Was there a time in your Christian life when your passion for Christ was stronger? A time when you read God’s word more faithfully? Were you more involved in church than you are now? Did you share the gospel more? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may need a personal spiritual revival.
Pastor Greg Laurie invites us to pause for a few moments and take stock of where we are. We need to be honest about where we are in our relationship with the Lord, and to take the proper steps to re-energize our faith and fidelity to the law.
When we look back at the late 60’s and early 70’s, there are a lot of parallels between then and now. The nations were divided by racial conflict and the drug culture. Things were very dark. But when things are dark, God’s light can shine brightly. We are about due for another Jesus revolution.
We need to make a distinction between two words that are often used interchangeably. Revival and Awakening. The church needs a revival. An awakening is when God sovereignly pours out His spirit and impacts the culture. But a revival is when the church comes back to life and returns to what it was always meant to be. It’s a returning to passion.
“Many times, we are overly mystified by the idea of revival,” says Greg. “But another word we could use to describe revival is restoration. It’s restoring something to its original condition.
There are three things we need to do to bring revival to churches and communities:
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Get right with God
Get together with other Christians and get them thoroughly right with God. That’s where we start.
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Pray for Revival
Let these Christians bind themselves together in a prayer group to pray for revival until the heavens open and God comes.
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Make yourself available to God
Make ourselves available to do God’s will, especially in winning souls.
“We can do these things,” says Greg. “The spiritual awakening and the outpouring of the Spirit, that’s up to God. We can’t organize it, but we can agonize for it in prayer. We can call upon God to send it.”
The Bible talks about revival in Nehemiah 8. There are portions of the Bible that we often skip over, like the genealogy of Christ. But why does God record all these names? Because they matter. These are people that contributed to the success of the rebuilding of the wall. In Nehemiah 7 and 8, we see the spiritual awakening. But first the people had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They were getting Jerusalem ready for a big event to come. When God is at work, He looks at the big picture.
“When the walls are done, Nehemiah appoints some people to take care of business,” continues Greg. “These people were faithful to God. The Bible says, and they also feared God. The greatest ability is dependability. Are you a dependable person? Nehemiah knew he could lean on these guys. He knew they would get the job done.”
God is looking for people who can take a task and complete it. He’s looking for people who are faithful in the little things. Would you like God to call you into some form of service? Then do what is in front of you right now. Because Jesus said, if you’re faithful in the little things, you’ll be faithful in the large things.
“We all have a part to play, finding, developing, and using the gifts that God has given us in the church,” says Greg.
“Are you hungry for God today? I hope so. Because that’s how you’ll know you’re having a spiritual revival.”
Reflect + Respond
- Are you hungry for God or has your passion or hunger waned? If so, which of the three steps Pastor Greg mentioned can you take a step towards?
- What has God placed in front of you to be faithful to?
- Who has God placed in your path to reach out to?
To listen to the rest of Greg’s messages on experiencing your own spiritual revival, click below.
Listen to Greg Laurie’s podcasts via Vision Christian Media app, online. Click here to download the app from the App store. Click here to download the app from playstore.
Joel Courtney’s Step of Faith in Jesus Revolution
Joel Courtney who plays a young Greg Laurie in the movie Jesus Revolution joined the V180 team to talk about his role in the movie. Jesus Revolution is based on Pastor Greg Laurie’s life as a young hippie living in a trailer park with his alcoholic mother.
‘Jesus Revolution’ – The Impact of the Bible’s Message on a Generation
As a prolific author, one of Greg Laurie’s best sellers has been his autobiographical story of the Jesus Revolution in the late 1960s and how he was swept up in this revival.
God’s Plan For Families
Nothing is more vital for our children than having both a mum and a dad by their side. As parents, we have a God-given purpose that cannot be taken lightly – to lead our children to Jesus Christ.
The Day That Changed The World
Jesus entered the darkness so that we might walk in the light. Jesus was forsaken of God for a time so that we might enjoy His presence forever. It was an uneven exchange, but one that was heavily in our favour.
Images via Shutterstock.
