Next Wave Magazine August 2013 by Life Network

THE VOICE OF THE FIVEFOLD ROUNDTABLE | VOLUME 81 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2013

IN THIS ISSUE: 50TH – YEAR OF JUBILEE THE PROPHETS TRAINING MISTAKES OF PROPHETIC MINISTRY

others you will find yourself

THE NEXT WAVE www.icof.net PUBLISHER International Circle of Faith (ICOF)

JUBILEE Bernie L Wade

The Next Wave - Contributing Editors

John Rogers, Doc Burkhart and others.

Ken Horn

Bishop Derrick Day

David Tait, Lea Bates, Derrick Day, Bernie Wade, Robert Straube, Barney Philips,

A Model for Revival

The Prophet’s Training and Maturation Process Robert Straube

1857 Prayer Revival

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Prophecy Errors J. Lee Grady

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We’ve Lost Christianity Andrew Strom

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RELIGITICS 2

great outpouring of the Holy Spirit with signs following! Thank you! By faith it is already done. We ask for confirmation in the earth of what has already been done in Heaven. JUBILEE! PS. We don't care who gets the credit for this as long as God is Glorified! Thank you to all my special friends! I

FOR THIS YEAR OF JUBILEE

am honored that you took time to stop

July 2013 - June 2014 we

and give greetings and wishes on my

have chosen this theme song:

birthday! This was my 50th birthday. The number 50 is associated with

THERE IS POWER IN THE

Jubilee! This was a time of release of

NAME OF JESUS TO BREAK

debt, release from servitude, labor, land, etc. I want you all to agree with

EVERY CHAIN

me that in this year of Jubilee God will

(SEE LINK BELOW)

supernatural release those held captive by: sin, religion, men, the past, the present, debt, taxes, and more. Pray that we will see a supernatural overflow of repentance. Pray that men (and women) will repent and ask God to heal our land, release His people to their Divine destiny and purpose while bringing restoration of the New

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNAV98bA

Testament Church. That this would be

qng

manifested in Love one to another, Biblical repentance, true humility, and a 3

From the FIVEFOLD ROUNDTABLE TEACHING SERIES

while they wait for their unveiling. I’d like to also inspire senior pastors to take on the role of spiritual fathers as the Lord leads them but to also know the cost of time involved in this process. Both the trainee and the ministry father will have to spend countless hours together in various settings during this process.

The Prophet’s Training and Maturation Process PART 1 By Apostle Robert Straube

My teaching applies just as well with the other ministry officers such as the apostle, pastor, evangelist and teacher. They all need to be trained, developed and fathered into ministry. They need wise counsel from seasoned ministry and spiritual impartation, which comes with time.

INTRODUCTION: The following is part one of a series of lessons on fathering and training prophets in the Kingdom of God. These lessons are by no means meant to be a comprehensive study in developing, training and releasing prophets into their ministries. Nor will it cover the function of the prophet, different kinds of prophets, or the operation and use of gifts or the manifestations of the Spirit as it relates to the prophets office.

The benefit for the ministry gift that takes on the role of spiritual fathering is that you become seasoned in training other ministry gifts. You gain much needed experience and wisdom as you work with the different gifts and personalities of the individuals. You see the fruit of your labor manifesting as your offspring mature in prayer, teaching, preaching and in godly character. The greatest day for me is when I am able to lay my hands on them on the day of their official “being sent” ordination.

My main intent is to show (budding) developing prophets the importance of being fathered into their ministries and to teach them the importance of being patient during the maturation process

For the trainee the greatest blessing is to know that you are not an illegitimate child with no generational identity and to go into your ministry with the blessing of your pastor and spiritual parent as well as with the blessing of the local congregation, who can testify of your patience, commitment, faithfulness, integrity and your godly character.

May you receive impartation as you prayerfully read and apply the principles contained within these lessons. THE PROPHET MUST BE DEDICATED TO THE TRAINING PROCESS: “And when she (Hannah) had weaned him (Samuel), she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him (Samuel) unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there” (1 Samuel 1:-24-28).

The term “spiritual fathering” is used in a generic sense and applies to male and female ministry fathers. The biblical examples I will use throughout this teaching will be Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, the Lord Jesus, and some others.

Hannah had been barren, unable to have a child, for the Lord had closed her womb. Being desperate to have a son, she went up to Shiloh, to the house of the Lord and began to pray earnestly for God to give her a son.

One more thing before you read on. I am teaching from 30+ years of equipping experience in the Body of Christ. And from functioning in the apostle’s office since 1981. Fathering is who I am. It is my passion. Yet, I must admit I have much more to learn!

She made a vow that if the Lord would give her a son she would in turn give the child back to the Lord forever. Toward the end of 5

her time in the presence of God, Eli the priest encountered her and gave her his priestly blessing.

fulfill in their lives. However, I am strictly dealing with the fivefold ministry, which are the apostle, prophet, teacher, pastor and evangelist, and specifically, in this lesson, the office of the prophet.

In time she bore a son and named him Samuel. After her time of nursing him and then weaning him, she and her husband kept the promise to present the child to the Lord at the tabernacle and then leave him with Eli the priest to start his training to be a priest, prophet and judge.

Like Hannah the local church leadership must be willing to not only provide pasture (nurse) to feed the children of the Kingdom but to identify those that have calls to the offices mentioned above.

Hannah is a picture of the local church who by having an intimate relationship with her husband [Jesus Christ] is to bare children to her beloved. She [the church] is to desperately (with all its heart) seek the Lord to be healed of her barrenness and become fertile, enabling her to conceive His seed and bring forth spiritual children into the Kingdom of God. Like Hannah the local church and its leadership is to give “suck” to her children by providing spiritual milk [elementary principles] and then weaning them from these basics of the Kingdom of God and introduce them to the deeper things of God which is considered the “meat” of the Word.

I realize not every pastor wants to take on the role of a spiritual father, so I’m not addressing them. I want to address those shepherds who are willing to devote some time to the role of spiritual fathering because this is how the Heavenly Father propagates the Kingdom.

Everyone born into the Kingdom of God has a call to

Assuming that the local pastor is willing to take on that role or 6

IS a ministry father and he or she has identified the person or persons that have a call to the ministry, then what is the potential trainee supposed to do?

point of that relationship considers him or herself as one that is born from his teachers spiritual loins. The trainee spiritually takes on the spiritual genes of his ministry father.

Like Hannah the local church must be willing to surrender those called to the ministry to the oversight of the spiritual father to be trained for their specific offices. That means that the local pastor who is a ministry father will not have much time to do visitations, visit the hospitals and counsel marriages. I know that what I just said will upset many people but that is why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for the ministry father to have those working for him that will fulfill those duties on his behalf.

In the text above Hannah and her husband took Samuel and dedicate him to the Lord. After offering sacrifices to the Lord they honored Him further by leaving the child with Eli the priest to be used for His purposes. The Bible says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from himâ&#x20AC;? (Psalm 127:3). Samuel was a gift that was given to Hannah. She in turn gave that gift back to the One that gave it. You have a gift, an office on the inside of you that needs to be given back to the One that gave it. He then, entrusts that gift to one of His faithful servants to nurture it, tend to it, raise it, protect it, and mature it so that in the end of the training process that gift is released into this world as a fully functioning prophet. So, like Samuel the budding prophet at the early stages of development, must be DEDICATED to the training process. ARE YOU WILLING TO DO THAT?

Spiritual fathering is time consuming. It takes a great amount of time to raise up the ministry officers. Spiritual fathering implies that a relationship is being formed over a period of time. And the one being fathered at some

Now let me make something clear right here and now. This has nothing to do with natural age. It just so happened that Eli 7

was much older than Samuel who was a young child when he was left at the house of God to be trained. Your ministry father may be older than you or he may be younger than you. As long as the ministry father is seasoned and experienced he can father you into your purpose.

one God has attached you to and be patient in your training. TRAINING UNDER SPIRITUAL SUPERVISION “And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child (Samuel) did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest” (1 Samuel 2:11). Notice that our text says that Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli the priest. The word minister means to “attend, serve, or wait.” So part of learning what it means to be a prophet is learning to SERVE in the ministry. The word before means “at the face of or under the supervision of.” So the budding prophet must serve the Lord in the local church setting under the supervision of senior ministry. This is a great test for many budding prophets! Will they serve in the local church setting? Are they willing to work as ushers, deacons, nursery workers, or Sunday school teachers knowing that this labor of love is part of their training?

By “DEDICATED” I mean to be completely devoted to your training under your ministry father. The reason I say this is because your relationship with your ministry father WILL be tested more than once. Further, there are unscrupulous ministry gifts that will see your potential and will try to draw you away from your ministry father and from the maturation process. If your motives are wrong, you will be drawn away by your own carnal lusts. BEWARE! Be committed to the

Too many are unwilling to submit themselves to seasoned ministry because they haven’t any patience to endure the maturation process. They want to be acknowledged as prophets so they can go and do their own thing! These are individualists 8

who disconnected themselves from the life flow of the local body. Being disconnected they have no generational identity and God considers them “strange” children. They inevitably become clouds without water, trees without fruit. Their god is their belly and their fleshly appetites and thoughts of grandeur deceive them.

him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils” (Mark 3:13-15). “So they (Barnabas and Saul), being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jew: and they had also John (Mark) to their minister” (Acts 13:4-5). “Then came he (Paul) to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek” (Acts 16:1-3).

Take a close look at the following scriptures and see how important it is for you as a budding prophet to be fathered into your ministry. “So he (Elijah) departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelve: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he (Elisha) left the oxen, and ran after Elijah” (1 Kings 19:1920a).

“This one Paul wants to come out with him, and, taking him, circumcised him because of the Jews who are in those places, for they all were aware that his father belonged to the Greeks” (Acts 16:3 Concordant Literal).

“And he (Jesus) goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with

Elisha, the twelve disciples of Jesus, John Mark, and Timothy 9

were all chosen by ministry fathers to be trained for the work to which they were called. They were to dedicate themselves to the lengthy process of discipleship by serving those they were under and walked with them as they were under the guidance and leadership of God. These disciples were to carry out the orders of their teachers, no matter how menial the task, at a moments notice. They were also required to spend long periods of time with those that were training them. This tested their resolve! Did they have the right stuff to endure the training and maturation process? Would they one day receive the blessing of their ministry fathers and fulfill their God given mandate?

If you desire to have a legitimate ministry and desire to be a fully functioning prophet, then you must submit to the lengthy process called discipleship. You must allow the Lord to use the ministry of a seasoned ministry gift to birth (bring you forth) into your purpose and destiny as a prophet.

PART 2 COMING IN THE NEXT WAVE SEPTEMBER 2013 To request the complete teaching email: administration@icof.net

The budding prophet must be DEDICATED to the training process. This process includes teaching the spiritual things that are part and parcel to the prophetic ministry, but also, dealing with character development as well. This is the part that most budding prophets would rather neglect.

Dr. Robert Straube serves as President of ICOF CSU. He is a member of the US National Fivefold Roundtable and President of Rock of Zion Ministries.

For a seasoned apostle and prophet that train future ministry gifts character development is foremost in their minds. CHRIST must be formed in the trainee! More on this later. 10

large charismatic church. I shared these

The 5 Biggest Mistakes We Make in Prophetic Ministry ~

points below with the students. I think

By J. Lee Grady

they will help you in your local church, especially if you want to develop a

& Guidelines by Ray Horton

prophetic ministry that is healthy, God-honoring and faithful to the New

While ministering in Eastern Europe this

Testament. In my experience with

week, I learned about a church leader

prophetic ministry over the years, I

who recently aired an audacious claim.

believe there are five big mistakes we

He says he was taken to heaven in

make in this important area.

some sort of fantastic vision and that while in glory he met and talked to the apostle Paul himself.

The clincher is even more ridiculous: This self-appointed leader says Paul commissioned him as an apostle to his country, adding that anyone else who claims to be in that office is going straight to hell. This isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the most diplomatic way to win followers. Five Big Mistakes in Prophetic Ministry

There have always been and always will be religious megalomaniacs who split

1. Giving prophets elite status.

churches with claims of special

Nowhere in the New Testament are

revelation. But the saddest part is

prophets exalted to a privileged class.

that men like this give the biblical gift

Paul himself said all members of the

of prophecy a bad name and cause

body need each other, and in his

people to be suspicious of anything

discussion of spiritual gifts in 1

of a supernatural nature. While I was

Corinthians 12-14, he warns against

overseas I helped teach at a prophetic

ranking spirituality by gifting. He wrote,

school that is sponsored annually by a 11

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have

prophets are subject to prophets” (1

no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:21, NASB).

Cor. 14:32).

Many prophets get a disease that I call

You should never be out of control

egotisticus giganticus. They are puffed

when you deliver a word from God.

up by their revelations. Then, when

The fruit of the Holy Spirit includes both

people line up to hear them, they are

gentleness and self-control. If you are

forced to come up with more sensational

prophesying like a banshee, you are

claims—along with names, dates and

either influenced by a religious spirit or

exotic manifestations. Let’s dispense

you need to be ushered out of the room

with the arrogance and empower the

until someone can calm you down.

average Joes and Janes in the local church so they can encourage people

3. Allowing harsh prophetic words to

through biblical prophetic ministry.

abuse people. Some people who claim to have the gift of prophecy need to be

2. Promoting charismatic chaos.

warned to stop speaking altogether. I

Some people act weird when they

know of a church where a lady routinely

prophesy in order to get attention. Some

gave personal words to people warning

shake in funny ways, speak in affected

of calamities or judgments. She even

tones or use archaic “Listen thou to me!”

said that God wanted to kill them!

lingo. It’s okay to be passionate, but you

Usually these angry “prophets” claim to

don’t need to scare people. Some have

know all the unconfessed sins in a

been deceived into thinking that they

person’s life.

must shake their heads or scream in order to get their point across. This must have been happening in Corinth, too, but Paul brought swift correction. In New Testament times, pagan prophets spoke in ecstatic speech because they were possessed by demons. But Paul told the Corinthians, “The spirits of 12

New Testament prophecy is

recovered by a miracle Elisha

specifically used to encourage,

performed. I believe miracles are linked

comfort and exhort believers (see 1

to mentorship. When no mentors are

Cor. 14:3). That rules out

around, we foolishly try to cut down

condemnation and harsh criticism

trees with an axe handle—and we end

disguised as a word from God. Our

up relying on our own good ideas

heavenly Father does not speak to His

and programs instead of God’s

children in a hateful, scolding tone. He is

power. Don’t assume you know

an encourager, even when He brings

everything. Don’t be so eager

correction. Remember: Paul said that if

to go until you grow to maturity.

you use the gift of prophecy without love, it is useless (see 1 Cor. 13:2)!

5. Shutting down prophecy because the gift was abused. Because of the

4. Not mentoring prophets. Today we

problems I’ve mentioned, some pastors

have forgotten the importance of

just give up and shut prophecy down.

mentorship. We have Bible colleges for

They’d rather have a safe church

preachers, but we neglect training in

environment than expose people to any

other vital areas. We wrongly assume

possibility of a prophetic catastrophe. If

that if a person is blessed with a spiritual

this were the wisest thing to do, why

gift like prophecy, it just flows without

didn’t Paul clamp down on all

any instruction.

charismatic expression among the Corinthians? Things were wild there—

In the Old Testament, there were

with off-the-wall prophecies, out-of-

schools of prophets. Second Kings 6:1-6

control prophets and harsh messages.

tells how Elisha went with some younger prophets to build an expansion to their

Yet Paul offered these life-giving words:

school, and one of the men lost the

“Desire earnestly spiritual gifts,

blade of the axe he was using to cut

especially that you may prophesy” (1

down trees for timber. Because the

Cor. 14:1), and he ended his discourse

older prophet was with the younger

by saying “desire earnestly to prophesy”

ones, the head of the axe was

(v. 39). Shutting down charismatic 13

gifts is unbiblical. Instead of limiting

sharing a bit of the word with leadership

the way God wants to communicate

first.

to us, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s honor the Holy Spirit and learn to exercise prophecy the way

I remember when having first come into

He intended.

the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the large prayer group that met weekly had

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of

some good guidelines for anything

Charisma and the director of the

shared from the congregation, including

Mordecai Project

prophecy. Using the first five letters of

(themordecaiproject.org).

the alphabet, ABCDE, made them easy to remember. I'll share each with a bit of commentary:

A - Audible - No point in sharing if everyone can't hear. We had a floor mic to use, since even if you spoke loudly, the service was being recorded and the word wouldn't be picked up without using the microphone. A word should never be shouted out from the GUIDELINES FOR SHARING A WORD

congregation. All should be done

IN CHURCH, BY RAY E HORTON:

decently and in order.

If you are in a church that is open to the

B - Brief - You lose people's attention if

free flow of the Holy Spirit using

you go on and on, and you need to

members of the congregation, here is

allow time for others who are led to

something that may help in proper

speak, as well as for other parts of the

involvement. Every church is

service. Also, be sensitive to the will of

different. You may need to come

the leadership, who have the broader

forward and ask for permission, maybe

overview.

C - Christ-Centered - The service isn't

urge us to trust in Him, etc., but

the place to get up and share your own

exhortation never includes criticism or

"good" ideas. If the word isn't Christ-

condemnation. What is almost always

centered, it's unlikely to be Holy Spirit

needed, and is God's heart, is for His

inspired.

people to be built up in Him.

D - Divinely Inspired - It isn't about

The Bible says to "...eagerly desire gifts

you, it's about Him. Especially prophetic

of the Spirit, especially prophecy" (1

words to be real must be Holy Spirit led

Cor. 14:1). So, I believe, more than

and inspired. True, when God speaks

simply permitted, the use of the gifts

through us, He is speaking through the

should be taught and encouraged so

minds of human vessels, and some of

that the congregation is blessed, grows

us will be reflected. A word from the

stronger, and the Holy Spirit isn't

Lord usually comes by spontaneous

quenched. That way people with

inspiration. For some, it all forms in

prophetic gifts are developed, and it

their mind and they remember it before

won't always be the same several

sharing. For others, like myself, you

people giving a word.

may just have the very beginning and the gist of what God wants to say, and

To have right use of the gift, there needs

when you start, it just flows forth. If you

to be some education and training on

believe you should share, you need to

Biblical use. It is easy to prevent abuse

have a strong sense not only that God is

of prophecy with good training and

speaking through you, but that it is His

knowing the people, but it is hard to get

timing, and that the word isn't just meant

people to have the confidence to use

for you personally.

the gift, so regular encouragement is needed in order to have a really spirit-

E - Edifying and Encouraging - God

filled church.

isn't about passing out downers in the church service. That is not the place for correction. Exhortation yes, if we understand it right. God does want to 15

APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP

taught by the Apostles of Jesus Christ and practiced by the New Testament Church during its initial 100 years. A time before the loss of the key tenets of doctrine were replaced by the edicts of men.

ROUNDTABLE An open letter to those entrusted with leadership in the New Testament Church in 2013

Apostolic Reformation

by Dr. Bernie L. Wade

The concept of Apostolic reformation has been the rally cry of a plethora of historic reformation efforts. The most notable of these restorations was aptly named the Apostolic Faith. This movement began as a Bible college and was organized by Charles F. Parham. Parham is credited with being the father of not only the Apostolic Faith movement but also subsequent movements including the Pentecostal movement and the Charismatic movement. It was Parhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call for the restoration of the Apostleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doctrine that was the catalyst for all of these movements and reformation efforts.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Those who were drawn to these movements primarily came from denominational backgrounds. These often found themselves outcast from their denomination because of the manifestations that were associated with these reformation movements. To counteract the void these adherents organized their own denominations (sometimes referred to as fellowships or ministerial groups). They used the systems that they were most familiar with in organizing these movements. Those who are beneficiaries of these movements have inherited this same denominational model (ministerial organizations, ministries and other organisms) that those who participated in these early movements created.

Praise the Lord! For some time now we have been discussing with key leaders how we might work together to bring Apostolic reformation to America and beyond. When we speak of Apostolic reformation we are not referencing any of a plethora of groups or movements that have used (or use) those words as a wall to keep others at armâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s length. What we are speaking about is the restoration of all those things Apostolic. In other words, those things that were believed and 16

Good, bad or indifferent these organizations have left us with no mechanism or method to bring us together. Rather, they have left us divided by man-made walls of separation. This has left the posterity of these movements segregated into a plethora of factions.

nor will it ever be another ministerial organization. Rather, those who need licensure and the like can consult with one of the organizations participating in this roundtable effort. We have no interest in duplicating or replacing their effort.

The Challenge The problem of bringing those divided together is not a new one. This is the situation that King Arthur found himself when trying to bring the powerful men of his kingdom together. Realizing that they all needed each other he sought a resolution. His solution was the legendary Roundtable. As its name suggests it has no head implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. Borrowing from the idea of King Arthur and his Roundtable, we visualize a method to bring the various ministries and ministerial groups together to work toward our mutual goal of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What we propose is a collaborative effort to develop an Apostolic leadership roundtable. This would be comprised of key leaders in the Apostolic Church (Apostolic used here in reference to those who preach/teach and live the Apostles doctrine) regardless of their affiliation or organization; no titles at the table. We want to unite men and women of God who are hungry for a genuine move of God in our nation and world. These will work together so that we might usher in the greatest move of God that America has ever known. Please note: We are not railing against your doctrine, dogma or creed. Unlike previous efforts of this type; this is not

Vision We have pledged our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor in the valiant fight against Spiritual starvation, poverty of the Word Incarnate, and the chaos of division. For too long now we have been divided by unseen walls that are more formidable than the Great Wall of China. We implore you to join hearts and hands with us in this effort. We ask you to pray for this effort. Your participation in this effort is needed. We do not proffer the polemic platform of debate, nor do we desire to shed innocent blood in controversies, we just want to come together in one common goal and purpose and that is to be the Church of Jesus Christ in the earth, accomplishing His will and His way! WE NEED YOU! I hope something we have written has captured your attention. No one of us has all the answers to the challenges that face America and our World. We 17

need your help. The task of bringing us together is enormous. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. It will take all of us to accomplish. What we initially envision is bringing together leaders of a plethora of ministries, ministerial organizations and others to form a national Apostolic leadership roundtable. We hope that this humble body will work together to cast vision, eliminate unnecessary duplication and help us all to better reach a lost and dying world. At the same time we expect to organize an effort at the grassroots level to accomplish the vision of bringing Apostolic leaders together in every locale; first in North America and then the uttermost parts of the World. The purpose of this group is to draw on each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths to creating a collaborative effort that enhancing the work already being made. Our expectation is to create a groundswell using like minded men and women of God fuel by prayer and fasting and encouraged by the mutual fellowship. In the end we expect that together we can make it difficult for people in your locale to go to hell! To God be the Glory! I would love to chat with you more about this.

Have you ever felt alone or isolated? Have you ever wondered who else God is speaking to and what they are saying? I know I have. We read in the Word of God that Elijah (the great prophet) felt like he was the only one who was hearing from God. Yet, the Lord chides him that there were at least 7000 others who were like-minded! Like you, I am sure there are many who are hearing from God; unfortunately, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know all of them! However, I would love to know them, be encouraged by their labor and love and draw on their experience, expertise, knowledge and friendship to help address the challenges I face in bringing the Gospel to those who are un-churched and in ministering to the Body of Christ in general. What we expect is that this leadership roundtable will help us bring us into dialogue with each other in an unprecedented manner. I look forward to joining with you in this effort! I look forward to meeting you at the Apostolic leadership roundtable.

Dr. Bernie L. Wade is the Chancellor of ICOF CSU (International Circle of Faith Colleges, Seminaries and Universities). He is an author and church historian. He serves on the Executive Board of Apostolic Archives and is a member of the Apostolic Historians Association. He is the International Advisor for Global Evangelical Christian College (GECC). As the Presiding Bishop of the International Circle of Faith Ministerial Association and President of ICOF Global he helps lead a global body of fivefold ministers.

Please contact me now! Feel free to respond via email bw@icof.net, call my office: 502.410.4263 or mail me directly at Bernie L. Wade PO. Box 72, Sulphur, KY 40070. This is simply not a task that can be accomplished without you! Pray about how God would like you to participate in this effort. There are no dues to pay, not fees or licenses, etc. This is simply a collaborative effort to bring us together. 18

"If the Lord tarries, there may yet be a grass-roots awakening that will overflow all sectarian barriers. There are a host of good people... who long for a visitation from heaven in old-time power. The kindling wood is scattered all round in all the churches. May God help us to rake off the ashes, uncover the live coals and may He blow upon us with the breath of His Spirit!" -Vance Havner

Here is our challenge: Prayer - 3 times a day. We are asking every follower of Jesus Christ to commit to prayer three times each day. This is a commitment to daily prayer for the rest of our lives. This prayer time can be anytime during the day but we are suggesting the following: • Morning - Pray by yourself, with your family or those where you work or go to school. This will help set the tone for the day. • Mid Day - Before or after lunch take time to pray wherever you are. Encourage those around you to pray with you (co-workers, peers, clients, etc.) • Evening - pray with you family, your friends, neighbors, etc. Encourage places of business, church buildings, malls, etc. to designate a place for daily prayer. Pray for God to give us space for REPENTACE! Pray for your family, friends and others who are not committed to Jesus Christ. Pray for healing, renewal, deliverance and more. Prayer is communication. The key thing is to STOP what you are doing. Take time to find a quiet place where you can communicate with God. We are not directing you how long to pray. Rather we are leaving that up to the individual or the group, but by all means - PRAY!

The enemies of the cross seem more committed to prayer to their false deities than followers of Jesus Christ demonstrate. In discussing the challenges, understanding that there has been some 2000 years since the advent of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry, we concluded that there is no organized effort to call the people of God to daily prayer. Granted, there have been and remain efforts to such as the national day of prayer but this is only to direct us to prayer one day per year. Thus, it is our expectation to see a global 'Call to Prayer' where Biblical Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) would commit to pray on a daily basis.

Posture - in Scripture we find people praying in a variety of postures kneeling, standing, laying prostrate, etc. All of these are acceptable. To connect with others who are praying in like manner please feel free to email: JOIN THE CALL TO PRAYER administration@icof.net 21

Are there Apostles Today?

To see this in its various forms we simply go to the Strong's Greek Concordance. To do so we take the precise place in scripture where Paul emphatically introduces himself as an "apostle" in his letter to the Corinthians; "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God..." (1 Cor 1:1 KJV) or as the Young's Literal Translation puts it "Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ... (YLT). The Greek word that was used here is the compound word apostolos: (apos'-tol-os 00652) specifically meaning; a delegate; specially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ ("apostle") (with miraculous powers):--apostle, messenger, he that is sent. However there are actually numerous compound words that help make up or have influence up on the meaning of this word apostle - which we have all become familiar with. But for now letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move on.

Alan Pateman

"And they kept their attention fixed on the Apostles' teaching and were united together..." (Acts 2:42 BBE)

For sure the more we see what apostles do, the more we realize how indispensable their ministry is. The Acts of the Apostles is a book with no ending, as it records that which Jesus began to do and teach; He continues to do and say through His apostles. Apostolic men who have the ability to father the Church, it's pastors and people and who are real blessings from God, so much needed for today. Yet there are still those who ask "are there apostles for today?" Of course the answer has to be an unequivocal "Yes!" But let us qualify this answer because there are many who would answer with "No!" To those who still question the validity of apostleship for today I would say that if there are prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers then there must be apostles. Why? Because Jesus Himself gave and commissioned ALL FIVE of these gifts to His bride and as long as this institution that we call Church remains upon the earth - until Christ returns for it - then these five gifts will remain in total!

Welcome again to today's Truth for the Journey - in this continued study of the apostle. While these articles are enjoyed by many across the internet, we enjoy the tremendous feedback and many positive remarks that they provoke! In particular, one email that we received this week was from an apostle from Spain called "Emilio Sevilla." He dropped me a line to encourage but also to elaborate a little deeper on the meaning of the word apostle. I quote him "The word apostle means 'sent - to establish' because the word is made up of two words which are, APO-STELLO - APO means to be sent forth and STELLO means to establish... this is why apostles should not rest until they have established the Kingdom in their given area..." end quote. Thanks... Emilio for your input!

Apostles willingly work together just as the twelve did in the beginning to lay the foundation for the very first church in Jerusalem. However - where they really "unique" as some like to suggest in an attempt to imply that apostles had their rightful place in the beginning but are obsolete for today.

Unique? Yes! In the context only that they walked with Christ from the time of his baptism by John the Baptist until he rose from the dead. They were also eyewitnesses of all that Jesus said and did. Some of them even recorded what they experienced (testimony), which became part of the New Testament that we have today. In addition they not only received divine revelation but also communicated that revelation once and for all - yet even with this fact the bible never stipulated that these were the first and final apostles for the Church.

band. This identifies that the apostolic ministry was in circulation and was not limited to a certain number. So the purpose of the apostles for the early church was clear. They helped lay the foundations and continued to establish and build upon what Christ had said and done. With this in mind then, let us ask the following question regarding today's church. "Is the building finished? Is the bride ready? Is the church full-grown and are the saints completely equipped? Has the Church attained its ordained maturity and unity?" I dare say this: only when the answer to these questions is "yes" can we dispense with the apostolic ministry.

The most prominent apostles of all were Peter and Paul. The most important was arguably Paul - who was not even among the original twelve, yet neither was Barnabas who we also found being called an apostle in scripture (see Acts 14:14-15). This is the point. Scripture clearly states that they were both apostles. Furthermore, we find in Galatians 1:19 that James the brother of Jesus was also considered an "apostle." In addition to this we find Paul writing about the apostolic ministry of Silvanus and Timothy - (incidentally not part of the original twelve!) in his letter to the Philippians and there exists many more examples in scripture of this. So it appears quite significantly that there were indeed many more apostles that the bible identifies - outside of the original twelve! They even lived and functioned during the same lifetime as the original twelve but were not included into that

ICOF members have united over 50,000 ministers representing more than 25 Million constituents, several hundred colleges, universities and other Christian schools, orphanages & feeding programs, humanitarian aid organizations, chaplains and other charities.

Rights (and the violation of the same) and trying to get someone to agree with our point of view, we have missed the mission of those who follow Jesus. Instead of doing what we are supposed to do we placed false hope on a jury to fix the problem. Shame on all of us! The jury could never fix the problem. Haven’t we learned anything from past situations like these! There are still people fussing about the O. J. Simpson trial and the Lacrosse team from a few years ago. Juries are human! Some even think the jury fixed the problem, but they didn’t. Others think that they got it all wrong and a different verdict would have fixed the problem, but it would not have! The problem is MUCH deeper than a jury or subsequent verdict will ever fix.

FATHER FORGIVE THEM By: Bernie L. Wade

For those who haven’t been living in a cave, Americans have been embroiled in a debate about the death of a 17 year boy and the related events. The rhetoric surrounding the topic has focused us on blaming everyone but ourselves. Some want to blame the captain of the neighborhood watch (who certainly is culpable), some want to blame the dead boy (who we understand was a troubled youth from a broken family) others want to blame the Prosecutor, the defense attorneys, the government or anyone who can absorb blame. I understand this; a young man is dead and we want answers! Some even want justice. Others just want someone to pay; guilty or not! Just someone has to pay! None of us are looking in the mirror. What about us? Why don’t we blame ourselves? Some reading this will say, “Are you serious? I did nothing.” Yes, I am serious! Yes, you are correct; you did NOTHING (neither did I)! While we all are busy blaming everyone, screaming about our rights, his rights, their

What is lost amid the straw men of race and guns offered by some (this was never really about neither) is that our culture is fracture at

its very core. Instead of focusing on how we might work together we are focused on the blame. There is plenty of blame to go around. I have been disappointed by the response of people in general (some going so far as to call God a white racist; as though white people have a special connection to the one true God) but more so I am disturbed by the response of those claiming Christ. Frankly, I am afraid of many of them! Really? Yes, really. Those born in the Spirit are trying to resolve these things in the flesh. I have read self proclaimed “Christian” leaders encouraging people to riot! And people are listening. Racial clashes have found new life in our country.

facts) that would like me to believe whatever slant they have; and trust me there is a slant for everyone who wants one. Today, after consultation with some of my trusted advisors I felt compelled to write on this subject. Yes, I fully realize that some of my thousands of ‘friends’ on Facebook may unfriend me because I dared to raise my voice. That is ok. Father, forgive them. What I asked the Lord is, “How would You respond to this situation”. The clarion answer was, “I already did.” Really? YES Uh, How? FATHER, FORGIVE THEM; THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING! What about my rights Lord? What about the blame? What about my insecurities? What about those who are racist against Hispanics? What about those who are racists against blacks? What about those who are racist? What about all of those who are ratcheting up the rhetoric to fan the flame of racism to make us all feel less secure? What about those who would use this as a political format to advance their particular agenda?

I have read people respond that the defendant in the trial did not deserve fair treatment or justice! I thought, ‘you can’t be serous’. Yet, they are serious. Decades of civil rights progress are being trampled in their wake leaving no thought to the outcome of a society that denies the accused the right to fair and equal treatment, but offers the same only to those they feel deserving.

FATHER FORGIVE THEM Ok. I understand. But what about doing something? Should I contact my Congressman, the mayor, the Pope? PRAY FOR THOSE WHO DESPITEFULLY USE YOU AND SAL ALL MANNER OF EVIL AGAINST YOU!

Like nearly all of us, I don’t know the details. All I have to observe is a MEDIA CIRCUS (with neither side being honest about the all the 27

Really? Ok, but what can I do. I need to do something.

IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN. I WILL HEAL THEIR LAND. THEY WILL BE MY PEOPLE AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD.

DO GOOD TO THEM Oh, come now. Do good to racists? Liberals? Conservatives? Democrats? Republicans? YES, THAT HAS BEEN MY GOSPEL FOR SOME 2000 YEARS (Deep breath, pause to reflect) Thank you Lord. I have lots of work to do in these areas, but I will work on it. GREAT WILL BE YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN Really!? There is a reward! Wow! Not bad, if I can just learn to do that and to help others do the same. SATAN KNOWS HOW TO PUSH YOUR BUTTONS. DO NOT FALL TO HIS DEVISES. HE IS THE ACUSER. HE IS THE DECIEVER. MEN’S HEARTS ARE ON EVIL. DO NOT BE AFRAID. I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.

In His grace, Bernie L. Wade President - International Circle of Faith

(Thank you Lord)

http://www.icof.net

The bottom line is that we are here to do the ministry of Jesus Christ; the ministry that He began on earth. Satan loves division. He is focused on getting all of us to fuss and fight with each other but he is never interested in us praying for each other. Never would Satan want us to pray for those who misuse us, or do evil to us. Next time someone tries to use your emotions to manipulate you toward a fleshly response to a serious issue… Pray for them! Encourage others to pray and ask God to give us peace and righteousness.

before. He was weeping and felt like fire was burning in and out of his body. He could hardly speak his regular language for several weeks. He was set free from sin, alcohol, drug addiction and cigarettes that night and never did any of them ever again.

SAVED FROM SUICIDE

On September 21, 1981 a depressed 21 year old man prepared to commit suicide in a rundown rooming house at 142 Elliot Row in Saint John, in the province of New Brunswick, one of the Maritime Provinces in Canada. He had a rope with which to hang himself from a bracket in the ceiling. He was ready to get on the chair to do it when someone knocked at his door. He opened the door to a man with a beard who said, "Would you come with me to a prayer meeting tonight?" Startled by the timing of the invitation, he agreed to go. All along he was thinking in his heart "Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see if God is real, otherwise I'll kill myself when I come back."

On March 21, 1982 he was baptized in Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; name in the Lily Lake duck pond. He was so full of joy and the presence of God that he fell back splashing into the cold water. Later he became a preacher. His name is Lawrence Morin. He is a Facebook friend of mine and gave me permission to share his testimony. Today he is the pastor of the Lighthouse of Faith in Saint John, NB.

He went to the house, a Pastors home. There were about six people kneeling in the living room praying. The young man stood in the middle of the room and without even opening his mouth said, "Please God, if you are really real please help me and show me tonight that you are real and I will serve you the rest of my entire life." He was ready for suicide without something tangible. All of a sudden a mighty rushing wind and invisible supernatural fire fell on the young man and even went into his body like 500,000 volts. He began to speak in heavenly languages he never knew 29

bend me," because Roberts was willing to be bent. God also answered the nation's cry, "Lord, bend us."

A Model for Revival by Ken Horn

Of this we can be sure -- Evan Roberts put Christ first; he humbled himself throughout his public and private ministry. And he left revivalism a legacy that we must heed today: Humility is part and parcel of a genuine move of God.

In 1904 an evangelist's prayer for humility during a meeting in South Wales, helped spark the beginnings of a Welsh national revival. Seth Joshua was the evangelist who, at the close of a service, called people to the altar and spontaneously prayed, "Lord, bend us." When the lean form of the young Evan Roberts knelt at the front, he prayed fervently, "Lord, bend me." The newborn revival had its theme.

It is safe to say that relatively few have followed the Evan Roberts model. Are we willing to be bent? Can we pray with sincerity, "Lord, bend us"? Whether or not we have genuine revival depends on the answer to that question.

The Welsh Revival of 190405 is less known in our ranks than the Pentecostal outpourings at the beginning of the 20th century. But it accounted for an estimated 100,000 souls who came to Christ, the number Roberts had prayed for from the beginning of the revival.

The emphases of Evan Roberts' ministry: 1. Confess openly and fully any unconfessed sin. 2. Put away from your life anything doubtful. 3. Obey promptly anything the Spirit tells you to say and do. 4. Confess Christ openly.

An earlier revivalist, Jonathan Edwards, knew why revival has such a tendency to follow humility: "Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility." Andrew Murray adds: "Water always fills the lowest places first. The lower ... a man lies before God, the speedier and the fuller the inflow of the divine glory will be."

-- Ken Horn is editor of the Pentecostal Evangel

God answered Evan Roberts' prayer, "Lord, 30

Unemployment skyrocketed. One week later there were over one hundred present; including many unsaved who were convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin.

1857 Prayer Revival in America

A quiet, zealous forty-six-year-old businessman in New York was appointed on July 1, 1857, as a missionary in downtown New York at the Dutch Church. Jeremiah Lamphier had been converted in 1842 in Broadway Tabernacle, Finney's church that was built in 1836.

Within one month pastors who had attended the noon prayer meetings in Fulton Street started morning prayer meetings in their own churches. Soon the places where the meetings were held were overcrowded. Men and women, young and old of all denominations met and prayed together without distinctions. The meetings abounded with love for Christ, love for fellow Christians, love for prayer, and love of witnessing. Those in attendance felt an awesome sense of God's presence. They prayed for specific people, expected answers, and obtained answers.

Lamphier felt led by God to start a noontime weekly prayer meeting in which business people could meet for prayer. Anyone could attend, for a few minutes or for the entire hour. Prayers were to be comparatively brief. Lamphier's group met on the third floor of the old North Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street in New York. Lamphier printed some handbills announcing the prayer meetings with the title, "How Often Should I Pray?" He left these in some offices and warehouses. He also put one on the door of the church on the street side.

Newspapers began to report on the meetings and the unusual spirit of prayer that was evident. Within three months similar meetings had sprung up across America. Thousands began praying in these services and in their own homes. In New York, gospel tracts were distributed to those in attendance, with instructions that they pray over the tracts and then give them to someone God brought to mind.

The first day, September 23, 1857, Lamphier prayed alone for half an hour. But by the end of the hour, six men from at least four denominational backgrounds joined him. The next Wednesday there were twenty. On October 7 there were nearly forty. The meeting was so blessed that they decided to meet daily. On October 7th the stock market crashed.

The three rooms at the Fulton Street Church were filled beyond capacity, and hundreds had to go to other places. By early February a nearby Methodist Church on John Street was opened, and it immediately overflowed. Then the 31

Trinity Episcopal Church at Broadway and Wall Street opened up for the meetings. The famous New York editor, Horace Greeley, sent a reporter with a horse and buggy to the various prayer meetings to see how many were actually praying. He raced around from meeting to meeting and in one hour he could only get to 12 meetings but he counted 6,100 men in fervent intercession for revival. Many churches added evening services for prayer. Soon there were 150 united prayer meetings each day across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Meetings began in February in Philadelphia. Soon Jayne's Hall was overfilled, and meetings were held at noon each day in public halls, concert halls, fire stations, houses, and tents. The whole city exuded a spirit of prayer.

to prayer. Even the president of the United States, Franklin Pierce, attended many of the noon prayer meetings. This was not a revival of powerful preaching. This was a movement of earnest, powerful, prevailing prayer. All people wanted was a place to pray. Sinners would come and ask for prayer. Someone would individually pray for them, and in minutes the newly saved person was rejoicing in Christ. Prayers would be asked by name for unconverted friends and loved ones from all over the country. In a day or two, testimonies would be given of how the prayers had already been answered. In some towns, nearly the entire population became saved.

PRAYER MEETING FERVOR Almost simultaneously noon prayer meetings sprang up all across America in Boston, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Memphis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and in a multitude of other cities, towns, and in rural areas. By the end of the fourth month, prayer fervor burned intensely across the nation. It was an awesome but glorious demonstration of the sovereign working of the Holy Spirit and the eager obedience of God's people.

Six months previous to Lamphier's prayer meeting boom, few would have gathered for a prayer service. But now a spirit of prayer occupied the land, as though the church had suddenly discovered its real power. The majority of the churches in most denominations experienced a new dimension of prayer. The Presbyterian Magazine reported that as of May there had been fifty thousand converts of the revival. In February, a New York Methodist magazine reported a total of eight thousand conversions in Methodist meetings in one week. The Louisville daily paper reported seventeen

America had entered a new period of faith and prayer. Educated and uneducated, rich and poor, business leaders and common workmen-all prayed, believed, and received answers 32

thousand Baptist conversions in three weeks during the month of March. And according to a June statement, the conversion figures stood at 96,216--and still counting. All but two of the youth in one high school were saved. A similar event took place in Toledo, Ohio. These are just brief examples of what was happening constantly all across the nation.

Lord. Brief exhortations on prayer or revival were allowed but limited to five minutes. Many testified of revival progress in various locations. Promptly at the closing of the hour the leader rose and pronounced the benediction, and the people quietly left the building. Occasionally someone might stay behind to pray with a spiritual seeker.

THE INVISIBLE CLOUD OF GOD'S PRESENCE A canopy of holy and awesome revival influence—in reality the presence of the Holy Spirit—seemed to hang like an invisible cloud over many parts of the United States, especially over the eastern seaboard. At times this cloud of God's presence even seemed to extend out to sea. Those on ships approaching the east coast at times felt a solemn, holy influence, even one hundred miles away, without even knowing what was happening in America.

The accounts of the prayer meetings during those revival years describe how the people would quietly gather at the place of prayer promptly at the appointed hour. Whoever was leader for the meeting—a layman or a minister— arose and announced a hymn. They sang one or two verses with great joy, the leader prayed briefly, and then turned the service over to the members. Any person was free to speak or pray for no longer than five minutes. If the person took more than that time, a small bell was rung and it was someone else's turn.

Revival began aboard one ship before it reached the coast. People on board began to feel the presence of God and a sense of their own sinfulness. The Holy Spirit convicted them, and they began to pray. As the ship neared the harbor, the captain signaled, "Send a minister." Another small commercial ship arrived in port with the captain, and every member of the crew converted in the last 150 miles. Ship after ship arrived with the same story: both passengers and crew were suddenly convicted of sin and turned to Christ before they reached the American coast.

Requests for prayer, often coming from distant places, were spoken or read. Often sinners arose and requested prayer for themselves. Members gave testimonies of answers to prayer, and the people praised the 33

The battleship North Carolina was anchored in New York harbor as a naval receiving ship. More than a thousand young men were on board. Four Christians agreed to meet together for prayer and knelt on the lower deck. The Spirit of God so filled their hearts with joy that they broke into song. Ungodly men on the top deck heard the singing, looked down, and saw the boys kneeling. They began running down the stairs, mocking and jeering. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit so gripped them that by the time they reached the bottom deck they fell on their knees and began crying for mercy.

In Philadelphia, Jayne's Hall removed partitions and added space for six thousand people to attend daily meetings. At this time George Duffield wrote the hymn "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus." For months multitudes of churches opened every evening for prayer, and some of them had from three to five services of prayer each day. All were filled. The services consisted of simple prayer, confession, exhortation, and singing. But it was "so earnest, so solemn, the silence. ...so awful, the singing. ..so over-powering" that the meetings were unforgettable. A canvas tent was erected for outdoor meetings, and it immediately filled with people. In four months' time, a total of 150,000 people attended the ministry in the tent, with many conversions. Philadelphia churches reported five thousand converts.

Strong men who were deep in sin were broken down by the Spirit's power and knelt humbly in penitence and faith. Night after night the sailors prayed, and hundreds were converted on the ship. Ministers were sent for, and they came out from shore to help in the gracious work of the Spirit. The battleship became a mighty center of revival. Converts of the movement, completing their periods of training, were sent out to other navy ships. Wherever they went revival fires were kindled in other naval vessels.

IN HOMES, SHOPS, FIELDS, AND CHURCHES Reports came in of hundreds being converted in prayer meetings, private homes, workshops, and fields. Often the doors of businesses held signs reading, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Closed, will reopen at the close of the prayer meeting." Five prayer meetings took place daily in Washington, D.C. Five thousand or so attended daily services in the Academy of Music Hall.

The Presbyterians in Northern Ireland heard of the awakening in Philadelphia and sent fraternal delegates. These delegates returned to their homeland and reported what they had seen, and the revival broke out in Ireland, spreading across the British Isles.

hearts. By the end of the war at least 150,000 soldiers had been converted, and more than a third of all of the southern troops had become praying men. The revival among the southern troops was primarily a revival of prayer, as the earlier revival in the North had been. While the best estimates are that 6.6 percent of the entire population of the United States was converted during the revival, the percentage among the southern troops was 21 percent.

REVIVAL IN THE ARMY Because of the bitter tensions of the Civil War and the slavery issue, for a time it seemed that the southern states would not be as powerfully influenced by the revival as the northern ones had been. Others dispute this assumption. An unusually powerful revival broke out among the southern troops stationed around Richmond, Virginia, in the autumn of 1861. It began in the hospitals among the wounded men and then spread into the camps as these men returned to active duty. Prayer meetings were organized and hundreds converted. The movement spread rapidly throughout the army, reaching the troops of Tennessee and Arkansas.

Revival was encouraged by Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, who were well known as devout Christians. By the mid-summer of 1863 the revival had spread through all the Confederate armies, and thousands of men had been converted. Chaplains and lay missionaries went out among the troops, preaching and distributing tracts and dealing personally with hungry 35

before Him, like wax before the fire. I lost all consciousness of time or space, being conscious only of His wonderful presence. I worshipped at His feet. It seemed a veritable "mount of transfiguration."

EYEWITNESS To REVIVAL -Frank Bartleman

For some time He remained with us. Then slowly He withdrew His presence. We would have been there yet had He not withdrawn. I could not doubt His reality after that experience. Brother Boehmer experienced largely the same thing. We had lost all consciousness of each otherÂ´s presence while He remained with us. We were almost afraid to speak or breathe when we came back to our surroundings.

The Lord will visit those willing to yield to Him. We must keep humble and little in our own eyes. Let us get built up by a sense of our own importance and we are gone. God has always sought humble people. He can use no other. There is much need always of heart preparation, in humility and separation, before God can consistently come. The depth of any revival will be determined exactly by the spirit of repentance that obtains. In fact this is the key to every true revival born of God.

He had come to strengthen and assure us for His service. We knew now we were workers with Him, fellowshippers of His sufferings, in the ministry of "soul travail." Real soul travail is just as definite in the spirit, as natural human birth-pangs. The simile is almost perfect in its sameness. No soul is ever born without this. All true revivals of salvation come this way.

One evening, July 3, I felt strongly impressed to go the little Peniel Hall in Pasadena to pray. There I found Brother Boehmer ahead of me. He had also being led of God to the hall. We prayed for a spirit of revival for Pasadena until the burden became well nigh unbearable... The Spirit was interceding through us. Finally the burden left us. After a little time of quiet waiting a great calm settled down upon us. Then suddenly, without premonition, the Lord Jesus himself revealed himself to us. He seemed to stand directly between us, so close we could have reached out our hand and touched Him. But we did not dare to move. I could not even look. In fact I seemed all spirit. His presence seemed more real, if possible, than if I could have seen and touched Him naturally. I forgot I had eyes or ears. My spirit recognized Him. A heaven of divine love filled and thrilled my soul. Burning fire went through me. In fact my whole being seemed to flow down

I received from God early in 1905 the following keynote to revival: "The depth of revival will be determined exactly by the depth of the spirit of repentance." "A revival almost always begins among the laity [ordinary common people not trained in theology or holding any rank in the church]. The ecclesiastical leaders seldom welcome reformation. History repeats itself. The present leaders are too comfortably situated as a rule to desire innovation that might require sacrifice on their part. And GodÂ´s fire only falls on sacrifice. An empty altar receives no fire. Cold intellectualism, formal ecclesiasticism, and priestly 36

domination are altogether outside the genius of the Gospel. Thank God there are exceptions among the leaders. But we are saved to serve. The true minister is a servant."

WE’VE LOST CHRISTIANITY by Andrew Strom

A body must be prepared, in repentance and humility, for every outpouring of the Spirit. "The present Pentecostal manifestation did not break out in a moment, like a huge prairie fire, and set the world on fire. In fact no work of God ever appears that way. There is a necessary time for preparation. The finished article is not realized at the beginning. Men may wonder where it came from, not being conscious of the preparation, but there is always such. Every movement of the Spirit of God must also run the gauntlet of the devil´s forces. The Dragon stands before the bearing mother, ready to swallow up her child (Rev. 12:4). And so with the present Pentecostal work in its beginning. The enemy did much counterfeiting. God kept the young child well hid for a season from the Herods, until it could gain strength and discernment to resist them.

Despite the thousands in our mega churches today, soaking up the warm entertainment offered to them every week, I want to put it to you that we have lost Christianity. Despite the Christian books now found in every Wal-Mart, and the "crossover" of Christian artists into the mainstream, and our Christian mega-stores and CD´s and DVD´s and Study-Bibles, I want to put it to you that we have lost Christianity.

The flame was guarded jealously by the hand of the Lord, from the winds of criticism, jealousy, unbelief, etc. It went through about the same experiences that all revivals have. Its foes were both inside and out. Both Luther and Wesley experienced the same difficulties in their time.

Despite our lavish Cathedrals in the suburbs (`Charismatic or not) with their pastel hues and comfortable pews, their projector screens and $30,000 sound systems, I want to put it to you that we have utterly lost Christianity.

-From 'Azusa Street' by Frank Bartleman. We left it behind somewhere when we 37

shifted our churches from the inner city into the "comfortable" suburbs. We left it behind when we stopped welcoming the bums off the street into our meetings and started welcoming only the "respectable" people. We left it behind when we stopped preaching "take up your cross" and turned the gospel into a success formula `Seven Steps to your Best Life Now.´

around the world;- a lifestyle in the top 10% of the earth today (-in debt up to our eyeballs all the while) - the fact is that we don´t really CARE that we have lost original Christianity, do we? We are too busy, man. Don´t bother us with that kind of talk. It will all be OK, the preacher tells us. We will all make it to heaven in the end. We are all "decent" people here. We have "prayed the little prayer". We have `given our heart to the Lord´.

Somewhere in our comfortable suburban streetscape with its manicured lawns we lost the real thing. Somehow in our concern for "property values" and a better `dental plan´ we left it behind.

But what is this? What is that thundering voice I hear? "DEPART FROM ME." `But LORD... But LORD....´ "I said - `DEPART FROM ME´. Don´t call me Lord. You never truly lived like I was your Lord and you know it. For I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me...." What is the essence of true Christianity that we have lost, my friends? It is simply described by James as follows- "Pure religion and undefiled is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (Ja 1:27).

But that is not the worst part of it. The worst part is that we don´t know how to get it back again. Or perhaps we don´t really WANT to get it back again. The cost simply doesn´t bear thinking about, does it? And so, as we drive around in our nice shiny cars with our groovy plastic toys, and attend "church" as we know it twice a week for 2 hours;- As we live a life that is about as unlike Jesus as you can get, a life of comfort and coddling undreamt of by billions 38

The devil does not want you to see God´s ocean of mercy; he wants you to see only a trickle! Because of our ignorance of the forgiving, restoring power of Christ´s love, we are destroyed. We run out of mercy for ourselves because we are horribly bound by a limited vision. Our eyes have not yet been opened to the endless mercies of our tender Father! We are so bound by a false, limited view of His mercies, we find it almost impossible to believe or accept what James said: "[We] have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful (full of compassion), and of tender mercy" (James 5:11).

An UNUSUAL WORD by David Wilkerson Recently the Holy Spirit gave me an unusual word, one that I did not want to hear! He said, "You are bound to a very limited vision of the Lord´s ocean of tender, loving mercies. You have endured much guilt, condemnation and fear because you have not allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal the vastness of My forgiving, healing, reconciling mercies. You do not know Me for My tenderness!" God showed me that this is a root cause for many giving up and falling away. When sin strikes-when Satan comes in like a flood, when you fall into some old habit or sin-the devil creates a bondage. First, the guilt comes flooding in, then fear fills your heart. A sense of total failure and helplessness overwhelms your soul. At this point, most believers run out of gracebecause their view of God´s mercy is so limited.

This verse means, "God is easily crushed by our troubles and hurts. He feels our pain and our failures, and He is kind and compassionate to us. He loved us even when we were His enemy. Even when we offend Him, He is quick to help, restore and forgive us." The word mercy means "kind and compassionate treatment of an offender under one's power." God has the power to damn us to hell every time we sin; He has us under His control and can do with us as He pleases. And it pleases His tender heart to be compassionate, loving and kind toward those who have failed Him the most.

Satan comes to you and says, "You´ve reached your limit. You´ve confessed your sin time after time. There is no way God will forgive you now, because you´ve sinned against the light. If you return and confess once more, you´ll turn around and sin all over again. So quit now!" 40

Laodicea, why did he threaten to spit the congregation out of his mouth (see Rev. 3:16)? And if believers never need to repent of their sins, why did Jesus say, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent" (Rev. 3:19)? And how interesting it is that the same Greek word used in John 16:8-where Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its sinsis the word used by the Lord in Revelation 3:19 (translated there as "rebuke"; and note Rev. 3:22: this is the Spirit speaking!).

friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Cor. 7:1). What a beautiful, lofty calling. Don´t let anyone steal it from you.

It is because God loves us that he rebukes us (not condemns us) and it is because sin is so destructive that he calls us to turn from it. This is the goodness of God, and this is what grace does, as Paul wrote in Titus 2:11-12, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say `No´ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." How tragic it is today when God´s people mistake the voice of His correcting love for the condemning voice of Satan, and how sad it is when they resist the purifying work of the Spirit, claiming that there´s nothing to purify since God no longer sees their sins. Has He justified us by the blood of Jesus? Absolutely. Has He has set apart as holy to Himself? Without a doubt. Has He called us to be His sons and daughters, all by His love and grace? Yes He has. And it is because of these things that Paul wrote, "Since we have these promises, dear 41

Africa UGANDA

USA

Dear I send you my greetings in the lord we are fine in the lord and I want to appreciate you for the prayers you have been offering me we have been to Uganda in a Mission then we moved to Webuye for two days and today our pastors team are travelling to Tanzania in the same mission and it will take us 13 hours to reach so pray with our team that the lord will supply all our needs and he strengthens his servants. We believe that God will open to reign in his people and those in trouble to be relieved. The region of Tanzania is covered with Muslims but we are praying that the lord may take control over that. God bless you Yours Pastor Alex

Bishop Ron Allen ICOF Vice President of Substance Abuse and Intervention

(who were in on this) and paused for a moment... then he recited-

THE HOMELESS PREACHER -Author Unknown

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soonto-be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service....only 3 people out of the 7 - 10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food... NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning... many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.... he then said....Today I see a gathering of people.... not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples... when will YOU decide to become disciples? He then dismissed service until next week... Being a Christian is more than something you claim. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something you live by and share with others...

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation...... "We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek"... The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation... The homeless man sitting in the back stood up... and started walking down the aisle... the clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him... he walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders

http://www.icof.net 45

are avoiding the word sin altogether because it´s too negative. And we all know that the latest polls show people want a positive message.

NO More SPINELESS CHRISTIANITY!!

This temptation to dilute the gospel has produced a new recipe for a trendy sermon. We start with some great motivational speaking ("Your past does not define your future!"), add a few quarts of cheap grace ("Don´t focus on your sin!"), pour in some prosperity gospel ("Run to this altar and grab your financial breakthrough!"), flavor it with some trendy pop psychology ("It´s all about you!") and voila!-you end up with a goopy mess of pabulum that not even a baby Christian could survive on. I´ve often wondered how the apostle Paul would view our "positive" American gospel. Just before he was martyred, Paul gave his spiritual son Timothy clear instructions on how to keep his message on track. He said, "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction" (2 Tim. 4:2, NASB).

By J. Lee Grady

The apostle Paul not only confronted sin but named specific sins when he preached. Why can´t we? People often complain about angry preachers. I don´t like them either, and I agree that if a person mixes a sermon with hateful language (or if he believes God has called him to picket other churches), he´s in the wrong profession. Yet today we´ve jumped to the opposite extreme. Now we are afraid to confront sin.

We´ve rewritten Paul´s words today. Our rule is, "Preach what the people want to hear! Avoid controversy! Stroke, soothe and pacify the people so they will come back next week!" Is it any wonder that this lowprotein spiritual diet has produced an anemic church?

We can´t preach about materialism because we might offend rich people in the audience-as well as the poor people who buy Lotto tickets every week. We can´t preach about fornication because there are people in the church who are living together. We can´t preach about domestic violence because there are deacons who sometimes hit their wives. We can´t preach about homosexuality because our culture says it´s hateful to call that a sin.

Paul´s preaching in the first century

And the list goes on. In fact, some preachers 46

was unquestionably confrontational. He didn´t hold back from addressing sin, nor was he afraid to call sin what it is. Paul knew that a spineless Christianity would produce spineless Christians. He told Timothy that biblical preaching would require three brave verbs:

challenge sin we must provide a means of grace for deliverance and healing. Paul was also not afraid to name sins. I recently did a survey of all of Paul´s epistles to see how he addressed sexual immorality. I discovered that he confronted sexual sin head-on in 10 of his 13 epistles. He boldly called out adultery, fornication, sensuality and homosexuality in a culture that was saturated in hedonism.

Reprove. The Greek word here, elegcho, means "to convict, admonish or expose" or "to show one his fault." The word can also mean "to scold" or "to reprimand." Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a mother´s discipline knows that reproof can be the purest form of love.

After exhorting the Thessalonians to practice abstinence, he rebuked them sternly by saying that anyone who opposes God´s laws about sex "is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you" (1 Thess. 4:8). Those are strong words. They need to be repeated in our pulpits today.

Rebuke. The word epitimao means "to admonish strongly" or "to charge strictly." The English definition means "to express sharp, stern disapproval." And the origin of the word means "to beat or strike." I´m not talking here about a preacher who beats people with the Bible. Screaming at people is not biblical rebuke. But when was the last time you felt the Holy Spirit strike you in your conscience during a sermon?

Paul wasn´t trying to win any popularity contests, and his comments about sex would get him blacklisted today if he tried to buy airtime. Yet when he penned those tough words, he was speaking from God´s heart-with love-under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to all of us.

Exhort. This is the gentlest of the three words. Parakaleo can be used to mean "to comfort" or "to call alongside." It´s the same root word used to describe the Holy Spirit, who is our Comforter. True biblical preaching not only exposes sin and warns us of its consequences, but it calls us to reach out to God for help to overcome our weakness. When we

It´s time for us to grow a backbone. Let´s get rid of weak Christianity, spineless preachers and jellyfish morals. Let´s preach the message of the Bible instead of a neutered version. Let´s not only point out sin but also point people to the only hope they have of overcoming it-our strong Savior, whose death on the cross was the ultimate confrontation of sin.