Jesus Power

Written by Brian M. Williams on Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 3:17pm

By definition, a counterfeit product is an imitation which infringes upon a production monopoly held by either a state or corporation. Goods are produced with the intent to bypass this monopoly and thus take advantage of the established worth of the previous product.

As I was in prayer this afternoon the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about a counterfeit move of God that is, and has been hovering in the shadows for quite some time. As a Columbus native, I have both natural insight as well as spiritual insight into the city. Prophetic people must have an ear to the spirit in this hour. There is a coming revival which is authentic and genuine, but before it comes, we must be aware that the devil is raising his army as well, and guess where they are? Not in the streets gangs and homosexual hangouts as some would imagine… but masquerading as messengers of light within the church of God. The prayer movement in Columbus has expanded to epic proportions throughout the city and this swell of underground momentum is bound to crack the surface. When it does, Intimacy with God will be the main message, because when it’s all said and done that is all that matters. Columbus will be known as the city of love. Columbus will be seen as a place of refuge, a place where the spirit of adoption is known among the followers of Jesus. This will have both practical and spiritual implications. We will see miraculous signs and wonders done through the name of Jesus, especially in urban area’s. Just IMAGINE high street, Cleveland ave, Livingston, southfield, the Hilltop, north, south, east, and west, all being overtaken by the authority of the power of God! Yes, all these things will be done, and found pointing to the wonderful savior. A spirit of worship will invade our churches, new songs will be written, and a zeal for GOD ALONE will supersede even reaching the lost. Preaching on GOD will be the uniform truth among believers in this city. As a result there will be some division, but this is good division, it’s a separation between the true and the false, the ones who truly know Jesus, and those who have simply used His name for selfish gain. In the midst of this beautiful scene, I felt led to warn the leaders especially about the “counterfeit revival” which will take place as well.

In the bible Jesus warns his disciples in Matthew 24:4-5 “And Jesus answered and said unto them” Take heed, that no one deceive you. For MANY will come IN MY NAME, saying I AM THE CHRIST, and will deceive many”

Throughout this chapter Jesus deals with some scenarios surrounding the societal realities of the earth prior to His return. Now traditionally, when we read the aforementioned verses, we often times understand it to mean, that many people will come claiming to be the messiah and they will deceive many, which is an accurate interpretation. We see this in both our historical and modern world. But as it is with all of God’s word there are parallel meanings, and if we look at what Jesus is actually saying here we will discover that not only is He foretelling of the blatant blasphemers who will call themselves “The Christ”, He is also, referring to people who COME IN HIS name, meaning they will bear the name of Christ, or rather be identified by those in our city as “Christians”. This is illustrated throughout the epistles of Paul, and mentioned by Jesus as well previously, in Matthew 7:15-16 which says “Beware of false prophets, who COME TO YOU in Sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16. You will know them by their fruits…” So we see here, that those who carry the label, will not only deceive many, but will themselves be deceived.

What is counterfeit revival?

As I stated in the beginning of this note, and as we all know, a “counterfeit” has the appearance of the real thing, but can not pass the test of authenticity. Whether it be a watermarking on a dollar bill, or the green effect from false gold. In the same way a “counterfeit” move of God is going to come to Columbus. Counterfeit revival is birthed in board meetings, in planning sessions, and on conference calls. Men discuss false revival over coffee. True revival is birthed through prayer and fasting, through weeping and wailing. That’s it, no shortcuts, a rending of the heart, and a desperate plea for Yahweh to rend the heavens and release mercy. The success of false revival is often times connected to the amount of material resources, not the spiritual reservoir of living waters that historically GUSH out true spirit born people. So while AUTHENTIC REVIVAL is birthed in the place of prayer, the false fire is created on the altars of men-pleasing, ego-stroking, watered down preaching, where the power of emotionalism charades before the cross of Jesus Christ. This type of revival will crumble in the face of accusation, and most certainly is ill-equipped to handle the persecution that is guaranteed upon ALL THOSE WHO DESIRE TO LIVE GODLY IN CHRIST JESUS(2 Tim. 3:12), I believe the bible calls this “having the form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof”. This counterfeit revival, will have many of the characteristics of the real one. Churches where this will take place, may see an increase of what appears to be manifestations of the Holy Spirit but it is in reality a “flesh parade” We have to keep in mind, that the devil loves to get attention, he is by nature the father of pride and the father of lies, he was cast down for his very desire to be like God. To this day, he and all his minions maintain this trait. When the person you see shouting, speaking in tongues and boisterously praising God on Sunday is at the nightclub, or bar on the weekends, we are dealing with an impostor. But truthfully, the leaders of this false move of God aren’t those who sit in the pews, they are those who stand in the pulpits. The most outstanding quality that a man or woman of God can have is Christ-likeness. meaning they will walk in humility, are not self-endorsing, and willing to wash the dirty feet of their neighbors. A true minister of the gospel will not spend more time promoting their latest product or building fund than they do pleading for souls to be reconciled to God. This counterfeit revival, will see an increase in ministry activity, but will not embody the biblical calling of holy spirit led people. Leaders of the counterfeit revival will not be men and women of prayer and the word, they will be better friends to the community than they are to God. They will replace prayer meetings, with community outreaches. They will be dry eyed preachers, performers, politicians, pundits and deceivers. They will know how to work the crowd, manipulate the offering, but you will rarely hear them speak of the world mission field, the coming back of Christ, or ever make politically incorrect statements against the atrocity of abortion, or the demons of sexual perversion that have invaded so many homes. Most of all these preachers will be totally satisfied as long as the crowd shows up, and they make enough money to live comfortable.

YOUNG ADULT MOVEMENT

Last thing I’d like to share is that God is truly raising up the young adults and teenagers in Columbus, but beware of the false prophets who lead this movement as well. God will raise up prophets in this city who carry His heart, but beware of those who come to you in sheep’s clothing as well. The false prophets of this movement will be so deceived themselves that they will not even realize that they are the ones leading people away from Christ, though they vehemently promote His name. The leaders of this apostasy will be appealing, charming, and gifted, but as I said, worldliness, the love of money, sexual immorality has polluted these ones, and they will be simply releasing there uncleanliness upon the masses. So be on the look out, and ask yourself a few questions when discerning whether these people be of God. Is the message they carry a call to repentance? Or is it mostly self-promotion? When leaving the service where these false prophets have ministered, has your desire to love Jesus increased or do you simply find yourself impressed with how much fun you had? and 3rdly, Have you seen this minister weep for the lost? These are just a few helpful insights that will aide you in not being deceived. The young people who are swept up into this false move of God will be more concerned with how the world see them, then how God sees them. These young people will have little reverence for the spiritual father’s and mothers who gave birth to them in the spirit. These young people will know all the right words to say around Christian people, but they will be slaves to sin, not desiring to be free, because they will believe they are free even though there iPods and computers are filled with music and movies that God hates, things that nailed Jesus to the cross.

So what is true revival?

Revival is when something dead comes back to life. You cannot revive something that has not first died. With this in mind, as we pray for revival, our prayers should be focused on the church, not on the lost, but on those who claim to know Jesus, to truly walk in the light as He is in the light, to bear fruit which is born of the spirit, and to walk in all boldness and power of the Holy Ghost. To die to our carnal desires, to be raised with Christ in the newness of life. That God would revive us by the spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. When this happens, the coma-fied church of Columbus will come into fullness of life, and the challenge of bringing the gospel to lost souls will be answered by the anointing that we carry with us as we go about everyday life in Columbus. True revival will lead to an increase in all things led of the Holy Spirit. In John 16 we can read about why the Holy Spirit was sent to Columbus. He has come to convict Columbus of sin, righteous, and of the coming judgment. Meaning true revival, translates into a church that has 1 primary message with 3 consistent themes. When preaching like this infiltrates our pulpits and the spirit of Jezebel is no longer tolerated we will see True Revival.

In closing:

I assure you that unless you arm yourself with the full armor of God, (Ephesians 6:10-17) you will fall prey to this spirit of deception. For all of you out there who love God, love His truth, and love His Son, then please stay alert in the place of prayer, never lose sight of the BIG PICTURE and most of all be holy even as He is Holy.