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Loving Ourselves in the Grace of God
Mike Bickle

Mike Bickle (1955 - ). American evangelical pastor, author, and founder of the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC), born in Kansas City, Missouri. Converted at 15 after hearing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach at a 1970 Fellowship of Christian Athletes conference, he pastored several St. Louis churches before founding Kansas City Fellowship in 1982, later Metro Christian Fellowship. In 1999, he launched IHOPKC, pioneering 24/7 prayer and worship, growing to 2,500 staff and including a Bible college until its closure in 2024. Bickle authored books like Passion for Jesus (1994), emphasizing intimacy with God, eschatology, and Israel’s spiritual role. Associated with the Kansas City Prophets in the 1980s, he briefly aligned with John Wimber’s Vineyard movement until 1996. Married to Diane since 1973, they have two sons. His teachings, broadcast globally, focused on prayer and prophecy but faced criticism for controversial prophetic claims. In 2023, Bickle was dismissed from IHOPKC following allegations of misconduct, leading to his withdrawal from public ministry. His influence persists through archived sermons despite ongoing debates about his legacy
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Sermon Summary
Mike Bickle shares his transformative experiences and prophetic insights regarding a youth movement of singers and musicians that God revealed to him through Bob Jones. He emphasizes the importance of intercession, holiness, sacrificial living, and prophetic faith as foundational values for this movement, which aims to change the understanding and expression of Christianity globally. Bickle recounts his own journey of obedience to God's call, the challenges faced from religious leaders, and the necessity of maintaining focus on prayer and purity amidst distractions. He believes that this movement will lead to a significant revival, impacting not only Kansas City but the entire world, as God raises up a generation committed to radical obedience and intercession.
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Sermon Transcription
I have eight sessions that I gave in our 10-year anniversary in 2009 and this is session two and you don't have to follow now but I mean if you want the times and the dates and the more accurate information you can go to session two it's on the website in the prophetic history and and I'm pulling I'm using testimonies from that so I got all the data and the dates and information more laid out there my plan tonight is to look at four different experiences that Bob Jones had that relate to this young people movement that the Lord showed him in the 1970s I met him in 1983 but before I met him for about seven years he had seen multitude of visions of a young youth movement that would spring up all over the earth of singers and musicians and that in Kansas City he was going to raise up singers and musicians that would be a part of that movement the movements far bigger than us or any one city it's a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit but my story actually begins a few months maybe nine months it was before I met Bob Jones it was in September 1982 I had been pastoring in the st. Louis area about seven years and I and the Lord had interrupted our life there and said in a very dramatic way go to Kansas City it was very sad for us to leave st. Louis and come to Kansas City we did not know what was going to happen and so in September 82 I had already resigned from the church I don't land in Kansas City till October and I'm on a trip a ministry trip in various countries and in India Egypt visited Israel several other countries and one night in Cairo Egypt September 1982 I had the most dramatic life-changing experiences over 30 years ago and I still consider it that in terms of being awake had a couple unusual experiences other than awake and I don't you know that could mean several things but in this experience in Cairo Egypt I'll be very brief on it I've told the story many times but some of you have only been here for some months or a short amount of time I was spending an evening in prayer alone in a hotel room and suddenly the atmosphere of that hotel room changed dramatically and I experienced the only time I've ever experienced awake the spirit of the fear of the Lord as an experience and my spirit began to tremble and I felt the that glorious awesome dread of the Lord on my heart and the Lord spoke these this sentence to me and a very clear and precise way I call it the internal audible voice of the Lord I did not hear it externally but internally it was absolutely clear I've had that kind of experience maybe five times in 30 years and the Lord said I will change this the Lord speaking I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity in the whole earth in one generation there's many implications to that sentence and I'm trembling before the Lord and I heard that phrase so clear I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity and the whole earth in one generation now when the Lord said I will change the understanding of Christianity I perceived I didn't hear this but I perceived clearly I I knew by the Holy Spirit the interpretation the way that unbelievers understand Christianity is going to change dramatically meaning right now usually unbelievers ignore Christianity it doesn't trouble them it doesn't threaten them it doesn't excite them they look at it and go whatever and they go on but in the book of Acts it says in Jerusalem they were afraid to associate with the church and afraid in the sense of they they they did associate the church because thousands got saved but they were cautious they were going okay we're going to that meeting but we hear the power of God is there and people die and people get raised from the dead in those meetings I mean people died in the meetings Ananias and Sapphira when they lied in the presence of the Lord and it said that the unbelievers were careful or it says afraid but it means careful very cautious because they thought this faith actually mattered in their city and could affect their life for good or bad they didn't know for sure right now mostly unbelievers they don't even calculate Christianity into their grid when they interpret what's happening in society well there's a couple big churches on the end of town so what the Lord says I'm going to change the way unbelievers perceive my church but it's not going to stop there he's going to change the way Christianity is expressed the way we live our life together under the leadership of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is going to be changed dramatically now I don't know what all of that means but I know he's going to do it and then at that time I was I was trembling before the Lord I was kneeling I was weeping and I said Lord I I want to be a part of this I want to be part of this yes and the Lord says many have said yes but they did not do it they didn't fall through they said yes to the invitation but they didn't follow through and I was saying yes Lord yes Lord and then the Lord spoke and he said beware this was such a strange phrase beware because he spoke to me about four what I call heart standards I don't know that's the best word but four values now these four values are not the only values of the kingdom because there's about 25 values of the kingdom in the book of Acts if you want to list them all out but these were four that are the most neglected and the most minimized values in the church they're easy to figure out a way to ignore them and he spoke these four and we have the acronym IHOP that we use before we started the house of prayer several years before we saw the house of prayer matter of fact that's the reason we called it IHOP because we use this acronym for some years several years and the Lord said this my work must be built on I intercession night and day prayer it must be now that's biblical Luke 18 but it was like clarity from the Lord it must be built on night and day prayer that's not optional for a few energetic people that like prayer my church must be built on night and day prayer that does not mean every local church has a 24-7 prayer ministry in their building that's not what I mean the desire is to see 24-hour prayer in every city of the earth you know maybe a hundred congregations working together but night and day prayer must come forth from the cities of the earth that's the the I then the H he said it must be built on holiness of heart the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle this is not just a nice thing it's not optional he requires this issue then Oh the word offering he wanted his people to live lifestyles where they lived on less in order to give more to the kingdom their life was an offering for the kingdom now that means something different to everybody but the Lord insists on this so I want them to take less to give more they would be in other very life would be an offering to my kingdom not just the poor but the poor for sure but just the kingdom of God God's ways and again there's a thousand ways to apply that a thousand for lives and then P the realm of the prophetic they must believe me for my intervention my intervention to God protect them to direct them to provide for them they must have an active confidence in my intervention into their life I H O P those four values again are not the only four values but they are the most easy to neglect or put aside or get around to you know some other day and so I was saying yes to the Lord and he said well many have said yes but they haven't actually walked those out consistently then he said this phrase beware lest your brethren steal these things from your heart I didn't know my brethren I would think the unbelievers would be the ones stealing it from my heart I did not know what that meant anyway I tremble before the Lord and it was a very dramatic life-changing experience 30 years later I consider that one of the most important moments of my life those four values I set my heart I'm gonna see night and day prayer I'm gonna be part of it I didn't mean 24-7 I wouldn't think of that at all I was thinking of a prayer meeting in the morning a prayer meeting in the afternoon prayer meeting in the evening we got it check I was committing myself to holiness of heart and to proclaim it even if it was unpopular I was committed to take less to give more and to promote that lifestyle among the rich and the famous as well not just among the poor people and I was committed to believe God for supernatural intervention in direction protection provision all kinds of things the whole realm of the prophetic so I come home from this trip move to Kansas City with this word in my heart and ready to go so we moved to Kansas City in October 92 I mean October 82 we began the nightly prayer meetings in November 82 we began every night seven nights a week by the grace of God we maintain that for the 17 years before I resigned to start I hop I said Lord by the grace of God we're gonna do this every single day till we meet you met a couple years to at the two-year mark we added a prayer meeting every morning and a prayer meeting afternoon so we did three times a day for nearly 15 plus years and it was in that context we were preparing ourselves Lord what's next what's next what's next those prayer meetings were pretty small and pretty boring but you know what small and boring doesn't bother God at all when we don't are not moved by prayer and we forget the prayer meeting it doesn't mean he's not moved it doesn't mean he forgot the prayer meeting well I come to Kansas City first thing we do is start prayer meetings every night we're ready to go my first church service 1982 December 5th I preached on Luke 18 night and day prayer for justice and Isaiah 62 6 God will set watchmen on the wall I said to our new congregation I didn't know any of them a hundred people showed up I only knew a few I said I'm saying this is a witness before God I remember I met a guy after what was that about we mean a witness before God you're supposed to give us the vision for the church I said no I wanted to give a witness to God first Luke 18 8 night and day prayer for justice Isaiah 62 6 I will set watchmen on my wall they will never be silent again I was not imagining 24-7 I was imagining a prayer meeting in the morning one afternoon one evening well I leave st. Louis and I did not tell you that what started the process in st. Louis earlier in 1982 actually in June 82 few months before this September experience in Cairo few months before we actually start the church later in 82 a prophetic man came through town his name was Augustine he's with the Lord now I've never met a prophetic man I heard stories of them but I never met a person that actually had words that came to pass he drove by the young adult church I was pastoring and he heard the audible voice of the Lord and he said give this man in this church a word so he actually contacts me and says I have a word for you I don't believe it at all I think he's crazy to be honest I was polite about it but he said what's gonna happen he says God's gonna move you to another city Kansas City's when it comes to and he said he's gonna bring thousands of young adults together he's gonna release the full manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit he said watch out because there'll be a false prophet in your midst from the very beginning and there's gonna be a great persecution or controversy rise against you don't answer it just say the Lord's will be done I thought whatever well it ends up we come to Kansas City we start the prayer meetings we're on our way well I'm not gonna tell how I met Bob Jones till Sunday morning I've told the story many times but I want to wait till then to tell that but some people begin to tell me there's a prophet in Kansas City that has seen you I am convinced this man that wants to meet me Bob Jones who I didn't know his name was the false prophet that the guy from st. Louis prophesied I didn't even believe the guy in st. Louis except for that part that there would be a false prophet I know that's illogical I said he's off the wall but I think that maybe that one words right now let's look at first Timothy 118 real quick first Timothy 118 we do not base our lives or our ministries on prophecies I've said that I've emphasized that for years and some people still do that it says in first Timothy 118 we wage war by the prophecies meaning prophecy isn't the foundation of our life or ministry Jesus in the Word of God is but prophecy gives us empowers us to persevere in our obedience when we want to draw back in obedience and give up and give in prophetic words empower us to wage war for the promises instead of drawing back and just giving in to a dull spirit so prophetic words are critical because they inspire us the Word of God in the relationship with Jesus is our foundation that's what we build our life on and so we need to say that over and over and over again well just a quick overview of Bob Jones again I'll tell more about him particularly on Sunday he was very close in ministry with me here in Kansas for 10 years from 83 to 92 and then he moved to South Carolina that's where he's been for about the last 20 years we have a good friendship matter of fact he was scheduled to be here this weekend to speak to you it was all set up we were not announcing it because we figured we did not have room in the building I mean the buildings full and you only have me tonight what if Bob Jones was here tonight there wouldn't be room for anybody so we were not even going to make a point out of it it was just gonna be a tremendous blessing and he's 85 years old his health prevented him but he is adamant to come here in the next few months and tell us his version of the story which is the same version he just has a far more colorful view I give the cliff notes version of his visions he gives the technical or version of his vision his are far more interesting but he served with me here for 10 years but the most significant words that he gave us in those 10 years were mostly not all mostly in 83 and 84 those two years my first two years here were so unusual that I mean I can't even tell you the conflicts that were going on in my mind because about 20 I don't know the exact number but a large number of maybe 20 of supernatural events that were confirmed in a way that cannot be denied took place in about two years I mean if you get one of those in a lifetime that's exciting about 20 of them happened in about two years some number like that I mean outstanding I might give you just a couple of them tonight and a couple of them tomorrow night and a few more on Sunday then at our all-staff meeting on Tuesday I'm gonna give a little bit more well a quick overview on Bob Jones he was born in 1929 so he's he's almost 85 years old he was born again when he was about 40 years old so he had 40 years of living in sin and he really lived in sin intense no he really did there are people in their 20s and 30s and they're way out there and sometimes people write them off Bob Jones wasn't even born again till he was about 40 then after he but was I mean during those years and even after he was born again he worked as a in the tree business he sprayed trees for insects and he trimmed trees so he worked all the time and just would have visions and dreams at night and he just worked through the day 1982 in the summer I'm still in st. Louis because we don't I don't have the Cairo experience till September 82 this is even a few months before that Bob Jones talked to the pastor of his church and he said you know when I first joined you I told you that I would have to leave when this group of young people come to the south of Kansas City and so in the summer of 82 he told the pastor he said they're coming and I will be connected with them at the first of spring in 1983 so I will have to join them then like I told you I would have to leave so I met the pastor at a citywide pastors meeting and so I've been in Kansas City you know some months maybe a year and I said do you know Bob Jones because of course I know Bob Jones okay I go what do you think about him because I was still not sure exactly what to think about him and he said he's a true prophet of God I said oh wow that's good to know you've known him for years yeah I go you know he's been hanging out over at our fellowship because yeah I know when he met me he told me he would leave when a group came in the spring of 83 to South Kansas City so when he left he already told us well in advance I said really he goes yeah he's really big on the information he gets he really sticks with it my goodness this okay this is interesting so I meet Bob on in March March 7th 1983 and I don't think he's I think he's so strange because I'll tell Sunday you know it's 50 60 degrees maybe warmer I had a short-sleeved shirt on and he comes in with a winter coat on as a prophetic sign I'll tell the rest Sunday and he told me the strangest things that you've ever heard in your life and right from the beginning he said you know he goes I came here to tell you what your calling is it's okay you know you want to take your coat off because no no no I'm keeping my coat on he said oh you're a youth pastor well that was horrible horrifying I used to be a youth pastor I said excuse me I'm a senior pastor now I didn't actually say it but I surely thought it put my chest down a little bit he said no you're not a youth pastor now you're way too immature for that he meant it he said I mean years from now when you grow up I'm talking about something you don't know anything about because I'm talking about a there's going to be a youth group of singers and musicians it's going to have a worldwide connection with other youth movements and you're going to be the youth pastor of that group many years from now when you grow up I'm taking that as an affirmation that I would be your youth pastor not that finally I grew up okay that's how I'm taking it just having fun he said this youth group would be based in prophetic singing and a prophetic singers and musicians and they would operate in power evangelism he goes it's going to lead to power evangelism signs and wonders and he goes you will end up mobilizing prayer for the nation of Israel he goes matter of fact he goes God's going to move you we were over in Overland Park we're there for a couple years he said God's going to move you to Grandview so you'll be next to Harrius Truman you know as I've said many times over the years I said well Bob are well I didn't really even know his name I said our people don't really shop in Grandview they live in Overland Park and he said they will I promise you you're going to Grandview and he said the Lord is gonna make you this movement of young people there be plenty of old people he said you'll be one of the oldest guys in the movement you know I was 27 at the time I think how old am I gonna be I mean like 40 or what I really thought that like 40 I would be over the hill wouldn't matter after that well I'm 57 I'm here to tell you it does matter when you're over 40 that's what all of you that are still 39 and you're getting worried don't worry you're fine he said well Harrius Truman the president who lived in Grandview which I did not know you know back in the 1930s or whenever he said he was the president he became president I knew that he said he was the man most responsible for Israel becoming a nation in 1948 now I didn't know that now I know it it's a well-documented fact Harrius Truman was singularly the man most responsible in the natural for the nation of Israel getting their national statehood in 1948 after 2,000 years of not having a homeland God used a man from from Grandview to make that happen now many were involved but nobody more significant than Truman and the nation of Israel recognizes Truman as the singular person beyond everyone else who caused that to happen I didn't know that back in 83 I have studied it it's it's a very well-known fact of folks who know that history I said okay so what why does Harrius Truman and Israel got to do with me moving to Grandview he said well because Harrius Truman was a political intercessor for grant for for Israel he goes I don't know that he knew it but he was a political intercessor but this youth movement you're gonna be spiritual intercessors for Israel and he said he's gonna put you next to him as a sign and a wonder and many years from now when you end up next to his property you will look back and know for sure it was a sign and a wonder it was a it was a miracle of God most of you know a couple years ago in 2008 we received Harrius Truman's property free of charge we didn't pay a dime for it the Jewish family that bought the property from Truman 1958 a Jewish family bought the fat bought it from Truman in 1958 50 years later the Jewish couple had died their children are now in their 50s they live in another city they were selling the property for 10 million dollars they knocked on our door and they said we'll give you the property for 1 million not 10 million so wow they said because we want young families in Grandview we don't care about your religion we want young families in Grandview to honor our parents because they loved Grandview so we'll give it to you for 1 million I am hearing the proposal and I go I don't know a man was sitting next to me a friend visiting me he said the Holy Spirit just spoke to me I'll pay the 1 million I said really yeah so I told the guy okay we'll take it we closed the property catch this most of you know but it's just good to remember we closed the property on January 27th night 2008 50 years to the day that Harrius Truman closed the property on them January 27 1958 so they closed January 27 58 we closed January 27 2008 exactly on the 50-year anniversary the man that gave us the money said the Lord spoke to him he said this is a Jubilee property because most of you know 50 years of the Old Testament was a Jubilee year and two things happen to a property on the Jubilee number one the property is debt free and number two it returns to its rightful owner and this man said God is returning the property to its rightful owner the intercession movement for Israel now we had a I called up Bob Jones and to the right after that I said Bob you're not gonna believe what happened he said tell me I said you know that Truman property you told me 25 years ago because it's about five years ago from now I so I said you know 25 years ago back in 83 you remember he was of course I remember I said we got the property debt-free on the 50-year anniversary Jubilee I said can you believe it he said I told you you would of course I believe it he goes you're the only one that didn't believe it we put him out on the screen here and he kind of rebuked everyone because he didn't know the whole room was 20 years old he thought they were all old like me he said I I wore I told all of you 30 years ago this was going to happen not one of you believe me well they were not even born 25 30 years ago I'm like it Bob you missed that one you don't know your audience we had a lot of fun with that actually I said there's not many my age in the room actually when he gave that word but he said it would be a sign in a wonder beloved it was a sign in a wonder I mean how do you land on the 50-year anniversary with a debt-free property that they knocked on your door and gave it to you I said okay well okay we're on Harry's Truman's property we're no longer in Overland Park you're right how did this happen the Lord cares about this young adult prophetic singer musician movement and he cares about Israel because we know from the scripture that the salvation of Israel is the final grand thing that leads to the second coming of Christ coming in the clouds that's another point for another day well he told me on that day that I met him in March 7th he said you're gonna have a special connection with Asia over in Grandview now getting one over in Park I don't buy the Grandview thing and he said I said what do you mean he said this is 30 years ago he saw a vision of smartphones he didn't call him smartphones he called him unplugged TV sets it's that I saw him all over Asia with unplugged TV sets in their hands I'll get this man out of my office he goes they were in the rice patties all over Asia throughout all of China but Asia Korea everywhere he goes and they had unplugged TV sets in their hands and he said they even had TV sets on their watches and they were watching the singers in Grandview singing and leading in worship and intercession I said this is impossible he said there's going to be a great youth movement in Russia and all throughout Asia he goes the greatest move of God will be Russia and throughout Asia of young people although we're gonna see a great move of God in the whole earth but he goes keep your eyes on that and the Lord's gonna connect you to that he said there's gonna be young people in Asia that are going to be used strategically more than anywhere else to affect their governments in Asia now God's gonna use young people godly young people to affect governments all over the world but he said it's gonna be an unusual operation of the Lord many years from now in Asia and the prayer movement will be critical so that he looked at me I mean he goes on for some hours again I'll tell more tomorrow and more Sunday and more on Tuesday at the staff meeting and he said are you a singer I don't know because you musician I don't know he goes dear pray for Israel I go never here's he got a heart for Asia I go no said so you don't know anything I'm talking about I said nothing at all he's looking at me he goes the Lord told me you'd be dull I did not think you would be this dull he goes you don't know anything I'm talking about I go no he goes oh man this is gonna be hard work that's hilarious now at the time I didn't think that was that funny well I said I was gonna give him a few experiences before experiences Bob I think I'll just make one or two now tell more more tomorrow his first experience related to this youth movement was August 8th 1975 August 8th it's a big day to him he had a death experience where he died physically or seemingly or the and his spirit went before the Lord and the Lord sent him back from death and it was in that experience was the first time he heard about the youth youth movement of singers and musicians coming forth out of Kansas City years down the road and we're going to show you in a few minutes a short clip of Bob giving a little bit of this testimony we're going to show you that just a few minutes and maybe some more tomorrow well what happened is down the day before August 8th the Lord visited him he'd been prophesying a bit in the in the 70s but it really went to another level from this day forward the Lord says I want you to prophesy against abortion it's 1975 now you know abortions been legal now for about two years in America and those of you that remember 75 this was a hot issue in 75 well it still is but it was so new in terms of it being legal the Lord told Bob and he told me this right when I met him he said they're gonna perfect abortion they're gonna perfect a pill where you can take a pill and have an abortion now he's was telling everybody this in 75 now we know the morning after pill is going around the world right now but he told me that right when I first met him I go okay unplug TV sets in Asia and a pill that makes abortion happen I don't think so he said two things are going to happen when this youth movement is about to explode two negative things he said they're gonna perfect a pill that makes an abortion happen and he said the homosexuals are gonna come out of the closets and they're gonna fill the streets and it's gonna happen and demonstrations are gonna infect the government around the whole earth so what do you mean he says they're coming out of the closets and abortion will be perfected and there'll be TV sets on watches and all of these will be happening about the same time many years from now well the Lord told Bob this on August 7 1975 in the next day a demon appeared to him he saw a demon with his eyes right in front of him you seen that a couple times over the years I mean it's an open vision but he's awake and this demon says if you prophesy about against abortion and you say this about homosexuality this well particularly about abortions what the demon said he goes I'm going to kill you and Bob said I laughed you can't kill me I have the name of Jesus and the name of Jesus go so he went out started prophesying he went to the courts the city hall steps abortion is a sin you know he said nobody's listening but he's prophesying just obey God I'm sure a few people listen but I mean he declared it and instantly he became deathly ill right on the spot he said my abdomen and my all my internal operations became hard as a rock and blood began instantly coming out of my nose of my mouth squirting out because I had no idea what was going on and he said that he ends up at home his son is with him and he's bleeding everywhere the towel around his face and his spirit leaves his body and he goes to be with the Lord and he stands before the Lord and he says Lord how could this happen I obeyed you how did a demon kill me I'm gonna read from Bob's own words he said the Lord said he put his hand up like this he says I'm sending you back because I want you to touch a few young leaders that I'm putting in place because I'm gonna raise up a movement of singers and musicians down the road I'm sending you back to touch the beginning of this group you'll see that on the video he'll say that he said that many many times he goes many of my servants have sold out my glory for sin it's the Lord speaking to him in this death experience now this is where you come in he said but I'm gonna raise up young people that will not give in and they will not sell out they will be faithful to radical obedience all around the earth I will have a group of young people who do this say and all the nations I will have young people who do this Baba this is this is a an awesome thing for the Lord to say this I believe it's about the generation of the young people right here and I believe it's your younger brothers and sisters little nieces and nephews I believe it's at 20-something all the way to those little two-year-olds which would be my grandchildren but you know your little brothers and sisters many of you but this isn't just rhetoric this the Lord speaking to him face-to-face and the Lord really wants faithful radically obedient not just people enthusiastic in worship services I'm talking about they're resisting pornography they're living in humility they're saying yes to a servant spirit they're living before God's eyes they're living pure in a generation that's getting more defiled even in the church so if you're gonna in your heart say yes Lord then you it means the whole deal not just you know fun worship services as you know most of you are really already there you're committed to the things I'm saying then the Lord spoke to him he's still in the death experience he's still before the Lord he doesn't he hasn't come back the Lord says I'm sending you back he said there's coming a third world war and it's gonna wake up the nations of the earth there'll be great famine across the earth he said but I'm gonna in that same hour I'm gonna lead I'm gonna bring 1 billion people to my kingdom and I'm gonna use signs and wonders and power evangelism and I'm gonna use nine-day prayer and singers and musicians across the earth all together in this it's what he describes to him well then Bob comes back to his body the angel brings him back he says I'm in the room looking down at my body with the towel around my face with blood all over me and he said I said to the angel there's two angels it said I don't want to go back in that body uh-uh that was hurting and he says I was there for just a few moments and the angels begin to prophesy now the angels are giving more than what the Lord said part of the message when he was before him now he's back in his room about to enter his body now these two angels were prophesying I'm gonna get it I want to quote it he said there's one angel looked and said there's gonna be a great move of God come out of Kansas City Bob's listening to this and and this could be true of many cities so it's not only Kansas City I'm only telling you our local story but if God is doing this here you know he's doing this sort of thing in the cities of the earth some guy goes I don't ever want to move I don't know wrong idea the strategic place to be is the will of God well the angel said there's gonna be a great move of God come out of the city Bob saw an open vision and he said I saw an explosion of light of the light of glory and it was coming out of the inner city and it was going to the nations of the earth the glory of God was was touching Kansas City but particularly it was affecting the inner city even more than any other place that's glorious then the angel told Bob I'm gonna bring some of the leaders of this prayer and worship movement to you and again they'll be leaders in all the nations of the earth I have no doubt there's guys my age and older guys and gals all over the earth that have stories they're prepared them for this hour for the investment they're making in the younger generations the angel said the first to be anointed will be the singers and musicians there will be a manifestation of power coming from them well from the Holy Spirit but I mean through there's as they saw saying the power of God will move people's hearts to righteousness and love and repentance and healings will happen the angel went on Bob says he showed me the angel that there's going to be supernatural finances released in Kansas City again this will happen in other cities there'll be famine and there'll be economic collapse but he's going to raise up men and women again in the cities of the earth but I was talking particularly here because that was a prophecy for the city but there will be supernatural ability to make well for those that are obeying the Lord the angel said they'll be great famine around the earth and Kansas City will be one of the world's shipping centers they will export grain in the natural and they will export grain in the spiritual which means the Word of God Bob said he was asking the angel how can this be you know Bob said I'm gonna catch it for years there's not a trace of this the angel said over and over and again because I'm gonna raise up people for prayer and prayer will release this kind of blessing in favor I'm gonna give you one more experience then we'll it will it will then I have you see Bob's just a few minutes of Bob incidentally this other very dramatic experience is also on August 8th the one I just gave was August 8th 75 they could this is August 8th 82 seven years later I asked Bob what is August 8th about it's way back 30 years ago and he said I'm not sure yet I need the next time I see him hey you figured out that August 8th thing because that's surely more than a coincidence but I don't know what it is Bob said that he saw a white horse he saw a parable in a vision and the parable was a white horse and you know mutton often envisions in the Bible in Zechariah Book of Revelation horses have colors and they depict either good movements or bad movements and the Lord told him that this group of young people that he was raising up he was showing to Bob is in a parable as a white horse and this white horse was in the middle of a riverbed but the riverbed only had four inches of water in it no you know instead of ten feet Bob said it was the but the Lord showed him symbolically in the parable but this was the river that depicted the great moves of God of past and right now in our nation there was about four inches of water in the river and he said he saw this white horse which would be this young beginning leadership of this young adult movement at least the Kansas City part of it again this movements a worldwide movement far beyond Kansas City and this white horse it would have symbolized myself and all the other 50 or 100 or leaders or whatever the number is I don't know and the Lord told Bob you're to stand behind this white horse stand behind him and as they go forward I'm gonna give you the spirit of prophecy and if they begin to go to the right or to the left you're gonna speak prophetically and you're gonna call them back to the center he told Bob I will use the spirit of prophecy in a very strong way to where I will get their attention and when they go to the right or the left and the right or the left didn't mean wisdom like you buy the wrong building or you put a wrong staff member in place not that kind of stuff going to the right or the left although the Lord used the prophetic in some of that as well but it was more than that because there were dogs in this parable that Bob saw on each side of the banks of the river and they were barking dogs and these barking dogs had rabies and the Lord's explaining this to Bob in his open vision he goes there's a technicolor vision right before my eyes he's had a handful of those in the last 30 years plus and he said these barking dogs it's very important they're religious leaders on the banks of the river on each side and they're barking at this white horse telling them to back away from this lifestyle of night and day prayer holiness of heart simple lifestyle they were saying it's not necessary it's too extreme it's ridiculous and they were barking at them they were religious leaders many of them in the church and he said the Lord said this group of young leaders myself and the others whoever that group is could be you know any I mean you could name a number of folks in that Bob said the Lord showed me that you would be easily intimidated by the barking dogs and they would say too extreme not practical not realistic not necessary and you out of the fear of man intimidation you would become afraid to go okay okay we'll be just like you then and as you begin to go to the banks of that river the spirit of prophecy would touch Bob and he would call us back and expose those lives he said because the Lord showed him he said if they go to the side those dogs with rabies will bite that horse and that horse will get rabies like them and they'll lose their conviction and their resolution to live this lifestyle he said but dogs with rabies won't get into the water Bob this is I've never studied this but Bob said rabbit dogs their throat swells up and they can't get in the water so Bob said the only way the horse can be hurt is if the horse goes to the side out of intimidation being lured by their bad counsel and he said and the Lord's going to use me Bob Jones to help keep you focused on this lifestyle of preparation because the young adult movement won't begin for many years you've got to stay locked in to night and day prayer you can't ever leave that I didn't know it's 24-7 you gotta stay locked in to their obedience and purity and seeking the Lord and fasting and prayer and the simple lifestyle and believing in the realm of the supernatural intervention of God he said many voices will come and say it's not necessary it's too extreme that's what the Lord told me in Cairo Egypt your brethren would try to steal these things from your heart and when Bob told me that not now that made sense I go this we get to make sense 30 years later I could tell you for sure 30 years later the greatest obstacle I have faced is by well-meaning religious leaders that say it's ridiculous to have to live this way that has been my absolute number one obstacle the thing that God showed Bob Jones these barking dogs and the thing the Lord warned me about in Cairo Egypt your brethren will steal these truths from your heart Bob said it's critical that for these early years in the 1980s and 90s you have to stay in this middle of the stream in order for this thing to be birthed in the 90s which is our 14-year anniversary birth now I look back at the 80s and 90s and I'm saying we didn't do that good but because of God's editing process and the grace of God how many of you know about the editing process of the Lord praise the Lord for that our weakness and our frail obedience he esteemed it is okay pass and fail you made it and I hop started 14 years ago but there were many opportunities under the pressure and controversies of well-meaning Christian leaders that said it's ridiculous to live this way many versions of that friends and foes alike and here's Bob Jones's word I'll just take another minute or two then we'll put Bob Jones up on the screen let you see him Bob Jones said suddenly the Lord appeared before me this is August 8th 1982 seven years after the August 8th 1975 the Lord said a group of young people are coming I'm gonna use this group of young people Bob oh I love there's my favorite quote over and over Jesus told me Bob I love these young people that are coming so dearly you want to hear that again over and over Jesus told me over and over and over again misty you need to write a song on that okay I love these young people Bob he said don't be dismayed by their immaturity I'm going to use them then very dramatic Habakkuk chapter 3 verse 4 the Lord Jesus told us to Bob Jones Habakkuk 3 verse 4 this is describing Jesus at the second coming Habakkuk 3 verse 4 in its fullest fulfillment of this prophecy it says that he in context in the complete fulfillment of Habakkuk 3 is the second coming of Christ Jesus has rays or lightning flashing out of his hands and his power is hidden in his hands so when Jesus and Habakkuk 3 is marching up to Jerusalem at the time of second coming he raises his hand and lightning comes out of his hand and destroys the enemies now here's Jesus standing in front of Bob and he said this he goes I'm gonna put my lightning in some of their hands because I'm gonna raise up these singer-musicians I'm gonna raise up not that you have to be a singer-musician but it's that's the covering that's the the context of this movement it's not limited to that that's the foundational activity the foundation is Jesus and his blood and his word but the activity in our part is that night and day prayer the Lord told Bob he said some of these young people I raise up they'll be massive numbers of people that great evangelistic outreaches they will raise their hand over a vast assembly and the people will see lightning come out of their hand like light the light will come on the man that's missing the kidney and the glory of God will be there and the kidney will be instantly created that's amazing but that's not near as good as over and over he said I love these young people that's way better than what I just said he goes this will result in mass evangelism then I'm quoting from Bob I'm just gonna just give you Bob's words to tell what I just told you about this vision and the Lord said to me I'm setting you behind their back to watch them so that the mad dogs don't bite them and infect them with unbelief and fear Bob your assignment is to keep this white horse in the middle of the stream only four inches of water there's not much happening but he said there's enough water to get clean and the movement is years down the road but they have to stay focused on these kingdom values Bob says the religious leaders will stand and accuse those that are in the river the Lord told me as long as the white horse stays in the river the dogs the barking dogs can't bite them can't infect them with the fear of man and intimidation for these religious leaders want to scare them out of the radical lifestyle out of the middle stream and tell him you're doing wrong you're doing wrong and many will be tempted in intimidation to quit that kind of lifestyle the Lord says that's not okay and then the Lord says I will release the spirit of prophecy on you Bob you will help them in the early days for one day surely the reins of my spirit will come to this city well the whole nation the nations of the earth again we're talking about a local testimony but if he doesn't hear he'll do it there so no matter where you're at you could be encouraged this is what he's up to let me give you just the shortest just one two three little examples this happens so many times a leader would come and give me counsel like we think it's a bad use of our time to be in prayer meetings every night maybe a couple nights a week but this every day seven days a week every more afternoon seven days a week every night I mean what about the time the money the people need pastoring we need to have this we need more outreaches we need more this you need to quit doing that I had that counsel given to me so many times by good men they didn't know the Lord says I want night and day prayer first the Lord you're the boss what do I know I don't even like to pray that much but I want to obey the Lord honestly when the Lord told me 24 7 I went oh my goodness this is horrible I was not excited honestly was not that's for tomorrow or Sunday like a man would come to me I could tell this story ten times I'll just give you one a man would come to me at two o'clock in the afternoon good man say you need to stop doing this six hours later Bob would call me on the phone he said I saw a man two o'clock this afternoon I don't know who was he told you to stop the Lord says he's a liar he doesn't have my counsel I said wow a guy did come at two and said the Lord told him to tell how'd you know that he goes I'm supposed to help keep you in the middle of the stream that happened many many times two leaders came to me and said done it at us stop stop stop eight hours later whatever ten hours later Bob calls I saw two leaders they came to you this morning right they said this they go unbelievable he goes don't buy it stay in the middle of the street I remember what I mean I could I could give you I'm guessing 50 stories like this I don't know the real number I didn't ever count them but I got so many testimonies written up and in my personal journals journals I don't have them all but a lot of I remember one time this happened again so many times I'm talking to two Presbyterian pastors and I'm telling them about some of these things and these guys their minds are blown and they said can we meet this prophetic guy today I don't know I could try it's about eight o'clock one morning I've had an early morning coffee with him so I go you guys stay right here I go let's just see the sometimes it works this way call up hello Bob this is Mike yep okay click first material passes what happened I go hello Bob he goes two men I go yep he goes Presbyterians they go yep he goes bring them over that happened so many I go yep yes bye they go well what was that I go I go you guys are in serious glorious trouble that happened many times I could go on and on but the point being I mean I remember one time we're going to a meeting 8 o'clock we're going to a citywide pastors meetings 8 o'clock in the morning I pick up Bob he says now you're gonna meet a man he's gonna ask for $5,000 he goes give it to him the Lord's purpose is at it and explained it went to a meeting a Nigerian pastor was there and I'm at the coffee break he says I know this is so weird I love God I don't do this but the Lord told me to talk to you I said yeah hi good to meet you he goes I never do this the Lord said you'd give me $5,000 I said I will I said Bob how did you know that he goes I'm I'm standing behind you in these early years it goes because you can't make it on your own to stay in his dream well anyway we'll end with that I could go on and on with these stories gonna tell a bunch more tomorrow night let's put Bob up here just for a few minutes you're a part of this whether you're here or whether you're there if you love Jesus you're a part of this because if he's doing it here he's doing it over there too August the that's my buddy Bob there the seventh he's 85 years old of 75 I was driving in a pickup truck with my wife and my dog and there come a ball of light in the pickup truck and I was looking for a place to pull over the pickup and that light spoke and said a piece you don't have to be afraid of me fear not and that ball of light started speaking to me and said that they would perfect abortion from different one place to another and they would perfect abortion as they did in the Old Testament then he began to speak to him and said homosexuality is going to come out of the closet it'll demonstrate in your streets and it'll demonstrate in your government and then he said in the last days they would begin to mix two cheap chemicals together they would make a huge drug that would literally destroy a person's conscience but they wouldn't even be convicted anymore that was the meth labs and he said that it would be so pressured in the time that things change that the government of the United States would give free drugs to calm people down that's the only thing that hadn't happened yet but I believe we were right on the verge of it so I got home and unpacked and a demon appeared to me and said if you tell anybody that prophecy I'll kill you I go on doing the thing yard praying for the sake and all those things I'll leave you alone but if you tell him that prophecy I will kill you and I told him I'm not your property anymore I'm not afraid of you so on August 8 of 75 I had some calls over the phone wanted me to give what I just got in that revelation about what would begin to take place from that time forward so I spoke to him and then I went to work with my son I was doing tree service and I got out in about 30 minutes a pain hit me in the lower body it was terrible I mean my lower body began to get as hard as rock from my waist down and I asked my son to get me home so he drove me home and they took me to the doctor the doctor said I've never really seen this before but this is really critical you better get him in the hospital right away I said no I'm gonna die I died in my own bed so he gave me some pain pills and went home and I took one it didn't didn't stop the pain that pain was horrible I took a second one didn't stop the pain I took a third one when I took the third one no sooner got it down and a blood began to shoot out of my mouth like a geyser and I could see the some of the pain pills had never dissolved so I got a wet towel wrapped around my head I think man this is serious and the pain and I would have screamed if it would have helped any but I was really too weak to do that and I was laying there and all of a sudden the pain was over and I went to from that bed I went to a tunnel and I looked out of the tunnel and it was beautiful light on down the road and I looked to my side and there was a man dressed in white and I've never seen his face but he was there and he was walking beside me and I'm thinking huh I think I'm dead and my second thought was I come out of deep sin I wonder if my robes clean and the man spoke to me and said you can see now Bob look I looked and my robe didn't have any spots on it I'm thinking I'm going home to the Lord without any spots on my robe this is the greatest day I have lived this stuff is over and I started walking with this man in white so we walked to where that beautiful white light was they was white light in white light and that which in the center had the shape of a man in it was the most beautiful of all white light that is all white light and he had his arms out and he was greeting people so I started walking on closer to that that great white light and in the center of that white light the man the only thing that wasn't white was his eyes and they were total blue and they were like two whales you couldn't see the bottom of them but it was like two whales with light in them but you could never see the bottom but he put his hand out in front of me and said no I want you to go back and I he said the enemy kills you before your time I want you to go back and I told him I don't want to go back I wasn't doing any good in the first place he said you're a liar because you quoted my word my word always does good I said it's real painful back here I mean I've suffered persecution and it was terrible and he said well it's sort of cowardly too but you have a love for souls and that's why I moved on you the way I did I want you to go back but if you don't want to I want you to look at this line over here and if you can look at them and still want to come home I'll take you home I looked at that line and that old Baptist in me sort of rose up and said I'd go back for one soul Lord he said I don't you going back for one soul I want you going back for 1 billion youth and I want to go back and touch the leaders because I'm gonna honor myself and one of the greatest awakenings of all time there'll be over six billion people on the earth at the time I'm speaking of which is now and I'm gonna bring youth in from every place without number and they're gonna need leaders to bring them in and I said I'll go back for that I mean look at that line was one of the most horrible things I've ever seen and so all of a sudden I was back and I was looking down at my body and that bloody towel was still around my face really it began in 82 even before that and I was in a church and I told the pastor I'll be with you for a short time but there's a group of young people that's coming that God is going to use in a big way and they'll be literally with them the house of the watchful and the wise will be formed and their main calling will be praise and intercession and when they come I'll leave and go to them so in the 83 February and a friend of mine in Kansas City said Bob there's some young people you need to meet they come from st. Louis and I've been told the word which means there's like a spear prayer warrior and he said I think you're supposed to meet him this is yeah I am and so on March the 7th of 83 went over to meet with them Mike Bicklin some of them and I was told what they would be like and everything and so went over to meet with Mike and the Lord had told me to wear a coat a heavy one it would be a sign that that they'd be a double winner that year and he would start on the first day of spring and so I went over and saw Mike Bickle and I told him several things that I'd been shown about them and I was told that that they had a major calling one of them was intercession 24-7 but also praise which was a the Tabernacle of David and that the flaps would be up before the whole world would see the glory so I told him several things that I'd seen I told him that he was a gonna have a false prophet would try to come in and take over and they did have to deal with the false coming continually at him it had to deal with persecution coming continually at him and I told him you're not gonna receive me right now you'll receive me to the first day of spring and so I give him many prophecies and on the first day of spring when the snow is melting then I'll tell you the secret of your heart and you believe me who I am back in 83 I'd give Micah a word on several things that given him and one was that the Truman farm will be given to you and of its land well they didn't believe it but two years ago they believed it and I'm sure you now know that it belongs to the to I hope and it will probably be the biggest house of prayer in the world and it'll hold more than 5,000 youth all of them dedicated in prayer I saw some things concerning China the the land of China not for most of it China and I saw that they would be a wave among young people are and they they would be able to see what was going on in the United States with the wristwatches we should begin to show that in one of the greatest ways would come out of a Russia and China and that China would be greatly impact by Christians and that their technology would greatly increase which it has and that the word would go out to all China and we go out to like wristwatches or phones that had pictures on them and nobody could understand what we're actually seeing at that time but that I believe is impacting China a lot more than people realize it's coming to pass but at that time nobody could understand it and nobody believed it I did because I saw it and I was told to keep the white horse in the middle of the stream because they would come mad dogs to both sides of the bank of people that were religious legalistic and they would want to bite the white horse for they were literally mad and they wanted to control the white horse my job was keep the white horse in the middle of the stream toward that the mad dogs couldn't get to her where you see mad dogs can't cross water they can't cross into the spirit man and so a mad dog will lay down on the banks of the stream and die of thirst because it's thirst swollen too and religious people will lay down right by it and die without ever getting into the water so my job was to keep the white horse imbalanced and keep the flow continually coming to the white horse greetings Mike and the Ahab community and greetings to the to the prophet city and let the commissioning that God has given you the vision from the very beginning now come into new maturity let the songbirds come and rest upon the shoulders of the appraisers just as a natural will declare the spiritual I bless you with all heavenly blessings and I bless you with the wisdom to finish the things that he's called you to do for you are blind you already know what he's called you to do so don't let the enemy distract you or get you off focus but stay what you know you're calling us to be now let the revelation come to give the wisdom and the warning let the watchman on the wall take the rightful place and reveal the enemy before he comes your way let's all stand I invite some folks to come up for ministry in just a minute if you're a singer musician and you are committed to build the house of prayer in your life I don't mean here just wherever but not just to be a Christian's artist I'm talking more than that I'm talking more than just making some CDs and doing some concerts I'm talking about leading in prayer on a regular basis whether here there or wherever and you're saying in your heart Lord you've gifted me and I'm called to do this I purpose my heart to do this all of my days again some years you'll do it more than other years because that's how the seasons of life are but if in your heart you're saying I am committing myself to this I'd like you to raise your hand okay I was gonna have you come forward but I thought I'd have you raise your hand first well let's let's try it we don't really have room here but let's go ahead and come on up here just stand all the way have biggest and I want the others well what nobody will fit up here but just but you're making a statement before the Lord I'm gonna ask the singers to sing over them in just a moment I'm asking for impartation I mean we're all involved I'm not a singer musician and so everyone's involved but I tell you the singers and musicians the Lord said they will lead the way if they are in place all the other stuff will get in place I'm talking about a life of dedication I'm not talking about just doing it when the crowd is excited when the rooms full when everybody's watching I'm talking about many of you will be in prayer rooms like I was for many years before I hopped we did those prayer meetings three times a day that's not what I'm saying to you but many of our prayer meetings had ten people in them for 17 years we did these the Lord says stay in the middle of the stream keep doing them keep doing them keep doing them you don't have your eyes on if you're famous or popular everybody's excited everybody's screaming and jumping that's not the point the point is your eyes are on the Lord and you're saying I'm gonna do this whatever city of the earth that you lead me to I want to do it whatever season talk to the Lord right now this is an important time for some of you when I say singer musician by the way I always mean sound text if you're if you've got a heart to be a sound tech and you're not up here I want to invite you to come up if you want to the sound tech is the number one instrument on the worship team it is that's a fact it takes an anointing to be a sound tech like it does to be a keyboard player a singer and a drummer and a bass etc etc Lord I ask you for the portion of this house said the spirit of prophecy you said prophetic musicians prophetic musicians again that's prophetic sound text as well that's a musician prophetic singers father you said songs from heaven you said new sounds from heaven I asked you for songs and sounds I asked for a new connect with your heart in this destiny I ask for a spirit of revelation that the destiny to build the house of prayer would never be stolen from their heart five years ten years twenty years whatever city there is talking about a tenacity some seasons it will be easy some seasons it will be more difficult Lord I ask for a spirit of revelation about the destiny the Lord release your glory in this room right now again we're not limiting it to the folks up here all of the room release the spirit of glory on the heart the name of Jesus release your goal
Loving Ourselves in the Grace of God
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Mike Bickle (1955 - ). American evangelical pastor, author, and founder of the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC), born in Kansas City, Missouri. Converted at 15 after hearing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach at a 1970 Fellowship of Christian Athletes conference, he pastored several St. Louis churches before founding Kansas City Fellowship in 1982, later Metro Christian Fellowship. In 1999, he launched IHOPKC, pioneering 24/7 prayer and worship, growing to 2,500 staff and including a Bible college until its closure in 2024. Bickle authored books like Passion for Jesus (1994), emphasizing intimacy with God, eschatology, and Israel’s spiritual role. Associated with the Kansas City Prophets in the 1980s, he briefly aligned with John Wimber’s Vineyard movement until 1996. Married to Diane since 1973, they have two sons. His teachings, broadcast globally, focused on prayer and prophecy but faced criticism for controversial prophetic claims. In 2023, Bickle was dismissed from IHOPKC following allegations of misconduct, leading to his withdrawal from public ministry. His influence persists through archived sermons despite ongoing debates about his legacy