PROPHETIC WORDS

CONFUSION THAT CAN ARISE IN MOVES OF GOD

by Lyn Packer

A word of explanation about the term ‘confusion’ in the prophetic word by Chuck Pierce

In this prophetic word Chuck Pierce mentions a confusion coming with the move of God. This is a very common occurrence that happens when a move of God comes. In fact, Scripture tells us many times that the uncommon happens when God comes, and that some mess (and even confusion) is normal.

Usually it is because the move of God comes in a way that people are not expecting – either in the manifestations that appear or the way the move happens.  Often the reason for this confusion is that people have preconceived ideas of how they believe God moves or does things. These beliefs can be because they expect God to come as He has before – such as mentioned in Scripture, or what they have experienced in previous moves of God. 

Scripture tells us that when the word of God is preached signs will follow (Mark 16:20). Signs, in this case, are evidence of the power or love of God at work. In Prov 14:4 Scripture talks about the ox and his stall being clean when no work is happening. This is commonly understood to mean that when God or His church are at work sometimes things get messy. When God turns up things happen, sometimes those things are visible and sometimes they are not. On a personal level, sometimes they happen internally in our hearts and minds, with no outward sign at the time; at other times there are outward signs such as crying, trembling or more. On a corporate level at times there can be no outward signs but God has moved individually in people’s hearts, and other times we may see healings, mass breakouts of crying and repentance, deliverances, shaking, falling down, and more.

When unusual occurrences take place, many people question whether the things happening are God or not, and often quote the verse where Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Cor 14:40 that things should be done decently and in order. This was not because of unusual manifestations but because of a lack of honour and cultural habits that resulted in interruptions and rudeness, and so Paul also laid out guidelines and a protocol for their gatherings that showed them how to walk in honour of each other and of God (1Cor 14).

We must not just accept everything that happens as being from God, but we must also not dismiss something, just because we don’t understand it. What we must do is weigh up what is happening and examine the fruit of the manifestations.

Here are some questions we can ask in weighing up unusual occurrences.

Is this a manifestation from God or some other source (demonic or fleshly)? Our being able to discern the source of a thing can sometimes be subjective, so we must also weigh it against Scripture, the nature and character of God and His previous works amongst mankind. Sometimes manifestations can be fleshly or natural in origin.

Is the manifestation in harmony with Scripture, or does it contradict Scripture? (Many times in Scripture we see unusual manifestations such as people looking like they were drunk (Acts 2), trembling (Jer 23:9, Hab 3:16), falling down and falling like dead (2 Chron 5:13-14; Dan 10:8,9; Rev 1:17), overcome (1 Sam 19; Acts 2) raving (1 Sam 19:20-24), ecstatic states (1 Sam 10:5-10) and more. Also remember that our English translations may not always tell us the full story of things; in some cases words that were translated one thing actually mean something more radical when you go back to the original language.)

Is this consistent with what has been seen in previous revivals and church history? (Many revivals, and a study of church history, reveals that God often moves in mysterious ways eg. History records that in the Great Awakening in America and in Maria Woodworth Etter’s ministry people lay in trances for 24 hrs or more. In the Azusa Street outpouring it is recorded that the cloud of God’s presence filled the room and the children played’ hide and seek’ inside the cloud. The Quakers were named that, because people would shake under the power of God in their meetings.

What is the fruit of any manifestations in the lives of the people having them? (Have they been drawn closer to God? Do they have more peace and more outworking of the fruits of the Spirit as a result of these things? Sometimes this can take time and conversation with a person to discern the fruit properly).

Sometimes God does things that we may not initially understand, and we cannot afford to automatically make a snap judgement; we must weight things up and see what the fruit is, and sometimes it can be a while before we can do that.

BIO