WORDS FOR THIS GENERATON: REVIVAL DOESN'T SIFT THE WORLD, IT SIFTS THE CHURCH
Last Year I had a dream. It was one of those dreams that felt important. I was in an arena where revival was breaking out. I did not recognize many of the people, but there were MANY people there. As I was walking through the crowd, the sounds of the revival quieted, and I began to hear the thoughts and private conversations of those in attendance. One group of people were talking about leaving. They were talking about how “weird” people get in what is supposed to be a church setting. They were saying how this loud, different, Holy Spirit, dancing kind of stuff just made them uncomfortable. This group of people collected their things and walked away.
The next person I walked past was thinking about how underqualified they felt to be part of something so great as a revival. They did not feel adequate to be a part of the powerful things unfolding that day. Their lack of confidence and belief pained me. They did not feel like they had a place in this part of God’s Kingdom. They too walked out of the arena and left.
This kept happening. Some of the people stayed and some of them left. Both for various reasons. When I woke up, I remember thinking how sad it was for those who left. They left because of their insecurity. They left because of the religious spirit they carried. Much like the Pharisees in Jesus time, when the revival came for them, they could not see it because it didn’t FIT what they had been expecting.
When I began to ask the Lord about this dream, and began to pray over what it was He wanted to say, this is what I heard: THE REVIVAL THAT I AM BRINGING WILL NOT BE USED TO SIFT THE WORLD, IT WILL BE USED TO SIFT THE CHURCH.
Do you feel the power of that statement? The weight that it carries. Over the last year, I have been carrying this dream in my heart. I have shared it with a few people, who the Lord had asked me to share it with. But, I honestly feel like this word is so relevant for us today. Make no mistake, we are amidst of God doing something radical, new, crazy, scary, exciting, and different. But as I look around at our world today, I cannot help being reminded of this dream. Maybe the revival He is bringing is not supposed to look like anything you or I have ever seen before. Maybe it is not going to look anything like we expect, or even want, it to look like.
When I look at what He is doing today, I can see the truth of His words to me over a year ago when I had that dream. We, as the church body, are being sifted. Sifted, “the act of sifting something, so as to isolate that which is most important or useful or that which must be discarded”. In the wheat harvest, since the ancient of days, there has been a process for sifting. Once wheat is threshed, it is winnowed. At this time, the chaff (which is unusable for food) is removed entirely. The wind blows it away, and the heavier (good) grain falls into a waiting basket or tray to be used for food.
I am just going to ask you, straight up. What is being sifted from your life in this hour? How is God sifting our churches, our families, our friendships, and our finances? What will be left from our harvest after this season that can be used by Him in the times we will be facing? What good grain needs to remain and what chaff needs to be removed? What will be left so that we can truly become the living bread to a world who is so desperately in need of the Savior who can satisfy their every hunger?
The church is the one being sifted in this moment. And, I honestly believe we have to embrace this season. So that we come out of this season more rich, more full of the harvest, more full of nutrients, and less weighed down with the chaff of our lives heading into the NEW REVIVAL God is bringing.