wisdom about (IHOP)international house of prayer KC

I was wondering what people have heard or more perferably experienced about IHOP the international house of prayer in Kansas city? I'm feeling possibly led there to do the four year school of apostolic preaching, but have had christian counsel against it. Now a year later i still feel the desire tugging at my heart to go. I dont want to be pulled soley by my emotions but by the call of God. I also dont want to get caught up in any false doctrine or false prophets/apostles. Any wisdom on this subject of this school or direction would be greatly appreciated.

pvtryan2,

I have several friends involved in IHOP that I genuinenly respect in the Lord. In fact, I have two IHOP prayer missionaries living in my basement who are on staff at our local IHOP in Fort Wayne, IN.

They will be traveling to the OneThing conference next week and the Lord has led them to stay in Kansas City to go through some further refining until they are released back to ministry in Fort Wayne. Like anything, though, I'm sure some false brothers have penetrated some part of IHOP, because even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. That is why we are admonished to continually believe not every spirit, but to test the spirits. Remember, you will know them by their fruit and not their gifts. Men like to look on the outside and esteem gifts, but God judges by the fruit of the Spirit.

I understand that you want to be led by the Lord and like Jesus we should strive to do nothing of our own initiative. If you're desire is to obey the Lord at any cost, I believe that he will speak to you according to James 1:5, but you must not be double-minded and be willing to obey no matter what the cost. If you need confirmmation, aks for it and the Lord will give it to you. Asking for His will is not a sign of unbelief or doubt, but maturity and obedience and the Lord looks to show Himself strong on the behalf of such as these.

You may even want to attend the OneThing conference to get a feel for what you would be getting into. Regardless, live by the word of the Lord and not your feelings or emotions or what might seem good at the time. Man's good is the enemy of God's best.

Blessings brother!

Hi Ryan,

Try a search on "IHOP" here on SermonIndex.

Here is a couple for starters;

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&order=0&topic_id=9049&forum=35&post_id=&refresh=Go] IHOP[/url]

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&order=0&topic_id=12566&forum=13&post_id=&refresh=Go]Kansas City IHOP[/url]

I know it has been a while since pvt2ryan posted this thread, but I wanted to share my experience with IHOP.

I have listened and read a number of things by Mike Bickle over the years and have been blessed by them.

Last April I felt like I was supposed to go to IHOP for a time of prayer and fasting. I was very blessed by the character and kindness of the young people I met( I am middle aged). They didn't seem to care about anything except prayer and the word and witnessing. They paid no attention to clothing, cell phones. I didn't see any of them standing around with cell phones. They were focussed on what was happening in the meetings.

They held 24/7 prayer meetings and there was a good attendance most all the time. I saw them show real love to each other.

I was also priviledged to hear Mike Bickle speak on the sermon on the mount. He said God spoke to him that if we don't get this right we aren't going anywhere until we do. That it wasn't just nice word, but a way of life.

I must say my experience there was a blessing. Just want I needed. I would go again and probably will some day.

I would say to you do exactly what God tells you. You can't go wrong doing that.

I am going to share a George Mueller quote with you:

"If no immediate choice has to be made one should wait. The Lord orders our stops as well as our steps. When the time comes that a decision must be made, one can proceed in the direction that seems best. As you conscientiously seek His guidance, He will not let you make a wrong choice." George Mueller

This quote has helped me many times over the years.

MorningStar is not an offshoot of IHOP, and I think we should be very careful about calling them false teachers. I would go and read some of the things written on their sites and deciede for yourself it they line up with the word.

I personally have been following these ministries for years and love them. Are they perfect, surely not, neither are any of us here, however these ministries love the Lord and don't teach in any other name besides the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

An offshoot is something taken out of. MorningStar is not an offshoot of IHOP even if they have fellowship and relationship with some of the people there.

I too have read all the books and listened to years of their teaching, sixteen years, or thereabouts. I have recieved their teaching tapes for most of those years and have benefitted much from them.

One of the nuggets I recieved was that we have spiritual bank accounts. If I give or do a good deed and let everybody know what I did I have already recieved my reward. This has stuck with me. I know it is the sermon on the mount, but it was brought out by that teaching. I hav learned through that to keep my mouth shut about what I do. I don't let my left hand know what my right hand is doing.

I am very fearful to call anyone a false teacher, however I will stand out against false teaching. Only God knows the motivation of the heart. Is a person trying to do God's will, or is their heart to further satan's kingdome? When it is all said and done only God knows for sure.

It is just like the prosperity gospel, which I hate. I have to be very careful slamming someone's name even in that because they may really believe what they say and are not operating out of a desire to harm. If in a truth their motive is to further the kingdom of God and not destroy it God will bring them to a greater knowledge of the truth.

Having said that, I believe that to write someone off as a false teacher does not take into account that we all know in part and He who began a good work in us will complete it. If someone is prayerfully trying to hear from God and gets off and makes a mistake God it able to instruct him more fully.

I have seen many preachers adjust their thinking when greater revelation came, David Wilkerson is one that has shared that happening to him. Because he was off in some point does not make him a false teacher because his heart was right. He was laboring to further the kingdom of God and I believe IHOP and MorningStar are doing that as well. If we think they are off we should be praying for them and being a part of the building up rather than tearing down.

The thing that concerns me most, perhaps, is the [i]Bridal Paradigm[/i] teachings. These are teaching based in Song of Solomon. i am increasingly alarmed at the direction that 'worship' music has been taking for some time and much of it relates, I think, to this whole Bridal Paradigm teaching.

You will notice many Christian Music recordings over the last several years that take a view of God that to me is quite profane. Our relationship with God is not like a relationship with our mate, etc. Statements in worship songs today are not a lot different than love songs of the 70's, 80's, and early 90's. This is directly related to how one views God. Not to be redundant, but I think this is a shift in how people view God along with a lack of good biblical instruction. We have to be very carful in how we perceive God. We need a Bible Based perception that takes all 66 books into account. If we focus in any one area we will end up in error.

Hi Krispy,

I know nothing about IHOP, neither am I considering getting involved with them. This is of no personal concern to me so I hope to be coming from an impartial view point.

Is there a specific error that you can point to that would indicate why you feel so strongly about them? I know how strongly I feel about WoF preachers, and made similar warnings on a seperate thread about them. I failed to give my reasons. Fortuneately another brother or two had some links to videos that interested parties could watch on their own. None of us can do more than express our opinion, it is up to us all to be good Bereans and carefully consider another brothers caution.

You mentioned some discernment ministries but none in particular. Is there a web site that you could find that discusses IHOP so that we could look into this matter independantly?

To my fellow brethren, Krispy is going out on a limb and standing alone on this. Please, please do not lambast him personally for taking this stand. We have never met, but it is fairly clear that his heart for the Lord is real. As he feels so strongly about this I know he feels a duty before God to express this warning. wouldn't you do the same if you had been involved in something and felt you had to turn away for one reason or another?

I am concerned about the potential for contentious debate arising here. It is so so easy to let our emotions guide us. We can so easily get overly defensive and say (post) things in a manner that does not edify or resolve anything.

In His Love,

Doug

I will leave off this conversation with just a couple of observations. When I speak of blessed I am not talking about feelings, I am talking about how each part of the body has something to add to the rest. So consequently I receive a blessing when I read a nugget that Krispy or Greg or anyone shares that gives me a more clear picture of the whole. When I receive a nugget that enables me to understand in clearer detail an aspect of the word that was foggy to me I am blessed. I don't set much store on feelings either, just truth.

I will end with this, my only reason for sharing these things was to point out that we need to love the brethern. Our heart, when we think someone is in error, should break and intercede because one of our own is in trouble. We need to be very careful that we aren't just seeing through our own filters of life and not through the bigger picture that will unfold as God reveals more. We all know in part. I have participated in some of these sites that point out "error" and finally asked them to remove my name because all the do is focus on they what perceive a being wrong, they don't bring words of life. They even list Bro. David Wilkerson on there. It would seem they are the only ones who know the truth. We become like what we focus on. I would rather focus on the beauty of Jesus and the glorious church He is building than to look for what is wrong with everybody. So my point? I would rather believe there is a heart towards God in my brothers and sisters and leave the judging to God. I want mercy so I am going to show mercy. I will judge what I believe to be false doctrine, like teaching the unbalanced prosperity gospel, which isn't a gospel at all. But I refuse to label a brother or sister as a false teacher by name. I will say a certain teaching is false, but I fear God bringing me face to face with the plank in my own eye after I have judged another.