- "We really had a move of God last Sunday"
- "What our church really needs isn't another program, but a move of God"
- "God only moves when people......(you fill in the blank)"
- "There's a great move of God happening in.....(insert city/country name here)"
I'm sure if you've been in church for long you've either heard or used one of those phrases or others like them. For sometime I've wrestled with the term "move of God" and pondered its meaning. What defines a move of God? In Pentecostal/Charismatic experience a "move of God" is usually measured by a few factors: the number of people slain in the Spirit, the amount of time spent in worship and intercession or the number of meetings that have taken place (5 nights a week for 2 years etc...) I've come to the conclusion that it's probably one of 3 things:
1. A purely subjective term that is defined by the person and/or group of people experiencing it.
2. Something so great, awe-striking, life-changing, city changing and amazing that it can't be defined in human terms.
3. It doesn't exist at all. (What I mean by this is that God is perpetually moving and active in the hearts and lives of people and all we have to do to find Him is to Seek Him.)
Rather than give my opinion here in the blog, let's discuss it. This should be lively.
I didn't want to be the first to comment because, let's face it, I'm sort of on the outs with God at the moment (I like to tell myself that we have an understanding). But if you go with (1), we should just chalk it up to 'christianese'; just another term those 'in the know' use but we don't really know what it means either. As for (2), that would make it disturbingly overused, much like the word love. I LOVE chocolate ice cream isn't the same as I LOVE my husband. I'm inclined to go along with (3)... but is He perpetually moving or has He stepped back to let us do what we do? I guess I have a tendency to liken it my dad - he's always there for me, available - but I gotta ask for help when I need it. So individually, is He moving all the time or just when I surrender, or corporately is He moving all the time? Guess that opens up a new can of worms for me, doesn't it? At least I'm interested to see what everyone else says!
ReplyDeleteI believe that God is constantly moving and at work in our lives individually. I think maybe to look at a "move of God" you must look at the church as a whole. As the church we are referred to as the bride of Christ. In a marriage relationship you have peaks and valleys, so I believe as the church as a whole it is possible to have some experiences that are more dynamic than others. I believe that we need to tread cautiously on focusing for a "move of God", because I believe Charismatic's can focus too much on feelings and emotions. That to me can become selfish and self-centered and we need to be careful of straying away from the "I want God to make me feel good" feelings that come. The more my relationship with Christ grows the more I want authenticity and truth, and a lot of the "charismatic" I grew up with gave me a warped and damaging perspective of what God and the Trinity was all about.
ReplyDeleteI have never posted on a blog before but the topic definitely caught my attention. :) Yes, God is always "moving" and accessible at any moment to us indivually. What I do know: the Living Word surely displays that God is capable of moving on a corporate body to accomplish His purpose. Is the term "Move of God" used loosely? Maybe. Do people seek after emotionalism and good feelings instead of the true presence of God Himself? I'm sure it's possible, why else would there be wordly counterfits to tempt us? However, I think someone who truly desires to "see God move" is not just looking for a spiritual high. When God "moves", the earth shakes, the veil is torn, His presences falls, and the earth knows He is God. The unseen strongholds of the enemy are shattered and God is glorified. The stuff in life that doesn't glorify Him falls. We shouldn't desire for God to "move" just so we can feel good (but that is God's graciousness to know we could use pure joy of the Lord). However, God does want to respond on our behalf and he has called us to pray and seek Him. I want my daughters know God who is surely real, and one to be feared, worshipped, adored, bowed down before, and then stand in awe of His greatness. Jesus is the mercy seat of intercession for all... and God MOVED the day He died, and His Holy Spirit is with us to guide us through, just like the Israelites had a cloud by day and fire by night. We have a responsibility to desciple new believers to know more about our God who moves, and not lead them into a false mindset that "knowing" God is just a state of mind or go the opposite way and focus only on manisfestations. There is one God, and one God alone and He is real, and I want His powerful deliverence to reach everyone I know. How God "moves" to accomplish it is His choice, and I can't define it, just revel at it. :)
ReplyDeleteContinuous, congruent, bilateral, mufti-dimensional, beyond measure communication with all created things. Man with a free will can decide to have a deaf ear to what is spiritually being communicated stated above. when one become aware of this human experienced "moment" as "move of God" this can be an intentional connection just for us. Friuts of the Spirit. without minimizing my first sentence this is happing all the time 24/7 365. Col 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
ReplyDeleteCol 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.