Volume 3 Issue 3; Autumn 2006

Transcription

A Teaching Magazine of Pastor Gregg Johnson & The Mission Church Ministry Staff
Volume 3 Issue 3; Autumn 2006
Subscribe to
Leadership Teaching
Magazine online at
-orSend letter of request with
name, address, ministry
position and vision to
A Closer Look
at What It is
and How to
have It
• When is it
really a
revival?
• The four
phases of
revival
• Revival in
history
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING CONFERENCES
• Marks of true
revival
• And much,
much more
More Than Conquerors
Returns to West Africa
November 7-11, 2006
Accra Ghana
Page 23
Equipping Great Leaders for the Great Commission
LEADERSHIP TEACHING MAGAZINE
CONTENTS
WHEN IS IT REALLY A REVIVAL?.......…...….…………
Rev. Gregg Johnson
The Mission Church
page 3
…..
Preface: Revival Is a Process………………………
Phase One: Realizing You Need It………...……….
Phase Two: Reaching Up for More…………………
Phase Three: Receiving What You Need….……….
Phase Four: Reaching Out with What You Have….
page 4
page 5
page 7
page 9
page 11
MINOR PROPHETS MAJOR FOCUS IS REVIVAL……...
Richard Langford
page 14
MARKS OF REVIVAL……...………………………………..
J. I. Packer
page 16
Chief Editor: Gregg Johnson
Distribution: Martha McNeal
REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH…………………...……………
Evangelist Greg Hubbard
page 17
A GREAT RESOURCE
FOR LEADERS
REVIVAL IN HISTORY………………………………..…….
Evangelist Bob Fisher
page 19
THE NEED FOR REVIVAL……..…………….….....……...
Rev. Nikil Adwalpalker
page 21
3RD MORE THAN CONQUERERS IN WEST AFRICA...
Promotional
page 23
4101 Rt. 52
Holmes NY 12531
visit us on-line at
www.missionchurch.com
Phone: 845.878.3380
Fax: 845.878.3316
[email protected]
[email protected]
Leadership Teaching Magazine is a
great resource for pastors, missionaries and all who are engaged in
Christian Leadership. This quarterly
publication is developed by Pastor
Gregg Johnson and staff of The
Mission Church and is provided free
to all leaders of ministries who strive
toward greater effectiveness in the
ministry they serve.
Leadership Teaching Magazine
endeavors to fulfill the following
values:
•
TO EQUIP by providing teachings, insights and information to
Christian leaders in foreign lands
who are unable to access mainstream media.
• TO
ENCOURAGE the body of
Christ around the world by inspiring the church’s leaders to persevere through challenges, adversity and even persecution.
• TO EXHORT men and women in
leadership to demonstrate the
example of Christ through godly
devotion, love of the brethren and
commitment to the family.
Leadership Teaching Magazine is published quarterly by The Mission Church 4104 Rt. 52 Holmes
NY 12531. ISSN 1550-6819. Postmaster send address changes to The Mission Church 4101 Rt. 52
Holmes NY 12531.
Volume 3 Issue 3 ©2006 The Mission Church. Leadership Teaching Magazine is a publication of
Pastor Gregg Johnson and The Mission Church. Articles authored by Pastor Gregg Johnson are the
property and ©copyright of Gregg Johnson and are used by permission. Reproduction in whole or in
part of any articles is prohibited. Permission to reproduce articles in whole or in part is granted only
to Christian Leaders for ministry purposes when acknowledgement of authorship is given and for use
in non commercial media.
If you are a leader in Christian ministry and would like to be added to our mailing list, please send a written and signed request to our office
(see insert) or visit www.leadershipteachingmagazine.com to subscribe.
Page 2
Autumn 2006
ney goes on to elaborate) revival is
more—much more than that. When the
Holy Spirit brings revival to a church, it is
like a paramedic performing CPR or mouth
to mouth resuscitation on a dying patient.
It is not enough for the paramedic to simply force air into the lungs of an unconscious body. The “body” has not been
“revived” until it starts breathing on its
own. Revival, therefore is not when God
breathes on a church—revival is when
God gives the church the ability to breath
on its own.
Dr. Gordon Anderson, president of
North
Central University of the Assemblies
Pastor Gregg Johnson
of God said revival is a “period of time
when people are awakened to the reality
of an ever present, ever willing God.”5
James Packer provides a more descriptive
idea of revival; he said it is “the visitation
of God which brings to life Christians who
When Evangelist Steve Hill gave an
have been sleeping and restores a deep
altar call at Brownsville Assembly of God
sense of God's near presence and holion Sunday Morning, June 18, 1995, he
ness. Thence springs a vivid sense of sin
never imagined it would trigger a pheand a profound exercise of heart in repennomenon that would reach around the
tance, praise, and love, with an evangelisworld. For the next five years an estitic outflow.” When revival comes to a
mated three million people would attend
church, it brings more than fiery preachwhat became known as “The Brownsville
ing, souls slain in the spirit and a testiRevival.”1 But was it really a “revival?” It’s
mony of signs and wonders. Revival will
a fair question in light of Brownsstand the church on its feet
ville Assembly’s present condition. ...For some, revival is the “breath of God”
and put it to work.
Today, more than ten years later,
In this edition of Leaddemonstrated by stirring sermons, lively
the church has suffered the disership Teaching Magazine, we
sension and resignation of its reworship and supernatural signs...However,
will address the “character” of
vival leaders, diminished signifirevival. Rather than centering
revival is not merely when God breathes
cantly in membership and owes
on the temporary excitement
over $9 million dollars in debt.2
and the more sensational
on
a
church—revival
is
when
God
gives
In January of 1994 another
aspects associated with it, we
“revival” occurred in a Canadian the church the ability to breath on its own.
hope to examine revival from
church called Toronto Airport
aware of the positive influence they have a more practical and theological viewChristian Fellowship. Over 300,000 people had on the Body of Christ. As well, I am point. In doing so, may the Lord help us
visited the church and some even testified certain they have done more to promote to understand exactly what it means when
of healings, salvations and a greater the kingdom of God than most pastors a church is in need of, praying for or in
awareness of God’s love.3 But was it really could ever dream of doing. Despite their the midst of REVIVAL!
a “revival?” The “Toronto Blessing,” widespread notoriety however, church
“Will You not revive us again, that
known mostly for the unusual behaviors it leaders today—especially in Pentecostal Your people may rejoice in You?” Psalm
produced such as hysterical or “holy circles—must use discernment and think 85:6
laughter” and other strange extremes was critically when it comes to “revival.” If we
eventually denounced and ousted by its are to remain credible, we must do more
affiliated authority, The Vineyard Fellow- than simply pound the pulpit with dra- Endnotes
ship. It was accused of going “over the matic flare. We must put substance before 1. See article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Brownsville_Revival
edge” by encouraging believers to roar sensation and seek revival as God truly
2. See article at: http://www.cbn.com/
like lions and bark like dogs while attribut- intends it.
spirituallife/ChurchAndMinistry/
ing such acts to the inspiration of the Holy
Charles Finney, the renowned 18th
Charisma_Grady_Brownsville.aspx
Spirit.4
century evangelist defined revival as God 3. See article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
I hear preachers say it all the time. breathing “a fresh inrush of divine life and
wiki/Toronto_blessing
“We need revival!” or “We need the power into a body threatening to become 4. See article at: Marcia Ford, "Toronto
power of God to fall upon us!” And usu- a corpse.” And for some, this is all revival
Church Ousted From Vineyard," Charisma
ally, such statements are punctuated by amounts to—the breath of God demonand Christian Life, 2/96, p. 12
shouts of “Amen!” and nods to the af- strated by stirring sermons, lively worship 5. A Theology of Revival; Dr. Gordon Anderson; audio series delivered at North Cenfirmative by some well meaning believers and supernatural signs. However (as Fin-
When is it really a
“Revival?”
seated in the audience. I also hear it in
prayer meetings: “God send revival!” or
“Holy Spirit come and revive our church!”
With these passionate pleas come a rise in
the emotional current of the prayer meeting as believers cry out, “Yes, Lord!” or
“Do it God!” It seems no other declaration
or prayer request provokes more passionate agreement from Pentecostals like a
plea for “Holy Ghost revival.”
But what exactly are we asking for?
What is revival? Is it what happened in
Brownsville? Is it what occurred in Toronto? Without doubt, “calling for revival”
seems sincere, sounds spiritual and gets
people excited, but do church leaders fully
grasp what revival is and do we really
understand the message we send to people by telling them they need to be revived? Sadly, some do not. In fact, many
leaders are losing credibility because their
notion of revival is shallow and superficial
and goes no further than whipping people
into an emotional frenzy. It is temporary
excitement without long term transformation.
I sincerely do not mean to speak critically of the Brownsville Revival or the Toronto Blessing and I hope my readers will
forgive me if I seem to do so. I am fully
tral University
The Mission Church / Global Leadership Training
Page 3
“revival.”
Why does this happen? Simply
stated,
it is because our “spiritual capacPastor Gregg Johnson
ity” is limited. We lack the depth of spirit
and breadth of character to sustain what
The church is full of “revival junk- there must first be a season of sowing, God wants us to have. In a sense, God
ies.” Like addicts searching for another reaping, breaking, seeking and ulti- may pour gallons of Holy Ghost water
fix, these spiritual “junkies” run from mately, growing. When that occurs re- upon us, but our spirit can only hold a
church to church seeking the sights and vival will be more than a “flash flood” of pint.
sounds of revival. But revival is more power, it will be a stream of life bringing
It is in this “process of revival” that
than an event; it is more than a mo- lasting fruit to thirsty lives. Sure, we God attempts to deepen our spiritual
ment of excitement that is quickly for- might go to an anointed revival service capacity. Rather than just pouring somegotten. One cannot simply visit a and get “wet,” but if we haven’t sowed, thing into us that dries up in a matter of
church service, have hands laid upon reaped, broken and sought, the next day days, He brings us through a cycle of
him or her and get revived. Although it we’ll probably dry up again. Without sub- breaking, digging, sowing and reaping
is possible to sit amongst a people who mitting to the process, revival won’t that, not only brings new life into us, it
are in a process of revival, and be en- “stick.”
enables us to breathe on our own. We
riched by the encounter, it is not
take up new habits, new patpossible to experience true revival
terns, and new beliefs that keep
It is not possible to experience true reuntil first submitting to the procus in the current of God’s flowing
ess of revival—the transformation vival until first submitting to the process
presence instead of standing on
that brings lasting, fruitful change.
the shoreline hoping for a few
of revival—the transformation that
True revival is a process of
splashes.
brings lasting, fruitful change.
transformation which awakens the
Dr. Gordon Anderson, presichurch to the reality of God,
dent of North Central University,
aligns the people with His perfect will
Have you ever gone to a series of an Assemblies of God college in Minneand energizes them to serve His pur- dynamic meetings, a special retreat or sota conducts a seminar entitled, “A
pose. Rarely does such a change occur exciting convention and had a genuine Theology of Revival.”1 In this class he
because of a few sermons and an altar and profound encounter with God? In emphasizes the above truth by elocall. Usually, it occurs because the peo- fact, you felt recharged and revitalized; quently identifying and explaining the
ple have been engaged in this “process your vision was expanded, your call was four phases of revival. The following artiof transformation” over a long period of confirmed—you even had someone cles I’ve written draw their inspiration
time.
prophesy and impart an anointing to from his lectures and reflect some of the
The prophet Hosea described it like you. It seemed great for the moment, concepts and descriptions Dr. Anderson
this: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; but it wasn’t long—maybe a few days— originally espoused.
reap in mercy; break up your fallow before all the excitement and energy of
—Pastor Gregg Johnson
ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, that experience was gone. In a brief
till He comes and rains righteousness matter of time you deflated and went Endnotes
on you” (Hosea 10:12). God will revive back to the same, mundane, defeated 1. See article at: http://www.northcentral.edu/
those who are dry and parched, but lethargy that dominated you before the president
Revival Is a Process
Global Leadership Training Conference
GOA, INDIA; JANUARY 2006
From January 31 through February 3, 2006
Global Leadership Training conducted a leadership conference targeting pastors and church
leaders in Goa, India. Over 700 attended this
event and testified to the impact of its unique
theme: The Character of Leadership.
Pastor Gregg Johnson founder of
Global Leadership and senior pastor
of The Mission Church presented
teachings on subjects such as integrity, humility, pastoral ethics, sexual
integrity in ministry, and much more.
Other speakers in the conference
included Pastor Wayne Tate, worship
and fine arts pastor from Manna
Page 4
Church in Fayetteville, NC who taught on
themes of worship in the church. Pastor
Charles Mulema Kinusu founder and senior
pastor of Nairobi Gospel Centre in Nairobi,
Kenya spoke about vision, raising leaders
and communication. Avi Adwalpalker, Mission
Church elder taught about financial integrity and his
wife Donna spoke about women's ministries. Pastors
testified that this kind of material has rarely been
taught to leaders in their region and they enthusiastically received every message.
So successful was the conference that plans are set
for conducting a third Global Leadership Conference
in Mumbai (Bombay) city. Over 2,000 pastors and
church leaders are expected to attend.
Autumn 2006
condition by giving them a false security. How many mainline denominations
as well as Pentecostal churches are
filled with people who think they are
devout because they are spiritually religious? They worship with hands held
The first step in the process of re- and praying for the sick can all be reli- high, heal the sick or go to the altar
vival is a step of realization. It is when gious. Any time the form or function of speaking in tongues but feel no regret
good Christians realize their faith in God an activity is emphasized more than the for gossip, lust or jealousy. They teach
has stagnated into a religious exercise heart condition behind it, it is nothing in Sunday School or sing in the choir
rather than thriving as a living relation- more than religion. It is possible for which seems to validate them spiritually
ship with Christ. Dr. Gordon Anderson “spirit-led” people to become so well even though their hearts are full of bitcalls this the “Religion Phase,” it is when versed in Pentecostal practices that they terness and carnal inclinations.
people who are in the habit of attending perform them with little thought and
Even more numbing is the effect of
church and going about the work of even lesser passion. And what is worse, the “anointing” on those who are religministry, realize that “something is miss- the performance of these duties serves to iously Pentecostal or Charismatic. Very
ing.”
convince us that we are right with God.
often when we worship and go to the
That missing “something” was foreIn this sense, religion is not only de- altar or serve God in ministry, He mertold by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy ceptive, it is dangerous. In fact, Dr. cifully provides His unction to help or to
3:5. He said in the last days there would Anderson states two reasons that a reli- heal us. Even when we don’t deserve
be a form of godliness without the gious spirit is the single greatest hin- his touch or have entertained sin in our
power. Paul was concerned that latter drance to revival: first, because religion lives, the grace of God still affords his
day Christians would have all the exter- has a numbing, narcotic effect on believ- blessing to us. Unfortunately, our relinals of the faith but would lack the inner ers; and second, because religion op- gious spirit misinterprets the anointing
quality of a life driven by the Holy Spirit. poses revival.
as validation and it becomes a sedative
There would be big churches, fancy fanumbing us to our spiritual sickness.
cilities and impressive budgets; believSuch was the case in Judges 16
Religion as a Narcotic
ers would be busy with kingdom busiwhen Samson persisted in his sin. He
Religious activity becomes dangerous lusted after a Philistine woman but still
ness; there would be programs and
when
it allows people to think they are had anointing to kill a lion (Judges
ministries and massive campaigns. But,
doing
something spiritually worthwhile 14:1-6). He spent the night with a Galike the hard working church of Ephesus
in Revelation 2:2-4, their religious
zite harlot but in the morning had
activity is a pretense for those who
to pull up the city gates
Religion is any set of creeds, traditions strength
have left their “First Love.”
(Judges 15:1-3). He fell in love
or practices that causes people to be- with Delilah and visited her bedMistakenly, many Pentecostals
believe they are “above” such a lieve they are spiritually alive when in
room often but still had power to
condition (after all, we have the
break free from the ropes she
truth they are not!
baptism in the Holy Spirit). To the
bound him with (Judges 16:4-14).
Pentecostal, the idea of being reliOne can imagine Samson rationalgious applies to mainline denominations while actually numbing them to their true izing, “It’s not a problem that I visit
with their cold, stone cathedrals steeped spiritual poverty. In John 4:18, Jesus harlots and commit fornication, for I
in rote liturgy and prewritten prayers. confronted the sin of the woman at the still have the anointing. This may not
They imagine an apathetic congregation well: “You have had five husbands, and be sin at all, God is still with me; God
going through the motions of faith— the one whom you now have is not your still uses me; I still have authority as a
kneeling, standing, sitting, singing— husband…” How did she respond? She leader over God’s people and experiwithout the substance of faith in their said, “Sir, I perceive that You are a ence His power.” The anointing on his
hearts. But religion is not only limited to prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this life, together with his religious attitude
traditional churches; it can happen in mountain and you Jews say that Jerusa- numbed him to his depravity and gave
Pentecostal and Charismatic congrega- lem is the place where one ought to wor- him a false sense of security.
ship.” She pointed out how religious she
tions as well.
It is the “Samson Syndrome” and
Religion is any set of creeds, tradi- was; and that religious spirit made her far too many have been blinded by it
tions or practices that cause people to numb to the gravity and the reality of her today. Preachers commit sin but still
believe they are spiritually alive when in sin. She was an adulterer and a fornica- feel power in the pulpit. Church leaders
truth they are not! Speaking in tongues tor, but because she and her family hold onto carnality but pray for the sick
can be religious. Lifting hands and sing- “worshiped,” she felt no remorse.
and see miracles. Prophets prophesy
Religion is a spiritual narcotic for with Spirit-led accuracy even though
ing worship choruses can be religious.
Taking sermon notes, going to the altar souls that are spiritually dying. It anes(Continued on page 6)
thetizes people to their depraved spiritual
Phase One
Realizing The Need
Page 5
(Continued from page 5)
their hearts are secretly laden with
pride. Tragically, their religious activity
together with God’s merciful touch
upon them brings them under a type
of religious blindness. They believe
that all is well and are unable to see
that the Spirit is grieved by the condition of their heart.
Religion as Opposition
Another way religion is dangerous
is by acting to oppose revival. John
11:38-44 provides one of the greatest
miracles performed by Christ on earth.
Lazarus died and lay in a grave for
four days. In a magnificent display of
His omnipotent power, Jesus said,
“Lazarus, come forth.” Within moments, the resurrected form of this
once dead man appeared standing in
the threshold of his newly vacated
tomb. It is a clear demonstration of
God’s willingness to be present among
His spiritually dying people to revive,
restore and renew.
However, in the midst of this great
demonstration of revival power, religion boldly resisted it. In John 11:4557, the chief priests and Pharisees, the
religious leaders of that day, began
plotting how they could not only kill
Jesus—the one who initiated revival,
but also kill Lazarus—the one who had
experienced revival (John 12:10). It
reveals what happens when revival
comes; religion wants to put an end to
the move of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because religion is threatened by revival—in two ways.
First, revival always threatens
“status quo.” The nature of religion is
to be content with status quo, to feel
secure in long standing traditions and
familiar rituals. The Pharisees felt secure in the four hundred year old religious system they had set up. It provided a neatly packaged understanding of who God is and how people
should relate to Him. When Jesus
came He threatened to change all
that. Similarly, when revival comes
today—true Spirit led revival—it usually changes things. Long standing
traditions are disrupted; time honored
rituals are challenged or even cast
aside. For the religious, this is far too
Page 6
radical a paradigm shift. Dancing?
Weeping? Altar calls? Falling down?
Longer worship? Because it feels “too
strange and different” and threatens the
traditional religious model that makes
people feel secure, they resist it.
Secondly, revival often brings a
threat to those in control. It wasn’t
enough that the Pharisees felt secure in
long standing religious traditions, they
were empowered by their control over
those traditions. They were the leaders,
the spiritual power brokers who were
esteemed by the people to have an “in”
with God. When Jesus came, He threatened their prominence and popularity.
People started looking to Jesus and His
disciples as spiritual leaders which eventually caused them to question the authority of the Pharisees. This is often the
same reason why religious leaders today
resist revival. They don’t want others
questioning the traditions they have superintended for so long nor do they welcome other “less orthodox” personalities
to become as popular and esteemed as
them. As a result, they may brand these
new leaders as rebels, radicals or spiritual usurpers.
•
When sinners are careless and stupid, it is time Christians should stir
themselves.
Beyond these, perhaps the truest test
of needing revival is being able to read
this list without any concern—it is feeling
convinced you don’t need one. When a
person reasons: “I go to church on Sunday, that’s enough. I don’t need more of
Jesus,” it may well be an indication that
he or she has become numb to his own
spiritual need. As you read this edition of
Leadership Teaching Magazine, may it be
more than a doctrinal dissertation, may it
result in a stirring in our soul for a closer,
more vibrant walk with Christ.
Endnotes
1. Revival Lectures, Charles G. Finney, Fleming
Revell Company, Old Tappen NJ; pg 17
Realize the Need
Are you in need of revival? Is your
church in need of revival? The religious
tendencies in all of us tend to blind us to
our true condition and prevent us from
pursuing a new outpouring of God’s
power. To help us, the renowned evangelist Charles Finney gives seven conditions that reveal a need for reviving:1
•
•
•
•
•
When there is want of brotherly
love and concern between professors of Christianity, then a revival
is needed.
When there are dissensions and
jealousies and evil speakings
among Christians, then there is a
great need of revival.
When there is a worldly spirit in
the Church.
When the Church finds its members falling into gross and scandalous sins, then it is time to awake
and cry to God for revival.
When the wicked triumph over the
Churches and revile them, it is
time to seek for a revival.
&
ATTENTION
Pastors
Church Leaders
in
Ghana
and
West Africa
Register now for the
3rd
More Than Conquerors
West Africa
Leadership Conference
November 7-11, 2006
Autumn 2006
“revival junkies.” This phase of revival is
usually limited to a remnant of people
who mean business with God.
As a church moves into this phase of
revival, there are several cultural dynamics that will begin to change. In fact, if
R. T. Kendell, author of “The Anoint- exist as a dead sect, having the form of you are looking for revival in your
ing” wrote, “If the Holy Spirit were taken religion without the power…”2 Revival church, these can serve as benchmarks
completely from the Church, 90 percent begins when people refuse to exist as a to pray for and topics to preach on.
of the work of the Church would go right dead sect and make changes in their
Seven Signs of
on as if nothing had happened." He goes lives that move them closer to God.
Phase two is the part of revival that
on to say, too many churches today "are
Impending Revival
churni ng out an abundance of is most demanding and life changing. It
"Christian" activity that has no touch of is when Christians are seeking and tar1. Softening of Hearts
rying, fasting and praying, crying out to
God upon it.”1
The first stage in the process of re- God for a change and committing themWhen Hosea told the Jews (a nation
vival is a point of realization. It is an selves to more diligent and devoted of farmers) to break up the fallow
awareness that something is missing spiritual disciplines. It is when pro- ground, they knew he was referring to
from one’s spiritual life. Unfortunately, longed seasons of prayer are called, the condition of their hearts. Fallow
many people never make it past this and people linger at the altar. The wor- ground is soil which had once been tilled
point. Although aware that they lack ship is more intense and the preaching and was good for planting but (through
spiritual life and power, they fail to do is more confrontational. People are of- neglect) had become dry and brittle. The
anything about it. Instead, they become ten found repenting of their sin, con- prophet was saying their hearts, though
complacent and digress to a state of fessing their faults, and weeping at the once eager for God, had become hard
apathy and spiritual
and needed to be broken up, softened
The great sin of the latter day church is
indifference. The evenand made ready to receive again. People
tual end is a life that is not that we have lost the presence of God
in this second phase of revival have bebarren, fruitless and
come aware of their own fallow condiin our lives. The great sin of the church is
void of spiritual vitality.
tion. They are responsive to preaching,
But then there are that we have become content to live withto altar calls, to worship much the way a
those few who, upon
farmer digs into the brittle earth to turn
out it and do nothing to get it back.
realizing their spiritual
it over and make it good again. Rather
poverty, become desperate and cry out. lack of God’s presence in their lives. than justify their sin, they are willing to
They determine to do something about This is what is meant by Hosea when he look closely at the issues in the character
their condition; they stir themselves up prophesied about breaking up the fallow and confess their faults.
and take hold of Christ. This is the sec- ground and seeking the rain of rightond phase of revival: when religious eousness.
2. Repentance
people resolve to change their religious
It is interesting to note, however,
Without question, this phase of repretense. It is when they say: “What I that no one writes articles or shares
vival
is the most difficult and pivotal
am is no longer acceptable. I can’t live testimonies about this phase of revival.
step.
It
is when we confront the reality
with this barrenness of soul any longer, I They don’t come from Charisma Magaof
where
we are spiritually. It is when
must have more.”
zine or the local newspapers to do feawe
break
free of comfort zones, pull
Charles Finney said, “Christians are ture stories about people in all night
down
the
strongholds and expel the
more to blame for not being revived prayer vigils or share quotes from Hell
powers
that
have held us in their grip.
than sinners are for not being con- shaking sermons. Usually, newspapers
This
is
more
than standing around in a
1
verted.” The great sin of the latter day come later during the next phase of
prayer
circle
and praying tired, timid
church is not that we have lost the pres- revival when there are healings, masprayers;
it
is
when
we repent, renounce
ence of God in our lives. The great sin of sive altar calls and people are slain in
and
purge.
It
is
when
we deal with the
the church is that we have become con- the spirit by the dozens. That’s when
doors
that
had
been
shut
on the Holy
tent to live without it and do nothing to the cameras start rolling—but not when
Spirit
and
rip
down
the
“no
trespassing
th
get it back. John Wesley, an 18 century the intercessors are travailing, the
signs”
meant
to
keep
Him
out.
During
Anglican Church leader anticipated this preachers are rebuking sin and the
this
phase,
we
confess
attitudes
and
sins
when he wrote concerning his own de- church members are repenting. Neiand
things
in
our
lives
that
have
hinnomination: “I am not afraid that the ther, at this time, will the church start
dered,
grieved,
and
quenched
the
move
people called Methodists should ever filling up with newcomers from around
cease to exist either in Europe or Amer- the city. That usually happens when the of the Holy Spirit upon us.
ica. But I am afraid lest they should only sensational stuff starts attracting the
Phase Two
Reaching Up for More
(Continued on page 8)
Page 7
3. Priority of Prayer
Why is the prayer meeting usually
the least attended? It is because the enemy attacks prayer more than any other
function of the church. He knows that
corporate prayer leads to strong churches
and victorious believers. His attack, however, is not usually blatant and outright;
usually, he tries to “erode” the prayer
meeting. He will gradually try to get us to
put other things before it and make it a
low priority item. Eventually, the prayer
meeting is no longer a sacred, significant
gathering. It becomes expendable, negotiable and easily set aside as picnics, family visits, and sporting events become
more important than seeking God. But in
an environment where people are being
revived, people will be compelled to intercede. The norm will be “come and pray.”
The enemy will begin to lose his grip on
the church as it takes its place of rightful
authority in Christ’s name.
ship, the words ring true and hold sincere meaning because they truly convey where the worshiper is at spiritually.
Old time Pentecostals had a saying
known as “praying through.” It was
more than a cliché, it meant something.
6. Word of God
Praying through what? It was praying
True revival will always bring peothrough all those areas of resistance in
ple back to the Word of God. When the
the flesh, those carnal ways opposing
saints are hungry to hear from God,
the will of God. Rather than relying on
this is where they will turn. Of course
weak, liturgical prayers that someone
there will always be those who come
else wrote; rather than reciting feeble,
with personal prophecies and words of
meaningless supplications that barely
knowledge—these are good and have
lasted beyond what the flesh could entheir place. But, they are never a subdure, these old saints prayed through.
stitute for the Word of God. Sermons
Likewise, as we are praying through,
that are intellectually stimulating or
something is going on inside of us—we
psychologically therapeutic will have
are being changed. More specifically, we
little impact on the soul hungry for reare “praying ourselves” into a condition
vival. He or she wants the Word of
of receiving, accommodating, and susGod; they want scripture; they want
taining the move of God upon us. In the
doctrine; they want to be set free and it
first phase we had a limited spiritual
is only when one knows the truth that
capacity that lacked the depth to sustain
he can really be set free.
the power and life God wanted to
pour into us; in this phase, through
It is one thing to receive an anointing
7. Sense of Expectancy
prayer, fasting and seeking we are from God, it is another thing to be able to
increasing our spiritual capacity for
There can never be a birth withgreater measure of God’s manifest maintain that anointing on a daily basis.
out there first being a pregpresence.
nancy. There must first be nine months
4. Corporate Prayer Meetings
5. Worship
As more individuals gain an appreciation and love for prayer, they will find
themselves gathering, sometimes impromptu, for corporate prayer. More and
more these people will come together to
pray and eventually they will petition the
church leadership to conduct and advertise organized prayer meetings for the
entire church.
Unfortunately, the least attended
church service is the prayer meeting.
Not the Bible study or homegroup where
we talk about prayer, not the prayer
breakfast where we eat, fellowship and
pray for five minutes, not the worship
service where we sing about prayer. It is
the prayer meeting—the actual service
where Christians are supposed to pray—
that is usually the worst attended event
in the church. In fact, Dr. Anderson suggests that if the prayer meeting is the
least attended event in the church, then
the church needs revival; and, if prayer
is a low priority in your life, then you are
in danger of being religious and you
need revival.
It has been said that worship is the
breathing mechanism of the church. It is
how we connect to God on a tangible,
touchable way. People who are in the
religious phase are bothered by worship.
They see it as something other people
do, but it’s not “their thing.” As a result,
their experience with God is mostly theoretical and intellectual rather than personal and experiential. God wants to
have a tangible connection with His people and one of the ways He does this is
by “inhabiting the praises of His people.”
People who are on the verge of revival yearn for more and more worship.
They are people of His presence. They
have tasted and seen that the Lord is
good and want more. Old, traditional
songs take on new significance; the
words become a burning reality that
cause people to weep and bow and break
before God. Choruses such as “Lord I
Give You My Life” and “Open the Eyes of
My Heart” or “Amazing Grace” are not
just mere words being recited to music.
Instead they become a prologue to wor-
Page 8
growing, changing, preparing in which
the mother is expecting new life. In the
same way, true revival does not come
until there has first been a season of
pregnancy before birthing. People will
become “expectant” in their spirits for
revival. There will be a sense that God
is about to do something new that
causes people to seek Him more diligently and with greater intensity.
Conclusion
Without question, phase two is the
most significant and important piece of
revival. Without this time of breaking,
sowing and seeking, the blessings we
receive will be short lived and unsustained.
This stage of revival establishes the
quality of our spirituality; it determines
our spiritual character that sustains and
supports the manifest presence of God
in our life. In other words, it is one
thing to receive an anointing from God,
it is another thing to be able to maintain that anointing on a daily basis.
Autumn 2006
strating His power and anointing.
To further understand this, Doctor
Gordon Anderson explains a truth concerning the “Concealed Ubiquity of God.”
It means that while God is omnipresent,
His glory and power are usually concealed. God is everywhere at all times—
The Bible reveals that the God we that which we are seeking. As Finney His power to heal, save and deliver is
seek is one who responds. Proverbs defined it, revival is “a fresh inrush of always present—but there is a difference
8:17 says “those who seek Me diligently divine life and power.” It is when God between God being present and his preswill find Me.” In Jeremiah 29:13 we are starts breathing new life into us—as ence being manifested. It is one thing for
assured, “…you will seek Me and find though He is performing, not artificial Jesus to be present on the Sea of Galilee,
Me, when you search for Me with all respiration, but divine respiration. The it is another thing for Him to say to the
your heart.” “Draw near to God and He Lord is not “just present”—He begins to storm “Peace by Still.” It is one thing for
will draw near to you” is the promise of “manifest His presence.”
Jesus to be present at the Pool of BeJames 4:8. And Hebrews 11:6 boldly
This is the phase that most are re- thesda, it is another thing for Him to
asserts “…He is a rewarder of those who ferring to when they say, “That place is start healing people. When it comes to
diligently seek Him.” Those of us who in revival.” Why is revival assumed? understanding revival and the revealing
will acknowledge our need for revival Because they are “acting revived.” They of God’s power, there must be a distincand take the next step of “reaching out are dancing or crying; they are laughing
tion made between the omnipresence
to God for more,” have the assurof God and the “Manifest Presence of
ance that He will reach back to us God is everywhere at all times—His God.” The omnipresence of God is a
and reveal His power and majesty.
fact of His nature. The manifest presThe next phase of revival is the power to heal, save and deliver is al- ence of God is an act of His will. It is
phase of receiving. As Dr. Anderson ways present—but there is a differ- the ability, activity, and energy of God
states: “It is when you get it!” It is ence between God being present and moving and flowing to accomplish His
the exciting part of revival in which
purposes. Jesus may have been
his presence being manifested.
God responds to our seeking and
“present” at the tomb of Lazarus, but
“shows up” with His power and presthe dead man was not revived until
ence.
or falling down; prophecy is flowing, Jesus manifested His authority. The
During the second phase of revival, worship is dynamic, altar calls are over- twelve disciples were always in the
we are reaching up. We realize our cold, flowing and people are seemingly ex- “presence” of Jesus, but it wasn’t until
dead religious state, repent of it and periencing the move of the Holy Spirit in He activated His glory on the Mount of
press into a fuller revelation of God. The their lives. Indeed, such manifestations Transfiguration that His true divine presthird phase is when we begin to receive are typical of a place that is being re- ence was revealed.
vived—both scripture and history bears
this out. But the presence of such maniThe Anointing
festations is not the full consummation
Here, in phase two we develop those of revival. In fact, this is only a stage of
With this revelation of God’s presdisciplines which allow us to do so. Hab- revival—and this third phase is actually ence, comes a dynamic which is central
its of daily prayer and bible reading, the threshold of an even greater work to Pentecostal tradition: “The Anointing.”
patterns of deeper worship and self de- that God is trying to do.
Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is
nial give us a spiritual character that can
Quite often, in an attempt to under- upon Me and has anointed Me” (Luke
support the manifest presence of God in stand or explain this dynamic of God’s 4:18). Acts 10:38 says, “God anointed
our life. Without them, we are nothing revealed power, the church employs Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
more than spiritual junkies running from certain metaphors. We often hear state- and with power…” In the Old Testament,
church to church, looking for revival, but ments like, “God showed up!” or “the an “anointing” was an act of consecraunable maintain the blessings we re- Holy Spirit came down!” or “the pres- tion; the priest would pour oil (a type of
ceive.
ence of God was there.” Of course we the Holy Spirit) over an object or person
—Pastor Gregg Johnson understand that God is omnipresent; in to signify that it was being set apart and
other words, He is everywhere, all the used for a special purpose of God. In the
time. These metaphors are not suggest- New Testament, this same concept apEndnotes
1. The Anointing, R.T. Kendell; Thomas Nelson
ing that the Holy Spirit was not “down plies when the Holy Spirit is at work.
Publishers, Nashville TN. 1999
here” to begin with or that “God wasn’t When “God shows up,” that is when He
2. How to Experience Revival, Charles Finney,
there” before the revival. Rather, it is manifests His presence, it is to respond
compiled by E. E. Shelhamer, Whitaker
expressing that God—while always to those who are seeking and searching
House, 1984, Springdale Penn. Pg. 10
3. See article at http://en.thinkexist.com/
there—had become active by demon-
Phase Three
Receiving What You Need
quotes/john_wesley)
Page 9
body. You cannot hear or feel them of the Holy Spirit; most likely they are
for Him. He energizes the atmosphere because you are not tuned to the right not. Instead, they are physical or emowith His glory, touches lives, heals frequency. But if you were to get a ra- tional reactions to being touched by the
hearts, convicts sinners and revives the dio, turn it to the right channel, you will omnipotent, limitless power of the Holy
church. Mark Wright describes it like receive the signal being sent out. Most Spirit. It’s what happens when our limited
this: “…it is a tangible energy. It is tan- people are so tuned into their problems spiritual capacity connects to God’s unlimgible in that you can feel it. When the and carnal emotions that they can’t ited ability. Skeptics ask, “Why do people
anointing is strong enough you can ac- receive the “signals” being sent by God. fall down when the Holy Spirit touches
tually feel it. It feels like hot oil touching There is too much static interfering them?” The answer is simple: “They can’t
you. It feels like electricity or waves of with their “feeler.”
stand up.” In Exodus 33, Moses said to
liquid peace.”1
In revival, however, when the God, “I want to see your glory.” God said,
Receiving from God cannot occur anointing is moving, people get tuned “If you see my glory, you will die.” In eswithout the anointing; that’s why the into what God is doing. They start to sence, God was saying that man in his
very definition of a “dead church” is a change their focus from the earthly to mortal, corrupt condition and limited spirichurch without unction. There may be the heavenly. No longer are they tual capacity is not able to handle God’s
good, exegetical preaching, but if
glory. When man does “plug in” or
there is no anointing, there is no
“tune in” to what God is doing,
power to convict the heart or “Strange reactions” are not manifestathings happen. There are physical
transform a life. A song may be
or emotional reactions such as faltions of the Holy Spirit. Rather, they
skillfully performed, but without
are physical or emotional reactions to ling down (or being slain in the
anointing it has no ability to inspirit), crying, shouting, screaming,
spire or pull us closer to God in being touched by the omnipotent, limit- jumping, running and even laughworship. There may be prayers
ing. If you were to plug a bulb
less power of the Holy Spirit.
offered—even hands laid upon
meant for 110 volts into a socket
sick folk—but without anointing those mostly concerned with the issues of carrying 220 volts, guess what will happrayers are just words void of unction to this life, the anointing draws them, pen. There will be sparks.
break curses, heal diseases are pull deep calls unto deep, and they are
Of course, when God moves in such a
down strongholds. Isaiah 10:27 tells us, tuned into the spiritual issues that God way and people are receiving and react“…the yoke will be destroyed because of is addressing in their lives. Perhaps, in ing, there are going to be extremes and
the anointing oil.” Fellow church lead- this sense, our prayer should not be for excesses. Anytime fallible humans are
ers, let us recognize if the anointing is God to show up—but for His people to involved in a spiritual equation, things are
missing from our church. God help us to “wake up.”
bound to get messy. In fact, contrary to
know if we have become reliant on our
what 1 Corinthians 14:40 says about
programs and personality to build the
maintaining “decency and order,” things
Strange Reactions
church without His supernatural blessoften get out of order. That is why it is so
As the glory of God is revealed and important for leaders to remain balanced,
ing. If so, let us cry out to God that He
may “come down” and fill the house people become tuned into His pres- well grounded in the word, and submitted
ence, it often results in a third dynamic, to their own spiritual authorities who,
with His presence.
the occurrence of “Strange Reactions” having the advantage objectivity, can
to the touch of the Holy Spirit. People draw the assembly back to order that is
Tuning In
fall down, some may cry or shake. Oth- proper and fitting the body of Christ. ReAnother dynamic often associated ers may laugh uncontrollably while oth- member the words of Paul in 1 Timothy
with the third phase of revival is this: ers may dance and jump and stand for 3:15: “…I write so that you may know
people get “Tuned In” to what God is hours with hands held high in the air. how you ought to conduct yourself in the
doing.
These are the sensational aspects of house of God...”
Very often God is moving, but many revival that draw the most attention.
That said, I would add this final
people are completely out of touch with Specifically, the media starts to notice. thought: I would much rather have a
Him and complain, “I don’t ‘feel’ God.” Newspaper reporters start reporting the church where the Spirit of God is moving,
In such times, the problem is not with “bizarre happenings at the Pentecostal the anointing of God is flowing and peoGod; the problem is “You need to get church.” Magazines do exposés on the ple are reacting (even over reacting) to
your ‘feeler’ fixed.” Revival is a period of revival leaders and, in some cases, the touch of God, than have a church that
time when people get their “feelers television crews will park outside the has no flow of the spirit at all.
fixed” and are awakened to the reality church hoping to get some video of the
of an ever present, ever willing God.
hype for the 6:00 PM broadcast.
Think of your spirit like a radio.
It may seem strange, but when Endnotes
Right now there are hundreds, even “God shows up,” it should be expected. 1. See article, “The Role of the Anointing” by
thousands of radio waves penetrating That is not to say that the above
Mark Wright at http://www.missionchurch.com
/archives/anoint1.html
the room you are in and even your very “strange reactions” are manifestations
Page 10
Autumn 2006
Phase Four
Reaching Out with What You Have
In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus said, “As
you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of
heaven is at hand; heal the sick, cleanse
the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely
give.”
In the first phase of revival we realize our need. In the second phase we
reach up to God for more. The third
phase of revival is the “receiving” phase
when the power of God is given “to us,
for us.” But why does God fill us? Are we
to simply be blessed, act more spiritual
and have exciting church services? Quite
the contrary; He fills us up in order that
He may get us out of the church and
flow through us to the world. He gives to
us freely, that we may freely give to others. This is the final phase—the consummation of revival; it is when revived
people take what they have received
from God to a lost and dying world. Dr.
Gordon Anderson calls it the “reaching
out” phase and says, “In phase three
healthy people fall down; in phase four,
lame people get up and walk.”
To understand this, consider that
the Bible symbolizes the anointing (the
manifest presence of God in revival) as a
flowing river, not a stagnant pond. In
both John 7:37 and Ezekiel 47, the
anointing is metaphorically depicted as a
river of water moving toward low spots
(or places needing more water). This
means that the anointing flows toward
needs. If we want to keep the waters of
revival flowing then we must be out
where the needs are; otherwise, the waters of revival could actually stagnate and
produce spiritual death.
Consider the Dead Sea located in
Israel. It’s “dead” because it is stagnant
and cannot support life. Although many
tributaries flow into it—including the Sea
of Galilee—it has no means in which water can flow out. Consequently, the incoming water is poisoned by the abundance of torpid salt and minerals and all
life is quickly killed off. This same effect
can occur in revived churches that ne-
glect to freely give what they have
freely received. Rather than allowing
their revival to mature to its final
phase, the experience of “revival itself” becomes their focus. Revival
(specifically, the demonstrative extremes of phase three) becomes their
emphasis; revival becomes their vision, mission and entire ministry.
Some churches have even boasted as
being a part of that elite group of
“revival churches.” Rather than taking
the grace they received out to the
lost, they scheduled more and more
church services for Christians to come
in and be blessed. Eventually, they
became like the Dead Sea—more and
more blessing came in but the waters
Revival is not just jumping,
dancing and seeking “more
power”; revival is standing
beside a hospital bed and saying, “rise up and be healed.”
were stagnant and turned sour.
Rather than looking outward to the
lost, the church people became self
absorbed, over critical and the people
turned against one another. Sadly, the
revival God sent to restore the church
became a source of contention which
poisoned the church, split it and killed
the spiritual life that once thrived so
abundantly.
In phase four, revival is not just
going to church; revival is getting out
into the community. Revival is not just
jumping, dancing and seeking “more
power”; revival is standing beside a
hospital bed and saying, “rise up and
be healed.” In reality, we haven’t been
revived because our worship is livelier
or people fall down in the sanctuary—
when we are confronting and pulling
down the strongholds of the enemy
out on the street, then we know we’ve
been revived!
Isn’t this what biblical Christianity is
all about? Sharing the gospel with lost
people, ministering hope to the hopeless,
praying for the sick with power and authority; this is the normal standard for
New Testament Christians. It is interesting, however, that what we call “revival,”
God calls normal. Perhaps we have become so “subnormal” in our spiritual experience that the norm of scripture seems
highly abnormal. Revival then is God simply restoring His subnormal people to a
level of spiritual normalcy according to
His Word.
With this in mind, let us return to a
former definition: “Revival is a fresh inrush of divine life and power into a body
threatening to become a corpse.” Revival
is divine respiration. It is more than God
simply breathing on the church; it is God
giving the church the ability to breath on
its own. This is what happens in the third
phase. God is reactivating His power in
the lives of people—not so they can live
at the altar looking for another three
hours of being slain in the Spirit—but so
they can rise up as a channel of His
power to a lost and destitute world.
In this sense, phase three is spiritual
medicine bringing a sick patient back to
health. But medicine is not food. If you
are healthy, you shouldn’t need medicine and you certainly shouldn’t live on
it. In the same way, revival is medicine
for sick churches. Once a church becomes healthy, rather than asking for
more and more medicine, it should get
busy doing what a healthy church does:
reaching the world and making disciples.
That is not to say, however, that a church
will not need a dose of medicine from
time to time. In fact, in my church we set
aside a season every year for spiritual
renewal and revival by confessing our
sins and religious tendencies, refocusing
on prayer and setting aside special revival
services to receive what God wants to
give us. Revival though, is not our main
emphasis—it is our medicine. The dynamic extremes of phase three are not
supposed to be our daily bread; they are
vitamin shots bringing us back to a place
of biblical normalcy—the lifestyle of phase
four.
So what is the “lifestyle of phase
four?” That is, what is normal? What is
Page 11
God doesn’t need our money; His ability
to run the universe is not dependant on
our few meager dollars. Rather, tithing
provides a regular, consistent measure of
accountability that is proportionate to our
standard of income. When we tithe, it
constantly brings us back to the place of
submission to God’s call to be first in our
lives. Every week, as we pay it, we are
rededicating ourselves to His control and
expressing our submission to Him. In this
sense, tithing is a more significant act of
worship than singing, dancing or lifting
of hands.
Put God first in your INTERESTS.
I Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whatever you
do, do it all for God's glory.” This means
your classroom with respect and do
your assignments with excellence. If
you are an athlete, play sports with an
attitude of gratitude and humility, not
with pride and arrogance.
Put God first in your RELATIONSHIPS. You can tell if God is a priority
in one’s life by the friends he or she
chooses. Why? Because we become like
the people we spend the most time
with. That is why Proverbs 12:26 warns
us: “The righteous should choose his
friends carefully, for the way of the
wicked leads them astray.” People who
are serious about God being first are
Loving God
cautious about who they let into their
The first outcome of revival is
life. If we spend time with people who
“Loving God with all your heart,
have no relationship with God,
soul and mind.” In Revelation, the
I’m not impressed by revivals because mock God or want nothing to do
church at Ephesus had been acwith God, it will affect our faith and
cused of leaving its first love; re- people come to the altar or cry and weep imprint on our mind.
vival is that time when a church or fall down. I’m impressed by revivals
You may not start mocking God
returns to its first love: the Lord- that result in people paying their tithes, with them, but their attitude will
ship of Jesus Christ. Rick Warren,
quench your love and devotion for
author of The Purpose Driven Life repenting of ungodly interests, breaking God and turn you into a quiet, casand senior pastor of Saddle Back off unrighteous relationships, honoring ual Christian who rationalizes, “I
church in California offers an exGod in their schedules and turning to don’t want to seem like a fanatical
cellent acrostic to explain what it
kind of Christian.” In time, their
God when they are in trouble.
means to put God first in one’s
cold, hostile spirit will turn you in
life. The word “FIRST” is represented by
in everything from our job to our leisure to a lukewarm believer.
Finances,
Interests,
Relationships,
Put God first in your SCHEDULE.
to our hobbies, all should be done with a
Schedule and Trouble.
view to the glory and honor of God. This If God is truly first in lives, then He
Put God first in your FINANCES.
speaks to two issues. First, it reminds us must be a priority in our schedules, in
Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the LORD
to be careful not to be involved in or in- our time. Ephesians 5:16 tells us to
with your possessions, and with the
terest ourselves in things that are un- “redeem the time, because the days are
first- fruits of all your increase (income);
godly. This includes things of the world evil.” The things that are most imporso your barns will be filled with plenty,
that are carnal and practices on the job tant to us are the things we make time
and your vats will overflow with new
that are deceptive. It can remind us to for—we plan for them, schedule them,
wine.” Our money is the number one
be careful regarding certain kinds of make appointments with them. When
test of our priorities. Most of our time,
clothing we wear, the music we listen to God is first in our lives, He will be a pritalent, and energy are spent trying to
the movies we watch and places we go ority in our schedule. More specifically,
get it, keep it, invest it and enlarge it.
to. How does our participation in these we will make a daily appointment with
Therefore, what we do with our money
things reflect on our Christian testimony Him to pray, read His Word and listen
reveals where our hearts are and what
for His voice.
and relationship with God?
is really important to us. This is why
Put God first in your TROUBLES.
Second, it speaks to attitude. One
God has commanded the practice of
might be wondering how he or she can One of most revealing tests of the sutithing. “You shall tithe all (your) inbe a truck driver to the glory of God or premacy of God in one’s life is how he
crease…year by year…that you may
sit in a college class to the glory of God or she reacts to trouble. In scripture,
learn to fear the LORD your God. (Duet.
or even play football to the glory of God. God says, “Turn to Me first when you
14:22-23). One version of scripture
Simply stated, you can glorify God and have trouble.” Psalm 50:15 says it like
says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach
make him first by the attitude you dem- this: “Call upon Me in the day of trouyou to put God first in your lives.” Tithe
onstrate in doing these things. Ephesians ble; I will deliver you, and you shall glosimply means one-tenth. In other
6:5-7 tells us, “servants (employees), be rify Me.” Many people—even Christians
words, God says the first 10 percent of
obedient to your masters (bosses)…as to who claim to serve God first—do not
all we make goes back to Him. Why
Christ; with goodwill doing service, as to turn to God. When they're in a tight
does He require this? It is simply meant
the Lord, and not to men.” In other situation, prayer is the last resort, not
to help us keep God first in our lives.
words, do your job with honesty and the first option. It is only after they do
Tithing is not for God, it is for us.
integrity. Work hard as unto God. Sit in
the end result of a church that has been
revived and what should we expect it to
look like? For this answer, we need to
look no further than the words of Jesus
Christ in Matthew 22:37-39 when asked,
“What is the greatest commandment?”
Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind. This is the
first and great commandment. And the
second is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.”
Page 12
Autumn 2006
everything they physically can to try to
correct the problem that they say, “I
guess now all we can do is pray.” As
though prayer is powerless and really
makes no difference at all! Prayer
should not be your last resort; it should
be your first option. If you are treated
unethically or hurt by someone, pray
“Help.” If you get bad news about kids,
health, or finances—Make God the first
resort in a crisis. He is waiting. In fact,
He commands us to turn to Him first as
an expression of His being first in our
lives. “Seek first the kingdom of God
[put Him first in every area of my life]
and all these other things shall be
added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
Revival is more—much more than
dynamic manifestations and deep spiritual experiences. The primary test of
revival is not what Christians feel, but
what they do. It is when Christians
start putting God first in their lives. I’m
not impressed by revivals because people come to the altar or cry and weep
or fall down. I’m impressed by revivals
that result in people paying their tithes,
repenting of ungodly interests, breaking off unrighteous relationships, honoring God in their schedules and turning to God when they are in trouble.
Loving Others
In addition to Jesus’ demand that
we love God first in Matthew 22, He
provided a second example of normal
Christian living, which is another standard outcome of revival. Revival should
result in a people who “love their
neighbors as themselves.” Revival will
produce a community of believers who
have the love of Christ and compassion
for mankind. They will become vessels
through which Christ reaches out to a
lost and dying world.
Revival will produce a people who
are compelled to reach the lost. The
Apostle Paul said, “For the love of
Christ compels us” (2 Corinthians
5:14). A true, Holy Spirit imprinted love and compassion for
others will be built into the spiritual DNA of the people. They will
come to church, not just to get
blessed, but to minister to and
serve others. When you walk
through the doors of a revived
church, everyone wants to greet
you, shake your hand and sit next
to you.
When David said “For (one) day in
Your courts is better than a thousand
(anywhere else). I would rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness…”
He said it, not just because of the presence of God, but because of the atmosphere of love for others and concern for
souls present in fellowship.
Unfortunately, when most people
say, “We need revival,” they are thinking mostly in terms of what they want
for themselves: more gifts of the spirit,
longer worship, more anointing, more
healings and being slain in the Spirit.
But the sum result of revival is not to
get church members blessed—it is to
get church members to bless others.
In fact, if you were to join a community of believers that was in revival,
they might ask you, “What are you doing every night for the next 2 years?” If
you say, “Not much, watching TV,” they
might respond, “Well, if you are going
to be here, you have to come to prayer
meeting, become an usher, work the
altars, conduct visitations or hand out
flyers.” People who have come through
revival and are operating at a level of
biblical normalcy are workers; they are
ready to serve, to give and to do, so
that others may be blessed.
It is this dynamic that truly separates those who have passed from
phase three (receiving blessing for
themselves) and those who are fully
revived and healthy: the ability to reach
and serve others. People who have not
truly been revived cannot tolerate the
spirit and intensity of true revival. They
are unable to tolerate the time involved,
the sacrifice, required and the commitment that true, biblical Christianity demands. If you throw those requirements
on a religious person, one who has not
been seeking, praying or repenting it
will choke them. They will whine and
complain or even leave the fellowship
accusing the church of being legalists
and controlling or even branding it as a
cult.
In closing, I share a concern. During the great Pentecostal Awakening
that occurred on Azusa Street in 1906, it
is repeatedly reported that a prophecy
was uttered regarding the last days: “In
the last days three things will happen in
the Great Pentecostal Movement: There
will be an over-emphasis on power, rather
than on righteousness; there will be an
over-emphasis on praise, to a God they
no longer pray to; there will be an overemphasis on the gifts of the Spirit, rather
than on the lordship of Christ.”1 In many
of the so-called revivals I have been concerned that our focus has been on the
wrong thing. For many of us today, revival is about us getting blessed, filled,
anointed and prophesied over. But this is
not revival. More anointing, more power,
longer worship and a greater demonstration of the gifts of the Spirit may be a
component of revival, but they are not an
end in themselves. They are the medicine
bringing us back to health. They are
pieces in a process in which God returns
us to loving Him and loving others.
Church leaders, before we pound the pulpit with dramatic flare and call for revival—let us be careful to understand
what we mean and where we are taking
our people.
Endnotes
1.
See article ALPHA: New Life or New Lifestyle? by
Elizabeth McDonald at http://
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~emcd/index12.htm
“In the last days three
things will happen in the
Great Pentecostal Movement: 1. There will be an
over-emphasis on power,
rather than on righteousness; 2. there will be an
over-emphasis on praise,
to a God they no longer
pray to; 3. there will be
an over-emphasis on the
gifts of the Spirit, rather
than on the lordship of
Christ.”
Prophecy given during
Pentecostal Outpouring at
Azusa Street Revival in1906
Page 13
With fasting, with weeping, and with
mourning.’ Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly;
Richard Langford
Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the brideWhen we think of teaching about sliding, I will love them freely, For My
groom go out from his chamber, And the
revival that can be found in the Bible, anger has turned away from him. 5 I
bride from her dressing room.” 2:12,15-16
our thoughts most often go to stories will be like the dew to Israel; He shall
It is after the people have come to
of great revivals like the one found in grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots
this place of corporate conviction and reEzra 10:1-5. However, anyone inter- like Lebanon. 6 His branches shall
pentance that the Lord responds: “The
ested in learning what the Bible has to spread; His beauty shall be like an olive
Lord will answer and say to His people,
say about the dynamics that lead to tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. 7
‘Behold, I will send you grain and new
revival would do well to spend some Those who dwell under his shadow shall
wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by
time in the study of the Minor Proph- return; They shall be revived like grain,
them; I will no longer make you a reets. It should be noted that these And grow like a vine. Their scent shall
proach among the nations.’” 2:19
prophets are referred to as the “Minor be like the wine of Lebanon.
While many people make a practice of
Prophets” because of the size of the
Joel
chasing revivals so that they can experibooks that bear their name; not beJoel was another contemporary of ence the manifestations of the outpouring
cause their stature or the importance Isaiah and, like Isaiah; his commission
of the Holy Spirit, when that is done withof their message is any less than that was to speak to the people of the kingout the time of fasting and prayer
of the other prophets of the Bible.
dom of Judah.
prompted by a spirit of repentance, it will
Hosea
The opening section of the book of at most be an experience that fades in
Hosea was a contemporary of Joel is a prophesy of the destruction real value over time. These people may
Isaiah who was delivering his mes- that will come because God will remove experience the rain but will not see the
sages in the kingdom of Israel
full blessing of the fruit that the rain
while Isaiah worked in the
A time of corporate fasting and prayer is produces because they did not do
courts of Judah. Hosea’s mesthe work of preparing the field. The
sage to Israel was a powerful an important ingredient to revival. It is
full blessing is overflowing abuncall to repentance and revival.
a measure of the hearts of the people.
dance, restoration of all that was
The book begins with God
consumed, living with the tangible
telling Hosea to marry Gomer, a prosti- His blessing from the unfaithful nation presence of God in our midst, and tangible
tute, in order to provide Israel with a of Judah. In the middle of his descrip- manifestations of the gifts of the Holy
living illustration of God’s view of their tion of the devastation that is coming to Spirit in the congregation (Joel 2:23-29).
sin. This illustration takes on more the nation, the prophet offers the fol- Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass aftersignificance in the light of the New lowing advice, “Consecrate a fast, Call a ward That I will pour out My Spirit on all
Testament teaching about the church’s sacred assembly; Gather the elders And flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall
identity as the bride of Christ (Rev all the inhabitants of the land into the prophesy, Your old men shall dream
21:9). Hosea’s living message to Israel house of the Lord your God, And cry out dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
forces us to ask about our own faithful- to the Lord.” (Joel 1:14)
29 And also on My menservants and on
ness to our relationship with Jesus.
A time of corporate fasting and My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit
The awakening to the reality of our prayer is an important ingredient to re- in those days.”
unfaithfulness and the call to repen- vival. It is a measure of the hearts of
Amos
tance from that state are the prerequi- the people. If people have higher priAmos was also a contemporary of
sites to revival. Revival will never oc- orities than participating in corporate
Isaiah, Hosea and Joel; and like Hosea
cur without awareness of a state of sin fasting and prayer, it is unlikely that
delivered his messages to the people of
and a spirit of repentance.
they have come under conviction of sin,
the kingdom of Israel. He was a common
The first three chapters are about a spirit of repentance, and the resulting
man; in today’s language we would refer
the illustration of the marriage to desire for restoration. Therefore, it is
to him as a day-worker. He did whatever
Gomer and chapters 4-14 detail the unlikely that corporate revival will occur
work he could find often working in the
verbal messages that Hosea delivered and the spiritual state of the people will
most menial jobs in that culture.
to the people of Israel during the same continue to be eroded by the attacks of
Among other things, Amos was used
timeframe. The detailed message and the enemy in the same way that the
by God to remind people that material
the illustration follow the same se- wealth of Judah was consumed by lowealth is not necessarily a sign of God’s
quence; the sequence we all must fol- custs in Joel’s prophesy.
favor. His message of impending judglow to realize revival in our lives: conJoel reissues his call in chapter 2 of
ment on the wealthy of his day for their
viction, repentance, return, restoration. the book: “‘Now, therefore,’ says the
Hosea 14: 4 "I will heal their back- Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart,
Minor Prophets Major Focus is Revival
Page 14
Autumn 2006
His willingness to forgive those who the work of preparation is ours.
oppression of the poor bears a strong sincerely repent of their sin.
Nahum
witness still today. When we tie it to his
It is a great picture of revival: The
Nahum
also
prophesied around the
messages about the complacency of the people of Nineveh are awakened to
same
period
as
Micah.
Nahum’s prophpeople and their empty ritualistic form of their state of sin and informed of the
esy
is
the
next
chapter
in the story of
religion we see a common condition in consequences of remaining in that
Nineveh
that
we
were
introduced
to in
the world and even in the church today. state. They receive the message and
the
book
of
Jonah.
Here
we
see
that
Through Amos the Lord asks the ques- respond with a period of heartfelt reafter
a
period
of
approximately
100
years
tion, “Can two walk together, unless they pentance and prayer. God responds to
are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The context of the people and forgives their sin; and the people have once again slipped into
the question is referring to Israel and the people return to a place of right their old sinful ways.
In the context of this article, the
God Himself as the two and clearly indi- living before God.
message
we can take from Nahum is
cates that despite outward appearances
That is the essence of revival and that revival is part of a cyclical process
of religious activity and apparent material we see it at work in the city of Nineveh.
that we, as people pursuing sanctificablessing, Israel is not walking with the
Jonah also gives us an interesting tion are likely to go through many times
Lord.
picture of personal revival as the
Amos call to Israel to see the errors prophet Himself has to go through a in our lives. After the revival we come
of their ways and repent is one that similar sequence of recognition of sin, down from the mountain and are subject
could be applicable in many churches repentance, prayer, forgiveness, and to the same forces and temptations that
put us in a bad place to begin with. Our
today where people have wandered from restoration/revival.
hope is that, unlike Nineveh, even
their walk and have instead dressed their
though we continually move
worldliness in religious garments.
These are churches in need of
While many people make a practice of through highs and lows in our
walk, our trend is upward.
revival.
chasing
revivals
so
they
can
experience
Another great message in
Habakkuk
the manifestations of the Holy Spirit,
Amos is the power of Intercessory
Mixed in with the prophet’s
prayer. Twice the prophet prays when that is done without a time of fast- forecasts of the impending deagainst an impending destruction
struction of the nation at the
ing and prayer prompted by a spirit of
in Chapter 7 and God withholds
hands of the Chaldeans is the
His hand.
Intercessory prayer repentance, it will at most be an expericlear message that focuses Paul’s
should be a vital part of any pasence that fades in real value over time. doctrine in Romans and has
tor’s revival strategy.
opened the eyes of many seekers
of
God
who were ensnared in false religObadiah
Micah
ion:
“But
the just shall live by his
This is the shortest book of the Old
Micah’s ministry is believed to have faith..” (2.4b).
Testament.
taken place from 750-700 BC, ending
This must be the true objective of
Obadiah delivers a message of judgsometime during the reign of Hezekiah. revival, to return to a life of faith. So
ment against Edom for the harm they
The book can be broken into three sec- many of the prophets we have covered
have caused Israel. The Edomites are
tions. Each section begins with an of- here point to the same problem, people
unique in the Middle Eastern world befense of the nation against God but who are trying to justify themselves by
cause they are not descendants of Abraends with a promise of deliverance.
their own works. It is so easy for us to
ham’s son Ishmael but are, like Israel,
Once again we see the revival can fall into this trap. Revival is really a redescendants of Isaac. While the prophet
only occur after an awakening to the connection with the futility of that lifeannounces judgment on all of the nations
sinful state is realized.
style; “vanity of vanities” as Solomon
that have harmed Isreal (v. 15) there is a
A whole message on revival can be refers to it in Ecclesiastes, and a recomclear message that because of the comtaught from Micah 7:9, “I will bear the mitment to a life of faith.
mon ancestry in Isaac, Edom’s sin is
indignation of the Lord, Because I have
more grievous to God.
Zephaniah
sinned against Him, Until He pleads my
With respect to revival the context is
Zephaniah was a contemporary of
case And executes justice for me. He
clear: judgment awaits everyone, but
will bring me forth to the light; I will Jeremiah and like Jeremiah was considdeliverance is available to those who are
see His righteousness.” In this verse ered to be a doomsayer. Zephaniah’s
the Lord’s.
we see very powerfully and succinctly message, while being one carrying a
Jonah
the work of God as both the judge and stark warning of God’s judgment, was
The Book of Jonah is very different the advocate for the sinner. Micah is also one of hope – it was a message of
than the other books of the Bible be- showing us God the Father and Son in revival. Zephaniah 2:1 “Gather yourcause it tells the story of a reluctant action together. The work of revival is selves together, yes, gather together, O
prophet sent to preach revival to a Gen- God’s, only He can breathe life into undesirable nation, 2 Before the decree
tile city. It is a story of God’s grace and something that is dead or dying; but is issued, Or the day passes like chaff,
Page 15
embrace of the glorified, loving, pardoning Christ.
Liveliness in Community. A reJ. I. Packer
vived church is full of the life, joy and
power of the Holy Spirit. With the
Spirit's coming, fellowship with Christ is
The features of revival movements ously to men's consciences, and there is brought right to the center of our woron the surface vary widely, perhaps as a no room for half measures in response.
ship and devotion; the glorified Christ is
Sensitiveness to Sin. Deep aware- shown, known, loved, served, and exresult of different settings, yet indeed
God appears to delight in variety. Never- ness of what things are sinful and how alted. Love and generosity, unity and
theless, at the level of deeper analysis, sinful we are is the third feature of re- joy, assurance and boldness, a spirit of
there are constant factors recognizable in vival that calls for notice. No upsurge of praise and prayer, and a passion to
all biblical and post-biblical revivals, religious interest or excitement merits reach out to win others are recurring
whatever their historical, racial, and cul- the name of revival if there is no pro- marks of a people experiencing revival.
tural settings. They number five, and are found sense of sin at its heart. God's So is divine power in their preachers, a
coming, and the consequent impact of power which has nothing to do with
described below.
Awareness of God's presence. his word, makes Christians much more natural eloquence.
The first and fundamental feature in re- sensitive to sin than they previously
Fruitfulness in testimony. Revival is the sense that God has drawn were: consciences become tender and a vival always has an evangelistic and
awesomely near in his holiness, mercy, profound humbling takes place. The per- ethical overspill into the world. When
and might. This is felt as the fulfilling of verseness, ugliness, uncleanness, and God revives the church, the new life
the prayer of Isaiah 64:1ff: 'O that thou guilt of sin are seen and felt with new overflows from the church for the conwouldst rend the heavens and come vividness. Under revival conditions conversion of outsiders and renovation of
down, that the mountains might quake sciences are so quickened that convic- society. Christians become fearless in
at thy presence . . . to make thy name tion of each person's own sinfulness be- witness and tireless in their Savior's serknown to thine adversaries, that the na- comes strong and terrible, inducing ago- vice. They proclaim by word and deed
tions may tremble at thy presence.' God nies of mind that are beyond imagining
the power of the new life, souls are
'comes,' 'visits,' and 'draws near' to
One of the more striking features won, and a community conscience
his people, and makes his majesty
informed by Christian values
known. The effect is the same as it
of revival movements is the depth emerges. Also in revival times God
was for Isaiah himself, when he 'saw
of repentance into which both
acts quickly; his work accelerates.
the Lord sitting on a throne' in the
Truth spreads, and people are born
saints and sinners are led.
temple and heard the angels' song —
again and grow in Christ, with amaz'Holy, holy, holy'— and was forced to till they happen. The gospel of forgive- ing rapidity.
cry, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Be- ness through Christ's cross comes to be
Such in outline is the constant patcause I am a man of unclean lips, and I loved as never before, as people see tern by which genuine movements of
live among a people of unclean lips' (Is. their need of it so much more clearly.
revival identify themselves. Christians in
6:1-5). It is with this searching, scorchBut conviction of sin is a means, not revival are accordingly found living in
ing manifestation of God's presence that an end; the Spirit of God convinces of God's presence (coram Deo), attending
revival begins, and by its continuance sin in order to induce repentance, and to his word, feeling acute concern about
that revival is sustained.
one of the more striking features of re- sin and righteousness, rejoicing in the
Responsiveness to God's Word. vival movements is the depth of repen- assurance of Christ's love and their own
The sense of God's presence imparts tance into which both saints and sinners salvation, spontanenew authority to his truth. The message are led. Repentance, as we know, is ba- ously constant in
of Scripture which previously was making sically not moaning and remorse, but worship, and tireonly a superficial impact, if that, now turning and change. Peter's listeners on lessly active in witsearches its hearers and readers to the the day of Pentecost were 'pierced to the ness and service, fudepth of their being. The statement that heart,' which literally means to inflict eling these activities
'the word of God is living and active and with a violent blow, a vivid image of an by praise and prayer.
sharper than any two-edged sword, and acutely painful experience. Shattered, The question that
piercing as far as the division of soul and the congregation cried out, 'Brethren, presses is whether
spirit, of both joints and marrow, and what shall we do?' Peter showed them revival is actually disJames I. Packer
able to judge the thoughts and intentions the way of faith, repentance, and disci- played in the lives of served
as profesof the heart' (Heb. 4:12) is verified over pleship through Jesus Christ, and three Christian individuals sor of Systematic
and Historical
and over again. God's message—the thousand of them took it (Acts 2:37-41). and
communities: Theology at Regospel call to repentance, faith, and holi- Revival always includes a profound whether this quality gent College and
ness, to praise and prayer, witness and awareness of one's own sinfulness, lead- of Christian life is authored numerous books on reworship—authenticates itself unambigu- ing to deep repentance and heartfelt there or not.
vival.
Marks of Revival
Page 16
Autumn 2006
out the book”. Imagine walking into a
service and the people begin to cry out,
“give us the Word”. When the manifest
Evangelist Greg Hubbard
presence of God falls upon a church, it
does not, and should not mean that the
Word has no place. The opposite in fact
When we pulled into that church that the broken walls of Jerusalem would be true. In 2Timothy 4:3 Paul tells
parking lot back in 1998 to set up our would be rebuilt. In chapter 1, Nehe- us “For the time will come when men will
sound equipment and prepare for the miah was broken over the condition of not put up with sound doctrine. Instead
special meetings, little did we know God’s people. The word says he wept they will gather around them a great
that for the next seven weeks, we and fasted.
How important that we number of teachers to say what their itchwould experience a sovereign move of understand that revival in the church ing ears want to hear”. May God pour in
God that would forever impact our ALWAYS begins with, brokenness, all of us, a deep hunger for His Word!
lives. For seven weeks, the altars were prayer, and a deep longing for God to
Next we find that the people REpacked with people repenting and cry- visit us and restore us. As a result of CEIVED the Word of God. As Ezra read
ing out to God. It was revival in the Nehemiah’s burden and passion, the from the Book of the Law from “daybreak
church! Many were saved, healed, walls were rebuilt and the people were till noon” (vs3) the Bible says that the
baptized in the Spirit, and called into restored.
people wept as they listened (vs 9). In
ministry.
Fast forward to chapters 8 and 9 chapter 9:2, we learn that the people enNever before has the church and let’s look at the revival that took tered into a time of confession and repenaround the world needed revival as we place.
tance. Every great revival in history has
do now. Programs are wonderful as
First off, the people were READY for been marked by a deep sense of sin folare beautiful buildings but nothing will a move of God! In chapter 8:1 we read lowed by repentance.
ever take the place of a fresh move of that “all of the people assembled as one
Finally in looking at this Old TestaGod in the midst of His people.
man in the square before the Water ment revival, we can see that the people
The Lord has clearly shared with Gate.” The people had just come RESPONDED. How critical in these last
us His desire to send revival
days that our hearts be in a
in these last days. Along with
There is NO QUESTION that God wants to place where we will respond to
His desire to visit His church
move of God.
send revival to every church in every nation. the The
in power, He has even shared
key to a move of God
just what will happen when
He longs for us to stop long enough in our like this all goes back to chapter
He does. In Joel 2:28 we
pursuit for success, and ask Him to visit us one when man’s heart was broread “And afterward, I will
ken over the conditions around
in His power and glory.
pour out my Spirit on all peohim…..and he prays. Prayer has
ple. Your sons and daughters
always been and will always be
will prophesy, your old men will dream through an intense time of spiritual war- the key to any revival.
dreams, your young men will see vi- fare and building. They were in great
There is NO QUESTION that God
sions. Even on my servants, both men need for a time of revival and refresh- wants to send revival to every church in
and women, I will pour out my Spirit in ing. There’s a lot to be said for our be- every nation. He longs for us to stop
those days”. The Lord has made it ing open, ready, and available for what long enough in our pursuit for success,
clear that when revival comes to a the Lord wants to do. What a sight it and ask Him to visit us in His power and
church, it will impact everyone from must have been to see everyone assem- glory. It will require the acknowledgethe children to the aged. He leaves no bling to seek the face of God. A won- ment on our parts, that we need HIM
one out of the picture…..including you! derful example of this state of readiness more than anything.
If you are still reading……you are is found in Acts 10. Remember when
In discussing revival in the church, it
probably hungry for revival in your life Peter showed up at Cornelius’ house to is important to realize that not everyone
and in the church you serve in. To preach the Word? Acts 10:27 tells us in the church desires revival. Religious
help us prepare and seek God for a that when he walked inside the house spirits despise revival as it threatens their
genuine, great awakening in the body he discovered a large gathering of peo- control on things. Revival will affect our
of Christ, He has allowed us in scrip- ple waiting for him. They were READY schedules, our programs, and our routine.
ture, to see examples of powerful re- to hear the Word of God.
Back in the great 7 week revival I menvivals among His people. One of my
In this busy life that we live, may tioned earlier, it was not uncommon to
favorites is found in chapters 8 and 9 God help us to cry out to Him for a hun- see people on their face before God for
in the book of Nehemiah.
ger and desire for all that He has for us. hours, just weeping and crying out to
We must remember the setting in
Along with our being ready for a Him. There must be a willingness on our
which this move of God took place. move of God, we find in Nehemiah that part, to allow God to do things His way
Nehemiah had been used mightily by the people REQUESTED to hear the and in His time.
the Lord to rally His people and see Word. The people said to Ezra, “bring
Revival in the Church
Page 17
Do you ever wonder why some
churches never experience revival? In
Jeremiah 3:3 we find the sobering words
of the prophet when he said “Therefore
the showers have been withheld, and no
spring rains have fallen”. Jeremiah is
pointing out to Israel their sin and idolatry that has left them dry.
Why might God withhold the showers of revival from a church? First off,
when there is a lack of UNITY, the
showers will be withheld. When you
look at the revivals in scripture and
throughout history, there was a profound sense of unity among believers.
Just as it was in Acts 2, we must be a
people “TOGETHER in one place”. We
must share that hunger and desire for
God to move.
Along with UNITY, there must be a
sense of CONVICTION OF SIN.
Jeremiah told the people that they had
“the brazen look of a prostitute and refused to blush with shame”. 1 John 1:6
states that “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we
lie and do not live by the truth”. Revival
begins with the awareness that we are
ruined by sin and need God’s mercy. As
we cry out to Him in brokenness over
our sin, in a very real sense, revival has
begun.
Next, the showers will be withheld
Before the Lord's fierce anger comes
upon you, Before the day of the Lord's
anger comes upon you! 3 Seek the
Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who
have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you
will be hidden In the day of the Lord's
anger.”
The end of the book carries with it
the promise of salvation for those who
are the Lord’s.
Zephaniah preached this message
during the reign of King Josiah whom
the Bible tells us oversaw one of the
great revivals in Judah’s history; one
that caused God to delay the invasion of
Babylon (2Chr 34: 27-28); so, we can
assume the message got through.
Haggai and Zechariah
Haggai and Zechariah are contem-
Page 18
when the church maintains a PREJUDICE
AGAINST EMOTION. When the glory of
God visits a church, people will respond
in a variety of ways. Dr. Gordon Anderson writes that the first stage of revival is
when people reach out to God in prayer.
He says the second stage of revival is
when God comes down and touches
lives. The third stage is our taking what
the Lord has done in us and for us, to a
broken world that needs Jesus. It is in
that second stage when some may struggle with human responses to the presence of God whether it be weeping,
shouting, dancing, or falling out in the
Spirit just to name some.
I recall a woman years ago who
while at the altar, suddenly broke out in
laughter. Some were deeply offended to
the point of one deacon actually physically confronting the pastor.
As he
poked the pastor in the chest, he demanded that he never allow that in the
church again. As it turned out, this
woman had been beaten by her husband
for years. How sad that while the Lord
was pouring His love in her heart, some
around her became agitated by her response. May God help us to keep our
eyes on Jesus!
Revival in the church, your church,
can begin right now! We must become
desperate for a move of God that will
dramatically impact and change our
hearts. We must expect the Lord to
hear our cry and visit us with His glory.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:12
“Because of the increase of wickedness,
the love of most will grow cold, but he
who stands firm to the end will be
saved”. Revival is the answer for a cold
heart.
It was Charles Finney who said,
“Revival is a new beginning of obedience to God”. One man wrote on revival that “For all of our talk on revival,
and for all of our gigantic church activity, something is still missing.” How
often we hear that something new has
been added to this or that. The real
trouble with us is that very “old” has
been subtracted. We have words; we
have statutes; we have the form, but it
is without the force. We are waving
the scabbard when the sword is gone.”
God send revival to the church and
begin it in me!
poraries who delivered their message to
the people of Israel during the return
from the Babylonian captivity. Ezra 6:14
tells us that it was Haggai and Zechariah
who spurred the people to return to the
project of rebuilding the Temple that had
been suspended for fifteen years at that
point because of the schemes of the Samaritans.
Once again we see the clear message of revival in both of their books; but
we also see that revival is not something
that happens because we show up at
church on the right day and God starts
doing miracles. Revival is hard work. It
is pushing through obstacles and persevering through adversity.
To me the rebuilding of the Temple
is analogous to the work of prayer that
has to be done in preparation for true
revival. It speaks of wearing a sword to
fight the enemy and at the same time,
carrying the construction tools as well.
The work of prayer is the refortification
of the walls of the church and the
preparation and anointing of the Sanctuary in anticipation that the Spirit of
God will once again fill the Holy of Holies.
The message of Haggai and Zechariah is a message to the church during
this vital period of preparation.
Since 1985 Greg
& Robyn Hubbard
have served as
Assembly of God
evangelists both in
the U.S. and overseas. They can be
reached at...
http://www.hubbardministries.org/
Malachi
Malachi is the last prophet of the
Old Testament and delivered his message during the time of Nehemiah’s second return to Jerusalem or perhaps just
before his return.
Here we see that, once again, Israel
has backslidden. The priests are offer(Continued on page 20)
Autumn 2006
Revival in History
Its Causes, Effects and Lessons
Evangelist Bob Fisher
Jesus has moved forward through powerful visitations that have caused the
church to recapture vital truths that have
grown dim and to return to the normalcy
of life lived in fellowship with the Spirit.
Revival in the Hebrides
History is filled with accounts of away false gods and to return to the one
awesome visitations of God which have true and living God. The promise God
In the mid 1900’s a small group of
brought about powerful changes among made to them is relevant for us today. “I men in the Hebrides Islands, off the
believers that have impacted the moral am with you, when you are with me. If coast of Ireland were moved by the
and spiritual conditions of communities, you seek me I will let you find me, when Holy Spirit with great concern for there
cities and nations. Throughout the you seek me with all of your heart.” (2 community. They became disturbed with
Scriptures God’s people have grown Chronicles 15:2)
the lack of power in the church and a
In the book Reviving Revivals, the sense that the Spirit was no longer precold in their passion for Him. This has
resulted in carelessness in their walk author shows 9 characteristics of revivals sent. They were despondent about their
with God. As a result they have become in the Old Testament.
friends’ indifference to the gospel as well
powerless in the face of their chal- • They occurred in a day of deep
as the nations’ indifference to the spirimoral darkness and national delenges and opportunities. It is during
tual. They realized that they had no
pression.
these times of spiritual dullness that
power to change the situation and that
God has stirred up the hearts of a few • They began in the heart of one
their only hope was a visitation from
consecrated servant of God who
individuals who become concerned with
God. As a result they sacrificially deterbecame the energizing power bethe moral conditions within the church
mined to pray and seek God until he
hind them; the agent used of God
and its resultant effect outside the
came and met with them.
to quicken and lead the nation
church. For the moral climate of the
Night after night for two years they
back to faith in and obedience to
church will always affect the moral cliwould leave their homes to meet toHim.
mate of the community around it.
gether to seek God for revival. Each eveWhen God finds a leader or
ning you would find these five to
group of individuals that He can
seven men on their face before
place His burden upon, He begins It is the very nature of God to bring reGod crying our, “God, do someto call them to prayer. The prayer vival. Revival is God’s idea. It has never thing for our land!” Then one night
burden continues to increase as been God’s intention to see His church
in 1949, two years after they beGod by His Spirit continues to
gan to pray they were awakened
draw them. This results in the live a powerless, ineffective existence. It by the Spirit to the Scripture in
awakening of the presence of God
is His desire to see His church living
Psalm 24; “Who can ascend the hill
and a felt realization of the lack of
of the Lord, Who can stand in His
life more abundantly.
individual holiness and purity. Reholy presence? He that hath clean
pentance becomes the cry of hearts as • Each revival rested on the Word of
hands and a pure heart…” They began
God bathes them in His forgiveness and
God, and most were the result of
to confess their sins one to another and
presence. As the church returns to its
preaching and proclaiming God's
cried out to God for His cleansing. A
first love a renewed, fervent, consumlaw with power.
powerful awareness of the presence of
ing passion for Jesus replaces old pas- • All resulted in a return to the worthe Lord filled the room as waves of
sions. Jesus becomes pre-eminent in all
ship of Jehovah.
glory rushed over them. History records
the ministries of the church. He is ex- • Each witnessed the destruction of
that as when they left the prayer meetalted and the Holy Spirit begins to draw
idols where they existed.
ing that night, cresting the hill that leads
men unto Him.
• In each revival there was a redown into their village they found the
corded separation from sin.
two town drunks staggering down the
• In every revival they returned to
road. They discovered that this night
Accounts of Revival
offering blood sacrifices.
they weren’t drunk, but were crying out
in Scriptures
• Almost all recorded revivals show
to God under the conviction of the Holy
Throughout the Old Testament we
a restoration of great joy and
Spirit. After leading them to faith in Jesee God continually coming to His peogladness.
sus, they continued toward home, but as
ple in seasons of refreshing when they • Each revival was followed by a
they entered their town at 1:30 in the
have drifted away. We can read the
period of great national prospermorning they saw lights on all over the
accounts of revivals under Asa, Jehoity.
village. People were being awakened
shaphat, and Hezekiah along with many
Since the outpouring of the Holy from their sleep as the Holy Spirit moved
others. In each God stirred the hearts
of leaders to call the people to put Spirit at Pentecost the church of Messiah
Page 19
across the land in convicting power. An
awesome revival broke out that evening.
Over the next few years hundreds of
thousands come to believe in Jesus. The
moral condition of the entire region was
changed and revival fires spread
throughout the world. The same Lord
who responded to hungry hearts
throughout the Old Testament times of
revival proved once again that He is the
same yesterday, today and forever.
The Possibilities of
Revival Today
In the words of an old song of the
church, “Shall we have a great revival?”
Accounts of revivals such as these have
touched nearly every nation in the
world. It is the very nature of God to
bring revival. Revival is God’s idea. It
has never been God’s intention to see
His church live a powerless, ineffective
existence. It is His desire to see His
church living life more abundantly. While
true revival is a sovereign act of God
there is something about God’s sovereignty that responds to His peoples hunger. When the conditions of revival are
met, God moves in His sovereignty and
manifests His presence in revival power.
So, “Shall we have a great revival?” If
so, what are the conditions which
prompt God to move upon us and how
do we help to promote revival within the
church? There are certain conditions
present in each revival that give us insight in God’s dealings with man.
There must be genuine hunger
and thirst for God. Revival isn’t just a
nice idea, or a means for causing our
church to grow. Revival is our only
hope! It is absolutely essential for seeing the apathy and worldliness of the
church arrested and power of the enemy crushed in the land. We must
challenge our churches to see the great
need of our local communities as well
as the world. We should share with
them accounts from history of God’s
intervention, showing that what He has
done in the past He is ready and willing
to do again.
There must be fervent prayer
and intercession. This is the key to
revival. Every revival in history has been
an overflow of a prayer meeting. Preach
on the importance and power of prayer.
Model a life of prayer before your people and recruit intercessors that will
agree together and pray passionately
for a visitation of the Spirit.
There must be a focus on Jesus.
No revival ever came by focusing on
anything else. The Holy Spirit does not
glorify Himself or any particular doctrine
or church. The Spirit glorifies Jesus!
When we are worshipping and glorifying
Jesus we are making glad the heart of
God.
There must be unity. Endeavor to
promote unity among the churches.
Begin meeting together when possible
for prayer and worship. Start with those
who are anxious for unity, others will
join as the Spirit begins to be manifest.
to His children when they recognize that
they are no longer walking with Him,
repent of their sin, and begin the work
of rebuilding the spiritual walls in their
lives that the enemy tore down during
the time of neglect. Revival is the Spirit
of God re-entering the tabernacle of
each believer’s heart (and of the church
as a body) after it has been rebuilt and
rededicated. Revival comes when holiness is restored as evidenced by pure
Conclusion
The prophets teach us that revival is worship and love for others.
It is fine to schedule revival meetthe culmination of a process. It is not an
ings
and invite a preacher to come and
event that can be scheduled and it does
speak
a series of fiery messages to the
not happen because the right preacher
congregation.
The pastor should recogcame to town. Revival is God’s response
nize, however, that unless the church
ing unclean sacrifices and the people are
withholding their tithes. The nation is in
a state of superficial worship. In the
modern vernacular we would say that
they are “playing church.”
Of course Malachi concludes with a
prophesy of the greatest revival the universe will ever see; the coming of Messiah.
Page 20
There must be a priority of worship and praise. There is something
about an atmosphere of praise and worship that promotes a revival spirit. The
Scriptures clearly state, “God inhabits
the praises of His people.” This is the
atmosphere that prepares hearts for the
impartation of the Word of the Lord.
These are just a few of the conditions that prepare us for revival. As we
humbly submit ourselves to God, not
seeking our own benefits but His glory
we can expect Him to come and walk
among us. You are not the first believer
to desire a move of God in your land.
Saints of God who have gone before you
have prayed and fasted and believed
God for revival. Some have gone to be
with the Lord without seeing the answers but their prayers live on awaiting
another generation to pick up the mantle and cry out to God to come in His
glory. The next great outpouring of the
Spirit awaits someone to take on the
burden of the Lord, to prove Him and
see if He won’t “open the windows of
heaven and pour out a blessing that
there will not be room enough to contain.”
Rev. Bob Fisher served
as NJ District Presbyter,
Senior Pastor and, for
the past 10 years, as an
evangelist with the Assemblies of God. He can
be reached at….
http://www.firesofpentecost.org
has already recognized their state, repented of it, and been engaged in a
period of intense prayer to rebuild; it is
more likely that God will
use that time as a time
to convict – to begin
the process.
Sometimes the best use of a
visiting preacher may
be to serve in the role
of the minor prophet,
lighting the match to
start the fuse that will Rich Langford
end in great revival in is a Deacon in the
Mission Church
your church.
Autumn 2006
has room to grow in their faith, holiness
and experiences with God. Therefore,
the true work of God is a daily process
Rev. Nikil Adwalpalker
where we must live out the eternal
truths of God. Jesus died not just to
save us, but be Lord of every part of our
The great revivalist preacher Charles it elevates religion over relationship.
lives.
Below are a few signs that indicate
Finney defined revival as, “The return of
When a church stops seeking after
the Church from her backslidings, and that religion is on the verge of replacing the holiness and righteousness of God it
the conversion of sinners.” Let me offer relationship with God:
will eventually become corrupt and inef4 reasons why I believe that the church
fective. Church leaders that want true
•
The church has failed to seek
is in desperate need of revival.
revival must be people of regular repenGod simply out of a love for Him
tance on behalf of themselves and the
(Mt. 6:33; Mt. 22:37)
1. The church needs
Body at large. They must be ministers
•
Acts of compassion and mercy
revival because without
that courageously stand in their pulpits
are infrequent (Jas. 2:8; 14-18)
preaching against sin and it’s deadly
it we will regress into
•
The church has substituted minpower. It’s not enough to pray, “Lord,
religion.
istry to God for intimacy with
help us not to sin.” Indeed we must not
God (Mt. 7:21-23)
only pray to stop sinning, but we must
In the book of Joel, the prophet is- • The churches passion for hearing
stop sinning (1 Pet. 1:16; 2 Cor. 7:1)!
sues a glaring warning to the people of
the Word exceeds sharing the
Victory over sin is only possible through
God concerning their relationship with
Word (Jas. 1:22-25)
the power of Spirit (2 Cor. 10:3-5).
Him. “’Even now,’ declares the Lord, • The church places more empha‘return to me with all your heart, with
sis on the gifts of the Spirit
3. The church needs
fasting and weeping and mourning.
rather than developing the fruit
revival because without
Rend your heart and not your garments.
of the Spirit (1 Cor. 13:1)
Return to the Lord your God, for he is
it, future generations
gracious and compassionate, slow to
will suffer.
2. The church needs
anger and abounding in love, and he
revival because it is far
relents from sending calamity.’” Joel
One of the most awesome, yet humfrom perfection.
2:12-13
bling thoughts for me as a Christian, is
In the Jewish religious system, the
In Romans 11:22, the apostle Paul that I’m a believer because of the influtearing or rending of a garment indience Christ had on other significant becated that a grievous sin had been com- reminds us of our call to holiness when lievers around me. If I had not seen
mitted by that individual, or by another he warns, “Consider therefore the kind- Christ at work in the lives of my parents,
person or group of people. Joel is sug- ness and sternness of God: sternness to my pastors, my friends and countless
those who fell, but kindness to you, progesting that the people tear
others, I would certainly not be
their clothes but instead to
where I am today.
I’m sure
humble their hearts and vigorChurch leaders that want true revival must most of us would say the same.
ously repent of wickedness. The
Christian parents, pastors
be people of regular repentance on behalf
message to the church today is
and churches have the sacred
of themselves and the Body at large.
clear: Returning to Him is not a
duty to pass on their faith to the
matter of religious exercises,
generation that follows them
but a heart felt conviction and love for vided that you continue in his kindness. (Dt. 6:4-9; Ps. 78:1-8). I’m sorry to say
the living God. True revival occurs when Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” that the American church has been woea church returns to God. Some of physi- From this verse we clearly see that God fully inadequate of leaving a godly legcal actions or manifestations may be expects our walk with Him to develop acy to the next generation. Statistics
fasting, weeping and mourning, but the and grow from the time we get saved till show that only 4% of young people 24
key is that the hearts of the people are the time we go to be with Him. When years old and younger hold fast to true,
we are born again, we are positioned as
moved to draw nearer to God.
biblical beliefs. In a nation of highly
Religion is not relationship. Relig- sanctified or holy. In other words the educated and wealthy youth, only a
ion is man’s attempt to make Himself blood of Jesus sets us apart as right- sweeping move of God’s Spirit will save
acceptable to God by going thru exer- eous, cleanses from our sins clears us of a youth culture already bent on immoralcise, liturgy or ritual. The Jews were the sin’s penalty (Rom. 5)! However, there ity and wickedness.
most religious people on the planet, yet is actually no church, nor pastor or deFamilies are the building blocks of
their form of godliness wasn’t acceptable nomination that is perfect! This is why society. The devil knows that if he can
to God. In much the same way, the individuals must commit to the daily destroy marriages and families, future
modern church can miss the mark when sanctification process knowing that each
The Need for Revival
Page 21
generations will be severely hindered.
Here a few things to consider that will enable you to evaluate whether your church
is preparing for a revival that will touch
generations:
munities are suffering needlessly from
depression, anger, unforgiveness, sickness and hopelessness.
The world
needs healing and only the local church,
empowered by the Spirit of God, can
help them find the reason and purpose
for living.
We cannot be content to
simply reach a small minority through
our local assembly when the community
at large is on its way to hell!
The life changing power of God is
available to the blind (to sin and it’s
judgment), the oppressed (because of
sin’s burden), the poor (those without
true hope and peace found only in relationship with Christ) and those in prison
(both physically and spiritually because
of sin that has bound them). (Lk. 4:1819) The true revival message is not
1. A church needs
revival when it has
lost its passion for
doing first things first.
In Revelation 2, Jesus issues a
stirring
rebuke for the prominent
• A church that wants revival to be
church
at
Ephesus. Note that this
passed to the next generation has a
church
was
a direct recipient of Paul’s
vision for equipping strong families to
3
years
of
ministry
to the city. Timohave healthy marriages where both
thy,
Paul’s
disciple
was probably one
partners are committed to God and
of
it’s
earliest
church
leaders as well.
raising godly offspring.
It
was
a
world
renown
church. The
Lord
even
said
that
He
knew of the
passed to the next generation is
church’s,“…hard
work
and
persevercommitted to teaching young people
ance”
(Rev.
2:2).
However,
a key
the Word of God so that they may
spiritual
component
was
missing
from
keep their lives pure and free from
this
church.
Jesus
went
onto
explain,
the snare of sin.
“Yet I hold this against you:
You have forsaken your first
passed to future generations is
One
of
the
biggest
traps
of
the
enemy
uses
love. Remember the height
encouraging and practically
teaching families how to build to keep a church from experiencing true from which you have fallen!
healthy relationships with one revival is busyness. We can be busy doing Repent and do the things you
did at first. If you do not reanother
ministry
and
yet
miss
out
on
the
relationpent, I will come to you and
• A church that wants revival to
remove your lamp stand from
be passed to future generations
ship that God wants to have with us.
its place ” Rev. 2:4-5.
is committed to training and
One
of the biggest traps of the
commissioning young people to reach
one of happiness and convenience but
enemy
uses
to keep a church from
their campuses and friends for Christ
one where individuals commit to the
experiencing
true
revival
is
thru strategic evangelism.
work God wants to do in their sinful
“busyness.”
We
can
be
busy
doing
hearts. Ray Comfort, author of, Revival’s Golden Key, explains how many ministry and yet miss out on the relapastors and churches have neglected tionship that God wants to have with
4. The church needs
preaching the message of the cross. He us. Look at the church in Ephesus.
revival because so many
says, “Instead of preaching the good They had a strong desire to work hard
around us don’t know
news that sinners can be made right- for the Lord, resist the teachings of
Christ and His life changeous in Christ and escape the wrath to false apostles, preach against wickeding power.
come, the gospel has degenerated into ness and endure suffering (Rev. 2:2the pretext that we can be made happy 3). This church would be considered
One pastor recently reminded me that in Christ and escape the hassles of this successful by most modern day stanrevival is here ready for us to receive by life.” In other words, we lead people to dards, however the Lord was not
Because churches
faith. In the book of John the Lord Jesus Christ under the guise that, “Coming to pleased. Why?
are
first
called
to
know Christ intiChrist concurs with this statement when He Christ solves all of our problems and
mately
above
all
other
things, even
says, “Do not say, ‘Four more months and makes life on earth better.” The reality
doing
his
work.
In
fact
the
promise of
then the harvest’? I tell you, open your of the true gospel is that through Christ
God
to
bless
the
work
of
our hands
eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe we can endure suffering, pain and probflows
first
from
seeking
Him
diligently
for harvest’” (Jn. 4:35). In other words lems because we have an advocate with
(Mt.
6:33).
Jesus is saying that He is ready to enable the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous,
Is your church and it’s leadership
His workers to reap a wonderful spiritual who has gone before us in victory.
serious
about seeking the face of
harvest whenever they are willing to be- (Rom. 8:34-39)
God?
Programs
are great but they
lieve and labor in His name. What a preare
not
a
substitute
for intimacy with
cious promise!
Common Attitudes
God.
If
we
want
to
see revival we
Without a true move of God people in
of
a
Church
that
must
learn
how
to
repent,
pray, fast
our community will never know the life
and
call
upon
the
name
of
the
Lord so
Needs Revival
transforming power available to them thru
the cross. So many individuals in our com(Continued on page 23)
Page 22
Autumn 2006
Global Leadership Training Returns to Ghana
3rd More Than Conquerors
West Africa Leadership Conference
Evangel Assembly of God
Off Kojo Thompson Road, Adabraka - Accra
Registration Extended to October 15, 2006
Registration Fee: 75,000 cedis
In order to receive complimentary conference materials,
you must pre-register by October 15, 2006
Conference Registrar
To register, send letter of intent & registration payment to:
Mrs. Ernestina Williams
PO BOX AN 15073; Accra-North, Ghana
Phone: 021501990 / Mobile: 0244564010
[email protected]
Conference Coordinator
Rev. Andrew Ephraim
Dunamis Centre A/G
PO Box 9587; Airport, Accra—Ghana
+ 233-21-414568 (office) / + 233-21-403671 (home)
+ 233-024-209634 (mobile) / [email protected]
“I invite you to an event that will empower
your ministry like never before—the 3rd
More Than Conquerors West Africa Leadership Conference! “Rather then centering
on hype, emotion and temporary excitement, this conference will specialize in
practical leadership principles and church
management techniques to equip you for
effective ministry.”
that He can come and heal our land (2
Chron. 7:14). In fact, God can use a
church that prays together, hungers for
the Word, believes the Lord for mighty
miracles, and worships God in Spirit and
in truth, more than He can a megachurch with wonderful programs but no
true relationship with Him.
If the church can be likened to a
restaurant, then it’s most frequently ordered menu main courses must not only
include prayer, fasting and the Word,
but also the ability to be an agent of
compassion in the world.
When a
church truly experiences God it will
cause them to want to reach out to others and share the blessings of Christ.
Conference Materials Provided
When a church is only focused inwardly
on the Christians within the world, it will
have no desire to reach the sinful world
just outside it’s doors. A church that is
inwardly focused will produce a spirit
that is critical and judgmental toward
those outside of the faith. However, a
church in revival will practice the new
commandment of John 13:34-35, which
speaks of loving one another, and so
proving that Christ is truly amongst us.
Love doesn’t mean overlooking sin, but
does cause us to compassionately and
tenderly deal with sinners that need a
second chance and hope for their future. Love causes us to find ways to
tangibly meet the needs of sinners and
build trust and relationships with them
so that our preaching will be powerfully
received.
2. A church needs revival
when the church
leadership has lost its
vision for reaching the
community.
One of a pastor’s most important
jobs is charting the course and direction
for the body. Nothing is more frustrating than being around leaders that do
not have a clear vision for their ministry
from God. It is not the job of the lay
people to direct the church but vision
Page 23
THE MISSION CHURCH
4101 Rt. 52
HOLMES, NY 12531 USA
visit us online
www.missionchurch.com
Place address label here
must come from the top and flow down
throughout the church. However, the
leaders vision cannot be focused solely
on the church. Without a vision for the
local, regional and global communities,
the church will only achieve a portion of
what God intends (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts
1:8).
Does your heart burn for community
transformation? There is no one church
that can possibly reach all the souls in
your area. For a true revival to occur like
the one that did in the New Testament
Church described in the book of Acts,
there must be a merging of the marketplace and the church. Revival cannot
stay in the church because revival is most
needed in the lives of the sinners that
dwell in the marketplace. When I say
“marketplace”, I mean all realms of influence (business, government, education)
outside of the church walls. How incredible would it be to see pastors and church
leaders link arms with influential Christian
businessmen, educators and government
officials? How amazing would it be for
commissioned laypeople to literally take
church into the world and be agents of
healing and ministry right inside the mar-
ketplace? Indeed I have personally seen
footage of this occurring in all corners
of the earth! As a church leader, you
have the spiritual authority to pray for
the opening of the heavens over all aspects of life in the community. If your
dream doesn’t include the overhaul of
all aspects of the community, from the
church to the marketplace, than your
dream is too small!
Meditate on the following scriptures
and believe God for a new vision for
community revival:
“The Lord added daily those who
were being saved.” Acts 2:47
• “Those that had been scattered
(throughout the region) preached
the Word wherever they went.’
Acts 8:4
• “All the Jews and Greeks who
lived in the province of Asia
heard the Word of the Lord.”
Acts 19:10
•
Let me give you a few suggestions
for renewing a vision for community
wide revival that will allow Christ to impart new life to the church, businesses,
education systems and government.
Begin to, unite meet and pray
in faith with Christian leaders in
both the church and marketplace. Claim your community
for Christ and take authority
against strongholds that are
hindering revival in your community
• Teach and commission Christian individuals in the marketplace to start prayer groups,
bible studies and look for ways
to meet tangible needs right in
the marketplace
• B ui l d rel ati o ns hi ps wi th
unsaved marketplace individuals and ask them
how your team
can pray for them
and assist them.
• Help Christian students get prayer
groups and bible
clubs
organized
Pastor Nikil
that will be agents Adwalpalker
is Pastor of
of change on their Ministry
Development at The
campuses
•
Mission Church

Volume 3 Issue 3; Autumn 2006

Transcription

Similar documents

the first word - The Word Network

Lilies of the Valley Newsletter - Blackstone Valley Baptist Church

SPANISH COLONIAL REVIVAL ARCHITECTURE

MONTCLAIRE HOTEL NYANGA 09

July 27, 2014 - First Baptist Church Humboldt TN

April 2013 Worship Participants

Dr. Junior Hill - Sardis Baptist

the maxaugust 2010 a newsletter from creflo dollar ministerial

Commercial Architecture: Styles and Types

July/August 2015 - First Christian Church