Monday, June 30, 2008

10,000 Firebrands

A few years ago God promised me that I would awaken 10,000 firebrand ministers. At first glance I considered that as a broad and general project, to be done along the way and in the midst of my many other projects. After the past several weeks of diving in the “deep end” of the sweetest times I have ever known in God, it is clear that this is a specific project for this very specific time in my life. This fall we are launching a firebrand School of Ministry…our motto…. “If you’ve got ‘em, light em”.

No dates are set, no fees have been established, no hard data on the initial number of student/interns and no official name for this school of ministry. Just this: a word from God. Yep, that’s all, just a clear, thundering “do it” from God. The very minute I set my heart to obey Him, potential students started knocking on my door.
This blog is my first public declaration of this project. I am literally shaking at the prospect; scared to do it, but more terrified of NOT doing it and missing God’s command. Why is such a thing needed? Because this is the summer of the American Awakening. The Holy Spirit is no longer “hovering above the chaos”, He has plunged into the heart of this nation and Kingdom Revival is, IS, IS upon us.

A new countercultural wind is blowing in the Body of Christ. That gale force has been active in me for 30 plus years. A month ago while attending a leadership conference at my new spiritual covering in Redding California we were challenged to ask God for a fresh baptism of fire. The instant I asked, the Spirit of God snatched me by the heart and pulled me up into a vision of the Throne of God. As in the book of Revelation the Throne was in a vortex of a rainbow aura. From around it appeared my parents, my step-dad, Ginger’s grandparents (our spiritual mentors) and behind all of them appeared Smith Wigglesworth and A.A. Allen. Smith had laid hands on Ginger’s grandparents when they received the Holy Spirit and Allen had laid hands on my mother in ’52 and prophesied my birth to follow in ’53.

I became wonderfully aware that my mother (an Iroquois Native American) was in full war dress, dancing like I had never seen her dance before. She let out a magnificent war cry (on earth, she prayed me out of darkness and into the Kingdom). Behind her I saw an image of what I recognized to be an Iroquois Healing Hut. Though they were more pantheistic than any thing else, they had an instinctive echo in them of the True and Living God who is the “God who heals us”. Suddenly from that hut and from Smith and Allen something like lightening shot out and into me. God spoke to me in that instant and said, “You’ve faithfully communicated the Kingdom for 25 years…from this day forward you will demonstrate the Kingdom in Healing power”. I’ve been smoldering ever since…..

This school of ministry will not be a place of knowledge alone, but a place of impartation. We will not be reaction to the current Christian culture fixated too often on “going to heaven”, however we will desperately, passionately and “with loud crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7) seek to create a Kingdom Culture with a laser like focus on bringing heaven to earth.

Interested?

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Proceed with Caution: Old Man Dreaming Ahead

Joel 2 says that when the Holy Spirit gets His way, even old men have dreams. I used to read that and think in strict categorical terms: Young men get visions…check. Old men get dreams…check. I hope you get the point. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Last week I had the distinct privilege to speak at Youth Alive Camp in Osceola, Wisconsin. The theme God gave me was; “Dream-Why Not?” It was an awesome time of releasing these students to be free to SEE. Old Testament prophets were sometimes called “seers”, because they had a transcendent capacity to look into the heavens and see God’s resources and call it down to the earth. Holy Spirit dreaming is seeing “on earth as it is in heaven”.

Joel 2 also says that when the Spirit is truly falling on us that our sons and daughters CAN SEE and they prophecy! The students at this camp ended up in a torrential outpouring of dreams! It was Psalm 126:1 coming to pass, “When the Lord brought back the captive ones…we were like those who dream”.

Follow me carefully now: I was the “old man” at that camp. They were the sons and daughters. I prophesied, they dreamed. That’s not categorical… it’s a transcending weaving in and out and back and forth as the Spirit is allowed to get BIG. I liken it this way: as the Spirit rises in us He drives our cynical, wooden, rigidity up and out. You know it’s the outrageous power of the Holy Spirit at work when the most likely people among us to be injured by disappointments and frustration are set free of their unholy fixation on the glorious past and the miserable present AND NOW THEY DREAM!

Another Kingdom principle we witnessed last week is hidden in this Joel 2 treasure chest as well. An old man dreamed out loud and that released sons and daughters to prophesy! How many times have we heard the old song and dance, “what’s wrong with kids these days?” I’ll tell you what’s wrong with them—the older generation keeps holding the Holy Spirit in check and the dreams we ought to be releasing for the healing of our sons and daughters is cheating them of their Kingdom inheritance.

I witnessed it first hand last week. Once the spiritual air around these students was cleared with the Word of an old man dreaming, these youth could SEE and became SEERS. When I prophesied they dreamed, when I dreamed they prophesied and the Holy Spirit lived His character among us, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”.

Three weeks ago on a Wednesday evening service I was compelled by the Spirit to prophesy that this summer is the summer of America’s Awakening. Sometimes prophesy is a confirming tool and sometimes prophesy is a “make it happen” sledge hammer. I am welding the latter. Take caution around me these days, I’m in a mood. My dreams are overwhelming me, my eyes have seen the glory. Whether you be young or old and your vision is wilted, I release upon you NOW an all out attack of the Holy Spirit.
I close with this. Here’s an irony. I fought some kind of sickness all week at camp last week. A cold, allergies, sinus infection….what ever it was, I was miserable….physically. Now that I’m home and I’ve had an opportunity to call my doctor, it appears I have an infection not unlike “pink eye”. Hmmm, do you think there’s an analogy here? Is it possible that the prince of darkness (yet another impediment to seeing) knew that he must distract an old man in his divine assignment to impart vision to a new generation?

Hmmm….where’s my sledge hammer…..