WHAT IS A REAL REVIVAL?

Let’s begin by defining the word “revive”. It simply means “to resurrect” or “to make alive again”.

It therefore presupposes that somebody has already died or is in the process of dying, and is now being resuscitated and restored to live again with vitality and vibrancy. So when we say that someone has been revived, we mean to say, “Out of a dying condition or even death, that person has been restored to live a healthy life again.”

Therefore, the spiritual implication is: if a Christian had been half dead, spiritually speaking, he has been revived to become fully alive. Once, he was devoid of spiritual power and was inactive in the Lord’s cause, but now he is touching lives for eternity. Once, there was no sign of spiritual life in him, but now he is full of the anointing of God.

A revival of God’s people will impact three groups of people:
1. Christians who are dry and dying spiritually in church.
2. Backslidden Christians who have already left the church.
3. Non-Christians who have no spiritual life at all.

A real revival has the power to change a useless person, a complete family, an entire society and a whole nation. A lawless and disintegrated nation can be turned around by a mighty God-sent revival.

Roy Tan had just recently testified in our church how God had turned him from darkness into His marvelous light. Candidly, he shared about his lust which found expression in pornography and visits to prostitutes and massage parlors. Although he wasn’t a Christian then, nonetheless, he felt guilty after each visit. His conscience told him that no lady was meant to be a plaything and even a prostitute is actually someone’s daughter.

No matter how hard Roy tried to discontinue his lustful habits, he felt powerless. After yielding to each temptation, he cried out to his gods for deliverance, but to no avail.

At that time, Roy was an idol worshiper. So pious and sincere was he that he voluntarily became a medium’s assistant. During the Hungry Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month, he would zealously help raise funds and organize the event.

Despite all his sincerity and commitment to Taoism, his life was going downhill. A substantial portion of his monthly income was devoted to smoking and gambling. At least $500 per month was spent on 4D lottery.

Roy was so weary of life and found it meaningless and empty that he decided to attend church. In mid-2006, he came to the Miracle Service. To cut a long story short, he gave his heart to Christ and was immediately delivered from smoking and gambling. Then he also found freedom from persistent lust and he began to live a holy life.

Roy’s conversion brought a revival to his family. The backslidden ones are being revived, and they become more serious with the Lord. His mother, father and grandmother became Christians. Now their family and some relatives are holding a monthly prayer meeting to pray for the conversions of loved ones and friends. This is a family revival.

If most families in a particular church have been revived in a similar manner, surely, it will bring about a church revival. And if every church in the land catches that fire, then a national revival will be the result.

It is important to understand what a personal revival actually entails. Hence, the 10 facets of a personal revival are stated as follows:

1. Believing and trusting God again in everything I do and say.

It is not merely trusting God again for my salvation, it is also believing Him to help me navigate through the numerous obstacles of this life’s journey. I resume praying in faith regarding my sticky problems.

I also realize that the Holy Spirit is still in the process of building my character as I patiently wait for things to be sorted out and issues resolved. There is a revival of faith in my heart. I now simply trust the Lord for He has my best interest at heart.

Furthermore, I am now more mindful of my words and deeds because of the realization that they can either draw people to Christ or repel them. Consequently, I purpose to walk softly before God.

2. Realizing, repenting and rejecting specific sins out of my life.

When the heart is more tender toward God, sin becomes repulsive. A revived Christian keeps short accounts with God. He is uncomfortable to have a known sin lingering in his life. He grieves over it and shuns it at all costs.

Revivals are always accompanied by deep repentance. And thorough repentance softens hardened hearts to live lovingly for Christ.

3. Getting into a closer relationship with God again.

When the mind of a believer has been renewed and revived by the Spirit of God, he instinctively hungers for God’s Word and he loves to pray and communicate heart-to-heart with the Lord. Consequently, God becomes real to him and he begins to share His heartbeats and even His secrets. In the process, he discovers God’s wisdom and guiding hand.

4. Giving God and His Kingdom first priority.

Revived Christians always act in concert with his or her local church to win souls. If every member of this church has this conviction to co-labor with us in our weekly Miracle Service, the souls won to Christ each year will not be a couple of thousand. I believe it will be in the tens of thousands instead.

Unfortunately, lukewarm Christians are either switched off entirely or they prefer to do their own thing. A committed Christian also has stickability in service. He is keenly aware that he is serving the King of kings and not the church leaders per se. Hence, he doesn’t quit when the going gets tough. He also understands that in the family of God, sisters and brothers inevitably disagree and argue. It is all part and parcel of a family.

Never allow the devil to derail you from a ministry which you are serving well, and faithfully too. Stepping down in a huff and a puff and ventilating your grievances to those around you actually help the devil to score points for his kingdom of darkness. Resolving conflicts in a principled fashion will ensure victory and unity. We should be mindful to shame the devil and glorify the Lord.

5. To be on the side of God and His Word again.

We should always speak and act on behalf of the Lord. We must be quick to make a justified defense for His namesake. A revived Christian will never say, “My church is full of hypocrites!”

Any thinking pagan hearing that statement will conclude, “Very likely, you are one of them because you are part of the church.”

Of course, the church is never perfect, but we are learning and getting better. All of us are at different stages of maturity and moving at different speeds. Although flaws are noticeable, as a whole, we are getting more mellow and sweeter.

6. An emphasis on spiritual and eternal things.

Our society is inundated with entertainment of every description. There are too many pleasures (many are legitimate) clamoring for our attention: endless cable television channels, movies, theaters, DVDs, Internet, and not forgetting the limitless range of hobbies.

Unless a Christian decides what is enough, he is liable to be drowned. There are simply too much fun and games available. When the church is immersed in such fun and games to the same extent as the world, there can be no revival. Consequently, the entire world could go to hell and believers could passively and mindlessly drift from day to day.

But when a soul is revived, he is more aware of what he has been listening and watching. There will be an emphasis on things that are spiritual and eternal. He will lose interest in the jingles of life. Instead of spending major time on minor things, he will be mindful of eternal values.

7. Being more conscious of God’s presence and power in me.

Only the disciplines of the Word and prayer can bring about the anointing of God upon our lives. An awakened Christian becomes more aware of Christ living in him. So he conducts himself accordingly, and lives around him are touched and transformed.

8. To surrender and die to self so that the new life is manifested.

As believers, we have far more power and authority than we have ever experienced. Self-life is the greatest hindrance to having the new Life of the Spirit living in and through us. A surrendered life is a revived life.

9. Living a life of love and faith.

A revived Christian feels like he is falling in love for the first time, overflowing with a great desire to please God. Although his ministry may seem insignificant and mundane, his service to the Lord is lovingly done by faith. Sometimes he may even feel that his task is a thankless one and often overlooked by people. But because his heart is in the right place with God, he soldiers on in faith and performs his duties with great joy.

One day, an old missionary, who had finished his term of service in a foreign land, was returning home by air. Stepping out of the plane, he saw a red carpet rolled out before him; but it wasn’t for him, it was for a VIP who was traveling on the same plane.

The VIP was returning from a very important assignment overseas. There was a big crowd waiting for him. He received a rousing welcome from reporters, journalists, dignitaries and admirers.

Then this old missionary stepped down from the plane. There was no rousing welcome. He had spent many lonely years in the hardest missionary field overseas. And it seemed to him, by contrast, he had the most thankless job.

Suddenly, the Lord opened up his spiritual eyes and he saw his Homecoming in Heaven. Many relatives and friends, who had gone on before him, were there to welcome him. He was surrounded by numberless angels; and behold, Jesus Christ Himself was there to welcome him with outstretched arms. Once again, love, faith and joy flooded his soul.

10. Acting as God’s ambassadors of great destiny.

A revived soul realizes that life is brief and eternity is endless. He knows that souls are at stake and a higher destiny is waiting for every redeemed soul.

A true ambassador of God is never completely at home in this world. He is just passing through. If that is so, then passing things do not have a hold on him, only everlasting things do. That’s the spirit of revival!

3 HALLMARKS OF A REAL REVIVAL

1. The self-life is being crucified.

Not only is the self-life a stench to others, we ourselves are sickened by it, especially when we see life in a proper perspective.

2. The new life of Christ is being resurrected and reflected.

The self-life must be replaced by Christ’s Life living in and through us.

3. Other lives are being impacted by our revived lives to also live the crucified and new life.

As long as Christians are willing to be crucified and resurrected to live anew, the wonderful cycle of revival goes on. Hence, dying to self is the start of a new and revived life.

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Christ can only live in and through us effectively when we have surrendered the self-centered life to be crucified. The more we have Christ in us, the less we have of that selfish life. The more we deny our fleshly desires, the greater will be our godly aspirations and effectiveness.

Romans 6:8
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

John 12:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Matthew 10:38-39
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

This is a puzzling saying of Christ. The prerequisite for a follower of Christ is that he must carry the cross. What a strange statement! The cross is an instrument of execution. Certainly, Christ does not expect all of us to suffer and die on the cross physically just like He did. Therefore, the crucifixion must be in the spiritual sense.

The practical meaning is that we must be willing to deny ourselves and die to self-centeredness and all selfish desires.

Verse 39 is equally puzzling. Again, when we interpret it from the spiritual perspective, it makes perfect sense. When we hold on to the self-life, we will lose all spirituality.

Here is a choice that every soul must make. When we decide to lose the self-life, then and only then will we gain a spiritual life. So if we insist on holding on to the lower life of self, we will lose the higher Life of Christ. But if we choose to live the higher Life of Christ, then we will have to lose the lower life of self. When we do that, the Spirit of God will fill our souls. That’s how a personal revival takes place.


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CONSEQUENCES OF AN ABSENCE
OF REVIVAL

In the previous chapter, “revival” is being defined as “to be alive again”. So the implication is: when sleeping Christians are being awakened and revived by the Spirit of God, they are alive in God again. Consequently, they become effective extensions of the Lord, acting as His lips, hands and feet. It is as if Jesus is walking on earth again; but this time round, He does it through the lives of His believers.

We also asked the question, “What is a real revival?” But is there such a thing as a fake revival? Yes, there is because it is possible to attract a big crowd into the church by some gimmicks and the focus is not on transformation of lives.

Here is an example of a fake revival. Let’s say the leadership of a church decides to use rock music to reach out to young people; hence, some rock stars have been invited to perform and testify. Consequently, a huge crowd turns out every night for the so-called revival meetings.

As far as the youngsters are concerned, it is a rock concert, notwithstanding that the rock stars have professed Christ. So long as their “idols” are there, the crowds keep building up.

However, when the rock stars are gone, the church goes back to square one. The huge crowds are gone, and nothing has changed. And the youngsters are asking, “When will those rock stars perform in our church again?”

Obviously, this is not a revival of spiritual lives. Rather, it is a revival of the flesh, a revival of rock music and, perhaps, a revival of fashion as the teens are emulating their rock idols’ styles of singing and dressing.

So what’s the problem? The problem is we have a tendency to major on the glitz and glamour, rather than on purity and power.

Now, let’s ask another question to understand the seriousness of the problem. What if those rock stars decide to perform in that particular church every Sunday and their love for rock music exceeds their love for Christ? What do you think would happen? The church would be too small to contain the crowds. That church could well be the largest church in the country, but is it a real revival?

Similarly, a church can feature interesting world-class speakers almost every Sunday to attract multitudes, yet there is hardly any sign of a revival. To some pastors, that’s the strategy for church growth.

A revival will attract huge crowds but the difference is that multitudes will have their lives revolutionized. However, a church can attract huge crowds by many other means as well, although the intent and purpose of a revival will never be achieved. The crux of a revival is the transformation of multitudes, and not merely the gathering together of the biggest crowd for a show.

Why is a real revival necessary? Man has this dreadful propensity to take things for granted. When they are facing hardship, they yearn for relief. But when comfort and prosperity have been achieved, they yearn for mischief to entertain them, the very things that will bring them back to pain and hardship once again.

Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

We have this tendency to stray away from the protection of God. When we do, His judgment will come upon us. Then instinctively, we will cry out to God; and He, in His mercy, will deliver us. That’s when a revival is needed.

Habakkuk 3:2
O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

In anticipation of the Babylonian captivity, the Prophet cried for mercy on behalf of his people. They had grievously sinned against God and had gone too far. In fact, they had gone beyond the point of no return. Hence, God’s judgment upon them was inevitable.

All that Habakkuk could pray was for God to remember his people. Even in the midst of their slavery, he begged God for a revival because he knew that once his people were revived, freedom would be the result. That’s why a revival is absolutely necessary in our lives and in our country.

7 POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF AN ABSENCE OF PERSONAL REVIVAL

Is your spiritual life taking a downhill slide? These seven consequences do not take place all at the same time, but they will inevitably appear one after the other, albeit not in the sequence outlined below.

Let this be a warning. Depending on your circumstances, they may all come in quick succession, almost like an avalanche. Please bear in mind that the price of an absence of a revival can be deadly.

1st Possible Consequence
The risk of losing the purpose of life

The purpose in this earthly life is hinged upon God and eternal things. Life can only be meaningful when we are involved with God and His Kingdom. Through His Word and prayer, we begin to know, in broad terms, the future of this world and the direction of our lives.

Worshiping and serving God are also activities with eternal values. The only treasures of achievement that we can bring over to the next life are the precious souls won into God’s Kingdom because they are of eternal value. These are the things that make earthly life meaningful and even joyful.

Without God, all earthly goals and preoccupations are temporal, transient and passing. It is tragic that many people are selling their souls for passing things. You can be the most powerful monarch in the world and have conquered half the world and more or the wealthiest tycoon with a great business empire. It will be just a matter of time, often in the midst of your frantic pursuit for aggrandizement, when you will realize that life is simply empty without God and eternity. Every human heart will ultimately come to that point.

Here’s the irony. A Christian, who is serving the King of kings and the Lord of lords, can be so distracted that he yearns for the jingles of this world. Then he has to come full cycle, experiencing unnecessary pain and sorrow, to realize that he has to return to God in order to have a sense of purpose in life again.

Without a personal revival, you can lose the purpose of life. When you do not know your eternal purpose, life can be dreadfully meaningless and void.

2nd Possible Consequence
The risk of tormenting conflicts in the heart

We are living in very troubled and unstable times. There are far too many issues relating to living this earthly life. Life is extremely complicated without God. However, when a heart is close to God, the eternal perspective that he has allows him to simplify matters.

Think of a revived believer as someone who is not entangled in questionable activities or implicated in messy affairs. He lives a simple structured life that is focused and powerful. And his simple heart deals with inner conflicts effectively.

3rd Possible Consequence
The risk of forfeiting spiritual inheritance

Our destiny is simply staggering. We will be rulers of the universe, even judging angels in the life to come. But right now, we are a royal priesthood. When priests are also royalty, they have incredible power and authority. That’s our spiritual inheritance, without which we are miserably poor!

After our recent Manila Miracle Revival 2008, the Gospelighters had a chance to share their testimonies. They testified how easy it was to get the sick folks healed at the Araneta Coliseum, considering that many of them came with hopeless medical conditions. Much to our Gospelighters’ amazement, when they simply issued short commands to the evil spirits, the sicknesses left the people and they were made whole.

In some of our overseas crusades, when the occasions called for it, we simply commanded the prince of the air to quit his mischief. The angry clouds rolled away, a typhoon stopped and a tornado redirected.

If we forfeit such spiritual inheritance for a bowl of pottage, we must be, of all people, totally out of our minds. Only revived souls know how to rise up and enter fully into their spiritual inheritance; slumbering Christians lose it all.

With so much potential unction invested in our lives by the Holy Spirit, it is most tragic if Christians are unable to pray through in a crisis. Careless Christians simply can’t.

4th Possible Consequence
The risk of being vulnerable to Satan’s deception and attacks

The Bible says that the devil is like a roaring lion that is waiting to take advantage of an unwary soul. He is like a roaring lion because he only uses intimidation and deception to trip us up. Christ has already defeated him on the Cross of Calvary.

If we stand our ground, there is no way the devil can defeat us. So he desperately uses all the deceitful means and ways to deceive and intimidate us. It is only when we give way to him that we can be defeated. Revived Christians cannot be easily fooled by him. But when a foolish soul is drifting further and further away from God, he is an easy prey for the devil.

One of the greatest strategies of the devil is to instigate Christians to bicker and fight among themselves. Just when the church is about to experience another upsurge of growth, division sets in. The church is weakened and the devil jumps with glee.

5th Possible Consequence
The risk of being in bondage

When we become too comfortable and complacent, little by little, we tend to make compromises. And before we know it, lo and behold, we are out of God’s protection. Then we begin to go deeper and deeper into sin and still find justifications for it. That is how Christians are trapped in some compulsive habits that have a deadly grip on their lives.

If you want to be free from a besetting sin, you need to have your heart revived by the Spirit of God. A revived Christian will stay within the boundaries of God’s safety and protection so that divine love can reach and keep him.

6th Possible Consequence
The risk of being a stumbling block to others

Your life is either a stepping stone or a stumbling block to others. A sleepy and disgruntled Christian is certainly a stumbling block even if he doesn’t realize it.

Many years ago, when I was working in an advertising firm, a young lady came very early in the morning to report for work on her first day with our company. In the course of our conversation, I was delighted to hear her remark, “You must be a Christian!” That was one of the greatest compliments ever paid to me.

As the days went by, I became a disgruntled Christian. Although I was still attending church regularly and serving in an area of ministry faithfully, my heart was growing cold.

A cold, dry and disgruntled believer will always have something to gripe about. One day, in the presence of my colleagues, I was giving vent to my frustration regarding some church issues. That was the worst thing that a Christian could possibly do to smear the name of Christ. This young lady looked horrified, but she kept quiet.

In private, she expressed her disappointment. In a gentle voice, she said, “Don’t you think those things you said earlier can stumble non-Christians and hinder them from coming to know Christ?”

I could see the grief in her eyes. That look and those words still haunt me from time to time till this day. I was smitten with a terrible conviction by the Spirit. You can never know the depth of my shame as I realized I had become a stumbling block; and I vowed in my heart never to do that again.

God had spoken to me through that precious lady. There and then I knew that I needed a renewal, an awakening and a revival in my heart. Later, I managed to redeem myself when she had a personal problem. She came to me for counsel. I was so glad that my credibility was restored and she trusted me again.

It is horrible to be a stumbling block, especially on issues that relate to the eternal welfare of others. When eternity dawns and a soul realizes that none of his family members or relatives or neighbors or friends or colleagues is in Heaven because he is their stumbling block, what agony will he feel in the depth of his soul?

7th Possible Consequence
The risk of backsliding to the point of no return

The Christian life is like riding a bicycle. You either move on and advance or you fall off. So it is dangerous to remain status quo in your spiritual life.

Before Saul became the king of Israel, he was an extremely humble and considerate man. God saw his heart and chose him. However, God could not override his free will. To cut a long story short, King Saul backslidded to the point of no return.

Similarly, Judas was willing to forsake all and follow Christ. The Lord saw that in his heart. And again, Jesus could not control his free will. Like King Saul, Judas was distracted and became evil and disobedient.

Both of them had their consciences seared and their hearts hardened. Were they saved in the first place? Of course, they were even specially called and selected by God, but they tragically backslidded to the point of no return. That’s the risk of an unrevived, unrenewed and stale Christian!

Let’s examine a controversial passage in the Bible. I have expounded it in greater detail in the book Clearing Cobwebs.

Hebrews 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Some theologians claim that once a person is genuinely saved, he cannot be lost. But this passage teaches a very different view. Please study it carefully.

You must agree with me that a believer, who was a partaker of the Holy Ghost, was once enlightened and had tasted the heavenly gift and the good Word of the Lord, including the powers of the world to come, could not be an unsaved person.

If he was an unsaved sinner, the words “fall away” are redundant. It was because he was in the Lord that he could fall away and backslide to the point of no return.

Verse 6 is certainly frightening. I do not want you to imagine that you are in this category. If you are beyond redemption, you will not even fear whether or not you are in this category.

The Apostle Paul is talking about those whose consciences have been seared and whose hearts totally hardened. They cannot even hear the prompting of the Spirit of God to realize, repent and return to the Lord.

As you have probably realized by now that in these perilous days, we cannot afford not to have our spiritual lives renewed, refreshed and revived by the Spirit of God. The risks are simply too many and the consequences too much.