Sermon by Pas. Alex
We know the last-days Church will face challenges of intensity never seen before. We can see some of the examples in Matthew 24. We also know that the last-days Church will be the most glorious and most powerful church that ever existed.
Haggai 2:9 The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place, I will bring peace. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
Isaiah 60:1,2 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you.
God’s glory will rise upon His church. This is our destiny. The decisions we make now as a leader and a believer will determine whether we will be overwhelmed by the coming challenges or we will rise to be the
Most Powerful Church.
What do we need to do? Build our lives well because if we don’t mature and grow in stature we cannot walk into what God has prepared for us in His plans. After Covid, now when things are almost back to normal people find it hard to imagine that things are about to get worse. If you want to imagine how it would be. Think back to covid times and imagine how uncertain and fearful you felt and multiply it by 100 times. There will be great pressure against our minds, wills, and emotions and anything or anyone righteous or godly. So if we are not built well we will crack and collapse. Matthew 24 says the love of many will grow cold.
Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
Matthew 7:24,25
Bedrock implies the foundation of what we build. We need to be clear about our stand and doctrines because they will determine how we live. E.g., If we are waiting for Rapture then our mentality would be – “Just survive until we are raptured.” If we believe the Church will go through tribulation then we will build our lives strong so we won’t be swept away. Scripture talks about the winds and waves that test the strength of the structure we build. The waves come slowly to erode the building. What we are going through now is like small waves that beat against the house. We may feel a bit of shaking but we can still stand. But, what’s coming ahead is a Tsunami. It will be sudden, fast, and strong. When we visited Sri Lanka after the Tsunami we saw concrete buildings reduced to rubble. We have to build our lives to last what’s coming our way.
For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:2,3
We want to zero in on the statement – the disaster will fall on them suddenly when they think everything is okay. These are the words we will keep hearing in the coming days – Unexpected, unexplainable, uncertain. The pandemic was a God-given chance for us to start building ourselves well. It was a foretaste of how things can change suddenly and affect us. There is a higher force behind all these things working towards its agenda. But we as a church know, no matter what happens we win in the end.
Mathew 24:13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The key is mentioned here – Endure. For this, we need inner strength. God never sends us out into battle without preparing us unless we run out on our own. That’s why we must know our battles well; when to pursue, when to let go. We want everyone to reach Zion in their journey. That’s why we studied the journey of Israel in the past. We don’t want to stop at Mount Sinai with our activities and experiences. We want to move on to where God wants us to be. We don’t want to go through the same cycle every year; certain times high, certain times low and certain times dry. We have to move forward.
How do we measure if we are progressing?
If we were to ask any believer this question – What is your duty as a believer? This would be the common answer – “I need to follow the word. I need to follow the Holy Spirit.” Although this is true, it is too general a statement to evaluate whether we are growing.
Seven areas we measure growth in a person
(i) Aspects of the heart
a) Integrity – Having unchangeable convictions amid a changeable environment. Does the person have convictions of steel that do not compromise on Kingdom values? Compromise causes us to shift the operational principles of our lifestyle
b) Righteousness – This is not being self-righteous but living and operating with an honorable code of ethics
c) Peace – Ability to walk in peace in all situations
d) Joy in the Holy Ghost – Ability to express their hearts unashamedly to God in His presence. Having a buoyant spirit in all circumstances; having the inner strength to rise above every need, fear, every negative thought, and emotion
(ii) Spiritual aspects
a) Devotion towards God, His Word, and His work – Is it the foremost priority?
b) Growing in undivided attention for Him
c) Growing in the ability to sense the flow of the Holy Spirit
d) Growing in the ability to rightly divide the word
e) Growing in the understanding of the word
f) Flow of accurate revelations
g) Growing in the passion for all things holy
(iii) Mental aspects
a) Ability of mind to reason and conclude an issue or matter
b) Ability to navigate through stress/pressure and make wise and accurate decisions
c) Ability to filter and discern truth and see things from a biblical perspective
d) Is the mindset, mental framework, and thinking patterns evolving, changing, and governed by the Word of God?
e) Is there a flow of revelation & wisdom to navigate through life’s challenges?
(iv) Social aspects
a) Ability to interact with people
b) Ability to be at peace and full of graciousness
c) Ethical and moral in all dealings with people
d) Leading and winning others for Christ through our lives
(v) Strategic aspects
a) Ability to chart the way forward
b) Ability to use resources wisely for the project
c) Ability to plan for growth
(vi) Economic aspects
a) Ability to generate resources for ourselves
b) Ability to manage resources wisely
c) Not driven by need or money
(vii) Health aspects
You are only useful as long as your body is healthy & functioning
We have also been studying
1. Seven areas we need to break through and mature in
2. Who is a productive Christian leader?
All these should lead us to
1. Manifesting Christ in our lives
2. Growing in stature and maturity
3. The body of Christ coming in unity
4. Life in the dimension of the Spirit
In the Old Testament, this was Zion (Jerusalem) and now for the New Testament Church, it is the Spiritual Zion.
With this in mind what are you going to do differently?
Nothing changes unless you change. Don’t end this year like you did the last. Evaluate what you need to change. Change starts in our daily habits.
Proverbs 4:18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.
Continuous change and growth mark our life. To move from glory to glory there must be a change in our walk to go to that next level.
Ask God – Where is the next level? And move there.
Think of change only in terms of – What have you become?
Do you have more ministry opportunities now than before? Great! But what have you become?
Did you get more blessings this year? Great! But what have you become?
Do you have more experiences in the presence of God this year? Great! But what have you become?
Do you have more followers on Facebook? People are responding to what you write? Great! But what have you become?
God rewards us for our work. Whatever we do wholeheartedly for Him there is a reward waiting. But we are judged based on what we have become.
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
This is what God wants us to become.
Don’t run in blind faith but have clarity and direction in whatever you do. We have to build a life that sustains what God fills us with.
Let us understand a few things before we talk about Revival
1. What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit?
It is an empowerment of the Spirit to do something. It is a gift. It is resident in us. E.g. You may be anointed to teach, prophesy and heal. It is an expression of the Holy Spirit’s power.
2. What is the in-filling of the Holy Spirit?
It means God pours a new measure of His Spirit into our spirits. Sometimes in a meeting, God pours out a new measure of His Spirit into us and for that period, we keep crying and praying; there is an excitement and buoyancy in our spirit for a while.
3. What is the Indwelling Spirit ?
The Holy Spirit.
In John 7 He is described as a river that flows from our belly. He is the power source placed within our spirit.
John 7:38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Holy Spirit.
The Bible warns us that we should not quench the Holy Spirit. When we don’t allow Holy Spirit to express and function freely in our lives we are quenching Him. We could do this because of our fears, our doubts, or some other mental blocks.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
Inaccurate lifestyles, sin, and disobedience grieve the Holy Spirit. These cause the vessels (our lives) to leak what God has poured into our spirits. Leaks prevent Him from functioning.
For example – This Sunday you go to church God pours out a fresh measure of His spirit. During the week by carelessness / careless lifestyle, you can suppress all that God put into your spirit. Every time we walk in disobedience we contaminate what God has poured into us. Imagine you are a clear glass container and God pours crystal clear water into you. Your sin/disobedience is like putting a pinch of mud into that water. The water becomes contaminated. The Holy Spirit moves away from whatever caused the contamination.
Ask yourself this – In 2000 years of Christianity, how many Revival meetings have happened in India? If the Holy Spirit was in control why did those movements not continue? The probable reasons are – sin and disobedience. Do we want this to continue in our generation?
Temple of the Holy Spirit
Think of the Holy Spirit building our lives in terms of a natural building. A building has a blueprint and a skeletal framework. The skeletal structures of our spiritual temple are
1. Foundation
– The cross is the one that clears our land for building. When we say we cannot become the Tabernacle of God without Jesus, it means we have to be born again
– We must understand our identity in Christ
– We need to identify our inheritance. Many of our fears and doubts are a result of our not understanding our inheritance
Ephesians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Do we believe this? Do we have full conviction about this?
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.
In Christ, we are led triumphantly. Do we believe this?
Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
It says in Christ we can do everything. Do we believe?
Ephesians 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
It says we are seated with Christ; we have authority. Do we believe this?
2 Peter 1:3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.
Bible says everything we need for a life of godliness has been provided. Do we believe this?
The test will come when we are going through challenges. Are these scriptures just knowledge or are they convictions in your heart? Our foundation is only as strong as your conviction.
We can pray all we want. We can quote these scriptures. Declare these scriptures. We can do everything! End of the day, what will bring us through or what will carry us through is our conviction about what the Word of God says. That’s why some temples are collapsing, some lives are collapsing because every time they build something happens, and the foundation is broken and they have to rebuild again.
Picture your life and see where you are failing. Where are you constantly breaking down? You have to find a way and a strategy to overcome.
A strategy is a plan that cannot fail.
Next, we see the pillars.
The first pillar – Holiness
We don’t have to be holy to come to Jesus. That’s true. It is true for non-believers. But once you are in the kingdom there is a demand to live a consecrated and holy life. The confusion comes in when pastors teach that ‘Jesus accepts all.’ Another confusion is ‘Jesus was a hundred percent man and a hundred percent, God. That’s why he was able to be temptation free.’ This is not true. Philippians 2 says He emptied Himself. If He overcame sin by His divinity then He has no right to demand that we grow into his image! But Jesus was a prototype sent by God to show how to live a life that is pleasing to Him, fully led by the Holy Spirit. It says in Hebrews 3, He faced all temptations just like us and yet He did not sin.
2 Peter 1:3 – 5 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to Himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
Make every effort – He has already given us everything for us to lead a godly life. He has given His precious and wonderful promises. By living according to them, and clinging to them we participate in His divine nature. What is our job? We must make every effort.
By our own effort, we cannot become what God wants us to be because the architect of our lives is the Holy Spirit. The builder of this temple is the Holy Spirit. We simply need to listen, obey, and partner with the Holy Spirit so that He can build us.
It is important to mention that as long as we are in the flesh we are subject to temptation but we don’t have to keep falling.
Proverbs 4:18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.
This means our strength and resolve are getting stronger and stronger.
Holiness means to live a consecrated life. It is bringing in the nature of Christ; that is growing like Christ. Christ’s nature is God’s nature. No matter how long or how often we fast it is not a measure of our holiness. These are important disciplines but they are not a measure of our holiness. What we become as a result of that fasting is what we will measure. How has it changed our nature?
Isaiah 58 talks about true fasting. God mentions what they have become. So it is not about activities like – I stopped smoking, I stopped this and that. You can stop but what makes you holy is what is inside, your nature, your character, your attitude; what you become. It is what is seen in our lives.
The second pillar – Love
It is not how much you profess your love for Jesus. That’s between you and God and only God can measure that. It is also not about sentiments or prayers or emotional crying.
The outworking of love in our lives produces a nature; Christ’s nature. He was submissive, led a surrendered life, was sacrificial, and had a servant’s heart and a selfless heart. That is how we measure whether we are growing in the pillar of love.
For instance, if I just come and talk to you lovingly, I call you ‘my child’ and all, that doesn’t mean I’m full of love. What is produced in my life? Am I submissive? Am I sacrificial? Am I having a surrendered life? Am I able to forgive people quickly? All these are measures of the outer working of love in my life.
The third pillar – Faith
It is not what you declare in faith or pray in faith. Your growth in faith is seen by the decisions you make and how you navigate through your life. The outworking of faith always produces action.
Even when you read Hebrews 11 about the heroes of faith, you see by faith they went out and did something. So you don’t have to look at how people pray or speak to measure their faith. You just have to look at their lives – how they live, how they make decisions, what they do.
I once had an interesting experience. A friend of mine was trying to teach his four-year-old daughter to swim. She was sitting at the edge of the pool and he was in the pool. He was asking her – Do you trust Daddy? She said “Yes!” Do you think when you jump into the pool I’ll hold you? She said “Yes!” Do you know Daddy will not let anything happen to you? She said “Yes!” Do you believe I will teach you how to swim? She said “Yes!” Then he said – Ok! Are you ready to get into the water? She said “No.”
Just like us. We know the theology of things. We know everything we need for life, His divine power has provided.
Psalms 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
It says every day of our lives God already knows. He knows what’s going to happen; He knows every temptation, every challenge, and every problem we are going to face each day of our lives. He says I have a strategy ready for you.
Now if I ask you – Do you believe that God will help you in your life? You will say “Yes!” But when you go through that specific challenge of your life you will be like that little girl who said “No.”
Think about it. Your foundation is only as strong as your conviction. Whether we are growing in the pillar of faith will be seen in the way we make decisions and the way we live our lives.
The fourth pillar – Power
This pillar consists of us growing in our gifts and anointing.
The Walls of Wisdom
The walls of wisdom protect us from the things of the world and the devil.
James 3:13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, and doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
How do we know a man is walking in wisdom? – By his conduct and actions.
The walls of wisdom protect us from the schemes of the world and the schemes of the enemy. When Queen Sheba visited King Solomon she observed how everything was done in his kingdom. She saw that he operated in the wisdom of God by the way he did things. So the outworking of wisdom is seen in the works we produce and the decisions we make.
Education gives us a certain level of wisdom and so does experience. Age can also give us a certain level of wisdom but it depends on the individual. It is not necessary the older we are the wiser we become. Beyond all these, God has given us wisdom from above, the Spirit of wisdom – the Holy Spirit. So how we manage our lives and make decisions will show whether we are led by the Spirit of Wisdom or our wisdom based on our education, experience, emotions, etc.,
The Roof of Truth
Everything we do in our lives must be undergirded by truth; the belt of truth. So if we see the Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Power is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Wisdom is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Faith is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Love is the Holy Spirit and Spirit of Holiness is the Holy Spirit. That is why He is the architect of our lives. We must make every effort to listen to Him and obey.
If we are not built well in holiness, the devil will trap us in immorality and cause us to move into falsehood. If we are not built well in faith he will enslave us to fear and worry. If we are not built well in power we will have no breakthroughs in our lives and we will feel powerless against the workings of the enemy. If we are not built well in love, the self will override our hearts, and so on.
In 2 Timothy 3 , we read about people who love money, self, pleasure, etc., They all love God but they love money, self, personal gratification, and indulgence more. These are Christians; they have a form of godliness.
1 Kings 3:3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense in the high places.
Solomon loved the Lord. He was the wisest man. But what happened? He fell into immorality. It was not a problem of lust. He married all those women as a strategy to expand his kingdom. But it was still immorality because he disobeyed God.
If you are not built well in wisdom you get into unnecessary troubles. You do not know how to navigate the challenges of life. Sometimes pastors face this problem. They think they must live by faith. Their understanding of faith is that they do nothing. They keep praying and praying and they go through the same cycles of trouble but God has also given us wisdom. Sometimes when you keep praying God is our Father, His heart melts and He grants us our desires. Remember with the Israelites, God did not want to give quail but they kept on asking and He granted their request. Sometimes because of His mercy, He closes one eye and lets us have it. But that doesn’t become a principle or a value you live by.
A non-believer who was in huge debt came to our church. In his simplicity, he prayed to God and bought a lottery ticket. He won the prize and settled all his debts. God did something unique in his life because He is God and He decides how He wants to help His children. But we cannot make that a principle saying – Anybody who is in debt, pray to God and buy a lottery ticket.
for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
1 John 5:4
He is training us to overcome everything in this world through our faith. By listening to what He has to say and having faith in Him we overcome this world. That’s why He wants us to develop in a wholesome, complete manner; well-built in all areas.
Remember we need faith in God but we need wisdom to live. We know countless ministries that are strong in gifts but fail in different things. In a building, the pillars cannot be lopsided. In the same way, we need to ensure we are growing equally in every area. On our own, we cannot become what God wants us to become. The architect of our lives is the Holy Spirit.
If we want to become a temple of revival and carry His presence in the coming days, we have to take these things seriously.
When God does something there is always a purpose behind it.
Why is God bringing this final outpouring or the last days’ revival?
First, He is going to start a cycle of the last days’ harvest.
The second is to empower and revive the Last Days’ church – The Most Powerful Church.
Some focus on harvest alone but we must remember that those who are harvested must be built into maturity. There are different understandings of revival. For some, revival is simply a manifestation of gifts and the harvest of souls.
According to a study on the Templates of Revival starting from Acts to Revelation, there are certain markers.
Revival means to revive awaken or restore. Every revival will bring the church back to the wholeness with which it started. We only revive something dead or dormant. So it means to revive the church back to the original template of the New Testament Church; back to that vibrancy of Spirit in their lives.
Matthew 16:18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock, I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Jesus describes the Church as unstoppable and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. For the first 200 years of its existence, the church was unstoppable. Then false doctrines and false leaders came up and messed up the whole thing. Even after that, a remnant continued when you study the Church’s history.
Templates of Revival
Everywhere around the world, there is anticipation for Revival and the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The past revivals fizzled out. We must learn from their mistakes. When you study the different revivals that happened you will see that God was faithful to pour out His Spirit but in the sequence of events, it is the man who messed things up and stopped the Revival and allowed it to fizzle out.
Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
We are all waiting for the Latter Rain; revival. When you say revival this is how you measure whether it is a revival. There were four key things.
1. It brings fear of God back into the life of the people
For instance, in the Brownsville Revival, bars shut down. Prostitute parlors shut down. Nobody went to any evangelistic meeting but they all ran to the Church because the fear of God and the holiness of God captured them. Different revivals may happen in different ways but the key thing is it brings back the fear of God into people’s lives. There is a desire to live our lives holy.
2. It restores intense passion for God and love for souls
That is why you will see a great harvest of souls. You will see believers with radical obedience. They will have no problem obeying God in anything. You will see great things done by ordinary believers.
3. Powerful transformation of lives
4. Mighty demonstration of power
You will see mighty signs, wonders, and miracles on a consistent daily basis.
What kept the New Testament church going? What kept the Church going for 300 years in a thrust of revival?
Revival is a condition of our spirit. Because all the above points mentioned are what happens internally.
John 7:37, 38 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
The festival they were celebrating at that time was God’s provision of water in the desert for the Israelites. At the same time, He rose and spoke about the spiritual provision for the people who are going to enter His Kingdom. With the Samaritan woman near the well Jesus talks about the water which He gives that will cause the receiver to never thirst again.
John 4:13, 14 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
This water, the Holy Spirit will satisfy every spiritual thirst there is. Whenever the Bible talks about rivers, it talks about refreshing, renewing, and reviving. He is the fountain of a Revived Life within us. Holy Spirit wants to establish a lifestyle of Revival in us. The river is not to be quenched but it’s meant to be flowing and flowing.
What kept the Church going in a Spirit of Revival is what was within them. If the same Spirit is within us then why are we going into cycles of dryness, disappointments, and discouragements? Why are we not bursting forth, going forth, and growing in the measure of our Spirit? What is stopping the flow?
Ezekiel 47:1-5 In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.
Four levels of the flow of the living water in our temple
Take the current of the river as the flow of the river from within you.
Level 1: Ankle deep: It is the beginning of our journey with the Lord. We have a foretaste of the things that the Spirit can do in and through our lives.
Level 2: Knee deep: At this stage, we are learning dependence on the Holy Spirit. We know a bit of His power and we can feel a certain bit of His power working over our lives. But we are still standing on our own feet. We are still in control of our lives.
Level 3: Waist deep: The waist is an important part of the body because it coordinates many things in the body. It gives strength to whatever you want to do. At the waist-deep level, you can feel the current coming in, you can feel the current moving but you still have the power to resist and go away. You are still in control of your own life and decisions.
Level 4: Water deep enough to swim in
Ezekiel says the river is a level he cannot control anymore. What does it mean on a spiritual level? Ezekiel has come to a place where the river takes Him wherever it pleases. He has no power over his destination. He’s fully led by the river. It is a beautiful picture of how the river of life can flow through our bodies.
When we reach this level we reach a level beyond our ability. It becomes supernatural. We come under the command and control of the Holy Spirit. We are no longer striving but we are just carried by the Spirit. We have surrendered our will to the flow of the Spirit, or the flow of the current in this context. This is what we mean by moving from just hearing from the Holy Spirit to giving Him full freedom to work and express through our lives. This is what happens when He keeps working in us continually and we obey continually and one day He will overwhelm our lives and He will begin to express freely through our lives.
We have delved in the past here about the river within.
All of us start at ankle level but where are we now? The power source is within us – the Spirit of Revival is within us. What is stopping the measure of flow in our lives?
What is the meaning of a sovereign act of the Lord?
It doesn’t mean He will take over our lives. The greatest gift God has given mankind is the freedom to choose. God is all ready to give the best. The Holy Spirit is all ready to give the best. It is our response and obedience that will determine the measure of the flow of the river in our lives. Don’t wait for meetings for Revival. What you do day to day is very important because it builds us for what God wants to ignite in our lives.
These things must be done daily. Develop these habits
1. An awareness of the activity of the Holy Spirit in and around us
Discern what cuts the flow. How the measure goes down and when it comes up. You need to recognize what pushes Him back and what draws Him into our lives. Remember Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead. Commune with him and involve him. Appreciate His presence, acknowledge His presence, invite Him, and involve Him in everything. By invite, I don’t mean a prayer. Communicate with Him, talk to Him so that you develop a direct relationship with Him.
2. Rise in spontaneous worship and spirit language
You must learn to use this to lift yourself because not every day you are going to wake up feeling “I’m God’s servant!” or “I am a child of God!” You must know how to utilize spontaneous tongues and spontaneous worship in tongues to lift yourself. We have also talked about the five sensations you will feel when praying in tongues.
(i) Worshipful sensation –
While praying in tongues, the moment you connect to the ‘flow’ in the Spirit, it switches to worshipful mode; you start worshipping in tongues or spontaneous worship keeps breaking out.
What does this mean?
God’s presence is drawing near. He wants to bring God-consciousness to your mind.
(ii) Violent sensation
As you start praying in tongues, the moment you connect to the ‘flow’, your spirit becomes very aggressive and strong. It feels like you are in warfare.
What does this mean?
A demonic presence is manifesting in your area. Spiritual warfare is going on in your area and you have been enlisted. There is an impending attack, scheme, or ambush against you. The attack may be coming through temptation, interpersonal relationships, or circumstances.
(iii) Oppressed sensation
You find it difficult to pray in tongues. You feel heavy in your spirit. The vocabulary of tongues does not form easily. You feel physically exhausted when you keep trying.
What does this mean?
There is a direct attack on your spirit to cripple your spirit flow. The attack is to reduce spiritual strength and sensitivity; to prevent your spirit from launching into your gifts.
(iv) Empty sensation
When you start praying in tongues you feel hollow. You feel like your prayer is hitting the ceiling and falling on your head. There is a lack of God-consciousness; a lack of freedom and liberty.
What does this mean?
There is a direct attack on your mind to reduce God-consciousness. Your mind is preoccupied with certain problems. A demonic spirit is trying to stop fresh guidance from coming into your mind from your spirit. There is a seed of negative thought that has lodged itself in your thinking.
(v) Grieving sensation
When praying in tongues you feel sorrowful, and grieved in your heart; sometimes with tears
What does this mean?
You are receiving a spiritual burden that will lead to intercession or you have grieved the Holy Spirit in some way.
Use tongues to detect the condition of your spirit and build yourself up. If you do these things daily it will be helpful for you in discerning what is happening in your spirit.
Anything in God if you want to go deeper or forward you must have a holy dissatisfaction first.
If you are satisfied with where you are in the current situation of your life or your spiritual life and there is no desire to pay the price to go to the next level then you will stay within your comfort zone.
Phil 3:12-15 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.
Despite all that Paul was going through, the difficulties and trials, he was never satisfied with where he was. He was pushing himself continually and moving forward. He was not satisfied until he achieved what he considered God’s heavenly calling in his life. We remain in our comfort zone because we have no desire to move forward.
Paul says – Those of us who are mature must think this way. What way? We must never be satisfied with where we are until we reach where God wants us to be.
God did not deliver you to call yourself a Christian, just to do ministry, just for you to attend church, just for you to do activities in the church. There is an assignment and a position that you should attain. That position is to become mature and manifest Christ. The moment you are satisfied with where you are you will settle into your comfort zone.
Some pastors are happy with their fan club. I have 10 people calling me spiritual father and who respect me. I’m getting invited here and there. I’m happy. I have my fan club. I have my ministry. This is all I want.
Exodus 33: 11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward, Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.
Even after Moses left the Tabernacle the presence of God was still there and Joshua used to sit there because there was a hunger in his heart and a desire in his heart – “Lord there must be something more than just this.” That is how our attitude must be. You know the angels and the seraphim and cherubim before the Father’s throne keep shouting – “Holy! Holy!” because every moment they’re seeing a new aspect of the Father that our human minds cannot understand. So we can never arrive at a place where we can say we know God fully.
The moment we are satisfied. We stagnate.
That is why holy dissatisfaction is important. We have a lot of lessons to learn from Paul. He had an insatiable appetite for knowing God.
Philippians 3:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.
The Holy Spirit delights in taking us closer to Him and Christ. Hunger is the momentum that will keep us going.
Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
The context here is righteousness but the principle is – those who are hungry will be filled. So if we hunger for knowing God more and more we will be filled. There must be a holy dissatisfaction with where we are. There must be an intense hunger in knowing Christ even deeper.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you into a deeper walk in the coming months. Give your church back to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Even if you are part of the 5 fold you are still under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Don’t override the Holy Spirit. Give your ministry back to the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Give your family back to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Give your work and whatever you are doing to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Whether your ankle level or knee level or overwhelmed all depends on your response and the decisions you make. When He flows freely, He will refresh, He will renew, He will revive, and He will bring life into everything when you rely on him. Revival begins in you. It begins within you.
Rehoboth 