IHOP / KCF Prophetic HistoryThese are very rough notes from a 6 Tape set about Kansas City Fellowship's / IHOP's history. Mike spoke during January of 1997 about the 14 year history of IHOP / KCF to strengthen the intercessors. Tape 1: Mike Bickle's History Mike talks about his ministry / activity in the College arena, especially highlighting his absolute bias against the gifts of the Spirit and the baptism of the Spirit. He would debate Charismatic groups and tell them what they were doing wrong and they would tell him what he was doing wrong. He, unknowingly, became the youth pastor of a charismatic church. However, he decided to tolerate it for a few months until he could become a missionary to Mexico and hopefully die a martyr. During this time the Lord did some things in Mike's life and his theology began to shift. He began to embrace healing, deliverance and the gifts of the Spirit. June 1982 - The Prophet (Augustine) enters the picture
Mike decides to move to Kansas City to start a church. He does this however, not because of Augustine's word ( he didn't really believe Augustine), but because the Lord was directing him to KC. Mike goes on a trip to visit the poor of the earth in between his move from St. Louis and to KC. He wants the Lord to stamp their need, poverty and struggles on his heart. Sept 1982 - Cairo, Egypt - Mike's 1st supernatural encounter with the Lord
Mike says there is a God ordained stigma that comes with the prophetic. This 'thorn in the flesh' is designed by God to keep those involved or used in prophetic ways ... humble. The revelations tend to puff people up in pride because of what they have seen, but the stigma works humility into them. We have a propensity to exalt ourselves. Nov 1982 - Mike moves to Kansas City A Pastor tells Mike that he needs to meet Bob Jones. Mike is against it. Although he doesn't believe Augustine's word, he starts to apply the false prophet bit to Bob Jones and resists meeting him. In the end Bob comes by his office and talks to Mike for 3-4 hours and relays many many visions and dreams. Mike doesn't understand any of it. Bob is wearing a winter coat in the middle of a warm season of 80 degree weather in KC. Bob says that when the snows melt on the 1st of spring that Mike and his team will accept him. Mike tells Bob that there aren't any snows coming and it is very warm weather for such a coat. Bob assures him that it will occur and that Mike himself will declare Bob a prophet with his own mouth. Bob tells Mike 4 last things:
Bob asks Mike if that makes any sense to him and all Mike can say is "Unn huh..." At first Mike is just amused by the strangeness of the whole visit. However, Mike is impacted after Bob gives him the same 4 words that Augustine did. Mike is so blown away with the encounter that when Diane asks how the day went, Mike just answers, "Unnn....sweet and sour." Sometime later Art Katz comes into town and Mike meets him and likes him. Art heard about their prayer ministry and was really intrigued. Art had quite a godly reputation and Mike is impressed with Him. Later Mike and Art go to Bob Jones' house through a series of events. Bob shares with both Art and Mike the secrets of their hearts and they are blown away. There are tears on everyone's faces and an incredible presence of the Lord. This happens several different times during the night and early morning. Sure enough they both declare Bob to be a true prophet of God. Art could not leave earlier that day because a freak snow storm prevented his aircraft from taking off. At this point Bob asks them what day it is and they reply, March 21st... the first day of Spring. Bob asks them what the weather is like. They say that the snow is melting. Bob then reminds Mike of what he told Mike the first day them met.... they would accept him on the 1st day of Spring, when the snows melt and declare him a prophet of God with their own mouths. Mike sees that it has all been fulfilled in that very evening. Tape 2: The 21 Day Solemn Assembly, Daniel 9, The Struggle of prayer & fasting, Howard Pittman, Joseph's Dungeon Mike has an encounter with the Lord. Again, it's the 'internal audible voice of the Lord.' This has only occurred a few times in Mike's life. He is told to call a 21 day prayer and fasting time in the city in the order of Daniel 9 (and something regarding the Angel Gabriel). There is a parallel that is important. As the nation of Israel was in bondage, so is America in bondage.. After a season of 70 years the bondage is done and Daniel is called upon to seek God to restore the nation. It was time to seek the Lord with prayer and fasting. This is the place America is at. It is time to seek the Lord and see America released. The time for the nation to enter into some of it's promises has come. Mike doesn't want to do it because he has only been in the city 6-9 months. It seems so presumptuous. He is the new guy in town. He doesn't have any relationships or credibility. However, the encounter with the Lord is so intense that he commits himself to obey. He calls Bob Jones hoping to have some confirmation of the encounter. He goes over to Bob's house with some friends as witnesses. Without Mike saying anything, Bob tells Mike that this encounter was about Daniel 9, the angel Gabriel, and 21 days of fasting. Mike is blown away. Then Bob says that it is time for God to pour out his Spirit on this nation in a major way. Bob says that the Lord is going to give Mike a sign in the Heavens that is unpredicted. A comet will come across the heavens on the day that you begin the fast to confirm that this is God ordained. Mike calls the young church and the city to the fast. 3 weeks later they begin on May 7th, 1983. About 1,000 people were fasting for a major portion of this time. The meetings were happening all over the city. That day in the newspapers it was reported, "Comet comes unpredicted by Scientist." Mike is totally encouraged! Mike be-labors the point that the 21 days of prayer, 18 hours a day, was really tough. There were 4-5 times when they got some refreshment. God showed up 4-5 times and did some pretty exceptional things to encourage them (more on Tape 3). However, much of the time was hard, dry and painful! Other people, romantically reflecting back on the time, would say that it was amazing! Mike would correct them and say that it was boring, felt dry and just when they wanted to quit the Lord would encourage them. Mike said it went beyond dry...deader than dead.... at times he feels that it was oppressed, demonically resisted! Really tough. He says that when we think of the work of God going forth we think it is going to be very easy... full of life and power. But in reality there are times of God presence, times of demonic resistance and times when it is neither... just humans trying to be faithful. Bob stood up at the end. Mike say he could have killed him (jokingly). Bob says that he missed the timing and that revival was not going to break out at the end of the 21 days. In fact, there is a period of spiritual drought over the nation and it is going to continue for some time into the future. The Lord says, however, that there is an appointed time to release the rains of revival over the nation. And to prove that there is an appointed time, there is going to be a drought in the natural for next 3 months but it will rain on the appointed day - August 23rd (It was May 28th). Well, a real spirit of oppression came against the church after the 21 days of prayer and fasting. 100 people left the church. Suddenly a large tumor formed on Mike's vocal cords. Mike could barely even whisper. Two doctors were aghast and demanded he have surgery that week. (All of this occurred right after the end of the 21 days of prayer and fasting). The worship leaders would not even lead worship because the oppression was so bad. One leader would try to get another worship leader to do worship because it was so bad. Mike thought it would all be easy as the work of God went forth. Mike says it was horrible. He was mad and he was confused. It was battle. Mike never had the surgery. Through a series of events he stood for his healing day after day until it came. But it took 3 years! Mike would wrestle with God and stand for his healing for 3 years until it happened. On August 23rd everyone was calling in. They were all telling Mike that there was no forecast of rain. It was hot and dry. That evening as the church gathered to pray it poured for 20-30 minutes! People got soaked trying to get in. Mike's faith was on cloud 9....so was everyone else's faith..... but only for about 3 - 4 days. Then they went right back to oppression. Horrible. Mike says we are just like the children of Israel.... you would think that after seeing the predicted comet arrive, the predicted rain storm, etc... that they would all have unbreakable faith! It wasn't so. Bob told Mike later that if the Lord had released His Spirit during those days that they would have been totally blown up in pride.... there was so much pride in Mike's heart and the rest that it would have resulted in total chaos! September, October, now into November ... Nov 7th. The oppression was just starting to lift. Mike is seriously struggling with his throat condition. Bob calls and says that the Lord has spoken and will speak to Mike on Nov 15, next week, and he will never doubt again that this prayer time was of the Lord. He says that Mike will hear directly from the Throne of Heaven about May 7th, 1983. Mike is excited and wondering what 'hearing directly from the Throne' means. Mike be-labors the point that these things that God was calling them to... are the same things He is calling 1,000s of groups to. Mike says that many groups are called to combine together to partner with God to see this revival occur. IHOP / KC are only one of many groups called by the Lord in these most unusual way. They are not at the center but only a part. Mike is so excited that he, like any good zealot, decides to 'help' the Lord and chooses to fast before the Lord speaks. He blows it by noon and ate a banana split! He was so angry and hungry that he ate a second one! Nothing happens all day. Later that night Mike waits in his office and thumbs though his mail thinking he will give the Lord until 12:01 am... then he is going to go to bed. Mike has concluded that nothing is going to happen. Instead of having no belief, Mike feels like he is filled with unbelief! Mike runs over a booklet called Placebo where a man has a death experience. He decides to kill some time and reads it. Howard Pittman is the man who has died and come back to life. He explains his experience and conveys several points that the Lord told him to take back to the church. One of which is that God's Kingdom is going to come with Power, signs and wonders. Howard objects that he doesn't believe in the gifts of the Spirit. The Lord corrects him and tells him that he is greatly mistake about this. Secondly, Howard is told that the Lord will begin spitting the Lukewarm church out of his mouth (the Laodicean church from Revelations 3). He says that this is the American church. He says that this is the generation that Jesus prophesied about in Jn 14:12, where the people of God will do greater works than even Jesus did. Mike is impacted at this message and is captivated by it. This experience happened to Howard Pittman in August 1979. God tells Howard to go back and strengthen some of the brethren because they are getting weary. Lastly God tells Howard Pittman that this expelling of the lukewarm church would begin on May7th, 1983! This was the time that he would begin calling the Gideon Army together and that God would send a sign across the heavens to confirm it! Mike is overwhelmed and realizes that it was them (and other groups as well)! God had sent Howard back to earth to confirm the date, the prayers and fasting and God purposes. Mike reflects that the first sermon he preached in KC was on Gideon's army! He hadn't planned to preach on this subject but God re-directed him into it at the last moment. The spirit of weeping rested on the whole congregation while Mike preached. Mike was amazed at the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. This message from Howard Pittman's book really bolstered their faith! April 1984 - 6 months later - Bob's revelation of Joseph's Dungeon - Cup Bearer & Baker Tape 3: How Anointed Intercession brings Conviction with Preaching Over several trips (4-5) to St. Louis Mike was learning a spiritual principal that when he set aside time to pray (2 - 3 hours) sometimes a "spirit of prayer or travail" would come over him and he would be caught up into intense groaning and crying out to God for souls. The next day when he preached he would watch and often observe people crying, weeping, sobbing or kneeling in the audience. He came to see that the Spirit released supernatural conviction after such times of anointed intercession. Zech 12:10 - spirit of prayer or supplication. They were praying at KCF 3 hours/day for 6 days/wk for the first 6 months. Later they increased the hours to 6 hours/day (2-3 times a day). April 1983 - Easter before 21 days of Solemn Assembly: After this is all over Mike goes back and talks to Bob Jones. "The Lord showed me in the night visions that you wanted to go fishin' today.... but that the time is not yet. We were in a boat together and you were wanting to cast your net. But right before you threw it an Angel grabbed your hand and stopped you because the divinely appointed time is not yet. You were then given a big hook and he let you hook three fish." This was a whole message about Luke 5 and Jesus telling Peter to put out to water and get ready for a big catch of fish. Mike agrees that we need to be involved in daily evangelism but he is also working towards a huge harvest of souls that God will orchestrate. Luke 5 - The Great Catch of Fish The first day he met Bob Jones, Mike was given this word: Luke 5 - a big catch of fish Bob Mumford had come into town during this time and said he had a word for the church: Luke 5 Earlier that same day at a conference, Bonnie Chavda had an Open Vision and told the church: Luke 5 Around this time Samuel (prophet from Canada) drove 24 hours to tell Mike 2 things: Open Vision - written in the sky - Luke 5 for the church The struggles Bob Jones was having (this was the very day that Bob had confessed to Mike) April 1984 - A year later August 1984 - Noel Alexander, fasting on water for 40 days: Noel's 2nd most major supernatural visitation besides salvation occurred when he stopped his car and had a vision of a valley of lilies - millions of them. God said that he would be allowed to be part of the process of seeing all these souls saved. Mike and Noel met a week after Bob Jones prophesied that Noel would arrive. Mike and Noel are amazed at each others prayer lives. They go to meet Bob and Bob tells Noel the vision that God gave him of the lilies and he is stunned and begins to weep deeply. 1993 - Paul Cain - The Lord is going to bring Mike and Noel together in the prayer room again like the old days and it will be like gasoline and fire. 1987 / 1988 Bob Jones is visiting the young people and tells them that God is going to visit Mike that night and give him a message from the Gospel of John about the Spirit of Prayer and the great Harvest that is going to come upon this city (and other cities). That night Mike is immediately awaken from a dead sleep (at 2am) and begins travailing over Kansas City for the outpouring of the Spirit and for souls ( "Give us souls, give us souls! Pour out your Spirit! ). He believes that it was an angel that awoke him because it happened so instantly. God showed him these verses: Tape 4: Promises of Healing & Reflections of other events during 1983/84 Isaiah 61, 35, 32:1-4, 29:18 May 1983, 13th day of the 21 days of prayer and fasting -18 hrs a day April 1985 - Bob Jones: God revealing Himself as Bob's Friend as well as his Lord & 1950's Healing Revival May 7th , 1989 - Mike has dream of the Lord standing in front of him putting His hands in Mike's. 1990 Paul Cain - Paul's mother is dying at the old age of 105 - Luke 4:18 Oct 5th, 1990 - Conference in 5 Cities in England with John Wimber, Paul Cain and Mike Bickle. Tape5: Apostolic calling and suffering. Attack against the church. Mike talks about Apostles and their calling and lifestyle. He quotes 1 Corinthians 4:9 where the scripture says that God displays them in weakness and as the scum of the earth. Why? As a protection against Pride from all that the Lord reveals to them and does through them. Paul had a thorn in his flesh that the Lord refused to remove because it kept him humble. There is a stigma with the prophetic or apostolic that is divine in origin and designed to keep us humble. July 3rd 1979 - 1984 Bob Jones' Service, Fall and Reward Aug 1984 - About 1 month later. The Court Room & Word to Mike about Impatience March 1984 - The Black Horse & The White Horse Sept 1984 - Church in Tulsa, OK Weeks or so later, Mike and Augustine are traveling and staying in a hotel together. At some point Augustine awakens Mike screaming, "Michael, Michael, ... help us Michael!" Mike sees Augustine on the floor with his covers on his head. Mike doesn't know what to think. Then Augustine starts describing a scene with a huge black horse charging them. All of the sudden Mike's right knee is physically in unbearable pain. Mike can hardly do anything except try to cope with the pain. Augustine continues saying some other things about an Angel that drives away this thing and that Mike is lying in a ditch beside the road in agony. After a while Augustine collapses and falls asleep. Mike is still in agony and gently moves his body down the stairs ending up in the kitchen. He puts ice on his knee, calls someone and is working out how to get to the hospital because the pain is so bad. Someone comes over and Mike is talking to them when Augustine wakes up and comes down to join them. Mike has his knee under the table, hidden from Augustine's view. Mike says that Augustine isn't looking so good. Augustine replies that he saw Mike in a vision last night and that HE wasn't looking so good! Augustine goes on the describe the vision. Mike and he were walking along the road and a huge 15 foot tall horse appeared and charged towards them. A man was standing behind this horse with an evil, but gleeful smile. Augustine was told that the enemy would use this man to vent the rage of Satan against them. The black horse rears up in front of them and cracks his hoof on Mike's right knee cap! Mike collapses and falls into the ditch next to the road. Augustine begins calling out to Michael the Archangel for help. Michael does and the thing is destroyed or driven away. Augustine then cries out for help for Mike who is suffering intensely. Sometime later, out of the ditch where Mike has fallen, arises a massive White Horse, larger than the Black Horse, with 9 foot wings. After Augustine relays all this Mike takes his knee from under the table and surprises Augustine! The sign the woman prophesied occurred in Mike's body, not Augustine's. Augustine continues that there would be a certain event, over 5 years later, that would take place and that this attack would come shortly after that. (The tape didn't say what that event would be.) Mike doesn't believe that his man would really attack attack them so violently. At the end of all this Mike gathers several thoughts. He remember that Bob Jones had talked to him about a White Horse the first few times he met Mike. Mike realizes that something is going to happen where the church (Mike is only a symbol of their whole church) is attacked, knocked off the path and ends up in the ditch. They are off, but not disqualified.... but in a place where Jesus Himself must come put them back on the path. They are limping. There is intercession (the crying). And there is pain in the whole experience for them. However, in the end, a Giant White Horse with 9 foot wings (9 gifts of the Spirit and 9 Fruit of the Spirit) would arise out of the ditch. That night before all of this happened, Mike and Augustine had read the Blue Print prophesy. Augustine said that if the Lord gave him the chance, he would ask the Lord if the Blue Print prophesy was from the Lord or not. During this whole episode, towards the end, Mike heard Augustine ask the Lord this very question. The Lord replied that there was much light and much truth in it, but that it was not ALL the truth. Mike said that he has kept a lot of the Blue Print prophesy personal for awhile, but sufficed to say that it was about full scale revival with Signs and Wonders in Stadiums... and that any more detail would just be sub categories under this. He said that any more description would just get people into pride because of the scale and magnitude of it. Well in 1989-90, this event unmentioned event happens that Augustine prophesied. (The event that would directly precede the attack on their church) Noel says to Mike, "there has been no attack over the last few years. Let's see if it really happens." And sure enough the massive controversy breaks out against Kansas City Fellowship (largely driven by one man), such that John Wimber and the Vineyard have to step in to shield them from it. Oct 1984 - Mike's brother Pat has an Encounter with God! Jan 1986 - Pat - Another Visitation Tape 6: Paul Cain with Mike Bickle Paul has 2 main visions: Joel's Army in Training & The Stadium Vision The other vision is the Stadium Vision. While Paul was 'hidden' for 25 years (until he came back to public ministry in 1988) he had this reoccurring vision: On a TV channel he saw news people declaring that there was no news because everyone was in the Stadiums of the cities across the U.S. There were unknown individuals on the platform preaching Jesus, healing the sick, delivering the demonized, and raising the dead. Nothing else was happening in the News. This was happening all over the U.S. and the world. That was all that ABC or CNN could report. Paul believes that he will see this before he dies. Paul says that there was an anchor man in those visions that he didn't recognize at the time. However, this man has emerged and is now a news person. Paul says that WE are the only picture of Jesus there is. The image of Jesus in the Living Stones of His House. There is no photograph of Jesus only the picture of Him in His people - the very body of Jesus. Paul said to watch out for: |
