When God moves in our world it is often confronted by the wisdom of man. Many times man has stepped in front of what God was doing and stated “This is not of God.” Only to be proven wrong when we look back through history at what God had accomplished.
“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[a] when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” Corinthians 1:26-27 NLT
Many times throughout history God has moved in great power. And those who were supposed to know God’s hand and ways criticized and declared it wasn’t God. Something we see all through the life and ministry of Jesus. He came into this world to reveal the Father to us and to ultimately pay our penalty so that a relationship with God and us could be restored.
Every time God moves there are critics to the way He decides to move. Someone once said “God offends the mind to reveal the heart.” And often our heart gets in the way of what God is wanting to do. The way He moves or the methods He uses cause us to turn our noses and say “Yuck.” I have had the privilege of studying many of the past moves of God, and the changes that have been made in the church throughout history, and I have been amazed that the trend is always the same. As the presence of God increases, the opportunity to simply say “Yuck” when we see what is happening and dismiss it also increases.
Whether is our pride that gets in the way, or the way we “believe” that God should move, or the methods or people He chooses to work through. The move of God always reveals what is in our hearts. Do we desire the presence of God more than we desire our comfort and security? Do we desire the anointing of God more than our reputation and image?
There is an awful lot of crap in our world today being disguised as “Christian” , or “God moving” and we do need to be careful what we choose to believe. This is what we are encouraged to do in scripture. “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.” Even though we need to be careful about what we see is God moving, we also need to be careful what we write off as not God.
Jonathon Edwards said “the task of every generation is to discover in which direction the Sovereign Redeemer is moving, then move in that direction.” God is doing a great work in our day and time. I am excited to see what He is going to accomplish and the lives He is going to change. The question is will we decide to be apart, by being open to His lead, or will we hold tight to what He has done in the past and dismiss what He is doing today? We can turn our noses up and say “Yuck” if we choose as many many many people have done before us. Or we can allow our hearts and lives to change and enter in to what He is doing here today.
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