Joel’s Birthday And The Outpouring of the Spirit
We just finished celebrating the 1st birthday of my son, Joel. We did all the typical stuff…the party with presents, the much anticipated “first birthday cake smushing,” family came over, we sang…everything you would typically expect for a one year old. And we had a great time.
All of this, however, has got me thinking about Joel and what he means to Christy and I and to the larger body of Christ. We gave our son the name Joel because the Lord had spoken to us about a move of the Spirit that would come at the end of the age. The birth of Joel was going to be a sign for us about an outpouring of the Spirit described in Joel 2:28-32:
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:28-32)”
I’ve written about this before, but I want to stick this thesis the door of my blog for the whole world to see: There is coming a move of the Spirit that will trump anything we have seen before. I’m not saying that just because the Lord told us to name our son Joel. I’m saying that because God declares in His word that He will pour out His Spirit in the last hour of human history. It will happen. It is as sure and as fixed in Scripture as the coming of the Anti-Christ and and the second coming of Jesus.
Beloved do not forget the coming outpouring of the Spirit! It’s not some pie-in-the-sky fantasy. God wasn’t just trying to motivate us with a promise that He never intended to fulfill. Weariness and dryness tend to shrink our faith. It’s hard to believe for an outpouring of the Spirit when you look around and see an Earth suffering from a shortage of God breaking through! But remember that just because we have not seen the outpouring does not mean it does not exist. When Noah built an ark no one had ever seen a flood, but that did not make him foolish for preparing.
So tonight, while I’m celebrating the life of my son, I want to call us all contend for the breakthrough of the Spirit of God wherever we are. There will be a day when we all cry out “come” together and a tidal wave of presence of God floods the Earth like never before. Our job is to continue to call out “come” until the crescendo in Heaven builds and God cannot hold Himself back any longer. The result will be signs in the sky, miracles on the Earth, and a flood of souls coming into the Kingdom like never before. May the Lord help us to be found faithful and waiting in that day.
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God’s Heart For Restoration
Last summer I wrote a short history of the Lakeland Revival that was hosted by Ignited Church and lead primarily by Todd Bentley. For reasons I may look at shortly, this is still the most popular page on my blog. My intention was that when I had a little more time I would write an appeal to the body of Christ at large to pray for Todd and his restoration to ministry. My appeal never “made it to print” but the reality that Todd needs people praying to be restored has not changed.
I bring all this up for this reason: Todd has begun the restoration process. Todd has now moved to Morningstar Ministries in the Carolinas and is working with Rick Joyner and their team to repent and be restored. I applaud this step. No matter what you think about Todd, being big enough to admit mistakes and submit to a restoration process in a sign of great humility. I also applaud Rick and his team for being willing to take this head on.
Please begin to pray for Todd and his family as he begins this process. Pray for Morningstar as they take this new step forward in their calling. The level of warfare they experience will surely increase. Whether you agree with everything Todd does or not, he caries a genuine gift of miracles that we haven’t really operated in here in the West. God was forming a gift in Todd to give to the larger body of Christ. His restoration will be of great importance.
Below you’ll find the first of several video updates Rick and Todd are doing to keep the body of Christ up to date on the process. I hope that you’ll use them to interceed for the situation on a more personal level. More video updates can be found here.
We in the body must be about restoration of those who have fallen, no matter how seemingly significant or insignificant they are. We may not in a place to restore a Todd Bentley, but most of us know someone who needs restoration and ALL of us can pray. The days will come when many will be falling away from their walk with the Lord and many will not return to Him. But some will find mercy and for those that do, we must prepare now. Please, join with me in praying for Todd and extending mercy to others around us. I believe the Lord will be pleased.
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