Category Archives: Move of God

-Kingdom Economy: Not business as Usual

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(Image by Lel4nd (busy) via Flickr)

Historically in America we are in a transition time politically and economically when ‘business as usual’ no longer works. Anyone who tells you they know where this is going to end up is just wrong or prophetic.

I know I’m not the only one that has been going though some difficult times economically in my business and in our family. Church and ministry leaders are finding it far more difficult to fund their ministries in 2009 than in previous years. So many in the Christian community are suffering along with everyone else in this economy.

The church that I’m part of has had to find ways to cut expenditures without downsizing valuable ministries. The economy in wealthy Orange Co. Southern California has taken a heavy hit and nearly every family is being affected in one way or another which affects giving.

In the midst of this downturn one program in the church has grown exponentially—our food and thrift warehouse. The Lord has sent capable people our way to administer our food bank. It really is a miracle when you consider that a couple of years ago it was just an empty warehouse but our pastor had a vision that one day we would be supplying food to 1000’s in need. Didn’t really seem possible or even needed 2 or 3 years ago but now we are sending entire containers full of cloths to Africa and Southeast Asia and we are feeding 1000’s of needy folks even many in our own congregation that are going through some tough times.

We are now handing out roughly $100,000 worth of food every month—there are some real miracles happening when it comes to the exponential increase in our suppliers. Not only that—it has become a real ministry outreach and an opportunity to provides for folks on many different levels including healing.

One of the major backbones of the church is our prayer ministry program—HOPE ‘House of Prayer for Everyone’—on Wednesday morning we have a Marketplace prayer group that meets and prays over the businesses of church members, over the sales of the sales folk in the congregation, and we pray for jobs for those out of work. It is a practical time where many have received prophetic insight and direction from the Lord on how to carry on in these hard economic times. Lately we have seen lots of ‘break throughs’ in business where we seem to be going one way while the economy is going another. Not only that but new innovative businesses are being launched with incredible potential.

For years, all of us Christians have carried on our everyday business like everyone else in the country and that has been good enough in this wealthy land—now like everyone else the Christian community has been going through some tough times. It is no longer ‘business as usual’ and I submit to you that it never will be again. I repeat—It never will be quite so easy for us in the future as it has been in the last 60 some years.

It is time for Christians to be involved in God’s Kingdom Economy. One way to do that is sponsor ‘Marketplace Prayer’ groups in every church and allow the Lord to reach out in a new ways and bless us with his inspiration corporately and support one another in our everyday businesses and occupations. Let Him expand our horizons and business visions in Jesus name, Amen.

-“Balokole”: The Effects of an East African Revival Still Going After 80 Years

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In J. Lee Grady’s latest column (Link NLA) he writes about an East Africa Revival that started in September 1929. The Christians in that area call it ‘Balokole’ and the effects of the revival are still evident and active after all these years in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi in particular.

Grady shares a quote in the article from Michael Harper who writes of the revival:

“It’s effects have been more lasting than almost any other revival in history, so that today there is hardly a single Protestant leader in East Africa who has not been touched by it in some way.”

Later Grady writes that he is hoping for something similar to come to America. We will explore that in the next post.

-Jerusalem: An Interview with Heidi Baker, Part Three

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Here’s Chris Mitchell’s third and final with Heidi Baker in Jerusalem: Longing for Jerusalem and Jesus (Link NLA)

The following is part of the Mitchell’s intro to this video:

“What’s God’s Heart for Jerusalem? How does lasting fruitfulness in ministry happen? These are some of the questions Heidi Baker answers…

Heidi’s passion for Jesus rings out as she talks about the joy of spending time with Him.”

-Jerusalem: An Interview with Heidi Baker, Part Two

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Here’s Chris Mitchell’s second interview with Heidi Baker: “Back to Jerusalem”

The following is part of the Mitchell’s intro to this video:

Many of you may have heard of the “Back to Jerusalem” vision of the Chinese church. …

In this second part of our interview with Heidi Baker of Iris Ministries, she tells how they’re planting thousands of churches throughout Africa on their way back to Jerusalem. It’s all part of the fulfillment of the Great Commission…

Heidi also shares some of the lessons the church in the West can learn from the people who are “the poorest of the poor.” These are people dependent and desperate for God. As Heidi says, “if God doesn’t show up, they’re dead.” But she says He does show up, the God who is alive!

-Jerusalem: An Interview with Heidi Baker, Part One

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Chris Mitchell of CBN News interviewed Heidi Baker of Iris Ministries in Jerusalem a few days ago. This first video contains an update on the ongoing revival ministries of Heidi and her husband Rolland in Mozambique and Malawi, Africa where they have planted 10’s of thousands of churches, and run several orphanages and a school of ministry.

I have personally experienced their ministry several times in my home church during their visits back home to South Orange County California. Always an incredible experience.

This is what Chris Mitchell in way of introduction on his Jerusalem Dateline CBN website:

“Would you believe people are being raised from the dead? Or the deaf hearing? Even food being multiplied? Heidi Baker believes it and has seen it. …

What happened then sounds like stories straight out of the Book of Acts. But Heidi insists it’s happening today. She says it’s a story of miracles and Muslims coming to faith in Jesus.”

-Receiving God’s Favor and Living in His Kingdom Economy-Part 2

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(Dome of the Rock—Jerusalem via Wikipedia)

Things have changed enough for the better in the last two months that I am now in the middle of a 2 week vacation in our motorhome—a vacation I really needed–Praise God. At the end of June I really didn’t see how I was going to pay the current DMV registration that was due on the RV much less take a vacation in it this year.

The last week of June at a Wednesday morning prayer service Pastor Mike prophesied over me that my work was going to get a whole lot easier and all of the stuff I was then worrying about was going to be resolved and that I was going to receive ‘God’s favor’.

I sorta wondered about what ‘God’s favor’ meant and involved–how that was any different than what I already had but it sure sounded good. Anyone out there ever receive a prophetic word that was full of good sounding stuff and traditional ‘prophetic filler’ that really didn’t mean a whole lot? If you receive ‘God’s favor’ how do you know for sure except good stuff starts to happen?

Well in this case, ‘God’s favor’ has been miraculously demonstrated to me literally on several occasions—here’s one incredible incident:

I had just spent 3 or 4 hours with a new client going over some of his needs for his new store (I sell market equipment to pay the bills). I was afraid that this was going to be a complete waste of time and effort. I had already been there twice before and sent him 10 pages of quotes and we really didn’t seem to be getting any closer to doing business. I threw up one of those traditional prayers like I always do in this situation— “Lord just give me favor in their eyes—don’t let this be a complete waste– I really do need something out of this—anything”.

At that point I really had little hope that I would see anything in the way of sales for all of the time and effort I had invested. The owners were Middle Eastern Muslims and usually the business climate is full of mistrust and like warfare in these cases. The only time in my experience that I really receive any large sales from Middle Eastern folks is when I have already done business with them in the past or with a relative and received a good referral. These were folks that I didn’t know nor did they or any of their relatives know me.

Right after I threw up that short prayer, the owner that I had been dealing with said— “I want you to come meet the big boss.”  We went to the front of the store and there was a circle of folks drinking tea with one guy obviously at the head of that informal table—he was wearing a teashirt that said “Jerusalem” and had a picture of the Dome of the Rock mosque on it. My heart sunk a little seeing that as I was introduced to “Ali” the big boss and money man of the operation—the one who makes the real decisions over anything substantial.

The moment we shook hands he proclaimed—“I just saw a vision of you standing with a Bible preaching or teaching—are you a Bible teacher?”

I was totally shocked and amazed and blurted out: “I am a Bible teacher!”

Ali shouts out- “I knew it, I knew it!”

Then he turns to those around the table and says: “This is a man we can trust—give him an order”.

And it was a very nice order indeed–Praise the Lord!  

-Receiving God’s Favor and Living in His Kingdom Economy

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(Image by John McNab via Flickr)

2009 has been a difficult time for the Davis family. 2008 wasn’t so good but then 2009 rolled around and the bottom fell out of the economy in So. California. At one time or another this year, all 4 of my adult children have been out of work—we ended up with 3 extra adults living with us along with 2 grandchildren. Meanwhile my business and income dropped 30% while our expenses with 5 more mouths to feed increased exponentially.

By the end of June we were in a crisis with far more bills to pay than money. I really didn’t know what to do but continued to pray for some answers which didn’t seem to come.

I went to that last Wednesday morning prayer service of the month rather down and with little hope. The Pastor gave me a word that my work was going to get a whole lot easier and that I was going to receive God’s favor. Unknown to Pastor mike, the previous 3 months had been the hardest I had ever worked for the least results. I wish I could say that I received the word in faith but I didn’t—this is not a ‘name it and claim it’ testimony. I left with a wait and see attitude.

Immediately our situation began to change miraculously. The same day I sold two huge orders and had more referrals than I had all year. In 4 days we had enough money to pay the bills that month which had seemed so hopeless.

One son who had been unemployed for 4 months but couldn’t get any unemployment money—his application was lost– then found–than delayed because of a technicality–he finally got a check the next week. Since then all three at home ended up with new jobs one by one—now we just have one son and two grandchildren still living with us.

Meanwhile, with the economy going one direction—downhill, my business has been incredible and full of down right miracles lately.  Next post I will tell you about one.    

-“Recession Is a Good Time for Revival”

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(Photo by Lanes Simmons /Council Today)

I have always thought that any time is a good time for revival but especially hard times which seem to get the attention of more folks and prepare them to seek God in a more serious way.

Pastor Rick Warren in addressing the Assemblies of God (Link NLA)(AG) biennial General Council last week observed:

“Bad times are good times for churches because people will turn to the Lord when things are going bad. When things are going great they ignore God.”

Then he proceeded to present recent evidence of revival in his home church in Lake Forest, California:

“He said revival hit his congregation in April, when the church saw 1,600 people come to Christ in that month alone. He said more than 1,000 people were baptized, and 2,600 people participated in the church’s monthly membership class, which typically draws 100 people.”

That is tremendous growth for a mega church with a steady membership that had leveled off in recent years. 

I can tell you from first hand experience, since I live in Lake Forest, that this area has been experiencing a severe recession with unemployment way over 10%. In my own family, 3 of my adult children had lost their jobs early in the year and another had lost a job but found another at 1/2 what he was making before. From January to July we had 5 extra people living in our home because of the downturn and still have three including two grandchildren.

In his address, Pastor Rick noted:

“We have the potential, if we are ready, to see genuine spiritual revival in our local churches—if we are prepared for it”

He cited Exodus 4 where Moses met God in the burning bush and the Lord told him to lay down his staff—the symbol of his authority and pick it up again renewed:

“When God told Moses to lay down his staff, He was saying, ‘I want you to lay down your influence, your identity and your income. When you pick it back up, it’s Mine,’” Warren said, noting that after that point, Moses’ staff was called the rod of God.

“God said, ‘If you give it to Me, I will make it come alive.”

Later, Pastor Rick listed 5 different stages that historical revivals usually go through:

1. personal renewal;

2. relational revival marked by repentance and reconciliation;

3. a renewal of vision that causes ministries to rediscover their purpose;

4. structural renewal to accommodate growth; and

5. cultural renewal, which happens as a result of the other phases.

He noted that revivals that stop with personal and relational renewal usually fizzle out. His address culminated with this important message for leaders:

“Nothing matters more” than reaching people with the gospel message.”

“If you want the blessing of God on your life, if you want the anointing of God on your life, if you want the power of God on your life, you must care about what God cares about most.”

“What does God care about most? It ain’t politics. It isn’t changing American culture. It’s He wants His lost children found.”

Amen, Pastor Rick.           

-Revival and The Jews

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Here’s an article By Sid Roth that suggests that the greatest revival of all time awaits for the gentiles to finally take the gospel back to the Jews:

”Will Revival Come to the Jews”? (LINK NLA)

Sid says that Oral Roberts recently had a visitation from the Lord, who told him:

“This is the hour Jewish people are being drawn to God.”

Also according to Roth:

“Here’s how it works. God is removing the spiritual scales from the eyes of Gentile Christians (see Rom. 11:25). Their spiritual maturity (fullness) will result in a great Jewish harvest. The salvation of the Jews will be the catalyst for the greatest Gentile revival in history.”

Response: I think Sid may really have something here. I have noticed in the last few years that miraculously more Jewish folks are coming to Christ than in any other generation since the first century.          

-Is The Reformation Movement Dead? What About The Charismatic Move?

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(Image by vgm8383 via Flickr)

Many of you will probably wonder what I am thinking—after all the Reformation happened over 500 years ago with Luther nailing 95 theses on a cathedral door. Actually, it is my contention that the Reformation was a move of God that is still with us in some degree or another—the effects of the move changed Christianity forever. It wasn’t just the beginning of Protestantism but also brought major changes to the Roman church also.

Regardless of how you view the history of the Reformation that continued for several hundred years, Catholics view it different than protestants, nevertheless God was bringing something lost and something new to the church through this move and all Christianity has been changed for the better because of it.

Any of you who have ever read a history of this move can readily admit and agree that not everything that happened was from God—particularly the major wars that plagued all of Europe for centuries.

Now What About the Charismatic Move?

I started thinking about this issue after reading J. Lee Grady’s latest editorial: The Charismatic Movement: Dead or Alive?(Link NLA)

The initial wave of the Charismatic movement is over but the effects continue on. And here’s where the confusion lies—no one would ever say that Pentecostalism is dead even though the original move that kicked it off happen in 1906. The same can be said of the Charismatic move that started in 1967. Though the original wave is over, the effects are still with us and it continues on.

What exactly did the Charismatic Move do anyway? What was the original function. So many today, 40 years after the beginning, look at a bunch of weird independent churches that call themselves ‘Charismatic’ and wonder if it was a real move of God after all. Believe me it was.

The real function of this move of God was not to found a new bunch of independent churches and associations/denominations, but to bring the gifts of the spirit and Pentecostalism into the mainstream. That is exactly what the move did—it broke down denominational walls and differences and spilled over into every denomination including the Catholics and Episcopalians.

This is another one of those—“I remember when” messages that I write every once in a while having lived through the whole thing! You see, I remember when all the Pentecostal churches were crummy little churches on the other side of the track in the worst parts of town and it definitely wasn’t socially advisable to admit that you were a ‘holy roller’. Not so today.

I can remember when I went to church with one of my buddies in 1965—it was a Southern Baptist Church. The moment I stepped into the vestibule I was greeted by a huge rack of tracts—with nearly half of them putting down Pentecostalism and particularly the gifts—did not make me feel all that welcome. Wow have times changed, last year I read an article in the Baptist Press that proclaimed that 50% of Southern Baptist Pastors believed in tongues. What happened—for better or worse–I think for better, the Charismatic move.

Today the vast majority of Christians are Pentecostal or Charismatic in their perspective and beliefs no matter what the denominational sign says on the church that they attend. This is particularly true in missional areas like Africa and Asia. This was not the way it was when I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s.

Even those fundamentalist Christians that like to claim that the gifts ceased in the Apostolic period have been affected by the move. Most of those folks believe that God still answers prayer, still heals, and even still speaks to them through the Holy Spirit and through the Word. Read some of John MacArthur’s books, particularly on Jesus and see if you’re not surprised by the Holy Spirit gracing the work and blessing you in the process.

The initial ‘Charismatic’ move may be over but the church continues to build upon the foundation that God brought to us through it. Just like we continue to build upon the Reformation and Pentecostal moves. The real point and the best part of Grady’s article is this—God is not done with us and we need to be open to the next wave that he sends to his church. He closes with this thought:

“It really doesn’t matter what we label the next movement. What’s important is His renewing presence. Rather than worshiping God around a monument to the past, let’s find out where He’s going and follow the glory cloud.”