Snippets from Thoughts on the extended meetings / student awakening at IHOP
I wanted to take a post to give some personal perspective on what is going on in my heart and mind in light of the extended meetings being held at IHOP. Some are calling it a renewal, an outpouring, a revival, or simply a move of the Holy Spirit. Whatever it is, it is a heightened activity of the Holy Spirit in our midst. For that, I am so grateful!
The Lord continues to highlight the students as the main focus of the meetings, awakening them in a two-fold manner: first, to a deeper heart connection to the Lord and second, to the mandate to bring the love of Jesus and the power of God outside of the IHOP prayer room and university classroom.
What’s been so encouraging for me is to see is that the focus of the extended meetings has not changed from that of IHOP’s regular prayer meetings. It continues to ultimately be on Christ, His glory, and His indescribable worth. The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring glory to Jesus, and His function has not changed…
Some of those who have been getting touched the deepest have not felt anything physically or experienced anything externally. We must not limit the activity of the Holy Spirit, but we must not assume that God is not touching somebody deeply if they do not do funny things with their body.
The great purpose God is working in us through these meetings is Christlikeness and humility. He is preparing us for revival and the second coming of His Son. I believe that the revival that we are praying for will be far more reaching and will surpass what we see in the book of Acts. These meetings aren’t that “revival”. What we are praying for is so much more broad and sweeping than just a couple of good nights where Jesus sets people free and heals them. I am unbelievably grateful for what Jesus is doing in our midst (and I want it to continue), and it is only giving me zeal and energy to contend for true revival in the church worldwide. The church desperately needs the Comforter, the Teacher, the Holy Spirit to come and help us!
The leadership has officially extended the nightly meetings until next Saturday, November 21st. Be sure to tune in via webcast at http://ihop.org/watch
And be sure to check out my twitter feed – I post the good quotes from the meetings that strike my heart there.
More info here… and this
And this is very much worth reading: Letter from Mike Bickle and Lou Engle – onething09 and the move of the Holy Spirit
My thoughts
This outpouring is likely to spread to wherever there is a hunger for the Holy Spirit to increase Jesus Christ and the focus must be on Jesus Christ. Until He hands over the Kingdom to the Father, until then the focus must be on Him and Him alone.
If you read this Smith Wigglesworth prophesied this coming revival then you know that Smith Wigglesworth prophesied two moves of the Holy Spirit before the actual revival comes. For this reason I am delighted to hear the IHOPU leaders say that this is not the revival and in fact they are still praying for that revival. Tremendous!
Let me quote Smith’s words here…
TWO DISTINCT MOVES
During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterized by a restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches. In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say ‘This is the great revival’. But the Lord says ‘No, neither is this the great revival but both are steps towards it. – Source
And then the revival… bringing a new combination of the words of God (the bible) and the power of the Holy Spirit…
WORD AND SPIRIT
When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit.When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. – Source
“… Shutting his eyes again, he said, ‘I see the greatest revival in the history of mankind coming to Planet earth, maybe as never before. And I see every form of disease healed. I see whole hospitals emptied with no one there. Even the doctors are running down the streets shouting.’
“He told me that there would be untold numbers of uncountable multitudes that would be saved. No man will say ’so many, so many,’ because nobody will be able to count those who come to Jesus. No disease will be able to stand before God’s people… ‘It will be a worldwide situation, not local,’ he said, ‘a worldwide thrust of God’s power and God’s anointing upon mankind.’
“Then he opened his eyes and looked at me and said, ‘I will not see it, but you shall see it. The Lord says that I must go on to my reward, but that you will see the mighty works that He will do upon the earth in the last days.’ – Source
One year ago I had very powerful visions of the way the world will work and operate after and in the revival. It is a complete change to humanity. Quite simply death itself will no longer have a hold on this world. I prophesied that the change would have occured and the world would be adjusted to this new reality within 5 years.
It is now one year later. I believe the big revival will begin in 3 years. Until then we are going through preparations. The preparations will be so impressive and change the world, but they are not the revival, the revival itself will be even greater than what we see in the next three years.
We should be focussing our churches and our lives toward this outpouring, receiving the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to Jesus Christ. It’s not business as usual at all. Change what you are doing. Refocus.
Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! 🙂
Faith + Hope + Love 