Rob Rufus on Florida's Part to Play in Hong Kong

I mentioned in my last post about Terry Virgo's comments about how revival needs to be grounded and rooted into the local church (Janelle Phillips also mentioned this). I was interested and thrilled to note Rob's comments on his return from his ministry trip to Europe among the Newfrontiers churches about Florida.

I haven't edited the comments at all - it's here in it's fullness. He said;

"I really believe (Ryan and Kylie) brought back something from Florida and we really want to just add it to us. You need to know - just in case people think that we are now building our church on the Florida Revival - we are not building our church on the Florida Revival! We are building our church on the foundations of an apostolic/prophetic foundation, upon the foundation of grace. Revivals are wild! And we endorse it and we empower it and honour what God is doing in Florida.

We cannot say that everything that comes out of Florida will be God. There has never been a revival where everything is God. There are weird things that sometimes come out of a revival - sometimes things of legalism there (not with Todd Bentley but with others). Some things Ryan has shared with me. In the middle of the United Kingdom while I was preaching, I said; "We celebrate the Florida Revival - we believe it is a flash point - but we don't believe it is just located to Florida as many don't believe that. We believe it is world-wide, we believe it is global. Florida is a kind of tipping point. But many places are breaking out now all over the world and this thing is on the move. It really is on the move".

There are some high-profile ministries that are now endorsing it and recognising it. I spoke to Terry Virgo while in the United Kingdom who heads up hundreds of churches around the world and he recognises that the power of God is there. They are genuine and there are genuine miracles. He is saying that as a movement they don't necessarily embrace the whole package - there are some things they would have questions about.

There's nothing wrong with having a few questions - there's nothing wrong with not understanding everything. Put some things up on the shelf. Everything must be tested but by and large I want to strongly say that God is on the move all over the world and what is happening in Florida IS God. There is no question about that. That is God. But everything that happens through different levels and different doesn't necessarily represent everything that we would agree with. Behind this passionate, enthusiastic face - there is a thinking mind! I am going to test everything through right theology and all of that - and all that I don't understand I will put on the shelf and I will wait.

But I don't want people to be afraid of deception because we have got to break that demonic thing where people believe that the devil has more power to deceive us than Almighty God has to reveal truth to us. The Bible does warn in a few places about "Don't be deceived in the last days" and counterfeit signs and wonders - but then it speaks a whole lot more about how to know what the truth is and how to be free in the truth and how to recognise the truth. So if you live in fear of deception, you are not going to step out into the miraculous. Y0u were never meant to live in the fear of deception - you were never meant to live in fear. So many Christians (even in Hong Kong) are so afraid of being deceived and they say; "I am afraid of being deceived". So you think fear is legitimate? Do you think your fear will protect you?

Job said the things I feared the most have come on me. You don't live climbing a mountain trying not to fall. You climb a mountain trying to get to the top. You are focused on getting to the top! You don't live in fear of being deceived - you live full of faith of getting revelation and of being so full of God and the knowledge of God's truth that the moment the counterfeit comes - you can see it. I am so sick and tired of Christians being put on the back foot on these things. I am not afraid of a false angel coming to me and trying to decieve me and appearing to me all beautiful.

The moment that happens I will discern; "Is this an anointing from heaven or is this an anointing from the demonic". If you can't tell the difference between an ugly demonic anointing and the anointing of Jesus then you need to get saved. In you and me there is an anointing and in meetings I can discern what is of the flesh, what is of God and what is of the demonic.

There has never been a revival - not one - where all three didn't manifest. Some people are pointing; "Look some of that stuff is fleshly - some of that stuff is demonic - that doctrine is a bit of heresy over there". Yes I know - but God is also moving powerfully! You will never have a revival where you can get rid of flesh, get rid of the demonic trying to come in. In Azusa Street Revival they had psychics prophesying in the middle of the meeting! In the mid-80's in the Kentucky Revivals they had 20, 000 under the power of God and at the same time they had pimps running around and making whiskey in the middle of that.

Every revival has weird doctrines that come in and strange things that happen. The most weird thing is when there IS no power, no one is getting saved and NO miracles are happening! I would rather have to sift through some of the weird stuff, theologically sift through it, than have nothing happening and sitting in the boat of religion and sitting and criticising everything happening.

I think the people who are most qualified to discern whether a move is a move of God or not are those people who have been in moves of God.There are people who are trying to judge this move who have never had a move.

I think if someone says "That's not God and those miracles are countefeit and that's not God" - I want to say to them; "That's fine - that is your right to judgebut show me YOUR miracles, show me YOUR signs and wonders, show me YOUR move!". "Err ... I don't have one". "Then shut up until you do!". There too many cryptics sitting on the bank and doing nothing and finding fault with what God is doing.

I want it to be registered that I don't agree with everything I am seeing in Florida and it's not up to me to tell you everything - but I tell you this. It is a move of God. Todd Bentley is a man of God. God is moving in mighty signs and wonders! Our focus is not on Florida - that thing will fade sooner or later. But it is not going to fade around the world. God's on the move".

God is on the move!! This isn't the time to be fearful, scared or apathetic. Let's be excited - be hopeful - and above all let it enthuse us to go out and proclaim the living glorious Gospel to the lost! Because God is attesting the preaching of the Word with signs following!