For change to happen in any area of your life, whether it’s financial, vocational, educational, mental or relational, you have to begin with the physical.

Why? It’s because your body affects your behavior. Your muscles affect your moods and your motivation. Your physiology can actually affect your psychology.

Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship“ (MEV).

The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can choose to crawl off the altar. We do this all the time. We offer ourselves to God, and then we take ourselves back. This is not a once-for-all offer. You’ve got to do it four, five or maybe 10 times a day!

So what is your “true and proper worship”? There are three things you can do with your body that the Bible says are acts of worship:

1. Cleanse your body. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” You cleanse your body by controlling what you allow in your mind through what you watch and listen to and in your body by what you eat and drink.

2. Care for your body. Ephesians 5:29 says, “No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church” (NLT, second edition). Keeping your body in shape is an act of worship to God.

3. Control your body. “Each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable” (1 Thess. 4:4 NIV). Control your body so that it doesn’t control you. There is no reason to say, “I couldn’t help myself!”

No matter what kind of change you want to make in your life, it will require energy. To have the energy to meet your goals, change has to start with your body.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick.

Talk It Over

• What are the practical ways you can honor God through your body today?
• What are the small ways you need to work on controlling your body? What are the big ways?
• How does Christ “feed and care for the church”? Why do you think God wants you to do the same with your body? {eoa}

Rick Warren  New York Times best-seller The Purpose Driven Life. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of , a global Internet community for pastors.

For the original article, visit .

We at the American Family Association are announcing that we are immediately suspending use of PayPal payment services in an effort to expose the company for threatening states and trying to force them to go against the will of the people.

Our decision comes after PayPal announced earlier this month it was, in essence, threatening the state of North Carolina, which recently passed a law that would require people to use the bathroom of the gender assigned on their birth certificate.

Shortly after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed HB2, PayPal announced it was pulling plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte, which would have created 400 new jobs with an investment of $3.6 million in the area. Consequently, we are cancelling our use of PayPal and encourage other organizations, as well as the hundreds of thousands of individual AFA supporters, to do the same.

READ: PayPal Scorns Conservative Americans While Embracing Cuban Communists

Moral bankruptcy and sexual anarchy are now exposing our women and children to harm and abuse. As a pro-family organization that continually works to strengthen and protect families across America, we cannot sit idly by while a company like PayPal supports laws that put families at risk and punishes the state of North Carolina for protecting women and children. This is not about discrimination; this is about whether we want men to be allowed to enter the restrooms of our wives and daughters. Each individual at birth is biologically a male or female. This law simply ensures that men use men’s restrooms and women use women’s restrooms.”

AFA continues to support the North Carolina law, and other similar laws, that protect women and children by preventing them from being left vulnerable to predators. The bullying by PayPal over common sense legislation must come to a halt.

It is astounding that Fortune 500 companies are ruining their reputation over a law that ensures men and women use separate restrooms. Many of these same corporations, including PayPal, are doing business in Saudi Arabia—a country in which homosexuals are fined, jailed or killed for their lifestyle. Yet where is the action there? This is the very definition of hypocrisy! It is understandable if companies lobby for a lower corporate tax or for more grants, but to weigh in on a bathroom bill is nonsense. If you have a PayPal account, join American Family Association and cancel it today.

Germany was the birthplace of the Reformation and was once a base for world missions. But much of Germany today is covered by a profound spiritual darkness, as are most Western nations.

Those who refuse to compromise on the teaching of Scripture pay a price.

Bremen Pastor Olaf Latzel knows full well that there is a cost for speaking out boldly—especially in today’s Germany, where traditional Christian teaching is viewed by many as bigoted, hateful and even “un-Christian.”

Latzel has been attacked in the media, investigated by the local government, and even denounced by fellow pastors. His crime? Refusing to bend a knee to political correctness.

No Compromise

“I’m only preaching the gospel in a clear way,” Latzel said. “I think it is my duty to do this preaching in this way for our Lord.”

In his sermons, Latzel cuts no corners. He soft-pedals nothing. To some, he might sound mean when he attacks other religions.

But Latzel is standing against what he sees as a spirit of compromise that seems to have swallowed Germany and the German state church.

In the process, he has angered the German establishment and even a lot of German pastors.

Latzel said the chief battle in the German church today now is over who God is.

According to Latzel, some Christian pastors have said, “Allah and Jesus Christ, the Christian God, are the same god.”

“But if you ask a Muslim, ‘Does your god have a son?’ he would say no!” he continued. “Our (Christian) God has a Son; His name is Jesus Christ. So they are not the same.”

“If you speak out loud and clearly about the truth of the Bible, that there’s only one way to heaven and this way is Jesus Christ, there is only one God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and there is no other god beside Him, then you have a problem,” he said.

READ: Hundreds of Muslims Convert to Christianity Amid Violent Persecution

Unsaved Pastors?

Seventy German pastors gathered in Bremen last year to denounce Latzel behind a banner celebrating “diversity.”

The public prosecutor investigated him for hate speech and then cleared him, and the Bremen parliament passed a resolution against him.

It was reportedly the first time a German pastor has been condemned by a German parliament since World War II.

But far from backing down, Latzel said the real problem is that, in his estimation, most pastors in Germany’s state church have not been born again.

“I think over 80 percent of the pastors in the national church in Germany are not reborn,” he said. “And that’s a great problem, and because of this, they make their own doctrine. The Bible is the Word of God; it’s our law, chapter by chapter, book by book, sentence by sentence, letter by letter.”

Latzel pastors at the historic St. Martini (St. Martin’s) Church in Bremen, where around 1679 the church’s pastor, Joachim Neander, wrote the great hymn, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”

Latzel enjoys saying that Pastor Neander also got in trouble for preaching the gospel boldly.

Some pastors would have been rattled by so many attacks against them. But Latzel, who comes from a family with a long military tradition, said he is in a “war” between Christ and the devil, and the attacks reassure him.

“This is one sign that you are on the right way in your preaching, when you get problems,” Latzel said. “If you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and everyone is clapping his hand, then you have a problem.”

“Because if you’re telling the truth from the Bible, then the devil will come and he will fight against you in several ways; he will fight against the Word of God,” he said.

A Tool in God’s Hand

In fact, Latzel admits his concern is not becoming discouraged but getting a big head.

“I (have received) more than 10,000 emails … so many persons came to me and said, ‘You are a great pastor,'” Latzel said. “And the more persons came and told me this, something happened inside me and, ‘Oh, I’m really this great pastor.'”

“And the devil comes here and says, ‘Yes, yes. You are great,’ and that’s not good,” he continued. “I am nothing. I am only a sinner. I am only a tool for Jesus Christ. And when Jesus can use this tool, give any honor to Jesus Christ. I am nothing.”

The great hymn of St Martin’s Church says, “Let the amen come from His people again.” Latzel believes revival is coming to Germany and he asks Christians to pray for his country.

“I ask you, brothers and sisters in America, please pray for Germany. Pray for awakening,” he pleaded. “Pray that the Word of Jesus Christ will go out and reach persons who are lost so that Jesus can save them.”

In the heat of an intense campaign, even for surrogates, it’s easy to lose track of time and place.

And for the Donald Trump presidential campaign, two of the most prolific surrogates have been the Republican front-runner’s son Eric and daughter Ivanka. Unfortunately, neither of them will be voting for him next Tuesday in the New York Primary.

They forgot to register to vote as Republicans.

The New York Primary is a closed party primary, meaning only registered Republicans may vote in the Republican presidential primary. Eric and Ivanka Trump are both registered to vote, but without party affiliation, and they missed the deadline to change their affiliations to the GOP.

The Trump campaign—facing another self-inflicted embarrassment—admitted the mistake Monday. Donald Trump responded to the matter during an interview on FOX News:

“They had a longtime register and they were, you know, unaware of the rules, and they didn’t register in time. So they feel very, very guilty. They feel very guilty. But it’s fine. I understand that. I think they have to register a year in advance and they didn’t. So Eric and Ivanka, I guess, won’t be voting.”

The deadline to change party affiliation was Oct. 9, 2015. The loss of two votes probably won’t hurt Donald Trump’s chances of winning all 95 delegates in his home state; he is currently polling at 53.6 percent, according to Real Clear Politics, nearly 33 points ahead of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is polling in second place.

Just because you have never asked yourself, “What is my approach for knowing?” does not mean you don’t have one.

“How we know” is something philosophers have struggled with for thousands of years. They call it “epistemology” (a system for knowing). Before I knew of or reflected on my epistemology, I still had one. I was just not aware of it. It was not well-thought out, nor was it biblical.

Earlier Epistemologies I Held Which I’ve Now Set Aside as Being Inadequate

• If dad said it was true, it was true.
• If my teacher said it was true, it was true.
• If my college professor said it was true, it was true.
• If science said it was true, it was true.
• If one or several double blind studies said it was true, it was true.
• If my doctor said it was true, it was true.
• If my interpretation of the Bible said it was true, it was true.
• If reason and logic said it was true, it was true.
• If my senses told me it was true, it was true.

None of the above philosophies line up with how the Bible tells me to discover truth, so I have laid them all aside.

What Method Does Satan Recommend for Discovering Truth?

Figure it out yourself! Satan offered Eve his approach for discovering truth: You don’t really need these walks with God on a daily basis (i.e. you don’t need revelation knowledge or direct encounter with God), for “YOU can KNOW …” (Gen. 3:5). That temptation has developed into two false philosophies for knowing:

You = Humanism: Life centers in man’s human capacity.

Know = Rationalism: Life Centers in man’s reasoning capacity.

The following is an excerpt from John G. Lake’s article, The Power of the Name:

“In the beginning, man’s spirit was the dominant force in the world. When he sinned, his mind became dominant. Sin dethroned the spirit and crowned the intellect. But grace is restoring the spirit to its place of dominion. When man comes to realize this, he will live in the realm of the supernatural without effort.”

Rationalism and humanism are two false gods which I worshipped and followed during the early years of my Christian life. However, when I learned to hear God’s voice, He broke these two false gods within me (as I describe in 49 Lies and Naturally Supernatural) by training me that I could trust the flow of the Holy Spirit within me, drawing upon His wisdom, revelation and in-working power.

It was a tremendous battle to defeat these two false gods, as they were deeply entrenched in my life through my culture, my education, my natural disposition (i.e. to be a thinker), as well as my “Christian training” which taught me to work hard to keep God’s laws.

Replacing spirit encounter with thinking: Basically, up to that point in time, rather than having a Christian experience, I had a mentally reasoned Christian theology that involved a lot of grunting as I sought to walk in obedience to its demands. I distrusted all emotion, all experiences (especially spiritual experiences), and all imagination, and I trusted my reason, logic and self-effort. I now realize I was living life exactly backward.

How Can I Tell if I Have Satan’s Truth?

Satan’s “truth” moves you toward Satan’s character, which includes pride and accusation (Rev. 12:10; Prov. 16:18). You curse men, express bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, and seek to kill and destroy others (James 3:9-18). So we ask ourselves, “Do I honor and respect others as Jesus did and do I minister God’s grace to them (Matt. 14:14) or do I seek to destroy those with whom I disagree?”

I sought to kill! When I left Bible college, I did what Paul did when he left Bible school: I sought to destroy those who disagreed theologically with me. Being more civilized in the 20th century, I didn’t pursue their physical death. I just wholeheartedly threw myself into destroying their beliefs and their theological arguments, and if necessary, their reputations and their ministries.

And, of course, I believed I was doing God a favor in doing so. Obviously I too needed a Damascus road experience with the Living God, which I received and wrote about in 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.

What Did Albert Einstein Think of Rationalism?

• “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
• “I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.”
• “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
• “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” 
• “I want to know God’s thoughts. The rest are details.”

It is interesting to note that Albert Einstein came up with the theory of relativity by using the same four keys to hearing God’s voice that Habakkuk and John used (Hab. 2:1,2; Rev. 1:9-11: stillness, vision, spontaneity and journaling). Einstein was lying on his back on a grassy slope (stillness), gazing through half-closed eyelids, wondering what it would be like to ride on a ray of sunlight (vision), and intuitively the theory of relativity came to him (spontaneity). He went back to his office to prove it with mathematical formulas (journaling). Check out this Albert Einstein website.

What Does the Bible Say Is God’s Method for Discovering Truth?

Original intent—daily walks in the garden! God would speak to mankind in the cool of the day and share His love, wisdom, life and insights with us. The Bible is full of stories of those who lived this way. We were to live in fellowship with Him, hearing His voice, receiving His dreams and visions, trusting and obeying Him and doing nothing out of our own initiative (John 5:19, 20, 30; Acts 2:17).

How do we get back to the garden? We are to die daily to “self” and to “dead works” (Gal. 2:20; 1 Cor. 15:31; Heb. 6:1-2). Dead works are things I do on my own. Live works are things birthed by the Holy Spirit, through words of wisdom and knowledge, and miracles and healings (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

I am one through whom another flows. I am a vessel who contains another. I am a branch grafted into the vine. I am a temple who contains God. Truly, it is Christ living His life out through me, rather than simply me living.

Living by the Spirit is restoration to the Garden experience (Gal. 5:25). Living by the Spirit means we walk down the road of life seeing Jesus at our side (Heb. 12:1-2; Acts 2:25; Ps. 16:8), tuned to His Spirit’s flow within us, and living out of this flow of thoughts and pictures (John 7:37-39).

It is simple and childlike (Matt: 18:3). It is moving from me striving and me thinking and doing things on my own initiative to me tuned to flow with my eyes fixed on Jesus and releasing Christ out through my life. 

It Is the Holy Spirit Who Leads Us Into All Truth

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth … guides you into all truth (John 14:17; 16:13). So the Bible is clear: It is the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth. It’s amazing how I had diminished the work of the indwelling, illuminating Holy Spirit and replaced His work with my mind, my theology, my brain and my understanding of Scriptures. I now set aside my false gods of humanism, rationalism and Biblicism, and honor what Jesus has said and modeled in Scripture. It is the Holy Spirit Who is continuing to reveal all truth to me. Everything the Holy Spirit reveals will all be compatible with Scripture, even though it may not be detailed in Scripture.

Could a non-Christian receive truth from the Holy Spirit? Yes, the Bible is clear that God grants revelation to all (Gen. 41; Dan. 4). So I need to remain humble and meek (Matt. 5:5) and be open to learn from anyone! Remember we are to honor and love everyone (1 Pet. 2:17).

How Can I Tell if I Have God’s Truth?

God’s truth bears the fruit of His Spirit, producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22). James says God’s wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle and reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy, and causes us to bless men, rather than curse them (James 3:9-18). So the question is simple: “Is what I am learning producing the above attitudes and character traits in my life?”

It doesn’t need to be in the Bible: Our demand is not that something must be specifically taught in Scripture, but that things must be compatible with Scripture! Words like “Sunday school,” “rapture” and “trinity” are not mentioned in the Bible, but many Christians believe in these things because they feel they are compatible with the principles within Scripture. Not everything God knows or does is recorded in the Bible (John 16:12, 21:25).

Receiving confirming counsel: I experience safety in seeking out and honoring the advice of my two to three counselors or spiritual advisers (Prov. 11:14; 2 Cor. 13:1). On the flip side, the Bible nowhere instructs me to test things against my theology.

Leader’s paradigm: Explore “The Leader’s Paradigm” which contains six ways God can and does speak. When seeking guidance, it is wise not to move forward in a specific direction if any of these six indicators are flashing red, saying “NO.” {eoa}

For the original article, visit .

Phil Robertson from the Christian reality TV show Duck Dynasty performed the pre-race ceremony at the Duck Commander 500 on Saturday at the Texas Motor Speedway.

During the ceremony, Robertson prayed and thanked God for the Bible and for guns. 

“All right, Texas, we got here via Bibles and guns,” the 69-year-old Robertson said. “I’m fixing to pray to the one who made that possible.”

“Father, thank You for founding our nation. I pray, Father, that we don’t forget who brought us: You. Our faith in the blood of Jesus and His resurrection. Help us, Father, to get back to that,” Robertson prayed.

READ: ‘Duck Dynasty’ Patriarch Phil Robertson Announces Presidential Endorsement

Robertson continued to pray for the U.S. military and for the future leaders of the U.S. government.

“I pray, Father, that we put a Jesus-man in the White House. Help us do that and help us all to repent, to do what is right, to love You more and to love each other. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.”

The Robertson family has openly supported Republican conservative candidate Ted Cruz for presidency. 

Fellow co-star from Duck Dynasty Will Robertson sang the national anthem after the invocation.

Coincidentally or providentially, Newsweek magazine decided to place Jesus on its cover immediately following two large prayer gatherings, one in D.C.! Inquiring minds want to know: “What’s all this talk about Jesus Christ coming to our Nation’s Capital?”

Having lived in Washington, D.C., for 24 years and worked across the street from the White House, I know it’s unusual for this kind of talk and photo to be so prominent. A regular feature on a top-rated cable news show says it best: “What the heck just happened?”

Surveys reveal that over 80 percent of Americans feel our country is off track. Statistics continue revealing startling trends regarding our moral decline. People are reaching for answers, and it’s an undisputed fact that multitudes are saying it’s time to turn back to God!

Increasing numbers of citizens are saying the only way to “make America great again” is to get to the root problem, which is spiritual. And the starting point is to address leaders both spiritual and political.

One of the paramount problems in our nation still seems to be division, especially between races. Looking back at Ferguson and Baltimore and new incidents at political rallies, we all want to say that “black lives matter” except we don’t want to be identified with some of the polarizing, manipulative tactics being used by agitators and race-baiters.

My wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, not on the beach, but on our knees at times in the DC UnitedCry16 solemn assembly on Saturday. A central feature of this gathering was repentance and racial reconciliation. Members of Dr. Martin Luther King’s family were present, and there were public repentance and humbling for past racial sins.

Why Was the Turnout Low?

While the “Azusa Now” event in the LA Coliseum drew between 40,000-50,000, UnitedCry had an estimated 3,000. The evening before, when an array of about 100 leaders gathered for prayer, the primary organizer brought a prophetic word on Gideon’s army. Little did he know how serious the situation was to get.

We arrived at the beginning when Billy Graham’s daughter, Ann, spoke powerfully as we all stood in pouring rain, sleet, icy winds and freezing temperatures! In advance, authorities alerted us that if the wind was at a certain level, they would have to close it down for safety. There is no doubt that the horrendous weather factor kept multitudes away.

Mike Berry, one of our leadership team, told me that in his lifetime he has participated in three such racial reconciliation events. Every one experienced brutal weather.

• The Annapolis event in 2003 faced Hurricane Isabel scattering the masses, putting fear in people’s hearts.
• The Philadelphia event in 2012 saw Hurricane Sandy bearing down, once again blunting the potential for a huge attendance.
• The Washington, D.C., DC UnitedCry in 2016 was not about a sun-soaked, cherry blossom experience but rather brutal weather conditions that scared masses away.

Jesus rebuked an ominous storm. Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Was what just occurred in the Nation’s Capital coincidental? Satan “knows that his time is short” (Rev. 12:12).

For all who participated in Saturday’s solemn assembly, we may have left a bit soaked, but we also left encouraged and greatly inspired by the experience. I personally believe that the adversary is stirring things up in the heavenly realms because he realizes that Jesus is coming to Washington and L.A. and Atlanta and Nashville and New York and every city with the spiritual awakening for which we all pray.

During an interview with WABC’s Rita Cosby, former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson—who now serves as a campaign surrogate for Donald Trump—had some Bible-based advice for the GOP front-runner.

The host asked Carson if he had any advice for his former campaign rival. The retired neurosurgeon did, indeed:

“I would say read the Bible and pray. And learn how to put yourself in other people’s shoes. That’s what did it for me. As many people know, I used to have a pretty horrible temper. And I came to understand after that attempt to stab another youngster that to lash out at people was not a sign of strength but rather a sign of weakness. It meant that other people could control you and that the environment could control you.”

Carson called Trump “an amazing individual,” praising his stamina and an ability to “go through all this” on the campaign trail. He said the billionaire has had to fend off a lot of “unfair criticism.”

“It’s not an easy task,” he said. “And the faint of heart will not undertake it.”

Then Carson turned to the biggest complaint many have had about the GOP front-runner’s candidacy. He said Trump needs to be his “real self,” not the caricature he created for the hit reality TV program The Apprentice.

“The biggest problem is that people don’t see the real man here,” he said. “You see the television personality, the reality TV personality. That’s not the real person. And he’s got to find a way to let people see the real Donald Trump. And I think they’ll be much more comfortable with that individual.

“I don’t think it will be an overnight transition. But I think you’re gonna start seeing that transition. And what I’ve said continually is this is a man who heads up a huge empire worldwide. And he clearly has the ability to delegate. He couldn’t possibly run all of that by himself. And more importantly, it’s so hard to find anybody who’s worked for him who doesn’t like him. Which means he’s fair to people.

“All up and down the line from the top to bottom. And that’s something I think that we need right now. Because what we’ve had in recent years, depending on who’s in office, is, ‘this is my favorite group. These people should get special treatment.’ Everybody should get special treatment.”

Carson, who won over a lot of people early on with his own humility, encouraged Trump to adopt a more humble approach to the campaign trail, even when he’s being attacked. He urged the candidate to open his Bible to a particular passage.

“Proverbs 19:11 says, ‘The glory of a man to pass over a transgression,'” he said. “Just because somebody does something wrong, you don’t have to jump up and down.”

Yesterday, we read how John in 1 John 4:1-6 warns us of the spirit of Antichrist that we heard was coming in the form of false prophets. And that we are not to believe every spirit, but we are to test them to see if they are of God or not.

Then Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 about false prophets that transform themselves into prophets of Christ. We are not to be gullible, but be responsible and try the spirits.

Peter also warns us in 2 Peter 2:1-3 of false prophets and false teachers and their destructive heresies, and that many will follow after their destructive ways.

These false prophets and false teachers by the evil power of deception camouflage themselves to be like us. And their numbers are increasing in these last days.

The thought that there is deception in the camp of the Lord is discouraging. The fact that many will be led astray from the faith is even more disheartening. But these warnings are not meant to detour us from walking in the supernatural; they are to help us not be foolhardy. They are to aid us in being wise and able to discern true gold from fool’s gold and walking in the true power of the supernatural.

This is why we need to do as the Lord instructs us: “Try the spirits.” Evaluate or judge them; put them on trial according to the Word of God. We are the judge; the message is the defendant. The Bible is our law book that we base our judgment upon, and we are to judge the message. There are only two choices: Either the message is true or the message is false. Does the message line up with the law book, the Bible? Or do we have to compromise the truth of the Bible in an area to approve the message?

A good judge is not swayed by emotions, but has studied the law books and with wisdom implements the law. To make good judgments, we need to know what the law books says. In order to have a fair trial, the truth needs to be revealed. In order for the truth to be revealed, the message needs to be examined according to the Word of God. We cannot rightly judge unless we have studied God’s law, His Word. We are instructed in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We are the ones who are to study the Word of God for ourselves; we are the ones who need to try the spirits; and we are the ones who are to judge the message according to the Word of God. Is the message true or false?

The evil one, Satan, and his demonic force are experts at being wicked. Through trial and error they have found our weakness and will appear as angels of light, false prophets and false teachers to cause us to fall into destruction. If they see we do not read and study the Bible on a consistent basis, they will bring false teachers and false prophets our way. Then before we know it, we could find ourselves in ruins because we believed a false prophet who declared the world was going to end yesterday. We foolishly believed that he could predict the return of the Lord when Jesus Christ clearly states in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” In our eagerness for the Lord’s return, we willfully believed the charismatic personality and are now broke and bitter because we did not “try the spirits.” We did not take the time to rightly evaluate, judge or put the message on trial to see if this message lined up with the written Word of God. {eoa}

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the Destiny Image author of DARE to Believe and Greater Than Magic. Visit her at .

The winds blew and the rains fell on TheCall Aszua Now, but that didn’t stop tens of thousands of people from weathering the storms at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the same venue where Billy Graham preached the gospel to over 134,000 in 1963. 

If anything, the adversity intensified the determination of the masses to cry out to God in what became for 15 hours an outdoor house of prayer in the heart of California. 

“William Seymour, the catalyst of that great revival, prophesied in 1913 that in roughly 100 years another revival far eclipsing Azusa would come,” says Lou Engle, founder of TheCall. “The fulfillment of Seymour’s word is overdue … or right on schedule. Let us therefore “pray for the rain in the time of the latter rain.” Who knows? Maybe like those who were baptized in the Spirit in the original Acts 2 upper room, we will say, “This is that which was spoken by William Seymour the prophet!” 

Of course, Seymour wasn’t there and Graham wasn’t there, but Christ for All Nations’ Daniel Kolenda preached the gospel and, instead of George Beverly Shea, a new breed of worshippers—including Bethel Live, Eddie James and Roy Fields—lifted up praises to Jesus. Although the final count isn’t in and the stadium wasn’t full because of the miracle rain that drenched a city in drought, some say there were between 60,000 and 75,000 people at this historic event that aligned with the 110th anniversary of the Azusa Street outpouring. 

Cindy Jacobs, co-founder of Generals International, released a prophesy that caused a roar from the stadium stands: “This is that which the prophets foretold. I’m getting ready to open up the greatest generation of young evangelists the world has ever known.” 

Dutch Sheets, the founder of the Appeal to Heaven Movement, took the stage to tell the world—multiplied thousands were watching the live stream on GodTV—that God is not done with America. He told the story of how God revealed a new strategy for prayer that is sweeping the nation. “Today’s 15-hour gathering to worship and pray was epic. Lot of great moments from Asuza Now gathering in Los Angeles.” 

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Indeed, social media were ablaze with the #azusanow hashtag as praying believers found inspiration in gathering together to literally act out 2 Chronicles 7:14.  

Sean Fuecht, founder of the 24/7 Burn movement, insists “history cannot ignore this sound.” 

“The course of my life was changed at 16 while lying face down, weeping in the grace on the Mall in D.C. during the first Call gathering. I’ve joined with many others in this dramatic storyline ever since,” he says. “A movement was born in my heart that day. I believe the same happened for countless thousands … on the 110-year anniversary of Azusa. Let it begin.” 

Jeff Jansen, founder of Global Fire Ministries, says he believes Azusa Now was one of the most significant events of the past few decades.

“As we were driving on Interstate 5 to the Azusa Now event on April 9, I saw a large, gold angel standing over LA,” Jansen says. “The Lord said, ‘Just as the 1849 gold rush drew people to California … So 4/9 2016 will mark a new gold rush of divine proportion that will once again draw the nations into revival.” 

Joshua Mills, a recording artist, author and revivalist, says he witnessed the ignition of a worldwide move of God. “I saw healing miracles happening and lives being changed by simply the hand of God resting on entire groups of people,” Mills says. “I believe Azusa Now was the beginning, and now it will continue to unfold for those who were touched by that moment of glory.” 

So where do we go from here? I’m declaring right now that awakening is here, and it’s coming. Azusa Now wasn’t the only prayer event on April 9. United Cry gathered 30,000 pastors in Washington, D.C. There was an Azusa event in Houston and thousands of people watching, praying and agreeing in churches, prayer rooms and homes across America. Reset America will gather tens of thousands on the Mall in D.C. to cry out to God again. 

I believe April 9 was a day of demarcation in America. It was a show of desperation and unity in the church. Prophetically, it was a shot heard around the world. Will we immediately see the impact of this historic, or as many are calling it, “epic” event? Probably not, but something shifted in the spirit in the City of Angels on Saturday. If you could pull back the curtain on the realm of the spirit, I believe you would have seen an intensified war in the heavens—and we’re winning that war. 

On April 21, 2007, the Lord woke me up at midnight, and I sensed Him offering this prophetic word: 

There is a great awakening coming to this nation. For I have heard your cries, and I long to heal your land. I am a covenant God, and I will not forget the covenant I made with your Founding Forefathers. Yes, there will be a shaking, but the foundations will not crack, and they will not crumble. Only those things which can be shaken will be shaken that the sin in the land may be laid bare. 

Repentance. I require repentance from My people who have through the generations allowed the enemy to take ground in this nation. I require repentance for the abortions and for the prayerlessness. I require repentance for the apathy and for the idolatry. You shall have no other gods before me. I am indeed the God of America. 

Yes, there is a great awakening coming to this nation. I am the Author of it and I will bring it to pass. Just turn from your wicked ways and humble yourselves. Stand in the gap and make up the hedge. I am the Lord and I am a Warrior. I will not leave or forsake this country. I will fight through you and with you to regain what has been lost. 

Be encouraged now, because as you go forth boldly with My Word and My Spirit, there will be the sound of truth and it will prevail in the land. Speak boldly and clearly and watch as the mighty men arise to take their positions on the wall and in the churches and in the marketplaces. For I am raising up deliverers and reformers in this generation who will not shrink back at the challenge that is coming in the days ahead. 

Yes, it will grow darker before My light shines brightly from this nation again. But the light has not been extinguished and will not be extinguished. The time to rise up is now. I am calling you to war. I am calling you to repentance. I am calling you to My side. I am the captain of the hosts. I am calling you to victory. I am calling you to destiny. Will you answer? 

On April 9, I believe we answered. And I believe we are standing at the door of transforming revival in America.