Revival

I’ve been contemplating revival, the need for it and the prerequisites for obtaining it. There are many scripture passages that speak of restoration, whole-heartedly going after God, and seeking His face and from what I’ve gathered they all have two things in common. True revival only comes from God and only to truly repentant hearts. “A broken and contrite heart you will not despise, O God.” I cannot expect to see a sovereign move of God in our cities and churches unless I first seek a true move of God in my own heart and home. Revival requires a turning back to God from wickedness (the heart of man is eternally wicked). You say you have not turned away from God? How can anyone know if they have turned from God? Who am I to say that we have turned our hearts from seeking after Him? There is evidence of the presence of God found in personal and corporate revival. It’s not falling out in the spirit, speaking in tongues, prophesying, healing, deliverance, salvations, etc., although these things may take place as a result of revival. The evidence of true revival is a holy response to the physical presence and awareness of the holiness of God. No man can stand in the presence of a holy God without becoming immediately aware of the spiritual condition of their heart and becoming aware of the spiritual condition of those around us. Isaiah, Ezekiel, John, Legion were all aware they were in the midst of the presence of a holy God. Do we fear God? Are we in awe as we stand (not literally) in His presence? Are we genuinely afraid to sin for fear of being separated from Him? How do we respond when others take the name of the Lord in vain or blaspheme His Holy Spirit or make the things of God common? Does it make us cringe? Do we have a strong desire to cleanse and remove ourselves from the midst of the corruption found in movies, music, intimate gatherings, even those found in the house of God? Do gossip, back-biting, arguments, course jesting and wrong teaching make us fear immediate and long-term consequences? I do not believe God is standing in heaven waiting for us to mess up (not that He’d have to wait long) so that He can punish us, but long-suffering is not an eternal attribute; it will eventually come to an end. Sin demands payment! Jesus paid that debt, but if we continue to sin, crucifying Him over and over in favor of following after our own lusts and desires, then our actions will inevitably bring about the consequence which sin demands; the payment of death.

Revival means to revive. You cannot re-vive something if it was never alive to begin with. Revival is for the saved; those saints who have grown cold, lukewarm, complacent, apathetic, separated from their relationship with a Holy Father. The only way to receive a reviving is to realize our condition and turn to Father God with godly sorrow which leads to repentance, ask for and receive His forgiveness and restoration into a right relationship with Him. “Search me and know me and see if there be any wicked way in me.” I cannot place judgment on those around me as to whether or not they have been truly revived in their hearts, but I can’t judge the fruit of their labors; their works; their speech. Do we edify? Even in correction; is the motive to restore right relationship with the Father? Do we honor God in every deed? Is there a reverential fear/awe of God when we come together? These determine our spiritual atmosphere. We are not ignorant creatures by design; by choice we ignore the evidence of our spiritual condition. God states, “Be ye holy, for I Am Holy”. We must set ourselves apart from the world and flee every appearance of evil. How will we be distinguished from the rest of the world if we look just like them, act just like them, sound just like them, smell just like them? There is nothing in us that should resemble this temporary, dying world except for the dying part. We must die to ourselves, crucifying the flesh that is corrupt, and walk in a new, revived life of Christ through whom we can do all things.

Nature Walk-Part 7

The Impatience of Knowing God

As we’ve seen through His word and nature, God can reveal Himself in so many different ways; not just to show how infinite His ways are, but to relate to us through them. It is important that we pay attention to those we happen to notice and learn to appreciate them as unique. He has designed the best possible way of communicating with each of us specifically. No one feels as we feel, thinks like we think, needs or responds the way we do. We are unique and require a unique God who knows us intimately the way no one else can, not even we ourselves. Search Him out. See for yourself who God wants to be to and for you. Don’t just rely on someone else’s description or interpretation of Him. He wants to take you on a journey of understanding, of relationship with Him. Learn to walk in the cool of the day with Him. David said, “Early will I seek You, Lord”. That doesn’t just mean in the morning, it also means early in our life; before it is “too late”! There will come a time when it will be “too late”. Don’t wait till you have regrets before you start seeking Him. “Regret”, “if only” and “could’ve-should’ve-would’ve been” will only be wasted emotions spent too late to be effective. Now is the time of your salvation. Now is the Dawn of your Morning. Now, while it is still called Day, is the time to know the One who truly knows you. Don’t wait! This is the one time in all our lives we will be encouraged to be impatient, zealous, anxious (yet not fearful) to do something; to seek Him and to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Run hard after Him and don’t be satisfied with anything less than a face-to-face encounter with the One True God! Yahweh! Adonai! Abba, Father! Holy One of Israel! Ancient of Days! The Only One who truly loves you!

Nature Walk-Part 6

ELEMENTAL PATH

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2

I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.' Isa 45:7

And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
Luke 8:24

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Rev. 7:1

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. Psalm 63:1

He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries. Psalm 135:7

Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? Job 38:28

The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. Exodus 24:17
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deut. 4:24
For our God is a consuming fire.Hebrews 12:29Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you. Deut. 9:3

Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that comes from His mouth. He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth. After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard. God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. Job 37:2-6


Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word Psalm 148:8

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8

Nature Walk-Part 5

IN THE SHELTER OF A TREE

Then Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds come and find shelter among its branches." Luke 13:18-19

My favorite place as a child was in the top of a very old tree. I was about five or six years old (back when your parents didn’t have to worry too much about your whereabouts), when I’d go to the back of my grandparents property and climb as high as I could get before the branches began to bend under my weight. The low-lying limbs were very thick and close enough together for my then short legs to clamber up. I would climb so high that I could see over other trees into the horse pasture behind us and beyond, and would sit for hours daydreaming. I can still remember the smell of the surrounding pines and the sound of birds, frogs and crickets, singing symphonies solely for my enjoyment. In that tree, the world stood still so that I could appreciate its beauty. Although I didn’t know “the” God on a personal level yet; in that tree was where He first introduced Himself to me. I imagined that there had to be someone who had thought up such wonderful sights, smells and sounds and would even talk to this unknown Person telling Him how beautiful everything was. I felt that the whole world had been created for me to appreciate it. I first learned to pray in that tree even though I had not been churched or taught who God was or that there even was a God. And though I had never read a Bible or specifically heard anyone out loud, I felt that He had spoken back to me. I would never forget those words and later found that they had been spoken long ago and written down for all creation to discover for themselves; words that I had cherished from childhood and carried into adulthood as my very own. When I learned who God was, I understood what He had done to bring me into relationship with Him. Those trees, in the woods behind my grandparent’s house, became witnesses that testified of an Awesome God drawing a small, insignificant and lonely child into an eternal, Paternal relationship with her Creator. God had involved Himself with me. Every chance I got I would run out through the woods and climb as high as I could get to experience what I experienced at that first ascent. I expected what had happened to me the first time, to happen every time, and I was not disappointed. A tiny seed, planted into the imagination and heart of this child became a tree of knowledge that lead me on a journey to know my Father, God.

The next time you find yourself out in the woods, imagine yourself in the very top of one of those trees, as close to God as you can possibly get.

Pay attention to the sounds of creation singing of the Creator and the aroma of His presence in your surroundings.

Appreciate what He has done to get your attention and tell Him how grateful you are.

He will answer you with secrets He’s long waited to share with you.

Nature Walk-Part 4

ROCK & ROLL!

Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Exodus 17:6

"Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals."
Numbers 20:8

Rocks are simple things, yet they hold a great many responsibilities. They can be spoken to, struck, stacked as witnesses, and used as weapons. They yield water, give support and offer shelter. The church has been built on one and yet Another provides salvation.

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But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." And the Lord said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Ex 33:20 -23

To be hidden in the cleft of the rock, being sheltered from death by awe, and have God Almighty, the Ancient of Days, reveal the lattermost part of His glory is a fearful thing to be sure. And God still wants us to know Him. All we can stand at a time is what He has done and hints at doing in the future, but to experience it up close and personal, face to face, would surely cause our death, for no man can see God and live. He has provided a "Way" for us to experience Him on a personal level that will not kill us, through His Son, the “Rock” on which we stand, He will consider us on His behalf.

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But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent the stones would immediately cry out."
Luke 19:40

And so, we are again presented with another choice; to praise Him of our own accord or let the rocks cry out in our place.

All Heaven and earth already praises Him, for they have never questioned their existence or their Creator.

We have so much to learn from creation, we should not be outdone by rocks!