IS REVIVAL POSSIBLE?
What will it take ? Why does the concept of revival seem so foreign to us? Why does it seem almost impossible?
I mentioned in an earlier post about attending a weekly PRAYER MEETING at a church near my house. The one thing I did not mention was the fact that the pastor at this church continues to pray for revival. I think he means business because he also preaches with boldness and conviction. This pastor also is constantly encouraging the congregation to pray. He wants the church to pray for revival. He is not waiting around for someone else to do it, he's doing it himself. I like to hang around a guy like that. I'd like to pray with someone like that. I haven't seen a pastor with that kind of hunger for revival in a long time.
I find it interesting when studying REVIVALS of the past how two elements were consistently present:
1. Prayer, prayer, and prayer... did I mention prayer?
2. An enormous wide spread conviction of sin. Old fashioned, (understood by ANY generation even postmodern) conviction of sin.
The below excerpt from Stephen Olford confirms this very fact:
The Hour of Desperation!
"It is my conviction that we are never going to have revival until God has brought the church of Jesus Christ to the point of desperation. As long as Christian people can trust religious organization, material wealth, popular preaching, shallow evangelistic crusades and promotion drives, there will never be revival. But when confidence in the flesh is smashed, and the church comes to the realization of her desperate wretchedness, blindness and nakedness before God, then and only then will God break in.
Yes, there must be the point of desperation but there must also be the point of intercession. Oh, that God would bring us to this place of intercession! We cannot think or talk, let alone taste of revival, without intercessory prayer. Indeed, the reason for an unrevived church in the last analysis is the sin of prayerlessness.
Certainly there are individuals who are praying for revival, and God is graciously meeting them at the point of their need, but where are the prayer groups, where are the companies of intercessors, where are the churches united in an agonizing that God would rend the heavens and come down and cause the mountains of hindrance and sin and unbelief to flow before His presence? Yes, there is only one thing that will save us in this hour of desperation and that is prayer."
-Stephen Olford
We don't need a Second Reformation. We need a revival. I'm not an expert in it. I don't know of any church-growth method or program which could prompt it. I am just trying to learn from the Lord how to pray for revival and be aware of my sin and pursue holiness in his sight. The whole revival thing is up to the Holy Spirit how and when He is ready.
But it would be awesome and I believe it is still possible today, but I don't see it ever happening if the church does not pray.
just something to think about... and maybe pray about.
-KTO
I mentioned in an earlier post about attending a weekly PRAYER MEETING at a church near my house. The one thing I did not mention was the fact that the pastor at this church continues to pray for revival. I think he means business because he also preaches with boldness and conviction. This pastor also is constantly encouraging the congregation to pray. He wants the church to pray for revival. He is not waiting around for someone else to do it, he's doing it himself. I like to hang around a guy like that. I'd like to pray with someone like that. I haven't seen a pastor with that kind of hunger for revival in a long time.
I find it interesting when studying REVIVALS of the past how two elements were consistently present:
1. Prayer, prayer, and prayer... did I mention prayer?
2. An enormous wide spread conviction of sin. Old fashioned, (understood by ANY generation even postmodern) conviction of sin.
The below excerpt from Stephen Olford confirms this very fact:
The Hour of Desperation!
"It is my conviction that we are never going to have revival until God has brought the church of Jesus Christ to the point of desperation. As long as Christian people can trust religious organization, material wealth, popular preaching, shallow evangelistic crusades and promotion drives, there will never be revival. But when confidence in the flesh is smashed, and the church comes to the realization of her desperate wretchedness, blindness and nakedness before God, then and only then will God break in.
Yes, there must be the point of desperation but there must also be the point of intercession. Oh, that God would bring us to this place of intercession! We cannot think or talk, let alone taste of revival, without intercessory prayer. Indeed, the reason for an unrevived church in the last analysis is the sin of prayerlessness.
Certainly there are individuals who are praying for revival, and God is graciously meeting them at the point of their need, but where are the prayer groups, where are the companies of intercessors, where are the churches united in an agonizing that God would rend the heavens and come down and cause the mountains of hindrance and sin and unbelief to flow before His presence? Yes, there is only one thing that will save us in this hour of desperation and that is prayer."
-Stephen Olford
We don't need a Second Reformation. We need a revival. I'm not an expert in it. I don't know of any church-growth method or program which could prompt it. I am just trying to learn from the Lord how to pray for revival and be aware of my sin and pursue holiness in his sight. The whole revival thing is up to the Holy Spirit how and when He is ready.
But it would be awesome and I believe it is still possible today, but I don't see it ever happening if the church does not pray.
just something to think about... and maybe pray about.
-KTO
posted by kennyo at 2:28 PM
1 Comments:
prayer is a must !
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