Revival Starts With Me

I started out writing a journal entry today at lunch. However, I feel like the Holy Spirit was moving, and the following is what happened:

Today begins our month-long focus on corporate prayer at Gateway Assembly of God.  As I enter into a new season of my walk with Christ, I am determined to pray more, with more focus and with more faith.

My God has been completely faithful to me, even though I haven’t always been faithful to Him.  I am determined to change that.  I am determined to worship Him with my life–reflecting the life of Christ within me…worship in spirit and in truth!

Much like the handful of expectant mothers at our church, I am going into this month full of expectancy. I expect God to shift things, work miracles, bring great provision, answer prayers and breakout in complete revival across this land. However, I also know that revival begins with me.

If there is no change within me, how can I expect to see change any place else?

So…there we are–it begins with me…and it begins with you…and you…and even you.

To see revival spread beyond the four walls of our churches, it must first start within ourselves. How? Here’s a list of what I am currently working on…maybe it will work for you too.

1. Introspection:  The Word says for us to examine ourselves. In 2nd Corinthians 12:5 it reads, ” Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”  Psalm 26:2 says, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.”  If we do this with an open heart, the Lord will show us areas where we need correction and cleansing.
2. Repent:  yes…repent and turn away from those things that the Lord reveals to you during the time of introspection.  Matthew 3:2 reads, “And saying, “repent ye; for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
3. Be Obedient:  When the Lord speaks to you, do it…right then. You’ll be amazed at how He moves on your behalf when you are obedient.  “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22)
4. Pray:  Here’s where some of us get bogged down. Some don’t know how to pray. Some think prayer is only a list of requests. Some feel unworthy to come before the Lord.  Man, it is amazing the lies we believe from the enemy.   Prayer is simply communing with our Lord.  Its should be praise and an outpouring of our love for the Father. It should be baring our hearts and souls to Him (He already knows it all anyway). And yes, it is presenting our requests to Him in prayer…but they should be according to His Will. Prayer is interceding for others. It doesn’t have to be flowery or perfect. Simple speech and praying His Word over things is an excellent plan.  Matthew 21:22 says that “and all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing (emphasis mine), ye shall receive.  Phillipians 4:6 tells us to “be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving (again…my emphasis), let your requests be made known to God.”
5. Worship: Ah….here’s the one that the Lord has been emphasizing to me the past few days. He has been telling me that my worship was not complete. My very life needed to be expressing my worship of Him…not just the songs we sing in church on Sunday morning or while I’m driving down the road. It isn’t to be just posting a scripture on some social media site.  Everything in my life should be in worship to Him. My thoughts?  They should be grounded in the truth of the Bible.  My words?  They better be the loving, grace-filled statements that Jesus would speak. My actions?  They better reflect the life of Christ living in me.  You see…I’ve said many times to myself and others, our worship has to be a way of life.  However,  I didn’t really have a grasp on what that meant, until the Holy Spirit showed me how I was NOT doing these things. (This points back to #1.) So…its time to update the way we worship.  John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”  Psalm 29:2 states, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”  Phillippians 3:3 says, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”  We see in Revelation 15:4 the following: “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?  for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”    Our worship should be all about Him, and our lives are to be lived in worship by reflecting the life of Christ within us.

I have put these words to paper, to finish with this:  These suggestions are what the Lord spoke to me for me.  Do I think they were only for me?  No…if I did I wouldn’t be posting them here.  I do not claim that they will spark a world-wide revival if put into action (but it could happen…our God can do anything). I can only say, without a shadow of a doubt, that…as I have already begun to take these steps in my own life, I’ve already experienced change. I am experiencing a revival of the Holy Spirit welling up in me that has not happened in a while.  When revival of the Holy Spirit wells up in me, then the fruit of the spirit will pour forth and start to feed some other starving soul…and so on, and so on…and that is how I see revival starting with me.  I pray it starts with you too.

Let’s pray:

Father God…we thank You that You love us so much to not leave us in the mire into which we get ourselves stuck. Thank you, Lord for your Word and the instructions contained within it that show us how live and how to worship You. Father, help us in those moments where we are stuck or our sight is covered by a dark cloud, to see Your Holy Truth, examine ourselves and make sure we are reflecting You in our lives. I pray that You bless each person reading this with the anointing of the Holy Spirit and a mighty move of revival within their lives, their churches and their communities.  We love you Lord and we praise and honor Your Holy Name. Its in the Precious Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

 

Wrecked by Worship

One word…that’s all it took to wreck me this morning.

We had a wonderful worship service this morning. Everyone was singing, dancing, people were praying in tongues/their prayer language. Many times, though I love singing, I get distracted. But this morning, I was determined to stay focused on God…because its all about Him anyway.  We were on the last song. It was almost finished (or so I thought), and I dropped to my knees, once again in prayer.  Crying out to God in my heart, in my spirit…almost instantly, I heard one word.

WORSHIP.

Instantly I knew that my worship has not been what it should be. My Lord revealed to me that my worship, though it was okay, has not been fully realized, nor has it been what He desires.

We must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)…but in order to do that, we must also know, live and breathe the Word. We must have the Holy Spirit.   Worship isn’t just about a sweet song or hymn to sing. Its not just about a casual prayer just because that’s the thing to do.

Our worship is a life that reflects the life of Jesus Christ!  Our worship is an outward expression of the Holy Spirit living in us.   Our worship should be that we reflect Christ in all that we think, all that we say and all that we do.  Anything that keeps us from doing this diminishes the life of Christ in us and therefore, we do not worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Today, Father God showed me that my actions, words and even my unspoken thoughts lately have not reflected His life in me. We are to take our very thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and daily renew our minds (Romans 12:2). Why? Because if we do not, then wrong thoughts take hold in our minds. Those thoughts become habits, and habits become character.  And if His character is not reflected in mine, how is the world going to see Him?  How is the world going to see that there IS something different and special waiting for them?  How is the world going to see Jesus?   How are they going to know, without a shadow of a doubt that I worship the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

Beloveds, the Father shook me to the core on this one today….so much so…I had to share it with you. Not to judge…but to try to help. Maybe you are struggling the same way I was. Maybe God is already speaking this to you, and this blog is your confirmation. I don’t know. I just knew it wasn’t just for me.  Won’t you join me in a new, old way to worship?  Not just by singing and praying, but by living a life that truly reflects Jesus Christ…and gives us the ability to worship as the Father desires…in spirit and in truth!

Let’s pray:

Father God:  I thank You Lord for your gentle discipline and instruction. Thank You for reminding me that our worship should be our whole lives…not just a song or a prayer.  You are faithful to reveal yourself to us right when we need You most. Your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Help us, Father, to dig deeper into your Word, open our hearts wider to receive even more of You, and to have the faith to step out deeper into the water of your unfailing and never-ending love.  Your Word says that You will be with us through deep waters and difficult rivers and we will not drown. You will not allow the flames of oppression to consume us for You are the Lord our God, the Holy One of Israel…our SAVIOR (Is 43:2-3), and we stand on those promises Lord, as we step out to make our very lives our worship to You, Oh God! You get all the glory and praise and honor.  We pray in the Holy and Precious, Powerful Name of Jesus.  Amen.