But where
have all the revivals gone? It seems
like there are fewer and fewer churches desire to have revivals anymore. They tend to keep business as usual and want
to maintain the status quo of their weekly church meetings. Are churches afraid of starting something
within the congregation that they can’t control? Are pastors scared to bring in someone else
to teach their flock? Whatever the case
may be, there needs to be a revival started in every church. It is time that we return to a time when people
come together more often than the regularly scheduled times. It is time to break out of the rut of
predictability and let the Holy Spirit reignite our fires.
Where do
we start to create a revival in our spirit?
The first thing we have to do is have a personal revival. There is no way that the church will ever
have a time of revival until the members within it have their own personal
revival. So how do we have a personal
revival? James 4:7-10 tells us exactly
how to start. It says, “7 Submit
yourselves, then, to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to
you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your
laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” These verses make it clear what you have to
do, you have to humble yourself to the Lord and resist the devil. When we do these things on a regular basis,
then we will revive our spirit and be drawn closer to God. Our spirit will be rekindled and our desire
to seek God first will be evident. Then and
only then will we be part of a greater revival for God.
As we
commit ourselves to our own renewal, we will see the Holy Spirit moving through
other people. We will see others getting
deeper in their relationship with God.
And as more and more people in the church have a personal revival, the
church will not have a choice but to have a corporate revival. It will start reaching back out to the world
and bringing in the lost. We will experience
a resurgence in the world. The church
will become the hospital for people that have lost all hope again. Lost souls will have a desire to find more
meaning in their life because of what the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of
people in the church.
Once the
church starts a revival, then it will cause a revival in the world. You will see fathers taking active rolls in
their kids’ lives. You will see the
amount of fighting between different groups of people subside. Communities will start taking pride in one
another and will build each other up rather than tearing them down. The world as a whole will become a better
place. But all this change has to come
from within the church. The political
system will never be able to change the hearts of people. Only God can make that change and the world
needs to a conduit to see God. It is
time for the church to start a down home revival in the world.
There
is no time like today to start your own personal revival. God can move mountains if we have the faith
of a mustard seed. In the world today,
we need as many churches on fire for God as possible. And the only way the church will have a
revival is if the members have their own personal revival. It is time for a mass revival in the world
and every one of us are a small part of it.
Are you ready for a revival?
Lord I come
to you with revival on the heart. Our world
needs you know more than ever and I pray that you start a revival in all of
us. Today is the day and we need you to
take control of the world. I pray that
everyone that reads this will look to you to revive their spirit and make them
a catalyst for the church to make a push in the world. Lord I pray that the Holy Spirit will infect
all of us and light a fire for you. Even
if our wood is wet, you have the power to make the changes in our hearts to
reignite us and be a burning bush for the world. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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