Recently, I have felt compelled to write a book on this aspect of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit and will commit to writing it in the year 2010. The church at large has failed to tap into this vital work of the Holy Spirit because she is blinded by her understanding of revival works of old such as the ones at Welsh Revival, Azusa Street Revival and the Pensacola Revival. We have held on to these types of the move of God and unknowingly, veiled our self from what could be “other” moves of God. It comes from the belief, though traditional, that God is bound to always move in the same mold of past revivals. First, I by no means make light of past moves of God, for they are truly the works of God and equally scriptural and have resulted in untold millions coming to Christ through a most profound manifestation of God to humanity. However, an understanding of the Great Commission spoken of in Matthew 28:18-20 strongly reveals that God is shifting, not revival, but the “mode” of revival that will usher in a new relevance for the church in the 21st century.
Let me present two scenarios: first, the world now believes that there are different ways to win a war from the methods of the old cold wars. It seems that China may be winning the economic warfare over the U.S.A, since the U.S, owes them billions of dollars. It gives them the power to bargain or threaten or pull their muscles to benefit their aims and goals. Whole nations in Africa are being mortgaged because of debt, and therefore, are forced to submit to a modified style of slavery. My point is, the world constantly explores new ways of winning, and they understand that there are other ways to win besides guns and bullets. Secondly, the scripture speaks of how the same Serpent of bronze of Numbers 21:6-9, which brought a mighty deliverance to the Israelites, later destroyed them because they made an idol out of it. They were not aware that God had shifted. I am not saying that we completely abandon the revival of old but that we embrace the whole counsel of God and not part of it. Besides, maintaining and growing in our “First love and First works”, should be the norm of Christian living. Revivals die because of several reasons and one of those reasons is that we want to enjoy what God is doing, but are not willing to truly conform into His likeness. In other words, we lack the character and lifestyle it takes to sustain a move of God. The sole objective of all works of God is to make us more like Christ in practice, so as to reveal Him to the world around us. The term, “Revival”, means that something is dying and needs to be resuscitated and we start dying when we loose our first love and first works – (Rev 2:4-6). If growing into our first love and first works were a lifestyle in the church, we would never have the revivals of old, because we won’t need to. Revivals of old tend to have a predictable trend, which is, “What supernaturally comes; supernaturally goes”, because it is based or rather birthed by the labor of the few and not all are as hungry or as disciplined as the few. Moreover, our motives at times may not be pure because we long to reveal to the world a living Christ via means of a move; instead of a lifestyle – a way of life as true followers of Jesus Christ. We want God to fix the church and the world through a move, rather than through sustained discipleship. The believers were first called Christians at Antioch because they lived like Christ. Apparently, the outpouring of Acts 2, had translated into a way of life. Paul’s conversion did not start in Acts 9, but in Acts 7 where he saw Christ’s lamb nature in Stephen the martyr and God used that experience to plow the soil of Paul’s heart. Now, let me get to my main point on the theme of this article.
I would like to introduce another aspect of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in building and transforming nations. Let us look at the following scripture:
“And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” – (Isaiah 11:2).
This is known as the 7 features or the 7 distinct manifestations of the Holy Spirit and all of these were manifested in Christ. For far too long, we’ve majored on just one of them: “the spirit of might.” It is also known as the “spirit of power or the spirit of strength.” This is the aspect of the Holy Spirit that we mostly see in all of our revival meetings and healing conventions. Some actually call these types of meetings, “power services.” The spirit of might, as in all other aspects of the Holy Spirit, is vitally important, but it is just 1/7th of His features. What about the other aspects and have you noticed that 4 of them in particular, have to do with the operation of the mind? We’ve embraced 1/7th and neglected 4/7th of His manifestations. Our relevance in the 21st century will depend on our understanding of these four distinct features of the Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel and the spirit of knowledge. All have to do with the mind. Let’s use some examples to explain how this works.
First, we see this operation of the Spirit in the life of Bezaleel in Exodus 35:30-35. In verse 31, it states, “And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” This is the work of the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in wisdom, understanding and knowledge and skills of craftsmanship. In verse 32 and 33, it states, “And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.” God empowered Bezaleel to build the tabernacle of Moses. Therefore, there exist an anointing for building, even the building of nations. We see a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in tangible works, in skills for construction etc! Wisdom, counsel, understanding and knowledge are all functions of the Holy Spirit. These functions, however, operate within the shrine of man’s born again spirit, impacting, influencing and illuminating the mind. Their sole objective is to impact our thinking out of which creative concepts are born to enhance life. An example of this would be a miraculous healing of cancer where the prayer of faith was prayed over someone or the gifts of healings were in full operation. The church at large would rejoice over a work of God like this and rightfully so. But how come we’ve never believed God for the operation of the same Spirit in the area of science and medicine to find a cure for cancer? Because of our traditional views on healing, we’ve limited God and His manifestations in other fields. Can you imagine if the cure for cancer, both supernaturally and scientifically were in the hands of the church? It would restore her relevance overnight. It is undeniable that wisdom rules the world and is the principal thing. Where is God’s power, revealing itself in Wisdom and creative ideas that addresses global issues? It amazes me sometimes, how childish we’ve become even in spiritual matters. Our understanding of the anointing is mostly falling under the power, shaking, screaming, shouting and all other bodily sensations. Look at some nations in the world where there seems to be a strong emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit and yet, they lack basic infrastructure. Most African nations would qualify as an example for the above illustration and yet, there exist in most African nations: systemic corruption and systemic poverty on every level imaginable. The anointing they exhibit within their four walls apparently has not done anything to improve their environment and social-economic and political structures. Singapore is a nation of many religions, and yet they have law and order and one of the best infrastructures in the world. They achieved this through vision, ethics, character, ideas, concepts, laws of fairness and equity, discipline and faith in the impossible, considering that they were a third world nation just 20years ago. To remain relevant, we must embrace a paradigm shift in our understanding of the anointing. It is the manifestation of God in providing cures for societal ills and enhancing the value of life in a nation as a whole. Remember that scripture again, “And he hath filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in understanding, and in all manner of workmanship” – Ex 35:31.
The second example would be Joseph, the son of Jacob. The scripture states, ”And Pharaoh said unto his servants, can we find such a one as this in whom the Spirit of God is” – Gen 41:38? In what specific way, did Pharoah, a heathen king, observe the operation of the Spirit through Joseph? He saw God’s Spirit at work in Joseph through both the interpretation of his dream and through Joseph’s ability to provide creative solutions to national crisis – Gen 41:33-36. The question we should all ask still is, how was Joseph able to build storages to hold perishable food for 14years in a land known for hot seasons and without any refrigeration? He did it through the anointing manifesting in wisdom, understanding and knowledge, resulting in creative ideas and concepts for national transformation.
In conclusion, we should learn from Israel of old whom through their ignorance of God and His works, failed to enter into their promised land, in spite of all the miracles they saw and experienced. They had become so dependent on their view of the miraculous, that their minds never developed. Like babies, they constantly waited for manna from heaven daily and refused to develop life skills – a necessity for life on earth. God never meant for the gifts of the Spirit to substitute the cultivation of skills and this was the sole reason why the miracles had to cease when they got to Canaan. God told to apply themselves to working the fields and in the process develop skills. In today’s church, our views of the anointing should embrace the whole counsel of God, and especially the fourfold anointing of the Spirit relative to the functions of the mind. Thinkers rule the world and workers will always remain slaves to thinkers. Allow God to move in your mind and illuminate it with ideas for transforming your world. Have you noticed that in Most African churches, the things we constantly ask God for, the world without God have them? Why? Because the earth is made up of laws and those laws are unwavering and unchanging and knows no race, creed, color, gender or religion. Those laws are not prejudiced or biased and they show no favoritism. In all of our getting, it’s time to acquire understanding and seeking God’s ways instead of His acts is always greater wisdom – Ps. 103:7. Since the economic crisis of 2008, what solutions, and I mean precise and applicable ones, has the body of Christ provided to governmental leaders? Has the world felt our influence and impact in this area? Where are the Josephs of this generation? May the Lord bless you as you think on this message.
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