VFNRadio Second Hour April 10, 2014

LISTEN NOW! John, Greg, and Pat discuss the power of casting vision and creating the right environment as they discuss a recent talk given by President and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, Bill Strickland.  Bill spoke at the Harvard School of Public Health as part of the Decision – making:  Voices from the Field webcast leadership series.  He has done an exceptional job in building state of the art learning centers for impoverished people living in the inner city of Pittsburgh.  One of Bill’s key philosophies is environment drives behavior, beautiful environment creates beautiful kids; prisons create prisoners.    He found out that children and people in general perform a much higher level when they are in a better environment and when they have vision cast upon them for the future.  They continue to discuss when jazz musician Dizzy Gillepsi saw fist hand what was being accomplished at the center he knew he had to help Bill build more centers like the one in Pittsburgh all around the country.  Dizzy gathered a few musicians together and recorded several albums giving the rights to Bill.  These albums went to win Grammys as well as generate funds for the educational center.  Bill’s vision is so compelling that the founder of EBay wrote him a half a million dollar check and Senator Heinz wrote him a $1 million dollar check.  Today their vision is to build these first class educational centers not only in the United States but they have an aggressive goal of building 100 of them around the world.  The educational center teaches vocational skills, entrepreneurship, horticulture, and arts.  They continue to discuss the possibilities of what could happen when the church establishes Apostolic Centers to equip the saints to advance God’s kingdom in the earth.  They continue to discuss how these Apostolic centers can have a profound effect on the 7 Mountains that affect our world; religion, family, education, government, media, arts & entertainment, and business.   The church needs to stop looking to government and allow God to provide for you.  When the church gets this vision we will want to see the King of Kings on the top of all these mountains that we may be faithful to His word and His ways in our land. 

 In this wisdom moment Greg shares regarding sudden destruction and warns us to be careful not to mistake God’s patience for acceptance.  Proverbs 29:11 “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.”  They discuss that stiff-neck means lacking the ability to turn a person who is obstinate, haughty and unrepentant by choice.  Some people after hearing many warnings, getting many rebukes, without turning deceive themselves into believing that God is all talk and no action.  They arrogantly declare I have heard it before.  They continue on living, working, eating then one day they have a suddenly.  They experience destruction in their families, with their children, in their jobs and business and some of these sudden destructive tragedies are simply irreversible and they have to live with their consequences. They encourage us to obey God the first time He speaks to us; simply hear and obey.

 The Protocol for the Coming Outpouring of God’s Spirit

  John, Greg and Pat discuss how there is a protocol for the outpouring of God’s Spirit.  John shares how God woke him up one morning and before his head came off his pillow he heard “The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few; the harvest is plentiful that’s why I sent you.”  He believes that this was a direct word for him but it is also a word for the church.  We have been sent to bring in the harvest.   They discuss how many are hearing God regarding the coming move of God and are filled with great expectation and joy.  Many are looking forward to the wonders of the Lord, basking in his presence, and being an eye witness to the countless souls that will make Jesus Lord of their life.  However, revival and refreshing doesn’t   just happen there is a protocol for the outpouring of God’s spirit.   The protocol is the same as it has always been repentance precedes refreshing.    Acts 3:19 says “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”. John continues to share how God spoke to him regarding the book of Joel, many in the church today are familiar with Joel 2 declaring how God is going to pour out His Spirit on all flesh yet they often overlook Joel chapter 1.  Joel 1:4-5 speaks about the great locust, the young locust and the other locust that have come to eat everything leaving nothing.  Then it goes on to say in verse 5 “Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!  Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine for it has been snatched from your lips.”  Many today are drunk in the church not necessarily on wine but they are intoxicated on the things of this world totally stupefied meaning they are in an altered state of mind.  The truth is that God wants his church to be intoxicated on His Love and presence.  It’s time to call for a solemn assembly and declare a holy fast and stop getting together as the church just to get together but to unite for one purpose and one purpose only; to repent before God.  They continue to discuss how the church has many things but do we have a spirit of mourning, a spirit of weeping and wailing for the sins that are committed in the world, in the church and for our own sins.  To wail means to utter a prolonged inarticulate cry however the problem is that we have filled God’s ears with articulate prayers while we have failed to repent.  If we want to see the outpouring in Joel 2 take place, we must first repent that refreshing may from the Lord.  The message was the same when John the Baptist preached it, it was the same when Jesus preached it, it was the same when the disciples in the early church preached it and it is the same today.  It’s time to ask the Lord for grace to truly see the atrocities of our sins before him and burden us with a spirit of weeping and wailing,  repenting for our own sins and the sins of our fathers asking for mercy, sparing us from judgment, and calling out for revival.