Excerpt from April newsletter

Before I update you on the changes of this past month, let me first describe more about the Night Watch to you. The Night Watch, as you know, serves in the Prayer Room every night from midnight – 6am. During this time, there are 3 two-hour prayer meetings. Midnight-2am is an intercession prayer meeting, 2am-4am is contemplative prayer, and 4am-6am is another intercession prayer meeting. These prayer meetings are led by 4 different worship teams. Brandon’s worship team leads 5 of these prayer meetings each week.

About 6 weeks ago, the senior worship leader on the Night Watch announced that he and his family were going to leave the Night Watch and switch to a daytime schedule. This young man has been a pillar to the Night Watch for the past 8 years, during which time he has led a worship team and given leadership to the other worship teams. When he and his wife (who was also a worship leader) left with their three small children, the door was opened for many changes. Within the past month, the Night Watch has welcomed 2 new primary worship leaders (remember, there are only 4 worship teams, so that is 50% change). To make this change work, the schedule was also revised. Brandon’s and my day off switched from Sunday to Thursday. Interestingly, Brandon, who has been leading his team on nights for 3 years, has now been leading his worship team longer than any other worship leader on the Night Watch. For those of you who like to watch Brandon on the webstream, he is now leading the following prayer meetings: Sunday 4am, Monday 2am, Tuesday midnight, Friday 2am, and Saturday midnight. You can watch these prayer meetings at http://www.ihop.org/prayerroom/archives/. (They are archived for all of you people who sleep at night!)

In addition to the leadership and schedule changes, Brandon’s worship team is drastically changing. Within the past month, 8 of the 15 people on Brandon’s team have announced that they are stepping down from the team. 4 people are transitioning to days and the rest are moving, joining other teams, or stepping down from a team altogether. In Brandon’s words:  I know that the Lord is going to build His house and I know that He will bring the people that are supposed to be on my team. 

Brandon just finished his performance in From Patmos: a Musical Review. Watching a musical review is a lot like listening to a soundtrack CD of a musical, except you also get to watch the faces of the actors. I loved getting to watch my husband come alive while he got to sing and act for Jesus. (Musicals have always been a big part of Brandon’s life, and he loves being a part of redeeming the arts for God’s glory.) From Brandon: One of the things I really liked about this production is that we did it in the place of the sermon, so it was 45 min long and, at the end, we had a call for salvation where 19 people got saved/recommitted their lives to the Lord! This year I played Satan  for the first scene and then after that I got to sing in the ensemble and sing all the songs that actually glorify Jesus. It was a lot of fun. The performance is archived so if you are interested you should check it out here at this link. http://www.ihop.org/weekendservices/archives/  (Look for “From Patmos Review” on 4/8/12.) or go to this link on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeXXEWQFjDk.

From Patmos

Going to be performing in the From Patmos “Musical Review” this weekend at Forerunner Christian Fellowship in Grandview Mo. If you are in town come see or watch on the web-stream.  For more info and for the link to watch the web-stream go to http://www.ihop.org/forerunnerarts/from-patmos/ 

Performances are Friday and Sat night Worship starts at 6pm, the musical review will start at 7pm. 

 

From Patmos is a dramatic musical presentation of the life of Jesus told from the perspective of John the Beloved while in exile on the island of Patmos. Journey with John as he remembers his life with Jesus and His revelation of the King of glory.

This morning I (Sarah) have been reading through 1 Peter, and have been praying for each of you by name, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” (1 Pet. 1:2) It is our privilege to stand throughout the watches of the night and lift you up in prayer to our good God.

On another note, Brandon just started taking guitar lessons…..     and he has become the favorite worship leader of the young children on the Night Watch. Every night the 3-5 year olds join us in the prayer room for a short time, and Brandon is better than anyone at getting those young blessings dancing and worshipping Jesus. Just yesterday a Night Watch mom told Brandon that her son asked if they could listen to the “Oh, oh, oh song.”  She put on a CD and little Isaac promptly asked – who’s that?! His mom told him it was Mr. Jon.  Isaac replied, “Well, if it is not Mr. Brandon, can we listen to something else?”

School is definitely in full swing.  I (Sarah) had the opportunity to help several new teachers “learn the ropes” of their new classes. Many of them are using curriculum that I wrote – or am currently writing! This semester the music school at IHOP relocated from an old trailer to the shopping center that IHOP’s University has been renovating into their new campus. The move has provided several tests to my skill as a teacher, including teaching without a marker board!  Yesterday as I was teaching, I spied a huge box along the wall of the classroom, which I’m hoping will translate into a marker board on the wall by Monday morning!

What we’ve been learning…Over the past three weeks, Brandon and I have been reading This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. For those of you who have not read it, it is a story about a town from a physical, natural perspective combined with the spiritual, supernatural perspective. First, events are told from a human viewpoint, and then you read about the angels and demons directly influencing those events. What most challenged us was that the angels’ influence and strength directly correlated with the prayers of the saints.  When there was a good prayer covering, the angels were empowered to act. It has been a good reminder to us that our prayers are releasing things in the heavenly realm.

So what kind of a difference are our prayers making? Only God knows the real answer to that, but He has given us a small glimpse….. Just last Saturday when Brandon was leading worship for the 4am prayer meeting, a gentleman in the prayer room gave his life to the Lord. He had been driving home from a bar and had heard about IHOP, so decided to stop by. 3 young men prayed with him and walked him through repentance and even breaking the soul ties he had with bitterness over his ex-wife. Then, while Brandon and his team were praying for the Lord to release revival in Kansas City, this man gave his life to the Lord!

From a corporate ministry perspective, in the past 26 months, there have been 1,908 baptisms on IHOP’s mission’s base! Between the music school, the Bible school, and the internship programs, the University is discipling over 1,000 students, training and equipping them so that they can lead worship and start houses of prayer throughout the nations. This is the second semester that IHOPU has been able to accept international students, and now 25% of our student population is international. God is entrusting us to disciple the nations! And all of this from the place of prayer!

Remember Laughing is Healthy !!!!! (c:

Psalm 24

What we’ve been learning…..

As a worship team, Brandon and I and his team have been studying Psalm 24.  Once a week the team has been singing through this Psalm during one of their Worship with the Word prayer meetings.  We have all been so blessed by the increased revelation and understanding we have received for this Psalm.    One of the things that particularly interested me was how this short chapter of the Bible concisely and beautifully sums up the entire Gospel from creation till Jesus’ second coming.

Ps. 24:1-2

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

God Most High is the possessor of heaven and earth. He created it, He possesses it, and He sustains it. By His will all things were made (John 1:3; Col 1:16). He delights in what He created (Pr. 8:31). For when He created, He said it was good (Gen. 1). God desired, He spoke, and all things were created.  It was from desire that the earth came forth.  It was for His good pleasure. He made it all, the sun, the moon, the stars, every living thing upon the earth.  And then He created man in His image. The crown of His creation. He made it all so that the sons of man could be with Him. The world is the Lord’s and all those who dwell within.

God is the One who founded and established all of created order. By His very words, His law and His testimonies, He established reality. Nothing shall go against His law or His word. All creation obeys God (Pr. 8:29; Job 38-39). The law of God governs everything we see, sustaining all of creation (Ps. 19:7). All things are upheld through the power of God’s word (Hebrews 1:3).

What a beautiful picture of creation! Creation itself reveals to us the authority of our God. Through it His power is displayed. In creation we see the pleasure of God and His delight in us.

Ps. 24:3-4

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

Here is a question repeated throughout Scripture – Who is worthy? There is only One found worthy, and He is described here as One with clean hands and a pure heart.  He is worthy both in deeds (clean hands) and in heart (pure heart).

First, Jesus is worthy to redeem us.  We know that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23-24), and that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). But because Jesus was the One with clean hands and a pure heart, He was found worthy to redeem us (2 Cor. 5:21). He was the perfect sacrifice who humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8).

Secondly, Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb, worthy to open the scroll and loose it seals. He is worthy because He was slain, and, by His blood, ransomed a people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev. 5:6-10).

Ps. 24:5-6

He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

 

Because of Jesus’ humility and His perfect sacrifice, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every other name (Phil. 2:9). We are the blessing that He receives. He was the perfect sacrifice to receive the blessing of us! He calls us a blessing, a reward, His inheritance (Eph. 1:18)! Jesus also received righteousness from the God of His salvation. By raising Jesus from the dead, God declares to all of creation that Jesus was indeed righteous. He was perfect. He is worthy to receive blessing from the Lord. The blessing of all creation. The blessing of you and me. The blessing of the name above every other name. The blessing of authority over every nation.

We too will receive life everlasting if we seek His face. Jesus has promised to give us authority to rule the nations with Him if we hold fast to what we have in Him until He comes. “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations” (Rev. 2:26). The generation who seeks the Lord, the generation who overcomes, they will eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God; they will not be hurt by the second death; they will eat of the hidden manna and be clothed in white garments; they will be a pillar in the temple of God; they will sit with the Lord on His throne (Rev. 2-3).

Ps. 24:7-10

Lift up your heads, O gates!  And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!  Lift up your heads, O gates!  And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!

In this psalm, David describes the Lord as the Creator, the One who, because of His holiness, can redeem us, and then as the One who will receive the reward of His suffering. Lastly, he portrays the Lord at His second coming – as a glorious King, strong and mighty in battle.

Here we see the gates of Jerusalem opening to the King of glory, the One of whom the prophets spoke, the promised seed of Abraham. This is the One who was promised to rule on David’s throne. He will rule from Zion forevermore. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong Almighty. The One with nail marks in His hands. The Lord of hosts, the Warrior King, the righteous Judge, the One with fire in His eyes, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Word made flesh who upholds all things. This is your God, Yahweh, the Maker and Keeper of the covenant. This is the One who was worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. This is the One who took peace away from the earth, the One who released famine on the earth, the One orchestrating judgment, that all may come to Him. In His goodness, He brought famine to reveal Himself as the Bread of Life. He took away the earth’s peace to reveal Himself as the Prince of Peace. In the beginning, He created the heavens and the earth to reveal Himself. At the end of all things, the earth’s devastation will also be to reveal Jesus. Look upon this King in all of His glory. Come and see Him in all of His power. Who was and is and is to come. Be wise, O kings and learn righteousness. Be warned, O rulers of the earth (Ps. 2). For the nations are the Lord’s inheritance. The one who was there in the beginning, who owns it all, is now taking His rightful place. The King of glory, strong and mighty!

Sarah and Brandon Lautzenheiser

January 16, 2012

An Excerpt from our Jan Newsletter. 

Brandon:  Well we are finally on the new Night Watch schedule – waking up at 11pm and going to bed at 3pm. We were able to switch on the 17th of December. We quickly realized that a schedule change is not the answer to all of our problems. We also realized that we are still definitely on the Night Watch (not the Day Watch, even though we see more sun) and it is still a sacrifice to be doing this. But it is something we feel called to at this time. And really our joy comes from the Lord, not from circumstances. We are giving ourselves a few months to feel normal (whatever that is) but already we can tell that it is really nice to see the sun more and we (at least I) feel more productive. We also have borrowed a happy light and that is helping (especially Sarah to not be so crabby in the morning). Whoever would have thought it would be easier for me to wake up than Sarah?! I guess that is what happens when you wake up at 11pm at night!

Sarah:  Brandon and I have been meditating on Philippians 4 where we are instructed to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Thinking that our circumstances or a change in schedule will make us happier only leads us to discontentment. Our discontent will resurface no matter what we are doing unless we learn the secret to contentment. The Apostle Paul said that he had learned the secret to contentment (Phil. 4:11). “Rejoice IN THE LORD always!” (Phil. 4:4). Our joy comes from enjoying our relationship with God. This is the secret to contentment – to enjoy God. With this schedule change, God has challenged me to find my joy in my relationship with Him rather than seeking happiness in the excitement of a schedule change. Novelty and newness wears off, but enjoying God just gets better and better!

Welcome to BrandonLautzenheiser.com

I am a full-time intercessory missionary and worship leader with the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City,MO.

Biography

(My beautiful wife Sarah and Me)

Brandon Lautzenheiser grew up in Minerva, Ohio, attending a spirit filled church that his uncle pastored.  He has always had a love for music.  When he was little, he would stick his head out the car window and sing worship songs at the top of his lungs because he thought the wind would carry the sound of his voice with it.  If asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would always tell people he wanted to be a Christian worship leader.  Brandon attended the University of Akron for musical training, graduating with a degree in voice.  Shortly after finishing school, Brandon was leading worship for a conference at a small house of prayer.  The guest speaker was from IHOP-KC.  “I saw Jesus in his eyes.  I wanted whatever he had.”  So Brandon moved to IHOP-KC for the One Thing Internship.  “I always wanted to be a Christian worship leader, but when I came to IHOP, I realized that meant something different than playing in a band like Third Day or DC Talk.  I was made to sing in the house of the Lord.”

During his first two years at IHOP, Brandon realized that he was called to be “a priest before the Lord.  I am called to minister to the Lord and lead others in ministering to His heart.”  After being a prophetic singer in the Prayer Room for four years, Brandon joined the NightWatch, the intercessors who worship the Lord in the Prayer Room from midnight to 6am.  For the past two years he has led worship in the middle of the night, following the mandate in Psalm 134:1 to “Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord!”

Most of Brandon’s ideas and inspiration for writing songs come while he is leading worship in the Prayer Room.  “I want to write music that moves my heart to love Jesus more.”  Brandon sees combining worship and intercession as a powerful way to encounter God’s heart.  One of his favorite things to pray is that he would be “someone who learns to love to lean upon Jesus.”