We have had some terrific days here in Tanzania this past week. I have been at several churches throughout Dar es Salaam and every service has been great. In most places (probably every one of them), the message of revival has been shattering. They all want revival, but it’s as if they are not really sure what revival is or how to get it. And when I bring this message to them, it opens their understanding like someone ripping open the dark curtains that was hiding the bright noon day. What is interesting is that some of these places had just started getting serious about seeking God for revival when all of a sudden I showed up with this message. One pastor told me that he had been pasturing his church for 10 years, but only in the past couple of weeks has the Lord been pressing upon him to teach his church to go out and win souls. God’s perfect timing is so cool. What they have not experienced before is the power that accompanies these services. I can feel the Spirit flowing through me, but I don’t feel what they feel out in the congregation. Pastor Noah tells me that the power is so strong out there that it is breaking hearts to cry out to God. Even our driver, who is a Muslim and won’t come inside the churches, said he could feel the power of God out in the parking lot and has decided to start coming inside. That has to be a good sign. At every church, the people are excited, pumping my hand to express their thanks and begging me to come back. But when I come back to the hotel at night and stare out the window at the lights of the city, I don’t feel the same thing they’re feeling. I feel like a little boy who is trying to do a man’s job. Pretty funny seeing I am 62 years old. But honestly, I wonder about what I am doing here. Sometimes I just feel inadequate because I really don’t know what I am doing. I never know what the message will be until just before I stand up. Oh sure, it is always good – God never fails me – but even after preaching hundreds upon hundreds of messages that have all been filled with the Spirit, it is still daunting to me. It is not the words that I must deliver, but the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. It’s like getting ready to jump into a swimming pool, knowing that you don’t know how to swim but being forced to trust God that He will teach you how if you just dive in. Maybe I’m not supposed to be brimming with self-confidence like some big-time, sho’ nuff, Holy Ghost revivalist. Maybe I am supposed to stand in awe of the impossible providence of God’s Grace, knowing that I can’t do this – I will never be able to do this – but He can … and He does … every time. He just needs for me to get out of the way and let Him be God. When we let God take over, we release Him to do the miraculous. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
Brother Dale
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