Momentum (Christ – centred, Spirit – empowered, Mission – focused)
Several years ago, I was invited to enjoy a peaceful sailing adventure on a small catamaran; however, shortly after our launch, we found ourselves in the midst of a strong wind.
We set our sails to catch the gust and were driven into an unforgettable thrill ride. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
At one point, we both ended up in the water with our boat completely upside down. When we righted our craft, the wind caught the sail again and we were off—except neither of us were on the boat!
We grabbed the tow rope and found ourselves hanging on for dear life. After several agonizing minutes, we were able to pull ourselves back onto the boat.
When God “breaks” into our lives with a fresh manifestation of His presence, we find ourselves transported from a gentle breeze to a rushing wind as our spiritual lives accelerate to new depths.
A few weeks ago, I was meeting with various Canadian evangelical leaders seeking to answer the question, “Where is the evangelical church in Canada headed in the next five to ten years?”
We recognized that our voice has been marginalized and we are viewed with suspicion at best and disdain at worst, but the room was also filled with hope. The longing for revival was palpable in our discussions.
G. Campbell Morgan reminds us that “We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sail to catch the wind from heaven when God chooses to blow upon his people.”
How do we set our sails? Let me suggest three postures:
- The posture of craving God’s manifest presence.
- The posture of repentance.
- The posture of prayer.
It is no small task to set our hearts and minds to pray for revival, to allow our hearts to be so broken by the darkness of our world that we will agonize in prayer, pleading to God,
“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down…” (Isaiah. 64:1).
During a seminar I was teaching in Ecuador, the presence of the Holy Spirit came upon our group in a powerful way. People began to weep, repent, cry out for God’s anointing, prophesy, and engage with uninhibited emotion in praise and worship. I could feel heaven touching earth.
Two women shared with me how they have been praying for years that God would “blow fresh” upon the churches of Latin America. With a smile they declared, “Today, we tasted of a fresh breeze, but there is more to come!”
I believe we are tasting a “fresh breeze” of the Holy Spirit within The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, but I agree that there is more to come. God will unleash his reviving wind upon us once again. Have you set your sails?
QUOTE FROM A.B.SIMPSON, FOUNDER
“One of the special marks of the Holy [Spirit] in the Apostolic Church was the spirit of boldness.”
Please find the original version in C&MA website