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rgod -> RE: Have signs and wonders replaced repentance and restitution? (6/12/2008 11:54:27 PM)
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quote:
grew up hearing repentance and turning away from sin preached, as well as restitution...making amends for past offenses.
Don't hear much of that today, but do hear a great deal about signs and wonders.
What are the keys to true revival?
Will we see people repenting, making amends, or will we see miraculous and supernatural events?
It seems to me that the two can go hand-in-hand and that we shouldn't try to separate them. I don't think that there can be true revival without repentance - but it seems to me if signs and wonders accompany them, that they should glorify God and that in itself should bring provoke some sort of change in people who are seeking God - those that he has drawn.
I'm not sure why there is an outpouring of signs and wonders - but I wonder if it is due to the segregation that is practiced in American churches. I don't mean segregation by race, ethnicity, or class, but rather segregation by gift. It seems to me that in many of our churches, the "signs and wonders" types of gifts (toungues, working of miracles, healings and the like) are often explained away or that people believe that they have ceased to operate. It seems to me that this is more prevalent in the older, more established, mainline denominations. But as new denominations have sprung up (including the "non-denomination denomination"), many of them tend to embrace these giftings - sometimes I think, at the expense of the word. If you have any of these types of gifts (I have a couple of them myself), you can't express them at a mainline church but you can at the newer churches (or pentacostal churches). So as people have more freedom to operate in these areas, we see signs and wonders again in the church - although I'm pretty sure that people with these giftings always had some sort of outlet - but it was probably outside of the church for the most part. This is just speculation on my part - but I thought that I'd express this idea - I'd love to hear what others think about this.
There is also the tangential issue of the Lakeland Revival, which has been addressed in other responses to this thread, so I thought I'd share my take on this. I don't necessarily believe that Lakeland is fake or that Todd Bentley is even necessarily fake - I've been there but have not heard/seen a lot of the things that people are critizing it about. I believe that healings are taking place - and I know that God does heal miraculously today through many different people - and that a lot of it takes place when the cameras are off. But, in my opinion, I don't think that it is a revival - at least the way that I understand revival, precisely because of the issues raised in this thread. Specifically, I did not see a lot of repentance or conversions. Also, from what I understand, revivals generally just keep going and going - they don't start at 7 and end at 10 - because people are continually repenting and getting saved. But again, I could be wrong about this. So, what did I see? I saw people being encouraged in their faith - so I'd say that it is more of a healing service more than anything else. I was blessed to have gone. However, not to take away from Lakeland, but what is happening there can happen anywhere that believers meet if they allow time and space for the Holy Spirit to move freely. I once went to a church where they did just that and there were several Sundays were the congregation was led to pray for people who were sick. All of the people they prayed for were healed (and quite quickly, within a couple of weeks). I'm not saying this happens everytime someone prays - but they followed the leading and God and it happened. Everyone was greatly encouraged (I know that I definitely was).
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