Where Real Revival Begins

    As a pastor I love to read about various revivals in history, because they give us a little light on how revival begins. 

    During the great Welsh revival there was a minister who was said to be very successful in sharing the gospel. Many individuals would respond to his message and they would repent of their sins and be saved. Hundreds of people were coming to Jesus Christ under this man's ministry. What made this so interesting was that this minister preached the same sermon everywhere he went. 

    As news about this minister and his one very effected message came to the ears of another minister. The minister was interested in hearing this message for himself. This man wanted to know what was the secret. 

    So when this minister heard this preacher was going to preach in a near by city. He waisted no time to go and hear this powerful sermon. The minister traveled a great distant to get to the meeting. He sat through the message and saw a great many people come and put there faith in Jesus Christ. 

    After the service the minister came to the preacher and asked the preacher the question he longed to be answered. He asked "Brother where did you get that sermon?"

    The preacher took this minister to a poorly furnished room and pointed to a spot where the carpet was warn out near the window. The preacher said "Right there is where I got the sermon". Then he said "My heart was heavy for the souls of men, so one night I knelt there and cried for the power as I never had before. The hours passed until midnight, but the answer did not come. So I prayed on and prayed on and then the sermon came and the power came to preach it.

    It cannot be understated, but as I have studied and read about various revival throughout the world, every great move of God began with much prayer. Revival's and great spiritual movements of God did not come by great sermons, lively music, entertainment or even electrifying enthusiasm. Instead it begins to either one person, or a group of persons who become burdened enough for the presence of God that they go to the Lord in prayer. Sometimes this time of prayer lasts a couple of weeks. Sometimes the time of prayer extends to months or even years.

    We cannot manufacture real revival. There are no quick paths to it. There are no short cuts to experiencing great moves of God.  Churches can plan services and schedule speakers. They can line up the music and invite a great many people to the service. You can go to church and listen to preachers. You can listen to Christian music all you want. However, real revival will only come in your life and in the life of the church only when God brings it. 

    So what can we do? We can do what has been done time and time again in the past. We can seek the Lord in prayer. Pray to the Lord Almighty to revive our soul. Pray that God awakens something in us, to stir us up. Pray for God to reveal those things in our lives that are not pleasing to Him and has hindered our fellowship with the Lord. Pray for God to bring revival in our lives and in the lives of our churches. Pray for revival privately. Pray for revival corporately. If we are going to see great moves of God in our lives, in our churches and in our community. It must begin with sincere and fervent prayer.

Listen to what God told the nation of Israel about turning back. 

If My people, who are called by My name, shall 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 will heal their land.- (2Ch 7:14)

Take sometime to seek the Lord this week and pray for God to move. You may never know that the next great revival may very well begin with your prayers! 

There will be no more

  A little girl was walking in the cemetery with her aunt one day. She was examining the various gravestones. When suddenly she cried out, "Oh, auntie, look here! Here is the tomb of some poor person who has not gone to heaven." This took the Aunt by surprise and she asked "Not gone to heaven?" She then turned to look at what her niece was referring to. The grave stone she was looking at was an elaborate monument with weeping angels sculptured in marble. The monument was very pretty and was decorated with various flowers. So the aunt being a bit confused asked  "Why, what do you mean?" "Well, auntie," said the child, "the person in the grave cannot have gone to heaven, or the angels would not be crying!"

    Honestly, that girl was right. 

    There are a lot of things about heaven we really cannot know for sure. We can't know what exactly Heaven will look like. The bible gives us a few descriptions and while it is helpful the words we read fail to give us a complete picture. We don't know what the tree of life will look like. I have seen many trees growing up in Tennessee but I am sure that tree will be very different from the tree's I am used to seeing. I have tried many different fruits like apples, oranges, and pears and all of them are wonderful. However, I am sure the fruit from that tree will be something entirely different.  I have had many happy and joyful experiences in my 45 years of life, and I am sure I will have many more experiences (Lord willing).  Yet, I don't know all the joyful and happy experiences that await me in heaven. 

    I said all that to say this, The one thing I am absolutely certain of is that all the pain and hurt. All the tears and morning that we experience here on this earth will one day be no more. Pharmacies will be closed and doctors will be out of business. There will be no need for hospitals, Nursing Homes or Funeral Homes. No pandemic, no epidemic, no flu season and no suffering. 

    When God had design this world it was made compactly and utterly perfect. Death, sickness, and disease was absent from God's design. All that changed when Adam and Eve sinned against God and rebelled. From that day forward all of God's creation was tainted with sin. The effects of this willful and sinful disobedience was a world filled with pain and suffering. 

    Yet, I know that one day the world filled with sin and sins curse will one day be remade by God. It will one day be remade to God's original and perfect design. A world without sin, death and decay! A world as it should be, a world as it once was before sin entered in and corrupted it all. A world filled with the presence of God, filled with the Glory and Love of God. A world were we will one day come face to face with the God of all creation. 

    In this world there are a lot of things that can cause us to weep. There are many things that can lead us to be broken and hurt. 

    However, for those of us who are saved, we know that one day there will be no more weeping, crying or pain. 

    Take some time to listen and meditate on these words 

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.- (Rev 21:4)

    I don't know where you are in your life right now. I don't know what all your dealing with in your life. But I do know this; if you will are a believer in Christ, there are better days ahead. 

    As always if you want to know more about what it means to be a Christian...comment on this post and lets talk!