Most of you will have seen numerous episodes of that worldwide TV sensation, 'The Simpsons', which is still rating incredibly highly after all these years. Ned Flanders is the Simpsons' neighbor - the "born-again Christian" of the show, who is often the subject of comedic derision and irreverent mockery for his mild-mannered "churchy" ways. Of course, like all the characters in the Simpsons, Ned Flanders is a caricature - an exaggerated stereotype. But the "born-again" model that he represents to the world is sadly a genuine reflection of what Bible- based Christianity has come to mean to many people today. Ned Flanders is the apologetic, eager-to-please, church-going, glasses- wearing, overly-"nice", conventional and dull neighbor to the manic yet somehow 'real', edge-of-dysfunctional Simpsons. The contrasts are stark, and often unflattering. The jokes are almost always on us. Ned Flanders has obviously been created to represent modern-day evangelical Christianity, and for many youngsters he is the "Christian" that they know the best - the one whose life they see the most. And whether we like it or not, every one of us is subtly being tarred with the same sickly brush every time he appears on screen. But in truth, all this goes back well before Ned Flanders. As someone who is involved with the media every day - TV, radio, music, video, writing, etc - I guess I should state at the outset what the basic premise for this article is:- My premise is that the church has been losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the 'man on the street' for the past thirty years or more. In fact, we have been losing so disastrously that in many cases we are no longer even on the battlefield. We have been routed, annihilated, out-gunned and out-manoevered on almost every front, and the devil is laughing all the way to the awards ceremony. My contention is not that we are losing the propaganda war, but that we have already lost it - and lost it so terribly for so long that we are now almost out of the race altogether. And tragically it is God's name and God's cause that are suffering alongside that of His church. For we are His representatives - His "ambassadors" in the earth. The 'salt' has lost it's saltiness, the 'light on the hill' has been subdued. The basic questions I will be examining in this article are:- How big is the problem? How on earth did it get so bad? And what can be done about it? As to the first question, let me use a rather extreme example from history. How important to Hitler's cause was Goebells' internal propaganda war using radio, film and the media? Answer: It was utterly crucial and without it Hitler would never have been able to carry the German people with him into all that followed. The propaganda war had to be won first before anything else. The people's hearts and minds had to be won over, and then their actions would follow. As I said, this is an extreme example, and I use it only to show how influential the media can be in shaping people's thinking and beliefs. Today, the media is vastly more pervasive than in Goebell's time. One can hardly escape the blare of a million televisions or radios in our big cities. Despite the rise of the computer and the Internet, it is still television that dominates the landscape. For it is hard to match a medium that grabs both the eyes and the ears (as well as the heart and mind if it can) for several hours every day, right in a person's own living room. In fact, it has been argued by Marshall McLuhan and others that modern man no longer has an old-style 'community' like in former days, when everybody in a neighborhood knew everyone else and news was shared over the garden fence or in local meeting-places. McLuhan contends that modern man is losing touch with his neighbors, and that he is now tending to 'gather' around the television set - from which he receives his news, his entertainment and many of the influences that shape his world-view. Thus the media is becoming more and more powerful in the lives of everyday people. And the tragedy is that vital, credible Christianity is almost completely absent from this window that the average man or woman has on the world. To all intents and purposes we have abandoned the battlefield to the enemy, and he has taken massive advantage. Christian television of the "evangelists-in-suits" variety may still be reaching the faithful today, but it is hardly calculated to impact the real world where most ordinary people live. We need drastic measures for drastic times. Today, the only time when evangelical Christianity is likely to be mentioned in the news is when some terrible scandal breaks involving a well-known preacher, or some similar fiasco. The media love to ignore Christianity for the most part, but when they do focus on it for a few moments it is often the negative, the extreme or the scandalous elements that are highlighted. Michael Medved noted in his incisive best-seller 'Hollywood versus America', that when believers are portrayed in movies or on TV today, they are often either deranged psychopaths or bumbling hicks. Very rarely do we find sympathetic portrayals of Christians on fictional TV shows (apart, perhaps, from the odd ecumenical Catholic Priest). In the Simpsons, the "born- again" is the butt of continual snickering humor. However, for the most part, Christianity is utterly ignored by network television (and thus by many ordinary people also). This is particularly noteable in the USA - a nation with over 30% church attendance - one of the highest rates in the world - yet where are the credible Christians on American TV (-which is watched worldwide)? The brutal fact is that we have allowed ourselves to become silenced and marginalised in the most watched 'news, values and ideas' venue of our time. This means that our message and our Saviour are silenced and marginalised also. And the people who are suffering most from this are the youth - who are impacted more by the media than any other agegroup. The devil gets to preach his seductive lies to them all day long using the best in music, films and TV, while the church sleeps on apparently unconcerned. The mocking "Ned Flanders Syndrome" is working wonders for the enemy, who already seems to be the winner of the 'media war' for the hearts and minds of our young people, with us barely firing a shot in reply. Friends, this has got to change, and it has got to change fast... But how? "THE GAGGING OF GOD" We have already discussed how little impact the church has in the lives of the "man and woman on the street" today. As we have seen, credible Christians are notably absent from the media windows that most unchurched people use to look at the world, whether it be their TV set, the radio stations they listen to, the movies they watch, the newspapers or magazines they read, etc. The Christians live in their own cloistered little world - with their own radio and TV and newspapers,- and the secular people have theirs. And never the twain shall meet, it appears. When evangelical Christians do appear in the 'normal' media it is often accompanied by a not-so-subtle put-down. Some Christians say that this is "persecution" for righteousness' sake. We are supposed to accept this as being "just what we should expect". But I say it is persecution for ignorance and apathy's sake - on our part. We have made ourselves an easy target for mockery. A whole generation is growing up with little regard or interest in the things of God,- largely, I believe, because the devil's lies have won, out there in the real world where the hearts and minds of the young are at stake. He has slowly taken complete control of the dominant outlets for ideas, world-views and beliefs in our society. The Christians are left largely preaching to themselves, while the devil gets to preach his seductive lies to the young all day every day. And we wonder why things are getting worse every year? We have largely lost the ears and eyes of the "common people" whom Jesus came to reach. We are absent from their everyday reality. The turning point in this war, I believe, was the 1960's. That is when the tide suddenly went out, leaving the church beached high and dry while the devil made off with all the spoils of battle. It was a sudden and massive tactical assault, and the church was simply left floundering in it's wake. This is what I believe occurred:- The 1940's and 1950's were years of healthy growth and prosperity for the church in the West overall. Starting in 1948 came a great 'Healing Revival' led by William Branham (-later controversial), Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborne, A.A. Allen, Tommy Hicks and many others. But even this paled in comparison to the massive worldwide success and broad appeal of Billy Graham, whose crusades often focused the attention of entire nations onto the vital issues of the gospel. To give you an example of this, in 1959 Billy Graham came to my home nation of New Zealand. It was probably the closest that my country has ever come to a national Revival. The whole country virtually came to a halt to hear Billy preach. It was the dominant conversation-point of the day. My own father was converted in one of those massive meetings, and to this day if you ask the older pastors (50yrs+) that are around, many will tell you that they were first converted in a Billy Graham meeting in 1959. It had an enormous impact. This was a time when the church was generally respected in society, and prominent ministers were given at least grudging respect - even by unbelievers. A visit by someone with the stature of Billy Graham was a big deal. Not everyone went to church, but even the unchurched often sent their children to Sunday School. Who could have predicted then that the church would become one of the great PR disasters of the late twentieth century? In 1967 Billy Graham returned to New Zealand but the response was nothing like what it had been eight years before. The tide had well-and-truly gone out by this time, and the church was battling to even begin to understand the massive wall of CHANGE that had come hurtling down upon Western society. Basically the church completely failed to understand or adapt to what had occurred, and still hasn't to this day. And the signs show that the devil has been stomping all over us ever since. It really is that bad. And there is no end in sight unless drastic steps are taken. What occurred in the sixties was nothing less than a massive CULTURAL REVOLUTION. I believe that in spiritual terms it was as big an upheaval as Luther's Reformation or the European Renaissance in their time. Suddenly everything changed. The old orthodoxy was overthrown. Completely new spiritual paradigms became dominant. (-And they were not godly ones, either). But this was not just any kind of Revolution. It was a Revolution led by the YOUNG ARTISTS. (It had actually been brewing for some time). They were hungry for Truth, but they were looking in all the wrong places. And they carried the whole world along with them. There can be little doubt that it was the songwriters and musicians who led the charge throughout the 1960's. But CHANGE was already in the air. They were simply the first to latch onto it. (Music can be very influential because of this). After Elvis and the early rockers, it was Bob Dylan and the Beatles who were the first of the 1960's era to really latch onto the great wave of change that was building. These were closely followed by the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Doors, the hippy American acid bands, and a vast host of young writers, artists, film directors and fashion designers, etc. The airwaves and the newspapers were soon full of the colour and the music and the vibrant creativity that were part of this whole great explosion. Yet the church was almost nowhere to be seen. Complacency had robbed her of her place in it all. She was completely sidelined - seemingly stuck back in the 1940's or 50's somewhere. There can be no doubt that this was a blitzkrieg, an invasion, a full-on media offensive, and the church was clearly knocked out cold in the first round. And she has never really recovered since. It seems in hindsight that the church had been coasting for some years before this, and she was simply caught flat-footed. When the Beatles and the Rolling Stones came knocking, looking for answers to the big questions, she had no credible answer to give. She seemed like one of the "old guard" - gray, insti- tutional, respectable and dull - the very opposite of Jesus and the early church. But the young artists weren't to know that. They didn't have time to hang around for the church to get her act together. They were already off chasing drugs and Eastern Religion in their search for some kind of Truth that didn't have the air of conformist plasticity or institutional hypocrisy about it. "Preachers in suits" didn't impress them too much. And thus we have the beginnings of the mass drug culture and the modern New Age movement. The sexual revolution, ultra-feminism, modern witchcraft, the abortion movement and the gay pride movement all made quantum leaps into mass acceptance at that same time. The devil had gained absolute control of the whole rebellious mess. But to understand the real depth of the Sixties Revolution, I believe it is also crucial to see the massive, fundamental change that occurred in the MEDIA at that time. For this was the beginning of the modern era of mass popular culture - especially ELECTRONIC culture in the West. This was when the "new television" and the "new music" and the "new film" became utterly dominant for the first time. A new youth era had begun. And the devil had his hands firmly on the steering wheel (-and still does). He has been stomping all over us ever since, in greater and greater measure. And the kids have begun to believe his lies - for they hear almost nothing else. For the first time, in the 1960's bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones could dominate the hearts and minds of the world's youth through complete creative control of their art and their image. It was the artists and their producers who now called the shots. Tin Pan Alley was dead. The message to the old, gray institutions was clear:- "Adapt or die". And they did. Soon the Record Companies, the Film companies and the TV Studios were all dancing to the new rebellious tune. And to this day it is the musicians, the writers, the film-makers and the Producers who dominate our most important communications outlets with their message of subtle rebellion. The old media corporations and institutions have been 'taken over', and now enforce the new party line:- Everything is to be questioned, especially all that used to be called "good". It was through the artists that the devil first took control of the media, and it is through their descendants in the arts that he maintains his hold. It took a long time for the church to come up with any real reply to this. And when the reply did come, it was not from within the institutional church. And sadly, it did not last for long. In the early 1970's came a move of God that became known as the "Jesus Movement". Basically, it was a long-haired Christian hippy movement that swept like wild-fire around the world. Influenced enormously by the Charismatic move, it involved a return to the primitive Christianity of an earlier age. Young hippies were being baptized in their droves in the sea and the rivers. A 'new music' arose, known as "Jesus Rock", which helped unify the movement and gave it a greater voice and impact. Musicians such as Larry Norman, Chuck Girard and later Keith Green rose to prominence. Free 'Jesus Papers' were distributed en masse, and many new fellowships came into being. But by the mid-1970's this movement had largely petered out, though while it lasted it had revitalized the Christianity of the time and added thousands of young converts to the church. What it failed to do, however, was to really change the shape and structure of the church in order to meet the challenge of the new media era. A few new developments in music and outreach were established, but for the most part the church's structure and methodology remained firmly stuck in the 1940's and 1950's. Thus the devil could dominate the field more and more. Yet for a brief time the Jesus Movement had shown that it is possible to win well against the devil, even in the new era. Today, while the devil's hold on our young grows ever-stronger, the church remains largely stuck in her 1940's time-warp. In fact, much of her shape and structure is centuries old, with little relevance either to the time we live in or to the early church which the apostles founded under Jesus' specific guidance. We tend to do things the way "we always do them", while the devil adapts quickly to new conditions and new opportunities. While he has control of the most effective propaganda tools ever invented, we are largely still stuck in our "Cathedral" mentality, expecting the world to come to us inside our four walls to hear a 'man in a suit' deliver his weekly sermon. Or perhaps we invite them to a "crusade" or a TV show in which a slick evangelist in an expensive suit will attempt to emotionally woo them down the front to make a "decision". Doesn't sound much like Jesus to me. And it doesn't sit right with most ordinary people, either. How sad and predictable it all is. The church has a massive credibility problem, and unless something drastic occurs this is not going to change in a hurry. Fortunately, God specialises in drastic measures for times such as these. But such measures will bring massive SHAKING upon His church. Exactly how are we to take back what the devil has stolen from us? And how would God have us make our message and our Saviour heard in today's media world? (Obviously, prayer is the first key, for this is currently the devil's territory). Let me simply say that I believe that the coming move will be as much a MEDIA REVIVAL as it will a STREET REVIVAL. "BRINGING BACK THE FAME OF GOD" "Joshua asked, 'Who are you and where do you come from?' They answered: 'Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the FAME of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of Him: all that He did in Egypt and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan...'" (Josh 9:8-10 NIV). Notice in the above Scripture the awe and respect that the nations held God and His people in because of the things that He was known to have done THROUGH THEM. It was through His PEOPLE that God did great exploits that brought fear upon the nations round about. Let me ask you this: What great exploits or victories have the people of God been involved in recently that brought the respect of the Lord down upon the Western nations? Can you think of any? I can think of only one in recent times:- The martyrdom of the young Christians at Columbine High. And it is important to note that this was (or became) basically a MEDIA EVENT. How did you or I hear about it? Through TV, radio, newspapers, the Internet. How does anyone in the West hear about anything these days? Through these self-same media channels. And for a brief moment, the depth of the tragedy and the courage displayed caused the media to give the Christians a sympathetic hearing. Apart from such rare examples, the church seems to have lurched from one unmitigated PR disaster to the next for the last thirty years or more. And it reflects badly on GOD when His people are seen in such a way. The nations lose their fear or respect for the Lord. I have said this before, but I will say it again:- The tragedy of this hour is that GOD IS NOT GLORIFIED in the earth - at least not in the Western nations. And the fault for this can be laid squarely at the feet of His apathetic, lukewarm church. GOD IS NOT GLORIFIED - knowing it tears at me night and day. For how can we who know Him stand to have it so? We live in an age where battles are fought, not with spears and swords, but rather with words, images, ideas and symbols. If you can dominate the arts and the media, you can dominate today's world. And the devil happily does so, while the church sleeps on, blissfully unaware, it seems. But perhaps Columbine was the beginning of our wakeup call? Perhaps the sleeping giant begins to stir? In recent years the evangelical church has responded to the continuous losing of this battle in several ways. Part of the church has essentially withdrawn into it's own little 1950's Christian world, while others have seemingly gone about desperately making themselves as "cool" or as 'feel-good' as they can, to try to appeal to the world on it's own shallow, selfish terms. Still others specialise in providing somewhat dubious spiritual 'experiences'. None of these approaches is working. On the one hand we have the (generally older) "conservative" Christians, clinging to the old 1950's forms and practices as best they can. The music may be a little more up-tempo, but otherwise little has changed. The same 'man in a suit' preaching the same kinds of sermons to a comfortable, well-dressed congregation full of "nice" people. And the same old go-to- church-on-Sunday "Cathedral" mentality. Dress up, go to church, stand up, sing some songs, sit down, sing some more songs, listen to the sermon, read the notices, sing and go home. All very nice. All rather old. (-But nothing like the book of Acts). Even many Pentecostal meetings today are as predictable as the older denominations. On the other hand we have the "cool" young crowd (-Boomers or younger) who are often so desperate to make their Christianity 'hip' and relevant that they are seemingly willing to downplay issues such as "sin" and holiness to concentrate on being as dynamic, as entertaining and as 'ragey' as possible. Many seem hell-bent on proving just what "fun" - what a 'party' the Christian life can be. They think they can win the world if only they can make "our party" better than theirs. They figure (correctly) that we must "speak the people's language" to get them to listen, but they also often seem willing to compromise their message in order to do so. With the younger of them being eager proponents of head-moshing and stage- diving, they tend to spawn bands who favor style over content, and "partying" over holiness. Who would ever know that the Bible commands us to "be not conformed to this world"? And whatever happened to - 'Whoever would be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me'? Foreign concepts, all. None of this is losing the devil any sleep. Whatever approach we use, our evangelical churches today show little sign of causing him any real headaches. Overall he is still winning the war - and winning it hands down. It is time now to discuss what I believe God is going to DO about this situation. As you know, I have been saying for several years that massive Reformation of the church and a great 'street-Revival' are imminent in the West. God cannot allow this current situation to go on forever. I have also said that in the end this will be as much a "media Revival" as a 'street-Revival'. But what exactly do I mean by this? My belief is basically that the coming move will deal very deeply with the hearts of God's people, bringing repentance, cleansing and restoration to many on a massive scale. (-Though some will oppose what is happening). Without such an outpouring, all is lost. The devil will continue to run rampant. But this outpouring will also bring a massive REFORMATION to the church's structure, her leadership and her entire way of doing things. As God has said, "I am going to CHANGE the understanding and expression of Christianity IN THE EARTH in one generation." Now THAT has the hallmarks of a 'GREAT Reformation'! We have spoken before about the coming "street-church" movement, where thousands will gather in the streets, miracles and anointed "repentance" preaching will occur daily, and the 'Cathedrals' will be abandoned in favour of gatherings of the saints "from house to house" - just like in the book of Acts. I believe very strongly that the leaders of this movement will be "street" types - men and women who may appear a little "rough and ready" but who will have a tremendous heart after God. This is the kind of leadership that God has prophesied will arise. These will be the new apostles, prophets and evengelists, etc, that must arise to form a "foundation" for the new move of God. Now I want to make a key point here:- From a media point of view, these "street"-type leaders will bring a MASSIVE ADVANTAGE to this new movement. For if it is one thing that has become clear since the 1960's it is that "men in suits" send entirely the wrong message to young people today. These days, men in suits are often seen to represent all that is "old- establishment", institutional, big-business, bureaucratic and conservative. In films they are often not to be trusted. The fact that the church is still seen largely as a "men in suits" type of organisation is one of the biggest reasons for our lack of credibility today, I believe. It says mountains about just how badly we have failed to adapt to the modern era. Our swished-up TV evangelists in their flashy suits and expensive shoes simply come across as fake, plastic hustlers to many secular people. (-And half the time they may be right). Our crusades and church meetings have exactly the same kinds of credibility problems, often. In these areas we are simply stuck in a 1950's time-warp - back in the days when these things actually worked and were respected by society at large. We are fifty years behind the times. And the devil is having us for breakfast because of it. When Jesus came to earth He came as a poor man preaching to the poor. He himself was a carpenter and His leading apostles were a bunch of poorly-educated fishermen. He was one with the "common people". He did miracles in the streets and preached in the open air. Today we have gotten well away from the simplicity of Jesus' own model of ministry. But when the new move of God comes it will be back with a rush. That is what the 'street- church' is all about. However, I also believe that like every Revival in history the coming move will adapt to the climate and conditions that it finds itself in. In Luther's day, the newly-invented printing press was put to massive use by the Reformers who filled Europe with common-language Bibles and literature outlining the great teachings of the Reformation. Without this new medium it is very doubtful whether the Reformation would have had anything like the impact it did. Luther and his supporters also invented a "new music" - simple melodies that worshipped God in all His holiness, and that carried the great Truths of the new movement far and wide. Two hundred years later, in the Great Awakening, John and Charles Wesley likewise invented a "new music" based on the popular tunes of the day, which helped the common people to worship God in a new way, and also to latch onto the truths they were preaching. The man and woman on the street loved it, but the religious church-goers weren't so sure! A hundred years after that, William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army also found it necessary to adapt the popular "drinking songs" of his day to great hymns of faith. These were blasted at top volume out on the streets by a new form of musical combo - the brass band. Loud marches, uniforms, flags, handbills and posters, as well as widespread newspaper coverage were all seen by Booth as "weapons" in his holy war against darkness and the devil. And with God's help, it was a war he was starting to win. (-To a large extent he did so, for forty years). All of these men felt the need for "drastic measures" because of the state of the existing church of the day. Like David facing Goliath, they did what they did because something had to be done. They could not live with this mockery of the God they loved for one more day. And so they found new weapons to war against the enemy with. I have a friend who received a couple of very interesting dreams about five years ago. (-This was the same man who received the open vision of the Bride leaving the Cathedral). In the first dream he found himself in a kind of local dance - somewhere in the 1930's, he thought - in which everything seemed rather drab and the men were all wearing the same kinds of suits and shoes, etc. (-They were looking at him strangely because he was wearing sneakers). Everything seemed old-fashioned. Then, in the next dream he saw what looked like a gray, drab old building - but suddenly God reached down and splashed dazzling colors all over it - all the colors of the rainbow. That was the end of the dream. My friend believes that these dreams apply to what God is about to do in the coming move. We published another dream recently on our Prophetic List in which some ancient weapons of war were rediscovered - from the 1870's or so. Now the 1870's and 1880's were the absolute heyday of the Salvation Army. General Booth's new weapons swept all before them at that time. It is interesting to note also that in James Ryle's dream of the 'Sons of Thunder', God prophesied that in the last days there will be a new 'Salvation Army':- "The Lord God will release into the streets an army of worshipping warriors known as the 'Sons of Thunder.'" All of this resounds with a huge "Amen!" in my heart. It is my belief that as a result of the coming move, God will bring about a Christian "explosion" of music and colour in the arts and the secular media that will rival that of the sixties. But the results will be very different. A new sound that is utterly glorifying to God will sweep the earth, with an impact at least as great as that of the Beatles and their cohorts. We will very quickly take back ground that we have been losing for the last thirty years. And secular television will be a vital ingredient in this media war. The 'street-church' with it's street-leaders will invade the Living Rooms of the world with God's message. This will not cost the earth. The media themselves will gladly foot the bill, just to be allowed to report what God is doing. I tell you, once this "new music" arises, watch and see how fast all this occurs. The media will be falling all over themselves to be a part of it. God will indeed "change the understanding and expression of Christianity IN THE EARTH, in one generation." The street-Revival will become a media-Revival. When you think about it, this may be the best way that the youth of the West can be reached en masse today. But how humble the new leaders will need to be to cope with the pressures that will come with this. A similar thing actually occurred in the great Welsh Revival of 1904 - in the days before Radio and Television, when newspapers were the dominant medium. Evan Roberts' preaching was being reported word-for-word by secular newspapers around the world at the height of the Revival. Numerous people were converted as a result of reading these sermons. But the pressure eventually got to young Evan Roberts. Eventually he stopped preaching and went into seclusion, after the Revival was barely a year old. There was a kind of "new music" that arose in Wales during this Revival also. Personally, I cannot stand to see the devil winning and God being mocked and our young people being dragged into ever-deeper darkness every day for the rest of my life. I happen to believe that Jesus won a COMPLETE VICTORY over the devil at the cross, and I see no reason why we can't enforce that victory over the devil in our day, or any day. Jesus purchased it for us at great cost, didn't he? So why are we losing? Why do we not spend our time "destroying the works of the devil" - as He did? I believe that the coming Reformation and Revival will restore the church to what she is meant to be - a glorious Bride, without spot or wrinkle, clothed with the glory of God. This is exactly what Jesus purchased at Calvary, so it is exactly what I expect to see. Why settle for less? Are we supposed to be letting the devil stomp all over us like he has been? The "media war" for the hearts and minds of our youth should be ours to win, not his, surely? Or did Jesus only half-redeem the earth? I believe in FULL redemption. I believe Jesus "bought back" everything lost in the fall. And frankly, I believe we are to enact that victory over the devil right here and right now. Otherwise, why bother hanging around down here? Is it right for God to be represented by a bunch of apologetic losers? Is that all we are supposed to be? Are we to just keep losing as great deception grows and then whimper off into eternity? I don't think so. I don't think my Lord suffered what He suffered to purchase THAT. He purchased back everything, to the fullest. And I intend to use that fact to make the devil's life as uncomfortable as I can make it. In fact, if I get the chance I intend to make the devil's life HELL. I cannot believe in these doctrines that make the devil and his deceptions the only winner and the Bride of Christ the great loser in the last days. I cannot accept it, and I will not go down without a FIGHT. "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY" (Lk 10:19). "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, RAISE THE DEAD, cast out devils: Freely you have received, freely give" (Mt 10:8). "He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL HE DO; because I go unto my Father" (Jn 14:12). Now, to finish with a few practical thoughts:- What exactly would God have us DO to prepare for the coming move? Obviously, PRAYER is the great key to any successful invasion of the devil's territory. And it is the key to WE BELIEVERS getting prepared also. This is first and foremost for any move of God. But I also believe that there are other things that many of us are called to do. I know that there are a number of musicians, writers and other 'media' oriented people who will read this. I believe God is right now preparing people like you to become part of what He is about to do. I believe that people who are really gifted with audio and digital/ visual skills will be crucial members of God's "commando army" in the coming media war. In theory one can now dominate the world's media from a desktop PC. You can record and edit music, create videos, issue press-releases, program web-sites, you-name-it - all from a modern desk-top computer. I tell you, this is changing the media world forever. So get involved! Don't be afraid to try new things. If this is what you feel God is calling you to, know that there is a big purpose behind the skills He is having you learn. And another thing - for the musicians. Don't get depressed if you do not become the "next Beatles" overnight. The original Beatles first got together in about 1957 or '58. They wrote hundreds of songs that no-one ever heard. They completely FAILED THEIR BIG AUDITION with Decca Records who had them come in and record in their studio. They were about to give up when they almost ACCIDENTALLY got another audition with Parlophone - which was EMI's "comedy" label. The Beatles did not record their first album until 1962. Their first song was NOT a top-ten hit. Their first American singles were all flops. BUT THEY DID NOT GIVE UP. The gift was there all along, but it took a long time for it to blossom enough for the WORLD TO SEE IT. And song-writing and music need PRACTICE - even for the most gifted and inspired song-writers. With my own band, recording and producing our own first CD has been one of the sharpest learning-curves of my life. It has often been painful, but it has also been GREAT, because I am learning to become good at my craft. And I still have to keep learning. But I TRULY BELIEVE IN WHAT WE ARE DOING, AND THE CALL OF GOD ON OUR LIVES. I am really looking forward to our next lot of recordings. And just as I write this article, God has been directing me towards starting my own TELEVISION SHOW ON SECULAR TV - on a youth/ alternative channel in Auckland. It will be a half-hour youth magazine show that will air at 5:30pm every Saturday - very openly Christian. The first show is to feature my friend Tuhoe Isaac - an ex-gang President who has a full- face 'moko' tattoo. Will it cost money? Yes, it will. Why on earth am I doing it? Because I feel God wants me to. I can't escape it, so I am going to do it. I have made music-videos before, but never a TV show. So no doubt I will learn a lot. And I believe God is telling me to "despise not the day of small beginnings". Who knows where it will lead? If you think God is telling you to do something to glorify Him, then DO IT. It may be preparation for something bigger. Who knows? We have all got to prepare in practical ways as well as spiritual. Whatever God tells us to do. Like David with his "five small stones" that he used to slay Goliath, or the boy with the five loaves and fishes that Jesus used to feed the five thousand, we don't know what can happen when we simply give God the "small things" that we have to offer. He can use anything. So please continue to PRAY for Revival, and also to ask God what practical things you can do in preparation for Revival ministry. This Revival is going to be like no other - the possibilities are endless. So listen to God and do whatever He tells you. And may He richly bless you in whatever He calls you to do. I believe this may be the hour for 'stepping out', my friends. God bless you all. -Andrew Strom.
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