7 Years in Hindsight

I was just thinking here recently of my history and far i've come.

Back in 2000, myself and a group of 16 youth and adults went down to what was called The Brownsville Revival. It was a revival that started in 1995 when Evangelist Steve Hill was asked to minister at Brownsville Assembly of God on Father's Day of 1995. What was meant to be a simple Sunday morning service last for roughly 5 years, and was probably one of the leading revivals of its day. Out of it came a bible school called Brownsville Revival School of Ministry. All in all, just this past July, i graduated from the school that broke off from that one, FIRE School of Ministry.

So, needless to say, i have some indirect history of revival in me. Granted, i only visited the youth conference, Branded By Fire, from 2000-02. And i visited a revival meeting in 2001, perhaps for some that means i didn't actually attend the revival itself. In any case, i consider myself to be blessed beyond measure and have something deposited in my Spirit of which i hope doesn't diminish over the years, but grows in fervency and devotion to the cause of Christ. It's nice to get together w/ brothers and sisters and reminisce about the past. But its also very encouraging to pray into the future.

Since some of the leaders in the revival are now leaders at FIRE, we have contact w/ people who ministered in the revival. Many would say we have a unique DNA. It's nice to be in meetings where the precious Spirit of God is 'moving' powerfully... but what then? If that is not stewarded properly, it can be faltered. Reading through the Old Testament and especially reading in parts where it mentions the Ark of the Covenant, you'll quickly learn that there are certain things to handling the Presence of God. It's not something to be taken lightly, but w/ great precision. If not handled properly, well, lets just say it won't be pretty. The Lord even struck someone down dead on the spot for mistreating the ark. Even when this individual was trying to secure!

In any case, i again want to say that i count myself very blessed to be in the current situation i'm in. I'm around people of like mind. We are gathered to pray into the Kingdom of God. We are not just here to live in our nice little homes and go about our day, but our lives are to be a prophetic example to the world. A demonstration of His Kingdom right before your eyes!

Just this past week, we had Steve Hill visit FIRE and minister the Word to us. I've always been a huge "fan" of his. This week He spoke to us about Obedience. it was a good challenge to me. i enjoy listening to Words from speakers who like to challenge you and not just tickle your spiritual ears, but deliver words that make you think. and challenge you to go deeper in God. And speakers who use words like "repentance". it seems to be a lost word in many speakers vocabs. but i can say i like it when speakers deliver words from God and not just words that make us feel good.