Craving more

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

I have often wondered about many of the things we do in our churches and how they came to be. One issue, which intrigued me in days gone by, was the way in which we would pray for people at the altar. At the time it was not uncommon for the pastor to lay hands on people and pray things like, “more Lord, more” or “fill him up”. At this same time there was a whole bunch of other weird stuff going on, like uncontrolled laughing, rolling across the floor etc. The preachers encouraged us to be hungry for God, to desire a touch, a double portion, a special anointing, and much of this was associated with a revival of sorts that flowed out of Brownsville and Pensacola.

To me, who was brought into the church in the midst of all of this, it sure looked like a move of God, a revival of sorts, but with the benefit of hindsight and a few years of serious study in the word, I no longer see this kind of behaviour as being associated with righteousness, and in this post I’d like to explain why.

From all perspectives it sounds very righteous to hunger for God for a touch, for more, to be filled with more of His spirit, yet when considered in the light of God’s redemptive work in Christ, it is more akin to a spirit of rebellion.

The best way for me to describe this whole move would be the biblical example of the Hebrew wilderness experience. You may remember the account from Numbers 11, in which the people grumbled about the Lord’s provision of manna, saying to Moses that they wanted meat. And so the Lord gave them what they wanted, and it killed a whole bunch of them.

And while the flesh (of quail) was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. Numbers 11:33-34

When we see God’s provision in our lives as inadequate,  we are carnal, like the Hebrew people, preferring meat to manna from heaven. Would it not be true to say that God’s work is complete in Christ, He is the manna, and our lot is to believe? It is entirely appropriate that we would want to seek His righteousness, wisdom and will for our lives, but according to my understanding it is finished in Christ, and now our job is to believe.

Using the issue of wisdom as one example we see James say;

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt James 1:5-6

And so in the context of what we need ;

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” 2 Peter 1:3

Recently I read the testimony of one of the holy laughter revival ministers and was intrigued to see the same craving/lusting spirit at work, which is very similar to the testimony in Numbers. Here is a very brief excerpt from that testimony;

Hungry and Thirsty for God

I knew that there was more, much more. During the years that would follow, I began to get hungry for God. In July of 1979, I cried out to God in sheer desperation. I wanted Him to manifest Himself to me and in me. I was hungry.

The minister’s testimony makes for an interesting read. Clearly God has, according to his doctrine, withheld something good from us according to a divine mystery, and now we are to obtain that hidden thing by calling upon the name of the Lord in a spirit of desperation with the expectation that He will manifest Himself.

Umm, I thought God had already manifested Himself in and through His word and Holy Spirit – But wait there’s more!

Jeremiah wrote that the false prophets despise God. I’m sure that if I asked the minister if he despised God he would be horrified at the thought. And yet, everything that is said in the testimony finds that the sufficiency of God in Christ, according to faith, is not sufficient. It requires an additional craving for more.

The full testimony reads that God did give that minister something during that whole episode, which went on the change his life and usher in a new move of God. The only thing I can say about that is yes, I believe that it was a move of God, upon the church. In the very same way that God gave the Hebrew people quail, according to their grumbling and lust for more.

Sadly, I also imagine that this minister now believes that he has obtained something according to his own desperate perseverance. A sure sign of God’s divine favour, based on something other than “receiving with meekness, the engrafted word” that is able to establish and save your soul.

It’s a wonder to behold, how satan’s ministers appear to us as angels of light, bringing light, which is actually darkness, cloaking it in a veil of righteousness, so that it is very hard to discern the truth from the error.

And while the flesh (of quail) was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. Numbers 11

The wrath of the Lord shall not return till he execute it, and till he accomplish the thought of his heart: in the latter days you shall understand his counsel. Jer 23:20

Bottom line; this is carnality, and carnality leads to death.