The Funky Nazarene

Marking of Missionaries in 2012 – Fill the prayer rooms!

sherrie — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:31:08 +0000

Last night I had a dream which details fade as the day passes, however, I remember the message of the dream. I was in a foreign land in a remote village (I believed to be African). I was being challenged by the Lord to understand the people and the culture and I was being put in positions that I did not like AT ALL. I felt the total selflessness required of missionaries and the sheer risk of going among a people that are not your own. I was aware of having to totally rely on the Holy Spirit and to fully trust the Lord facing complete uncertainty. I remember the sights and sounds as I awoke, but mostly I remember the strong sense of giving over one’s life for the cause of Yeshua (Jesus).

A few things came to me:

1) The Lord has been preparing people in the secret place (meaning in the midst of a prayer life – not secluded from the Body of Christ) over the last year.

2) 2012 will be a year that the Lord will increase His Spirit and will MARK MANY FOR MISSIONS IN FOREIGN LANDS. They are being prepared in prayer rooms all over the United States. The SENDING requires time loving Jesus and hearing His heart beat for souls…but the baptism of fire necessary for the sending will come out of intimacy first, then burden for what breaks His heart. It will not be human zeal or human sympathy, but a broken heart and zeal of love given by the Lord from heaven. This is the ONLY type of zeal that will carry the Call and anointing necessary to see the fruit He is longing for.

3) These missionaries will go in the Spirit of the Lord and will think nothing of laying their lives down. Laying one’s life down does not mean physical death, though that could happen for the sake of the Gospel. It is taking your dreams, your visions, your desires and laying them at His feet and taking up His burden for a people. Laying one’s life down is non-negotiable in this next missionary move. When we lose our life, we gain His life. When we gain ours, we lose.

4) Even now the Lord is putting specific countries on the hearts of individuals. Some it is to intercede for the harvest and for the Lord to send laborer’s there. Others will not only intercede, but be sent by the Lord. You will know they are marked because the burden they carry supersedes romanticism of the mission field. You will find them weeping for the heart of a people. They will not only have a burden for the people, but will have an unsatisfiable desire to learn about the pain, the trauma, the burden, and the redemptive calling of a people. In other words, the zeal of the Lord will consume them.

I am reminded of Hudson Taylor, considered to be a father of the underground church in China. I believe his story will be significant as many being sent will have major impact in entire cities and communities. This is both a blessing and a sign that His coming is near.

5) Many ministries will have to learn to be “senders” and not “keepers”. If you are a pastor or leader, you know what I mean. This is a season to disciple, recognize the calling on those you disciple, and be willing to send them to the place of their calling.

6) LASTLY, a WORD to PASTORS AND LEADERS AND THOSE THAT HAVE ISSUE WITH FULL-TIME INTERCESSORS IN PRAYER ROOMS, HOUSES OF PRAYER, ETC. I understand many of the issues that current leaders have with the prayer movement, HOWEVER, just like ever other movement birthed in the earth, there has been good and not so good. We need to recognize that it can be no accident that there are now prayer rooms all over the world in countries that many of us have never even heard of. The stories of many of these (which I just got word of several in Turkey, Egypt and many parts of the middle east), have been varied and filled with incredible testimony of the establishment of their work through the Spirit of the Lord. These places of intercession are becoming the driving force in preparing for the harvest (among many other things). But one thing that they are that many do not recognize is a gathering and training place for many that will be thrust into the harvest field. Check out the story of Count Zinzendorf, Hernhutt and the Moravians. These missionary moves were always preceded by day and night prayer. Even the lives of powerful saints from Patrick’s time were marked by hours and hours of prayer which resulted in miracles, spiritual authority and insights unmatched by anything we have seen in modern times.

If there are those that you know that have a burden to be immersed in the presence of God in a prayer room, recognize that they could be part of this call of preparation for MISSIONARIES which God is marking in this hour. We cannot pray for the laborers for harvest and then expect them to be sent with a casual burden from the Lord that they can pick up in between working full-time jobs and all the extra activities that we have them doing in our churches when they show up with excitement. There is a season of being set apart before the Lord that is of Divine design.

I have been remiss myself in totally recognizing this and I lead a house of prayer. This revelation is strong upon me and I am shifting things immediately in my heart and actions to line up with this word.

Message to FIRST RESPONDERS & Word from Heidi Baker re: Global Shaking and the Heart of God

sherrie — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:35:06 +0000

BREATHE DEEP!

I read this word from Heidi Baker today. It came across facebook. I am putting it on this note in entirety. I was going to share it only, but it startled me so much due to a dream that I had about 1 1/2 weeks ago while in Branson, MO with Matthew. Please read the dream AND Heidi’s word. It is a message to FIRST RESPONDERS.

DREAM: October 2011. I was being led into a bathroom which was all white by a man. We were both actually in white as well. I did not feel unsafe at all and followed him willingly, but it was as though we were escaping from something. We were in a battle. He asked me how much oxygen I had left. I said “25 units”. He said “Good”. He started putting on gloves and I said “Are you planning to kill me?” He said “I was sent to deplete the resources of the FIRST RESPONDERS and then take them out.” I woke up with the spirit of death punching me in the stomach. I rebuked it (of course). The message was clear and I believe goes hand in hand with this word. There are those that have been FIRST RESPONDERS (or forerunners, or pioneers, etc) over the years. They are those that have been sensitive to the movements of God and have overcome significant battles. The enemy absolutely does not want you to make it to this next move. He fears your history of standing in the midst of the storm. He has worked overtime (especially recently) to DEPLETE you emotionally, financially, physically, and any other “ally” you can name. I believe that there is a fresh BREATH FROM HEAVEN available to you. Be still and BREATHE in His Presence. He is releasing fresh OXYGEN and will strengthen you in this hour for the days ahead. ARISE and be a FIRST RESPONDER to this next great move of God. Be strengthened in the power of His Might!

HEIDI’S WORD BELOW:

Recent Vision For The Church by Heidi Baker 9/11/11

by Martha Canizales Rodriguez on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 2:18pm

This is a vision which Heidi Baker shared on 9/11/11 at Bethel Church in Redding,CA. It is a powerful word for the Christian Church Universal. It was transcribed word for word from the recorded message, so it is accurate. May we all take up the Sword of the Spirit in this hour! (click here to read about Heidi: http://www.irismin.org/about “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”— Matthew 5:3)

Recent Vision For The Church by Heidi Baker- 9/11/11

If this vision burns in your heart, you need to respond to it. The world is shaking, and as it shakes there are three ways we can respond:

1) We can live in fear

2) We can live in denial

3) Or we can be “first responders”

God is looking for first responders!

In my vision, I was taken up high, high, high, and looked down on the whole globe of the earth. And the Lord wants to say to you, “Come up higher!! Come up higher!! Come up higher!! You can’t see what you are called to see down here. You must come up the ladder higher, higher, higher!!”

So, I went up and was looking down, and I saw the entire earth.

And I saw chariots of fire covering the earth. There were thousands and thousands and thousands of these fiery chariots circling the earth, and they were full of fire and full of flame. And inside the chariots sat two saints of God.

In every chariot, there were two saints of God. And the thing that struck me was they had no color – they were transparent! And He said, ”There is no hidden sin and no hidden agenda, there is no hidden anything! They are transparent! They are transparent!“

There was only one thing of color with the saints of God – one massive disproportionally huge heart. The hearts extended from shoulder to shoulder and did not fit within the cavity created for them. They were bizarrely massive hearts.

And I saw those hearts beating and beating and beating. And I looked up, and Jesus’ heart was beating in rhythm with all of the saints hearts. Their hearts were all beating as one heart.

And I saw that every chariot had two white horses, and the veins on the horses’ necks were bulging out and pulsing strongly, just ready to go.

There were thousands and thousands and thousands of horses and all their reins went straight up to heaven. And Jesus held all the reins to all the horses and all the chariots that circled the earth, high in His left hand. And He said to me to say to you, “It is time to release control! Release control! Let Me have the reins!” He said, “He will decide, He will choose, He will call the chariots to go where they are called to go.”

“Tell the Church, Release control to Me!” He is looking for yielded lovers.

I saw that the saints of God, absolutely could NOT hold both the reins and the sword. They had to hold the sword in front of them with two hands. And as the saints held the sword with two hands, the Lord said, “Tell them the sword is mercy and justice. And tell them it takes two hands to hold the sword, and they must release control into My Hand.”

And then He raised His right Hand and as He began to lower it, He began to cry out a very loud and long “NOWWWWW!”

And the saints of God got into the chariots that surrounded the planet, and they started to take off. And He asked me to ask you, “Who will ride?”

When I saw the chariots begin to move, I saw the glory of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. And as the saints of God took off, the fire of God came right out of them – His fire of love. And I saw the fire of His love touch the earth. And people were healed, and saved, and set free.

I also saw pockets of the earth getting dark – a darkness like I had never seen. But I also saw the glory of the Lord covering.

He said, “Tell them, where they receive mercy, they will receive salvation; and where they reject My love there will be judgment.” He said, “Tell them!! Tell them!! Tell them!!”

The Holy Spirit is starting to brand people in this hour. I saw God branding people.

Who will say “yes?”

Who will be a radical lover?

Who will lay down the reins of control?

Who will get into the chariot?

Who will lift the sword with two hands?

Take up the sword and let the fire fall. Say, “Yes!” to Him. Say, “Yes!” to Him. Fire! Fire! Fire!

The Lord is now releasing visions. Some of you will see the spiritually dying. Some will see the mal-nourished Church. And the Lord says, “Feed them! Feed them! You’re My favorite, Feed them!”

Prayer:

If you feel God is putting a passion in your heart to hold the sword with two hands and to live a life of transparent, radical love, the Holy Spirit is going to put the fire of God in the saints to go.

I want you to lift both hands and hold the sword up with two hands, close your eyes and focus just on Him. There will be no hype of music or anything else. Just pure raw Holy Spirit, because this is just between you and Him.

Lift your hands with that sword and God is going to start to show you:

cities
people groups
nations
Universities
various places all over the earth

And, as you do, the fire of God is going to fall all over you from this time forth.

As the fire of love captures your heart, you will see those 4.4 billion people who are starving spiritually without Jesus, fed, fed, fed, with the Blood of Jesus and with the Body of Jesus.

And you are going to see the starving Church eat and drink of God. You are going to be the fearless lovers.

Right now, put your hands on your own heart and ask God to expand it – to give you a bigger heart. Put your hand over your heart and say, “Burn in me Holy Spirit. Burn with a tenacious fiery love.”

Now, release control over people, and things and circumstances to Him right now – to His fiery love.

The Holy Spirit is declaring, “Now is the time when the world is shaking and the world is quaking. Lord, take the reins and send forth your radical lovers! Send them forth with fresh bread; and send them forth with fresh wine; send them forth with joy; send them forth with courage! Send them forth and multiply, multiply, multiply!”

Taste of Hell–an encounter I will never forget

sherrie — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 05:46:52 +0000

Tonight was the “Devil’s Bar Crawl” in Shockoe Bottom (current location of the Richmond House of Prayer). The advertisements made it clear it was a night that dressing up and being “naughty” was acceptable. The name itself startles. Shawn Jarrard, our prayer room director, organized a prayer walk during this event and was joined by about 15 YWAMers (I love YWAM!!!) As I thought about this event, along with the DC40 prayer initiative (50 states, plus DC flanked together in prayer) and the so-called challenge by wiccans and pagans to strike back with their own prayer initiative and “maintain the atmosphere” for their goddess worship, I was taken back to a strong encounter I had with the Lord when He allowed me to FEEL Hell. I was not there for 30 minutes nor was I able to have any discussions with anyone about their experience while there. I did not SEE anything — it was what I felt. In light of this Halloween weekend and the incredible battle in the spirit that is taking place, I wanted to share my moment. The battle we wage is over souls. It is over the people that reside on the earth that are widening the mouth of hell daily when they die without knowing Jesus, the Saviour of the world. In our quest to make a dwelling place for God, let us make a place where the son’s and daughters of men can be rescued from HELL and brought into the Kingdom of God’s Beloved Son. Here is my brief, but life-changing encounter with hell. It was followed months later by an amazing dream that turned into a message of Hope for the revival that will cover the earth in these end days. I will share that in another note.

Mid-1980′s

I was a new mom. My baby was only a few months old and I was busy trying to be a good mother and a good wife to my husband. We were living in a small house just doors from the church where we were being trained for ministry. We loved what we did. We worked under tents all summer on the Mall in DC, preaching the gospel and ministering to the many that found their way to DC. Other times of the year were spent travelling and ministering in churches and learning the word deeply. I learned about the prophetic and understood by various dreams and visions that tough times were ahead for the church and this nation and that we were some of those that God was preparing for that hour. We spent much of our time sharing about the coming shaking and the return of the Lord. It was much like (only on a much smaller scale) what is happening now with the emergence of houses of prayer that are mission/discipleship bases. There is a keen awareness of the times and a hunger to be a people prepared to carry His Word in troubled times. We were alive with this hope and doing what we could to be part of this rising army.

It was a very cool early spring night. I cooked dinner and put the baby to bed. Our normal routine was to pull out the couch bed (it was a one bedroom and our new baby had the small bedroom), stuff the drafty front door with rags, and make sure that the way to the bathroom was not blocked. A night like any other night. I went to bed in peace. In the early morning hours, I awoke screaming and completely out of my mind. Matthew tried to speak to me but I was so crazed that I did not know who he was or who I was or WHERE I was. This lasted for only a few minutes, but to this day (about 27 years later) I still remember that moment as though it happened this morning. I finally came to myself and slowly remembered who I was and that it was my husband iin front of me trying to calm me down. All I could get out of my mouth was, ”The Lord allowed me to feel Hell.” I am not sure how long it lasted, but I remember thinking it was only about a micro-second. The second thing I remember saying was “The fires of Hell will be a relief compared to the true pain of Hell. It is the one place in all of creation that God chooses to withhold His presence. It is the absence of His Presence that is the true torture of Hell”. I remember vividly what happened next. The Lord spoke to me and said, “No matter where you go on the earth, even the most remote parts of the earth where men and women are demon possessed beyond your wildest imaginations, my Presence is still there – you only need to recognize that and come into agreement with me and you shall see my Glory”. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed in both terror for those that fall into death’s sleep without knowing Him and at the same time HOPE, that in the darkest places of the earth, God was there. I was shaken to my core.

I believe the Lord has reminded me of this encounter to awaken passion for lost souls. Iin the midst of crying out for revival and for the overturn of legislation allowing abortion and ungodly lifestyle choices, and in the midst of uncovering OUR GREATNESS in Jesus through music and arts, we would remember there are souls everyday dying and causing the mouth of hell to increase in size. Even as I write, a sober and deep groan of prayer rises. “MAY THERE BE A REVIVAL OF DESIRE TO SEE LOST SOULS SAVED AND BROUGHT INTO THE KINGDOM.” Lord, help ME not only be a Seer or a Prophet or a Messenger, or someone who feeds the hungry, but empower me, GOD, to win souls from the grips of Hell itself. May the zeal and compassion of My Savior consume me for this task.

I wish to provoke you by my sharing this encounter to think on the reality of hell and to increase praying for those that you know that have not yet met Jesus. Sometimes in our quest to be all that God has called us to be, we leave a trail of unreached people in our path. I pray that the Lord would strike our hearts tonight with the reality of eternity and that we would have a personal revival with Jesus. I pray that a zeal to share the gospel that is able to save men’s souls would overtake the fear of man in us all.

NOTE: I shared this encounter with someone not long ago and they said that God’s presence was everywhere EVEN in HELL. They quoted David’s Psalm 139:5-7 — “where can I go from your Presence…” I asked the Lord to show me if my encounter was true by scripture. He pointed me to 2 Thesalonians 1:3-10 (esp. 8-9). This is talking about “That Day” when He returns … but clearly indicates that there is a place where His Presence is NOT for those that do not know God and those that do not obey His Gospel. Heaven help us all.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe,[a] because our testimony among you was believed.

9/11 brought us closer to the world – but what will 9/20 do?

sherrie — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:09:59 +0000

It’s been ten years. It seems like yesterday to me at times. They say that when something of great significance occurs, especially trauma, it permanently imprints something on your soul. I remember exactly where I was on 9/11. I was in the family room typing on my computer. The TV was on but the volume was turned low. I casually glanced over to catch a glimpse of the news and thought I might be viewing a preview for a movie. Then I turned the volume up and called to the family. There it was. One of the twin towers in flames. The newscaster was trying to calmly explain what had happened as we watched a live view of one of the towers in flames and people fleeing in unbelief on the streets. They were not alone. My family and I watched in complete unbelief. In the lower corner of the screen a frame was replaying the crash. Suddenly a second plane hit the second tower. Pandemonium broke out. I remember turning completely cold and completely hot saying, “O God, O God, O God” and praying. My mind could NOT comprehend what my eyes were witnessing. I am sure what many of us in America were experiencing was a measure of shock, denial complicated by utter unbelief that this was happening in America. We sat glued to the TV and listened to the newscasters for hours replaying video footage. Over the next several days, while many were still reeling over the sights and sounds of 9/11, a sobering fact sunk in… America will NEVER be the same. We were abruptly ushered into a new level of global awareness. Beyond financial markets, news stories of war and starving children “over there”, we became ONE with the world. We now knew how it felt to have things hit home, feeling helpless and at the same time aware of evil and injustice.

The days following were surreal. Churches filled with people praying, trying to make sense of it all. Over and over newscasters replayed the scenes from New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. We hated watching it, but couldn’t help but watch. America’s heart was broken and her soul was looking for answers. Then something happened. Out of the ashes of the twin towers, the scorched field in Pennsylvania and the rubble of the Pentagon a new resolve started to rise. We all felt it…the need to defend our shores and to strike the source of this tragedy and prevent future atrocities from being committed against us. And though politically, there has been much disagreement over the last 10 years on whether we should have taken on our so-called “war on terror”, there was no hesitation to shout victoriously when Osama Bin Laden was pronounced dead. Even tonight, as I write this blog, I am listening to President Obama’s weekly address. His focus was, of course, on 9/11 weekend, remembering the tragedy, the families, and the heroes that stood tall. He also recounted the positive changes that have happened in America since that day. Increased security, determination to bring those responsible to justice, forging new partnerships abroad to ensure a better more peaceful world. He also said of al Quada,

“They wanted to terrorize us, but, as Americans, we refuse to live in fear. Yes we face a determined foe, and make no mistake—they will keep trying to hit us again. But as we are showing again this weekend, we remain vigilant. We’re doing everything in our power to protect our people. And no matter what comes our way, as a resilient nation, we will carry on”.

And then, another sobering thought occurred to me, one that did not take away from the solemnity of 9/11, but a thought that brought me into a deeper sense of injustice and concern for our nation. Will we be allowed the freedom to rise up against those that threaten us, but insist that another nation relinquish it’s right to defend itself in the face of an enemy sworn to wipe it off the face of the earth?

On 9/20-21, the Durban III conference is gathering at the UN to vote on unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state without Israel’s input. In essence, the global “court” is overstepping a sovereign nation’s rights. These actions are being done COMPLETELY outside of normal diplomatic channels. These types of actions have historically failed, but that has not slowed the momentum of this gathering. Without getting into historical land right issues and the myriad of other considerations in regards to the land and people, the outcome of this conference, if the vote passes in favor of the declaration of a Palestinian state, will put Israel in an indefensible military position with those sworn to destroy them. I do not know of ANY sovereign nation that would accept this outcome and not fight back. I could not imagine the United States of America putting up with the nations around the world determining that we needed to give our land back to the Native American people and them gathering and declaring a Native American state in our midst that consisted of over half of our land mass. By the way, Israel is the size of New Jersey and the borders being presented to them would give them one (1) minute to respond to a bomb warning. We, as a nation, would not allow this to happen.

But in light of all of the memorial services (which are necessary and right), I cannot help but think that, at the same time, we are contradicting the very values we now hold so dear due to the 9/11 tragedy. My thoughts were, will we allow ISRAEL to make the same courageous, definitive statements as a nation as we have, especially those we are making during this 9/11 weekend.

The beginning. . .

sherrie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:54:08 +0000

So, as for the NAME of this blog, it was actually birthed on facebook when I asked to find a groovy blog name that would inspire the world to follow Jesus. I began this quest for three reasons. 1) I have been told repeatedly by intercessors, prophets, friends and leaders that I needed to write, write, write. I have known this from the Lord for years, but like many of us, I seem to need half the Body of Christ to confirm what I know God has told me to do before I do it. 2) I had to find a name and realized during my search that there are an ENORMOUS amount of overused adjectives being used during this current move of God (which is a historic move, by the way). Words like “outpouring”, “encounter”, “burn”, “soaking”, “glory cloud”, “signs, wonders, miracles”, “forerunner”, “radical”, etc. that I felt most of the cool words were already taken (I would imagine the thesaurus is one of the most highly used tool right now). I was going to say “the encountering Jesus so you can be a radical burning forerunner with signs following blog”, but I didn’t think it would catch on. So, I decided something that was a little outrageous would capture some attention. 3) Most importantly, I wanted to express the heart of God to those that are searching and NOT finding, to those that are oppressed by life, to those who have even delved into areas of spirituality and have still not filled that “VOID”.

The 60′s and 70′s were a time of revolution, rebirth and change. (not all for good). There is a similar breed of the dis-satisfied among us , largely dissatisfied and wanting to find meaning, love and to see something change. I looked up the language of the 60′s and 70′s language to make sure that “funky” didn’t have a bad meaning and found that it does have several meanings. Having lived through the those year’s (though young) and finding myself still using some of the language (I do say “groovy” and “be there or be square” and “spaz” –which were on the list), I made sure there was something that described the amazing Savior that I serve. One of the definitions of “FUNKY” is: BETTER THAN GROOVY OR EVEN OUT OF SIGHT, JUST PLAIN GONE”. It was a way to explain that something was beyond it all. So, in that context, Jesus was a Funky Nazarene and I am writing this blog to inspire the world to follow this amazing God-man. Stay tuned!

Sherrie Moore