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Praying for a move of God to ignite a generation of young people to stand and burn and shine for God, demonstrating His love and grace and real life power and relvancy and reality to those around them…. those that know their God will be strong and do exploits… that God would reveal Himself in realityand glory, and come and turn our hearts towards Him afresh… let it begin in me… …let it begin NOW! a generation loving God, empowered & pouring our lives our for His glory! our heart cries out Lord for you to come and move. We look around at the hurt and brokenness around us and know that you are the only one to give hope and remedy and rescue. we pray. we seek you Lord. we pray.
“be the spark that lights the fire” isaiah 64:2
“Our prayers lay the track down which Gods power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails.” – Watchman Nee
what is revival? charles finney says “It presupposes that the church is sunk down in a backslidden state, and a revival consists in the return of the Church from her backslidings and the conversion of sinners.”
aka it presupposes that the church is full of christians that are comfortable and complacent and need God to first work in them to restore them to himself and real christianity and then from there they will be fired up and passionate and full of purpose to reach the lost with the good news of God’s grace and love.
following are 5 thoughts on revival by charles finney – that i have added my own thoughts to.
1. The foundations of sin need to be broken up. REPENTANCE! A revival always includes conviction of sin on the part of the church. Backslidden christians cannot wake up and begin right away in the service of God without deep searchings of heart. The fountains of sin need to be broken up. In a true revival, Christians are always brought under such conviction; they see their sins in such a light that often they find it impossible to maintain a hope of their acceptance with God. It does not always go to that extent, but there are always, in a genuine revival, deep convictions of sin, and often cases of abandoning all hope.
- Revival begins in the heart of christians. As we turn to God and seek Him we see that we are failing and failing in our love for Him, as Rev 3 would describe us as being lukewarm. revival begins with us, the church. we are called to be ambassadors and light in teh world, to be salt and truth and demonstrating the love and grace of God, but often we water down our witness by compromise and sin. revival begins by stirring our hearts towards love and obeidence and relationship with God.
2. Revival is a new beginning of obedience with God. Just as in the case of a converted sinner, the first step is a deep repentance, a breaking down of heart, a getting down into the dust before God, with humility, and a forsaking of sin.
- for revival to begin in christians we must repent and seek God and ask for him to forgive us for our sins. it begins with prayer and honesty and confession and change. in the church. in christians. in the children of God.
3. Backslidden Christians will be brought to repentance. A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. Just as in the case of a converted sinner, the first step is a deep repentance, a breaking down of heart, a getting down into the dust before God, with deep humility, and a forsaking of sin.
- those who have left church will return to church. the prodigals will return home. God will speak to their hearts and they will have a desire to come back to church and deal with the hurts and fears and “stuff” taht caused them to leave church in teh first place. we must be ready to embrace and include and connect with the prodigals in our lives.
3. Christians will have their faith renewed. They love God freshly and newly – they are hot for God (revelation 3). This will lead them to labor zealously to bring others to Him. They will feel grieved that others do not love God, when they love Him so much. And they will set themselves feelingly to persuade their neighbors to give Him their hearts. So their love to men will be renewed. They will be filled with a tender and burning love for souls. They will have a longing desire for the salvation of the whole world. They will be in an agony for individuals whom they want to have saved–their friends, relations, enemies. They will not only be urging them to give their hearts to God, but they will carry them to God in the arms of faith, and with strong crying and tears beseech God to have mercy on them, and save their souls from endless burnings.
- as we are stirred to new love for God and draw near to him, first in our repenting and relating, we are filled with his passion and purpose for the lost. it becomes a priority.
4. A revival breaks the power of the world and of sin over Christians. It brings them to such vantage ground that they get a fresh impulse towards heaven; they have a new foretaste of heaven, and new desires after union with God; thus the charm of the world is broken, and the power of sin overcome.
- aka – it strenthens us christians towards obeidence not comprimise. when we fix our eyes upon God and love him, and read his word, we keep ourselves from sin. sin is a choice. it is a decision. and when we love God and abide in him and walk with him, we are less likely to make the choice for sin as we prefer in our hearts to choose to obey God and please him.
5. When the Churches are thus awakened and reformed, the reformation and salvation of sinners will follow. Their hearts will be broken down and changed. Very often the most abandoned profligates are among the subjects. Harlots, and drunkards, and infidels, and all sorts of abandoned characters, are awakened and converted. The worst of human beings are softened and reclaimed, and made to appear as lovely specimens of the beauty of holiness.
- well that is just plain cool! i like the way finney says that!
6. When a revival can be expected? A revival may be expected when Christians have a spirit of prayer for a revival. That is, when they pray as if their hearts were set upon it. When Christians have the spirit of prayer for a revival. When they go about groaning out their hearts desire. When they have real travail of soul.
we need to be stirred to pray for a move of God.
we need to put our own live right with God.
we need to be kindled and ignited with his passion and purpose for souls.
stir yourself.
have faith in God.
know Him and make Him known!
kindle a fire in me o my Lord God for your presence and your purposes
let me stand for you ways and let me stand and overcome
let me be intentional in pursuing you and encountering you
let me encounter you so that others too who need your presence and love and grace and healing and salvation and deliverance will encounter you
kindle a fire in me to see you move in my church in my land in my life
burn in me Lord that i might burn bright for others to see
stir me towards your purposes
dare me to follow you
tranform me into your likeness
let me be aware of spiritual things and contention
that i might live toe to toe with the enemy, taking ground and not being distracted by his influences and subtle oppressions
let me live with clarify and purpose and intention for your holy ways and knowing you
reveal to me who you are and let me hold onto that vision and reality, let that burn within me and keep the fire kindled
let encountering you not be a memory but be a reality
stir me
stir others
let me stir
move o Lord
move our hearts
stir us to pray
stir us to pray
stir us to pray
The age of the warriors has come again.
I stand watch on the wall and see them coming–men and women with faces bronzed and glowing in the light of the Son. I see young children marked by destiny who’ve willingly laid aside childish things for the wisdom of eternity. I see young adults, hiding in humility, pressing forward in power. They have received their assignment; they break rank for no one. The ground trembles beneath the weight of their march.
These are the holy ones. They have made a covenant with their eyes, and they stick to it. They are the definition of radical. They are an army marked by who they are, not who they could be. They are known more for their reality than for their potential.
They have embraced the power of pain–pressing into the ache, leaning into the groan. They know the strength that suffering perfects. It is a badge they wear with honor.
They beat their bodies into submission. Their spirits are honed sharp through fasting and prayer. They position themselves between the living and the dead. They fight with passion. They progress with persistence. They never miss their mark.
These are the ones who live in the wilderness. They are the modern-day Nazarites. They live to be extreme. Try to tell them they’re sacrificing too much–they won’t listen. They love with everything, and give everything out of that love. They answer solely to One.
They don’t fit in, but they recognize each other. They are fiercely loyal to their community and their calling. Find one and you will find others–shoulders pressed together, shields up, arms interlocked, hearts bound by blood. They make it their business to live for more than themselves. They join ranks with the faithful.
They shun labels, ignore titles, shrug off names. Life is their platform. Jesus is their goal. They are steady, relentless, strong, unstoppable. They always win because they never give up. Failure is not an option. Glory in success belongs exclusively to their Father.
Once you’ve heard their cry, you’ll never forget it. They rage with a yell that comes again, and again, and again, and again, and again from their core–from the emotions at the heart of God Himself. They’ve pledged their lives to a cause. They live in preparation and longing.
And their cry has been heard. The day is coming when the Great One will come, and He will not be held back from them. Everyone will see the reunion; it will crush ambivalence and engage every heart either for or against. And He will win.
Are you ready?
this is totally cut and paste from Thoughts From The Watchtower – a blog i have just discovered and am challenged by and enjoying! this post so resonated in my heart and spirit that i asked to pinch it and share it here – so i can file it easily and so you too can be stirred. my heart is stirred towards God and in asking Him to pour His Spirit out in revival – we need a move of God. Are you ready to stand amoung the ranks – to live with passion – to pray without giving up – living radically for Jesus. to me this fits with my post on Camouflage is for Sissies… the call has gone forth… Come Lord God and transform us!
We read in the biographies of our forefathers, who were most successful in winning souls, that they prayed for hours in private. The question therefore arises, can we get the same results without following their example? If we can, then let us prove to the world that we have found a better way; but if not, then in God’s name let us begin to follow those who through faith and patience obtained the promise. Our forefathers wept and prayed and agonized before the Lord for sinners to be saved, and would not rest until they were slain by the Sword of the Word of God. That was the secret of their mighty success; when things were slack and would not move they wrestled in prayer till God poured out His Spirit upon the people and sinners were converted.” Oswald J. Smith,
my heart is stirred at the moment to pray for a move of God. that God would move in our community and our land and our church and our lives. we NEED a move of God, nothing else will see people come and encounter His truth.
The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.
Dwight L. Moody
and I will try to be that woman….
by the grace and empowerment and work of God
God’s time for revival is the very darkest hour, when everything seems hopeless. It is always the Lord’s way to go to the very worst cases to manifest His glory. Andrew Gih
Revivals begin with God’s own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervor and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones…Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely! Andrew Bonar
“Nothing is better than relationship with Christ. Nothing is more exciting than sharing Christ with those we meet each week. May every single one of us be the kinds of people who “walk across the room”… reach out a hand in love…speak a kind word…share the message of Christ.
Your life has a ripple effect in the world around you. One act of faithfulness to God could impact the faith journey of so many others. One simple invitation could open the door for an entire family to experience a transformational relationship with Christ. One simple invitation could save a marriage. One simple invitation could change the trajectory of someones life and eternity.
Eternity will never be the same.”
i cant take the credit for above – but it resoantes with my heart… it is from epic velocity – a post called chasing daylight: door hangers, ripples. eternity.
we may think that what we do and who we are is small… but our ordinary life can have extraordinary effect as God works through us and as we live our lives to shine for him, demonstrating his love and grace.
it may seem like a simple conversation with a friend or a stranger, but it can have eternal consequences as it plants seeds and waters precious previous conversations about God and salvation and hope and grace and love. and God will speak to their heart and reveal himself to them.
we take the YES step – saying YES to God for him to use us. YES to walking across the room and starting a conversation. we say YES to be available to God to speak through and shine through. Today are your ready to be used by God? Today are you ready to change the world?
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