“Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6
I woke this morning in a spirit of prayer for revival. Revival is God's strategic way of working in the earth between the resurrection of Jesus and his coming again to keep us moving towards Him. In Acts 2 and passages following is wave after wave of outpouring of the Spirit. In Joel 2 are massive outbursts of revival before the end of the age. In Romans 11 it speaks to the revival and the fullness of the Spirit to come in the nations that will be so powerful it will turn all to Jesus to accept Him as their Messiah
So if revival is the strategy of God leading to all nations accepting Jesus as their Messiah, why does he wait around for us to pray? Only as you give yourself to prayer are you transformed in your heart to be a determined seeker of more of God. And God will only trust a revival to determined seekers of more of Him. All those in the past who God has entrusted to revival are those who have dedicated themselves to long periods of prayer. Early Methodist revivals came because of a gathering of people who expected to see God move among them. Revival occurs out of Determined Seekers of more of God. Here is the thing though, you can't make yourself a Determined Seeker of more of God, you can only pray yourself into one. You have to give yourselves to something you do not see and can’t control. God doesn't want you to be confident in yourself, he wants you to be desperate for him and find your confidence in him. This thing is, revival is not something that is a peripheral of our faith, but needs to be at the heart of what we are after. Ask the Lord in prayer to give yourself over to this.
What is the essence of true revival? It is an intense experience of the presence of God in and among the people. The peculiar and mighty sense of the presence of God which is manifested.
4 thing happen when a revival happens.
• Restoration of love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Re-falling in love. Song of Psalms
• There is a restoration of Jesus' Lordship. What does Jesus want me to do in my life and the life on His church.
• Restoration of Holiness and zeal for God's glory. How do you want to use me? Revivals always lead to a releasing of people into ministries.
• Restoration of Boldness.
We were not designed to be carriers of Covid. We are designed to be carriers of God and to be carriers of God to others. If instead of taking a Covid test, if in your heart you honestly took a “Determined Seeker” test, would your test results be positive? And just like we can’t give someone the Covid virus if we ourselves an not contagious with it, we cannot give someone and spread God if we are not contagious with Him, if we ourselves are not carrying Him to others.. We do not have a problem with prayer, we have a complacency with prayer. We can't get people to pray if they are not hungry for it. When people and churches quit praying, then God withdraws from them, then they find themselves in trouble, then they cry out.
How do we provoke hunger if there is a lack of hunger to pray? I wrestle with this, as much of it is out of my control. First, you must teach on prayer. In prayer we are invited into the throne room of God, we are privileged to enter into kingdom making decisions. However, everyone at some time feels disappointed with prayer. Each one of us has had a prayer that has not been answered. Take this cup from me. Lord let them be one. We must minister to the disappointments in prayer as much as we celebrate the answer of prayer. Second, we must de-clutter our programs and calendar if we want to prioritize prayer. We need to be seekers of more: more power of God, more revelation of the Spirit. Third, you need to set times for simple gatherings for prayer. Some people miss the sparks because they are always looking for the big flames. Driving to this big event or conference: IHOP, Passion, Catalyst, New Room..ect. or chasing after "gifted teachers and prophets." These events and people are all good and holy, however they are not meant to be our focus or highlight, and they cannot be the source of revival for your church. The source is Determined Seekers of more of God. We are called to start a spark, to look for where the sparks of God are working among us, and then a pour gasoline on it.
Many people are leaving the church because they have not seen the power of God moving in the church. Yet God's desire at creation, in the Jesus death and resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit's in dwelling, in us, was for the creation and existence of a church full of the presence and fire of the Holy Spirit. A "supernatural church" that is unstoppable. Churches today are so easily "stoppable." A talented leader leaves, a donor dies, a strategic plan fails, and now Covid, and church doors close or its ministries become ineffective. In order for a church to be an unstoppable, supernatural church, it has to rely and be surrendered to our unstoppable and supernatural God. There is only one way you become a supernatural church, and that is by spending hours doing what does not come natural to us, hours spent together on our knees in prayer.
My family, I pray today for something that I, your pastor, your spouse, your parents, nor anyone else really has any control over, that you re-commit to become a Determined Seeker of more of God. Here is the thing though, you can't make yourself a determined seeker of more of God, you can only pray yourself into one. So I take time today to pray that you will take time to pray today. I pray today you give yourselves to something you do not see and can’t control and become desperate for God through prayer, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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