’s voice?  He wouldn’t have.  Without God’s instruction for that unique situation, Gideon would have failed.  How often does this play out in Christian’s lives today?

My book Revelation Driven Prayer deals with this topic extensively. What if Gideon were alive today? How would he advance? He would hear God’s voice and respond.  We are to live this way as well.

Well, the attack on the prophetic is increasing at just the time when we must actually see a radical increase in prophetic activity.  Kathi Sharp sent me the following email and I asked if I could post it to my blog.  It’s a striking vision regarding the treatment of prophets and prophecy.  Also, you can check out her revival site here.

I’ve been doing a tiny amount of work on the revival site this morning…. grabbing some of your posts and linking back (nowhere near done). I was just re-reading your post titled “strong prophetic word” – the one that you linked my review of your book into – (this one) …

Now, you’ve got to understand. I’m only half awake as I’m doing this. I got up very early this morning so that I could have a solitary cup of coffee, six hours prior to some medical tests they’re doing on me later. So “awake” was not describing me.

Just skimming along to see if I want to include this particular post on the revival site, not really reading in-depth – know what I mean? I got to the part about prophecy being violently opposed and I felt (quite literally) a knife thrust into my back. OK, now I’m awake. I’m filled with an almost overwhelming feeling of hurt and betrayal. Obviously God wanted my attention about this. And He wanted me to share it with you so here goes.

I felt the knife and the emotion and I said, “Lord, what is this?” I saw an array of faces of various prophetic-type church leaders/ministers (I don’t think that identities matter – they were “prophetic leaders” small and large – you were one, so was I, a few “famous” folks too). These people were obviously and emphatically leaders, but not in any way arrogant. This sense of leadership was godly and called, not forced or coerced. These were people who should have been respected and honored and loved by those they led.

Sneaking around behind them were other people, dressed like roman soldiers (?) and carrying swords. They had shifty eyes. Most of the swords are well-used and have old blood on them. A few are new. They’re not “proper” soldiers – there’s no military bearing about them – it’s more like they’re dressed up AS soldiers, if that makes sense. These people aren’t heresy hunters. These are people within the church, known to the leaders, loved by the leaders.

There were also others standing around. At first they seemed to be on the side of the leaders, but this changed.

The people dressed as soldiers sneak up behind those that prophesy/lead and stab them in the back, looking triumphant as they do so. Sometimes they stab once, sometimes repeatedly. This is a quiet action – not like battle. More like Judas kissing Jesus.

Instantly the perception changes so that I’m seeing things from the soldier’s perspective: obviously the soldiers have banded together and consider themselves to be the “good guys”. The leaders are the “bad guys” and “must” be undermined, taken down, betrayed, or otherwise removed from power. Those standing by shifted from agreeing with the leaders to agreeing with the soldiers. There was a heaviness of deception as those standing around shifted their allegience.

But this attack cannot be done from the front – only from behind. The soldiers did not seem to want to be in power – they just did not want these leaders to be the ones in power. They wanted “better” leaders. This type of control is insidious, akin to raising up a puppet king to rule.

One thing that grabbed my attention is that no one moved to protect the leaders. Like there was approval of what the soldiers were doing, or an unwillingness of anyone to stand and fight or confront them. Apathy? The leaders were left standing, bleeding, alone. No one cared that they were hurt. No one cared that they had been betrayed. No one was willing to risk a confrontation.

The leaders did not fight back.

Another thing that grabbed at me is the fact that many of the swords had obviously been used for this purpose before. And yet these soldiers were still in the position where they were able to stab the leaders in the back. The soldiers didn’t leave the church to find another, they didn’t accept leadership… they simply quietly moved to disable the leadership and replace it with something more to their liking.

My attention keeps being drawn to the sandals the soldiers wore. They were worn and dirty and looked uncomfortable. I’m not sure why but I think they represent the soldiers deliberately walking in unholiness and refusing to change. And for trampling things underfoot.

There’s sawdust or confetti or something of that consistency on the floor, too – these are prophecies that have been given by the leaders and refused by the soldiers, shredded and discarded and despised like so much trash because the soldiers don’t want change, don’t want transformation, don’t want Jesus to invade their quiet peaceful lives and so they shred the prophecies and stab the leaders and do everything they can to maintain the status quo.

I put that in red because there’s something important about the sawdust that I’m missing, or not realizing the importance of, and I’m not sure what. Sandals and sawdust.

Broken. Off to pray.

Kathi Sharpe

Thoughts?  Let’s discuss it TONIGHT at 7pm! http://www.praytherevolution.com/live

[The recent reaction by Rick Joyner to a Charisma Magazine article by Lee Grady follows this post.]

It has begun.  The great shaking of the church has begun, and we are in the very earliest of stages.  Much more is coming.

Let me start by saying, I highly value biblical integrity, due process, humility, boldness and love.  I know there will be a great falling away, and we must beware of deception.  It’s appropriate to prophetically warn a generation of heresy.  However, what we’re experiencing too often these days isn’t prophetic warning, but rather prideful presumption.  We must simply know that God will warn, and God will judge, but it’s wrapped in extreme love and tenderness.

I’m currently ministering in Detroit, and this particular trip has been extremely unique.  I sensed very strongly that a prophetic anointing, a spirit of boldness, power and authority unlike anything any human currently alive has ever experienced, must arise extremely quickly.  God’s people, God’s church and God’s plans for a earth-shocking revival are under attack.

There is an accusing, suspicious and mocking spirit that’s unrestrained and mostly not confronted in the church world right now.  The self-labeled “Bereans”, who are often operating in a mean-spirited disposition of suspicion and accusation, are unapologetically mocking men and women of God all over the internet.  Blog posts, podcasts and YouTube videos targeting ministers, making fun of them, blatantly calling them false prophets, heretics, deceivers and other names are rampant.  It’s heart wrenching.

Where is the fear of the Lord?  Where is the love of mankind?  Where is the intercession for these people?  It’s all too often been replaced by mocking and a smirk.  My God, we must be humble and we must beware.

Remember, the Berean’s were not counted ‘more noble’ because they were suspicious and doubt-driven as they searched feverishly in the scripture for something they could use to defame people.  They were counted more noble because they eagerly received the news of a fresh move of God!  They couldn’t wait to dive into scripture!  “Look, yes!  This is it!  Look there and there and there!  God is moving in our day!”

Acts 17:11 (NIV) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Do we understand that the coming revival is going to bring a great and divisive disturbance in the church?  In a day where in a growing number of places the gifts of the Spirit are being minimized, and prophecy is despised and the Holy Spirit is quenched as an intentional method of attracting more seekers into our churches, the extreme manifest presence of God is going to serve as a wedge and an offense.

We know scripturally that we will be blessed if we are not offended.  We have to be wise, sober, humble and expectant of a reforming, culture-invading move of God that’s personally uncomfortable and socially disruptive.  Will there be reports similar to those that resulted from one of the greatest and most strategic revivals in human history?  Check out the spirit of accusation that was so arrogantly levied against the Azusa Street revival:

Christians from many traditions were critical, saying the movement was hyper-emotional, misused Scripture and lost focus on Christ by overemphasizing the Holy Spirit.^[9] Within a short time ministers were warning their congregations to stay away from the Azusa Street Mission. Some called the police and tried to get the building shut down.^[10] Scholarly preachers spoke harshly of the revival meetings; such as R. A. Torrey who declared that this new Pentecostal movement was “emphatically not of God, and founded by a Sodomite.” G. Campbell Morgan called it, “the last vomit of Satan.” Harry Ironside said it was “disgusting … delusions and insanities.” Clarence Larkin and many others were also openly critical. By the time the revival ended, it was thought by some that it was the result of Spiritualism. This was thought due to the fact that many occultists and spiritists attended the meetings and were comfortable in their midst.^[15]

Do we even know what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is?  Do we realize that it’s fully possible that many who have embraced a mocking, unforgiving, graceless attitude, and who report moves of God to be the activity of demons are actually in danger of hell?  The fear of God must be on all of us!

Mark 3:29-30 (ESV) ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Now, let’s talk about Todd Bentley.  I’m an angered at the number of people who called the Lakeland Outpouring “Godless” and “demonized.”  A fire is erupting in my inner man.  How dare people (Christian people?) shout to the world that a mighty move of our holy God was actually a mighty move of unholy demons!  Does it sound at all like the critical and horrific accusations that were brought against Azusa?

Did Todd Bentley fail?  Without any question.  Todd nor Rick Joyner would ever say otherwise.  Am I concerned for Todd regarding his restoration process?  Sure.  Do ministers rush back to minister too quickly after failure at times?  Yes.  Is there a move of holiness and is God’s judgment landing on the church in great measure today?  Absolutely.

I was in the tenth row at Jimmy Swaggart’s confession.  I ministered with Ted Haggard.  My wife and I were receiving prayer by Todd Bentley on stage at Lakeland just a few weeks prior to the revelation of his failure.

All of these men operated in EXTREME anointing, and were massive targets of possibly millions of demons who had no other assignment night and day but to assault them with unrelenting violence.  These men are without any exemption to live a righteous life.  In fact, their judgment is more severe than the general body would experience.  However, they were tragically hurt by demons, by fellow Christians and, yes, by their own avoidable and terrible mistakes.  Yet, we cannot pretend we know the situation that only Todd Bentley and his overseers and restoration team could possibly know.

Someone very wisely just mentioned in a conversation on Facebook:

…AND if anyone does actually feel like they have 1. personal relationship with Todd 2. Intimate acquaintance with the details of his personal life and family leading to this situation and still has a problem – they should follow the Biblical mandate of confronting Him as a brother in the Lord (if they know him so well) instead of entertaining speculation on Facebook or blogs, biblically termed as either slander (if it’s false) or gossip (if it’s true).

Wow!  Slander or gossip!

Let’s grab God’s bullet points of what He really hates:

Proverbs 6:16-19 (ESV) ¹⁶ There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: ¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, ¹⁹ a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

How many of the seven are the finger pointers guilty of?  Maybe all of them?  The point is, we don’t want to be involved with anything God hates, even if we think it will help advance or protect the church.

Lakeland was extreme, bizarre at times, emotional and a magnet for criticism.  Not only were demons attacking Todd Bentley, but a huge segment of the Christian church was defaming, mocking and accusing him!  People twisted his words, ripped him to shreds on simple points of miscommunication or on non-absolutes of scripture.

I believe there must be an extreme prophetic anointing arise that will push back this mocking spirit of elitism and unbelief.  I applaud Rick Joyner for his response to Lee Grady.  We best be careful how we handle such situations.  God is in control of Todd Bentley.  If he returns too quickly, God will take care of business.  It’s actually fairly simple.

Times aren’t going to get more ‘normal’ and marginal.  God is about to arrive in power, and it will rock us to our core.  Here’s Rick Joyner’s response to Lee Grady:

Rick Joyner’s Response to Lee Grady’s Column, “The Tragic Scandal of Greasy Grace”

(Rev. Rick Joyner of Morningstar Ministries sent this response on March 12, 2009)

Lee, I think what you call “the Lakeland disaster” would be disputed by multitudes of people who got healed or touched there. If you are such judge of this what gives you the credentials? What moves of God have you led? What have you built? Paul the apostle claimed to have authority for building and for tearing down, but what gives you authority to tear down the work of others is having built something yourself.

I, Todd, Bill and Jack all know this is a very serious matter, and are treating it as such. I am deeply offended that you would call our work “a travesty.” The Lord had far more grace for sinners than for the self-righteous, who He had no grace for at all. I am personally far more concerned for you than for Todd.

Lee, I love some of the things you write, but I also feel that some are straight from the mouth of the accuser. I do think you have done at least as much damage to the church as Todd’s fall has by your unrighteous and unfair judgments. I don’t think you have earned the credentials for it, and you’re putting yourself in far more jeopardy by trying to be such a self-appointed judge.

I’m quite sure you will misunderstand what I’m saying, and I’m definitely not implying that we want to cover anything up, or promote cheap grace. We have just started the process and its being judged negatively. Give us some time, and some grace. Grace is, by the way, something we are supposed to be giving to each other.

If you care to follow this, Todd and I will be doing Video Special Bulleting each week that will be posted on our website, U-Tube, and carried by many others. These will be short, like the first, only about 10 minutes, but we want to cover the mistakes Todd has made, and as much as we can in the time we have, how he fell into some of the traps he did, strictly for helping others to not have to go through what Todd has. He will no doubt be doing a lot of public apologizing during this time because the public deserves these apologies.

I think you owe Todd, myself, Bill, and Jack apologies for your presumptuous judgments. I think they should be as public as this letter was. If not, I feel that I will have to address this publicly, and I don’t think that is in your best interest.

I also think you need to come down and spend some time with Todd and me. If you have problems with someone we have Matt.18 as a guide to how we should deal with them. Read the first part of that chapter. This was given to help protect people from becoming stumbling blocks, which the Lord made quite clear was something we do not want to be. If you think being a journalist exempts you from complying with Scripture, I would like to know what philosophy you have bought into that trumps Scripture.

Sorry if this comes across as harsh. I don’t mean for it too but I am quite busy and just don’t have the time that I would like to maybe be a bit more tactful.

Ok, let the conversation begin (in love).

John Burton

(Here’s the latest video by Rick Joyner: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1127600550639&ref=mf)

You can now read 20 Elements of Revival and my other books on your iPhone or iPod Touch!  Download the FREE Kindle application first, and then purchase 20  Elements of Revival for $3.99.  It will download automatically!

You may want to have this handy, or buy a printed copy, this year as I teach through the book at the International House of Prayer East Detroit.

This Friday at 7pm I’ll be starting into Element One and Element Two.  I really want to see you there!

As you know, we are strategically positioning ourselves to help facilitate the burning of revival in this city.  It’s a long-term project, and we’re seeking likeminded people who are fed up with a passionless life… those who are ready to ignite, lock arms and minister to God night and day in Detroit!

ALSO- Check out Amy’s brand new blog: www.amyreneeburton.com.  She will be posting soon, after I show her how!  Be sure to leave some comments and help her develop her new online community.

“Many people will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day.”

That’s the chilling message that God delivered to me after what I now simply refer to as, “the dream.”

I’m sure some may wonder why I seem to emphasize prayer as our primary, daily activity as believers to such a degree.  Once somebody presumed that I was an “Anna” who’ was uniquely called to intercede.  I can assure you, I’m not an Anna (who stayed in the Temple continually and interceded until Jesus’ first arrival).

Others may feel it’s because I’m simply wired that way, that prayer is just a good fit for me.  Well, it is a good fit for me, but, again, that’s not why I am continually provoked to sound the alarm for prayer.

That prophetic call that resounds deep within is due to a few key issues, issues that must be addressed with great fear and trembling.  The urgency must be extreme.  These issues are:

• Hell
• Mission
• Normalcy

Hell: Back to my dream, or rather, “the dream.”  I won’t go into detail here as I have written extensively about the dream in my book The Terror of Hell, but suffice it to say, I was dragged by my ankles toward hell.  The white fear was so extreme that I can’t even think of hell now for more than 5 of 6 seconds without having to shut it down.  It’s too terrifying.  The main revelation from that dream was that many church going people will be shocked & terrified to find themselves there one day.  It’s mind blowing and horrific.  What’s even scarier is that so many have found false security in the repeating of the sinner’s prayer or in faithful tithing or church attendance, yet have no intimacy with Jesus.  Oh, this is so serious.  Prayer is the antidote to Hell.  A lifestyle of deep, zealous and continual prayer will cause us to fall deeply in love with Jesus.  We won’t ever have to worry about hearing, “Depart from me I never knew you.”  Or, it could also be said, “Depart from me I was never intimate with you.”  As we pray, continually, and enjoy God, and draw near to him, and experience the Truth of the Word of God, look out.  But, if we don’t enjoy God, don’t hear his voice, don’t know him, don’t want to pray, really look out.  I say in my book, “The lack of a desire, or at least the desire to desire, to be with God in intimate prayer is a sign of an at risk position in Christ.”

Mission: This is a huge topic.  There are many who aren’t deeply involved in a lifestyle of prayer that use the excuse that they don’t have the time to pray due to the need to “get out there” and “do the work.”  This is such a dangerous position to take.  It teeters on arrogance as it conveys that one can “do the work” of the Kingdom such as evangelism, feeding the hungry, etc. without the power of the King.  We simply can’t effectively and efficiently minister without living in the furnace of night and day prayer.  It can be said that the mission is prayer.  It’s the first commandment.  We must continually be in the place of intercession in a prophetic environment so we can both hear God’s instructions and minister back to him.  As we spend hours a day in prayer, evangelism and works of mercy will burn through us.  Additionally, our prayer will do more than anything in the natural ever could.  Prayer is the mission as prayer, especially unified prayer, changes kings and kingdoms more than any other activity.  Is prayer everything?  Well, in a way yes.  Prayer is continual communication and encounter with God.  But, of course, many other activities are important.  Radically so.  But, prayer must not ever be forsaken for the sake of these other activities.  It’s not either/or, but rather, it’s both/and.

Normalcy: To live a lifestyle of continual, deep prayer is to live a normal lifestyle.  This is one reason I take issue with the seeker sensitive movement, for example.  I hold to a firm belief that we must introduce people into the furnace of God’s presence.  This kind of life is the norm for believers.  I made a promise to the folks in my church that I would never tone down a dynamic, powerful atmosphere of Holy Spirit activity out of respect of those less hungry.  The life of prayer-fueled encounter is the biblically normal life.  The fire should never go out.  If we remove prayer from the equation, we have departed severely from biblical life.  This is why I feel a reformation must come.  Churches must return to their destiny as a house of prayer.  It should be normal to walk into a church service and fall on our face for a few hours in wild intercession for the nations.  People wonder why the prayer rooms are empty.  I’ll tell you why- they are empty because prayer has been relegated to an extra-curricular activity.  All the energy is spent in small groups, teaching services, etc., which, by the way, are good and important, but, I believe they are out of order.  If our Sundays were nothing but prayer, prophecy and reading some scripture as people were on their face in intercession, imagine what the mid-week teaching service and the home groups would be then!  What if every church in a city stopped every program, every childrens ministry, every small group, every teaching service, and called the people together to pray and read scripture in their place- for six months- we would not have to prove the existence of God to the lost.  The Proof would explode in power before their very eyes.

So, this is the burn in my heart.  We must have reformation in the church and we must return to the primary purpose of every believer- to encounter God night and day and invite others to burn with us.

I love how someone once said, “The church isn’t to be a house of teaching, a house of evangelism, a house of small groups or a house of study.  It’s a house of prayer for all nations.”  Job one is prayer.  The most time consuming activity every day for every believer is prayer.

I trust you can see from this post that the crisis of prayerlessness in the church is more severe than we can imagine.  Missions are powerless, a normal biblical life is evading us in many ways and people every day are suddenly finding themselves in hell after a long, churched life.

My God, send an awakening to every one of us… including this weak, broken man on fire.

(you can order The Terror of Hell at www.praytherevolution.com/resources)

Restoration of Apostles and Prophets : TONIGHT- live video broadcast on this topic!

FIRST, would you pray for something?  Miles is looking at a potential property for Element Church in Manitou Springs today.  We need to be sure to land in the right place, with the right terms and a lot of favor!

TONIGHT at 6pm Central time we’ll be LIVE on video discussing the coming apostolic and prophetic reformation that’s coming to the church.  We’ll continue until the conversation comes to a natural conclusion, so if you have to arrive late, that’s ok.  Anyone and everyone in any place around the world is invited!

ALSO, if you’d like to co-host, and have a fast connection, a webcam and a good microphone, let me know early today and I’ll send you the necessary instructions.  The address of the room is the same as always: http://www.praytherevolution.com/live.  Unless you are co-hosting, you do not need a webcam or microphone.

COLORADO SPRINGS AND DETROIT! This is especially for you!  As we advance toward developing our ministry teams in the two locations, we’ll need to be continually connected whether it’s locally or via video meetings like this one.

Now, regarding the restoration of Apostles and Prophets, this is a very important discussion.  Every city of the Earth, including Colorado Springs and Detroit, must see the emergence humble and bold people who are ordained of God to govern at a city level.  The reformation that is coming will result in a great shaking.  It will be radically offensive to those who are looking for something different.  The Bible is very clear about the issue of offense, and we have to be deeply unified with each other and the leaders God placed in our lives.  Why?  Because God is about to lead us in directions that will cut us to the core.

A religious spirit will most certainly raise its head as God advances in Detroit, Colorado Springs and other cities.  My upcoming book Pharaoh in the Church hits squarely on this issue.  Current religious systems are often very beneficial to many people, and many of them have also very clearly been beneficial to the cause of Christ, however, as God shifts and a reformation of the system is initiated, it will be easy go be offended as we are faced with great potential personal loss.

John 6:60-64 (NKJV) ⁶⁰ Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” ⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.

A core problem in our churches, and a core reason for the need for reformation, is because of verse 63.  It has become common to expect our flesh to profit while the supernatural life of the Spirit is minimized.  We will see a great revolt when the reformation comes, as flesh is suddenly and intentionally starved and many haven’t learned how to be fully sustained by the Holy Spirit alone.  As this conflict arrives, we will have to trust God’s established authority like no other time in our lives. It will be easy to pull back if we are not unified and submitted.

But, if we are unified, and understand that agreement doesn’t end at the point of contention, but rather, its legitimacy is tested at the point of contention, the church will advance with power.  Simply, if people are offended, gossip or leave the ministry due to division on an issue, agreement was never there in the first place.

Agreement isn’t founded on issues, but rather it’s founded on assignment. If we aren’t unified based on assignment, we’ll presume it OK to break rank or become self-governing.  Some wrongly believe that we are only to submit to God, and if God ‘tells us’ to shift or redirect, then that’s all the authorization we need.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  We also submit to man, and when we don’t we violate God’s government.

This is a key reason why we must discover the importance of the restoration of Apostles and Prophets.  God will govern through people like this, and while it will be challenging, difficult and irritating at times, it’s God’s system and we can truly trust it.  His wisdom outshines our wisdom.  If we can survive personally in such a biblical government, without offense, we’ll be mighty weapons in the hands of God.

I’ll include the entire article by John Eckhardt, but here are several of his 60 points that stand out to me:

1. A greater emphasis of the importance of signs, wonders, and miracles (especially deliverance). This will prevent the Church from depending too much on rational, intellectual ways of approaching ministry (see 2 Corinthians 12; Matthew 10). Greater demonstrations of the power of God (see 1 Corinthians 2:4).

7. Greater emphasis on spiritual warfare, including binding and loosing. Greater authority over territorial strongholds, including principalities and powers (see Matthew 16, 18).

12. Releasing and maintaining an atmosphere of liberty in the churches that will be conducive for the moving of the Holy Spirit and operation of the gifts of the Spirit, including prophecy (see Acts 15:10).

17. Greater release of the spirit of prayer and intercession. Increased burden for prayer and intercession. The release of prophetic prayer warriors for regions and territories. Restoration of all night prayer, citywide prayer, watch of the Lord, and corporate prayer (see 1 Timothy 2).

22. Upgrade of churches and regions into present truth (see Acts 19).

24. Bringing reformation and change. Establishing and releasing new models for ministry (see Hebrews 9:10).

25. Helping the churches transition into new moves and patterns for ministry. Apostles are raised up during times of transition (see Joshua 1).

29. A greater release of angelic activity through worship to God, prayer, and utterances, including apostolic decrees and prophetic declarations (see Acts 12:5-7).

37. Greater manifestation of God’s glory in the Church, including the manifest presence of God and the restoration of the tabernacle of David (see Acts 15; 2 Corinthians 3:8).

38. Greater release of the prophetic, including personal prophecy, corporate prophecy, prophetic teams and companies, prophets, prophetic worship, arts, dance, banners, and prophetic teaching and preaching. Apostles will encourage the prophetic in local churches and regions (see 1 Corinthians 14).

40. Greater unity and cooperation between leaders and ministries in localities (see Ephesians 4:3).

46. Greater manifestation of demons, hardness of heart as the demonic realm reacts to the advancement of the Church and increased breakthrough (see Acts 16).

47. Restoration of proper government in the Church, including the restoration of governing presbyteries of apostles, prophets, and teachers. Challenging false government, including congregational and episcopal control (see 1 Corinthians 12:28).

51. Establishment and recognition of spiritual gatekeepers and gateway churches that operate in apostolic authority in cities, regions and territories (see Lamentations 5:14).

58. Greater release of apostles and prophets, and more ministers step into these callings, being inspired to move into these gifts because of others who have preceded them. The fear and unbelief that have prevented many from walking in these callings will be overcome. The restoration of these gifts means that an abundance of these gifts will be seen in the end-times Church. Multiplied thousands will come forth in different cities, regions, and nations (see Deuteronomy 1:11).

60. Continuous revival and refreshing released to the Church (see Acts 3:19). This is a result of repentance that comes from the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and this will precede the coming of the Lord (see Acts 3:20). Restoration of all that has been spoken by the prophets (see Acts 3:21).

…The entire list of 60 trends can be seen by going here: http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/7392

Don’t forget, we’ll be discussing this LIVE tonight (Tuesday, Feb 24th) at 6pm Central time.

FIRST: Don’t forget to listen to the 7-part series on “Four Fires.”  It’s a teaching I gave in Detroit on how to proceed toward city-wide revival.  Revival won’t  break out today, and it won’t break out this week.  It probably won’t break out this month, and doubtfully this year.  But, we can start the process.  Listen at www.praytherevolution.com/media.

SECOND: Visit www.20elements.com and shoot me an email regarding a possible prayer/revival/prophecy driven church plant in the Colorado Springs area this summer.  We’re launching a revival ministry in Detroit and Colorado at the same time and want to hear from you about the stirrings on your heart.  Email me at john@praytherevolution.com.

Deception in the Church : Strange Fire in the House of the Lord : Colorado Springs church plant

I received an excellent article from Lee Grady today, and felt compelled to pass it on.

Be sure to listen to my short podcast on this issue.  You know I often deal with the knee-jerk reactions of the heresy hunters regarding manifestations, moves of God, revival atmospheres, etc.  The suspicious spirit that tends to drive people like this is usually birthed out of fear.  I’ve heard people say that they are afraid of falling into deception, or afraid of subscribing to something unscriptural.  We don’t have to be afraid!  We haven’t been given a spirit of fear!  Is it possible that those who are driven by fear of deception might be affected by demons themselves?  The Bible tells us that instead of fear we are to have: Power, love and a sound mind.  We are exhorted to stir it up!  Stir the gifts and don’t be afraid!  It’s interesting how these thoughts are connected!

2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

We are not to be fearful!  Wise, yes.  Discerning, yes.  But it’s not a complex, mystical, nebulous issue.  We can simply know that we are on track if we are full of the life of Jesus and the Word of God.  Lee Grady does this topic justice in his article.

For example, let’s say there’s a strong move of God and we suddenly find ourselves in love with him and free from depression.  We fall to our knees and cry “holy.”  Our life is dramatically changed as the peace of God floods us.  In that moment, as we are undone, and others are trembling around us, we wouldn’t be saying something like,

“Jesus!  You are so beautiful!  I love you so deeply!  The depression and heaviness that I have had for years is gone!  Praise God!  Wow!  I mean, I think you are God… I guess you could also be Lucifer… but, man, I hope you are God!  I think the Holy Spirit is moving on me, but I guess it could also be the prince of darkness.  Man… oh, please, let it be Jesus!  I love you Jesus… I think that’s who you are, anyway.”

Ridiculous!  Isn’t it?  We won’t ask for a fish and receive a serpent.  Must we address issues of deception and discernment?  Yes. We must take these issues into account.  And, doing so is quite easy.  Let me know what you think.  Here’s the podcast, and then Lee Grady’s excellent article:

Download audio file (220521.mp3)

We need to be careful. Current fads involving angels, ecstatic worship and necromancy could push us off the edge of spiritual sanity.

No one fully understands what Nadab and Abihu did to prompt God to strike them dead in the sanctuary of Israel. The Bible says they loaded their firepans with incense, ignited the substance and “offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” (Lev. 10:1, NASB). As a result of their careless and irreverent behavior, fire came from God’s presence and consumed them.
Zap. In an instant they were ashes.
When Moses had to explain to Aaron what happened to the two men, he said: “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near to Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored’” (v. 3). Although we don’t know the details of what Nadab and his brother did with the holy incense, we know they were careless and irreverent about the things of God.
This ancient story has relevant application for us today. We don’t use incense or firepans in our worship, but we are expected to handle God’s Word with care and minister to His people in the fear of the Lord. In other words: No funny business allowed. We aren’t allowed to mix God’s Word with foreign concepts or mix our worship with pagan practices.

Yet as I minister in various churches around this country I am finding that strange fire is spreading in our midst—even in churches that call themselves “Spirit-filled.” Pastors and leaders need to be aware of these trends:
1. Deadly visitations. In some charismatic circles today, people are claiming to have spiritual experiences that involve communication with the dead. One Michigan pastor told me last week that some church leaders he knows promote this bizarre practice and base it on Jesus’ experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. The logic is that since Jesus talked to Moses and Elijah on the day He was glorified, this gives us permission to talk to dead Christians and our dead relatives.
Although little is said about these experiences from the pulpit (since the average believer is not ready to handle this “new revelation”), people in some streams of the prophetic movement are claiming to have visitations from Aimee Semple McPherson, William Branham, John Wimber or various Bible characters. And we are expected to say, “Ooooooo, that’s so deep”—and then go looking for our own mystical, beyond-the-grave epiphany.

That is creepy. Communication with the dead was strictly forbidden in the Old Testament (see Deut. 18:11), and there is nothing in the New that indicates the rules were changed. Those who seek counsel from the dead—whether through mediums and séances or in “prophetic visions”—are taking a dangerous step toward demonization.

2. Ecstatic rapture. Not long after ecstasy became known as a recreational drug, someone in our movement got the bright idea to promote spiritual ecstasy as a form of legitimate worship. The concept evolved from “spiritual drunkenness” to the current fad in which people gather at church altars and pretend to shoot needles in their arms for a “spiritual high.” Some preachers today are encouraging people to “toke the Holy Ghost”-a reference to smoking marijuana.

I hate to be a party pooper, but the Bible warns us to “be of sound judgment and sober spirit” (1 Pet. 4:7). There is plenty of freedom and joy in the Holy Spirit; we don’t have to quench it by introducing people to pagan revelry. Christian worship is not about losing control. Those who worship Jesus do it “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), and our love for God is not measured by how violently we shake or how many times we fall on the floor.

Recently I told a friend in Pennsylvania that when people get tired of this drug imagery it won’t be long before we see some Christians having sexual experiences at the altar. “It’s already happening,” my friend said. He described a recent “worship concert” in which one of the musicians simulated sex while stroking a microphone and whispering sensual phrases to Jesus. What is next-orgasmic worship? God help us.

3. Angels among us. Angels have always played a vital role in the life of the church. They are “ministering spirits” sent to protect, guide and strengthen believers (Heb. 1:14). But suddenly angels have become the rage in some segments of our movement. People are claiming to see them everywhere, and often the stories don’t line up with the Word of God.

During the Lakeland Revival last year in Florida, a man from Germany took the stage and claimed that an angel walked into a restaurant while he was eating a hamburger, took his intestines out and replaced them with a gold substance. Others have testified that angels took them to heaven and operated on them. And many are claiming that angels are dropping feathers, gold dust and precious gems on worshippers.

I know God can do anything. He can make an iron axe head float, hide a coin in a fish’s mouth and use a little boy’s lunch to feed a multitude. Those were genuine miracles that He can still do today. But we still have to use caution here. There are counterfeits. If we promote a false miracle or a false angel in the Lord’s house, we are participating in strange fire.

I know of a case where a man was caught planting fake jewels on the floor of a church. He told his friends he was “seeding the room” to lift the people’s faith. I know of others who have been caught putting gold glitter on themselves in a restroom and then running back in a church service, only to claim that God was blessing them with this special favor. Where is the fear of God when Christians would actually fabricate a miracle?

This is a time for all true believers with backbones to draw clear lines between what is godly worship and what is pagan practice. We want the miracles of God, but we also want the fear and reverence of God. We cannot allow this strange fire to spread unchecked.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. He will be ministering from Feb. 17-27 in England. If this article was forwarded to you, we encourage you to sign up to receive “Fire in My Bones” weekly in your own mailbox. Click here.

The message that I taught at Christ Community Church (C3) in Roseville, Michigan is NOW AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE to stream online or download.  It’s broken up into 7 sessions.  God did a mighty work through this teaching at this church… The Saturday evening session was so powerful as the fire of prophecy burned at the altars until 12:15am.  We were all back in the building the next morning for the rest of the teaching.

I’m in Detroit now, and just had a great afternoon with C3’s Pastor, Tim Tyler and IHOPE’s Director, Ron Zettle.  These are two men who are zealous for revival and city-transformation.

ALSO- keep praying about a possible church ‘re-plant’ in Manitou Springs, Colorado.  We’d launch from the solid foundation of Revolution House of Prayer and it will be an ‘experiment in revival’ based on Acts 2.

This isn’t a ‘slam dunk’, but the data we have at this point of the game reveals that it could certainly happen.  The mission of revival in Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak region has forever gripped me.

The call is for a prophetic ministry of zealous men and women of God to pray night and day.  I had a vision of a blueprint several years ago… and in the center of the house on the blueprint was a raging fire.  This is job one—to build a fire.  I asked an artist to draw what I saw, and you can see that here.

You can check out a single page promo site at www.20elements.com.  You can also see the one minute promo for 20 Elements of Revival on the site.

Here’s a snip from that site:

WE AFFIRM:

BURNING
A prophetic movement of prayer-fueled revival is our foundation.

REFRESHING
A mark of the house of prayer is joy- wild joy. A core goal is to ‘make it easy for people to thoroughly enjoy God’.

FREEDOM
The freedom of the Holy Spirit to operate in the church will ensure people are free full of life.

Keep in mind, this would happen concurrently with a ministry launch in Detroit.  The team we’ll need to have in place must be hungry, agreed, strong and ready to run!

Let me know if God sparks something in your spirit regarding this.  We’d be working with the RHOP team and others who are ready to run hard towards transformation.

You will get a good feel for the DNA of the church plant by listening to these teachings on revival.

The titles are:

• Personal Fire (part 1 & 2)
• Corporate Fire (part 1 & 2)
• City Fire (Part 1 & 3)
• A Man on Fire

To listen to all of them, head on over to www.praytherevolution.com/media.

We are living in exciting times!  As all of this develops, my itinerate ministry continues.  I’d love to minister in your church or at your conference or event.  Here’s my schedule so far for 2009:

• Feb 7-16: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• Mar 7-16: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• Mar 14-15: Warren, Michigan (Bethel Christian Church)
• May 2-11: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• May 3: Melvindale, Michigan (evening service) (Faith Christian Assembly)
• July 24-31: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit Summer Teen Intensive)
• Aug 8-17: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• Aug 10-11: Indian River, Michigan (Strait Gate House of Prayer)
• Sept 5-14: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• Oct 3-12: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• Nov 7-16: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• Dec 5-14: Detroit, Michigan (IHOPE-Detroit & various other ministries)
• TBD: Dayton, Ohio (Way of the Cross Church)

There is a deep burning within me right now, and I know we’re inching closer to a serious launch into the pursuit of revival both in Detroit and Colorado Springs.

The purpose of this video is for it to go viral in the Colorado Springs area… pass this on to everybody you feel might be yearning for fire.

If you are reading this in your email, you’ll need to go to www.revolutionexperience.com to view the video.

I won’t go into much detail in text, as I shared the vision in the video quite clearly.

Respond to me at john@praytherevolution.com with thoughts, questions and comments.

It’s time for Detroit and Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs to burn night and day!

John

(Oh, also… head on over to http://www.praytherevolution.com/live RIGHT NOW to discuss this with me in my live video room!)