Good evening. My name is Barry, and I am a revivalist-in-training. Now, let me explain what I mean. Webster’s dictionary gives two basic meanings for the word revival and the one that, in my view, reflects what I believe the Bible teaches is “restoration of force, validity, or effect (as to a contract).” A revivalist is a person who revives or restores what is available but unused.
The revival or the restoration that we are looking to bring back is the life of Jesus, as we see in the gospels. We want to see it living fully in us and fully through us. As revival is poured out more and more – and yes, it has already begun – our Father’s will “will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
What we are witnessing is a revival of God’s presence that is being ushered in by the praise and worship that is increasing in the Church. It reminds me of what happened when the people of Israel praised and worshiped God after Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord in Second Chronicles 5:13-14.
(13) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;
(14) So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.”
You see, ladies and gentlemen, God’s presence is the reason why we are seeing a revival of the lost coming to Jesus, why the blind are seeing, why the sick and diseased are being healed, why the maimed are made whole, and why the mysteries and doctrinal truths that were once forgotten are being restored.
We are witnessing all these right now!
We are witnessing the restoration of kingdom force – the power that resided inside of Jesus. We are witnessing the restoration of kingdom validity – the words of truth that Jesus spoke in faith. And we are witnessing the restoration of kingdom effect – the results of the power that flowed effortlessly through Jesus.
Ladies and gentlemen, the same power that lives in Jesus lives in us. When we speak the word of truth in faith, the power living in us can partner with the words that we speak to produce a restoration of kingdom effect that flows through us as it did through Jesus. But until it flows consistently through me, I am a revivalist-in-training, and so are you.
You can also think of it this way: I am a disciple-in-training.
Now here’s the point I’m making. Even though I am in training – and I will be in training to some degree until I go home to be with my Savior – it does not diminish who I am. I am a child who is learning to live in his Father’s kingdom. I am a disciple now and I am a revivalist now who is under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. Trust me, there is always more to learn. Do you remember what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 16?
“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (verse 13)
Now, why are we talking about being a revivalist or disciple-in-training?
Earlier, I said a revivalist is a person who revives or restores something that is available but not being used. So, the whole point of revivalist training or discipleship training is (1) to help us truly grasp and understand who we are as sons and daughters of God, and (2) to help us learn how to fully access what we have (kingdom power) for a lost and dying world.
I saw the importance of this as I read First Kings 17. In verse one, we are introduced to the prophet Elijah, who confronts Ahab, the most wicked king to ever rule Israel. And it is this verse that drives the entire chapter.
“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
The name Elijah means “My God is Lord” and the first thing he declares to Ahab is “the LORD God of Israel lives,” and it is this same LORD “before whom I stand” – that I represent and through whom He speaks. And then he tells the wicked king the Lord’s judgment on Israel. “There will be no dew nor rain for three years.”
Beginning with this verse, we see an important characteristic in Elijah that must be present in the revivalist-in-training.
And that characteristic is an uncompromising obedience to God.
In verse three, the Lord tells Elijah to go to the brook Cherith where ravens will bring him food to eat. The first part of verse 5 says, “So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD.” Obedience.
In verse nine, the Lord tells Elijah to go to Zarephath and dwell with a widow woman. The first part of verse 10 says, “So he arose and went to Zarephath.” Obedience.
In verses 11-15, Elijah meets the woman and asks her for bread. She tells him that she is gathering wood to cook the handful of meal she has for her and her son’s last meal. The prophet tells her not to fear, make the cake, but give him some of it first, and he tells her why in verse 14.
“For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.”
After she follows the prophet’s instruction, we read in verse 16 that what he said came to pass “according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” Obedience.
Before we continue, I want to ask a question. “What preceded Elijah’s acts of obedience? Let’s go back toverse one when he said to King Ahab –
? “As the LORD God of Israel liveth” – Elijah knew his God and he willingly, and without apology, proclaimed it.
? “before whom I stand” – Elijah knew that God was the only one to give him “marching orders”.
Ladies and gentlemen, as revivalist-in-training, we also must be as convinced that Jesus is alive and that we must be willing to unapologetically declare that Jesus is the only way to the Father and eternal life (John 14:6), and that we receive our “marching orders” from Him.
Elijah’s obedience caused me to examine my life a little more closely. In the last part of the chapter, the woman’s son gets sick, and the passage says, “his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him” (verse 17). Elijah takes the dead child to his loft, lays him on the bed, and pleads with the Lord to return his life to him.
“And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.” (verse 21)
Now, do you remember the three times when Elijah heard the instructions of the Lord and obeyed them without hesitation? I want you to see the first part of verse 22: “And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah….”
Ladies and gentlemen, the Lord hears the cry of the faithful and the obedient!
We see a New Testament example of this in John 11. Jesus learns that Lazarus has died, and He and His disciples go to Bethany and go to the grave site accompanied by and his sisters, Martha and Mary. We know the story.
(41) Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
(42) And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent Me.
(43) And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”
Just like we see in First Kings 17, the Lord hears Jesus when He prays. So, revivalist-in-training, do you believe, do you have unquestioned faith, that the Lord hears your prayers?
Let’s pick up verse 22 again.
“And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.”
After this miracle, Elijah takes the woman’s son to her and says in the last part of verse 23, “See, thy son liveth.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the Lord hears the cries of the faithful and the obedient and He answers them!
Now, verse 24 is the verse that had me examining my walk with Jesus – and still does.
“And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.”
The widow’s declaration was a testament to Elijah’s faith and his uncompromising obedience to God and the reason for my self-examination. I knew that it has not been a consistent reality in my life. The words revealed to me that, while the Lord has moved through me, He has not been able to move through me as much as He desires to move. Can I get a witness?
And the reason for this is not a mystery. The truth is quite simple: when I have spoken the word of the Lord in some situations in the past, there was not enough faith in me to partner with His grace so that the truth I had spoken could become a reality. Again, I am a revivalist-in-training.
I didn’t see enough of Barry in those words, but what I did see was conviction. First Corinthians 11:31 says “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
The Amplified Bible says it this way: “For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].”
Now, I don’t want you to miss a very important truth:
Our Father absolutely loves it when we see something in His Word that is not being completely lived out in our lives. And He loves it even more when it bothers us! When that happens, our Father sees it as a “Moses’ moment” for us. When Moses saw the burning bush in Exodus 3, he said in verse 3, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” Then verse 4 says “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush…”
Our Father loves it when we “turn aside” and choose to measure our lives by His standards and then change what we need to change to live out that standard. A revivalist-in-training willingly makes the changes necessary that will deepen his relationship with Jesus.
So, I encourage you that as you read and study the scriptures, when something jumps out at you, stop, and do a self-examination. When you see something in you that isn’t an exact replica of what you should see in you, do whatever is necessary to align yourself with what you see. When we do this, we show our Father our love for Him, and how much we want our lives to resemble the life that Jesus demonstrated when He was on earth.
Amen? Please stand.
