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Rick Joyner - 5 Trends Coming in 2016 - MorningStar New Year's Conf. 12.29.15 Part 2 of 3 Nationalism will begin to displace multiculturalism. In coming years - Revivals in Russia, Cuba, China. Singapore will become the finance capital of the world. Africa will have great unity movement, economic and political power. The USA will experience two great traumas. France, German & Italy have great moves of God. Videos filmed and shared by Steve Martin - to give appreciation to and love for those we support, through Love For His People, Inc.
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.
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"So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to those who are of the household of faith." Gal 6:10
As a Body, we tend to get myopic. That's not something new. It's a plague that has been grappled with since there has been a household of faith. It's why there are so many groupings and divides within those who bear His Name.
This myopia has made its mark following every biblical and post-biblical revival over the centuries. Genuine spiritual renewals have life-cycles in the dynamic of God's manifested presence displacing evil. The reality-of-God imparted is so far beyond human grasp that anything short of the anointing, designed to prolong its potency, just tends to weaken and diminish the results. So over time, the progressive, imperfect blending of the natural and impure short-circuits the supernatural.
Revivals are times when God's manifest presence expands and illuminates our horizons. Revivals create movements that change things. Historically though, movements have digressed into becoming institutionalized. In that process the fire and power fade. This is by no means a swipe at institutions, but rather a call to give focus to what is truly important in this process: knowing Him and being a light to those around us. It's the reason why we need to overcompensate with listening hearts as different segments of the Body interact. No one group has a pure grasp, not to speak of the capacity, for the total picture.
In further illustrating this myopia, doctrine is the means rather than the end. When we stand before the Lord on that final day, we're not going to be examined on the basis of doctrine, but rather our heart responses to God and those around us and the difference our lives have made. That also is not a swipe against sound doctrine. Rather, it's to recognize the reality of the myopia -- which has a long track record of missing the forest for the trees -- in order to give focus to reaching for what's most important.
Sound doctrine serves the purpose of establishing our identity in Him and the character to walk out the purpose of a life of faith: doing good. That's not the premise of salvation, but rather the result of it.
Jesus punctuated this significant distinction, based not on our limited perceptions of righteousness, but instead on the evidence reflected by the consistency of our practices, as demonstrators of the truth we claim to believe.
"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed. But he who DOES THE TRUTH comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:19-21
All of which brings us to the point made by Paul in the opening scripture. In the mandate to "do good," first priority is to be given to the household of faith.
Raising the Bar
Jesus came to raise the bar. Some within the Body have concluded that Jesus came to establish a new religion. Others have digressed into the same trap of elitism that snared the Pharisees, only with a Christian spin to it. Each is equally myopic.
Jesus made it very clear that He came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to bring fulfillment to that foundation. He went to the degree of saying that whoever broke one of the lesser parts of the law AND taught others to do likewise, that they would be deemed least in the Kingdom. He didn't say they would be expelled, He said their impact would be diminished to where they would be considered among the least.
There's something about these foundations that Jesus never intended to be excluded. It's because truth can be overshadowed by short-sighted precepts. Watering down dilutes. Jesus said: "He who is faithful in what is least, is faithful also in much."
That's why we need to extract ourselves from the myopia and start reaching for the big-picture. Jesus always clarified and gave focus to central issues and the strategic. His response to the Pharisee who asked Him what was most important (Matt 22:39) was to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as your self."
To the rich young ruler's query, Jesus first advised him (Matt 19:17-21) not to murder, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness -- and to honor his parents and love his neighbors as himself. Self-righteously, the rich young man then asked what he lacked, since he met each of these criteria. Jesus' response, "if he truly wanted to be perfect," was to divest his assets and give it to the poor and then follow Him.
Jesus raised the bar. For each one Jesus called, it involved a step beyond themselves. Doctrines and followings have resulted from focus given to the uniqueness of the criterion for different callings. Yet, it wasn't the same for each. The calling of Peter was very different from the calling of Nathaniel, as it was from the calling of Levi.
For each, it was very personal. The key was in the reorientation, in response to truth. and with that, in the walk that followed.
The significance is in the walk, not the criteria of the calling. For some, like Peter, it took longer than others. But then, perhaps it was because the bar was higher for his calling. Consistently, since His earthly ministry, Jesus has pulled people out of their short-sighted muck and set them on a big-picture course to make a difference. It is a course of "doing good" with a process that has as much significance as the ends.
"If you are presenting your offering at the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, then go, be reconciled to your brother, before presenting your gift." Matt 5:23, 24
The Challenge
Carol and I came to faith during a time of God-birthed revival. We were drawn and greatly impacted by what we saw operating in the walk of certain believers. We saw the reality of God being demonstrated. It was beyond the ordinary. It tied back to a leader who was nurturing God's blueprint for a group of spiritually hungry pilgrims.
Over time, the growth of this man's effort resulted in new leaders being brought in. Their approach was not as far-sighted and innovative as what the founder had established. Division resulted that ultimately scattered the foundational work. The confusion and disarray resulted in many casualties among those who had been in the process of being helped.
Another example took place in a completely different time frame in another part of the world. The founder of a far-sighted work brought much benefit to the entire household of faith in this area. However, a member of his board became offended. Despite public overtures, the result was the offense becoming a seedbed taken up by others in the leadership. Deceit ran rampant and eventually the founder was squeezed out. The short story is that the "ousters" failed in their attempt to replicate what had been established and the entire effort floundered and was shut down.
Many other examples of misuses of authority, presumption, blind-spots and misguided tongues mark short-sighted spiritual conditions that create fleshly responses to and within otherwise God-birthed agendas and movements. Peter advised us to be wary of our adversary the devil. We indeed live in a fallen world.
Misguided Influence
On the other hand, James warned that teachers would be held to a higher standard and judged more strictly. So it is with those in leadership. The tripping point bearing myopic ripples underscoring this warning is with the factor of community influence.
The tendency is to bypass the standard for biblical community and God's blueprint for His followers, by myopically making an idol of the community/ ministry effort rather than it being the platform for nurturing and serving.
God's design for biblical community is as a safe place. It's a place where the diversity of gifts and mantles within its members can flow, grow, give benefit to one another and be a blessing to all exposed to it. Instead, it too often can be a war zone. Far too often, that is how the world sees us as a people of God: for the differences, emnities and division.
Jesus said we would know "them" by their fruits. The fruits from the founders of these two examples above fit the criteria Jesus spoke of in being a light on a hill that could not be hidden. However, the fruit for those whose efforts brought down these works -- are the casualties and those who never got helped by the imperfect, although anointed efforts of the founders.
Whenever the fruit involves a history of casualties created by those whose ends seem to justify short-sighted means, if correction is not prompt, the result will be judgment. It bears on the myopia, the maturity and the maintenance required for those wielding the mantles of leadership. Within the crucible, even among the elite in Jewish circles, is Jacob's corner-cutting iniquity and Ephraim's enmity.
"Ephraim was called as a watchman and prophet to the surrounding nations; but has become a fowler's snare in all his ways. There is enmity, hostility, and persecution in the house of his God." Hos 9:8
Similarly, throughout the household of faith, are the misguided crusaders who would tear down established works for flaws and premature judgments, driven by myopic blind spots, which overshadow the good. Hypocrisy defiles the standard and the process.
Defining the Focus
Jesus said (Mark 9:49): "Everyone will be seasoned with fire and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt."
This statement follows Jesus' comment (v 42) that whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better if a millstone was hung around his neck and he was cast into the sea. That's pretty strong.
Matthew has a parallel reference to this truth (Matt 18:6,7). It highlights the OFFENSES of causing ones less mature, under one's influence, to stumble. Jesus' reference to offenses wasn't about hurt feelings. He was talking about short-sighted applications of power and truth. Jesus was pointing to those whose blind-spots or immaturity result in misguided use of their authority and influence, which creates casualties among those under their authority.
The answer is in the application of the truth, in the salting, which preserves and gives flavor and life to the walk and to the work. Jesus' solution doesn't pamper. He says if your hand causes you to sin, then cut it off. If it's your eye, then pluck it out. He was drawing from Isaiah 33:15, a truth which illustrates a standard in which one keeps his hands from taking bribes and his eyes from considering evil. It's about relationships.
It emphasizes the importance and assurance of a trustworthy relational foundation that reflects the seasoning needed to operate in peace toward one another.
"Have salt in yourselves and peace with one another." Mark 9:50
One of the most profound doctrinal statements I've yet to hear is: "God is a good God and the devil is a bad devil." Trust is a mark in the dividing line between good and evil. Jesus raised the bar so that the household of faith would uphold that standard and become that "city set on a hill that cannot be hidden."
The Apostle James strongly emphasizes holding to the standard as DOERS of the word. The admonition is to make it a lifestyle.
"Prove yourselves to be doers of the word and not merely hearers, who deceive themselves." James 1:22
Jesus points to the big-picture with the priority He calls on to be given to the stewardship of preparation and doing.
"Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so DOING when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But the one who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." Luke 12:42-45
The big picture purpose will become clearer as we get our interim priorities aligned. Then God's judgment against evil will trigger the gates to His glory being manifested within the household of faith.
"Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, You are the King of glory." Psalm 24:6-10.
The world sees beyond the press releases and promotional spins given by the household of faith. The world is looking for the reality of God. The process, as a people -- not the end -- is our witness. That's why revival is so significant. God's presence is a consuming fire. It's the irresistible draw that cuts past the superficial and phony and gives focus to what matters and what is real.
For those awash in the evil and turbulence taking place in the world today, we -- the household of faith -- are the signposts and lifeboats. People will be drawn by what they see operating within our ranks. When we get the "doing good" right, THEN the reality of God is demonstrated, which draws the world like a magnet.
The big picture is in doing good, but getting it right first within the household of faith. "So, let your light shine before men, that they may see your GOOD WORKS and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt 5:16
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;" and "Leadership by Anointing," 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.BarnesandNoble.com and other popular outlets.
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 atsign@strategicintercession.org
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We are coming into the time of a new outpouring of the Spirit. This will not be a reliving of past revivals, nor a continuation of the movements of recent decades. It will be different in ways that would be difficult to explain apart from the actual experience of it.
I can say only that a fresh newness is coming to us who can receive it and that it will be more rooted in the Father's heart and the character of Jesus than any that have come before.
Be aware, however, that historically whenever there has been a fresh move of the Spirit, opposition has erupted. It comes in two forms. The first comes from those who don't really want the Spirit to move, who can't handle the mess it makes or who find their theology threatened by it. It would seem that the spirit of religion cannot allow for anything to occur that human beings cannot control or understand.
I learned long ago that one person's order and decency are another person's boredom and death and that not everyone will be comfortable with the freedom revival brings. Hidden in what might outwardly appear to be chaos may be a well-established order and set of protocols.
On the other hand, beneath an outwardly reserved appearance, someone might be having a deep and powerful experience of God. Let criticism stop, and let us respect one another's natures!
Realize also that it is biblically sound for God to act in ways that are unprecedented and out of the box. There was, for instance, no biblical precedent for the gift of tongues on the Day of Pentecost. While Joel and others foresaw the gift of the Spirit, no passage of the Old Testament could be construed as a clear prophecy of that gift. While God will never actually contradict Scripture or act in a way not consistent with His own nature, He nevertheless "does whatever He pleases" (Ps. 115:3), and we would be wise to make room for it.
The second form of opposition comes from those who want revival and don't mind the mess it makes but who think themselves immune to deception. Specifically in these days to come, the enemy will access weaknesses and unhealed regions of the heart to twist words and perceptions in order to paint the leaders of that move of the Spirit as having less-than-pure motives or as having said abusive or inappropriate things that were neither said nor intended.
As the words actually spoken get twisted and changed, offense will be taken, then held in the heart and fed. If not actually altered, words spoken innocently and in righteousness will often be perceived in ways that distort their meaning and intent.
Those who get caught in this trap will be led to believe that their "discernment" is godly and accurate so that correction becomes exceedingly difficult and is often rejected. The enemy intends this to cause division and to wound and weaken leaders so that they cannot lead as effectively as God intends. Lest anyone in my own circles think I'm speaking specifically of you, know that I am in touch with pastors and leaders in many places who tell me stories that reflect the dynamic I'm articulating. It is not uncommon and comes with the territory.
This two-headed demon of opposition rises simultaneously with an increase in the move of the Spirit and blinds those caught in it to what is really going on. Not one of us is so holy as to be immune to this! I have been privileged to live through the charismatic renewal, the Vineyard movement, shades of Pentecostalism and lately the Toronto Blessing, and I have seen this dynamic played out every time God has launched a new thing.
To think that you are immune to it constitutes the kind of pride that comes before a fall. Don't fall prey to the enemy's strategy! Stand for oneness. Keep your heart clean. Before assuming anything about the heart of another or even what you think you understand from what you've heard or seen, ask questions and then honor the answers you receive.
What's coming is glorious, but the way is narrow that leads to life.
R. Loren Sandfordis the founder and senior pastor of New Song Church and Ministries in Denver, Colo. He is a songwriter, recording artist and worship leader, as well as the author of several books, including Understanding Prophetic People, The Prophetic Church and his latest, Visions of the Coming Days: What to Look For and How to Prepare, which are available with other resources at the church's website.
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