NOTE: I’ve always greatly appreciated Mike Bickle’s zeal and heart for God, and probably always will. I approve of much of what is happening at the IHOPU Student Awakening. They’re leading the way in so many right things, but there are some problems.
I bring this up not to put down, but so that we can do better — and better — until…
The goal is ‘ONE.’ Jesus wants us to be one with each other in Him (John 17). And the leaders at IHOP (International House of Prayer) have been calling for a Third Great Awakening. How can this happen in our midst when lust is rampant within the church?
I’m convinced that false doctrine is the main problem within the American church, and that false doctrine is the main thing keeping FULL revival, the Third Great Awakening from happening at IHOP and elsewhere.
“God accepts us no matter what” is a major theme at the IHOP Awakening meetings. For example: False, revival-killing, salvation doctrine at IHOP continues from IHOPU president, Allen Hood at the Awakening meetings 🙁
When people don’t get fully right with God and their brothers and sisters, it’s impossible to worship in Spirit and in truth. So many don’t want to worship God directly. So the “bless me, Lord”/”fill us, Lord,” telling-God-what-to-do songs continue to be standards, and direct-to-God worship is the exception rather than the rule — as it is done in heaven.
And IHOP actually has a reputation for being alive (Rev. 3:1-6), whereas most of the ‘church’ in America doesn’t even have that.
In order for the Third Great Awakening to occur, we must lift up HOLY hands to the Lord. And we must clothed in white (not willfully sinning sins like lust — see the who-will-not-inherit-the-kingdom list in Galatians 5, along with Hebrews 10:26-39) in order for our names to not be removed from the Book of Life (Rev. 3:1-6). This is serious!
‘Christians’ can go from porn to worship “within the minute,” but can a real Christian worship in Spirit and in truth within the minute after willfully sinning such a serious sin?
I think not. Something is wrong here. Mike means well. The Passion for Jesus Conference was about restoring the first commandment to first place. Mike’s heart is in the right place, no doubt. But it’s statements like this that people will just take as a license to just keep on lusting, never getting totally free from the lust demons that drive lust so they can relax in God to be able to worship in Spirit and in truth.
Transcribed by Jeff Fenske from IHOP’s Passion for Jesus conference, 4/8/10
Mike Bickle is speaking on part four of the Greatest Commandment, loving the Lord, our God with all of our strength.
Mike said we need to love on God’s terms, and he led a prayer so people would shift over to loving God being the greatest priority. And then he said:
“He’ll take you in your weakness. He’ll take you in your brokenness. He said, ‘I’ll take you just as you are. Just come with the intention to do this [focused on doing the greatest commandment].
And when you fail, admit it, confess it, push delete; jump back right in the race before the hour is up. Go hard again. No condemnation. Don’t waste a moment on condemnation. Push delete, and be there confident before God in love.
A guy says, ‘Oh, I like the pornography.’
Call it sin; repent of it; confess it before God; and be back within the minute as a lover of God with confidence that He enjoys the worship that you’re giving Him.
Don’t wallow for three or four weeks, or a couple of hours. No self probation. Don’t put yourself in probation. You have confidence before Him no matter what you did 20 minutes ago.
Holy Spirit, I ask you to come, right now, with fire. There’s some real setting of the heart going on with some of you, tonight. It’s a dynamic setting of your heart. Just change your life. Lord, release Your power right now. Fire, Lord. We’re here for passion for Jesus. That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to align our heart with You, Jesus. We’re in this for real till the end.”
But to align our hearts with God is to reject porn totally. This was good:
[Mike Bickle IHOP 3/08] Making a Purity Covenant: Seven Practical Commitments — The Lord will visit IHOP-KC with an open door of glory in the spirit and a door of ministry to the nations. When Jesus opens a door of glory to release more of His manifest presence then He requires more agreement with His heart (a higher standard of obedience). … This is a promise with a warning of judgment.
Mike Bickle: Making a Purity Covenant so the HOLY Spirit can come … to bless His heart — that we may be ONE!
What if God did release His fire, now, like Mike is asking God to?
Jesus said in Matthew 5 that we need to do everything we have to in order to not lust, so we can go to heaven. Lust isn’t an option for true believers. Watching porn is not a light thing that we can just do and then be worshiping within the minute.
We just gave into demon power. That demon won’t go unless there is full repentance — not repeatance. “Delete” has to be pushed really hard, fully pushed. The door has to be totally shut. The heart has to be settled. The prodigal son must come back. This is sick to even contemplate this scenario, thinking we can worship God within the minute.
Many will just take this as license….
John 4:
23 But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We can’t be hypocrites and worshipers.
From Mike Bickle’s OneThing 2009 Teaching Notes (pdf):
“We measure our spiritual maturity by how much of the Sermon on the Mount we walk out in daily life. We measure our ministry impact by the extent to which people live out these values, not by the number of people who receive our ministry.”
Let’s determine to stay fully in the kingdom, our hearts totally pure, fully resting in His love.
1 John 2:
15 Don’t love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17 The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever. …
28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Galatians 5:
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
This is what we should be teaching. How to be really free, together, truly in Christ — resting — settled — where we belong.
: )
Related:
Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures — Narrow is the Way
All of my Lust Freedom! posts