Today was my day off and I planned to get caught up on some yard work that had piled up since my times of illness. I had planned to burn some leaves, but the wind was blowing a little too much so I spent the afternoon just raking them into a big pile to hopefully burn tomorrow. At times the wind was pretty stiff and swirling. When the wind was blowing in the same direction I was raking, things were good, but I occassionally found myself raking into the wind. Well, that's an activity of futility. I started to grumble a little, but decided I would set my mind on better things. I started thinking about revival and some of the Scriptures I had read this morning. I've been reading and re-reading Joel, and toward the end of Chapter 2, after the the people return to the Lord, God says,
"After this, I will pour my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour my Spirit on servants, on both men and women." Joel 2:28-29 (GW)
God says He will pour out His Spirit. As I was thinking about this I also remembered what Jesus taught in John 3 about the Spirit being like the wind. You can't control either one, but you can see the effects of them. I realized God was teaching me something very important. As long as I go in the direction the Spirit is moving, things are good. But when I move in the direction against the moving of the Spirit, it is like raking into the wind. It's frustrating, tiring, and accomplishes very little.
Revival is about going with the flow of the Spirit of God. God is always at work, always moving in my life and in the Church. My responsibility as a follower of Christ, is to realize which way the Spirit is moving and move with Him. When we are in the Spirit, we will be revived.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
THE RESULTS OF REVIVAL
“Then I will repay you for the years that the mature locusts, the adult locusts, the grasshoppers, and the young locusts ate your crops. (They are the large army that I sent against you.) You will have plenty to eat, and you will be full. You will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has performed miracles for you. My people will never be ashamed again." Joel 2:25-26 (GW)
Revival is about restoration. It is first about a restoration of a right relationship with God. Joel 2:12-13 talks about returning to God with all of our heart. God awaits our return to Him. A right relationship can be restored when we come back to God with our whole heart.
But Joel also speaks about another kind of restoration. In chapter 1 and the first part of chapter 2, God speaks of the judgment that will come upon his disobedient people. An army of locusts or like locusts destroys everything. But if/when God’s people return to Him and a right relationship is restored, God’s blessings are restored as well. All that had been lost will be restored, God’s people will be blessed and God will be praised.
The result of revival is restoration. Is this a big deal? The enemy has taken so much from God’s people – he robs us of our joy, our peace, our relationships, our security, our spiritual motivation, and so much more. Revival, a right relationship with God, restores all that was lost. If you're missing some of the above things, pray for revival; give God the opportunity to do what He wants to do.
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chron 7:13-14 (NKJV)
Revival is about restoration. It is first about a restoration of a right relationship with God. Joel 2:12-13 talks about returning to God with all of our heart. God awaits our return to Him. A right relationship can be restored when we come back to God with our whole heart.
But Joel also speaks about another kind of restoration. In chapter 1 and the first part of chapter 2, God speaks of the judgment that will come upon his disobedient people. An army of locusts or like locusts destroys everything. But if/when God’s people return to Him and a right relationship is restored, God’s blessings are restored as well. All that had been lost will be restored, God’s people will be blessed and God will be praised.
The result of revival is restoration. Is this a big deal? The enemy has taken so much from God’s people – he robs us of our joy, our peace, our relationships, our security, our spiritual motivation, and so much more. Revival, a right relationship with God, restores all that was lost. If you're missing some of the above things, pray for revival; give God the opportunity to do what He wants to do.
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chron 7:13-14 (NKJV)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
THE NEED OF REVIVAL
God continues to speak and move me to seeking Him for revival. Today, the Spirit's presence was unusually powerful as I prayed in the sanctuary of our church. It's hard to describe His presence. Though He is always present, today was one of those days when His presence overwhelmed me. In Scripture it talks about Jesus "praying in the Spirit." I don't know if that is what I've been experiencing, but especially in my time of prayer I sense Him taking over my thoughts and leading me to pray His words. It is an incredible experience.
I continue to study and learn about revival. One of the things I came across is a list produced by Richard Owen Roberts, of signs that revival is needed. The full list contains 25 items; I've listed only 12 here (the numbers correspond to the orinal list). The full list can be found in Promise Keepers Becoming an Agent of Revival.
1. When prayer ceases to be a vital part of a professing Christian's life.
2. When the quest for biblical truth ceases and one grows content with knowledge of eternal things already aquired.
4. When earnest thoughts about eternal things ceases to be regular and gripping.
5. When services of the church lose their delights.
7. When sports, recreation and entertainment are a large and necessary part of your lifestyle.
8. When sins of the body and of the mind can be indulged without an uproar in your conscience.
10. When the acquisition of money and goods becomes a dominant part of your thinking.
11. When you can mouth religious songs and words without heart.
13. When you can watch degrading movies and television and read morally debilitating literature.
15. When the slightest excuse seems sufficient to keep you from spiritual duty and opportunity.
17. When you pardon your own sin and sloth by saying the Lord understands and remembers that we are dust.
25. When your tears are dried up and the hard, cold spiritual facts of your existence cannot unleash them.
I confess that more than a few of these items hit home. I need revival, and that is my prayer - Lord, send revival and let it begin in me!
I continue to study and learn about revival. One of the things I came across is a list produced by Richard Owen Roberts, of signs that revival is needed. The full list contains 25 items; I've listed only 12 here (the numbers correspond to the orinal list). The full list can be found in Promise Keepers Becoming an Agent of Revival.
1. When prayer ceases to be a vital part of a professing Christian's life.
2. When the quest for biblical truth ceases and one grows content with knowledge of eternal things already aquired.
4. When earnest thoughts about eternal things ceases to be regular and gripping.
5. When services of the church lose their delights.
7. When sports, recreation and entertainment are a large and necessary part of your lifestyle.
8. When sins of the body and of the mind can be indulged without an uproar in your conscience.
10. When the acquisition of money and goods becomes a dominant part of your thinking.
11. When you can mouth religious songs and words without heart.
13. When you can watch degrading movies and television and read morally debilitating literature.
15. When the slightest excuse seems sufficient to keep you from spiritual duty and opportunity.
17. When you pardon your own sin and sloth by saying the Lord understands and remembers that we are dust.
25. When your tears are dried up and the hard, cold spiritual facts of your existence cannot unleash them.
I confess that more than a few of these items hit home. I need revival, and that is my prayer - Lord, send revival and let it begin in me!
Monday, March 2, 2009
PRAYER AND REVIVAL
I had a sweet time of prayer this morning at the church. I've been praying for direction and a clearer understanding of what God wants to do in and through Magna View. I asked the Lord what He wanted me to pray for His church, and He responded clearly: "Pray for revival."I began to seek Him for a Scripture to cling to and he lead me to this one in Joel:
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him— a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? (2:12-14)
I spent the rest of the day praying and pouring over books about revival. I sense God really wants to pour out His Spirit on His church in a miraculous way. In the book, Becoming An Agent of Revival, the Promise Keepers ministry defines revival as "...the extraordinary work of God among His people causing extraordinary results in and through the church." Revival is an act of God that transforms the individual Christian, the church, and then society in a miraculous and marvelous way.
I'm not sure I've ever been a part of a genuine revival. I've seen God transform individuals and stir up His church to greater ministry, but nothing on the scale of what I believe God wants to do. I'm excited about the possibilities, but I also temper myself so that I don't try to force revival (which can't be done). As I read today, "We must understand that revival originates in God's heart and rests in His sovereignty... we are warned against thinking that it was something that we accomplished." (Agent of Revival) Though I long to be a part of a great move of God, revival is up to Him. But I can prepare for revival. "Although our action does not bring revival, if we do not do those things He has commanded, we will never see revival." (Agent of Revival)
What can I do to prepare for revival? What God laid on my heart today, is to pray for revival. I've committed to doing that daily and encouraging others to as well. This is but the first step, but it is the most important one. As Dr. J. Edwin Orr says, "Whenever God is about to do something new with His people, He always sets them to praying." I invite all to join me.
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him— a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? (2:12-14)
I spent the rest of the day praying and pouring over books about revival. I sense God really wants to pour out His Spirit on His church in a miraculous way. In the book, Becoming An Agent of Revival, the Promise Keepers ministry defines revival as "...the extraordinary work of God among His people causing extraordinary results in and through the church." Revival is an act of God that transforms the individual Christian, the church, and then society in a miraculous and marvelous way.
I'm not sure I've ever been a part of a genuine revival. I've seen God transform individuals and stir up His church to greater ministry, but nothing on the scale of what I believe God wants to do. I'm excited about the possibilities, but I also temper myself so that I don't try to force revival (which can't be done). As I read today, "We must understand that revival originates in God's heart and rests in His sovereignty... we are warned against thinking that it was something that we accomplished." (Agent of Revival) Though I long to be a part of a great move of God, revival is up to Him. But I can prepare for revival. "Although our action does not bring revival, if we do not do those things He has commanded, we will never see revival." (Agent of Revival)
What can I do to prepare for revival? What God laid on my heart today, is to pray for revival. I've committed to doing that daily and encouraging others to as well. This is but the first step, but it is the most important one. As Dr. J. Edwin Orr says, "Whenever God is about to do something new with His people, He always sets them to praying." I invite all to join me.
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