It’s Happening-Chapter 6

No Submission, No Power

Excerpts from Chapter 6 of the book It’s Happening by William McDowell.

Power

Acts 1:8
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.

McDowell states that everybody wants to walk in power, wants to receive a word from God, wants to prophesy. But not everybody wants to walk in submission to God. McDowell says many are like Simon the Magician in Acts 8, they want a shortcut to power, they rather have anointing than relationship with God. “Do you know what that looks like? It looks like tongue-talking whoremongers. Tongue-talking cussers. Tongue-talking alcoholics. Tongue-talking fornicators. They want the gifts but don’t want to submit to God.”

McDowell states “We cannot expect to see a perpetual move of God if we don’t have power and we have no power without giving ourselves completely over to God. We must be willing to say we’ll go where you go. We’ll take on your identity. We’ll take on your name. We’ll lose it all to follow you. By doing this, we open the door to an authentic overflow of the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Witnesses

McDowell states “The Spirit of God is going to come upon your life, and he’s going to incline you to make you witnesses. He’s going to give you a worldwide ministry, and you’re going to go to the ends of the earth proclaiming my word. He called you to preach my gospel and to be my witnesses.”

Revival is Costly

McDowell asks “What if Jesus told us that on the way to receiving power, we are going to lose friends and people are going to talk about us? What if he said we may lose our houses or our jobs? What if it comes to losing health benefits or our cars? What if our children start acting up or our family members don’t understand why we don’t do the same things we used to do? What if it takes all this and Jesus says, I’m still going to use you?”

Each of us must answer this question, What are we willing to give up to be used by God to the fullest? Reminder, God will never leave us or forsake us. He will give us the grace to live out His will.

Testimonials-Stories of the River

McDowell states two hallmarks of revival are repentance and salvation. Deeper Fellowship Church is located not far from a street that is known as a hub for prostitution. McDowell states one Sunday a prostitute who had just sold her body for money, was tired of that life and walked into the church right off the street. At the service she surrendered her life to Christ. The next week she came to the church like a completely different person, and has not gone back to prostitution since. “It’s Happening.”

Uncomfortable

McDowell states that if you want to do great works for God you need to get used to being uncomfortable. You must be willing to give up whatever you need to release, to make yourself available. The sovereignty of God trumps your plans. “If you get too comfortable with your plans God will make you uncomfortable.”

McDowell shares the story of Saul as the persecutor. Persecution lead the Christians in Jerusalem to be scattered to Judea and Samaria.

Persecution

McDowell states “At times, God uses persecution to advance His causes. Considering that God had no problem turning up the heat on the believers in the early church to see a mass revival come, you must understand that God will also make you uncomfortable.”

McDowell states “I need you to understand that God is calling you out. He, not the devil, is the one causing people and environments around you to feel strange. So stop rebuking the devil.”

“I’m not telling you at all to quit your job, break up with all your friends, sell everything you have, and move to Tanzania. I am encouraging you to reframe how you see the challenges you are facing in the natural in this season. I am encouraging you to seek the face of God for clarity and direction. Because you have cried out and He has answered. He is taking you up on your commitment to surrender to Him.”

McDowell shares about the story of Phillip ministering in Samaria, an uncomfortable place for Jews. Because of Philipp’s faithfulness he was used to perform miraculous signs.

McDowell states “Some of us are secretly hoping that when revival breaks out, we won’t be called to someplace uncomfortable. But what happens when the Lord does just that? His intention is for revival to break out wherever you’re set, and that when you begin to proclaim the word of the Lord, people are saved, healed, and delivered from all the power of the enemy. There are no shortcuts to power.”

Power Without Relationship

McDowell goes more in-depth about Simon the magician who came to Christ but wanted to pay money to have the power Philip operated in. Peter told Simon to repent of his wickedness and pray to the Lord. Instead of Simon praying to the Lord in repentance, he asked the apostles to pray for him. McDowell states “He wanted a quick route to the power, but he didn’t want a relationship. He wanted the power without submission. He didn’t want to lose anything. He didn’t want to be humbled or made uncomfortable.”

McDowell states “Some of us want the power of God without the relationship that needs to come with it. We see someone operating in a powerful anointing and we want what they have, but we don’t want to go through what they’ve been through to get where they are in God”.

God’s Engagement Ring

McDowell states “Hear me, there is nothing you possess that can equal what He can give you. What He requires from all of us is a level of submission that says, I belong to you. God’s engagement ring.”

Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

McDowell states “When you believe, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promise Holy Spirit who is deposit guaranteeing our inheritance to the redemption of those who are God’s possession to the praise of His glory.”

McDowell explains the Greek word Arabon translates in English as pledge has the meaning of earnest money put down to buy a house. The Greek word Arabona translates to engagement ring. McDowell says “The Holy Spirit is God’s promise of marriage to his bride, the Church. He is a confirmation that we belong to Jesus. When someone puts a ring on your finger, it says I’m taken. When we submit to the Holy Spirit, we’re saying I’m taken. No one else can have me. Nothing else can have me. Nothing else deserves my affection and attention. Nothing else deserves my worship. I’m taken.”

My comments

Respond

“The Holy Spirit is God’s invitation to submission. If you do not want to be submitted, you can’t have Him or His power. Total and complete submission. Either we belong to ourselves or we belong to Him. This is not a plea to do better or try harder. It is submit to Him or be powerless in the next season.”

Prayer
“Holy Spirit, show me every area of my life that is not submitted to you. In the name of Jesus, amen.”

Within the next couple of weeks, there will be moments and circumstances in your life that will cause you to wonder where in the world they came from.

McDowell states “Don’t panic and don’t get mad at God. He will remind you about the prayer that you just prayed and He will remind you that He’s with you. Do not doubt that you have made the best choice of your life.”

It’s Happening Chapter Six Podcast

It’s Happening Book Review Series Podcasts
Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six

It’s Happening Book Review Blog Series
Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six

To get a sense of the heart of William McDowell watch the attached video.

It’s Happening-Audible
It’s Happening Paperback

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