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The “Ark”ive © Joseph Sazyc |
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April 3, 2007 |
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From God’s House to the Big House
Many ask, “What is the goal of IMPACT?” There really is only one goal for day and night prayer and worship. Simply, it is what God deserves. But for those who need more direction, the Bible says in Acts 15:16-17 that the Tabernacle of David (24/7 ministry unto the Lord throughout the nations) will be restored so that “the remnant of men may seek the Lord.” Such places of prayer provide a day and night environment to seek and find God. Prophetic voices in the 24/7 prayer movement are saying that this will lead to a world-wide revival of such magnitude, that large stadiums will be filled with God seekers. Worship teams will lead praise and prayer, not just for hours, but for days straight, supernaturally empowered. Miracles and healings will be commonplace in these perpetual stadium services, as well as salvations by the thousands. Are we ready for that to happen in the Big House? We believe it will. That’s why our humble effort at day and night prayer and worship is being carried on here at Summit International Church… in the very shadow of Michigan Stadium! |
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April 10, 2007 |
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One Year Anniversary!
It was one year ago on April 11, 2006 that IMPACT opened its doors. I never expected it to become a full-time job, but I have learned, that’s what it takes to break new ground like this to help “rebuild the Tabernacle of David.” King David hired a staff of hundreds to insure 24/7 ministry to the Lord. I am just one person. But thanks to a bunch of volunteers, we still managed to pull off a skeletal 24/1 ministry to the Lord. It is not yet in our American church culture to invest financially in direct ministry to the Lord as David did, but I am determined to change that culture. After fulfilling my 6-12 month commitment to PACT to help establish IMPACT, I feel God’s direction to continue. It is with great joy that I can announce that PACT unanimously agrees that IMPACT must continue. Now I must dedicate several months to raising the budget necessary to continue. We will really need the volunteers to arise to fill blocks and help with other IMPACT tasks since I will be taking leave for at least three months. Let’s hope I raise a budget even faster! - Joe Sazyc |
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May 1, 2007 |
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A Tapestry of the Body of Christ
What does a person expect to encounter at IMPACT? After a year of doing this, I am finding that there are about as many expectations as there are people who visit. One major expectation is that there is a specific form or structure of prayer to which IMPACT subscribes. This is the form IMPACT subscribes to: whatever is on the heart of whoever is leading a particular prayer shift. Although there are some very basic guidelines for the prayer and/or worship leaders, the mandate IMPACT places on them is to be faithful to the mandate God has placed on them. We trust our prayer leaders. I realize this does not always provide a nice, neat schedule where you always know what you’re going to encounter. But as our schedule becomes more regular with what leaders or teams lead any particular shift, it will become more predictable to know what happens when. Either way, what one will see at IMPACT is a tapestry of the Body of Christ in Washtenaw County. That’s exactly what we want. Our unity is in the need to pray together for the diversity of needs in the community. - Joe Sazyc |
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May 15, 2007 |
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The Art of Praying Together
Two Fridays ago in Lagos, Nigeria, as on any first Friday of the month, anywhere from 250,000 to 750,000 are gathered together in one place for First Friday all-night prayer! Is there any wonder revival is exploding across Africa? The Biblical formula is this: one puts a thousand to flight, two puts ten thousand to flight. There is exponential power in group prayer. But in the U.S.A., there might only be several gatherings with at most, several hundred for all-night prayer. Why do we have such a hard time praying together? The main reason is submission. We Americans are not too good at that. The Apostle Paul said, “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.” Group prayer requires submission. Group prayer requires following the leadership of a prayer leader, setting our agendas aside and flowing with him or her. It also requires listening to what the last brother or sister prayed out, taking a moment to agree with them and add to their prayer before jumping into our burden. It also means being brief in our prayer so that others can lead out. It may not be easy, but Jesus said Matthew 18:19-20, “if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (NIV). We may not have all of our agenda covered when we pray with others, but it pleases Jesus for us to come together in prayer. Let’s keep practicing and learning how to pray together! |
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May 22, 2007 |
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Destinies of a City and a State
As I travel around the state of Michigan, speaking in churches on the topic of prayer, I am often struck with an awesome sense of responsibility. Major national prophetic voices are pointing to our state as being a birthing site for the next Great Awakening… on our watch! May we never grow weary in our praying! But as I crossed the Mackinac Bridge yesterday, I was suddenly struck with the role Ann Arbor has in all this. I believe it is indeed in the “Big House” where a climactic point is to occur: not the Silverdome, not Ford Field, not even the capital city, but Michigan Stadium ...in Ann Arbor ...the birthplace of Michigan! Many times prophetically, God has spoken to me that Ann Arbor is to be “a place of pilgrimage.” Isaiah 60 says, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you ...Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you…” (NIV, read the whole chapter!). I believe this is God’s will for Ann Arbor. I believe the whole state, representatively, will one day gather in the Big House before the Lord, to seek and worship him. Also gathered there will be people from nations across the earth: many having come to study and work, then finding the Lord here. Others will be there because they came to Ann Arbor for the very purpose of seeking the Lord, for he will be here in an unusual way. - Joe Sazyc |
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An Amazing Thing We Are a Part Of! The more I reflect on what is happening here at IMPACT, the more I am amazed. I know there are other houses of prayer around the state, but I don’t think there are any like this, where there are 12 very diverse churches/groups coordinating a full 24 hour straight period every week! And several other pastors, churches, and groups are regularly involved as well. Many who are involved feel a sense of great expectation. There is a stirring in the Body of Christ in this county! - Joe Sazyc
A Sense of Expectation When We Gather Speaking of expectation… Anytime we come together as God’s people, we should bring a sense of expectation with us! Acts 2: 1 says, “They were all together in one place. Suddenly…” then we read about the great outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Who knows what may “suddenly” happen when we gather at IMPACT! Jesus said “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matt 18:20). There doesn’t have to be 20 people there. Just 2 or 3! If he is with us, should we not expect something special to occur? |
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June 12, 2007 |
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It’s All About the Local Church
IMPACT is not about IMPACT. It is about “impact,” but that, in and through the local church. We’re not here to build an organization. We’re here to build the local churches (and Messianic congregations!) The Church is the Bride of Christ. Local churches are united to Christ, and therefore dear to him. Bill Hybels says, “There is nothing like the local church... Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking, Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of the world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness… No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close.” Wow! Look at our churches together in our community, and you will see all of these qualities. As intercessors, our job is to pray this awesome destiny into the churches. Let’s not criticize the church. Let’s pray passionately for her! |
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June 2007 |
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Visit P.A.C.T. The Tabernacle Times - Feb.-November, 2007 COMMENTS? blog@nextga.us |
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County-wide “24/1” Prayer (on our way to 24/7!) Tuesdays, 12AM—Midnight Present location: Summit International Assembly of God, 2118 Ann-Arbor Saline Rd.—Ann Arbor
Rev. Joe Sazyc, Director - joe@im-pact.us |
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June 19, 2007 |
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It’s a Beautiful Thing to Behold! In a worldly sense, there is not much glorious about IMPACT. Often there are just a handful of people praying, if even that many! But spiritually, it is a glorious thing to behold. As I drop into a shift here and there, I am often overwhelmed with what is happening and break out into praise. For example, I walked in at 1AM one morning. There were about 7 people, led by Pastor Lee Jordan, singing the old hymns with exuberance, intermingling prayers for our community… at 1AM! Later that morning after daybreak, I dropped in and heard the faith-filled prayers and declarations about the glory on the Church of Washtenaw County, offered by Pastors Lester Guest and Steve Rickard. As noon approached, I dropped in again. This time, there was beautiful live violin music accompanied by pray-ers in Hebrew by Allen Singer. The afternoons continue with precious times of intercession as people like Pastor Doug Burch lead in prayer for topics such as the schools. At evening, don’t be surprised to hear a little worship, salsa style, as Pastor Oscar Mora and Iglesia Fuente de Paz lead a block. Later yet, around 11PM, an intercessor is busily writing in her journal non-stop as she hears God speaking to her there like nowhere else. This is just one little cross-section of the miracle that happens every week at IMPACT! -Joe Sazyc |
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July, 2007 |
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How a Flood Comes by Joe Sazyc I love praying in Bird Hills Park. It’s full of trails that go deep into the woods. Along one of those trails is a large dry creek bed. In all the months I’ve been walking and praying there, I never saw water in that bed, and often toyed with the idea of coming to the park in a rainstorm just to see if it really ever has water in it. Well, the day came. It had been raining off and on all night and all morning. When I got to the park, it began pouring rain. This was my chance! When I got to the dry creek bed I was shocked. It was still dry! After a night of rain and in the midst of an hour long rain storm, there was not even a trickle. I stood right in the middle of that creek bed for about 15 minutes, utterly puzzled. Disappointed and soaking wet, I headed back to the car. But about 5 minutes later, I heard something below in the gulley where the dry creek bed was. I turned around and went to the place where I could get to it. And there it was, not a slowly rising trickle, but a wall of water coming down the bed! That creek didn't form slowly as rain fell for hours. In just a matter of seconds, a dry creek suddenly became a full blown stream! This is how answers to prayer and revivals often come. Much prayer is offered and one may even feel the rain of the Spirit beginning to fall… and fall… and fall. But still, the river bed is dry. But suddenly, as you glance upstream, there it is! The flood! “Suddenly , in an instant, the LORD Almighty will come..” (Isa 29:5-6). “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple…” (Mal 3:1). “Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said.” (Matt 28:9). “...They were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2)! |
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August, 2007 |
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9/11: A Prophetic Reminder by Joe Sazyc
For a brief period one September six years ago. We were awakened. We understood that even America is vulnerable. Prayer houses and churches were filled. Today, we don’t like to remember 9/11. The media will not even show images from that day anymore. Spiritually, we have fallen asleep again. But let us not be fooled. Ignoring 9/11 won’t make the realities behind it go away. As flawed as our nation is, it is still the bastion of the gospel in the world. Therefore, it will always be a target of Satan. The antichrist spirit which once drove the communist world’s hatred of all things American and Christian has now found a home in radical Islam. ...and it will strike America again. Prophetic voices from various streams have made it clear. Even high profile people such as Pat Robertson have predicted an attack on America this year. Many laugh it off, even those in the church. I don’t. I know what Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer says. One reason he started IHOP-KC is because of his prophetic sense that even limited nuclear exchange will one day strike our shores. When I heard this, I was reminded of the prophetic sense I received the week after 9/11. I was convinced that the 9/11 scene was only a foreshadow. I was taken to Revelation 18:16-19 - “Woe! Woe, O great city... In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin! Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship...will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?” What should our response be? Fear? Dread? “Ignorance is bliss?” 1 Peter 4:7 says, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled ...so that you can pray.” Church, these days above all, we must be awake and vigilant in prayer! |
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September, 2007 |
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November 2007 |
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God Has a Message for Our Region by Joe Sazyc
I believe it is no accident that three significant conferences, all having to do with Transformation, took place in our region on November 1-4. Although some overlap could not be avoided due to the speakers’ availability, many hearers were able to catch parts of all three, including people from Washtenaw County. What is fascinating is that in the providence of God, the messages all wove together. This should not be a surprise since all the speakers are people known to be genuine prophetic voices to the Body of Christ. After hearing them, we should be convinced more than ever that what we all are doing at IM-PACT is absolutely essential! Why? Here are just a few reasons. 1. Great Trials are Coming to America. We must be spiritually prepared for what is about to hit us. Without exception, all the speakers warned of things ranging from natural disasters to terrorism. Robert Stearns said, “We are two clicks away from utter destruction. Meanwhile we’re ‘dancing with the stars.’” We need to move away from an entertainment driven and self-focused Christianity to true worship. Allistaire Petrie pointed to Lot as an example we should not follow. “Lot saved his own soul, but lost his city.” May that not be said of the church of this county. Rick Joyner spoke of rotating teams of high school kids from his ministry to help for a week in the horrifying conditions of the Katrina clean-up. He did so in order to train them to serve people and trust God while death and danger are all around because such things would become more common. The second and third day, they were begging to go home. By the fourth day they were begging to stay longer. It will be the people of God who will shine in the difficult days ahead! At IM-PACT, we must pray for God’s mercy to hold off judgments. At the same time, we must pray for God’s people to wake up into a godly maturity that will be the shining light when darkness comes. We must pray that the seductions of worldliness will not blind us to the realities that are about to hit us. 2. Love the Lost and Lowly. Heidi Baker, has planted thousands of churches in Muslim Marxist Mozambique. But she has also been poisoned twice, stoned three times, and had some of her pastors’ murdered and cut into pieces (and also saw some raised from the dead!). She reminded us that love and forgiveness is at the very center of our message. One of her pastors went to the town where his cousin was brutally martyred and gathered the people in the town square. What was his message? “I forgive you.” The whole town eventually accepted Christ. Rick Joyner taught us, ”Buy low. Sell high.” In other words, find those at the lowest place, and invest love in them. How do we get to such a place? Heidi talked about the need to be overshadowed by the presence of God. God’s presence will drive out all that is unloving in us, and fill us with his love. At IM-PACT, we have an opportunity to soak in God’s presence, any time of day or night on Tuesdays. Maybe soon, it will be on other days as well. We should constantly ask God to overshadow us and fill us with his supernatural love. 3. Unity and Prayer. Allistaire Petrie, who has extensively researched historical and present day revivals gave the seven non-negotiables of transformation in a region. Two of them were prayer and unity. Certainly, the prayer going on at IM-PACT should give us great hope for transformation (after all, it’s in our name!). But the unity is key as well. Unity is closely related to the point #2 above. If we’re to love so much, should we not begin in the household of God? Richard Crisco reminded us of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:23. “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them…” The world can not even know God loves them unless they see us in unity! Rick Joyner added “God will answer this prayer. Do you think the Father is not going to answer his own Son’s deepest prayer?” I believe IM-PACT is an answer to that prayer. What a beautiful picture of unity! In talking to prayer leaders around the state, our cooperation in Washtenaw County is providing a powerful example. That has been our prayer. We still fall far short of the fullness of Jesus’ desire, but may we be an example to the whole nation! Space does not permit me to talk about other important themes (I hope to spell some more things out at www.im-pact.us). But I am excited! I believe we heard from some genuine modern day apostles and prophets. GOD IS HEARING OUR PRAYERS AT IM-PACT! Don’t give up! Don’t be discouraged! PRAY! |
