Showing posts with label God's purposes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's purposes. Show all posts

Monday, October 29, 2018

Prophetic Dream About Trump: This Is a Season of Cleanup - WANDA ALGER CHARISMA NEWS

(Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash)

Prophetic Dream About Trump: This Is a Season of Cleanup

WANDA ALGER  CHARISMA NEWS
One of our IFA intercessors sent this dream a few days ago, and we believe it is a call to pray for President Trump as he continues to confront corruption and evil intent in the high places of our government.
In the dream, this intercessor saw President Trump preparing to speak at an event and waiting inside the house of a woman who was downtrodden and poor. Parts of this house were being remodeled as it was in shambles. The room he sat in wasn't being fixed up and was horrible and dirty.
In the dream, this intercessor began to clean out the trash in a corner of the room when she found a "slipper"—a "houseshoe." It was torn from top to bottom and smelled awful. When she looked inside, there was flesh still in it and it looked as though someone had pulled their foot out, leaving their flesh behind. There were maggots crawling all over it.
"In disgust, I threw it down hurriedly, and it flipped toward the feet of the president. I ran over and got it and threw it outside and away from him. During this entire ordeal, President Trump was sitting alone in that room, reading a paper, and did not seem to be affected by any of this."
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We ask you to pray into this as the Holy Spirit reveals God's purposes. I would propose to you that the symbolism in the dream represents the "swamp" that Trump is trying to clean out. The "house" that he is waiting in refers to the underlying structures of the "swamp" (perhaps even more specifically the House of Representatives). The "flesh" found inside this "houseshoe" could represent those sin and flesh issues that have made this place of government corrupt, thus drawing evil forces ("maggots"). Those who have served in this place have left a stench that needs to be cleared out.
Of even greater concern is the fact that these "house slippers" tried to get on President Trump. I believe this is the focus of our prayers. We know a tactic of the enemy is to find a weakness or crack in someone's armor in order to attack and take hold. We must pray for President Trump to strengthen his own heart and soul in order to deflect any attempt of the enemy to take hold of him and cause him to slip in his walk. We must also pray that he becomes aware of these spiritual attacks and not dismiss them prematurely (in the dream, he was alone and totally unaware of what was happening). The fact that Trump was even willing to sit in this crumbling house is telling.
Realizing that this can all be subjective in nature, we ask that you simply pray into this and ask the Lord to reveal His purposes in this regard. We know President Trump needs prayer. We know that God is cleaning house and that enemy forces are seeking to devour and destroy us. I encourage you to use these Scriptures to lift up our president and those he works with in this season of clean-up:
  • Pray that President Trump would be aware of the enemy's schemes (Rom. 16:17-18; 2 Cor. 2:11, 11:3-4).
  • Pray that President Trump would put on the armor of God to withstand enemy attack (Eph. 6:10-20, 2 Pet. 1:2-4).
  • Pray that President Trump would not be swayed by flattering or deceitful schemes (2 Pet. 2:3, Rom. 16:17-18).
  • Pray for those around President Trump to rightly watch out for him and stand with him (Prov. 4:23, Matt. 26:39-41).
  • Pray for the Trump household that God's presence would overshadow relationships and family connections (Prov. 4:23, 1 Cor. 13:4-8, Col. 3:12-14).
  • Bless the Lord for the work He is doing in cleaning out corruption in high places (2 Chron. 19:7, Is. 61:8, Rom. 2:8-11).
Wanda Alger is a field correspondent with Intercessors for America. She ministers with her husband in Winchester, Virginia. Follow her blog at wandaalger.me.
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Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Indian 'John the Baptist': God's Purposes Will be Fulfilled in America - CHRISTINE D. JOHNSON CHARISMA NEWS

"We have a great move of God that's birthing in India," Kumar said. "We sense an unusual unity with the churches and the pastors. Our leaders are coming together to pray for revival, and we are praying for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in India."

Indian 'John the Baptist': God's Purposes Will be Fulfilled in America

"We have a great move of God that's birthing in India," Kumar said. "We sense an unusual unity with the churches and the pastors. Our leaders are coming together to pray for revival, and we are praying for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in India." (Nick Kenrick/Flickr/Creative Commons)
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During Sam Kumar's childhood in India, his faith-filled father dedicated him and his four brothers to five continents. Later in life, Kumar's father told him that his continent was Africa, but Kumar has been preparing the way for revival all over the world like a "John the Baptist."
Kumar, who later helped to establish relationships for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in India, leads India Center for Revival in South India. With two master's degrees from Regent University, he is well-prepared to serve the body of Christ in the 55 countries to which he has traveled to study revival.
Persecution has increased in his home country, church buildings are being burnt, and pastors and believers are being attacked. But God is moving among His people in that great land.
"We have a great move of God that's birthing in India," Kumar said. "We sense an unusual unity with the churches and the pastors. Our leaders are coming together to pray for revival, and we are praying for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in India."
As a child, he didn't understand everything that was happening in his home—his brother once appeared to be dead when the angels took him to heaven for four hours—but the Holy Spirit was clearly at work.
"God placed the burden for the world in our hearts," he said. "When we were kids, we didn't know all this. All we knew was we were dedicated to the continents and to the nations."
After attending Bible college in India, he came to America in 1991 to study at Elim Bible Institute in New York with just $20 in his pocket. Along the way, God taught Kumar that he has many people to pray and provide for him, and in large part because of that provision, he has been able to travel the globe.
Kumar says God is setting up "revival hubs" all around the world. The Lord has led him to do "Spirit-led research" on revival and says, "He wants us to pray so that we are prepared."
He observes that there have been revivals in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Chile, Korea and India, among other places where God is moving, and he expects to see more.
Although Kumar has observed changes in America, he affirms the fact that this country was dedicated to God at Cape Henry, Virginia, on April 29, 1607. God led Kumar to Cape Henry when CBN celebrated the 400th anniversary of that dedication in 2007.
"God was reminding me that this was a nation that was dedicated to God," Kumar says, adding, "God's purposes will be fulfilled. When you give it to God, it's in His hands."
Revival is ever on Kumar's heart and mind, and it was the day he visited Cape Henry too.
"One of the things God spoke to us is that there would be flames of revival in the last days," he said.
Kumar is among those praying that God will again visit the United States.
"God's hand will be on this country and heal this land," he says.
Kumar also believes when God uses you, you become "a nobody," and that God is working in all denominations.
"I met with the Catholics in Rome. God opened doors to share in the Moravian Church." He has seen revival among Methodists and Presbyterians and says, "There is no way there's going to be revival without Catholics."
Although Kumar is "more from the Pentecostal line," he didn't really care for the word "Pentecostal" until he realized more fully what it meant and how it related to revival.
"I think God is bringing all the Christians together (in) unity," he says. "Revival is global. Revival is, 'I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh' (Acts 2:17)."
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Friday, January 22, 2016

Morris E. Ruddick - GAME CHANGERS - SIGN


Morris & Carol Ruddick

SIGN

GAME CHANGERS
 
(c) Morris E. Ruddick
 
 
"Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons and concerning the work of My hands, you command Me." Isaiah 45:11
 
Isaiah prophesied this amazing word for Cyrus centuries before Cyrus' birth. The time of Cyrus was critical for God's people. Cyrus was raised up by God as a champion-warrior-leader. He would serve as God's chosen vessel to bring about a paradigm shift. His mantle would radically change the game plan to release a new day for God's people.
 
This prophecy indicates that although Cyrus had not known the Lord that he would. When that happened, his destiny as a game-changer through God would manifest.
 
In this context, the Lord instructs Cyrus to ask Him about His people and His purpose for them. With those bases covered, God indicates that Cyrus would then be given an authority from heaven to accomplish these things. So it came to pass.
 
We have come through a time in which we've been instructed in faith. We've learned about the gifts. We've become acquainted with the prophetic and the importance of hearing from God to get His instructions. Yet, God's purposes are always progressive and focused on the big-picture fullness of His plan for His people.
 
Not unlike the days of Cyrus, God today is again raising up game-changers to accomplish His purposes. Like Cyrus some will come from outside the community of faith. It portends a time of restoration.
 
For some, it will be as water on parched ground. For others, they won't get it and will even resist it, being so entrenched in their own ways. For them it will be like the generation that Moses led out of Egypt, who failed to flow with His purposes resulting in them neither understanding the shift nor seeing what was promised.
 
David was a game-changer, as was Moses and Joseph. Each were called, anointed and prepared for times in which God was restoring the forward momentum of His ancient plan for His people.
 
Prior to the cross, Jesus told His inner circle, that they had not chosen Him, but that He had selected them. So it will be for today's game changers. The modern-day game changers God is raising up will bring restoration the Lord covets for His people. This mantle will be endued with unusual authority. But the pathway is not an easy one.
 
Power and Blindness
David went against the grain. He was misunderstood. He was chosen by God when the desires of the people to be like everyone else had hit a peak. That was and continues as the trap. It is an identity thing, but it is more than the community's identity with God. "Being like everyone else" masks and erodes God's power among His people, emasculating the purity of its application.
 
With Saul, Israel had the king they wanted, yet they and Saul remained blind to the heart of God. This was the community context, the spiritual climate and the uphill challenge faced by David on his path to becoming a game-changing champion of God.
 
David wrote over half the psalms. Many described those from Saul's armies who were tracking down and attempting to destroy him as "wicked." Such responses from the household of faith are not unusual for ones who bear a game-changing mantle.
 
Game changers are pathfinders, ones who illuminate the path for others to follow. Joseph triggered the ire of his brothers who resented his spiritual sensitivity and betrayed him. Those blind to God's direction and purposes tend to become enraged and seek to destroy those anointed to take things beyond their ensnared view of things.
 
There's a cost to operating outside the box. Jesus did and was quick to expose hypocrisy. He clearly said the litmus test would be evident by one's fruits. True fruits are derived from those whose mantles have undergone the rigors of a baptism of fire.
 
That means challenging prevailing mind-sets. It means a higher standard for the ones sent to restore the pathway of human efforts fallen short. Despite having the opportunity for retribution against Saul, David refused to touch God's anointed. Joseph's prescient prophetic gift enabled him to perceive and act on opportunity that would bring results beyond the realm of time. God's perspective in the deliverance of his brothers went toward the future fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham.
 
The Distinctive of Game-Changers
The distinctive of the game-changer is the honor of the warrior. It is the bond that is willing to die (John 15:13) for the cause of those and the One served. It is the distinctive marked by a wide gap between true warriors and those wearing masks.
 
Jesus despised the phonies, but lauded those without pretense who bore the honor of warriors. Discerning the destinies in those he selected for His inner circle, he chose ones with warrior hearts. He told the religious phonies that prostitutes and tax-collectors would grasp the truth he unveiled and enter the Kingdom before them.
 
Jesus led by example. He stated that He had a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed He was until it was accomplished (Luke 12:50). While game-changers will be misunderstood, they cannot respond personally. When Jesus said His followers would lead by serving, He was describing the heart of a warrior, ones not swayed by the approval of men, but rather impelled by the quest to do the right thing and go to the wall for the truth they served. That distinctive involves the employment of power, righteous power in corrupt settings. These are the ones who will make a difference.
 
Western Christendom is plagued with wannabes and zealots, ones who have never experienced a baptism of fire. Without the baptism of fire, the zeal is without knowledge. Warriors in the natural are quick to identify those they want along side them in battle. While sound training is paramount, it is those who have transcended the ranks of the phonies, wannabes and zealots and emerged from their baptism of fire with the bond of the warrior, willing to face the ultimate test for their brethren.
 
They are ones who can be counted on when the going gets tough. It is why God chose Cyrus long before he was born. It is why Jesus was amazed at the heart of the Centurion and his grasp of the essentials bearing on the spiritual.
 
Spiritually, the cost for game-changers is where faith and the realities of the unseen world collide. Before his martyrdom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer made frequent mention of cheap grace. He lived by what he believed. He was a catalyst in the remnant German church that stood behind the Jewish people and withdrew from the acquiescing church aligned with Hitler. For hypocritical phonies and wannabes, words are cheap and their goals short-sighted. They misdirect and mask the realities. Deceit is driven by evil (Prov 12:20) and undermines otherwise upright intentions. Idle words and deceit fuel this blindness and tend to proliferate to take on a life of their own.
 
Spiritual Myopia and Idle Words
This is why Jesus made it clear that we would be held responsible for every idle word. This issue involves the misuse of power, the inclination of those untested under real fire, to misdirect their authority to condemn and find fault. Protecting their turf, they stamp out anything contrary to their own limited perspectives. Claiming their actions to be of God and succumbing to a Judas spirit, they indulge themselves in self righteously responding blindly to God's blueprint in others.
 
The idle words referred to by Jesus are evidence of spiritual myopia, whether knowingly or unknowingly, that opposes God's plan and purpose. Idle words not only are defined by and mask deceit and falsehood, but operate within a regular practice of gossip, compromise, self-serving exaggeration and hearsay. Such practices are at the core of what empowers the wicked and dilutes the efforts of the truly righteous.
 
Saul and most of his subjects suffered extreme cases of spiritual myopia. It was the same with Joseph's brothers. Jesus discerned the myopia and phony destructiveness in the idle words of the religious rulers against the righteous, whose destinies Jesus affirmed against their condemnations.
 
Idle words are aligned with those David describes as "bringing down and slaying those whose ways are upright." They hinder and reflect deceit. They are critical and seek destruction. Misuse of the prophetic that overlooks mercy and is predisposed to only discern judgment and calamity can fall into the stronghold marked by idle words.
 
The truly righteous are called to a path of honor. They bring about restoration, not being ensnared and defined by those who misunderstand and are intent on their destruction. They are first-responders taking up the mantle that brings restoration to God's people.

"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:44-45
 
It is the application of such Kingdom principles, to overcome evil with good that ensures vengeance remains with the Lord which opens the gates into the supernatural power required when the game is to be changed, when a line against evil is to be drawn in the sand.
 
It is revealing that during the rise of Hitler, that although Hitler's inner circle was strongly occult and anti-Christian, that he publicly gave church leaders just enough to harness and then align the German church with his evil purposes. In this he embedded a new level of the wedge of replacement theology. The righteous standard is never to be compromised. Hitler knew he couldn't stand against the church without a major infiltration of its ranks. Hitler's intent was for a non-dissenting church standing behind his Third Reich. He understood the power to be gleaned from usurping the anointing.
 
So it has been over the centuries that unrighteous power and wickedness from within the community of faith have fueled unrighteous power and wickedness outside the household of faith. The playbook for this scheme is the passion of God's people for acceptance, to be like everyone else.
 
Yet, when the cosmic struggle that has plagued creation since Adam and Eve reaches this stage, we learn that like in the case of Cyrus, God has already foreordained and prepared the game changers. From the time God has had a people the game changers have been those who have embraced a process.
 
This process discerns the heart of God and maps out the path to release His authority into the steps toward His plan of restoration.
 
The Heart, Authority and Sphere
Having discerned and embraced the heart of God, game changes face an alignment with the authority of God. This alignment holds to a critically fine line. It is where the costs are paid and the challenges faced.
 
The sphere, described in 2 Corinthians 10, is the boundary of the calling, which in turn denotes the boundary of the authority. The sons of Heth in answering Abraham recognized him as one with the authority of a prince. So it was that Joseph, Daniel and Moses were each groomed by God as His righteous representatives with an authority that was at the court level of the rulers of their days.
 
Jesus stated that those who loved their lives would lose it. David breeched this threshold. In facing Goliath, he risked everything. His face-off with Goliath wasn't a game. It was mortal combat in which only one victor would emerge alive. Against all odds in the natural, David assumed the cost for the sphere and then proceeded with his heart aligned with the heart and authority of God. Then for all to hear and then witness he proclaimed: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine to defy the Armies of God?" When God is defied and His champions arise, everything changes.
 
Game changers pay the cost for the sphere and mantle in which they are called to operate. It is not a superstar thing, as dependence must be solely and completely on God.
 
For Joseph, the cost was 13 years as a slave and prison inmate with an unblemished identity in God. For Daniel, it was the unwavering public honor that he ascribed to God in the court of a king surrounded by the best of the best of the sorcerers of that day. For Moses, it was his face-off as God's ambassador with the idolatrous Pharaoh who unrighteously was repressing God's people. For David, it was years of abusive rejection despite his unquestioned loyalty and service.
 
The Paradigm Shift
With the game changers in motion, the paradigm is going to shift. This is the groundswell of what is described in Isaiah 60 when it says the wealth of the seas will be turned to Israel and God's covenant people. With the shift, God's authority and power operating through the game changers will bridge into the supernatural.
 
With the mounting pressures, accurately grasping the heart and timing of God is vital. The models and strategies acceptable a generation ago will be superseded by the new, as the power and impact from the Lord multiplies exponentially. Unlike the corrupt power manifesting, God's righteous power and strategies have always masterfully anticipated the plans and intents of the evil one.
 
What is pertinent for this hour is the role of the Josephs and Daniels in setting the stage for the alliances with the Pharaohs and Cyruses of today. Joseph was deeply embedded and trusted within the world's system. Daniel, also operated within the courts of a pagan ruler who gave honor to Daniel's faith and the God of Israel.
 
However, for each, before the game could be changed, the spiritual climate had to shift. Although scripture doesn't say so specifically, I am convinced that the dreams Pharaoh had were the result of Joseph's prayers. I likewise believe that Daniel's intercessions were the catalysts for the progressive climate changes in Babylon preceding the game change that took place through Cyrus.
 
Both Joseph and Daniel were instrumental in the game change to the benefit of God's people. Their roles and the authority with which they operated supernaturally were the actuators for the paradigm shifts that took place. Both spiritually and in the natural, they embodied God's heart and became His ambassadors of restoration.
 
The Dividing Asunder
The matrix, the pure matrix of the game changer is embracing His heart and purpose for His sons, for those who face the fire to bear His identity. It will be as Isaiah spoke through the dimension of time to Cyrus: "Ask of Me of things to come concerning My sons and concerning the work of My hands, command you Me." It is a day in which the words of David will manifest prophetically as the paradigm shifts.

"Although the wicked may draw their swords and bend their bows, to bring down and slay those whose ways are upright, their bows will be broken and their swords will pierce their own hearts." Psalm 37:14
 
Proverbs 3 notes that the root of the righteous cannot be moved. One translation expresses that the truly righteous will never be uprooted. A sequence of scripture from Proverbs 12 then unveils the intense drama underway and the role of words in this struggle, and with it, the outcome for the righteous.
 
It states the plans of the righteous are just but the advice of the wicked is treacherous. It further reveals that the words of the wicked entrap, but the words of the upright will deliver them. It concludes by stating that the wicked will be ensnared by their own words, but the righteous will escape from trouble, so that the wicked are overthrown and are no more, but that the house of the righteous will stand.
 
Jesus changed the game. He raised the bar and brought perspective and understanding to those who yearned for the Kingdom, for the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. He bridged the natural with the spiritual and unveiled God's heart. He went against the grain and told his followers to do the same and more, and to do it with love and with truth at the helm. He defined love as He demonstrated it, by giving up His life for His friends.
 
So it is for the times upon us. Jesus said many are called but few are chosen. The crucible has been applied in the preparation. The days are now here when the visions will be fulfilled.

"Oh God, do not remain silent and do not be still. For your enemies make an uproar and those who hate you have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against your people. They conspire together against your treasured ones. They have said, 'Come and let us wipe them out that the name of Israel be remembered no more.' They conspire together with one mind. Against You they make a covenant. Make them like the whirling dust. Like the fire in the forest, so pursue with your tempest and terrify them with Your storm. Fill their faces with dishonor, that they may know that You alone, whose Name is the Lord are the Most High over all the Earth."
Psalm 83:1-5, 13-16, 18
___________________________________________________
 
Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner and spokesman for the call of God in the marketplace since the mid-90s. As founder of Global Initiatives Foundation and designer of the God's Economy Entrepreneurial Equippers Program, Mr. Ruddick imparts hope and equips economic community builders where God's light is dim in both the Western and non-Western world.
 
He is author of "The Joseph-Daniel Calling;" "Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations;" "The Heart of a King;" "Something More;" "Righteous Power in a Corrupt World;" "Leadership by Anointing," and "The Mantle of Fire," which address the mobilization of business and governmental leaders called to impact their communities with God's blessings. They are available in print and e-versions from www.Amazon.com,www.apple.com/ibooks and www.BarnesandNoble.com.
 
Global Initiatives Foundation (www.strategic-initiatives.org) is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts are enabled by the generosity of a remnant of faithful friends and contributors whose vision aligns with God's heart to mobilize the persecuted church to be the head and not the tail. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives and mailed to PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237 or by credit card at http://strategicintercession.org/support/
 
Likewise, email us to schedule a seminar for your congregation on the Joseph-Daniel Calling or on anointing the creative in business.
 
2016 Copyright Morris Ruddick -- sign@strategicintercession.org
 
Reproduction is prohibited unless permission is given by a SIGN advisor. Since early 1996, the Strategic Intercession Global Network (SIGN) has mobilized prophetic intercessors and leaders committed to targeting strategic-level issues impacting the Body on a global basis. For previous posts or more information on SIGN, check: http://www.strategicintercession.org
Morris Ruddick
Global Initiatives Foundation
www.strategic-initiatives.org
www.strategicintercession.org

Global Initiatives is tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 organization


LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE Editor's Note: We love Morris and his courageous wife Carol. We support them monthly in their ministry outreach to Vietnam, his greatly encouraging books, and for being the mentor that he is to so many of us. 

We highly encourage you to support them monthly (see below) and buy/read his books! (He has another new one coming out any day now.)

Thanks Morris and Carol!

Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.

Global Initiatives Foundation (www.strategic-initiatives.org) is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts are enabled by the generosity of a remnant of faithful friends and contributors whose vision aligns with God's heart to mobilize the persecuted church to be the head and not the tail. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives and mailed to PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237 or by credit card at http://strategicintercession.org/support/
 
Likewise, email us to schedule a seminar for your congregation on the Joseph-Daniel Calling or on anointing the creative in business. sign@strategicintercession.org

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

"RE-DIGGING THE WELLS OF REVIVAL: My Visits to Cane Ridge and Wales" - Dutch Sheets


"RE-DIGGING THE WELLS OF REVIVAL: 
My Visits to Cane Ridge and Wales"
Dutch Sheets, Dallas, TX
The Elijah List

Scripture makes it clear that the Lord accomplishes His purposes on the earth not through one man or movement, but through the labors and legacy of many across multiple generations (Hebrews 11:39-12:2). Working through a divine timeline that extends beyond a single lifetime, the Lord desires that we honor and build upon the foundations laid by those who have gone before us. In Genesis 26, we are told that when Isaac dug water wells, he didn't get to start with his own. Isaac recognized his hereditary right and responsibility to re-dig and restore the ancient wells of his father Abraham, which the Philistines stopped up after he died.

It was after re-digging his father's wells that the Lord appeared to Isaac and pronounced over him the same blessing previously spoken over Abraham. Not long after that, the Lord allowed Isaac's servants to unearth his very own well. 

I have spent more than a decade of my life teaching about the synergy of the ages; exhorting Believers that in order for us to move forward in fulfilling God's purposes for our generation, we must reach back to remember, honor and add to what He has done through previous generations. 

Through a recent sequence of events, however, the Lord once again invited me to tap into some historic wells of revival in order to release a fresh river of His glory to flow into our generation. (Photo via Dutch Sheets)

A few months ago, I was invited to minister at a small log cabin-style church in Kentucky, which happens to be the site of the historic Cane Ridge Revival of the late 1800's. During that powerful move of the Holy Spirit, tens of thousands of people came by wagon to the hillsides of Kentucky, hungry to hear the preaching of the Word and bask in the glory of God for days at a time.

At these camp meetings, it was common to see dozens of ministers preaching simultaneously across the countryside, while multitudes were strewn along the ground, being moved upon by the extremely weighty presence of God. This revival swept through the southern states and beyond, helping to birth the Second Great Awakening! I found it most interesting that the Lord set up my itinerary in such a way that from Cane Ridge, He sent me to Wales—another extremely significant site of revival history!

Moving From Well to Well

The nation of Wales is the place where revivalist Evan Roberts was baptized in the fire of God and commissioned by the Lord as a leader in the world-reaching Welsh Revival of the early 1900's. So many people were radically saved in that spiritual outpouring, that the nation of Wales experienced societal transformation. Judges had no cases to try, and law enforcement officials had no crime to deal with, so they formed traveling evangelistic singing groups!

The presence of God was so strong among the common people that pubs closed down, sporting events were cancelled, thousands of depressed and drunken miners came to Jesus, and hundreds left everything behind to give their lives on the foreign mission field. It is believed that since the 1900's, there has never been a revival in world history that cannot trace its roots back to the nation-shaking Welsh Revival.

Wales was also home to Rees Howells, another significant contributor to revival history. His life of intercession, chronicled in the biography, Rees Howells Intercessor, has greatly influenced many people and movements of prayer, myself included. After being powerfully swept into the Welsh Revival, this former miner-turned-missionary devoted the rest of his life to serving the purposes of God for his generation—in the place of prayer.
In 1924 Howells founded The Bible College of Wales to train others in what the Lord had taught him. That place soon became a house of prayer for all nations, with students and staff joining Howells in fighting world battles on their knees. 

What transpired on that small campus unquestionably affected the course of world history, and has left a legacy of prayer that the Lord is inviting us to lay hold of today. (Photo of Dutch and Ceci Sheets and friends in front of The Bible College Of Wales, via Dutch Sheets)

Fighting The Battles Of The Kingdom 

Howells' intercessors prayed all through World War II, engaging in the spiritual warfare necessary to take down the demonic powers encroaching upon the governments of nations through the dictatorial leadership of men like Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. They also prayed fervently through the 1948 UN-mandated vote on Israel's status as a nation. Even after Howells' passing, their ardent intercession continued under the leadership of his son, Samuel. They prayed through the Cuban missile crises, the Cold War between the US and the USSR, and also helped pray in the signs and wonders movement of the 40's, 50's and 60's.

Their story could be likened to Moses' hilltop intercession affecting Joshua's frontline battle. Scripture states that as long as Moses held up the staff of God in his hand, Joshua and Israel prevailed, but when Moses let his hands down, the enemy prevailed.

Through this prophetic act of intercession—lifting up the rod, which represented the authority and power of God—the Lord faithfully responded by releasing victory on the battlefield (Exodus 17:8-16). Likewise, Howells and his intercessors continually "held up" spiritual authority in the heavenlies while soldiers experienced miraculous breakthroughs, enabling them to execute victory on the battlefield.

During WWII in particular, God would give Howells prophetic insight concerning what was going to happen next and where they needed to strategically focus their intercession. After class each day, these devoted intercessors would contend in travailing prayer for hours and hours on end, sometimes praying through the night. They were determined to match in the spirit realm, the level of intensity and self-sacrifice experienced by heads of nations and soldiers on the frontlines of battle. (The Blue Room where Howells and his intercessors prayed, via Dutch Sheets)

Impassioned about fulfilling their godly calling, Howells said, "If I am not called up to fight, and I know another way to help them and I don't do it, I ought to be killed instead of them. They are facing death...for you and me. If they suffer more than we suffer for them, it will be our lifelong shame." (From Rees Howells: Intercessor, Chapter 36 – Russia, North Africa, Italy, "D" Day)

Howells and his students gave their lives to fighting the battles spiritually as if they were called to the frontlines of the war. And with each new assignment, these hidden intercessors prevailed in their prayers, and the world marveled and breathed heavy sighs of relief at such dramatic turnarounds.

ElijahList Prophetic Resources

Redigging A Well

Despite the rich revival history at The Bible College of Wales, this spiritual well had fallen into disrepair. After the death of Howells' son, Samuel, the directors of the school found it too costly to maintain the campus and keep the school running. For decades, the property went further into decay and was about to be sold to a developer for housing. The Lord, however, had other plans and saw to it that this spiritual well was preserved and unstopped. He moved upon the heart of a pastor from Singapore, who not only caught God's vision for restoring that place but also was willing to pay the price to make it happen. This pastor raised 10 million dollars to purchase and restore the historic Bible College of Wales so that people from around the world could drink from this well of revival once again!

As a student of revival history, a teacher on intercession, and one called to awaken this nation to the purposes of God through prayer, it has always been a great desire of my heart to visit Wales and drink from its spiritual wells. Right after my time of ministry at Cane Ridge, I had the great honor of not only visiting the Bible College of Wales, but also serving as a key participant in the rededication ceremony for this historic well of revival.

During our stay at the Bible College, Ceci and I were assigned to the room of Rees' son, Samuel Howells. This room sits directly above the prayer room where decades of nation-changing prophetic intercession took place—what a privilege! Among the gathering of key leaders from around the world, I was also extended the honor of rededicating Howells' Ebenezer stone of remembrance (1 Samuel 7:12). Similar to what the prophet Samuel did to commemorate Israel's victory against their enemies, Howells set up a huge stone as a continual reminder of the Lord's providence and provision. Inscribed on one side of its marble top is the phrase, "Faith Is Substance." On the other side, the words, "Jehovah Jireh."

When, as part of the rededication ceremony, this remembrance stone was relocated to the center of the campus and anointing oil was poured upon it, we could sense the glory of the Lord. In that very holy moment, God met with me in a powerful way. I was overcome with the Lord's kindness at gathering us all to this place to drink from this historic well. 

In that moment, I pledged to help carry on Howells' legacy of prayer and recommitted my life to raising up a movement of prayer to take out the giants of our day and usher in a Third Great Awakening. (Dutch pouring anointing oil over Howells' remembrance stone during the rededication ceremony, via Dutch Sheets)

The rededication ceremony at the Bible College was not the only special appointment the Lord had planned for me. The same Singaporean leaders that restored Howells' campus also purchased the little church in Wales where revivalist Evan Roberts met with God. During the renovation process for converting that church into a house of prayer, the original Bible used by Evan Roberts during the Welsh Revival was found sitting under decades of dust on the pulpit of the church! I marveled at this find.

Paying The Price

I am so grateful for the Singaporeans who accepted the Lord's invitation to take on the extremely costly and painstaking restoration of this well of revival history. But the investment required for releasing God's river of revival into the nations of the earth doesn't end with restored facilities.

God desires to raise up Roberts-like revivalists and bands of Howells-like intercessors through which He can release a greater awakening and shift the course of nations today. This will require a high level of commitment. These men were so powerfully used of God because they complied with the great extremes God required of them. This is a principle repeatedly seen in Scripture. (Dutch holding Evan Roberts' Bible with Lou Engle and Singaporean Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong, via Dutch Sheets)

As I prayer-walked the grounds of the Bible College of Wales, while I communed with the Lord in the church where Evan Roberts met with God, and even now, I hear Holy Spirit asking, "Who will pay the price in this generation?" 

God used Howells and his intercessors to contend against and defeat the demonic powers and principalities trying to take over the world.

Today, the goliaths of Islam, communism, human trafficking, abortion, and the sexual rights agenda are standing at our door. Never has there been more at stake. We need the same warrior spirit of Howells' era to arise in us—both in the place of prayer and in being a prophetic voice. No doubt, God has a plan. He always does something great in the face of the impossible!

I believe the Lord allowed for the restoration of these spiritual wells in Wales because He is loosing a spirit of contending prayer and revival into the nations of the earth once again. 

I believe we will see a new momentum of intercession—appealing to Heaven and fighting Kingdom battles on our knees, until the greatest Great Awakening the world has ever seen occurs.

You are a part of this! There is a spiritual inheritance available to you. Young people, especially, it is your time to arise! The Lord is anointing you to overthrow the goliaths of our day and contend for the destinies of nations. The Lord is searching for those who will say, "I will pay the price." For those who invest their lives in these costly battles of intercession, He will show Himself strong! (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Dutch Sheets
Dutch Sheets Ministries

Email: click here
Website: dutchsheets.org

Dutch Sheets is an internationally recognized author, teacher, and conference speaker. He travels extensively, empowering Believers for passionate prayer and societal transformation. Dutch has pastored, taught in several colleges and seminaries, and served on the board of directors of numerous organizations. Dutch's greatest passion is to see America experience a sweeping revival and return to its godly heritage. Dutch is a messenger of hope for America, encouraging Believers to contend for awakening in our day and reformation in our lifetime. 

Dutch has written over 20 books, many of which have been translated into over 30 languages. Dutch and his wife Ceci have been married for 35 years and now reside in the Dallas area. They treasure time spent with their two grown daughters, son-in-law, and grandchildren.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Quitter’s Turnaround Produces Centuries of Non-Quitters - Jim Croft

Paul, Barnabas and John Mark

Quitter’s Turnaround Produces Centuries of Non-Quitters
Jim Croft

Rejection, misunderstanding, and hurtful experiences can be turned around by commitment to forgiveness and to God’s purposes.  There is a beautiful story of this truth hidden in the pages of the New Testament and in Church History.  It’s pertains to John Mark who authored the Gospel of Mark and to the Coptic Orthodox Church that evolved from the church that he founded in Alexandria, Egypt.

   John Mark was the son of a notable family of the Jerusalem church.  He was the young cousin of Barnabas who was a friend and supporter of Paul’s for the first 12 years after his conversion from persecutor of Christians to a champion of the faith.  Mark and the 2 men traveled from Jerusalem 300 miles north to Antioch, Syria.  Mark’s role with the team’s first missionary journey might be described as a servant deacon. (Acts 12:12, 25, 13:1-13)

   The first stop was Paphos, Cyprus and from there the threesome sailed to Perga which was a port city on the mid-southern coast of Turkey.  It was there that John Mark angered Paul and disappointed his cousin Barnabas by abruptly choosing to quit the journey and return to Jerusalem.  Paul and Barnabas continued to evangelize new regions by preaching and performing miraculous wonders in the midst of persecution riots, beatings and stoning.  About 2 years later they made their way back to Jerusalem after staying for a while with the Antioch fellowship that had sent them forth.

   We do not know why Mark abandoned the journey.  For sure he felt awkward as the two churchmen reported all that God had done through them after his departure.  It would not be unreasonable to suspect that the young man wanted to avoid direct eye contact with Paul.  In spite of his previous blunder, Barnabas insisted that Mark accompany the team on their second missionary journey.

Paul was adamant that the quitter who left the work in Perga would not be permitted the honor of serving in another outreach with him.  The contention was so strong that Paul and Barnabas parted company after years of effective ministry and loving friendship.  Paul chose Silas and set out to go deeper into Syria.  Barnabas and Mark headed for Cyprus. (Acts 15:36-41)

All rejection is painful, but spiritual rejection has to be among the hardest to rationalize.  This is because there are inherent expectations that Christians are obligated to exercise a brand of forgiveness that lets bygones be bygones without proof of change.  We do not know whether or not Mark was present during Paul and Barnabas’ heated discussion.  For sure, he became painfully aware that the apostolic powerhouse Paul did not think that he possessed the saltiness expected of believers who would stay the course no matter what.  Unquestionably, Satan haunted the young man with guilt for the responsibility of breaking up the dynamic Paul and Barnabas duo.

At this juncture, John Mark had to make choices:  Would he grovel in sniveling hurt and return to mommy in Jerusalem?  Or, would he man-up, forgive Paul’s attitude as justifiable, and determine to trust God to rectify his reputation?  He chose the latter and God endeared him not only as a favorite of Paul’s, but also of the apostle of great stature, Peter.

Here are phrases that the apostles later used in relation to previously rejected John Mark.  Paul said: If Mark comes to you, welcome him as I instructed (Col. 4:10); Mark is useful in ministry for me, bring him with you (2 Tim. 4:11); and Mark, my fellow apostle (Philemon 1:24). 

Peter referred to Mark as his son in the faith (1 Pet 5:13).  John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark.  There are credible manuscript researchers who believe that Peter entrusted the writing of his remembrance of his years with Jesus to John Mark. 

All of this represents quite a promotion from the rejection that he experienced early on in his ministry.  In addition, Mark’s determination to prove himself a non-quitter lives on in his spiritual descendants to this very day.  Mark established the first church in Alexandria, Egypt comprised of original Egyptians 600 years prior to the Arab Islamic Jihad invasion.  That church has evolved into what is known as the Coptic (Egyptian) Eastern Orthodox Church.  It has branches all over the world with heavy concentration in the Middle East stretching from Kuwait westward past Libya.

Coptic church in Aswan, Egypt

The Coptic Church has a style of liturgical service and clergy apparel similar to that of the Russian and Greek Orthodox. At this point some readers might be tempted to yawn thinking that the chants, smoke, smells, and bells of traditional orthodox Christianity has little value in effective evangelism.  There you would be badly mistaken. 

The free independent Charismatic fellowships and Evangelical churches of the West are not necessarily more effective in outreach without overt persecution than the Copts have been in the face of 14 Centuries of bloody Islamic persecution.  I am speaking of the rape of daughters; burned churches and businesses; imprisonment, beatings, and martyrdom of Egyptian Christians for their faith.

Mark’s spiritual posterity, the Copts are not quitters and have a proven evangelistic methodology.  In spite of the persecution, the Copts produce more doctors, engineers and business professionals per capita than the Muslim community.  Interestingly, the Copts have earned the reputation of being far more honest than Muslims in their dealings with employers and their customers.  For this reason Arabic speaking Copts are choice employees with many business firms throughout the Middle East.

Young Copts who want to spread the Gospel volunteer to move to other Muslim lands.  They do not press for one on one evangelistic encounters to make instant converts.  The objective is to let the differences between the quality of their home lives and vocational accomplishments and that of Muslims speak to encourage those who observe them to initiate inquiries.  This lowers chances of torture for attempts at proselytizing Muslims.

Simultaneous to this, the Coptic services are broadcast on radio and are televised from stations in free countries.  At certain times the liturgies for divine healing and deliverance are emphasized by priests over the airwaves.  Whatever the case, many Muslims listen and watch what we think are dead and dry traditional liturgies and thousands become secret believers yearly.

Contrary to what we might think, the worldview of everyone does not match that of Westerns.  We tend to imagine that if a method is not innovative that it cannot possibly be of God.  Middle Easterners are different in that they prefer traditions that have proven stability that has withstood the tests of time.  In this regard many Muslims have secret admiration for the spiritual descendants of John Mark who have stayed the course and have not quit in the face of generations of severe challenges to their faith. 

When I meditate on John Mark and the Copts, it makes me want to gird up my faith to have greater stick-to-it-tiv-ness.  What say you?

Jim Croft 
jimcroft777@gmail.com