I. A WEIGHTY SUBJECT
A. The very thought that the Almighty Eternal God would condescend to share His very heart, His very thoughts with
mere men is overwhelming. The idea that He desires partners and friends with whom and through whom He wants to
release His purposes in the earth is at once humbling and delightful.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the
devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?15 Isaiah 33:14,15
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy
place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble,? And to revive the heart
of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15
1. Yet this is the invitation He issues and calls the Bride to today. We are being called as ‘friends of the Bridegroom’
in this hour to declare His excellence and glory in the earth. John the Baptist is the ultimate forerunner in this.
27John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28You yourselves
bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29He who has the bride is the
bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s
voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:27-30
2. It begins in our hearts with the cry to ‘see what He sees, hear what He hears, say what He says and feel what He
feels.’ It is stirred by the fact that he once said that He sought for one to ‘stand in the gap’ but found no one. That
thought causes something in us to rise up and say, “May it never be!”
a. So we will look today at what this invitation is all about.
II. BEGIN WITH FOUNDATIONAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING TO FEEL HIS HEART.
A. It starts in the cultivation of a life of prayer. This is where the friends of the Bridegroom begin to carry His burden.
1. It is as simple as this; no secret place, no prophetic burden. Jesus Himself set the standard for this.
2. It is in this place that we begin to feel His heart.
a. His heart for us, how He sees and defines us. Here we begin to see our selves as He sees us. This is critical
to a healthy prophetic burden.
b. His heart for others – we see through the lens of redemption.
3. Part and parcel with this is a life soaked in the Word of God. Here is a whole book of revelation concerning His
heart.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called
by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16.
a. Many have the misconception that a prophetic burden will somehow just fall upon them apart from the cultivation
of a life in prayer and the Word. Without these foundations any prophetic burden will be immature and will be controlled
by impulses and emotional experiences.
b. Others have vision of a ‘platform ministry’ and see the prophetic as a means to get there. The truth is, this is an
‘outside the lines’ job description.
B. Time in the secret place will open our hearts to friendship with God. From this place God begins to release His
council to us.
14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. Psalm 25:14.
18 For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His
word and heard it? Jeremiah 23:18
5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do
nothing. John 15:3.
C. This burden leads us to the place of intercession and proclamation.
1. We begin to feel what burns in Him. Our desires begin to become His desires.
a. As it burns in us the immediate and logical release is to speak it back to Him and cry out for His Kingdom to come
and His will to be done.
2. Then it may manifest in proclamation in a variety of ways.
a. Corporate Prayer, Life Lines, feeding the poor, outreach, etc.
III. HOW DO WE RECEIVE THE BURDEN OF THE LORD?
A. Through the Word and prayer we can get a general idea of what is on God’s heart.
1. Ultimately it is the summing up of all things in Christ, everything and every nation bowing and confessing and
exalting Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
a. In the Old Testament this looked like the call of Israel to forsake lesser gods and follow the Lord with all her
heart. It was the call to nations to know and recognize the One True God and know He rules in love and justice. This
ended up being Nebuchadnezzar’s experience.
b. In the New Testament the burden is for the Church to know Christ and exalt Him. It is for the Bride to have the eyes
of her heart enlightened to her hope, calling and empowering. From this place she is to declare the forgiveness of sins
and the Lordship of Christ to the nations in holiness, purity and power.
2. From small to large, it is souls saved, healed, delivered and set in their destinies. It is cities and nations turning
to Christ. It’s the Church being alive and on fire, moving in power and love, provoking Israel to salvation.
a. There are a hundred places for us to find individual burdens and expressions for God’s heart within this
framework.
B. From this point there are three ways in particular that God has birthed prophetic burdens in my heart.
1. Prophetic Revelation.
a. Scripture that breaks in by revelation of the Holy Spirit.
b. Prophetic words spoken to you from others or by the Lord.
c. The ‘suddenlies’ of God.
2. Accidental Obedience.
a. In the course of faithfulness to a ‘hint’ from the Lord God opens up something bigger. Paul experience this with the call
to Macedonia.
3. Breaking in of compassion in our hearts.
a. The sudden, overwhelming of the feelings of God’s heart for a particular person or issue.
IV. CHARACTERISTICS AND MANIFESTATIONS OF LIVING OUT THE BURDEN OF GOD’S HEART.
A. Both of these aspects are important to understanding and persevering in the heart of what your burden is.
1. Characteristics are those things that lead us to carry our hearts in before the Lord without growing weary, burning out,
or giving up.
2. Manifestations are those experiences that birth, give revelation to, and increase prophetic burden
3. Both are necessary over the long haul..
B. Characteristics important to maintaining prophetic burden.
a. Revelation of God’s love and justice.
b. Faithfulness expressed through a prophetic/fasted lifestyle.
c. Understanding times and seasons/prudence.
C. Ways prophetic burden manifests.
a. Intercession under the ‘spirit’ of prayer. Romans 8:26
b. Weeping. Lamentations
c. Release of prophetic, authoritative confidence to pray and act. Acts 4:29
D. Ask God, He will release His heart in you. He is looking for friends in this hour.
1. Be specific – Individuals, cities, nations. He will give you His heart.