What is REVIVAL? (Or, What is it not?)

Revival must never become an end in itself, but a means to an even higher end—the glory of the Lord being revealed and His kingdom being extended…  (Rick Joyner, Morningstar Ministries)

 I saw this quote from Rick Joyner about revival and I had been thinking about that word this afternoon. I have being seeing some posts about some churches experiencing a hunger for more of God and having spontaneous services as a result! And then I talk to some pastors and see other posts about how they wish the people were hungry for more of God and nothing really happening.

I admittedly have not been a big fan of the term “revival” in the way that most use it, as in, “Let’s have a revival”, meaning let’s have a week of meetings where hopefully we will attract some new people and stir up the saints! For something to be ‘re-vived’, it first had to be ‘living, alive’, so to be revived it has to be “brought back to life, to come or bring back to a healthy, vigorous, or flourishing condition after a decline.”

My problem with that is:

1) we’ve made revival an evangelistic campaign to win the lost, when in fact, when the church is alive, new people are coming in regularly as a result of a living, vibrant, praying, worshiping house!
2) why must the church always be falling back, having to be stirred up, discouraged and lost there hunger for God in the first place?

I like the term we’ve been hearing the last few years to bring the church back to a living, joyful state and that is an AWAKENING! I ‘ve worked and ministered in all areas of church life, so I understand that in our local fellowships it’s difficult to keep people stirred up and motivated to stay on fire! But that could be the result of a wrong mindset because “the way you get them in, is the way you have to use to keep them in!”

When we have a healthy leadership team and saints are being equipped for ministry, that is, to serve, love, worship, pray, and give, etc., then the only motivation needed is to “encourage, inspire, and empower them in who they are and have ‘equipping evangelists’ as part of the team or coming in through relationship to exhort them!”

So, back to my point: Every local house, assembly or fellowship has a special dynamic to why they exist, what they are doing, and how will they fulfill their assignment or mission! It was said of William Branham, the revivalist of the 40’s and 50’s, that the Lord spoke to him, “If you can only get the people to believe you, then nothing is impossible to them!”

Why does one church experience a sovereign move of God in their midst and others do not? I believe and see that it is exactly that, a “sovereign move of the Holy Spirit brought about by an intense, supernatural desire that ignites a spontaneous combustion through a blend of a spiritual DNA or chemistry that cannot be denied!”

And that should lead us on a continual journey of following after the Lord, that should lead us right into His manifest presence and the glory of the Lord. ..