Recording a Vision of God that Changed My Life

The Prophetic Journey of those Who Obey God’s Voice

The Prophetic Journey of those Who Obey God’s Voice:  Facing the Crosses on Our Journey

A revelation about the cross hit me today as I spoke to my friend Paul H. on the phone.  The revelation outlines the prophetic process by which true followers of the voice of God develop.   Paul told me about the great disappointment he felt when his church plant effort failed, and how he questioned God.  He was in this slump for a few weeks until he got his guitar out and worshiped and prayed for a breakthrough.  He got the breakthrough words of encouragement and a few days later circumstances began to turn around when he was offered a ministry opportunity in the same city and given a home to run it in.

The revelation came as I spoke to him about his intense prayer time being a type of Gethsemane experience.  

Every follower of Christ who truly hears his voice and obeys will come to certain crisis moments when everything goes wrong.  This is normal.  This is actually part of the cross.  I hope this message will give you hope to see the resurrection on the other side of each crisis.

The follower of Christ’s voice will walk in these steps.

1.  Pressing in to know God and hear his voice by the Holy Spirit.

2.  God advances his kingdom by asking you to do something impossible and uncomfortable.

3.  With faith the believer advances and jumps in to the journey...what faithfulness and giving.

4.  Things appear to go wrong.  Friends leave, people get upset with you, you are ridiculed and mocked and questioned, perhaps lied about.  

At this point is where people get lost.  Most will retreat in shame and confusion.  Did I really hear God?  Did I do something wrong?  Is God mad at me?  Do I really believe any of what I’ve been saying?  These questions and others like them grip us and if we don’t follow the pattern of Jesus, we can retreat and hide and stop the journey of Glory.

The right response to a crisis moment is the example given by Jesus.  Go to Gethsemane.  What I mean is grab your closest friends and press into prayer like nobodies business.  If your friends fail you then do it alone.  Pray the mess out of it.  Jesus prayed until he sweat blood.  You must pray intensely into the crisis moment.  You will more than likely want to get out of the crisis but you are to say “not my will but yours be done.”  God will strengthen you to walk forward.  The crisis hurts, sometimes extremely bad.  But keep believing because the resurrection will come if you go through with it even in the pain and loneliness.

So the fifth step is:

5.  Pray intensely with friends or alone.

6.  Follow through with God’s directives and wait even when it hurts and appears to fail.

7.  Wait for your resurrection with greater glory.

These seven steps are to happen to believers several times in their journey in life.  We must expect this pattern, recognize it and have hope that we will see the resurrection on the other side of the pain.

Joseph is a picture of this journey and also of Jesus.  He was faithful and each time he was thrown down was a cross/crisis moment.  He stayed faithful and received the resurrected glory afterwards each time.  Finally, he left the dungeon and ruled Egypt.  This is a picture of Christ leaving the grave and ruling the world systems (Egypt).  This is the pattern.  

Learn to love it and expect it.  Face each crisis with anticipation of glory after the death and pain.

Take comfort in these facts:

1.  God will reward your faithfulness.
2.  There is a reason for the pain.
3.  The glory will eclipse the agony.
4.  This season of pain will end and you will come out in glory afterwards probably with scars.

When things go wrong, its normal.  It has meaning.  You are conflicting with the world system.  If you go forward and allow yourself to “die”, you will accomplish the work, the father will “resurrect” you and the kingdom of God will grow.  If we fear, stop, doubt and hide, it doesn’t.  God will reward those who are faithful and go forward in their crisis moments.   These are the crosses that you carry.  Carry them with pride and you will see the glory after each one.

African Americans in the Prayer Movement

I heard Lou Engle say at the Elijah Revolution Conference in Houston that part of the purpose of The Call Detroit was to impact and gather the black community into their prophetic destiny in the worship and prayer movement.  Here is a video from IHOP-KC describing what they have felt God say about African Americans and Africans for such a time as this.  If this is the case, we must mobilize prayer for this purpose.  Please pray for our African American brothers to rise in the power of the Spirit above all that hinders them.

Lou Engle keep going!

There has been a lot of hatred of Lou Engle for standing for traditional definitions of marriage and the ending of abortion as well as his involvement in The Response.  I love to hear him speak.  America needs more preachers like him.  The Call in Detroit will go for 24 hour instead of 12.  Check out this dramatic promo video for The Call Detroit.

 

Don't forget to attend The Response Aug. 6th 2011 at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

Engaging and Wrestling in Intercession and Worship

God is raising up a worship movement in the earth today based on night and day prayer and fasting.  These groups of people are arising around the earth in metropolitan areas as well as tribal areas.  No continent is left out, except perhaps Antarctica.  Here is a video that introduces this movement called Awaken the Watchmen:

 

I wanted to encourage believers to pray, fast, and worship.  Not for the sake of earning brownie points before God but because it transforms us and gives us revelation of what God is like and what his will is.  I recommend meditating on the word of God, reading it, speaking it back to him, praying in tongues over it while you sing, play a musical instrument or dance.  

Using music, singing, and dance in worship and meditation upon the word allows the word of God to penetrate our being at a deeper level.

Not all would agree upon what I am about to say, but I want to propose that most of the western world already worships using music, dance, and song.  They do so not from a clear religious stance, yet they do allow the message of the spirit of this age to saturate their being.  What I mean is that even though many are not religious, whenever multitudes attend concerts, nightclubs, raves, sing along with their iPods, they are allowing the message and attitudes of the world (secular humanism) to saturate their perceptions.  

Brainwashing

Our views are bent by this music, singing, dancing culture whether it is religious or not.  The music bends our perceptions and emotions to go along with the songs.  The Bible tells us to renew our minds by the washing of the word, but this sounds creepily like brainwashing.  I think that whenever someone is bending your perceptions to theirs, it is like brainwashing.  If your perceptions are twisted away from the word of God and love for God, then you have been brainwashed or rather brain-polluted.  In worship and intercession, we can align ourselves with the word of God and be brain-washed to align with the word of God.  I know that last sentence can be misquoted out of context.  I'm just saying that some of us could use a good ol' brain wash because of all the garbage we have been made to believe.  Let long hours of worship, singing, dancing, and prayer meditating on the word of God, dialoging with God about his word, renew your mind.  

So many things want the attention of your mind.  Musicians want you to spend the .99 on their song, the TV wants you to watch that program for ratings, the video game industry wants you to buy their new game, and if they can hook you, that means big money for them.  Give your attention and affection to God.  Unplug and be like John the Baptist who got rid of distractions to focus on encountering the reality of a transcendent God.

Put on some worship music, listen to the free live prayer room, get out your djembe or other drum, play the piano or guitar, dance in your room or at church do this while you talk to God about your life and God's words in Scripture.  Let is change you.  He will also begin to speak to you.  Yes, speak to you.  Jesus said his sheep know his voice. 

(Tangent about hearing God's voice)  Most have been hearing God's voice and not recognized it almost like young Samuel didn't know it was God speakin to him at first.  If you want to grow in recognizing God's voice, I recommend the book, You May All Prophesy by Steve Thompson from Morningstar Ministries in Fort Mills, SC.  It is short, profoundly deep, but amazingly simple to read.  

Engage and wrestle in prayer and worship because it changes you, and God will respond to your cry.  The answers usually don't come the way we expect or in the timing we expect but God is wise and to be trusted in his administration of things. 

I recommend Misty Edward's talk on prophetic musicians that she gave at the Fascinate Conference at IHOP-KC in July 2011.  She describes how God is raising up musicians for this worship movement around the globe.  The world is raising up a worship movement and so is God.  It's an exciting time when the wheat and the tares are maturing.  May God be merciful and gentle in his dealings with the world that he loves.  I know his wisdom is beyound understanding and he will do whatever it takes to get the most people in love with him at the deepest level without violating anyones free will.  He is wisdom itself.  May he give us revelation of his love so that we will not be offended in the persecution and shaking of the earth.  He is the bridegroom lover of our souls seeking the affection of his bride. 

Rick Perry Calls "The Response" a Joel 2 Gathering

Rick Perry has called Christians around America to gather at Reliant Stadium in Houston for a day of prayer and fasting on August 6, 2011.  He states that this is a Joel 2-type gathering.  The book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is only three chapters long, so read it.  The main theme of the book and of this Response event is that in times of crisis and judgment from God, his people must gather to pray, fast, repent and humble themselves. 

I know this will look foolish to non-believers, a waste of time and money, but I can not emphasize how important it is for believers to gather during this time and humble themselves before the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Bible in Jesus name.  There is no other salvation and his word is truth.  Rick Perry along with believers around the land should not let their reputations keep them from this event.  We could all use some of this humbling.  We cannot humble ourselves before God and seek to look good in front of people at the same time.  If we fear the response of people more than the response of God, there is something wrong.

I know this is not PC, but I believe America and the rest of the world is in a time of shaking that will continue to get progressively worse.  It is time to gather, covenant to God and to each other, to repent of our attitudes and sins.  If we do, God promises to pour out his Spirit on his people. (Joel 2:28)  In this season of shaking, find yourselves under the shadow of his wings. (Psalm 91) Gather, repent, humble yourself into his hands.

This is the beginning of these stadium Joel 2 events, they will spread around the country and earth.  I understand there will be criticism and eventually persecution, but when one catches a vision of God's glory, it is worth it all.