“When you walk into the room, everything changes.” Uhm yes. God changes everything. And yet, our concern about preserving our comfort zones often causes us to miss Him as He passes by, or worse, we close the door in His face. Why on earth would God’s people be so nervous about being with their God?

Great question. The short answer is about control. The long answer is about trust.

The short answer
We are not, and have never been, in control of God. We only control our responses to Him. The good news is, He freely offers the supernatural life to any person or body of believers that will ask “and receive” He revelation. The bad news, He freely honors any person or body of believers who refuses the supernatural. Either you can be in charge or He is.

The long answer
We don’t know how to trust God’s power. We know in our heads that He is all-powerful. But say the word “supernatural” and we get “uncomfortable.” We don’t really want to get too close to that power. In today’s Christian circles, we categorize God’s power into buckets of acceptable or unacceptable, weird or normal, legitimate or heresy, received or rejected. All this is based on our teaching, good or bad, and our experiences, good or bad. My friends, this is a scary and revealing reality. Because if the people of God are not careful, we will find ourselves being separated as well.

Jesus taught his disciples and rebuked the Pharisees. He apprenticed and tested his followers. He blessed them with power and authority. He washed their feet. The Pharisees…not so much. Although they had great knowledge and influence, Jesus publicly cursed them.

Are you nervous yet? Are you uncomfortable?

 

 

Jesus knew about crowds too, and how they separated.

The voice of God to some, thunder to others. (John 12:29)
Prayer languages to some, drunk to others. (Acts 2)
Healed by God to some, healed by Satan to others. (Matthew 12:22)
Demons cast out to some, pigs drowned to others. (Mark 5)
Anointing His feet with oil to some, waste of money to others. (Luke 7:36)

The Godhead always has and always will be about restoring the total person. In fact the word translated in the Bible as “salvation” or “saved” actually is the word “sozo.” If you are like me, you may have heard of “sozo ministries.” But I didn’t understand where this came from or why it is so important to us. Sozo means to be made whole, head to toe. Not just saved or forgiven of sins. Whole.

Bill Johnson says it best. “The very word for salvation means healing, deliverance, and forgiveness of sin. The kingdom brings the complete solution to the whole man and we have access to that reality even now just as Jesus did throughout his life.” No wonder many are saved but still not whole.

My life was changed this summer. More than previous moments of experiencing God’s glory or what I will call little miracles (if there can be such a thing?!), I was immersed in an ocean of God’s supernatural availability.  The testimonies of men and women, just like you and me, blew me away. God is still moving all over the world. Today. Signs and wonders. Miracles. Healings. Demons cast out. ( I am not sure the American church even believes that demons still exist?) The presence of God is still being poured out on willing and lovesick people who want to release the Love of God to this broken world.

Even more than the God stories, I was astounded by the transformations right in front of my eyes. What I previously thought was a random event, or “weird,” or only for select people in certain remote countries, God  poured out on us all. In America! Nashville, Tennessee even! Not just salvation, but sozo, total restoration of mind, body and spirit in the power of Jesus.

Are you uncomfortable?

I sure was. But I told the Lord, “I can never go back.”  Now months later, I stand corrected. I realize His heart was speaking, not mine. He said, “Jana, you can never go back.”

Which means I also cannot stop talking about the God who still releases signs and wonders “when He walks in the room.” It means I want to be standing with the right crowd.  The God crowd. The believing crowd. The expectant and receiving crowd…

This may make you “uncomfortable” but in the last three months, I have witnessed and been a part of more healings, emotional and physical, than I have my entire 24 years of Christian life.

Here it is summed up. Our beautiful, powerful God of Transforming, Healing, Delivering, Restoring LOVE has never stopped looking for people to pour through. What began through Jesus continues today. The question is, are we in or out? Are we more concerned with our traditions and agendas or people truly being set free?

Are we more concerned with staying calm, cool and collected and “in control”? Or, are we willing to have the Spirit of God walk in the room and wreck us all? To bring sozo to us all?

I don’t know about you, but I am Uncomfortable. And I am never going back…

 

 

Song: When You Walk Into the Room By Bryan and Katie Torwalt.