This week I’ve been reading Defining Moments God Encounters with Ordinary People Who Changed the World by Bill Johnson, with Jennifer A. Miskov, PHD. Pastor Bill says Jennifer is a historian and did most of the research. He fleshed out the life of the person in each chapter, then related it to what we need to be accessing today from what they encountered in past decades and generations. Those included are: John Wesley, Charles G. Finney, Dwight L. Moody, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Carrie Judd Montgomery, Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, Evan Roberts, Reese Howells, Aimee Semple McPherson, Kathryn Kuhlman, Randy Clark, and Heidi Baker.

As Pastor Bill says, these people were not perfect, but each had a major encounter with God and pressed in to make a big difference in the world for His glory. The last chapter is titled Just the Beginning. What would happen in your life and realm of influence if you surrendered to the Spirit of God and did great exploits for the Kingdom? I have been reading Smith Wigglesworth’s chapter for several days and these things have stuck out for me, which are found on pages 121, 130, and 132.

“Fear looks, faith jumps.”

Arriving at a home similar to the account of Jesus coming to Lazarus after four days, the family told him he was too late. What did he respond? “God has never sent me anywhere too late.”

“If you do not venture, you remain ordinary. If you do the impossible…”

Bill Johnson acknowledges many other people have done biographies of these heroes of the faith, so his aim is not to repeat those, but to use these life stories to outline a course for us to follow for seeing a sustained move of God. Are you ready to dig in and spend concentrated time with the Lord until the Spirit falls like fire and launch out into the depths of what He has for you? I am in the last week of the Exploring the Prophetic, and the book Defining Moments is igniting what I am learning over these ninety days of study. The prophets report that God is doing a new thing; we must prepare for deployment against the spiritual enemies, principalities and rulers in high places in the heavenlies that Apostle Paul told us about in Ephesians chapter six. Everything the heroes of faith accessed before us is what we need as a base to inspire us for this next move of God.

Where ever you’re at, whatever challenges you are facing, I encourage you to hold on, help is on the way! As I read about these glorious moments of God in the past, I have no knowledge that my ancestors alive in those times ever got involved in what God’s Spirit was doing. I know I do not want to miss what’s coming in this generation, as the glory of God is preparing to fall like never before! Each follower of Jesus, as well as those who haven’t encountered Him yet, needs to be ignited to accomplish what’s ahead.

I pray you will follow hard after God and experience wholeness in Christ Jesus. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does in the next week, so I’ll see you then!

Shalom my dear readers!