While in the midst of a prayer meeting for revival last night, the Lord showed = me something so disturbing that I hesitated to share it with the others = there.  While I am sure that all would have agreed with the vision, I fear that = few would have been cut deeply enough in their hearts to make a permanent difference. 

I saw a large wharf set out over the ocean.  It was long and wide and = filled with a crowd of people on a bright and sunny day.  I remember feeling = how pleasant the weather was.  What a wonderful day for a stroll along the pier = in your Sunday’s finest, meeting and greeting all your friends! =

As I looked closer, I realized that these were all Christians. You could = see in their bright and smiling faces the joy of being saved and how much they = enjoyed being there on that wharf with everyone else.  They would gather in = little clumps and pray with each other, raising hands and proclaiming blessings = upon everyone.  Several would drift from group to group edifying others = and speaking a word of faith into each other’s lives.  Often I would hear = groups lift up praises to God, glorifying His name.  Others would be praying = for a greater passion to serve Him and a deeper sense of holiness. Still others would = be praying for their pastors, their churches and anyone else they could think of = that needed prayer. 

In all cases, I noticed that everyone was happy, good-looking and well = dressed.  What a wonderful time everyone was having in the Lord!  It seemed = to be part of their Christian make up, almost as if it identified them as = Christians.  That made sense to me because of the transforming difference that salvation = has upon those who get saved.  I’ve seen hardened faces melt at the = altar during Sinner’s Prayers every night for years, and I can tell you that = the difference that a born again experience makes on someone affects more = than a their soul – you can see it all over them.  These people on = the wharf had that same appearance of joy and peace that only Salvation = brings.

As I looked around at the ocean, however, I could see that the sea had a = very different look to it than the wharf.  The sea was the color of a = gun-metal grey and looked very cold and dismal.  The waves were choppy and = tumultuous, almost tempestuous in nature.  What a different picture this was from what = I had seen on the wharf!  One was bathed in a warm glow of brightness while = the other was overcast in a chilly shadow.  The contrast was so stark that it = seemed as if it had been determined that way, as if this sharp difference was made to be = that way on purpose. 

As I looked out into the sea, I could see masses of people drowning, crying = out for help.  Their cries would often be choked as another wave = splashed over them, and then they would pop up again, waving their hands and crying to = the people on the wharf to help them.  It was a desperate scene.  = Masses of people were in the sea scrambling over each other in a desperate attempt to = escape drowning.  I could hear the voices of the screaming and hollering = as they mingled together into a chorus of misery and = desperation.

But no one on the wharf paid any attention.

I was shocked.  These were real Christians. I could tell they = were.  They not only looked like Christians, I could hear them praying over each other, praising God, and admonishing one another to a walk of godliness.  = But why didn’t they help these drowning people?  Why didn’t = they stop praying and throw out some life lines or dive into the water and pull = them to safety?  Why didn’t they do something?  Why were = they just completely ignoring these desperate cries for = help?

And then I realized why.  It wasn’t because they didn’t = want to. 

It was because they couldn’t even hear them.

“ And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his = disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by = the highway side begging.   And when he heard that it was Jesus of = Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on = me.  And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a = great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
 Mark 10:46-49

Fire in  the Hole

“Whoso is = simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, = Come, eat of my = bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.” (Proverbs 9:4,5)

Both Wisdom and the Foolish Woman in Chapter 9 of = Proverbs cry out the exact same words to those who pass by.  They each seek = out the high places of the city, but while Wisdom sends her maidens there to = invite the simple to the feast she has prepared, the Foolish Woman has already = built herself a church there and is waiting for them to pass by to tempt them = with secret things of pleasure. 

Satan knows that in order to deceive the nations, = he must produce an imitation of the Truth and call souls into replica that is as = close to the true Church as possible.  Certainly, there are those who = reject anything that has to do with righteousness, but he’s already got = them in his snare, so he doesn’t have to worry about them.  But to = deceive the rest of the world, he has to seem holy, but without the restrictions = and price that righteousness calls for. 

Satan’s job is not to tempt people into sin, = but to make sin seem righteous.  His illusion has to seem as a clear way = to the Truth, but at the same time appealing to people’s natural desire = for an easy way that will satisfy the flesh. Let’s face it, everybody = wants to go to Heaven, and if they can find an easy way to get there, = they’re likely to take the opportunity.  Yank out all the hard stuff of the suffering of the Cross and allow the lusts of the flesh … and = still make it to Heaven?  Where do I sign up?

 Satan knows that if you tell people what they = want to hear, they will follow you like the Pied Piper.  It has worked = since the Garden of Eden.

So where does he work his illusions today?  = Simple.  In the church.  Create a facsimile of Wisdom, give her the same = basic message and stick her right in the place where you would expect the = church to be, and voila! Dress her up to look like she is holy, light some candles = for effect, hold out some promises that will appeal to the masses that they = can receive for free, and you have it.  Everyone likes something for = free, don’t they? Especially when it is because you are so loved by God = that He just wants to bestow it upon you because you are so good.  Yeah, = that works too – “Feel Good Ministries”.  Make them = feel good about their relationship with God and they will love you for it.  = Hey, it works for dogs; why not for people?

And what tool does Satan always use?  = Prophets, of course. 

The Church today is rife with prophets promising = all kinds of moves of God.  Everything looks rosy from their = perspective.  Just recently, a prophet looked out over San Francisco and saw that the Bay = looked like a birth canal in a woman.  That was enough for the = prophet.  “Oh, I have a word from God!”  So if all the churches there will = push like a woman in labor, all kinds of moves of God will be birthed from = this city. 

How nice.  But, I think I will just wait and = see.

Maybe I’m just not as cool and “with = it” as this new generation of prophets, but I got slapped across the back of = the head with a whole different message from the Lord when He called = me.  I can remember it like it was yesterday.  (It’s a little hard = to forget when God Almighty is ticked off at you.)

I was complaining to Him about all the hard = messages that He made me bring.  After all, I wasn’t making any friends out = there, and it would be great if I could have a nice ministry like all the other guys.  So He made me an offer:

“Would you like a = different job, Dale?  I have another job that you’ll just love.  = Oh yes, and you will be so popular that all kinds of people will follow you and = lift you up. And money?  Oh, they will just send you tons of = money!  You will never have to worry about that again!

“Would you like = that job, Dale?   It’s called being a false prophet, and you can = switch jobs any time you like.  What do you say, Dale?  Feel like = giving it a go?”

“Uh, no, = Lord.  Uh, that’s okay. I’ll just stick with what I got over here.” 
(Boy, if anyone doesn’t think God is sarcastic, I suggest you read = the Book of Philemon.)

I used to look with not a little envy at all these modern-day prophets that embellish their messages with peace, love and prosperity.  Everybody loves to hear the latest word hot off the = presses from God.  They not only deliver these super-spiritual messages to = people and churches, but also to cities and nations!  Their books are Best Sellers, their lecture schedule is full, and they hobnob with all the = elevated Christian leaders of the world.  Ah, how nice it must = be!

And then I sit down with Jeremiah and commune with = the solitary prophet of God and listen as he describes how he had to deal = with these same prophets in his day.  His contemporaries, Isaiah and = Ezekiel and others, echo his words and point to these Foolish Women as the root = cause that destroyed the children of Israel. 

As with anything in Life, if you repeat the same = conditions, you will get the same results.  Only fools, simple and without understanding, would think otherwise.

Fire in  the Hole

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of = peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  (Jer = 29:11)

I am always amazed at how we can pluck a snippet of Scripture out of a passage and completely ignore the surrounding context = so we can reinforce the consolations that we long for.  How many times = have we heard this scripture in reference to the blessings that God has in store for = us?  We strain our ears to hear anything that will lean toward the wonderful = things that we yearn to hear, and applaud the teachers that we have heaped up = to soothe our itching ears.  Oh, how wonderful are our messages of = peace that our prophets have consoled us with!

And yet, the substance of the Word of the Lord that = carries these snippets of Scripture often brings a much different message than = what we want to hear.

Jeremiah was called to prophesy unto Israel in the = 13^th year of Josiah’s reign.  It was a message of woe and = repentance, of judgment to come and Holy Ghost conviction for rebelling against the Lord.  = Five years later, Josiah discovered the scrolls and instituted a great revival in = the land, but Jeremiah still continued his message of judgment and = repentance. 

I can imagine the resistance from the Jews of the = time.  Couldn’t this old judgmental prophet see how wonderful their = churches were?  Why did he not understand that they were in a time of = revival?  Surely his dark message of repentance no longer applied to them, but this = caustic old prophet just wouldn’t let go of his old ways.  He must not be = of God, because, Praise the Lord, we’re all saved and praising the Lord = now. There’s no need to repent.

The Lord has taken me through the first 25 chapters = of Jeremiah over and over and over.  He won’t let me = leave.  Each time I go over them again, I see more clearly an overlay of a picture of America = and her modernistic churches.  I hear the same cry from God for repentance = for the sin and apostasy that we have left in our wake for years, but instead of = hearing cries of repentance, I hear the same calls for peace and prosperity that Jeremiah heard from the false prophets of his day. 

As the chapters in Jeremiah progress, there is an = increased call from God to repent until there finally comes a point where it is = too late.  And still, issuing from the mouths of the prophets and = priests of the time is a flood of prophesies of peace and prosperity:  ‘God = will never forsake His people, but will return and establish them’.  = ‘Surely God will bless us as we practice our religious ways.’ ‘God = is Love and He would never send destruction upon us.’

Today’s prophets tell us the same = messages.  And yes, the message of repentance does carry with it the promise of restoration = … IF we repent.  But just as the people of God in Jeremiah’s = time could not see the need to repent, even so we in our modern churches emphasize = praise and worship, but turn our hearts from the harder messages of repentance to = the extent that we will even pluck scriptures as cameo examples of proof = that judgment will not come upon us.

But it will come.  And though God deal with us = long and plead with us repeatedly -- and yes, even promise us blessings if we = will just hearken to His warnings – nevertheless, judgment is determined = upon this land for our refusal to acknowledge our departure from the old ways of = holiness and the fear of God and our migration to a new Gospel of peace and = love.  As Leonard Ravenhill once said that we have Hollywood productions instead = of holiness.  And Jeremiah said, “… and my people love to = have it so.”

And the great stone wheel of judgment continues to = roll ever closer.

The blood of 50 million innocents cries out of the = ground of their murder for the sake of adulterous convenience.
One denomination after another has decreed that the abomination of homosexuality is righteous while our government has decreed that the demonstration of anything godly is against the law. 
The translations of God’s Word have devolved into comic book = renditions and paraphrases of the Scriptures that God says we are supposed to = tremble at. 
There is a dearth of a flowing of the Spirit of God in our services, = complete absence of miracles, and altars that are bare. 
We sing and we dance, but do not travail in prayer. 
As Amos says, we lie upon beds of ivory, but our hearts are not grieved = for the affliction of the lost. 

Our hearts are not cut for these things, neither do = we acknowledge our sin, but instead look to our prophets for messages of = peace, love, blessings, and prosperity.  We do not believe that God will = send destruction upon us, for we are like the woman with a whore’s = forehead – we refuse to be ashamed. (Jer. 3:3)  We wipe our lips and = say, “I have done no wickedness.” (Prov. 30:20) “… No man = repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?”  (Jer. = 8:6)

Judgment is determined upon America.  = Destruction is on the way that will be far greater than 9/11 or Katrina. Your prophets have = told you that God will spare us and send revival, but it will not come without broken-hearted repentance.  The question is, will we repent?  = Or will we cross the same line that Israel crossed in Jeremiah where it is too late and = God will no longer listen? Will we not wake up to our spiritual leprosy until we = are carried away to Babylon?  Or will we wake up at all?

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not = saved.”  (Jer 8:20) 

Dale Garris

dale@revivalfire.org<= /p>

Fire in    the = Hole

“Mercy and truth preserve = the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.”   (Prov. = 20:28)

If there is any one message that can be deemed the most important of all, = it is the message of mercy.  The Apostle Paul wrote that charity is even = more important than faith and hope, the two pillars that our salvation rest = upon. 

It is not enough to be righteous before God.  The Pharisees were so = righteous that they were squeaky clean, and yet they wound up in Hell.  It is to = the merciful that God will show Himself merciful, not the righteous.  Mercy is = the core of God’s personality.  Without it, He would have empty mansions = in Heaven with no one to fill them.

And yet, I constantly hear Christians drone on about all the right doctrines = that they believe in and the things they have done for the Lord.  Their = conversation always seems to center around themselves, but when is it going to be = about others?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about you … and it will never be = about you. It is about others, others, others.  If you never grasp this, you = will never understand the Cross.  Jesus didn’t die so we could be = blessed, have a good time in the Lord, and attend a wonderful church – He died to = save sinners, and He commanded us to do the same.  There is a reason why = it is called the Great Commission.

Revival starts with the merciful.  The forerunners who contended for hours = of travail on their knees long before the fire of revival ever fell were not = praying for themselves – they were crying out to God for the lost.  Hours = of crying and wells of tears spring from a fountain whose source is that blessed = burden for lost souls. No revival comes without the sacrifice of these faithful warriors.

Where does that burden come from?  From prayer itself. You have to ask = God to give it to you before you can ever have the strength to drive past flesh and = self-will to contend to that intensity.  No human will power is enough to = overcome the spiritual barriers that Satan throws up before these saints.  This = is a battle of spiritual power, not flesh and blood. Only the power of God can press = this kind of a burden upon us to take us up, through, and over this kind of warfare.  We are victors only through the Blood of Jesus and the = power of God. 

When we ask God to give us a burden for lost souls, it starts in motion the = process that leads to revival.  This is where it always begins, for no = revival will ever take place without a core of prayer warriors burdened with this = weight to rip through the skies to bring down the fire from the Altar of = God. 

But you have to ask for it, because we are not born with it.  It is = contrary to human nature. You have to have a desire for the desire; you have to want = to want; you have to deny thyself and ask for the Cross.  But when you = ask, you are asking for His own burden, and He will give it liberally to those = who sincere ask. That burden is the God-given essence of His own heart, and = it is planted in our hearts by Him alone.  But you have to = ask.

When we pray for a deep, overwhelming burden for the lost, God will reveal the stark = reality of Hell to us.  Until then, we are numb to the realities of = Eternity. When the veil is ripped away from our fleshly understanding and we see with = eternal clarity the extent of the torments of everlasting destruction and the = rock solid assurance of judgment, the focus of our entire world forever = changes.  Nothing else matters – not money, blessings, peace, or any of this = world’s entertainments or comforts … and certainly not ourselves.  = The enormity of Hell and judgment to come looms before us and dominates everything we = see.

This is the thing that drives us to labor in the furnace of God’s prayer room = with inexhaustible fervor.  This is what births revival: charity, mercy, = and a burden for lost souls.  Without that, we are nothing but a tinkling = cymbal and a sounding brass, wells without water and clouds without rain, and taken = with our own vain jangling in a desire to be wise and righteous.  For = revival to come, we must take our focus off ourselves and put it on others. That is = the essence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the true meaning of the Cross, = and the heart of God.

I = fear that this is the dividing line between the sheep and the goats.  Belief = in God, doctrinal integrity, and church attendance will not get you into = Heaven.  He is looking for something in your heart that transcends the flesh and brings = you into the presence of God.  That thing is = mercy.

“He that dwelleth in the = secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the = Almighty.”  
(Psalms 91:1) 

Fire in  the Hole

 “Look down from heaven, and = behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: =

Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy = mercies toward me? Are they restrained? … O LORD, why hast thou made us to = err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy = servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. “ Isaiah 63:15,17

Every time I = return from Africa, I am deeply troubled by the vast difference between the = wide open hunger of  churches in Africa that I visit and the deadened = spiritual landscape of America.  In Africa, they can’t seem to get enough of the = Gospel.  No matter how hard you preach it, they want more.  They are sick of = the anemic, easy-going Gospel they see on TV because they realize that it is only = designed to soothe the flesh, not crucify it.  They want a Gospel of power = and they are ready to pay the price to get it.

The results = in Africa have been astounding.  After being home for only a couple of = weeks, I am already getting reports of how the churches I visited are more on fire = than they were before.  Before I left, I printed 500 booklets of the = message that I was preaching to them, and they are asking for hundreds more so they can = give them to even more churches around them so that the fire can spread.  I = can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to know that all the effort and money = was not in vain – it’s really working!

And let me = stop right here and thank those of you who looked past your own personal = horizons to help support this mission with your finances. It costs thousands of = dollars to go and preach this message of revival, to hand out Bibles to whole = congregations that have none, and to print and hand out these booklets so they can = spread the message of revival.  The fire is spreading, and without your help = it would not have happened.  

When I come = home to America, however, the switch turns off and the light fades back into = twilight.  Even though I practically jump up and down in my excitement to tell = people of the wonderful things that are happening over there, all I get are limpid responses and casual acknowledgements.  They appreciate my zeal = … as long as it doesn’t upset their churches.  They’re thankful = for all the healings and miracles, but are not concerned about the absence of = miracles in their own church.  They think that it is very nice that so many = souls get saved over there, but they are not cut to the heart for the emptiness of their = own altars.  They understand the need to help, but don’t really = care enough to reach into their pockets.  My fear is that the mercy they = refused others will be the mercy they will be refused in the times to come.  =

O Lord, where = is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy = mercies?  Why have our hearts become so hardened from thy fear?  Why can we not see = how far removed we have become from that old-fashioned Gospel of power that we = once had in America?  Africans openly acknowledge that the Gospel of Jesus = Christ was brought to them through the blood of the missionaries from America and = Britain, but now it has all been reversed.  They are desperately hungry, and = we are not.  As a result, God is feeding them while we starve to = death.

How I would = love to bring this message to every church in America, but how few of them are = willing to hear it.  Is it that I am not “denominationally = correct”, or is it that so few of us want to be shaken from our lethargy? Am I just too = intense and crazy, or do they just want to roll over and go back to sleep?  = Is it me, or is it them?  Sometimes I wonder.

There are two scriptures I read this week that scare me: 2^nd Thessalonians = 2:3 and 1^st Timothy 4:1.  One speaks of the “falling = away” of the churches and the other of a departure from the faith.  I used = to believe that this meant that a large number of Christians would backslide in the = last days, but I have read that there are some deeper connotations in the = Greek that suggest that rather than leaving the faith, many would stay away from = it, never having been part of it.  Either way you read this, the bottom line = is that our churches are in deep serious trouble … and don’t even = realize it.

Are we not in = the last days?  If we are, then these warnings apply to us.  Why = are we not shaken by this?  Instead, as in Jerusalem when the Babylonians surrounded = the city, we see singing and dancing instead of mourning and crying out to God.  = Are we so blind that we can ignore these scriptures?  Can we not see how = spiritually bereft we are? Does it not occur to us that we are missing something so = vital in our faith that these simple Africans have in abundance, and yet we = are not burdened in our hearts?

Judgment is = determined upon America. She has been given so much but has squandered it. Proverbs = 29:3 says that he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his = substance.  We have kept company with an adulterous worldly religion and have spent our = spiritual substance in God.  We are spiritually broke and drunken with the = wine of our comfortable worldly religions, but in our drunken stupor, instead of = crying out to God for mercy, we only cry out, “When shall I awake? I will = seek it yet again.” 

When will we = turn to God and cry out like Isaiah did, Return, O Lord, for thy servant’s = sakes and have mercy to allow us to see ourselves as you see us so that we may repent?

Or will we = ever?

Brother = Dale

If you would = like a copy of the booklet, Four Steps to Revival, simply contact us at dale@revivalfire.org or (972) = 938-8502 and request a free copy.

We’re heading home tonight.  I’m = sitting here at my hotel in Nairobi, looking out the window and wondering if I will ever = be back again. 

I go through this almost every time.  = It’s a bittersweet feeling leaving this place.  I am worn out and spent = after dozens of services in a score of little churches throughout Kenya, but = exhilarated from watching the power of God work in the hearts of these people.  = I can’t wait to get home, but I can’t wait to get = back.

The challenges that face my returning to Africa are = more than financial.  The hardest challenges have to do with slogging = through spiritual battles, the blanket of spiritual resistance that Satan throws = at me, and the weariness of this old flesh that has to be continually shoved = aside.  But oh, the excitement to see the power of God at work through this = little ministry, and to hear and see the transformation that takes place in = these little churches where I have been!  This is more than just having = some good church services – these are bursts of spiritual breakthroughs and = transformations for these churches.  Several places would cry out at the end of the = service that they would never be the same again.  When is the last time you = heard that?

These people in Africa are torn wide open to the = real Gospel, not the one of blessings, prosperity, and sweet love—they’ve had enough of that – but the Gospel of righteousness, power, and true revival.  Services here are = electrifying, not only during the singing that raises the rooftops with praises and = shouting, but the poignant soul-searching at the Altar Call.  This is a land = whose fallow ground has been broken up and is ready for the seed to be planted deep = in its soil.

They are desperate for revival – not just for = the blessings of Spirit-filled services and an outpouring that fills the = room, not just for the miracles and supernatural healings that happen, but for the = close presence and holiness of the Lord.  They are hungry for His = presence. 

How can I not be desperate to return?  Africa = is like vivid Technicolor in comparison to the spiritual shades of grey in = America.  There is a sound in the air of the abundance of rain.  I can hear the = thunder coming and see the clouds forming on the horizon.  It is about to rain – = no, pour! – in this dry and thirsty land.

And yet, I fear God and dare not go beyond the = leading of His Spirit.  I know that it is not I that will spread the fires = revival here – I am just striking matches – but those whose torches that = I have lit. God will raise up His ministers, stones that He has raised, = to spread that fire and carry revival to the rest of the world while I will = be sitting on my porch in Texas hearing about the wonderful works of God = that have sprung out of this ground.

Fire and rain.  Two seemingly opposite images = that God uses for revival.  I am striking matches and planting seeds, but the = rain will come and bring forth the harvest, and the fire will fall and spread = throughout the world.  Then the vision will be complete.

As for me, my heart longs for home and family, a = comfortable bed and a Big Mac … and a REAL cup of coffee!  Tomorrow the = call may come again to finish the planting and prepare the ground.  Whether it be = in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, or wherever the Spirit of the Lord leads only God = knows. 

All I ask is send me, oh God, send = me.

Brother Dale
www.revivalfire.org =