Do we want revival?

brethrenthe Lord has been showing me some things about revival, namely the cost of it and our eluctance to pay that cost coz it is steep. yet the Lord will see His Church revived and restored to Her rightful place. it requires the death of this present establishment with all its traditions, false doctrines, idolatries and all manner of thing from the enemy to make way for the Spirit of God to move again as He did at first. i feel led of the Lord to share this.Do we really want true revival which would result in the church being restored to her rightful place to being that bride without spot or blemish? The Lord has been showing me for some time of the need for the Church to be revived to fulfill her destiny. He has also shown me that there is a great cost involved which leads me to believe that in spite of what we say, we really truly don’t want revival at all, it simply costs too much. We have a tendency to maintain things as intact as possible, we’re not keen on rocking the boat but if we look back at the early Church, they didn’t just rock the boat, they tipped it over, they turned the world upside down and left it greatly changed. The Lord didn’t need very many people to do this, there were 120 in the upper room at Pentecost and the Lord sent them out and look what happened to the world afterward. i don’t believe the Lord needs large numbers to get this last revival going, He requires a few, perhaps another 120 who will be simply sold out to Him and go wherever He would have them go and do whatever He would have them do. Revival requires a return to the ancient paths, the ways in which the apostles taught the Church to walk (as they were led by the Spirit of God) in the Spirit of God and also to love wholly for God. In this day we’re all preoccupied with various things and the “church” is filled with all sorts of programs, ideas, traditions, beliefs and other things which are not of God but the ideas of man. All these things must be destroyed that the Lord may revive His Church. We have to give up these traditions and things and this cost is a high one indeed. Who really wants to abandon churchianity as we know it and step into the unknown or step back in time to the state in which the Church was at its inception and indeed what the Lord intended all along? The Lord had me read through Art Katz’s series on the prophetic and now He’s having me read through the apostolic. These things along with Christ form the foundation of the Church (Ephesians chapt 2 vs 20) The Lord’s apostles and prophets whom He is raising up as we speak to get involved in this coming revival will be as the prophets and apostles of old, jealous for God and the things of God to the point of offending the establishment and speaking out against it’s excesses and shortcomings, speaking of the establishment as it in fact is before the eyes of the Lord, an abomination and perversion of what the Lord had intended. These ones shall speak of the need for the destruction of establishment to make way for what the Lord intended for the Church to be to the chagrin of those who seek to keep this establishment intact. Indeed in the Lord leading me through the series on the prophetic, the Lord confirmed what He had been showing me all this time, the need for the death of the present establishment so that the Lord can resurrect and restore the Church. See the articles by Art Katz on Ezekiel and Elijah the prophets of resurrection and restoration respectively. The Lord will indeed see His Church revived. We however are not willing for the most part to go back to the ancient paths which tend toward the building of each member so he or she fits into the body of believers. The present establishment tends toward the benefit of the individual rather than the body and there is much emphasis on self help, the truth is though is what is required is self death. When Paul said for me to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21) and we look at what he says in Gal 2:20 when he says 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 he was talking about the death of self on the cross and the forsaking of the old nature in favour of living not of himself but Christ living in him. Just as the apostles that Christ called left behind their work, families they former lives to follow this man from Nazareth. If the Lord required this death of self then, He certainly requires it now, perhaps even more so because of the type of society in which we live which centres around the individual as opposed to the community. How then will all this be done? The Lord will have to remove the establishment as we know it and violently and terribly so in case anyone would think that it wasn’t the hand of God. This is soon coming in preparation for the revival which has been sought by Ravenhill and indeed some of us today. Lord bring your revival at whatever cost that your Church may be restored to you.AMEN.

Ironman,Truly the costs are high for revival as long as we think carnally. But if we think spiritually, then we realize that all we have to give up really is dung (Philippians 3:8.)We shouldn't try to make deals with God: "I'll stop doing this and that, and begin to do this, and then revival will come!"Nor should we sit around a lean on God's grace to kindle a fire within us.Where's the balance?"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." -James 4:8Let's look at each part of that:"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."Dual responsibility - God's grace meeting man's hunger and thirst for righteousness."Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Clean hands = departure from the WORKS of sin.Pure hearts = departure from the NATURE of sin. The Sermon on the Mount exposes the nature of sin within the heart of man, and how God examines us beyond just the WORKS of our sin."Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart." -Psalm 24:3-4A pure heart isn't DOUBLE-MINDED, for no man can serve two masters. There are many who call Jesus Lord, but few have Him in that position really. Jesus doesn't want to share a throne in our hearts. What king would?Thank you for a challenging post, Ironman. May we all count the costs...-Chris

bro Chrisindeed the cost are nothing short of death of self which when looking from a carnal standpoint is CRAZY! However you said this:But if we think spiritually, then we realize that all we have to give up really is dung (Philippians 3:8.)and indeed what we are giving up is dung period without even comparing it to what we shall gain. we're so fixated on the here and now that the idea of an afterlife is alien. the enemy has worked hard to keep us fixated on the here and now, bound in and by time to keep us from seeking after the things of God. bro deals with God don't work because He requires nothing short o the relinquishing of our very lives as we know them so we can say for me to live is Christ. the idea of one trying to make deals with God speaks of a reluctance to yield to Him. this is the wisdom of the world to hold fast what what we hold dear yet the wisdom of God is submission and relinquishing control. Clean hands = departure from the WORKS of sin.Pure hearts = departure from the NATURE of sin. The Sermon on the Mount exposes the nature of sin within the heart of man, and how God examines us beyond just the WORKS of our sin.departure from sin and it's nature is the death of the flesh for no good thing dwells in the flesh and we are born into sin as slaves to it. Thank you for a challenging post, Ironman. May we all count the costs...bro not only that but let us also consider what we shall lose and what we have to gain from revival and cheerfully pay whatever the cost for our Lord's sake that we may say indeed that for us to live is Christ.AMEN.

hi, i am a believer in holiness, but i have studied some revivals and see that God is never impressed with our righteousness. a common thread is unity and the lack of a personal agenda. in cali,a pastor quit praying with the other pastors because of a doctinal difference and being scolded by God went back and repented to the group. he was martyred but revival came to cali, col. ' they were all in one accord', one will chase a thousand and two,ten thousand etc. i do not believe we will ever see revival with our judgemental spirits. we question and condemn every work of God as did the jews. lood at the prophets of old. we need to realize that our best is puny and we need God to pour water on our land and on those who realize there thirst,which is caused by their inability to quench it on their own.jimp

A few years ago God gave me this message, and Ironman, you reminded me that he hasn't changed his ways: SACRIFICEWe must now be willing to offer up to Godanything and everything that He requests,things that we cherish more than him, things that we have felt we can't get along without.There may be things in our home that have a nostalgic sentiment to us.However they may be extra weighand will hinder us in the race marked out for us.We must be willing to let them go if God asks us to. There may be traditions that we will be called to give up.Others may not understand why we have stopped observing them or they may feel offended if we don't join them.Some will accuse us of being irresponsible.We cannot live our lives according to what others expect of us. We must sacrifice their expectations of us,including our expectations of them.Our abilities must be completely sacrificed to God,regardless of how much we have put into the development,training, and education.Our giftings and talents must be released to Godso that we do not have any expectations for how they ought to be used.We cannot hold on to past laurels, or even our present careers or positions.Cherished relationships must be sacrificed to God.We cannot let others come between God's calling and our obedience to Him. That includes our loved ones - parents, spouse, or children, our religious associates etc. (see Lk. 4:26) Dear friend, let us always rememberthat our God is a loving God:He will call us to sacrifice only what He knowsis for His glory and for our good.He will gently guide us along the way - a step at a time and will reward us with a taste of Himself.***Churches must offer up their pastors to Godas a sacrifice to be completely consumed by God,that is: completely available to God.We must let go of all expectations that we have of them no matter how traditional they are.We must free them up to be used by God the way God wants to use them.He may want them to serve completely outside of the expected role of a pastor.It is not the church who hires the pastor, but the Lord who appoints him or her to do HIS will.Pastors must sacrifice their positions to the Lord.They must sacrifice their pulpits to the Lord.They must be willing to sacrifice the material and emotional securities that come from their position.They must be willing to lose the approval of the people.They must release and sacrifice their congregations to the Lord.He may want to work with them in unexpected ways, and through unexpected people.Let God have His way!THEN there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you;Our ability to sacrifice will depend on our trust in Godand our willingness to obey him.But it is worth it!!!!When we heed the Spirit's promptings, we will see God do amazing works like we have never known before.Oh, what opportunities we have for our faith to be deeply s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d!It is time to expect the unexpected!Diane

sis dianethat indeed is the cost of revial a relinquishing of all to God. traditions, ideas,ambitions, life itself so that for us to live is Christ.