Intercessory Prayer, We Miss You!

This is just a line to let you know how things are since you've gone. It's not the same without you, nor will it ever be. Although our lives seem shallow and empty when you're not here, we've learned to make up for you in other ways. We've learned to live without you.

We now leap for joy, jig to the music, sing catchy choruses, and tap our feet in time to the rhythm of the drums. We use sticks, banners, black lights, and our sign teams do a tremendous job acting out recorded music. We've learned to worship without you.

The prayer rooms are mostly silent now. Those who do go there, for the most part, come away dry-eyed. A lot of praying now is chanting and singsong style. We pray memorized phrases that come automatically. Most of us don't even close our eyes anymore during prayer. We just walk and pray while we look around. We pray because it is required. No one prays until they break through anymore. We just pray until our ten minutes are up.

Family altars are almost unheard of now. You can't imagine how busy we are and how hectic our schedules have been. It's unbelievable. We get up in the morning and never stop till we go to bed at night. We do try to make it to most services and get some praying in during the service, but prayer at home is kind of out of the question. That may be another reason you haven't heard much from us.

The sad truth is you're not really needed anymore. You see, most of us have hospitalization insurance now. So now, there's no need to pray more than the few minutes it takes to drive to the emergency room. Also, we don't have to ask for our daily bread like we used to. We now have better jobs with good benefits and government programs to fall back on.

If we lse our jobs, there is always unemployment or welfare. If we retire or become disabled, social security now supplies our needs. So, you can see, we're doing okay.

Other things have filled the void in your absence. Sure we miss you. But we're getting over it some how. Actually, we're too busy to entertain you right now, even if you tried to come back. I hope you understand.

We are having revivals without you. It's not hard. The pastor fasts and prays, along with a couple others. Most of us try to get to church in time for the first song or two. We justify the fact that the number of new converts is down. Yes, there seems to be diminished conviction, less lasting victory, and fewer miracles, and many young people are backsliding.

We agree, however, that we are not at fault; it's just the times we're living in. It's like this everywhere.

As your friend, I'm writing this to you, knowing how much it must hurt you to have folks say they miss you, and yet in their material and intellectual progress they've weaned themselves away from the haunting memory of you.

What hurts, I know, is that we were children you personally raised. You were always there when we needed you. (But now we don't.) You taught us about faith. You taught us about miracles. You taught us about a move of God. You taught us about revival. You taught us about how to touch God. Thank you for that, but you see, this is a new day and we are trying to go to the next level. Our services are structured differently now.

Do you know that now when you are mentioned in church, everyone gets real quiet? They all feel guilty I'm sure. It's like they experience a momentary twinge of guilt while they consider their part in your disappearance. Once in awhile some even get misty-eyed when we talk about the old times you shared with us. But all that feeling vanished long with the pizza right after church.

No, Intercessory Prayer, your coming back really wouldn't work right now. We're too blessed. We're doing too well. We're comfortable. In your day, you served your purpose, but the sentiment of most today is that we can manage okay without you now. We've got better clothes, cars, homes, and prettier and bigger churches than ever.

By the way, do you remember all the folks of yesteryear coming into the sanctuary with red-rimmed eyes? Remember all-night prayer meetings? Remember the depth that was in worship? Remember when sinners couldn't sit in their pews any longer and would run to the altar? Remember when you could feel unity and brotherly love? When folks helped bear one another's burdens? When the saints didn't watch the clock? When they could hardly wait to enjoy the after service atmosphere, praying around the altar until the wee hours of the morning? Boy, those were the good old days. We call that "old school."

Well, it's pretty much all gone now. But you ought to see our new Hammond C-3, our drum set with a cage and everything. We use praise singers to help cover up the fact that our congregations don't sing like they used to. We let them do most of our worship for us.

You would be proud of our church buildings. Carpet on the floors. There are pews now instead of benches, and they are padded too. Our pastor has polish too. He doesn't preach long. We are more concerned now about sermon length than content. Win some, lose some.

Speaking of "lose some," we're losing a surprising percentage of our young people. An unbelievable number of marriages have gone on the rocks. Many lives have been in jeopardy. But that's to be expected I guess. Teenagers seem to be at war with their parents and want to dress more and more like the kids at school. Our youth meetings may not have much in the way of prayer, but we have great icebreakers, skits, and games.

I hope you're not offended. I don't mean for you to be. You'll always have a special place in my memory. You were kind and generous to me. You sure got me out of some hard times. I can't thank you enough! Still, this is a generation now that doesn't know you at all. Your coming would probably scare them.

So while we are trying to work out our feelings about you and see where you might fit into our plans in the future, you might try your luck someplace else.

Try Brazil, Ethiopia, or how about the Philippines? You might have better luck in third world countries. You might even luck out and find someone to talk to you in some little storefront on the other side of the tracks. Surely someone somewhere needs you.

We're terribly sorry, Intercessory Prayer, we miss you, but we really don't need you right now!



Article written by Martyn Ballestero Sr. and is published in the September 2008 issue of the Pentecostal Herald.

The Mixed Multitude by Pastor Darrell Johns

We are familiar with the man Nehemiah through the Old Testament book that bears his name. Because of his heroic sacrifice and great leadership in spite of opposition, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in 54 short days. Although the reconstruction of the walls of that sacred city was a monumental feat, the spiritual revival that Nehemiah initiated was even more profound.

The revival described in the book of Nehemiah was the result of a commitment to obey the Word of God at any cost. There was such intense spiritual hunger among the children of Israel that hours were spent confessing sins, reading the Word and worshipping God. (See Nehemiah 9:1-3.)

The thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah documents one unexpected revelation during this time: the understanding that Israel had been living in disobedience to the Word of God by allowing the mixed multitude to dwell among them. An analysis of the history of this mixed multitude and the background of this edict imposed by the Lord can teach several lessons to the modern-day apostolic church.

The first mention of the mixed multitude was during Israel’s exodus from Egypt. While there is some conjecture about the exact identity of this mixed multitude, The Pulpit Commentary gives three possibilities: “Kalisch supposes that these strangers were native Egyptians, anxious to escape the tyranny of the kings. Canon Cook suggests that they were ‘remains of the old Semitic population’ of the Eastern provinces. Perhaps it is more probable that they consisted of fugitives from other subject races (as the Shartana) oppressed by the Pharaohs.” [i]

It is possible that the mixed multitude was a combination of several people groups. One thing is certain; whoever they were, they were not Israelites. Perhaps the mixed multitude applied blood to their houses during the Passover, or they may have awoken to the discovery of a dead firstborn son on the dawn of Israel's deliverance. Either way they must have been impressed by the plaques God poured out on Egypt. They surely acknowledged the powerlessness of the gods worshipped by the Egyptians, as they were eyewitnesses to the ten plagues. From the water being turned to blood to the death of the first-born, the Lord’s judgment on Egypt was overwhelming. (See Exodus 7:14-25 and Exodus 11:1-12.)

Whatever their reason, they chose to join themselves with Israel as they fled Egypt. It is clear that the mixed multitude was ready to celebrate their freedom from slavery, but they were not willing to embrace a love and loyalty for the God who delivered them. For many years after the Exodus, the mixed multitude was a hindrance to the people of God.

Soon after exiting Egypt with Israel the Bible says, “The mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting” (Numbers 11:4). The spirit of the mixed multitude reeked of carnality, wanting flesh to eat, while rejecting the simple diet designed by the Deliverer.

The attitude of the mixed multitude seems to mirror those who profess to be Christians while still having an unregenerate nature. We may compare the mixed multitude to those who attach themselves to the church because of its benefits, while refusing to commit to Christ. The reality is that they will never have the same values as those who have a truly converted spiritual nature.

In the story of Nehemiah, Israel was beginning the journey to their homeland after seven decades of captivity in Babylon. Centuries had passed since the mixed multitude had caused damage to the church in the wilderness. Before his death, Moses expressly commanded the people to forever forbid the Ammonites and Moabites from becoming a part of their congregation. This edict was put into place because of the Ammonites and Moabites refusal to help Israel when they came out of Egypt. To add insult to injury, they hired the false prophet, Balaam, to prophesy against Israel. (See Deuteronomy 23:4-6 and Numbers 22.) Now, once again, Israel had allowed the mixed multitude to corrupt the purity of their relationship with Jehovah.

The effect of the mixed multitude on Israel was costly and damaging. Israel lost their sacrifice, their reverence, and their identity. These three areas of backsliding were attributed, at least in part, to the presence of the mixed multitude. The influence of the modern day mixed multitude is equally as costly.

Loss of Sacrifice

Mahatma Gandhi, once the Prime Minister of India, said that seven things would destroy a nation: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, business without ethics, science without humanity, politics without principle, and religion without sacrifice.

The Bible records the following story regarding the loss of sacrifice in the Temple of God: “And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests” (Nehemiah 13:4-5).

Eliashib, the priest, was related to Tobiah, an Ammonite. To accommodate Tobiah, Eliashib combined several rooms of the Temple, converting them into living quarters for Togiah. This alone was unthinkable. Worse was the fact that the rooms Tobiah occupied were designed and built to store the sacrifices of worship to the Lord. These sacrifices provided income for the Levites and priests. Israel allowed an arch enemy, Tobiah, to take up residence in the house of the Lord, displacing sacrifice. With no room to store sacrifices, there was no provision for the ministry. The Levites were forced out of the ministry and returned to their hometowns to work. (See Nehemiah 13:1-14.) As they were to learn, the loss of sacrifice is more expensive than the cost of sacrifice.

The mixed multitude had no concept of the need for sacrifice. They never will. Sacrifice must always be in the heart of the church. The church was purchased by the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ. Our foundation of apostles and prophets is stained with the sacrifice of martyrs’ blood. This gospel was spread throughout the world by the sacrificial giving of people like the Macedonians, who gave themselves and their financial resources in a great trial of affliction and a time of deep poverty. (See 2 Corinthians 8:2.)

Nehemiah did not take the loss of sacrifice sitting down. His scathing rebuke to the elders (whose responsibility it was to organize the offerings) was in the form of a question, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” (Nehemiah 13:11).

He evicted Tobiah from the Temple and threw his furnishings out into the street. Then Nehemiah restored the Temple area to its original use, organizing the distribution of the offerings. He brought the Levites and priests back into service to do the work of the Lord.

Genuine revival will always be accompanied by a spirit of sacrificial giving of ourselves and our money. In fact, sacrificial giving is a catalyst to revival. Whatever is occupying the place of sacrifice in your life must be removed so that true sacrifice and ministry can be restored.

Loss of Reverence

In the fourth commandment, the Lord decreed that Israel should “Honor the Sabbath day to keep it Holy” (Exodus 20:8). Greed caused the people to profane the Sabbath by working, buying and selling. They were treading out winepresses, bringing in sheaves and other goods, and conducting business on the Sabbath. As a result, they also lost their testimony, by allowing the merchants and sellers to come into the city on the Sabbath. (See Nehemiah 13:15-22.) The materialistic Jews and the mixed multitude thought they could squeeze out a little more income by adding another day to their work week.

Their lack of reverence was also a lack of trust. The Lord promised to provide for them if they would obey His commandment to honor a day of rest. Nehemiah reacted by closing down the city on the evening of the Sabbath, shutting the gates and sending the non-Jewish salesmen packing. Some defied Nehemiah’s order once or twice. He told them to obey or be permanently evicted. Nehemiah brought reverence back to Jerusalem and with that reverence came a revived people.

In the New Testament we do not keep a literal Sabbath, but we still show reverence for the things of God. True reverence for God is a key to revival, for reverence honors God.

Loss of Identity

The mixed multitude that had been allowed to live among the Israelites did exactly what their name implies. They mixed themselves into the nation of Israel, diluting their spiritual potency. In Jerusalem's backslidden condition, they had married heathen wives. The interaction and intermarriage of Israel with ungodly peoples led to a falling away from truth and commitment to the Lord.

Here is the account given by Nehemiah: “In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people” (Nehemiah 13:23).

Many of the children from these marriages, possibly as many as half of them, could not speak the Hebrew language, but spoke the language of their heathen mothers. As a result, the children born of these mixed marriages could not be educated in the Word of God. The very foundation of their faith, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," was written and taught in the Hebrew language (Deuteronomy 6:4). The hope of hearing the words of life was gone because spiritually drifting Hebrew men married into a mixed multitude.

With the loss of Israel’s identity, Nehemiah was pushed to radical action. He pronounced a curse on those living in disobedience. He actually smote them and pulled out their hair. He made them commit that they would not make the same mistake with their children that they had made in their own lives.

When Nehemiah saw Israel’s departure from the faith, he recalled the backsliding of Solomon and brought it before the people: “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin” (Nehemiah 13:26).

We cannot allow such a problem to dilute the power of the apostolic church. We must imprint our young people with an apostolic Identity. We are not merely trying to preserve a culture - we are “earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

Ministers and parents should ask themselves a few questions about the identity of their children: Are your children doctrinally literate? Do they know what they believe and why they believe it? Do they relate to a move of the Spirit? Do your children understand holiness? Are they fluent in the gifts of the Spirit? Do your children speak the “language” of the church?

We cannot allow a generation to lose their apostolic identity. We must keep the purity of the church, lest it be diluted and absorbed into the world around us. If we lose our identity, we are just a generation away from nominal religion.

The mixed multitude wants to be part of the church for the blessing, but do not step forward when called upon to sacrifice. They refuse the balance of discipline along with their blessing. They want to be delivered from crisis, but not discipled to Christ. They don’t want trouble in the world, but they reject truth in the church.

The mixed multitude represents a spiritual condition of people who are of the church but not in the church. They accompany true Israel, without being partakers of the Divine nature and walking in the Spirit. They are the dead branches on the vine and the tares that grow among the wheat. (See John 15:6; Matthew 13:24-30.)

While the church should open its doors wide to the lost, we must make sure that we do not compromise the new birth message. We cannot disciple an unconverted person. It takes the Acts 2:38 experience to make a new creation in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:17.) We need to preach true repentance; a change of heart, mind and life direction; away from sin and toward God. We must not compromise baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins. We cannot compromise the necessity of the infilling of the Holy Ghost, with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. Beyond the new birth, we must emphasize total commitment to Jesus Christ as a way of life.




This article was written by Pastor Darrell Johns and printed in the June 2008 edition of the Pentecostal Herald. Thanks to Bro. Johns for allowing me to post this on our website.

[1] The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Way. The Truth. The Life.

For more information go to ACTS 2:38!

Backslidden crack addict is DELIVERED!

I'd like for you to meet Tony Cannon. He was raised in church as a kid, but like some, he rebelled in his teenage years. He ended up hanging out with the wrong crowd and started skipping church to hang out with his "friends." He followed the path to drinking, smoking and eventually was introduced to crack cocaine in 2004. Since 2004, Tony's crack addiction has had him in and out of rehab, but never able to get complete victory until he walked through the doors of Revival Center.

After being backslidden (out of church) for 28 years and addicted to crack for 4 years, Tony called me Sunday morning, April 27th for directions. Tony's parents parents had not stopped praying everyday for their son's deliverance and Mom Cannon had given him my number to call because he desperately needed God. So, he called, got directions and showed up for our 11:30 AM pre-service Prayer time. Prayer time was energetic and passionate and the atmosphere was charged with excitement, anticipation, faith and expectation. I went back and introduced myself to Tony and he got straight to the point, telling me he had traded his car in that weekend for "one more hit" of crack, and spent his whole paycheck, had been a crack addict for 4 years, out of church since he was a teenager and needed God "today!" I looked at Tony and told him that he was at the right place.

As our service progressed, we had our normal time of praying for the sick in accordance to James 5, by anointing them with oil and laying hands on them. Tony decided to come down and get prayed for, and few minutes later his sins were being forgiven, he was DELIVERED from his crack addiction and God filled him with the Holy Ghost, evidenced by talking in tongues (Acts 2:1-4, 38). Jesus promised this Pentecostal experience in Luke 24, it came to pass in Acts 2 and it's still being poured out today to ANYONE who wants it!

Our church rallied behind Tony and we've been praying and fasting for him everyday. Tony testified that the devil had been telling him that God would not accept him back because of all of the things he'd done, but he found out that the devil was just lying because God DID accept him back!

Since his deliverance, we've met everyday doing Bible Studies and talking back and forth to keep him focused and on the right track. Tony got re-Baptized Wednesday night, April 30th, in the NAME of JESUS Chirst and all of his sins, his past was washed away! I remember him hugging me when he came out of the water and just kept saying, "It's GONE, it's GONE!"

(2 Corinthians 5:17/KJV) says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Tony Cannon is a NEW man today and it's all because of the GRACE, MERCY, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, COMPASSION, WORD and POWER of God! If God can DELIVER a 28 year backslidden crack addict, HE CAN DELIVER YOU TOO!

Alexandria Sawyer's Baby Dedication

We dedicated Alexandria Sawyer to the Lord on Sunday, May 4th. At Revival Center baby dedications are a special time where the parents are reminded and instructed to take their responsibility of "training up the child" very seriously.

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses didn't give the parents a recommendation or give them a suggestion, he commanded that the parents teach, talk and train their children about the necessity of loving the one true God with all of their heart, soul and strength. It was not just a nice thing for the parents to consider, it was a necessary part of their childs' life. One translation even uses the word, "impress," to explain the process. So, we as parents are to impress upon the minds and emotions of our children the Word of God, Biblical Truths, and Moral Values that will help them in making right choices.

Congratulations to the Sawyer family and God Bless you as you train up little Alexandria to love God and put Him first in everything she does!

Pastor Jerry Patterson PREACHED The WORD!

It was an honor to have Pastor Jerry Patterson preach for us again this past Sunday. He is no stranger to Revival Center, and as always he brought a Word from God! His title was simply, "People On The Rock."

He took his text from (Matthew 16:18/KJV) where it says, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this ROCK I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Brother Patterson preached with passion but more importantly, he preached under the anointing of the Holy Ghost and reminded us that we better NOT get too far from the ROCK! He reminded us that the ROCK was NOT a denomination, or an organization. The ROCK is the Revelation of the Mighty God in Christ. The ROCK was revealed and it was promised to the Church that IF we stayed ON the ROCK, the gates of Hell could NOT prevail! NOTHING can stop the ROCK Church!

He also, reminded us that the ROCK was a HOLY ROCK! The ROCK Church is STILL a SEPARATED Church and "loose liberal living" wasn't acceptable in the ROCK Church! The ROCK Church is also a GIVING Church. "People On The Rock" are GIVERS. They bring the "TITHE" to God, that already belongs to Him AND they give "OFFERINGS" too!

Thank You Brother Patterson for preaching the WORD to us! We are determined to stay on the ROCK where satan himself can't get to us! I'm grateful for the ROCK!

Join us for REVIVAL

You are invited to join us for REVIVAL with special guest, Evangelist Cort Chavis & Family!

The service schedule is as follows:

Friday, April 4th @ 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 5th @ 7:30 PM

Sunday, April 6th @ 12:00 PM

Make plans now to be at REVIVAL!