Waldorf And Statler

You might recognize these 'guys' and remember them from The Muppet Show years ago. These two characters, known as Waldorf and Statler, were the resident cynics on the show. While they were funny and entertaining - they were so because they constantly found fault and criticized everyone else on the show who was trying to do something worthwhile.

I agree with my friend Tim Enloe in his post HERE concerning the critical nature that many have concerning revival (any revival), as in, too many Waldorf's and Statler's. As I stated below concerning this topic, I want to be very careful in how I judge and assess various revival's. I certainly don't want to be Nadab or Abihu and run with strange fire, however and equally as bad - I definitely don't want to be the Pharisee who knew the Word, spent time praying, and yet completely missed the boat because they lacked intimacy with God and had basically become our two Muppet friends above.

Sadly there seems to be far too many within the Body of Christ that secretly root for churches, minister's or even revival's to fail and feel vindicated somehow when they do, merely because in their limited faith and understanding of God they don't believe God could "use someone like that", or "do something in that manner". I'm not endorsing craziness whatsoever - on the other hand I'm not endorsing those of the Pharisaical persuasion either.

There are certainly things in most every revival that can cause us to raise our eyebrows - that doesn't mean that God is not at work and as pointed out in Tim's post - there's never been a perfect revival in history.

This Describes Me Today...

What's Happening In Lakeland?

By now you've no doubt read or heard about a so called revival that is happening in Lakeland, Florida - if not it's being discussed many places, like here, here and here - and here.

Several times I've been asked for my opinion on what is happening there - basically - is this of God, or not? Let me say that I try to be very, very careful in assessing things like this. I neither want to be the 'Pharisee' and miss what God is doing, nor do I want to be Nadab or Abihu - carriers of strange fire. I do know that we have been called to discern what is of God and what is not. Paul, in Philippians 1:9-10 stated:

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ^ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ". (Emphasis mine)

While I haven't personally been to any of these services in Lakeland, through the miracle of the Internet I've been able to both read, watch and listen to what is happening there - which I have done.

Which leads me to the following advice that comes in the form of a three part test:

1. Is the revival characterized by repentance?

The great revivals of history are almost always characterized by REPENTANCE. Gut-wrenching-people-crying-out-to-God type repentance. True revival will primarily see people falling forward on their faces (as opposed to backwards) in repentance leaving tear stained carpets in it's wake. This leads to the fruit of true revival - holiness.

2. Where is the emphasis placed?

The emphasis MUST be on JESUS CHRIST. Not on man, not on manifestations, not on angels - but Christ alone. When I read and hear from Todd Bentley's own mouth that he is receiving revelation from some angel named "Emma" - that should be a HUGE red flag to any discerning Christian. Cults have been born in such ways.

3. We should always test the spirits.

1 John 4:1 says: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Strange fire is amazingly close to real fire - so close, yet so far away - and therein lies the deception. Couple that with the fact that "there's no fool like a charismatic fool", and that is a dangerous recipe for being deceived.

For far too long folks have run from this service to that service in order to hear this speaker or that speaker - chasing after the latest, greatest 'word', or 'revelation' that they hope to receive. Many have drank undiscerning from poisoned streams and later wonder what happened? What happened was they failed to stop and test the spirits to see if it was from God or not. This pastor's prescription for this problem? Massive doses of God's Word will dramatically elevate one's discernment.

Know this: The Holy Spirit will ALWAYS draw people to Jesus - He will illuminate Jesus. He doesn't need gold dust, angel feathers or any other cheap parlor tricks to do so either. While having perfect doctrine is not a prerequisite of being used by God or having God show up, true revival will always be centered on the Person of Jesus Christ.