THE COMING FLOOD

Every now and then, when I mention to people that we've planted a house church in our community, they will respond by saying something like: "That's good because I believe God's Judgement and persecution is coming soon and the Church needs to be ready to go underground if it's going to survive." (Or something close to that).

Personally, I've never resonated with that response. Mainly because my reasons for starting a house church have nothing to do with fear of persecution or judgment. Actually, we started our house church because God called us to plant a church where all of the offering could go to help the poor in our community. So, I don't participate in house church out of fear, but out of love.

Over the weekend, I had a very interesting conversation over lunch with author Ross Rhode, and a few others who were attending the Momentum conference with me. Ross had been sharing with those at our table about how God's Spirit has fallen throughout history - and most recently in America - in the form of several revivals. Someone asked why they never seem to last very long, and he suggested that it was usually because men tried to control the strange manifestations that often accompanied an outpouring of the Spirit (such as tongues or shaking or laughing). The other cause? When people made it attractional. In other words, when the revival experience could only be appropriated by visiting a certain place and hearing a certain man preach, the revival eventually burned itself out.

That got me to thinking. Actually, what happened was that I saw a picture in my mind of a massive field of dirt. It had been plowed into rows, but nothing was growing there. Slowly, as Ross continued to talk about the ebb and flow of revival, I began to see a series of irrigation ditches being carved out around the field. Ross said, "If the Spirit of God ever does fall again, the house church movement is the perfect vehicle to keep it going." I nodded in agreement. "Yes, because in a house church whenever we get too many people at once we are quick to send them out to start another church. We don't want to get bigger, so we'll always keep sending them out as they get saved to keep spreading the revival."

I believe the house church movement in America is a genuine move of the Holy Spirit. Over the last five years I have spoken to countless people who have felt God's calling to step out of the Church, or down from the pulpit, to start a house church in their community. One by one, story after story, I've listened to people tell me how God compelled them - even as others warned them not to, or mocked them for leaving - they knew that to obey God they had to lay it all down and plant churches in their homes, and neighborhoods.

What if? What if God is inspiring so many people to leave the traditional model of institutional church so that He can build a nationwide network of house churches that will quickly spawn more house churches as the fire of revival spreads across this nation?

As I shared this with Ross and the people at our table, I mentioned that it was like what I was seeing in my mind's eye. That God was creating this network of house churches to operate like irrigation canals that would rapidly disperse the Spirit of God as it fell on this nation - allowing the empty, desolate field to burst into life as the rivers of living water began to fall from the sky and flood the earth with the presence of God.

Ross began to pray spontaneously. As he prayed, all of us around the table joined in. In my heart, as I prayed, I could see the sky growing dark. I heard the crack of thunder in the sky. I heard the steady patter of heavy rainfall drenching the dry and thirsty ground. The canals around the large field began to fill with sweet, living water. The field grew dark with moisture. New life began to spring up as the seeds that had been planted years before were nourished by this living water. Suddenly the field was overtaken by large, green, fruitful plants.

My eyes were filled with tears when we all finally stopped praying.

"Why can't it happen here?" someone asked. "Why can't we pray and ask God to rain down His Spirit on us  again?"

I believe He wants to. I believe that what is coming is not a sword of judgment, but a flood of His Holy Spirit upon a barren land.

Rather than sit back and pray that God would hurry up and return so we can get out of this place, our prayers should be for God to revive this nation. Our prayers should be like those that Paul the Apostle uttered when he yearned for all Israel to be saved and his own soul cursed to hell out of desperate love for his people.

What do we want more? For Jesus to return and bring swift judgment upon this heathen nation? Or do we cry out for Jesus to show mercy and to reveal His love to all men, women and children on this earth?

Pray for God to heal this land. Pray for His Spirit to fall. Pray for the Gospel to go forth and for lives to be transformed by His Word.

This is our calling. This is our destiny. Pray for revival to come. Pray for souls to come to the saving knowledge of Christ. And then, work hard while it is still light enough to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to all who have yet to hear it.

"Repent! The Kingdom of God is upon you."

Let it rain.
-kg