Below is a GodTube.com video that I believe helps give some perspective on why America so desperately needs revival. The video is about 10 minutes long, so only those who are truly feeling that the Church of Jesus Christ in America is in need of genuine revival, will listen. Once you have listened to it, I would be interested in your comments, which you can post below the blog entry. ENJOY!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Beginning
This is the very first blog of what I prayerfully hope will become a chronicle of the revival the Lord is bringing to us. This revival has been prophesied for over 25 years now. The word the Lord has given us (at least here locally) is that the revival coming to our area (East Tennessee), will dwarf the revival that birthed our denomination, the Church of God! We are beginning to see God do this very thing!This revival is not just for East Tennessee, but is beginning all over the United States. We will actually address some of the characteristics and elements of this revival in subsequent blog posts. The Lord has impressed upon us that this revival is for "All who will be revived!" I will explain this in a deeper fashion in future posts on this blog. However, let me say that this revival IS for any and all who "WILL" to be revived, that means YOU the reader can be revived in this last great outpouring of the power of the Holy Ghost! May you be blessed and challenged by the story of what God is "up to" as He pours out His Spirit and brings this much needed revival! ENJOY!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Dam!
As you read on, you will begin to see how God was speaking to us through His Word and by His Spirit. Many things were laid out before us concerning what genuine revival would cost us today. While praying around our altar at our church, Christ the Rock Church of God, the Lord revealed to us that the reason we were not seeing the "power" of the Holy Spirit moving in our churches and our ministries, is because we had offended Him. We had offended the Holy Ghost by assuming a posture that we did not need Him nor His power in our churches! We have been in Pentecost for a long time now, and we know very well how to "have church!" Because of our offense against the Holy Spirit, and our apparent "we don't need You" attitude, the power of the Holy Ghost was like a river that had been "DAMNED" up! However, because we were seeking the Lord, and repenting of our offense against the Holy Ghost, the "dam" was beginning to crack and water was beginning to flow! The Lord went on to say that the move of God we were beginning to experience was because we were standing under one of those cracks and subsequent trickles of the Holy Spirit that was falling upon us! Our responsibility was to continue to: Pray, seek the Lord, and share what it is God wants HIS Church to be doing! Hence, this blog was formed! We hope the journaling of this revival, which is actually a "reformation," will be both a challenge and a blessing to you! Please write me, and let me know what the Lord is saying or doing in you ministries/churches!
Where is the Power?
The depth and far reaching ramifications of that question can at times boggle the mind. Recently a lady in our church who is very skilled in demographic studies and collecting information, responded to a question of mine. "How many Christian churches are there within a five mile radius of our church?" After a few days of research, the answer she gave me was incredible. She said "Pastor, there are 250 churches within a five mile radius of our church." I was stunned to say the least! The questions that were immediately obvious were: "If there are 251 churches in a five mile radius (including our church), then why are there still homeless? Why are there hungry? Why are there so many bars? Why are there strip clubs?" In my questioning, I believe the Lord directed me to the answer. The church of Jesus Christ is powerless! This led to much prayer and searching of the Scriptures to try to determine what had gone wrong in Knoxville Tennessee if there was this kind of "Christian" presence. The resulting answer was brought about in a sermon that I first gave to our church around January of 2009 entitled: "Where is the Power?" The question was answered by a divine revelation that I believe God gave to me. The gospel message that the church in the West is proclaiming is devoid of the "power" of the Holy Ghost. We have reduced the Gospel message to a "strict moral code" to live by, but no power to back-up and reinforce what is being said!Connect the dots in the Gospel of Luke, the fourth chapter: 1) Jesus is baptized by John and subsequently filled with the Holy Spirit. 2) He is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2) After defeating the devil, He returns to His hometown and begins His public ministry. 4) He preaches the Gospel with authority. 5) He demonstrates the veracity of what He is preaching, as the Kingdom of God having come among them, by demonstrating the power of God's Kingdom by casting out a demon. Note, the miraculous power of the Holy Ghost accompanied the proclamation of the Gospel message! The message was simple: "The Kingdom of God was now among us and active, and YOU can have a restored relationship with God through His Son Jesus, and oh by the way, let me demonstrate the truth of what is being said by the powerful miraculous demonstration of the Power of God!" THAT...... was the way the Lord, His Disciples, and the Early Church proclaimed the Gospel!some 2000 years later, we have the "message, we have the words," but.......... "where is the power?" The power of the Holy Ghost is meant to be the "norm" for the Christian church, as they proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We don't, and subsequently, in an age where people are searching for something "tangible" and deeply "spiritual" the church is failing in delivering the one true thing that can change them. The Gospel message of the Kingdom of God, validated and confirmed by the miraculous power of the Holy Ghost!" SELAH.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The "Seeking"
During the Christmas holiday of 2008, I had plans to be in Naples Florida spending Christmas with my Niece and her husband. Before I left, I asked our Prayer Team in our church to get alone with God and find out what He is saying to us. There was no other directives. When I returned, we gathered together and I asked them what the Lord was saying to them. Unanimously, they said that the Lord had pointed out to them that we, as a church, had not dedicated our building to the Lord. We had no idea what had been taught or done in the building, and felt like we needed to consecrate this building and our ministry to the Lord and for His glory. When the Lord first blessed us with this building, we were renting the local DAV building. This was a church facility that we began to rent, and then soon buy. Since we were already involved in various ministries, we kind of hit the ground running. Dedication of the building was soon "out-of-sight, out-of-mind."
During this time, it had come to our attention that there may be some in the area who are involved in some type of occult activity who may have been spiritually fighting against us, and this led to demonic attack against our church and its people. So, on February 22, 2009 we held our dedication service. We cancelled Sunday School and gathered our Prayer Team together and we prayed through the building, anointing it and consecrating it to the Lord. During that time, the Lord gave us a message in tongues and the interpretation was that He placed two waring angels over the top of our church to encamp there and that they were there to protect us and keep the enemy at bay. When the Morning Service began, I led the people in a dedication service. We then opened the door and had placed four people at the four corners of our property and at the same time that we as a congregation had dedicated our building, our ministry, and ourselves to the Lord, the four people poured out the anointing oil they had been given. And God blessed! After we dedicated the building, we had a Healing service. God touched many people that day. He healed some, delivered others, and deepened the intimacy of many in attendance! It was an awesome service, in which the Lord truly received our dedication and sanctified our building and our ministry here at our church! GLORY TO HIS NAME!
During this time, it had come to our attention that there may be some in the area who are involved in some type of occult activity who may have been spiritually fighting against us, and this led to demonic attack against our church and its people. So, on February 22, 2009 we held our dedication service. We cancelled Sunday School and gathered our Prayer Team together and we prayed through the building, anointing it and consecrating it to the Lord. During that time, the Lord gave us a message in tongues and the interpretation was that He placed two waring angels over the top of our church to encamp there and that they were there to protect us and keep the enemy at bay. When the Morning Service began, I led the people in a dedication service. We then opened the door and had placed four people at the four corners of our property and at the same time that we as a congregation had dedicated our building, our ministry, and ourselves to the Lord, the four people poured out the anointing oil they had been given. And God blessed! After we dedicated the building, we had a Healing service. God touched many people that day. He healed some, delivered others, and deepened the intimacy of many in attendance! It was an awesome service, in which the Lord truly received our dedication and sanctified our building and our ministry here at our church! GLORY TO HIS NAME!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Guest Writer
Its my honor to post here an article written by Mr. Steve Chellette, who is the son of my Ministry Mentor, Rev. Wayne Chellette. Steve resides with his wife and family in Dallas Texas. Following is the article he sent me, that I felt would be a blessing to those who read it, and indicative of the revival the Lord is beginning to pour out upon this land. ENJOY!
__________________________________________
The Final Reformation
By Steve Chelette
February 13th, 2006
A few years ago God gave me a system for personal leadership; I called it Raise His Standard. This was the direct result of having failed to live a strong Christian life and backsliding somewhat toward old behaviors while I was working at a company founded by a personal disciple of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. The bottom-line was that in spite of growing up in the Church of God, which gave me a good foundation, I didn’t stand and take territory in this scientology based environment.
When I left there I had to do some real soul searching and get honest about what had happened. I had given into the world around me rather than be the Light of God and His power in it. The question I asked myself was why? With the teaching and resources I was raised with and my Dad being a very consistent pastor, why did I fail to be a light in this dark, hostile environment?
The answer was, I had a head full of knowledge but I hadn’t really practiced enough to be strong in Him. I knew how to act like a Christian but I wasn’t living in the power and authority of Christ. As I looked across the landscape of Christianity it seemed I was in the majority. I realized that we are living in the Laodicea church age of Revelation 3:14-22. I was lukewarm and blind to my condition.
Disgusted with the reality of where I was as a “believer” and wounded from my experience, I asked God to change me. I pushed aside all of the head knowledge I had acquired from a lifetime in church and asked Him to build a new foundation in me that would stand and hold fast.
He led me to the book of John and finally to chapters 13 thru 17 which was Jesus’ last hours with His disciples just before His arrest and crucifixion. He
knew what was about to happen and so He focused on the teachings they would need to understand the most after having spent three and a half years with Him. It was a major paradigm shift from what they expected and for me. I had a new understanding and for the first time saw a pattern for living a successful Christian life that I hadn’t seen the other times I read those passages.
I spent the next several months soaking up those scriptures and developing the pattern of instruction. He then took me to 1 John (the same writer but 65 years of practice later) and showed me the practice component to the instruction. The system starts at the center with Love, Abide, Obey and Ask and works outward into applications of Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Social and Financial all working to manifest Christ’s Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness.
This is the life operating system that He taught me and I began to practice and even teach as a men’s program at my church. It proved to make me stronger and to raise up some men as well.
However, as is often the case, it became something familiar and as I got busy with a new job and challenges my practice faded. It didn’t take long for old behavior to resurface in my life. Not as bad as before but certainly not Raising His Standard as I had. I was losing strength. What I didn’t know was this experience would humble me yet again while giving me new experiences, relationships and opportunities. It was preparing me for something greater.
It led me to Doug Tucker and Dr. Ron Jenson and the Achieving Authentic Success® MAXIMIZERS™ principles. Something I see as a frame that fits perfectly on the Raise His Standard foundation. It is God’s truth delivered in a new wineskin and it is bringing me back in alignment with what He taught me. In short, I have a new program to practice and the strength and power of God is flowing back into me.
Jesus set the cornerstone of our purpose when he answered the Pharisees question in Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH, ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Later in John 13: 34,35 He says, “A NEW COMMAND I GIVE TO YOU, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, THAT YOU ALSO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. BY THIS ALL MEN WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.”
A powerful statement considering Jesus was about to give his life for that love He was speaking of. This commandment was to the believers and precedes the commandment to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations.” The Great Commission is a pretty tough order to fill if you’re not living the Great Commandment or the New Commandment mainly because believers aren’t modeling what He taught and therefore not offering value to the Nations we are supposed to disciple.
What would happen if a network of believers began to connect and practice what Jesus taught and commanded? Would we see a revival of God’s power working as it did in the first century church? Would non believers be so amazed by what they were seeing that they would have to take a closer look and investigate this phenomenon? Would God give a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit as a Grand Finale of revival to this world just before catching away His people?
There is only one way to find out! In Revelation 3:18-22 Jesus gives us some advice, actually more of an admonishment. I think it is a pretty good offer with verse 22 finishing by saying “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The question is are we listening?
February 16, 2006
I started a fast Sunday morning that lasted three days. I was seeking God for clarity and direction relative to some opportunities that are emerging. For the last few years God has continued to promote me both financially and in the relationships He has been bringing into my life. I even had an invitation to the Pentagon this past December 2nd and got to meet Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.
As I walked the halls of the Pentagon, a place recognized as the nerve center of the most powerful warriors on Earth, I was struck by the fact that periodically you would see small chapels and scripture carved in the walls. They also have pictures and paintings of our forefathers and great men and women of valor who loved God, Country and paid the ultimate price for freedom with their lives. It was an amazing history to take in.
So like the history in the Pentagon, I have felt a call to my history or heritage as a fourth generation Church of God member. About 40 miles East of Cleveland, Tennessee in the remote mountains of Eastern North Carolina, is a place called Fields of The Wood. It is maintained by the Church of God of Prophecy and preserves the history of the modern Pentecostal Movement which began in 1896 and birthed the Church of God in 1906.
Words and even pictures cannot describe what this place is like. Two mountains come together here and on one face is the world’s largest Ten Commandments, on the other is numerous historical monuments of scripture and four in particular that give a brief history of the reformations of the Christian movement. This history goes back centuries and even predates Martin Luther. There have been four reformations and in each case “The Church” was going dark because denominationalism, politics, and basically evil had gained a stronghold, they had abandoned the Great Commandment and Great Commission for man’s agenda.
The fourth reformation really broke out about 100 years ago to the day (January 26th and 27th 1906) at the base of that mountain. It is where the Church of God Movement, not denomination, began. The Headwaters of a Holy Ghost, Pentecostal outpouring that began to sweep the Globe. I had been called back to the place where it had all began. (1 John 1:4)
There is a memorial marker there facing the East that refers to the “Latter Rain” outpouring of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It was there, today that I asked my Dad to anoint me with oil and transfer his mantle but with God’s unique calling for my life. So he did anoint me and prayed a blessing on me and called God’s purpose for me into action. Then I prayed and together we took the lid (Spiritually speaking) off that ancient well and asked the Holy Ghost to once again flow like a river and a flood through the Earth.
Then I believe I prophesied and told my Dad that we had just witnessed the beginning of the Fifth Reformation of The Church, meaning the body of Christ. That is what God is doing! This is the Fifth and Final Reformation of Restoration in Christian History, and this generation will not pass away before seeing His return.
Prior to this Dad and I had stood on the highest sight on the mountain above where this event took place. On it there is a large concrete cross laid out in a foundation that holds flag poles that flies all the flags of the nations that have been reached from the last movement that began there. It’s a BIG CROSS, about 30 yards long and 20 yards or so wide. The last time Dad was up there the foundation had been falling apart and breaking in pieces. Today it was all new, a fresh totally new white foundation of the cross had been poured.
It was there, standing in the center of that cross that I read to Dad the scriptures Mom had been given concerning my ministry and mission that was set fourth today. Jeremiah 1:4-10, Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Alas Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them. For I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord.”
Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, “Behold I have put My words in your mouth. See I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Mom and I didn’t know it but Dad told her later that these are the exact same scriptures God gave him when he accepted his call to ministry. Isn’t that just like God. Back to the base of the mountain, Dad and I had finished our prayer together and got back in the truck to leave. Some men had been cutting trees about thirty yards behind the marker and one of them started walking toward the truck and motioned for us to stop. He asked if we were Church of God folks and had an object in his hand he thought we would be interested in.
It was the leg from a cast iron wood stove. He said he had sold the land to the Church of God of Prophesy where they had placed the memorial that told the story of the old log building that used to be in that area. This was the building where one hundred or so people had been worshiping when the Latter Rain Holy Ghost outpouring had occurred around 1896. He said he had found the leg of the stove with his metal detector about fifty yards East of the marker where the log building had stood. He went on to say the leg of that old wood stove was all that was left of the building, that remnant of history where our Pentecostal heritage had begun. He had to dig it up to retrieve it. (There is a lesson in that)
I knew this “Baptist” brother had given us a confirmation from God but it wasn’t until I got home that the Holy Spirit revealed to me its meaning. That cast iron leg was the last remnant of something that supported and held the FIRE! It was a witness and testimony to the Fire of the Holy Ghost that had fallen there and set a worldwide revival in motion that today has reached 170 nations and counting. The Spirit of God spoke to me and said, “All that remains in the Earth today is a Remnant of His Church.” I think its worth noting that it had to be searched for with something that is designed to look for the unseen (faith) and that it had to be dug up in order to be brought forth (works).
Again, we are in the Laodicea church age spoken of in Revelation. God is awakening this remnant, His Keepers Of The Flame to His call. I know that dad and I opened the Headwaters of that ancient well so that His Holy Spirit could once again flow freely in the Earth. There are other places like it where I believe the same thing is happening. Azusa Street in Los Angeles, celebrates its centennial in April of this year, and I think the area in Kansas that birthed the Assemblies of God is also near its centennial. All are portals of Pentecost that are awakening the remnant.
Four times in the history of Christianity the flame has nearly gone out. And every time God has stirred a remnant to action, fanned new flames and restored His Church. I believe we are at the beginning of the Fifth and Final Reformation but unlike the reformations of the past, this will be only for a short season. It will happen quickly and catch many by surprise. With the communications systems we have today His message can spread faster than ever.
This is new wine in a new wineskin and many in the Church won’t even recognize it. They will be critical and behave like the Pharisees and Sadducees did when Jesus came and demonstrated God’s power in the Earth. However, God has an army of believers waiting to be enlisted, equipped and trained, and then led into battle. The world is desperate for His Truth and Love and we are the only ones who can deliver it.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
May God richly bless you as you accept the call to be a Keeper of the Flame
__________________________________________
The Final Reformation
By Steve Chelette
February 13th, 2006
A few years ago God gave me a system for personal leadership; I called it Raise His Standard. This was the direct result of having failed to live a strong Christian life and backsliding somewhat toward old behaviors while I was working at a company founded by a personal disciple of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. The bottom-line was that in spite of growing up in the Church of God, which gave me a good foundation, I didn’t stand and take territory in this scientology based environment.
When I left there I had to do some real soul searching and get honest about what had happened. I had given into the world around me rather than be the Light of God and His power in it. The question I asked myself was why? With the teaching and resources I was raised with and my Dad being a very consistent pastor, why did I fail to be a light in this dark, hostile environment?
The answer was, I had a head full of knowledge but I hadn’t really practiced enough to be strong in Him. I knew how to act like a Christian but I wasn’t living in the power and authority of Christ. As I looked across the landscape of Christianity it seemed I was in the majority. I realized that we are living in the Laodicea church age of Revelation 3:14-22. I was lukewarm and blind to my condition.
Disgusted with the reality of where I was as a “believer” and wounded from my experience, I asked God to change me. I pushed aside all of the head knowledge I had acquired from a lifetime in church and asked Him to build a new foundation in me that would stand and hold fast.
He led me to the book of John and finally to chapters 13 thru 17 which was Jesus’ last hours with His disciples just before His arrest and crucifixion. He
knew what was about to happen and so He focused on the teachings they would need to understand the most after having spent three and a half years with Him. It was a major paradigm shift from what they expected and for me. I had a new understanding and for the first time saw a pattern for living a successful Christian life that I hadn’t seen the other times I read those passages.
I spent the next several months soaking up those scriptures and developing the pattern of instruction. He then took me to 1 John (the same writer but 65 years of practice later) and showed me the practice component to the instruction. The system starts at the center with Love, Abide, Obey and Ask and works outward into applications of Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Social and Financial all working to manifest Christ’s Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness.
This is the life operating system that He taught me and I began to practice and even teach as a men’s program at my church. It proved to make me stronger and to raise up some men as well.
However, as is often the case, it became something familiar and as I got busy with a new job and challenges my practice faded. It didn’t take long for old behavior to resurface in my life. Not as bad as before but certainly not Raising His Standard as I had. I was losing strength. What I didn’t know was this experience would humble me yet again while giving me new experiences, relationships and opportunities. It was preparing me for something greater.
It led me to Doug Tucker and Dr. Ron Jenson and the Achieving Authentic Success® MAXIMIZERS™ principles. Something I see as a frame that fits perfectly on the Raise His Standard foundation. It is God’s truth delivered in a new wineskin and it is bringing me back in alignment with what He taught me. In short, I have a new program to practice and the strength and power of God is flowing back into me.
Jesus set the cornerstone of our purpose when he answered the Pharisees question in Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH, ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Later in John 13: 34,35 He says, “A NEW COMMAND I GIVE TO YOU, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, THAT YOU ALSO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. BY THIS ALL MEN WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.”
A powerful statement considering Jesus was about to give his life for that love He was speaking of. This commandment was to the believers and precedes the commandment to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations.” The Great Commission is a pretty tough order to fill if you’re not living the Great Commandment or the New Commandment mainly because believers aren’t modeling what He taught and therefore not offering value to the Nations we are supposed to disciple.
What would happen if a network of believers began to connect and practice what Jesus taught and commanded? Would we see a revival of God’s power working as it did in the first century church? Would non believers be so amazed by what they were seeing that they would have to take a closer look and investigate this phenomenon? Would God give a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit as a Grand Finale of revival to this world just before catching away His people?
There is only one way to find out! In Revelation 3:18-22 Jesus gives us some advice, actually more of an admonishment. I think it is a pretty good offer with verse 22 finishing by saying “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The question is are we listening?
February 16, 2006
I started a fast Sunday morning that lasted three days. I was seeking God for clarity and direction relative to some opportunities that are emerging. For the last few years God has continued to promote me both financially and in the relationships He has been bringing into my life. I even had an invitation to the Pentagon this past December 2nd and got to meet Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.
As I walked the halls of the Pentagon, a place recognized as the nerve center of the most powerful warriors on Earth, I was struck by the fact that periodically you would see small chapels and scripture carved in the walls. They also have pictures and paintings of our forefathers and great men and women of valor who loved God, Country and paid the ultimate price for freedom with their lives. It was an amazing history to take in.
So like the history in the Pentagon, I have felt a call to my history or heritage as a fourth generation Church of God member. About 40 miles East of Cleveland, Tennessee in the remote mountains of Eastern North Carolina, is a place called Fields of The Wood. It is maintained by the Church of God of Prophecy and preserves the history of the modern Pentecostal Movement which began in 1896 and birthed the Church of God in 1906.
Words and even pictures cannot describe what this place is like. Two mountains come together here and on one face is the world’s largest Ten Commandments, on the other is numerous historical monuments of scripture and four in particular that give a brief history of the reformations of the Christian movement. This history goes back centuries and even predates Martin Luther. There have been four reformations and in each case “The Church” was going dark because denominationalism, politics, and basically evil had gained a stronghold, they had abandoned the Great Commandment and Great Commission for man’s agenda.
The fourth reformation really broke out about 100 years ago to the day (January 26th and 27th 1906) at the base of that mountain. It is where the Church of God Movement, not denomination, began. The Headwaters of a Holy Ghost, Pentecostal outpouring that began to sweep the Globe. I had been called back to the place where it had all began. (1 John 1:4)
There is a memorial marker there facing the East that refers to the “Latter Rain” outpouring of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It was there, today that I asked my Dad to anoint me with oil and transfer his mantle but with God’s unique calling for my life. So he did anoint me and prayed a blessing on me and called God’s purpose for me into action. Then I prayed and together we took the lid (Spiritually speaking) off that ancient well and asked the Holy Ghost to once again flow like a river and a flood through the Earth.
Then I believe I prophesied and told my Dad that we had just witnessed the beginning of the Fifth Reformation of The Church, meaning the body of Christ. That is what God is doing! This is the Fifth and Final Reformation of Restoration in Christian History, and this generation will not pass away before seeing His return.
Prior to this Dad and I had stood on the highest sight on the mountain above where this event took place. On it there is a large concrete cross laid out in a foundation that holds flag poles that flies all the flags of the nations that have been reached from the last movement that began there. It’s a BIG CROSS, about 30 yards long and 20 yards or so wide. The last time Dad was up there the foundation had been falling apart and breaking in pieces. Today it was all new, a fresh totally new white foundation of the cross had been poured.
It was there, standing in the center of that cross that I read to Dad the scriptures Mom had been given concerning my ministry and mission that was set fourth today. Jeremiah 1:4-10, Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Alas Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them. For I am with you to deliver you declares the Lord.”
Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, “Behold I have put My words in your mouth. See I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Mom and I didn’t know it but Dad told her later that these are the exact same scriptures God gave him when he accepted his call to ministry. Isn’t that just like God. Back to the base of the mountain, Dad and I had finished our prayer together and got back in the truck to leave. Some men had been cutting trees about thirty yards behind the marker and one of them started walking toward the truck and motioned for us to stop. He asked if we were Church of God folks and had an object in his hand he thought we would be interested in.
It was the leg from a cast iron wood stove. He said he had sold the land to the Church of God of Prophesy where they had placed the memorial that told the story of the old log building that used to be in that area. This was the building where one hundred or so people had been worshiping when the Latter Rain Holy Ghost outpouring had occurred around 1896. He said he had found the leg of the stove with his metal detector about fifty yards East of the marker where the log building had stood. He went on to say the leg of that old wood stove was all that was left of the building, that remnant of history where our Pentecostal heritage had begun. He had to dig it up to retrieve it. (There is a lesson in that)
I knew this “Baptist” brother had given us a confirmation from God but it wasn’t until I got home that the Holy Spirit revealed to me its meaning. That cast iron leg was the last remnant of something that supported and held the FIRE! It was a witness and testimony to the Fire of the Holy Ghost that had fallen there and set a worldwide revival in motion that today has reached 170 nations and counting. The Spirit of God spoke to me and said, “All that remains in the Earth today is a Remnant of His Church.” I think its worth noting that it had to be searched for with something that is designed to look for the unseen (faith) and that it had to be dug up in order to be brought forth (works).
Again, we are in the Laodicea church age spoken of in Revelation. God is awakening this remnant, His Keepers Of The Flame to His call. I know that dad and I opened the Headwaters of that ancient well so that His Holy Spirit could once again flow freely in the Earth. There are other places like it where I believe the same thing is happening. Azusa Street in Los Angeles, celebrates its centennial in April of this year, and I think the area in Kansas that birthed the Assemblies of God is also near its centennial. All are portals of Pentecost that are awakening the remnant.
Four times in the history of Christianity the flame has nearly gone out. And every time God has stirred a remnant to action, fanned new flames and restored His Church. I believe we are at the beginning of the Fifth and Final Reformation but unlike the reformations of the past, this will be only for a short season. It will happen quickly and catch many by surprise. With the communications systems we have today His message can spread faster than ever.
This is new wine in a new wineskin and many in the Church won’t even recognize it. They will be critical and behave like the Pharisees and Sadducees did when Jesus came and demonstrated God’s power in the Earth. However, God has an army of believers waiting to be enlisted, equipped and trained, and then led into battle. The world is desperate for His Truth and Love and we are the only ones who can deliver it.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
May God richly bless you as you accept the call to be a Keeper of the Flame
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Confirmation
In April of 2009, my Wife, Daughter, and Mother In Law went to Michigan for a family Bridal Shower. While there, on Sunday they went to the families old church, the Lake Orion Church of God. The Pastor was a new pastor that didn't know our family. My Wife introduced the family and the service began. During the praise and worship, the Lord moved in a mighty way. One song in particular blessed my wife and family. The singer sung a song which included the lyrics "Everything is going to be alright." The Lord used to Pastor to inform my Wife that the Lord intended that song for her and our church. He asked if Kelley, my Wife, would come up front and let him pray for her, to which she agreed. He anointed her and then was silent. The Lord gave him a word for her, he said: "That which has been happening at your church is a genuine move of the Holy Ghost! The Lord has shown me that He has placed 2 waring angels over the top of you building, and at the 4 corners of your property, He has an angel encamped!" Notice the similarity to the above post detailing the fact that 2 months earlier, during our building dedication, the Lord had informed us that 2 waring Angels were over the top of our building and remember, that we had people at the "FOUR CORNERS" of the property, pouring out anointing oil, as we dedicated the building and property to the Lord! Two months after the fact, and some 650 miles away, from a man that didn't know us or anything that had transpired, the Lord confirmed His Word! GOD IS DEFINITELY ON THE MOVE AND UP TO SOMETHING! We encourage YOU to get in the flow of the Holy Spirit and what God is doing! It is for YOU and YOUR church, and "FOR THOSE WHO WILL BE REVIVED!"
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