A sovereign move of God! It is so exciting to be in the moment as we are on the precipice of what God is about to do. “It’s going to be the 1970’s again”, is what the Lord told Greg Lancaster. THINK ABOUT THAT! When you think about the 1970’s. One of the things that might come to mind about the 1970’s might be the tall orange shag carpeting that was so long you had to actually use a carpet rake on it, in your home! But more importantly is, GOD DID SOME AMAZING THINGS! A sovereign move of God referred to as The Jesus Revolution swept the nation of America mightily. Amidst the backdrop of tragic things taking place in America at that time, and around the world, God moved mightily upon thousands of souls. The Lord wrecked the Church as it was. I mean wrecked it in a good way! It was as if the Church was stuck where it was. BUT GOD! As Bill Johnson, of Bethel, Redding California, speaking about The Jesus Movement, the presence of God was so known in the nation, “you could say Mary had a little lamb”, (which is taken from a children’s poem) and people were getting saved! That is what it’s like to have a divine move of God! This move of God was so powerful that even Time Magazine dedicated their front cover to acknowledging God is real with an article titled “The Jesus Revolution”. That is so powerful! God is going to bring about a sovereign move of His presence AGAIN!
During those days, it was as if the spirit of death was upon the people, with no hope to live, and Jesus Christ saved them and healed them. Greg was shown, by the Lord in a dream, that people are feeling the same way today, that death is upon them and they need a miracle from God to live. God’s glory is coming. The Hand of God can touch you RIGHT NOW and deliver you from that and encounter you with His Life! Greg was shown in this dream from the Lord, that the harvest of souls (people) is going to come so fast that we have to be prepared. If not, we are going to miss it. Many missed it in the 1970’s. How do we get ready? Get out of your head and focus on the Kingdom of God. God’s plan is totally outside the confines of the limitations of one nation. Greg said, he doesn’t mean not be a good citizen in your nation. We as Christians should be a bright light to our nation, but there is more. This is so incredibly exciting. We can’t just simply do the daily things today then, and not be shocked if we miss God. Prepare yourself for this awesome move of God.
As Time Magazine recalls what was happening in the 1970’s, “There is a revival of religion everywhere—except in the church.” History tells us that old moves of God often reject the new moves of God; behold the Lord is doing a new thing. If religion would actually embrace what the Spirit of God is doing, mighty things would take place. Unfortunately, many rejected this sovereign move of God. Why is it that you are doing what you are doing in your life right now? Do you have room for God? For His Harvest? Can God interrupt your schedule and your life with His plans? The Jesus Movement was messy, and what God is about to do is going to be messy, “it’s going to be in the streets” Paster John Kilpatrick says, as he was shown by the Lord. Think about it, speaking about the 1970’s Jesus movement, people were coming off of drugs. People were facing court hearings for the consequences of how they had been living their lives. They have suffered from the aftermath of what they once celebrated sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Many rejected these people referred to as the hippies. They were lost. They were coming out of the world. People were literally coming out of insane asylums when the Power of God encountered them. We must set in our minds and hearts that we are going to embrace the presence of God right now. Just because it’s messy doesn’t mean it’s God though. We must know the thoughts, the voice and the heart of God. Greg reminds us of a series he taught on God’s Secret Wisdom. Discerning the Thoughts of God to help you better know which is the God Thing that is taking place. Ask God to break your heart for what breaks His heart. God loves every human being on the face of the Earth and He gave His life for them. How can we not ask God for His heart for them; the lost? This is the moment that we can decide in our hearts to be in the epicenter of what God is doing. As Dr. Michael Brown has said, “if you want to be a part of what God is doing, find out what He is doing and dive in”.
In the 1970’s, a powerful and mighty move of God swept America, and the nations of the world. It is now known as The Jesus Movement. What is so important to remember is that this powerful move of God was mainly made up of youth in their twenties, and teenagers! John Wimber, of the Vineyard Churches , was another one of those that God used to lead many to Christ, including many of those referred to as hippies.
The Barna Group did a study of the State of the Church, involving every generation, those who were born before 1946, and every generation up to the Gen Z generation, born between 1999 and 2015. When you look at this study, there is an undeniable shift in the decline of the Church in the year of 2012. What was taking place in the year 2012? The Obama Presidency.
Looking at this graph is an undeniable visualization of how the Church has been impacted during these years. 2012 was a bad year for the Church in America. It was then, starting in 2012, many in every age demographic in America began to walk away from church; away from God. One of the alarming findings that Barna Group reveals in this study is that “…Many young people’s faith…appears to fade as people move further away from their parents.” WOW! If your parents love God, serve God, and worship God together, moving away from them is not a wise decision. Many people make a decision to move based on a job opportunity. For the idea of making more money, they will move to a new city, to be around people they’ve never met, places they’ve never been, not even know if God has a church family for them there, FOR A JOB! Putting a job ahead of God is never a good decision. If you want to keep your faith, do everything in your ability to keep your faith. If you decide to move somewhere, is there a pastor who hears from the Lord that you can put your family under? The most important thing you can do for yourself and your family is to find a Bible believing God fearing,pastor that can hear from the Lord and to raise your family under them. Those who put their jobs, i.e., money first, above God and their family, end up not having either.
God is about to do something mighty. When God is on the verge of doing something mighty, some people start doing really weird things, that is out of the norm for them, and end up making rash decisions which leads them away from what God is about to do. Moments before the Brownsville Revival started, some people, those who you thought were leaders and serious about God, suddenly left, and missed God. Pastor John Kilpatrick says, “Satan doesn’t attack your past, he always attacks your future.” Pastor Kilpatrick speaks on this in a message he titled Satan’s Crowbar. What these people who left Brownsville, prior to Revival, didn’t understand, satan was attacking their future which was to be in, and a part of the Glory move of God, a Revival that would shake America and the world. You want to hold on in these crucial moments. Especially in times of crisis, what you don’t want to do is to make a decision that will take you away from God. Truth of the matter is, deciding to move from where you are, based only on a job, can take you away from where God wants you to be.
We need to be mindful of every generation, knowing that the youth and teenagers were touched mightily in the Jesus Movement we need to be mindful that God is going to do it again and not miss what He is going to do! During this movement in the 1970’s, John Bisagno recalls the concerns he had about rigid religion missing the young people that were hungry for the Lord. “All I know is that kids are turning on to Jesus. My concern is that the stale, traditional churches will reject these kids and miss the most genuine revival of our lifetime.” This coming move of God is going to come so quickly, we believe, that you may find yourself in a place of leadership because you’ve already spent time with the Lord, and have actually READ the Bible. As John Ruttkay shares, “So many people were getting saved in the Jesus movement, if you read the Old Testament and the New Testament, you were now the leader.” Well, what about the elders? They had those covered too. John Ruttkay explains, ‘So many people were getting saved in the Jesus movement, someone would say they actually read the Book of Revelation? You did? Someone would ask. Then you are an elder.” Let that sink in for a moment. Are you ready? That is powerful! That is what God did and we’re going to see what they saw in the 70’s again! So many people weren’t ready for what God did. Don’t let this coming move of God take you by surprise. Amidst God doing mighty things, even the people who were approaching this move of God with apprehension couldn’t deny the reality of its impact. Ronald Knox was converted, from his reported disdain for the enthusiasm of those in The Jesus Movement, to one who embraced their enthusiasm, on his journey interviewing these people that were consumed with a love and hunger for God. Knox said, “Enthusiasm may not be the only virtue but, God knows, apathy is none at all.”
Lonnie Frisbee was one of those people that got powerfully touched by God. People th
ought he was unreachable since he was another one of those hippies, amongst many others in the 1970s that were also hippies. What they didn’t know is that, in a matter of moments, God would touch Frisbee so powerfully that he would be sharing the Gospel to people who don’t know the Lord, and leading them to Christ with powerful, anointed messages! In an unforgettable moment, from actual footage in the 1970’s, Frisbee recounts the story of the fall of man, bringing to light how Adam and Eve’s feeble attempts to cover up their nakedness applies to all of us today, in our lives. “God had to give them two animals to cover their nakedness. And if you think that you’re going to cover your own sin, by your works, you’re sadly mistaken. You can sew those leaves together as much as you want, but they still won’t cover enough. And you’ll still be ashamed.” As Frisbee continues to share the Good News of the Gospel, with every heart and ear listening attentively, he describes the reality of why Jesus Christ came to the Earth. “So, the Bible says, without the shedding of blood, is there no remission of sin
. Jesus Christ willingly went to the Cross, and He died. He gave His life. He says, ‘no man takes my life from me. I lay it down.’ And at that time, Jesus Christ became a sin sacrifice for you, and you, and all of us here tonight.” This is so incredibly powerful as this is always the now word for each of us, to know that Jesus Christ laid down His life, for your life, and for all of our lives. As Frisbee continues to share the love of God, he reminds everyone present, and everyone listening to his words, not to miss the voice of God in this moment. “Though your sin is the blackest sin in the whole world, though you even killed somebody, or broke up a family, you did anything, all that has been accounted for by His Son Jesus Christ. So, don’t reject Him now as He speaks to your heart.” As Frisbee highlights the reality that the love of Jesus Christ is knocking on every one of our hearts, asking to know if we will invite Him in, He invites people to say yes to Jesus. “I want you to confess Him. I want you to receive Him. It’s hard. But, it’s gonna get harder because darkness is coming, more, and more, and more.” When Frisbee asks those who want to receive Christ into their hearts, to stand and come up to the front, people can be seen instantly getting up out of their seats, responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. What an awesome and powerful moment!
In the 1970’s, it was a hippie that was powerfully touched by God. Imagine that someone who was leading an ANTIFA rally today, can be preaching the Gospel tomorrow! Why? Because Jesus loves them and can save them too and use them just like He used Lonnie. Would you see Jesus in that moment, or would your own limitations keep you from jumping into what God was doing right in front of you? There were no mighty coliseums required in order to reach souls for Jesus. There was no internet, social media, or even e-mails, it was just a heart on fire for God talking directly to people. This is what the Gospel is all about. It’s not about our fancy, polished words, it’s about the power of the Gospel. As Hebrews 4:12 reveals, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” We can’t add to the Word of God. Just share what Jesus said, and let the power of His Word impact hearts. Just like Lonnie Frisbee was baptizing people in the California coastal, Pacific Ocean waters in the 1970’s, it is these same waters that Pastor Jack Hibbs, of Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills, California, recently led many to follow Jesus Christ in water baptisms in 2021. This is immensely powerful. What God did in the 1970’s, it is still happening today!
It is these moments and realities that stir our faith for expectation of God to do something in our generation. It’s so important that we don’t get focused on the negative news of the world and its own 24-hour news cycle. Instead, focus on believing God doing something so mighty that it can’t help but get onto and into the lives of others that will glorify Jesus! If you want to be a part of what God is about to do, prepare yourself NOW! Get your mind set on His Kingdom, His voice, and His heart. Be willing to stop whatever is on your schedule in order to love those that God is drawing to Himself! THIS IS THAT! GET, GET, GET, GET READY!
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