Posturing Your Heart in the Midst of an Outpouring

We are in a new season – a season of divine disruption. As we near the three-month mark of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, many of us are no doubt struggling to find a new rhythm of life and wrestling with the question of how we ought to respond to this move of God. On the one hand, our hearts are experiencing greater levels of love, joy and freedom than ever before; on the other hand, our frail frames are struggling to adjust to many new demands. These two conflicting realities can create a dissonance or disillusionment within our own hearts.

How, then, should we carry our hearts in the midst of this divine disruption? See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:15-21) This passage holds several keys that will guide us as we seek to walk without offense before God in the coming months.

Do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. God has given us so many words to direct us as a people; over and over again He has spoken prophetically and revealed His will. He has said that one day there will be a youth prayer and worship movement that will spread throughout the earth and that will lead to a great revival, an end time harvest of souls, a provoking of Israel to jealousy, the salvation of Israel and the return of Jesus. What a grand prophecy not just for us, but for the church worldwide! In His kindness, God has given us clarity concerning our calling and the direction we’re headed in. It is important that we understand how this awakening relates to our prophetic history. If we forget in our hearts where we are headed, then we reduce this outpouring to a meeting.

In the early days of this move of the Spirit I was wrestling over whether we ought to have meetings at all, and asking God, “Is this all you have for us?” And the Lord spoke to me and said, “Allen, what you see now, before it’s over it will turn into a revival in this nation unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Many souls will be saved, Allen, because of what is beginning to happen.” The Lord spoke to Shelley Hundley as well. She was taken up in the spirit and the Lord showed her the Bride. He was massaging the Bride’s heart. And Shelley saw an ICU room where the Bride was lying, living on apparent life-support. Shelley thought to herself, “She doesn’t look so good.” And the Lord began to laugh and said, “You should have seen her before I got her. At least now she’s not taking toxins into her body. She is no longer receiving lies and I’m awakening her heart. Be patient, Shelley, while I massage her heart. Don’t try to move on from the wine too quickly.” Shelley then asked, “Well, where is this going Lord?” He replied, “It’s going towards an awakening.” And He took her to a room where the gifts of the Holy Spirit were stored and He said, “An anointing for every day and every time.” Yes, our lives are disrupted. We must remind our hearts of where this disruption leads, though. It leads to an awakening not just of the church, but of our nation. It leads to revival and the beginning of the end time harvest!

Give thanks always for all things. Even as we look ahead and remind ourselves of the will and the purposes of God, we must also remember His generosity and kindness to us today. The truth is that He didn’t have to release a greater measure of His Spirit among us, yet He has. The river is here and the Lord is moving in our midst with joy and releasing inner healing. He is declaring a new name over us: Hephzibah, He delights in us. The love of God is touching fractured areas of our hearts and the Lord is breaking off areas of self-hatred, shame and condemnation. And as people are being set free internally, suddenly their physical bodies are made well. Our hearts ought to be overwhelmed every day His presence shows up with great healing and deliverance – we cannot take it for granted. In Luke 10 Jesus said to the apostles, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for many prophets and many kings have longed to see what you see and did not see it and longed to hear what you hear and did not hear it.”

Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be continually filled with the Spirit. Our hearts will eventually grow dull if we do not continue to ask for more. When the awakening first broke out, Mike Bickle quoted 2 Kings 13: “Strike the ground.” He shared, “That verse came to me and the Lord began to whisper ‘Strike the ground,’ again and again.” When the Lord visits us, it is time to strike the ground and ask Him for more both corporately and individually. Corporately, it is a season to ask that God continues to increase His presence until He accomplishes all that is in His heart and all that we’ve cried out for. Like blind Bartimaeus we cry, “Jesus! Have mercy and do not pass us by. Thank You for moving; move again and release more.” As we ask for more, this outpouring will translate into an awakening in the church and revival in our nation.

Individually, it is a season to ask for breakthrough in the area of long-term strongholds. There are specific things that I’m asking to receive freedom from because the manifest presence of the Lord is here. I have a list that I pray through every day as I ask, “God, deliver me from this. God, deliver me.” When Jesus draws near it is time to ask Him for freedom from bondage. When Jesus draws near it is also time to walk in greater maturity. In the midst of this season of great joy and grace there is an invitation to growth. It’s a time to measure ourselves rightly. It’s a time to ask those we are closest to, “What areas do I need to grow in?” We cannot live in a culture of avoidance when His glory is moving – but He will help us come into the light as we ask Him for more.

Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Jesus said that we will prove we are His disciples by the way we love each other. This is a season to let your heart grow in love and submission not only toward God, but toward others too. When God begins to touch our hearts and we experience the joy and the pleasure of God, the first and second commandments become a reality within our community. Jesus says, in John 13:34-35, “I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you.” This is only possible when a supernatural deluge of the love of God begins to free us so that we can then be free with one another. And we will prove we are His disciples by the love that is freeing us and is being expressed in our midst. This is where the move of the Spirit is taking us: supernatural love not just for God, but for one another. In Acts it says that the early church, the revival church, gave themselves steadfastly to the apostles’ doctrine, to breaking bread together, to fellowshipping and to prayer. The community came together because of the effect of the Spirit upon their hearts. And then it says that they had all things in common. This is the supernatural love of Jesus, the freeing power of His affections and His gladness: we not only adore and celebrate Him but we adore and celebrate one another in His affection.

And here is the last point: in this season of divine disruption, we must find a rhythm without going back. God has taught us how to be a focused people, yet it is crucial for the stewardship of this outpouring that we find a rhythm without losing our consuming passion for Jesus. We cannot treat His visitation as if it’s a small thing, or it will indeed become a small thing. We must stir our passion and ask for the grace to walk in the midst of disruption, because before this is over we’re going to have more than a disrupted schedule: we’re actually going to have the opportunity to save the multitudes and to be persecuted. As believers each of us has surrendered our life – let us not give way to a spirit of control now. If we want to receive the glory that will be poured out tomorrow, we must give Him everything at a deeper level today.