In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself. They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will they be content with correct “interpretations” of truth. They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water.

 

This is the only real harbinger of revival which I have been able to detect anywhere on the religious horizon. It may be the cloud the size of a man’s hand for which a few saints here and there have been looking. It can result in a resurrection of life for many souls and a recapture of that radiant wonder which should accompany faith in Christ, that wonder which has all but fled the Church of God in our day.

 

But this hunger must be recognized by our religious leaders. Current evangelicalism has (to change the figure) laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seems satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty Carmel. But God be thanked that there are a few who care. They are those who, while they love the altar and delight in the sacrifice, are yet unable to reconcile themselves to the continued absence of fire. They desire God above all. They are athirst to taste for themselves the “piercing sweetness” of the love of Christ about Whom all the holy prophets did write and the psalmists did sing.

 

There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers whofeel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy.

 

I trust I speak in charity, but the lack in our pulpits is real. Milton’s terrible sentence applies to our day as accurately as it did to his: “The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed.” It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God’s children starving while actually seated at the Father’s table. The truth of Wesley’s words is established before our eyes: “Orthodoxy, or right opinion, is, at best, a very slender part of religion. Though right tempers cannot subsist without right opinions, yet right opinions may subsist without right tempers. There may be a right opinion of God without either love or one right temper toward Him. Satan is a proof of this.”

 

Thanks to our splendid Bible societies and to other effective agencies for the dissemination of the Word, there are today many millions of people who hold “right opinions,” probably more than ever before in the history of the Church. Yet I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the “program.” This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us.

 

Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.

 

This book is a modest attempt to aid God’s hungry children so tofind Him. Nothing here is new except in the sense that it is a discovery which my own heart has made of spiritual realities most delightful and wonderful to me. Others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.

This is a little post I did a while back for WSM Online:

In looking at the pictures we have in the scriptures of the throne room, we see a recurring aspect of ministry before God.  In Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet has a powerful encounter in the heavenly throne room.  Isaiah describes angelic creatures standing each having six wings (Is. 6:2).  They called out to one another declaring the holiness of the Lord (Is. 6:3).  We find out from John that Isaiah was having a vision of Jesus (Jn. 12:41); YAHWEH of the armies of heaven.  The name, Seraphim literally means “burning ones.”

When we jump forward to the New Testament, we see a similar scene in Revelation chapter 4; this one of the Father.  I believe we see the same creatures again (Commentators have differing opinions on if the four living creatures are Seraphim) (Rev. 4:8).  These ones are declaring the utter transcendence of God.  In saying He is holy, they are not just talking about purity and sinlessness, but they are saying, “We’ve never seen anyone or anything like Him!  He is completely other-than!”  From the descriptions in both these chapters, these creatures look pretty weird.  Imagine seeing something completely covered with eyes and six wings.  Why would God make such a weird looking creature to stand before Him day and night?  These angels stand right before the throne and gaze on the glory of God.  Imagine their eyes opening and taking in the glory and fire and vision of God, and then they shut their eyes, fall down and cry out, “HOLY!”  The power and majesty overwhelms them.

Why are they called burning ones?  What is their function?  It seems strange that God would create these to be directly before Him, when He, as Creator, had the choice to make anything to be before Him in His throne room.  When you look at the passages describing encounters with God or of His throne, you see fire & smoke (Ex. 24:18; Is. 6:4; Ezek. 1:27; Dan. 7:9-10; Rev. 4:3-5; 15:2).  Why?- He is fire (Deut. 4:24).  By gazing upon the throne, the Seraphim become burning ones- set ablaze with the very glory and revelation of God.  Their function is to release the witness of the beauty and majesty God to the rest of the throne room.  They are specially designed to plummet the depths of God, by gazing, and then declare it to one another (Is. 6:3) and by doing so, bring all those in the throne room into the revelation they receive.  (If you’ve been to IHOP-AC and have seen us singing prayers or scriptures with singers going back and forth- this is where we get this picture in the scriptures- called responsive or antiphonal singing).

The Seraphim perceive the beauty of God, receive it (burning), and declare it.  I believe they are a picture of forerunner messengers.  Forerunners continually behold and perceive the beauty of God by the spirit of revelation (Eph. 1:17).  Secondly, they receive it, by allowing it to become a part of them resulting in wholeheartedness (Isaiah calls this “spirit of burning” – Is. 4:4).  Finally, that which they burn with, through the process of perceiving and becoming a part of them, they proclaim with power and authority- the release the witness of God to provoke worship- to the saved and unsaved.

We were made to be burning ones- even more so than these- because we have been granted things into which angels long to look- 1 Pet. 1:12- even the Seraphim.

This past December I had the opportunity to go to Romania to be with my friends from the Bazna House of Prayer leading a conference in a major city called Timisoara.  This conference, titled UnLucru (One Thing), was a young adult oriented conference with the scripture of Psalm 27:4 as the heartbeat.  I was so blessed and honored to be a part of it.  Our time in worship was awesome.  My heart was undone to see somewhere between 300-400 people in ardent adoration of the Lord.  I spoke a break-out seminar on the worth of Jesus in day and night prayer and also one on intimacy with God without shame.  In most sessions, ministry time was powerful as people prayed over each other- receiving from the Lord imparatation and healing of their hearts.  The last night of the conference, we had an all-night worship, prayer, and prophetic proclamation over the nation of Romania.  Many in the church in Romania believe that in a similar way that the Timisoara Revolution began to free the nation from communism, a spiritual revolution will ignite in this city and spread like wildfire to the cities of Romania.

After the conference, we got to go to a smaller city, Reşiţa, and meet with a newly forming house of prayer.  We gathered in a small room with close to 20 people and began to worship the Lord- and the room blew up!  Worship and prayer was fiery and there was a spirit of prayer in our midst. As we prayed together over those two days, I knew things were being shifted over that region by the tears of the friends of the Lord.  I am so excited to see what God is going to do in this city for His glory.

During the worship and prayer at the conference and houses of prayer the most prominent thing on my heart was a word out of Psalm 65:1- “Praise is awaiting You, O God…”  I had this increased longing to see the cities of Romania have a testimony that their city is a place to which God could find constant adoration and praise.  On this trip my heart was struck all over again with the reality that God is raising up a GLOBAL END TIME PRAYER MOVEMENT to prepare the earth for the coming of His Son.  This is not some new ministry fad in ecclesia; because there are a few ministries in the earth functioning in some capacity towards day and night prayer.   The Scriptures are full of prophetic revelation on this reality (Isa. 19:20-22; 24:14-16; 25:9; 26:8-9; 27:2-5, 13; 30:18-19; 42:10-13; 43:26; 51:11; 52:8; 62:6-7; Jer. 31:7; 51:8; Joel 2:12-17, 32; Zeph. 2:1-3; Ps. 102:17-20; 122:6; 149:6-9; Zech. 8:20-23; 10:1; 12:10; 13:9; Lk. 18:7-8; Mt. 21:13; 25:1-13; Rev. 5:8; 6:9-11; 8:3-5; 9:13; 14:18; 16:7; 18:6; 22:17, 20).  It is a sign in itself that we are living in the last generation- and Jesus’ coming is soon.

11“For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense (prayer) is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts….14… for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.” (Mal 1:11-14)

People all over the nations are beginning to get the revelation that Jesus is a great King, He is Worthy, and their response is unceasing adoration and prayer- which is critical to prepare the earth for His coming.  I have been so blessed to go on this trip- and as always, as I minister, I get ministered to in the most profound ways.

The Way School of Ministry at IHOP-AC will be holding off on normal classes for the summer and will be hosting a discussion group on the End Times.  Anyone interested is welcome.  Check it out.

The judgments in each series are grouped: 1-4, 5-6, 7.  In the first 4 seal judgments, God is removing restraints and allowing sin in the hearts of men to be expressed fully and mature (Dan. 8:23, 2 Thess. 2:7, Gen. 6).  Not until after the 5th seal, are active supernatural judgments released on men- the heart of the Bridegroom is stirred to begin to avenge His bride (martyrs).

By this point, even through the mercy of God has been manifested to man, look at his response (Rev. 6:15-17).  One is of fear: of the prayer movement (saints on earth) as well as the judgements of God.  They have pretty good theology- “Him who sits on the throne” “wrath of the Lamb”-  prophetic messengers release the witness of God through the earth.

I’ll skip ahead…In the trumpet judgments 1-4, God with His partner on the earth, release judgments on the natural resources of the earth w/o directly touching people.  God is giving seasons of mercy in the midst of seasons of judgment.  In the 5th trumpet, He does not permit the demons to kill men, but torment them for 5 months…mercy of God…time for repentance (those w/o the mark). 

Look at the response of man: Rev. 9:20-21.  Men have unrepentant, hardened hearts given over to the worship of demons (could these demons be connected to those that torture mankind?).  Man still refuses His mercy, not realizing that by doing so, they are choosing justice and judgment.  Refusing is actually choosing. 

Right after this, in chapter 10 God sends an angel with a rainbow (symbol of covenantal mercy).  I am just so overwhelmed by it in the book.  Prophetic ministry in the end times (10-11:6)…mercy.  Protection of Jewish remnant (12)…mercy.  144,000, Eternal gospel preached, Blessing of dead, End time harvest…you guessed it..mercy.

Look at the final response of men’s hearts: fully calloused, given over to the demonic and the heights of sinfulness, seared.  In the midst of their choice of judgment, men blaspheme God (Rev. 16:9, 11, 21). 

I have just been overwhelmed with these extreme contrasts in the book.  Just wanted to post some observations.  I want to encounter the mercful emerald rainbow God.  His lovingkindness will never end!

I want to post the Cayenne Kicker recipe, mainly because I don’t want to have to search for it all over the net every time I need it:

Cayenne Kicker (drink at your own risk

One gallon distilled water
1-1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4-cup pure maple syrup
1/4-teaspoon cayenne pepper