Revival and Reformation P6-Transformed by His Spirit

We have learned that reformation is the result of true revival, a vital and living connection with God that results in an unmistakable transformation in the life of the true Christian.

However, in order for reformation to occur in our lives so that the fruit of the Spirit is displayed, we need to surrender totally to God. We need to give ourselves totally to His Will and plan for our lives. He who resists will not be changed for the better. God will not impose change upon you unless you admit that you need things about you changed. It works the same as in the natural world; if you go to a psychologist, he can’t help you unless you first admit you have a problem and are willing to work with him to accept change in your life. (Rom 12:1-2)

The biggest hindrance to reformation in the life of professed Christians is hypocrisy which is satan pulling the wool over your eyes, deceiving you into thinking that you’re perfect and that other people are the problem. As long as you harbour this spirit and attitude in your life, you cannot be totally delivered and reformed. The Bible says that people will know you by your fruits. (Matt 7:16-21, James 3:11-18, Matt 7:1-5)

I often hear the debate about why it is that we find Christians in Church who are still held captive by the same behaviours and bad habits they had fifty years ago. The reason that this is the case is because each person needs to surrender totally to God in order for Him to work with us in the reformation process. We cannot surrender unless we’re willing to admit that we can do nothing apart from Christ. Only He can deliver us from our cultivated and inherited tendencies to evil. We must surrender our whole being to Him as the first work of every day. We must admit that we have problems that we need help with. For some this may just be undesirable character traits that you want refined.  Others may have habits that consume their lives and for which they need to pursue professional advice, attend a support group or other intervention while also engaging in a regular prayer life. God may choose to deliver some immediately while others are reformed gradually for His glory. (Heb 11:6, John 15:1-9)

It is said that a sculptor is no artist. He just chips away at a piece of granite revealing the beauty already hidden within it. How amazing that God’s Spirit is often alluded to or described as water or oil in the Scriptures. Rocks exposed to water for a long period of time always experience the effects of erosion where the sharp, angular edges are smoothed away and they become beautiful smooth pebbles, pebbles that a shepherd boy can use to slay giants with when God is with him. (1Sam 17:40). Oil causes objects to shine or a candle to burn, just as God intends us to shine for Him. (Matt 5:14-16)

The heavens declare the handiwork of God and all nature obeys His voice. Why do we, the pinnacle of His creation, resist Him? I invite you to write down all the things about you that you want God to change.  Then give them to God daily and ask Him to change you as you submit to His Will. (Ps 51:9-13)

Be Praised Mighty God

The prayers of the saints
As incense do rise
On the wings of Your Spirit
To the heavenly skies...

Be praised mighty God
Be glorified
We lift Your Name high, Lord Jesus! (Chorus)

The song of the ransomed
Join the heavenly throng
On the winds of worship
To our Almighty God...

The arms of the saved
In Your honour are raised
In the midst of Your temple
As we worship Your Name...

The chords of our hearts
Raise heavenly strains
Redemption's song echoes Your Grace...

Chorus (x2)
We lift Your Name high, Lord Jesus!

Revival and reformation P5: The Fruit of Reformation

In the last few weeks, we have learned about revival and what we must do to ensure that true revival is ignited in our hearts. Revival does not start one church at a time. It starts with every individual. The Bible describes being in a  state of revival as being like a tree planted by rivers of living water, bearing fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. (Ps 1:3)

Without revival, there can be no reformation for reformation is the fruit of revival. Jesus described Himself as the vine and all who believe in Him as the branches. We cannot have true revival if we are not maintaining a continual connection with Jesus Christ, the True Vine. We cannot produce the fruit of reformation apart from Him. (John 15:1-9)

What is reformation? Gal 5:22 describes for us what the fruit of reformation looks like. It is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and not desiring vainglory. In summary, it is the character of godliness, the character of Christ.

God’s mission in each of our lives is to restore the perfection of the image of Christ in each of us. This was the image that we were created to reflect in the beginning for we were created “in the image of God.” The process He follows in order to achieve this is “reformation” and the results of that process is the fruit of the Spirit which is the beauty of His character revealed in mortal flesh. (Gen 1:26-27)

Jesus said in Jn 4:14 that whoever drinks of the living water He gives shall never thirst for the water He provides will become a wellspring of living water springing forth unto eternal life. Jesus is restoring the “tree of life” in each of us who believe in Him and out of that tree will spring the fruit of reformation, which the world will taste and they will see that our God is good. (Ps 34:8)

The Bible describes the tree of life in Rev 22:2 as being “on either side of the river” and bearing “twelve manner of fruits and yielding fruit every month.” Does this not remind you of what God wants you to be right now? A tree planted by the living water bearing fruit all year round! The twelve different fruits reflect the completeness of the character of Christ, the image that He is recreating in us as we journey through life. The tree of life in Heaven is also a visual reminder, the culmination of a process that God has started in you today! Phil 1:6 reminds us that God is well able to finish the good work that He has started in each of us and bring it to a grand completion.

Nothing is impossible with God! Do you believe that God can transform your life? Jesus did not lie when He said that nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is too hard for him. All you have to do is take the next step and ask Him to transform you, to reform you. You are already a new creature in Christ. It is time to embark on the exciting daily adventure with God called “sanctification”. Let go and let God!

Revival and reformation P4-Positioning yourself for Revival

In the last few weeks, we have learned about the steps to take to start a true revival in your heart. To recap, they are as follows:

1.        The Church is ALWAYS to be in a state of revival.

2.        Be thirsty for revival. Revival will only come to hearts that are open to the Spirit of God.  Confess your sins so that your prayers are heard. Then, ask God for His Holy Spirit to revive your walk with Him. Fast and pray earnestly.

3.        Be ready to move! Revival comes to those who are ready to work for God for that is the purpose of revival. God doesn’t give you His Spirit and power to selfishly sit within the walls of your local church and do nothing. He told the Apostles to wait for His Spirit, for without Him they would not be able to boldly witness and proclaim the Gospel like they did. (Acts 1:1-8, Matt 28:18-20, John 15:5)

You have confessed your sins and prayed. You are ready to do God’s Will and work for Him. What next? It is important to position yourself for revival. You have asked God in faith. Now, you must position yourself in faith, ready to receive what you have asked for. As mentioned in last week’s message, God will never withhold revival from those who ask Him for He does not withhold any good thing from His children that they ask according to His Will. If you are ready to receive and work for Him, He is ready to pour out revival like you’ve never experienced before! So, believe it and get ready and excited to receive it! (Ps 84:11, Lk 11:9-13)

Many people’s expectations of revival are different to what revival actually is and that’s why when God is pouring out revival upon the hearts of His people, they fail to recognize it and position themselves to receive it. Revival is not always accompanied by loud bangs, speaking in tongues or a mighty rushing wind. Mostly it’s just a change of heart, an attraction to God’s ways and His precepts, a revitalizing of the earnest desire to serve Him, obey Him and love Him. Revival is God calling you back home when you have strayed far from the path He has chosen you to walk. It’s as simple as that! Revival is experiencing what it means to be a true Christian, revitalizing that first love for God you had at your conversion when you wanted to climb the highest mountain you could find and let the whole world know that you had found God, or rather that He had found you a long time ago!

When the rain comes in a desert place, people position containers to capture it. If they’re positioned in the wrong place, no water is captured. God is waiting to pour out His latter rain. Get ready. Position yourself strategically to receive it. The concept of revival is so simple. Jesus said that to enter into His Kingdom, you must be like a little child. Why do we complicate things so much? The steps I share, I have followed myself and it has led to a reformation in my life. Revival is the tree that produces the fruit of reformation. Without revival, there can be no reformation. Next week, we will focus on what it means to be reformed. (Mk 10:15, Ps 1:1-3)

Scriptures on the purpose of revival: To proclaim God's message to the world, to be a witness

"And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."- Acts 1: 4-8

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."- Matt 28:18-20

Scriptures refs are within the text of the message. Please read them.

Revival and Reformation Part 3: Pray and Move!

We have examined the meaning of revival, and last week we learned that revival is something that we should thirst for like the parched desert soil thirsts for the evening dew. This week’s message will deal with some of the more practical aspects of revival.  Jesus said in Mk 11:24 that whatsoever things you desire, when you pray believe you have received them and they shall be yours. Obviously, they won’t be yours if you ask contrary to God’s Will, but as long as you ask according to His Will, you will receive what you ask for. This is the promise of God to all those who believe in Him.

“How am I to know God’s Will?” you may ask. One thing is certain. Asking for revival is ALWAYS in accordance with God’s Will. Asking for His Holy Spirit is ALWAYS according to His Will, for He desires to fill everyone who believes in Him with His overcoming, powerful Spirit so that they may work His works in this world, bringing glory to the Father.  Read Luke 11:11-13; it clearly says so. So then, are we asking for revival? When we ask, do we BELIEVE that we have received what we ask for? That is the essence of faith. If we do not ask in faith, we ask amiss. Our prayers hit the ceiling and fall unanswered to the ground and we are not revived.

What does it mean to ask in faith? What does it mean to believe you have received what you ask for? It means that when you come out of your prayer closet having earnestly sought the Lord for spiritual revival, do not walk as those who are spiritually dying. Walk in newness of life, with a newfound purpose, with renewed vigour for the mission God has in store for you. Walk like those on the road to Emmaus whose hearts burned with spiritual revival as Jesus opened to them the Holy Scriptures. Walk as if you have something to offer the world, because you do! You have work to do. You have Gospel Truth to share. With God on your side, it is not a “mission impossible.”

When I first started driving, my mother would yell to me as I reversed out of the driveway. “Move and turn!” she would yell. “Move and turn!” Why? It was because I had a car without a power-assisted steering so if I didn’t let out the clutch a little and give the car a bit of throttle to allow it to move while I maneuvered the steering wheel, it made it that much harder to turn. When I allowed the car to move and turned the wheel simultaneously, it was easier to turn. So it is with our prayers too. God does not want us on our knees forever asking, but doing nothing. He wants us to demonstrate our faith in His power to answer by believing in Him, and what better way to do that than to start acting like a bunch of revived people? Pray and move! That is one of the secrets to starting a revival. If everyone did this, very soon, the whole Church would be revived and the effects would spill over into the wider community. If we spent half the time we normally spend on bickering, complaining and judging others on earnest prayer and fasting and then started working the works of the revived, we wouldn’t need the thrill of sporadic revivals any longer.

We would be like the tree planted by the rivers of living water!

"Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."-Mark 11:24

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? "-Luke 11:11-13


"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."- 2 Chron 7:14

Revival & Reformation Part 2-Are you THIRSTY for revival?

Last week we focused on what it means to be revived. Now we can explore our readiness for revival. Is the church of God ready for revival? Are we just throwing around the word casually? What are the conditions necessary for a revival?

Taking an earnest look at the state of affairs in Christendom reveals that many churches are not ready for revival. The members do not seek it with all their hearts. They are too preoccupied with the cares of this world: the socials, the parties, work and family affairs. There is precious little time devoted to prayer, fasting and asking God for revival. We are currently in a spiritual drought, yet we do not realize it. The deer pants for streams of water in the dry places, but God’s children do not thirst for the living water only He is able to supply.  (Ps 42:1)

The theme of our Church is Revival & Reformation. We have started the 777 Initiative. How many of us have taken this seriously? It’s one thing to outwardly proclaim that we desire revival and reformation; it’s quite another to demonstrate that we REALLY are thirsty for it. How many of us have taken the quarterly times designated by our Conference for fasting and prayer seriously? I was dismayed to read a recent article by a member of our worldwide church, which revealed that this condition of spiritual lethargy is a worldwide phenomenon. She wrote that in her church, most of the church members had forgotten that they should be heeding the call to fast, pray, and earnestly ask the Lord for the latter rain.  Instead, the church held a luncheon on the designated days and became a place of temptation and a snare to those who had remembered and wished to seek God with all their hearts.

What has happened to us? We seem to have grown cold and lost our first love. We no longer possess the zeal of the early church to embrace revival and submit to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible predicted that in the last days, this would happen.  The question is, are we going to let ourselves continue to drift in this condition or are we going to seek the Lord and beg of His mercy so that He may lift us out of the spiritual quagmire that we have fallen into? This phenomenon is not seen in countries where persecution is at its zenith; perhaps we who enjoy religious liberty have taken this precious gift for granted. The Lord does not approve of our “lukewarm”, comfortable, self-focused Christianity. It is time to go on our knees and seek the Lord with all our hearts.

“On the other hand, there are some who, instead of wisely improving present opportunities, are idly waiting for some special season of spiritual refreshing by which their ability to enlighten others will be greatly increased. They neglect present duties and privileges, and allow their light to burn dim, while they look forward to a time when, without any effort on their part, they will be made the recipients of special blessing, by which they will be transformed and fitted for service.”—The Acts of the Apostles, 54. {ChS 43.4} 

References: Christ’s Object Lessons 303-304; Rev 3:14-20; Ps 42; The Acts of the Apostles 54

Revival & Reformation Part 1-What is a Revival?

In the times we live in, churches around the world are focusing on revival and reformation. Since we are praying for revival, let us explore the significance of what it means to be revived.

The word “revive” means to quicken, awaken or revitalize something that is close to death. He who is spiritually dead can therefore not benefit from a revival. Revivals are for the house of God, for His children who have become estranged from Him and whose hearts no longer burn with fervent love for the Lord. For those outside the house of God, more than a revival is necessary i.e. something more akin to a spiritual resurrection. Only Christ can take the spiritually dead and make them live again; that is the miracle of being “born again.”

Charles H Spurgeon wrote in his sermon entitled, “What is a revival?” that revivals should be the exception rather than the norm in a healthy church environment. He wrote as follows: “The tree planted by the rivers of water loaded with fruit needs not excite our anxiety for its revival, for its fruitfulness and beauty charm every one. Such should be the constant condition of the sons of God. Feeding and lying down in green pastures and led by the still waters they ought not always to be crying, "My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me." Sustained by gracious promises and enriched out of the fullness which God has treasured up in his dear Son, their souls should prosper and be in health, and their piety ought to need no reviving. They should aspire to a higher blessing, a richer mercy, than a mere revival. They have the nether springs already; they should earnestly covet the upper springs. They should be asking for growth in grace, for increase of strength, for greater success; they should have out-climbed and out-soared the period in which they need to be constantly crying, "Wilt thou not revive us again?" For a church to be constantly needing revival is the indication of much sin, for if it were sound before the Lord it would remain in the condition into which a revival would uplift its members.”

In Jer 17:8, we find the condition of one who trusts in the Lord and not in men. “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." -Psalms 1:1-3

Scripture & other refs: Jeremiah 17:8, Psalms 1:1-3, Excerpts taken from"What is a Revival?" by C H Spurgeon, Dec 1866 edition of The Sword & Trowel.