If you have not heard, there is quite the move of God happening in Lakeland, FL under the ministry of Todd Bentley. From what I have heard and seen, it is a remarkable outpouring of miracles and healing, like, people getting out of wheelchairs, being healed of autism, etc. No small potatoes.

Along with these remarkable healings, there is a fair share of gold teeth, gold dust, and talk of angels. Why is it that God cannot just demonstrate His power and revive His people in a more “normal” fashion? I say this half-sarcastically because it always seems that recent revivals have always had things that keep non-charismatics from embracing these “revivals.”

In light of this, this morning I ran across a blog post by a Dan Edelen on his concerns with the Lakeland revival. He seems like a good and well-meaning chap and would say that his concerns are valid, but would like to address them. Not for his sake, but more for my own thinking. Isn’t that what blogging is all about?

He wrote:

1. All true revival is marked by one overarching, indisputable reality: People are driven to repentance. And not “Me too, me too!” repentance, but the kind that soaks the carpeting in tears of holy remorse for sin…And those fruits remain. They don’t vanish six months after roadies pack up the revival tent; they last a lifetime.

While I agree with this statement, I don’t plan on waiting for 6 months to see the fruit before I jump in and embrace it. This kind of skepticism bugs me because it automatically assumes that nothing is of God until I am able to prove that it is. A commenter to his post said that we are to be skeptical like the Bereans (Acts 17:11). This is a bad understanding of what those Bereans were actually doing because it actually says that they received the word with eagerness and then examined it. So they weren’t looking to prove it wrong, but to prove it right.

As for evidence of repentance, I can’t give you an eyewitness account, but from what I have seen, there is evidence of repentance. I sometimes think we limit repentance to remorse over sin instead of also seeing it as a change in perspective and a renewed sense of the love of God.

I will say that God emphasizes things in different ways and at different times. In Toronto in 1994, the emphasis was on the Father’s love, while at the same time in Brownsville, FL the emphasis was on repentance. We don’t know how this thing will grow. I guess we’ll have to wait 6 months before deciding.

2. There’s no fool like a charismatic fool…Too many charismatics drink from poisoned wells only to clutch their guts in pain later, asking what went wrong.

I would agree that this does happen, but not because charismatics did not test the “spirit.” I think it has more to do with the fact that we slightly misunderstand the purpose of these outpourings. They are not the end in themselves but the means by which we get to the goal of transformation of cities and nations. Prayer, boldness, and godly character should be what we are pursuing. If this does not happen in the lives of everyone who attends these meetings does not mean that it is not of God.

3. Whenever the emphasis gets off Jesus, a revival’s focus is off target. The Holy Spirit always pulls people to Jesus. He doesn’t pull them toward angels, canny preachers, or displays of spiritual gifts. He doesn’t need gold teeth, gold dust, and angel feathers to point people to Jesus. (Those are illusionist and occultist tricks.) He just needs himself because He is sufficient to do the pointing.

This is why I would like God to do things in a more “normal” fashion. Just don’t give us any of these crazy tricks and weird manifestations. Don’t let the Todd Bentley’s of the world be anointed and things would be a lot easier.

Seriously, while I would enjoy that, God does like to offend our ideas so that we really do search Him out. While the weird stuff is happening, many more amazing things are happening. Does the fact that gold dust is appearing negate the fact that Jesus revealed Himself as a healer to heal a girl I know of a life-crippling disease that no doctor could diagnose? No! So why are we worried about this stuff?

5. Real revival doesn’t just draw one kind of Christian. It draws everyone. It draws Episcopalians, Lutherans, Reformed, Presbyterian, Nazarene, Brethren, Mennonite, Methodist, Baptist—everyone.

This is where I ask what sort of Scriptural evidence he has for this. If we want to talk about revival in Scripture, then we have to start with the fact that it’s not there. So that’s a problem. My point is that we shouldn’t be looking for certain signs that we think should be there when there is no Scriptural precedence for it. Who is to say that God will not cause what is happening in Lakeland to spread to many different denominations? Or that people from many different denominations are not attending Lakeland?

In considering all that is happening in Lakeland, I have to say that this is just the beginning of something that will not stop but will spread. Bob Jones, a prophet with a considerable track record, has said that this is the beginning of the revival that will not stop until Jesus returns. That is a massive statement with implications that are staggering.

What this means for the Church is both glorious and terrifying. The years and decades ahead will be incredible as God’s Spirit moves to transform lives. It will also be terrifying as End-Time judgments begin to break in on the earth and the beginning of birth pangs begin to happen, as Jesus prophesied.

In all of this, we can be confident that Jesus is a perfect leader. Sometimes I wish He would have everything happen in a more orderly way, but He chooses to work through weak and broken people who will not always get it right. What will happen will offend many people, but we must be careful to not judge God’s work when thinking that we are just using “discernment.” Sometimes this is just a way of saying that we don’t like what is going on so we will appeal to our discernment.

So let’s put on our seatbelts because I think we are in for the ride of our lives. It will be the best of times and the worst of times. God is in the business of purifying His bride and preparing the earth for His coming. He wants a people who will say “yes” to Him. I for one plan on doing that.