In surfing the internet I have found writings of Christians attacking the spiritual movement which has been going on at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Fl. I believe it is right for me to mention my views here also. This is something I have knocked up pretty fast and will probably work on improving. Please e-mail me any comments.
I have been twice to Pensacola, Fl. to attend the revival meetings there and also to visit some Christian friends I made contact with through some associations formed during the time of my work in Bucharest, Romania as a church planter. I have been to at least 7 revival meetings, 2 prayer meetings there and several seminar meetings. In addition I have listened to and viewed many of the taped messages coming out of there. In my view it is God. Why?
1. This revival lifts up Jesus. It is not about lifting up the ministry of some man, although God is using a team of gifted men and many dedicated church people to make this thing happen. The evangelistic preaching magnifies and praises Jesus. It points to Him as both Saviour AND Lord. It insists that believers should be focussed on Jesus from dawn to dusk. It is hard to believe that Satan would do this.
2. The Bible is Taught. The messages, while often very intense, are not simply emotional appeals to "get more of God" but are teaching right out of the gospels and other portions of the Bible. It would be hard to demonstrate that such preaching is in reality promoting "another Jesus".
3. The Fear of God is there. There is often an atmosphere of awe in the revival meetings. It does not inspire flippancy with God, but rather respect and an urgency to get sin out of your life. The consequence of this is that people flock to the front of the church to confess and repent of sin every night of the revival meetings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and I question the wisdom of those Christians and other people who don't have a dread of sin in their lives.
4. Multitudes are Professing Christ - Clearly a revival which doesn't result in the saving of many souls through the preaching of the gospel is hardly worthy of the title. Hundreds of thousands of non-believers, as well as many professing Christians, including pastors, have come to those meetings and responded to the call for repentance. We've been waiting for it for years. Why reject it now that it is here?
5. Miraculous Changed Lives - Not only are multitudes responding to the salvation appeals, but there are thousands of testimonies coming out of this revival testifying of God's miraculous deliverance in the person's life. People are getting delivered of drugs, addiction to pornography and other sexual perversions. Cold, hypocritical Christians are giving their hearts to God in truth. Who was doing that for these people if not Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?
6. Healings and Deliverances Abound - Although this never seems to be a major emphasis of the messages or meetings, testimonies abound of divine healing and deliverance coming through faith in Jesus' name? Isn't this Biblical, after all?
I ask the critics of this move: Is the Holy Spirit working there or not, if these be the results? And if the Holy Spirit is working there - and He is God - who are YOU to reject and criticise His work there, turning away people from going to the revival who would have repented had they gone? Are you ready to account to God for the use of the influence God has given you?
John Wesley is quoted as saying, "Lord, send a revival with no defects. But if that is not possible, send a revival, defects and all!"
We should be rejoicing and thanking God for the "Brownsville revival" - the influence of which is now spreading all over America. Indeed, many pastors and evangelists that have passed through the Brownsville meetings have seen the hand of God moving in a similar way in their own meetings.
Objections Answered
How can these manifestations such as people falling on the floor and others shaking be from God?
The Bible talks of those who "tremble at His Word" (Isaiah 66:2). It happened amongst the Quakers and in lots of other revival movements withing Christianity. Lots of times in the Bible people fell down physically because of the power of God. (John 18:6; Acts 9:4; Daniel 10:8; 2 Chronicles 5:14).
It is no surprise that people fall over when the power of God touches them. After all, God is more powerful than 240 Volts (my Australian heritage is showing). You might fall over if you were connected to even such relatively low levels of voltage.
Many of the critics are saying, "Show me this in the Bible." Then when you show them they say, "Ah, but that was only for the Bible." There is no one so blind as those who won't see.
If you have a problem with manifestations you would have a big problem with a lot of the things that happened in the Bible. What about Saul of Tarsus falling down, and later scales falling of his eyes? These kind of things happened in the revivals under Edwards, Wesley, Whitefield and in the early days of the Pentecostal movement. Why should we be so disturbed if they happen now?
The leaders at Brownsville are emphasizing Jesus, not manifestations. They seek to major on majors like Jesus and the cross, not on minors. Why should you reject this move of God because something you don't really understand is happening? The fruit of it is that people are getting saved and loving Jesus more. Judge the tree by its fruit.
I want to know about the critics of this revival: what can they demonstrate of the nature and power of Jesus Christ? Talk is cheap. Let us hear and see what these men who would "save Christianity from deception" can do and achieve in the name of Jesus. How many churches have they planted? How many souls have been saved under their ministries? Can they point to the signs of a believer mentioned in Mark 16:17,18 being done in their ministry? If not, why not?
Isn't This the "Evil Toronto Spirit" coming to gullible Christians in another disguise?
This "Evil Toronto Spirit" is sure leading a lot of people to turn from sin and live for Christ! :-) Perhaps the move at Toronto was only a kind of wake up call for discouraged Christians to get them ready for the next stages of God's moving.
I would encourage readers to obtain and read, "From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire" by Dr. Michael Brown, and also his new book, "Let No One Deceive You: Confronting the Critics of Revival" which shed light on some of the issues involved. Michael Brown is a thinker, scholar and also a leader at the Brownsville Assembly. Available at http://www.reapernet.com .
I believe that the Holy Spirit was behind most of what was happening at Toronto Airport Christian fellowship. However, I don't think that the move there was as Biblically based as what we see happening at Brownsville. Toronto was about getting filled with the Spirit. People were enjoying the touch of God on their lives. I was there once for two nights in 1996 and did not see one soul get saved, though I am sure that many were and still are getting saved there. At Brownsville, however, hundreds are giving their lives to Christ in every meeting and it shows no signs of abating.
We can thank God for all the good things that happened through the Toronto move, and in meetings with Rodney Howard-Browne. It doesn't mean we have to agree with all that was done or said in those meetings. Personally, I don't like the teaching that says: "Don't think. Throw your mind out. Just receive without question." We are supposed to love the Lord with all our minds as well as all our heart.
"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. Hold on to the good. Reject even the form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)