Recently I was on a prayer walk in the mountains when the silence of the forest was shattered with a sudden blast of violent wind that began to rock the trees around me. It seemingly came out of nowhere. The wind picked up velocity and intensity with each passing minute. For the next forty minutes the wind brought with it clouds and precipitation. Snow began to fall. Thankfully I came prepared with my trusty Columbia fleece pullover.
Windstorm is the word I’ve chosen to describe the coming power of the Holy Spirit in a time of revival. The New Bible Dictionary defines the Holy Spirit in Greek as, “Wind, an invisible, mysterious, powerful force, regularly with the notion of strength or violence present…A supernatural force taking possession.” When you study revivals in history, one can see why this is a great definition.
We need a fresh touch of the Spirit of God—whether we have walked with God for fifty years, or have only recently come to Christ. When the Holy Spirit shows up with power in the life of a person, a church, a city, a nation, He comes with the force, velocity, and intensity of a windstorm. It is Jesus showing up.
The windstorm of the Spirit is what our churches need! In Jim Cymbala’s most recent book, Storm, he writes,
“Our culture is no longer a traditional church-going society. Agnosticism and atheism are increasing. If we want to turn back that tide, the Christian community has to return to absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit who made the early believers such a powerful witness for Christ in the age of the Roman Empire. Are there other options? They (early church) knew nothing of what we now call “doing church”; but they grew, and we’re shrinking. “
“Those who deny our need for the Holy Spirit’s direction and help today because the “canon of Scripture is closed” totally miss the point. It’s not new truth or doctrine He brings. We already have God’s unchangeable truth in Scriptures, but what we need is the Spirit’s life and power!”
There is another windstorm blowing all around us. There is a growing satanic windstorm on the earth. We are seeing an acceleration of evil on the earth. The Bible tells us that in the latter days, evil will increase and mature,
And in the latter time…
When the transgressors have reached their fullness,[1]
As we see the maturing of evil in our culture, we will also see a falling away within the church,
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,[2]
The “doctrine of demons,” will be demonic opposition within the church through the obscuring of truth. Such teachings will utilize Christian and theological terms for the purpose of obscuring truth. We are seeing this in our day in growing measure.
Satan’s power is going to increase across the earth, but so is the church’s power. The wheat and the tares will grow together. Evil is maturing and so are those believers who are full of the Spirit. The original windstorm in Acts 2, that inaugurated the age of the Spirit, is our model and throughout history, the blueprint of the windstorms to come.
Windstorms are upon us—storms of evil and in greater measure; windstorms of the Spirit with increased power. God is raising up a people who are seeking the Spirit’s presence and power and are increasingly open to His windstorm. I want to be in the right windstorm. I’m pulling on my fleece and getting ready.
On the road,
Steve
Join us for “Windstorm” at The Road, this week, January 8th,9th, and 10th at 6pm at Chapel Hills Church
The Road: www.theroadcs.org
Blog: www.steveholtonline.org
[1] The New King James Version. 1982 (Daniel 8:23). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Ti 4:1–2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
