Reviving the Dead

You know you write for God when you stop in the middle of a sentence, erase the firsts three lines of a new post and write something completely different. I had a plan for this post but I am listening to His will and let's see where this takes us.

Tonight we went to see the movie, Jesus Revolution, with Kelsey Grammar and Johnathan Roumie and it's about the Jesus movement back in the late 60's early 70's. It was the last great revival the US has seen until, coincidentally, we have what appears, our own revival happening in Asbury KY. What is a revival? It is what it sounds like. To revive something means that something was dead. So, Christians, who's purpose is to walk in Jesus daily are actually not living up to their full potential and they need a shot of God to get them motivated again. 

I see this as a huge issue instead of a great miracle. If we as Christians need jump started like a dead car battery every now and then, then we aren't submitting to His authority in our life. Inaccurate doctrine and false teachings will more than likely play a major part in a Christians apostasy but revivals should not be for Christians but for the lost.

However, if anyone's been to church for any length of time, a revival is a way for guest preachers and special music to come and try and revitalize a dead church. I've seen several and they are pretty much that very thing. Come to my revival this week, we have a guest preacher. Tag lines and car lot advertising run amuck as the church leaders try and infuse some energy back into their members. 

Why can't we remain in Him? Why do we need to have an injection of Jesus every year? 

We cannot be effective in what we were called for if we cannot maintain our relationship with Him.

I have gotten a true taste of God's goodness through a change in my heart, why would I want to ruin it. If we taste and see the goodness of God, we will never turn back but keep pressing towards the mark. 

If we fall and stumble, we cannot afford to wallow in self pity or question the goodness of God. Instead we should find a place of humility in our selves but a place of confidence in Him. Failing, which is stepping away from Him, is not supposed to be the normal Christian life. Instead, the normal Christian life should look like Christ and if we have a moment of weakness, not when we have a moment of weakness, we have the ability to ask for forgiveness and get beck in step with God. 

Our minds are preprogrammed by our families, friends and the church to anticipate failure. If the anticipation of failure carries on after we are born again then we set ourselves up to live according to the flesh and not the Spirit. For the Spirit is life and purpose inside of us and the flesh is death and disobedience. If we constantly expect our lives to fail in Christ, where we must go and have injections of Jesus weekly, then a big shot every year in revival, then we weren't living a healthy Christian life. We must take control of our thoughts and submit then over to God, we cannot anticipate failure and still walk in a healthy Christian life.

Doubt in God is what we have if we walk in the thoughts of failure. What we say is, God, I don't trust you to keep me from my fleshly desires and if we say that in our mind we become self fulfilled prophets as the enemy has full ability to carry out your wishes. Walking in doubt, walking in defeat, walking in your eye being focused on your inabilities and not in His abilities is a setup for failure. 

There is no magic formula that we can carry out that keeps our minds straight. There's no ritual or prayer that we can constantly recite that will keep our batteries full. There's no revival that can take the place of a daily surrender to God. What does it look like? A daily surrender never and I mean never focuses on us. We cannot surrender if we are focused on our needs, our issues, problems, wants, doubts, fears or anything not of God. Surrender is a mindset and a heart that says I am yours God, live in me freely, work through me freely and I thank you for using me as a vessel for Your will. 

If we focus on failures, we cannot let in Gods ability to use us. We set up ourselves for failure if that is all we expect.

The doctrines I've heard all my life are doctrines of defeat as we are taught that we are filthy rags and wretches. That we must continually confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. That there's no way out from under the fleshly desires we have. That we get dirty, then washed, then dirty, then washed over and over and over. This my friends is how we get in this self defeated attitude, because it is taught in our churches. We must however be their examples of how God can not only forgive sins but He can cause us to walk sinless, in Him without failure. Our part is just to believe He can do it.

The Israelites got caught doubting God as they left Egypt and they never got the fact that God could take full care of their needs and protect them from enemies. What God did for the Israelites coming out of Egypt, then in the wilderness, then in Israel, then in Jesus is the very same thing going on in us. God wanted them to trust in Him and place their confidence in Him. Yet they did nothing but doubt and complain. Is that not what we do when we get pulled out of bondage. The symbol of the Israelites walking through the Red Sea is the same symbol we use as being Baptized. They were saved and baptized as they walked through the sea, though it was dry, they still walked through it. Then as they journeyed to the promise land, the doubted God and looked at themselves instead of Him. Of course they couldn't defeat those giants, that was the whole point. It was God who was going to do it for them. We have giants in us as well called the flesh. If we look to ourselves to defeat the giant then we will walk in the wilderness. However, if we trust in God to defeat those giants in us, then we have nothing to fear and a land will spring forth in us flowing with milk and honey. 

Revival is for those stuck in the wilderness, still trying to figure out how to do things on their own, walking in defeat and not in victory. God is our victory and our strength. He will lead us into the promise land and defeat every giant we have in us. It just takes faith in Him. Do we have a unwavering faith in Him? Do we call His name and say, you are my God and I will not doubt you or look to anything else but You. My faith is in you oh Lord. 

God, if anything, lead us in a revival to see our lack without you. Lead us into a revelation that shows us our need to fully put our trust in you. Change our hearts and minds to understand that we are your people, called, elected and fitted with You as our all in all. Let us never look at our own abilities to do anything for You but that we surrender to You and the power of Your Holy Spirit to walk in faith in You everyday. My prayer is not for another cleansing but for a transformation. Transform our minds and hearts to be a house for You.

To God be the Glory!