From a Move of God to a Mausolem

The seven stages of a ‘Move of God’ – From Life to Death

God MOVES upon a person – Seriously touches life with great “implications in (their) life”
Holy Spirit comes and hammers on a person

As is happening today

As seen in some of the stories in “The God Chasers”

As has happened many times in the past

Basic to every church and denomination at its start

Basic to this move

 

Key: No structure / just life

 

This person touches others with the change and the power to change

 

Life “begats” life

 

Discipleship

 

 

MOVEMENT

 

KEY: Still little or no structure

 

If structure – it supports life

 

Jerusalem – Judea – Samaria and whole world

 

Well, a tad bit of structure but only when necessary to support life

 

Organism – not organization

 

Life and power

 

This movement learns that certain things work for them and others don’t

 

Life happens when they do this

 

Life does not happen when …

 

 

More structure is introduced

 

So, a METHOD is devised to spread what initially touched this

person and his followers

 

Problem is that METHOD takes on a life of its own

 

How we do it more important than what is accomplished.

 

The next generation needs to experience things for themselves

 

Life and power begin to either fade or be replaced

 

Structure is enforced “upon” the organism (body) and it

becomes an organization

 

The methods continue even when all life has gone out of them when into 2nd and 3rd generations.

 

Structure with little life

 

In the next generation (15 to 20 years) it becomes a memory.

 

MEMORY – “sentiment in our hearts”

 

KEY: No life

 

Azusa Street

 

Holiness Movement

 

Latter Rains Revival

 

Charismatic Movement

 

Word-Faith Movement

 

 

 

“Having a form of godliness but denying its power”

 

Techniques

 

Man’s wisdom and skills

 

Structure

 

Grieves the Spirit

 

 

Soon even the MEMORY fades.

 

 

Move – Movement – Method – Memory 1 All structure and no life

 

MONUMENT is then seen

As the memory fades we then have a monument

 

KEY: Absolutely no life and all structure

 

Large churches and institutions just doing Religion – This involves

 

Rituals

Regulations

Rules

 

It has now become just another religion.

 

Methods are evaluated and set in concrete

 

“Good enough for Paul…”

 

Organization without life

 

The monument soon becomes a MONSTROSITY

 

A monster controlling people

 

A monster killing any spiritual life that might try to sneak in

 

Eating up people by controlling and manipulating

 

Fighting each and every succeeding move of the Spirit

 

The monstrosity soon becomes a MAUSOLEUM

 

Death reigns

 

Structure killing any life that might appear

 

Organization and not an organism (body)

 

 

Here the Spirit of God moves and brings a time of refreshing

 

Renewal

 

Fire of God

 

A fresh and new move of the Spirit

 

God moves on those who “hunger and thirst”

 

 

The cycle begins again with a few responding to what the Spirit is doing

 

The remnant

 

The MOVE of the Spirit

 

Historic examples

 

God MOVES on John Wesley

 

Others are effected and we have a MOVEMENT

 

Certain things seemed to work (small groups) and so we have METHOD

“Methodists”

 

Life ebbs and structure increases but less actual experience of God and we have a MEMORY

 

Leadership dies and soon even the memory fades and we have a MONUMENT

 

In time the monument becomes a MONSTROSITY that kills life

 

We see death reign and the Spirit quenched and we have a MAUSOLEUM

 

God’s Spirit MOVES and we have the Free Methodists …

 

The same can happen in every church

 

The same can happen in a person’s life

 

  

THE OVERVIEW

 

God MOVES and brings life

 

As the life grows He then allows STRUCTURE

 

Only what structure is absolutely needed to support and sustain life

 

When structure no longer needed then it should be removed/allowed to die

 

If we do otherwise we will hinder the MOVE of the Spirit and in time inevitably go down the tubes

 

Move – movement – method – memory – monument – monstrosity – mausoleum

 

The cycle continues until “BROKENNESS” is a reality and a visitation becomes a habitation