Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Tide is Turning ... But Do We Know What's Coming?

I was woken up this morning about half past four with a really powerful dream. I dreamt that I was kind of hovering about the Brighton coastline and that I saw the image similar to the one in the photo. A tidal wave was speeding across the sea and moving towards Brighton itself. I began praying as I was biking into work about what it meant.
I think what the Lord was impressing on me was that I have spent a bit of time discussing Terry Virgo's question; "If the tide is turning - what should be our response?". But I feel like God was saying that we need to up our expectation of what this turning tide will be! Some of us see the tide turning as a gentle lapping up the sand. I think God has something far far bigger in mind! I think this turning tide is going to bring devastation on a scale like we have never dreamed before!
My latest transcript project (alongside "The King and His Army" of course - which I am near finishing) is an awesome sermon of Ern Baxter's called; "Ditch Diggers Revival". His text was a passage that I have never dipped into before. 2 Kings 3:15-20. Elisha gets the three kings to dig ditches in preparation for the water that God would miraculously send. Ern awesomely taught that the water would come but if the ditches were not dug then the water would quickly flow away and be lost. Ern said that in his life span he has seen revivals come and go like water without ditches dug and his plea was that the church sit up and take notice and begin digging! I hope to publish this soon here on this site.
I think that sermon theme fits in with Terry's question. We could sit back and wait for the tidal wave to come if God has indeed promised it. But if we do not prepare the wineskin and dig the ditches or whatever metaphor suits you - then we will become known as another generation that squandered the move of the Holy Spirit and let it go. And who knows whether we will see the Spirit move again in our lifetime? A generation sat at the Dales Bible Week in 1976 listening to Ern Baxter teach on the "Kadesh Crisis". He said this that the tragedy was that the Israelites didn't go into the land and died in the wilderness because of unbelief. Ern's plea was that those at the Dales didn't do the same. I wonder if they did.
I don't want to be another casualty who steps back from the thing that God is calling us to and says, "We are not able" when God's assessment was, "You were not willing!". I don't want to be sent back into the wilderness to die when the land is waiting to be taken and giants of Islam, Materialism, Capitalism are waiting to topple! I want to see that promise come to pass;
"As SURELY as I live - ALL the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord!" - Numbers 14:21.
The tidal wave is coming - are we ready for it?

5 comments:

Dan Bowen said...

Sorry about the rubbish spacing issue between paragraphs. I don't understand why Blogger has randomly started doing that. I've tried editing it out but no go. I hope it doesn't detract from what I'm trying to say! :)

Don said...

no problem. Keep preaching!

Don said...

Going deeper into the Ezekiel's River involves continued active, forward movement, and loss of fear of "drowning" in God. (The same as the priests' experience as they walked the Ark into the flood-stage Jordan River.) I think this is part of the wave -- not just what God is doing in the world, but want He wants to do in/to us. A very good thing.

Anonymous said...

"You were not willing...."

This reminds me of a quote I read recently, and it cut me. It read something like this:

"If our piety in our own day does not match that of the men of God in generations long past, it is not because we lack anything they had - it is because we never intended it."

I can see that my very long absence from your blog has bitten me in the backside again, Dan! I have more reading to catch up on than I can possibly do - and it all seems equally nourishing to the spirit and encouraging to the heart.

I'd love some CD's of Ern Baxter. I'll email you, Dan - I want to find out how much it costs you to mail to the US. (And I'll need your address or PO box...)

So, each one of the numbered messages from your Friday, Nov. 10th blog are a different CD?

Have a glorious day - a day that you offer to God every BIT of the "little" that you have...

Anonymous said...

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!

It's coming!!