This question occurred to me as I was reading Brother Frank's thread? Are we idolizing or worshipping revival at the expense of worshiping Christ?

Some in tbe Charismatic movement are crticised for seeking signs and wonders at tbe expense of seeking Jesus. Yet when we focus on past movement of God, are we not doing the same? Is our desire for revival more consuming than our desire for Christ?

Just wondering?

Bearmaster. .

Very good bro bear, that is what I was getting at :) ............bro Frank

Amen brother bearmaster. One of my favorite quotes from Ravenhill: "anything that we love more than the Lord Jesus Christ is an idol."

"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." (1 John 5:21).

No brother bear, we are not idolizing revival if revival is the manifestation of Jesus.

Look at it that way.
When Simeon in the temple was waiting for the birth of Christ and praised the Lord for letting him live to see this moment of the lord's salvation. was he idolizing that over Christ or was his anticipation for the arrival of that day a reflection of his love for the Lord?

If we love the Lord we will love to see his glory. It is hypocrisy to be content with the way things are and pretend to love God.

It is hypocrisy to have no anguish over the people who die daily in their unbelief knowing that God's heart is to see them saved and then pretend to love him.

Only the devil will call the holy desire to see God taking back his rightful place in the heart of his creation an idol.

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Fifi

"The mission of SermonIndex is the preservation and propagation of classical Biblical preaching and the promotion of Christ-centered revival to this generation."

"That I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law" (Phil 3:8).

“I believe that the imperative need of the day is not simply revival, but a radical reformation that will go to the root of our moral and spiritual maladies and deal with causes rather than with consequences, with the disease rather than with symptoms” (Tozer).

In the book "Azusa Street", Frank Bartleman
Points out that the leaders strived to keep
Jesus front and center. Any true move of
God will always exalt and glorify the Lord
Jesus Christ.

We need revival in the church that will
once again awaken the saints to being
kingdom minded and fulfilling the great
commission. Only a revived church will
be empowered to do the work of the
ministry and bring in the endtime harvest.

The more that we get our eyes on Jesus
and His Word, the greater will be personal
revival in our own lives.

Mike

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Mike

Hello soldout,

It is really hard to know what Tozer was talking about and what he meant by disease, causes versus symptoms from the short quote you posted.

Read the article in this link if you want to know what he meant by these expressions and what kind of reformation and revival he was talking about.

http://www.thrive80.com/2011/08/wisdom-from-a-late-theologian/

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Fifi

I agree with you Mike. The more we draw nigh to God the more He will reveal His heart to us.

The two go hand in hand, but obviously for some they don't.

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Fifi

My guess Is that part of the problem has to do with our emphasizing revival in our talk but no action to achieve godly revival. As David Wilkerson famously said at the beginning of his most well known sermon a call to anguish: "I'm tired of hearing about revival. I'm tired of hearing of awakenings. These last day outpourings of the Holy Spirit. I've heard that rhetoric for fifty years. JUST RHETORIC" (emphasis added)

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Elias

Having an all consuming desire for Christ is revival. That is what we should pray for. that is what we desire.