2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, `there’ is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
Revivals, that is, genuine Divinely ordained seasons of the activity of God among men, have a universally unusual character. Normal activities and behaviors give way to the tangible influence of God’s Holy Spirit, whose inspiration brings a freedom of expression, emotion, conviction, worship, and other variations from normal experience.
Students of revival have observed certain patterns in the development of these social/spiritual events, one of which is the strong tendency of men to apply structure to the unfettered activity of the Spirit. Time and again, revival gives way to human intervention, which yields such phenomena as denominations, ministries, organizations, etc. The glorification of significant agents of God, preachers, teachers, or prophetic voices produces these institutional expressions, which begin to lose the vitality of the original revival, and eventually actually inhibit or severely limit the Divine enthusiasm engendered by God’s real presence.
Consider that the birth of the Methodist church did not begin until John Wesley, the great revivalist, had actually passed away. Wesley had never intended to break from the Church of England, but when the Church defrocked him, he was forced to preach outdoors, and his anointed life produced an open-air revival affecting thousands. Wesley himself did not form the Methodist Church in England, others did, turning the revivalist into a denomination after he died.
William Booth was a prominent Methodist evangelist and later was barred from peaching in 1861 from all Methodist congregations. He and his wife began tent meetings in Whitechapel in East London. He soon formed the “Christian Revival Society,” which later became “The Salvation Army.” The rest is history…
The delicate balance between order and freedom is easily upset. What we know is that humans tend toward taking a level of control, which eventually inhibits the work of the Spirit of God. God’s work can look “messy” when He is upsetting the status quo in order to get our attention and draw us to Himself during these Divine interruptions we call “revival.” But He knows how to build His church, and we don’t. He told us to make disciples, not build His church. True revivals give us more souls to work with, bless and build up. That’s a good thing.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, age five and Ryan, three. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson so she said; "Now boys, if Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.'" Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus."
I read a story about a new young partner in a law firm. The senior partners had set extremely high standards and had coached him carefully. He did well in some minor trials but he lost his first big case. When the partners reviewed the trial, they pointed out his errors and suggested different strategies. Even with all their critique, he lost the next big one. He felt terrible. Were they ready to give him the boot?
We have a Christian friend who constantly talks about her problems. Every single time we talk to her she tells us how bad things are going in her life and how much she is lacking. Interestingly, in all the years we've known her and prayed for her, things have only gotten worse. Though she has come to believe in the God of victory, she is not living a victorious life. How many of us are in this boat?
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays.
Yeshua (Jesus) began His earthly ministry by being baptized in the Jordan river. The word Jordan in Hebrew is "Yarden" and its root is "yarad". It literally means to descend, which would make sense being that the Jordan descends from over 8,000 feet from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea which sits more than 1,000 feet below sea level.
During the American Civil War in the 1860's, a fierce battle took place at Altoona Pass. It was a key supply point for the Union Army, so the Confederate Army led by General Hood sought to take Altoona Pass which held over a million and a half rations. When Union General Sherman realized Hood's plans, he dispatched General Corse along with 1,500 men to hold the city.
Writing to the Corinthian Church, Paul illustrates his exhortation using the metaphors of running a race and fighting a boxing match. Victory is achieved by bringing your body into submission to the will of God.