Paradigm Shifts in History
Not since Columbus discovered the new world, and the earth once thought of as flat was found to be round, has such a paradigm shift occurred which rattled both the world and the Church – which is about to occur in our time!
There are many paradigm shifts that have occurred throughout history, but what is upon us will so shift the paradigm of so many things we took for granted; it will cause the Church to rethink and see things from God's perspective in many areas where we have believed what was the "popular belief" of the day.
A great example is when it was discovered that the earth was round. For centuries the Church of the day said the earth was flat. Anyone that thought otherwise, even scientists, were considered evil and banished from the Church. Centuries later the Church realized they were wrong on this.
Why is the Church often behind the world and not leading in many areas? When it was discovered that the earth was round, did this change what Jesus did on the Cross and our faith? Not at all, but fear of anything that seems to be different than what we have been told for so long (even assumed though wrong, even though it was alluded to in the Bible), causes a huge paradigm shift in peoples' lives.
When the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost and people were speaking in other tongues, this caused a huge paradigm shift in the Church which can still be felt in certain Christian circles today.
When airplanes were first created and the first flight occurred, it also shook the world. When man first landed on the moon there was a huge paradigm shift in how people saw our universe. Jesus was still King and our salvation was still secure, the only difference was that man landed on the moon.
When Israel became a nation in 1948, it caused a huge paradigm shift in the world and the Church. The world had to come to grips that Israel was no longer a Bible story they read to children but was now a modern day reality once again. This sent alarm bells throughout the world. The Church also had to come to grips with some of their doctrines that said that Israel no longer existed and the Church replaced Israel, which we know now is the farthest thing from the truth. When the Azusa Street Revival and the healing and prophetic movements occurred, it also shook the Church and its beliefs and how they saw the Word of God.
The Gospel does not change, but the generation we live in is different than the past generations, and the Church should have an answer for our faith in the midst of current world events and be able to communicate the Gospel in a way that they understand – and with the power of God confirming our words. Many are using a "Christianese" language, and the world has no idea what we are talking about.
A Great Harvest and Move of God!
We are entering a season of the biggest mind-bending paradigm shifts that humanity and Believers have ever experienced. Along with this will come another huge harvest! This season we are now entering is a season of accelerated revelation! It's also a season to press in for the next move of God!
The USA and much of the world is poised on the verge of another move of God! These moves seem to come and go in cycles. We are past due for another move! The world seems to be entering some of the most prophetic times in human history, as the news reports seem to be Bible prophecies coming to pass almost weekly; God has a move of God on His mind.
As we position ourselves and seek His face during this season, expect God to ignite fresh moves! But these moves might not look anything like past moves of God that we are conditioned to accept. God often does things differently in each move than those from the past seasons; therefore we have to really trust God or could miss the next moves. Often the last move persecutes the new move of God.
This coming move of God is meant to be a tsunami wave of God's glory that will start in the Church and then, like a forest fire, jump the fence and start to reach the lost in every nook and cranny of the earth.
When the move of God starts to hit the lost in secular arenas, it will be the greatest harvest of souls but also cause the greatest paradigm shift in the Church on "how and who" God can use and touch.
Historically, it starts in a Church as people come for weeks, months, or years, and who then hopefully spread it...
You will hear of some of the least likely people being saved and greatly used. In the '60s many of the youth saved were rejected by the Church because they still had the "look of their past" with the long hair and hippie music, etc.; but they had a passion for God despite the flaws in each move. What is coming might be so different from past moves that if we are not careful, we will judge it as not being from God.
Shifts in Biblical Days
In the Book of Acts, when the Gentiles were being saved in large numbers, there was a huge uproar which caused the Jerusalem Council to convene. Many did not believe God could be saving and filling, with the Holy Spirit, large numbers of Gentile Believers unless they first became circumcised and converted to Judaism.
It did not fit some of their paradigms on how, historically, God did things. They had to relook at the Scriptures and open their hearts to the new way God was moving among other people groups that were historically known as pagans.
Peter said in Acts 15:7-11, "And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, 'Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.'"
As we experience the greatest of moves of God in human history, it will also challenge the Church's paradigm more than any other time in history. (Imagine when Israel gets their great move of God where the entire nation turns back to their Messiah – it might more than stir the Gentile Believers worldwide!) We will see salvations of people and nations, and we may simply not be able to believe they are really saved or not in the way or time period we expected it would occur.
When Paul, formerly Saul, received Jesus, most the disciples just could not believe it. It took an angelic visitation to get one disciple to believe it and muster up the courage to share with Paul, the greatest murderer of Believers in His day.
Are You Ready?
One example of this is an event occurring this summer in Helsinki, Finland. My wife and I will be speaking in an evangelistic series of meetings in the Olympic Stadium in the capital of Finland. It is one of the biggest events of our life. Who would have thought that Finland could be a model for the next move of God invading the Church, secular airwaves, the youth, and many areas of society in Finland? Many people in the U.S. may not even know where Finland is or have hardly heard anything out of this nation.
Often, God uses what we consider least or unknown to confound the wise. If God can showcase a national move of God on secular TV across a remote nation, what can God do here or in your nation?
Are you ready for some of the greatest moves of God in the earth's history, along with a huge paradigm shift that will challenge many things that we've accepted as "how God does things" because that is what we have been accustomed to up until now?
Between Pentecost 2014 and the end of 2015, I believe we are on the verge of some of the greatest moves of God, which must be released as a counter-balance to some of the earth-shaking but exciting events for those that know Him!
Now is the time to press in and receive what God has for you! He wants to download to you revelation, power, direction, purity, and use you to invade the darkness and bring many to the light of the Gospel in very unique ways in this next paradigm shift and move of God.
All of Heaven is waiting, and Earth groans for the manifestation of the true Sons and Daughters of God to arise!
David Herzog
David Herzog Ministries
