Expect the Unexpected from God

 When something strange and unprecedented happens, many Christians are sure that it cannot be from God, but in the Bible, God has repeatedly intervened in unprecedented ways.

Hosea was a prophet in the Old Testament.

When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshipping other gods.” Hos 1:2 NLT

Jonah was another prophet. He was swallowed by a huge fish and still escaped alive three days later.

Who did Jesus choose as his first apostles? Fishermen, a corrupt tax collector, a thief. Only Matthew was perhaps theologically trained, and he was the renegade sinner who extorted money for the Romans.

God's Son became an itinerant preacher who was never ordained by men. Nor was he accompanied by respected people.

After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,
and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Lk 8:1–2 NIV

Who was chosen by God to be the first witness of his Son's resurrection? It was actually a witness, Mary Magdalene, ‘from whom he had cast out seven demons.’

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. Jn 20:18 NIV

But the apostles did not believe.

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.

When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Mk 16:9–11 NIV

In the Bible, God chose witnesses who were not taken seriously by most believers. The Jewish prophets were often only honoured by the Jews after their death.

In the Welsh revival of 1904, God intervened dramatically.

‘The mules in the mines had to be retrained because the miners no longer used profanity in their orders. The man-made denominational barriers broke down completely as believers and pastors worshipped their majestic Lord together.’

https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/36242-welsh-revival-1904 

Not everything that happened in this revival is celebrated by many Christians today.

A few years ago I heard a guest preacher from Wales. She told me about an almost forgotten preacher. She was only 15 years old when she became an anointed preacher. She preached on the street and all sorts of people wanted to hear her, including respectable politicians and despised prostitutes.

When you hear amazing or outrageous stories, please don't be critical. You think you are standing up for biblical truth, but you may be criticising the works of God.

This is the era of the unexpected! This is the era where God will do things that are SO unusual because He wants to reveal His majesty, His glory and His power. We have only just begun to see a ‘drop in the bucket’ of what God will do in this new age.

God is going to demonstrate His power, His glory, His splendour in ways we have never seen before, but it REQUIRES eyes to see and ears to hear.... Lana Vawser. Australia November 2021