How Do You Steward Revival?
As much as I LOVE revival and all that it stands for, it doesn't solve everything.
It's only the BEGINNING.
God can light the fire,
but WE,
His priests,
His sons and daughters,
are responsible for keeping it GOING.
In the Old Testament when the Israelites had the sanctuary, altars and burnt offerings.
The fire was provided by God,
An all consuming fire,
BUT...
It was the priests' job to keep the fire going and NEVER let it burn out.
"The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out."
It's the exact same today.
The fire of revival or a Holy Spirit outpouring isn't a wave of a magic wand that solves all of our spiritual problems.
It's only meant to give it a jump start,
A boost,
An encouraging super nudge.
THEN...
We are meant to keep the fire GOING!
So HOW do you keep the fire going?
What does that even mean?
First, it means the fire can go OUT if we don't STEWARD it right.
It means that nothing is guaranteed.
There is no promise that His presence will keep you on the straight and narrow for life
God does His part and now we must do OURS.
It's like someone having a near-death experience and has a whole new perspective on life. Then after a few months, some can be back to their old ways... while others with a near-death experience are changed for life.
What's the difference?
We must get INTENTIONAL about how we STEWARD this move of God.
The LEAST we can do is...
Share it.
Talk about it.
Let people know it's a THING.
So many Christians grew up NOT knowing this is even possible.
Many churches never talk about the move of the Holy Spirit or the possibility of His PRESENCE.
This same PRESENCE that is in the church is the type of presence that Moses and David craved in the Bible.
God once told Moses that He will send angels before the Israelites take them into the Promise Land, but that God Himself would not go because they've been so BAD!
Moses pleaded with God saying that He doesn't want ANY of that without God's presence.
"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here."
Whoa!
That's like saying "God I won't take the $10 Million winning lotto numbers if you're not coming with me."
Moses was willing to exchange a HUGE prize for God's presence.
Why?
Cuz God's presence was WORTH craving for.
Another COOL Moses points out is that God's presence made them STAND OUT from OTHER people.
"How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?."
I would submit to you that God's presence was ALWAYS supposed to help His people, including TODAY'S Christians, stand out. Somehow it got LOST in history through humans corruption and greed.
Imagine...
If God's presence is ALWAYS on us,
Then people would literally FEEL the difference when you're at the gas station or at a fast food restaurant.
People would FEEL the difference when you pickup groceries or go to work.
Talk about a conversation starter, right?!
Talk about making it EASY to share Jesus and fulfill the Great Commission, right?
God's presence is a REAL thing to be sought after!
Asbury Revival reminds us of that!
So the question to ask is...
How do we STEWARD revival?
If you are trying foster REVIVAL in your heart, home, church, city or state...
It's back to the BASICS.
Excellence in what God has already taught us.
Worship,
Fellowship,
Prayer,
Scripture,
1-on-1 time with God,
Fasting,
LOVE and lots of it.
LOVE God,
LOVE Others,
Share God with LOVE and teach others how to do the same.
Wherever you are at right now in life or business,
It's all about STEWARDING your resources.
Are you stewarding what God gave you in a way that HONORS Him truly?
How's the people in your business, your family, finances, and health?
Are you neglecting any one of those?
Are you treating your business like you are God's AMBASSADOR on assignment or like an old fart setting up for retirement?
Who says God's going to retire you the way you planned?
Since WHEN did God ever line up with man's long-term self-serving plans?
Remember that God's plans are FAR greater than any retirement plan we can come up with.
We are living the parable of the Ten Virgins (Bridesmaids) waiting for the groom.
That is US NOW.
We are WAITING,
DESIRING,
HUNGERING for God's presence.
We must prepare ourselves for God by becoming spiritually mature and equipped.
We need to stop spending hours on the phone while zero minutes alone time with God and His Word.
We need to make God a #1 priority instead of #25.
We need to feel a duty to teach the next generation how to LOVE God by being the example.
We need for them to stand on our shoulders not crawl out of spiritual pit that we modeled for them.
We need to for others to draw closer to Christ BECAUSE of us not IN SPITE of us.
Be like a baton runner getting ready for the hand-off.
You get into position,
You've trained for this,
You've been practicing,
Watching videos,
Getting coached,
When you see the hand-off approaching you start in motion and sync with your hand-off partner.
We need to sync up with God for a hand-off of His presence.
His message,
His gift of salvation,
In worship
In prayer,
In fasting,
In fellowship,
In scripture.
How synced are you with God?
Is He able to hand-off anything to you?
Do you know how to STEWARD properly?
If revival hasn't hit you yet but if you WANT it...
START here.
PREPARE for revival.
STEWARD what LITTLE you have with BIG obedience.
God's got you!
He actually wants REVIVAL more than we do! ^_^
Cheers to an amazing transformational experience.
"Oh Dear God!
Teach us how to invite your PRESENCE into our midst.
Come Lord, COME!
Make Your presence the NEW NORM for Your people.
Let your PRESENCE set us apart.
Transform us.
Heal us.
Embolden us.
Be ON us and IN us in a whole new way.
Teach us how to LOVE You more,
LOVE others,
And Share You with Others and teach others how to do the same.
May we fulfill the Great Commission in such excellence that it would give you justifiable reason to come back to us even one day sooner.
If that is Your will,
Show us the way and help us follow.
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to a REVIVAL in your heart, business, city, and state!
Go get 'em!
