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How to have a Revival

How to have a Revival

Down through the centuries there have been a number of revivals: John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, and D. L. Moody (just to name a few) each had revivals in their day; while the revivals were short 1 to 2 years yet the effects on the world in that day were enormous. The effects of revivals last for many years; we need to be very thankful for the past revivals as much of the holiness we see in the church today came out of past revivals.
Most of those who had revivals did not know how they started; they only knew a few people had tremendous burdens and gave themselves to pray night and day and the revival was born. When the revival started they would organize prayer meetings; other meetings; committees and other things to improve it and or keep it going and could not understand why it began to die.
Charles Finney wrote books on how to have revivals after his revival had died; yet it did not bring it back. I read some of Charles Finney’s revival books and realized he did not know how his own revival started or how to keep it going.
Just about every church I have been in; in the last 20 years I keep hearing about revival; yet try as they might the revivals don’t seem to come. I have seen churches have prayer meetings; have fastings; have visiting ministers; and go to meetings in other places where they think are revivals and try to bring them home with them, yet revival doesn’t come: all our righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s sight.
What are the ingredients that make a revival?
First we must understand that we are Kings Kids and everything we need has already been given to us; all we have to do is reach out and take them.
Many are trying to reach out and take them but fail, what is wrong? If you want to fill a glass it must first be empty: Peoples lives are so full of television, movies, sports, music, expensive houses, expensive clothes, expensive cars, and the list can on and on. If you are to have a revival you must empty the world out of your life: God and the world are enemies and they cannot be poured into the same vessel.
Second: Revival cannot come by anything done with the five senses as they only hinder revival: songs, kinds of music, food, perfumes and incense, decorations Corporate prayer, dancing, flags, and touching; all tend to hinder rather than bring in revival.
Not only worldly things must be removed; but sometimes even good things like food and drink that may have a hold on us: anything compulsive like: coffee, tea, soft drinks, fruit juices that may otherwise be good for you; but when you have a compulsion to drink them, they take God’s place of leadership in your life. Compulsive eating (bulimia) or fasting (anorexia) can take God’s place of leadership, and become idols.
Meet with God early in the morning before earthly things that are detected through the five senses are activated: do not let yourself be distracted. The tools for revival are faith, commitment, humility, and surrender; without which revival is impossible.
Third: you must fast and pray; people are already doing that but in a wrong way? Our fasting and praying are all done wrong. We fast food thinking that it will cause God to hear us when He already, always hears us. We are to fast food if a particular food or drink has a hold on us; but what we need to fast are the things of the world that have a hold on us.
We tend to pray publicly where there are people that are filled with the world and have little faith; one Achan can destroy the power of the whole meeting. When we pray we are more conscious of people around us than the Lord. We pray long beautiful prayers rather than short, and to the point; long prayers are only for your closet.
Prayer for revival should be only 2 or 3 persons; totally in the Spirit; with full consecration; surrendering everything you own to the Lord; complete separation from the world; and doing nothing to please ones own self.
When revival starts there must be at least 2 or 3 who will continue keeping the same commitment that started it.
I feel the need to add a little to this word, because I see people trying so hard to have a revival yet they seem to be beating the air.
I have said that any Christian can have a revival at any time, there is nothing mysterious about it: Moses said, and Paul repeats it, in Romans 10: 8, “The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is the word of faith which we preach”; but to have faith to have the revival you want will require you to spend much quality time with Christ.
If you are a Christian you can have a revival in probably five minutes: bow your head and tell God you surrender everything to Him and surrender to all His dealings in your life; but I tell you that you will be rejected by those who are only praying for revival.
King Saul (who did not do what God said) rejected David (who did what God said) and when David was missing from the King’s table, Saul thought he was unclean.
What is awrong with public prayer meetings? To answer that question I must go back to Genesis: when Adam and Eve sinned Satan injected into them the most deadly poison that has ever been on this earth. Satan injected Adam and Eve with the deadly poison of pride and unbelief, the most deadly substance known to man.
I am told that radioactive substances such as Radon, Plutonium, and Uranium are so poisonous that a spoonful can kill a whole city; but pride and unbelief have killed every person on earth except maybe two or three. The church is so full of pride and unbelief that in virtually every service, it is served up as standard fare: public prayers are prayed for the approval of men; when a person does a thing for the Lord they tell about it for the approval of men: this inoculates them with pride and unbelief preventing revival; before doing a thing see if Jesus did it that way: if you want a revival do all things the way Jesus did it, and do not deviate from it.
How can you tell if you are doing what God is telling you to do? A person who is surrendered to God and is doing what God says is already revived; if you are not having a revival than you are not doing what God is telling you to do: every time a king who did what God said, and got the people to do what God said, they had a revival; but if only the king obeyed the Lord it said, yet the people did corruptly.
The American churches as a whole are not having revival: they are not doing what God is telling them to do: as soon as a person or people who separates themselves from the world (which God hates); quits trying to get God to move on his own terms: and just surrenders, and commits to do what God says, they will have revival.
Frank Overholt
http://www.thetrueword.us
http://www.thetrueword.com
frank@thetrueword.com

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