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Birthing Revival Through Intimacy
April 3, 2004
- By Matt Sorger
THE NEXT MOVE OF GOD WILL BE BIRTHED OUT OF INTIMACY
Song of Solomon 3:1-4
What an incredible night we had. It was the last night of our Signs and Wonders Conference in Iowa at Heartland Assembly of God, March 13, 2004. There was a serious impartation granted by the hand of God Himself. As we went deeper into worship the glory of God came into the room. The air was heavy with His presence. As I lay on the floor soaking in His Glory the power of God so overwhelmed me, my body began to shake under the intensity of the visitation. I heard the inner audible voice of God speak to me about the next move of His Spirit. He told me "This move will not be brought by any one man. It will come from My Spirit." I then saw the Lord dancing with a baby in His hands. I knew the infant was the next move to be birthed by the hand of God. I was aware that the presence I was experiencing was the very breath of God, and a foretaste of the next wave of His Spirit.
A WHITE GLORY MIST FORMED IN THE RAFTERS OF THE CHURCH
As I stood to the pulpit all I could do was bury my head in my Bible. As I held onto the podium the worship team continued to play. The Lord spoke that He would strengthen me to be able to share the word He had written on my heart. As I lifted my head I could visibly see a white mist glory cloud hovering near the ceiling of the church. Several others could see it too. It was the manifest glory of God. All around the sanctuary people were weeping and shaking - some on their knees and some standing. The Lord was impregnating us with the seed of revival. He began to speak to me that revival would be birthed out of intimacy.
He brought me to Genesis 1:2 "The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."
Then to Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
THE BREATH OF GOD WAS RELEASED
During our time in worship the Holy Spirit hovered over us the way He overshadowed Mary when she became pregnant with the Christ child (Luke 1:35). There was a genuine seed of revival deposited in our spirits. At one point during worship, the manifest breath of God, the "ruach" of God, was breathed into us and we were filled with new life. The worship leader could no longer stand behind his keyboard but could only lie across the altar groaning under the weight of His presence. It was like when the cloud of glory filled Solomon's temple and the priests could no longer stand to minister because of the cloud (2 Chron. 5:14).
The Lord spoke to me about this next move being birthed out of intimacy. He brought me to Song of Solomon 3:1-4:
"By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him.
"I will rise now," I said, "And go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love."
I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen who go about the city found me; I said "Have you seen the one I love?"
Scarcely had I passed by them, when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, until I had brought him to the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived me."
FIVE IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES FROM THE SONG OF SOLOMON
There were several important principles the Lord revealed to me out of this account of the Shulamite woman searching for her Beloved:
1) She was so longing for the One she loved, that she was willing to be inconvenienced in the middle of the night to get out of bed to go search for Him. She couldn't wait till morning. The Lord is causing His church to arise out of the bed of our comfort and complacency to search for Him.
2) She didn't find Him right away. She had to look and search for Him. The Lord is not always easily found. Sometimes there has to be a persistent search for God until we find Him.
3) The watchmen couldn't tell her where He was. There are those times where we need to find God for ourselves. We can't live off of someone else's experience or anointing. We have to dig our own well and find the presence, power and anointing of God in our own lives. Other people's testimonies can encourage us. But we must always press in to find God for ourselves.
4) When she finally found Him she wouldn't let Him go. When we find the Lord we must not be easily satisfied. Many times when we are spiritually seeking and pressing in to God, we get a taste of His presence and then stop seeking or holding onto Him. This is where we miss it. We must be like Jacob who wrestled with the Angel of the Lord all night until He blessed him. He would not let Him go. This is how we must be with the Lord. We must not let Him go until we have the fullness of what He wants to bless us with. When Jacob wrestled with God there was a name change from Jacob to Israel. He went from "Deceiver" to "Prince with God." There was a deep transformation that took place in Jacob. As we wrestle with God and refuse to let Him go until we have His full blessing and favor, there will also be a deep transformation in us as we become more like Him, being transformed into His image.
5) They entered the chamber of intimacy. This is where new birth is conceived, in the secret place with God. It is in this chamber of deep intimate love with God that His seed of revival is imparted into us.
THE OVERSHADOWING OF GOD'S SPIRIT
The next move of the Spirit will be birthed out of this place of intimacy with God, with the overshadowing of God's Spirit in our lives. Psalm 91 declares "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The shadow of God is the place where His glory covers our lives. It's a place of refuge and protection from all the plots of the evil one. It's also the place where God infuses His strength and life into us.
In Genesis 1:2-3 there is a creative force and life released under the hovering of the Holy Spirit in Creation. Under the shadow of the Spirit there is creative power and authority released to bring order out of chaos and light out of darkness. It was under the shadow of the Holy Spirit that God spoke creation into existence. When we are under His shadow there is a creative power released in us and through us to declare into existence those things that God desires to manifest in the earth.
In Luke 1:31, 35-38, it was under the overshadowing of the Spirit that Mary became pregnant with the Christ child. What was impossible became possible. The supernatural became natural. The key to Mary receiving the impartation she received from God, to carry the seed of the greatest move of the Spirit in history, the birth of the Son of God, was her simple act of agreement. Her response to the Lord was "Let it be done unto me according to your word." In verse 45 it says "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." God just needs our agreement and simple faith to receive the fullness of all He wants to give us.
As the presence of the Holy Spirit overshadows His church in this hour, there is coming an impartation to carry the seed of the next move of God. The secret place of intimacy with the Lord is vitally important to receiving the fullness of all He wants to birth in the earth. It will be out of this place of abiding under His shadow that the creative force and power of His Spirit will be released in our lives, including the move of extraordinary signs, wonders and miracles. This demonstration of God's power through His people will be a direct result of the time spent in the secret place, under the shadow of His glory. We must guard our time with God and guard the seed He places in us. Out of the secret place of intimacy will come the release of life and power to see the glory of God cover the face of the earth.
--Matt Sorger
Email: info@mattsorger.com
Location: Heartland Assembly, IA, United States
Website: http://www.mattsorger.com
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