I've Made Up My Mind..

The Word declares:

“Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? For you do not enquire wisely concerning this.”

Ecclesiastes 7:10

People Question:
“If this is the move of God, then why was it so much ‘better’ before this? The church was full – the finances were up – everyone was happier back then. We have traveled so far and see no fruit of this revival yet – only loss.”

Even within the framework of the revivalists there is still a “bit of religion” as we are all being stretched further than we “thought” would happen.

This message will pose many questions to all of us who say that we are “going for revival.”

So here we go…

It all began with desire, hope and a dream, placed in the promises and prophecies of the revival. You reached out with great expectation as the thoughts of what God was saying to His church were expressed in the voice of many people. You have heard it from your pulpits, from friends, evangelists, television and the internet revival lists. You have searched it all out and stepped into the adventure of a lifetime. This promised to be the most exciting time of your whole Christian life.

“And now, here at this time, many are asking, ‘why isn’t it happening?’”

There was a point, for many of you, some years back, when you made a major transition in your Christian life and walk – from the ‘way you had always done it,’ to getting hungry for something that was real – something beyond yourself. Most of you can probably name a year, a month and maybe even a date and hour when God touched your life in a way that you had never before been touched.

Something came alive in you – something more real than you could have imagined.

You knew that you had made contact with The Living God!

So, the journey started. And now, here you are, years down the road pushing toward ‘breakthrough’ and are really wondering some things. I trust that what I write today will answer some things for you and encourage you to go deeper than you have ever gone before. This depth that I am talking about is rock-solid, firm and unyielding to the pressures of this life and the future.

It is foundational to your faith.

Early on we believed in the revival for what we saw with our eyes. We began to believe because we had not seen God’s power manifested in such a visual way. Based upon what we witnessed with our own eyes in the early stage of the move of God, we decided that we were going to go for it, regardless of the cost. Very brave of us, when we had no idea of the cost!

It is time for your faith to arise in times that offer you nothing that your natural eyes can see.

One of the things that occurred in revival was the uprising within the church, creating a split off the body as the camps and schools of thought were developed from within the hearts of people. It all came down to simply, where did you and others stand in relationship to what you saw happening as things began to stir the town, the church, the leadership, the congregation. The early fires of revival were hot and revealing at the same time, making known or manifest the hearts of many.

This taxed our faith as we personally had to decide if we were still going to stand firm and believe that this was really a move of God.

This event left many people trying to decide, “If this was a move of God, then why did ‘so and so’ quit the church?

And then, we transitioned away from the grief of losing friends from our fellowship, and decided that we were going to go on.

Many of you withstood that test and are still waiting for the promised outpouring of God’s Spirit – the one yet to come.

Some of you in revival churches have been faced with the tests of having people come into the church, look at you, and walk out and want nothing to do with you and you might say, “So, this is revival?” Others come into your fellowship and see the small numbers and say,

“Well, if you have revival in your church, why isn’t your church full?” “Where are your souls?”

“Is anything happening in your church yet?”

In the midst of all of this change and stir and criticism, you may still be making decisions as to just where you stand and pondering, “Do I believe or not believe that this is the move of God?

For the sake of helping many of you, I am going to build a scenario that I trust will position us for the season ahead of us, however long that may be.

It is easy to be caught up in the sway of the crowd, but can we stand alone?

You may say, “Well, we have been standing alone.” I am asking a deeper question than that.

“Can YOU stand alone?”

It is easy to rush towards a goal that we have not personally embraced, as long as there’s excitement, as long as others are cheering us on and going with us.

“If we have a cheering crowd, we can go anywhere and do anything.”

But, my question to each of us is this –

· Are you taking the journey because others are doing it or because you are convinced, deep in your own heart, that this is absolutely right and a God-driven Move of God - Revival?

· Why are you where you are and what has caused you to continue to pursue this journey?

· Are you doing it because others have decided to keep on going or because you have decided?

· Have you been deeply challenged in your own heart to keep going – regardless?

Take time, the next time that you gather with other believers and ask yourself these hard questions. “What if those that I trust the most to be committed to the move of God were the next to walk away saying, ‘I have come to believe that this is not real and have decided to lay it all aside?’” How deep would this challenge your belief that what is going on is real?

· Would your faith be challenged too deeply to remain a “believer” in the current move of God as being the “real thing” if someone you believe in walks away at this point?

· Would you go on, regardless of what “others” do?

These are difficult questions, no doubt and a little uncomfortable to those of us who already feel that we have lost friends and family support.

· Would you continue the race if the grandstands were empty?

So your church has been in “revival” and “your pastors” have planted the seed and kept it watered, keeping the vision alive, reminding everyone of the promises and the destiny. Or maybe you are one of those that are in a church where you and a few others are still praying for a move of God in your church and you ‘feel alone in the journey.’ Whoever you are and regardless of how wonderful or how hard it has been to this date, there is a season that is upon us that we need to prepare for.

The questions to challenge all of us is –

· “How deep is the seed of commitment, obedience, and the change that God has made in your life, planted within your own heart?”

· How quickly would we convert back to the ‘old way’ if there were not a constant push or thrust forward by the revivalist of this age?

· Have you gone far and deep enough in your own pursuit that if no one spoke to you again of the move of God, would you believe that there is revival coming to the nations of the world?

· Would you believe in the harvest that is to come?

I believe in leadership and following leadership, but I am talking of something so much deeper here that it transcends following the crowd to truly following because we believe enough to follow – though none go with us. Yes, we should hear the word of the Lord from the anointed vessels that God has placed to prepare the church, but eventually, we have to believe the seed of the written and rhema Word enough for it to grow fruit in our lives that will remain if others move on. The church is built upon the confession of “Who WE say that Jesus is…not who others say He is.”

· If God were to place you – a remnant – in exile or in a dry place – alone – or in a place of persecution – would the commitment be in you to continue on, unhindered, unwavering, without looking back?

Think with me of the Apostle Paul, who sat alone in prison for a good part of his ministry, but believed enough to take that time to write the Epistles to the Churches. Think with me of John the Beloved, exiled on the Isle of Patmos, a penal colony, receiving the Revelation of Jesus Christ that we study today and the fact that he evangelized that Island while there. Think with me of John the Baptist, wandering in a wilderness, in preparation for the ministry of a Harbinger – coming out to prepare the way of the Lord – full of faith, using the wilderness experience to prepare himself for ministry.

Were these men extraordinary? No – they had just made up their mind that they believed – in spite of circumstances, trials or persecutions – to follow hard after God. The time and space would fail me if I were to try to speak of all those down through history who have faced the worst of times and yet, stayed true to what they believed.

This type of faith has to go beyond our heads and be planted so deeply in our hearts that it will not crumble under pressure.

Yes, our faith will be tested – but faith stands alone when everything else fails. That is the way with faith. It does not have to see in order to act and in fact works best when there is nothing to hang onto or anything to see.

Some of you have great respect for your leadership and have honored them and rightly so. I can challenge others in this area because I am a leader of people who are being discipled by me. But there is one thing I know – if for some remote reason I were to be removed from their lives, I would hope that the seeds that I have planted in their lives would remain, because they believed so deeply that nothing could shake them loose from their firm foundation that is being developed in their lives.

My question to you is this:

· If the leadership that you currently have were to be removed from your life and be no more, (and I am not even especially talking about some kind of failure, being as there are pastors in other countries who are in jail or martyred and the church has had to learn to keep standing in those times), would you have the fruit of what God has been doing, so deeply planted in your spirit, that you would continue moving the same direction that you are now going?

· Could you hang onto the promises and believe for the move of God?

It is time for all of us to examine the level of growth of “all of the seeds” that have been sown into our hearts, minds and lives, in the past season and ask ourselves some tough questions – tough ones that may save us from shipwreck.

· Why are we doing what we do – because of others, (and I am not talking about not following leadership, for this is right in the sight of God), or because of God and our devotion to Him?

· If your church leadership were to say that because of the “cost” of doing things the way that they have been being done, that the church was going to have to adjust and do something to get the church “back on track,” financially and to draw the crowds back, to gain the respect of those who no longer believe in “our position, “I would ask you, “How quickly would you settle back into the routine of the past?”

· If there were adjustments made, such as has happened in some churches, would you settle back into the comfortable fit of the “old wine skins of religion,” or is there enough of the “fire of God in you to keep you burning,” even if everyone else has “ceased burning?

How many of you are doing some thinking about these questions? These are serious thoughts being presented to each of us to prepare us to stand in the days ahead. We should all be provoked to deep thoughts about these ponderings.

· How deep is our personal commitment – when it “seems” like we are on the losing side and everything is falling apart in front of our eyes?

(Remember? We are going to a place where we cannot look with the natural eyes, but with the eyes of faith that will tell the truth when our natural eyes lie to us.)

· Would you turn around and return to the places of comfort and ease – once again being spoon-fed by another’s hand - or would you continue to drink from the Living Water and eat the Living Bread for yourself?

· Will we hold our ground for the higher prize?

Your answer to these hard questions, now, and the answer “your life” would give under those circumstances may not be the same, if you haven’t been established in your faith in God and His Word in order to stand in tougher times than you have already faced.

· Do you believe what you do because of your own heart-felt decision – or – have you simply embraced the lifestyle of another?

· Have your truly changed or have you just adapted to the temperature of the water because someone else turned up the heat?

Consider Israel with me for a moment – With each change of a king, Israel would either rise to the Godliness of the king and his ways, or they would plummet to the depths of the degradation of the ungodly king. But, there was always a remnant that held true regardless of the ungodly kings of Israel, because there was “Another Throne,” – a “Heart Throne,” that had been captivated by God alone. For them, it didn’t matter who sat in the earthly seat. Even physically captivity could not change their allegiance.

They served God in freedom and they served God in captivity.

I heard the Lord say to me on May 15, 2003 at 8:30 AM,

“Fickle Faith.”

Are we so “fickle in our faith” that we waver with every change that is made in our surroundings?

God is building a “Holy Generation” – a “People” who have decided because of “Who they say that Jesus is to them.” This is a people who have made up their mind that they will serve the Lord even when they go it alone. They understand the history of the Church and are prepared to pay the price to follow all the way – “though none go with them.” These are a people who have come to understand that…

· Others answers will not do.

· Others worship will not do.

· Others loyalty will not do.

· Others prayers will not do.

· Others faith will not do.

· Others commitment will not do.

· Others love for God will not do.

· Others anointing will not do.

· Others obedience will not do.

· Others faithfulness will not do.

You will have to make up your mind. I will have to make up my mind – to follow Jesus – though NONE go with me. That has to be the level of commitment that we have towards God, regardless of what the seasons ahead holds in store for us. Whatever transitions, or goes on around us and what the circumstances of life may bring into our path, we have to continue to go forward, even if we have to go alone.

~Esther Drummer