Revival

John 6:26 - 27 (NKJV) 26Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal on him."

I am sure we have all heard about what God is doing in Lakeland Florida as well as all over the world by now. It is obvious that something is happening on the earth. But, every time that God begins to move in this way, there is always potential for the flesh to make it into something that it is not. In this passage, Jesus is addressing a crowd of people who have been looking for him because they are excited because they were excited about all the miracles they had just seen him perform. They were all there when Jesus had fed the five thousand, and had just seen Jesus appear on the other side of the river knowing that he hadn't been in the boat. They wanted to see more. They wanted to be blessed and fed again like they were a few days before. The problem is that they didn't perceive what Jesus was actually doing through all these miracles. They just knew that it was really cool and that they were fed. He then begins to tell them that miracles serve a purpose, but without knowing who he really is, they don't amount to anything more than a nice meal.

John 6:47 - 51 (NKJV) 47Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes £in Me has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

I love this! He says "your fathers ate the miraculous manna and guess what? They're dead!" Miracles always serve a purpose, but aside from Jesus there's no Life and no lasting fruit. I remember the renewal of 1995 when God met us in a mighty and powerful way. It was God and it had a specific purpose of healing and renewing for the body of Christ. But it was never suppose to be anything more than that. You see, what happened was people got so excited about the manifestations that they were all they became interested in. The Word, or "Jesus" got taken out of the mix, and, unfortunately, a lot of the fruit didn't last. Eventually there was no anointing at all and it became a flesh fest where people began seeing fairy dust and getting their teeth filled with Gold. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but God doesn't do miracles just to do miracles. There is always a purpose for them, and that purpose is always part of a grand plan. That plan is the Salvation of Gods creation. When the Word isn't the center and foundation of a revival it ceases to be God and there is no life.
I believe that there is no doubt that God is moving. It is an indication that people are hungry and God is answering those who cry out. We need to keep Jesus in the center and I believe we are about to see a great Harvest! Salvation should always follow a revival.Revival leads to Revolution! Let us keep ourselves open to what God is doing and be ready for him to do it in all of our towns and cities! Revival has begun and Revolution is hear!

Living in revival,
Pastor Josh