“Looking unto Jesus the = author and finisher of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2

As many of you know, I am about to set out on my = 6^th trip to Africa.  I will be heading into the bush country of the = Masai tribe, far from the conveniences of the cities, not only to preach, but = to lay a foundation for a revival that I know is coming to this area.  I = am positive that it will start here in Africa before it rebounds back to us = in America.  (Long story, and fodder for a different = column.)

One of the most important things that I will be = doing will be to bring Bibles to these people who have little access to the things = that we take for granted.  Bibles are scarce out there for two reasons: the = lack of money to purchase them for themselves, and their isolation from those = who could help.  I’m heading into an area that most evangelists = never go.

While preaching under the anointing of the Holy = Spirit will energize a congregation and light a fire in them, it is the Word of = God that will continue to fuel that fire.  Long after I am gone, the = Bibles I give out will continue to inspire God’s people and feed their = souls with His Truth.  Without the Word of God to draw them, admonish and = convict them, and build their excitement to walk in the Spirit, the fire that = has been set will soon go out.  You can’t just go there and say, = “Be thou warmed and filled”, and then walk away.  You have to = feed them with God’s Word.

One organization has provided an audio Bible unit = called the Proclaimer that can play the Bible in the local language which up to = 300 people can listen to at a time.  It is solar-powered or = hand-cranked, and is perfect for these out-of-the-way villages.  They gave me 10, and = I purchased another 5.  What a blessing these will be for these = remote places!

But while community Bible sessions are going to = be a big help, people still need their own Bibles for their personal walk of faith.  This is not a luxury of life – it is an absolute = necessity!

My greatest concern is getting the money that I = will need to purchase these Bibles.  I spent over $6,000 on Bibles on my last = trip alone, and will need about that same amount this time. Asking churches = for donations has not yielded any fruit, and there have only been a few = individuals who have answered the call to help.  While the need is critical, = painting a vibrant picture of the desperation has been difficult for me to do effectively.  I’m a preacher, not a marketing = professional.

But Jesus is not only the author of our faith = – He started this ministry and has pointed the way for every step – but = He is also the finisher, the completer, the perfecter.  What He has = started, He will finish.  My success is not dependant upon how good I am, how = hard I work, or how smart I think I can be – it is dependant upon the = working of the Spirit of God to fulfill His purposes.  He will do what He says = He will do.

You may not hear from me for the next month as I = will be out where not only there is no Internet, there is no electricity or = running water!  In that interim, if you would like to help, every $5.00 you = give will buy a Bible for someone who, while starving for God, cannot afford = one for themselves.  If the Lord leads you to send a donation, please mail = a check to Horizon Ministries, PO Box 822, Waxahachie, TX 75168, or call us at = (972) 938-8502.

While I have no doubt that the Lord will finish = the work He has started, He gives us an opportunity to be a co-laborer with = Him.  It is a chance to be part of something greater than ourselves, untie His = hands to work in our own lives, and answer the Great = Commission.

I’ll be back in October and share all the testimonies and miracles with you then.

“Cast thy bread upon the waters: = for thou shalt find it after many days. 

Ecclesiastes 11:1

Dalen Garris, www.revivalfire.org 

 =

__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus = signature database 3371 (20080820) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

http://www.eset.com ]]> tag:blog.revivalfire.org,2008-08-12:e87ea097-5a2a-4d80-a3e3-99ca1f42fbbd Dalen Garris 2008-08-12T08:59:43Z 2008-08-12T08:59:43Z Fire in  the Hole

Do you know what a EULA agreement is? Have you = ever read one?

I have no idea what the E.U.L.A. stands for, but = I’m sure I could come up with something appropriate. A EULA is that long = multiple page legal agreement in tiny print that you see whenever you install a = new software.  Remember checking YES and clicking on to the next = page?

I never read those things.  I = can’t.  And I have really tried hard. I always used to blow past them in my rush to get = whatever installation I was doing finished.  I mean, how bad could it = be?  What are they going to do?  Take my kids?  Throw me in jail?  I = don’t have any money, so they can’t get that.

And then I began to wonder, just what exactly am = I agreeing to?  So I tried reading one.  (Yeah, you know what = that was like.)  You can’t do it – you physically can’t do it.  = Round about the 3^rd or 4^th paragraph, your mind begins to = weary.  You have no idea what you’ve just read, and you have 90% more to = go.  You struggle on in a half-hearted attempt to force your way through, but you already know it’s hopeless.

It makes me wonder – are lawyers really = that smart?  Or are they leaning to some other dark and diabolical extreme?  = (Hey, I don’t blame the lawyers.  They’re just circling around = like any good predator that smells food.  If you don’t like them = circling around, stop feeding them.)

So what is the point of these EULA’s?  = I not sure anybody knows, but it seems that it is nothing more than, = “Don’t blame us if anything goes wrong.”  If you install their = software and it fries your computer, tough -- don’t blame them.

What if God was like that? 

What if God just tossed us out on the Earth and = said, “If you want to breathe, then check the Yes box … and don’t blame Me if your life turns out rotten!”  In = others words, “Good luck. Hope you make it.  Don’t call Me if = you don’t.” 

But, thank God, He hasn’t done that. =

Oh sure, God has a EULA, but it is completely = opposite from what we would come up with.  True, there are some conditions = and it is not a free ticket to ride.  God is a God of judgment as much as He is a = God of mercy.  You can’t just check the Yes box and keep blowing on = by with life.  You’d better read the EULA to find out what = you’re agreeing to.  But if you check the No box, you already know what the = alternative is.

But when the hard drive of your life has crashed, = when the software that runs your life is corrupted, when there’s not enough = memory or computing power to go on, then God’s EULA says, “Blame = Me.  Let Me take your sins, your problems, your hard drive failures, and all your corrupted files, and I will make you whole again.”

What an incredible deal!  God is willing to = take our miserable rotten sins, our misery and pain, all our failures and = defeats, and trade them for the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  There = is no greater deal than that.

Some of us will check the Yes box without ever = realizing what the EULA says.  Others will refuse the offer, thinking they = don’t need it, and they will check the No box. 

And then there are those who come with broken = hearts, corrupted and failed lives, who have given up on the hope of every being restored in life.  It is to those souls who are ready to commit = themselves to the mercy of God that His EULA is written to.  In that checking of = the Yes box, they give it all to Jesus, and agree to the terms of His = contract.

The contract and terms of Gods agreement are in = the Word of God.  It is legal and binding, and whether we agree to it or = not, Jesus did.  He signed it on the bottom line in His own blood when He gave = His life for us on the Cross.

There is no greater deal written in = Eternity.

Brother Dale

dale@revivalfire.org<= /span>

“Remember = Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32

The Pharisees were at it again.  They = started needling Jesus about when the end of the world would be.  Surely they were = righteous, and this young upstart from Galilee of the Gentiles was no more than a = fraud to deceive the people to stray from the established laws of Moses.  = They were sure that they were bound to catch him in his words sooner or later … = but it kept looking like later and later.

So Jesus uses the stories of Noah and of Lot to = describe the suddenness of His Coming.  It wasn’t that judgment is = fickle – it was that the longsuffering of God’s mercy has an end, and that = end can come in an instant when you are not looking for it.

And then He says, “Remember Lot’s wife”.  Do you remember her story?  She followed her = husband all the way from the sheepcotes of Abraham, through the division of their herds, and through Lot’s fatal decision to move to the fields around = Sodom.  Through all this, she kept close to her husband.

But it was that last longing for the world that = turned her head at the last moment and decided her final destiny.

But she was faithful for so long!  Why did = mercy fail her at this last moment of indiscretion?  Ah, but was it really a last = moment of indiscretion, or was it comfortable longing that had nestled in and = taken root in her heart, an that had been dismissed over the years as being insignificant?  No big deal.  Just a little = leaven.

Jesus then relates how that the final division of = judgment will cut between even those of the same house, the same laboring of = grinding the wheat, even the same fields of harvest – all descriptive = analogies of the Church. 

“Where will this division be?”, they = asked. 

And His answer is, “Wheresoever the body = is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

I had to ask, what’s the deal with the = eagles?  Well, the word is “aeros”, which is translated as “eagles”, taking it’s root meaning from the word “air”, describing how eagles fly.  While it may be used = to describe an eagle, it also brings up an image of “the Prince of the powers = of the air”, the devil himself.

So wherever you see the Body of Christ, you will = see the devil trying to get in to rip, tear, and divide.

Okay, I understand all that.  That’s = pretty much standard Gospel.  But what has that got to do with the Coming of = the Lord?

The answer is in verse 33.

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life = shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve = it.”

Some people seek to serve the Lord with all their = hearts and are not only willing, but pressing to sacrifice the things of this = world to serve God.  Ask them to give up all their possessions, their = hard-earned career, their dreams and goals that they had for their futures, = everything that the world has offered them, and what do they say?  Yes!  = Without hesitation or regret.

But there are others sitting in the same pew, = singing the same Gospel songs, professing the same Jesus, grinding the same wheat, = and laboring in the same harvest fields.  Everything in their lives run = right along in synch with the Church and you would hardly see any difference between = them and those who they are mingled with.

But place them in a position of tribulation, of = sacrifice, and of deep personal subjection, and suddenly their whole perspective = changes.  Why look for trouble instead of ease?  Why not enjoy prosperity and = money instead of poverty and self-sacrifice?  Why not seek after = blessings instead of suffering? 

“After all,” they say, “since = Jesus suffered on the Cross, we shouldn’t have to suffer.”  = Um, that sounds appealing, but it appears you’ve been skipping over some = long passages in your Bible reading … that is, if you read at = all.

The ultimate test of Christianity is not whether = or not you believe that the Gospel is true, but whether or not you will give = your life for it – either figuratively or physically.

Yes, you believe in God.  Why, you even said = a prayer once upon a time up at the altar!  But is your heart crucified with = Christ?  Does the world hold a tether to your heart that you don’t want to give = up?  Is this Reality more important to you than the next?  In the end, = people follow their hearts.

It’s easy to be a Christian when life is = good, but it is to those pilgrims in this world who look to the Cross for their = eternal home who hunger for something different.  They are willing to go = through valleys, take part in the sufferings of Christ, and refuse what this = world has to offer in order to gain that which can only be found at the foot of = the Cross. 

 “These all died in faith, not having = received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on = the earth.”  = Hebrews 11:13

And that makes all the difference.

Remember Lot’s wife.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…”  Job 13:15

Job was a picture of Christ in His sufferings. It = is a picture that many Christians try their best to circumvent in their = Christian walk, and, as a result, is one of the most misunderstood and ignored = aspects of the path that is set before us as true, converted Christians.  But = it is the compass that points us to Cross.

Three universal themes of Christianity pour forth = from this picture: brokenness, suffering, and trust -- all themes that are impossible to fully grasp without a crucified walk in = God.

At church the other day, the meaning of what a = crucified walk was presented as the refusal of sin.  But the idea of being = crucified with Christ encompasses so much more than that.  It is not merely the = refusal to allow oneself to fall to temptation, but the severing of our hearts and = souls from the perspective of this world and all it’s desires, and to = reach forth into the realm of God’s holiness to walk in His = Spirit.  There is a change in our point of view to deny oneself of being led by what we = want, and to surrender to another master other than ourselves.

Everyone wants to walk in the Spirit, but there = is a price to pay.  It is not accomplished through work, or edification; it = doesn’t come through our own efforts, accomplishments, or victories; neither = does it reveal itself through seeking wisdom by reading someone else’s = books.  It comes through surrender.

Only when we give up trying to reach God by = building our own Tower of Babel, and finally acknowledge that, no matter how hard we = try, we will never come to that place in God where He, and only He, is in = complete and total control of our lives.  We read books, do good works, force = ourselves to witness, pay money into worthy ministries, and try our hardest to be = good Christians worthy of His Love.  But all those, while they may be = wonderful things, will not bring us into the presence of His righteousness.  = No, you have to be broken before you can be used of God.  It will not be your = works in God that justifies you, but allowing Him to do His works in = you.

To come to that place, you first have to admit = defeat.  Only then can you ever understand the power of the sufferings of the = Cross.  The world (and worldly Christianity) can never understand that.  It = is not that we suffer because He suffered first for us, but rather that we are = issued into the glory of the Cross by allowing the sufferings of our faith to = separate us from this world and all that it entices us with.

The separation of flesh from Spirit opens our = eyes to see things in a totally different light.  Becoming a Christian is not = like joining some club, a member of some Church, but rather we now see as God sees = because our eyes no longer look through a worldly lens.  We are different = because we see differently, our desires are no longer our own, and the comfort of = our lives is no longer our goal.

Once you are broken to that extent, the = sufferings of the Body of Christ become the joy of your existence.  It no longer = matters what happens to you, because your life is invested in Him alone.  Is = there pain? Are there insurmountable problems and destruction that you are going = through?  Have you lost everything?  It no longer matters.  You are in that = secret place of the Most High, your life is in His hands, and you rest in the knowledge = that it is part of His plan for your life.

It takes brokenness to allow us to be willing to = suffer for His name’s sake.

Whenever I preach, I try to bring forth this one = point that encompasses the essence of Salvation: the Gospel of Jesus Christ is = not about you; it is about others.  Always others.  It is the = message of the Cross, the cornerstone of Christianity upon which all else is built.  Get = this wrong, and you will never understand the Cross, nor the sufferings of the Body = of Christ.

Only once you are broken, can you truly trust = God. You can trust Him through the valleys, through sickness, through destruction, = through the loss of all things, even through death, because it is no longer = about you, but about the Plan of God.  You are broken; your sufferings have = extracted you from your fleshly desires, and you are now only an instrument for His = glory, and He will direct your paths.

Then you will understand what a crucified walk in = God really is.

Brother Dale

There’s = something great and vast about Life that eludes me.  Often we try to pierce the = veil of this reality with feelings and emotions that are thrust out of our soul like = spears into the night in an attempt to touch that ethereal something that = barely escapes the fingertips of our soul. 

We call it searching = for Truth, but the concept is always so nebulous.  We try to use words to wrap = something tangible around those feelings and paint them into something that we can = grasp, but there are some things that can never be roped into anything rock = solid.  There’s more to Life than we can ever understand.

We think we know, but = it is all beyond our comprehension.  And much bigger than we can = imagine.  We all have a concept of what God is, how big He is, and where He resides, but it is = only the translucent glimmers of our soul.  Somewhere, way up there, is = God.  We feel that If we could just slice into the fabric of Reality with a knife, we = would see Him sitting on His throne surrounded by all those angels.  But = we don’t have anything sharp enough.

So we try to bring it = all into focus with words, vaguely aware of the impotency of our efforts.  = Still we try, because somewhere down deep inside us is an urgency that knows that = Eternity is waiting for us at the end of our lives.  Somewhere on the other = side of that dark door of death our ultimate destiny awaits us, silently, patiently, = and immovable.  We can feel it, but we can’t quite put our finger = on it.  We try to grasp it, but our fingers come back empty.

Wasn’t it = Thoreau who said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation”?  Life = in this reality is absorbing, but transient.  Our time seems to be spent in = a sea of long pauses that are filled up with work or amusement, while we wait for = those intermittent islands of something truly meaningful.  Not that love, = charity, fun or any of the other things of life that we value are vain, but every = once in a while, we are able to reach through that veil and we touch = something eternal.  Sometimes, it is just for a moment, but it is enough to = realize that we had a fleeting grasp on something that transcends this = world.

A friend of mine said = that there’s more to God than what we want.  Just as God is = greater than what we can want, so life is much more than what we see with our = eyes.   I want to finish the course of my life knowing that I have at least touched some = islands of true reality, and not gone through a lifetime numb to my eternal = destiny.  If God is true, then being able to touch the Throne of God is the only = real thing that we can do.  To dismiss that as a secondary interest is = to miss the meaning of Life.

We pass through the = road of Life only once, and then the door of Death slams shut.  Reach through = the veil and go through life with your fingers grasped around the hand of = God.

Dalen Garris
dale@revivalfire.org
Waxahachie, TX

 =

Fire in  the = Hole

Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and = charity and holiness with sobriety.  – 1^st = Timothy 2:14, 15

In the middle of a message I was giving when I was in Africa, the Lord = showed me that this verse was not referring to women, but to the Church.  = Lets’ face it, Paul was not saying that if a woman didn’t give birth to = babies, she was going to Hell, but rather that the purpose of the Body of Christ = was to win souls. 

If we are the Bride of Christ, then the picture of matrimony is a picture = of our relationship with our Husband, Jesus Christ.  We see, especially in = the Old Testament, that it was a shame for a woman to be barren.  Her = primary purpose, besides ministering to her husband, was to bring forth children.  = Hence Rachael’s cry of “Give me children lest I = die!”

But let’s back up a verse or two. 

“For Adam was = first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being = deceived was in the transgression.”   

If we keep the analogy in focus, then this is a reference to the fact that = Jesus Christ was first, before the Church ever was, and Jesus, the = 1^st Adam, was sinless, but humanity has fallen and been deceived through sin = and our desire to be wise. 

Of course, the Trinity always was –that is a principal of the Gospel = – but Jesus was also “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14).  Not that Jesus did = not always exist, but that He was first manifested as the Word of God when Creation = was spoken into existence, and “by Him all things consist” = (Colossians 1:17). 

So then the Church was formed after our Lord, and we are subject to = Him.

So far, so good.  But let’s go back a little bit = more.

“Let the woman learn in silence with all = subjection.  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to = be in silence. “  (2:11,12)

Going back to the actual Greek, we can see that this does not mean that women = have to come to church like deaf mutes, but that the words suggest tranquility = and proper order in the Church.   In other words, don’t get crazy = on me!  We are to maintain our proper subjection, not just to our husbands, but the Church = is not supposed to take over the dominant role of the = Lord.

But when we allow our thirst for wisdom to drive us (as Eve’s = deception in desiring the Tree of Knowledge), we will develop a tendency to get ahead = of the Lord in our theological pursuits, and wind up missing the whole = point.  Never before have we had so many Christian book stores filled with thousands = of Christian self-help books, and yet nowhere in America do we have the = powerful moves of God like we had a few generations ago before we were invested = with all this Christian scholasticism. 

Hmmm.  Is something missing?  Have we missed the mark someplace?  = Perhaps we should back off and let the Holy Spirit take over.

Going back just a couple verses more, we read Paul’s admonition to the = outward appearance of women in the Church:

“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with = shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly = array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good = works.”  = (2:9,10)

If the analogy holds, then perhaps Paul is not trying to tell women how to = dress or wear their makeup.  (What man in his right mind would try to = tackle something like that?)  Maybe it is more of an admonition of how we = present our churches.

I have preached in mud huts way out in the jungle where there were but a = dozen or so believers and have repeatedly watched the power of God fall so heavily that it crushed people on their faces to the ground, where the = Spirit was so strong that you couldn’t stop dancing, where the Shekinah = glory beamed so brightly that it overwhelmed you and all you could do is utter praises to God. 

Seen that in any of our huge Mega-churches lately?  =

Constructing huge edifices with golden altars, high-tech sound systems, rich carpets, = and laced with opulence to display our “prosperity in the Lord” = does not make you holy.  Neither does it manifest the power of = God.  Neither does it win souls.  It’s a pretty candy wrapper, but it is not the = costly array that touches God’s heart, but the sobriety of a church that has = the fear of God and is willing to sacrifice all to see souls get saved.  =

The sacrifice that God is looking for comes from your heart, not your = outward display.  Your wisdom comes from the Word of God, not our vast = array of carnal intelligence.  The focus of Christianity is not about you; = it’s about others.

The beginning of 1^st Timothy says it well,

“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a = pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; = desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor = whereof they affirm.”

Ah, yes.  Charity – more important than faith or hope, the focus = of the Word of God, the essence of Christianity, the purpose of the Cross.  = Charity transcends all other aspects of the Church because it is the giving of yourself, out of love, so that souls can be saved.  Without it, all = we have is Religion.

“She shall be saved in = childbearing…” 

Dalen Garris, dale@revivalfire.org<= /span>

PO Box 822, Waxahachie, TX 75168

         &n= bsp;    Fire in  the Hole

A Sound in = the Mulberry Trees

“And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley = of Rephaim.

And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; = but<= i> fetch a compass behind them, = and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.  And let it be, when = thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou = shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the = host of the Philistines. “      - = 2^nd Samuel 5:22-24

David was a pretty smart guy.  Smart enough to = know that he didn’t control his own destiny.  Smart enough to know that = Life is in the hands of God, and those who ignore that, do so at their own = peril.

David had just been anointed king over all = Israel.  He had finally come to his Bethel experience, the place of his ultimate calling = in God, and Satan had gone on full alert.  The ears of his minions had = picked up at the news of David’s ascension, and they knew that if they = allowed David to become established on the Throne, it would be devastating for = them.  They went to war.

The Philistines rushed into battle, probably = assuming that they could roll over David’s forces.  After all, the kingdom = had been divided.  Many of the troops of Israel had been loyal to = Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, and had been chasing David for years, but now all of a = sudden, their former employer was dead, and their former enemy was now their = boss.  David was just now getting settled in Jerusalem, so now was time to = strike while he was weak, and thrust a stake through Israel’s = heart.

But they met the Lion of the Tribe of Judah on the battlefield, and it did not go well for them.  David was no = pushover.  He was a warrior of God who zealously pursued the destruction of the enemies of = darkness whenever he met them.

Okay, so that was last year.  Maybe this year, = it would be different. 

The Philistines would set up the battle just as = before to make David think it would be the same battle that he had won so easily the = last time, and hope that he would be overconfident and stumble into their = trap.

But David feared God. 

When a man fears God – really fears Him, not = the churchy type of “awesome respect”, but the bone-chilling, soul-washing, fear and trembling that the Bible speaks about – = then he discards all pretenses to his own ways, his own intelligence, and his = own desires.  He relies completely upon God for his direction, and = fears to step outside of His will.

Had David stumbled into the Philistine’s = trap, he not only might have lost the battle, but could have destroyed God’s = Plan of Redemption for the entire world.  But David knew that God = wasn’t just in charge; God was in command.  Any victories would have to come = through Him and Him alone.

Often, however, in our zeal to pursue what we = consider to be our calling to promote the Gospel, we can get ahead of the Lord.  = We already know what we want to do, and proceed at full steam, waving the flag of unfettered zeal but end up stumbling through the quicksand of our own presumption.  We confuse what we want to accomplish in God with = what God wants to accomplish in us. 

We call it pursuing our “vision”.  =

You’ve heard of that, haven’t you? Yup, = gotta have a vision!  And so we rush out to manufacture a vision that fits the = picture that we have in our mind of our calling in God, instead of waiting to = find out what God’s vision for us is.  Rarely are they the = same.   As it says in Proverbs 20:24, “Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” 

When we replace the fear of God with religious = zeal, we are destined to fall into the trap that the enemy has set for us.  =

Wait for that sound going in the tops of the = mulberry trees.

Dale Garris, dale@revivalfire.org 

I’m not 100% = sure about this, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet that the thing God hates = the most is Christian lethargy. 

When you have no idea = what the Truth is, and you’re not all that sure that God really exists, you = will be attracted to the things  in this world because that’s what = you can see.  I understand that, I really do.  I don’t expect an = atheist to be on fire for God – and if he was, I’d figure he was either = really crazy or trying to pull some stunt.

I figure God looks at = it the same way because He says He would rather you were hot or cold, but if = you are lukewarm, He will vomit you out of His mouth.  (Spit is one thing; = vomit is a whole ‘nother level.) 

That doesn’t = leave us much of a choice, unless you want to choose the “cold” option, = but as near as I can figure, “cold” is going to be rubbing = shoulders with “lukewarm” as they both burn in Hell.  Maybe the = temperature will be a little bit different between the two, I don’t know, but = I’m not so curious that I want to find out.

Zephaniah put a = different way.  He said God was going to destroy those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired for Him, and he likens it to wine.

I don’t know = how they do it today, but wine used to ferment with all the stuffings in it – = the grape pulp, skin, seeds, etc.  The lees are the sediment that forms = during that fermentation, and eventually the lees settle to the bottom where they = harden. 

In other words, these = are people that are “in the wine”, so to speak.  They know about = God, have been partakers of the wine of God, and understand and know the Truth, = but they are just floating -- Ho hum, La de dah, (yawn) -- slowly drifting in the bottle, little by little making their way to the bottom where their = lethargy will finally harden their hearts.  At that point they will no = longer be part of the wine.

Zephaniah says that = these are people that say God will not do good, and neither will He do evil.  = They may acknowledge the Truth, but they don’t believe in judgment because = God is a God of Love, and He would never exact the terribleness of judgment on = us because He’s our Daddy. 

Yup.  Same lie = that Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden:  “Hath God said?”  = “Oh no, don’t worry about that.  God wouldn’t really kill = you.”  Oh yeah?  Well go check for our ancestral couple under “A” = in the phone book and tell me what their address is, will you?

But the real = showstopper for me is nestled in the midst of Zephaniah 1:12 where God says He will = search for these bums.  He is hunting them!  Yikes.  It’s = bad enough to show up at judgment when you are 11 cents short of a dime, but for God to = actually go on the hunt for you?  I don’t ever want God that mad at = me.

So what is the big = deal?  Why is being apathetic so bad?  What is it that ticks God off so much that = He will actually go looking for you to destroy you?  After all, most of = these people are just good ol’ church folks and are really nice people.  = While they may not be exactly energetic, and I sure wouldn’t call them on = fire for God, they do go to church.  And while they may not be squeaky = clean, they don’t seem to be that bad.  So what’s the = problem?

A person who is = "settled on his lees" is one who, through spiritual idleness and ease, has = gradually become morally indifferent so that sin doesn’t seem so bad = anymore.  He becomes tolerant of his own lack of spiritual drive, because he no = longer really cares, and ultimately becomes hardened to God and sin. In the = process, he becomes blind to his spiritual state, and is, in all reality, a = Christian Atheist.

But Jesus Christ gave = His life on the Cross so souls could be saved.  He shed blood for us -- = that’s how much He cared.   When we dismiss the poignancy of that = sacrifice and breeze over it as if it was some academic precept, then we find ourselves = guilty of trampling the very blood that was shed to save our souls, and far more = guilty at the Judgment Bar of God than the sinner who never got saved and never understood the reality of Christ’s sacrifice.  At least they = made an honest choice.

I argued in prayer = one time, “But God, they’re really nice people!”

And the answer came = back, “I will spue the lukewarm out of my mouth … and you think they’re nice?”
“If they are so nice, why aren’t they cut to the heart for = lost souls? 
“Why are they more infatuated with the world and its prosperity = than the sufferings of the Cross? 
“Why don’t they care?

When you allow = yourself to be settled on your lees, you begin a separating process that will end with = you on the bottom of the bottle, no longer part of the wine of = God.

I woke up wishing that I could somehow make the world turn faster, zoom through the time that is left -- or even better, cancel out the rest of the day so I could get on that plane right now and sail off to home.  I have been gone 6 weeks, and it has been a stretch.  My girls have been texting me on the phone constantly just to reach a finger through the airwaves to touch Daddy, but it’s never enough.  But tonight I am going home.

Each trip I have taken to Africa has been different.  The message changes, the breath and scope of the mission varies, and the intensity increases each time, but I have this hope that somehow everything is integrated into some grand plan that God has for Africa, and ultimately, the world.  I may play a small part in His grand scheme, but even the greatest of forest fires can start with a single flame.  I hope I have lit enough flames to start a fire in Kenya that will never be quenched.

I can’t help wonder at the end of each mission if I accomplished that which the Lord had put before me to establish?  Did I reach deep enough into their hearts?  Was the Spirit of God flowing enough to transform them forever?  Have souls been lit up and churches set on fire?  Did we drive home the message deep enough into the hearts of these people?  Did we light a fire of revival here hot enough to burn around the world?

We have given away hundreds of Bibles and preached to almost 40 churches.  I have prayed over hundreds and hundreds of people, and I have seen the Spirit of God work miracles right before me.  I have done what I have done and accomplished what I have accomplished, I have fought every battle that challenged me, and I drove home the Blood Stained Banner of victory deep into the fertile soil of these people.  It is now in their hands to grab hold of what God has offered them.

Even before I can get on the plane, pastors are calling to tell us how their churches have been energized and set on fire, how souls are filling up the church and getting saved like never before, and how thankful they are that their eyes have been opened to realize the calling that God has put before them to win souls and claim revival. 

This trip was expensive, costing around $15,000, but in Heaven we will see the eternal weight of what was purchased.  Thank God for the handful of brothers and sisters who selflessly gave the finances to make it possible.  Countless souls will seek you out in Eternity to thank you for your faith and generosity, and you will see the abundance of fruit that will be there because of you.

What is next for Africa?  I believe that the fire will begin to grow and spread and we will see something take place there that we have not seen in generations.  I believe that the landscape of souls across this continent is so dry that once the fire is lit, it will become a blaze that nothing will be able to put it out.  It will burn so hot that we will feel the heat around the world.

But for me right now, however, all I can think about is getting home.  My greatest reward will be to hug my girls and say, “Daddy is home!”

I suppose He likes to show us humans how small we are in comparison to Him.  We are so easily enamored with our grand illusions and self-importance, but in the face of Eternity, our greatest efforts shrink to insignificance, while even the slightest words that God speaks endures forever. 

I guess another reason God keeps us guessing is to teach us to lean on Him instead of on our own understanding.  That can mean stepping off the edge of a cliff sometimes, trusting that His hands will be there to catch us.  That can stretch your faith to the breaking point sometimes, but the more it stretches, the more it grows.  Which is a good thing, of course, but not necessarily a lot of fun.

 One of the things that has been a curiosity for me has been the places that He has sent me to preach in.  While I would have chosen the biggest churches in town, He has repeatedly sent me to small out-of-the-way places with poor congregations that would normally be skipped over by larger and more sophisticated evangelists. 

While I’m thinking that this was a matter of poor planning, the brothers who set things up for me have constantly maintained that the Lord set the schedule up while they just followed His lead. And they have the incredible stories to prove their point.

But the proof is in the pudding, as they say.

A good example is what happened in Bura, Kenya.  Don’t bother looking for Bura on the map because they don’t make the dots that small.  Nestled in a valley in view of Mount Kilimanjaro miles from the main road, is this tiny village that consists of a dozen kiosks in crumbling concrete shelters, with goats and chickens roaming the dirt streets. 

Set in this small community is a church and orphanage that we have been asked to preach in for two days.  Not only that, but they want 3 or 4 services in those two days! 

At first glance, you wonder where the people will come from, but they filtered in from all around the bush that surrounds the town, and I walked into a full church that was as alive and ready for something from God as any place that I have seen. 

I have learned that mine is not to reason why, but just to get up and preach.  I leave the rest up to God.  I quit trying to figure this stuff out. 

The first service was alive and on fire.  The second service started off with even more intensity, but right toward the end, it was as if I hit a brick wall and my balloon lost all its air.  What happened?  Did I say something wrong?  It was as if someone turned off the switch!

Everyone felt it, but they knew exactly what it was.  Out here witchcraft is everywhere.  I’m talking about the real witchcraft of spells, demons and black magic.  Before you start snickering, let me remind you that Satan is just as real as God is, and one trip to the back roads of Africa will make a quick believer out of you.

The prayer intercessors gathered together that night to break the powers of darkness that was resisting us, and they must have broken through in a mighty way because the next day started off like a shotgun.  Just the opening prayer alone was enough to raise the roof, and when we were done praying, there was no doubt that this was going to be one powerful Holy Ghost meeting.

I preached the most powerful message that I have ever preached.  We were rolling on a wave of the Holy Ghost that took the whole church to spiritual heights that stood us on our feet, waving our hands in the air, shouting and jumping up and down like people who were standing right in front of the Throne of God.  I’m telling you, there’s no describing what it is like when the Spirit of God pours out on a service like that.

And the prayer line!  Wow!  I could feel a river flowing through me as I would pray over each person.  The more we prayed, the greater the intensity of the Holy Spirit.  The greater the intensity, the more people crowded into the altar to touch the Throne of God.  I could barely stand up when it was over, and stumbled back to my seat, swaying to the flow of the river of God that had poured out on this little church way out in the bush at a bump in the road called Bura, Kenya.

Go figure.                                                                   

Already, we are hearing reports that crowds are coming to that little church and scores of souls are getting saved.  And this is the same thing that we are hearing from all over Kenya.  Little churches that we have visited have lit up with the fire and are spreading that fire all around them.

I would have never picked such an obscure place, but when we throw our reasoning out the window and lean upon Him, we open up the door for miracles.

Yeah, God doesn’t do things the way we would, but He always gets incredible results. 

And then comes the music!  They say that white men can’t dance, and once you’ve been in one of these praise and worship services, you will understand the meaning of that saying. 

Now, I’m not sure where the transition happens between the music and the Spirit, but somewhere in there, the Lord takes over.  All of a sudden, you notice that you have this huge grin on your face – so big that it’s hurting your cheeks.  You’re moving back and forth – even stepping to the beat!  And the next thing you know, you’re out there dancing to the Lord.  And you can’t stop.

Yeah, services here are pretty cool.  I’m having a lot of fun – even me, a 59 year old white man who can’t dance.

After the message, there is usually a prayer line.  If there’s any unsaved out there, they are going to get saved.  At one service, 30 to 40 souls got saved.  They all came in from the surrounding bush to see the Muzumgoo (white man) and wound up becoming Christians.  Pretty cool, huh?

But the prayer line for the people themselves is what is often overwhelming.  Sometimes the Spirit of the Lord begins to flow so much that people get …uh…“carried away”.  There have been times when people have been slain in the Spirit just standing in line, and even standing in the pews.  I’m telling you, stuff happens here that doesn’t happen in the States. This is fertile ground for miracles.

The one concern I have is that the miracles don’t overshadow the message.  Money and miracles always catch people’s attention and take their focus of the thing that matters most – the Word of God. 

Once they see that the Spirit of God is flowing, everybody runs to the altar so they can be touched. These are a needy people, and it is far too easy for them to get lost in their desperate need for a touch from God, but will they forget the greater necessity of what the Lord is trying to impress upon them to bring them to a true revival?

It is the same with the Bibles. Once they hear that Bibles are being given away, people stampede to church to get one.  This may seem like a good thing on the surface, but the problem is that we don’t have enough money to provide anywhere near the amount of Bibles that are needed, never mind enough to satisfy all those who just want a Bible that isn’t ragged and falling apart. 

Jesus faced this same problem in St. John chapter 6 when they chased him over the Sea of Galilee, not because they heard the Gospel, but because they got a free meal.  They get fixated on getting a blessing, and miss the message from God that has the power to transform their souls.

Somewhere in all this is a message about what we focus on in life. 

Either we see the world around us in terms of how it relates to us, or we see ourselves in how we relate to others. 
One looks for their crown, while the other bears their Cross. 
One looks to serve God, while the other looks to be served by God

One seeks to be blessed; the other seeks to bless.

One consumes, and the other is consumed.
One thinks gain is godliness, while the other thinks godliness is gain.

One of them is going to Heaven.

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

Here in Kenya, it is hard not to write about the poverty and the desperate conditions because you’re engulfed in it throughout the whole country.  Nairobi seems worse because of the concentration of people, but it isn’t any better out in the countryside or in other cities in Kenya.

There is a section of the society that is prosperous, but I have not spent much time in that part of Nairobi and see very little of it.  The gap between them and the overwhelming bulk of people is wide.  Prices for most consumer items are comparable to the U.S., but few people can afford them because most people make about $5.00 a day IF they can get a job.

There is some insidious relation between mud and poverty, as if they were cousins in human oppression.  Mud mingled with trash is everywhere, and it coats every part of your existence.  When the mud is gone, it is replaced by a coating of dust that digs into your spirit, weighing it down into the dirt. 

The poverty is so ubiquitous that people have become oblivious to the conditions around them.  And yet, these conditions not only do not stop these people, but seem to cause heroes to rise up out of them.  I met one such hero the other day. 

I was speaking to a meeting of a network of local pastors, and at the end of the meeting a man stood up to ask for prayer.  He was dressed in used, shabby clothing and it was obvious that he had little, if anything, in his pockets.  He was about to head into an extremely difficult area to evangelize it and needed the prayers of the pastors assembled there.  He would be facing challenges there that Americans are not able to grasp, and would be going in there alone with no resources, no friends, and no support.

I quickly offered him a whole case of Bibles to take with him, and as I held hands with him and prayed, the Lord showed me the dark and difficult path this man was about to enter. It was so dark and heavy that I almost shuddered.  

I asked him if he was aware of what I was seeing, and his answer came back quickly and crisply.  Yes, he knew.  Period.  That was it.  He knew.  There were no other considerations for him to pause over, to ponder, or to worry about – he simply knew how hard it was going to be, and that was that.

I watched as he strode down that muddy street, a case of Bibles hoisted on his shoulder, with little more than the thousand shilling note I gave him in his pocket, heading off to a greater challenge than most of us will ever face in our whole lives.  There was something about the way he was walking down that street that got to me.  He wasn’t walking – he was marching. 

I will probably never see that man again, but someday we will meet on the other side, and I will ask him to sit down and tell me the story of the battles that he went off to face, armed with nothing but a confident faith in God, a serious dedication to the mission before him, and a case of Bibles.

Today was a good day.  I watched a genuine hero march off to war.

My message has not been one of blessings, peace, and love; neither am I here to entertain or make them feel good about themselves.  My message is one of repentance and broken-hearted crying out to God to restore the church and send revival again.  Immediately, they know I am not like anyone else, and they recognize the message as the truth.

In the early 1970’s, there was a supernatural revival here in Kenya that most of these folks only know about from the stories they’ve heard.  When the revival died, all they were left with was church, and for these younger ones, that is all they have known. But oh!  Are they hungry for something more!

When I tell them the reason the revival died was because they had become enamored with the miracles and with how wonderful the outpouring of the Spirit felt.  They became focused on themselves and the anointing that fell on them, but forgot about lost souls and the price that must be paid to win them to Christ. 

When you lose sight of winning souls and focus only on how good the anointing feels, you no longer see the Cross, and you effectively turn off the faucet to the Spirit of God.  The rain stops, and all you have left is an empty building – the party’s over and everyone’s gone home.

They, like us in America, have merely been maintaining the status quo since then.  The miracles have stopped, the best they have for an outpouring is some great song services, and the altars are left empty and bare.  They have become a barren woman – a bride of Christ that no longer bears children.

At this point in the message, you can hear a pin drop in the room.  They get it.  They see.  There has been a glass ceiling over their faith, and all of a sudden the glass has been shattered, and their hearts are wide open to hear the Word that God has for them. 

As I walk them through my message of the 4 steps to revival, I can feel them soaking up every word, like sponges that have been so dry for a long time.  This is not the “feel good” message of blessings that they thought they would hear from the white man from America; it’s not the “prosperity and goodness” swill that blares at them from their light and vain prophets -- this is the turning point of their Christian lives.

They come to the altar in repentance, crying out for God to pour out the Holy Ghost on them and their church. The prayer lines are so intense that there is no way that God can’t hear.  I watch as the Spirit of God descends on them and overwhelms them, flowing through them like the stream of God.  Miracles happen, sicknesses are healed, chains are broken, spirits are set free, and the church breathes it’s first breath of revival in a generation.

But what about tomorrow?  You can’t help wonder if they will still be as affected tomorrow as they were when you left.  Will they slide back into their old cadence as before, or will they grab hold of the promises of God and fight for a revival? 

It’s been over a month since I started, and I am getting phone calls and messages of how these churches – little tiny churches in out-of-the-way places all over Kenya – have reenergized, have turned up the heat, are out winning souls every day, and how the power of God is spreading in their areas.  It’s working, it’s working, it’s working!  The fire is starting to burn.

They have realized that the heartbeat of revival is not the feeling that you get when the anointing fills your church, but the souls that are won to Christ at the altar of repentance.  It is the essence of revival and the heartbeat of God.

I have repeatedly told them that if they get nothing else, they must get this one thing: the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about you – it is about others, others, others.  They get it.  Like a blinding light bulb that goes off in their head, they get it. 

I leave tomorrow for the Coast to bring this message to the last few churches on this trip.  I don’t know what happens for me after this, but even if I never make it back again, I have seen the Word of the Lord reach deeply into these people’s hearts and start a fire that is beginning to spread like a wildfire in savanna of dry, dry grass. 

It has begun.  Revival is starting here – not the “feel good” revivals we see on American TV, but the real, enduring move of God that is focused on winning lost souls, not on how good we feel.

Anyway, we are off the beaten track way out in the bush, and I am wondering how many people will be waiting at this church.  This is not the first time that I preached in a mud hut far out into the bush with only a handful of people in attendance, and in every instance, the Holy Spirit drenches the service.  It is almost as if God honors our commitment to preach even to the least of His people in these small, out-of-the-way churches where other big-time preachers will not come. 

There is a lot to be said for preaching at small churches.  Things happen there that cannot be duplicated in big arenas.  Besides the issue of humility and brokenness in extending mercy to the few and the poor, there is something to be said about watching God take a small beginning and using it to magnify His power.  Peter was called to a very small meeting in Acts 10, and it opened the door to the dispensation of the Gentiles – no small thing at all.

Regardless of the agenda, I am going to preach there whether there is a dozen or a hundred … that is, if we can find our way through these back roads.  As for everything else, I will let God figure out -- I’m just following His lead.

So far, I have preached in over 30 churches … or maybe that was 40 churches.  Everything has become a kaleidoscope of places, churches, pastors, messages, names and places.  Sometimes I wake up with this startling realization that I am halfway around the world, but mostly I just keep marching through a blur of services, aiming for that final date so I can head back home. 

As tired as I am, however, it seems like the power of God that falls on each service is greater than the one before –regardless of the size of the congregation.  While the message of repentance and revival is just as shattering in each service, the altar calls at the close of service seem to be increasing in power as we go from church to church. 

People are touched so deeply that you can feel chains snap and hearts break open like a flower in bloom.  Some people seem like they are getting charged, as if they have been plugged into an electrical socket as soon as I touch them.  Many sway back and forth, floating in a sea of the Spirit as I pray over them, while others simply go into a swoon as soon as the Spirit of God touches them.

I know what you’re thinking – they are just “emotional” and are easily affected by such an intense experience.  Listen, I know they aren’t faking it because I can feel it as it happens; it’s like the Spirit of God flows through me just as they are slain in the Spirit, and I can feel the release of the Holy Ghost as they go down.  At the end of each service, I feel like I am a hollow vessel that has had a river pouring through it, and is left empty, washed, and drained.  I’m serious – this is as real as it gets!

Something big is going on.  I’m not entirely sure what is happening in the spiritual realms, but I know that whatever it is, it’s increasing in power and intensity as I go from church to church.  Whatever it is, this is something we haven’t seen in a long time.

When we finally arrived at the church, it was as I expected – a shed cobbled together with mud walls, dirt floor, and a rusty, corrugated iron roof that is just big enough to hold a couple dozen people squeezed in together on rickety benches to hear a message from God.  And once again, the power of the Holy Ghost poured out in a little tiny spot out in the middle of nowhere to touch the souls of those who were hungry for God.

And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on the face of the Earth.

The way to Kisii is over and through dramatic landscapes of steep hills and deeply cut valleys over which flow endless fields of tea.  The tea bushes are only about 3 feet high and spread over the landscape like a chartreuse carpet that flows as far as you can see.  Out in the distance, field workers can be seen with large baskets on their backs as they bend over harvesting the tea leaves.  There is a lot of tea out there – I mean a lot of tea.

Kisii is a fair sized city that is in a constant bustle of teeming humanity mixed with mud, minivans, honking horns, and a few wandering cows in the middle of the street.  It reminds me of what an Old Wild West town must have been like, including the lack of facilities.  This is not a stop on any tourist’s agenda, and the stares I get as I pass through town confirm that.  I’m sure that not only am I the only white guy in the city, but I’m probably the only white guy who has passed through in a long time. 

“Muzumgo, Muzumgo!” they yell as I pass by (which is Swahili for “white man”).  People wave and flash grins.  These are really neat people and it is easy to fall in love with them.

On the road here, I have seen a lot of burnt out homes and businesses from the sectarian violence that took place here last December.  In some places, whole swathes of villages are not only burnt, but torn down to rubble.  A lot of people died here in the butchery that took place – close to 5,000, maybe more.

Looking at the burnt rubble in village after village, one gets a feeling of what Kristalnight in Nazi Germany must have been like when the horror of violence and hate burst upon the Jews in Germany.  The feeling of terror and fear has not yet left these people.  They are still haunted by those nights when hundreds of men scoured their streets looking for rival tribal members to kill and burn out.  Many have left never to come back again.  Others still shudder at the thought of walking the streets at night.

Kenyans are a soft people, almost as if their personalities are cushioned with a couple of inches of foam rubber.  You never see anyone fight, never hear anyone curse, and never see anyone get angry, so how did such a blood lust of hatred burst upon them?  They pride themselves in the statement that Kenya has never gone to war, so this was something so unnatural that Kenyans have a hard time making sense out of it. 

This storm was from the powers of darkness to disrupt, divide, and destroy them in order to stop any chance for a Holy Ghost revival.  Many have told me that you could feel the heaviness and thick darkness in the air as if a black fog had overshadowed the whole area – as if the Devil himself had arrived.

Satan knows that his time is short and that once a revival breaks out here, it will spread across Africa and burn so hot that the heat will be felt around the world.  He can’t afford to let that happen, because once it starts, there will be no stopping it. 

His days are numbered, and the counting will begin with God’s last great revival.

We are travelling throughout Kenya, visiting a different church in a different city every day.  We left Nairobi to preach in Nakuru; came here to Kisii, and tomorrow we will be in Nyamira.  This is the way it will be for the next 3 weeks.

When we first come to a church, we are received warmly, but also with a certain amount of trepidation, because American preachers have come here before, and the TV is certainly flooded with them, so they have a formed an opinion of us as being obsessed with blessings and prosperity.  They wonder if I am going to preach that same message.  Once they are reassured that the message I am bringing has to do with repentance in order to bring a revival, they open their doors wide.  They instinctively know the difference.

The pastors of the church I was at today had come out of such a deep pit of sin, that Americans would have a hard time believing their testimony.  The pastor was a hardened criminal and his wife used to be a witch.  The particular type of witchcraft she came out of is so bizarre that, unless all the people around me assured me that these things not only happen in Africa, but are common, I would not have believed her.  Africa is a very spooky place.

But where sin did abound, Christ did much more abound, and I could feel the difference as soon as I entered their church.  This was a place of serious Christians that rang out the praises of God loud enough to pierce the heavens.  They weren’t there to be entertained or appeased – they wanted to hear the Truth, and they wanted to hear it straight.  Ahhhh.  My kind of people.

Now there are times out here when I start getting worn out and begin to wonder what I’m doing.  Am I really making an effect out here?  Will there really be a move of God as a result of what I am starting?  Or am I just kidding myself, and tripping with wishful thinking?  I don’t know if Paul ever went through this stuff on his trips, but the hardest part of the mission can be exhorting yourself to keep driving your message home because God really is going to move. 

But today was not such a day.

After driving home a message that challenged them, convicted them, embarrassed them, edified them, and excited them, I brought the service to a close with prayer.  Within seconds, I could tell that this was now out of my hands. 

As the whole church began praying with such strength and conviction that you could have heard them a mile away, the Spirit of God filled the room.  When I opened my eyes, I could see people contending with all their might in one corner, others on their knees with the faces on the floor, and others marching back and forth crying out to God like warriors. 

And then it happened.

It was subtle at first, but started rolling in like a river.  You could see people literally falling to the floor, overwhelmed by the Spirit of God, while the crescendo and tempo of the prayers increased.  We weren’t just contending to the Throne of God – we were walking up and down right before God Himself.  The Lord had taken over services.  It was so intense, that I finally just went and sat down – I was done.  God was now in control.

This is Africa.  I will have another service just like this again and again throughout this trip.  It is impossible to describe what this is really like to those who are sedate and comfortable back in the U.S.  We have nothing like it – at least we haven’t in a generation or two. 

So how do I paint a picture of what it is like in these Holy Ghost-filled services?  I don’t really know, so I just keep coming out here, preaching my heart out, and watching as the Spirit of God prepares the ground in church after church for a revival in Africa that will burn so hot that we will feel the heat around the world.

The Book of Joel tells us there will be one more revival just before Jesus Christ comes back to Earth, that it will be the greatest revival of all time, and that the Christians will be the strongest Christians that have ever walked the face of the Earth.  I believe that I am witnessing the beginnings of that revival.

Elijah said he could hear the sound of an abundance of rain.  I’m can feel it begin to sprinkle.

 As I have done on previous trips here, I am coming with a message of revival that I believe will start in Kenya and Nigeria and will be so explosive that the heat will be felt around the world.  Besides the things that the Lord has shown me personally, it doesn’t take much to see that these people are so ready for God to move in their country that I don’t see how He can refuse. 

In the slums of Nairobi, they are so grateful to see a servant of God come to preach to them, that they hang on every word.  If it is encouraging, they cheer; if it is reproof, they take it to heart.  Their hearts are open and ready.  And when it is time to pray, get outta the way!  Wow, can these people storm the Throne of God in broken-hearted repentance for them, their church, and their people – the kind of repentance that always precedes a true God-given revival.

Way out in the bush country of the Masai, they have a completely different demeanor.  This warrior tribe must be what the Greek Spartans were like – serious and strong.  No nonsense here.  These guys are so tough that lions are afraid of them.  I’m not kidding.  And I’ll tell you, just hanging around with them has made a believer out of me.  But at the same time, these are some of the most warm-hearted people you will ever find. I love these people!

As I poured my heart out in preaching to them, they just sat there staring at me, and I began to think I had really fallen flat in this service.  But, oh no.  Not only had they had absorbed every word, they were way ahead of me.  Their repentance didn’t have the loud excitement of their Nairobi cousins, but it felt deeper somehow, and more serious and enduring.

Miracles of healing happened during that service as something fully expected.  They lined up across the front of the church, so I anointed all of them with oil, and then prayed over the whole bunch of them, and bingo!  They got healed! Just like that. No fanfare, no surprise, no big deal.  God heals because that what He does.  Period.

 If the same miracle happened in one of our churches in America, we would be in shock from disbelief.  Not them.  They were ready for whatever was next, and to keep on going.

All this intense hunger for God on their part happens in spite of the fact that so very few have Bibles, and most of the Bibles they do have are tattered and worn out.  We have handed out close to 600 Bibles so far and it is nowhere near enough.  Once you see the look on their faces when you have given them their very own Bible, it will change you forever.  It doesn’t matter what it costs, you have to do this.  We’ve spent thousands so far, and we are only halfway through this trip.  Thank God for those who have selflessly given finances to make this possible.  I wish they could be here to see this.  There are no words to describe the look in these people’s eyes when you hand them the gift of Life.

At almost every church I go to, there has been an explosion, as if they have been waiting for a spark to set them off.  I thought that they must have services like this all the time, but no, this is something special that is happening today.  God is doing something here that runs deeper than just church, or having an exciting evangelist, or learning some deeper teachings – this is the very beginning groundwork of something very, very big.

A second Pentecost is coming that will be much bigger than the first one.  There is a specific day that God has planned when the match will be struck and the fire of God will burn across this whole region.  Before that happens, however, the grass has to become so dry that it is like powder when you grasp it – so dry, that when the match is struck, it will explode with a fire that will burn that is so hot that we will feel the heat around the world.

The prophet Joel and the prophet Isaiah both agree that there will be one last revival before Jesus Christ comes back, and it will be the greatest revival of all time.  Time is running out, and we have just enough time for one more supernatural move of God.  And it will start here.

How thankful I am to be here in the midst of this.

Twenty minutes can be a long time when you are in a time of desperation, but what about when it is going backwards?  That was the sign God gave Hezekiah to show him just how much he could trust in the Lord’s deliverance.
But that deliverance was not given freely.
The kingdom of Israel had already fully given itself over to idolatry and sin.  They used to be the children of God but had set up golden calves to worship and had assimilated all the idolatrous ways of the worldly kingdoms around them.  And now they were going up against the kingdom of Judah to destroy it. 
Remaliah’s son, the king of Israel, had become confederate with Rezin, the king of Syria, and together they constituted a formidable threat to the safety of Judah.  Ahaz, the king of Judah at the time, was scared out of his wits, but instead of trusting in God, decided to gather up all the riches he could to bribe the Assyrians, another heathen kingdom, to protect him. 
God was furious.  Ahaz wasn’t a good king to begin with, and this just made it worse.  He was selling out the people of God in a compromise with heathen kings because he wasn’t righteous enough to turn to God.  He didn’t trust God, so he decided to trust the devil.
Everybody knows that whenever you make a deal with the devil, it won’t last long.  And this one didn’t either.
Because of Ahaz’s unbelief and his desire to become just like the worldly pagan kingdoms around him, the judgment of God began to roll against His people, “even to the neck” – right up to the very gates of Jerusalem.  Assyria, the very kingdom that Ahaz had bribed, decided to invade Judah and carry her away.
But Hezekiah was made of other stuff.
Faced with extinction by the formidable army of the Assyrians outside the gate, Hezekiah did not turn to some other worldly kingdom to save him, but spread his prayers out before the God of Israel in abject humility and repentance, throwing his fate into the hands of God and trusting in His mercy.
It looked bad for the home team.  Assyria was gobbling up all the countries around him like a kid eating candy. They had taken all their cities of Judah except for Jerusalem, and now they were outside the walls licking their lips like hungry wolves.  But God gave Hezekiah a sign.  He would roll back the sun 10 degrees. 
I’m not all that smart, but I figure that anybody that can push the sun backwards is the One I’m going to trust, and Hezekiah believed the same thing.
As I see the paths that modern Christianity has taken in a downward slide to become more like the worldly religions around them, I wonder if they have become like Ahaz.  It’s not just their new types of dazzling entertainment and glitz that bothers me, but more importantly, it is their compromise of the hard edge of the Gospel with inoffensive messages.  While that may give them what they would call “a greater appeal” to sinners, it does not bring repentance – and repentance is what we need.
If we have become more like Ahaz, then can we expect the same judgment?  Even up to the neck?
And when judgment does begin to fall, where will we find leaders like Hezekiah?
It may be that we need to face a specter of extinction with the enemy right outside the gates of Zion to get us to cry out to God for a complete restoration of a church that has forgotten her roots. 
Sometimes that’s what it takes to get our attention.

On Sunday morning, my two girls wanted to read about Noah.  It’s a cute story with lots of animals and rainbows.  They’ve seen all the pictures of a chubby old Noah in his brown robe and sandals looking over the side of the boat with all the friendly animals crowded around him.  Such a fun story!

Of course, the reality of it all was much different.  It was a severe time of trials, persecution, hardship, and death, and I’m sure Noah would never want to go through it again.

One passage that has always stood out to me as significant was that Noah and his family were in that boat for seven days before the first drop of water fell.  Those seven days must have presented the hardest time of all for Noah and his little group.

Noah had been a preacher of righteousness in a world full of scorners, and must have been the most unpopular man on the face of the Earth.  Nobody likes to hear that they are going to Hell, and I’m sure his generation was no different than ours.  It wasn’t that they didn’t know about God – they were only a handful of generations away from Adam and Eve -- it’s just that they did not want to give up sin, and figured that somehow they would be able to get away with it.

We’ve all heard the Cosby-type jokes of how much jeering Noah must have suffered.  After all, for 100 years all he had to show for his faith was a boat in the backyard.  To the rest of the world, it was a huge monument to folly, but Noah believed God, and moved with fear to construct that Ark of Safety.

And then came the word to enter in the Ark.  Seven long days, cooped up with all those animals.  No ventilation, no sunlight, … and no rain. Just waiting for God to move.

 I can just imagine the echo of the howls of laughter coming from outside the boat.  The old fool had cooped up his family inside that smelly monstrosity, and now he was locked in!  But inside, the feeling of anticipation must have been thick and heavy.  When was God going to fulfill the word that He had spoken to Noah in what must have seemed like such a long time ago?

Tell me you wouldn’t have been wondering.

Why wait another seven days?  Why couldn’t God have just flipped the switch as soon as they got inside?  Why this final test of faith?  Hadn’t they endured enough?

We see this same pattern with God several times throughout the Bible.  After all you’ve gone through, there is often one more final challenge of faith that you must overcome before you reach the final goal.

Faith in God is not determined by what you know or what you have seen.  It is not a matter of how many miracles or personal experiences you have had with God.  You cannot count on past victories or things that you have done in the past.  Your faith is measured by where you are in God today. 

Faith is built in your heart by a continuous determination to seek the face of God each and every day, and like a flame in your heart, it goes out when it runs out of fuel.

How many times I have heard people say that they believe in God, and even bolster it by pointing to their church attendance, but when times of severe tribulation and testing come, how many of us fail.  When you dig down into the foundations of our failures, you find that it was based on a faith in name only.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and immersing yourself in the Word of God gives you the power to pray – not just muttering a bunch empty words, but real, heart wrenching prayer.  That, in turn, brings you deeper into the Spirit of the Lord to absorb more of the Word of God.  And that builds your faith – one step at a time.

Do you think you can accomplish the same things by skimming the Bible in a year?  Or throwing God some casual requests when you’ve got the time?  No, only a driven heart will seek the face of God and be able to receive the faith to stand in the times of deep trials and testing when you will need it the most.

Noah had that kind of faith because he relentlessly sought the face of God.  And it carried him and his family like a solid rock through those final seven days.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”  Psalm 42

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?  All the lofty intricacies of religion and philosophy, all the stress in pursuing our goals, and all the multiple complexities of life have been reduced to this one verse.

So why have we made life so complicated?  Because those are the two things that we really don’t want to do. 

We don’t want to fear God; we want Him to be our Daddy.  God is love, so that means to the bulk of our modern, spiritualist pastors today that our spirituality should be beautiful and full of love and flowers, and we shouldn’t have to be afraid of God.  (I can almost hear Uncle Remus singing “Zipadee Do Dah” in the background.) 

The messages that we love the most from our preachers are about blessings, peace and joy – all the good stuff.  We want to hear how God wants to bless us, not how we should stand in fear and trembling before Him.  We will flock in great numbers to whoever will preach a message like that to us, and will send them money to support those golden calves.

But the fear of God that was prescribed in the Old Testament is the same that is prescribed in the New Testament.  Moses, the only man that God talked to face-to-face, feared God so much his knees smote together.  David, the apple of God’s eye, said that the skin on his bones trembled for fear of Him.  The holy prophets spoke of God being their dread.

Is the New Testament any different?  Hardly.  Paul said that knowing the terror of the Lord, we therefore persuade men, and that we should serve the Lord with fear and trembling, knowing that our God is a consuming fire.  (Yikes!)

But today, we translate the fear of God as “awesome respect”.  Maybe we’re just made of better dirt than our ancestors were, or maybe, because this generation is so much smarter than they were, that things are different for us.  Who knows?  Whatever the reason, we have certainly mollified that message of fear to something that is much more marketable and palatable for the congregations and TV audiences of today.

As for the commandments of God, well, we have different agendas today, so things apply differently to us.  Since we have to deal with today’s sophisticated world instead of the old primitive tribal societies from back when the Bible was written, God surely understands that we are not subject to the same constraints as they were.  Divorce is not as big a deal, sex is commonly understood as acceptable (as long as it is with only your current partner, of course), deceit can be excused if it’s only a white lie or is for a good cause, and cheating on taxes is expected because the IRS isn’t fair.  Hey, it’s all relative, isn’t it?

Oh, and don’t worry, if we cross the line somewhere, we can rest assured that, because God is Love (see the first premise above), we can always ask God and He will forgive us every time we ask.  And really, as long as you’ve said the Sinners Prayer once in your life, you’re eternally sealed into Heaven, so it really isn’t a big deal anyway.

Geez, what a good God He is!  Cheap, easy, and fun – what else could you want? It’s like having your very own fairy Godmother.