A serious obstacle to revival : in Detroit, teaching on this tonight at 7pm : International House of Prayer East Detroit : blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

A serious obstacle to revival : in Detroit, teaching on this tonight at 7pm : International House of Prayer East Detroit : blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

Most don’t want it.

That’s the serious obstacle to revival, and it’s quite an obstacle indeed. 

It’s probable that most would want to encounter God, to be healed or to be delivered.  However, that’s not the comprehensive definition of revival.

Revival is extremely costly, and revival is entirely threatening.  Revival requires reformation.  The decisions we’ve made in regard to how we live, what our agendas look like and how we pursue our short and long-term plans are at risk.

The pursuit of revival, before the fire or the extreme presence of God is there, before the weighty grace of God is upon us, will require us to change.  If we want to experience revival, we must do now what we’ll be doing then.  Change comes before the fire is lit.

Regarding the Brownsville Revival:

Two-and-one-half years prior to revival, Pastor Kilpatrick responded to God’s prompting to make Brownsville a house of prayer in an even deeper sense. He promptly set aside tradition to designate the Sunday evening service as a prayer service, with members responding in true Brownsville commitment.

When revival breaks out, in many ways our life doesn’t get easier, it gets radically more difficult.  Persecution, mocking are sure to come- mostly from the religious crowd.  The condition of our own heart will be brought to the surface.  The enemy will strike with vengeance at the slightest smell of Fire.

Matthew 5:11-12 (ESV) ¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Revival demands a night and day commitment, on site, with God and others who are being empowered for ministry.

Acts 2:46-47 (ESV) ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Additionally, revival will never come without the cross of Jesus Christ.  The cross is an offensive object of death, and we are called to carry it.  If we are seeking to simply experience revival, we probably never will.  But, if we are willing to serve revival, we’ll be mighty instruments in the hands of God.  As we embrace the possibility of martyrdom, and are willing to go the distance so God has full freedom to burn in our cities, that burning will come with great force, and it will come through us.

Acts 21:13 (ESV) Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Revelation 12:11 (ESV) And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Revelation 2:10 (ESV) Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Revival will result in both mocking and marveling.  It won’t be a passive event that will allow us to simply stand by and live the way we once did.  Many will become so radically uncomfortable and offended that they will mock.  Others will smile and dance as they marvel at the amazing life of Jesus demonstrated before them.

Acts 2:12-13 (ESV) ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Now, here’s the kicker- revival is the biblical norm.  If we hold back revival, we are holding back the Holy Spirit for the sake of controlling our own humanly conditioned atmospheres.  It’s quite serious.

Here’s an early newspaper report as the Azusa Street Revival broke out:

LA newspaper: …disgraceful intermingling of the races…they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn’t talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he’s supposed to be running the thing… They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’

How will we handle it when the accusations like this one start landing?  Are we willing to lose much for the sake of God gaining freedom to move in our churches and cities?  Remember, many will mock, and may will marvel.  We know that there are churches that have split over the moves of God in Brownsville and Toronto.  People have called such manifestations demonic.

I just watched a YouTube video that mocked “fire tunnels” in Toronto where people were infused with the life of the Holy Spirit.  They called it ‘strange fire’ and warned:

Please pray for these young people. They are being demonized.

That statement is shocking, presumptuous and offensive.  And wrong.  It was made simply because people were seen to be trembling.  That’s it.

We see this same thing happening to Jesus himself:

John 10:19-21 (ESV) ¹⁹ There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

When we attribute something of God to demons, oh my, look out.  This couldn’t be more serious.

The Bible is very clear regarding the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  It is to attribute something of God to the devil.

Mark 3:22-30 (ESV) ²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house
will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. ²⁸ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

According to Merriam – Webster dictionary the word "blasphemy" means "the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God; the act of claiming the attributes of deity; irreverence toward something considered sacred."

Here’s a note from the ESV Study Bible:

…if a person persistently attributes to Satan what is accomplished by the power of God—that is, if one makes a flagrant, willful, decisive judgment that the Spirit’s testimony about Jesus is satanic—then such a person never has forgiveness. ESV Study Bible, The: English Standard Version.

Please receive this warning: when things start to change, when we see things that are unusual, don’t be quick to attribute it to Satan.  Spiritual things are discerned spiritually.  We can’t simply look with our eyes and allow our discomfort with some manifestation cause us to make a judgment.

Remember, we’re hungry for more of God.  We’re seeking him zealously, and we’re expecting something different to manifest.  We want biblical normalcy.  If we humbly ask, we will receive.  But, be ready, what’s coming will cause our flesh to react wildly as it loses the ability to live in the midst of an All Consuming Fire.

Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV) ⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

I’ll be teaching on this TONIGHT at 7pm at the International House of Prayer East Detroit. We are starting our journey into my book 20 Elements of Revival.

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