BATTLE PLAN #2 - Andrew Strom
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
-by Andrew Strom.
In March I wrote an article called 'The Battle Plan'. I believe the
overall sense of it was correct, but in hindsight, parts of the
"practical Action" side of things were clearly not right. God does
not want us continually holding "Conferences". He wants far more
DIRECT action than that.
But the overall theme of this being an hour for WAR and
MOBILISATION - I still feel now just as strongly as I did then. In
fact, even more so. A preacher who spoke at our PA Conference
told me a dream he had last week, in which he saw Jesus standing
in a wheat-field that was so "ripe" for harvest that the wheat-stalks
were bending under the sheer WEIGHT of the heads of wheat. Is
it not possible, my friends, that the HARVEST HAS ARRIVED,
whether we are ready or not?
Since the mid-1980's, the prophets in this nation have been crying
that a Harvest is coming. Don't you think we have had enough
warning? Just because we have not got ourselves ready as we
should have, does not mean that the harvest-time will be delayed
forever. What if it is ALREADY UPON US? -Surely we didn't expect
God to put it off indefinitely?
As I wrote in the first 'Battle Plan':
"We know from God's dealings with men down the ages that there
is a time to 'wait' and a time to GO. There is a time to sit still
before the Lord and a time for MOBILISATION. Many of us have
been sensing a "change of seasons" for some time. We are
entering a battle-zone for the hearts and minds of the church and
the world. Our footsteps hasten to the sound of war."
"Behold, I will do a NEW THING; Now it shall SPRING FORTH.
Shall ye not know it?..." (Isaiah 43:19).
But I have to be honest and tell you that I myself was not ready for
radical action in March. I was not ready for a part in the "harvest".
I had grown jaded and discouraged in certain crucial areas - and
God needed to re-awaken me. I could handle ministering in
Conferences and church meetings fine - but certain parts of me
I had closed down.
You have to realize that up until a few years ago, "STREET REVIVAL"
was the over-riding theme of my ministry. We had street-teams,
radical preaching and live amplified bands out in the open air. We
often ministered with ex-gang members, etc. One of our largest
events was attacked by Satanists the night before - slashing down
tents and covering everything with blood-colored graffiti - "Anarchy"
and "666" symbols everywhere. (Naturally, this only spurred us on).
But despite all this I had grown disillusioned. -Because it was very
apparent to me that the season was not right for Street Revival.
And so, disheartened, I withdrew from the field and put it all on the
backburner. Despite the overwhelming calling that had been on my
life for years and years in this area, I had to let it go. (-This was
about four years ago).
But God has spent the whole first half of this year re-awakening
that fire in me. And I have become more and more convinced that
the SEASON IS NOW. And all the promises of God over His people
are about to be fulfilled. For me, those promises go back more than
twenty years. How about you?
Last Saturday night we took a street-team dressed in "camo" into
a Housing Project in one of the worst parts of Kansas City. We
gave away food, and with a live band we sang new amplified worship
songs set to a hip-hop beat, and preached a gospel of repentance.
I was very interested to hear a couple of comments made by local
residents. One told me: "There has been no-one ministering to
these kids at all. They get NO MINISTRY." [-These are mainly
black teenagers]. And also: "To attract them, it's got to be THEIR
KIND OF MUSIC." -How true. And these are the exact reasons
why the early Salvation Army did what they did 120 years ago.
This is why they had BRASS BANDS and 'drinking' songs turned
into hymns, etc. They knew they had to reach the "common man"
on his own turf - in their day.
More and more of these outreaches are now planned. -But not just
in Kansas City. Right across southern Texas, Darren Smith is
leading street-teams in similar style. Their direction is 'Army' also -
with hip-hop music and all the rest. (-Call it "Street-worship"). In
Dallas there are similar outreaches occurring, and in Minnesota
there is already a core group about to launch. We have been calling
what we are doing 'SALVATION DELTA' - a cross between the early
Salvation Army and Delta Force. Jesse Morrell (-the street-preacher
facing jail) has told me he wants to be involved. -And likewise
Randy Benham, who wrote that article about using our God-given
AUTHORITY to heal the sick and cast out demons. -He trains and
leads teams to Asia, where they see God do remarkable things.
(-But he has also seen many healings on the streets of America).
Can you imagine a trained army like this invading the most dangerous
parts of our cities, using hip-hop music to gather crowds, preaching
repentance, feeding the poor, expelling demons and commanding
the sick to be healed in the NAME OF JESUS? -That is exactly
what we are talking about here. That is the whole vision in a
nutshell. God wants to train up an ARMY. And the Housing Projects
of America are "white unto harvest". Maybe all this time we have
been going to the wrong fields with the wrong tools - and wondering
why nothing ever happened.
The fact is, we are going to have to go to the 'dangerous' places.
And yes, possibly we are going to have to RISK OUR VERY LIVES.
Because it is actually in the darkest and most dangerous places
that the 'LIGHT' of the gospel has the most effect. Never forget
the motto of the English Special Forces- "WHO DARES WINS".
-Totally applicable to God's "commandos" also.
The harvest-fields of America are not in the respectable middle-
class suburbs. They are in the drug-ridden neighborhoods and
gang infested streets. We have been preaching to the wrong
people in all the wrong places - because it was "convenient" for us.
But we are not sent to the "nice" people. We are supposed to go
to the poor and the outcasts - like Jesus did. The founder of the
Salvation Army, William Booth, said it well: "Go for souls, and go
for THE WORST."
Earlier this year, I asked for 'Facilitators' to contact me. I now realize
I was mistaken and I apologise. What we need most desperately
in this hour are "street-ministries" that are radical and bold enough
to be involved with the kind of "Street warfare" that I am talking about
here. It is not "Facilitators" that I should have asked for at all. I truly
apologise.
The people that we really need to be networking with in this hour
are the STREET-MINISTRIES, and those 'daring' enough to be
part of all this. The harvest is truly RIPE but the laborers are FEW.
One of the things that has been on my heart is to hold some kind
of 'Training Weekend' where we can learn from those who have
been on the "front lines". -Where those who are experts on "Moving
in JESUS's AUTHORITY for street-healings" or 'How to preach for
CONVICTION OF SIN' or "How to bring MUSIC to the Streets" - all
these kinds of people can be brought together to train the rest of us
in a totally PRACTICAL way. I am going to try to arrange something
like this for later in the year - perhaps as early as SEPTEMBER.
And I will also be putting out emails to NETWORK with other
street ministries around the country over the next few weeks.
We cannot allow this harvest to go ungathered, my friends. And we
have to gather it EFFICIENTLY as well. An ARMY of God must
arise. (-All of this has been prophesied many times).
So is it still time to sit and "wait"? Or has the time come for
radical 'action'? -I would be interested in your response on this.
But as for me and my house, we are definitely ON THE MOVE.
Please email your responses to- prophetic@revivalschool.com
God bless you all.
Kindest regards in Christ,
Andrew Strom.