Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Revival in Florida!!

I spent an hour talking to my dear friend Don Baker last night after I got home from work and he alerted me to the fact that God is doing something quite wonderful in Lakeland in Florida. So I've spent a few glorious hours this morning watching some of the videos there. There are healing miracles taking place and what particularly moved me was that two children got powerfully touched by God near the end of the first video that I am posting. I love it when children testify to the power of God - because in my nursing experience children of those ages rarely lie when asked open questions. Their truth is often quite humiliating to their parents! But not here. The second video was the testimony of two British pastors who have travelled to the revival and are giving their very-British opinions!

I want to touch on something before I post the videos for your blessing. I was always taught in my home church that it was wrong to travel to revivals or to places where God is moving to "bring back the blessing". It was the Toronto Blessing that really sealed our fate as a practicing cessationist church (although we had been functionally cessationist for some years). The hype and the excesses were used as scare-mongering to prevent us from seeing what God was really doing in Toronto. However I heard Rob Rufus relay something that Bill Johnson told him about this issue and it really struck a chord with me:

"Because you see there is a transfer - what a man has taken 30 years to accumulate, it can be given to you in 5 seconds through the transfer. Christians say; "Oh we don't run after signs and wonders - they run after us". But Bill Johnson says; "If they are not running after you then you run after them until they run after you". He said; "I went everywhere in the world where there were men and women ministries I put myself under". It is just a matter of humility! He has been prayed for many ministries in the world".

I have spent 18 years adhering to that belief that I should wait and pray and that signs and wonders and miracles and revival will come to me. But they haven't! Yet. However my life HAS changed since I went to the "Glory and Grace Conference" in Hong Kong! So I am sure I can be forgiven for watching eagerly across the world (thanks to the internet) for signs that God by His Spirit is on the move!

Here are the videos. They are both only 10 minutes (the time it takes to boil the kettle and make a cup of tea!). And WELL worth it!





This video in particular moved me and excited me! Todd Bentley - the pastor - had a word of knowledge that God would heal a broken elbow. A SIX YEAR OLD GIRL testified that Jesus Christ came down from heaven and touched her elbow and then went back to heaven! Near the end of the video the mum shows the x-rays of the elbow before and after the miracle. I have seen enough of x-rays in my intensive care and accident and emergancy nursing to know that the elbow was most definately broken before and was most definately different after! I looked at the x-rays very carefully about 10 times on the video and noted that there are certain distinguishing features that satisfy me 100% it is the same girl.

God does miracles today!



I agreed with Don Baker last night that were it not for limitations of finances I would love to follow Bill Johnson's example and travel the world seeking to have ministries lay their hands on me. But until I am in that position, I will continue to pray, continue to hunger, continue to long and get excited by people who HAVE travelled - which is why I wait with many others expectedly for Julie and Aaron's testimony of what God did for them in Hong Kong!

7 comments:

jul said...

It's coming, it's coming! The jet lag has finally caught up to me, but I hope I'm recovering now. Just heard about this revival and can't wait to get a chance to sit down with Aaron and watch the videos. We are unashamedly joining in with you guys to chase after the signs and wonders that we know should be chasing after us!
We should try to do some kind of conference call soon.

Dan Bowen said...

Not wanting to put you under ANY ANY ANY legalistic pressure at all though mind!! Rob says that the "Have-to's" must be banished and THEN the "Want-to's" will rise up!!! :D

But yes yes YES a conference call between us all sounds absolutely amazing!! Bring it on!!

AmandaW said...

Dan & everyone- I am leaving in the morning to head for Lakeland. It's about 6 hours drive from me so I MUST go -so I can see what this is that's headed toward UK and Canada!! They are saying this is a global wave and it's meant to be carried all over the world so I want to be a carrier! I'll let you all know whatI find there. Somehow I know it will be Jesus, one way or another!
Blessings all

Dan Bowen said...

That's SO awesome Amanda!! I am so excited for you!! I pray with all my heart that you will receive a heavenly down-load of glory that will change your life and ruin you forever!!

And then when you do, I must make sure I find a way to meet you somehow so that you can lay your hands on me and impart the blessing!!

Can't wait to hear more from you on whatever happens!! If you want to send me an email of your testimony I would be THRILLED to publish it as a blog post:

CharismaticDan@yahoo.com

May God go with you mightily and meet you in awesome power of His Presence!!

Anonymous said...

Though I greatly applaud your desire to see revival, and - in fact - I am a very regular reader of your blog, I have a great many concerns with what I see there. As a fellow 'reformed-charismatic' I would love for you to stop by, read, and even comment on my thoughts. I'd love to get your take.

http://heatlight.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/be-the-revival-dont-go-to-one-on-revivals-in-florida-elsewhere/

http://heatlight.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/the-miracle-worker-be-the-miracle/

Dan Bowen said...

Hi Heatlight,

Thanks for comment and thanks also muchly for coming and reading my thoughts and musings. I appreciate you have many concerns with what's going on in Florida and I appreciate and applaud your desire to be "Berean-like". I have scanned your articles - have printed them out and will read them later tonight with a cup of tea! And then will certainly come and comment.

I probably agree more with your comments than I do with Dan Phillips and the article he linked to. One of his points was that if the miracles aren't making non-Christians gasp and sit back in wonder, then it probably isn't revival. Well from a man who confesses that he hasn't read anything about Lakeland - that's pretty presumptious. I'm making all my non-Christian friends who visit watch the Lakeland revival (many of them are nurses and doctors) and ALL of them are gasping in wonder and trying to find some way to explain it. But many of them are admitting from their medical expertise that something has happened that is supernatural.

On the note of "be the revival - don't go to one on revivals" - I must admit the jury is still out for me on this one. I would very much like to visit the (let's call it outpouring for the sake of argument) "thing" in Florida! But I must confess I am wondering whether it's God's desire for me to spend a couple of thousand pounds flying to Florida to "get" this as we are instructed to do. Or is that a reflection on my hunger?

I think I do agree with you - if this really is of God then it's coming to the United Kingdom! But as I say - again I do appreciate your thought-provoking comments.

I don't want to "jump on this bandwagon just because it's fun"!! As you said! But at the same time, I don't want my religious baggage (and I have a lot) prevent me from missing something of God just because Todd Bentley looks a bit weird.

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