How to Live for One Thing

Do you really think life can be about one thing? In a world of so many options, how do we focus on what’s really important? Can experiencing God help us live confidently for Him?

The Apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, addresses these issues.

The Word

In the third chapter of the letter to the Philippians, Paul says that although he had many reasons to have “confidence in the flesh,” he counted “all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:4, 8).

Each one of us can choose what we build our lives around.

For the first part of his life, Paul (originally called Saul) based everything on how religious he was. His list of credentials would be impressive for any Jew:

. . . circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. (Philippians 3:5–6)

Paul thought his credentials were strong, but once he met Jesus his life perspective drastically changed (see Acts 9). Instead of trying to make his own name great, encountering Jesus transformed Paul into a man consumed with the glory and worth of Christ, giving up everything to know Him and make Him known:

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Phil. 3:7-9)

Paul was even willing to suffer and die, as Christ did, if it meant being raised to life with Him forever (Philippians 3:10–11).

Going Deeper

When Paul met Jesus, life came into focus. Instead of striving against Jesus and the Church, he now gave all of his energy to building it. Through the revelation of Christ, the apostle was transformed and empowered to live a life of radical devotion. Paul’s life of radical devotion still matters nearly 2,000 years later—because he honored Christ.

Paul concludes this passage with a strong exhortation for believers to “press on” to “lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of [them]” (Philippians 3:12).

With this specific goal in mind, Paul says doing “one thing . . . forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal” of knowing Christ and being united with Him (Philippians 3:13–14). These words of Paul testify to the kind of lifestyle he lived. His complete abandonment to Jesus was sustained by his radical obedience and willingness to give Jesus complete lordship over his life.

Walking It Out

Paul’s message is for us today. The Lord is still calling forth worshipers “in spirit and in truth,” ones who will love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength (John 4:23–24; Luke 10:27).

We can respond by doing the one thing Paul did—parting with our old way of life (including our sin, pride, hesitation, and fear) and running with abandon toward Christ. This will look different for each person, but the goal is the same—to know Christ and make Him known to others, with nothing standing in the way of our wholehearted obedience.

By embracing this one thing, we can experience a sense of purpose and power that is both eternal and divine. And in this, we can “know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-12).

What is one step you can take toward living for one thing?

-Adam Wittenberg; A Detroit native who was raised in Vermont and Connecticut, Adam worked as a newspaper journalist until 2012, when he moved to Kansas City to complete the Intro to IHOPKC internship. Afterwards, he earned a four-year certificate in House of Prayer Leadership from IHOPU and is now on full-time staff in the Marketing department at IHOPKC. Adam is also active in evangelism and has a vision to reach people everywhere with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Slowing Down to Hear God's Voice

It’s not popular—or easy—but slowing down is essential to hearing God’s voice.

We must break free from our overstimulated culture. Phones buzz, screens flash, and distractions come at us almost constantly. There is almost no time to rest. In our busy world, there’s always more to do, more to see, more to think about. We rarely take time to be still.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to cultivate a deep, inner life with God when we live this way. It’s difficult to get below the surface and really get to know Him if we’re always in a rush.

LOOK AT THE TREES

Picture, if you will, a tree with shallow roots. The tree may look OK on the surface, but it doesn’t bear much fruit because it’s struggling to get enough water itself. Over time, the tree may show signs of weakness or even become sick, and could be toppled at any time by a strong storm. This is not a tree others could safely climb or eat fruit from. It is not reaching its full potential.

What if the same is true for us? How many of us live hurried and worried, stressed and frantic, on edge and grasping for a sip of refreshment, barely able to get enough water for ourselves—much less give it to others?

The Lord, our Good Shepherd, has promised to lead us to green pastures. He wants us to lie down and drink from the still waters (Psalm 23:2), but how many of us resist Him? We may be Christians, know the Lord, and call Jesus our Savior, but where is the deep intimacy and our trust in His leadership to do this?

FINDING WATER IN THE DESERT

If you’re struggling, know that God hasn’t left you. He’s not mad at you for being busy, but His heart may be calling you to slow down and step closer to Him.

The Lord has promised to meet us according to our hunger. Scripture is full of exhortations for God’s people to call to Him so that He can answer (Isaiah 58:9; Jeremiah 33:3). His provision is strong and secure, but we have to access it.

That’s what the spiritual disciplines are all about (prayer, fasting, reading the Word). God is perfectly good and has promised to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19); our part is to position ourselves to receive the fulfillment of that promise, which includes spending time with Him.

IT’S A CHOICE

Ultimately, slowing down and seeking God is a choice. Our plates may be full, but we can ask the Lord for wisdom on how to create space for Him. A good place to start is with entertainment. While this is to have a place in our lives, “it’s a small place,” says Mike Bickle, IHOPKC’s director. Unfortunately, our culture often makes it a priority.

We can start by reversing this trend, putting aside a show we like or favorite movie to attend a prayer meeting, worship as a family, or spend time in God’s Word. It may start slowly, but these activities can quickly become more enjoyable than the entertainment we’re forsaking, since knowing the Lord is our greatest pleasure.

It’s not only about discipline, but delight. Jesus loves us and wants us to be with Him where He is (John 17:24). We can choose Him daily, in ways big and small, which delights His heart. And since God wants us to draw near, don’t be surprised if He quickly pours out favor on your times with Him, encouraging you to do it more (and even invite others into the same thing!).

THE POINT

The more we feast on God’s Word, the deeper our roots will go, as described in Psalm 1. This tree, which is “planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither,” symbolizes a healthy believer, “and whatever he does shall prosper (Psalm 1:3).

Pray and ask God for this: to come out of busyness and make time to seek Him more. Distractions can wait, but the Lord is waiting on us, beckoning us to seek Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). He is our first love and source of life, ready to receive all who come to Him.

- Adam Wittenberg; A Detroit native who was raised in Vermont and Connecticut, Adam worked as a newspaper journalist until 2012, when he moved to Kansas City to complete the Intro to IHOPKC internship. Afterwards, he earned a four-year certificate in House of Prayer Leadership from IHOPU and is now on full-time staff in the Marketing department at IHOPKC. Adam is also active in evangelism and has a vision to reach people everywhere with the good news of Jesus Christ.

4 Pastoral Challenges in the End Times

Our world is in a season of acceleration toward two momentous events: the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the greatest hour of pressure and trouble in all of history.

Isaiah said it clearly: "For the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord shall rise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you" (Isa. 60:2).

A time of deep darkness is coming, yet at the same time, the glory of God will be seen on His people in an unprecedented way. In essence, Haggai prophesied the same thing, declaring that the Lord will shake heaven and earth, the sea and all the nations, and much more. In context to this global shaking, multitudes will come to the Jesus who will be seen as "the Desire of All Nations."

For thus says the Lord of hosts: "I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations [Jesus]" (Hag. 2:6a-7b, NKJV).

In other words, the greatest harvest of souls is coming in context to the end-time shaking of the nations. This shaking will be like a "perfect storm" affecting many areas of life—financial, political, societal, spiritual, military and much more.

Uniqueness of a Key Generation

The generation of Jesus' return will have unique dynamics. There is only one generation that will see both the greatest revival and the greatest pressure in all history occurring at the same time. Thus, two great extremes come together in one timeframe. The dynamics are unique—nobody has ever walked that path before. No other generation in history has had to navigate these two extremes. That is why the Lord put so much information in the Bible about that generation, so it is not surprising the Scripture highlights that particular generation much more than others. In fact, God's plan for the generation in which Jesus returns is the main focus in over 150 chapters in the Bible (see mikebickle.org/resources/resource/2888 for a list of these).

To get a perspective on how important these 150-plus chapters are, consider that there are 89 chapters in the four Gospels that focus on Jesus' first coming to accomplish salvation. In contrast, more than 150 chapters in the Bible focus on what will happen when Jesus returns to openly rule the whole earth. (That one generation includes the decades leading up to Jesus' return and the decades immediately following it).

God's people easily receive the good news about a coming great revival. The challenge lies in interpreting the unprecedented pressures without being afraid or offended by the many negative events that will occur. Thus, God's people must understand the biblical narrative related to the coming pressure, or they will be left, by default, to embrace a secular narrative.

The secular narrative of current and future events is presently being expressed through many different media outlets. The problem with this narrative is that is based on many wrong ideas leading to many wrong conclusions. Some present ideas that are overly optimistic, refusing to acknowledge what the Bible says about the coming pressure. Others go to the other extreme and are overly pessimistic. Only by embracing the biblical narrative will God's people be able to process the pressures in a way that will help them to grow in love and faith with a steadfast hope in God.

Believers not grounded in the biblical narrative about the end times often promote the secular narrative or the secular interpretation of the increasing crisis. In fact, far too many in the church are almost totally unaware of the biblical narrative in these more than 150 Bible chapters. Understanding the biblical narrative includes more than knowing a few general ideas about the end times; most are familiar with the fact of a coming Antichrist, the Great Tribulation and the rapture. But the Scripture has much more to say about what will happen in that generation and why.

People will respond according to the narrative they embrace. Those who don't understand the biblical narrative or storyline of unfolding events will be confused and even afraid. Many are perplexed as to where things are going as they seek to interpret society's increasing pressures and troubles. To them it seems like the train of history is veering off the tracks, and it feels as though no one really knows where things are going or why.

I have good news! The very God who can accurately predict the specific details occurring in the end times is the same God who has authority over them and can overrule the negative events causing them to work for the good of His people (Rom. 8:28). Since God has total control and deeply loves His people, we are in His good hands. We can stand in faith, filled with peace and thriving in love. Only those who interpret what is happening from God's point of view can respond with such faith and confidence.

4 Pastoral Challenges

There are also pastoral reasons we should pay attention to these 150 chapters of the Bible. I identify four negative responses Jesus warned the end-time church to be prepared to overcome. Again, I emphasize that people must understand the biblical narrative of what will happen or they will be left, by default, to embrace a secular narrative of the increasing pressures and crisis events, making them more vulnerable to be overcome by fear, offense, lust and deception.

Fear: Jesus warned that men's hearts will be overcome with fear in the end times if they are not properly equipped in the Word and walking in the Spirit. This warning applies to both believers and unbelievers. People who are overcome with fear are far more vulnerable to make terrible decisions. The Bible speaks of "men fainting from fear and expectation of what is coming on the inhabited earth" (Luke 21:26a, MEV).

Offense: Many will be offended at God and one another in context to the escalating pressures. People who are offended at the Lord cannot respond to Him with strong faith and wholehearted love. Some will be offended at Jesus' leadership because they grew up in a church that taught that things were mostly only going to get better or the Lord would rapture them before the trouble increased too much. Thus, they will question Jesus' leadership and whether the Bible is true.

"And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another" (Matt. 24:10, NKJV).

3) Lust: Jesus warned His people not to allow their hearts to be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness. The word for "carousing" speaks of self-indulgence, with the main idea being immorality. Often people who are overwhelmed by fear or offense seek to find temporary relief from their pain in drunkenness, drugs and immorality. The explosion of immorality in our culture will intensify even more as internet technology provides many with opportunities to engage in it.

"Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing [lust], drunkenness ... and that Day come on you unexpectedly (Luke 21:34, NKJV).

4) Deception: Jesus prophesied that the enemy will use false prophets for his deceptive purposes. "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many" (Matt. 24:11, MEV).

Do not think of false prophets as only cult leaders and crazy eccentric people with bizarre religious ideas. I believe some of the most dangerous false prophets will be popular social reformers and media personalities who are dignified, cool, caring, intelligent and well-spoken. They will be very persuasive in their social commentary and in their call for new values and perspectives on social and sexual issues. They will come across as logical and even loving to those not grounded in God's Word. They will seek to rescue people and society from "old-fashioned" biblical values and perspectives. The enemy is raising new popular voices to spearhead counterfeit justice movements or mercy movements that claim to excel in love. They will use the biblical terms "justice, unity and love," but not in the same way the Bible defines them. These false voices will lead many people away from Jesus, the God of the Bible.

The End-Time Falling Away

Scripture clearly prophesies that some will fall away from their faith in the end times. This is one of the most tragic and serious realities in all of history.

"Now the Spirit clearly says that in last times some will depart from the faith and pay attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils" (1 Tim. 4:1).

The combination of escalating fear, offense, lust and deception will result in some believers falling away (1 Tim. 4:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:1-7, 4:3-5; Heb. 6:4-6, 10:26-31, 39; 2 Pet. 2:1-3, 20-22, 3:17). People who become fearful or offended are far more vulnerable to drift away from their faith because they are not able to make sense of the increasing pressures and troubles in the world. Paul presented the end-time falling away as obvious and as significant as the appearing of the Antichrist on the world stage.

"Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For that Day [Jesus' return] will not come unless a falling away comes first, and the man of sin [Antichrist] is revealed" (2 Thess. 2:3).

22 Biblical Signs of the Times

The Lord was gracious to give His people information about these increasing pressures with important details about the generation of His appearing. The biblical signs of the times include events and trends predicted in Scripture. In Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus identified 22 signs of the times—and 20 of them are negative.

The Old Testament prophets, Jesus and the apostles prophesied of the signs of the times to alert God's people who are alive in the generation of His return that His return is imminent. Now, for the first time in history, most of these signs are increasing and making global headline news. When all the signs accelerate at the same time, God's people are to know they are living in the generation of Christ's return.

The first mention of "all these things" (Matt. 24:33) refers to the signs of the times before and during the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:5-28). The second mention of "all these things" (Matt. 24:34b) refers to what occurs after the Great Tribulation, at the time of Jesus' return (Matt. 24:29-31).

"So also, when you shall see all these things, you know that it is near, even at the doors. ... this generation will not pass away until all these things shall take place" (Matt. 24:33-34).

It is possible that there are people alive on the earth today who may see Christ's return. It is not too early to become more familiar with the biblical storyline in the 150 chapters on the end times.

Full Understanding

The Lord promised to raise up people who will understand His end-time plans perfectly (see Jer. 23:20). To understand the end times perfectly means to have a mature understanding of what the Scripture says about the end times.

"The anger of the Lord [His judgments] will not turn back until He has executed ... the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly" (Jer. 23:20).

We can only have mature understanding as we honor, relate to and learn from one another across the different streams in the body of Christ. No one group will have it all, but together, the body of Christ can gain a mature understanding. I believe that only in the collective wisdom of the body of Christ across the nations can we have a full understanding of the end times. We need each other to grow in strength and understanding.

We can be confident that the anger of the Lord against the Antichrist's empire will not be turned back until God has executed and performed all the thoughts and plans of His heart. At that time, God's people will understand perfectly. There is power in knowledge. We don't have to be confused.

By having a robust biblical picture of the unique dynamics of the end times, God's people will be equipped to have right expectations and interpretations of various negative events. By understanding the biblical narrative, God's people will have the tools to process escalating pressures in a way that will help them to thrive spiritually and grow in love and faith. The Lord promised to raise up "people of understanding" who will help others understand the biblical narrative related to the end times.

"And those of the people who understand shall instruct many" (Dan. 11:33a, NKJV).

This passage had a partial fulfillment in the days of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 B.C.), but the complete fulfillment will come in the end times.

The promise to be "one of the people of understanding" is available to any believer in Jesus who will search out what He says in the Scriptures. Remember, there are over 150 chapters in the Bible whose main focus is on the generation of the Lord's return.

"Many," or multitudes, will be hungry for answers from God's Word. The Lord's messengers will make the biblical narrative known in diverse ways to "many" in the body of Christ and to the uninstructed millions of unbelievers hungry for understanding. This information is to be used evangelistically in a way that may surprise us. Unbelievers are interested in knowing what the Bible says about the end times. By growing in understanding, we can be a part of the solution instead of adding to the confusion of those who embrace the secular narrative and are overcome with fear, offense, lust or deception.

"When all the signs accelerate at the same time, God's people are to know they are living in the generation of Christ's return."

-Mike Bickle; Director, International House of Prayer, an evangelical mission’s organization based on 24/7 prayer with worship. Mike is also the founder of International House of Prayer University—which includes full-time schools of ministry, music, and media—and is the author of several books.

How Singing the Word Strengthened My Faith

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am fluent in “Christianese“—that language Christians speak when referring to or describing all things related to their faith. Having married into a family whose members all speak multiple languages, I have learned that the best way to learn a new language is full immersion, leading to understanding by necessity.

One of the most intriguing things perhaps about language is the use of slang. These words or phrases only make sense contextually, and often only in cultures specific to a particular language, very similar to the use of idiomatic expressions.

Having grown up in a primarily Christian environment, I learned scriptural language but was given little understanding of the biblical context for many of the things I said, heard and sang.

In 2009, I was already on staff and a worship leader and prophetic singer by occupation at the International House of Prayer. Or so I thought. I was invited to join the NightWatch for a season—the midnight to 6am watch in the Global Prayer Room. While it was a very real struggle to switch my body clock to working nights, it was even more of a struggle to sing prophetically because I didn’t know what that meant. Another worship leader in the NightWatch invited me to join their well-established team and gave me this encouraging pep talk:

Leader: I want you to ONLY sing the Bible. Sing the Bible to describe the Bible. Not your opinion. Not your diary or poetry. If it isn’t in the Bible, don’t sing it.

Me: But I ALWAYS sing the Bible.

Leader: No you don’t. I’ve heard you.

I assumed that singing biblical concepts, and having biblical language was the same as singing the Bible. In that new season for me, I was overwhelmed to discover so many verses like:

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” Psalm 96:1

“Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy!” Psalm 33:3

“Praise you the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song . . . ” Psalm 149:1

It was a church-boy assumption that verses like this were primarily for Old Testament minstrels and singers, and that this concept of singing the new song wasn’t mostly for today. Until I discovered verses like:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs . . .” Colossians 3:16

“And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals . . .’” Revelation 5:9

“And they sang a new song before the throne . . .” Revelation 14:3

I came to realize through time, prayer and experience that the “new song” wasn’t a new genre or new melodies, or even new sounds that had not been heard before. But, in fact, the new song was and is the old song. Its foundation is the wisdom that only comes from God (Ephesians 1:17-19)—the knowledge of God.

It’s not that God reveals new things about His character or person, so much as it is that our eyes are opened to see Him for who He is, causing our hearts to sing to Him about Him. This alone is our biblical model for the release of the new song in the earth.

THE ETERNALITY OF SINGING THE WORD

The beauty of having this understanding and perspective is that when we sing the Word, then and then alone, do we pass through the dimension of the temporal into the realm of the eternal. I often say, “The eternal reality for every believer is that we will be gathered around the throne of God, singing to Him of His beauty and worth FOREVER!”

This is modeled so clearly for us in Revelation 4 and 5. There, we see a host of angels and elders around the throne, singing. But personally I am more intrigued by these four living creatures. They are described as having “eyes all around and within.” Why so many eyes? I believe it’s because there is more to see about God than our eyes can contain.

As a songwriter, I have purposed in my heart that I want to be one who writes “eternal songs,” ones that not only outlive my generation but ones that are and will be sung around the throne. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s wrong to sing from our own experiences, but even David as the great psalmist understood that singing about God toGod was an eternal value amid his very real troubles. (Psalm 3:1-2)

Singing the Word will most certainly change our perspective, and gives us the dignity of entering into the reality of eternity now. So my question to you is, What song are YOU singing?

- Jaye Thomas, Director, Forerunner Music Academy, IHOPU Jaye Thomas is a Dove Award-nominated singer, songwriter, and worship leader of more than twenty-three years. Jaye comes from a long lineage of musicians and singers, including his aunt, the late Nina Simone. Originally from North Carolina, Jaye comes to Forerunner Music Academy as a former Brightleaf Music Scholar at Duke University (1996), having studied vocal jazz performance under the late Dr. Steve Zegree. He has been a full-time worship leader at the International House of Prayer for nearly ten years and is an artist on the Forerunner Music record label. He has contributed to more than twenty albums, including two of his own, Higher, and Here is My Worship. Jaye is married to Nayomi and a father to their three children, Mahan, Justice, and Addison.

Imparting a Legacy of Prayer to Our Children

A new level of prayer the Lord was inviting me and my family into began with a praying mantis perched on our suburban Toronto doorstep every morning for three weeks. “Odd,” I thought. Praying mantises (green insects with little “hands” clasped in prayer) may be found in farmers’ fields but do not normally come into the city and particularly do not arrive at the same door for three weeks in a row. After some inquiring of the Lord, I realized He was trying to get a point across—it was time to learn to pray at a whole new level. Making a long-term story short, within a few months my husband and I began to give our mornings to the Lord in intensive prayer; we launched a house of prayer and later helped build numerous other houses of prayer worldwide. Along the way, we realized we couldn’t “do” house of prayer until we and our family, including our six children, had become a house of prayer.

Little eyes are watching and little ears are listening as mothers and fathers either reflect (or not) the will of the Lord. Jesus’ disciples were also watching and listening to Him as He prayed, impelling them to ask, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). As Jesus taught and modeled to His disciples a lifestyle of prayer, so must we as parents teach and model to our main disciples—our children—a life of prayer. One of the most touching statements I’ve heard one of our daughters make was that she was particularly inspired to pray after coming down the stairs in the quiet of early mornings to see her parents in prayer before the Lord. If we are going to teach it, we must actually do it.

Even babies sitting in a high chair can learn prayer as a parent clasps little hands in theirs to pray over the meal. Taking turns having family members pray at the table, at night before bed, or before having a time of family home group is an easy way to initiate kids in praying out loud. When our children were old enough to read and write, we commissioned them to have personal prayer, time in the Word, and journal time (listening to the voice of God) first thing in the morning. Sometimes it worked better for a child to have that time in the privacy of their bedroom right after waking, and others wanted their “God time” after breakfast in a comfortable chair in the living room. Either way, we established the daily habit of personal prayer for our kids at around age five. Years ago, after reminding my youngest daughter to have her God time, she said to me, “Mom, you don’t need to remind me anymore. It’s in me.” What a delight to know the habit of prayer was instilled.

In addition to prayer we have encouraged our children to practice what we call decrees or proclamations in agreement with the Scriptures. Often, they will begin their prayer time with praying a scripture such as, “Now to Him who is able to keep me from stumbling and present me faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,” (Jude 24). They may also decree something specific to a particular need.

When one of our daughters (we have one son and five daughters) lamented that she didn’t have many good friends, we sat her down to pray about it together. Then we encouraged her to begin to daily decree, “God is bringing me good, godly friends.” It was short and simple and also effective. Literally within weeks, one girl moved into our city and started attending our church, another girl who had been more of a distant acquaintance to our daughter expressed interest in befriending her, and a third moved into our neighborhood. Suddenly, our daughter had three new friends!

Our son greatly desired a godly wife and began to pray and decree, “The Lord is sending me my wife who loves God and is saving herself for me.” About a year later our son met and married a lovely woman of God, who did save herself for him, and they have three beautiful children together.

Teaching our children to fast is also important. It can begin with fasting things like ice cream, chocolate, or a movie when younger and progress to a lifestyle of fasting. One of our daughters fasted movies for a year at age sixteen. That was a challenge, but she came out of that year a woman of great passion for Jesus, which has never abated to this day.

The Lord impressed on me years ago that in addition to love, one of the greatest things I can do for my children is pray for them and teach them to pray. This leaves a legacy of walking with and talking to the Spirit, which is essential to abiding in Christ and bearing fruit in all areas of life. Our children, to this day, are actively involved in pursuing a life in Christ, most within the prayer movement.

The IHOPKC Children’s Equipping Center helps parents lead their children into a lifestyle of prayer that bears fruit in young lives. Enroll your child in CEC today!

Click on the image to order your copy of Patricia’s latest release.

- Patricia Bootsma; with her husband, John, gives pastoral leadership to Catch the Fire Toronto Airport Church. She is the director of the Catch the Fire Toronto House of Prayer and represents the province of Ontario to the Canadian Prophetic Counsel. Patricia travels both in North America and internationally, ministering prophetically and helping believers to walk in passion for Jesus and live out the fullness of their destiny. Patricia and John are the parents of six amazing children.

A Beautiful Waste

I graduated college convinced: I would change the world for God. As a college student, I volunteered with a high school ministry, sharing the gospel with hardened-to-Christ teens. And I was all in.

The year I left college, I joined the high school ministry as full-time staff. I was on fire for God and ravenous to see what He could do. I judged others who were going to waste their 20’s on anything I deemed to be of lesser value. My 20’s would be focused on impacting lives for eternity.

The annual highlight of our ministry was the week we took a bus full of living-loud adolescents to camp. On the last night, those who had decided to follow Jesus were given the chance to stand up and announce this life shift. After camp, I came home to an even longer list of lives I wanted to influence. When teens are “on fire” for Jesus, their unchurched parents start showing up to church on Sunday, asking questions, and joining Bible studies. The life-stories fueled me. They validated my calling and my passion. They kept me in it.

Lives around me were changing, but my life had grown stagnant. I’d have dinner with a teen who’d just asked Jesus into her heart and find myself mindlessly repeating answers I’d said for years. I’d go home and carve out space to sit with God, except when I got there, time alone with Him felt awkward, like I was talking to a distant acquaintance. I didn’t know quite where to start.

I knew God was benevolently disposed toward me, but I’d always assumed His benevolence was also connected to my producing something for His kingdom. When I felt productive in ministry, it wasn’t hard to imagine that God had loving thoughts toward me or that He looked at me with warm affection. I had a harder time trying to imagine what He might be thinking about me during the hours of the day when I wasn’t doing anything tangible for Him.

I realized I had been driven to see lives change, but I also craved the validation I received when my life made a notable impact on someone else’s. Over time, the deep satisfaction I’d found in my work lessened. So I left the ministry I admired.

I took a break from telling others about Jesus and found a part-time job. For well into a year, I spent my afternoons amid bouquets of imported French lavender, handcrafted soaps, and Italian pottery at a boutique. Sometimes I banked no more than five transactions in a day. It was a life I swore I’d never have—unproductive. A colossal waste of my time, energy, and gifts.

But to the surprise of my heart, that quiet little storefront became a place where I met God. I brought my Bible to work and cracked it open behind the register. I had hours unplanned for one of the first times in my life. I talked through God’s Word with Him, and I did it slowly, absorbing who the person was within those stories. I discovered layers of God’s nature I hadn’t considered when I was barreling through life, when He was only a leader and a coach to me. Slowly, my desire to see and feel who He is within the pages of His Word prompted me to look at the lines on His face. He had a gentle loving expression. Toward me—who was doing nothing for Him.

In a year that appeared to be a waste by all my ministry productivity standards, I grew desperate to lock eyes with God and see His real expression toward me. Every ordinary minute of my day was slowly becoming an opportunity to encounter God’s unwavering gaze, this tenderness I’d not known so intimately before, when I was highly productive.

There are times when God tucks us away from the rest of the world. He might hide us in a difficult job or an unwelcomed circumstance. We feel misunderstood, like no one gets us. He might hide us in a crowd where we feel lost or unseen. Behind the front doors of our homes, changing diapers and burping babies. He does all this so that we might see another side of Him. He is a God who looks deeply and knowingly into us when no one else is looking or noticing. We come alive under his loving gaze.

I discovered that what was unseen, my roots buried beneath the surface, gave life to the trunk and branches I showed the world. I learned how to pour out my life at His feet, forsaking productivity. A beautiful waste of time.

-Sara Hagerty

Sara is a wife to Nate and a mother of six whose arms stretched wide across the expanse between the United States and Africa. After almost a decade of Christian life, she was introduced to pain and perplexity and, ultimately, intimacy with Jesus. God met her and moved her when life stopped working for her. And out of the overflow of this perplexity, came her writing on her blog and in her two books: Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Noticed (August 2017) and Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet (2014).

Encountering God: Cultivating Your Relationship with the Lord in Worship

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive the beautiful gift of eternal salvation and are brought into the family and kingdom of God. In participating in life as a part of the family and kingdom of God, we have submitted our lives, and all of our ways, to Him and are choosing to take His ways on as our own, which is a transformation process which is walked out in our daily lives.

As children in His family and citizens of His kingdom, we are commanded in Deuteronomy 6:11 to “worship the Lord, and serve Him alone,” and in the New Testament, in Matthew 4:11, Jesus quotes this verse when Satan is tempting Him. As the Son of God, He submitted to this commandment,and lived His life on the earth in worship to the Father—how much more should we seek to carefully obey this commandment!

Drawing Near of the Heart

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says,

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me.” (Mt. 15:8–9)

This verse, to me, has served as a deep expression of the Lord’s heart for us when we worship—to draw near to Him from our hearts—and not just give Him lip service or just show up but not sincerely. I have to continually ask the Lord to alert me when I am doing this, and I repent when I find myself showing up to worship, but not truly drawing near to Him in my heart.

Sing the Truth

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (Jn. 4:23)

I have found that one of the greatest gifts in seeking to obey the command to worship the Lord, and in seeking to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, is the Scriptures. If we feed our hearts on His Word and come to Jesus through it, He will train us and teach us how to walk out worshiping and loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The book of Psalms specifically paints a beautiful tapestry of ways to worship the Lord, from bowing low in submission to Him as King to trembling before Him as a righteous Judge; from singing to Him as the King of all of the earth to honoring Him as the Father of the fatherless. And the list goes on.

Here are some of the ways the writers of the book Psalms entreat us to worship.

• Psalm 2:12 speaks of responding to the Lord in three specific ways: it says to “serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling, and kiss the Son.”
• Psalm 29:2 instructs us to worship in the beauty of holiness.
• Psalm 45:11 says, “Because He is your Lord, worship Him.”
• Psalm 95:6 adds, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker.”
• Psalm 96:9 exhorts us, “Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, tremble before Him all the earth.”

One side note, a couple of practical tips on how I engage with the Psalms: I sing them, phrase by phrase, throughout the day or during worship times at church.

1. Start with praying “Lord, I thank you for this truth,” or simply turn the phrase into a prayer. For example, take Psalm 95:6 from the above paragraph. I would say, “Lord, I worship You as my Maker, I thank You that I am the work of Your hands—I kneel before You, honor You, and worship You”; and then,
2. Sing and repeat short phrases from the verse, for example, “I come to You” or “I worship You” or “I bow before You” or “You are my Maker.” I have personally found that slowly singing the shorter phrases helps my mind to slow down and my heart to connect with the truths that I am singing.

Another aspect of worshiping the Lord and using the Scriptures as a guide as you do so is that I continually discover new truths about the Lord when I draw near to Him or understand who He is in a different way. Had I just been reading the truths, they might not have awakened my heart in the same way as when I sang them. So in this aspect, I have found worship, and the singing of the Scriptures, to be a place to grow in and discover the knowledge of God.

Grace to you as you discover more and more of Him as you give yourself to Him in worship today!

“May the Father of glory give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” (Eph. 1:17–19)

- Sada Rogers; Worship Leader, IHOPKC. (Sada Rogers and her husband, Nate, live in South Kansas City. Sada has been on full-time staff at IHOPKC for the past 18 years, primarily serving as a worship leader and giving oversight to the worship teams and prayer room during the night hours.)

How Does God Prepare Messengers?

In today’s world it’s as though everyone is just looking for a new way to get ahead. More and more you find people trying to become more motivated, more wealthy, have the most successful career, or the healthiest body. The volume and amount of these voices have seemingly grown exponentially in the last few years. The questions of WHO should be listened to, WHO should be followed, or WHO should command the center of our attention have become more prevalent than possibly ever in history. These questions are coming out of a deep-seated need to know how to simply just succeed in the world we live in.

With all of the channels of input given to us through social feeds, news outlets, and educational institutions, we can almost drown into an over-saturated halt by the sheer volume of the noise. Our fears of missing the change that will revolutionize our lives or that we will once again fail in accomplishing all we were made for, have become dangerous—potential masters of our hearts and minds. Today’s prophetic voices can often shrink back because there seems to be no way to speak or be heard because of society’s screaming loudspeaker filling everyone’s ears.

Let’s consider these questions: How exactly does God form men and women who will be messengers for Him in today’s culture? Is there a risk that the noise of our society will drown out the voice of God to the man and women called to be something different in their generation?

God spoke to people like Moses, Esther, David, and Daniel, making them the very vehicles of change for God’s purposes in their day. God fashioned these powerful vessels out of very ordinary people who chose to set their ears and eyes on God and His spoken word to them. Their radical lives weren’t based on their abilities or how they maximized their life’s potential to be noticed. What separated them and men like John the Baptist, was their intent lean into listening for God’s voice. In fact many times, it was in silence and quietness that they became part of God’s message needed for their day and hour. Whether on the hills of the Israeli countryside, in the courts of pagan kings, and even in exile from their homes and loved ones, God formed these men and women in a way He called perfect. They were never limited by the situations they were placed in. It was never about their potential to be great, but rather, how they had drawn near to God in the places and cultures they were placed in. They made themselves available to God, and He placed them at the very cusp of the changes He was bringing in their generation.

God forms His messengers through a patient process, requiring an attentiveness to Himself that feels a lot like listening before speaking. Messengers are first and foremost observers of God’s Word from BEFORE and God’s Word NOW! Every messenger has taken the test of patience to carry both of these elements. There are no quick fixes for God placing roots in our lives. Jesus gave us the parable of the sower in Luke 8 as a picture of how much fruit is possible when His word lands in the right soil. Every man or woman sent from God will go through the process of becoming properly prepared soil. Again, the way of the messenger is a lot more like listening than it is about speaking. God will always offer to prepare us before the time of fruitfulness. Timing is just as important to our Father as visibility.

For example, had Esther had taken matters into her own hands to rush before the king, she may never have lived to save the thousands of men, women and children slated to die. If Daniel had not kept his life of steady prayer, would he have had the courage to stand in lion’s den and testify that there is only one God who can save men? These men and women had these significant moments where their hidden history in God became the very bedrock for God’s power to be seen and His word to be heard through them. All of the years of struggling through boredom, discouragement, successes and the changes of their own lives mattered. Their constant, steady lives of prayer and drawing near to God were rewarded with authority in these significant moments.

God never created a person who would not be granted the ability to choose how deeply they would dive into God. It is within our choices that incredible faith is formed, the opportunity for miracles emerges and steadfast love for Jesus is grown. God makes Himself available to every man, woman and child, but He shows more to the ones who dive in asking Him for more. James tells us that Elijah was a man just like us. Was he called by God, yes, but He also drew near to the living God, he inquired of Him and saw His hand move in mighty ways.

God’s eyes are on the willing who will pull back to look for Him first in this generation. His conditions on not built around who is more capable, but rather who is more willing to be patiently molded in His hands. Messengers of God are willing for God to put His hands on them by His very words and receive it as their bread. By this they begin bear His name and have living bread they’ve found in God to give to the world around them.

- Aaron Phillips; Director, Operations IHOPU

Ten Prayers to Strengthen Our Inner Man

Ten Prayers to Strengthen Our Inner Man: F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P

Prayer for my personal life: Breakthrough of grace on my inner man, in my circumstances (physical, financial, relational, etc.) and my ministry as God’s power is released through my hands, words (singing, speaking) and I receive prophetic revelation to help others (1 Cor. 14:25).

I urge all to schedule prayer times and to establish prayer lists to give focus to their prayer time. Most will pray ten times more with a schedule that establishes when they pray and a prayer list that focuses them on what to pray. Many who love Jesus never develop a consistent prayer life because they lack the practical aspects of scheduling prayer time and having a prayer list. I take liberty to deviate from my prayer list or omit parts of it as the “winds of inspiration” touch me.

God’s commands contain a promise to enable us to obey them. Obedience requires the work of the Spirit on our heart that increases as we ask for His help in each area. He knows our needs but requires that we ask Him for increased blessing, because it causes us to interact with His heart.  You do not have because you do not ask. (James 4:2)

To ask implies that we verbalize our prayers, not just think on them. We must articulate our love and gratitude to Jesus in simple phrases. This is used by the Spirit to effectively change our life as we often say, “Jesus, I love You, I thank and I trust You, etc.” Take words with you, and return to the LORD. Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. (Hos. 14:2)

Our highest call is to fellowship with God, so we use the acronym F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P, Each of these ten requests requires the work of the Spirit on our heart to enable us to walk in them.

Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 Jn. 1:3) ten prayers to receive strength in the inner man: F-E-L-L-O-W-S-H-I-P. To be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man… (Eph. 3:16)

F- Fear of God: Father, release the spirit of the fear of God into my heart. Release the lightning and thunder from Your Throne (Rev. 4:5) to strike my heart with Your majesty. Release holy dread on my heart that makes me tremble before You. Unite my heart to Your heart and Word. I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. (Jer. 32:40)

The Lord…you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. (Isa. 8:13)

Unite my heart (to Your heart and Word) to fear Your name. (Ps. 86:11), His delight is in the fear of the LORD… (Isa. 1:3)

E- Endurance (perseverance, patience): Father, strengthen my spirit with endurance that I may do Your will with zeal (diligence) and that I do not quit in my fervent pursuit of You and Your will.

(Col 1:11 KJV) Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness;

1.  Father, direct my heart into the endurance of Jesus and I ask to be strengthen to follow through in my commitments to You and to fulfill my ministry assignment when it is hard. I am also asking for physical and spiritual endurance for fasting, praying, preaching, and writing, etc.

May the Lord direct your hearts into…the patience (endurance) of Christ. (2 Thes. 3:5)

2.  Lord, impart Your zeal to my heart as You gave it to Phineas. It was written, "Zeal for Thy house will consume Me (Jesus)." (Jn. 2:17, NAS) Phinehas…was zealous with My zeal among them… (Num. 25:11)

L- Love: Father, pour out Your love into my heart by releasing the influences of the Spirit to give me revelation of Your love for me that it may overflow in love back to Jesus and to others. (The anointing to love God is my greatest goal, possession and reward in this age). Father God I pray that I put on the Lord Jesus Christ and put on the armor of light and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Help me love my neighbor.  

The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit... (Rom. 5:5) … for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. (Rom. 13:8) …Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Rom. 13:12) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Rom. 13:14)

I pray, that your love may abound still more…in knowledge and all discernment. (Phil. 1:9)

May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God… (2 Thes. 3:5)

Set Me (Jesus) as a seal on your heart…for love is as strong as death…its flames are flames of fire…7 Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it. (Song 8:6-7)

Father, impart Your love for Jesus in my heart (Jn. 17:26). I agree with Jesus’ prophecy (Mt. 22:37) to receive grace to love God with all my heart and soul and mind.

…That the love with which You loved Me may be in them… (Jn. 17:26)

You shall love the Lord…with all your heart…soul…and mind. (Mt. 22:37)  Father, allow me to understand Jesus’ love for me and to abide in it (stay connected to it). That you…may be able to comprehend…what is the width and length and depth and height…19 to know (experience) the love (affection) of Christ… (Eph. 3:18-19)

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (Jn. 15:9)

Father, I agree with Jesus’ command and prophecy in Mt. 22:39 that I will love others. Let me abound in love by seeing what You see and feeling what You feel about others. …You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mt. 22:39)

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another… (1 Thes. 3:12)

L- Light of glory: Father, I ask You to let me see the light of Your glory (or encounter the glory realm). I am asking for Holy Spirit encounters (dreams, visions, angelic visitations, manifestations of light, fire, wind) as You gave to Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel and John (Ex. 33; 34:29-30; Isa. 6; Ezek. 1; Rev. 1). 

A great light from heaven shone around me…8 He said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth…” 11 I could not see for the glory of that light…I came to Damascus. (Acts 22:6-11)

And he (Moses) said, "Please, show me Your glory." (Ex. 33:18)

Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. (Ps. 4:6)

Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! (Ps. 80:3)

His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (Rev. 1:16)

Send out Your light and truth! Let them lead me…bring me to Your holy hill… (Ps. 43:3)

You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending… (Jn. 1:51)

I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man…the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kgs. 6:17)

O- One thing life focus: Father, I choose to be a person of one thing who often sits at Your feet. I set my heart to spend quality time with You and to cultivate an inward gaze toward You.
Alert me when I lose this focus, align my life circumstances so I can walk this out and anoint my times with You that I may feel Your love and feel desire for You and Your Word.

One thing I have desired…all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord. (Ps. 27:4)

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part… (Lk. 10:42)

The Word is to create a living active dialogue in our heart with God. We pray-read the Word or converse with Jesus as we read it. To love God with all our mind involves taking time to fill our heart with God’s word. We gain revelation of God by meditating on it.

We gain the “fuel of intimacy” in times of prayer by connecting and relating to God as a Person. This empowers us to love God and man. This is the key to not burning out. David set his heart to consistently set the Lord before him as a lifestyle.

I have set the Lord always before me… (Ps. 16:8)

Daniel sustained his prayer life for decades (from about age 16 to 82 years old).

Daniel…knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed…before his God, as was his custom since early days. (605-539 BC or 66 years) (Dan. 6:10)

W- Count me worthy (faithfulness unto fullness): I ask Father God to strengthen me to walk in such faithfulness that You consider me worthy to walk in my highest calling in this age and the age to come. I need You Jesus and Your help to see and gain victory in the blind spots in my life that are not focused on.

Jesus ASKS us to pray this for ourselves. In context it is talking about the end times: (Luke 21: 34-36)

Luke 21:34-36 NKJV: "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.  35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the son of man."

We pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power… (2 Thes. 1:11)                 

And that Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw the glory thereof, as the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

No one is “worthy” to receive forgiveness. It is a free gift because of Jesus’ worthiness. Rather, we are to have a worthy response to God by living free of compromise, thus we are prepared or are found worthy to walk in the fullness of our calling.

May the God of peace sanctify you completely; may your spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless (without compromise) at the coming of our Lord… (1 Thes. 5:23)

That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God… (1 Thes. 3:13)

I have made a covenant with my eyes; why should I look on a woman? (Job 31:1)

S- Speech: Father, set a guard over my lips. Free me from defensive, angry and foolish speech (Eph. 4:29; 5:4).

Sustained communion with God requires restrained conversation with man. The Spirit is quenched in our life by unwholesome speech: filthy, foolish, coarse jesting (Eph. 4:29-5:4).

Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Ps. 141:3)

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable... (Ps. 19:14)

H- Humility: Jesus, I want to learn from You how to walk in lowliness. I commit to take Your yoke of humility (lowliness of heart) on my life in my attitudes, speech, and actions.

Take My yoke…and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart… (Mt. 11:29)

I- Insight unto intimacy (wisdom): Father I am asking please give to me insight into Your Word, will, and ways. Also I am asking please to give to me wisdom that I may walk with You in intimacy under the Spirit’s creative leadership. I want and desire to partner together with You in every issue in my life including my finances, schedule, emotions, fears, addictions, circumstances, physical body (diet, health), relationships (in the home, office, ministry), my future, etc. I ask You my Lord please give me new ideas in each area of my life so You can get full glory from my life.

May give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him… (Eph. 1:17)

Ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord… (Col. 1:9-10)

The Holy Spirit…will teach you all things... (Jn. 14:26)

P- Peace and Joy: Father, strengthen my heart with supernatural peace and joy that overpowers fear, anxiety, phobias and addictions, In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord.

Note :(sin grows fastest when fear and anxiety are present in us.)

The peace of God…will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope (confidence) by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:13)

Psalm 19:12-14 NLT How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

I pray all of this in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Forerunner Christian Fellowship (This document has been modified from it's original format. This is notes from a teaching from – Mike Bickle) http://www.ihopkc.org/resources/asset/2015_03_06_1900_FCF_MB/auto/true/

-Donnelly Cameron

Stop Trying to Make the Gospel Relevant to Teenagers

I quit being a youth pastor. I would highly encourage you to do the same. Just before the time I agreed to a role within Student Ministries at IHOPKC, I flatly stated that I had no intention of doing roller skating and pizza parties. And bless God, neither did my friend and supervisor at the time, David Sliker.

Certainly on paper my role still states: Director of Student Ministries, but I couldn’t find the term youth group or see anything that remotely looks like modern youth ministry in the Bible. That’s why I resigned in my heart instead, deciding that I would dedicate my life to something I was actually interested in: building the glorious church of Jesus Christ. A quick survey of the generational landscape yields a troubling picture. No need for the statistics that abound in thousands of books, websites, parenting materials, and youth pastor city-wide meetings. Just ask yourself, “How many teenagers do I know that extravagantly love Jesus?”

I’m told that youth ministry is, historically speaking, a relatively new endeavor. While the onset of youth ministry had the spark of life, gradually it’s as if someone began thinking, “These young people are disinterested—let’s put them in another room.” The separation of teenagers from the main body over decades evolved into a subculture with a particular set of expressions and opinions. Insert a youth pastor attempting to be relevant to an established subculture. Now, when someone says, “youth ministry,” immediately an image floods the mind giving illustration to what that should look like. But does that image look biblical?

The troubling pressure that faces parents, teachers, leaders, and youth pastors is ultimately the very thing we cannot do—we cannot change the heart of another human. Jesus likes changing hearts forever by His power. He is really good at that.

The gospel is the power of God to salvation. Does God need us to alter the gospel to make it relevant? As a leader, I don’t need creative ways to rehash a message that is volatile when applied to the human heart. We need the power of the God unto salvation. We can’t get to God without His power. We can’t get His power without the gospel. The gospel supersedes culture, even the powerful subculture of teenagers.

At some point we forgot that Jesus, and His message, was rejected by the world. Further, though the world desperately needs His power, we’ve convinced ourselves that slightly altering the gospel will lessen its offense and make it more palatable to young people. We’d rather have 100 youth in the room than five. In doing so, we’ve decreased its effectual power.

God is not in need of our gospel adaptations. The gospel is the gospel. God is God. And His power is His power. The power that cut 3,000 to the heart by the preaching of Peter at Pentecost is the same power that today converts the soul and brings a person from darkness to light. The power that brought you to the cross and to the delight of the resurrection is the same power that touches the heart of the teenager.

My aim isn’t to fix youth ministry. It’s to kill it (or at least, kill the caricature of it).

First on the chopping block is this idea: more people means better ministry. The pervasive temptation we face is to measure success primarily by outward growth. As long as it’s getting bigger and better everything must be grand. However, a quick look at the Bible finds the need to evaluate success instead by the measure of love (see John 15 ) and faithfulness (see Matthew 25). What if we got a vision for teenagers to bear the fruits of repentance, the fruit of the Spirit, and live in a way that looks like Jesus (Matthew 3:8; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:10)? What if we got a vision to disciple five genuine teenagers rather than 100 lukewarm ones?

The gospel is entirely relevant because it addresses the deepest needs of man. What is the deepest need of mankind? That is the deepest need of teenagers. Man does not know God or glorify Him, and desperately needs His power to be changed into something new (Romans 1:16, 21–23, 6:4, 8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17). The intrinsic needs of adults in the main auditorium are the same needs as the teenagers in the youth room. The gospel is not relevant to world. It never will be. It is considered a “base thing,” inherently “foolish” (1 Corinthians 1:18–31). But the gospel is the wisdom of God and the power of God.

May the teenagers of this generation hear the gospel and be forever changed. Amen.

5 Ways to Help Teens Love Jesus More

- Isaac Bennett, Director, Student Ministries, IHOPKC. Isaac and his wife, Morgan, are full-time intercessory missionaries who serve at the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, Missouri. They have five children. Isaac is the director of Student Ministries and Awakening Teen Camps; he is also an instructor at the International House of Prayer University. The Bennetts’ heart is to see day-and-night prayer established across the earth and the next generation called into wholehearted love for Jesus.