When Heaven Invades Earth

"We go through a season where it seems our prayers go unanswered and we stop consulting with Him about our life, we take control back."
-From A New Thing Ministries



I've been reading Heaven Invades on the Earth after getting an encouragment from someone I don't know. My mom was surprised because she also thought of buying it. So she bought it and I loaned it via Kindle. Here's what I highlighted:

"Not everyone liked Smith Wigglesworth. His faith made other people feel uncomfortable. We either become like them or avoid them. We find their lifestyle either contagious or offensive with little neutral ground. Smith is well loved today... but it's only because he's dead. Israel loved their dead prophets too."

"The apostle Paul was driven by the command, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel...' However, when he was ready to preach the gospel in Asia, God said no. What God had said appeared to be in conflict with what God was saying. Paul then prepared to go to Bithynia. Again, God said no. Following this Paul had a dream of a man calling out to him from Macedonia. This was recognized as the will of God, and they went."

"The authority to cast out demons is found in rest. Rest is the climate that faith grows in. It comes out of the peace of God... it is a moving of the heart into a place of surrender... a place of rest."

"If we only have ten minutes to pray we should spend about eight praising God."

"Many who call themselves intercessors live depressed lives. I don't want to minimize the genuine effect of the burden of the Lord that comes upon us when we are praying effectively. It is real and necessary. But an unstable lifestyle has been promoted by those who claim to be intercessors, but have not learned to RELEASE THINGS in prayer. The burden of the Lord takes us somewhere! I learned this the hard way."

"Billy Graham is credited with saying, 'Ninety-five percent of today's church activities would continue if the Holy Spirit were removed from us. In the early Church, ninety-five percent of all her activities would have stopped if the Holy Spirit were removed.' I agree."

"We speak the word, and the Father does the works- miracles!"

"One only needs to look at Moses to realize that sometimes the miraculous only causes our Pharoahs to become more resolved to destroy us when they see power... Power stirred up the zeal of opposition in them... power often causes people to decide what they're for or against. Power removes the middle ground."

"Jesus commanded the most highly trained individuals in the supernatural to ever walk the earth to "wait in Jerusalem for what the Father has promised.'... even though they had experienced His power through their own ministry, they were to wait for DUNAMIS- the ability to perform miracles."

"Before entering, I would pray specifically that the anointing of God would rest upon me and flow through me. I would walk up and down the aisles praying quietly in the Spirit, wanting God to fill the store. One day the owner came to me and said, "Something is different when you come into the store." A door opened that day that gave me many opportunities for future ministry. The anointing upon me equipped me for service."

"A visiting minister recently told us, "The difference between you and me is this: if I pray for a dead person and they are not raised from the dead, I pray for the next dead person too. I don't quit!"

"They applaud fasting and respect those who embrace poverty or endure disease for the sake of personal spirituality. But show them a life filled with joy because of the transforming power of God, and they will not only applaud but will want to be like you."

"But the cross is not self-applied- Jesus did not nail Himself to the cross. Christians who are trapped by this counterfeit are contstantly talking about their weaknesses... This is especially noticeable in prayer meetings where people try to project great brokenness before God, hoping to earn revival. They will often reconfess old sins searching for real humility. [ME ME = pride!]"

"I discover that I was not the Holy Spirit. I cannot convict and deliver myself of sin."

"Tongues of fire were seen on the heads of the apostles on the day of Pentcost. In more modern times, fire has been seen blazing from the top of church buildings when the people of God are gathered together in His name. At the Azuza Street revival, the fire department was called to extinguish a blaze, only to discover that the people inside were worshipping Jesus. Water couldn't put it out as it was not a natural fire."

"Mary stands apart from Zacharias because while being ignorant she surrendered to the promise... we have the choice: to stand in the shoes of Zacharias and lose our voice, or walk in the ways of Mary and invite God to restore us the promises we cannot control."

"Outside of intimacy, we are likely to miss the greatest event on earth."

"The religious leaders said Paul and Silas were of the devil. But a demon-possessed fortune-teller girl said they were of God."

"Sometimes our dearest friends want to put us away, declaring the move to be from the devil. And then there's the fact that we are looked at as a fringe element by the rest of the Body of Christ. The willingness to bear reproach from our brothers and sisters is part of the cost we pay for the move of the Spirit."

"Quenching the Spirit is probably responsible for the end of more revivals than any other single cause. Even those who have embraced the move of God often come to a place where their comfort zone is stretched about as far as they are willing to go. They then begin to look for a place to settle- a place of understanding and control.

"The second greatest reason for a revival's end is when the Church begins to look for the return of the Lord instead of pursuing a greater breakthrough in the Great Commission."

"I believe the desire for the Church to be in heaven now is actually the counterfeit of seeking first the kingdom. There's a difference between crying for heaven now and heaven here! If a revival has brought us to the end of our dreams, does that mean we have reached the end of His? A revival must go beyond all we could imagine."

"Ten days had passed, Pentecost had come, and they were still praying as they did the other nine days. 'And suddenly...' A room with one hundred and twenty people was now filled with...This infant Church hadn't learned enough to try and control God. They hadn't developed biases over acceptable and unacceptable practices. They had no biblical or experiential grid for what was happening."

"The Word doesn't contain God- it reveals Him. Joel 2 revealed the nature of God's work among man. Acts 2 was an illustration of what God intended by that prophecy."

"The Church has an unhealthy addiction to perfection: the kind that makes no allowances for messes... 'Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox.' Messes are necessary for increase."

"Our God-born desire for revival must keep us desperate enough to recognize Him when He comes. Without such desperation, we get satisfied with our present status and become our own worst enemies at changing history."

"Many Christians prefer to work in a Christian business, attend Christian meetings, and isolate themselves from the very people we are left on the planet to touch in His name."

"So much of today's Kingdom theology is focused on us ruling, in the sense of believers becoming the heads of corporations and governments. And, in measure, it is true. But our strong suit has been, and always will be, service. If in serving we get promoted to positions of rulership, we must remember that what got us there, will keep us useful."

"The Hebrew four were promoted as a result of Daniel's prophetic gift. Please note that there is no mention of Daniel operating in this gift before this crisis. Something similar happened to an evangelist friend of mine while still in his youth. He was invited to speak in a church in Canada. When he got off the plane, the pastor met him with a surprised look on his face, saying, "You're not Morris Cerullo!" The Pastor had a great hunger for signs and wonders to be restored to his church, and thought he had booked a week of meetings with Morris Cerullo. The shocked pastor asked the young man if he had a signs and wonders ministry. He answered, "No." The pastor, looking at his watch said, "You've got four hours to get one" and then took him to the hotel. Out of desperation, the young evangelist cried out to God, and God honored his cry. That night was the beginning of the signs and wonders ministry that has marked his life to this day. God orchestrated these circumstances so that both Daniel and this young evangelist would earnestly pursue spiritual gifts."

"Promotion does not go unchallenged. Just when you think you have been placed into a position of influence, something will happen to totally rock your boat."

"Sometimes we are to go against the command of our leaders- but even then, only with submissive hearts."

"Men of lesser character would have rejoiced in God's judgment. Not Daniel. His response to his master was: 'My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you, and its interpretation concern your enemies.' What loyalty! His devotion was not based on the character of his king. It was based on the character of the One who assigned him the position of service. Some would have had an "I told you so" response to their boss if God judged them in the same way. The world has seen our 'holier than thou' attitude, and they're not impressed. It's time they see a loyalty that is not based on genuine goodness. Responses like Daniel's become noticed. They display the kingdom in its purity and power. They are revolutionary."

"God's people must find a heart to see others succeed. Anyone can wish good upon someone who conforms to his or her beliefs and disciplines. But the ability to express loyalty and forgiveness before someone is saved may be the key to touching that individual's heart. Personal integrity is the backbone of all life and ministry, and our credibility is founded on this one thing."

"A ten-year-old asked her mom to take her to the mall so she could find sick people to pray for. Students set up a sign at their table at our local coffee shop. It says, "Free prayer." People not only got prayer, they received a prophetic word that brought them to a greater awareness of God's love."

"Where does life take you? Go there in the anointing and watch the impossibilities bow to the name Jesus."

"The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of power! We must be in pursuit of a fuller demonstration of the Spirit of God. Pray much and take risks."

"On the contrary, it's important to understand God's promise and purpose for the Church so that we might become dissatisfied- so that we will become desperate. Intercession from insatiable hunger moves the heart of God as nothing else can."

"Revival is not for the faint of heart. It brings fear to the complacent because of the risks it requires. The fearful often work against the move of God- sometimes to their death- all the while thinking they are working for Him."

"The addiction to perfection has given place to a religious spirit. People who refuse to step out and be used by God become the critics of those who do. Risk takers, the ones who thrill the heart of God, become the targets of those who never fail because they seldom try."