The Sound of Heavy Rain

Elijah said, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of heavy rain.”
(2 Kings 18:41)

A time of renewed faith and life in the Holy Spirit
Over the last four or five months here at our offices we have become aware of our hunger and desire for more of the Lord’s life, presence and power. As we begin each day in our chapel before the Blessed Sacrament there has been a noticeable increase in the quality of our prayer times (subjectively speaking) and in the length of time devoted to praise and worship of the Lord. We have also experienced an increase in the Lord speaking to us through Scripture and prophesy.
I believe that what we are experiencing here at our ChristLife is something that the Lord may be doing in many Christians presently. I think that it is possible that there is a time of renewal coming and He wants us praying and crying out to him for his mercies to flood the earth! We need an outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the Church and the nations!

Lakeland Florida
In the context of this season of what I would characterize as a time of increased faith in his faithfulness and renewal in the Holy Spirit I had the chance to go to go to Lakeland, Florida, a place about forty miles west of Orlando in the middle of no-where (apologies to the local residents). I went because I had heard about some revival meetings taking place there from some trusted Christian leaders, and then watched some of the meetings on Internet web-casts. I went because of what the Lord has been doing among us and specifically because I sense the Lord Jesus renewing me in the use of the spiritual gifts for evangelization.

From what I have learned, back in the beginning of April a young Canadian evangelist had gone to an Assembly of God church in Lakeland, to do a mission that was planned for a week. Those meetings took off from gatherings of seven hundred to now several thousand meeting every night. There have been meetings every morning and every evening since April 2nd. That’s over 94 days! There have been many healings and creative miracles and there is a way that the grace of the Holy Spirit is being imparted to those who attend so that they go back home praying for others themselves.
The evangelist’s name is Todd Bentley, he and his family are from British Columbia. Todd is a most unlikely Christian leader. He is a much tattooed and body pierced former biker (as in motorcycle gang biker not as in Lance Armstrong biker), who is not only unorthodox in appearance but also in ministry style. Sometimes as he prays with people for healing he says, Bam! Sort of like Emeril the TV chef. He says that is what he feels is happening inside him in the power of the Holy Spirit as he is praying for people - bam! That alone is enough to turn a lot of folks off and away from taking a closer look at what is happening in Lakeland.

Discernment with love as our aim, not condemnation
I have learned over many years of fellowshipping and praying with Christians from various Christian churches, that it is easy to make judgments against other believers simply because they don’t do things the way we do them. I am not suggesting checking our brains at the door, but I am suggesting that when we hear about things that are going on with fellow Christians, that are different from us, we take the time to discern and learn with love as our aim- not condemnation.

You may recall that in the Gospels and Acts it was frequently religious leaders that didn’t recognize Jesus as the Christ, meanwhile at his birth wise men from foreign lands recognized him, and later his Lordship was quite clear to those who were possessed by evil spirits! How about St Paul and Silas as they went about on their missionary journey in Asia Minor? The religious leaders condemned them, while the fortune telling demon controlled girl stated they were of God? And what about the Lord Jesus’ own statement about the ‘church going’ people not accepting John the Baptist because he was a kook out in the dessert and He, Himself, was accused of being a drunk hanging out in the bars with sinners? The same was true when we read the lives of many Saints; they were criticized and persecuted often by fellow Christians and sometimes by those in authority during their lifetimes. My point is that in movements or visitations of the Lord, sadly it is often the case that believers are the ones who condemn what just may well be the Lord! If you haven't been there and are reading some of the negative and condemning reports, I encourage you to bless and not curse as some are doing. If it is not your cup of tea, that is not reason to condemn nor to speak against.

One thing I can tell you personally is that I have learned a lot of very important truths from other Christians, through which I have benefited as well as those I serve in the Catholic Church. Okay, enough with the pastoral qualifications! Let me share a variety of things that are happening at this Lakeland revival, as it is called.

Pilgrimage
One thing I experienced as soon as I walked into the meetings was the number of people from other countries! It is quite amazing as you talk with people you are seated near to learn where they have come from. I sat with people from Australia, South Korea, England and Texas (that is a separate country, right?!). Each of the three nights I attended, there were people from over 30 countries present, and they were not in the area to visit the Mouse in Orlando! They were there for the Lord Jesus and the conviction that the Holy Spirit was doing something new that could help them share the Gospel back in their own cities! Remember these meetings have been going on for 90+ days and already people from all over the world are coming, hungry for God. Doesn’t that remind you of pilgrimages that have happened over the centuries in the Catholic Church!

Media for a new evangelization ( a great example for all Christians)
GodTV is broadcasting each morning and evening service. You can check out the meetings at: freshfire.ca They are broadcasting by satellite in over two hundred countries with a potential audience of over 140 million. Many of the people I talked with from other countries had learned about the revival by seeing it on TV. I heard the witness of one woman who was healed of breast cancer while watching it on TV. Her sister had called and told her to drive over to her house to see this TV show. After watching Todd Bentley minister healing, as she drove home she realized she was healed; the lump the size of a golf ball was gone! Her doctor later verified it! In addition to GodTV carrying the meetings, many of the major TV networks are now coming to record what is happening. ABC network was there all three days I attended. It should be interesting to see what they say and to watch how the Lord uses it. He longs for people to know his love and mercy and will use all things to do that!

Power evangelization One wonderful development that says a lot about the major thrust of these meetings is what is taking place daily with teaching and practice evangelizing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Each afternoon they are training those who come to the revival how to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in sharing God’s love with others. After each session they have everyone go out prepared to share their faith, as the Holy Spirit gives them opportunities. On one afternoon as two mean teamed up to go out they prayed and the Lord gave them each an image. The one man saw a baseball field and the other say bleachers with a person sitting in them. They began to drive around Lakeland and found a baseball field with no bleachers, so they continuing searching and found another with bleachers AND a young man sitting in them alone. When they shared with him it turned out he had planned on taking his life, they got to share how and why they were there and he turned to the Lord for help!
Praise and Worship I think that the praise and worship that is occurring at these meetings is really exceptional. It is charismatic in style and led by a very good worship team. Generally the time of prayer lasts at least 90 minutes. The second night I attended it went on for over two hours!

Emphasis on the Glory of God Todd Bentley places a significant emphasis on the presence of the Lord among us and the fact that the Lord Jesus wants us to carry his presence out into the world! He repeatedly states that what we receive at these meetings should be brought back to our countries and cities and given away. There clearly is something about the presence of the Lord at these meetings that is a transferable impartation of the graces of God.

Healing A major part of each evening is Todd or whoever is leading the service prays for healing. Most of the time it begins with words of knowledge, where the Holy Spirit gives gifting to know the condition of people who are suffering with different illnesses. One development that I think is very helpful for those discerning if this is authentic is that they are asking for medical verification of the healings people receive. They now have a medical doctor on staff that reviews the medical records. Here are a few of the healings that occurred or were shared about on one night while I was there.
* A lady with failing kidneys resulting from diabetes was given one year to live in January. She came the first week of the revival. During worship she felt the power of God come upon her and felt her kidneys pulsate! She felt that she needed to use the toilet and based on that knew her kidneys were functioning again! She has since been to the doctors three times and they confirm the kidneys are working properly.
* There was a couple we met who was sitting in front of us from Texas. They had come to bring a woman suffering from fibromyalgia, chronic pain in every part of her body over the last nine months. She was in such pain that she couldn’t come for the worship time and the husband had to go the hotel to bring her late. While sitting in her seat she heard Todd give a word of knowledge for fibromyalgia, stood up in faith and the power of the Spirit came upon her obviously, we got to pray with her, she now has no pain!
* A woman 80% deaf in one ear and 70% deaf in the other had both ears 'pop' open. She said she now needs earplugs because everything is so loud!
*One man's testimony is what revival is all about! He was just released from jail three weeks ago and only attended the meeting because of the urging of a friend. During the meeting a tumor under his arm, the size of his nose, just shrank and completely disappeared. He was holding his arm up so everyone could see the place where there now was lose skin on his armpit! He then gave His life to the Lord Jesus! Meanwhile his friend is jumping up and down with joy!

Come Holy Spirit! Rain down upon the nations!
Something wonderful is happening in Lakeland and the people who are leading as well as many who are coming from around the world believe it is for the church and for the conversion of the nations. Having attended I believe it is for renewal and empowerment to bring the Gospel with power to those around us. Isn't that what our Lord Jesus desires?!

Let’s cry out to the Lord for more of his love and mercy to fall afresh upon the nations! Oh Lord Jesus, give us faith to see the lame walk, the deaf hear and the blind see! Give us hearts that carry your compassion for those who do not know you! Amen.