December 8, 2025

Introduction

I am coming to the end of a long, very demanding travel schedule. Last week I was on the road for the entire week. To help me out, I asked some of our favorite Give Him 15 guests to write posts. They have been outstanding. Today is the final day of guest posts, and this one comes from our good friend and host of FlashPoint, Gene Bailey. Gene gives us a wake-up call regarding Islam’s intent to transform our nation. We must oppose this, even as we pray for the salvation of every Muslim, whom we love. Gene’s title is:

The Final Countdown

My topic today is a sensitive one for many believers, but it really shouldn’t be. We know who the ruler of the universe is. We know who went to the Cross and we know who rose from the dead forever to rule with the Father in heaven. Yes, we know Jesus. But sometimes it’s easy for believers to forget the enemy has many ways to wage war against the Body of Christ. Today, I’m going to hit head-on the war that is facing the body of Christ. Today, more than ever, we need to know the tactics of the enemy. Portions of today’s post are from Bill Federer’s book, What Every American Needs to Know About the Qu’ran.

In 2006, Keith Ellison of Minnesota became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress.

Niraj Warikoo of the Detroit Free Press (12/25–26/06), quoted Ellison’s speech:

“You can’t back down. You can’t chicken out. You can’t be afraid. You got to have faith in Allah, and you’ve got to stand up and be a real Muslim.”

Ellison, who said little about being a Muslim while campaigning, went on to tell his Islamic audience:

“We’re going to continue to face them. They’re not going to stop right away. But if you, and me too, stick together, if we believe in Allah, Subandhu wata’ala, if we turn to the Qur’an for guidance, we’ll find an answer to the questions we have.”

If one turns for guidance to the Qur’an, which Keith Ellison swore into office upon, one finds many disconcerting verses within its chapters, called suras. I want to be as concise as possible here. These are taken directly from the Qu’ran: 

“Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends.” (Sura 5:51)

“Infidels are those who declare: ‘God is the Christ, the son of Mary.’” (Sura 5:17)

“Infidels are those that say ‘God is one of three in a Trinity.’” (Sura 5:73)

“Make war on the infidels who dwell around you.” (Sura 9:123)

“The infidels are your sworn enemies.” (Sura 4:101)

“When you meet the infidel in the battlefield, strike off their heads.” (Sura 47:4) 

“Mohammed is Allah’s apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the infidels.” (Sura 48:29)

“Prophet, make war on the infidels.” (Sura 66:9)

“Kill the disbelievers wherever we find them.” (Sura 2:191) 

“The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger ... will be that they will be killed or crucified or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off or will be expelled out of the land.” (Sura 5:33)

“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (Sura 9:29)

“Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom.” (Sura 47:4)

“Believers, do not make friends with those who have incurred the wrath of Allah.” (Sura 60:13) 

“Never be a helper to the disbelievers.” (Sura 28:86)

Are these verses from the Qur’an taken out of context? Does it matter if a politician swears on a Qur’an? Is it Islamophobic to be concerned? Is Islam a peaceful religion?

A stock investment may sound good, but the investor must do diligence and examine the track record of its past performance. Similarly, one must examine the track record of Islam’s past performance to see how the Qur’an has been interpreted throughout history. 

As the axiom goes, “Past performance is the best indicator of future behavior.”

“When the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the Holy Qur’an,” stated President Obama in Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009. The dilemma is, can one swear to defend the Constitution upon a book which seeks to replace it? 

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the “free exercise” of religion, yet Mohammed said, “Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him.” (Hadith Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, Book 84, No. 57).

Islamic law relegates non-Muslims to “dhimmi” status, where they are not to propagate their customs amongst Muslims and cannot display a Cross, Christmas decorations, or a Star of David. 

Does it really matter if one swears upon a Bible, a Qur’an, a Bhagavad Gita, a cookbook, or a comic book? Laying the cornerstone of the Jewish Community Center, May 3, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge stated:

“The patriots who laid the foundation of this Republic drew their faith from the Bible ... We cannot escape the conclusion that if American democracy is to remain the greatest hope of humanity, it must continue abundantly in the faith of the Bible.”

Calvin Coolidge stated at the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 5, 1926: 

“The principles of human relationship which went into the Declaration of Independence ... are found in the texts, the sermons ... of the early colonial clergy ... They preached equality because they believed in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. They justified freedom by the text that we are all created in the divine image …

“The Declaration of Independence is a great spiritual document ... Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man–these are not elements which we can see and touch ... They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions ...

“Unless the faith of the American in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish.

“We cannot continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause...We must go back and review the course which they followed ... They were intent upon religious worship and there was a wide understanding of Scripture.

“We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the Spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp.”

We are at the final countdown. If Christians do not stand up for the rights this country was founded upon, we will end up under Communistic Islam’s boot. Yes, you heard right, communism, socialism, and Islam are rapidly combining forces to overtake America. Even the Muslims who proclaim Islam is a peaceful religion will soon realize what is at our door. It’s time to choose… 

Pray with me: 

Heavenly Father, we come to You today ever so grateful for this nation and the blessings America has enjoyed. We know it is only because of You. We pray for a continued spiritual awakening in these United States. Show us how to be strong, how to be wise and bold as a lion when it comes to our faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our decree: 

We decree every man and woman come to the knowledge that “There is only one God, and there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who as a man gave Himself to pay for everyone to be free,” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

Christ said thou shall have NO other gods before Me. We, as His representatives on earth, enforce this truth. Jesus is Lord over the United States, the earth, and the universe. “That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow of those in heaven and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord!” (Philippians 2:10-11)

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

December 5, 2025

Introduction

I am coming to the end of a long, very demanding travel schedule. This is the final week of the stretch and I will be on the road the entire week. To help me out, I have asked some of our favorite Give Him 15 guests to write posts. They are outstanding. Today’s post is another by revivalist Larry Sparks, entitled:

Advent Awakening: Heaven Makes the First Move

Throughout church history, great “moves of God” were, I believe, the combination of two key elements: the sovereignty of God and the stewardship of humankind. God moved, yes; but I am convinced that the supernatural intensity of revival is the collision of humankind moving toward God. Often, people are waiting on or praying for a “move of God” when they fail to realize that God has already made the first move.

God Moved Toward Humankind

There are three key biblical illustrations that showcase how God has definitively moved toward humankind through the Man and Messiah, Christ Jesus: the Incarnation, the torn veil, and the day of Pentecost.

The Incarnation

“So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (John 1:14 NLT)

During Christmastime, we celebrate the ultimate move of God—the Word condescending from Heaven, taking upon Himself frail humanity, and serving as the Messiah-Man who was 100 percent God and 100 percent Man. God came from Heaven to earth to live a perfect life, die a perfect death, and then rise from the dead, granting humanity access to God in three realms.

Through the perfect life of Jesus, we receive sanctification because it’s no longer us who live, but Christ in us (see Galatians 2:20). It’s faith in His perfect life that is key for our sanctifying process—the journey of becoming more and more like Jesus while we walk this planet. It’s faith in His perfect death that redeems us spiritually.

By placing our faith in His perfect atoning work, our spiritual status changes. We are delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and translated into His Kingdom as sons and daughters of God (see Colossians 1:13). Finally, it’s faith in His resurrection which affirms that one day, we too will share completely in His resurrected glory by also having glorified bodies (Romans 6:5; Philippians 3:20-21).

The Torn Veil

Jesus passionately cried out, took his last breath, and gave up his spirit. At that moment the veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom… (Matthew 27:50-51 TPT).

One of the cataclysmic moments during the death of Jesus was the tearing of the temple veil from top to bottom. It was as though the invisible hand of the Lord tore apart this exceedingly thick fabric, proclaiming that a physical building would no longer restrain or contain the presence of God. Now, all who would receive the Messiah’s atoning work on the Cross would become the temple of God, for His Spirit would take up residence within them (see 1 Corinthians 6:19).

God had long sought a resting place on earth, but not one created by human hands—one that He Himself had fashioned. This resting place would become redeemed humanity. If Jesus shed His blood to make atonement for our sins and grant us passage to eternal life, that would have been beyond sufficient. However, the Old Covenant pointed to another dimension. The Scriptures of old spoke little of Heaven, although that is definitely a tremendous blessing of being redeemed. Rather, the Old Covenant pointed to a day when the barrier of sin was removed so that humankind could become the new resting place for the Spirit of God.

Theologian N.T. Wright comments that “the biblical narrative is not about how we get to go up to God, but about how God comes to us and what happens when He does.”

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

The Day of Pentecost

“On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2 NLT)

The Old Testament prophecies that spoke of the Holy Spirit came to a dramatic fulfillment on the Day of Pentecost. God’s home address had changed—at least partially. No more Ark of the Covenant. No more tents or tabernacles. The Spirit of God officially moved out, changed locations, and now, because the sins of humankind had been absorbed by the spotless Lamb, it was possible for sinful flesh to actually become a house for the Holy God. The Son of God would ascend to the right hand of God the Father.

And yet, prior to leaving His disciples, Jesus made a promise that He would not leave them alone as orphans (see John 14:18). He promised to send the Comforter, the one called the Holy Spirit. We are not waiting for another Pentecost. Only One Man will one day split the sky and return to planet Earth—Jesus. Until then, we are not waiting on another outpouring to come from above; if anything, Heaven is waiting for this outpouring to come out of the “new temple” and flow into the Earth, bringing healing, salvation, and transformation to the nations. Where is this temple? Redeemed humanity.

What Is Our Response to the Move of God?

God has made the definitive move toward humanity. We see this beginning with the Incarnation, continuing with the torn veil, and then culminating with the Day of Pentecost. God made the first move; how will we respond?

In studying the great revivals that have punctuated the past two thousand years of church history, I’ve discovered a common denominator that seems nonnegotiable to catalyzing a powerful outpouring of the Spirit—the people’s determination to move toward God. The following are but a few examples:

We see evangelist George Whitefield and Methodist pioneer John Wesley persisting in prayer until the power of God fell upon them.

Charles Finney was frustrated over the lack of effectiveness in people’s prayers. This frustration fueled his hunger and thirst to experience God at any cost. As a result, on October 10, 1821, he experienced a powerful filling by the Holy Spirit. He urged the people to pray to God earnestly and expectantly for the immediate outpouring of the Spirit.

Phoebe Palmer opened her home for what became known as the “Tuesday meeting,” making space for people to come and experience the deeper Christian life through a touch by the Spirit.

Jeremiah Lamphier was a businessman in New York City who felt led to start a noontime weekly prayer meeting. He was willing to persist after the first few meetings were received by poor attendance. As a result, he pioneered a great prayer revival that undoubtedly was responsible for birthing some of the most demonstrative and historical revival movements that would come in the decades to follow.

Andrew Murray longed and prayed for revival in South Africa. His desperation for God to move with power and demonstration is palpable when reading his various Spirit-filled works.

Dwight L. Moody became desperate and thirsty for God, crying out for a baptism in the Spirit. His cry for this filling was consistent and persistent. Following Moody’s power encounter with God, it is said that even though he didn’t radically alter his evangelistic methods, the fruitfulness of his ministry shifted significantly, and many more people received Christ because of his outreach.

In Wales, Evan Roberts began to hunger and thirst for God as a thirteen-year-old boy. He had two requests of the Lord: 1) for God to fill him with the Holy Spirit; and 2) for God to send revival to Wales. History books record that both requests were fulfilled, as Roberts was the key catalyst and a noteworthy personality attached to the 1904 Welsh Revival.

Frank Bartleman was an intercessor who contended for a historic outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the United States. William Seymour was a half-blind African American minister living in a very racially hostile era. Who would have thought that Bartleman’s travailing intercession, combined with Seymour’s bold hunger for Holy Spirit baptism, would have produced the Azusa Street Revival of 1906, birthing the modern Pentecostal movement.

From the 1900s onward, there are multiple examples—some local and some global—of men, women, and entire church communities who moved toward God in the place of prayer, desperation, and hunger. Not only did they cry out in the place of prayer, but they were willing to make room for God to move in the ways He saw fit. That was huge.

So, who will make history by making a bold move towards the move of God?

Pray with me:

Father, You have made Your move. The Incarnation, the Torn Veil, and Pentecost confirm that You have drawn near to us--even while we were dead in our sins, not looking for You. In response, we draw near to You, Lord, and thank You for fresh encounters with Your presence in this Advent season.

Our decree:

We decree that God has sovereignly made His move towards us. We respond to this invitation by moving towards Him through hunger and prayer.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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For additional inspiration on how you position yourself to experience personal revival during this Advent Season, please download my free e-book, The Glory Has Come, at www.larrysparksministries.com/gloryhascome

Link to Free E-book, www.larrysparksministries.com/gloryhascome

About Larry Sparks

Larry Sparks has spent over two decades in ministry, igniting hunger for the Holy Spirit and calling the Church into revival and awakening. A Master of Divinity graduate from Regent University and mentee of Pentecostal historian Dr. Vinson Synan, he served as publisher of Destiny Image for 13 years. Today, Larry travels globally—preaching, teaching, and sounding a prophetic call for the Church to return to Book of Acts-level prayer, presence and power. He is the bestselling author of Pentecostal Fire and serves on the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders under Cindy Jacobs. He lives in Texas with his wife and daughter.

References:

Wright, N.T. Vision of Ephesians. 2025, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 51.

December 4, 2025

Introduction

As I have been stating, I am coming to the end of a long, very demanding travel schedule. This is the final week of the stretch and I will be on the road the entire week. To help me out, I have asked some of our favorite Give Him 15 guests to write posts. They are outstanding. Today’s and tomorrow’s posts by revivalist Larry Sparks are inspirational exhortations on - you guessed it - revival! Today’s title is: 

Will You Make Room? 

Let every heart prepare Him room.

Christmas. I love this time of year. While I thoroughly enjoy the festive decorations, mass quantities of sweet treats, and the overtly Christ-honoring carols blaring over speakers in shopping malls and coffee shops, there is a profound revelation captured in the Christmas story… about how we can welcome and receive more of the move of God in our lives, churches, and nation. So prepare for an unusual Christmas perspective!

A verse in the Christmas story that challenges me to this day is Luke 2:7: 

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (ESV).

I want to highlight the last phrase, no place for them in the inn, and come back to that.

Right Now…

Prophetically, I am convinced we are living in the days of Ezekiel 47. I’ve shared this with the amazing Give Him 15 audience in times past about how this portion of Scripture gives us a stunning illustration of the different levels, depths, and dimensions of the river of revival. Every week, we are witnessing thousands turning to Christ through major evangelistic outreaches (Greg Laurie’s Harvest crusades), Unite US gatherings held at public universities, and the incredible work that local churches across the world are doing, day after day, to see a harvest of souls brought to Christ. God is moving, the river is flowing. 

Wild Celebration… but Thirsty for More

When I consider that Oceanside, California, hosted the largest water baptism in American history this year, I celebrate wildly (and that it involved multiple churches and ministries working together). When I review the thousands coming to faith in Christ through Greg Laurie’s Harvest crusades, I am overwhelmed. When I am bombarded on social media with reports of the thousands of students who are attending the Unite US college gatherings, and the hundreds and thousands who are turning to Christ, getting water baptized, and experiencing genuine transformation, I am filled with thanksgiving.

These are only three examples of the spiritual activity we have witnessed just this year, and the only response we should offer is wild celebration… with no “buts.” What I means is, I don’t want to be a revival connoisseur (thank you Tommy and Miriam Evans for this colorful designation) where I “tip my hat” to what God is doing, but I cannot get too excited because I am either being overly cautious, or worse, I refuse to celebrate until the move of God taking place suits my personal preference. I wonder if this is how people have missed revivals, awakenings, and moves of God in times past: they refused to celebrate what God was doing because it did not look like their idea of a move of God.

My encouragement: wild celebration will position you to appropriately pray and cry out for more. God is a god of stewardship, and He is searching to and fro throughout the Earth for those who will recognize what He is doing, celebrate it, and steward His activity.

So, I celebrate wildly what the Lord is presently doing, but until we see people overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to such a degree that their shadow releases healing and deliverance (according to Acts 5), I’m crying out for more. Until I see people so saturated with the Spirit that their everyday clothing releases healing and deliverance anointing (Acts 19), I’m crying out for more. Until I see notable miracles break open entire cities and territories for the expansion of the Gospel (Acts 9), I’m crying out for more. There’s always more of God for us to experience, but please understand, to experience more, we need to make room for the more.

Not a Tame Lion

We have been gloriously experiencing the beginning stages of Ezekiel 47, where the prophet describes being ankle deep, knee deep, and waist deep in the River of God (see v. 2-4). We’ve been witnessing a beautiful measure of God’s move in our nation right now, and while we celebrate, we recognize there are deeper dimensions accessible to us. 

Are we waiting for God to do something sovereign? I am convinced the Sovereign Lord has extended an invitation to us, basically asking, How deep do you want to go? I believe we are at a threshold. When you are standing in a river up to your ankles, knees, or even waist, you can still control the environment. You still have your footing on the ground. It’s stable, it’s safe. You don’t run the risk of the river completely consuming you and thrusting you into its wild current.

But there is a dimension of God summoning us that is wild. It’s where we experience the wildness of the Lion of Judah. Perhaps one of the most iconic and appropriate descriptions of this expression of our Great King is the conversation between Susan and Mr. Beaver in C.S. Lewis’ iconic masterpiece, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In describing the lion Aslan, a type and shadow of Christ, we read this conversation between the characters: 

“Aslan is a lion– the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh,” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”...“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …“Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

In the same book, Mr. Tumnus notes, “He’s wild, you know. Not a tame lion.” These descriptions are not meant to frighten, but invite us into deeper encounters with the Living God. For centuries (even back to the days of Jesus), a religious spirit has sought to put God in a box. Sadly, this same spirit is alive and well today, and it might be the primary enemy of the Spirit’s move in our lives and world. It’s a perspective that demands God Almighty to fit in a box of expectation and comfort. But we all know that Yahweh has never fit in any box.

A funny, but practical example of what this might look like. My pastor and spiritual father, Dr. Norman Benz, recounts the season of unusual spiritual outpouring in their Florida church in 1997 (sustained for several years). When people were touched by the Spirit’s power, they would shake, fall, and weep. They would also laugh… uproariously. Pastor Norman recounts, “I didn’t like the laughter... but I know it was God.” That’s a sign of maturity, where we welcome God on His own terms. We cannot judge a move of the Holy Spirit by our personal preferences. Maybe our preference is a few quiet tears are shed, when in fact, the wild River of God wants to touch someone radically with holy laughter and liberate them from decades of fear and depression. 

Will We Make Room for the Wild River?

…there was no place for them in the inn.

I don’t want this to be said of my life. Oh, I long to be a place where the Spirit can rest and do His unrestrained work. But an unrestrained mighty work of the Holy Spirit demands that we have an absolute and unwavering trust in His control. His way, His plan. When we make room for the Spirit’s work in our lives and in our midst, no matter what it looks like or what reproach we might receive, we are truly entering the realm of the Wild River—the next stop on Ezekiel’s journey.

“Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.” (Ezekiel 47:5)

Pray with me:

Father, every time Your Holy Spirit moves with power, it’s a confirmation that Jesus died, rose again, and received everything He prayed for.

Jesus prayed to You, Father, that we would experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So in this season, I ask for a fresh outpouring of Your Spirit on my life. My family. My city. My nation. Send Your Spirit, Lord, for Jesus’s sake!

Lord, send Your Wild River of revival that we cannot control---that floods the Earth with salvation, healing, deliverance, and supernatural transformation.

Our decree: 

We decree that we will make room for the move and presence of the Holy Spirit, no matter the cost.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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For additional inspiration on how you position yourself to experience personal revival during this Advent Season, please download my free e-book, The Glory Has Come, at www.larrysparksministries.com/gloryhascome

Link to Free E-book, www.larrysparksministries.com/gloryhascome

About Larry Sparks

Larry Sparks has spent over two decades in ministry, igniting hunger for the Holy Spirit and calling the Church into revival and awakening. A Master of Divinity graduate from Regent University and mentee of Pentecostal historian Dr. Vinson Synan, he served as publisher of Destiny Image for 13 years. Today, Larry travels globally—preaching, teaching, and sounding a prophetic call for the Church to return to Book of Acts-level prayer, presence, and power. He is the bestselling author of Pentecostal Fire and serves on the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders under Cindy Jacobs. He lives in Texas with his wife and daughter.

References:

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.