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Give Me an R for Revival, Part 3

Revivals change people, communities, and even nations for the better. Every true revival in history has restored and improved such things as the moral compass of individuals, healing, care for the “lease of these,” business dealings, and even governments. Knowing what revival is (Part 1) and what not to do in stewarding it (Part 2) is important, but how do we get there in the first place? Revival is not something humans can conjure though no doubt some have tried. God is the originator and controller of the outpourings of His grace and supernatural moves, but is there something that moves the heart and hand of God? What can we do to position ourselves to petition for and to receive revival?

REMOVE THE HIGH PLACES

The high places in Scripture are places of worship, including worship of idols (Lev. 26:30). It’s easy to comprehend idolatry in the context of ancient paganism—Baal and Ashteroth. The idols of the twenty-first century are no less objectionable albeit subtle—entertainments, financial prowess, talents, celebrities, hobbies, excessive devotion to duties. These do not necessarily have to be things considered sinful. Even ministries can be idolatrous when they are more focused on doing good works than loving God. Good works must be the outcome of loving God, not the path to righteousness. Is there something occupies the center of your heart above the love of God? Is there something that draws your attention to the degree that communion with the Lord takes second place or gets short shrift? Idolatry is whatever takes your heart of adoration away from the lover of your soul. In that sense, it is much like adultery in a marriage as the metaphor of marriage betrayal is often used in Scripture to describe idolatry. Psalm 75:58 says, “For they provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their graven images.”

RESPECT

Besides the deep love of God, the second great commandment is to love one another. Stored up offenses only end in building thick walls that keep others at arms length. We are called to love one another as Jesus loves. That means we must release offenses with forgiveness to free ourselves. Even when no offense exists, respect one another as fellow heirs of the Kingdom and have the humble heart of a servant. Humility is sometimes misunderstood. It is not feeling unworthy. Rather, it is a deep knowing that each person is fearfully and wonderfully made, worthy of being loved. Honoring one another then becomes less difficult. Humility also displays an attitude of serving rather than selfish grasping. It may come as a shock, but none of us is the center of the universe. If we are seeking revival, it is sustained for as long as God wills and as we have love for one another.

REPENT

Revivals are characterized by much repentance—change of heart, change of direction, change of loyalties, change of attitudes and opinions. Change is rarely easy, especially when it’s about a well-entrenched character issue. Nevertheless, who would follow someone whose character is shady? Nobody has to tell people who have a conscience what sin is. They already know even when they don’t want to admit it. God knows every human heart, weakness, and frailty. His mercy and grace helps us overcome them as they come to the surface. That is repentance. We have the capacity to make change in areas where we are weak if we allow the Holy Spirit to show us, guide us, and strengthen us to make changes that are pleasing to God.

REJOICE

Scripture gives us 240 places where the word rejoice is used. Rejoicing is often connected to worship, particularly in song, but worship is not just singing along to inspiring songs. It is returning to a place of joy (re-joy: rejoice) again and again to seek the face of God, desiring His presence above all things. It gives strength in the weary places as well as in the celebrations. Rejoice in speaking, in songs, in work, in prayer, in worship. Rejoice in the little things as well as the mighty miracles. “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice (Phil. 4:4).”

REFLECT

Reflect on God’s character—His goodness, mercy, unfailing love, faithfulness, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence. Meditate on His Word and the richness it holds out for every situation. Pray without ceasing in divine communion in the secret place of the Most High. Selah.

I am convinced that revival starts as a seed in yielded individuals who have prepared the soil of their hearts to receive God’s grace. They allow the wind and breath of the Holy Spirit to overshadow them and fill them. They join with kindred hearts in pursuing revival and expressing it outwards to touch the world. May it be true of hungry hearts today seeking a new outpouring to bring light to this generation.

 

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GIVE ME an R for REVIVAL Part 2

In my last blog, I shared ingredients of revivals. My hope is that these elements stirred up greater desire to seek the Lord for His Will on the matter of revival. This Part Two is on the negative side of humanity and what we should avoid as we seek revival. Personally, I don’t think it is that easy to grieve God because He seems to tolerate a lot of immature stuff as we grow in grace and truth, but when God’s people act ugly, it does not please Him. God has shown us the path of love and we know the faith pleases Him. So when leaders of revival don’t take the love walk, you can be sure that faith is nowhere to be found and the outpouring of the Spirit will stop. How can the Spirit move freely when sin is in the camp?

Things that Hinder or Stop Revival

RANKLING

How many people do you know who are so annoying, you determine that at best, you will love them from a distance? My dad used to say that there are some people whose sole purpose on earth is to aggravate you. It was his way of lowering the blood pressure that wants to blow up. What if you had to work closely with such a person in stewarding a revival? Luke 6:31-33 says, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” Instead of rankling with one another, we need to stay focused on advancing the Kingdom. God’s Word gives ample advice on how to deal with factious people while maintaining a heart of love, compassion, deference, and acceptance. This is absolutely essential in the midst of revival when things can get messy.

RANCOR

Lack of love among leaders is a death knell for revival. When a leader holds bitterness, unforgiveness, or resentment toward another, the leader brings that darkness to the table. It is very difficult to see the best in a person when looking through the lens of bitterness. It prevents the person from appreciating the gift in that person and even more so, prevents the person from wholeheartedly partnering in the stewardship of revival. If there be an unforgiveness of past injustices or betrayals, they must be released for the perpetrator, and even more so for the victim’s sake so that both can walk in liberty.

RESENTMENT

Lack of respect among leaders is a huge issue in the hindrance of revival. It seems that every revival that was halted had some of these elements: wanting to control who does what, wanting to control the eventual “messiness” of manifestations, dealing with abuses in an unloving manner, wrangling over extra-biblical doctrines, mudslinging in public venues. If leaders want to steward revivals to last as long as the Spirit desires, then they need to walk in the love that is described in Scripture—deferring to one another, praying for one another, valuing the gifts in each other to the edifying of the Church as a whole, exhorting one another to good works, bringing correction in a redemptive manner, exemplifying the love of God.

RETREAT

Retreating from the Church universal into one’s own little circle does not sustain revival. The kind of parochialism that says, “Us four and no more,” consigns the move of God to the few instead of the whole body. That never lasts.

RESISTANCE

The skepticism that only looks to find fault in the unusual is both a lack of faith and a hand grenade to revival. Of course that does not mean we blindly accept anything. This points to the need to be strongly grounded in good theology. We can point to some unusual occurrences in every major revival—shaking, weeping, shouting, leaping, rolling, swooning, and more. When something happens that is outside of the usual paradigm and does not violate God’s Word, we should seek God’s wisdom first instead of slamming it simply because it’s not how we like things or how we usually do things.

RESIGNATION

Pride wears different suits. It may want to present a front of concern for uprightness but with a motive of pushing one’s own agenda. Pride also can look like resignation—leaving without a fuss, but still bearing a heart of resentment. It can also look like strained cooperation—just going along with things but interior unexpressed disagreement–also known as passive resistance. These attitudes can be masked for a while, but the truth always comes out. If revival is properly stewarded, transparency among its leaders must be a high priority. How can two walk together lest they agree (Amos 3:3)?

RAPACITY

As numbers grow, the accountability for monetary stewardship also grows, and it requires people of character and integrity to maintain a pure heart to manage resources. It may seem obvious, but the rapacity for personal gain in money or in numbers of people can never be the motivation for revival or for any other ministry for that matter. That always leads to scandal and never ends well.

 

These hindrances are in our control. We choose to either walk in the love of God or not, and the consequences of our choices are either blessings or not (Deut. 28). The last of this three part series is about preparation—what we do to position ourselves for God’s outpouring.

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GIVE ME an R for REVIVAL: INGREDIENTS, Part 1

In its most basic form, revival means to make alive again something that was once alive and now is or appears to be dead. Someone who comes out of a faint or coma is revived. When it appears on stage again, a Broadway musical is revived from its earlier premier. Fashion designs that mirror past decades are revived with a new twist. Golden Oldies concerts feature revivals of the popular music of decades past.

Meaning of revivals in church contexts can get a little murky. We have individuals experiencing personal revival. Individual churches sometimes experience a spiritual outpouring. Denominational, non-denominational, and inter-denominational spiritual outpourings have occurred and are sometimes called revivals, sometimes awakenings, and other times renewals, which adds to the confusion. Resurgence of interest in things of the Spirit extending to non-churched and non-believing people in a society is also called revival, which is probably a misnomer because they had not been initially spiritually alive (hold on—I’m not jumping into that theological puddle just yet).

From the numerous monographs, articles, newspaper reports, and biographies on revival and revivalists I’ve read, I have come to think of revivals in terms of their effects, whether individual or corporate, more so than trying to define it by longevity or regional influence. I’ve devised a list of ingredients of revival in Part One of this series. My belief is that revivals are sovereign moves of God at His time for His purposes, but we have a part to play in earnestly seeking revival. Is it possible to hinder or stop revivals by what people do or don’t do. Things that hinder or stop revivals are in Part Two. Furthermore, if revival is something we long for, what are the things that position people to receive an outpouring of the Spirit, that is, when something dramatic and different happens to change people and paradigms? Things that position people to receive what God loves to give is in Part Three of the series.

Ingredients of Revival

RENEWAL

The language of revival can be a bit tricky. Sometimes a movement is called a renewal, especially in mainline denominations. It gives one the sense that what is occurring has happened before, has not really been forgotten, but just has not been given the attention it should. That’s pretty much the story of the Charismatic Movement within the context of denominations that embraced it. Be that as it may, the idea of renewing a relationship with the triune God that may have been neglected is a good thing and central to all revivals.

REPENTANCE

Feeling sorry, guilty, or regret for doing wrong is not repentance. It’s only the first step. A sense of shame, guilt, or regret can and should lead one to make a change. If it is only to stuff these feelings into the bag of low self-esteem, it only serves to hurt a person even more. Holding on to guilt, shame, and regret with no recourse is hopeless and fruitless. As Bob Newhart says in his classic and hilarious tv clip, “Stop it!” Repentance is a better way. The word for repentance is metaneo, means a change. It could be a change of direction, a change of thinking, or a change of behavior. Knowing the right direction and actually following it leads to transformation. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 3:2).” In revivals, we find that repentance, change of direction toward God and His Kingdom, is frequently a theme and desire of multitudes. A deep awareness of the holiness of God in His Presence saturates the atmosphere.

REDEMPTION

In revivals, the person and work of Jesus comes to the forefront. Jesus, the Redeemer, the One who died, was buried, arose from the dead, and ascended to accomplish the redemption of humanity. Because of His sacrifice, we have direct access to the throne of heaven. It was Jesus “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). During revivals, the realization of the One who died on one’s behalf leads multitudes to receive His love, forgiveness, redemption, and welcome into God’s family.

RECLAMATION

To reclaim something is to take back what has been stolen. In revival, we have renewed awareness of what God intended for us and how far short we have fallen due to what the enemy of our souls has robbed. We come to a greater awareness of the extravagant love of God. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). Revivals are our opportunities to reclaim the goodness of God that may have slipped away, and even take our relationship with God to a new and deeper place.

REFORMATION

With every revival, God brings a message to the Church, corrects a theological position, or gives a course correction that may have gone awry through tradition or misinterpretation of Scripture. Past revivals have emphasized salvation, holiness, the charismata (gifts of the Spirit), and worship. God has a wonderful way of using revivals to reform how the Church thinks and lives—what to add and what to drop. Major reformation of the Church took place in the sixteenth century, in the eighteenth century, and again in the twentieth century that changed theological perspectives, worship styles and just about every kind of Church life activity. Revivals have a way of reforming what we do, why we do it, and how to do it.

RESTORATION

Revivals also restore fundamental beliefs and doctrines, the basis of reformation. In this last century we have seen the restoration of the gifts, signs and wonder, miracles, healings, and revelation of the authority believers have in Christ. These things have always been available and in operation, but revival brings them to our awareness so that we can engage in what God has for us. It’s all good.

REVELATION

The realities of the Kingdom of Heaven are for us to know and live. The prophetic realm is about hearing from God and speaking forth according to His direction and guidance. It could be telling His Will according to what He has said in His Word (Scripture), confirming His Will, and it may even tell of His Will for the future for an individual, group, or the wider community both churched and non-churched. We can expect revelation because we can have intimate relationship with God where we commune heart to heart. During revivals, the importance of revelation is heightened and sought so that the move or outpouring of God can be properly stewarded to bless.

REVOLUTION

Lastly, past revivals have shown that they influence secular aspects of society. Business dealings are cleaned up, concerns for justice is increased, and greater attention is given to care for the poor, the widow, and the orphan. A great example is the Norwegian revival led by Hans Nielson Hauge, where whole industries began that transformed the economic landscape of Norway. Of more recent times we hear of marketplace ministries where the supernatural power of God is taken outside of the church to bless communities. Revivals should change the church, but even more so, change society. As we see evil expanding, we desire God’s revolution to bring sanity and peace in a world gone crazy. Lights shine very brightly in deep darkness.

 

The next part of this series will deal with the components that either hinder or stop revival. As we understand what not to do, we may have a better shot at doing a better job of stewarding the gifts of God.

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The Cry of Revival, Part 2

I love reading about revivals and awakenings. I notice that some last only 2-3 years, some a little longer. They are characterized by much enthusiasm and charismatic fervor. Historical accounts of shaking, weeping, falling, laughing, shouting, groaning, and other unusual physical manifestations people experience are found in every recorded revival and awakening (e.g. First and Second Great Awakenings, Cane Ridge Revival, Welsh Revival, Azusa Street Revival, Latter Day Rain Movement, Jesus Movement, Toronto Blessing). Every revival has shown a degree of “messiness” in terms of people expressing physical manifestations when touched by God. Stewarding a revival has its challenges and requires leaders to humbly seek God for guidance and to walk in love for one another.

Revival is not earned; it is a gift from heaven. It always starts within in the Body of Christ and then moves outward. Revivals typically occur where hungry people humble themselves and seek the indwelling presence of God. They seek revival, not as a reward, but as a welcome to His sovereign move on behalf of a dying world. What do hungry people look like?

  • They seek personal repentance (change of direction) to live in humility and holiness.
  • They move from complacency to compassion—to see needs and do something about it.
  • They move from compromise to commitment, from surface or occasional participation to passion for Christ and the Kingdom of God.
  • They move from criticism to loving confrontation. Criticism seeks punishment or retribution, but godly confrontation of sin (not attacking the person) seeks redemption—to provide blessing and transformation.
  • They pray and seek the face of God for His will, plans, and purposes.
  • They worship with complete abandon.

Does your heart cry out for revival—for the transformation of people and communities? Are you willing to prepare your own heart, mind, and gifts to serve in the coming revival? Are you willing to burn brightly as the light of the world? Are you willing to be the salt of the earth–a messenger of cleansing, preservation, and flavor to those who are held captive by sickness, discouragement, or oppression? We cannot earn God’s favor for revival. It is a sovereign move of God. But we can position ourselves with humility to stand in faith believing for His visitation with conviction that when it arrives, we will jump into the river.

 

Copyright 2015 by Eva Benevento. All rights reserved.

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The Cry for Revival, Part 1

 

Teaching sixth grade literature was one of my favorites. One book we read stands out as the kids’ and my best loved, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor, a deeply touching story about an African-American family in the south during the Jim Crow era. A scene in the book tells of the annual revival held at the church. It was described a joyous gathering of families from all over the county where they enjoyed powerful preaching and a picnic afterwards. Whenever we arrived at that chapter, all of the sixth graders had a picnic out on the school lawn, and it was always a highlight of the year as it did the families in the book. Some kids had a sense of what the book’s revival was about; others had no clue, and so defining it while keeping it context of literature was a challenge.

Defining revival is not a simple matter even in church circles. For some it has come to mean special church services where invited speakers encourage the congregation to grow in faith. For others, it has broader meaning. The word revive literally means to make alive again from something that appears to be lifeless; to recover; to stimulate; to breathe life into that which seems dead. In religious context, revival has been defined as the restoration of the power of God in His people and recovery of His purposes on earth to save, heal, and set captives free. Still others see revival as the recommitment of believers who have become complacent and have compromised in holiness. It is the re-igniting of the fire in congregations who have allowed the passion of their first love to diminish. All of these have validity in light of history.

Words like renewal and awakenings are often used synonymously with revival further complicating the matter. For the sake of clarity, I will make an attempt to differentiate renewals from awakenings. Renewals tend to be visitations of God within an existing church community, either large or small. Awakenings are broader, having impact of society. It is when the sparks of revival transforms whole communities and cultures; when Kingdom realities so transform individuals that they effect how they live in their families, how they do business, how they do entertainment, how they do education, how they do politics. Revival, then, is a sovereign move of God that results in either renewal or awakenings.

Historically, we can point to some conditions that seem to precede revivals.

  • Moral decline in society: No clear standards of living. The defining of what is right and wrong becomes vague. Wrong is seen as right and right as wrong. Christian beliefs are seen as hostile.
  • Moral decline in the church: Acceptance of sin as merely poor decisions. Church is a good place where one can learn ethical behavior and engage in traditions. Devaluing of the supernatural as natural phenomenon.
  • Hunger among God’s people who cry out for visitation and transformation.
  • Prophetic utterance among true prophets: “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

William Seymour and Charles Parham prophesied about a coming massive revival that will occur about a hundred years after the Azusa outpouring. Smith Wigglesworth prophesied about a huge worldwide revival as one never seen before. Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ) prophesied about a coming billion-soul revival. Many prophets of recent years have declared that a soon coming revival will bring in a billion souls into the Kingdom. If they are right, it means that if we consider 1 pastor to every 100 new souls (not to mention ones that already exist), we will need 10 million new pastors to care for these new souls. It roughly amounts to 15% of the world’s population. Are we prepared to take care of so many new souls? Are you getting the impact of these numbers?

Many today are prophesying about revival—repentance and transformation, both the individual and society. It is not just about physical manifestations when touched by God, but about deep transformation of individuals, both backsliders and new believers, and even more so, about the transformation of communities – how we live and every other areas of life including how we engage in media, arts, entertainment, education, government, and business, infusing them with Kingdom principles and realities.

Read more in Part 2.

 

Copyright 2015 by Eva Benevento. All rights reserved.

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David, What Were You Thinking?

When you hear the name David in a Bible context, what usually comes to mind is the shepherd boy who annihilated the giant Goliath with a rock. Pretty impressive, huh! David’s journey from the slingshot to the throne is well documented in the Bible. He was a heroic warrior, led armies to victory over and over again, not a perfect record, but as good as it gets. He has a problem with Saul, the first king, who wants to get rid of him, but David’s overall honorable behavior wins the favor of God and man. He becomes the rightful king.

David’s deeds, however, were not always so honorable. An ugly affair with Bathsheba lets us know that he was not dropped out of heaven onto earth to be exalted as the perfect man (2 Samuel 11 and 12 ). Bathsheba was the hottie who lived next door. One night David goes out for a walk around the roof of his house, when he spots Bathsheba next door taking a bath. Vavoom—nothing left to the imagination! I always wondered about this. Who takes a bath without at least covering the window? For that matter, who walks around the roof at night?

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Paul, A Man on a Mission

The church was only a few months old after Pentecost. Stephen was a leader in the First Church of the Redeemed — not really — the church was not that organized yet so it didn’t have a name or denomination. He was preaching and performing signs and wonders, just being a disciple like Jesus said to do, which caused a lot of attention. The speed of word of mouth is amazing, kind of like the Internet for the first century. Just get a few people miraculously healed and a backlash of naysayers call you a heretic. And that’s the nice word. Critics spring up over night like a fungus. No different today as it was back then, so why should it take us by surprise.

The Synagogue of Freedman were outraged at Stephen’s ministry and not only maligned him, they spread libelous rumors and paid people to lie in order to get him arrested. It didn’t end up well for Stephen. After a solid defense, the religious brethren stoned him to death, but not before the false witnesses did something peculiar. They took off their robes and laid them at the feet of Saul, (name later changed to Paul). This is a rather peculiar detail to include, and yet, why would that detail have any importance? Why would the stoners bother to first of all disrobe, and then make Saul the coat check guy?

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Yeah, God, But . . .

God talks to a man through a burning bush (Exodus 3 and 4). A BURNING bush, not just an ordinary shrub, although that would have been scary enough. I don’t know about you, but if I saw a burning bush, I might be looking for a fire extinguisher or at least be dialing 911, but more than likely I’d be making a fast exit far away. And a voice coming out of it talking to you? Could you hear Moses saying to himself, “What was in that lunch I just ate?” He pretty quickly figured out that nobody was hiding behind the bush playing a prank.

So he’s having a conversation with God and getting the download on what God wants him to do. He hears God, and I don’t think his negotiating with God was a matter of not wanting to obey God. It was about self-confidence and fear of failure. He finds out that he has to round up a gazillion Jews, organize a walkout on their “employers,” and get them out of town for a fast getaway with the riches of Egypt. Are you kidding me? Most people agonize for days on what to pack for a seven-day Caribbean cruise. We’re talking about massive relocation. It would be like telling the entire population of Philadelphia to pack up and get out of town—permanently and NOW. Traffic jam does not even remotely describe the chaos.

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