Merely one hour from my missionary home, there is a mountainous region renowned all over South America for its quality vineyards and wineries. Which makes for a fantastic micro-region to tour and learn all about the “fruit of the vine.”
Because of various favorable climatic conditions, this year's harvest has been considered the best of the last 20-30 years. There was a massive yield of beautiful clusters of grapes!
However, for the first time in many years, a few of the vineyards suffered an unusual, unexpected disaster: the long runs of horizontal trellising wires (that help keep the canopy of grape branches above the ground), everything; WHOLE top-quality vineyards…
COMPLETELY COLLAPSED UNDER THE EXCESSIVE WEIGHT OF THE PROFUSE NUMBER OF CLUSTERS OF RIPE, FAT GRAPES!
Look closely at the picture above: notice the ruptured concrete columns at the end of each row, see the whole fallen field: ALL the grape vines on the ground (which means that the beautiful clusters were crushed on ground—a massive loss of a beautiful harvest.
The bountiful harvest was MORE than the master of the vineyard expected. Maybe he decided to delay a few days to “increase” his profits. Nevertheless, too many blessings are too much!
We all want massive revivals…but can we handle a vast revival? The pentecostal number game demands numbers better (bigger!) than the archrival church across town.
Don’t be so demanding of the Holy Ghost; stop pressuring for massive results! Don’t pressure God for something you are not spiritually equipped to handle! Like money, too much of riches may cause that person to backslide!
If you are praying for revival (and you should!), ask God to send the souls in a MEASURED flow you and your congregation can handle and establish in Truth! If your congregation is not ready, a FLOODS of souls will overwhelm you and your church in a way that once the outpouring is over, nothing will be left except for spiritual mud and grim of half-repent souls that have already left your fold without fulfilling the plan of salvation (which includes righteous living).
Dear God, Give me enough to desire more, but not too much more. I do not want to succumb to the killing pain of frustration that eventually misaligns my ministerial calling.
Brad Lambeth
dyingempty.net
JBLambeth@gmail.com
Share The "Dying Empty" Project With Your Network