Grief, unforgiveness, and prejudice can manifest as judgment, which wrongly excludes people from God’s Kingdom. When we judge others, we bring God’s judgment upon ourselves. (It’s also possible that some children have shortened their lives because they failed to honor their parents in childhood and later in adulthood.)
The remedy is simple. Let Jesus be your standard. This sobering comparison is sure to silence the hypocrite within. Jesus commanded us to engage in such heart searching when he addressed a crowd about to stone a woman caught in adultery: “He who is without sin among you, let him first throw a stone at her” (see John 8:7).
Of course, the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. He admonished us:
If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a ditch (Matthew 14:15).
Jesus warned us of the danger of arrogantly assuming we understand everything better than others. Paul gave us similar advice:
They measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with each other without understanding (2 Corinthians 10:12).
When God works in our revival services, He often shows people themselves—images they rarely see. This supernatural shock therapy usually leads to repentance. David said:
I considered my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste and did not delay to keep Your commandments (Psalm 119:59, 60).
The only one who hurls accusations at believers is the devil and his company. Indeed, God expects this kind of talk only from the devil. He has given him the nickname “slanderer of the brethren” (see Revelation 12:10). His punishment is already proclaimed in the Great Book. If you constantly criticize your brothers and sisters, and comments and accusations constantly fall from your lips, then I think you should ask yourself, “Which master am I serving with my thoughts and words?” Perhaps, my friend, you need to free yourself from the spirit of criticism. If you attack your brothers and sisters with your tongue, then you have already subjected them to evil! Stop condemning. Repent! And you will see the brass heavens shatter.
Obstacle 5. Ignoring the Poor
When you open your heart to the needy, then God opens heaven for you.
One of the most powerful accusations leveled against the Church today is that it has abandoned the poor and needy to the care of the government. This hurts deeply, because for the most part, it is true. No matter what the government has done in the past or plans to do in the future, God has not ceased or abolished our responsibility to care for the poor!
Solomon warned:
Whoever stops his ear at the cry of the poor will cry himself, but will not be heard (Proverbs 21:13).
This is a very sobering statement. I don’t know about you, but I would never want to be in a situation where God doesn’t listen to my cry.
The first major conflict in the new church in Jerusalem arose over the ministry to needy widows and orphans. This conflict simply wouldn’t exist in most of our modern churches, but that’s nothing to brag about. This conflict wouldn’t have occurred because we simply don’t care for our widows and orphans, because we lack such ministries. We either abandon them to the unkind hands of government welfare agencies, or hand them over to the weary hands of the Roman Catholic Church, or other overburdened charities.
Most Christians are so terrified of contact with the poor that they don’t even know how to reach out to those in need! Frankly, we have no idea about the daily struggles of homeless people, and we’re not even sure we want to know. If we ever consider the despairing lives of elderly widows, we quickly push these bleak thoughts aside and begin to think of more pleasant things. We may shake our heads and say, “Oh, what a pity!” when we see a child who has lost one or both parents in a disaster, war, or illness, but our compassion pretty much ends there. Instead of reaching out to such a poor child, we joyfully gather our own children and rush home to our safe cocoon, far from the crying needs of the poor and disadvantaged.
Yet there is a reason why we cannot remain indifferent when we encounter someone in need. God’s Spirit within us awakens our dormant feelings and impels us to action. Every verse of Scripture that speaks of compassion for the disadvantaged compels us to reflect on the poor and suffering with renewed vigor, shattering previously formed stereotypes. We suddenly realize that the poor are simply people who need more than they have. They struggle only to survive, not to gain wealth.
The truth is, if Jesus were walking the earth today, we would likely find Him among the poor, not inside our churches.
Look again at Proverbs 21:13:
Whoever stops his ear at the cry of the poor will cry also, but will not be heard.
What a powerful passage of Scripture. How we treat the poor has a direct bearing on how much we will be heard in heaven!
God describes the poor in many ways, but He always does so with compassion. He doesn’t expect us to put everything else aside and make caring for the poor our sole priority. However, He does expect us to listen to the cries of the poor He brings our way. Jesus ministered only to those the Father gave Him. This meant that most of the people in the crowd did not receive healing or deliverance. But at other times, as Scripture says, He ministered to everyone:
And when the sun was going down, all who had any one sick with divers diseases brought them to Him; And He laid His hands on each of them and healed them (Luke 4:40).
Most churches serve the poor only by providing clothing, food, or a one-time cash benefit to get them out of their misery. The problem is that many truly poor people cannot be helped with just a one-time donation. We must walk among them, as our Lord did, comforting them, sharing food with them, and serving them as equals before lasting results are seen. Some can be saved from poverty through spiritual rebirth and the renewal of their minds by the Word of God. Others need material assistance in addition to such rebirth, due to the loss of their earthly source of income through death or illness. Then the church must take on the ongoing responsibility of providing for their needs. This is precisely what the church body in Jerusalem did for its widows and orphans.
This may not sound like a typical revival talk, but I tell you, it is a biblical talk. An awakened Church is a caring Church. An awakened believer is a servant.
Obstacle 6. Teaching the Commandments of Men
When we reject the commandments of men, God’s commandments begin to break through the cloudy skies.
Many believers pray ineffectively and live in constant disappointment and discouragement simply because they have believed in the commandments of men rather than in God’s teaching.
This people draws near to Me with their mouth and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:8-9).
Many of the commandments presented in our churches as biblical doctrines literally require Christians to reject or correct the Word of God as it is recorded in the Book of Acts, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and even the Gospels. Entire passages of these Spirit-inspired books are peppered with that familiar chorus of “buts,” while anxious Bible teachers and preachers struggle to convince their audiences that everything written therein passed down with the apostles (which is far from the case), as if it were all limited to the apostolic ministry. It seems as if everything pertaining to a supernatural God who does supernatural things is systematically erased in our day in order to fit neat human commandments.
The same thing is happening in charismatic and Pentecostal churches. Here, ministers disregard certain Bible verses that contradict their favorite human commandments about the end times, the Trinity, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, or whatever is currently in fashion. My friend, the truth is that the God who brings revival cares nothing for human commandments, but tenderly loves every person. He longs to see His river flow through the hearts of every person who calls on the name of His Son.
This won’t happen until many Christians stop confusing doctrinal understandings with a true experience of God. There’s a huge difference between the two. Just because you were raised in the Pentecostal or Charismatic tradition doesn’t mean you’ve experienced God’s presence and power. Many who have heard of such an experience and believe it have never experienced it in their lives.
On the other hand, many sincere Christians have been taught that doing everything decently and orderly means severely restricting worship and stifling any spiritual or emotional expression. Such misdirected zeal has produced impotent and lifeless churches, completely lacking the supernatural gifts of the Spirit described in the epistles. And a Church without power is incapable of reaping and preserving a harvest of souls in this last generation. God is not pleased with these extra-biblical doctrines that indulge “a form of godliness, but deny its power” (see 2 Tim. 3:5). Jesus said that we will have power, not boredom, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.
I am sure that the coming of the Holy Spirit in the upper room on the day of Pentecost does not quite correspond to our modern definitions of decorum and godliness; nevertheless, it was God Himself. I know that in my case, I wasn’t ready to accept the freedom that revival brought to the Brownsville Assembly of God Church. So God dealt with me until I was transformed. He touched me so powerfully that I lay helpless in full view of my entire congregation for the entire duration of each service. This went on for over a month, when the revival had just begun! And when God finally allowed me to stand before the congregation again, I had to tuck my index finger into my pocket where it belonged.
Obstacle 7. Self-Condemnation
You must remember who you are. The lies of the enemy cannot condemn the sons of God.
Satan is not called the “accuser of the brethren” for nothing. We only have to think about leaving behind all distractions and closing the doors of our bedroom, office, or prayer room, and a familiar, slanderous voice begins to replay all our mistakes and failures in excruciating detail in our minds. We should remember this wise advice: consider where it comes from. Every time you overcome the chattering stage and truly step away from your daily routine to pray sincerely in God’s presence, your slanderer is right there. He will do anything to keep you from prayer, and accusations are his favorite tactic. The amazing fact is that if the devil ever decides to take a day off, we are likely to continue his condemning work even without his help! Perhaps this is why the apostle John said:
And by this we know that we are of the truth, and we assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God will do much more, for God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Beloved! If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight (1 John 3:19-22).
The first thing you need to do when you come to God in prayer is to assure yourself that you are standing before Him. Remind yourself that only Jesus Christ made it possible for us to enter into God’s presence. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any unconfessed sin that may be hindering your direct communication with God, then confess it and repent. Begin to praise God and recite Scriptures that proclaim your identity with Christ. Rejoice in God’s Word and proclaim:
I have God’s righteousness in Christ. I am a new creation, created in the image and likeness of God, according to His good pleasure. I am a child of God and an heir of all the promises through Jesus Christ. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world! Therefore, there is no condemnation for me, because I am in Christ Jesus, and I walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh (see 2 Corinthians 5:21, 17; Genesis 1:26; Revelation 4:11; Rom. 8:16-17; John 4:4; Rom. 8:1).
Obstacle 8. Disrespect for Your Spouse
Defaming your spouse’s anointing and gifts will rob you of the fullness of strength you need to break through the brazen heavens.
Husbands, likewise, live with your wives in an understanding manner, giving them honor as weaker vessels, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).
Many marriages are destroyed and many prayers are frustrated when careless neglect of a long-term marriage breeds disrespect. And while disrespect born of neglect is quite common in our world, we should not allow it to destroy our families. Love and genuine care expressed by each member of a well-maintained marriage quite successfully keep this destroyer at bay. When married partners begin to take each other for granted, forgetting to show each other love and attention, a gradual disrespect can slowly build day by day. Sometimes husbands begin to treat their wives harshly and disrespectfully simply because they have a clearly dominant personality.
But this is not God’s plan. A man is a woman’s protector, not her destroyer. Everything he does should build her up, not destroy her. This should be evident in his attitude, his words, and his actions, as he shows tender attention to her needs and personal desires. Praising his wife will earn a husband’s respect much more quickly than his selfish dominance over her. Listening attentively and showing sensitive kindness will turn her heart toward him.
Yet too often, marital bonds are broken by mutual judgment and blame, which inevitably lead to disrespect. Beware that the devil, using his most compelling lies against you, doesn’t plant in your mind the idea that your spouse doesn’t recognize or appreciate your anointing and the purpose God has placed on your life. Such a lie undermines your spiritual strength and the very understanding that makes you a believer. Once the enemy convinces you that your spouse doesn’t truly care about your life and work, you begin to follow a dangerous path that separates you from your spouse, even while you live under the same roof! These two separate paths in life will surely end in unbearable pain and possibly lead to separation and divorce.
The heavens remain thick with brass for those who are inclined to accept such demonic lies. The devil has every temptation at his disposal, designed to humiliate and destroy those who separate from their spouse because of ministry or calling. Such a person’s strength dwindles, and the safety and security of the family becomes very vulnerable. As a result, your children may become targets for various temptations, illnesses, depression, and disappointments; they may develop disobedience and even rebellion.
Trust fades, the principle of mutual support no longer applies. An ominous sense of loneliness and doom creeps into the hearts of every family member. Ultimately, the bonds of love and security that once ruled the home become nothing more than a memory.
Of course, I understand that in isolated and extremely rare cases, one spouse genuinely does not want to accept God’s calling on the other spouse’s life. Don’t assume this applies to you specifically. In the vast majority of marriages where spouses have drifted apart due to ministry or calling, one spouse has simply believed the lie that their spouse doesn’t have what it takes to walk alongside the “anointed spouse.” Although this problem is widespread and can be found in both sides of a marriage, it is most often the woman who is the target of this satanic attack.
Preserve your marriage by recognizing that differences in understanding or calling don’t necessarily mean your spouse isn’t supportive. Beware that your incorrect assumptions about your spouse’s commitment to you, your ministry, or Christ don’t rob you of the blessings that faithful partners can find in their marriage. Two is always stronger than one. Cherish and preserve this power by being attentive to the needs and gifts of your marriage partner. And most importantly, pray together. Couples who pray together discover so much about themselves, their marriage, and their ministry that is impossible to discover any other way. Then trust God to guard your heart and mind. By doing so, you will keep the heavens clear and open over your home.
Hunger for God and Prayer
Hunger for God is the center of any truly effective prayer. It follows that the more you seek God, the more you will yearn for His presence. It is this heartfelt hunger that will bring the most corrupted person and the most hardened apostate to God’s altar. If you have noticed the obstacles described above in your life, do not despair; all is not lost. Your hunger for more has already led you to the pages of this book. This same thirst will lead you further to perfection if you yield to every gentle touch of the Holy Spirit on your heart.
This thirst for God has already led many ministers and believers from virtually every denomination to seek God’s face in this revival in Brownsville. I am so happy that many, if not most, have returned to their churches and homes immersed in God’s glory and with a completely different understanding of revival and the importance of persistent prayer. Testimonies of God’s powerful work continue to flow into our offices, from both traditional and non-traditional, denominational and non-denominational churches. Most have felt a new, persistent call to prayer. God doesn’t look at our titles or credentials as ministers. He looks at our hearts. And now He is trying to teach us to see ourselves with the same eyes.
Source: www.imbf.org
