When we examine the history of revival movements and the outpourings of the Holy Spirit in Church History we see that God has poured out His Spirit and moved among His people continually in every generation since He began to pour out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts.
We can also see in scripture that God has supernaturally interacted with His people throughout history and that we have many examples in the scriptures both in the Old and New Testaments.
The interactions of God with His people throughout scripture serve as both examples and wisdom for us as we seek to be apart of what God is doing in the earth today. I have had the privilege of experiencing the supernatural work of God among His people several times in my years as a believer and know that every new supernatural outpouring of God's Spirit carries with it great blessings and challenges for those who are blessed to be a part of it.
These notes are designed to provide Biblical truths that will allow us to chart a course during these times when the river of life runs both deep and often fast. A course that take us into greater growth and helps us to allow the deeper encounters with God to produce good fruit for His kingdom among the people we live around and minister to.
Church history has examples of those who allowed the fresh outpouring of God's Spirit to grow His kingdom and them and those who were shipwrecked when an outpouring of His Spirit was mishandled and produced error and destruction. Since history tends to be written by the victors, those who were shipwrecked were often seen as heretics and the work God began in them is seen as error as well. We shall discuss some of these in latter articles. Before we do please read the scriptural accounts listed below and ask yourself the following questions.
What lessons or truths can we discern or observe from each passage below?
How do these truths apply to outpourings of God that you have heard about or been a part of?
1. Pillar of Fire (preparation and readiness) ready to wait and ready to go.
Ex 13:19-22; Neh 9:11-12; Neh 9:19-21; Ex 16:10
2. Isaiah in the Temple (Fresh fire, fresh revelation, fresh humility and holiness) Fresh call) Note Isaiah's state of mined. Isa 6:1-9
3. The Mount of transfiguration (High times are meant to lead to deeper call and greater commitment as well as new power for ministry.) Matt 17:1-9
4. The Baptism and Fillings of the Spirit; Starting in the Upper Room
(Getting pickled takes more than a single power up) The baptism brings a new level and the fresh fillings make us more continually useful as vessels of His Spirit and Glory.
Finally, every supernatural encounter of God with people has certain common elements. What are they? I have listed some below. What else do you see from the passages listed? Are they a formula and pattern to follow or are they not always in a set sequence?
Below are items that seem to be a major part of the preparation for God's Spirit to work. There are Several common elements we can see in these encounters with God.
Cleansing, Repentance, Holiness, Revelation of Mans state in light of Gods majestic nature and holiness, a Willingness to die to self and serve God, or making ourselves available for His call.
Perhaps one of the most challenging times for us a s God's people is becoming the people of God in a community that flows in the River of God both at the beginning of a fresh move of God and during it as it unfolds through us as the Body of Christ or Community of the King in our day to day lives.
I will be addressing this in my next post.
0 comments:
Post a Comment