I’ve been praying for some time for Revival to come. I’m not talking about just a series of church meetings and worship services, but a spiritual time of refreshing that will shake the local church to it’s foundations. A powerful moving of the Holy Spirit that will be visible in the lives of every believer. I’m talking about what my old pastor use to call, “Old fashioned, Holy Ghost, sky blue, God sent down from Heaven, REVIVAL that will spread through the church and the community like fire in a broom sage field!” (Brother Vallance could really turn a phrase)
When does a church need Revival?
When the zeal to win lost souls seems to be at a low ebb
When the number of yearly baptisms decline
When the church members get comfortable and apathetic
When believer’s prayer lives grow anemic
When worship attendance is not as important as other outside activities
When the Holy Spirit is regulated by programs and schedules
When believers lose a hunger and thirst for the Word of God
When fellowship and interaction with other believers wanes
When we lose our focus on the Mission
When our love for Christ grows lukewarm or cold
When church members take their eyes off of God and focus on distractions
When traditions of men become more important that what “Thus sayeth the Lord”
A church is simply made up of its various members. And when the members begin to leave their first love – when other things become more important than following Jesus, it will show in our individual lives, in our families, and in our Church. If we as individuals, or collectively as a church, find ourselves in any of the former categories, then we need REVIVAL.
Traditionally in this part of the country, the term “Revival” has been synonymous with evangelistic crusades. For something or someone to be “re-vived” it had to be “vived” or alive in the first place. Revival is for the believer and collectively for the church. It is a reawakening, a spiritual refreshing, a renewing of commitment to Christ and a refocusing on the Mission. When that happens, we’ll see souls saved. We’ll spend more time in the baptismal waters. Here is the formula for true revival:
When does a church need Revival?
When the zeal to win lost souls seems to be at a low ebb
When the number of yearly baptisms decline
When the church members get comfortable and apathetic
When believer’s prayer lives grow anemic
When worship attendance is not as important as other outside activities
When the Holy Spirit is regulated by programs and schedules
When believers lose a hunger and thirst for the Word of God
When fellowship and interaction with other believers wanes
When we lose our focus on the Mission
When our love for Christ grows lukewarm or cold
When church members take their eyes off of God and focus on distractions
When traditions of men become more important that what “Thus sayeth the Lord”
A church is simply made up of its various members. And when the members begin to leave their first love – when other things become more important than following Jesus, it will show in our individual lives, in our families, and in our Church. If we as individuals, or collectively as a church, find ourselves in any of the former categories, then we need REVIVAL.
Traditionally in this part of the country, the term “Revival” has been synonymous with evangelistic crusades. For something or someone to be “re-vived” it had to be “vived” or alive in the first place. Revival is for the believer and collectively for the church. It is a reawakening, a spiritual refreshing, a renewing of commitment to Christ and a refocusing on the Mission. When that happens, we’ll see souls saved. We’ll spend more time in the baptismal waters. Here is the formula for true revival:
The Scriptures are expounded
Our Sin is Exposed
Our Selfishness is Eradicated
The Saints are Edified
The Savior is Exalted
And Sinners will be Enlisted into the Kingdom of God!
My challenge to each believer who reads this article, is that we submit ourselves to God for REVIVAL. Let us start by prayer. Fervent prayer. Believing prayer. Let us come together, as a local church, preparing ourselves for God’s message as we join together as a body of believers for a Spiritual Focus Week, from October 25-28. I pray that the next 37 days will be a time when God will rain down His Holy Spirit on us and we will BE THE CHURCH as we have never been before in our entire 94 year history. God is already showing up in our worship services. Let us invite Him in to our homes and our hearts 24/7.
Who knows but that it might just spread “like fire in a broom sage field” after all?
Our Sin is Exposed
Our Selfishness is Eradicated
The Saints are Edified
The Savior is Exalted
And Sinners will be Enlisted into the Kingdom of God!
My challenge to each believer who reads this article, is that we submit ourselves to God for REVIVAL. Let us start by prayer. Fervent prayer. Believing prayer. Let us come together, as a local church, preparing ourselves for God’s message as we join together as a body of believers for a Spiritual Focus Week, from October 25-28. I pray that the next 37 days will be a time when God will rain down His Holy Spirit on us and we will BE THE CHURCH as we have never been before in our entire 94 year history. God is already showing up in our worship services. Let us invite Him in to our homes and our hearts 24/7.
Who knows but that it might just spread “like fire in a broom sage field” after all?
3 comments:
Every Wednesday night for over a year, Brushfork has been praying for revival. I've warned our folks to get ready because it probably won't look like we think it will.
The Lord will bring revival--I want us to be ready when it comes!
Good point, Jim.
Only God can send revival, and He does it according to His sovereign will and His schedule.
We simply must prepare our hearts to receive it.
I am so encouraged to know that we have two Pastor's that are leading their people to pray for revival. If more would do so,...we would be closer to revival. I thank God for you! Terry L. Harper
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