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We believe the Lord is calling forth all His people on Cape Cod across denominational lines, age barriers, and theological differences, to corporate unity in the Body of Christ, in order to restore the Glory of God on Cape Cod.
"Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say,” spare Your people, O Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?' Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nation” (Joel 2:15-19).
Dear Pastor,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We are writing to you because the Lord has stirred our hearts with a burden for Cape Cod, the place where God sovereignly has positioned all of us at this time. As you know, the Bible speaks of “the sons of Isaacar, who understood the times, and knew what Israel ought to do” (1 Chr 12:32). Daniel understood his times (Dan 9:2). The Lord Jesus taught us to discern the times, and rebuked the Pharisees for not doing so: “You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times” (Matt 16:2).
We are pastors and leaders from various denominational and theological backgrounds, and various locations on the Cape. We share a common vision and a collective witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The theme of this vision is, “The Glory of God on Cape Cod”. This vision along with our beliefs and core values, are articulated in this web site.
We collectively share the conviction that the church currently lives in a state similar to the condition of Israel during the time of its Babylonian Captivity. The body of Christ today is in a fragmented, weakened state, lacking the authority that comes from the manifest Presence of God among His people. This is because of our own weakness, compromise, and our lack of unity.
As you well know, when the Glory of God is upon His people, even the heathens recognize who God is. An example of that is Rahab who told Joshua and Caleb: “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt….and as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted….for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2: 10, 11).
Because of the Presence and Glory of God in Daniel's life, King Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen, told him: “Truly, your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings” (Dan 2: 47). Also, King Darius, a heathen, said : “For He is the living God….He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders, in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lion” (Dan 6: 26, 27).
In contrast, when the Glory of God lifted off Samson, “the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes….they bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison” (Jud 16:21). Similarly, when the glory of God lifted off Israel because of its sin, Israel went into the Babylonian captivity. “By the river of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion….” (Psalm 137:1). “Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God” (Joel 2:17).
In essence, what the world is telling the church today is, “Where is your God?” We are mocked and trampled upon, like Samson was, because of the lack of the glory and manifest Presence of God in our midst. We are in a state of spiritual Babylonian captivity, resembling the ruined walls of Jerusalem. “And they said to me, the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).
However, the Lord has stirred our hearts. We believe He is calling us and all His pastors and leaders on Cape Cod, to come together before Him in corporate unity, humility, and repentance in the spirit of Daniel 9 and Nehemiah , in order for His Glory and manifest Presence to dwell among us. We believe this will lead us out of this weakened state of spiritual Babylonian captivity. “You see the distress we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the walls of Jerusalem, that we no longer be a reproach” (Nehemiah 2:17).
We collectively share the conviction that we need to realize God's heart for a John 17 unity among all His pastors and leaders on Cape Cod. We realize that we are members of one body, the body of Christ on Cape Cod, and that we are not complete without one another. We must guard against independent, individualistic attitudes and visions, and come together collectively with zeal and jealousy for the name of the Lord and the House of the Lord. Such unity is not organizational or governmental, but relational. “Thus says the Lord ‘Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,' says the Lord” (Haggai 1:7).
So, in essence, our call and invitation to you is this: “Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem together, that we may no longer be a reproach” (Neh 2:17).
Our vision is to call all Bible-believing pastors on the Cape, from Provincetown to the bridges, to come together in unity and humility, recognizing our spiritual poverty, for times of prayer and fasting, in the spirit of Daniel 9 and Nehemiah 1. We have been meeting bi-weekly now for about a year. We have no other agenda than to stand in the gap, crying out collectively for what we currently lack, the Presence and the Glory of God among us.
If this vision stirs your heart, we invite you to join us in these bi-weekly prayer meetings. We share this conviction and a witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts: If we obey the Lord in this stirring, we corporately will see Him move among us in a way we haven't seen before; we will see His Glory among us!
“Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the Glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise over you, and His Glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact one of us below.
May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you, and continue to cause his face to shine upon you.
SIGNED BY:
Pastor Bob Condon (Gateway Christian Center), Gerry Dorman (Anglican Church of the Resurrection), Pastor Erik Eskelund (Living Hope Family Church), Pastor Myron Heckman (Cape Cod Bible Alliance), Mamdouh Riad (Cape Cod Bible Alliance), Pastor David Otis (First Light Church), Pastor Ken Reed (New Kingdom Worship Center), Pastor Stephen Russell (New Life Christian Center), Pastor Gilson Silva (New Life Christian Center), Pastor Bob Silvia (Grace Assemblies of God Church), Pastor Rob Swanson (Marstons Mills Community Church), Pastor Winston Trought (New Kingdom Worship Center), Pastor Gil Warner (First Light Church).
At the recent July 26th prayer meeting a few intercessors joined the Glory of God on Cape Cod prayer meeting.
As usual the fellowship around the breakfast meal was warm and with the added presence of the intercessors, much conversation took place as folk shared visions, made new acquantances and with some just touching base.
We discussed and prayed for the importance of unity among all Cape pastors and congregations. We prayed that we all on Cape Cod may recognize that we are one body, and guard against individualistic attitudes. We also again discussed the importance of spreading the vision for the Glory of God on Cape Cod to the wider body of Christ on Cape Cod, by continuing to share it with the various congregations.
We also discussed that if our vision for the Glory of God on Cape Cod is only discussed among ourselves bi-monthy, its effectiveness is limited. However, if we "blow a trumpet", and share what the Lord has put in our hearts with the various congregations, it will ignite the wider body of Christ on the Cape, and bear much fruit.
We would like to encourage pastors, intercessors and/or prayer ministry leaders to attend our next meeting. Let us continue to share this vision and "blow a trumpet" on Cape Cod by inviting our brothers and sisters in Christ to "Come, and let us build the wall of Jerusalem together, that we may no longer be a reproach".
Our next meeting will be on Wed August 9, at 9 am for breakfast and prayer.
* It is believed that as the intercessors from each church join the prayer meeting, the vision will be imparted to them and they in turn will share the vision with others in their own churches and thereby fuel the flame for a prayer furnace on Cape Cod.
There are many 24/7 Houses of Prayer that have been birthed throughout our nation in the past few years which are directly related to the last days awakening. newlife24 is the beginning of what we believe will grow into a 24/7 House of Prayer for the Body of Christ on Cape Cod.
newlife24 is an opportunity to contend before God for the very things He has already promised us He would do - heal our land and pour out His spirit on all flesh. We believe God will do what He has promised when we do what He has asked us to do - to “humble ourselves and pray”. We believe the time is now for the church to rise up and stand on these promises of God.
Whilst we recognize the importance of prayer at every local church on the Cape, we believe it is when believers unite in one location offering continuous prayer, intercession and spiritual warfare that the Jericho walls that hold precious souls captive will come down and that the corporate church of Jesus Christ on Cape Cod will become all that God has intended for her to be.
For details on participation, please go here.
newlife 24
We are excited about the fruit that will come forth from the CONTINUOUS 24-hour prayer and intercession offered in ONE LOCATION by believers united in the common purpose of seeing God's glory being manifested on Cape Cod!
Prophet and pastor Emile Samuel joined the Glory of God on Cape Cod prayer meeting on Wednesday 31st May with a sobering and challenging word to those in attendance.
He titled his message, "Restoring the manifest Glory of the guiding cloud" and expounded on the biblical prerequisites for God's glory to be made manifest amongst His people: holiness, obedience at all cost, a sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit, waiting upon the Lord for His pattern and knowing His heart for Cape Cod.
He drew from the example in Exodus 40 where Moses received the pattern for the building of the tabernacle from the Lord; after having obeyed His instructions in every detail and having completed the work, the Glory of God filled the tabernacle.
Pastor Emile also shared his belief that the Body of Christ on Cape Cod needs to corporately repent of compromise in order to experience the Glory of God.
Corporate repentance brings corporate Presence.
Pastor Emile Samuel is an Assemblies of God pastor currently based in Vancouver, Canada and associated with “Watchmen for the Nations” ministry. He grew up in Egypt where he pastored two Assemblies of God churches in two cities in Egypt over a period of 20 years. During that time the Lord used him powerfully in prophetic ministry and those who have had the opportunity to be around him and be ministered to by him recognized him as a prophet of God.
In the early nineties the Lord opened the door for international ministry to Pastor Emile. He ministered extensively in the US, Canada, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Singapore, Russia, Kenya, and Australia. The Lord led pastor Emile to leave the pastorate and relocate to Canada from where an interant ministry developed.
He believes the Lord has called him to inspire, exhort and prepare the Body of Christ for such a time as this, as the Spirit of the Lord is moving on the hearts of His people worldwide calling them to wholeheartedness, holiness and a return to their first love: A time when Christ is preparing a spotless and blameless bride for Himself.
His speaking schedule is the following:
* Wednesday May 31, at 7 pm: First Light Church in Chatham, MA. Contact Pastor David Otis at 508-432-8022.
* Sunday June 4th at 10:30 am and 6:30 pm: MidCape Assemblies of God in Dennisport, MA. Contact Pastor Henry Perry at 508-394-2345.
* Tuesday June 6th at 6:30 pm: MidCape Assemblies of God in Dennisport, MA. Contact Pastor Henry Perry at 508-394-2345.
* Wednesday June 7th at 7 pm : New Life Christian Center in Dennisport, MA. Contact Pastor Stephen Russell at 508-398-7408.
* Thursday June 8th at 7:30 pm : Revival Presbyterian Brazilian Church in Hyannis, MA : Contact Pastor Marcello at 508-364-3374.
* Sunday June 11th at 7 pm : Living Hope Family Church in Hyannis . Contact Pastor Erik Eskelund at 508-790-34.
Click here to read an article on the New Testament gift of prophecy.
Pastors to share the vision
Pastors unanomously sensed and agreed at our 10th May prayer meeting that this is the right time to begin sharing 'The Glory of God on Cape Cod" vision with their congregations in order to establish a Cape wide prayer furnace. Our vision is for the Body of Christ on Cape Cod to collectiveley cry out in one accord for one thing: His Glory amongst us.
Pastors will share the vision over the next few weeks/months with their respective congregations. This vision is summarized in the letter that many of us recently signed. Some of us sense that the Lord has already prepared the hearts of the people for this vision, which comes from Him.
The format might be different from one church to another, but obviously it is up to individual pastors how they want to do this. We sense the importance of speaking with one voice and share the same message as summarized in the letter.
We believe that in the same way the Lord captured and stirred our hearts for this vision, the same will happen to many people in the congregations. This will result in not just a few people praying biweekly at the pastors' Glory of God on CC prayer meeting or monthly at the EMF meetings, but there will be hundreds of people all over Cape Cod that will be united around one vision: the Glory of God on Cape Cod with its subsequent harvest.
People will be praying in various churches on Sunday mornings, at prayer meetings, home cell groups and as individuals for one thing and in one accord: THE MANIFESTATION OF HIS GLORY AMONGST US.
WE BELIEVE that only the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, and therefore inerrant, Word of God. It is the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live. Matthew 5:18; John 10:35 ; 17:17 ; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21.
WE BELIEVE that the one true God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power, and glory. We believe that God not only created the world but also now upholds, sustains, governs, and providentially directs all that exists and that He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of His name. Psalm 104; Psalm 139; Matthew 10:29-31; 28:19; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:9-12; 4:4-6; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6.
WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally a great and good angel, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of God's presence and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ and will, at the end of the age, be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels. Matthew 12:25-29; 25:41; John 12:31 ; 16:11 ; Ephesians 6:10-20; Colossians 2:15; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9; 20:10.
WE BELIEVE that Adam was originally created in the image of God, righteous and without sin. In consequence of his disobedience, Adam's posterity are born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and are therefore by nature and choice the children of wrath, justly condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance with God. Genesis 1-3; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:9-18; 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-3.
WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, that He was conceived and born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered himself as a penal, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. By the blood of His cross He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints. Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-18; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 7:25 ; 9:13 -15; 10:19 ; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 1 John 2:1-2.
WE BELIEVE that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God's sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. John 1:12 -13; 6:37 -44; 10:25 -30; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 3-4; 8:1-17,31-39; 10:8-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9.
WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit, in whom also we are sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for godly living and service. Subsequent to conversion the Spirit desires to fill, empower, and anoint believers for ministry and witness. We also believe that signs and wonders, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, are operative today and are designed to testify to the presence of the kingdom and to empower and edify the church to fulfill its calling and mission. Matthew 3:11; John 1:12-13; 3:1-15; Acts 4:29-30; Romans 8:9; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13 -14; 5:18.
WE BELIEVE that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinances of the church to be observed until the time of Christ's return. They are not a means of salvation but are channels of God's sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Matthew 26:26-29; 28:19; Romans 6:3-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; 1 Peter 3:21.
WE BELIEVE that the church is God's primary instrument through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. To equip the saints for the work of ministry, God has given the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We also affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that women, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the gospel and do all the works of the kingdom. Matthew 16:17-19; Acts 2:17-18,42; Ephesians 3:14 -21; 4:11 -16; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5,9-10.
WE BELIEVE that God has called the church to preach the gospel to all nations, and especially to remember the poor and to minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and practical service. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the kingdom of God . Isaiah 58:6-12; 61:1; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 4:18; 21:1-4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:8.
WE BELIEVE in the literal second coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to the earth personally and visibly to consummate His kingdom. We also believe in and are praying for a great end-time harvest of souls and the emergence of a victorious church that will experience an unprecedented unity, purity, and power in the Holy Spirit. Psalms 2:7-9; 22:27 -28; John 14:12 ; 17:20 -26; Romans 11:25-32; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28,50-58; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12; Revelation 7:9-14.
WE BELIEVE that when the Christian dies he/she passes immediately into the blessed presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. The saved will then forever dwell in blissful fellowship with their great Triune God. We also believe that when the unbeliever dies he/she is consigned to hell, there to await the day of judgment when he/she shall be punished with eternal separation from the presence of God. Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John 5:25-29; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:19-26; 3:20-21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-22:15.
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land” (2 Chron 7:14).
We aspire to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and we commit to the following Core Values before the Lord when no one is looking. We also commit to live our lives before the audience of One, Almighty God, before whom we'll stand one day.
1. Humility: Throughout the scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, the Lord considers humility of the heart an absolute requisite for His favor and blessing. The fundamental importance of humility in our hearts as God requires it cannot be overstated. We acknowledge that everything we are, everything we have, and everything we do, is from Him, and that in and of ourselves, we are poor (1Cor 4:7, John 3:27). The Lord says in the scriptures that He dwells with the humble (Isaiah 66:2), and resists the proud (1 Peter 5:5). Jesus taught us that we should learn from and emulate His humility(Matthew 11:29).The humility that the Lord requires is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment of its necessity; neither is it mere courtesy and politeness in mannerism, but true humility of heart in the way we deal with Him and one another( Psalm 149:4, Matthew 5:3-5, James 4:10).
2. The Fear of the Lord and living a life set apart, holy unto the Lord: The scriptures clearly state that holiness is an absolute requisite for the Lord to dwell among His people. Perfect holiness and purity will not dwell amidst darkness and compromise. The Lord calls us to sanctify ourselves in order to do wonders among us (Joshua 3:5).The scriptures say that without holiness no one shall see God (Hebrews 12:14), and “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). “Who will ascend to the Lord's Hill? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24: 3-4). God told King Saul through the prophet Samuel “Obedience is better than sacrifice” (1Samuel 15:12). A.W. Tozer said it well in an article entitled, “Prayer is not a substitute for obedience.” The title says it all.
3. Prayer and Fasting: We are committed continually to lift up a collective cry to Almighty God, to release His Church from the bondage of its lukewarm attitude, apathy, self-centeredness, and disunity (Rev 3:15-16). Only through heartfelt prayer will the Lord lead His Church out of its “Babylonian captivity”(lack of the Glory of God among His people), and restore the Church to her calling, to the place where she can effectively be His voice to a sick and dying world (Matthew 7:7, Jeremiah 29:13-14). We are committed to seek His face continually, to contend for His manifest Presence among us, and nothing else will do (Exodus 3:15). We are further committed to wait patiently upon the Lord, for Him to fulfill His vision for Cape Cod (1 Thess 5:17, Luke 18: 1-8).
"Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will sureley come,It will not tarry" (Hab 2:2-3).
We believe His promise in James 5:16, that the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
4. Sensitivity , yielding, and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit: Throughout the scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, God is continually speaking to His people: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you” (Isaiah 30:21). “Ask of Me and I shall show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). “And I will bring the blind by a way they did not know” (Isaiah 42:16). “My sheep hear My voice and follow Me” (John 10:27). "Those who are lead by the Spirit of God, are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
We acknowledge that we cannot do anything in our own strength or in our human wisdom. We acknowledge our utter dependence on Him to guide our steps (John 15:5).
5. Unity in diversity through the love of Christ: We believe that the Church is one body, the Bride of Christ (John 17, 1Cor 12, Rom 12:4-5, Ephesians 4:16, 1Pet 2:5, Ephesians 2: 20-22, 2 Cor 6:16, Col 2: 19).
We also realize that within the body of Christ there exists diversity in expression of faith. The core value of diversity is clearly displayed in chapter 3 of Nehemiah. Despite their diversity, many families, skills and leaders-- priests, men of Jericho, the Tekoites, Gibeonites, goldsmiths and different families clans-- were involved in successfully rebuilding the ruined walls of Jerusalem.
Among the 12 disciples of Christ there also existed differences in personality and temperament, but they were united and crystallized around Christ.
We desire to see the Glory of God come upon Cape Cod. In order to facilitate this, and encouraged by the examples of Nehemiah and the disciples, we commit to labor together as diverse churches, ministries, and organizations, to be part of the process of contending for the Glory of God on Cape Cod (Nehemiah 3, John 17: 11, Psalm 133, Acts 2:44, 2Chron 5:13-15, 1 Cor 1:10, 1 Cor 1:10-13).
We believe the Lord is asking all His people to seek His face individulay and corporatley, in prayer.
We believe that prayer and intercession is the key to the coming Glory of God on Cape Cod;
We believe the Lord is calling for a Cape Cod House of Prayer - "My House shall be called a House of Prayer" (Mathew 21:13).
Want to get involved?
Here is what you need to do:
1. Start by getting right with God. Repent of areas of compromise in your life. Pray in the spirit of Daniel 9 and Nehemiah 1.
2. If you are a pastor or a leader, pray about and share the vision of repentance, humilty, and corporate unity with other leaders. Get together in prayer and intercession. Share this vision with your congregation and mobilize your people in that direction. Seek the Lord's direction in:
(a) reaching out and connecting with other churches in your area with the vision that we need a Daniel 9 repentance and,
(b) that we need each other in the body of Christ - we are not complete without one another.
Encourage your congregation to set aside theological differences and arguments that are not fruitfull, and focus on our unity and Christ's John 17 prayer, "That they may be one".
3. If you are a lay person who is not a pastor or a leader, pray for your pastors and leaders that the Lord would move on their hearts with this vision. After a long period of prayer and as the Lord directs you, share this vision with your pastor and your leaders.
4. The vision is to come together as brothers and sisters in Christ in prayer and intercession, seeking the face of the Lord in corporate repentance of our sin, pride and presumption, and of our individual independant attitude. We need to realize that Christ's vision is that we become one, like He and the Father are one (John 17). We need to realize that a house divided against itself shall not stand.
We are the House of God and we need to come in unity and humility, seeking the face of the Lord in prayer and intercession.
Glory of God
Throughout the Old and New Testaments the Lord has revealed Himself through His Word and through His dealings with His people. One of the things the Lord revealed to us is His desire to manifest His Presence, His Glory, to His people and His desire to dwell with them.
"And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God" (Exd 29:45); "And I will dwell among the children of Israel , and will not forsake my people" (1 Ki 6:13); "And he said unto me, 'Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever" ( Eze 43:7); "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion ! For behold, I will come and I will dwell in your midst," says the LORD. Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall be My people. and I will dwell in your midst" (Zec 2:10).
Moses realized that it is the very presence of God among the Israelites that makes them His people: "Then he said to Him, 'If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I,
from the people who are upon the face of the earth'" (Exodus 33:15-16).
When Moses finished the work that God asked him to do and built the tabernacle, God manifested His glory: "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34-35).
When Solomon completed building the first temple, God manifested His glory: "And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, (for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their courses; also the Levites who were singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbal psalteries and harps, stood at the east of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets) it came to pass, when the trumpets and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah, saying, 'For He is good; for His lovingkindness endureth forever' then the house was was filled with a cloud, even the house of Jehovah, so the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of God" (2 Cron 5:11).
When the people of God sinned and their hearts were turned away from the Lord, the glory of God departed and He delivered them unto their enemies who destroyed their temple: "By the rivers of Babylon , there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion . Upon the willows in the midst thereof. We hanged up our harps. For there they that led us captive required of us songs, and they wasted required of us mirth, saying sing us one of the songs of Zion . How shall we sing Jehovah's song in a foreign land?" (Psalm 137:1-4).
When the people of God repented, when Daniel stood in the gap in Daniel 9, God heard their cry.
"And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, "O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments; we have sinned and have commited iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgements: Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in the name of our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither Thou hast driven them, because of their trespasses that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we rebelled against Him; neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants, the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey Thy voice; Therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the sevant of God, because we have sinned against Him. And He hath confirmed His words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done in Jerusalem . As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquites, and understand Thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord, our God, that hast brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as it this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from the city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are becoming a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and His supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy great mercies. O Lord, hear: O Lord, forgive: O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name" (Dan 9:4).
Then God raised up Nehemiah, to restore what the Israelites had lost.
" And it came to pass in the month Chislin the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning the Jews. And they said unto me, "The remnence that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire." And it came to pass, when i heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, and said, "I beseech Thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and night for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee: both I and my father's house sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgements, which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses. Remember I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses, saving if ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn turn unto Me,and keep My commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there. Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power, and by Thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants, sho desire to fear Thy name: and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man" (Neh 1:1-11).
And Nehemiah set out to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem : "Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem , that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said,"Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work......the God of Heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we will arise and build" (Neh 2:17).
The Lord promised to pour His Glory on His people at the end times, the time of the great harvest through the prophet Haggai : "For thus says the Lord of hosts, Once more (it is a little while), I will shake the heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all the nations, and they will come to the Desire of all nations, and I will fill this temple with Glory,says the Lord of hosts... The Glory of this latter temple, shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:6-9).
When the Glory of God was present among His people in the Old Testement, the fear of the Lord fell upon all, even the heathens, as Rahab said to the spies in the book of Joshua ,"I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two Kings of the Amorites......and as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted, neither did remain any more courage in any one because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath" (Joshua 2:8-11).
So it was in the New Testement, when The Glory of God was present among the early church in the book of Acts, with the Lord manifesting His presence with signs and wonders, the fear of Lord fell upon all." Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles....And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2 : 43 ,47).
So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people ....so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also, a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jeruselem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed " (Acts 5: 11-16).
However, currently the Body of Christ, the church globally, has lost the Glory of God, lost the manifest presence of God as it was present among the early disciples, and we have become in a state of weakness and without power, similar to the condition of Israel in the Babylonian captivity.
The Lord is not feared and the church is mocked and trampled under foot by the world. This is due to our sin and lack of holiness. We have lost the manifest presence of God, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Glory of God has lifted off of us as of Samson of old, and our (spiritual)enemies overcame us.
Jesus said, " You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men" (Matthew 5: 13).
It's true that we have had occasional seasons and pockets of revival in different parts of the world over the last two thousand years, but these were similar to the Glory of God that Daniel experiencd while he was in the Babylonian captivity, with God rescuing him from the lion's den and visiting him with visions and dreams. This is also similar to Ezekiel seeing the Glory of God in the middle of his Babylonian captivity, a state altogether different from the Glory of God manifested corporately among His people in the books of Exodus and Joshua or the book of Acts.
However, the Lord has once again wooed His bride to return to Him, and He has raised up and stirred many across the world to cry out to Him in repentance like Daniel did in Daniel 9, and like Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 1.
Many have the witness of the Holy Spirit that the Lord is about to release us from this state of Babylonian captivity and His Glory is about to come upon us once again, as we obey His stirring for repentance, humility, and unity.
"Arise, shine, For your light has come! and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His Glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around and see: They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy" (Isaiah 60 : 1-5).
The Glory of God on Cape Cod facilitates a bimonthly prayer meeting that is supported by pastors and leaders of many different denominations and ministries on Cape Cod .
The Glory of God on Cape Cod shares a similar vision and is like-minded in purpose and pursuit as other prayer networks further afield.
Marstons Mills Community Church
For additional information contact:
Pastor Rob Swanson
Grace Assemblies of God Church
For additional information contact:
Pastor Bob Silvia
New Life Christian Center (Brazilian)
For additional information contact:
Pastor Gilson Silva
visit web site
New Life Christian Center, Dennisport
For additional information contact:
Pastor Stephen Russell
New Kingdom Worship Center
For additional information contact:
Pastor Ken Reed
First Light Church
For additional information contact:
Pastor David Otis
Cape Cod Bible Alliance
For additional information contact:
Pastor Myron Heckman
Living Hope Family Church
For additional information contact:
Pastor Erik Eskelund
Anglican Church of the Resurrection
For additional information contact:
Gerry Dorman
Gateway Christian Center
For additional information contact:
Pastor Bob Condon
Fusion Ministries
Watchmen for the Nations
International House of Prayer
Teaching on God's Glory
A Scriptural Basis for the Glory of God that is amongst His people
(This article was written by Mike Bickle from The International House of Prayer in Kansas City and is used by permission)
I. David: God's pattern (witness, prophetic sign) for the redeemed
a. David is a picture of what God will release by the Spirit on the End-Time Church that operates in power through worship that comes from walking out lifestyles of radical loving obedience.
The sure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people. (Isa. 55:3-4)
Show me a sign for good...because You, LORD, have helped me...(Ps. 86:17)
b. David was a wise builder in establishing his sphere of authority to receive God's blessing.
As a wise master builder I (Paul) laid the foundation...let each take heed how he builds...(1 Cor. 3:10)
David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him. (1 Sam. 18:14)
David behaved more wisely than all...his name became highly esteemed. (1 Sam. 18:30)
II. God's desire is to manifest himself in His people as His Resting place
Heaven is My Throne, and earth is My footstool... where is the place of My rest? (Isaiah 66:1)
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and...Your strength. (Ps. 132:8)
a. God made humans that He might find His home in them. God will not rest until He finds His home in people who voluntarily live in deep unity with His heart. At present, God is usually striving with His people in their compromise. God describes Himself as resting when His enemies are subdued. The redeemed do this voluntarily in various degrees in this age. When God has a people who corporately live in voluntary love and obedience, then God is partially able to “rest in them” even now, though He will not fully rest in His people until the Kingdom Age. In contrast to this truth, Augustine taught that man cannot rest until he finds his rest in God.
Since the time that I...caused you (David) to rest from all your enemies. (2 Sam. 7:11)
The Gentiles shall seek Him (Jesus), and His resting place shall be glorious." (Isa. 11:10)
This (Zion) is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. (Ps. 132:14)
b. God striving with sinful humanity
The LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever...5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth... 6 and He was grieved in His heart. (Gen. 6:3-6)
They rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. (Isa. 63:10)
Thus they provoked Him to anger...and the plague broke out among them. (Ps. 106:29)
III. Dilemma: God's presence manifest in the midst of sinful humanity
Go up from here….to the land of which I swore to Abraham...2 I will send My Angel before you...3 for I will NOT go up in your midst, lest I consume you…for you are a stiff-necked people. (Ex. 33:1-3)
David arose...to bring up...the ark of God...3 They set the ark of God on a new cart...6 Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God...for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. (2 Sam. 6:2-7)
Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab..., "Go, number Israel...that I may know it." 7 God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. David said to God, "I have sinned greatly...” 14 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. 16 David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. (1 Chr. 21:1-16)
Ananias...sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds...3 Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land...4...you have not lied to men but to God." 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. (Acts 5:1-4)
IV. Resting place for the Holy Spirit: open heaven (portal of glory)
These all continued with one accord in prayer 15…altogether the number was about 120...(Acts 1:14-15)
They were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
a. Jesus' earthly ministry resulted in an unprecedented miracle of 120 people living in deep unity with God and thus with one another. The result is that God found a measure of rest in their midst as seen in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room (Acts 2). In other words, the Holy Spirit opened a portal (large gate) of glory in the midst of people in this age without destroying those He dwelt among.
b. They were a corporate group who sought to walk out Sermon on the Mount Christianity in pursing to walk in full maturity of 100-fold obedience (covenant with eyes, bridled speech, holy use of time and money). Unity (community) is a fanciful ideal without pursuing maturity as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:48). Unity with one another occurs easily when the people are striving to be in unity with God in thought, word and deed. The spirit of compromise cannot unify nor bond easily with people. Unity in the Book of Acts was focused more on pursuit of meekness than on theological ideas.
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Mt. 5:48)
c. The open heaven or portal of glory in Acts 2 was in the same category of blessing promised in Jn. 1:51.
He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (Jn. 1:51)
V. David's revelation of God's desire to rest in His people (Ps. 132)
a. David understood that God desired to manifest Himself to His people who lived faithful before Him.
LORD, remember David...2 How he swore to the LORD, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 3 "Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house...4 I will not give sleep to my eyes...5 until I find...a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob"...8 Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. 9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness...13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: 14 "This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” (Ps. 132:1-14)
b. David bore reproach in his zeal to establish God's house or dwelling place to rest among His people.
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's children; 9 Because zeal for Your House has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. 10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach. 11…I became a byword to them. 12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunkards. (Ps. 69:7-12)
VI. God searches for hearts loyal to Him (individual and corporate)
True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
(Jn. 4:23)
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (2 Chr. 16:9)
Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things (Mt. 25:21)
You shall be perfect (faithful to pursue God fully), just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Mt. 5:48)
Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. (Ps. 12:1)
a. The great “seeker” that we need to focus on attracting is the Divine seeker whose eyes go to and fro across the earth looking for faithful ones.
b. Compromise repels the Holy Spirit who seeks those in whom He may dwell with in a more full way.
I sought for a man among them who would….stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezek. 22:30)
c. David was sensitive to the God who seeks to rest in His people. David offers us a different approach to “seeker-sensitive Church life” where the focus is on the Divine seeker and not the human ones.
The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart... (1 Sam. 13:14)
I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him (Ps. 89:20)
VII. David's leadership: seeking a corporate resting place for the Holy Spirit
I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises. 2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. 5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; the one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure. 6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me. 7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. 8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD. (Ps. 101:1-8)
A. The Holy Spirit rests in context to governmental ministries in unity with God, thus with each other. Psalm 101 is the clearest statement of David's practical pursuit of a corporate resting place for God.
1. David set his heart in his personal life to live in pursuit of full obedience (Ps. 101:1-4).
2. David set his heart in his corporate life (team ministry) to build within his sphere with the core value of seeking God with full obedience and faithfulness (Ps. 101:5-8).
3. David embraces his part of the cooperation with grace focusing especially on seeking so God would come (v. 2) and so the people would be faithful (v. 6). David's heart cry for God to come –intimacy with God and a manifest dwelling place (God's rest)
Oh, when will You come to me? (Ps. 101:2)
My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me. (Ps. 101:6)
B. Faithfulness is required by God and people. God requires it to visit in power without having to destroy His people for compromise in the midst of His manifest holiness. Also, people require it to remain together since to neglect faithfulness divides and defiles people seeking to work together.
It is required in stewards that one be found faithful. (1 Cor. 4:2)
VII. David's personal life: in pursuit of full maturity (Ps. 101:1-4)
I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. (Ps. 101:2-4)
A. David's private life of worship and prayer
I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praises. (Ps. 101:1)
1. Singing to directly God – Eph. 5:19
2. Praises – gratitude based life of worship
3. Exalting both mercy and justice or righteousness
B. I will behave wisely in a perfect way (v. 2) – pursuit of 100-fold obedience
C. I will walk within my house with a perfect heart (v. 2) – even in my most familiar comfortable setting
D. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes (v. 3) – sustaining a covenant with our eyes (Job 31:1)
I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman? (Job 31:1)
Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin...(2 Pet. 2:14)
E. I hate the work of those who fall away (v. 3) – declaring war on sin with hatred of it
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride...the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (Prov. 8:13)
F. It shall not cling to me (v. 3) – David warred against his failures instead of camping out in sin
G. A perverse heart shall depart from me (v. 4) – confidence in eventual victory
Confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it (Phil. 1:6)
H. I will not know (walk in) wickedness (v. 4) – persistent resolve to not walk in sin and compromise
IX. David's corporate life within the sphere of his “team life” (Ps. 101:5-8)
A. David set his heart in his corporate life within the sphere of his “team life” (Ps. 101:5-8) to build only with people who had the core value of seeking full maturity (Mt. 5:48; 1 Cor. 4:2). This is what David was resolved to establish within his sphere of responsibility for two reasons. First, to attract the Holy Spirit's presence (God's resting place) knowing that compromise repels the Holy Spirit's presence. Second, to unify the people within his sphere knowing that compromise divides, defiles and drains the team of strength and life.
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; the one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure. 6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me. 7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. 8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD. (Ps. 101:5-8)
B. My eyes shall be on the faithful that they may dwell with me (v. 6) – choosing a team to serve in the royal court. Jesus, the “greater David,” has these same values
Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. (Mt. 25:21)
It is required in stewards that one be found faithful. (1 Cor. 4:2)
C. He who walks in a perfect way shall serve me (v. 6) – wholeheartedness (as a value in the team)
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Mt. 5:48)
D. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor (v. 5) – subtle divisive speech is not rewarded
E. Him I will destroy (v. 5) – resolved to confront compromise in his team with consequences
F. The one who has a proud heart, I will not endure (v. 5) – resolved to confront pride
G. He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house (v. 7) – lovers of truth
Because they did not receive the love of the truth... (2 Thes. 2:10)
H. He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence (v. 7) – removed from the royal court
I. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land (v. 8) – revelation that leads to courage that leads to decisive proactive leadership without the procrastination and delay of inexperienced and insecure leadership
J. That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD (v. 8) – zealous and confident in the necessity of Sermon on the Mount Christianity.
Desperate for His Presence
By Rhonda Hughey
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1-2 NIV)
"AMEN" the pastor declares as the morning worship service concludes, and the worship leader finishes playing the final song. It was a very nice service, filled with a variety of interesting activities; a special drama presentation, an update on a missionary family serving overseas, the children's special song, and the upcoming fundraiser for the new youth center.
You watch people chat while making their way to the door. Then you notice a woman who doesn't seem in any hurry to leave, isn't that the young mother who was recently divorced? Then you look at the people leaving a little more closely: the teenager with a blank, empty look on his face, the well dressed man who is bravely facing a recent diagnosis of inoperable cancer, an elderly woman with a kind but sad eyes. You wonder about deeper issues that are invisible, the addictions, emotional bondages, fear of the future, loneliness, families being torn by conflict. But you couldn't see that of course when people carried those burdens into the service, and then quietly carried them back out. Something tugs on your heart.
"What's wrong?" you think to yourself, "this was a normal service, nothing unusual, the worship was uplifting, the sermon was encouraging". And there was the prayer time when you felt a moment of peace. You hope that somehow the peace will last a bit further into this week, at least past your Monday morning meeting. Reality begins to seep into your mind and your thoughts race ahead to the coming week…
You take one more look at the people leaving the sanctuary, but something is wrong, you can't quite put your finger on it. You feel a longing in your heart for something more. You wonder if there is something missing, or maybe Someone…
The Silent Cry for 'One Thing'
A widespread cry is growing in the hearts of believers for a real, tangible encounter with God. They want, like Moses, to see Him face to face. They don't want only to read about Him, talk about Him, and pay homage to Him on Sunday mornings. This strong undercurrent in our nation manifests as a holy dissatisfaction with the status quo of the institutional church. Many people who have attended church faithfully for years are now wandering around disconnected from any connectedness to the Body of Christ. Researcher George Barna estimates that more than ten million born-again believers in the United States are now considered "unchurched". People have become disillusioned and jaded, many are unwilling to return to the local church in its current condition.
What are people longing for? I believe it's the presence of God in the midst of His people, the manifestation of His nearness, and an awareness of His love that is both real and relevant. We desperately need the tangible presence of Jesus both in the church and in our communities!
How do we gauge whether or not His presence is among us? Do we just assume He is present? This is a fair question. How do we know? Can we know? Should we even ask the question? I'm not referring to the omnipresence of God but to His manifest presence. Do we believe Jesus is present because we wish Him to be there? Or is there discernible evidence when He is present and when He is absent?
God is looking for people with a heart like David, who declared: "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple" (Ps. 27:4, italics added NKJ).
Desperate Hunger
People who are desperate for God's presence move beyond convenience and personal comfort. They have gotten hold of something in their spirit, and they cannot let go. Jesus is not a religious concept - He is reality. If God intended for Jesus to be simply a religious concept, He wouldn't have found it necessary to send Him to the earth in human flesh. The very fact that Jesus came to live among people is a clear example of His desire to be with us in a way that we can both understand and pursue.
An initial hunger and thirst comes with the gift of salvation, but after the spiritual honeymoon is over we must intentionally cultivate our spiritual passion. Recognizing that we may have grown cold in our love toward Him, our first prayer must be to ask Him to increase our spiritual appetite. Jesus warns us that in the last days the love of many would grow cold. We must commit to our pursuit of His presence and accept His invitation for real relationship and intimacy.
Jesus issues an invitation in Revelation chapter 3. Writing to the church of Laodicea, he challenges their lukewarmness by saying, "You say 'I am rich; I have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked." (Rev 3:17).
His counsel to the compromised church is: "buy from Me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich; white clothes that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see". (Rev. 3:18).
How do we buy this gold from Jesus? What type of currency allows us to buy pure gold in exchange for our "wretched" condition? The answer is hunger. Desperate hunger is the currency of heaven. Hunger is what causes us to empty ourselves of compromise and creates holy dissatisfaction that drives us to our knees and makes us depend on God.
We cannot be hungry for God if we are being satisfied with other things. Because the church constantly "nibbles" on "junk food" from the world, we have lost our appetite for God! We never feel the pain of hunger for Him; we are starving for lack of His presence without even knowing it. In order to make room for Him in our lives, we must empty our hearts and lay down our own agendas. Before we can be filled we must be empty!
The best way to get "empty" is to cultivate a life of spiritual hunger and remove all traces of self-satisfaction. The greater the capacity on the inside of us, the more desperate our hunger will be for God. We have settled for so much less than He wants to give us of Himself!
Our relationship with Him cannot simply be added to our life like an appendage. He is not a lucky charm we carry in our pocket to protect us from bad things or bring us good fortune. He is God! He doesn't fit into our little boxes and our self-centered agendas. God wants to fill us to overflowing with who He is - to conform us to the image of His Son-and then pour us out into the lives of the people in our communities. In all too many churches today we are confronted with the reality of Isaiah 64:7: "there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You."
The lack of desperate longing for God has brought us to our present condition. The stale quality of our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Jesus waits to be seriously wanted and invited, in response we must trade our complacency for abandonment. He promises that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. Let us ask the Lord to "salt our hearts" and cause a fresh hunger and thirst to overtake us. He will give us as much of Himself as we ask for!
Running to the Altars
I witnessed a powerful example of desperate spiritual hunger during an international revival conference in Argentina. That evening, as evangelist Carlos Annacondia preached to eight thousand people in a stadium, the air was filled with anticipation! God had already done so many marvelous things during the conference. Leaders who had traveled from more than forty nations waited to be touched by the power and goodness of God.
The floor of the stadium could hold only five thousand standing people, so we knew it would be interesting to see what would happen when Annacondia invited them forward to pray. Sure enough, as the evangelist closed his message, people quietly began to creep to the stadium floor and sneaked along the wall toward the platform. It was fun to watch. Soon the "sneakers" grew in number. Undaunted by the polite request to keep the stadium floor clear, they had done the calculations and knew that all eight thousand people couldn't fit on the floor. As a result they made a decision. Because of their desperate hunger for God, they decided that no matter what it took, they would get to that altar and receive prayer!
Then it happened: when Carols Annacondia issued the invitation for the altar call, the crowd surged toward the altar. Within seconds five thousand hungry people pressed in tightly on the stadium floor, hands raised, crying out to God. I heard a testimony from a pastor later who said when the power of God fell on the crowd, it felt like a lightning bolt had struck his head. He remembered thinking, "This is going to kill me!"
At the same time another interesting situation was unfolding up in the bleachers. I had to walk up and out of the stadium during the altar time, and as I did so a small group of leaders from the United States grabbed my arm and stopped me. "We have traveled thousands of miles and spent a lot of money to come to this conference to have Carlos Anacondia pray for us," they shouted. "Now look! The floor is already filled, and there is no way we can get to him!"
They were important leaders, and I knew I should be helpful as their host. But as I looked down at the floor packed with hungry people getting touched by God, the only thing I could think of was: "Well, you need to learn to run to the altar." As many other people ran forward in desperate hunger for God, these guys were all still sitting comfortably in their chairs! We had no way of keeping the "sneakers" from getting there first, nor were we interested in policing spiritually hungry people to make room for those who felt "entitled" to be there.
The realization struck me that some people expect special treatment. They want the presence of God brought to them. They want it to be easy. I started noticing this same attitude in cities where I traveled and ministered. We in the Western World aren't so willing to run to the altar. We expect God's glory to come to us on our terms and in our timing. God is not our butler! But sometimes we treat Him like one. When He hasn't served up revival in our timing and on our terms, we conclude that it is not going to come. Subsequently, we go about our business and then compensate for the lack of God's manifest presence with distracting activities or entertaining events.
What Are We Hungry For?
The issue is a lack of hunger - desperate, aching, unspeakable hunger for His presence! How hungry are we? We say we are hungry for God, but are we really? What are we hungry for? What are we filling ourselves with? If we are already full of the lesser pleasures of this world, how can we really have an appetite for God?
We must abandon ourselves to the pursuit of God until the nature of Jesus is formed within us and His life flows out of us like a river. We must become desperate in our search for God!
The pursuit of God's presence is costly! It requires sacrifice, diligence, and time! And this requires us to make choices about how we live our lives. Perhaps the amount of God's presence we experience is related directly to the sacrifice we pour out. Jesus wants to be "found" by us! God is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. As we intentionally pursue His presence in our lives, our hearts become tenderized by His love and our capacity to know Him increases. Intimate fellowship with God makes our hearts receptive to further revelation of His nature. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His invitation.
Jesus promises in John 7:37-38, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Anyone! If you are thirsty you qualify! It is the rightful inheritance of every believer to have a heart overflowing with the Living Water of the Holy Spirit. This is a promise Jesus sets forth in His Word.
Our thirst for God can be quenched by lesser things, and we must be intentional to guard that thirst according to the warning in Proverbs 4:23: "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life". The scripture makes it clear that this river flows out of the believer, that means that what God pours into you is intended to flow out from you. There is a big difference between a river and a lake! God intends there to be an ongoing reality in our lives of thirst for God, being poured out and then as a result becoming thirsty again!
People who are desperately hungry will do almost anything to satisfy that hunger. Those who are willing to move out of their normal routine and circumstances to seek to encounter the presence of God will not be disappointed.
We must become hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus in our midst. We must cry out in desperation for God's presence to be restored in our lives, our churches and ultimately in our cities. We must treasures the manifest presence of God, because as Jesus said in John 15:5 "Without Me you can do nothing".
Copyright © 2005 Fusion Ministries, Inc. (Used with permission)
Can these dry bones live?
"And breath entered them, they came to life, stood up on their feet - an exceedingly great army" Ezekiel 37:10
Why does God ask a question that only He can answer? When God asked Ezekiel whether those dry bones could live He was underlining how impossible it was without His supernatural intervention - the breath of God.
I have been meditating on a couple chapters in Ezekiel over the last couple of months. I began to see some parallels between the process of the Church coming together in unity in the city and the promises in Ezekiel 36 & 37.
In chapter 36 the Lord promises Israel deliverance from captivity, idolatry and desolation. He promises to settle them in their own land and bring restoration. He makes it clear it's for His sake not theirs. Then chapter 37 is the famous picture of the valley of dry bones. God prophesies His promises about the land being restored to them then He shows Him His plan for the dry bones? He makes a connection between the land being restored and ruins rebuilt with a New Man arising full of life and breathe!
Have you ever looked at the corporate Church in your city and it seemed like a pile of dry bones! We have been on a journey the last several years, pursuing Jesus and unity for His purposes. We are in the process of God bringing the New Man, His Body, His Bride into unity and identity so He can fulfill His purposes and promises on the earth for His glory.
It's interesting in that passage that the Lord asks the question "can these bones live?" What a challenge for hope! God is connecting His Body. Have you heard the "rattling" as bones have begun to come together? Then the ligaments, (connective points) and muscle (movement) are added? Then of course the skin, the protective covering is added. But still the Lord comments that "there is no breath" in the New Man, he is just laying there.
But He promised Ezekiel that there WOULD be breath! His promise to us is that He will breathe on this New Man and when He does He declares in verse 10 that this New Man will "live, stand upon their feet and become an exceedingly great army". Amen! That's good news!
In many cities a corporate expression of the Body has been formed. But unity isn't the goal, being connected isn't the point. It's being in unity and then allowing God to breathe on us! It's His breathe that brings life!
The final verse makes the Lord's motivation clear: "I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it says the Lord"
This is ALL about His glory and His name sake. He has an inheritance in our cities!
Revival and transformation will never be accomplished with clever methods or strategies. We need His Spirit to breathe on us. Without the breath of God we will be a connected Body maybe even moving a bit but we cannot give life to our cities if we haven't had God "breathe" on His Church.
The Lord is building His house in cities on the earth. Revival is imminent and transformation a real hope. But He will do it His way, in His timing and according to His agenda.
People are beginning to cry out for God to breathe on their congregations and citywide efforts. There is a turning from methodology to seeking His presence. We are becoming more desperate for Jesus and the life He brings.
May the Holy Spirit breathe on you again in a fresh way, on your life, your family, your ministry. May He breathe fresh Life into you!
Copyright © 2005 Fusion Ministries, Inc.,
Are We Ready For Revival?
By Rhonda Hughey
We are living in unprecedented days in the history of the church! The Lord is moving in powerful ways, building His church and expanding His kingdom. Revival is impacting many cities and nations. Leaders are praying with anticipation for a crossing the threshold of genuine revival leading to transformation of cities in the United States and the Western World. This is not a "trend" or the latest ministry strategy. We are beginning to see tangible evidence of God's intention to fulfill His promise in Scripture to restore and rebuild cities that are desolate.
By His own design God has ordained seasons of revival throughout history to restore His church to simplicity, power and effectiveness. God intends for His glory to be manifested "in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever." (Eph 3:21). His will could not be more explicit! He desires that His glory be manifested in the church in every generation and every culture. The world will see the glory of God only when Jesus Christ is clearly seen in the church and through the church to the world (John 17).
Scripture promises that a mighty outpouring of God's glory is coming (Joel 2) that will include signs and wonders, a harvest of souls, and that the gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth (Mt. 24:14). We have a responsibility as the people of God to cry out for His presence to fill our communities toward that end. The church is not meant to be a spectator on the sidelines, God is inviting us into full partnership with this end of the age drama.
Are we ready for what God has in mind? Is the church prepared to walk out the reality of the promises God has made in His word? Many would suggest that although we are at a critical threshold of history, the church is not up to the challenge and unprecedented opportunity that is before us. The current condition of the church suggests that we have replaced the purity and simplicity of the gospel with sophisticated, entertaining activities that have left people inside and outside the community of faith questioning the reality of Jesus Christ and His life-changing power. Both leaders and laypeople in the Western church are questioning foundational doctrines of the Christian faith, leaning more and more toward humanistic ideologies versus the moral and spiritual absolutes of biblical revelation and a biblical worldview.
A recent survey conducted by noted researcher George Barna reported that the large majority of Americans contend that there is no absolute moral truth. More than two out of three adults, Christian and non-Christian, argue that truth is relative to the individual and circumstances. Moral and ideological relativism, which has characterized Western universities for many decades, is now everywhere prevalent in our culture. Most alarming is the way this relativism is being embraced by much of the church, resulting in a new level of tolerance and comfort with sin even when it blatantly contradicts the clear teaching of God's Word. The Western worldview has replaced the biblical worldview, and relativism now functions in partnership with the appearance of Christian "faith." As the faith of believers has become diluted, so the influence and relevance of the church has diminished in society. This disconnect of the church ultimately derives from a decline in knowing God and an intimate relationship with Jesus by believers that in turn has resulted in a loss of true identity, lack of spiritual authority, and lack of awareness of the church's transforming purpose.
In response to this downward spiral, the church seems determined to find the answer within herself, giving rise to endless agendas to solve the identified problems. Using circular reasoning based on a wrong premise, we have been recycling religious programs and activities, hoping that somehow they will become effective the "next time."
Desperate to appear "unique" in order to attract members, we have wandered further and further from the simple and powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, much of our religious activity has served as a numbing agent for believers rather than producing disciples for the kingdom. At this writing there are ten million born-again believers who are unchurched. Even believers are becoming bored and disillusioned!
The Western church is struggling with her identity, authority, and purpose. Understanding our true identity in Christ must occur before we can exercise spiritual authority and accomplish our God-given mission as an agent of change on the earth. We need a serious lifestyle change in the body of Christ, from a Westernized culture of Christianity to becoming radical disciples of Jesus. If we are conformed to His image, we can become the "aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing…" 2 Cor. 2:15.
In a declining culture, the church cannot fully recover the presence of God in her midst apart from the catalyst of a true revival from heaven. We are living in an important hour of history! God is challenging the church's self-centered identity, shifting our mindsets, and ineffective methodologies. He is inviting us to respond to one of the greatest challenges we have ever faced - to return to our first love and to step out of our compromised church culture and into His kingdom!
In order to fulfill the purposes of God for our cities, we must hear what the Spirit is saying to the church and be obedient to His voice. As Isaiah prophesied: "Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones, lift up raise a banner for the nations!" (Is. 62:10). The Lord is issuing an invitation to His church to pass through a threshold into the reality of His kingdom. He is opening three "gates" or doorways before us.
The first door is the Door of Intimacy. Scripture contains two pictures of this door. The first is found in the Song of Songs: "I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, 'Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one'" (Song 5:2 NKJ). A second picture is found in the Book of Revelation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Rev 3:20 NKJ). Jesus is knocking at the door of His church longing for fellowship and intimacy with His Beloved. This door must be opened before the church can become like Jesus. We can only become what we are beholding in prayer and intimate fellowship. By fixing our gaze on Him, we can be transformed into His image, from glory to glory.
The second door is a Door of Hope. In Hosea we see the response of God to His wandering Bride: "Behold, I will allure her, I will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt." (Hosea 2:14-15 NKJ). The Lord is opening this door to invite His Beloved out of her captivity and compromise and into her destiny. It's a door that leads us out of the Valley of Trouble and into renewed covenant with God. This door will lead the church from her compromise into betrothal and fruitfulness.
Finally, the last door being opened is the Door of Heaven. In the Book of Revelation, John writes: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this'" (Rev. 4:1 NKJ). The Lord, who invited John to come up higher for the heavenly perspective, is also inviting His Beloved to "come up higher" and sit with Him around His throne. The invitation lifts us out of our compromised state and into the revelation of heaven's perspective. With heaven's perspective, we gain revelation regarding our identity and destiny in God. This door will help the church realize her transforming purpose.
These "doors" represent an invitation from Jesus to pass through to new places of intimacy, freedom, and destiny. God is giving us keys that will unlock these doors, both in our personal lives and collectively for the sake of our cities. As we accept His invitation and pass through each door, Jesus will lead us into our true identity as His Bride--out of our captivity and compromise and into our transforming purpose!
"Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in." (Psalm 24:7 NKJ)
Note: This article is an excerpt taken from "Desperate For His Presence" and is available in the Fusion Ministries on-line bookstore.
Copyright © 2005 Fusion Ministries, Inc
This is revival from Heaven!
This is Revival from Heaven! - When men in the streets are afraid to speak godless words for fear that God's judgment will fall! When sinners, aware of the fire of God's presence, tremble in the streets and cry out for mercy! When, without human advertising, the Holy Spirit sweeps across cities and towns in supernatural power and holds people in the grip of terrifying conviction. When every store becomes a pulpit, every heart an altar, every home a sanctuary and people walk carefully before God - THIS IS REVIVAL!
Today the word "revival" has largely lost its true meaning. Since many Christians in this generation have never witnessed the mighty moving of God in nation-wide spiritual awakening, they have little concept of the magnitude of such a visitation.
Revival is often confused with evangelism. Heaven-sent revival is not synonymous with large religious gatherings where people come to hear outstanding preachers and musicians. Neither is revival the result of an effective advertising blitz that draws large crowds to special campaigns and conferences. In a God-sent revival, leaders need not spend money on advertising. People will come wherever there is the fire of God's presence. This is REVIVAL!
Revival is an acute awareness of God that impacts a whole community, including the streets, the bars and nightclubs, and the church. The result is that people repent of their sin and find salvation in Jesus Christ.
There is a vast difference between modern evangelistic campaigns and revival from heaven. In the former, hundreds may be brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and churches may experience God's refreshing. But as far as the community, city or region is concerned, little impact happens. Community transformation does not follow. Sin, crime, and lawlessness continue to devastate all levels of society and godlessness continues to advance.
However, when revival from heaven occurs, the fire of God's Spirit sweeps through society as a cleansing flame. Solemn conviction of sin touches people everywhere. The strongholds of the devil tremble and many public places of sinful pleasure close down because so many people are turning to Christ Jesus in repentance and faith.
THE AMERICAN REVIVAL OF 1857
This mighty 19th century visitation of God's presence, from which has flowed almost one and one half centuries of spiritual blessings, still represents a challenge. As a spiritual tornado, the Spirit of God swept through the land. New England became the center of an enormous awakening that resulted in great numbers of people experiencing forgiveness for their sins and the reality of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. In some towns it was reported as being "almost impossible to find anyone who had not been converted." Like a great spiritual epidemic, tremendous conviction of sin swept through the land, and thousands turned to Christ. Drunkards standing at the bars, gamblers at game tables, people gathered in churches, and even passengers on ships as they approached land found themselves suddenly aware of God's presence and holiness. Overcome before Him, they repented of their sins and found forgiveness and eternal life.
In many places bars, theaters, and gambling houses closed or emptied; new churches began to spring up; family altars were established or restored; and the spirit of prayer grew in intensity until anyone crossing the land could find a "mid-day" prayer meeting in almost any town. As many as 50,000 people a week experienced God's saving grace in Christ when this gracious visitation was at its height. Following in its wake came mighty preachers of God's Word such as D.L. Moody under whose ministry multitudes experienced salvation in Christ. Many pioneer missionaries were also commissioned to go with the gospel to the ends of the earth.
THE WELSH REVIVAL OF 1904
The year 1904 stands out in the history of Wales as a year that will never be forgotten. Fifty years later those who were privileged to live in those revival days still spoke of its supernatural scenes with the greatest awe.
The Spirit of God swept across the land like a mighty tornado, until mountains and valleys, cities and villages were filled with mighty manifestations of God. Churches were crowded and meetings went on day and night. Prayer, singing, and testimony would sweep over congregations in torrents, and hundreds turned to Christ. Never in the history of Wales had such indescribable scenes been witnessed.
G. Campbell Morgan, preaching on "Lessons of the Welsh Revival" in the Westminster Chapel on Sunday evening, 25th December 1904, declared:
In . . . the Welsh revival there is no preaching, no [leader-led] order, no hymn-books, no choirs, no organs, no collections, and finally, no advertising. Now, think of that for a moment, again, will you? There were the organs, but silent; the ministers [were there], but among the rest of the people, rejoicing and prophesying with the rest, only there was no preaching. Yet, the Welsh Revival is " the revival of preaching to Wales". Everybody is preaching. No order, yet it moves from day to day, week to week, county to county, with matchless precision, with the order of an attacking force. No [song] books, but ah me, I nearly wept tonight over the singing of our last hymn. . . .When these Welshmen sing, they sing the words like men who believe them. They abandon themselves to their singing. We sing as though we thought it would not be respectable to be heard by the one next to us. No choir, did I say? It was all choir.2
At year's end (1904), the Sunday schools, the Bible classes and the family devotionals were reaping their harvests.
Wales is ablaze for God. Twenty thousand converts were recorded in five weeks and fifth thousand in a few months. The great awakening shows no sign of diminishing. It's sweeping over hundreds of villages and cities, emptying taverns, theaters and dance halls, and filling the churches night after night with praying multitudes. Go where you will, into the bank, the store, the trains and everywhere people are talking about God. If you could stand above Wales, looking down on it, you would see the fire of God's presence breaking out here, and there, and everywhere, without any human planning. It is a divine visitation in which God - let me say this reverently - in which God is saying to us: "See what I can do without the things you are depending on. See what I can do through a praying people who are prepared to depend wholly and absolutely upon me."3
Like a tree shaken by a mighty storm, Wales was moved by the presence and the power of God, until almost every home in the nation felt its impact. Newspapers carried the news of the amazing scenes taking place. So great was the fear of God and conviction of sin that gripped the people that in some communities crime disappeared - judges were presented with a blank paper, as no cases waited to be tried. And to commemorate the occasion, they were presented with white gloves. In more than one place the post office's supply of money order blanks were exhausted as people sought to make restitution by paying their debts! Bars and theaters closed while stores were sold out of Bibles and Testaments. Members of parliament, who were busy attending revival services, postponed their political meetings; theatrical companies coming into districts found no audiences, for "all the world was praying." Temperance workers saw the Spirit of God accomplish more in three months than they had accomplished in forty years.
Such then is REVIVAL - a mighty, sovereign "moving of God" in answer to the cries of men and women who have fallen on their knees to travail before God. Revival is a visitation of God through His Spirit pouring intense conviction of sin upon the ungodly, whether in the church or outside, until multitudes have turned in tear-stained repentance to Christ.
Revival from heaven affects the every day affairs of people and how they live their lives. Revival closes the places of iniquity, transforms the lives and homes of multitudes, fills the churches, and causes the influence of spiritual values to be felt throughout a whole nation. Revival is a genuine "moving of God" that lays a spiritual foundation for the blessing of God in future generations.
WHAT NEXT?
With great revivals now past history, we ask can those events be repeated? Will God send a similar revival from heaven in our day? We are convinced that God can do more than that; He is waiting to do even greater things! In every generation the revival resources of God are waiting to be released when God finds people who will stand before him with desperate spiritual hunger, clean hands and pure hearts, true humility, persevering intercession, and bold faith that make revival possible. For those who travel the highways of the world, there are obvious and encouraging signs that God is again "preparing the way" for a new spiritual awakening. The Hebrides islands, off the coast of Scotland, have been not only the scene of some of the most stirring revival events in the mid-twentieth century, but also under the blessing of God are now challenging men and women everywhere to "stand in the gap" for revival in this generation.
The spiritual awakening of the Hebrides (1949-53) has stirred the hearts of God's people everywhere, not because of its size but because the fire of God's presence was openly manifest there. This remains a challenge for us today. In spite of the scattered nature of the country and its difficulty of transport, the rugged and unemotional nature of the people and its rather small population, large numbers of people have turned to Christ in life-changing conversions, 75% of whom were saved outside the church. This should inspire us with new faith for even greater awakenings in our own nations.
Just as the news of the great Prayer Meeting Revival of America in 1857 swept across the ocean and brought revival to Ireland in 1859, so it may be in God's strategy that attention has been focused on what God did in the Hebrides in order to challenge the church and its intercessors to pray UNTIL the flames of revival are kindled in America. Then His fire will sweep across this whole land in a mighty Holy Spirit outpouring.
GOD HAS SURELY VISITED HIS PEOPLE
Electrified by this conviction, the great crowd of people, drawn from every part of the earth to the world-famous Keswick Convention in England, began to slowly file out of the convention tent. Suddenly, a woman in an awe-struck voice exclaimed: "It was just as though God had stepped out of heaven!"
And so it seemed, for I, too, had sat spellbound listening to the most thrilling, faith-inspired message I had ever heard. The message was destined to sweep across the face of the earth, stirring men and women to seek the face of God as never before. The news was about the gracious visitation of God's presence to the Hebrides.
Never in its many years of history had the Keswick Convention been more mightily stirred, as it listened to the report of the amazing events that had taken place just a few hundred miles away. The reports were that "hundreds had been converted, many without a word being spoken to them. Drunkards were trembling under conviction in the drinking houses. While people gathered in churches to pray, great conviction of sin was sweeping over districts, causing sinners to fall helpless in the roads. Church meetings were lasting for hours, four services were being held nightly, and churches and communities were being transformed. A preacher was called at four o'clock in the morning to pray with men and women outside the police station, people who had been smitten with great conviction and were crying for God to have mercy on them!"
The vivid descriptions of the Hebrides at the Keswick Convention reminded the people of the great Welsh Revival of 1904. Their hearts were being gripped by what they were hearing! They remembered the amazing events of those historic days in Wales when meetings were held day and night, and churches were packed to capacity as thousands turned to Christ. Because of lack of patronage, theaters and taverns were closed. Thieves and murderers surrendered to the Lord, and police courts were idle. Sins were confessed and old debts were paid. Work was forgotten, and meetings frequently would last for days at a time.
Christmas 1904 was the first real Christmas many children in Wales, and even men and women, ever had. Instead of being spent in taverns, as before, hard-earned wages were used for groceries and toys. The poverty of former days had been replaced with joy and plenty, for Christ had been invited into thousands of homes. Virtually the whole of Wales was on its knees on Christmas Day. That revival lasted about three years and swept through England, Ireland, parts of Europe, and even crossed the oceans to Australia and America, changing the lives of thousands.
Spiritual leaders and workers from various denominations who were present at that unforgettable meeting in Keswick, England were stirred, as they had never been before. They returned to their churches to call their people to prayer, convinced that a great heaven-sent spiritual awakening was going to break forth in the world.
COMMISSIONED FOR AMERICA
As the large crowd was slowly leaving the convention tent, filling the long narrow streets of the little market town of Keswick, a man was standing at my side talking to me. He was the very man [Duncan Campbell] whom God had used so remarkably in the Hebrides awakening. I can still hear his final words of challenge to me:
When you return to America, rouse the people; tell them what God is doing! I believe every church can have what we are having in the Hebrides. There is no 'mystery', but there is a 'secret'. If God can find a people over there, prepared to 'pay the price' as they have over here, he will visit them in the same revival of power!
Every word that fell from his lips seemed to burn its way into my soul, as I became conscious that the Spirit of God was speaking to me and giving me a new commission. As I remembered the tremendous impact of the message upon that great crowd of people that afternoon at Keswick, a great conviction gripped me - here was the message that surely all ministers and churches throughout the world needed to hear. Canceling my evangelistic campaigns, I returned immediately to America to stir her people to seek the face of God so that a similar spiritual awakening might happen there.
The impact of this dynamic message about God's visitation in the Hebrides has been amazing. Powerful prayer groups have sprung up everywhere, and church prayer meetings have been revitalized. In many churches the "all-night" prayer meeting has been restored, or introduced for the first time, resulting in real moving of the Spirit of God in conviction and confession of sin and reconsecration - on the part of both ministers and congregations alike. In some towns the churches have held citywide all-night prayer meetings as they interceded before God for the whole community.
Devout ministers of all denominations, burdened for real revival, are seeking God in fasting and prayer on behalf of their churches. Many have witnessed gracious manifestations of God among their congregations. At times preachers have been unable to deliver their sermons. The Spirit of God has quietly swept through congregations, causing people to be convicted of their sin. Oftentimes groups of people spontaneously would stand and walk down the aisles to kneel sobbing at the altars and confessing their sins - without a word being preached to them.
The gracious manifestation of God's presence in the Hebrides, the intercession that preceded it and the community transformation that followed are a deposit of what God wants to do with the church today on a large scale. The Hebrides revival reveals the potential power of prayer for the greatest sovereign moving of God in revival power that our generation (perhaps any generation) has ever known.
We are a continuation of history. God is inviting His people in this generation to join with the history makers and shakers of past revivals to advance God's kingdom on the earth forward to its final goal. May you hear in The Fire of God's Presence a personal challenge to fervently pray for revival and transformation in the city of the earth where God has placed you.
This article is taken from the book, The Fire of God's Presence, by Owen Murphy and John Wesley Adams (Ambassadors Press, 2003), chapter one.
1 From a taped message by Duncan Campbell, originally delivered to the students of the Faith Mission Bible College in Edinburgh, Scotland.
2 G. Campbell Morgan, "Lessons of the Welsh Revival," in S. B. Shaw's book The Great Revival in Wales (Salem, OH: Allegheny Publications, 1988 reprint; originally published in 1905), pp. 74-75.
3 Scattered references from S. B. Shaw's book, The Great Revival in Wales (1905).
4 Ibid.
5 From a taped message by Duncan Campbell, originally delivered to the students of the Faith Mission Bible College in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Copyright © 2005 Fusion Ministries, Inc
Are You Running Low On Oil?
Recent events have shaken not only the world but also the Church. So much fear, confusion, grieving and pain. What is going on? What is the Lord doing in the middle of the shaking?
The doors and windows have swung open wide and the Lord is calling His Church out of Her lethargy and dullness into Her identity and destiny. Don't be mistaken - this will be the finest hour of the Church! Jesus is longing to touch the hearts of people everywhere who are looking for security and hope in the midst of the turmoil and confusion. The stage is set for revival, the question is - is the Church prepared?
We hear things like 85% of Americans consider themselves "christian" or that we are a "christian" nation, etc. While it's encouraging that many people believe in a higher power and pray, the true condition of the Church in the United States is startling according to recent surveys by Barna Research Group:
* there has been no net church growth (by conversion) in any county in the U.S. for 20 years and 4,000 churches close every year
* it is estimated that 10 million of born again Christians are unchurched which means it's not just the world that is disillusioned by the Church but the Church is as well!
* it is estimated that 41% of people IN the church haven't accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. We need a harvest IN the Church before the Church can bring in the harvest from the world!.
What does this mean? It means we have a huge gap between our perceived spiritual condition and the reality of our spiritual condition. This gap has caused a double-mindedness and lack of effectiveness in the Church. We have lost our righteous standard and therefore much of our spiritual influence and authority. We are being tossed about as a result - looking more like the world than the Bride of Christ and agent of transformation and restoration in the earth. Our hearts have become divided in our affections, our eyes are cloudy and our hearing dull. Jesus addressed this situation in His letter to the Church of Laodicia when He rebuked them for their lukewarmness. He said "you say 'I am rich, have acquired wealth and don't need a thing'. But you don't realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" Then, He counsels them to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, white garments to cover their nakedness and eye salve that they may see.
I believe the Lord is saying this very thing to His Church in the United States. We must recognize our spiritual poverty and humble ourselves and ask Him for mercy that He may turn to us, and heal our land.
The Church must begin to walk in Her destiny and minister with authority as a reflector of His glory and releaser of His life into our communities. We are living in critical days, the window of opportunity is open for God to send revival to His people. He longs to lead us out of our captivity!
The shaking and purifying work begins in His house. If we aren't walking in freedom and righteousness what hope does our city have? If the Church doesn't look like Jesus where will people go to find comfort and peace?
The counsel of Jesus in Luke 12:35 is key in preparing us for the days ahead. He encourages us to be "dressed, ready for service and to keep our lamps burning". In order to be prepared, we must have fresh, pure oil in our lamps! We must be alert and watching. What is the condition of your oil? Are you running low? Let Jesus refill you with fresh, pure oil that will burn brightly!
Beloved, even in the midst of confusion and chaos, we have a Rock, we have a purpose and we have a destiny! Ask Him for gold refined in the fire, ask Him for pure white garments and ask Him for eye salve that we may see clearly in the days ahead.
Copyright © 2005 Fusion Ministries, Inc
When will revival come ?
By: A.W.Tozer
"Is it possible that the Christian church is now satisfied to accept God as simply the God of history? Does it feel no need for individuals to meet God in living, personal experience ?
We do have God in history and Christ in history. But where is the emphasis on the need for a tranforming encounter with the living God who transcends history?... We are not consciuosly aware of God in our midst. We do not seem to sense the tragedy of having almost completely lost the awareness of His presence.
I pray that the churches in this day may reap the joys and fruits of graciuos revival and the deep inward awareness of God's presence.
Revival and blessing comes to the church when we stop looking at a picture of God and look at God Himself. Revival comes when, no longer satisfied to know about a God in history, we meet the conditions of finding Him in living, personal experience.
Conversley. revival cannot come if we are far removed from God. It cannot come, if instead of hearing His voice, we are content with only an echo..
I hold fast to the opinion that our God is ever trying to reveal Himself to us. There is no way for us sinful men and women to find our way into God's presence unless He reveals Himself and appears to us. When I say "unless He appears to us," I do not mean that God is trying to appear to our physical eyesight. Rather, He is trying to appear to the eye of our soul through our inner conciousness. I think you will agree that this is not a new concept for serious-minded believers.
Christians are generally comitted to the perception that it is possible
to see more clearly with the heart than with the eyes. It is possible to feel more tenderly with the heart-our innermost being-than to feel with the tips of our fingers. Never apologize for your inner eyes! They are the real eyes for diserning the nature of issues most important to God. Your physical eyes can fool you, but the eyes of your inner being will give you true guidance.
The apostle Paul wrote about his experience of being caught up into the third heaven. He yold us of his vision-the things he was shown.If he had seen those things with his physical eyes, his eyes would have been burned away!
When we see God with the eyes of our hearts, God is fulfilling His purpose to appear to us....
In the Old Testament, the writer of the Proverbs taught that true spiritual knowledge is the result of a visitation of heavenly wisdom...We need to learn and to declare again the mystery of wisdom from above. Truth consists not mereley in correct doctrine, but in correct doctrine to which is added the inward enlightment of the Holy Spirit.
It is apparent that we cannot know God by the logic of reason. Through reason we can only know about God. Through the light of nature, our moral reason may be enlightened, but the deeper mysteries of God remain hidden to us until we have received illumination from above. " A man can receive nothing, excpet it be given him from heaven" John 3: 27. He was not referring to men's gifts. He was speaking of spiritual truth.
Divine truth is of the nature of teh Holt Spirit, and for that reason it can be received only by spiritual revelation.
God made us in His own image. he placed within us a capacity for God-knowledge, a capacity to know spiritual things. When our foreparents, Adam and Eve, sinned, that potential died. Thus, "dead in sin" is a description of that part of our being in which we should be able to know God in conscious awareness.
And what have we done to compensate for the loss? We have been forced to depend upon our minds-the seat of our powers of reason and understanding.
In his New Testament letters, the apostle Paul declares again and again, the inability of human reason to discover or comprehend divine truth. In that inability we see human despair.
John the Baptist said, "except it be given him from heaven." We are men and women born into this world, and this is our hope. These words do certainly mean that there is such a thing as a gift of knowing, a gift that comes from heaven. Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, would come and teach them all things. He explained Peter's knowledge of His Saviour as being a direct revelation from the Father in heaven. In one of Jesus' prayers He said, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" Mathew 11:25"
From A.W. Tozer's book " Men who met God", Chapter 12 "When will revival come?"
Briging back the departed Glory
The Open Secret
By: A.W.Tozer
When viewed from the perspective of eternity, the most critical need of this hour may well be that the Church should be brought back from her long Babylonian captivity and the name of God be glorified in her again as of old. Yet we must not think of the Church as an anonymous body, a mystical religious abstraction. We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter, therefore, is for each of us a personal one. Any forward step in the Church must begin with the individual.
What can we plain Christians do to bring back the departed glory? Is there some secret we may learn? Is there a formula for personal revival we can apply to the present situation, to our own situation? The answer to these questions is yes.
Yet the answer may easily disappoint some persons, for it is anything but profound. I bring no esoteric cryptogram, no mystic code to be painfully deciphered. I appeal to no hidden law of the unconscious, no occult knowledge meant only for the few. The secret is an open one which the wayfaring man may read. It is simply the old and ever new counsel: Acquaint thyself with God. To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God.
But the God we must see is not the utilitarian God who is having such a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to men's attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor. The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the only wise God, our Saviour. He it is that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in, who bringeth out His starry host by number and calleth them all by name through the greatness of His power, who seeth the works of man as vanity, who putteth no confidence in princes and asks no counsel of kings.
Knowledge of such a Being cannot be gained by study alone. It comes by a wisdom the natural man knows nothing of, neither can know, because it is spiritually discerned. To know God is at once the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world. It is easy because the knowledge is not won by hard mental toil, but is something freely given. As sunlight falls free on the open field, so the knowledge of the holy God is a free gift to men who are open to receive it.
But this knowledge is difficult because there are conditions to be met and the obstinate nature of fallen man does not take kindly to them.
Let me present a brief summary of these conditions as taught by the Bible and repeated through the centuries by the holiest, sweetest saints the world has ever known:
First, we must forsake our sins. The belief that a holy God cannot be known by men of confirmed evil lives is not new to the Christian religion. The Hebrew book, The Wisdom of Solomon, which antedates Christianity by many years, has the following passage: “Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth: think of the Lord with a good heart, and in simplicity of heart seek him. For he will be found of them that tempt him not; and showeth himself unto such as do not distrust him. For froward thoughts separate from God and his power, when it is tried, reproveth the unwise. For unto a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject to sin. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding, and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in.” This same thought is found in various sayings throughout the inspired Scriptures, the best known probably being the words of Christ, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
Second, there must be an utter committal of the whole life to Christ in faith. This is what it means to “believe in Christ.” It involves a volitional and emotional attachment to Him accompanied by a firm purpose to obey Him in all things. This requires that we keep His commandments, carry our cross, and love God and our fellow men.
Third, there must be a reckoning of ourselves to have died unto sin and to be alive unto God in Christ Jesus, followed by a throwing open of the entire personality to the inflow of the Holy Spirit. Then we must practice whatever self-discipline is required to walk in the Spirit, and trample under our feet the lusts of the flesh.
Fourth, we must boldly repudiate the cheap values of the fallen world and become completely detached in spirit from everything that unbelieving men set their hearts upon, allowing ourselves only the simplest enjoyments of nature which God has bestowed alike upon the just and the unjust.
Fifth, we must practice the art of long and loving meditation upon the majesty of God. This will take some effort, for the concept of majesty has all but disappeared from the human race. The focal point of man's interest is now himself. Humanism in its various forms has displaced theology as the key to the understanding of life. When the nineteenth-century poet Swinburne wrote, “Glory to Man in the highest! for man is the master of things,” he gave to the modern world its new Te Deum. All this must be reversed by a deliberate act of the will and kept so by a patient effort of the mind.
God is a Person and can be known in increasing degrees of intimate acquaintance as we prepare our hearts for the wonder. It may be necessary for us to alter our former beliefs about God as the glory that gilds the Sacred Scriptures dawns over our interior lives. We may also need to break quietly and graciously with the lifeless textualism that prevails among the gospel churches, and to protest the frivolous character of much that passes for Christianity among us. By this we may for the time lose friends and gain a passing reputation for being holier-than-thou; but no man who permits the expectation of unpleasant consequences to influence him in a matter like this is fit for the kingdom of God.
Sixth, as the knowledge of God becomes more wonderful, greater service to our fellow men will become for us imperative. This blessed knowledge is not given to be enjoyed selfishly. The more perfectly we know God the more we will feel the desire to translate the new-found knowledge into deeds of mercy toward suffering humanity. The God who gave all to us will continue to give all through us as we come to know Him better.
Thus far we have considered the individual's personal relation to God, but like the ointment of a man's right hand, which by its fragrance “betrayeth itself”, any intensified knowledge of God will soon begin to affect those around us in the Christian community. And we must seek purposefully to share our increasing light with the fellow members of the household of God.
This we can best do by keeping the majesty of God in full focus in all our public services. Not only our private prayers should be filled with God, by our witnessing, our singing, our preaching, our writing should center around the Person of our holy, holy Lord and extol continually the greatness of His dignity and power. There is a glorified Man on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven faithfully representing us there. We are left for a season among men; let us faithfully represent Him here.
From : Knowledge of the Holy : By A.W.Tozer
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