Already people are starting to ask me what I think about what some are calling the Lakeland Outpouring in Florida, USA. It seems that thousands are already making the pilgrimage to "catch the anointing" and bring it home.

That alone makes me wonder about people’s motivation. Will they return to obscurity to simply do the work of the Father they’re now empowered for, or are they going in the hope that they may be the next great superstar ministry to bring revival to their city? That’s a little cynical, I know, but it’s a question that needs to be asked.

I recently even had a well-meaning friend call me saying, "Oh Kerry, this is the BIG ONE!"

Really?

Sometimes discernment can be a funny thing. You don’t know why you know something, you just know you know .. y’know?  Well, in response to those who are already asking, I would like to offer Robert Holmes’ and Brian Medway’s collective response to Lakeland as an answer, which you can also read at Storm Harvest, since it strongly reflects my own thoughts and concerns.

The Lakeland Outpouring and Todd Bentley
by Robert Holmes & Brian Medway

We are whole hearted supporters of revival, and certainly the renewed focus on the miracle working aspects of the gospel. We love the documented testimonies being shared by Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton of www.ibethel.org in California. Fervour for God, and a desire to see revival are good and godly things. A renewed interest in ministering with angels, prophetic ministry and sharing the testimony of Christ in these last days is admirable too (Revelation 19:10).

So how about Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Florida phenomena? More than a dozen Christian leaders have written to us in the past week, asking what our take on all this was, and whether we thought this was a genuine move of God. That we cannot tell you – for neither of us has been over to it. For reasons outlined below, we have no intention of going. What is being broadcast (also outlined in more detail below) in Lakeland leaves us rather disturbed.

A close ministry associate hosted Todd Bentley in Melbourne, Australia, and can testify to the positive influence he had during events a few years ago. Indeed heaven touched earth. Another ministry associate in Nigeria testified to the genuine miracles and healings which took place there under his ministry. A friend in Carolina testified to Todd’s recent honour toward older prophetic men such as Paul Cain and Bob Jones. This is all good.

By no means do we wish to encourage heresy hunting, or criticism of other sincere brethren. What do we gain by spending time and energy criticizing others? What do we gain spending time and energy publishing material denouncing others, let us seek Christ. Our reason for writing is to sound a warning, to refocus our attention on things that are true and things which really matter…

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Technology speaks as a mirror reflecting a powerful Kingdom principle. Let me explain …
 
I do a fair bit of work in broadcasting. Earlier today, I was standing in the Master Control Room at Sydney’s 1032, one of the Christian radio stations I work for, and was chatting with the station’s chief technician. We were marvelling at how things in that room had changed since the days when both of us worked for 2WS, the previous radio station to own the studio complex.
 
Equipment racks that once filled the room with analogue broadcasting gear have now been reduced to a quarter of those originally needed because of newer digital technology. Huge cable ducts that were built into the concrete slab floor of the room are now empty channels, as all of the audio cabling has been transferred to a handful of CAT6 networking cables.
 
I said to Jack, "Hasn’t this room changed?!"  He then took me to a rack unit and showed me some new servers being installed. In comparison with some of the older ones yet to be replaced, these new ones are tiny! And Jack said, ".. but they’re filled with terabytes."
 
I replied that it "… was amazing how everything was becoming smaller but more powerful." And then, when going our separate ways, I joked with Jack saying, "It’s just like old age .. you get smaller, but you get more powerful!"
 
We laughed … but then God spoke to me. "It’s the same in the Kingdom", He said, "The smaller you get, the more powerful you become".
 
What a truth!  And what a lifetime challenge!  Because everything about my fallen humanity wants to become bigger, to have more and to become higher in profile. But the "smaller" I get, the more of Jesus I reflect, and ultimately, the more powerful I become in the Kingdom as a result.
 
Oh, that we would learn this lesson!

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Over this coming week, I plan to make a number of entries on the Wind Farm as a way of providing my reasons and "resonances" for our Book Reading. You can read the relevant chapters of the antique book I gained permission to reprint here.

As you’re probably aware, for well over a year, I have been reading and researching the wisdom, principles and values of Christian monastics. Interestingly, I have discovered that many who ask to hear what I’ve been up to lately, are extremely interested in the subject and the material … until  I make the "fateful" mistake of mentioning the word monastic in the course of sharing. The moment that happens, it seems as though their eyes glaze over and suddenly I have lost them.

I’ve been asking myself, is it because I’m on a wrong search?  Could it be that the whole idea of monasticism sounds just too Roman Catholic for the Protestants I relate to and am a part of?  Or is it that in our post-modern Western culture, we have forgotten that the key to finding the way forward is more often than not, to look back?

I think we’ve grown so enamoured with the concepts of "bigger and better", "brighter and shinier", "smaller and faster" that we’ve subliminally chosen to discount almost anything historical in favour of "all things new". Now, while God is most certainly the God who is able to make all things new, He is also the Ancient of Days. He is the alpha and omega. He indeed is our end, but we must remember that He has also been there since before the beginning! Let’s face it, He Himself is the the greatest writer of history the world has ever known!  I mean, have you read your Bible lately??

I believe, in our desire to "have everything", we’ve chewed it all up, spat it all out and been left with nothing of any real value .. and, in recent years, the mass exodus from church as we’ve known it is a dead giveaway that people are realising they’re dying from a diet of "processed" Christianity.

My wife, Jo, and I sometimes watch a lifestyle show on TV about property development called The Property Ladder. While it may seem a strange subject, there are remarkable parellels with why I’m sharing this. In the program, a highly experienced and successful property developer helps first-timers with their new developments. Invariably we see the same thing again and again. Sarah, the experienced developer, is brought in by these first-timers so they can glean and learn from her advice .. and when she makes suggestions, they almost always counter her advice with an "I know better" attitude. It annoys me so much, I even end up talking to the TV!! 

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A Word for America ..  

On the 3rd February, 2008, the biggest day in American football rolled around for another year. Millions across the United States were again glued to their televisions for the outcome of the NFL SuperBowl .. a televised battle-royale watched this time by more people than in the history of the game.

Within days of the result of the SuperBowl being known, I received some insight from the Lord for the United States; about a season that is coming "soon". Let me set the scene for you so you can understand how I received this insight …

Being in Australia, I did not watch the game and only heard the outcome as a passing news story on the radio. But, according to all those in the know, the outcome of the SuperBowl was going to be no surprise. The New England Patriots had been undefeated in every single game of their season. They were the clear favourites based on their past form. The New York Giants had not seen results quite as good, but their form was sufficient to see them playing in the biggest game of the year. Staggeringly, on the day, a massive upset took place .. the New York Giants, considered the underdogs, convincingly triumphed over the previously undefeated New England Patriots … and it was after hearing the outcome that the Lord gave me some unexpected insight …

Now, before we get into the specifics, allow me to preface this insight by saying a few things:

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In recent years, my desperate and growing desire has been to reconnect with the ancient nature of the Christian faith, to feel a genuine connection to the kind of Christianity that was expressed and experienced by the Apostles who walked with Jesus and by those who followed after the day of Pentecost when the church was born.

My reasoning has been that, for too long, I had been involved in an expression of church with only one hundred years of history. Why is that a big deal? Well, tragically, most of the history specific to the Pentecostal faith tradition was thrown out in the early 1980’s because the new generation of leaders seemed to have no capacity to carry the depth and strength of the Spirit of God at work in their midst, making it all the more shallow and causing churches and leaders to be prone to adolescent know-it-all behaviour when comparing themselves to the rest of the "church universal".

When I first became a part of a cutting-edge Pentecostal church in Western Sydney in the late 80’s, it was nothing out of the ordinary for the Spirit of God to display Himself in power through regular salvations, spontaneous healings, powerful deliverances and the genuine manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit through ordinary believers as normal expressions of a church gathering.

Oddly, or so it seemed to me at the time, over only a handful of years, all of these practices were slowly relegated to the back room or were dissuaded in public gatherings altogether. And slowly, but surely, the new generation of leaders who had no capacity to carry the depth and strength of the Spirit of God at work in their midst, lost what God had given and began to replace Him with a lot of razzle-dazzle to fool their congregations into thinking everything was still alright. 

The fact is .. it was not, and still is not, alright!

We may be seeing bums on seats en-mass in some mega-churches, but what we’re not seeing en-mass are generations of Christians who are true disciples of Christ, understanding His ways, living out the nature of His Kingdom on the earth and who are cultivating their lifetime love-affair with the One who will soon be their bridegroom.

We don’t know how to pray. We don’t know how to engage with the Scriptures so that they lead us to an encounter with the Word of God; that is, the person of Christ. We don’t know how to order our days so that we dwell in the awareness of the presence of God, making Him the priority of our lives. We have no real clue about spiritual practices that will sustain us and we are lost when it comes to the formation of intentional community because we have become so used to the sterile world of anonymous church attendance.

So, by now I’m sure you’re asking, what’s brought on this "riff"?

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A Note from Kerry:  This is clearly a matter for serious prayer. Both my friend Robert Holmes and I have been saying prophetically that a terrorist attack is coming to Australia. This confirms our concerns to some degree.

You can read Robert’s predictive prophecy about a coming terrorist attack at the Australian Prophetic Round Table website.

Be aware that there is some "colorful" language in the article, but it is a direct reprint of the article in The Australian.

AUSTRALIA faces a "London-type bombing" if relations between Muslims and the intelligence and police authorities do not improve, an influential Islamic youth leader has warned.

Fadi Rahman, who runs one of Sydney’s biggest youth centres at Lidcombe in the city’s southwest, said overseas Islamic elements were attempting to radicalise Muslim youth with their hardline ideologies.

But in a warning that will resonate with Australian authorities, Mr Rahman said Muslims did not trust ASIO or the Australian Federal Police and that the bungled terror case against Gold Coast doctor Mohamed Haneef had worsened the situation.

"The biggest problem ASIO and the federal police have is that no one in the Islamic community trusts them enough to give them a heads-up about anything," Mr Rahman told The Australian.

"Look at the Haneef thing – why would we trust these guys when all you see is one fumble after another? People are afraid."

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The last week of quietness has been deeply beneficial. As I’ve been quiet, it’s become clear that I need to share something with you. I present the following for your consideration …

Almost two years ago, after I resigned my position in leadership of our church at the time, I began seeking God for a new experience of church. Something with more depth, more life, more liberty, more connection to the ancient nature of our Christian faith rather than the shallowness of what has become the norm for most Pentecostal environments. I was looking to God for something more authentic, more substantial, with a sense of richness and heritage that could be coupled with the joyous truths I had come to know over my years of growing in the Spirit and in things prophetic.

During that time of earnest seeking, God showed me a vision of a group of tall wind turbines standing near one another on a windy hill .. just like the image you see above.

Visions are rarely blatant statements. They are metaphors; images and language designed to illustrate and point us to an underlying truth. Metaphors are the regular diet of the prophetic. They are the language of God.

Upon seeing this vision of a group of tall wind turbines standing near one another on a windy hill, I asked the Lord what I was looking at and heard Him tell me that He was looking for groups of people who were deeply and firmly rooted in the foundations of the ancient nature of the Christian faith, making them immovable, unshakable against the storms of life and the whims of fancy. People able to stand tall in the things they believe and practice.

However, He made it clear that being immovable and unshakable does not mean inflexible. For, like the head of a wind turbine, God was looking for these same people to be able to discern the direction and be willing to turn their faces into the wind of the Spirit, converting the power of that Godly breeze into something usable and sustainable on the earth for the good of all people.

This may sound high-falootin’, but it isn’t really. Not if you stop and think about it.

Put simply, I believe God is looking to build communities of people who can take the best of the ancient wisdom and practices of our spiritual forefathers and learn to combine it with the insights and somewhat restored (yet still spasmodic) manifestations of the early church, to create a depth and substance of Christian spirituality and community experience, that so many are longing for in our day.

With all that in mind, tomorrow I’ll tell you about an "experiential experiment" we intend embarking on as early next month, designed to begin testing the waters of this vision.

Stay tuned …..

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Today’s Scripture reading completely blew me away …

‘. . . everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: ‘How happy are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall have your fill. Blessed are you who are weeping now: you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look!—your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets. But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have plenty to eat now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who are laughing now: you shall mourn and weep. Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’        Luke 6:19–26

I was moved deeply to pray for all those Christians in our churches who have been sold a lie, that the pursuit of material prosperity is a Godly goal. If we believe Jesus’ words to be true, then what are we to do with prosperity doctrine when it flies so contrarily in the face of Christ’s own words?

How much more plain must Jesus be, that we finally get it?  "How happy are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours."  "But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now."

Why would you want your consolation now, when your coming reward is intended to be so great?

If we profess to follow Christ, if we profess to believe His word, and yet live lives contrary to His plain and simple language .. what are we to do?

Editor:  Be sure to read the comments on this to see it unpacked further.

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I was just praying the Evening Office from the Northumbria Community and read this Celtic expression of faith that speaks deeply to the day we find ourselves in .. particularly the final stanza. Perhaps it might become a "seasonal creed" if there were such a thing. A statement of what we believe (credo) for the "God appointed season" (kairos) in which we find ourselves.

Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always kept
me safe in trials;
and now, tried as I am,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened
this darkness of mine;
and though the night is here,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken
when time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.

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I’ve decided to sieze what I believe is a unique moment in time to exploit some emerging technologies for the benefit of others. It was Jesus who said "freely you have received, freely give". So, I’ve begun the redevelopment of The Green Tree site as a learning portal specifically for The Green Tree Prophetic Ministry School curriculum.

I’m in a season where it remains the Lord’s pleasure for me to be at home with my family and to stay focussed on my broadcasting opportunities. However, given this window of opporunity where a multitude of communications technologies have made the distance from each other inconsequential, I was prompted to ask myself "why should my time of staying at home mean that this material couldn’t still be "taught" using the amazing gift of the Internet?" The obvious answer to that question can be found at The Green Tree.

As a result, all people, everywhere now have the opportunity to study The Green Tree Prophetic Ministry School manuals on-line, in their own home, in their own time .. FREE OF CHARGE !!

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