I mentioned yesterday that one of my fears I must face is that I have hoped and longed for revival all my life - even before I was baptised in the Spirit - Stanley Jebb built into us a theology of revival and I'm so grateful for that. It's only this year in 2008 that I've seen what certainly looks like revival! And I am scared - scared that I will miss it, or scared that once again the Church will do something to make God withdraw and see the glory move away.Rob Rufus said this at the "Grace and Glory Conference - Sydney";
"Every revival (and I have studied many) - most of them only lasted 2 or 3 years and they were very intense but every one that I have studied came to an end because the control of man came back in and laws and rules and regulations came back in. People say; "It came to an end because sin came back in". No - it wasn't about sin. Because if sin stopped the revival, then the revival would never have started because revivals come WHILE there is sin!
Revival is the mercy of God breaking in and mercy prevents us from getting what we don't deserve but grace gives us what we don't deserve - a revival!".
Whatever the cost - whatever the price - we must, must, MUST resist legalism and the control spirit! Bob Marley said this;
"The people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness!".
There are those (and I think they're sincere) who would be happy keeping Christians controlled, miserable and life-less. It can't be tolerated. Let's not take a day off. God wants His Church back - living in glorious freedom! It was for that freedom that Christ has set us free! Let's cast off the yokes of slavery that legalism would put back on us! The world is waiting to see a Church come forth!
3 comments:
Amen Dan!
I remember Bob's quote from "I AM LEGEND" - it's true, we have to be on guard and prepared for battle all the time.....
Dan, Gosh...on my round, I generally only get good vibes from people who work for the disadvantaged...usually those who work in places that are provided for the disabled. Both the people who work there and those helped generally appreciate the caring ethos . To think that these young people in the hospice suffer from heavy, overbearing atmospheres makes me sad.
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Today...and revival...God showed me a picture about revival and our relation to it in 1986. Here is an excerpt about it from Letter to the Charismatic Movement...which was a summary of my position at 1989:
In 1986 the Spirit showed a picture of some natives in a jungle
gazing skyward in awe at a metal bird. To us it is just a plane. The Spirit
was saying "What is the difference between the natives and those who
perhaps build the plane in America? Answer: 100 years of know-how in
flight. He was saying in the same way, up until now we have been involved
in praying in revivals, which have passed by us in a similar way, but never
understood how or quite why. This remained a mystery. But now the Spirit
wanted to take us into his confidence and give us know-how about what is
really going on.
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I got quite a pleasant reply from Zerubbabel , but as usual got a request to define what I meant by baptism in the Spirit. This usually turns into a conversation that tries to make baptism in the Spirit into an inner confirmation of Jesus living out His life in us. It is that , but it is far more ofcourse. In fact the 2 need not be related at all. Saul (the King) had an anointing but went right off the rails. So did Samson.
This type of conversation sadly is what I meant by Norman Grubb maintaining a rather evangelical way about him to the end. Which considering the huge ramifications of his revelation, must remain one of the all-time wonders of the world. In my language it is like a man discovering and describing the most 3rd Level revelation at the far reaches of 3rd Leveldom and then carrying on living as if he was on the first level. For 20 years now this simply has me beat!
And sadly, Zerubbabel have followed his lead. But I have St Paul on my side when he tackled the Corinthians about only being willing to take to one or two teachers. Then he said something cool..."All are yours,Apollos,Cephas,Peter,Paul...." So I couldn't care what Zerubbabel do or say...I know Norman Grubb is mine,Rob Rufus is mine,Dan Bowen is mine, Todd Bentley is mine, Peter Stott (Havant) is mine,Morris Cerullo is mine, Spurgeon is mine ,Watchman Nee is mine, Josh Mills is mine,Ryan Rufus is mine....hey wasn't that cool when he said not less of me and more of You, but
more of You in all of me! That is the 3rd Level.In one Nutshell on a T-shirt...that is the whole of Norman Grubb's teaching, the whole of my revelation and the totality of the revelation of the Feast of Tabernacles. God tabernacling with me!!!! It is the vision of the River in Ezekiel, where we have completely had it with measuring whether it goes up to my knees, or my middle or my chest...we just say "Blow it, I'm throwing my whole self in".
It's a sort of suicide of Eternal Life!!!!!!Hey I like that.
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A few weeks ago someone was going on about "sarx" and the use of the word flesh.Tell Ryan about Brett Burrowes free message on the subject entitled Sin,Satan and the Flesh...he so wanted to see whether Norman was right or wrong he did a whole PHD in Durham on this subject, learning that St Augustine distorted everything!!!
See bottom right of http://www.zpress.org/
Chris
Hey Chris!
"I generally only get good vibes from people who work for the disadvantaged...usually those who work in places that are provided for the disabled".
I would say generally that's true but sadly in my 10 years of nursing experience I have come cross a minority of individuals who are there, it seems, to benefit themselves and to somehow draw power from those in need. Please join me in praying for this individual. They are lonely, live alone - all the characteristics and I'd so love the power and love of God to sweep through and fill ALL their needs. My heart's desire and indeed ONLY desire is that these vulnerable children, and those of children the world over receieve the utmost, highest and most loving care possible so that they can spend each day of their limited lives as fulfilled as possible.
Wow ... I felt incredibly honoured to be mentioned alongside other greats!
"I know Norman Grubb is mine,Rob Rufus is mine,Dan Bowen is mine, Todd Bentley is mine, Peter Stott (Havant) is mine,Morris Cerullo is mine, Spurgeon is mine ,Watchman Nee is mine, Josh Mills is mine,Ryan Rufus is mine".
Squashed in between Rob Rufus and Todd Bentley?! Sounds dangerous!! I love it!! But seriosly I appreciate your point. The Church is trying to be too safe ... so safe that orthodoxy is defended. And I feel God is calling us to take some risks, take some opportunities, be prepared to make some mistakes!!
I love it when Todd Bentley speaks to someone who has been down on the ground, and says; "Do you feel pain now?" and they say; "Yes I do". He doesn't pretend to ignore it or say that it must be God's sovereign will that they are in pain! NO! He says; "Okay - let's pray for you some more!". Risk-taking.
My job at the moment is full of risk assessments till I am sick of it. I will do them because that is my job. But I am sick of them because the concern with safety has meant that the spontaneity and fun has been taken out of my job. We can't put the kids in their wheelchairs and just take them out for a trip somewhere because a risk assessment has to be done, filed, checked, safety checks etc etc. I know they must be done. But I wonder if that's a spiritual picture of how the Church has become. We've doctored these risk assessments from somewhere and won't ever dream of doing anything, or speaking about anything until we're SURE it's safe!
Yet Dr Lloyd-Jones said; "This is NO age to advocate restraint!".
"It is the vision of the River in Ezekiel, where we have completely had it with measuring whether it goes up to my knees, or my middle or my chest...we just say "Blow it, I'm throwing my whole self in".
Amen!! It kinda suggests that we have got some degree of choice as to how much we fall into the realm of the Spirit. I wonder if it is possible to stand somewhere like the Lakeland Outpouring and remain detached? I guess so! But like you - I'm throwing myself in! I'm not missing this!!
Thanks so much for the point on "sarx". I read in my Bible the other day the verse that says; "My heart and my FLESH cry out for the living God". My flesh? My sinful, indwelling nature?! Oh really?!!
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