April 14, 2026

The Two Mandates

Iran’s leaders, in their maniacal and suicidal determination to destroy Israel and America, dominate the Middle East, and terrorize the world, refused to agree to any concessions in their so-called negotiations with American leadership. This was not unexpected. One can’t help but think of the crazed Pharaoh in Exodus whose heart was so hardened that it mandated his and his army’s destruction. Vice President Vance ended the meetings fairly quickly, and Trump has taken decisive action by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. In this turning of the tables on Iran’s attempt at blockading the strait, Iranian oil will not be allowed to flow from Iran, which will completely cripple the nation financially. Trump has not backed off on his pledge that Iran will not have nuclear weapons and will no longer be able to terrorize other nations. Their bullying days are over. 

We will pray regarding this at the end of today’s post. However, the subject Larry Sparks wrote about in yesterday’s post - combining reformation with revival - is so profoundly important, I want to continue addressing it somewhat this week. I have written on this subject in previous posts, but it cannot be emphasized enough.

Just before He left for heaven, Jesus gave two commissions to His followers. 

The First Commission:

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved, but the one who has not believed will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name, they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’” (Mark 16:15-18 NASB)

The Second Commission:

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”’ (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)

The Genesis Connection

These two commissions must be understood in the light of Genesis 1, for they are actually recommissions of what took place then. Jesus came to restore - restart, rebirth, revive, redeem, recover, reform, refill, and recommission. Commission One in Genesis was: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God told Adam and Eve, “Reproduce! I have placed in you the ability to multiply My image and likeness. And I want a big family!”

Then came Commission Two: “Rule over... all the earth...over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28). Psalm 8:6 restates the mandate, “Thou doest make him to rule over the works of thy hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet.”

Obviously, this plan was interrupted at the fall. When Adam sinned, he lost the image, likeness, and Spirit of God; he also lost his dominion, the delegated authority to manage and steward the earth. And God lost His family.

Jesus Came to Restore

These two losses are what Jesus came to restore: 1) God’s family, and 2) their lost governance and stewardship of the earth. Regarding the first, He said in Matthew 16:18-19, “I will build My church.” The word “build” is oikodomeo,(1) which means to build a family or household. In choosing this word, Christ was saying, “I’ve come to get the family back!”

He followed this in Matthew 16 by calling this family His “church,” the first mention of this concept in Scripture. “Church” is the word ekklesia, which means “called out from.”(2) It was not a building, worship service, or organization; at that time in history, ekklesia was not even a religious term. It referred to an assembly or group of people “called out from” the general population in order to govern. Study.com says an ekklesia/ecclesia “played a central role in the political life of the city [Athens]. The Ecclesia had the power to nominate and elect magistrates, who were responsible for administering the city’s affairs and carrying out the assembly's decisions. The Ecclesia also had the authority to pass laws and to decide on issues related to foreign policy, defense, and the administration of justice. In addition to its legislative powers, the Ecclesia also participated in the judicial process in Athens. The Ecclesia members would try cases involving serious crimes, such as murder, and they could impose punishments.”(3)

By choosing this well-known secular word, ekklesia, Jesus was saying, “Not only will I recover My family, but I will also reestablish them as My spiritual government, My ambassadors on earth” (See also 2 Corinthians 5:20). His other comments in Matthew 16 amplified and explained this further. Jesus said that this Ekklesia would be given the keys (authority) of His Kingdom, through which they would bind and loose (lock and unlock, forbid and allow), and that the gates or government of hell would not overpower them.(4) Jesus was clearly stating that the spiritual authority He would give His family would enable them to represent His Kingdom as ambassadors here on earth, and that they would not be overcome by the government of hell.

The Recommissioning

After declaring this, Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, legally recovering the family and its authority. He then recommissioned His body on earth–twice. The “Great Commission” in Mark 16 was/is intended to multiply God’s family through salvation. The “Great Commission” of Matthew 28 was and is meant to align people’s thinking back to the ways of God through discipleship–enabling them to function as His ekklesia, stewarding the earth. The first (Mark 16) changes people’s nature—who they are—transforming their spirit. The latter (Matthew 28) changes people’s thoughts and actions–how they live–transforming their soul (mind, emotions, and will). God not only wants kids; He wants them to become mature, responsible sons and daughters who know His ways and think His thoughts, enabling them to partner with and represent Him. 

When Mark’s commission occurs in mass, resulting in the salvation of many people, we call this a revival; when Matthew’s commission occurs in mass, resulting in societal change—government, laws, morals, education, culture, etc.—we call it a reformation. 

Obedience to BOTH of these mandates is absolutely essential. I will highlight the differences between them more fully in tomorrow’s post, but here are a few comparisons and differences between revival and reformation:

• Revival brings people into God’s family; Reformation teaches them His ways.

• Revival births them spiritually; Reformation trains them practically.

• Revival transforms human hearts (our nature); Reformation transforms human minds (their thinking).

• Revival restores God’s life to individuals; Reformation restores His laws, principles, and ways to cities and nations.

• Revival’s fruit is internal, produced within us; Reformation's fruit is external, released from us.

• Revival is accomplished through “preaching” (Mark 16:15); Reformation takes place through “teaching” (Matthew 28:20).

• Revival creates converts; Reformation creates disciples.

• Revival produces God's bride, family, and worshippers; Reformation produces God’s Ekklesia, those who represent His Kingdom authority and rule.

In the Charismatic/Jesus People revivals, which Larry addressed yesterday, the body of Christ worked toward fulfilling Mark 16 - growing God’s family. The commission of Matthew 28 - discipling nations - not so much. We will look at this more tomorrow.

Pray with me:

Father, You have said through Your prophets that revival and reformation have begun. As Your voices on earth, we declare that all nations will experience outpourings of Holy Spirit. As the waters cover the sea, Your glory will cover the earth. Even as sin abounds, grace and glory will abound more! Entire regions of the earth will be delivered and see the light of the gospel, and strongholds will melt under Your power and fire. Youth will see Your light and become volunteers in this day of Your power. They will run with endurance, war with strength, speak with prophetic insight, and build with apostolic depth. They will be the Amos 9:13 generation: plowmen will overtake reapers. 

And, Lord, we realize the war in Iran is connected to the great revival that has begun. The powers of darkness controlling that region are being dislodged, just as Baal was in Pharaoh’s day. We ask that this process be finished–leave nothing undone. End this evil regime and its reign of terror. Give Your wisdom to President Trump and our leaders in this endeavor. Let no miscalculations be made, no wrong moves. All this we ask in Yeshua’s name, Amen.

Our decree:

We decree that we will experience the rain of revival and the wisdom to reform nations in the great outpouring of Holy Spirit that has begun.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3618 and 3424.

2. Ibid. Ref. no. 1577.

3. https://study.com/academy/lesson/ecclesia-ancient-greece-history-facts.html

4. In those times, city councils often met at the gates of their cities because, in their thinking, the gates were a picture of government. Why? Gates determined what entered the city physically, just as government did so legally.

April 13, 2026

Introduction

Today’s post is from Larry Sparks, our friend and revivalist. The post is based on an e-book he recently released, which is available to the Give Him 15 community for Free at Larry’s website. This information will be given at the end of today’s post.

The Missing Move of God

While recently in Australia, I was taken into an unusual vision. I caught a glimpse of Dutch Sheets weeping over the American flag, as he did when Holy Spirit marked him years ago with a mandate for awakening in the United States. Then, beside Dutch, I saw an Australian man embracing and weeping over the Australian flag. Next, as if to unite both prayers, I saw the Appeal to Heaven flag waving behind them both: two nations, one banner, one cry.  Regardless of the nation we call home, God’s commission is that we must run toward our nation in prayer and engagement, not away from it.

This vision was a doorway into something the Holy Spirit has since been pressing upon me — a word about “The Missing Move of God,” and how it connects to the story of the Hebrew prophet Jonah.

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3)

Jonah was called to a dark and wicked place in order to be a catalyst for landscape-changing awakening. His response? He fled to another location. Is it possible that decades ago, the church was entrusted with a cultural moment we were called to speak into — and we fled from it?

The Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus Revolution

In the 1960’s and 70’s, parts of the world experienced two explosive moves of God: the Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus People Movement. The Charismatic Renewal began in part with Episcopalian priest Dennis Bennett’s historic baptism in the Holy Spirit. His denomination responded unfavorably and sent him to a struggling congregation in the Pacific Northwest, hoping his spiritual zeal would quietly fade. The opposite happened. His community in Washington State became a hub of Holy Spirit outpouring that inaugurated what church history recognizes as the Charismatic Movement — a season where every major Christian denomination was impacted by the Holy Spirit baptism and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.

But the Charismatic Renewal was not meant to be an end; it was a womb. The mothers and fathers who were filled with the Spirit in the early 1960’s were taught to travail in prayer for their sons and daughters — the unfortunate victims of the counter-cultural upheaval of that era. Drugs, the sexual revolution, Woodstock, and cultural anarchy defined the climate. America was like Nineveh of old. And yet, God heard the desperate prayers of parents and answered by birthing the Jesus People Movement — a sprawling historic revival where young adults turned to Christ by the tens of thousands.

A Staircase with a Missing Step

When you survey this spiritual history of the twentieth century, a pattern emerges that looks less like random events and more like a divine sequence. The Charismatic Renewal renewed believers and produced the Jesus People Movement; this movement brought a revival-sized harvest. But there was a missing final step. Reformation was meant to be the third: a generation of Spirit-filled, Scripture-grounded believers carrying the kingdom of God into every sphere of culture.

The vacuum left by that missing third step produced consequences we are still facing today. Revival without reformation is like a fire that blazes brilliantly and then burns itself out, without igniting anything around it.

The discipling of young people who came to Christ during the Jesus Revolution focused on the inward aspects of personal maturity and Christian community — rather than outward movement also, toward the spheres of society where culture was being shaped. Individuals were discipled, but not nations, as Matthew 28:18-20 instructs us. To be disciples of Jesus, a generation was encouraged to disengage from the world and its sinfulness, corruption, and impending end-times destruction. Darkness moved into the vacuum this created, as it always does. Every sphere of cultural influence that the people of God vacate does not remain neutral. It gets occupied. 

But our God is rich in mercy!

In the account of Jonah, he fled, resisted his assignment, and famously ended up in the belly of a great fish. But He cried out to the Lord and was redeployed to Nineveh (after being vomited out by the fish, of course). Jonah 3:1 became one of the most quietly stunning verses in all of Scripture — and an encouraging prophetic signpost to us right now: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1).

Grace Hidden in a Transition

Not a new word or a revised assignment. Not a lesser calling now, since Jonah had proven his unreliability. The same word. The same territory and people group. The same command: arise, go, preach to the people you tried to run away from. God did not write Jonah off. He came back with the original assignment–fully intact, fully alive, fully expectant.

We Are Living in a Jonah 3:1 Moment

During the Jesus People Movement, thousands were gloriously born again, and that is to be wildly celebrated. But the assignment to disciple culture — to occupy every sphere of society with the presence and values of the Kingdom — went largely unclaimed. We saw Mark 16 unfold, where the Gospel of salvation was preached and received enthusiastically by multitudes; however, we did not witness new converts deployed into culture to do the work of Matthew 28: disciple nations.

But God has not abandoned the assignment. Though we ran from our cultural Nineveh back in the 60’s and 70’s, Yahweh is a God of second chances.

Another Jesus People moment is happening right now. University campuses are stirring. Young people are encountering the Holy Spirit in ways that cannot be manufactured. Major influencers are asking bold questions about the Christian faith, demonstrating clear spiritual hunger. The question being whispered in the Spirit over this generation is not whether they will experience revival; that is already happening. The question is whether or not revival will become reformation.

Calling Forth the Awakeners

This is why the vision in Australia shook me. Two believers wept over their Nineveh assignments, their nations hanging in the balance. And yet, their tears were not hopeless; they represented a fiery love for their nations, a love that thrust them into intercession and divine assignments.

The great Christian thinker, G.K. Chesterton, wrote about appropriately loving and engaging the world: “The world is not a lodging house, which we are to leave because it is miserable. It is the fortress of our family, with the flag flying on the turret, and the more miserable it is, the less we should leave it.”(1) If the world seems miserable, that is a call to you and me: Jonah, arise! Awakeners, come forth, and be voices of righteousness and Kingdom standards in a broken world.

Revivalists evangelize the lost and call the church to wake up. Awakeners, however, are commissioned to call the world to account as righteous standard-bearers, sprinkled like salt in every sphere of culture.Jonah has been in the fish for a season—but he is coming out. A new breed of believer is emerging, the awakeners, called to boldly teach and display the Lordship of King Jesus. As theologian N.T. Wright describes in his book God’s Homecoming, such believers “are called to stand humbly in the divine council, in order then to stand boldly in human councils.”(2) Appealing to heaven, then engaging the earth.

The Word Has Come a Second Time

When Jonah finally arose, went, and preached, the result was one of the greatest city-wide revivals in Scripture. An entire population repented and was transformed. That is what happens when the people of God hear the call to go, to run towards the world instead of trying to escape it.

You do not need a platform to be an awakener. You simply need to show up where the Lord has called you. Your Nineveh may be a classroom or a courtroom, a film studio or a Senate chamber, a living room or a legislative hall. But whatever your Nineveh, the word of the Lord has come to you: Go!

The Third Move will not be missed this time. Renewal has occurred. Revival is here. Reformation is coming. 

Arise, church. The word of the Lord has come a second time. And this time, we are going to Nineveh.

Pray with me:

Father, like Jonah, we are sometimes tempted to run from our Nineveh assignments. They can feel intimidating. But Lord, You are not intimidated.

Your commission has come a second time—and we say “Yes.” We appeal to Heaven in prayer and will engage earth by showing up in the places of our divine assignment. We declare that the mountains of education, media, government, business, arts, family, and the church are our mission fields. Raise up and deploy Your “sent ones” into every sphere of culture! We will boldly respond:  Here I am, send me.

Our decree:

We decree that the word of the Lord has come to us a second time, and our answer is yes — we arise, we go, and we will not turn back!

As mentioned in the Introduction, you can access the free E-book: The Word of the Lord Came a Second Time by going to LarrySparksMinistries.com/SecondTime

You can find out more about Larry at LarrySparksMinistries.com. 

 Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy. 95. B&H Books.

2.  N.T. Wright, God’s Homecoming. 302. Harper One.

April 10, 2026

What A God!

“Another powerful move of the Holy Spirit erupted this week at Florida State University in Tallahassee as the spiritual awakening on America’s college campuses isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Tonya Prewett, founder of the UniteUS Ministry, reports, ‘What a night!! 4500 students gathered at FSU for a powerful night of worship! Hundreds made decisions to follow Jesus and were baptized! What a God!’

“This is the second time America’s Number 2 ‘party school’ has been hit by the power of God after thousands turned to Jesus and hundreds were baptized in an FSU fountain in 2024.

“‘The hunger, the faith, the joy, the surrender, it's all been incredible to witness. Students who gave their lives to Jesus in 2024 stepped up to lead at Unite FSU 2026! God continues to move at FSU!’ Prewett added.

“As CBN News has been reporting, the UniteUS outreaches are ongoing here in

2026. Last week, thousands turned out at the University of Pittsburgh for an evening of worship and preaching. More outreaches are planned for upcoming weeks, including Samford on April 8 and Oklahoma State on April 28.”(1)

I have now heard firsthand reports regarding the UniteUS gathering at Samford from my friend Larry Sparks, who will be sharing with us about revival in an upcoming post. Larry was deeply moved and said the same thing happened there as occurred at Florida State. America’s Third Great Awakening has begun, and the revival will also take place in many other nations.

The Lord first showed me in 1990 that another great revival was coming to America, and that it would begin with the youth. It has been a little over 35 years since Holy Spirit gave me this open vision, and it has been largely charting the course for my life ever since. I’ve shared it before on Give Him 15, but it will encourage you to hear it again, along with what occurred afterward.

While teaching a class on prayer, suddenly, I began seeing – with eyes wide open! – not what was before me physically, but an open vision. I saw thousands of young people in a stadium or arena passionately worshiping and crying out to God. The scene changed, and they left the stadium. I then watched as they arrived back in their hometowns as flames of fire. Everywhere they went, the fire of revival sprang up. As I prayed about this, Holy Spirit said He was showing me what was coming: “There will be a Third Great Awakening in America, which will begin with the young generation.” I was deeply impacted. 

A month later, Ceci and I went to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Day of Prayer. Upon arrival, I was told of a unique event taking place all that week called a Biblethon.

A canopy tent and small PA system were set up on the Capitol lawn. Individuals signed up for 15-minute slots, and the entire Bible – Genesis through Revelation – was read over the Capitol and nation 24/7 for the entire week. Those participating didn’t choose the passages they read; each participant had to continue where the previous person had stopped. When the entire Bible had been read, they started again in Genesis. 

When Ceci and I arrived in D.C., a friend told me of this Biblethon and said, “I knew you would want to participate, and the slots were almost gone, so I signed you up.”

“Yes! That’s awesome,” I replied.

“The only slots remaining were through the night, so I signed you up at 2:00 AM tomorrow night,” he said with a smile.

Instantly, I heard Holy Spirit say, “Through the passage of Scripture you read in the Biblethon, I’m going to confirm what I told you after the vision – that another great awakening will occur, and will begin with the young people.”

My quiet response to Holy Spirit was, “Sir, I trust YOU, but I don’t trust MYSELF in this situation. I could find the concept of revival in ANY 15-minute reading of Scripture. Any! Whether the passage is about holiness, righteousness, love, You judging evil, a miracle, or someone You used, I could get the concept of revival from it. I am not trying to manipulate or force You to conform to my demands, but because of the Scriptures You’ve been speaking to me from in my ‘quiet times,’ there is only one way I would know for certain that a passage was confirming that word: if I get to read either the book of Haggai or Habakkuk.” 

Haggai is two chapters long, Habakkuk is three, totaling 5 of the 1189 chapters in the Bible. I knew the odds were almost impossible that the reading progression would have arrived at one of these books just when it was my time to read. But that’s what I told the Lord. 

When I arrived at the Biblethon tent the next night, thirty minutes early as instructed, they were nowhere near Haggai or Habakkuk. Someone was reading from the gospels. I didn’t want the Lord to feel badly about being unable to have them at one of the passages I requested, so I assured Him it was okay, and that I still believed the vision and word from the previous month were from Him. I knew He was comforted!

A couple of minutes before my time slot, the lady in charge approached and told me I was next. Then her expression changed; she looked at me and departed from protocol, saying, “Mr. Sheets, you have your choice; you can read either the book of Haggai or Habakkuk.”

I was stunned!

God was saying, “Not only can I arrange it so you can read one of those two books, I can do better than that. You said ‘Haggai OR Habakkuk.’ Okay, you have your choice, son: Haggai or Habakkuk.”

That, my friend, is how much the Lord wanted me - and wants you - to know He is going to send a Third Great Awakening to America, beginning with young people. 

I prayed and waited over 35 years to see the fulfillment of what I saw in this vision. I have now seen it. In April of last year, Ceci sent me a video clip, adding the words: “Your vision!” As I watched it, tears began to flow, and I said to myself, “This is it. It’s here.”

The video is from a Passion Worship Gathering in 2024, just over 2 years ago. Since then, there have been over 18 million views. I have been blessed to have been in many amazing worship times, but this one is the scene I saw in 1990. It is a gathering of tens of thousands of young people, caught up in worship, in awe of, and overwhelmed by Jesus. The lingering presence of Holy Spirit, the expressions of adoration on their faces, the depth of what was occurring is beyond words…and is what I saw in the vision from 1990. Now, gatherings with the same passion and presence of God are occurring on college campuses across the nation, with the added element of salvations and baptisms. The Third Great Awakening has begun.

Find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted and, using the link below, WATCH all 20 minutes of the video. The longer it goes, the better it gets. Don’t just listen to it – watch it! If you’re older and don’t know how to use YouTube,  have someone assist you, but watch it. Pastors, show it to your congregations and encourage them with what has begun. Youth pastors, show your youth group and let the kids see who they were made to be.

Pray with me:

Father, in Habakkuk, You said to “Write down the vision…So that one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hurries toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it” (Habakkuk 2:2-3). Like the shepherds at the time of Christ’s birth, who heard the promise, then waited many years for Jesus to burst onto the scene, we have waited over 30 years for this great awakening. It has begun. Now, we ask for the fire to break out all over this nation, and the nations. Shake the earth and send “the desire of all nations” to us. Fill this nation and the nations of the earth with the greater glory (Haggai 2:6-9).

And Lord, prepare the church for this revival. We pray that no traditions of men, preconceived ideas, or wrong expectations will hold us back. Blow the lid off. Rock the boat. Stretch our wineskins and challenge our paradigms. Give us new wine, fresh wind, and an abundance of rain. We ask for the greatest, biggest, and most far-reaching revival in history. Outdo Yourself, Holy Spirit. In Yeshua’s name! Amen.

Our decree:

We declare that Jesus, the desire of the nations, will be revealed in His glory throughout the world.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Here is the link to the video from Passion Conference 2024.

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1. https://cbn.com/news/us/americas-2-party-school-gets-hit-second-wave-awakening-hundreds-turn-christ