In Isaiah 64:1, the prophet declares, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might shake at your presence.” Isaiah’s cry was for the power, holiness and glory of God to manifest among the people of Israel due to her sin and rebellion.
When it comes to revival and how it relates to the church, it is vital that we understand the eternal purpose. This is essential regarding the existence of and the sustaining of true visitation.
Oftentimes, revival presupposes declension or backsliding among the people of God.
The fact is that many people are spiritually asleep and do not even realize it. People become used to their backslidden states and until God shows up in glory, they are unaware of it.
Many times, the church world looks and compares itself with others in the church world instead of with the biblical pattern of what it means to be a revived people. The disastrous result of this practice is always spiritual blindness, deafness and paralysis.
As God’s people, we need to ask this question, do we truly want a visitation of God’s Spirit among us? Do we really?
To the church, revival can mean a deep humbling among us, a glaring knowledge of unworthiness and an open, humiliating confession of sin on the part of her ministers and people. It is not the easy-going thing that many think it to be, who imagine it simply fills buildings with people and reinstates the church to power and authority.
The reality is that real revival or visitation comes to burn in cleansing force before it heals; it comes to confront ministers and people for their unfaithful witness, for their selfish, carnal living, for their neglect of preaching the cross and to call them to daily lives of consecration. Before we go any further, it is important for all of us to be transparent before the holiness of the Lord and the purity of His blood.
Considering this reality, we must answer the question, “Are we willing to life a life that brings glory to the Lamb that is worthy to receive the reward of His sufferings?” If not, then revival will only be a subject of novelty and interest that leads to nothing more than carnal fascination void of God’s power, presence and divine assistance.
Join me this week on our Maintain the Flame podcast as I share some important truths regarding the church and her vital need for a divine visitation. Our nation is swirling in deep darkness, and the only hope is for the church to be revived and alive with the purposes of Jesus in this generation. {eoa}
Keith Collins is the founder of Generation Impact Ministries and Impact Global Fellowship. He is actively involved in itinerant ministry, teaching and writing. In recent years, Keith served as the president of the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry and as the director of FIRE School of Ministry, which were both born out of the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida. His recent book, Samuels Arising: Waking Up to God’s Prophetic Call, is now available on Amazon and his podcast, titled Maintain the Flame, can be heard on iTunes and at cpnshows.com. You can contact Keith via his websites at keith-collins.org or impactgf.org.
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