It is extremely evident that something is different in “The Church” as a whole. We are witnessing more people come to Christ like never before, the way church services are conducted is changing dramatically, there is more focus on community of the believers than just attending services, and overall PASSION is on the increase for the fully-devoted. It is not an accident that there is alot of stirring, so to speak, when it comes to breaking out of the old and into the new. Church History when studied will reveal many different seasons and shifts and bright times and dark times, but the present time is one of extraordinary outpouring of The Holy Spirit within His Church.
The debate however is and always has been, “what does it look like?” I dont believe you can give an affirmative answer to that question. When The Spirit of God moves on a person, He is always real and relevant to that person at that place in their life. Sometimes you hear a faint whisper from The Lord and sometimes you feel like you have heard Him speak through a megaphone into your ear!
From my personal experiences, I have been in the “revival” meetings that lasted for hours and the presence of God was so real in that service you thought you were actually experiencing a degree of heaven itself… I have also experienced the presence of God in such a real way that was very personal and intimate. We must never try to put a specific label or characteristic on how The Holy Spirit moves or should move because then it becomes about our expectation and our characterization of how He moves. We tend to label things based off our past experiences when we must not lose sight that our God is an amazing God who loves all and reaches all people very practically where they are!
HOWEVER, The time line of History paralleled with Prophetic texts of The Bible would clearly indicate that time itself is ticking closer and closer to the return of Jesus Christ for His Church. So what will happen in these last days? According to the Bible, more than all I have time to post, but it is clear that The Church as a whole will get more and more powerful where signs and wonders will become normality as The Holy Spirit moves over His People in a way that they walk in a power that is similar to the book of Acts when they left the upper room and began to see people healed, delivered and set free from what holds them in bondage. That power is something that, as believers, we should desire to operate in. What is the requirement? How do you get it? One Word… FAITH.
Which leads me to the Revival part of this blog. Revival has many different meanings and one of those is in reference to awakening… We should never forget that the primary goal of the church today is to reach souls far from God. That is primary. Sunday morning church services should be conducted and operated in a way that is appealing and relevant to the person who doesnt know Christ so they can relate to His Word, but more importantly, have an encounter with Him as the believers in the House exemplify desire to love and reach all that are far from Him… But also, I believe there are going to be times of supernatural filling and refreshing to “fill” the believers in a way that empowers them and motivates them to operate in their God-given empowerment, gifts, and talents. We must not grow weary…
I wanted to address one final thing, which was the intent of this whole blog… I have been asked my opinion on revival movements like Brownsville, Toronto, and the current movement happening in Daphne, AL with Evangelist Nathan Morris and John Kilpatrick at Church of His Presence… Let me make this clear… If God is pouring out His Spirit and people are getting saved, healed, delivered and set free… I love it! If Jesus is being elevated and all glory and honor goes to Him, I am 100% behind in prayer and support of any movement! We must not lose sight that we ARE ALL a part of The Body of Christ if we are born again and not compare, stereotype, judge, or be in competition with other places where Jesus is getting glory!
So in closing, I hope I have made some sense with this, I believe The Church as a whole should be a life-giving force on the earth. We have on the inside of us as believers, The Holy Spirit of God that empowers us to walk out our faith with boldness and reach anyone who is far from God in their lives. The Church of today should resemble the New Testament Church after the day of Pentecost because that was the ultimate plan of God the entire time until man divided it and packaged it and labeled it to meet their own selfish needs… Let’s just look to Jesus… He is the Author and Finisher and it aint over yet!!!
