I've visited this site, and others, for a number of years now. Throughout the last years of my walk, I've heard the call and message of 'revival' trumpeted all over the country. I've heard people proclaim that God wants to do great things amongst His people. I've seen so many assemblies and conferences revolving around repentance and revival...

But the glaring omission that is missing, is an actual declaration of what exactly God wants from us and wants to do through us in this hour.

The Body of Christ is told to repent, but what exactly do His people need to repent of?

The Body of Christ is told that God wants to restore things. But if that's the case, what are the things which we've walked away from which need to be returned to?

Good Question!

In plain english, God wants one thing from us, our heart.

Spending time with Him all the time.

All this other "stuff" in Christianity are just distractions from the real truth.

Revival for us is really a cry to be filled with the Spirit.

When the called out ones see the Churches condition and the condition of the world, few believers get together and pray for a revival. In other words, what we are praying for is the power to win souls, hence being filled with the Spirit.

Today it's a chore to win souls, we pump and prime the service, we beg people to come down to an alter, a pew, a bedside, where ever and this ought not to be.

The promise is still true today as it was then, they that hunger and thirst after righteousness the same shall be filled.

The message was short and sweet in the early church and no church member asked if people would like to be saved, people came crying to them, "what must we do to be saved".

We the Church need to be filled with the Spirit and the world needs a revival.

GOD is calling for devoted disciples, faithful
followers, and steadfast servants! HE deserves
our undivided devotion and unreserved commitment.

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Martin G. Smith

I believe the real issue is we as the church have forgotten the beautiful art of discipleship, God won't send the increase of followers if His church doesn't know what to do with them or teach them.

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Matthew Guldner

Hi!

Jesus died to deliver us from the works of the devil and to return us to the state which God intended for us : A state of spiritual stability through oneness with Him, pictured in the OT by those who `walked with God` and who were in communion with Him hearing Him speak to them directly and clearly and seeing Him face to face like Moses, in order for Him to dwell in His temple on earth. Sin stopped this and the only way to be returned is not only to be forgiven for sins and then to return to them but to live holily without which no man will see God. When we have been given a pure heart, there is no more rebellion left towards God and we find we obey Him in absolutely everything. We accept His ownership of us and we act accordingly. There is no more `going out and coming in` we remain with Him with all wanderings ceased.

Unfortunately, in times of a backslidden church, we are not told that we must denounce sin entirely and to walk without sin when we first come for forgiveness and that the power of God enables us to do so, so we inevitably fall from that first love as we begin to tolerate sin or we work for holiness in the flesh, when it is by faith. Inside us we have that longing which God puts in us for holiness, but we listen to men instead who say we will sin as long as we live or who`s definition of sin is rather loose.

Revival is when we see this truth and men repent of their unbelief in not being in the will of God and actually being rebels when they continue to sin, even `unintentional` sin, being therefore in Satan`s kingdom rather than God`s, and pray in desperation to be made holy by the HOLY Spirit.

When men`s eyes are opened to this truth the power of God falls down and the men are quickly sanctified wholly and put right with God. This is what is preached at all true revivals, which sadly we are not seeing today.

There is unfortunately a lack of knowledge in what is expected of us and what sinless perfection really is as most do not expect this until the next life. It does not claim that man will never sin again, his will remains free as he is a free moral agent. But so long as he remains in this state he will not sin, in thought word or deed and he is perfectly restored not only to the state of Adam`s innocence, but to a higher state where he will not fall into sin as Adam did, who did not immediately lose his standing until the Lord had spoken to him, but will be kept by the power of God (Jude 24) and presented faultless . This is the sort of perfection that is spoken in scripture as the partaking of the Divine nature (2Pet.1:4), of one Spirit with the Lord (1Cor 6:17), having come to the new birth (John 3:3), Christ being formed within (Col 1:27), receiving the END of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1Pet 3:21), where God hath from the begining chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the spirit (2Thes 2:13) having been saved through the Spirit baptism the resurrected Christ came to give (1Pet 3:21), wherefore we died to the old sin nature through being baptised into His death (Rom 6:37). Risen and glorified with Him (Rom 8:17), walking in the light whence the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sin (1John 1:27), whereas he who sins is of the devil (1John 2:8).


Brenda

In general, all of these responses are true. But I was hoping to hear things more specific. Whenever the Lord raised up an apostle or prophet to speak to His people, they always dealt in specifics in regard to transgressions which needed to be addressed. It's easy to speak in generalities and give the appearance of doing a work of God. But a genuine apostle or prophet is going to point out the very wrongs which the Lord finds fault with. The ones sent to be about a task as this, will deal with specifics. To be about the business of restoration, since revival is for those things/people which have died, those who are truly sent to do a thing won't be walking in the very uncleanness which is part of the problem.

Take the following from an article on this site for example:

The amount of sermons on this website that deal with this question are too many to count. I would suggest looking up Greg Gordons 95 Thesis, listening to Paul Washers Ten Indictments. There are hundreds of things this website directly and clearly addresses. To catalog it would be a weighty task for anyone.

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Jeremiah Dusenberry

If you really want to know read Art Katz' book "Apostolic Conversion". It is very tiny, but powerful. It will abundantly answer you question, that is if you are brave enough to read it. Ha.

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KLC