Don’t have your own agenda.

We need to make sure that we have surrendered our agenda and have taken up His agenda.  Jesus said, in John 14:10, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”  If anyone could have had his own agenda it could have been Jesus.  He laid down His will and took up the Father’s.  Though He could have stepped out on His own initiative, He refused to do so.  He purposed to only be led by His Father’s agenda.  So many times I have seen people push their own plans when it seemed so evident to me and others that God was moving in a specific direction.  Sometimes preachers will “talk away” an anointing.  The presence of God is being manifest and rather than submit to what the Spirit is doing the preacher will start talking and keep talking and then the moment passes.  The plan of God was to go a certain direction but lack of sensitivity causes another agenda to be put forth.  We need to do what God prompts us to do, when He prompts us to do it.  We need to develop the habit it being instantly obedient to His voice and consistently obedient to His prompting.  Regardless of what has been prepared, all is at the Spirit’s disposal. This is not to say that we can fail to prepare and do sloppy planning and then blame the outcome on the Spirit.  The apostles were led by the Spirit and what they did was purposeful and worked to form a strategic plan.  God is not the author of confusion but of order.  Sometimes His order may look chaotic but the outcome will actually be in divine order.

Expect God to move, just don’t have expectations as to how.

This has helped me more than just about anything else I’ve learned in conducting revival services.  Congregations need to develop the same philosophy.  I believe that God is going to move in every service.  I have learned that it is best to drop expectations as to exactly how He is going to do it this time.  If you can expect the unexpected that is what needs to happen.  We fall into ruts so easily.  This is not to say that we ought not have any forms or traditions, these can be helpful.  We just need to be sure that everything is available to the Holy Spirit.  He may tell me what I need to do or say in a service but how that works out may not be as I expected.  We need to trust that God will move and then be open to just how that happens.  What He does always produces life and blessing.  We need to be open to His promptings.