Monday, January 25, 2016
Revive FLORIDA
Originally, Revive FLORIDA was only supposed to be in Sarasota for a
week. On Day 6, a strange
thing happened that caused them to stay for a total of 4 weeks --
A sign
from God.
At first it didn't seem like anything. The Revive leaders could
have easily missed it! Several teams hit the shore of Siesta Key beach,
that day, to ask people if they'd like prayer. One of the team members
wrote in the sand the number "440" then sat down beside it,
picked up some sand and sprinkled it on his head and asked the team
photographer, Drew, to take a picture.
I know that seems silly, but he obliged, taking the man's phone and
snapping a picture for him. Later the man told Drew that there was
something to be said about the picture. Really? It all seemed a
little weird. Drew showed the picture to Kyle, the Revive director and
nothing came of it.
That is until Kyle got a text from a member of his team - who, by the
way, knew nothing of the picture -- and said that her 8 year old son came to
her saying he'd seen a vision of Siesta Key Beach.
The boy
stated that Satan was trying to close the doors, but God was keeping the pastors strong by holding the doors open so they could finish their work.
The boy declared: 4 weeks!
40 states!
Hey wait a minute! An eight year old said all that? I know
that sounds a bit bizarre, but didn't the prophet Joel say something about
that in the Bible?
And it shall come to pass in the
last days, says God,
That I will pour out My Spirit on
all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy,
Your young men shall see
visions,
Your old men shall dream
dreams."
Acts 2:17
While we're on the topic of visions and dreams, I must tell you about Reuben.
Reuben has been around Sarasota for decades. He's considered one of
the General's of the faith here. I sat with him and he told me story
after story of what it was like, back in the day, praying for revival to come.
Like it was yesterday, he can remember who, what, when, where and why
-- along with the specifics of visions, dreams and prophetic Words
that have been spoken about a coming revival.
I have to say, that is not uncommon. I've talked with many people
who have told me that they moved to Sarasota specifically because God told them
a revival was coming here.
Back in 2001, an evangelist friend who was visiting Sarasota called
Reuben saying he had a specific Word from the LORD for him and that they needed
to meet. He proceeded to give the scriptures Habakkuk 1:5, 2:1-5 and
3:17-19 to Reuben and kept emphasizing...
"You may not understand this
now,
but keep seeking God for what it
means for you!"
He continued to deliver the following message:
"God's going to do a work in
your day
and you're going to be totally
astounded ~
But take courage when things
don't happen
the way you think they
will."
From 2012 - 2015, God presented 4 separate visions to Reuben,
telling him a revival was en route.
In the first vision (2012) Reuben saw two pictures, side by side,
separated by a line. The picture on the left showed dark storm
clouds casting a shadow over all the land. It was a true picture of
bondage. The picture on the right was the opposite -- bright, sunny and
beautiful! It was a picture of freedom. He wondered why God would
show him such a thing.
The next vision occurred in 2013. This time he saw one picture. It
was a wheat field. On the left side of the picture was a huge mass of
dark clouds moving in across the wheat, laying low, close to the crops, and
reaching high into the heavens.
In front of the field were three wheat combines positioned one behind
the other. He saw the combines moving forward, through the field,
harvesting the wheat.
God didn't say anything, but when he looked closer at the picture, he
noticed that as quickly as the wheat was being harvested by the first combine,
new wheat was sprouting up and being harvested by the second. The same
was true for the third.
He was reminded of Amos 9:13
Suddenly the LORD told him to look to the right of the picture where he
saw a barn. At first he thought,
"That's where
they are going to store the wheat."
Unexpectedly, the barn transformed into an opening with a frame around
it made of gold. It was an archway to another place. He looked
closer at the opening and could see the Gates of Heaven in the distance. He thought to himself,
"Woe!!! There's a huge harvest coming!!! I've got
to get ready for this! God's telling me there's a harvest coming!"
Joel 2:23-24 popped in his mind.
The third vision came two years later in the summer of 2015. the
picture was the same, only this time there were no combines. Instead,
Christ's hand appeared holding grains of wheat. As he closed His hand,
the grains were ground into flour.
His mind went directly to the Tabernacle of Moses and the Table
of Shewbread. Weekly, the priests would take twelve loaves of shewbread
and place it on the Table in the Holy Place where it would sit and soak,
undisturbed for seven days. At the end of the seven days, the bread was
referred to as The Bread of Presence. That's what communion bread
is... God's presence with us.
This time, the LORD gave Reuben an explanation with the vision:
"When wheat is ground into flour, it loses its personal
identity and is made into bread. All the grains become one loaf. In
the same way, the Church needs to lose its personal identity and take on the
identity of Christ. All the denominations become one unified Body -- His
Church. This is where His presence will dwell and where revival will
spring forth from."
A few months later, the fourth Vision of Harvest came to Reuben. Again,
he saw the same picture: The harvest -- the dark clouds. This time,
however, the dark clouds were moving rapidly over the wheat fields.
Reuben was so moved that he began to yell out loud,
"No! The Harvest is lost!"
In that instant, a bright, white fire blew out
from beneath the clouds.
He heard himself calling out,
"LORD, You're going to lose the harvest!"
But the LORD responded back,
"No! This is the latter day outpouring of the
Holy Spirit --
The fire of the Holy Spirit!"
The vision left quickly and all Reuben could think about was:
"This is the revival we're
looking for!"
God's going to bring forth the
fire of the Holy Spirit.
There's going to be a massive
harvest of souls!"
Reuben quickly remembered the original message that was given him by the
evangelist in 2001:
"God's going to do a work in
your day
and you're going to be totally
astounded ~
But take courage when things
don't happen
the way you think they
will."
Until now, all the revivals we've seen or heard about have similarities.
There's always a distinct man or woman of God that the LORD uses to move
through -- igniting crowds of people to salvation and a deeper walk with the LORD. The Holy Spirit is
always a participant -- displaying amazing signs, wonders and miracles.
Revive FLORIDA doesn't follow that pattern -- yet it's still very much a
revival. Instead of being centered around one individual that God is
using, the Holy Spirit is using the teams
of Christians who are going out into the streets, to reveal Himself to
the lost.
As believers are showing the love
of God,
praying with people and sharing
their faith,
they are being set on fire for
God like never before.
-- Not to mention
there's a legitimate harvest
taking place
with discipleship solidifying it's
results.
The other difference is the UNITY
of the churches. That's miraculous in and of itself! Like Reuben's vision of the grains of wheat being made into bread,
Revive FLORIDA is about all different denominations operating as ONE CHURCH --
The Body of Christ.
I just can't shake how tightly
woven
Reuben's vision is
with the rollout of this move of
God.
Meditating on all that,
Gail
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