FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK...
In 2 Peter 3:1-2, the Apostle Peter reminds his readers of the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our intent and emphasis is to use the tool of reminder by bringing to our attention prophetic words that have been given and valued as words of the Lord to the IPHC. These declarations, considered divinely inspired, offer valuable insights into God's plans.
In the coming months, we will present several of these prophetic messages for your consideration. We encourage you to approach them with prayerful discernment and open hearts. Let us seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, both individually and corporately, as we anticipate the fulfillment of these prophetic words.
FIND YOUR PLACE IN THIS MOMENT.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, "The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none and their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them myself..." Today we stand in a season of grace. According to Dawson, over recent months "thousands of pastors have cried out to God in harmony with one another." Such tears and repentance have "caused the face of the Lord to turn toward us. And we are prepared for harvest. And we are to ask for great things." We are to find our place in this moment.
"You, as a movement, are to be characterized by joy. You are to be ‘a people of celebration’ and ‘happy in the work God has given you to do.’”
“The third thing is that you are to have an identity in encouraging and serving the whole Church, an ambition for the inheritance of all the tribes... There are many times in which you will labor and travail for victory, and the harvest will be received to the increase of other tribes, and you are not to be insecure about that; but you are to be secure in the identity God has given you.”
"The fourth characteristic is that you are to be... a tribe that raises up leadership for a vision as big as the world. You are to expose those being trained to the great diversity of ministries and movements. You are to know the Church... This movement is not primarily a nursery… our success is always to be seen in terms of what is happening in the Kingdom, not in the isolation of our circumstances."
"The fifth characteristic, God wants you to have is to be a House of Prayer for all nations. You are to be strategic, informed intercessors; intercession by those who know the nations... From this time forth, according to the Word of the Lord, you are to be a people who go to and from in the earth with nations in your heart… You are a doorway to the nations."
"The sixth characteristic is that you are to be a people who are poor in spirit, humble and grateful for God's mercy, the fellowship of the rescued... Be as those who are quick to confess, quick to humble themselves, those who always seem to have a desperate sense of need and a hunger for more of God... quick to serve, poor in spirit because 'blessed are the poor in spirit."'
"The seventh characteristic is that you are to be a people that condemns no man, having a spirit of adoption to the rejected and unlovely… You are not to be a people defined by standards, but by a spirit of adoption."
"The eighth characteristic is that you are to be a container, as an extended family in the kingdom of many cultures and nationalities... Your movement is to be a fellowship of peoples... This is not to be a denomination and movement associated with one nation... There is to come a point when the balance of those who are in this tribe is not found in this nation, and that the governing body of this tribe is to be a circle of nations."
"The ninth characteristic is you are to be a people of liberty, a people characterized by the liberty to create without fear forms of worship and ministry that release the full personality of the Creator… Sometimes the enemy of tomorrow's inheritance is today's possession. And so, we need to take all that we have possessed and put it on the altar There may be painful things with which to deal, but God calls for everything being placed on the altar."
"The tenth characteristic is to be that of radical generosity. You are to be a people called to pioneer again and again. [These are] calls which will require your giving more than you have, doing bigger things than your resources allow you to do. And each generation is going to see the miracles…"
"The eleventh characteristic is to be that your leaders are known in heaven and on earth as people who follow the cloud, as people who are reporting a story of divine direction…" "You are to have the ministry of encouragement in discipling the nations and in discipling the Church. Discipleship, after all, is 90 (90%) percent encouragement. You are to call forth Christ in others. You are to apply the gift of faith to their future. You are to train your eyes to see that which is fearfully and wonderfully made. You are to establish loving accountability and weep with those who weep and laugh with those who laugh."
These prophetic words were spoken through John Dawson on October 10, 1991 at the King Memorial Lectures in Franklyn Springs, Georgia. John Dawson is former President of Youth With A Mission and a well-loved author and leader. He is founder of the International Reconciliation Coalition, a global network dedicated to healing wounds between people groups and elements of society. He is former founder/director of Youth With A Mission-Los Angeles and the International Director of YWAM Urban Missions.
