Two That Parallel

Some people (albeit not many) have asked me about the events taking place at the “Lakeland Florida Healing Revival” and the meetings led by Todd Bentley. There is a lot of attention focused on the gatherings right now because of the international exposure they are receiving via “God TV” and its nightly telecasts. What I have seen in Lakeland is strongly reminiscent of the 1994 “Toronto Blessing” at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship and the 1995 “Brownsville Revival” which began at the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. At Toronto and later on at Brownsville there was an outbreak of unusual spiritual “manifestations”, holy laughter, healings and reports of God’s intense presence, “glory” and power among gathered Christians. The peak of both “outpourings” occurred in the mid to late 1990’s and since that time faded from public view. That is until the Lakeland Florida meetings began with Todd Bentley. Out of the three “renewals” or “revivals”, Lakeland is being reported by its proponents as the most significant “wave” and one that is possibly the precursor to “the greatest move of God in America”. Their excitement may in part be a result of the tremendous visibility and accessibility of the “Lakeland Outpouring” on the internet and television. There is a huge international audience and with that the conversation is growing about its validity and authenticity as a true “move of God” (or not).There are those whose view of what is going on is so much rooted in history than in Scripture that they would probably prefer a return to the days of the Puritans more than the days of the Acts of the Apostles. And there are those so rooted in revivalism that they would probably prefer a return to the days of Azusa Street than New Testament Christianity which I believe is what we need to recover in all of this.

At any rate, I believe there are two parallel “outpourings” going on simultaneously, two parallel movements. One is through a missional paradigm, another through a dated renewal paradigm. Although you could try and make a case for both, I believe the missional expression is far more faithful to Scripture and the Lord’s redemptive purpose. Though these kinds of “renewals” will usually result in some salvations and healings (God is merciful), their main focus often centers around an over realized eschatology of the church “going onto maturity”. But I believe in this apostolic season, God is recovering the Great Commission in its New Testament context and seeing that it is fulfilled within the parameters of that context. Yet I do believe we are in the midst of a true awakening of the church, but one that must be understood through redemptive lens, the lens of God’s mission. The awakening of the church from its missional slumber and to its apostolic origins is for the sake of the world. The Lord is obviously moving in a very powerful way and what we are seeing has a sense of progression and permanence. This is not church as usual. I’ve witnessed the convergence of many streams coming together over God’s emphasis on mission. And things appear to be growing in intensity nationally and internationally, two parallel movements. There is no doubt in my mind that in this hour God is awakening and rearranging the church from church-centered to Kingdom-centered in order that it might “break forth on the right hand and on the left”. But not for the sake of the church’s own glorification, hilarity or gratification but for the harvest; for the sake of the lost, the disenfranchised and those who are held captive. It is not about the church gathering and pleading with God for “more”; it is about the church gathering and receiving “more” in order to go forth in the power of the Spirit releasing “rivers of living water.” This is not about another “renewal” after the order of a Toronto “blessing” or Brownsville “revival”. No, though “The Lakeland Healing Revival” and this missional emphasis of God may parallel one another in the area of power and presence, they are very different in emphasis and expression. (See John 20:21,22).

Bringing Forth Christ

When we meet or gather together, one of the ways the Holy Spirit empowers us in mission is by revealing Christ to us through the proclamation of the Word of God -not as “Jesus the historical Bible figure”, but Jesus Christ the Anointed One brought forth from the pages of the written Word. In Luke 4:18 Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…” This anointing was on Him to preach – bringing people into the presence of God and the transforming power of the Word of God. An anointing to proclaim Christ is also upon those the Lord sends so that by “their word they might bring others into harmony with Him” (See II Corinthians 5:18-20). Jesus said in Acts1:8, “But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth”. Paul says in Romans 15:19, “Even as my preaching has been accompanied with the power of signs and wonders, and all of it by the power of the Holy Spirit”. And then in I Thessalonians 1:5 he says, “For our preaching of the glad tidings came to you not only in word, but also in its own inherent power and in the Holy Spirit”. All of this to say, we not only need a missional paradigm and missional sending, we also need missional power. We not only need an understanding of the need for mission; we need His power to fulfill mission. And there is power in proclamation, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…”

Now in Luke 24 we can glean an understanding of one way we come into this power or “anointing”. There are two disciples on the famous “Road to Emmaus” who have a unique encounter with the Lord. Though Jesus Himself is engaging the two disciples on the road – walking with them, talking with them, and even eating with them, He chooses to reveal Himself through preaching. He comes to them as a stranger. He shows them as a man how He should be understood. He does not say, “Look at My hands and My side”. Jesus discloses Himself through the Old Testament Scriptures. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He (Jesus) expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself”. He prohibited them from recognizing Him in any other way. (Luke 24:16). Why? In part because He did not want them to see the man “Jesus” by the flesh but rather to encounter Christ by the Spirit through the Word of God. This would set a precedent, especially after His Ascension. II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now we have such knowledge of Him that we know Him no longer in terms of the flesh”. Jesus shows them the Christ, not the natural man, not the carpenter’s son, but the Anointed, Eternal, pre-existent One hidden in the Scriptures. He brought those two disciples into His presence. This was a bringing forth of the Living Word from the pages of the written Word and they received an anointing; that is, they reported that their “hearts were greatly moved and burning within them”. They were stirred up, re-energized, and empowered by the breaking open and proclamation of Scripture and the bringing forth of Christ. II Corinthians 3:18 tells us that by beholding the glory of the Lord in the Word of God, we’ll be changed “for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit”.

It’s not about us….It’s about THEM

I found this video in my morning travels in the blogosphere. I thought it was unique in that it contrasts the “outpouring” in Lakeland, Florida with “the least of these” in another part of the world. The person who wrote the blog asked, “I wonder if the people in Myanmar and China will receive a special outpouring?” The two minute video asks the same question.

The movie’s creator said this: “After having no words to express my emotions regarding the recent revival manifestations in America, I created this video as a prayer for the deceived and suffering…and those of us who need to help them both. What do you think? Where is their outpouring? When will we flock to stadiums begging God to bless them, to touch them, to heal them?”

Isaiah 58:6-7 in the Amplified Bible says: “[Rather] is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every [enslaving] yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house–when you see the naked, that you cover him, and that you hide not yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood?”

May our hearts be stirred by the Lord by this timely video….

                         

Two Ditches

There appears to be two ditches on each side of the evangelical road. On the one side is the ditch of intellectualism where the goal is to know and understand God by deductive reasoning about God. In this ditch, the study of Jesus becomes a method or procedural way to comprehend God rather than a Person to follow. No longer is the Good News simply Jesus. Here the “gospel” becomes a repository of information and winds up converting Christianity into an ideological belief system intent on preserving doctrinal orthodoxy at all costs. One studies “to show themselves approved” in order to engage in doctrinal disputes and apologetics. What constitutes a “true disciple” is the individual who continues to amass more and more Biblical knowledge. Everything is to be figured out and worked out logically. People in this ditch conclude that they have arrived at the “knowledge of the truth” and will dogmatically affirm the fundamentals of their belief system.

On the other side of the road is the ditch of experientialism. This is often seen as the antidote to the sterility and rigidity of rationalism. A “true disciple” in this ditch is one who has experienced God on many different spiritual planes, has achieved a high level of spiritual prowess, and continues to seek any and all spiritual experiences. Techniques are developed to guide people into encountering God on an ever increasing mystical level. They seek God’s “glory” as a means to validate the nearness of God or the genuineness of an encounter with God rather than trusting confidently in His presence whether “felt” or not. In this ditch there is a metaphysical “energy” that is sought after which becomes an end in itself.

You Are Ready

John 20:19-22 says, “On that same first day of the week when the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews…Jesus came and stood among them…and when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy . Then Jesus said to them, ‘Just as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you. And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit!” These same disciples who were behind closed doors and “in fear of the Jews” moved into their calling as apostles (sent ones) and went forth turning the world upside down for God’s glory. And they did so in the face of a hostile Judaism and a capricious, murderous Rome.

The church is built upon this sending or “going” impulse of Christ. That’s why Jesus chose twelve apostles or “sent ones” and not twelve deacons (see Luke 6:13, Ephesians 2:20). He was trying to convey a clear message to the church for all time; that it too would be “apostolic”, a church of “sent ones” not “seated ones” or “settled ones” or “sedentary ones”. Our apostolic beginning was intended to be the precedent for an apostolic continuing as we went forth into our particular “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and uttermost parts of the earth”. We would be people sent to speak prophetically into people’s lives, including their need for a Savior and the provision God had made in Christ to meet that need. We would be sent to bring Christ near.