Sid: Sid Roth here with Larry Sparks and Larry this vision it really impressed me that God gave you of those ancient rusty gates that were blocking things tell me about it.
Larry: It’s interesting it’s one of those areas in my life where at the time it was like the supernatural and the theological collided. I was at a revival meeting it was the Bay of the Holy Spirit it was Nathan Morris was the Evangelist ministering and it was a movement that came out of Pastor John Kilpatrick’s church in Mobile, Alabama. Pastor Kilpatrick the Pastor of the Brownsville Revival so God was doing something powerful in their midst they were in Orlando, Florida. I came because I was just hungry, I do whatever I can to connect myself with the legitimate move of the Holy Spirit and I encourage people if you feel dry and weary and your faith is waning and you want that fire back in your faith one of the best things that you can possible do is to expose yourself to the move of God is to connect with what God is doing. That’s what I did I went to this Revival Meeting and at the end we were just having altar time I’ll never forget Lidia Stanley the Worship Leader started to play a prophetic song and over and over again she started singing “Open up the gates, open up the doors.” And I remember rushing to the altar it’s one of those things where Sid my mind didn’t know what was happening but my spirit knew that God wanted to release something I didn’t quite know what it was but I ran up to the altar and I was just hungry and I was just kneeling down. It was a vision of the mind where I saw as we were singing this the atmosphere of hunger crying out “God open up the gates.” I had this vision of the mind where I saw these ancient rusty gates and when I explain gates it’s like they have bars down the middle and so it’s not a complete door it’s a gate that something can get through through the bars but in a limited quantity. And I felt this as I saw this the Lord spoke to me and said “Over you know…My Spirit has not been withdrawn from the earth.” Now sometimes even in Charismatic circles we think “Well there was the Book of Acts and then there’s a kind of silent time and then there’s Azusa Street happen.” But His Spirit really one thing I learned His Spirit has not been withdrawn from the earth and it’s so important to recognize that because throughout history there has been a remnant there have been people in every generation pressing in for the fullness of God. And what I saw in this vision is that throughout this century there has been a measure of activity of supernatural activity released from heaven into the earth through these like small holes in the gates. But as time is progressing toward the end as we’re entering really the last and great harvest and that there…Sid I know that you connect with a lot of people I think that by enlarge there is this atmosphere of just corporate hunger perhaps more than ever before. I just see it there’s communities rising up training people in the supernatural, more and more becoming theologically recognized. There’s theologians of the Holy Spirit I’m seeing something amazing. And in that vision what I saw was as this just cry of anger went up in great desperation I saw the gates actually lifting so that no longer was there just a restricted flow of the supernatural coming in through these holes in the bars but actually the entire gate was going up and there was just an unrestricted measure of the presence and power of God, gifts of the Spirit being released through that open gate. It was amazing I believe that is the season that we’re entering into and like I said the key was as I saw the gate lifted up it was like the gate was controlled not by God’s sovereignty but by the hunger and the cries of the people who wanted more.
Sid: Now you talk in your book about bad stewardship of the supernatural explain what you mean.
Larry: Well.
Sid: And that’s been restricting things in the past.
Larry: Yes, yes and even again sometimes in communities where we believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit where we believe in the power of God we have a stewardship. And one thing we need to recognize is what we received 2000 years ago God gave us a precious gift He gave us His Son He gave us the Messiah. The wonderful thing is Jesus the Messiah came to yes get us into heaven He forgave us of our sins and cleaned us with His blood but He also made a provision for us to have something on earth. He cleansed us so that we could be people fit so that we could be inhabited by God to be fit to become the temple of God in the earth. So when I talk about stewardship of the supernatural every single Christian, every single genuine believer in Jesus has received the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe there is an upgrade of the Holy Spirit 2.0 type of thing however, however what are we doing with Him. How…what are we doing with His presence in our life? How are we drawling close to Him? Are we developing and cultivating friendship and intimacy with Him and do we recognize the precious gift that God has given us? Because I believe as we do, as we simply learn to do life living filled with the Holy Spirit everything changes.
Sid: Okay but what do you mean by stewarding? We have not been good stewards, what do you mean by that?
Larry: It’s recognizing the Holy Spirit has actually given us the ability to do there is the Person that God’s put inside of us and the Holy Spirit has given every single believer the ability to walk in the supernatural. I mean Jesus said it very clearly I believe it’s in Matthew 10 when He sent out the disciples He sent them on a mission He said “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons freely you have received, freely you’ve received now freely give.” We’ve received the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and there’s nothing that’s impossible for Him to do. So stewardship of the Holy Spirit supernatural it’s recognizing what we received and responding appropriately. For example with faith when we get born again when we get saved it’s the Bible talks about “We receive a measure of faith.” Now do I believe that we should be constantly begging for more faith?” Now I don’t know if that’s the right language I do know that when we get saved we get a measure of faith this measure of faith is supernatural because it causes us…it enables us to believe that Jesus is the Messiah the Savior. It enables us to believe that one day we’re going to live with Him for heaven and it enables us to believe that actually the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. My thing is that if we’re able to believe all of those things because of this faith that we received why is it that we’re not putting that faith to work for other things like healing, and deliverance and living what the Bible defines as normal. And that’s the thing, what we’re doing is the Bible is our standard and we’re living beneath the standard and we need to actually raise our experience and our lifestyles back up to the standard and press in for that.
Sid: You know I often wonder I hear many believers say “Oh I don’t have enough faith.” What would you say to them?
Larry: God says “You have enough faith.” God says the word of God says “You have received a measure of faith.” You have faith that can get you to heaven, and you have faith that can raise the dead. So the reality is that we have been given all of the faith we’re going to ever receive. Now we can work it out, we work out faith just like we work out our natural muscles when we go to the gym. When we go to the gym we don’t get new muscles we work out what’s already on the inside of us and that’s what’s going to happen I believe as you take some of these practical keys and apply them whether it’s testimony, or declaring the word of God, or spending time in the presence of God. There are practical things that I believe are going to build your faith just like we build our muscles in the gym.
Sid: You talk about the need for hope in our society we sure have a need amplify on that.
Larry: Yeah, again we’re inundated with hopelessness and I believe that there are some very practical things that we can do to just start stirring up hope inside of us.
- We need to know that God is able and willing. Really that’s one of the birth places for hope in us. A lot of us sing about how God is able, we know that God is able we have a Bible filled with all of the things that show God’s ability. He split the sea, He walked through the fiery furnace, He’s done so many things He’s demonstrated His ability. But there are so many people that don’t have hope because they had not married God’s ability with His willingness. So I encourage you the God who is able is also willing. And when you know that that stirs up hope, it give you hope it not only God can do this but He wants to. So you got to know that God is able and willing.
- Another thing is just spend time in the word of God and look for new possibilities. If you’re sick look for the possibilities of healing they actually release and ignite hope inside of you if you are oppressed, if you are tormented, if you are dealing with fear and anxiety look for Bible promises in the scripture that deal with fear and anxiety and worry. What does that do? It gives you new option.
Sid: Alright what would you say to the person that feels “I see God doing that for others but you don’t know my past I am totally unworthy.”
Larry: Well the wonderful thing is you may feel like you have run a million miles away from God, and I’m sure that there are people that are listening that feel that way. You may feel like listen you don’t know my past, you don’t know my present, you don’t know what I’m dealing with now, you don’t know what I’m struggling with you don’t know the sin I’m in I’ve run so far away from God. But the good news is God has run towards you you can’t run the million miles back to God but the good news is He has run those million miles towards you. And what we just simply need to do is turn make about face whatever your struggling with, whatever you’re dealing with whatever the past the devil want to have that over you like a constant rain cloud. So all you’re focused on are your mistakes and your failures and your sins. Here’s what I encourage you to do “Repent.” What does that mean “To do an about face.” You may be staring at all of the junk I encourage you right now to do that just by the power and the unction of the Holy Spirit just turn around from those things, turn away from sin and turn towards God. One of the definitions I love of repentance is Bill Johnson calls it a lifestyle of repentance is a lifestyle living face to face with God.” And the reality is we look upon Him because He is infinitely more glorious and beautiful and wonderful and loving than all of that junk. Because all of that junk tries to do all the sin, all of the mistakes it just tries to keep us restrained and held back. So you are not beyond God’s help, you are not beyond God intervention, you are not beyond a miracle I just encourage you turn and face Him. See Him for how good He truly is. The Bible says “I lift up my eyes to the hills; where does my help come from, it comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Even as we talk right now Sid I feel like the Holy Spirit is touching people people like you just described “I’m just unworthy, I’m just unclean.” But the Holy Spirit’s touching them and it’s almost like I see Him taking their chin and they may have had their face and head down in disgust and shame and the Holy Spirit’s just lifting it, lifting it, lifting up their eyes to see God in His mercy and His grace. Turning their eyes from sin walking towards Him and He’s a faithful God He will never let you down.
Sid: Now you have a big problem with people that pray “Lord if it be your will.” Well they feel pretty humble when they pray that way but what would you say?
Larry: It sounds spiritual, it sounds theological, I’ve heard it and there is…there are times to pray if it be Thy will when it comes to making a decision in life you know when it comes to taking a job moving to a certain city. There are times you know we would call that a prayer of petition. But here’s the thing the Bible makes so many things just black and white. Randy Clark says “The things in the Bible I struggle with are not the complicated things they’re the simple ones.” And by struggle he meant “Those are the things I actually want to live it.” You know Jesus said like John 14:12 “The same works I have done you will do and greater works.” You know if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, the smallest faith you will say to this “Be removed cast into the sea and it shall be done.” These are pretty black and white scriptures; these are pretty black and white truth.” So I really believe that there are things in the Bible that are black and white very clear that there’s no if it be Thy will. There is no if it be Thy will when it comes to healing. When it comes to deliverance seeing people set free from demonic torment, from fear. Those are the…why do I say that, why can I say that with confidence because Jesus Christ was the expressed image of the invisible God. What does that mean? Everything that Jesus said, everything that Jesus did totally accurately revealed the will of God. And what Jesus did. And that’s why it’s so important for us to spend time in the gospels.
Sid: Can I do everything that Jesus did?
Larry: Yes, absolutely you absolutely can. It’s 100% legal and here’s the thing Jesus 100% God 100% man He’s our Messiah and He’s also our model for the Christian life. He showed us what it meant to live a life filled with the Holy Spirit. I don’t think that Jesus really needed out of necessity a baptism of the Holy Spirit but he got one. He was baptized by John the Baptist and so many of us are familiar with that story but Jesus was baptized in the water but He also received a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Why did He need it? No He was the Messiah God He was the Son of God, but He was from that moment what life could look like as a people as a people as men and women who are living filled with the Holy Spirit. He gave us a model and He gave us an example and that needs to be the standard.
Sid: You have some interesting quotes in your book I guess it came from your studying previous revivals, but one is A.W. Tozer wrote “The devil can handle me but can’t handle the one to whom I’m joined” comment.
Larry: Yes that’s the thing I see when it comes especially when it comes especially to spiritual warfare what I mean by that or when we are dealing with torment, when we are dealing with demonic, when we’re dealing with spiritual forces that are against us that Paul talks about in Ephesians. You know spiritual warfare and I see a lot of Christians today who are wrestling and fighting against a defeated devil. Is he out there still? He absolutely is and he works to try to deceive us and one of the main things that he want to deceive us is out of believing is that believing that the one that lives inside of us is actually greater than the one who is in the world and that that’s the devil. And you know what and this is just some good news for those of you who feel like you’re in spiritual conflict. Keep persevering, fight from victory not for victory because you already have victory in Jesus and the reality is the devil is not the opposite of God. He’s not like God’s arch nemesis where you just never know if God’s going to win or the devils going to win it doesn’t work like that. The devil is actually a created being and Jesus made it possible for him to be stripped of authority. And now we will…Jesus has given us the ability to trample upon the powers of the enemy. So I just encourage people we are to…not go against the devil not to try to fight him in our own ability in our own resources just as people but as we come just as people filled with the Holy Spirit using the word of God he cannot handle that, he cannot handle the One living inside of us.
Sid: Do you need a breakthrough in your life? Of course you do well you’re about to have a breakthrough of epic proportions….When we come back I want Larry to tell about the things he’s working on his Masters studying revivals what a wonderful Masters degree he’s just about finished it but he has some nuggets that are life changing for you.
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth