Fire in Description: Description: \\Main\main\My
Documents\Ministry\CrossFire.pngthe Hole



"The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way; but the folly of fools
is deceit"
Proverbs 14:8



I heard from a dear sister in the Lord that someone had come to visit her
missionary work and had prophesied over her that the Lord is ready to move
in her ministry in a mighty way. (sigh) Where have I heard this before?

Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems these kinds of prophesies are
rampant in the Church today, and have been for the last 30 years or so. I
have heard this same thing over and over, but I'm still waiting to see where
and when these great and mighty moves are. I hear it's Dallas; no, Omaha;
no, it's in Phoenix, no, it's this church; no, that one, etc. "Oh, God is
going to bring you into your harvet!" (pronounced with the obligatory
affected voice and tremolo.)

Perhaps my attention has drifted off and I have not been patient enough to
wait, but surely, after all these years, something should have burst forth
by now for somebody. But I'm still waiting.

I hate to say anything negative because we're all supposed to think
positive. (Aren't we? Or is that just an infusion from Dale Carnegie?)
Nevertheless, the last thing I would want to do is sow doubt into a
profession that calls for faith, but it just seems that there is just
something missing. Might it be that we're still waiting for these
"blessings" to come to pass?

I've noticed that these prophetic blessings come without any conditions or
price. It's all just going to fall out of the sky right into our laps.
Nothing about repentance or broken-hearted contending in prayer, or even
seeking the face of God in any depth. Praise the Lord, just sit back and
receive it. Boy, sure sounds good. I'd like to get me some of that, too.

There's another thing that I've noticed about these prophesies -- they are
always delivered by self-proclaimed prophets who never cross the line to
prophesy about judgment. Like roadside Gypsies, it's always about the
blessings and promises of prosperity. It's like they are sailing around on
the Good Ship Lollipop, and everything is beautiful. No harsh judgments
ever come out of their mouths, only benedictions of blessing, peace and love
.. and of course, prosperity. They do not speak of the fear of God, but have
changed that to "respect" and "reverence". A quick read of the Bible should
tell you that there is a difference between respect and reverence and the
serious fear of God, but they don't see a difference. Their view of the
core personality of God is no longer holiness and righteousness, but peace
and love. If you've been around long enough, I'm sure you've noticed the
same thing.

But where are the prophets that are like the ones we read about in the Word
of God? Maybe they're in the same place that they've always been - pushed
aside out of the way. Human nature has an innate tendency to choose the
comfortable over the harsh. Paul said that we heap up teachers to ourselves
having itching ears. Isaiah puts it well in 30:10, "Speak unto us smooth
things; prophesy deceits". And the prophet proclaims that "my people love to
have it so"

That is why the folly of fools is deceit. We are more willing to deceive
ourselves to hear what we want to hear rather than the harsh realities of
sacrifice, subjection and righteousness. And like Pied Pipers, these
"prophets of vanity" multiply around us like rabbits promising us all the
things that our hearts yearn for. It's what we want to hear, so we convince
ourselves that it must be true.

But ask these prophets how they heard this word from God, and you will get
an answer that is as fuzzy as their predictions. Ethereal puffs of
spiritual feelings are not declarations from God. They're just puffs of
wind, breezes of imagination that ride on waves of vanity.

Ask a real prophet of God and he will tell you straight out that God spoke
to him - like spoke, as in words, not thoughts. Ah, but we don't believe
that kind of supernatural stuff anymore, do we. We have become oh, so
spiritual now so that we can depend on our "feelings" to lead us. And of
course, our feelings always seem to lead in the same direction.

There is a simple litmus test for prophets written in the Bible in black and
white. Pass the test and you're for real. Flunk the test and you are a
false prophet. Of all the "prophets of peace" that swarm around us
(everyone wants to be "prophetic" these days), I am still waiting to see any
of them pass this test:

"The prophet which prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall
come to pass, then shall the prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent
him." Jeremiah 28:9

Or as they say in Jersey, "Put up, or shut up."



"For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and
have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way
as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd."
Zechariah 10:2



Brother Dale, RevivalFire Ministries
www.RevivalFire.org

        

Fire in crossfire the Hole


“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.“
Romans 4:16-18

What an incredible statement of faith! To believe not only the unseen, but the incomprehensible simply because God said so! Abraham believed God! But how is it that we so readily try to take this great pronouncement of faith in God’s creative power and ascribe it to ourselves?

Abraham had just settled in Haran with his brother and family when God told him to pack up and leave. Just when everything was going so well! Just go, God told him, and He would tell him where he was going when he got there.

So Abraham left.

Then God declares unto Abraham great promises that he would inherit the land, that all nations would be blessed because of him, and that his seed would be like the dust of the world. Pretty astounding stuff for a camel herder to hear.

Abraham wasn’t sure where all this was going, but he knew it was true. After all, this didn’t come from Abraham’s imagination, but directly from the mouth of God. Abraham was even visited by the priest of the Most High God, Melchizedek, and was blessed again. Okay, now he knows that this is not coincidence, but this is real. But what exactly is going on?

And then one more time, God appears to him and promises His all encompassing protection and reward. Pretty heavy stuff for anyone, even someone as righteous as Abraham. But what is Abraham supposed to do with all this? What is the purpose of all these great and precious promises? He has no children, so who is he supposed to pass this on to after he is dead? What is the point?

God then promises Abraham the stars in the sky. And Abraham believes Him. He believed God because He was God, and God could bring nothing into existence and make things that are not to become real â€" or as the King James translators put it, “calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Abraham did not have to know how God did it or why. He didn’t even have to believe that God could do it â€" He simply believed that He would. And God counted to him for righteousness.

But what do I hear in the churches today? “Oh praise the Lord, brother. Just speak the word and call those things which be not into existence!” “Just name it and claim it!” “Call it into being!” Yeah right, just snap your fingers and speak it into the wind and all kinds of stuff will pop into existence!

Excuse me, but where did we get this kind of outrageous audacity from? Who gave you the power of creation? Do you really think that because you got saved that you automatically inherited the divine powers of creation? You can just snap your fingers and speak something into existence? That is not faith â€" that is presumption. And an audacious presumption at that.

The Bible says that the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. In other words, we have power in God through our faith and our broken submission to Him, but our faith is in God’s power, not our own. But magic words do not possess power of their own. To attribute magical power to words that we speak is not faith. It’s the kind of stuff you learn at Hogwarts with Harry Potter. It is sorcery, and it is sin.

The funny thing is that I hear Christians misquote Romans 4:17 all the time, attributing God’s divine power to themselves, but it always seems to come from Christians who have not found that broken, crucified walk in God. These are the same Christians who are enamored with prosperity, blessings and wealth and believe there will be a great transference of wealth to themselves. Their main focus seems to be, not on what they can do for God, but what God can do for them. They won’t pay the price that is required, but they sure want to reap the rewards. They don’t want to break their spirits or crucify their flesh, but are expecting the deeper spiritual walk that comes from sacrifice. They won’t prostrate themselves and cry out upon the altar of repentance with fastings, prayers, and tears, but they want to walk around with a power they neither earned nor deserve.

Everybody wants to be an Elijah, but nobody wants to pay the price.

Abraham believed God, and was willing to leave everything behind to follow God into a strange land, where he was a stranger. He believed God because if God said it, He could do it. God could bring forth that which did not exist into existence. God had the power, not Abraham. Abraham’s power was in that he believed God, not that he became God.

To ascribe to ourselves the divine power of creation that belongs only to God is not the righteousness of faith, but the wickedness and pride of Satan who desired to become like the Most High.

Brother Dale
RevivalFire.org

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Fire in CrossFirethe Hole



"In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing
incorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned;
that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to
say of you." Titus 2:7,8

I used to think that sound speech meant not saying any curse words . and be
careful how you use hell and damn. I suppose that is still true, but
looking deeper into the Greek, I see that there is much more to this little,
obscure phrase of "sound speech" than just tiptoeing around raw
colloquialisms. There is something here that smacks of a stiff reproof to
our idea of sophisticated preaching today.

The word "speech" comes from the Greek "logos". We all know what that means
- the Word. Jesus was the "Logos". Literally, it is intelligent speech,
but it is also given the added emphasis as the intelligent speech that comes
from the mouth of God. As God's ambassadors on Earth, our speech should
reflect that same divine Logos.

Paul's intent in the book of Titus was not to create good citizens with nice
manners, but to defend the Faith by instructing us how to maintain our
testimony before the unsaved. It is not a matter of saying nice things so
no one will get mad at you, but to have the type of speech, or logos, that
will actually make them ashamed of themselves for bringing any kind of
accusations against you and the church. This is war, not etiquette!

It is here that the word for "sound" plays such an important role. The
Greek word is "hugies" (or "hugros", depending on how you spell it), which
means "moist". It is translated as "sound" or "healthy", such as a healthy
body would be moist.

But there is another to look at this. The Word of God is repeatedly
pictured as water. We see it in Ephesians 5:26 as the washing of the water
of the Word. It is used again in the story of Cana of Galilee as a lesson
to fill ourselves as waterpots of earthen stone all the way to the brim with
the water of the Word so that it may turn into the wine of the Spirit. It
is used in the image of the laver of brass before the Tabernacle in the
Wilderness that the ministers of God had to wash in before going in to
minister. The idea being to cleanse ourselves with that water while looking
into that laver that had been made with the brass mirrors of the women of
the congregation so that we could see ourselves in its reflection and then
cleanse ourselves with that water.

If this same picture of water can be incorporated here, we see a deeper,
much stronger admonishment than just learning how to speak politely.

If our speech is to be moist with the Word of God -- saturated let's say -
then the rest of that verse begins to make a lot more sense. We will always
be attacked and accused by the enemy, no matter what we say or do, but when
we stand up in the power of the Holy Spirit and our speech is saturated with
the Word of God, we deliver a powerful testimony to the unbelievers, not in
the wisdom of words (as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:4) but in
demonstration of the Spirit and power. What an incredible difference that
is!

Sophisticated speech, good manners, and theologically intelligent sermons
will not win the souls nor convince the gainsayers. Only the power of God
through the Blood of Jesus Christ can do that. Even speech that is laced
with Bible scriptures cannot do that unless it is delivered in the Spirit
and not in the letter. In other words, the water cannot be artificial - it
has to come from the Throne of God. Theological scholasticism and carnal
religion and not duplicate the power that only comes through the water that
flows from the true Logos. Anything less that that is just another attempt
to build our own Tower of Babel, which will ultimately fall.

Theological sermons that sound more like a college lecture than Holy Ghost
preaching foster debate, not faith. Only when we allow our logos to be
moist with God's Logos, we will bring forth a testimony of power that will
shame those who are contrary to us and shut their mouths.

Saturate yourselves in the Word. Fill your waterpot all the way to the
brim. Look deeply into its reflection to cleanse the well of your heart.
Let the sap from the True Vine flow through you so that it and not your
carnal effort, will bring forth fruit. Throw away your prepared messages of
carnal preaching and stand in the power of God to deliver your sermons. Let
the water of Life flow freely through you, not the dead, dried out dust of
religious boredom. Preach in faith, not in theology.

Shut up and let God speak.

        

“ The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, Give. “ 
Proverbs 30:15

There are two Gospels out there – one is of Faith; the other of Presumption.

The Church has long embraced a Gospel of entitlement. Our Sunday sermons are rife with messages of prosperity and blessing, while messages of sacrifice, brokenness, obedience, and the fear of God are relegated to obscure bylines. We have been taught to give, not because we want souls to be saved, but because we want to be blessed. We pray for all our ailments and needs, expecting that God is required to bless us for asking, but how often do we prostrate ourselves for hours before the Throne of God in a desperate thirst for souls? We pay lip-service to the command to witness, hoping that someone else will do it, while we tell each other how wonderful it is to be saved, but we are not cut to the heart, as it says in Amos, “for the afflictions of Joseph”.

But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about us.  It will never be about us -- it is about others. This is the essence of the Cross, the lifeblood of Charity, and the true call to revival. But the best of intentions, hopes and desires that are not coupled with subjected obedience is not charity but presumption and a form of rebellion. It is the result of uncrucified flesh. We are supposed to serve God; not the other way around.

Throughout the ages, God has called men and women to give up all that they possess to go forth into the ministry, encouraging them that although they will face incredible difficulties, He will provide for them and open paths before them to fulfill that which He has called them to do.  Some go on to establish great ministries while others labor in obscurity and hardships. His plan is not always clear, and His ways are more often than not past understanding.  And yet they go, expecting nothing in return, to lift up the Blood Stained Banner and declare unto a world of sin the hope of Salvation for all mankind.

But others go forth armed only with their own personal desire to enter into a ministry of their own choosing.  Not waiting for the call of God, they declare themselves pastors and ministers of the Gospel and head out in their presumption.  They attempt to mimic the call they see on others by quitting their job and relying upon others to support them.  It is a small wonder that so many wind up with an anemic ministry that cannot pay their bills and cannot influence the society around them.  Instead of becoming a strong testimony of Faith, they become an example of failed presumption.

The difference between faith and presumption has to do with our focus.  One has to do with obedience to God’s Will while the other is in obedience to our own. One is focused upon others while the other is focused upon ourselves.

But many do not see it that way.  They clothe their presumption by claiming to “step out by faith” and expect someone else to support them while they refuse to get a job – ostensibly because they were “called into the ministry”. But when God fails to respond and their great hopes and aspirations begin to fall flat, who is to blame?  When their testimony crumbles before the unsaved and they can neither win souls nor pay their bills, do they consider that something might be wrong?  No, they blame the congregation (it is always somebody else’s fault). 

But that’s not what Paul believed.  As Paul was leaving the Ephesians in Acts chapter 20, he admonished them that his own hands had ministered to his necessities showing them that by so laboring we ought to support the weak.  We are supposed to feed the sheep, not fleece them.

No wonder so many of the sheep are wandering about as the prophet Joel predicted, “groaning for pasture”.  The watering holes have been muddied and the fields trampled down by self-appointed preachers in their rush to fulfill their own personal aspirations.  God does not say, “Woe to the flocks that scatter the pastors”, but “Woe to the pastors that scatter the flocks.” 

The call of God is not about us, our ministry, our wants and desires – it is about obedience to God and a focus on lost souls. When we forget that in a vain attempt to build our own ministries without a broken, sacrificial surrender to the Will of God, we build our own Tower of Babel in a vain attempt to “reach unto heaven.” Without a firm foundation, the tower that we construct will not stand.  Its blocks are made of spiritual pride and cemented with the sand of presumption.  It will only go so high before it falls and crushes all that trust in it.

It has been said that the hardest thing for a Christian to learn is to wait upon the Lord. While we watch others rush into their predetermined course of ministry, we may fear that we have been left behind and have missed our chance to serve God, but the true heart that is crucified to obedience to the will of God must fall back into that trust that cries out as the Psalmist did, “We delight to Thy will, O God” and yield our lives to His plan.

Do we trust our own plan and bolster our presumption with a manufactured faith?  Or do we trust God and yield our broken will to His plan?

This is the trust that martyrs throughout the centuries relied upon, the faith that fueled the Hall of Heroes in Hebrews 11, and the sacrificial obedience that we are called to.

That is the trust that Jesus had when He rested upon the Cross and declared, “It is finished.”

Brother Dale,  www.Revivalfire.org

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I wonder how old these cobblestones are that I am walking on?  I’m wandering down the narrow alleys of Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde, and there is an ancient feeling that hangs in the air.  The cobblestones under my feet are black and slick from ages of wear. There’s no telling how old they are. Old is measured here in centuries, not years. 

I can just picture Portuguese soldiers in shiny breastplates and those funny curved helmets running down these very same alleys with their pikes and habergeons to the breastworks to defend the city from another attack by French or English.  Rusty old Portuguese cannons from the 17^th or 18^th century lay around as if they are discarded reminders of wars from times past.

The Plateau, as they call it, sits high above the harbor overlooking a deep blue ocean while a tropical breeze flows in cooling these old brick and plaster walls from the equatorial sun directly overhead.  In a typical sidewalk café under an expansive orange umbrella, you can sip a cup of strong espresso and enjoy the peaceful feeling of a lazy afternoon.  Old men gather to play chess around a table and argue in rapid-fire Portuguese with old friends, while young men and girls can be heard laughing at the next one. Time doesn’t really pass here – it floats away.  It is almost as if there is no time, and life drifts softly into the sunset.  Sorry, I don’t mean to sound maudlin, but there really is no other way to describe it.

It is in this hypnotic landscape that Christianity has had such a hard time gaining a foothold. It is as if these islands are in a dream world where there is no tomorrow, no yesterday, only the languid presence of now. No one cares about anything because they would have to work too hard to take it seriously. The prospect of pleasures today far outweighs the consternations of Hell tomorrow.

But there is a group of pastors who know better. They know they need something from God that is strong enough to shatter this dreamy illusion. Even their congregations are affected with a laissez-faire attitude toward church, sinners, and Eternity.  Instead of their focus being directed to the Cross, it is directed toward them; instead of looking for ways they can serve God, they are looking for ways that God can serve them.  It is the intoxication around them that has affected their outlook.

But there are pockets here of real Christians who really want revival, and it is for them that I have come. I believe that they will be the lightning rod that God will use to break the demonic spirit that has such a hold on these islands. 

Last night, we ministered at such a church.  Very few people showed up for the first service and I wasn’t sure if it was just another example of “African time”, or just nobody really cared.  The Lord gave me a simple and a short message, so I delivered it and sat down.  Oh well. That was all He gave me.

I figured that it was pretty much over and that the evening service might be a dud when a girl in the congregation said she had a question.  A question? Wow. A spark of life!  She wanted to know what real-life experiences I had with revival.  Ah-hem. Excuse me, but how much time do we have?

For the next 45 minutes or so, the crowd came in and sat mesmerized as I described what true supernatural revival is really like. They sat with open hearts drinking it all while I painted a picture for them in vivid colors of what revival was really like. By the time I was finished, the place was packed!   The pastor encouraged them to put what I had said into action and handed them Gospel tracts to hand out in the streets around them for the next thirty minutes and then come back in time for the evening service.

Needless to say, that service was a great!  I don’t know how long I preached, but I know how hard. The Spirit of the Lord had taken over and we were in His presence.  What a service!

And then, as I handed the microphone to the pastor to close with an altar call, a woman came forward with her two girls to get saved.  She had gotten a tract during that 30 minute session between services and had come to church to hear the Gospel.  What an incredible breakthrough!  I felt like jumping up and down yelling, “See? See? I told you it works!” 

But I didn’t have to. They were jumping up and down themselves.

www.Revivalfire.org

        

Never underestimate the power of praise!

We had a service this evening at a Brazilian church in the city and, wow, did we have a service!  By Brazilian, I mean that the pastor and his family have come over here as missionaries from Brazil to start a church in Cabo Verde to win souls.  This family is just bursting with the joy of the Lord.  It is infectious in their conversation, their praise, and their music.

Did you ever notice that some singers have a certain touch that brings life to a song and lifts your heart in praises to God?  Some have it and some don’t. This pastor and his family have it.  Even though all the words were in Portuguese, I could feel them lift my heart to soar in praise.  I don’t know what they were saying, but I could sure feel it!

I have always been taught that music – good music – is extremely important in services, and last night was a good example of that.  The music made the service like celebration. By the time I got to the pulpit, everyone had been so lifted up in the Spirit that their hearts were ready to hear whatever God had for them.

Even though I preach a hard message that repentance must come before revival, they were ready to receive it.  They understood that the call that is placed upon us is to bring forth fruit unto God -- which means winning souls -- and that we have not done that.  But the encouraging hope of this message is that the path to revival – true revival – lies through that same repentance for our church, our community, our country.  Just like Nehemiah, when we cry out to God for forgiveness, then we have the firm hope that He will hear and answer.  There is no revival without repentance.

The carnal mind cannot receive these things because they are spiritually discerned. That’s why a church that is not crucified will be more focused on Prosperity messages, “feel-good” sermons   without judgment, and a Pollyanna mindset of love, peace and blessings.  But that is not the Gospel that nailed Jesus on the Cross, and it is not the message that will bring a division from this sinful world to ignite a true revival.  Only hearts that are broken for God, that have spurned the things of this world and are burdened for the Truth can truly understand and embrace that kind of message.  It is what separates the sheep from the goats.

This church had a crucified heart.  I’m not sure if the music is what lifted them to that level, or their hearts are what lifted the music to that level.  Whichever it was, the Spirit of the Lord was free to move amongst us and deal with hearts.  It was a service they will never forget.

I can feel the tide beginning to turn in Cabo Verde.  If you hammer at a rock long enough, it will finally break. God says that His Word is that hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.  I believe I am finally beginning to see a crack in that rock.

Patience and dedication go hand in hand with determination and faith.  If we believe God and are faithful to keep His Word, we will see the glory of God revealed.

It’s just a matter of time.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” 
Isaiah 55:11

        

“And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

And ...

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I have never been a place where English was so scarce. I am inundated with Portuguese. You hear it everywhere running in a rapid staccato like a fast rushing stream tumbling over rocks.   But nobody speaks English.  

Well, hardly anyone.   Every once in a while someone will try to squeeze out a few lilting words with a heavy Mediterranean accent, but for the most part, I'm on my own.   Even my host here in Cape Verde is from Nigeria and speaks with that ...

<< MORE >>

Yesterday, we were at a camp that had been established to rehabilitate men
who had been lost in drugs and bring them to salvation. I understand that,
in the 14 years that this camp has been in operation, hundreds of men have
come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Many pastors have come
out of here and established churches all over Cabe Verde.

We gave an altar call at the end of the second service and everyone came
down. I’m not sure that they fully understood what we were asking for, but
about 50 men came down to the altar. Oh well, we prayed them all through
anyway, just to make sure.

In between the morning and afternoon services, we have been handing out
handfuls of tracts and sending everyone out in twos to go witnessing in the
area around whichever church we are at. It works like a charm! This is
something new for almost everyone we preach to â€" they have heard of this,
but never done it. The results are always stunning and immediate â€" souls
come in for the service and many get saved. Once they realize how simple
this is, it is as if a light bulb goes off in their head. They get it.
Revival is this simple. Go get the lost and bring them in to the House of
God so they can be saved.

We are breaking ground here that has never been tilled. The concept of
revival is no longer an ideal that has happened somewhere else, but has now
taken on a tangible reality that they can reach out and touch. It is no
longer a remote possibility, but is now a concrete reality. These is no
longer what they wish for or hope for but for what they have taken to the
Throne of God and have claimed in the name of Jesus Christ. God has awakened
the substance of faith inside their hearts, and revival is not far away.

There is still one element that is missing, however, and I am struggling
with it every day. It is not enough to want revival or even to have the
faith to receive it â€" there must be repentance. It is not only for our own
failures but the failure of the entire church to keep the fire burning on
the Altar. Revival can only take root in the soil that is found in broken
hearts.

Like Nehemiah and Daniel, we must fall to our knees and ask forgiveness for
falling into our lukewarm, comfortable ways of “church as usual” and our
refusal to carry the torch of the Gospel to the lost and dying souls out in
the highways and byways of this world. It was the last commandment our
Savior gave us before He left, but we have not kept it. He said “Go!” but
we have not gone. He said to make disciples of every creature, but we have
barely made it to church.

We are a barren woman who has refused to keep God’s most important
commandment â€" to bear fruit. We have not had a love for souls and as a
result have lost our first love for God. Everything else we have done is
like a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.

We are in sore need of repentance.

        

I have always been a “results-oriented” guy.  I understand results – it’s patience that I have a hard time with. And patience is what is needed here in Cabo Verde.

I feel like I’ve gotten off to a slow start here.  It’s not that everyone isn’t excited to have me here – they are more than excited – it’s just that I feel like I am not making any breakthroughs.  I have preached my heart out morning and evening every day, but I haven’t shattered any glass ceilings over anyone’s faith nor have I felt that snap when a congregation really breaks before God.  They’re on their feet shouting Hallelujah, clapping their hands in excitement, and rejoicing in God for the message … but they aren’t broken.  They are excited about the message of revival, but they have not quite yet understood the price that they will have to pay to get it.

While that may sound a bit morbid, for any true revival to take root, there has to be a strong repentance that snaps the hard shell of flesh and cracks open the hearts that have been polished to a hard shine with “church”.  I have not seen that yet.  They’re excited by the messages; they believe, they want it, they’re glad I have come … but we are not where we need to be.  Not yet.

They hang on every word as I tell them what revival is really like. When I describe what it is like to feel the electricity in the air, the nearness of the presence of God, and the other-worldly Shekinah Glory that fills the church, you can see the hope in their faces that God will please, please send it here to Cabo Verde. They know it is not just hanging a sign outside their church and coming every Sunday to hear the preacher.  They know there is much more.  And they want it. They just don’t know how to do what it takes to get it.

This is new stuff for these people.  Cabo Verde is so laid back and easy that the very air lulls you to sleep. Everything rolls along at an easy pace … including church.  But they know that they want revival and that what they have right now is definitely not revival.  As a matter of fact, they have never had a revival.

But they haven’t gotten to that place of repentance where that hard shell has been cracked wide open. Not yet. But it must be coming.  I can feel it; they can sense it. Something palpable is in the air.  God is moving on their hearts. We are breaking ground that has lain fallow for generations, and it is going to take some time to break it up so that the seed can be sown and take root.

I took them witnessing on the streets this morning. When they saw how easy it was, they took off in every direction handing out tracts to everyone on the streets. It was like a light bulb went off in their heads.  All of a sudden, they understood – go out and get the sinners, bring in the souls and you will have revival. Sit and wait for something to happen and nothing will ever happen. It’s just that simple.

This is faith in action.  Believe God, do what He tells us to do, and God will do what He has promised. It’s just that simple.

But sometimes it just takes time.