Revival Involves Taking Risks

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Published on Thursday, 26 April 2012 08:58

Written by Kris Vallotton

It’s 6 at night as I arrive home from a long day at work. I flip on the TV to catch the news. The commentator rattles off some of the day’s headlines: “The American economy is in serious trouble! President Obama and the Republicans can’t agree on the solution. With the declining economy, crime is increasing and poverty is on the rise. Internationally: Iran is threatening to destroy Israel ... the violent North Korean dictator has just died, leading to greater global uncertainty ... Egypt has turned violent ... There’s a growing threat of civil war in Iraq, and immorality seems to be at an all-time high.”

My heart wrenches with anxiety as the stories unfold. Get us out of here, Lord, I pray silently. Then suddenly, without warning, a thought stands erect like a brave soldier on the battlefield of my mind:Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Before I can process that verse, more soldiers begin to take their stand on the war-torn sands of my imagination; “Arise and shine for your light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold deep darkness covers the earth, deep darkness the people, but the Lord will rise upon you. His glory will be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising!” In a matter of seconds, other soldiers emerge, shouting their commands into the foxholes of my heart, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth; therefore, go and make disciples of all nations!”

Courage slowly seeps into my soul as I am reminded of our mandate and mission. We were never placed on this planet to reflect the culture; we’ve been called to transform it. The kingdom of God is to be cultivated within us so that it infects and affects the kingdoms around us, until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God.

Bringing Heaven to Earth

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Published on Thursday, 26 April 2012 08:53

Written by Stephen Strang

After 16-plus years, Bethel Church and Senior Pastor Bill Johnson are still experiencing a revival that’s made the supernatural a natural lifestyle

I have heard about revival all my life. Raised in a Pentecostal church, I remember the older people longing for revivals they’d experienced or heard about—but I didn’t see much actual revival happening. The fires that had taken the message of the Holy Spirit around the world and birthed the Pentecostal movement had essentially diminished into a few glowing embers. Although the charismatic movement and the Jesus movement stoked those revival fires once again, it’s been 50 years since the charismatic renewal began, and many of those early ministries have dissipated or gone away.

The church and the world need revival more than ever. What the Bible teaches about miracles and healing is still true today. Unfortunately, the term revival has become synonymous with an extended meeting where there’s a lot of excitement and maybe TV coverage by GodTV. After all, what’s left of the famous Brownsville Revival of the 1990s? Or what about the Lakeland Revival that lasted only a few months before evangelist Todd Bentley self-destructed amid a wake of controversy? Is there any revival that is new, fresh, legitimate and lasting? 

The answer is yes. The Holy Spirit is still at work and moving powerfully today—particularly in the small town of Redding, Calif., where Bethel Church has been experiencing revival for more than 16 years now.

A Safe Place for the Supernatural

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Published on Thursday, 26 April 2012 08:48

Written by Danny Silk

A culture of honor gives room for people to grow in freedom and power

One of the premier core values and goals of an apostolic environment is creating a safe place that brings out the best in people. Paul asserts that knowing a loving God is the pathway to accessing the unlimited supply of His goodness: 

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:14-21).

Fanning the Flames

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Published on Thursday, 26 April 2012 08:41

Written by Banning Liebscher

God is stirring in the hearts of leaders a vision to see a generation that is passionately ablaze for Jesus and His cause. I am not talking about a mere spark that eventually fizzles, but an all-consuming fire, which continues to burn through one’s entire life.

As leaders, we must build with this goal in mind. We are not called to just bear fruit, but to produce that which remains (John 15). I personally don’t believe I have fulfilled my role effectively as a leader of the younger generation if their passion and commitment to Jesus fades somewhere in their 20s or 30s. We must see a generation whose light burns even brighter with their age. So the question then must be: “How do we as leaders create a culture that releases young people into a life of not only sustained fire but a fire that is ever increasing?”

Three Components of Fire

It is one thing to ignite a flame, or occasionally stoke an ember, but altogether another to sustain a fire that is ever advancing and magnifying. A fire requires three things to continue: fuel, heat and oxygen. As we call a generation to give their lives fully to Jesus—to present themselves as a living sacrifice (fuel) and encounter the passionate love in the gaze of Jesus (heat)—we must also be intentional in creating an atmosphere where oxygen is abundant.

Anyone who is familiar with the elementary school science experiment, where a lit candle is placed inside a jar, knows what happens when oxygen is removed from the equation. The flame extinguishes, and all that remains is smoke. Fire simply cannot survive in a vacuum. It requires oxygen, and the more it draws on fresh air, the more dazzling, pervasive and powerful it becomes.

Appetite for the Impossible

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Published on Thursday, 26 April 2012 08:09

Written by Bill Johnson

Being thankful and staying hungry for God leads to spiritual health and passion

Several years ago, I was in an all-day prayer meeting that was sure to leave a mark on my life. While there, I met Mike Servello, a pastor from Utica, N.Y. We had corresponded through email, but we had never met in person.

While the worship team was playing, Mike leaned over to me and said, “God is looking for a city that would belong entirely to Him. And once He gets that one city, it will cause a domino effect across our nation.” I told him I believed my city, Redding, Calif., was that city. He said he believed Utica was. In print, it may look like a competition. It wasn’t. It was two pastors expressing their faith for the big picture.

A little while later, I was in a different part of the sanctuary. Standing next to me was a friend and prophetic lady named Jean Krisle Blasi. She turned to me saying, “God is looking for a city that would belong entirely to Him. And once He gets that one city, it will cause a domino effect across our nation.” I was stunned. It was word-for-word what Mike had declared maybe 30 minutes earlier. Before I could mention my convictions for my city, she said, “And I believe Redding is that city.”

Naturally Supernatural

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Published on Thursday, 26 April 2012 07:54

Written by Bill Johnson

A miracle lifestyle begins in God’s presence

For decades, maybe centuries, the church has gathered weekly around a sermon. Our reasons are noble: We value the Scriptures and know that our lives are to be anchored in truth. But the study of the Scriptures is meant to launch us into an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ.

In that moment of connection, we obtain life. Without encountering the One to whom Scriptures point, we are a people to be pitied. As Jesus told the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

Nearly every leader wants revival in one way or another, and many want healings, deliverances and miracles. But it’s hard to have the same fruit as the early church when we value a book they didn’t have above the Holy Spirit they did have.