Tradition and revival

New wine in new wineskins

– On church structure and tradition

Every might move of the Spirit of God in the past (commonly called “revivals” or “awakenings”) have changed some aspect of traditional church – things like tent meetings, altar calls, prayer meetings, bible studies or small groups, house churches, etc. was originally something “new” (even if much of it could be found in the New Testament already).

Jesus made an important point when He was confronted by the Pharisees for his disciples not fasting according to the Jewish traditions of the time. New wine needs to be poured into new wineskins.

Today there are many different Christian traditions. The issue is not that some traditions are good or true and some are bad… the issue is whether the traditions still serve the Kingdom of God? If God would work through his Holy Spirit again like in New Testament times, would our current church structure be able to handle it? Or would it be a stumbling block and a means of resisting the Holy Spirit of God? If God sends us the revival that many are praying for, would our church structures be able to handle it? Or will it be like pouring new wine into old wineskins… the skins will burst and the wine spill? If 3000 should become believers in one day (and one town/city) would we be able to baptise and include them into the body of Messiah like the Jerusalem church did? Are our structures and level of maturity of current believers really prepared to handle such an outworking of the Spirit of God?

There are many aspects of modern church (including protestant churches) that are not based on the Bible, but are based on human tradition (see “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola). But not all of them will necessarily be a hindrance the the work of the Spirit in revival, as long as they do not become more important than the Word of God.

One tradition that can be a stumbling block, is the position of the pastor / preacher as somehow above the “ordinary” congregation members. Jesus made it explicit that we should not be seeking positions and titles, but that the way to lead is to serve. Peter repeats that in his letter: the elders (shepherds) should take care of the flock, not by coercion or for profit, but eagerly and cheerfully, not as dictators or domineering, but as examples (1 Pet.5). There is no precedent in the New Testament for the idea of a clergy and laity. “for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers … you have one Master, the Messiah. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt.23) It is by imitating and demonstrating the life of Messiah Jesus, that our leaders are to lead. The aim is to teach the sheep to be able to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd for themselves (John 10), not to rule! Unless this same attitude is in the hearts of our leaders that were in Jesus (Phil.2), humbling Himself for us, they will often offer the greatest resistence to the Holy Spirit working in the body of Messiah in revival! This often happened in the past. While the “five-fold ministry” of Ephes.4:11-12 can to some extent help us to function as the body of Jesus on earth in having different leadership gifts (rather than just a “pastor” or teacher), it can also become an excuse for seeking titles and positions!

The other important “tradition” that can grieve the Holy Spirit and prevent revival, is the lack of unity among believers. While I may disagree with my brother about many things, if he is truly following Jesus and would be accepted by God on this basis and if he is not living in open sin or teaching false teaching that would endanger the salvation of those who hear him, we have to accept each other as true brothers in Christ, loving each other as He loves us and not allow our differences (sometimes simply differences in musical taste!) to divide us. Moreover, we can (and should) actually learn from each other. By having our church denominations that isolate us from other believers, ways of worship and different teaching emphasis, we are missing out on the fullness of the body of Messiah. Division in the body of Messiah, a proud spirit of being right, rather than being loving, is one reason why we do not see the reality of New Testament churches and the same power today.

The last point that I believe is very important, is that we should not confuse church structure (new wineskins) with the power and life of the Holy Spirit (true revival). Just changing our traditions and structures are meaningless on its own. Starting to have house churches, because God blessed and gave revival in China through house churches, is to miss the point. It is not the structure that is important (even if we change to be closer to the primitive New Testament church) – it is the power and fruit of the Spirit of the Most High God that matters. A New Testament church structure can only prepare us for the outpouring in power of the Spirit of God (like the first church in Acts 1), but it is not the Holy Spirit Himself. Revival, the church of Jesus which have become luke-warm, cold, dead or tolerant of false teaching (Rev.2-3), repenting and becoming alive again is above all an inner working of the Holy Spirit, not an outward manifestation through structures and (new) traditions. In a time where the church in the West has become stagnant and cold and where many young people are leaving the church, may we have the wisdom and courage to prepare ourselves for what God wants to do in and through us as his body on earth.

Where I get spiritual food

Where I get food

From the beginning Jesus called his disciples into a group of fellow disciples. One of the major dangers of solitary Christians is that we may become “strange”. We can all too easily be led by our own subjective glasses through which we read the Bible into all kinds of strange and simply wrong understandings nad interpretations of the Word of God. That is why Paul also confirmed his message with the first apostles (Gal.2:1-10). This is also why periods of being alone with God in the Bible are always that: just for a certain time. It might be very necessary, but it is not meant to last forever.

The Word of God in the Bible is like milk for newly-born babies and like solid food for those who have grown a bit in the Christian life after having been born again (1 Pet.1:25 - 2:2; Heb.5:12-14). So my first source of spiritual food is the Bible. Reading the Bible for yourself is like eating a rare steak; you need to to cut it and chew it for yourself to get the most out of it. Many Christians never progress past eating pre-cut and overdone bits of steak or eating only milk and porridge. They only read “daily devotions” from some book that quote maybe one or two verses from the Bible or from a preacher in church – all prepacked and cooked and pressed through the blender of one person’s interpretation to make it easily digestable. We cannot grow like this… but perhaps it is also not healthy to only eat steak every day?

So before continuing in sharing what I am learning in my time of silence with God, I think it is important to mention that much of what I share is not simply my own opinion of what I read in the Bible. I have been reading books and a few online groups regularly on the internet. One of the things that I noticed, is that God has been speaking with many different people all over the world, saying essentially the same things. In this post I would like to share some of my sources for spiritual food in this time.

1. The Bible. I am currently in the process of reading through the Bible in a year again. This is not the same as in-depth Bible study, but God still uses it to speak to me. As part of this, I am also recording (and sharing on WhatsApp) the various Messianic prophecies that I find. Both milk and solid food, this is the most important part of my spiritual diet.
2. While I do not generally like “daily devotion” type of books, the one exception is “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. It is available online and as a daily e-mail: My Utmost for His Highest
3. Frank Viola (author of “Pagan Christianity”, “Reimagining church” and other good books) has an online blog and an online network focusing on the deeper Christian life. More recently, he has written a book “Insurgence” and a web site dedicated to the principles discussed in that book.
4. Those who know me, also know that I have a heart for Israel. Two Messianic groups in Israel from which I recceive good spiritual food, are Tikkun International and Revive Israel (I was a volunteer for a few months at Moshav Yad Shmonah as well, and helped to build some of their wooden guest houses).
5. A favourite for me for keeping in touch with world news from a Christian perspective, is Incontext Ministries.
6. And of course, we are priviledged today in that while I am fairly isolated in the mountains, I can still post online, and from time to time connect with friends via WhatsApp or Facebook (and even e-mail)… and like all believers in the past, pray for each other.
7. Just being able to spend time in creation (and getting paid for it!) and seeing and praising the wonderful works of God’s hands, is of course water for my soul. He has made all things good Ps.104.

What is revival?

What is revival? (and what it is not)

Revival is commonly seen as a supernatural and uncommon intervention by God’s Holy Spirit in which large numbers of people repent and come to faith in Jesus. Some people prefer the word “awakening” to describe such a revival. But in both cases it is commonly seen as something that God does of his own free will and with little (if any) human involvement. Others point to the external trappings of past revival (e.g. a series of tent services) and calls any such activities “a revival” – in this case, mostly something that happens as the result of human effort. However, I am convinced that both of these viewpoints are missing something vital, mistaking the results of revival for real revival itself.

The word “revival” does not occur in the New Testament at all. It does occur in the Old Testament (“Will you not make us alive again” = “revive us again” – Ps.65, Hos.6), and the idea is found throughout Scripture including the last book of the New Testament, Revelation. Why would revival be important if it is such a small part of the Scriptures? Or rather, if revival is of such importance as many seem to believe (myself included), why is it not mentioned more in the New Testament?

I believe that there is a good reason for this and it has everything to do with what revival actually is. Revival is not mentioned in most of the New Testament, because most New Testament churches did not need revival. The clue is in the very word that is used. Only something or someone that has died or is almost dead, can be revived. And almost all the churches in the New Testament period were alive and growing – there was no need for revival! Because this is the most important prerequisite for revival: unless the church is dying or almost dead already, it has no need for revival. Revival implies something coming back to life: “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” (Rev.3:1-2). By the time of Revelation, we are confronted with a number of 1st century churches who were indeed in need of revival. Can we really say that our situation is all that different today? Do our churches look more like that of the first church in Jerusalem, or rather similar to most of these we find in Revelation? “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.“

Revival is the body of Messiah on earth becoming alive again and living the life to which He called us. It is not simply an unusual and supernatiral temporary “visitation by the Spirit of God”. It is the restoration to the normal Christian life in the church, the life that we find described in the New Testament. And yes, there were many people coming to repentance and the Holy Spirit working in power to bring the lost to Messiah (just read Acts). But this was a result of what the Holy Spirit had done within the congregations of disciples. For this reason, I am convinced that true revival is not something that should ever stop. It is not the will of God that his church should die again and that this death should be called “normal”. Yes, even within the New Testament church there are different seasons – a time of rapid growth in numbers followed by a time of deeper spiritual growth (being built up in love, knowledge and grace) or a period of persecution and testing – but it does not (and should not) be followed by a season of being dead, where the church looks no different from the world and often only keep the outer trappings of previous revivals, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Tim 3:5).

Will you pray with me that God would open our eyes to see his church through his eye? Will you pray for mercy and the Spirit of repentance and new life within the church? Jesus told those first century churches in Revelation that He would remove their lamps if they did not repent (for most of them that is exactly what has happened – those towns in Muslim Turkey have been without a Christian church for centuries). How long do we think He will allow our luke-warm and spiritually dead western church to survive and spatter mud on his holy Name? Yes, like in Revelations there are congregations that do not need revival because they are already alive and growing in the power of the Holy Spirit. But is this not the exception rather than the rule today?

What do you think about revival? Is it something we need today? Why (not)?