“History confirms that when God begins to move, He does not make sure a person’s theology is accurate before being willing to pour out His Spirit on them. Neither does He require a certain level of holiness or biblical knowledge before doing so. He comes to hungry, humble, and repentant hearts, fills them with His Spirit, and then begins maturing them. We must manifest His gracious heart.” – Dutch Sheets
“…As well as promoting revival and educating the church on relevant issues in our nation, God is also using [the television program] Flashpoint to model cooperation in the body of Christ. It is an honor for me to partner with them. Trusted prophetic friends of mine have had several dreams over the last two years about a higher level of cooperation in the church to accomplish the Lord’s purposes in our nation. This unity is very important to the Lord. He wants His family to love and serve one another, working together to accomplish His purposes. It is my joy to walk out these prophetic dreams, and I appreciate Flashpoint for doing so, as well.
“God allows for disagreement in the church, just as there are disagreements between family members and friends. However, very few of these differences are important enough to justify division and a refusal to work together. We should pursue unity, harmony, and cooperation whenever possible. Satan, of course, wants to divide us; that is his goal. Through Paul, Holy Spirit urged and instructed us to be diligent in striving for unity:
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6 NASV)
“The word “diligent” is spoudazo (Strongs 4704), from a root word meaning “speed.” This form of the word means to “speedily and earnestly perform a task.” Thayer’s Lexicon uses the phrase “to exert one’s self” in doing this. My amplification of the instruction in this verse would be to “with great exertion and without delay work toward love and unity.”
“‘Bearing with one another’ is the Greek word, anechomai (Strongs 430), which doesn’t simply mean “putting up with” others. It means “to hold oneself up against; to hold up or sustain,” as a stake would do for a tomato plant. The point is to strengthen one another, to stake ourselves to others, transferring our strength to them, thereby sustaining them. This is similar to the point being made in Psalm 133, which says the dew from Hermon rains on Zion (verse 3). As the day warms, the dew from Mount Hermon evaporates and forms clouds. The afternoon winds then blow them to Mt Zion, where they produce rain. Mt Hermon literally waters Zion. God uses this as a beautiful picture of what we must do as His body: sow into and bless one another.
“Holy Spirit informs us in the Ephesians passage that this unity will require humility, gentleness, and patience. Humility is necessary because we must acknowledge that we are not always right, even though we usually believe we are. It will also be required because even if something we believe truly is more accurate than another’s, we must be humble enough to still honor their works and efforts. The opposite of humility is pride and arrogance. Pride divides us; humility and honor unify us. Proverbs 6:16-18 tells us God “hates haughty eyes…and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
“I have had fellow believers refuse to work – or even associate – with me because of my eschatology, my theology regarding the gifts of the Spirit, my beliefs regarding the ministry gifts of Ephesians 4:11, my style of worship, the translation of Scripture I normally use, and much more. One person on Twitter didn’t like my support of the Asbury Revival (though they are also supportive of it!) because of my belief that apostles exist today and my support of President Trump. (This was not an individual associated with Asbury.) This is so sad. Though I’m confident I have theological differences with Asbury University, nevertheless, it is my great joy to support what Holy Spirit is doing there, especially with the young people. It does not matter that Asbury is not of “my stream.” They are my brothers and sisters in Christ – my family – and I want them to experience everything Holy Spirit has for them.
“History confirms that when God begins to move, He does not make sure a person’s theology is accurate before being willing to pour out His Spirit on them. Neither does He require a certain level of holiness or biblical knowledge before doing so. He comes to hungry, humble, and repentant hearts, fills them with His Spirit, and then begins maturing them. We must manifest His gracious heart.
“Don’t miss what God is about to do. The proud, dogmatic, and those controlled by a religious spirit always struggle with revival, just as the Pharisees did with Christ’s ministry. To them, most people aren’t worthy of the outpouring; they don’t believe it is given as a gift but must be earned. The coming revival will be rejected by them. Determine not to be one of these individuals. Instead, walk in love. Walk in humility.”
“Father, thank You for loving us in spite of our weaknesses and errors. Thank You for the opportunities You give us to bless other parts of the body of Christ. Thank You for what You are doing at Asbury. Thank You for the way You are using Flashpoint and the various ministries involved with it. Continue to prosper them and use them mightily.
“We pray for the continuation of awakening to the youth of America and the world. Do not allow anything to stop this. Intensify it. As the false gods of Baal are being judged in our nation and around the world, people are simultaneously being delivered, just as occurred in the Exodus. You are judging evil, while You also deliver many. We ask for this to continue and increase. Pour out Your Spirit!
“We ask for great grace to be upon us in this time. We ask for grace to strengthen us in humility and love toward one another. We ask for Your nature of giving and preferring one another to grow stronger in and through us. You have placed the fruit of Your Spirit in us; we ask for an outworking of it from us. We know this demands decisions from us. We ask for conviction from Holy Spirit to motivate us in this regard; and to remind us that this is Your will. We ask all of this in Christ’s name, amen.”
Dutch Sheets, GiveHim15 2-20-23