Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
In this episode of Prophetic Perspectives on Current Events, Rick and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) W.G. (Jerry) Boykin address the constitutional value of church and state and how misunderstood it has become by the modern church. We are desperate for an uncompromising leader and Lt. General Boykin gives David in scripture as an example of a courageous leader.
HAVANA -- As Cuba transitions to a new relationship with the United States, Americans have a renewed interest in learning how the church there has fared for the last 50 plus years.
The short answer is: amazingly well. In fact, many believe the hardships and suffering have paved the way for an explosion of church planting.
Comfort not a Concern
On a typical Sunday morning in Cuba, you can find churches across the island overflowing with worshippers. Many meet in homes and others meet in churches that look more North American but operate in a political climate that is very different.
Space is the biggest challenge for many churches. Under current government rules they typically cannot buy land or expand. One church CBN News visited responded to the rules by building several stories up. Others cram into homes and multiply when they become too big.
Pastor "Miguel" leads a church that used to meet in an apartment but now meets in the yard next to his apartment building.
"When you have 80 to 100 people [meeting] in an apartment it's hard, very hard," he told CBN News. "And neighbors get upset."
It's a common theme in Cuban churches, but it seems to have also helped to encourage church growth. In the past 20 years, more than 16,000 evangelical churches have opened their doors.
Pastor "Nestor" and his wife "Rosa" live in one room above their tiny house church. He told CBN News, "One of the things that has made us grow in faith has been the limitations and the difficulties."
On Sunday mornings and during weeknight services, only a few will have a real seat.
"People here don't care how comfortable they are," Rosa explained. "They could be exhausted from working all day and they will sit on a bag of rocks, a stitched up chair, or stand the whole service, and they're okay with that."
Home Church Explosion
Cuban church leaders say events led by the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s sparked the current church planting explosion.
"When the Russian government collapsed Cuba went through a lot, and people started looking to churches for hope," Pastor "Julio" told CBN News.
At the same time, the government ended its atheistic philosophy that denied the existence of God and instead declared itself a secular state, prompting an entire generation to question what it believed.
During that period a government official told Cuban Baptists that the government could not authorize the construction of new buildings but suggested that the believers meet in homes.
The casual suggestion sparked a house church movement that many have compared to church history recorded in the book of Acts.
Pastor "Francisco" is one of thousands of Cuban house church pastors who follow the Gospel with tremendous passion. He came to the Lord after having dreams about Jesus for three years. Now he leads a small neighborhood church that meets three times a week.
"We have evangelized everyone who lives in this area, a New Testament Bible to each home," he told CBN News. "We can't stop -- we won't stop -- because even if they won't accept the Lord the first, second, third or fourth time, even so -- we can't stop until they come to the Lord."
Victory through Challenge
The growth of the church in Cuba is even more miraculous given the country's poverty. The average monthly government salary is $20 and professionals typically make less than $50.
Still, Cuban churches are known for their generosity and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel.
"What we have we want to share with others," Francisco said. "What we have, not what we have left over."
Another obstacle facing Cuban churches is spiritual warfare in the form of Santeria. It's a system of beliefs influenced by West African religions and Catholicism. Santeria is known for its rituals and ceremonies.
Pastor Nestor has faced resistance right in the neighborhood. During one Sunday morning worship service, a group of Santeria followers stood just outside the church and began beating their drums.
"It was kind of like a spiritual face-off," Nestor recalled. "The church just started praying and then we prayed for rain and all of a sudden there was thunder so they had to leave."
Church leaders in Cuba say they're enjoying a new season of relaxed restrictions. It's easier to evangelize outside the church and they receive more permits to hold special events.
Still, most churches cannot expand or buy land. They cannot produce Christian radio or television shows.
They must also work around a dysfunctional economy. At Pastor Nestor's church, remodeling plans for the sanctuary are on hold indefinitely until the church can obtain much-needed cement.
"Sometime without suffering there's no challenge," Pastor Nestor told CBN News. "And without that challenge, there's no victory."
1 Big Reason Spiritual People Are Leaving Churches
Spirit-filled people are leaving churches for this one reason. (Flickr)
"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
A solid and stable friend of mine has left three churches in the last decade. She attended all of them for a period of time and then left.
In the first church, the pastor stopped having guest ministers in and the church began to dry up.
In the second church, there was a small stirring of the Spirit for a while, but then the church turned to the seeker-friendly philosophy and tongues were confined to the back room.
In the third church, again it was alright for some time, but then the leadership began to move in a different direction and incorporate modern church growth principles and Madison Avenue tactics that grieved the Holy Spirit, and everything changed. Soon greasy doctrines slid into the church. She had no choice but to leave again.
To those really seeking to encounter God, soon the fancy stage, the bright lights, the cool bands and the video screens, just become white noise to them. They want Spirit and fire.
There was a season in Catherine Booth's life, the wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth, where she visited different churches in her area "looking for burning words."
Smith Wigglesworth had a similar experience where the Spirit kept telling him to come out of dead works and dead churches. He continued to move with God throughout his entire life.
One day a youth leader made an appointment with his pastor to discuss the implementation of a new program for the young people. The pastor, a deeply spiritual man, listened patiently. After the young man finished talking, the pastor responded with these words: "Mom (his wife) and I have found over the years that prayer, the Word and moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit have always got the job done."
Think about these examples. The same thing is happening today. When pastors and church leaders fail to follow the plan of God some people leave because they are not being spiritually fed and fulfilled. Sometimes they cannot even articulate the reason they are leaving. They may tell you it's because of the music, or the preaching, or the youth and children's programs, but the underground reason may be because they are not encountering God any more.
I've read articles and exit polls about the many reasons people leave their churches, but most of them are surface reasons. They make it so complex and complicated causing more pastors and church leaders to continue re-hashing over the many ideas they could implement to increase their numbers. But is that what it's really about? The numbers? The Catholics have numbers; the Muslims have numbers; the Mormons have numbers. I would rather have 300 hungry-for-God people than 3,000 who want to be entertained.
Think about the many revivals throughout church history. Think about the ministers God has used to pioneer some of those revivals. It was the presence and power of God in these meetings and on these ministers that drew the people. Throughout history people have always craved the supernatural. I know that the local church also caters to people's natural lives and natural needs, and cannot be run like a revival. But the people also need continual renewals and refillings of the Holy Spirit.
If the presence and power of God are in manifestation and people still leave, what of it? Do you really want those kind of people in your church? Conversely, I know many spiritual people who are exiting their churches for lack of rain. They are not leaving due to offense or pride. They are not backsliding and leaving God, but they are leaving deadness, lightness and superficiality. There is a cry in God's people for the waters of the Spirit and fresh new wine.
"My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory." (Ps. 63:2-3)
It is amazing what leaders can build and do without God, especially right here in America. But that doesn't mean that God's stamp of approval is on what you are building or doing. Divine power can only manifest when there is an end to self-sufficiency. If you become lukewarm and stop hungering and thirsting for the Spirit you will become a disappointment to God. I don't care how big of a building or how many people attend your church.
I love the local church. I love pastors who truly lay down their lives for the people they serve. I believe the local church to be the hope of the world. But God wants to move. He has a plan. He has a purpose. And if we don't line up with it He has no choice but to move where He finds His people and His leaders hungering for His presence and power.
I have a pastor friend who is leading a thriving church. The adults, the youth, and the children are on fire there. He has several guest speakers and at least two revivals every year. There is an expression in his church of a diversity of the Holy Spirit's ministries and manifestations that is rare today. He is a man of love and prayer and he listens to the Lord. By today's standards he is unconventional in that he refuses to compromise prayer, the Word, and the moving of the Holy Spirit and implement the newest church growth programs or the latest fads.
This church has constant revival because there is liberty in the Spirit for the Lord to do what He wants to do. This church is producing spiritual people and not clock watchers and time servers.
Pentecostal meetings use to be called the gate of heaven because of all the manifestations of the Spirit and power of God they had. Testimonies of changed lives were frequent. These churches were known for tongues and power. One of the big reasons we are not seeing the power and the glory of God in many of our churches today is because we don't pray in tongues long enough until the Holy Spirit can take hold with us and give birth to these things.
Oh, people of God! Oh, ministers of the Lord! May we come to the end of our own wisdom, strength and sufficiency!
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5).
The apostle Paul was careful to place the focus of the people he ministered to on the power of God and not on the wisdom of men. He did not want to bring attention to his own persuasive words or enticing speech. He did not want people to place their confidence on man's ability, or charisma and personality. There was nothing in his ministry that was natural. With fear and trembling he sought to make Christ manifest everywhere he went.
Too many churches have lost the glory because their pastors and ministry leaders live too much in the natural. Get back in the Spirit. May we fall on our face and pray, and let the Spirit of God have His way.
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
Bert M. Farias, revivalist and founder of Holy Fire Ministries, is the author of several books including The Real Spirit of Revival and the newly released My Son, My Son—a beautiful father-son memoir co-written with his son Daniel for the purpose of training up a holy generation. He ministers inter-denominationally and cross-culturally in nations, churches, conferences, crusades, on the streets, and in homes. He and his wife also host The Holy Ghost Forum—a school of the Spirit. Follow him at Bert Farias and Holy Fire Ministries on Facebook or @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.
It isn't enough that many Muslims hate Jews and Israelis, but do Christians have to follow their lead? (Reuters file photo)
Israel has faced many enemies in the past and faces even more today. Muslim terrorist armies such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the malevolent individuals within the Palestinian Authority are in the closest proximity.
The rapidly advancing ISIS and Caliphate forces and the expansion of Tehran and its goal of eliminating the Jewish State and all unbelievers has been moving towards active hostilities in their proxy wars. But the BDS activity has been perhaps as damaging as the violence because it attempts to harm Israel by causing financial harm to the nation of 8.2 million shekkels.
Boycotts are being staged in nations which have large Christian majorities and many are adopted by church denominations. Academic and professional groups adopt resolutions that use boycotts to support pro- Palestinian positions. The Palestinian Authority and other Muslim activists promote their position with a sophisticated social media campaign that utilizes outright lies, fraud and a willing media which follows any story that puts Israel in the worst light. The mainstream media has abandoned any semblance of balance, due diligence and fact checking to get attention from a gullible public.
The most distressing participants in this betrayal are the churches, colleges and even clergy. To be sure, a Christian element of compassion for downtrodden Palestinian refugees and residents of Gaza is admirable. However, fact-checking and research quickly will disclose the foundation for the circumstances of their condition.
Last year's Gaza war was an outright instance of aggression by Hamas using sophisticated tunnels to enter Israel. They used Iran-supplied and locally manufactured rockets fired from civilian villages, school and hospitals and placing combatants within villages.
Using human shields who were told to stay put as martyrs was openly admitted to by several spokesmen. In addition, BDS harms Israel's Muslim and Christian Arab citizens because the companies that are selected for boycotts hire and employ them and their wages are much higher than any earned in the neighboring Muslim countries. Check the issues regarding Soda Stream and how this Israeli business has been a major factor in the economic lives of many non-Jewish citizens.
The partition into Israel and Jordan resulted in evacuations of Jews and Muslims both. The Muslim refugees became pawns in a merciless game of anti-Israel politics. Arab nations refused entry and kept up only meager support for these unfortunates. Israel welcomed back those would share the duties and laws of Israel citizenship. Today the coalition government of Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas' followers continues to conduct daily terrorist attacks in Israel. Last summer saw the use of cars, knives and kidnapping as weapons against victims as young as infants and as old as rabbis saying Morning Prayer.
Can Christians participate even passively in boycotts? Are we obliged to speak out against these anti-Semitic acts? The Holocaust of the 1940s was aided by the passivity of most churches in Germany and Europe. The writing of Pastor Bonhoeffer witness beyond his hero's grave to what a true follower is obliged to do.
Here are some direct and personal steps a Christian can follow to combat this modern day anti-Semitic aggression.
If your denomination is discussing Israel, Palestinian nationhood, the two-State solution or any issue that would involve BDS you can present a well-researched position paper documenting facts about these issues. Use dependable sources, and follow Biblical the rule of two independent and authoritative sources. Measure all against Scripture (the Berean process). Ask to participate in the discussion as an advocate for Israel and present your findings in a firm and confident manner. Call in others who share this viewpoint as additional witnesses and make your position known. The Biblical evidence for Israel, its borders as declared to Abraham, its primacy in Scripture from Abraham to Revelation, cannot be denied, changed or substituted. Should your position be rejected and the church vote to continue, you should declare your intention to withdraw from the church and d so publicly until that decision is nullified.
Academic groups are a similar case. Here you have an edge: finances. Colleges and universities draw much of their support from alumni gifts, bequests and planned giving. Usually student or alumni factions are involved in BDS movements. Today, many faculties in leading positions have taken a '60's and '70's radical series of positions. They have been able to influence students into positions that have carry out their agendas and these vulnerable individuals have fallen victim to many lies and intentional personal agendas of atheist, agnostic and anti-Semitic professors whose misuse their authority.
When a movement to boycott Israel makes news contact your college administration, the President or Chancellor and make know in writing your intention to postpone any intended annual gift, donation, planned giving or trust process etc., until the proposed BDS is cancelled. Also state that you are contacting other alumni via social media that they will do the same. Realistically money talks, most faculties are in very privileged positions and are out of touch when it is fundraising time. Seeing their jobs, research or tenure affected by their anti-Israel activities will move them more closely to objectivity. So far several US universities have voted down BDS moves for reasons that have "No money" written all over them.
Professional associations follow a similar track. Most depend on memberships and gifts, grants etc. BDS generates very bad PR. They get news coverage and a rising alternative media can focus attention on the group that MSNBC, NBC, CNN will not. Add social media and firestorm of criticism will ensue. Social media cannot be underestimated as a message carrier and influence when used properly. Affiliate audiences, peripheral audiences of similar groups can mobilize comments and actions that any administrators will not be able to manage. Social media page administration is a very time consuming duty and virality can put things beyond the energy required to put out the "fire." Presenting your position within protocols of the group, presenting evidence and acting promptly on your intent with withdraw support will make serious impression with savvy administrators and membership committees.
We have seen how the recent Orange situation had very immediate effects on how France deals with BDS threats. Direct, firm and unified actions led to apologies and a personal visit to mend fences from the Company's CEO. Israel's stature as the "Start-Up Nation" and its stature as a high-tech R&D leader had its effect right where it could hurt companies the hardest: being shut out of Israel's intellectually rich resources.
BDS is unbiblical, un-Christian and we are obliged to not be passive. We must witness and do this to prevent any anti-Semitic moves by our churches, colleges or corporations.
Tom Brennanhas worked in quite a few professions. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, he's worked as a museum curator, archivist and graphics curator, library administrator, small business owner, animal care worker, sheriff's deputy, rancher and farmer and author and researcher and NewsBlogger. He plans to volunteer for Sar-El next year and see Israel from the ground up. When he's not digging into news, he works with Arabian horses and other breeds in Boise, Idaho.
1 Big Reason Spiritual People Are Leaving Churches
Spirit-filled people are leaving churches for this one reason. (Flickr)
"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
A solid and stable friend of mine has left three churches in the last decade. She attended all of them for a period of time and then left.
In the first church, the pastor stopped having guest ministers in and the church began to dry up.
In the second church, there was a small stirring of the Spirit for awhile, but then the church turned to the seeker friendly philosophy and tongues were confined to the back room.
In the third church, again it was alright for some time, but then the leadership began to move in a different direction and incorporate modern church growth principles and Madison Avenue tactics that grieved the Holy Spirit, and everything changed. Soon greasy doctrines slid into the church. She had no choice but to leave again.
To those really seeking to encounter God, soon the fancy stage, the bright lights, the cool bands, and the video screens, just become white noise to them. They want Spirit and fire.
There was a season in Catherine Booth's life, the wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth, where she visited different churches in her area "looking for burning words".
Smith Wigglesworth had a similar experience where the Spirit kept telling him to come out of dead works and dead churches. He continued to move with God throughout his entire life.
One day a youth leader made an appointment with his pastor to discuss the implementation of a new program for the young people. The pastor, a deeply spiritual man, listened patiently. After the young man finished talking, the pastor responded with these words: "Mom (his wife) and I have found over the years that prayer, the Word, and moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit have always got the job done."
Think about these examples. The same thing is happening today. When pastors and church leaders fail to follow the plan of God some people leave because they are not being spiritually fed and fulfilled. Sometimes they cannot even articulate the reason they are leaving. They may tell you it's because of the music, or the preaching, or the youth and children's programs, but the underground reason may be because they are not encountering God any more.
I've read articles and exit polls about the many reasons people leave their churches, but most of them are surface reasons. They make it so complex and complicated causing more pastors and church leaders to continue re-hashing over the many ideas they could implement to increase their numbers. But is that what it's really about? The numbers? The Catholics have numbers; the Muslims have numbers; the Mormons have numbers. I would rather have 300 hungry-for-God people than 3,000 who want to be entertained.
Think about the many revivals throughout church history. Think about the ministers God has used to pioneer some of those revivals. It was the presence and power of God in these meetings and on these ministers that drew the people. Throughout history people have always craved the supernatural. I know that the local church also caters to people's natural lives and natural needs, and cannot be run like a revival. But the people also need continual renewals and re-fillings of the Holy Spirit.
If the presence and power of God are in manifestation and people still leave, what of it? Do you really want those kind of people in your church? Conversely, I know many spiritual people who are exiting their churches for lack of rain. They are not leaving due to offense or pride. They are not backsliding and leaving God, but they are leaving deadness, lightness, and superficiality. There is a cry in God's people for the waters of the Spirit and fresh new wine.
"My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory." (Ps. 63:2-3)
It is amazing what leaders can build and do without God, especially right here in America. But that doesn't mean that God's stamp of approval is on what you are building or doing. Divine power can only manifest when there is an end to self-sufficiency. If you become lukewarm and stop hungering and thirsting for the Spirit you will become a disappointment to God. I don't care how big of a building or how many people attend your church.
I love the local church. I love pastors who truly lay down their lives for the people they serve. I believe the local church to be the hope of the world. But God wants to move. He has a plan. He has a purpose. And if we don't line up with it He has no choice but to move where He finds His people and His leaders hungering for His presence and power.
I have a pastor friend who is leading a thriving church. The adults, the youth, and the children are on fire there. He has several guest speakers and at least two revivals every year. There is an expression in his church of a diversity of the Holy Spirit's ministries and manifestations that is rare today. He is a man of love and prayer and he listens to the Lord. By today's standards he is unconventional in that he refuses to compromise prayer, the Word, and the moving of the Holy Spirit and implement the newest church growth programs or the latest fads.
This church has constant revival because there is liberty in the Spirit for the Lord to do what He wants to do. This church is producing spiritual people and not clock watchers and time servers.
Pentecostal meetings use to be called the gate of heaven because of all the manifestations of the Spirit and power of God they had. Testimonies of changed lives were frequent. These churches were known for tongues and power. One of the big reasons we are not seeing the power and the glory of God in many of our churches today is because we don't pray in tongues long enough until the Holy Spirit can take hold with us and give birth to these things.
Oh, people of God! Oh, ministers of the Lord! May we come to the end of our own wisdom, strength, and sufficiency!
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5).
The apostle Paul was careful to place the focus of the people he ministered to on the power of God and not on the wisdom of men. He did not want to bring attention to his own persuasive words or enticing speech. He did not want people to place their confidence on man's ability, or charisma and personality. There was nothing in his ministry that was natural. With fear and trembling he sought to make Christ manifest everywhere he went.
Too many churches have lost the glory because their pastors and ministry leaders live too much in the natural. Get back in the Spirit. May we fall on our face and pray, and let the Spirit of God have His way.
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
Bert M. Farias, revivalist and founder of Holy Fire Ministries, is the author of several books including The Real Spirit of Revival and the newly released My Son, My Son—a beautiful father-son memoir co-written with his son Daniel for the purpose of training up a holy generation. He ministers inter-denominationally and cross-culturally in nations, churches, conferences, crusades, on the streets, and in homes. He and his wife also host The Holy Ghost Forum—a school of the Spirit. Follow him at Bert Farias and Holy Fire Ministries on Facebook or @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.
The Charisma Podcast Network is now live. Featuring a variety of programs including news, leadership, inspiring stories, women's topics, sports, and even more. Subscribe now for free!
Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive Charisma News by email.
Smith Wigglesworth delivered this powerful message nearly a century ago! (Flickr/Creative Commons)
On August 11, 1927, Smith Wigglesworth stood in Angelus Temple to preach on preparing for the Second Coming of Christ. He told the audience that liquid fire was consuming him. Then Wigglesworth made this opening statement:
But there will be things that will happen prior to His coming that we shall know. You can tell. I am like one this morning that is moving with a liquid, holy, indispensable, real fire in my bosom, and I know it is burning and the body is not consumed. It is real fire from heaven that is making my utterances come to you to know that He is coming. He is on the way. God is going to help me tell you why you will know. You that have the breath of the Spirit, there is something now moving as I speak. As I speak, this breath of mighty, quickening, moving, changing, desirable power is making you know and it is this alone that is making you know that you will be ready.
1. There must be special preparation for the return of Christ and at least half of all believers will be totally unprepared. We have to see that these days have to come before the Lord can come. There has to be a falling away. I want to speak to you very exactly. All the people which are pressing into and getting ready for this glorious attained place where they shall not be found naked, where they shall be blameless, where they shall be immovable, where they shall be purified by the power of the Word of God, have within them a consciousness of the very presence of God within, changing their very nature and preparing them for a greater thing, and causing them to be ready for translation.
This is the day of purifying. This is the day of holiness. This is the day of separation. This is the day of waking. O God, let us wake today! Let the inner spirit wake into consciousness that God is calling us. There are in the world two classes of believers. There are believers which are disobedient, or I ought to say there are children which are saved by the power of God which are disobedient children. And there are children which are just the same saved by the power of God who all the time are longing to be more obedient.
And we heard the word come rushing, through all over, "new theology" that damnable, devilish, evil power that lived in some of these disobedient children, which in these last days opened the door to the next thing.
2. There will be many Christians who believe that they can do whatever they want and God will look the other way. People are tremendously afraid of this position because they have heard so much on this line: "Oh, you know you are the elect of God. You are sure to be all right." There have been in England great churches which were laid out upon these things. I thank God that they're all withered. You will find if you go to England those strong people that used to hold all these things are almost withered out. Why? Because they went on to say whatever you did, if you were elect, you were right. That is wrong. The elect of God are those that are pressing forward.
3. It will be common for preachers to deny the existence of hell. Denying hell prepares the way for antichrist. What? No hell. The devil has always said that "what does Christian Science say?" [Ray says, "We could insert other names here for the times we're in right now.] No hell, no devil. They are ready for him. The devil has always said no hell, no evil. And these people are preparing, and they do not know it, for the Man of Sin.
4. It is offensive to talk about the blood of Christ. When I spoke about the blood and when I spoke about this infernal thing, the whole place was upset. You be careful when anybody comes to you with a sugar-coated pill or with a slimy tongue. They are always of the devil. The Spirit of the Lord will always deal with truth. These people never deal with truth. They always cover up the truth.
Do you believe it? Who can do it? THE BLOOD CAN DO IT! The blood, the blood, Oh the blood! The blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus can do it. Spotless, clean, preserved for God. Give the devil the biggest chase of his life and say these words: "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all unrighteousness."
5. The world will look to worship a man and will overlook his faults to get him into power. These people are determined to have a man. They know someone has to come. We know Who He is that is coming. They begin to make a man. So they find a man in India, they polish him up as much as they can, and they make him as—well, in appearance, but you know we are told by the Lord that there is soft clothing that goes onto wolves' backs.
6. That people believe that certain preachers are of God simply because of their crowds and their buildings. A person said to me, "You see, the Christian Scientists must be right—look at the beautiful buildings. Look at all the people following them." Yes, everybody can belong to it. You can go to any brother you like, you can go to any theater you like, you can go to any race course you like, you can be mixed up with the rest of the people in your life and still be a Christian Scientist. You can have the devil right and left and anywhere, and still belong to Christian Science.
7. As Churches turn away from the Holy Spirit many believers go to false teachers. The secret of many people going into Christian Science is a barren church that had not the Holy Ghost. Christian Science exists because the churches have a barren place because they haven't the Holy Ghost. There would be no room for Christian Science if the churches were filled with the Holy Ghost.
8. The last days are a time for the true people of God to engage in extravagant asking. Up to this present time, the Lord's word is for us, "Hitherto ye have asked nothing." Surely you people that have been asking great things from God for a long time would be amazed if you entered into it with clear knowledge that it is the Master, it is Jesus, who has such knowledge of the mightiness of the power of the Father, of the joint union with Him, that nothing is impossible for you to ask. Surely it is He only Who could say, "Hitherto you have asked nothing." So God means me to press you another step forward. Begin to believe on extravagant asking, believing that God is pleased when you ask large things.
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
Bert M. Farias, revivalist and founder of Holy Fire Ministries, is the author of several books including The Real Spirit of Revival and the newly released My Son, My Son – a beautiful father-son memoir co-written with his son Daniel for the purpose of training up a holy generation. He ministers interdenominationally and cross-culturally in nations, churches, conferences, on the streets, and in homes. He and his wife also host The Holy Ghost Forum – a school of the Spirit. Follow him at Bert Farias and Holy Fire Ministries on Facebook or @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.
The Charisma Podcast Network is now live. Featuring a variety of programs including news, leadership, inspiring stories, women's topics, sports, and even more. Subscribe now for free!
Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.
Pentecostal Giant George O. Wood: Youth Are Leaving Churches That Do This
George O. Wood, right, made some bold declarations at Empowered21. (Empowered21/Facebook)
It's not that young adults are leaving churches, it's that they're abandoning denominations that are forsaking the authority of God's Word, George O. Wood says.
"We (AG USA) have 3.1 million young people in the USA and 34 percent of them are under the age of 25," The Assemblies of God overseer said at Empowered 21. "... The young people that are moving away from traditional religious structures in the U.S. typically belong to churches which have abandoned a belief in the authority of Scripture and the uniqueness and centrality, and exclusiveness of Jesus Christ."
His comments reflect the same research that says the Presbyterian Church USA is dying on the vine after coming out in full support of gay marriage.
According to Barna research, a quarter of 18-to-29-year-olds are practicing Christians.
The migration of young adults away from the church is only a glimmer into how Christianity is on the decline nationally.
However, young adults are seeking authenticity in their churches, and those that produce it reap the fruits.
"I think churches thriving are those who say they want to take a more proactive role," says Barna's Vice President of Research Clint Jenkin. "Creative churches (can) establish themselves in their community, reach people because they are able to find certain ways to transcend disagreements. If churches are in position of arguing, then you're missing big piece of how you're going to build relationships with people."
Barna research shows that in order to engage young people in congregations, one must be totally transparent.
"More than one-third say their negative perceptions are a result of moral failures in church leadership (35 percent)," according to a Barna report. "And substantial majorities of millennials who don't go to church say they see Christians as judgmental (87 percent), hypocritical (85 percent), anti-homosexual (91 percent) and insensitive to others (70 percent)."
For Wood, though, it's about showing young adults that church is place where they can experience God, and showing them their value and roles within the church.
