http://www.revivalblog.com/2007/07/04/growing-up-mark-hadfield/
July 4, 2007
Pastor Mark Hadfield: Mark of Made to Praise Him is Senior Pastor of Inverness Community Church. Mark is leading a church into the glory realm. His writings are challenging and enlightening. I enjoy watching as his church finds its footing in the supernatural. Beyond this Mark has been a friend in time of need.
Growing! Up!
I’ve just come back from a morning on the streets in Inverness (Scotland), ministering healing. A group of us have been doing this for 3-4 months now, but this morning was extraordinary.It wasn’t extraordinary because we saw somebody leave their wheelchair, missing limbs grow, restoration of sight or hearing, or rejoice in the death of cancer. We saw none of those things today -and how my heart aches and longs, with weeping, for these to be commonplace.It was extraordinary because God said two things to be me very clearly which broke my heart, and He said similar things to others in the team.
The first thing He said is “now, you take the land”.
Let’s rewind a little in order to understand that.
We’ve been blessed with this amazing sense of God’s presence on the streets ever since we started Healing On The Streets. Every Saturday morning we go to the busiest part of the city centre, set-up some simple PA, raise a 5 metre banner with the word “Healing” on it, and place 6 chairs for people to take if they’d like prayer. Then we all kneel in the busy street and pray, before inviting people to come for healing. The sense of His presence has been just astonishing. There have been times that some of us have been unable to stand under the weight of His glory and we’ve stayed down a little longer than intended. Then people come for healing - and they’re healed, either immediately or over a few weeks, but they’re healed, not merely comforted.
But this morning was different.
I guess it started last night. (Or maybe it started last week?)
A group of us went into town to pray and worship and we sensed an unusual spiritual oppression. We realised that it was outside of our immediate vicinity. I likened it to sitting in a bubble. We were in the glory, but not far beyond us it was oppressive. We walked around praying. We sat and worshipped. We sensed the bubble expanding and then we sensed a breakthrough.
Then this morning, in addition to the usual ministry, some new things happened. We had a teenage girl who was pregnant come along, wanting us to bless her unborn baby. I’m blown away that a girl that age doesn’t just want her baby on her own, but also wants the best for her baby. She’s precious and I hope we’ll see her again. We had a Muslim woman come for prayer, wanting her family to know God. Amazing! Finally, we had a really wholesome conversation with a kind-of-new-ager whose into reiki and has been preaching syncretism at us ever since we started. This morning he opened up a little. He’s actually very spiritually aware but still looking for a tangible connection with something higher. He talked about visiting our churches.
The “bubble” really had expanded!
God really impressed upon me that we need to keep stretching, pushing, expanding, taking new ground. He gives us an encouraging start and then asks us to build upon it. Isn’t that the heart of a good dad? To get you started, but then give you the experience of taking it further. Does God really need us to do His work for Him, or does He really love us enough to invest into us for our own joy and fulfilment?
Consider the parable of the talents, or the instruction through the prophet Isaiah to enlarge the place of your tents, and to sing for joy who are barren. He gives us the start (a talent, a tent, a promise). He gives us the equipping for the job (the supernatural anointing of the Spirit and His Son’s authority). He shows us what’s possible. He holds our hand. He says to us “you’re my children, you have the best possible start, now go and make something of it”.
I think there’s something squif with our view of God’s sovereignty if we just sit around waiting for blessing to fall out of the sky. There’s also something squif with our view of the Father heart of God if we expect to be jolted out of our comfort zones with an impossible and painful challenge, instead of taken by the hand, given a head start, and then encouraged to develop.
Come on church! How about it? What gentle prod has He given you and what are you going to do with it?
And the second thing God said?
I was standing in the middle of the street during a slack period when the chairs were empty, looking at the scene of people rushing by to do their shopping, and I heard the voice of the Father say very clearly “can’t you hear me calling to them, my orphaned children?”. I cried. I walked over to the PA, turned off the music, picked up a guitar and started singing “Come Through To Me” by Godfrey Birtill. And people came and sat in the seats and received healing.
He trusts us, He trusts me, He trusts you, with what’s dear to His heart. That’s staggering. So how does He feel if we shrug it off instead of doing something about it?
Come through to me … naked heart …
Come deeper … I know where you are.
Come through the storm …
Let it be still … Come nearer …
Leap into my arms.
So let go, let faith rise.
Have no fear, you will fly.
So let go, let faith rise.
Have no fear, you will fly.
Come through to me … broken one …
Come higher … My daughter, my son.
My family … I’m gathering …
Come closer … I’ll make you as one.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Funny Stuff
These are some answers to tests that kids wrote in christian schools. Enjoy!
In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the Sabbath off.
Adam and eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark and the animals came on in pears.
Lot's wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.
Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah.
Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.
The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.
The First Commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
The seventh Commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.
Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus in the manager.
Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.
Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. he also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.
It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.
The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.
The Epistles were the wives of the Apostles.
One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.
When St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marriage.
Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.
In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the Sabbath off.
Adam and eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark and the animals came on in pears.
Lot's wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.
Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah.
Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.
The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.
The First Commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
The seventh Commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.
Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus in the manager.
Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.
Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. he also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.
It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.
The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.
The Epistles were the wives of the Apostles.
One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.
When St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marriage.
Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Holy Presence And The Word On Fire
(I just read this on my school's website and was really impacted)
(Excerpted from the book, From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire, chapter fourteen)
By Dr. Michael L. Brown
What is revival? It is God "stepping down from heaven" and baring His holy arm. He comes and acts and speaks. There is a holy presence and a word on fire. God is in the midst of His people. The Lord is shaking the world. That is revival! It is a time of visitation.
If it is confined to one church it is not revival. If it is confined to the meetings themselves it is not revival. If it can all be traced to the efforts of man it is not revival. If it does not ultimately affect the society it is not revival.
When Jesus was on the earth, He explained to His disciples that it was better for Him to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come. Jesus could only be in one place at one time, but the Holy Spirit could be everywhere. Jesus could directly touch only those who heard and saw Him, but the Holy Spirit could directly touch people anywhere at anytime -- even if they were resisting and running. He transcends all human agency!
In revival, the Holy Spirit moves deeply and widely, supernaturally and powerfully. He goes into the homes and schools, into the places of business and the places of sin, and He brings the sense of the reality of God. He brings conviction! It is impossible to flee from God during revival.
The words of the Lord in Jeremiah 23 and the words of the psalmist in Psalm 139 are always true, but their reality is fully sensed during times of revival:
"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. (Jer 23:23-24)
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. (Psa 139:7-12)
During the Welsh Revival, it was commonly reported that men would go into the bars to drink, not wanting to go to their homes, because they knew their wives were praying and the presence of God was there. But they couldn't escape Him in the bars! As they would take the drink in their hands, an unseen Hand would stop them, and they would run from that place to their homes and get saved.
As the Spirit converted many of the profane, ungodly coal miners, His presence went with them to work, and they would start their days with prayer and worship. It was said that you could feel His presence in the coal mines as much as you could in church!
Once, some visitors were asking for directions to the meetings in one part of Wales. They were told to take the train to such and such a place and get out there. "But how we will know when we are there?" they asked. "You'll feel it!" was the reply. And they did! After getting out from the train, they asked for further directions. They were told to walk to a certain place and turn there. Again they asked, "But how we will know where to turn?" "You'll feel it!" was the answer again. And they did!
That holy presence is not geographically limited, as Arthur Wallis documented:
Ships as they drew near the American ports [in 1858] came within a definite zone of heavenly influence. Ship after ship arrived with the same tale of sudden conviction and conversion. In one ship a captain and the entire crew of thirty men found Christ out at sea and entered the harbour rejoicing. Revival broke out on the battleship "North Carolina" through four Christian men who had been meeting in the bowels of the ship for prayer. One evening they were filled with the Spirit and burst into song. Ungodly shipmates who came down to mock were gripped by the power of God, and the laugh of the scornful was soon changed into the cry of the penitent. Many were smitten down, and a gracious work broke out that continued night after night, till they had to send ashore for ministers to help, and the battleship became a Bethel.
I heard a story about a man here in the States who had witnessed to his unsaved friend and prayed for him for years. One day, that friend came over to borrow a tool but no one was home. So he went to the tool shed to find what he was looking for when, suddenly, the presence of God overtook him. He was convicted of his sins and broke down, putting his faith in Jesus at that very moment.
When he told his Christian friend what had happened to him he found out there was a simple explanation: That faithful believer had prayed with tears for his salvation for a period of years, making intercession for his soul in that very shed. The Holy Spirit was there!
Now, multiply that picture a thousand times over and spread it across cities, counties, states, and even nations, and you have a glorious picture of revival.
After the night of prayer in the Hebrides when the house literally shook with the presence of the Lord, Duncan Campbell relates that:
The following day when we came to the church we found that the meeting house was already crowded out. A stream of buses had come from the four quarters of the island. Who had told them of the services? I have no way of knowing; God has His own manner of working when men are praying in faith. A butcher's van brought seven men from a distance of seventeen miles.
We gathered in the church, and I spoke for about an hour. The Spirit of God was at work. All over the building men and women were crying for mercy. And on the road outside, I could hear the strong cries of weeping men. I saw both men and women swooning, some falling into trances. Many were crying, "Oh, God, is there mercy for me?"
A young man beneath the pulpit prayed, "Oh, God, hell is too good for me."
The seven men who came in the butcher's van were all gloriously converted that night.
In the field of evangelism today, the desperate need is for conviction of sin -- conviction that will bring men on their faces before God.
When the service was about to end and the last people were leaving, the young man by the pulpit, himself a new convert, began to pray, and his prayer lasted for 45 minutes. Somehow, word got out that the meetings were to be held all night! People began to return from all over, packing the church. The service lasted until 4:00 AM! But the story doesn't end there. At 4:00 AM Campbell received a message:
Mr. Campbell, people are gathered at the Police Station, from the other end of the parish. They are in great distress. Can anyone here come along and pray with them?
Who drew them there? Who convicted them? Many of these people had been strongly opposed to the gospel right up to that very day. What was happening? The Spirit was at work! This is a true picture of revival:
We went to the Police Station and I shall never forget the scene that met our eyes. Under a starlit sky, with the moon gazing down upon us -- and angels, too, I believe, looking over the battlements of glory -- were scores of men and women under deep conviction of sin. On the road, by the cottage side, behind a peat stack, they were crying to God for mercy. Yes, the revival had come!
For five weeks this went on. We preached in one church at seven o'clock [in the evening], in another at ten, in a third at twelve, back to the first church at three o'clock [in the morning], then home between five and six, tired, but glad to have found ourselves in the midst of this Heaven-sent movement of the Holy Spirit.
Remarkably, in the first parish where revival hit, Campbell reports that 75% of the converts were born again before they arrived at the meeting place! There was also an amazing revival among the young people. In those days, not a single young person attended any public worship services in any of the churches, but the very first evening -- without announcement or advertisement -- the awareness of God in the dance hall at midnight became so great that all the young people left there and crowded into the church! And so the revival continued, spreading in like manner to the neighboring counties.
Why can't we believe God for similar outpourings in our day? Why cheapen revival by dragging it down to the feeble level of our unbelief-ridden, flesh-dependent expectations? Why not ask God for the real thing? And here's a good check-point for Pentecostals and Charismatics: With all our emphasis on the power of God and miracles, another sign of revival for us will be true, frequent New Testament healings in our midst. They will not be the exception to the rule but they will be the norm. Such things cannot be fabricated! But as long as our healing ministers reach multiplied millions of sick people through TV, radio, book, tape, and magazine, yet continue to have relatively meager results, we have little to boast about. All the more should we cry out for a real visitation that will not disappoint!
In 1922, when Smith Wigglesworth was ministering in Wellington, New Zealand, he called for a special prayer meeting with a group of eleven leaders. After each of them had prayed, Wigglesworth rose to seek the Lord, and the presence of God began to fill the room. Soon the glory of God became terrible. The light became too bright, the heat too intense. The other men couldn't take it any longer. Every one of them left the room! Only Wigglesworth could continue in the midst of the Shekinah.
Another minister heard what had happened and determined at the next gathering, no matter how strong the presence of God became, he would stay until the end. Once again the scene repeated itself: Wigglesworth began to pray, the holy presence of God filled the room, and the glory became unbearable. Everyone left, except this one leader. He would not be overcome and driven out by the manifest presence of the Lord. But it was too much. Wigglesworth was caught up in the Spirit, radiant with holy fire, and even the determined minister couldn't stand the intensity. Soon enough he was gone too!
That is the presence of God that comes with revival. It becomes unbearably intense. Its light breaks through the darkness. Its heat raises the temperature all around! It cannot be localized or confined. By its very nature, it must make an impact on its surroundings, otherwise it is not true revival. And while it will not completely change the world, it will make a radical impact. It will drive sin out!
With this in mind, we can speak quite clearly about "revival" in America today: As long as homosexuals march brazenly down our streets and serve in leading positions in our governments; as long as abortion clinics and pornography theaters thrive; as long as "Christian" young people watch MTV and "Christian" adults watch HBO; as long as the jails have too many prisoners and the mission fields have too few laborers; as long as greed and materialism rule most of the world and much of the church; as long as humanists, new agers, and atheists dominate our college faculties; as long as these things are at the forefront of our society -- we are not experiencing revival! Sweeping revival in America would mean upheaval. The holy presence would change the complexion of our nation dramatically.
And what if all of America does not experience revival? Then its powerful impact will be felt in select towns, cities, or states. And even with these limitations, the far reaching effects of revival will be experienced well beyond local church walls. The divine "invasion" -- actually, to most Americans, a return to New Testament reality would be as abrupt and shocking as an "invasion" -- will cause a shake down and a shake up.
Of course, we praise God for the refreshing that He is now bringing to many of His people. We thank Him for the joy and encouragement. Yet we can roll on the floor and laugh every night until three in the morning, but if the world around us remains unchanged that is not revival.
If the way we live outside the building does not become characterized by holiness and sacrificial love for the Lord and the lost, that is not revival. And if everything that happens in our "revival" meetings comes through the hands of human vessels -- without the supernatural visitations outside the church, without the abiding Presence, without the clear evidence that God Himself has "stepped down from heaven" in power -- that is not revival.
For many ministers, that's frustrating. We like to do it ourselves! If revival is truly a heavenly visitation, that means that we can't manufacture it or produce it. We are utterly dependent on God. But that's the best place to be! He wants to bring revival more than we want to see it. He wants to bless more than we want to be blessed. He has invested far more into this dying world than we have, and He has far more at stake. What better place to be than at the feet of the Lord in fervent prayer, crying out: "Revive Your people O God!"
And when He comes in power He will not only act. He will speak! Revival is characterized by the Word of God on fire. It is not simply a matter of making time in every service for teaching and preaching. It is not just giving the Word its proper place. We've had our fill of lifeless pulpits that "honor the Word," and many believers today are "taught to death." No, it is a matter of the Word on fire, a matter of holy unction, a matter of hearing the urgent message of the hour.
The effects of the Welsh Revival at the beginning of this century were far reaching and world wide. Clearly, these were days owned by the Lord. But the revival was not perfect, and many believe that it could have had an even greater and more lasting impact -- especially in Wales itself -- if there had been a deeper, more consistent ministry of the Word of God.
It's so easy to get caught up in the fervor of revival, in the excitement of the manifestations, that we forget about something critical: God wants the heart, and through the Word of God, He probes the heart and changes the heart. The excitement will pass and the manifestations will wane. But if the trumpet has been sounded, if the awakening cry has been raised, if the burden of the Lord has been delivered, if the radical call to follow Jesus in a radical way has gone forth -- that will determine just how deeply individuals will be changed. The Word is the road map for the revival's future.
Trivial, non-challenging messages will not lead the way. Those who were nourished by lightweight meals will falter during the hard times. They will find themselves swerving and veering, lacking clear direction. Soon enough, they will rebuild the walls that revival tore down and revert to the habits from which revival delivered them. Within a few years, they will be living on memories and trying to perpetuate those memories through now-dead forms. If only there had been a prophetic, piercing, challenging, truthful proclamation of the Word! If only there had not been so much entertainment and frivolity!
Matthew records that:
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matt 4:23)
Do we know better than Jesus? He gave Himself to teaching and preaching as well as healing -- and He taught without compromise. (His words are so disturbing!) He taught with authority. What better time than during true revival to bring the uncompromising, prophetic call? What better time to preach the cross than during times of renewal when Jesus is seen in His glory?
Even in the intensity of the spiritual outpouring in the Book of Acts, the anointed Word was still central:
Every Sabbath [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. . . . So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. (Acts 18:4-5, 11)
Do we know better than Paul?
But someone will say: "Oh, in our current 'revival' meetings, there is always time devoted to the Word of God" -- especially before the offerings, I might add! But putting that aside, when the Word is preached, what is the substance? One prominent leader has asked some questions about the current preaching emphasis. Does it exalt Jesus? Does it produce a real burden for the lost? Does it present the wrath of God along with the love of God? Does it challenge and convict?
God used Charles Finney mightily in the first half of the nineteenth century. But his words still speak today! His sermons on revival preached in New York City in 1832 were subsequently published as Lectures on the Revival of Religion, and these messages have gone around the world in multiple languages. Through the anointed word, the revival lives on. At the turn of this century, Jonathan Goforth, the Canadian missionary to China and Manchuria, began to get reports about the Welsh Revival. At the same time he began reading Finney's Revival Lectures and he put into practice what he read. A move of God swept the cities where he ministered!
The Great Awakening and the Methodist Revival ended more than 200 years ago. But the messages of Edwards and Wesley still challenge us today. They being dead yet speak. Their words still burn and set our hearts aflame.
Now look for a moment at the compromised worldly church of America. We know almost nothing of the dedication, sacrifice, fervor, or faith lived out daily by our brothers and sisters around the world. We know almost nothing of the gospel of martyrdom. We have little understanding of the cross. What does the Spirit want to say to us? Do we need froth or fire? What is the divine prescription for the sick patient? Do we need surface manifestations or serious movings, frivolity or fervor, glitz or glory? Enough with all the fluff!
We must never forget: Revival is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit (not the "Happy Spirit" -- although He brings great joy; not the "Hollow Spirit" -- in spite of the impression given by some of our empty meetings; and not the "Hollywood Spirit" -- in spite of our superstar preachers. He is the Holy Spirit). I have heard Him described as "wild," "exciting," and "creative." But have we forgotten that He is HOLY? His manifest presence is holy and His work is to make us holy. Peter wrote that we
have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood. (1 Pet 1:2)
The Spirit is not a showman; He is a Sanctifier. He may cause us to weep or laugh or stagger or fall. But His goal is holiness. His goal is separation. His goal is to make us like the Son, shining in His glory and radiance.
What is holiness? According to Samuel Logan Brengle, "holiness is pure love." Holiness is beautiful, not binding, and wonderful, not wearisome. Holiness is being like God -- in character and inner nature, in heart and soul. What a blessed state! It is marked by Christlikeness instead of corruption, by divine attributes instead of devilish attitudes, by loyalty instead of lust, by generosity instead of greed, by devotion instead of drunkenness. Holiness is perfect goodness. Holiness is purity of life.
But holiness will not be attained by spiritual excitement alone. It is not an abstract, nebulous "something" existing "somewhere," no more than God Himself is just an abstract "something" existing "somewhere." Holiness does not float in and skip out. Holiness means definite, concrete, radical change. It means a whole new way of living. And it is grounded in the Word of God.
Without a clear call to holiness, revival will run amuck. If the standards of the Lord are not clearly lifted up, the people will soon fall down (and I don't mean in the Spirit). If their experience is not grounded in the Scriptures, they will have the long term stability of a feather blowing in the wind. When the shouting dies down, disappointment will set in. Some will even turn against their initial, transforming experience. Why? It didn't last. It had no solid foundation!
Revivals have been famous for their revival preachers, and true revival preaching -- not emotional ranting and raving or pseudo-spiritual rambling -- must become central once again. Otherwise we will quickly lose our bearings. Otherwise we will drift!
There are at least six things the Holy Spirit will commonly do in times of revival: He will sanctify (Heb 9:13-14); convict (John 16:8-11); glorify Jesus (John 16:14); deliver and heal (Acts 10:38); empower (Acts 1:8); and refresh (Acts 3:19). He can do all these things by means of His inner, secret work on our hearts. But just think of how much more effective the working would be if it was coupled with His voice!
The Holy Spirit was upon Jesus to preach the Good News and to liberate the captives (Luke 4:16-18). In fact, it was through His anointed Word that the captives were set free. The Spirit does not contradict the Word, compete with the Word, or confine the Word. He confirms the Word (Heb 2:1-4).
Seven times in Revelation 2-3 Jesus addressed His Church. Seven times John recorded the Lord's exact words. And all seven times He ended by saying:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev 2:7, etc.)
Jesus speaks to His people by His Spirit! Are we hearing His voice today? The Spirit speaks His words. During revival, those words thunder forth. The message has not changed; we have changed. We need to get back to the Word! (Of course, most of our churches boast about their faithfulness to the Word, and some are even called "Word" churches -- yet there's a lot more to the Word than what you may hear in some of these places.) We need truly anointed, holy pulpits and truly anointed, holy preachers. This generation is crying for a fresh word from above. As Leonard Ravenhill expressed:
Evangelistic preaching is often a heart massage. Revival preaching is heart surgery. We have had varieties of evangelistic preaching -- million dollar gospel crusades, charismatic healing evangelism. It is now time for confrontational preaching of holiness unto the Lord. Evangelism touches the emotions. Revival preaching touches the conscience.
Although the Welsh Revival did not have an emphasis on public preaching or teaching, it began with a message of immediate repentance and instant obedience. That remained as the foundation of the Spirit's work. The Azusa Street outpouring was known far and wide for its Pentecostal manifestations, and some of its leaders strayed into strange doctrines like British Israelitism. But if you look at the doctrinal statement they drew up you will see something very clearly. It put repentance first, second, third, fourth, and fifth -- leading to a holy, Spirit-baptized life.
Has that become passe? Is such a message no longer needed in this hour? Have we advanced beyond repentance and holiness? Has the Lord finally decided to look the other way? Is He choosing to ignore the fact the most of the American "Spirit-filled" (or, as I have said many times before, "Spirit-frilled") church is hardly distinguishable from the world?
I think back to the fire-baptized preachers of past generations -- to the Whitefield's and Tennent's, to the Savonarola's and Fox's, to the Finney's and Campbell's -- and I long to see a new breed of no-compromise leaders arise in our day. I think back to their heart-rending messages, their challenging calls to get right with God, their tearful offers of the mercy of the Lord, their fearless proclamation of the cross, their devastating descriptions of the state of the lost and their wonderful promises of the glory to come -- and I can only shudder when I compare this to most of our contemporary North American "revival" preaching.
Do the people of God today need a master surgeon or a circus master? Do we need to be provoked or primped? Do we need our leaders to tell us the truth or to tell us a joke?
The world is self-destructing without God. The harvest is more ripe than it has ever been. The need for holy laborers is absolutely pressing. The time to go for it without reserve is now. What are we waiting for?
Implore the Lord of harvest to raise up spokesmen who will bring His prophetic message. Ask Him to bring to the fore those who will "cry out and spare not" (Isa 58). Beseech Him to speak clearly and directly to His people. We cannot afford a shallow revival. We cannot afford a spurious work.
Pray for the Word on fire that will set us on fire so we can go and set the world on fire -- for the glory of God. The time is short. The potential is breathtaking. Let's not miss the opportunity of a lifetime. NOW -- not never.
(Excerpted from the book, From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire, chapter fourteen)
By Dr. Michael L. Brown
What is revival? It is God "stepping down from heaven" and baring His holy arm. He comes and acts and speaks. There is a holy presence and a word on fire. God is in the midst of His people. The Lord is shaking the world. That is revival! It is a time of visitation.
If it is confined to one church it is not revival. If it is confined to the meetings themselves it is not revival. If it can all be traced to the efforts of man it is not revival. If it does not ultimately affect the society it is not revival.
When Jesus was on the earth, He explained to His disciples that it was better for Him to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come. Jesus could only be in one place at one time, but the Holy Spirit could be everywhere. Jesus could directly touch only those who heard and saw Him, but the Holy Spirit could directly touch people anywhere at anytime -- even if they were resisting and running. He transcends all human agency!
In revival, the Holy Spirit moves deeply and widely, supernaturally and powerfully. He goes into the homes and schools, into the places of business and the places of sin, and He brings the sense of the reality of God. He brings conviction! It is impossible to flee from God during revival.
The words of the Lord in Jeremiah 23 and the words of the psalmist in Psalm 139 are always true, but their reality is fully sensed during times of revival:
"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. (Jer 23:23-24)
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. (Psa 139:7-12)
During the Welsh Revival, it was commonly reported that men would go into the bars to drink, not wanting to go to their homes, because they knew their wives were praying and the presence of God was there. But they couldn't escape Him in the bars! As they would take the drink in their hands, an unseen Hand would stop them, and they would run from that place to their homes and get saved.
As the Spirit converted many of the profane, ungodly coal miners, His presence went with them to work, and they would start their days with prayer and worship. It was said that you could feel His presence in the coal mines as much as you could in church!
Once, some visitors were asking for directions to the meetings in one part of Wales. They were told to take the train to such and such a place and get out there. "But how we will know when we are there?" they asked. "You'll feel it!" was the reply. And they did! After getting out from the train, they asked for further directions. They were told to walk to a certain place and turn there. Again they asked, "But how we will know where to turn?" "You'll feel it!" was the answer again. And they did!
That holy presence is not geographically limited, as Arthur Wallis documented:
Ships as they drew near the American ports [in 1858] came within a definite zone of heavenly influence. Ship after ship arrived with the same tale of sudden conviction and conversion. In one ship a captain and the entire crew of thirty men found Christ out at sea and entered the harbour rejoicing. Revival broke out on the battleship "North Carolina" through four Christian men who had been meeting in the bowels of the ship for prayer. One evening they were filled with the Spirit and burst into song. Ungodly shipmates who came down to mock were gripped by the power of God, and the laugh of the scornful was soon changed into the cry of the penitent. Many were smitten down, and a gracious work broke out that continued night after night, till they had to send ashore for ministers to help, and the battleship became a Bethel.
I heard a story about a man here in the States who had witnessed to his unsaved friend and prayed for him for years. One day, that friend came over to borrow a tool but no one was home. So he went to the tool shed to find what he was looking for when, suddenly, the presence of God overtook him. He was convicted of his sins and broke down, putting his faith in Jesus at that very moment.
When he told his Christian friend what had happened to him he found out there was a simple explanation: That faithful believer had prayed with tears for his salvation for a period of years, making intercession for his soul in that very shed. The Holy Spirit was there!
Now, multiply that picture a thousand times over and spread it across cities, counties, states, and even nations, and you have a glorious picture of revival.
After the night of prayer in the Hebrides when the house literally shook with the presence of the Lord, Duncan Campbell relates that:
The following day when we came to the church we found that the meeting house was already crowded out. A stream of buses had come from the four quarters of the island. Who had told them of the services? I have no way of knowing; God has His own manner of working when men are praying in faith. A butcher's van brought seven men from a distance of seventeen miles.
We gathered in the church, and I spoke for about an hour. The Spirit of God was at work. All over the building men and women were crying for mercy. And on the road outside, I could hear the strong cries of weeping men. I saw both men and women swooning, some falling into trances. Many were crying, "Oh, God, is there mercy for me?"
A young man beneath the pulpit prayed, "Oh, God, hell is too good for me."
The seven men who came in the butcher's van were all gloriously converted that night.
In the field of evangelism today, the desperate need is for conviction of sin -- conviction that will bring men on their faces before God.
When the service was about to end and the last people were leaving, the young man by the pulpit, himself a new convert, began to pray, and his prayer lasted for 45 minutes. Somehow, word got out that the meetings were to be held all night! People began to return from all over, packing the church. The service lasted until 4:00 AM! But the story doesn't end there. At 4:00 AM Campbell received a message:
Mr. Campbell, people are gathered at the Police Station, from the other end of the parish. They are in great distress. Can anyone here come along and pray with them?
Who drew them there? Who convicted them? Many of these people had been strongly opposed to the gospel right up to that very day. What was happening? The Spirit was at work! This is a true picture of revival:
We went to the Police Station and I shall never forget the scene that met our eyes. Under a starlit sky, with the moon gazing down upon us -- and angels, too, I believe, looking over the battlements of glory -- were scores of men and women under deep conviction of sin. On the road, by the cottage side, behind a peat stack, they were crying to God for mercy. Yes, the revival had come!
For five weeks this went on. We preached in one church at seven o'clock [in the evening], in another at ten, in a third at twelve, back to the first church at three o'clock [in the morning], then home between five and six, tired, but glad to have found ourselves in the midst of this Heaven-sent movement of the Holy Spirit.
Remarkably, in the first parish where revival hit, Campbell reports that 75% of the converts were born again before they arrived at the meeting place! There was also an amazing revival among the young people. In those days, not a single young person attended any public worship services in any of the churches, but the very first evening -- without announcement or advertisement -- the awareness of God in the dance hall at midnight became so great that all the young people left there and crowded into the church! And so the revival continued, spreading in like manner to the neighboring counties.
Why can't we believe God for similar outpourings in our day? Why cheapen revival by dragging it down to the feeble level of our unbelief-ridden, flesh-dependent expectations? Why not ask God for the real thing? And here's a good check-point for Pentecostals and Charismatics: With all our emphasis on the power of God and miracles, another sign of revival for us will be true, frequent New Testament healings in our midst. They will not be the exception to the rule but they will be the norm. Such things cannot be fabricated! But as long as our healing ministers reach multiplied millions of sick people through TV, radio, book, tape, and magazine, yet continue to have relatively meager results, we have little to boast about. All the more should we cry out for a real visitation that will not disappoint!
In 1922, when Smith Wigglesworth was ministering in Wellington, New Zealand, he called for a special prayer meeting with a group of eleven leaders. After each of them had prayed, Wigglesworth rose to seek the Lord, and the presence of God began to fill the room. Soon the glory of God became terrible. The light became too bright, the heat too intense. The other men couldn't take it any longer. Every one of them left the room! Only Wigglesworth could continue in the midst of the Shekinah.
Another minister heard what had happened and determined at the next gathering, no matter how strong the presence of God became, he would stay until the end. Once again the scene repeated itself: Wigglesworth began to pray, the holy presence of God filled the room, and the glory became unbearable. Everyone left, except this one leader. He would not be overcome and driven out by the manifest presence of the Lord. But it was too much. Wigglesworth was caught up in the Spirit, radiant with holy fire, and even the determined minister couldn't stand the intensity. Soon enough he was gone too!
That is the presence of God that comes with revival. It becomes unbearably intense. Its light breaks through the darkness. Its heat raises the temperature all around! It cannot be localized or confined. By its very nature, it must make an impact on its surroundings, otherwise it is not true revival. And while it will not completely change the world, it will make a radical impact. It will drive sin out!
With this in mind, we can speak quite clearly about "revival" in America today: As long as homosexuals march brazenly down our streets and serve in leading positions in our governments; as long as abortion clinics and pornography theaters thrive; as long as "Christian" young people watch MTV and "Christian" adults watch HBO; as long as the jails have too many prisoners and the mission fields have too few laborers; as long as greed and materialism rule most of the world and much of the church; as long as humanists, new agers, and atheists dominate our college faculties; as long as these things are at the forefront of our society -- we are not experiencing revival! Sweeping revival in America would mean upheaval. The holy presence would change the complexion of our nation dramatically.
And what if all of America does not experience revival? Then its powerful impact will be felt in select towns, cities, or states. And even with these limitations, the far reaching effects of revival will be experienced well beyond local church walls. The divine "invasion" -- actually, to most Americans, a return to New Testament reality would be as abrupt and shocking as an "invasion" -- will cause a shake down and a shake up.
Of course, we praise God for the refreshing that He is now bringing to many of His people. We thank Him for the joy and encouragement. Yet we can roll on the floor and laugh every night until three in the morning, but if the world around us remains unchanged that is not revival.
If the way we live outside the building does not become characterized by holiness and sacrificial love for the Lord and the lost, that is not revival. And if everything that happens in our "revival" meetings comes through the hands of human vessels -- without the supernatural visitations outside the church, without the abiding Presence, without the clear evidence that God Himself has "stepped down from heaven" in power -- that is not revival.
For many ministers, that's frustrating. We like to do it ourselves! If revival is truly a heavenly visitation, that means that we can't manufacture it or produce it. We are utterly dependent on God. But that's the best place to be! He wants to bring revival more than we want to see it. He wants to bless more than we want to be blessed. He has invested far more into this dying world than we have, and He has far more at stake. What better place to be than at the feet of the Lord in fervent prayer, crying out: "Revive Your people O God!"
And when He comes in power He will not only act. He will speak! Revival is characterized by the Word of God on fire. It is not simply a matter of making time in every service for teaching and preaching. It is not just giving the Word its proper place. We've had our fill of lifeless pulpits that "honor the Word," and many believers today are "taught to death." No, it is a matter of the Word on fire, a matter of holy unction, a matter of hearing the urgent message of the hour.
The effects of the Welsh Revival at the beginning of this century were far reaching and world wide. Clearly, these were days owned by the Lord. But the revival was not perfect, and many believe that it could have had an even greater and more lasting impact -- especially in Wales itself -- if there had been a deeper, more consistent ministry of the Word of God.
It's so easy to get caught up in the fervor of revival, in the excitement of the manifestations, that we forget about something critical: God wants the heart, and through the Word of God, He probes the heart and changes the heart. The excitement will pass and the manifestations will wane. But if the trumpet has been sounded, if the awakening cry has been raised, if the burden of the Lord has been delivered, if the radical call to follow Jesus in a radical way has gone forth -- that will determine just how deeply individuals will be changed. The Word is the road map for the revival's future.
Trivial, non-challenging messages will not lead the way. Those who were nourished by lightweight meals will falter during the hard times. They will find themselves swerving and veering, lacking clear direction. Soon enough, they will rebuild the walls that revival tore down and revert to the habits from which revival delivered them. Within a few years, they will be living on memories and trying to perpetuate those memories through now-dead forms. If only there had been a prophetic, piercing, challenging, truthful proclamation of the Word! If only there had not been so much entertainment and frivolity!
Matthew records that:
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matt 4:23)
Do we know better than Jesus? He gave Himself to teaching and preaching as well as healing -- and He taught without compromise. (His words are so disturbing!) He taught with authority. What better time than during true revival to bring the uncompromising, prophetic call? What better time to preach the cross than during times of renewal when Jesus is seen in His glory?
Even in the intensity of the spiritual outpouring in the Book of Acts, the anointed Word was still central:
Every Sabbath [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. . . . So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. (Acts 18:4-5, 11)
Do we know better than Paul?
But someone will say: "Oh, in our current 'revival' meetings, there is always time devoted to the Word of God" -- especially before the offerings, I might add! But putting that aside, when the Word is preached, what is the substance? One prominent leader has asked some questions about the current preaching emphasis. Does it exalt Jesus? Does it produce a real burden for the lost? Does it present the wrath of God along with the love of God? Does it challenge and convict?
God used Charles Finney mightily in the first half of the nineteenth century. But his words still speak today! His sermons on revival preached in New York City in 1832 were subsequently published as Lectures on the Revival of Religion, and these messages have gone around the world in multiple languages. Through the anointed word, the revival lives on. At the turn of this century, Jonathan Goforth, the Canadian missionary to China and Manchuria, began to get reports about the Welsh Revival. At the same time he began reading Finney's Revival Lectures and he put into practice what he read. A move of God swept the cities where he ministered!
The Great Awakening and the Methodist Revival ended more than 200 years ago. But the messages of Edwards and Wesley still challenge us today. They being dead yet speak. Their words still burn and set our hearts aflame.
Now look for a moment at the compromised worldly church of America. We know almost nothing of the dedication, sacrifice, fervor, or faith lived out daily by our brothers and sisters around the world. We know almost nothing of the gospel of martyrdom. We have little understanding of the cross. What does the Spirit want to say to us? Do we need froth or fire? What is the divine prescription for the sick patient? Do we need surface manifestations or serious movings, frivolity or fervor, glitz or glory? Enough with all the fluff!
We must never forget: Revival is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit (not the "Happy Spirit" -- although He brings great joy; not the "Hollow Spirit" -- in spite of the impression given by some of our empty meetings; and not the "Hollywood Spirit" -- in spite of our superstar preachers. He is the Holy Spirit). I have heard Him described as "wild," "exciting," and "creative." But have we forgotten that He is HOLY? His manifest presence is holy and His work is to make us holy. Peter wrote that we
have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood. (1 Pet 1:2)
The Spirit is not a showman; He is a Sanctifier. He may cause us to weep or laugh or stagger or fall. But His goal is holiness. His goal is separation. His goal is to make us like the Son, shining in His glory and radiance.
What is holiness? According to Samuel Logan Brengle, "holiness is pure love." Holiness is beautiful, not binding, and wonderful, not wearisome. Holiness is being like God -- in character and inner nature, in heart and soul. What a blessed state! It is marked by Christlikeness instead of corruption, by divine attributes instead of devilish attitudes, by loyalty instead of lust, by generosity instead of greed, by devotion instead of drunkenness. Holiness is perfect goodness. Holiness is purity of life.
But holiness will not be attained by spiritual excitement alone. It is not an abstract, nebulous "something" existing "somewhere," no more than God Himself is just an abstract "something" existing "somewhere." Holiness does not float in and skip out. Holiness means definite, concrete, radical change. It means a whole new way of living. And it is grounded in the Word of God.
Without a clear call to holiness, revival will run amuck. If the standards of the Lord are not clearly lifted up, the people will soon fall down (and I don't mean in the Spirit). If their experience is not grounded in the Scriptures, they will have the long term stability of a feather blowing in the wind. When the shouting dies down, disappointment will set in. Some will even turn against their initial, transforming experience. Why? It didn't last. It had no solid foundation!
Revivals have been famous for their revival preachers, and true revival preaching -- not emotional ranting and raving or pseudo-spiritual rambling -- must become central once again. Otherwise we will quickly lose our bearings. Otherwise we will drift!
There are at least six things the Holy Spirit will commonly do in times of revival: He will sanctify (Heb 9:13-14); convict (John 16:8-11); glorify Jesus (John 16:14); deliver and heal (Acts 10:38); empower (Acts 1:8); and refresh (Acts 3:19). He can do all these things by means of His inner, secret work on our hearts. But just think of how much more effective the working would be if it was coupled with His voice!
The Holy Spirit was upon Jesus to preach the Good News and to liberate the captives (Luke 4:16-18). In fact, it was through His anointed Word that the captives were set free. The Spirit does not contradict the Word, compete with the Word, or confine the Word. He confirms the Word (Heb 2:1-4).
Seven times in Revelation 2-3 Jesus addressed His Church. Seven times John recorded the Lord's exact words. And all seven times He ended by saying:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev 2:7, etc.)
Jesus speaks to His people by His Spirit! Are we hearing His voice today? The Spirit speaks His words. During revival, those words thunder forth. The message has not changed; we have changed. We need to get back to the Word! (Of course, most of our churches boast about their faithfulness to the Word, and some are even called "Word" churches -- yet there's a lot more to the Word than what you may hear in some of these places.) We need truly anointed, holy pulpits and truly anointed, holy preachers. This generation is crying for a fresh word from above. As Leonard Ravenhill expressed:
Evangelistic preaching is often a heart massage. Revival preaching is heart surgery. We have had varieties of evangelistic preaching -- million dollar gospel crusades, charismatic healing evangelism. It is now time for confrontational preaching of holiness unto the Lord. Evangelism touches the emotions. Revival preaching touches the conscience.
Although the Welsh Revival did not have an emphasis on public preaching or teaching, it began with a message of immediate repentance and instant obedience. That remained as the foundation of the Spirit's work. The Azusa Street outpouring was known far and wide for its Pentecostal manifestations, and some of its leaders strayed into strange doctrines like British Israelitism. But if you look at the doctrinal statement they drew up you will see something very clearly. It put repentance first, second, third, fourth, and fifth -- leading to a holy, Spirit-baptized life.
Has that become passe? Is such a message no longer needed in this hour? Have we advanced beyond repentance and holiness? Has the Lord finally decided to look the other way? Is He choosing to ignore the fact the most of the American "Spirit-filled" (or, as I have said many times before, "Spirit-frilled") church is hardly distinguishable from the world?
I think back to the fire-baptized preachers of past generations -- to the Whitefield's and Tennent's, to the Savonarola's and Fox's, to the Finney's and Campbell's -- and I long to see a new breed of no-compromise leaders arise in our day. I think back to their heart-rending messages, their challenging calls to get right with God, their tearful offers of the mercy of the Lord, their fearless proclamation of the cross, their devastating descriptions of the state of the lost and their wonderful promises of the glory to come -- and I can only shudder when I compare this to most of our contemporary North American "revival" preaching.
Do the people of God today need a master surgeon or a circus master? Do we need to be provoked or primped? Do we need our leaders to tell us the truth or to tell us a joke?
The world is self-destructing without God. The harvest is more ripe than it has ever been. The need for holy laborers is absolutely pressing. The time to go for it without reserve is now. What are we waiting for?
Implore the Lord of harvest to raise up spokesmen who will bring His prophetic message. Ask Him to bring to the fore those who will "cry out and spare not" (Isa 58). Beseech Him to speak clearly and directly to His people. We cannot afford a shallow revival. We cannot afford a spurious work.
Pray for the Word on fire that will set us on fire so we can go and set the world on fire -- for the glory of God. The time is short. The potential is breathtaking. Let's not miss the opportunity of a lifetime. NOW -- not never.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Lord, would you come?
I am finally back in Canada. God is a miraculous God. I think there were about 20 miracles that have happened in my life in the last week that I hardly had time to notice but I need to keep my eyes on those things to honour him and his work. Yesterday was one of the busiest days of my life. I had four finals and I had to leave my hebrew final half an hour early to get to my plane which got delayed. But it was a really good day. On the plane back to Regina I sat next to this really interesting and talkative lady who works at Casino Regina. She was coming back from Vegas. So we talked about gambling for awhile and then somehow it got into spirituality and it was probably one of the most natural and God ordained witnessing encounters of my life aside from working at camp. I was able to share the whole gospel with her and how our own righteousness is never ever good enough for heaven, and tried to show the justice of hell. We also got into an interesting talk on the rapture and prosperity gospel preaching, she might even send her younger brother to camp this summer. But I can't just view her as another check on the list of people I've shared the gospel with, I hate how I do that sometimes. Definitely a very unique lady who is very involved in first nation's people work and living for a cause. I hope her mom's prayers and words get through to her heart. "Father, please do a work in her life, grant repentance and deep conviction of sin. Then bring the peace and joy that only comes from you."
When I got to the airport my best friend Rob was there waiting for me, we decided to just spend the night talking and catching up and praying and singing worship songs. "God, thanks so much for Rob, and the encouragement he's been to me, grant him your peace in the midst of the storm he's going through." This is kind of weird that I've already written two prayers as I'm writing this update, I don't think I've ever done that before. I guess as I'm reminded of events, God reminds me of things I need to pray.
I really like this worship leader, http://www.thejohnmark.com/ check out his music, especially "How he loves us" and the song where he makes the blind bartimaues story in the bible a metaphor and he cries out "Son of David, don't pass me by!!!" It's not like God doesn't care about us when he seems to pass us by, it's that he is desiring a people passionate and hungry for him who will run after him no matter what the crowd says. Who will yell out even when everybody else is telling them to shut up, but they just want Jesus so much, that nothing else matters. "God, I pray you would anoint and bless this worship leader, grant him a softer heart to hear your voice, and just a supernatural joy and love. That he could draw so many others into a selfless worship of you and who you are."
I'm going to Dallas Valley in a week and a couple of days to be a cabin leader, so if I ever come to any of your minds. please pray for me for just wisdom and humility and words and actions to express the deep love of God to these guys somehow.
I better go to sleep now, thanks for reading these random thoughts of mine, may you know God more and more.
and here is a cool article about blogging I read on revivalblog.com
When I started this blog I just wanted to be able to post some essays on my family website. My family had just left an incredibly dysfunctional church and I wanted to post an essay or two on some things that were wrong specifically with that congregation and more generally with the movement they were claiming to be a part of. I desperately wanted to get the word out to the church that there was a true Gospel and it was worth proclaiming.
As time went on, I soon realized that the Church was just fine. The problem was the congregation that I left. Since the group I left shunned me like Jehavah’s Witness clones, there was no chance for them to even read my blog. In the end, I wrote this post and went on with my life. I was part of that church plant. I was a leader in it. I watched it grow. I watched it wither to a shell of what it once was and a mockery of what it could have been. I dusted off my boots and went on with my life.
While the original purpose of my blog was no more, I enjoyed it and continued to post articles. Like all the big guys I posted lengthy articles about theological issues. The only problem was that nobody cared about my views. I would enter debates on other blogs with links back to mine but nobody followed. I even tried to antagonize some people in the hopes of some blog action but all I got was convicted by the Holy Ghost for being mean spirited and had to delete them. So instead I started to comb the web for neat testimonies and when I found them I would reprint them with a link. I like testimonies. I figured since I am paying for the hosting I might as well post something I want to read.
I stopped debating when I realized that none of the debaters listened to each other. The fact is that most are too entrenched in their pride to listen to anyone else’s opinion. I figured I better withdraw from the debates before I became the same. I am no theologian. I don’t even play one on tv. I am just a guy baptized in the Holy Ghost who likes to make this present kingdom real to God’s people. I removed the links to all the big name blog guys realizing that none of them would ever link to me. I was not one of them and I became ok with that. As time went on and I got more involved in my new church I began to post little clips about what was going on in my ministry. There is nothing more exciting than watching God move in the lives of His people so in addition to the web stories, I started to post little testimonies about how God was moving here. People seemed to enjoy that. They actually left comments to that effect. What do you know? Now that I am not looking for traffic I actually get a little.
But the traffic I get now is different. Most of the people who comment on my blog are people just like me, average people with an awesome God. I got one comment from a guy who tried to bait me into a debate and I just deleted his comment. I am not going to debate about God. There is not enough time for that. There is a whole world on their way to hell and I have to make His presence known.
So here I am in year two. I will continue to look for revival wherever I can find it. I will continue to post about the stuff I see God do. I will continue to seek friends in Christ wherever there are those who seek the same.
Are you a Calvanist? Then I believe we were predestined to be friends! Armenian? Then choose me for fellowship! Third Waver? Let your river flow this way! Cessationist? All I can tell you is what I have seen! Do you want to argue? I am afraid I can’t help. I am trying to get too low for that.
When I got to the airport my best friend Rob was there waiting for me, we decided to just spend the night talking and catching up and praying and singing worship songs. "God, thanks so much for Rob, and the encouragement he's been to me, grant him your peace in the midst of the storm he's going through." This is kind of weird that I've already written two prayers as I'm writing this update, I don't think I've ever done that before. I guess as I'm reminded of events, God reminds me of things I need to pray.
I really like this worship leader, http://www.thejohnmark.com/ check out his music, especially "How he loves us" and the song where he makes the blind bartimaues story in the bible a metaphor and he cries out "Son of David, don't pass me by!!!" It's not like God doesn't care about us when he seems to pass us by, it's that he is desiring a people passionate and hungry for him who will run after him no matter what the crowd says. Who will yell out even when everybody else is telling them to shut up, but they just want Jesus so much, that nothing else matters. "God, I pray you would anoint and bless this worship leader, grant him a softer heart to hear your voice, and just a supernatural joy and love. That he could draw so many others into a selfless worship of you and who you are."
I'm going to Dallas Valley in a week and a couple of days to be a cabin leader, so if I ever come to any of your minds. please pray for me for just wisdom and humility and words and actions to express the deep love of God to these guys somehow.
I better go to sleep now, thanks for reading these random thoughts of mine, may you know God more and more.
and here is a cool article about blogging I read on revivalblog.com
When I started this blog I just wanted to be able to post some essays on my family website. My family had just left an incredibly dysfunctional church and I wanted to post an essay or two on some things that were wrong specifically with that congregation and more generally with the movement they were claiming to be a part of. I desperately wanted to get the word out to the church that there was a true Gospel and it was worth proclaiming.
As time went on, I soon realized that the Church was just fine. The problem was the congregation that I left. Since the group I left shunned me like Jehavah’s Witness clones, there was no chance for them to even read my blog. In the end, I wrote this post and went on with my life. I was part of that church plant. I was a leader in it. I watched it grow. I watched it wither to a shell of what it once was and a mockery of what it could have been. I dusted off my boots and went on with my life.
While the original purpose of my blog was no more, I enjoyed it and continued to post articles. Like all the big guys I posted lengthy articles about theological issues. The only problem was that nobody cared about my views. I would enter debates on other blogs with links back to mine but nobody followed. I even tried to antagonize some people in the hopes of some blog action but all I got was convicted by the Holy Ghost for being mean spirited and had to delete them. So instead I started to comb the web for neat testimonies and when I found them I would reprint them with a link. I like testimonies. I figured since I am paying for the hosting I might as well post something I want to read.
I stopped debating when I realized that none of the debaters listened to each other. The fact is that most are too entrenched in their pride to listen to anyone else’s opinion. I figured I better withdraw from the debates before I became the same. I am no theologian. I don’t even play one on tv. I am just a guy baptized in the Holy Ghost who likes to make this present kingdom real to God’s people. I removed the links to all the big name blog guys realizing that none of them would ever link to me. I was not one of them and I became ok with that. As time went on and I got more involved in my new church I began to post little clips about what was going on in my ministry. There is nothing more exciting than watching God move in the lives of His people so in addition to the web stories, I started to post little testimonies about how God was moving here. People seemed to enjoy that. They actually left comments to that effect. What do you know? Now that I am not looking for traffic I actually get a little.
But the traffic I get now is different. Most of the people who comment on my blog are people just like me, average people with an awesome God. I got one comment from a guy who tried to bait me into a debate and I just deleted his comment. I am not going to debate about God. There is not enough time for that. There is a whole world on their way to hell and I have to make His presence known.
So here I am in year two. I will continue to look for revival wherever I can find it. I will continue to post about the stuff I see God do. I will continue to seek friends in Christ wherever there are those who seek the same.
Are you a Calvanist? Then I believe we were predestined to be friends! Armenian? Then choose me for fellowship! Third Waver? Let your river flow this way! Cessationist? All I can tell you is what I have seen! Do you want to argue? I am afraid I can’t help. I am trying to get too low for that.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Aggresive Christianity
Catharine Booth.
"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.'" -Mark 16:15
"And I said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which Iwill appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."' -Acts 26:15-18
I was thinking, while I was reading these passages, what if we could erase from our minds all knowledge of the history of Christianity from the close of the period described in the book of Acts - and then looking at the book of Acts, sit down and try to calculate what was likely to happen in the world. We would most likely expect very different results - a radically changed world as the outcome of it all. A system which started with such power, under such promises and declarations on the part of its Author, and producing, as it did in its first century, such gigantic and monumentous results! We would have thought (if we knew nothing of what has intervened from then until now) that the whole world would have fallen long ago to the influence of that system, and would have been brought under the authority of its great Originator and Founder. I say from reading these Acts, and from observing the Spirit which moved the early disciples, that we should have anticipated ten thousand times greater results - and in my opinion, this anticipation would have been perfectly rational and just.
We Christians profess to have in the Gospel of Christ a mighty lever which, rightly and universally applied, would lift the entire burden of sin and misery from the shoulders (that is from the souls) of our fellow man - a total remedy for all the moral and spiritual woes of humanity. We all profess to believe this - Christians have professed to believe this for generations - and yet look at the world, look at so-called "Christian England and America." The great majority in these nations utterly ignore God, not even making a pretense of remembering Him even one day a week. And then look at the rest of the world. I have often become so depressed with this view of things that I have felt as if my heart would break. I don't know how other Christians feel, but I can truly say that "My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Thy law." (Psalm 119:136) And because it seems to me that this dispensation1 compared with what God intended it to be, has been, and still is, as great a failure as the one that preceded it.2
Now I ask, how can this be? I do not for one moment believe that this is in accordance with the purpose of God. Some people have a very convenient way of hiding behind "God's purposes," and saying, "Oh! He will do His own will." I wish He did! They say, "You know, God's will is done after all." I wish it were! He says (in the Scriptures) it is not done, and over and over again laments the fact that it is not done. He wants it to be done... but it is NOT DONE! It is of no use to stand up and state theories and theologies that are in conflict with things as they really are. There has been far too much of this, and it has had a disastrous effect. We see the world is in this terrible condition... nearly 2,000 years have rolled by and here we are! How little has been done, comparatively. What little change has occurred in the habits, attitudes, and choices of the human race.
But some of you will say, "Well, but there has been a great deal done." Thank God for that! It would be sad if there were nothing done; but it looks like a drop in the ocean compared with what should have been done. Now I cannot accept any theory which so tarnishes the love and goodness of God in people's eyes, so as to make Him to blame for this lack of vitality and power in Christianity. And so far as my influence extends, I will not allow the responsibility and the blame for all of this to be rolled back upon God, Who so loved the world that He gave His only Son to suffering and death in order to redeem it. I do not believe it for a moment! I believe that the old arch enemy has succeeded in bringing about this state of things - in retarding the accomplishment of God's purposes and keeping the world largely under his own power and influence. And I believe he has succeeded in doing this, as he has always succeeded before - by deceiving God's own people. He has always done so. He has always conjured up a look - alike of God's real thing, and the closer he can get it to look like the original, the more successful he is.
He has succeeded in deceiving God's people:
First, as to the standard of their own religious life.
And secondly - he has succeeded in deceiving them as to their duties and obligations to the world.
He has succeeded first in deceiving them as to the standard of their own religious life. He has gotten the church, nearly as a whole, to receive what I call an "Oh, wretched man that I am" religion! He has gotten them to lower the standard which Jesus Christ Himself established in His Book - a standard not only to be aimed at, but to be attained - a standard of victory over sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil - real, living, reigning, triumphing Christianity! Satan knew the secret of the great success of those early disciples. It was their wholehearted devotion, their all-encompassing love for Christ, their utter renunciation of the world. It was their entire absorption in the salvation of their fellow man and the glory of their God. It was an enthusiastic religion that swallowed them up and made them willing to become wanderers and vagabonds - for His sake to dwell in dens and caves, to be torn in two, and to endure persecution in every form to the ends of the earth.
It was this degree of devotion which Satan saw he had no chance against. Such people as these he knew would ultimately conquer the world! People could not resist that kind of spirit, that amount of love and zeal, and if Christians had only gone on as they began long ago, then the glorious prophecy would have already been fulfilled - the kingdoms of this world would have already "become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." (Rev. 11:15)
Lowering The Standard
Therefore the arch enemy said, "What must I do? I will be defeated after all. I will lose my supremacy as the god of this world. What can I do?" No use bringing in a gigantic system of error, which everyone will see to be error. Oh dear no! That has never been Satan's way. His plan has been to get a hold of a good man here and there who will, as the apostle says, creep in unaware and preach another doctrine, and who will "mislead, if possible, even the elect." (Matt.24:24)And he did it! He accomplished his design. He gradually lowered the standard of Christian life and character. And although in every revival in church history God has raised it again to some extent, we have never gotten back completely to the simplicity, purity, and devotion set before us in these Acts of the apostles. For every time God was raising the temperature in the church so that people were once again on fire with the Holy Spirit - in every age Satan has gotten someone to oppose and to show that this was too high a standard for human nature. It was altogether beyond us, and therefore Christians must sit down and just be content to be "Oh wretched man that I am" people, to the end of their days. He has gotten the Church into a condition that sometimes makes one positively ashamed to hear professing Christians talk. It is no wonder that thoughtful, intelligent men are being driven from such Christianity as this. It would have driven me off too, if I had not known the power of godliness. I believe this kind of religion has made more atheists than all the "atheist books" ever written.
Yes, Satan knew that he must get Christians down from that high pinnacle of wholehearted consecration to God. He knew that he had no chance till he tempted them down from that blessed vantage point. And so he began to spread those false doctrines, to counteract what John wrote in his epistles - for before he died, John saw what was coming and sounded the alarm down the ages - "Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil." (I John 3:7-8) Oh Lord revive that doctrine! Help us afresh to put up the standard!
Oh! The great evil is that dishonest-hearted people, because they feel it condemns them, lower the standard to their miserable experience. I said when I was young (and I have repeated it many times in my mature years) that even if it sent me to hell I would never pull the standard down. Oh, that God's people felt like that! There, in the Bible, the glorious standard is placed before us, the power is offered, the conditions laid down, and we can all attain it if we are willing. But even if we are not willing - for the sake of the children and for generations yet unborn, do not let us drag the standard down, trying to make it meet our weak and failing Christian experience. LET US KEEP IT UP! That is the way to get the world to look at it. Show the world a real, living, self-sacrificing, hard-working, toiling, triumphing Christianity, and the world will be influenced by it; but anything short of that, they will turn around and spit upon.
Duties And Obligations To The World
Secondly, Satan has deceived even those whom he could not succeed in getting to lower the standard of their own lives, concerning their duties and obligations to the world. I have been reading the New Testament lately with special reference to the aggressive spirit of original Christianity. And as far as I can see, we come infinitely short by comparison. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation." Look at what is implied in this commission. I believe that no generation since that first century has yet fathomed the meaning of this divine commission. Look at it! Would it ever occur to you that it really meant, "Go and build chapels and churches, and invite the people to come in, but if they won't - leave them alone"? "GO!" To whom? "To all creation." Where am I to get at them? WHERE THEY ARE. "All creation." This is the extent of your commission. Seek them out, run after them, wherever you can get at them. "All creation" - wherever you find a creature that has a soul - there go and preach My Gospel to him. If I understand it, that is the meaning and spirit of this commission.
In another commission to Paul, God says "...I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God." (Acts 26:17-18) They are asleep - go and wake them up. They do not see their danger. If they did, there would be no need for you to run after them. They are preoccupied. Open their eyes, and turn them around by your desperate earnestness, intense persuasion, and moral force. Oh! It makes me tremble when I think of how much one man can do for another! '"Turn from darkness to light, and from the dominion of Satan to God." How did Paul understand this? He says, "We persuade men."(II Cor.5:11) Do not be content with just putting it before them, giving them gentle invitations, and then leaving them alone. Paul ran after the poor souls, and pulled them out of the fire. Do the same! Take the blindfold off their eyes which Satan has bound them with; knock and hammer and burn your words into their poor, hardened, darkened hearts with the fire of the Holy Ghost, until they begin to realize that they are IN DANGER! Go after them. If I understand it, that is the spirit of the apostles and of the early Christians.
Sure it's okay to build churches and chapels; we should invite the people to them. But do you think it is consistent with these commissions to rest only in this, when three-fourths of the population utterly ignore our invitations and take no notice whatsoever of our buildings and of our services? They will not come to us. That is an established fact. Jesus Christ says, "Go after them." He says, "Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled." (Luke 14:23) I will have guests, and if you can't get them in by nice, civil measures, use military measures. Go and compel them to come In.
Oh! People say you must be very cautious. You must not push religion down people's throats. What! Should I wait until an unconverted, godless man wants to be saved before I try to save him? Am I to let my unconverted friends and acquaintances go quietly down to damnation, and never tell them about their souls until they ask, "If you please, I want you to preach to me!" Is this anything like the spirit of early Christianity? No! Therefore we must make them look, and if they run away from you in one place, meet them in another, and let them have no peace until they submit to God. This is what Christianity ought to be doing in this land, and there are plenty of Christians around to do it. Why, we might give the world such a time of it, that they would get saved in self-defense - if we were only aggressive enough and determined that they should have no peace in their sins.
An Example
I had been speaking in a town in the west of England on the subject of the responsibility of Christians for the salvation of people's souls. The gentleman with whom I was staying had winced a bit under the truth, but instead of taking it to heart in love and having it enable him to better serve God, he said, "I thought you were rather hard on us this morning." I said, "Did you? I should be very sorry to be harder on anyone than the Lord Jesus Christ would be." He said, "You can push things to extremes you know. You were talking about seeking souls, and making sacrifices. Now you know that we build the chapels and churches and pay the ministers - and if the people won't get saved, we can t help it!" I said, "It is very heartless and ungrateful of the people, I agree. But my dear sir, you would not reason this way in a serious physical matter. Suppose a plague were to break out in London, and the Board of Health appropriated all the hospitals and public buildings for the treatment of the disease. And suppose they were to issue proclamations saying that anyone who came to these buildings would be treated free of charge - and best of all, that the treatment was guaranteed to cure them. Now what if the people were so blind to their own well-being, so indifferent and uncaring, that they refused to come, and consequently the plague increased and thousands were dying. What would you say? 'Well, the Board of Health has done all they could, and if the people will not go to be healed, they deserve to perish - let them alone!' What? Let the whole land be depopulated? No! If the people will not come to them, they must go to the people and make sure that everyone had the necessary treatment to be saved from the plague."
I did not have to explain any further... he understood perfectly, and I believe, by the Spirit of God, he was able to see his mistake, to take it to heart, and determine to get to work for perishing souls.
What We Must Do
Men are preoccupied with many things, and we need to bring this subject of salvation powerfully to their attention. There is some one soul that you have more influence with than any other person on earth. Are you doing all you can for their salvation? Take them lovingly aside and say, "My dear friend, I have never spoken to you closely, carefully, and prayerfully about your soul." Let them see the tears in your eyes, or if you can't weep, let them hear the tears in your voice. Let them realize that you feel their danger, and are in distress for them. Then God will give His Holy Spirit so they can be saved.
It is a bad sign for the Christianity of this day that it provokes so little opposition. If there were no other evidence of it being wrong, I could tell from just that. When the Church and the world can jog comfortably along together, you can be sure there is something wrong. The world has not compromised - its spirit is exactly the same as it ever was. If Christians were equally as faithful to the Lord, separated from the world, and living so that their lives were a reproof to all ungodliness, the world would hate them as much as it ever did. It is the Church that has compromised, not the world. You say, "You're implying that we should be getting into endless conflict with the world!" Yes- "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34) There would be uproar, yes! The Acts of the apostles are full of stories of uproars. One uproar was so great, that the Chief Captain had to get Paul over the shoulders of the people, otherwise he would have been torn to pieces. "What a commotion!" you say. Yes, and bless God, if it was like that now, we would have thousands of sinners saved.
The Dignity Of Love
"But," you say, "wouldn't that be inconsistent with the dignity of the Gospel?" It depends on what you mean by "dignity. " It was a very undignified thing, humanly speaking, to die on a cross between two thieves. The Pharisees spat upon the humbled sufferer and shook their heads and said, "He saved others, He cannot save Himself." Ah! But He was intent on saving others. That was the dignity of everlasting, unquenchable love, baring its bosom to suffer in the place of its rebellious creature - man. It was incarnate God, standing in the place of condemned man - the dignity of LOVE!
Oh friends! Will you get this baptism of love! Then you will, like the apostles, be willing to stuff your body into a basket and be let down by the wall, if need be - or suffer shipwreck, hunger, peril, nakedness, fire, or sword, or even beheading (II Cor. 11:23-33) -if thereby you may enlarge His Kingdom and win souls for whom He shed His blood. Oh Lord, fill us with this love and baptize us with this fire! And then the Gospel will arise and become glorious in the earth, and men will believe in us, and in it. They will feel its power, and they will yield to it by the thousands, and by the grace of God, THEY SHALL!
"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.'" -Mark 16:15
"And I said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which Iwill appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."' -Acts 26:15-18
I was thinking, while I was reading these passages, what if we could erase from our minds all knowledge of the history of Christianity from the close of the period described in the book of Acts - and then looking at the book of Acts, sit down and try to calculate what was likely to happen in the world. We would most likely expect very different results - a radically changed world as the outcome of it all. A system which started with such power, under such promises and declarations on the part of its Author, and producing, as it did in its first century, such gigantic and monumentous results! We would have thought (if we knew nothing of what has intervened from then until now) that the whole world would have fallen long ago to the influence of that system, and would have been brought under the authority of its great Originator and Founder. I say from reading these Acts, and from observing the Spirit which moved the early disciples, that we should have anticipated ten thousand times greater results - and in my opinion, this anticipation would have been perfectly rational and just.
We Christians profess to have in the Gospel of Christ a mighty lever which, rightly and universally applied, would lift the entire burden of sin and misery from the shoulders (that is from the souls) of our fellow man - a total remedy for all the moral and spiritual woes of humanity. We all profess to believe this - Christians have professed to believe this for generations - and yet look at the world, look at so-called "Christian England and America." The great majority in these nations utterly ignore God, not even making a pretense of remembering Him even one day a week. And then look at the rest of the world. I have often become so depressed with this view of things that I have felt as if my heart would break. I don't know how other Christians feel, but I can truly say that "My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Thy law." (Psalm 119:136) And because it seems to me that this dispensation1 compared with what God intended it to be, has been, and still is, as great a failure as the one that preceded it.2
Now I ask, how can this be? I do not for one moment believe that this is in accordance with the purpose of God. Some people have a very convenient way of hiding behind "God's purposes," and saying, "Oh! He will do His own will." I wish He did! They say, "You know, God's will is done after all." I wish it were! He says (in the Scriptures) it is not done, and over and over again laments the fact that it is not done. He wants it to be done... but it is NOT DONE! It is of no use to stand up and state theories and theologies that are in conflict with things as they really are. There has been far too much of this, and it has had a disastrous effect. We see the world is in this terrible condition... nearly 2,000 years have rolled by and here we are! How little has been done, comparatively. What little change has occurred in the habits, attitudes, and choices of the human race.
But some of you will say, "Well, but there has been a great deal done." Thank God for that! It would be sad if there were nothing done; but it looks like a drop in the ocean compared with what should have been done. Now I cannot accept any theory which so tarnishes the love and goodness of God in people's eyes, so as to make Him to blame for this lack of vitality and power in Christianity. And so far as my influence extends, I will not allow the responsibility and the blame for all of this to be rolled back upon God, Who so loved the world that He gave His only Son to suffering and death in order to redeem it. I do not believe it for a moment! I believe that the old arch enemy has succeeded in bringing about this state of things - in retarding the accomplishment of God's purposes and keeping the world largely under his own power and influence. And I believe he has succeeded in doing this, as he has always succeeded before - by deceiving God's own people. He has always done so. He has always conjured up a look - alike of God's real thing, and the closer he can get it to look like the original, the more successful he is.
He has succeeded in deceiving God's people:
First, as to the standard of their own religious life.
And secondly - he has succeeded in deceiving them as to their duties and obligations to the world.
He has succeeded first in deceiving them as to the standard of their own religious life. He has gotten the church, nearly as a whole, to receive what I call an "Oh, wretched man that I am" religion! He has gotten them to lower the standard which Jesus Christ Himself established in His Book - a standard not only to be aimed at, but to be attained - a standard of victory over sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil - real, living, reigning, triumphing Christianity! Satan knew the secret of the great success of those early disciples. It was their wholehearted devotion, their all-encompassing love for Christ, their utter renunciation of the world. It was their entire absorption in the salvation of their fellow man and the glory of their God. It was an enthusiastic religion that swallowed them up and made them willing to become wanderers and vagabonds - for His sake to dwell in dens and caves, to be torn in two, and to endure persecution in every form to the ends of the earth.
It was this degree of devotion which Satan saw he had no chance against. Such people as these he knew would ultimately conquer the world! People could not resist that kind of spirit, that amount of love and zeal, and if Christians had only gone on as they began long ago, then the glorious prophecy would have already been fulfilled - the kingdoms of this world would have already "become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." (Rev. 11:15)
Lowering The Standard
Therefore the arch enemy said, "What must I do? I will be defeated after all. I will lose my supremacy as the god of this world. What can I do?" No use bringing in a gigantic system of error, which everyone will see to be error. Oh dear no! That has never been Satan's way. His plan has been to get a hold of a good man here and there who will, as the apostle says, creep in unaware and preach another doctrine, and who will "mislead, if possible, even the elect." (Matt.24:24)And he did it! He accomplished his design. He gradually lowered the standard of Christian life and character. And although in every revival in church history God has raised it again to some extent, we have never gotten back completely to the simplicity, purity, and devotion set before us in these Acts of the apostles. For every time God was raising the temperature in the church so that people were once again on fire with the Holy Spirit - in every age Satan has gotten someone to oppose and to show that this was too high a standard for human nature. It was altogether beyond us, and therefore Christians must sit down and just be content to be "Oh wretched man that I am" people, to the end of their days. He has gotten the Church into a condition that sometimes makes one positively ashamed to hear professing Christians talk. It is no wonder that thoughtful, intelligent men are being driven from such Christianity as this. It would have driven me off too, if I had not known the power of godliness. I believe this kind of religion has made more atheists than all the "atheist books" ever written.
Yes, Satan knew that he must get Christians down from that high pinnacle of wholehearted consecration to God. He knew that he had no chance till he tempted them down from that blessed vantage point. And so he began to spread those false doctrines, to counteract what John wrote in his epistles - for before he died, John saw what was coming and sounded the alarm down the ages - "Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil." (I John 3:7-8) Oh Lord revive that doctrine! Help us afresh to put up the standard!
Oh! The great evil is that dishonest-hearted people, because they feel it condemns them, lower the standard to their miserable experience. I said when I was young (and I have repeated it many times in my mature years) that even if it sent me to hell I would never pull the standard down. Oh, that God's people felt like that! There, in the Bible, the glorious standard is placed before us, the power is offered, the conditions laid down, and we can all attain it if we are willing. But even if we are not willing - for the sake of the children and for generations yet unborn, do not let us drag the standard down, trying to make it meet our weak and failing Christian experience. LET US KEEP IT UP! That is the way to get the world to look at it. Show the world a real, living, self-sacrificing, hard-working, toiling, triumphing Christianity, and the world will be influenced by it; but anything short of that, they will turn around and spit upon.
Duties And Obligations To The World
Secondly, Satan has deceived even those whom he could not succeed in getting to lower the standard of their own lives, concerning their duties and obligations to the world. I have been reading the New Testament lately with special reference to the aggressive spirit of original Christianity. And as far as I can see, we come infinitely short by comparison. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation." Look at what is implied in this commission. I believe that no generation since that first century has yet fathomed the meaning of this divine commission. Look at it! Would it ever occur to you that it really meant, "Go and build chapels and churches, and invite the people to come in, but if they won't - leave them alone"? "GO!" To whom? "To all creation." Where am I to get at them? WHERE THEY ARE. "All creation." This is the extent of your commission. Seek them out, run after them, wherever you can get at them. "All creation" - wherever you find a creature that has a soul - there go and preach My Gospel to him. If I understand it, that is the meaning and spirit of this commission.
In another commission to Paul, God says "...I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God." (Acts 26:17-18) They are asleep - go and wake them up. They do not see their danger. If they did, there would be no need for you to run after them. They are preoccupied. Open their eyes, and turn them around by your desperate earnestness, intense persuasion, and moral force. Oh! It makes me tremble when I think of how much one man can do for another! '"Turn from darkness to light, and from the dominion of Satan to God." How did Paul understand this? He says, "We persuade men."(II Cor.5:11) Do not be content with just putting it before them, giving them gentle invitations, and then leaving them alone. Paul ran after the poor souls, and pulled them out of the fire. Do the same! Take the blindfold off their eyes which Satan has bound them with; knock and hammer and burn your words into their poor, hardened, darkened hearts with the fire of the Holy Ghost, until they begin to realize that they are IN DANGER! Go after them. If I understand it, that is the spirit of the apostles and of the early Christians.
Sure it's okay to build churches and chapels; we should invite the people to them. But do you think it is consistent with these commissions to rest only in this, when three-fourths of the population utterly ignore our invitations and take no notice whatsoever of our buildings and of our services? They will not come to us. That is an established fact. Jesus Christ says, "Go after them." He says, "Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled." (Luke 14:23) I will have guests, and if you can't get them in by nice, civil measures, use military measures. Go and compel them to come In.
Oh! People say you must be very cautious. You must not push religion down people's throats. What! Should I wait until an unconverted, godless man wants to be saved before I try to save him? Am I to let my unconverted friends and acquaintances go quietly down to damnation, and never tell them about their souls until they ask, "If you please, I want you to preach to me!" Is this anything like the spirit of early Christianity? No! Therefore we must make them look, and if they run away from you in one place, meet them in another, and let them have no peace until they submit to God. This is what Christianity ought to be doing in this land, and there are plenty of Christians around to do it. Why, we might give the world such a time of it, that they would get saved in self-defense - if we were only aggressive enough and determined that they should have no peace in their sins.
An Example
I had been speaking in a town in the west of England on the subject of the responsibility of Christians for the salvation of people's souls. The gentleman with whom I was staying had winced a bit under the truth, but instead of taking it to heart in love and having it enable him to better serve God, he said, "I thought you were rather hard on us this morning." I said, "Did you? I should be very sorry to be harder on anyone than the Lord Jesus Christ would be." He said, "You can push things to extremes you know. You were talking about seeking souls, and making sacrifices. Now you know that we build the chapels and churches and pay the ministers - and if the people won't get saved, we can t help it!" I said, "It is very heartless and ungrateful of the people, I agree. But my dear sir, you would not reason this way in a serious physical matter. Suppose a plague were to break out in London, and the Board of Health appropriated all the hospitals and public buildings for the treatment of the disease. And suppose they were to issue proclamations saying that anyone who came to these buildings would be treated free of charge - and best of all, that the treatment was guaranteed to cure them. Now what if the people were so blind to their own well-being, so indifferent and uncaring, that they refused to come, and consequently the plague increased and thousands were dying. What would you say? 'Well, the Board of Health has done all they could, and if the people will not go to be healed, they deserve to perish - let them alone!' What? Let the whole land be depopulated? No! If the people will not come to them, they must go to the people and make sure that everyone had the necessary treatment to be saved from the plague."
I did not have to explain any further... he understood perfectly, and I believe, by the Spirit of God, he was able to see his mistake, to take it to heart, and determine to get to work for perishing souls.
What We Must Do
Men are preoccupied with many things, and we need to bring this subject of salvation powerfully to their attention. There is some one soul that you have more influence with than any other person on earth. Are you doing all you can for their salvation? Take them lovingly aside and say, "My dear friend, I have never spoken to you closely, carefully, and prayerfully about your soul." Let them see the tears in your eyes, or if you can't weep, let them hear the tears in your voice. Let them realize that you feel their danger, and are in distress for them. Then God will give His Holy Spirit so they can be saved.
It is a bad sign for the Christianity of this day that it provokes so little opposition. If there were no other evidence of it being wrong, I could tell from just that. When the Church and the world can jog comfortably along together, you can be sure there is something wrong. The world has not compromised - its spirit is exactly the same as it ever was. If Christians were equally as faithful to the Lord, separated from the world, and living so that their lives were a reproof to all ungodliness, the world would hate them as much as it ever did. It is the Church that has compromised, not the world. You say, "You're implying that we should be getting into endless conflict with the world!" Yes- "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34) There would be uproar, yes! The Acts of the apostles are full of stories of uproars. One uproar was so great, that the Chief Captain had to get Paul over the shoulders of the people, otherwise he would have been torn to pieces. "What a commotion!" you say. Yes, and bless God, if it was like that now, we would have thousands of sinners saved.
The Dignity Of Love
"But," you say, "wouldn't that be inconsistent with the dignity of the Gospel?" It depends on what you mean by "dignity. " It was a very undignified thing, humanly speaking, to die on a cross between two thieves. The Pharisees spat upon the humbled sufferer and shook their heads and said, "He saved others, He cannot save Himself." Ah! But He was intent on saving others. That was the dignity of everlasting, unquenchable love, baring its bosom to suffer in the place of its rebellious creature - man. It was incarnate God, standing in the place of condemned man - the dignity of LOVE!
Oh friends! Will you get this baptism of love! Then you will, like the apostles, be willing to stuff your body into a basket and be let down by the wall, if need be - or suffer shipwreck, hunger, peril, nakedness, fire, or sword, or even beheading (II Cor. 11:23-33) -if thereby you may enlarge His Kingdom and win souls for whom He shed His blood. Oh Lord, fill us with this love and baptize us with this fire! And then the Gospel will arise and become glorious in the earth, and men will believe in us, and in it. They will feel its power, and they will yield to it by the thousands, and by the grace of God, THEY SHALL!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Coming for Cleansing
God is great,
That's something I've been learning more and more lately. It's funny how the simple truths slowly gain more and more meaning and transcend the natural. God has taught me a lot these last 40 days, I didn't totally stay off the computer because I needed to write a paper and do some banking stuff and I got distracted a few times but overall it was a really good time to think and get more done. Sometime last week I was in school and between classes we were praying for revival and my good friend Mike prayed something that really opened my eyes again to something I already knew but forgot. Somewhere in his prayer he said "God you're so big". And God really is big, he is so much bigger than all our problems and things we face, he is so much stronger than the greatest power of darkness, and no situation is outside of his soveriegn control. He's magnificent. And he cares. Those things really are comforting.
All of a sudden when Mike said that I just wanted to start throwing everything in God's hands. My dreams, relationships, grades, reputation, possesions and even sin. I mess things up when I try to control their outcome and come about as I think is best. But God is so ridiculously big. He is so much more powerful than our most intense struggle. He can sustain us when we are at the end of our rope.
We were just at the call yesterday, it was a really really powerful day. Not because God was especially present their but because it was the body of Christ with the different gifts flowing together to edify us. There were prophets and singers, and preachers and teachers and just a really balanced feel to it. There were a few things that really stuck with me. Mike Bickle talked about Song of Solomon 8:6 and love and how the greatest commandment was love. And just one sentence really stuck with me "Long earnestly for an increase in supernatural love." Because that is something we can pray for and God will answer it, I was getting bogged down with praying for humility and selflessness and gentleness with boldness, and confidence and spirit-led generosity and all these other things and now I can really rest easy knowing I'm not missing anything if I just keep praying for a greater increase in supernatural love. That covers everything that's important.
Also there was a lot of talk about just asking for ideas and creativity from God to do what you are called to do not on your own power and wisdom but by God's. And that really encouraged me to do everything as to the Lord and ask him to bless it and help me to do it as best as I can. I was memorizing Hebrew vocabulary on the way back from the trip and I commited my time to God beforehand and asked him to increase my efficiency and ability to memorize and block things from distracting me and it was really cool because I learned more in the next 20 minutes then probably about a couple of hours on the way up. God just wants us to rely totally on him. In every single activity to commit it to him and do it in his strength and ability it would completely revolutionize our world. People would begin to look to the christians to pave the way in each field and for advice. And Christians would everyday be reminded of their deep dependance on God alone. I am so quick to take credit for things that God has done and God's been convicting me of that.
As we were driving back I noticed a few church advertisements and I never noticed it before but they were so worldly in their means of inviting people in "Come in and feel welcomed, enjoy fellowship and music and good preaching" Something like that. And fellowship and music and preaching and a welcome atmosphere are incredible things, but it's more like those are actually an afterthought to the most important thing there is and they come as a result. I think a good church advertisement would go something like this "Have you sinned and are in danger of the fires of hell? Come to us! We'll show you how to get right with a righteous God" Don't play around, cut to the quick of what is really at hand. I think people would really appreciate that kind of honesty and urgency about the state of their souls. Also that alliteration of "Get right with a righteous God" is kind of catchy. Haha, but in all seriousness I think we really need to rethink the way we do church and quit copying the way that the world does thing effectively. Because actually the kingdom of God is entirely opposite from the world's way of doing things.
Tommorow I'm heading out with a group of people from FIRE to Washington DC to speak to some senators about a hate crimes bill that if passed would allow anybody to sue a pastor who simply read what the bible says about homosexuality and send them to jail if anybody who heard the message did anything mean to homosexuals. It should be a really interesting couple of days. God bless you all.
That's something I've been learning more and more lately. It's funny how the simple truths slowly gain more and more meaning and transcend the natural. God has taught me a lot these last 40 days, I didn't totally stay off the computer because I needed to write a paper and do some banking stuff and I got distracted a few times but overall it was a really good time to think and get more done. Sometime last week I was in school and between classes we were praying for revival and my good friend Mike prayed something that really opened my eyes again to something I already knew but forgot. Somewhere in his prayer he said "God you're so big". And God really is big, he is so much bigger than all our problems and things we face, he is so much stronger than the greatest power of darkness, and no situation is outside of his soveriegn control. He's magnificent. And he cares. Those things really are comforting.
All of a sudden when Mike said that I just wanted to start throwing everything in God's hands. My dreams, relationships, grades, reputation, possesions and even sin. I mess things up when I try to control their outcome and come about as I think is best. But God is so ridiculously big. He is so much more powerful than our most intense struggle. He can sustain us when we are at the end of our rope.
We were just at the call yesterday, it was a really really powerful day. Not because God was especially present their but because it was the body of Christ with the different gifts flowing together to edify us. There were prophets and singers, and preachers and teachers and just a really balanced feel to it. There were a few things that really stuck with me. Mike Bickle talked about Song of Solomon 8:6 and love and how the greatest commandment was love. And just one sentence really stuck with me "Long earnestly for an increase in supernatural love." Because that is something we can pray for and God will answer it, I was getting bogged down with praying for humility and selflessness and gentleness with boldness, and confidence and spirit-led generosity and all these other things and now I can really rest easy knowing I'm not missing anything if I just keep praying for a greater increase in supernatural love. That covers everything that's important.
Also there was a lot of talk about just asking for ideas and creativity from God to do what you are called to do not on your own power and wisdom but by God's. And that really encouraged me to do everything as to the Lord and ask him to bless it and help me to do it as best as I can. I was memorizing Hebrew vocabulary on the way back from the trip and I commited my time to God beforehand and asked him to increase my efficiency and ability to memorize and block things from distracting me and it was really cool because I learned more in the next 20 minutes then probably about a couple of hours on the way up. God just wants us to rely totally on him. In every single activity to commit it to him and do it in his strength and ability it would completely revolutionize our world. People would begin to look to the christians to pave the way in each field and for advice. And Christians would everyday be reminded of their deep dependance on God alone. I am so quick to take credit for things that God has done and God's been convicting me of that.
As we were driving back I noticed a few church advertisements and I never noticed it before but they were so worldly in their means of inviting people in "Come in and feel welcomed, enjoy fellowship and music and good preaching" Something like that. And fellowship and music and preaching and a welcome atmosphere are incredible things, but it's more like those are actually an afterthought to the most important thing there is and they come as a result. I think a good church advertisement would go something like this "Have you sinned and are in danger of the fires of hell? Come to us! We'll show you how to get right with a righteous God" Don't play around, cut to the quick of what is really at hand. I think people would really appreciate that kind of honesty and urgency about the state of their souls. Also that alliteration of "Get right with a righteous God" is kind of catchy. Haha, but in all seriousness I think we really need to rethink the way we do church and quit copying the way that the world does thing effectively. Because actually the kingdom of God is entirely opposite from the world's way of doing things.
Tommorow I'm heading out with a group of people from FIRE to Washington DC to speak to some senators about a hate crimes bill that if passed would allow anybody to sue a pastor who simply read what the bible says about homosexuality and send them to jail if anybody who heard the message did anything mean to homosexuals. It should be a really interesting couple of days. God bless you all.
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