Radical
When I was a younger man, with energy and time to burn, my view of being radical was running as hard as you could for God. It was measured by "doing" things for Him, in doing as much as you could for Him. This led to a performance based relationship.
Granted, I got to do a lot of cool things, and most of it was sincere, but there was still this drive inside of me for approval through actions. "Look! Look! I'm doing well! I'm on fire for God!". Many who knew me then would have no idea of this internal dialgoue or struggle. Or maybe they did, and I was the clueless one. Either way, I got to do a lot of cool things.
A few years ago, during a time of prayer, I had a vision. In the vision I was standing on a road next to a field. In the distance I could see what looked liked Jesus, and he was waving His arm. I waved back. I remember thinking out loud in the vision, "Oh it's Jesus! He's waving at me. Wait? He's not waving, He's beckoning me to come to Him". I ran across the field and came to where Jesus was standing. I could see that He was on a completely different path. He was dressed in light colored clothing, the kind you'd imagine the Jesus of the Bible wore. He was smiling at me, glad to see me. He waited while I caught my breath. What He said next to me, changed me,
"I love your enthusiasm. I love that you go and get things done. You just need to walk in step with me. See, you were off on another path that I wasn't on, that's why I called you over here, where I am. Joe, I love your enthusiasm"
I'd love to say that that one experience fixed my tendency to enthusiastically run ahead, but it did improve. There were two to three other times that Jesus appeared to me in a vision, beckoning me to Him with that same hand motion, and the same warm full-faced smile when I got to where He was.
Before moving back to Wales from America, in Novemeber 2024, I had been praying a lot because the move was very fast. It was faster than I normally like to move. God used my move back to re-fire me after a long season of dormancy. I was coming out of a long period of "cave-time" with God. I felt the fires burning again. I had missed the fire, like an old friend. During those weeks before I left America, and in the early weeks of my arrival, I had prayed several times,
"Lord what happened to Finney in the woods and in his office. I want it!"
I will put the link at the end of this post to a fuller account of what happened to Finney. He experienced God in such a powerful way that he cried out for God to stop, for fear of him dying. Finney felt these "waves of liquid love" wash over him, and it was so intense that he thought he would die. I laugh at that, because it sounds like a contradiction in terms - Liquid love and Death! Years later Finney preached about that encounter,
“I was powerfully converted on the morning of the 10th of October 1821. On the evening of the same day, I received overwhelming infillings of the Holy Spirit, that went through me, as it seemed to me, body and soul. I found myself so endued with power from on high"
We have so much to learn of the power of God's love. The point of this account is that Finney's life was never the same again, following that encounter. He brought not only religious revival, but also social reform to America. This is important, because many exclude themselves from having such powerful experiences because they work a 9-5 job, or they're a stay at home mother, or they're too young, or too old. Finney worked a 9-5 job when he had this encounter, or whatever hours Lawyers work. WHY should only the preachers, pastors, and missionaries have these powerful experiences? Isn't the God of the missionary your God too? Also, many pastors today NEED a powerful touch. Becuase they are managers of congregations, and not truly ministers of the Gospel. Tending graveyards instead of raising the dead! It is available to you, a life changing encounter that could empower you to bring change to your sphere of influence!
This fifty-year old Joe, now has a different definition of what it means to be Radical. It is not primarily based on performance but on proximity to the presence of Jesus. Do I live consciously aware of the influence of His exuberant, energizing, and equipping presence? Are the decisions I make, made in His presence? Do I filter this world through eyes that stand in the cloud of His Glory? Do I dare to believe that Jesus still wants to, and could use me for His honor? Could Jesus use me to bring reform to whichever harvest field He has placed me in? What about you?
The definition of radical is usually connected with political bias. Concerning us, as Rainmakers, Radical means,
"An inherent or fundamental part of the nature of someone or something"
It's who we are, because of whose we are!
Jesus instructed His followers to,
"Remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high"
Luke 24:49b
Simply put, "REMAIN"..."UNTIL"...We need a Church who "know" that they have been clothed with "power from on high", and how to live lives under the power of the Spirit. This is the birthplace of the radical pursuit. We use the term "Rainmakers" because that is an autological prophetic appellation given to us by the Spirit, in normal terms - "It does what it says on the tin"! We are Rainmakers because we make Rain. Whichever title you use, the reality of experiencing God in greater measure requires a pursuit. Hebrews 11:6b says,
"He rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him"
(The Passion Translation)
More Lord!
Here is the link to the article explaining Charles Finney's encounter with God: Waves & Waves of Liquid Love
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