What
many Christians are calling revival is actually a harvest. Revival is
bringing back to life what was dying; harvest is reaping of souls.
Therefore, the church must first be revived before she can participate
in a great harvest of souls.
The Great Harvest that is yet to
come must wait until the church submits to the process of revival.
Many prominent leaders in the body of Christ are fasting and praying
for God to do whatever it takes to revive His church in these last
days. This should be our cry to the Lord: Oh Lord here are your
people; we will do whatever it takes... whatever it takes! We will be
zealous, obedient, whatever the cost! Now is the time to draw
a great line in the sand and make our stand!
The word revival means:
1.
Restoration or renewal to vigor and activity
2.
Bringing, or coming back to life, or consciousness
3. Bring
back into use, operation, or attention
4.
To come or bring to mind again
When we pray for revival, we are admitting
that we are backslidden. That means (to some degree) our ministry is
inactive, our services are lifeless; we are unequipped for effective
ministry, and we have forgotten our marching orders. Very little has
been done to break us out of the frustrating cycle of being revived,
followed by backsliding, and the need for being revived and renewed
again.
Unless we understand all that is involved
in revival, we cannot understand what God is doing in the Church
today. God has the Church in His hands and is beginning to breathe His
resurrection life into it. That is revival!
Revival involves repentance and a return to
our first love for God. In the process of reviving His church, God is
cleansing and empowering it. If we misunderstand this work of the Holy
Spirit — which can sometimes be painful — we may perceive that this
pruning process brings defeat and loss — not revival.
While we certainly do not want to
unnecessarily offend the members of our church or even unbelievers,
still, we must remain faithful to Jesus’ agenda even if it means
having a temporary “backdoor revival.” That is, an exodus of people
who do not desire all that Jesus wants to give them.
Perhaps losing the half-hearted and
uncommitted — though they be long-standing members — would have a
divine “purging effect” on all parties concerned! Remember, John
reports that when Jesus did not water down the truth, “Many of His
disciples walked no more with Him” (John 6:60-66).
After His resurrection, Jesus “ . . .
appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time . . . “ (1 Cor. 15:6).
Yet on the day of Pentecost there were only 120 brethren present. It
makes one wonder why more were not present. I wonder how many would-be
disciples left the Upper Room the day before Pentecost. It must have
been discouraging as night after night passed, and the promise didn’t
materialize. They weren’t told how long to wait, just wait . . .
until.
What a frustrating directive: to wait for
an undetermined period for an unknown sign. For 2,000 years the church
has been asked to wait for an undetermined period for the culmination
of all things. You and I must wait . . . until.
Presently we are waiting for the Church in
our generation to be pruned and revived, then harvest will be
imminent. In that harvest, the Church will celebrate over a great
gathering of souls for Jesus.
We must keep foremost
in our minds and hearts during these days of restoration that we are
not seeking revival; we are seeking Jesus Christ! Our emphasis and
focus is always to be on Christ; not revival, not a harvest, not the
rapture — but JESUS, our Lord and Savior!
Revival is a result of repentance, right
relationships, and exalting Jesus to His rightful place in our hearts
and in our churches. We must seek that right relationship with Him and
allow Him to work His perfect will in our midst.
Was
that interesting? There is so much more in this chapter that you will
want to read. Is this a good time to order the book?
