Faceless Generation

Hmmm....what a day. where even to begin. I suppose I must start at the very beginning. I woke up this morning and I was kinda pissed because my brother left the radio on really loud when he went to school, and I still was trying to sleep. But as I was lying there, I began to tune my attention to the distinctive voice of Ravi Zacharias on the radio. The message he was giving was a recording of the National Day of Prayer on May 1 and was playing on a Focus on the Family broadcast. As I was listening, I was enthralled by Pastor Zacharias' story telling and commanding voice. As he started sharing some of his teaching from the Bible, I remember tearing up a little.

One of the first story he told that really stuck out to me was about the story of some of the Pharisees who tried to trick Jesus by asking him if they should pay taxes to Caesar or not. The parable is found in Matthew 22:18-22. Basically, one of the Pharisees asks if they should pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus responds by taking a coin and asking whose image is on it, he then responds by saying, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (v.21) Ravi Zacharias then went on with the story by saying that if the man questioning Jesus was really smart he would have had a follow up question. He would have asked Jesus, "what are the things of God." In response to this Ravi said Jesus would probably answer, "Who's image is on you?"

The next story that really popped out to me is the story of Jacob wrestling with God. In Genesis 32, Jacob is about to go see his brother Esau who Jacob stole his birthright from, but before that, he wrestles with God. Before Jacob lets God go, he asks for a blessing. This is how God responds, (Genesis 32:27), "the man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered." Basically, what happens is God asks Jacob what his name is, and Jacob promptly responds by telling God his name. Pastor Zacharias went on to describe what Jacob might be thinking. He said Jacob must of thought to himself, you are God, shouldn't you know my name? But Jacob went on anyway and told God his name.

What is significant about this passage is that earlier Jacob had deceived his father in stealing his brother's birthright. When his father asked Jacob who it was, Jacob lied and told his blind father that he was Esau so he could receive the blessing (Genesis 27:18-19). God knew this and so basically when he was talking to Jacob later, he was giving him a chance to redeem himself. Pastor Zacharias went on to say that in telling his name to God, Jacob finally recognized himself. It was only when Jacob recognized himself - understood his identity - that God was able to bless him and change his name to Israel.

So what's the point? When our generation comes to an understanding that we are made in the image of god when we recognize our true identity as being loved by God and quit hiding under our deceptive facades, God will hear our prayers and give us the blessing he longs to give us. See Jacob stole the blessing from his brother Esau, but it was not until he finally recognized his own identity that he realized that God alone is the one who wants to bestow us with His blessings. But it's about knowing our identity. Our very identity is shaped in the image of God. God hears our prayers and is interested in who we are because we are made in his very image. When we understand His profound love for us, like Jacob, our perspective changes and we can see the world in a entirely different way.

So where am I going with all this? I'm not really sure yet, but I guess we will all find out in the lines to come haha. Sorry bear with me.

So anyway, after hearing that message. I get a text message from my read encouraging me on the blog entry i wrote the night before. It was really really encouraging because I had a tough night and when I wrote the entry I was pretty frustrated. So we went on to exchange texts, and I encouraged her to start writing her own blog. I basically told her God was totally with her, and people would be blessed hearing the things God has been doing in her life. So she said she would think about it and get back to me.

After that, I went online and looked at my blog and looked through the last blog entry i just wrote, the one i wrote right before this current one. I noticed that someone had left me a comment! The first one ever! I wasn't really expecting much. But when I opened up the comment, it was from a girl in England that I have never met who said she was searching the word Bible and came across my blog. She said something about how she was excited to see someone who was as passionate for Christ as she was! I was so excited when I read that. It was reallly really encouraging. (If you left me that comment and are reading this right now, bless your soul! God totally used you to reveal something cool to me today).

So anyway, after that my friend who I told to start writing a blog and sharing her testimony texted me back and told me she had just completed her first entry. As soon as I read the text, the words "Media Revolution" immediately came to mind. And that's when it hit me. God is totally going to use the internet to expand and spread the coming revival. I thought especially of this friend. The stories and testimonies she would write would spread all around the world, and people reading her testimonies would be blessed and transformed. God's presence with her would be seen by people all over the world.

So why Media Revolution, and what would that look like? Well recently I have been watching the revival in Florida via the internet. Because of the invention of programs such as GodTV the revival goign on in Florida is being broadcast in over 200 nations around the world! In addition to this, the website where you can watch the revivals has chatroom where people are talking about revival and praying for one other. In result of this, there have been testimonies of people who have been healed through people praying for them in chatrooms. There was another testimony of someone hearing about the revivals, and I believe prayed for someone and a man was actually raised from the dead just recently in Florida.

Basically, God is using the internet and the media to spread revival! All of these thoughts came to me after I realized that by blogging and sharing our testimonies, people around the world have the opportunity to be touched and transformed by God by reading our stories. What would happen if believers all around the world flooded the internet with stories and testimonies of healing and revival. No one would be able to censor us and they would not be able to hold us down. Right now, there isn't much press about the Florida revivals. The television stations can censor that. But they cannot censor the internet. God can use the internet to bring the gospel of Christ around the world. We can let out a resounding shout -a victorious shout of triumph - over the internet that cannot be silenced! If we win the internet for Christ, we can win the world.

Consider this, what would happen if believers everywhere flooded the internet with blogs of God's working in our lives. What if people going online to gamble or look at pornography, stumbled onto one of our blogs and had their lives totally transformed? What if revival breaks out in Japan, and the technological capital of the world is won for Christ? What if the media screamed out the name of Jesus? What if believers all over the world fought to win the internet?

The internet has and will furthermore become the means of communication for a faceless generation of believers. Faceless because we will not need recognition and we will no longer hide behind the false monickers any longer. According to the prophetic voice of one of the speakers I listened to at the revival service in Florida the other, the portal of revival has opened and it will never be closed. A generation of revival leaders will rise up all over the world. They will not be recognizable TV evangelists like we are accustomed to. They will be workers, they will be mothers, they will be gamers, they will be artists, they will be musicians, they will be graphic designers, they will be businessmen, they will be cooks, they will be bloggers - they will be faceless.

The voice of the faceless generation will not be silenced. They will be a prophetic voice shouting out in the wilderness, making straight the way of the Lord. (Is. 40). They will be forerunners bringing forth the truth, preparing for the coming revival, they will not be wearied running with the footmen. There preparation will allow them to contend with the horses (Jer. 12). They will the voice of the voiceless. They will be the voice of reason in a generation that has allowed millions of innocent babies be murdered each and every day. They will help to fulfill the Great Commission by bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. And God will use the internet to be their means of communication.

Yet the Great Commission will be fulfilled only through an understanding of the Great Commandment. They will serve without hesitation, share without fear, they will love without agenda, they will live upside down. They will love because they know they are loved. They will not need special recognition because they understand who they are in Christ. They will understand their identity. Like Jacob, they will no longer deceive themselves into thinking they can be satisfied by the blessings of the world. They will recognize their identity in Christ, and they will receive the blessings of the Holy Spirit. Their identity will be in Christ. The image of God is all over them. They will know they are loved.

The message of love and rediscovered identity will be broadcasted all over the internet. The identity the enemy has stolen from us will be reclaimed! The stories, the testimonies, will be read. Countless people will read and relate to the stories of God's goodness in the lives of His people. Their lives will be transformed!

But who will they thank? They will thank God for the faceless generation. The generation who seeks after God and remained faithful to His Word. So come on bloggers - let the writing begin - let your voices be heard! Shout unto God with a voice of Triumph! The world cannot silence us any longer. If we were to be silenced, even the rocks would shout out in praise of our King! Let us gather together, mobilize the troops, the Lord is our Captain, we are the faceless generation - an army committed to winning the nations. The internet today - the world tomorrow. Let the Media Revolution begin!