It has been a historical fact that when the Holy Spirit moves over or into a body of believers, or over a city and even a nation, something begins to stir. You can hear the wind blowing in the trees and see the bows rock back and forth giving sign that the wind is blowing. Just like the natural wind, the Holy Spirit causes a disturbance in the hearts of people, something begins to stir, emotions are escalated and people begin to seek change from their current condition to something new and exciting. The rustling of the leaves are signaling us and the bows of our hearts are swaying in the wind, change is not only coming, it is already upon us. Are you ready for the change? Are you willing to change? If you are, then listen closely, a subtle wind is already passing through many congregations, the old is going to be replaced with the new, but only if you seek it.
When Peter spoke to a crowd after receiving the Holy Spirit, great and exciting things began to take place in the hearts of all those who heard what he had to say. Look at Acts 2:1-47 and see what took place with the first encounter with the Holy Spirit. People finally got the message about Christ being the Messiah and they recognized the sin that was controlling their lives, repentance and forgiveness of sins was flowing through the crowds. People began to see how God intended for His kingdom to function. The selling of possessions took place and those who were in need, their needs were meant. People would go to their synagogue or gather in groups and worship God as one. Then consider what took place, God added to the church daily. Now pay attention, when the Holy Spirit came upon them He came like a mighty rushing wind which signified the presence of God in their midst. Then He baptized them with the Holy Spirit and tongues of fire fell on them signifying a cleansing or purifying taking place. You really need to read and study this chapter of Acts and get the feel for how the Holy Spirit of God can and will move to bring about change.
There have been several era's that witnessed the powerful moving of the Holy Spirit when people sought after God and repented of their sins. Look at the list of just the ten greatest revival's in history;
THE TEN GREATEST REVIVALS EVER
1. The Revival of 1904
2. The Great Awakening, 1727-1750
3. The Second Great Awakening, 1780-1810
4. The General Awakening, 1830-1840
5. The Layman’s Prayer Revival, 1857-1861
6. The World War II Revival, 1935-1950
7. The Baby Boomer Revival, 1965-1975s
8. The Pre-Reformation Revivals, 1300-1500
9. The Protestant Reformation, 1517
10. Pentecost, the Beginning of Revival, A.D. 30
Look these up and read about what happened during these times. Many times people gathered at their churches wanting God to visit them and change their hearts. People prayed, fasted, sought after God so that God would visit them. There were no mandates, rules, programs, professional's or some special entertainment, just people wanting God. I ask you again, Are you ready for change? Are you ready for God to come and visit? Do you want your congregation to be more like what took place in Acts 2:1-47? If so, then know this, there is a subtle wind blowing and it is only the beginning, in time, God's time, a mighty rushing wind will sweep over our churches and for those who receive it, change will happen. I want to share briefly what I believe the kind of change that is coming. This change will be difficult for some, but change of any kind can be difficult. Follow me now and listen for the whispers of change around you. It has been my experience in all the churches I have attended that structure was always present. Not that structure is all bad, it just seemed to be prevalent.
Let me share what I experienced when entering a church. Enter the building, greet friends and strangers, make your way to your seat, which generally is the same every week, introduction's, announcements given, worship through singing, maybe some special entertainer's, time of prayer, more praise and singing, passing of the collection plate, people who need prayer brought up to be prayed for, pastor gives sermon, invitation sometimes, closing song, people stand and are dismissed, people visit with each other and then go home. Sound familiar, structure, rules, mandates, follow the plan for service as programed. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with this, most would go home feeling good or maybe convicted in some way. What is wrong with a lot of churches today is that they are not living up to how God established our gathering together through that first moving of the Holy Spirit. So what are we missing in all this, why is what we do so out of touch with how God wants us to serve Him? Let me explain, again briefly. Looking at the way we conduct ourselves in worship services seem to be more on the receiving end. We come to church, take in all that is going on, receive the message, maybe spend time at the altar in prayer, go home and wait for the next gathering. Of course there are instructions for us to reach out to the community which entails inviting people to church. Some go as far as helping out in some volunteer type ministry. Again, not a bad thing, just doesn't seem complete, maybe a little empty. Let's examine a few other scriptures now and see if we can find what might be missing.
Ask yourself these questions, am I going to church to receive God's word? Or, am I going to church to reproduce God's Word? Let me share a story that may put things into perspective. This story comes from the book "Radical' by David Platt.
Imagine being in Sudan. You walk into a thatched hut with a small group of Sudanese church leaders, and you sit down to teach God's Word. As soon as you start, you lose eye contact with all of them. No one is looking at you, and you hardly see their eyes the rest of the time. The reason is because they're writing down every word you say. they come up to you afterward and say, "Teacher, we are going to take everything we have learned from God's Word, translate it into our languages, and teach it in our tribes."They were not listening to receive but to reproduce. Now journey with me to a contemporary worship service in the United States. Again from the same book "Radical."
Some people have their Bibles open, while others don't have a bible with them. A few people are taking notes, but for the most part they are passively sitting in the audience. While some are probably disengaged, others are intently focused on what the preacher is saying, listening to God's Word to hear how it applies to their lives. But the reality is, few are listening to reproduce.""We are by nature, receiver's," says David Platt. In other words, what can I get out of this or what's in it for me? Now take a look at what Christ told His disciples just before He ascended to heaven; "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt. 28:18-20.
We are to reproduce what Christ has given us. We are to be in the world reproducing God's Word making disciples of All nations. Now the question arises, is your church doing this? If the place you have chosen to worship is not doing this in a very serious manner, then I would question rather it is fulfilling this great commission. The reproduction of disciples is Jesus' megastrategy. Making disciples is slow, difficult and messy at times. It requires us to be in it for the long haul, not just a one time encounter. It is not just getting them to church and let the professional's do the messy work. It is about relationship, time spent with each potential disciple. Again I ask you, "Are you ready for change?" "Are you ready for the wind of the Holy Spirit to blow across your life?" If you are, then prepare for the wind of change to come your way, and if you let it, it will bring a refreshing and a real purpose to your life today. There are two key factor's in living your life like they did in the book of Acts. Without them, the wind more than likely will not blow in your direction.
You must take into account that before the Holy Spirit came upon these disciples, they followed Christ's instructions to gather together to pray and wait for the comforter to come. They did this for many days, they did it with oneness of heart. The other factor you see in in their lives is that they were completely sold out to Christ. They were in complete abandonment to Him. These disciples knew that they had to give everything over to God so they could follow Christ wherever He goes. Our commission has not changed from the time Christ sent His disciples into the world. We are to "make disciples" and this is the means by which we will not only impact our community, but the whole world. According to David Platt, author of the book "Radical," "Jesus has invited us to join with Him in the surprisingly simple journey of spreading the gospel to all nations by spending our lives for the good of others and the glory of God."
We all must examine ourselves and begin seeing what God sees. If we are going to "take up our cross daily" for Christ then we must decide what is holding us back and what we must let go of. If we want to reach a lost world with the gospel of Christ we must get up off the pews of our church's and venture out into the world that Christ commanded us to go. "Every year in the United States, we spend more than $10 billion on church buildings. In America alone, the amount of real estate owned by institutional churches is worth over $230 billion. We have money and possessions, an we are building temples everywhere. Empires, really. Kingdoms. We call them houses of worship. But at the core, aren't they too often outdated models of religion that wrongfully define worship according to a place and wastefully consume our time and money when God has called us to be a people who spend our lives for the sake of His glory among the needy outside our gates? (quote: David Platt)
If the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit is going to move across this nation again, then the church must begin to seek Him in all earnest by abandoning our religious way of thinking and follow Christ with complete abandonment to Him. "Are you ready for the winds of change to blow across your face? Are you ready to follow Christ and give Him not only your possessions, but your very life? There really is no other way, the commission Christ gave His disciples was not just for those few, it is for all throughout the generations that came after that time. Jesus said "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves." This means we are not to spend our time in the sheepfold, we are to get out there and show the world by our actions how much God loves them. We must meet the world on their turf if we want them to know God's love. That means we must get dirty and leave the safety of the church. Are you willing? Are you ready for the wind to blow? The Holy Spirit is waiting, and He is ready to blow your way. The winds of change are coming, can you feel the subtle winds whisper? The bows of many hearts are beginning to sway in the wind, how about yours?
I invite you to join many other's in this journey of reaching out and touching lives all around you. Let Christ shine through you and the world will see Him.
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