Christian Living

Signs of Awakening

by Honey Stone
05/29/18
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Revival
I remember when I first started praying about revival. I was in a church that majored in inner healing. We repented of our sins. We broke generational curses as well as bondages. We cleansed our homes of demonic paraphernalia. We even cast out demons but it was more analytical because you simply filled out a questionnaire.

Yet we did not move too much in the prophetic arena. So, a group of us single friends prayed and sought for something more.

Manifestations
But, each of us had different ideas of what revival would look like. One guy was seeking after manifestations. He showed us a video of Bill Hammond in a room full of people laughing.  He receive his desire. He ended up with a manifestation which he called the ‘herky jerk.’ Some international itinerate preacher imparted it to him.  I found it to be disturbing and half of the group thought it was a weird manifestation. The other half attributed it to the Holy Spirit.

Discernment 101
I am not saying all manifestations are off because the Quakers and Shakers likely had something real thing going on. But there’s this thing called discernment that every one who wants to be mature in Christ must develop. It’s important so that we don’t get caught up in some fleshy or even demonic manifestation.

Personally, I have a manifestation that I do attribute to God. Every once in a while I laugh really hard and long. The reason I think it is ‘the joy of the Lord’ is because I can laugh deep without breathing for a long time. I come out not needing to gasp for air. At first, I instinctively reacted by gasping but then I realized there was no need for that because it’s supernatural.

Phenomena
Some friends were into phenomena like the gold dust, dropping diamonds, falling feathers, and the glory cloud. A friend took me to a conference about prayer and fasting by a famous preacher. He showed a video of what he labeled as ‘the glory cloud.’ The footage was vague. My friend apologized to me but I was pretty neutral about that saying, “You probably had to be there.” That was not what I was seeking after but if God wants to bring a sign or a wonder then bring it on.

Once at my church of origin, I witness a guy walking on the ledge of a pew back board with his eyes closed. The board was not level like a balance beam. Instead it was thin and round. So that was kind of the equivalent to walking on water for me. It happened in the middle of worship by a guy who was low-key and quiet. This was not Mr. Show Time.

Healing
No one in my revival seeking group was going after physical healing but that is a typical desire of some who want revival. Many Lutheran churches may pray but healing does not transpire. That’s true of some charismatic churches as well.  

Gifts of the Spirit
I eventually found a church that was strong in physical healing as well as prophetic intercession. The people in this church were initially involved in a congregation that had a revivalist come for a visit. When that season was up, the revivalist left and the leaders went back to how they were before. You can look at it and get all sad, but there was a small group that departed to start a new church to keep that torch going. That’s why I was able to get hands-on training personal training in operating in the prophetic realm and this included faith healing.

Loving Community
The hidden gift of a revived community is that it is loving. Everyone in that congregation got along. It felt like family.

I was a part of that church by the time Todd Bentley came to the scene. I could not find a reason to travel there because I was in a healthy and loving church that flowed in the gifts of prophecy and healing. But then…

Intimacy with God
I was planning to stay with that congregation when my plans were disrupted. I stumbled upon a church that had prophetic group worship. OMG! This was not your cliché ‘one guy singing in tongues’ or ‘one star prophetically singing over the congregation’. It was like an orchestra of everyone playing their part.

Some danced with flags and others just danced. There were prophetic acts and people sketching revelations they got during the service. Sometimes there were prophetic words given for the group.

This congregation’s worship style had the flavor of Jason Upton. There was a tangible intimacy. There also were moments of dynamic and celebratory expression. Most services had a time of a Holy hush. This was not because the leader told us to be quiet. Everyone had learned how to sense the moves of the Spirit.

The leaders in this group were intimate with the Lord, but the group was not that focused on integrity like the other churches I knew. Each week the atmosphere started off chaotic, but in ten to twenty minutes it became an open Heaven. This was not a habitation group but a visitation-oriented culture.

What about you? What do you expect when you pray for revival or awakening?


Personal Awakening
As for me, I want personal intimacy with my Father and to move in response to His Spirit. I want it all: manifestations, phenomena, healing, integrity, habitational intimacy, and maturity. But as a Christian with a strong discerning of spirits anointing, I want it to be God and not the flesh or of the devil. Even my sketch book is having a revival and I’m not kidding.

Family Awakening
To my surprise my family is opening up to a more personal relationship with Christ. There is a crisis that is turning into an opportunity.

Workplace Awakening
I even got to participate as an evangelist befriended and approached my co-workers. He shared about his former life as a pimp and drug dealer and how he’s changed. He painted a picture of what their life would look like for them. I have watched this love evangelist witness throughout the college.

I prayed for healing for a co-workers and doors are opening for more co-workers.

Muslim Awakening
I worked in a college during the academic year and the Christian group put on an event called “Love a Muslim Day” in response to the “Punish a Muslim Day.” This affected a whole college because one third of its population is Muslim.

City Awakening
Let’s not forget the large Pulse event that happened this month. Likely that was put on by a group of churches that were not so comfortable with street ministry but they wanted in on something new.

Love Twin Cities and Love Detroit has its yearly outreach as well as other city outreaches throughout the year. You can’t do street evangelism effectively without flowing in the Spirit.

Did anyone forget about the outreach during the Super Bowl. I shared with a few people while working there but there was a huge outreach as well.

Let’s not forget East St. Paul and Frogtown. There is a weekly outreach to East St. Paul and a yearly East Gate Festival happening with preaching, singing, and the arts. This reaches a whole community.

The people at God Town are reaching Frogtown in St. Paul through many urban missionaries. These young adults are living in that community and building healthy and loving relationships with the leaders, police, and community.

Minnesota Awakening
In the Twin Cities there are tons of fires starting to burn for revival. You can find one fire starting in a hotel, and some fires in a few churches. Even a number of Houses of Prayer have a stirrings including Cloquet. Then there are the Two Revival Guys who travel to churches throughout Minnesota spreading the prophetic word about revival coming to Minnesota.

Regional Awakening
I am aware of a revival-esque beginnings in Wisconsin. One Facebook friend posts about the revival fires that come and go in New York and Eastern Canada.

National Awakening
Our President is starting a revival in the arena of government. The corrupt leaders in all areas of the Western world leadership are being exposed including Hollywood and sports. The news reports some celebrity coming to Christ frequently.

World Awakening
When I comb through my Facebook friend’s posts, I see the signs of a World awakening. I know a Christian leader in Europe whose church planting was slow at first, but now it is expanding and growing through England, France, and Germany. I have seen posts about revival activities in Spain, Ukraine, and Russia, and dynamic worship and prayer services in Africa and Asia.

There was a big Christian demonstration on Reformation day in the streets of Ukraine. There’s the dancing French priest and that’s one of the most unusual phenomena. Even the Catholics are getting in on it. Russia had a big gathering as doors were open to the gospel there.

North Korea is on the verge of change at a governmental level. An Elder of a former church is working with governmental leaders in Africa to change their legal system. He is bringing in Christian principles and legislation.

Heaven Culture
Awakening is happening because it is time for our culture to change. We have not reached the tipping point but you can see the bowls are about to spill over. It is time for Earth to align with Heaven.