I have thought long and hard about the title to this post, and Mr. Happy, I pray you forgive me, but I want to suggest a slight change.
I think it should read:
ONLY those on the road to be totally dead to self can truly be revived.
Before any of you begin reaching for rotten tomatoes or worse, I pray you listen to what I am suggesting all the way through.
We want to look at a revival as a movement that brings excitement, a deeper reality of Jesus, goose bumps, tears, and of course miracles, gotta have those. Because of that mindset on what we thi9nk of revival, when I share about the coming revival among God's dear children, many turn off to listen to the glorious news that I have the privilege to share.
Revival, true last days shaking of everything that can be moved will be moved, revival, will have only one rival as to the amazement and depth and change that it wrought in those who were a part of it. PENTECOST. And you know what? What we are about to see in our midst will dwarf that known as the early church. Surprised?
Look, let me be clear, I am not espousing an "exciting" movement that will be centered in this country or that city. It will not be characterized by healings, gold dust, miracles, falling out under the spirit, or barking like dogs. It will be deep heart change which can only be characterized by new life springing forth when there was death. What we are all about to walk in is the truth of our being born again and what Jesus actually meant with those amazing words.
It will not be brought in by your preacher or mine. Likely, at the beginning, they might fight the truth that sets us free indeed, and fight it tooth and nail. But the fruit will be so evident, the draw on our hearts so pervasive, that all who love the light, yes, even those in the world who are not a part of the church as we know it, or who have left in disappointment, will ALL be revived.
There it is. Revival is NOT a movement of people. The revival God has shown me is coming will be a movement of Him on our HEARTS in millions of individual children. You see, revival is about your relationship and mine with our Father and His glorious Son. It is not ministries, or doctrines, or denominations, or scriptures. All these spring forth FROM God dwelling IN us, not just with us, but if that life flow is not something we are experiencing, pretty soon it is just dead Christian region, a shell needing desperately to be filled with LIFE. That is it, His life IN us, overshadowing everything.
It will not come about by praying for it for US. Again, the revival coming is not a "movement" for it is not a noun, but an action verb, God moving directly on our hearts, setting us free indeed as He has longed to do since the day we fell in love with Him.
It will come about by our seeking new life for OURSELVES. Even as Christian believers, if we are walking out our life in our old nature, our old man, we are brand new seeds at our core, but surrounded by grave clothes, just as surely as Lazarus was. It is called our flesh. Not our fleshly body, for that we have till Jesus comes for us, but fleshly natures, where self still reigns at our core.
I am not just talking "bad self", which some of us have, myself at the forefront. I am talking our self nature, "good" or "bad". Inside, each one of us have a self that still roams free, that at the end of the day we still see on our thrones.
But hear what God is saying today. We are being asked to lose that life. We are not asked to try harder, or to "buckle down and mean business". We are being asked to admit that in a thousand lifetimes, we can never get to the root of that rebel self who we have walked in as if it is totally natural, a self nature that ultimately refuses to bow the knee to let God do with us as He chooses. We say as we sing "All to Jesus I surrender, I surrender all". We lie. Will we now be honest enough to admit that?
I pray you, reader, do not wilt here. Of course you have failed a thousand times and see it as an impossibility for you. So have I. But what if I told you there is an "easy" yoke, where you can walk in victory...right now?
There is. But a lie has to be exposed first, and that is going to be hard..... and painful to expose and part ways with.
We do not grow from being fleshly men and women to being spiritual men and women, even given decades to work on it. The best we can do is have gussied up fleshes that still stink of death.
It is an either/or situation at its core. We cannot serve two masters, us and Jesus. It is time we surrendered all, even our lack of ability to surrender all, or our belief that we want to, but can't. We are asked to surrender all we can willingly lay on the alter and then lay down the rest. All.
We are being asked to plead with our God to make us willing by surrendering completey to His amazing covenant, one where He promises to make us totally obedient, fruit, laden children of light for all to see. What happens then, when millions find this glorious rest that remains for us, right here, right nowOh, we will call it revival, but the revival is when truth breaks through our unbelief and our limiting the holy one of Israel so that we truly KNOW that we are no longer in the flesh and owe it nothing... NOTHING.
Scared? Do not be, for that is where the exchange happens, our "putting off and our putting on". It is about to get amazing. Remember? Better than the book of Acts? That is true for what God has for you. Stay tuned.
I will also make this a teaching post and follow it up with more as God leads.
Blessings,
Gids
