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Question:
What prepares a church for a real revival?
Answer: Above
all things, prayer first. The people have to begin to hunger for
God and that only comes about in the prayer closet.
Second: Worship. The presence of God is drawn to
worship. He says in His word that He
inhabits the praises of Israel. We’re the spiritual Israel and He inhabits our
praises. When we begin to worship,
His presence comes in power.
Third:
Assembly. It’s vital for
everyone to be connected. That means, a) forgiveness has to be
offered and received for wrongs done, b) the past has to be let go of, and
c) everyone has to begin to allow the love of God to operate in their
lives.
Fourth: The Word.
Study of the Word, preaching of the Word, passion for the Word is a
must and the Word is the only thing that transforms the soul. If we’re going
to have any impact on our lives, the Word is a necessity. Acts 8:
4-8 “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching
the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. The crowds with one accord
were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the
signs which he was performing. For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were
coming out of them shouting
with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were
healed. So there was much rejoicing in that city.”
All four of these things have to be activated by
faith. You may not feel like
praying, you may not feel like worshiping, you may not feel like
assembling, or you may not feel like getting in the Word. But, if you will activate these things by
faith (regardless of your feelings), revival will come to you and your
church.
Question: What groundwork brings
revival?
Answer: Revival is not a one-person-show. A revivalist – or evangelist – doesn’t
bring it all with them. As a matter
of fact, anyone who places that responsibility on them is not operating
spiritually.
What brings revival is when the people hunger, when the
people begin to fast and pray, and when an anointing is brought to the
church. This past revival numerous
people began to confess the word, began to cry out to God, began to pray in
the Spirit, began to fast, etc. prior to the
arrival of the evangelistic team.
So, when the evangelists came, the atmosphere was prepared and their
anointing flowed more freely. That
is the key to effective revival -- the meeting of anointing with hunger and
devotion.
Question: We called it a “refreshing” instead
of a “revival,” why?
Answer: I feel there are two reasons: First,
today I sat down with someone who is not a part of the church and she
asked, “I heard you had revival, isn’t a revival a non gay-affirming
event?” She came from a Pentecostal/Baptist/Etc. background and she assumed
that that language was reserved for fundamentalism. Because of this stigma,
I felt very strongly this year, we would call it a refreshing.
And the second reason we called it a refreshing is
because the Word says “Indeed, He will speak to this people through
stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, ‘Here is
rest, give rest to the weary…’” Isa 28:11-12 (referring to the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit). And
because we have been focused on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, this
terminology helped to focus our faith.
People testified as to their experiences of the filling of the Holy
Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, articles were written, and
it was being taught within all of our home groups. We were in one
accord. (Acts 2:1-4)
Question: What’s next?
Answer: That’s
the question that’s been on my heart and mind for days and days. During the refreshing we had 10-15 filled
with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Now we’re going to direct our faith
toward the utilization of the gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12) and
toward outreach (Acts 1:8), and the growth of the church (Acts 2:47);
because after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Word promises these
events.
I’m also going to be encouraging everyone to be “being” filled with the Holy
Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 Amplified
Bible says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever
be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.”). Being filled
with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event, but a daily occurrence,
because we “leak” and we need to ever be filled with His Spirit.
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