REVIVAL

REVIVAL  “WORTH CONSIDERING”  5/27/19

When a young Christian I was taught that big gatherings with a famous speaker was at the very heart of a great revival.   That all of those souls coming together was obviously a great revival.   But as I look through history it seems that real revivals changed the whole landscape of a town, county, state and even sometime a nation.  It was a very hot fire that burned up a lot of trash and garbage.

James A. Stewart put it this way:  “”Revival is the assemblies of God manifesting the oneness of the
membership in the mystical, supernatural body of Christ, delivered
from denominational bigotry.  Revival is torrents of living water flowing out of the individual believer. 

Revival is the recognition of the ministry of insignificant members  of the body, and deliverance from idol worship of the more prominent members who are in the limelight."     From my perspective,  Revival is the results of the Holy Spirit anointing some one or a few with a vision to start a fire in the middle of nowhere in a rain storm.  Most of the "Religious Theater Church" is on death row seeking to preserved their stuff.  A a lot of folks are tired of religion and are spiritually cold, wet and hungry for some reality with GOD.    So Revival starts when some folks gather together and do what Jesus set the example to do and you start with a fresh start.  At first you get some smoke and only a tiny fire in the Holy Spirit.  But if care is taken not to put too much wet stuff on the fire but mostly dry kindling then soon the fire becomes hot and growing.  And as long as the kindling is dry enough to catch on fire then the fire will grow bigger and bigger until it runs out of fuel.  Fire has no limit if there is fuel.  When really hot, then even big wet logs can be added and the fire will dry them out and catch them on fire as well.  Better to burn out than rot out any day....don't you think?    Some of the basic issues for enjoying a revival are in learning to work together in a John 17 UNITY in: Love, Faith, Holiness, God's Truth, Humility, Obedience and all that kind of good stuff.  The Holy Spirit wants to have a Revival all the time.  But HE has a hard time finding souls who are up for the change to allow HIM to work with them to make them like Jesus,  1 John 4:17. Seems not even enough kindling to start a small fire most of the time. So really, Revival is always up to God's people getting into the New Testament and working through the commandments of Christ Jesus in loving unity for real.    A friend, in 1955, Bob Newkirk, once told me of a vision that he had.  " There was a very big banyan tree in the middle of a large meadow absolutely full of beautiful daises on a beautiful afternoon.  Hundreds of people were gathered sitting in a long line around the tree making a lovely daisy chain,  it was long and beautifully done.  Also there was a road running around the meadow that ran behind the tree with a high volume of traffic in the distance.  Only problem was that the bridge was out behind the tree, the cars could not see and so they were all going over the edge into the big canyon below.  Once in a while you could hear someone scream and several would get up to go try to stop the traffic but the other folks in the daisy chain would calm them down and get them back to work on the daisy chain."  I never forgot this vision and have a picture in my study with the Cross of Christ as a bridge over that canyon.  The story sure kicked me in the butt to try to do what I could.  He gave me another one also that he had on unity, but for another time.    There is but one CHURCH of Christ Jesus and all who love and obey HIM are members.        Yours, in HIS great love,   Ken<><   www.Trinity-Aloha.org