Prepare for the Wildfire! Part 1

It’s time to go deeper.

God is moving His bride beyond charismatic religion. Beyond the conventional and the traditional. An all-consuming fire is being released in our midst, and anything that can be burned will be torched. The Lord recently told me that He is not coming to support many existing religious structures, but to burn them to the ground. His goal is to bring us into full possession by the Holy Spirit.

God is releasing radicals, fanatics and extremists in this hour who are absolutely infected with a craving for the Glory realm. A militant bride is emerging who will walk in fiery, passionate authority on the one hand, and a glorious supernatural ecstasy on the other. In fact, two of the main thrusts we have seen that mark this fresh outpouring of Glory is a deeper realm of drunken joy in the Spirit, and the other is a radical boldness. We have found that the fire God is releasing in this day is forging boldness and authority in His people – not the kind of human boldness which is worked up and rooted in insecurity. This is the blazing zeal of the Lord that is kindled in the furnace of divine jealousy for the Bridegroom. This jealousy does not allow us to bow to the fear of man or idolize religious structure of any kind. This is a violent, heaven-rending anointing.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matt. 11:12)

This aggressive, militant passion is about to sweep the church at large, but for those who are infected by this move of God’s Spirit, prepare for some misunderstanding! This fire will swiftly strip you of your man-pleasing spirit, and the fresh authority that comes with freedom from the fear of man will begin to freak out many of those around you! Those who choose to walk in this anointing should be prepared for this: for you to simply walk into a room, the atmosphere you carry will draw a line in the sand!

Although this is an intense fire, it is a most delightful flame. As the Bride of the Son of God, we have become one with Him. Understanding how beautiful and accepted you are in His eyes will begin to unlock a ferocity within you to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. When God looks at you, he sees a beautiful, yet militant bride:

You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners (Song 6:4; Note: Tirzah means “beautiful”).

You have troops of an entire army within you. Many of you reading this today carry a church, a network or even an entire movement within your belly! Latent within you is a captain of thousands or tens of thousands. The wildfire of God’s Spirit is going to birth a generation of dread champions who will become a holy terror in the earth. They will walk fully saturated in the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord (and they will delight in it!), and their lives will demonstrate the supernatural power of God on an almost daily basis.

“We are as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem in the eyes of God. However, to the enemy this lover, this overcomer, is as terrible as an army with banners. Banners indicate a readiness to fight and also mean that the victory is won,” writes Watchman Nee.

There is a prevailing sense of false humility that has afflicted the people of God in these days. We have somehow come to equate humility with insecurity. Church people expect you just to bend over to all opposition. We’ve turned the cheek so many times, we are dizzy from spinning. Any little wind of opposition from the enemy is assumed to be a “closed door” from God, because people get complacent, too lazy to fight, and they don’t have enough faith to plow through mountains. So many Christians do not understand their identity as sons of God, and so they do not act with authority. Our cowardice and apathy has caused us to bend and waffle and give up ground in our governments, our schools, our homes, our marriages and even in our pulpits. It is no wonder that many mainstream denominations are struggling with issues of homosexuality in this hour! A sissy church will never stand up for the truth.

How have we lost the apostolic boldness to daringly preach the word of God with blatant audacity? Where are the burning, blazing lamps today like John the Baptist, leveling out a straight path and clear-cutting a way for the Lord? From the womb, John carried revival for a nation in his bones. I don’t think John would sit still in a pew.

We can no longer afford to equate humility with cowardice and insecurity. But whenever someone gets bold and starts to stand on the truth, their lifestyle of faith and holy aggression is seen as a sign of arrogance! Where are the George Foxes of today who will boldly stand up in the congregations of the whitewashed and boldly proclaim the truth, even though he was repeatedly dragged out and stoned everywhere he went? And miracles followed! There is a generation of “believers” today who are seduced by a slumbering gospel of talk only, and though they may intellectually agree with doctrinal truths, their hearts are far from the reality of the Kingdom. Expect a radical reformation that is even now on the horizon.

True Humility
Because the Lord has given us a high profile, supernatural ministry, my wife and I get lots of “stay humble” words from people. I used to wonder if I was quite the arrogant jerk to deserve such admonition so often. It took me some time to realize that I didn’t need to repent from cockiness everyday. The problem is that the church lacks a war mindset, and because of this, aggression is often confused with arrogance.

It is imperative that the church has true humility. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6, 1 Pet. 5:5). And if you humble yourself, you will be exalted (Matt. 23:12). But what is humility? Obtaining humility does not mean you become a creampuff, sissy Christian. For starters, true humility has to do with obedience. And foremost, it is obedience to the movement of the Spirit of God. We must honor God’s presence when He comes – whether he shakes us, quakes us or whatever He wants to do!
Personally, we are confident in the Lord; the Lord is accelerating us in our youth, and we do not apologize for Him when He does crazy things through us. For many people, this is intimidating. Because of the influence God has given us, as well as miraculous giftings (which are readily available to anyone who wants them), people think we should be especially sycophantic and groveling to somehow insulate ourselves from pride. Although we must embrace a spirit of gentleness, the wildfire will no longer allow us coax and molly-coddle religious devils. There is no peace to be made with Jezebel. God has enough apple-polishing lap dogs. He is looking for valiant sons who embrace their authority. The earth itself is sick of this slavish docility. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (Rom. 8:19). Rise up church! Where are the princes of the earth who will rule with justice? Where are the preachers who are motivated by passion and not insecurity?

Prepare for the Revolution
Many, if not most Christians, are shy, fearful and insecure in matters of faith. And their definition of “humility” has more to do with operating in this timid spirit than it does true contrition of heart. This is why so many “submit” to the poor decisions of their “spiritual authorities,” rather than knuckling up to the table and boldly walking in the truth. Few people are brave enough to scorn rejection, casting aside the man-pleasing spirit, and walking forward into the lion’s den. Lots of sheep think they have to eat from the self-deprecating trough of religion every Sunday morning, living a bland, colorless existence, without challenging the status quo. A lifestyle of breakthrough and a regal identity as co-creator with God is too lofty to accept.

God is not apologizing. The age of apologetics has passed. The present move of God is in your face, raw and demanding.

Submission to the Spirit always breeds boldness. The nonresistance mentality of the church has produced a weak-kneed, bootlicking attitude of false resignation. Any obstacle that comes our way in an enterprise must surely be a sign from God to retreat, because our cringing compliance knows nothing of fighting and pressing through until we gain a victory. I believe that with all the blessing of inner prayer and spiritual union theology handed down to us through the Quietist movement, its hellish concepts of utter pacifism has produced an age of church mice who know nothing but to curtsy and run for cover when things get hairy in the foxhole. Slavish compliance to every wind and wave of opposition produces wishy-washy cowards.

But get ready for the wildfire. A generation of blazing lamps walking in the spirit of Elijah.

Nothing is safe from God’s reach. God is shaking, shifting, restructuring and breaking a lot of things right now. There is a “holy deconstructionism” that on the one hand tears down the systematic religion of man, but on the other hand, it simultaneously builds up the true temple: the church of the living God! What Jesus is doing right now is this: He is starting to blurt out some uncomfortable truths that we have long been avoiding. For those who embrace these truths, there is an overwhelming joy and an exotic discovery of the realms of supernatural authority and experience available to us. Bizarre miracles, angelic visitations, open-eye visions and visitations are just a few of the things being offered us, along with a constant infilling of the intoxicating new wine of His Spirit – an abiding Glory that never fades, but only increases. In fact, it is the wine of His Spirit that most enables us to move into the wild ferocity of this zealous boldness.

The infilling of God’s ecstatic, intoxicating Spirit is what empowered the apostles to speak His word boldly in Acts 4. In Acts 2, they had to get loaded before the miracles exploded! A drunk man is not easily contained. He does not polish his words. He is not seeker sensitive.

No fresh move of God has ever come without a mess. God is messing up our meetings. He is messing up our reputations. He is messing up our ability to gather crowds at times – pruning away the religious fluff, so that multitudes of souls can come in on this fresh wind. As for me, I am tired of entertaining Christians. I am ready for the billion soul harvest. And for those who embrace His crazy wildfire that knows no boundaries, there will be a favor that comes from God and with man that scarcely could have been imagined. Let us move on to full possession.

To be continued …

Lord Bringing Shift, Restructuring, New Construction

We are excited about the start of a new year, and we feel the zeal of the Lord being kindled afresh like a fire burning in our bones! We are just finishing a two-month period of pulling away from the road, for a season of meditation and writing. We expect to have a new book on Song of Solomon complete in the coming year. We are also resuming our itinerate schedule this week, and next month, we are kicking off our first local Sons of Thunder conference for 2007 – the Wildfire Gatherings, in Griffin, GA. We expect this to be a dangerous time of intense Glory and complete transformation for our lives, families, ministry and region. We would encourage you to come to this free conference expecting miracles and breakthrough!

2006 Year End
We are so grateful for the tremendous release of supernatural manifestation God has given throughout 2006. It is impossible to count how many creative miracles, healings, financial miracles and salvations we have seen during the course of the year. Just since sending out our last revival report in the fall, we have seen the Lord work some tremendous miracles, save many souls and bring us personally to seven nations in 2006. We traveled to the Maritimes late in the year, seeing dozens of healings: deaf ears opened; several people received back their lost sense of smell; many were healed over cell phones; and many recovered from problems with arthritis, feet, back and joint ailments.

At our Breaker Anointing conference in Georgia, metal plates and pins melted from many people’s bodies. One woman reported that she could no longer locate 11 screws in her leg! The Lord emphasized the paradoxical themes of resting in the Spirit, contrasted by the urgent need to press in for more of the Glory realm. The atmosphere for miracles carried over as we ministered at a Greater Atlanta Healing Rooms conference: more hearing was restored to the deaf; a metal rod melted from a man’s back; teeth were supernaturally filled with gold (one woman received two full gold teeth), and many were healed of arthritis, joint and back problems. A protruding tumor shrank and disappeared from a woman’s stomach before our eyes as the Lord dissolved it. Several responded to words of knowledge concerning diabetes and other internal illnesses.

In Marysville, Mich., we watched as many young people were ignited with fire as the Lord moved powerfully at a Joel’s Army conference. There were more creative miracles and salvations and lots of personal prophetic words.

Overcoming Warfare
It is important for us to understand the times and seasons in which we live. Just since the start of 2007, the Body of Christ is now experiencing a time of turbulence, shifting and restructuring in the Spirit. Many have felt that their spiritual eyes and ears have been cloudy in recent weeks. If you have been experiencing warfare and confusion, know that you are not alone. This is a time for endurance, pressing in and overcoming the adversary. This is not a time to lay down and give up. We would encourage you to read John’s words for 2007 which we posted at the start of the Hebraic new year. The Lord spoke to us about “going the distance,” and that He was pouring out a “Rocky” anointing to slug out the final rounds before moving us into a spirit of excellence. Despite a current state of warfare, the Lord is paradoxically releasing a peace and a rest in the midst of the current spiritual storm. This year, 2007, is also a Sabbath rest year. We must remember that the “God of peace will soon crush satan underneath your feet” (Rom. 16:20). In the midst of the whirlwind, peace is your friend at the eye of the storm.

The Tornado is Here
A couple weeks ago, we went to visit with Bob Jones, when an unexpected tornado zipped past our home, knocking over trees and blowing open the doors of our house. That day, the Lord gave another sign in the heavens, a large rainbow that stretched right over the city of Atlanta. Here is a photo captured by the Atlanta Journal newspaper:

We are excited about what the Lord is doing in the city, and we will discuss a few more Atlanta-specific words later. But across the church at large, the Lord is calling us to embrace the whirlwind in this hour. He is bringing a major overhaul to the way we do things. He is even restructuring the way we perceive the Kingdom, ministry and our life purpose. Many have been running the rat race of performance-driven Christianity, and God is blowing it all away with a spiritual tornado at this time. Allow Him to change your schedule, rearrange your plans and pull the rug out from under you if need be. Restoration is at hand. Although you may feel that spiritual famine is all around, you will be amazed to discover that breakthrough and abundance is right around the corner. The whirlwind is making way for the promise of the Father.

The Whirlwind Restructures
Many found at the turn of Dec. 31, that their plans and system of doing things almost immediately collapsed! God is restructuring things for a smoother alignment. My nine-year-old daughter, Maile, was given this prophetic word for 2007:

“I saw a whirlwind and a timer. A whirlwind means a retiming and people starting over, and the timer was God’s timing. Two-thousand seven is a new year and a starting over time.”

Do not let the shakings and swirlings cause you to look for safe harbor in religious structures! Often when our eyes get blurry, we look for a safe, static system to rest our heads, and that is when many turn to legalisms that have the appearance of safety. Instead, like Abraham, we should return to the last place of our visitation. We don’t want to camp in the past. However, during times of warfare, it is very appropriate to remember past victories, for such testimonies release an overcoming spirit. And remember the words spoken over you, because this contending precedes the fulfillment of promises given. Although, the voice of the Lord may not be clear, loud and blaring right now, you will hear his whisper in the place of rest and peace. My daughter was also given this for 2007:

“I saw the word, ‘whisper.’ I think that God wants us to be quiet and press for the thing that God has told us, and don’t just shout it out right away. I saw a river, and I think God just wants us to relax and drink and swim in His water.”

Crossing the Jordan
Bob told us to expect this difficult season to last another six months, but that in June, the Body of Christ is about to cross a spiritual river Jordan into a season of taking the promise land. For the past year, Bob noted that the prophets in particular have been undergoing a molting season. When eagles molt, this is a difficult time for them. They lose their feathers and become very vulnerable. It is a time of testing and turbulence. Expect this period to last another six months, but for breakthrough to come around June 6.

Nevertheless, amidst the storms and turbulence, there is a special grace and favor the Lord is imparting. For those who say “yes” to Him right now, there will truly be an explosion of the glory realm and an ability to access the things of heaven like never before. There are things coming around the corner which will be both very good and very bad. This is especially a time to be interceding against more acts of terrorism and natural disaster. But also, be expecting the Glory of the Lord to arise on His people like never before.

Increase in the Angelic
A strong increase is coming in angelic activity. Not just interpersonal communication with angels as we have known it, yet that will accelerate as well. There is a level of angelic encounter coming as was afforded to Abraham, Gideon and Jacob. In these encounters, there were actually “beings” who materialized and were able to eat with the patriarchs. Not just visionary spirit beings. Whenever these type of beings showed up, something major was about to happen. We are on the utter verge of a major shift in the church, as well as governmentally in the world. Remember that when such beings visited Lot, the time for the destruction Sodom and Gomorrah was at hand.

Shift of Authority
At the turn of 2007, we lost several major governmental leaders within a period of one week. Gerald Ford passed away, a political leader known for stepping in during the midst of a moral crisis in our nation. Also, Saddam Hussein was hanged at that time – a governmental leader known, on the contrary, for his wickedness. Unknown to many in the younger generation, a very powerful man of the Spirit died that same week: Harold Bredesen. Known as the “father of the charismatic movement,” Harold was a powerful leader in his day, influencing presidents, Middle East policy, and leading several prominent church leaders in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, such as Pat Robertson. He was featured on major television networks and secular magazines in his time, and even sparked a movement among Yale college students of speaking in tongues and moving in spiritual gifts.

With these deaths, there has been a vacuum in the spirit, and God is causing new leaders to emerge. The enemy is also poising to release new leaders of wickedness. Interestingly, one other major celebrity died that same week in the Atlanta area: James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul.” In the shift that is taking place today, God is circumcising the soul of His people, to purify us for the manifest glory to come. This is going to cause us to vastly accelerate in our authority and influence: and in favor both with God and man.

Jacob had a divine encounter, where he was reminded of a word from 20 years earlier in his life. There is something God is doing in terms of fulfilling promises made 20 years ago. Interestingly, 20 years ago, the church was marked by the fall of television minister Jim Bakker and the PTL network in 1987. Very often, in God’s timetable, prophetic mandates are fulfilled in 20-year cycles. In recent years, Morningstar Ministries and others have sought to restore the foundations laid through Bakker’s ministry – namely by rebuilding some of the facilities he constructed at his Heritage theme park near Charlotte. While many in the church wrote him off altogether for the obvious failures that were exposed in his ministry, few remembered the thousands upon thousands of souls he helped to lead into the Kingdom, or the vast benefit his ministry had on millions of people. We often turn on our leaders when their sin or weakness surfaces, and we also tend to throw the baby out with the bath water.

We need to learn to restore our leaders, and not judge the bulk of their work by their failures. At the start of 2006, I prophesied that some influential ministers would fall during the course of the year, which unfortunately happened. The church is no longer starry-eyed regarding the humanity of its leaders, and we are learning how to forgive and restore.

Now, 20 years after the fall of Bakker, the Lord spoke to me quite clearly that he is looking to restore the ministry of the gathering angels to the church, which were once assigned to Bakker’s ministry. We scarcely can imagine what this will look like. Prior to the televangelist failures of the late 1980s, Christian television was watched, to some degree, in almost every home nationwide – quite often by nonbelievers! Television ministry, though often scoffed at today, used to be enormously popular. Multitudes were disillusioned in 1987 and beyond, and Christianity became a byword in many circles where, before, there was at least some degree of respect for the faithful.

Setting the Sail
In a recent dream, the Lord instructed me to hand my ministry to Jim Bakker, and then I saw Jim releasing a massive, pure white sail into the air that was caught up by the wind. This was not literally Jim (and understand that this prophetic word is not about the restoration of his personal ministry) but it was symbolic of the broad platform and sphere of influence that was given to him in years past. The Lord is about to enlarge many, many ministries this year, giving them a huge sail, because he can entrust them for their purity (the sail was white), and because the harvest is coming in such massive proportions, our barns will scarcely hold the new believers coming into the Kingdom! Also, expect a powerful new anointing to come on “Christian television,” as crazy wonderworkers begin doing supernatural stuff in the streets, giving a whole new meaning to “reality TV.”

Remember that a new breed of leadership is arising, both good and wicked. God wants to restore what the church lost 20 years ago in terms of influence with the masses and ability to harvest souls wholesale. Get ready to see stadiums filled very soon. Bob told me that a materialized angelic being came to him in December, who had not been on the earth in 70 years. When he was last on the earth, in 1936, that was when Hitler, Mussolini and several other fascist dictators were just coming into power. More than ever, it is time for the sons of God to arise and be revealed, to displace the demonic authority satan is seeking to enthrone right now. God wants to restore Kingdom influence, and He will do it largely through displays of supernatural power.

Sonship
A very key element God is emphasizing at this time is sonship. He is raising up sons and daughters.

If you have been experiencing warfare, know that the enemy wants to strip your identity, which is his primary tactic. This was his methodology with Jesus, while tempting Him in the desert … if you are the Son of God. Continue to contend for the promises, and understand that you are a son and the beloved of the King. For many, this has been a season of fasting. Whether you are fasting or feasting, draw near to the Lord. Part of the current transition deals with the Lord wanting to reorder our houses this year. Fundamental shifts and changes in the way our lives and ministries are structured are here. There is a structure that is from God, but it is far more fluid and living than the structures of man.

Bob says that the molting eagle is getting new feathers, which will not be eagle feathers, but dove feathers. The dove represents sonship. It represents peace and gentleness. It represents a remembrance of the poor. It also represents a city-taking anointing! Jonah had an anointing to take an entire city, and his name means “dove.” The dove may not have the piercing eyesight of the eagle, but even more importantly, its gaze is single. It can only focus on one thing, with no peripheral vision. God is releasing a holy priesthood whose gaze will be fixed on Him and Him alone.

Strategy for Atlanta
While our vision is international in focus, the Lord has also called Sons of Thunder to build, plant and invest ourselves locally in the Atlanta area, which we believe is key to taking the south. In the Spirit, Bob saw 2x4’s as far as the eye could see, which were for building new construction here. We believe that the Lord is building something that is altogether new in this day. While we feel specifically that there is a city-taking anointing poised for Atlanta, this is something that is available for your city, too! God does move sovereignly on many cities and regions. He visited Toronto. He visited Pensacola. He visited Spokane and other places throughout history. But we do not have to wait for the dancing, sovereign hand of God to come before our cities can be taken. God responds to hunger. He does not just decide where to visit with a roulette wheel. If you build an altar for Him in the place of intimacy, purity and sacrifice, you can expect Him to respond and invade your region as well.

Our desire is to see the Atlanta area become a watering hole – a revival hub, not just for more of what we’ve seen in the past. This is something entirely new that God is releasing. It is outright revolution. It is out with the old, in with the new. This should be the vision for your city and region as well.

Join us for a Conference or Mission Trip!
We would encourage you to visit our newly updated Web page: http://www.thenewmystics.org/. There you will find a list of our upcoming conferences for 2007, as well a list of mission trips where you can join us in the nations. We have postponed our next trip to Uganda to September, to allow more people to register and be part of what the Lord is doing there. We will also be taking a team to India in December for a crusade and to help us plant our Sons of Thunder orphanage. We are excited to report that work is beginning on the orphanage in Bombay! Visit our orphanage page and read the testimonies of our house parents Nisar and Ranjana Immanuel. Their stories will inspire you. We are still in need of $20,000 to meet our funding goal for the facility, so please prayerfully consider a gift toward this end. Nisar already has a number of homeless children selected for assistance, but no place to house them!

Catch the Wildfire!
Our “Wildfire Gatherings” are coming up in February with an absolutely wild team of Welsh prophets who carry the DNA of Sons of Thunder. You will truly be equipped with the tools it takes to maintain a lifestyle in the manifest Glory of God, and you will also become more effective in saturation-style, marketplace evangelism! We will get filled with the Spirit everyday and take teams out to the streets for power evangelism outreach and training! The dates are Feb. 19-24, which is coming up quick, so mark your calendar!

Also, plan on joining us for “Engaging the Seer Realm,” in May, with veteran seer John Sandford, founder of Elijah House, and Aaron Evans, of Streams Ministries. After this, our next SOT sponsored event will be five nights of Glory meetings with Jeff Jansen, Joshua Mills and myself in Georgia in July. And in October, we will be storming the city of Atlanta with “The Violent Take it By Force,” a conference/power evangelism event with James Levesque, Shawn Gabie and myself. All of these are FREE events!