God Moves Today

It is interesting to see the abounding analysis of the current outpouring of God in Lakeland, Florida. In addition to the local news media in Lakeland, MSNBC has run a story on it. The comments are flying all over the place. It is being called wonderful by most who take the time to become involved either on site as part of the thousands flocking to Florida, on God TV (a channel available on some satellite networks), or more likely watching the live feed on the Internet.

What is a revival?

According to Wikipedia: "Generally speaking, a revival meeting consists of several consecutive nights of services conducted at the same time and location each night, most often the building belonging to the sponsoring congregation but sometimes a rented secular assembly hall, for more adequate space or an attempt to appeal to the unchurched in a setting that will presumably be less intimidating to them."

And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. (Ezra 9:8 NKJV) The NLT reads: "… and granted us some relief from our slavery."

Revival is not a Biblical term. As a matter of fact it is only used once in the Bible and only in the NKJV translation. Revival is simply "Renewed interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening; special religious interest." (Wiktionary)

And yet, many of us have our own definition of revival based on the teachings we have sat under, the old time books we have read of past revivals, and our own desire to see God move.

However, I believe God moves in many different ways, but what we see is usually not what we expect. Just because the last revival happened a certain way does not mean the next will be the same. God always finds a new way to reach a new generation. If we go back to our Bibles and read the red, the accounts of Jesus, we see many examples. Jesus did not heal the same illness in the same fashion each time, nor did He have a set pattern.

In the book of the prophet Isaiah, God said, "Look, I am sending my messenger before you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: 'Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!' This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and was preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. (Mark 1:2-4 NLT)

God sent John the Baptist to come before Jesus to pave the way. John preached repentance. His message was for people to change their ways, to turn from their sinning lifestyles to God. He told them a savior would follow, and He did.

If anyone hears me and doesn't obey me, I am not his judge – for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. (John 12:47 NLT) Everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. (John 3:15-17 NLT)

Jesus came to show the way to salvation. However, it was not just those who had repented that became followers. Sure, according to John's account, Jesus' first two disciples had been disciples of John the Baptist; they were following the message of repentance. Their hearts were ready for revival.

The Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. (Acts 14:3 NLT)

Signs and wonders come from God. First comes the Word and then comes the manifestation of the Word. Does the recipient have to be a follower before receiving? Not in Jesus' time, so why now?

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come. (Like 4:18-19 NLT)

Jesus healed the sick. In His own words, He tells us that those who are well do not need to hear His message. He came for the sick. All need to hear, but Jesus knew only those who were ready would receive it.

He healed them all and did not have a single formula for doing so. All the stories we read are about healing non-believers. He even complained about the fact that many wanted to see miracles before they would believe. But He kept on keeping on; He healed them all. And when He did, He told them to go and sin no more. He warned them that if they continued to live their sinful lifestyle they could be right back at that same place and even worse off.

So if we look for a formula, it looks more like this. Listen to the message preached, the word of the Lord, the testimony of those who have come before us, then humbly come before the Lord and ask for our healing. The manifestation of that physical healing, that miracle from the hand of God, is real. The result will either bring us to repentance and change us bringing us to a deeper relationship with God, or not.

It is the repentance God is looking for. He heals us and wants us to live our life with Him. Sometimes this happens, but often the recipient gets the healing and moves right back to the same old same old. Eventually, they may even get that same old sickness back or have some other issue to deal with. This is not because God moved away from them, but that they moved away from Him. They have closed the door to Him and left themselves open to Satan and the demons he anxiously desires to send their way.

Many have commented on Todd Bentley in the negative. This is not a revival they say. Todd is not of God they say. Satan heals and this is a move of him, not God.

Like I said above, God does not move as we expect Him to. How do we know it is God? We know from the fruit that results from the encounter. Are lives changed? Are people brought into a deeper relationship with God?

For some it is all about the sizzle. There are people all over the world that chase the anointing. If it looks like God, they want to be right there to feel the buzz. They follow man from location to location hoping to get a glimpse of God. This is not about repentance or revival. This is about the show.

The institutional church is not the church—the body of Christ. The body is made up of two or more believers; they are the church. Many preach about the box that God is placed in and then preach against a move of God like Toronto, Brownsville, or Lakeland because it does not fit their box.

God moves in many different ways and it is up to us to catch the wave of change. Revival does not change us. Repentance is change and it must come from within. As the church (the body of Christ) changes and focuses on God, revival comes. To get to that place, to be seeking God for change, we may come from many different places and follow many different paths.

The road to salvation is bumpy because of us. We continue to find ourselves looking too good in our worldly ways and take our focus off God. As we focus away from Him, we sin. And sinning is not an on/off switch. We never stop sinning because of the human condition we are in. We cannot help it.

Only God can change us and that change is referred to as transformation. If we allow Him, we are transformed into a more Christ like being. However, transformation is a process. We all begin at a different place and no two take the same journey. But all who continue down the path find the Kingdom of God.