Are you unknowingly resisting a move of God? In this episode, we explore the subtle ways people miss what God is doing.
Story time
In 1997, two men founded a tech startup that allowed their customers to rent movies on DVD by having them shipped to their homes through the mail. Though it struggled to be profitable, it held a place in the market until it didn’t. The dot com crash hit with a vengeance and they ended up burning through $50 million.
In 2000, they decided to make a bold move and pitch the king of movie rentals—Blockbuster. At the time, Blockbuster had thousands of stores nationwide. The pitch was simple. Their company would join forces with Blockbuster and they would run the online portion of the business while Blockbuster would promote their company in its stores.
Well, Blockbuster laughed them out of the room.
Blockbuster instead decided to double down on their business model and focused on its brick-and-mortar dominance, while dismissing streaming and digital rental as like a niche market. But while Blockbuster stuck to late fees and physical stores, the tech startup, the one that lost all of that capital, well the start-up invested heavily in online infrastructure, personalized algorithms, and eventually, original content.
By the time Blockbuster realized that the streaming model was the future, it was too late. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010. The startup on the other hand, which was Netflix, became a streaming powerhouse and redefined how the world consumes media. They are now worth over $520 billion.
This… this right here, this is what it is like to be on the wrong side of a movement which involves a lot of the same qualities as missing a move of God.
There has been a wave of people, Bible believing Christians, who have missed and are going to miss authentic moves of God.
In this episode, we’ll take a look at some more movements. I’ll share what a move of God looks like in the beginning stages, then we’ll look at the consequences of missing a move of God, and I’ll end it with tips for how not to miss an authentic move of God.
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Movements
Let’s explore some movements. We’re gonna look at four different movements—two movements from the world and two from the church, then we’ll extract some themes from each of them to help us get an idea of some things to look out for when evaluating if God is moving in a new way. Our first movement involves Kodak. Do you remember Kodak and the whole “make it a Kodak moment” phrase? Am I showing my age?
● Kodak
Well, in 1975, long before the technology was on the radar of its competitors or anyone else really, a Kodak electrical engineer named Steven invented the first digital camera. The camera was as big as a toaster, it took 20 seconds to take a picture, it had low quality, and it used these complicated connections to connect to a TV in order to view the image, BUT it clearly had massive disruptive potential for the photography industry. Unfortunately, Kodak’s leadership couldn’t or really they refused to see a future where film didn’t exist in the field of photography. They were not here for this shift.
They couldn’t imagine a profitable photography business model outside of what already existed. “It was filmless photography, so management’s reaction was, ‘that’s cute—but don’t tell anyone about it.’” That’s what they told their electrical engineer. When the vice president of Kodak at the time advised that they should go digital, the company leadership shot him down too. If you’re keeping track, the electrical engineer got a no and the vice president of the company was told “no” by senior leadership regarding the production of the digital camera.
The people at Kodak...
…had an engineer on staff who had developed the world’s very first consumer digital camera and Kodak could have launched it in 1992, which was waves ahead of everywhere else because digital cameras didn’t become popular to the masses until the early 2000s, but the senior leaders at Kodak did not give their approval to launch or sell the digital camera. Why?? They wouldn’t sign off on it because of fear of the reduction in sales of film cameras. They were stuck on film photography and simply refused to diversify into digital photography.
Here’s what happened to Kodak according to Michael Hyatt in his book, the Vision Driven Leader which I’m going to link to in the episode description and show notes. Instead of revolutionizing their industry and following their founder’s vision of convenient photography for the masses, Kodak suppressed the innovation within its own organization. As a result, the company was unprepared for the tidal wave of innovation on the horizon. By 2003, digital cameras outsold film cameras, and by 2005, almost all cameras sold were digital. By the time Kodak had finally adopted the technology that it pioneered, the future had already passed them by.
● Computers
Digital Equipment Corporation, which I’ll refer to as DEC for short, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. In 1977, its founder made the following statement. He said, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
On the flip side of that, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple made a different prediction. He said, “The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will be to link it into a nationwide communications network.” Steve Jobs made this statement four years before the invention of the World Wide Web.
What was the difference between these two founders? The difference was that the DEC founder was 1) stuck in the present and 2) he lacked imagination and vision.
As a result, Apple was able to capitalize on the home computer market and DEC, well, have you ever even heard of DEC before today? No, and that should tell you everything you need to know about how they fared in the home computer market.
Now that we’ve looked at these two examples from the world, let’s see how this has shown up in scripture.
● Apostle Paul
Before he became known as Paul, Saul of Tarsus was a fierce opponent of the early Christian movement. He was present at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and he actively sought to imprison and persecute followers of Jesus.
Acts 8:3, CSB tells us that, “Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.” But why was he doing this? Because the “why” here is important. Why was he intensely persecuting God’s church, because in case you forgot, Paul practiced Judaism? So this doesn’t add up.
Here’s why he was persecuting the church. Paul tells us in Galatians 1:13-14 that he was doing this and advancing in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among his people, because he was extremely zealous for the traditions of his ancestors. Paul’s ancestors were Jewish and he, so he thought, was keeping the traditions of serving Yahweh just as his ancestors had.
That’s right. Paul thought he was actually upholding the traditions of his Jewish ancestors and essentially, doing the work of God. He thought he was doing the right thing by protecting his Jewish religion from the corruption of those people who were calling themselves, Christians and teaching the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. He legit believed he was defending the faith and protecting traditions of the true and living God from a dangerous heresy. That’s what he thought.
But on the road to Damascus...
Saul had a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ. Jesus spoke directly to him saying: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). In that moment, Saul’s entire worldview was shattered. He realized that he was on the wrong side.
Paul’s story is such a profound example of someone on the wrong side of history — not just resisting a social or technological shift, but opposing the truth of God.
How could he be so wrong?
● The Prophetic and Apostolic Movement
In recent decades, the emergence of the Apostolic and Prophetic Movement took off which believes in the restoration of the five-fold ministry gifts of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The five-fold ministry gifts which are also referred to as the ascension gifts are spoken of in Ephesians 4:11-13 which says, “and he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”
Somewhere along the way, people called cessationists, began to believe and preach that these five ministry gifts no longer exist. Well, they actually pick and choose which ones they believe still exist. They have no problem believing we still have pastors, teachers, and evangelists in the body of Christ, but in their mind, there is NO way that there are still apostles and prophets. As if Jesus stopped appointing people and stopped working after he ascended. We know that’s a lie because scripture tells us that He is still working for us after He ascended when it lets us know in Romans 8:34 that he is making intercession for us.
Cessationists didn’t stop there.
They also believe that the ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically the miraculous gifts that allow people to perform miracles and gifts—like tongues, prophecy, and healing—ceased with the death of the apostles.
This belief has in many ways closed them off from experiencing and participating in the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the present day, today. The thing is, it’s unclear how they even got here because Scripture makes no definitive claim that the gifts have ceased—in fact, Paul encourages believers to “eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1), and says the gifts will remain “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13), a condition that clearly hasn’t been met yet.
By rejecting these gifts: Many believers are left without the tools God intended for spiritual warfare, healing, and edification. As a result, a lot of churches, especially Western churches, lack the supernatural edge needed in order to confront dark systems and bring about breakthroughs in tough spiritual climates.
People end up missing divine encounters that could shift destinies, birth callings, and bring miraculous deliverance.
By rejecting the spiritual gifts and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, what cessationists have done is they have unintentionally reduced Christianity to a philosophical and an ideological framework, rather than a Spirit-empowered Kingdom movement. This puts the Church in a position of being less effective and honestly powerless, which is the opposite of the Spirit-filled and Spirit-led Church we see in the book of Acts.
As I sit here, I just cannot imagine ignoring miracles that are done at the hands of humans as led by the Holy Spirit. Think about deliverance. The casting out of devils is a miracle.
How can cessationists be so wrong?
In both of these examples with the Apostle Paul and the Cessationists rejection of the Apostolic/Prophetic Movement, God was moving—but people were not listening. Whether through fear of error, rigid theology, or attachment to tradition, they missed the opportunity to partner with what Heaven was doing on earth. This cannot be us.
Here’s the thing, missing a move of God doesn’t always look like rebellion—it can look like respectability, safety, or intellectualism that elevates man’s reasoning above God’s revelation. As Jesus warned, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). May we not fall into the same trap.
So before I share some of the consequences of missing a move of God, I want to shed some quick insight on what a move of God even looks like in the beginning.
Move of God
A move of God doesn’t just happen. It usually starts with one person or a small group of people who have dedicated their lives to prayer and communion with God, and as a result of that God begins to provide insight and direction into what He is doing in the earth and how we can partner with Him.
This usually means that there are a small number of people who have received the revelation on how God is moving and on top of that they are typically doing something that looks very differently than the masses. It doesn’t just look different from the masses, it also looks different from what influential people are doing.
This is part of what made Jesus so controversial. He was very unorthodox in how he operated.
Jesus really confounded those around him time and time again and his movement, just like every other move of God, started small…with just a few people. Same thing with John the Baptist.
Think about your favorite mega church pastor or Christian influencer. Now think about them coming against someone who is very new, unheard of, AND that person is moving very differently than your favorite pastor, teacher, prophet, or apostle.
Consequences of Being on the Wrong Side of a Move of God
Being on the wrong side of a move of God means resisting, dismissing, or even actively opposing something that God is doing—whether out of fear, pride, tradition, or a failure to recognize divine truth and what God is doing presently. This resistance can be personal, it can be institutional, or it can be cultural, and it often stems from a preference for what is familiar over what is new and different. The examples of Kodak, Blockbuster, and the computer do a great job of illustrating this in secular terms, but when it comes to spiritual matters, the stakes are eternal, and the consequences are far deeper.
Take the example of Apostle Paul. Before his conversion, Paul (then Saul) was a highly educated, devout religious leader who genuinely believed he was defending God’s truth. But in reality, he was fighting against the very move of the God he claimed to serve. He persecuted followers of Jesus, not realizing that they were part of the fulfillment of the very Scriptures he had studied and internalized. His zeal blinded him—until God literally had to blind him in order to open his spiritual eyes.
This shows that:
- You can be sincere and still be sincerely wrong.
- You can have the right training but the wrong perspective.
- You can be defending God and still be resisting Him and His will.
Jesus Himself was crucified by people who thought they were preserving the purity of their religion. Some of them really thought this. They were on the wrong side of God’s redemptive plan because they couldn’t recognize that God’s move was coming in a form they did not expect.
To be on the wrong side of a move of God often looks like…
- Clinging to old systems (like what the Pharisees did with the law).
- Fearing the loss of power, comfort, or control (like Kodak with film, or Blockbuster with stores),
- Or missing the signs of God’s hand because they don’t align with our expectations which is where we saw the Apostle Paul before he had an encounter with Jesus.
When people are on the wrong side of a move of God, they tend to:
1) move counter to what God is doing which is what we see the Apostle Paul doing when he persecuted Christians, 2) persecute those He sends. We see this with the prophet Jeremiah when he was beaten by priests in Jeremiah 26… and thrown into jail for saying what God told him to say, and 3) when people are on the wrong side of a move of God they tend to miss what God is doing altogether. We see this with the Egyptians and it cost them so much including the lives of their first born and their position as a global empire.
There is danger in being wrong—and there is also danger in staying wrong after truth has been revealed to you.
How to Not Miss a Move of God
● Keep your ear to His word
His word written in scripture and His word out of the mouths of His prophets and His servants. This is outlined for us in Jeremiah 26:4-6. Here’s what God told Jeremiah to tell the people of Judah. He said:
“You are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me by living according to my instruction that I set before you and by listening to the words of my servants the prophets—whom I have been sending to you time and time again, though you did not listen—I will make this temple like Shiloh. I will make this city an example for cursing for all the nations of the earth.’” Jeremiah 26:4-6, CSB
God will never move in a way that contradicts His Word. He may move in a way that is different from some people’s understanding of His word but it is not contrary to what the true meaning of the text is. Regular Bible study helps you recognize His patterns, His promises, and His character so you can discern His voice from counterfeits.
● Develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit
John 16:13, CSB lets us know that “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” When we are trying to understand if what we are seeing is an authentic move of God, we can simply ask the Holy Spirit.
A great way to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit is by communicating with Him. Just talk to Him. Like, have a regular conversation and wait for a response. Even if you hear nothing in the beginning, exercise this practice. Benny Hinn has a book titled, “Good Morning Holy Spirit” where he shares how to know the Holy Spirit as a person and friend. I linked to it in the episode description and the show notes.
● Don’t idolize tradition or comfort
Many people miss God because they cling to how He used to move instead of being open to how He is moving now. Traditions can be good—but not when they become a barrier to obedience or transformation. Mark 7:13 – “You nullify the word of God by your tradition…”
● Interrogate your opinions and feelings
Listen, I have seen and heard some things that I thought were bizarre and absurd, only for God to reveal that He actually supported it and had precedent for it in His word. My feelings and opinions were not rooted in truth.
● Connect to the apostolic and prophetic
God has put inside of people the anointing to tap into his future agenda and implement it across regions and nations. Prophets have the authority to speak on behalf of God a direct message from God. It is always a good idea to be in proximity of God’s prophets. The apostolic is an “aggressive forward moving anointing.”
One of my responsibilities, for those connected to me and who will be connected to me, is to bring God’s children into present truths and fresh moves of God. What is God doing right now?
This is what the apostolic does. Find an apostle you can trust to learn and glean from. Apostles are God’s special messengers. They are articulators of the activities of God. God gives them messages for their generation and other generations on how to connect to what He is doing in a given season.
This does not have to be your pastor and this is not a suggestion to leave your church if your pastor is not apostolic. You can do both, stay at your church and learn from others.
There will be some people who argue that there are no apostles on the earth and they left when the 12 apostles died. This is a conclusion based on someone’s interpretation of scripture. It is not the position of God.
Want More?
If you enjoyed this episode detailing how not to miss a move of God, then you may also enjoy the episode of the show about the fear of success and how it hinders purpose or this episode detailing what to expect when operating in your purpose.
Resources Mentioned
- The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt
- Good Morning Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn
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