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Writer's picture MaryEllen McCloud

The Azusa Street Revival- What is God’s People Missing?


I have seen a few too many articles written lately attacking the events at the Azusa Street Revival. I see these articles circulating around by Christians who apparently weren’t there nor have any real understanding about what God is up to. Most of the articles are attacking the prophetic and then the denominations that were present there. First, I will say this because God has been speaking this for many seasons now. HE is INDEED bringing UNITY across all denominations. He desires that no son or daughter of His has a wrong interpretation of the Bible. And no, God has not revealed everything that is in the Bible yet. God is removing idols and the religious traditions of men in the heart’s of His people. With any movement from God, the majority of the people will resist the changes for many years, even decades. The people resist the words coming from God’s chosen vessels because it is new, different, and they do not like what is being said. This is the same thing that happened in the Bible over and over. A messenger of God goes out and gets “stoned” for a few seasons until the people realize that the vessel is a true messenger of God. The sooner God’s people stop stoning His messengers, the sooner God’s people will walk in the spiritual and supernatural realms that God has for them. God releases new worship music all the time. Do you think that what people create is only from their own soul? No, God downloads it to them. God is not boring. He likes new music too. If we resist God’s new songs over us, we are missing His new flow over our lives as well. God isn’t reaching the new generations with old songs. He uses new songs for each generation. The secular world will grab a hold of what God is doing far sooner than God's people will because they are hungry for new music. Yes, God even speaks through music many would not consider of God. He even speaks through vessels that have no idea God is working in and through them. All of creation speaks of God's glory. I want to really drive this point home to anyone who even remotely calls themselves a Christian. God does not make anyone into a carbon copy of anyone else’s anointings and mantles. When God chose and called someone in the Bible, there was never a person like them before, and no one else with the exact destiny nor ability to manifest the exact signs, wonders, and miracles after. Really! Do you see more than one Noah; Moses; Joshua; Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, Jacob; Deborah, Samson; David; Daniel; Mary; Esther; Paul; John; Abraham; Sarah; Luke? Do I need to name every single person in the Bible? Have you seen anyone in the Bible demonstrate what another person could. It would be pretty boring if every person in the Bible did the exact same signs, wonders, and miracles. In the New Testament, we see that the Holy Spirit poured out to every believer giving them the ability to do more collectively, but we still see their ministries different. Peter’s shadow even had power. For someone to say that what happened at Azusa Street was not of God because those types of prophetic signs, wonders, and miracles were not in the Bible is a complete spreading of lies and deception about who God really is. Do we really believe God can only be confined to what is in 66 books? Really? The God of the Universe who was never born and will never die! A God who has always been can only be described by what He did in 66 books of the Bible. Will He never truly do a New Thing like He claims to be doing every single minute of every single day? I’ll give you a secret. Every person who was inspired by God to write in “biblical times” had no idea that all of these writings would be put into one book called the Bible. God is still inspiring people to write books today. We just don’t see them become a collection into one book. That does not mean that a book God inspires and downloads to a vessel today has any less truth or power in it. Nor does it mean it will look similar to the books of the Bible. We are different on so many levels even when things could look similar. We are faced with different problems in that, we cannot approach an issue with the same solution as in the past. God speaks to our Now even today through His chosen writers. Did every book God inspired in the past make it into the Bible. No, I do not believe that is the case. There are other books referenced in the Bible that are not in the Bible. God put what He wanted in the Bible. This does not mean the other books are less valid. We have to use discernment with everything we read. We have to seek God about how or if a book should be applied to our life. Not everything is for us in our Now. I will tell you that a prophet’s life is not normal on any level. I have had even seasoned prophets think I am nuts until God stepped in to reveal to them that I was telling the truth. Honestly, I did not hesitate to tell another prophet what God has asked me to do because I assumed that a prophet, of all people, would understand the crazy things God tells prophets to do. After all, God told Ezekiel to lay on his side for 390 days. Would anything God would tell me seem unusual to another prophet? Yeah, I guess I was proven wrong. Still blows my mind really. How could anyone read the Bible and not realize God did some really out there kind of things with His vessels. There was no limit on what God would do then, so why would there be now? If God cannot be defined and placed in a box, what makes us think that His called and chosen are only limited to what has already been done? There is nothing ordinary about anything God did through a vessel in the Bible. Samson got his strength from his hair. Tell me, has that ever happened again? What in the world does hair length have to do with muscle strength? Yeah, I don’t know because I am not God. If it happened today, everyone would think it was the work of the devil, even if it was in the Bible, but definitely if it was not already in the Bible. People misunderstand what the phrase “God will never contradict His word” really means. This does not in any way, shape, or form mean that God will not do something He has never done before. Before there was a Flood, there was not even rain! God promised to never flood the Earth again, but that does not mean He will not still deal with sin. How God does that is up to Him. God just said He wouldn’t flood the whole Earth again. Jonah got swallowed by a large fish. Is that not of God because it hadn’t happened before or after Jonah? God will always contradict your UNDERSTANDING of the Bible. We all have things that we believe are true understandings in the Bible, that God will come along side us one day and show us what He really was saying and meaning. Be flexible to the Holy Spirit shifting you out of wrong thinking and into His Truth and Light. To say that God does not speak through His vessels in a certain manner because that exact flow was not in the Bible is ridiculous. I don’t see any prophets writing daily prophetic words on Facebook in the Bible, and yet MANY of God’s Chosen are doing exactly that. We all do what we are led to do with how society is shaped today, and none of us are copies of each other. And yes, many of our words will be similar from season to season because that is what God wants His people to know. However, the audience each vessel has is different and so the words will reflect what that person’s audience needs to hear. As a whole, none of the ministries are the same because each one is co-created between God and His chosen. The heart beats and the Spirit breathes differently over each ministry. When God’s people are truly excited to see New Signs, Wonders, and Miracles from the God of All, then we will truly be where God wants us to be in this hour. We need to stop looking at the dung of the past. In 2 Kings 6:25, the people were eating the dung of birds as food. This is what many Christians do. They are still stuck in past movements eating the dung when God is not there any longer. The Holy Spirit is not in the past movements, He is in the New Movements God is pouring out over this generation. When God brings back a previous mantle, He updates it to be what the people of today are needing. Don’t expect things to ever be as they were. God is not in the past, HE IS ALWAYS IN THE NOW! I pray this blesses you to Look Up for Your Father in Heaven is here for you now! It does not matter what yesterday brought to your door. Your miracle is in the Now of Today! Pull down from Heaven what you need right now. Tomorrow is only a concept. Today is your reality. Today is where God is for you, and He is doing a new thing in and through you! Don't miss what God is up to because you are distracted by what was in the past. If we want Revival, Revival will always begin in our own heart's and mind's first. God will draw near to those who desire to draw near to Him. Revival begins with placing down anything that is between us and God. We have to be honest with ourselves. We can't choose to turn a blind eye to the sins and behaviors that are keeping us from all that God has for us. Be at peace that God is moving over the whole Earth. Our best years are ahead of us and not behind us! When we really accept and believe this, God will show up mighty on our behalf. God is not asleep nor off wandering around the universe. He is right here in our midst!

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