Matthew 13:27-29 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
In the late 1800s, an awakening in South Africa led by Andrew Murray was a powerful move of God. Studying that revival yields essential insights concerning the events occurring now throughout the United States. As the spirit of God began to move in Cape Town, Murray compared the SA revival with past experiences of revivals in Europe. He decided that the intense “emotionalism” was a false experience of God and charged in to break up the meeting. Stepping out of the church, he encountered his father standing and weeping. His father rebuked Andrew, “How dare you stop something that I have prayed to happen for 30 years!”
The rebuke cut Andrew so deeply that he refused to preach for months. He sat in the back of the church, repentant, and contrite until finally, the elders of his church picked him up and carried him into the pulpit. He preached with great anointing and led the South African Awakening, during which over 5 million came to the Lord.
When God moves, many things begin to occur such that misinterpretation and profound misunderstanding inevitably accompany His purposes and work. We see this in the Lord’s ministry as His very presence drove demons into manifestation; [Luke 4:33-34].
We also have numerous examples of unusual activity and manifestations that God produced upon His servants in the Old Testament era.
The wondrous move of the Spirit in our time can also produce deep affect upon human souls, emotions that many may find excessive or even unendurable. Then, of course, there is the flesh, the sinful nature, which may respond in ways that have nothing of God in them. A revival, therefore, is an extremely complex social experience that lends itself to presumption on the part of those who are prone to take offense for one reason or another. And finally, the enemy himself will almost certainly move in to produce excesses and corrupt expressions to counterfeit and contaminate what God is doing. Therefore, we need to be very careful NOT to paint these moves with a “broad brush.” We need to wait to examine the fruit.
The parable of the weeds and the wheat is useful here. The great revivalist George Whitfield interpreted this passage during the first great awakening saying, “If you try to stamp out the wildfire and remove what is false, you will equally and simultaneously remove what is real.”
Our solution is simple: focus upon what is real and genuine by asking the Holy Spirit for discernment. If possible, go yourself and talk with people who’ve been there or have some first-hand experience; discern the character and trustworthiness of the witnesses. And pray! If ever there was a need for God to move in this world….(you finish the sentence)…
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A young reporter approached an old man on his 100th birthday. "Happy birthday, kind Sir! Can I bother you to answer one question? In all your years, of what are you most proud?" he asked.
A king was seated in a garden, and one of his counselors was speaking of the wonderful works of God. "Show me a sign," said the king, "and I will believe." "Here are four acorns," said the counselor, "will you, Majesty, plant them in the ground, and then stoop down for a moment and look into this clear pool of water?" The king did so, "Now," said the other, "look up."
Once upon a time, Truth went about the streets as naked as the day he was born. As a result, no one would let him into their homes. Whenever people caught sight of him, they turned away and fled. One day when Truth was sadly wandering about, he came upon Parable. Now, Parable was dressed in splendid clothes of beautiful colors. And Parable, seeing Truth, said, "Tell me, neighbor, what makes you look so sad?" Truth replied bitterly, "Ah, brother, things are bad -- very bad. I'm old -- very old, and no one wants to acknowledge me. No one wants anything to do with me."
Roger Babson, a famous statistician was having lunch with the President of Argentina, "Mr. Babson," the President said, "I have been wondering why it is that South America, with all its natural advantages, mines of iron, copper, coal and silver, rivers and great waterfalls is so far behind North America?" Babson replied, "Well, Mr. President, what do you think is the reason?" He answered, "..South America was founded by the Spanish who came in search of gold. North America was founded by the Pilgrims who went there in search of God."
As Chanukah, the feast of dedication, begins this evening, I’m often surprised how many people don’t realize that Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated Chanukah. In the gospel of John, it was during this winter feast that He was questioned as to whether He was the Messiah or not, and His amazing responses provoked His questioners to threaten to stone Him.
Today's word is not Hebrew or Greek, it's Inuit! The word is issumagijoujunnainermik. When missionaries first shared the gospel with the Inuit tribes in Alaska, they couldn't find any word in the Inuit language for forgiveness. So, they took a number of Inuit words and joined them to form a new word -- Issu-magi-jou-jun-nai-ner-mik -- and it became the Inuit word for forgiveness. The individual words are "Not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore."
True story! In 1940, a large and wonderful Christian family, the Rudolph's, announced the birth of their 20th baby! Though the baby was not expected to live, having been born prematurely and with polio, she defied all odds. She did live, but by the time she was four she had suffered polio, pneumonia and scarlet fever. This little girl was badly crippled with hardly any use of her left leg. While her brothers and sisters enjoyed running and playing outside, she was left confined to braces.