The need for revival in the Church of JESUS CHRIST has never been more obvious than it is today. The Societal decay and family failure we experience today is partly connected to the lack of fire on the altar of God in our Churches. The zeal and fervency that characterized the activities of the church in times past are fast fading away. It is now so difficult to differentiate the motives of the church from those of the world. The modern church is mostly now all about building mega structures here on earth and pursuing wealth rather than following the biblical injunction to store up our treasures up there in the place where they cannot be corrupted. The Church MUST as a matter of urgency, return to her maker. Zion must regain her fire, there must be a rising of the giant God has ordained her to be. The Church the world so feared; one that Satan couldn’t dare must return to her old glory days. The mess in the body of Christ must be cleared out just like he cleared out the temple back in his day and time. Enough of this downward slide!
The Church borne out of Pentecost is a living Church, the Church where the name and the authority of Christ reigns supreme, where all workers of iniquity are powerless, voiceless and convicted.
Revival is truly the arrival of God, into the lives, homes and midst of His people. It signifies the hot presence of Yeshua – the unstoppable move of God in the lives and midst of his children. Revival guarantees the power and fire of GOD and when this is lost, it becomes practically impossible to enjoy the fullness of life a Christian should become acquainted with. It is a worse experience when the fire of revival that was once evident is lost than when it hasn’t yet been felt.
We all crave a dominant church but in truth, it is revival that culminates into the rising of the Church. Revival has the capacity to turn a decayed situation around. At Pentecost, it was revival that came upon the hidden Church that brought them out of obscurity into limelight and transformed their statuses from scared disciples into world changers.
David cried in Psalm 85:6 (KJV): “will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?” This was because at that moment, the Church was in deep sorrow. They were practically living from one calamity to the next because of a lack of revival. Things were out of order, just like what was recorded in 2 Chronicles 15:2-5 (KJV) when Israel went out of God’s ways and did not pay attention to a teaching priest. This is a clear example of a nation that lost her way and was in dire need of the revival fire.
David cried just like the Church is crying today. GOD’s people are lamenting bitterly, without realizing that the root cause of their challenges is the lack of revival in their lives. They think they are serving God but by GODs own assessment, they couldn’t be farther from the truth. They have left their first love.
Hosea 6:1-3 (KJV) states expressly thus: “Come and let us return unto the LORD for he hath torn and he will heal us, he hath smitten and he will bind us up.
After two days will he revive us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the LORD”.
The return of revival is the solution to the misery that has befallen the Church today. Every individual Christian needs to come to a point where he/she is no longer satisfied with the abundance of material things; where food no longer satisfies the hungry soul and drink does not quench our thirst. Until the Spirit is poured on us, let the cry for revival continue. Moses was attracted by the fire in the burning bush; the disciples of Jesus attracted the attention of the world who were gathered in Jerusalem on the famed day of Pentecost. Revival will return the church to its original image.
Demons cried out of people when Philip got into Samaria and the stubborn Elymas went blind for a season for withstanding Paul the Apostle. There came a time when the priest and all the Sanhedrin became obedient to the faith. The Bible records that the people could not resist the Spirit and wisdom by which Stephen preached. These and much more are the things that happened during the time of revival – at the time of great POWER!
In Psalm 110:3 (KJV): “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth”.
Revival is what brings willingness from the heart of people in responding to the word and work of the Lord.
We must not be carried away by any form of entertainment and jamboree going on in our society and the Church today. The Church is a spiritual body not a place for entertainment; it is a destiny molding centre and a life changing ground. It is only on the ground of truth and power that these can be achieved.
1Timothy 3:15 (KJV). “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the TRUTH”.
When the Church or an individual Christian forgets this, it is an invitation to calamity. The careless Church; the church that gives every Tom, Dick and Harry access to the holy and sanctified altar of God will soon become home to Satan and his filthiness.
Remember Revelation 2:20 (KJV): “Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols”.
Take a few moments to sit back, visualize the scenario painted in the scripture above. Imagine it playing out right in front of your eyes, imagine how disgusting this is. This is actually happening in the Church of the living God today. This is the outcome of a lack of revival, where the Church is in slumber, where she refuses to wake from her slumber and take her rightful position in destiny.
Read this! Matthew 13:24-25 (KJV): “Another parable put he forth unto them saying, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came, sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way”. Take note of the portion: “while men slept”. While the Church slept, in the time when she was in her slumber, the enemy came and planted tares. Do we need more explanation on the plenty forms of tares growing up in the Church today? The reality of our situation today is not different from that which we read from the scripture above.
Now see this again!
Isaiah 32:9-15 (KJV). “Rise up, ye women that are at ease, hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
Because the palaces shall be forsaken, the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest”.
Take note of words like “careless”, “daughters/women that are at ease”, “rise up”, “hear my voice”.
This can simply be interpreted as a situation when the daughters of Zion have lost the revival fire and God is beckoning on them to wake up and begin to attend to His words. As a result of their situation, so many untoward things have happened – they’ve lost their ground in the Spirit and everything is turned upside down. The once joyful place is turned into a place of sorrow, and they have become forsaken; a home for wild animals.
These are examples of the sordid reports of the city without revival. When revival is lost, hope is lost; joy and blessings are lost.
The need for revival is the need to restore the beauty of the Church; the need for revival is to bring the power back to the Church.
Most of our musicians have become entertainers, our prayer warriors have become proud and lazy, and our preachers have become materialistic. Hence, the Church needs a total revival. Fear no longer grips the sinner and the conscience of most so-called believers is totally dead or inactive.
Hosea 6:1 (KJV) says: “Come let us return unto the LORD…”
This is the only solution. This is the only time the fire of revival will fall again.
Isaiah said “until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high …” Then shall the lost glory be restored and the beauties begin to radiate again.
The million-dollar question now is: “how do we invoke the Spirit of the living GOD down into our lives and the Church? How do we call His revival fire down upon our altars for Christ to be glorified; how do we bring back the truth and flush out all these lies from the Church of the living God”? Your guess is as good as mine. You may want to re-read this article again. Rev. David Ajiboye is the Founder/Senior Pastor of Life Revival Ministry International and also the Rector of Revival Bible Training centre (RBTC).
