8 Ways to Encourage the Flow of the Holy Spirit by Lee Grady Identity Network

8 Ways to Encourage the Flow of the Holy Spirit by Lee Grady

Identity Network May 14, 2019

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I'm grateful for my friend Quentin Beard, who pastors one of the fastest growing churches in South Dakota, Sioux Falls First Assembly. Because Quentin wants his congregation to experience the Holy Spirit, he scheduled a special weekend of meetings so that people could be baptized in the Holy Spirit, get healing prayer and receive personal prophetic ministry.

The day before the event, I asked Quentin if we could have a larger-than-normal bottle of oil on the altar near the stage. Most churches just have a small cruet or vial of oil; I wanted more, so one of the church's pastors filled a half-gallon bottle. The quantity of oil was prophetic in itself, because the Lord visited us in power. Many people were filled with the Spirit during those three days.

Are you hungry for more of the Holy Spirit in your church? It's time to stop limiting His power.

Everywhere I go, I hear pastors asking how they can we encourage the freedom of the Holy Spirit in a church culture that has become increasingly scripted, scheduled and controlled right down to the nanosecond. The essence of Pentecost, which came "suddenly," was its unpredictability. But there seems to be no room for God's sudden surprises when we already have our sermons planned out for the next six months.

Here are eight practical things we can do to encourage the freedom of Pentecost in our churches:

Teach about the Holy Spirit often. The Holy Spirit was rarely mentioned in the church I grew up in, so we never expected Him to do anything. Yet He is described in the second verse of the Bible as "moving" upon the surface of the newly created world (Gen. 1:2), and He has one of the last messages in the Bible (see Rev. 22:17). He moves and He speaks throughout the Scriptures! But we must invite Him to move and speak by giving Him the place He deserves.

Leave room for personal prayer ministry. A church without altar ministry is like a hospital without a maternity ward. New life begins at the altar—whether it is salvation, healing, prophetic ministry or the impartation of a fresh anointing. Today many churches that offer multiple services often skimp on ministry time because they are focused on herding the 10 a.m. group out of the sanctuary to get ready for the 11:30 a.m. crowd. Multiple services are fine, but we are crowding the Spirit out of the church if we don't schedule time for people to respond to the message.

Have small groups where people can use the Holy Spirit's gifts. It's not practical for everyone to prophesy or exercise other spiritual gifts in a large congregation. But if people are plugged into small groups, there will be opportunities for believers to encourage one another in supernatural ways. And people are more comfortable stepping out in faith in front of 10 people than they are in front of 3,000.

Train people in prophecy, healing and Spirit-led ministry.Many pastors clamp down on the operation of spiritual gifts because a few fanatics with inflated egos like to pull the church into weirdness. But in our effort to protect the sheep from deception, let's not pull the pendulum to the other extreme by forbidding the gifts of the Spirit. The genuine power of God will flow if we teach people the difference between authentic anointing and strange fire.

Offer "teaching moments" to explain the gifts of the Spirit. I've been in churches where Brother Herschel or Sister Agnes prophesied in such a harsh, condemning tone that everyone in the church let out a collective groan. Their "words from God" had the same effect on the congregation as fingernails on a chalkboard. We cannot just ignore these moments and move on. When the Corinthians mishandled speaking in tongues and prophecy in the first century, the apostle Paul used their mistakes as an opportunity to teach about how to use gifts properly.

Expose your church to healthy ministries that flow in the anointing. God has raised up thousands of prophets who have not bowed their knees to the Baals of exploitation, greed and gimmicks. We need life-giving traveling ministries because God sends them to win new converts, heal the sick, unleash prophetic power, train leaders and impart new vision in congregations. We should not be afraid to expose our churches to men and women of character who are called to minister in the supernatural.

Give time for testimonies of God's supernatural power. Nothing raises the faith level of a congregation like someone's raw experience with God. If a man was healed this week in your church, let him shout it from the housetops. If an infertile couple got pregnant, let them tell about the goodness of God. Stories of supernatural intervention trigger a holy expectation in everyone—and God gets the glory for His miracles.

Preach about holiness. Let's never forget that the Holy Spirit is holy. Many churches today have stopped warning God's people about the dangers of sin, so we don't confront anymore. We've figured out that people will pack the house if we give them sugary-sweet motivational pep talks that never step on toes. By avoiding the tough topics, we've essentially told the Holy Ghost to take a hike.

We will be celebrating Pentecost in a few weeks. Let's fling open the doors and allow the Spirit to have His way. Instead of being afraid of what He might disrupt or whom He might offend, let's rather fear what our churches would be like without Him.

Lee Grady

www.themordecaiproject.org

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Lee Grady: Young People Will Launch a New Move of the Holy Spirit - CHRISTINE JOHNSON CHARISMA NEWS

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Lee Grady: Young People Will Launch a New Move of the Holy Spirit

 11/14/2016 CHRISTINE JOHNSON  CHARISMA NEWS

Author Lee Grady believes the best day of his life was when he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At 18 years old, Lee didn't even know what a "charismatic" was, but he encountered one in his Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. June Leverette experienced the power of the Spirit in her own life and led Lee closer to receiving the baptism for himself.

Turning to John 7, "she said, 'There's more. There's something more. There's more than just salvation,'" Lee said in a podcast celebrating the recent release of his new book, Set My Heart on Fire: Ignite Your Confidence, Boldness, and Passion for God. "I didn't know that. I thought Jesus was it. I thought you just tried real hard to be a good Christian for the rest of your life until you die. I didn't know there was something that could spring up inside of you and refresh you and become like a river that would flow out to other people."

At Thursday evening's gathering at the Charisma Media offices in Lake Mary, Florida, Lee shared his testimony of Spirit baptism from the mid-'70s, when the charismatic movement was going strong and Steve Strang started Charisma magazine, and what He believes the Holy Spirit is up to now, citing many examples from his own ministry.

That special day in 1976 was the defining point of Lee's life, which later led him to the editorial helm of Charisma for more than a decade and on to found a global ministry, The Mordecai Project, which recently relocated to LaGrange, Georgia.

"I love the Holy Spirit," Lee said. "That's why I ended up here at Charisma magazine so many years ago and worked here for so many years because that life-transforming moment completely changed me."

Lee is motivated to see that transformation for others in the body of Christ, especially young people who are in crisis, and he believes a supernatural move of God is coming.

"The Holy Spirit told me that this is going to happen and it's going to happen among young people," he said.

In the '70s, Watergate was all over the news, but God birthed the charismatic movement regardless of what was happening in the secular world. Today, our recent presidential election has spurred protests across the country, but it won't deter what God wants to do in His people.

"This is the biggest thing that I think He's going to do because personally I don't think anybody in the White House is going to be able to save us, but I think what is going to save us is another revival," Lee said. "It is fuel for another move of God."

Lee also knows that God created all races and ethnic groups, and He loves all people. No race or ethnicity will be left out of a move of God.

"I believe that God's heart is also for every ethnic group in this country to get blasted by the Holy Spirit," Lee said.

"What I live for today is to see another move of the Holy Spirit," Lee said. "And I really do believe we're on the edge of it."

Lee wrote Set My Heart on Fire simply so that young people can understand all that is available to them from the Holy Spirit and don't get stuck like he did as an 18-year-old in a traditional church.

"I really don't want people to approach the Holy Spirit like He's so complicated, and you have to figure Him out like a puzzle," Lee said. "I think that there is a simplicity to that truth."

Lee wants to dispel any confusion about the Holy Spirit and His work in believers today.

"Any age group can read this book, whether they're a new believer or whether they're a mature Christian, they're going to get a lot out of it," he said. "There (are) a lot of mature Christians whose hearts have gotten kind of cold, and they really are hungering for God to awaken something new and turn up the heat, so to speak. But I spend a lot of my time with young Christians, and I disciple a lot of young people, and I find that they really just don't have the resource that can help them get to first base in this."

The publisher, Charisma House, took the unusual step of placing a label on the book warning readers that the book could have "severe consequences for you and the people around you," encouraging Christians to "count the cost first before reading."

Lee knows all about that cost, as God sent him to 30 countries after he prayed a dangerous "send me" prayer in 1999. He has also included "dangerous" prayers of surrender at the end of every chapter in the book.

Visit the Charisma House Facebook page (facebook.com/charismahouse/) to view an interview with Lee on his new book and to see the book launch event.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!

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What I Learned About Racism From Atticus Finch - LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

What I Learned About Racism From Atticus Finch

7/13/2016 J. LEE GRADY  charisma magazine

A scene from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (YouTube)

Besides the Bible, To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book in the world—and the movie version is my favorite film. That's partly because I'm a Southerner who appreciates this painfully probing look at Southern racism. I also love the novel because no one has ever made fictional characters come to life better than author Harper Lee.

Atticus Finch, the small-town Alabama lawyer who defends a black man in a rape trial in the 1930s, is a hero to me because of his courage to fight social injustice. I feel as if I know him, along with Atticus' children, Jem and Scout; their black maid, Calpurnia; their neighbors Miss Maudie and Mrs. Dubose; the mysterious Boo Radley; and Tom Robinson, the man who is falsely accused of rape in a biased culture that refused to believe a black man could ever be innocent.

I thought of Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson many times last week. I wished I could have invited them over to my house for a glass of iced tea. We would have a lot to talk about.

On July 4th we celebrated Independence Day, and then we mourned for the next few days—first because of the questionable killings of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, in Louisiana and Minnesota, and then because of the shooting of five police officers in Dallas during a peaceful protest. Not since the 1960s has America felt such overwhelming racial tension.

As I listened to the chatter on the news and on social media last week, I couldn't help but remember Atticus' advice to his daughter. He told Scout: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

Isn't that what we should do today? We cannot hope to rid ourselves of the spirit of racism that haunts our country until we sincerely try to understand each other.

Atticus Finch felt compassion for his black client, Tom Robinson, because he drove to Tom's house in the country and sat on his front porch and got to know his family. He saw the fear on Tom's face and heard the racial slurs he endured from local townsfolk. Atticus saw the world from Tom's perspective. Atticus' children learned the same lesson when they went to church with Calpurnia and saw how black Christians worshiped.

That's the only way we're going to end this ugly racial divide. We have to talk to each other. We have to sit on our porches together. We have to become friends and share each other's burdens. We have to worship together. Laws alone will never tear down the walls of racism. Only compassion can destroy this evil.

I was not born black so I don't understand what my black friends have experienced. I have never been stopped by a police officer and interrogated when I wasn't doing anything wrong. I have never walked into a store and felt people staring at me or treating me with suspicion. I have never had to endure racial slurs. I have never been turned down for a job interview because of my race.

But I have black and Hispanic friends who have experienced racial cruelty. I've listened to their pain. I put myself in their place. I crawled into their skin.

When will we stop being afraid of each other?

Jesus attacked the root of racism when He told the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. He taught us that God's love requires us to stop and show compassion to people who are not from our racial background. His parable shocked his Jewish audience because Jews hated Samaritans and didn't want to go anywhere near them.

Yet in His parable Jesus put a Samaritan in a positive light. He smashed the ugly stereotypes and challenged racial pride. Then, when He ascended into heaven, Jesus told His disciples to take the gospel to Samaria (Acts 1:8)—a reminder that Christians must never let racial divisions stop them from advancing the kingdom of God.

It's true: Encoded in the Great Commission is a direct command to cross racial lines. That means we really are not obeying Christ's most serious mandate if we stay in our segregated safe zones. Christianity is not fully authentic unless it is multiracial.

Atticus Finch was right. The only way to eradicate racism is to fight it with love. Politicians will make speeches and propose laws, and protesters will demand stricter gun control and police reform. But the stronghold of American racism won't crumble until Christians get serious about building real friendships with the people we once hated or feared. 

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.

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Dare to go deeper in your faith. Our "Life in the Spirit" devotional takes you on a journey to explore who the Holy Spirit is, how to interact with Him, and how He works in your life. Are you ready to go deeper?

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How to Guard Your Heart From Bitterness by Lee Grady - IDENTITY NETWORK

How to Guard Your Heart From Bitterness by Lee Grady

IDENTITY NETWORK

Recently a friend of mine hurt me deeply. I felt betrayed and disrespected. I tried to pretend the insult was no big deal, but inside I was seething. I can always tell when resentment has invaded my life because I start obsessing about the pain. When I went to bed that evening, I literally felt sore. All I could think about was retaliation.

But just before falling asleep I mouthed a prayer. I meant what I said, even though my feelings begged me to retract the words. I prayed: "Lord, help me to forgive _____." Then, during the night I dreamed that I was enjoying a friendly conversation with this person. When I woke up, it felt as if we had really been talking!

It was a miracle. I realized the dream was God's way of softening my heart and taking out the offense. The Lord gave me the grace to forgive.

Ending Offenses

Perhaps you've been insulted, overlooked, stabbed in the back or mistreated - and now bitterness is poisoning your soul. Don't let it spread any further. You can nip your offense in the bud by following these guidelines:

• Don't nurse your grudge. It feels good to our flesh when we replay an offense in our minds and then fantasize about hurting the other person. But if you star in and direct this dramatic movie in your head, you are going to be making sequels for months and years until bitterness makes you sick. Pull the plug on the whole production now.
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• Let go of all revenge. C.S. Lewis said: "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." No matter how a person offends you, be humble enough to recognize that you've probably done the same thing to someone else before. Quit sharpening your knives. You will be tempted to think about hurting the person, but remember that those knives are hurting you worse than anyone else.
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• Don't spread your bitterness. Sometimes you may need to vent to a close friend about what happened, but this isn't so you can ruin the reputation of the person who hurt you. If you share your pain with someone because you need advice, don't seek sympathy or go to those who have animosity toward the person who hurt you. That's like mixing toxic chemicals! Instead, go to mentors or friends who are mature enough to tell you the truth. You may feel mistreated, but the speck in your brother's eye may actually be a log in yours. A true friend will tell you that you are overreacting or being unreasonable.
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• Pray for good things to happen to the person who hurt you. Jesus urged His disciples to love and pray for their persecutors (Matt. 5:44). That's a foreign concept in this age when we unfriend people on Facebook just because they forgot to invite us to a party. Calm down, let go of your petty outrage and ask God to bless the person who offended you. Forgiving prayer will feel like a warm salve applied to your wound.
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• Reach out and expect to repair the relationship. Jesus places a high priority on reconciliation. He wants us to get along. If you are praying and you remember that someone has something against you, Jesus said, "First be reconciled to your brother" (Matt. 5:24). On the flip side, He said if someone has sinned against you, "go and reprove him" (Matt. 18:15).
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In both cases Jesus commanded us to confront. And confrontation is never easy. We'd rather just avoid each other. We'd rather "bury our hatchets," pretending that our nasty attitude is gone just because it's well-hidden under our Sunday morning smiles. But true forgiveness is not burying a hatchet while we still hate a person inwardly; forgiveness requires us to surrender the hatchet to Jesus.

• Ask for God's forgiving love to fill your heart. One of my favorite preachers, Corrie ten Boom, struggled to forgive the Nazis who beat her in the Ravensbrück prison camp. After the Germans surrendered, she met a former Nazi guard in the street, and he told her he had become a Christian. He reached out his hand and asked her for forgiveness. She couldn't look at him.
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But then Corrie remembered Romans 5:5, which says, "The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit." She realized that when we don't have the capacity to forgive, God gives us the love. Jesus changed Corrie's heart.

Corrie added: "God's love is stronger than my hatred and unforgiveness. That same moment I was free. I could say, 'Brother, give me your hand,' and I shook hands with him, and it was as if I could feel God's love streaming through my arms."

Jesus didn't promise a life without offenses. Hurt happens. But He provided the way to keep resentment from ruining our lives. As we enter this new year, make a conscious decision that you will embrace a life of miraculous forgiveness.

Lee Grady

www.themordecaiproject.org

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7 Ways to Bless Immigrants Instead of Bashing Them by Lee Grady - Identity Network

7 Ways to Bless Immigrants Instead of Bashing Them 

by Lee Grady

Identity Network

This morning when I bought a newspaper in the Orlando airport, the man who rang up my purchase greeted me with a bashful smile. The name on his employee badge was "ZIAD." I always try to guess where people are from, but his name wasn't familiar. Was he from Lebanon? Jordan? Egypt?

Ziad finally solved the mystery. "I am Palestinian, sir," he said.

"Welcome, Ziad," I told him, "Let me be the first person to tell you today that I'm glad you are here in the United States!"

"That makes be very happy, sir," he replied.

I've been going out of my way to say kind words to immigrants these days - not just because Donald Trump has been offending them with his "all Mexicans are rapists" comments but also because I believe Christians have a responsibility to be hospitable to foreigners.

I understand the fear that has gripped our country in this age of ISIS terror. In the last month around 130 people died in the Paris attacks, 43 were killed in Beirut and 224 died in the Russian airliner that was allegedly bombed by radical jihadis. In response to the violence, 30 U.S. governors have announced that Syrian refugees aren't welcome here - even though they are fleeing to America to escape terrorists.

Entertaining Angels Unknowingly

What I don't understand is how Christians in this country can be so heartless when it comes to showing kindness to the very people Jesus told us to love. We have allowed our fear - as well as our cherished Republican Party values - to nullify God's Word. (Note to critics: I'm a Republican, but I'm a Christian first.)

The New Testament calls us to love not only the people who look like us but even those who are considered enemies. Hebrews 13:2 says: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unknowingly." Meanwhile Christian leaders are exhorted in 1 Timothy 3:2 to be "hospitable" - and this is not simply a reference to hosting a meal. The word is in the Greek philoxenos, which means "love of strangers."

So how can you and your church obey this biblical mandate and show love to the strangers who live near you? Here are a few suggestions, offered just in time for the holiday season:

• Say something nice. I often tell immigrants I'm glad they are in the United States - and most of them say they've never received a compliment like that before. Many of them are lonely - and they feel unwelcome, especially when Mr. Trump and other disrespectful Americans complain about foreigners as if they carry a disease.
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• Find out their story. You might be surprised to learn that the "Muslim" living in your neighborhood is actually a Middle Eastern Christian. Or that the Somali refugee who attends your child's high school fled to this country to escape a war. All you have to say is: "I'd love to hear how you came to live in America." Then listen.
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• Invite them to church. Never assume that immigrants are hostile to your faith. When I spoke recently in South Dakota, I met a Muslim girl from Uzbekistan who has been attending church for months out of curiosity. She finds love and friendship among Christians, even though she struggles to understand why Jesus died for her.
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• Offer legal help. Americans often complain about illegal immigrants without bothering to realize that many of them are eager to comply with our laws. They actually need help navigating our complicated system, which is snarled by delays and unfair to people from certain countries. Recruit lawyers in your church to provide free seminars or other legal assistance to immigrants in your area.
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• Prepare a Christmas meal. Foreigners who move to the United States are curious about the meaning of our Christmas holiday - and they won't understand it by visiting a local mall or by watching Elf. Invite international students or an immigrant family into your home and let them experience your family traditions.
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• "Adopt" a refugee family. Aside from the displaced Syrians who are waiting to come to the U.S. today, refugees from Africa and other nations are probably already living near you. Most of them have been traumatized by war, poverty or persecution - and they are lonely and insecure. Contact one of the Christian organizations working with refugees (such as World Relief) and volunteer to provide meals, babysitting, Christmas gifts or mentoring.
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• Become an English instructor. There are more than 1 million internationals studying on U.S. campuses in 2015. (The majority come from China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil.) These students would love an American friend to help them with their English. Offer to be a language coach by contacting your local college or university.
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While the immigrant-bashers talk of building a wall to keep immigrants out, we are called to build bridges of friendship. Let's remember that Jesus - who lived as a refugee in Egypt during His infancy - wants the church to love foreigners.

Lee Grady

www.themordecaiproject.org

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Take the Test: Are You Fully Abandoned in Worship? by Lee Grady

Take the Test: Are You Fully Abandoned in Worship? 

by Lee Grady

Identity Network

 

I was raised in a traditional church where people worshipped God reverently while holding identical blue hymnals. The only instruments in our church were a piano and an organ, and nobody got too excited except for the one old man on the front row who sometimes belted out an uncomfortable "amen" during the preacher's sermon.

 

Then, at age 18, I had a life-changing experience with the Holy Spirit - and I ended up visiting an African-American church on the other side of town. These people worshipped Jesus with no inhibitions. They flailed their arms, shouted "Hallelujah!" and swayed to the beat of drums. I was so energized by their passionate praise that I couldn't wait for the next meeting.

 

Worshiping God with Your Whole Heart

 

I soon learned from studying Scripture that my African-American brothers and sisters were worshipping the biblical way, even though it was foreign to me. God never intended for His people to hide their enthusiasm. The more exuberant I became in my worship, the more personal freedom I experienced. I began to leave the shallow waters of religious tradition. I ventured into the deep ocean of total abandonment.

 

I learned what it means to worship God with my whole heart - with no fear of people's opinions.

 

Many churches today have adopted a free style of worship, and some of the best praise music ever recorded is available to our generation. Yet I find that many Christians have still not learned the secret of uninhibited praise. Many of us are content to listen to a music team on stage when God never intended a worship service to be a concert. He invites all of us to be fully and radically engaged in extravagant worship.

 

Have you shed your inhibitions in worship? I often challenge people to compare their worship experience with the book of Psalms, which should be the standard for every church regardless of nationality, culture or denomination. Psalms calls us to joyful, energetic, unreserved, high-voltage praise.

 

Have you found the freedom to express your worship in these ways?

• Declaring praise. The psalmist says: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." (Ps. 107:2). Praise is simply honoring God for His character and attributes. But it is not enough to just think nice thoughts about Him - you must verbalize how much you are thankful for His mercy, forgiveness and goodness.

• Raising hands. King David said: "I will lift up my hands in Your name" (Ps. 63:4). I'll never forget the first time I saw a room full of Christians praising God with their hands in the air. It looked like a bank robbery! God asks us to raise our hands because our physical posture affects our hearts. Lifting your hands will help you surrender totally to Him.

• Singing. Can you imagine a world without music? It lifts our hearts, releases joy and breaks the power of anxiety. The psalmist said: "I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, to You O Lord I will sing praises" (Ps. 101:1). Don't just listen to songs in church or mouth the words halfheartedly. Turn up your volume and belt it out - and don't worry if you are in tune. All God wants from you is a joyful noise.

• Shouting. We don't think anything about screaming at the top of our lungs for our favorite sports team. But are you comfortable cheering for Jesus? The psalmist wrote: "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You" (Ps. 71:23). The shouts of God's people caused the walls of Jericho to fall. Some types of spiritual resistance will not come down until you raise your voice.

• Clapping. The psalms have several references to clapping (Ps. 47:1), but it is not just a way to make noise. Clapping in worship has an invisible spiritual impact. Psalm 149:6-8 says that when we engage in the "high praises of God," we bind spiritual principalities with chains. High-decibel praise is a form of spiritual warfare that has profound impact on demonic powers. No wonder the devil has convinced some churches to stay quiet!

• Dancing. One of the most powerful moments I ever experienced in worship was when I danced in a church for more than an hour with a group of Christians in Nigeria. I was absolutely soaked with sweat by the end of the service, and my calves were sore the next morning, but my spirit was free. Many Christians are too self-conscious to express their worship in dance, even if it's just a simple sway or a side-to-side shuffle. But the Bible is still clear: "Let them praise His name with dancing" (Ps. 149:3). If you want God to move in your life, you may need to move when you worship!

• Kneeling. Catholics and liturgical Protestants have practiced kneeling during worship for centuries, but many of us Pentecostals and charismatics have forgotten this vital biblical practice. Muslims bow in prayer five times a day, yet it has become a strange practice in the evangelical church. David wrote: "Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker" (Ps. 95:6). Kneeling inspires humility, and reminds us that we are not God. You may find the most profound experience with Jesus occurs when you are on your knees.

Turn Up the Volume

 

When King David brought the ark into Jerusalem, he was so overjoyed that true worship was restored that he danced before God with abandon. Yet his wife Michal was so embarrassed by his radical display of devotion that she criticized him - and became barren as a result (see 1 Sam. 6:12-23).

 

Who would you rather be in that story - the wholehearted worshipper or the stick-in-the-mud religious critic? Don't let tradition, spiritual pride or personal hang-ups stop you from experiencing all God has for you. Break out of your box and turn up your volume.

 

Lee Grady

www.fireinmybones.com

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We Need a Revival of New Testament Love by Lee Grady

We Need a Revival of New Testament Love 

by Lee Grady

Identity Network

 

We who call ourselves Spirit-filled Christians are notorious for overusing the term "revival." If we get a standing-room-only crowd in a church for more than three nights in a row, and those people end up swooning on the floor after the altar call, we start hyping things up and comparing the meetings to the First Great Awakening.

 

But what exactly are the signs of a genuine move of God? Lately I've been buried in Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians to find the answer to that question. After all, one of the most explosive spiritual awakenings in history took place in the Greek city of Thessalonica. It was a headquarters of ancient paganism (and just three hours from Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods), yet when the gospel was preached there it triggered a chain reaction of miracles and mass conversions.

 

Spiritual Explosion

 

Paul said of the spiritual explosion in Thessalonica: "Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (1 Thess. 1:5a). A riot erupted, Paul was run out of town, and the new Christians were persecuted. Yet the attacks couldn't stop them: The impact of this move of God was so forceful that within a short time the newly converted Thessalonians spread their faith throughout most of Greece (see v. 8).

 

So we could say that biblical revivals always include: (1) powerful preaching that brings heavy conviction of sin; (2) supernatural miracles that display God's power and confirm the message; (3) notable numbers of true converts who share their faith aggressively; and (4) persecution from those who resist the gospel. But after reading 1 Thessalonians a few more times I noticed one additional hallmark of genuine revival that we often ignore: (5) remarkable, sincere love that nurtures the growing Christian church.

 

We all want the miracles. We long to see mass conversions. But we forget that New Testament revival doesn't happen without New Testament love. I see this love manifested in some specific ways:

 

1. Servant-hearted Leadership.

 

The apostle Paul and the leaders on his team did not think of themselves as "all that." They weren't pulpit stars. They didn't ride in limousines or demand five-star hotel rooms. Paul was even willing to work a job so he wouldn't be a burden to the Thessalonians. He told them:"Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our very own lives, because you had become very dear to us" (1 Thess. 2:8).

 

In today's "Spirit-filled" churches, some pastors have morphed into hipster CEOs who appear only in the pulpit and on the video screen. They may bring a powerful message, but the idea of personal impartation has become a relic of a bygone era. In the era of the iChurch, we really can't get on the people's level. That's too bad, because sermons alone don't make disciples. People need a personal touch from leaders who feel deep affection for those they are discipling.

 

2. Selfless Investment.

 

When Paul was in prison, he didn't throw a pity party or feel bad for himself. He was thinking 24/7 about the people he had led to Christ in Thessalonica. He desperately wanted to see them again. They were in his heart. He prayed for them constantly "that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith" (3:10). That kind of selfless love, modeled by humble leaders, sets the bar high for the entire church.

 

3. Slobbering Affection.

 

The word "brethren" appears in 1 Thessalonians 17 times. Paul understood that when we join the community of the redeemed, we are bonded together by the Holy Spirit who lives in all of us. That precious spiritual bond should be treasured. That's why Paul wrote: "May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another" (1 Thess. 3:12). He knew the true measure of Christian maturity is fervent love.

 

Paul also told the Thessalonians: "Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss" (5:26). Today we explain this verse away by suggesting that kissing was a cultural tradition that doesn't apply to us. Really? I've been in churches where people keep their polite distance, and their lack of affection is an indicator of their icy spiritual condition. Some people criticize what they call "sloppy agapé," but I've learned that when Christians hug and kiss each other, they are also more prone to be passionate followers of Jesus.

 

Paul cared deeply about his followers and he told them: "We proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children" (2:7). There is a direct connection between extravagant love for each other and the spirit of New Testament revival. Let's rediscover it.

 

Lee Grady

www.fireinmybones.com

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