What is real Revival or an Awakening?  Is it just meeting at church than runs several days or a week and then we return to services as normal?   NO, it is a move of God powered by the Holy Spirit flowing through believers, driving them to prayer, fasting, hungering for more of God.

Here is a little glimpse, if you dare take a small trip into the past to fuel our future:

Here is another link that has many resources:

http://www.revivalhymn.com (then go to download page)

 Also, a poem to help stir something within to break out of our slumber:

We always need to be on alert and use caution.  Things are not always as they appear.  At times we can allow what we find desirable to overshadow and hide the truth we do not want to see that is in details.  If we are not careful, we will only see what we want to see.

Other times, we may find something or someone that appears to be good only to find out later that we were deceived.  We often are not aware of all the facts or know the end result.

The picture to the right, is a pretty yellow flower and is something one might desire to have in their flower beds.  But there is more to this little flower (I found out recently) than just its beauty:

This is an invasive noxious plant known as the Buffalobur.  While it may have a pretty flower, it has an abundance thorns that can cause pain when you come in contact with them and supposed to have a mild toxin that causes the pain to linger for a time.  In the fall, the plant dries out, breaks off at the ground and then rolls along with the wind like a tumbleweed, spreading its 8,500 seeds it produces.  If that were not enough, in some places it hosts the Colorado potato beetle to cause more damage.

We need to use caution and not be taken in by what we may see on the surface.  The enemy tires to get us to focus on that which is desirable and ignore or devalue the negatives.  We must know the source and not trust what we see or feel.

2Co 11:13-15 ~ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The enemy often tries to portray himself as good, a friend who cares for you or as truth.  That is not the case though, Peter said “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour”.  He lays traps and waits for your to fall.  He is after the result and may work on traps that takes years to develop in your life when he can rise and pounce on you.  No need to fear though as God says “Greater is He who is in your than he that is in the world”.  God will take care of it if you let Him.

There are examples of this through the Bible, even in the beginning:

Gen 3:1-5 ~ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

There is a lot in this passage.  We notice the source is our enemy and his plan is to remove our trust in what God says and then plays up our flesh to lust for things which are wrong. 

The first step here, the enemy acts friendly, but the purpose of asking about what they may eat was to bring the issue to mind that he may attack it and lie to her.  She tells him what God had commanded them about the tree and he starts his lies by sowing seed that they could not trust God, that God had lied to them and that she would not die.  If that is not enough, he goes further and makes it sound like God was being evil against them by keeping them away from the fruit of the tree because God knew they would be just like Him.  Can you see the web of evil here?  The enemy tries to make us believe their are no rules, that we are free to do as we please and anyone that says different is evil and even uses partial truths such as they will know good and evil.

Once we the first step is complete, our flesh takes over and it births lust in our hearts “And when the woman SAW that the tree was GOOD for food and pleasant to the EYES and a tree to be DESIRED to make one WISE…”.  This little conversation with the enemy disarmed their reverence of God’s command and then allowed her flesh to look upon this object as desirable, pleasant to the eyes and then appealed to her intellect as it being able to make them wise and even to be equal with God.  This is the work of the enemy, to break your trust in God, to make you feel you have no responsibility and that those things which we clearly know are wrong, are really good.

So, the end of the work the enemy begun upon Adam and Eve, they took of the fruit of the tree with disregard to God’s commandment and that day, their spirit within them died just as God had promised.  Beyond this, God drove them out of the garden and set Cherubims and a flaming sword to guard the gate that they may not come back in and eat of the tree of life that they may live forever.

The enemy does not change, this pattern continues throughout the Bible and in life around us and often in our own lives.  The enemy is waiting to be your friend so that he may destroy you.  Does he really care about you, I mean, what have you done to him.  The enemy does not care anything about you, his only goal is to hurt the heart of God and the only way he can do that is to get you to turn away from God, as he knows how much God loves us all, or that you would hurt others. 

Remember:

Jas 1:13-15 ~ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

You are nothing to the enemy, but a tool for him to get back at God, his promises are empty and does not last, at the end of the day you are laid waste, lost and alone full of regrets and sorrows.  That is not a road to follow, but there is a narrow road that will lead to forgiveness, blessing, peace, fulfillment and love, that is the path we all must take.

Is your alarm set to wake up and get busy for God?  A few days away, that mode of as soon as I get through with this or that?  If it is, then your alarm needs adjustment, that day will never come, as you will only find more things to keep the alarm from ever sounding until it is too late.

Is your alarm set for months or years away, such as when the kids are grown or other responsibilities no longer require you.  This also will never happen and you are only fooling yourself.  The enemy of the Cross has you where they want you, always put off the work of God…

Is your alarm set to go off when someone else comes by and helps it sound?  That is, you are waiting for others to come along and stir a fire in your soul?  What are you waiting for then, Jesus has already came along and stirred you, now it is time to wake up!

What will it take for you to push the cares of this world to the back burner and actually take the time to seek God’s face and have His Holy Spirit flow through you?  Do you really need to have yourself or a loved one experience a life-death situation before you wake up?  Perhaps it will take the loss of everything that is important to you? 

Remember, you are bought with a price and are no longer your own.  You have been purchased, it is time to wake up and take your place in the Body of the Christ.  It is not my words, it is:

1Co 6:19-20 ~  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Rom 12:1-2 ~ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Rom 6:19 ~ I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Luk 17:7-10 ~  But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?  And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?  Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

2Co 6:16-18 ~  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Bothers and Sisters in the Christ, it is time that we walk in newness of life and no longer looking, acting or partaking of things as the world does.  We are set for better things than the temporal form of this world, we are called to set our affections on the things that are above as in Colossians chapter 3.

Do you not realize that God dwells IN YOU and He has available to you the entire power of creation to do His work?  His power is in you and ready to be used:

Eph 3:20-21 ~ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by the Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

If you do not already know it, you are called to higher things than the mere entanglements of this life.  You, not just some others, but You are important to the Body of the Christ and You are to grow until the full stature of Christ:

Eph 4:11-16 ~ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

How would you like to heal the sick by anointing them with oil and praying over them?  This is what believers are supposed to do:

Mar 16:17-18 ~ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

This is no different than when Jesus sent out the disciples and then the seventy, He told them:

Luk 10:19 ~ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Mat 10:7-8 ~ And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

This is not just for the top ministers or a select few, this is for all believers.  Remember, God dwells IN YOU.  Also remember, healing is just one of the Gifts of the Spirit.  It is time to wake up and use your supernatural Gifts of the Spirit.

Maybe it is time to spend a few days in a burn center or a child cancer center.  That should wake you up and look at the things of this world as being dimmed and of no importance as you earnestly seek a move of God through your life.

Whatever it takes, just wake up.  It is no longer time to sleep, it is time for work, while we have the chance.  The Lord could return at any time and the time for work will be over.  Even if the Lord should tarry a little while more, tragedy could come into your life tomorrow, are you prepared, walking with the Master to know you will be able to receive of His power in that time of need?

WAKE UP!

Most of us know the frequently quoted passages about faith as a grain of mustard seed.  We have heard some teach that faith needs to be grown like a mustard seed that is a small seed but grows into a large plant.  They apply teaching to the following passages to show that we must work at growing our faith to obtain this level:

Luk 17:6 ~ And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Mat 17:20 ~ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

To back this up, they take the following passage to show that we must achieve a level of “all faith” to move a mountain:

1Co 13:2 ~ And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Recently though, I have learned that this teaching does not seem to hold water and only weakens Scripture making mountain moving faith seem out of everyone’s reach.  Really, it is quite the opposite of the meaning of these passages.  Could “All Faith” mean faith without doubts, thus “only faith” or perhaps it is referring to “using” all the faith God has put in you?

When we are first Born Again, God removes our dead spirit which we were born with inherited from the fall and we are recreated anew in spirit at which time, God places His Holy Spirit inside our new spirit.  We have been restored, made alive, in right standing with God as if we or Adam had never of sinned.  We are the same as Adam was before the fall, but with the addition of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.

What happened to us right before and during being Born Again?  We received Faith from God to be able to believe and accept His gift:

Rom 10:14-17 ~  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God gives us faith to believe Him before we can even be Born Again:

Eph 2:8-9 ~ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Heb 11:6 ~ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I know some teach the passage “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” means the more your hear the Word of God, the more faith you will have.  When the Scripture is used in context, it does not give that meaning, it simply says that God gives us the faith to believe in Him, that we may be saved.  There is still a powerful message in keeping the Word in your mind and thus in your heart, but that will be talked about more under “sowing seed” in an upcoming post about “Faith ~ Doubts ~ Confidence”.

Some quantify faith as different levels for different people, but this can cause great errors.  In the Word we are told that “for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness”.   If our faith varied then at what level of faith would we require to obtain enough righteousness as to be saved?  In another passage, we see the details of the “Amour of God” with the “Shield of Faith”.  So, some might have a shield that is the size of a bottle cap while others have one the size of the moon?  No, we, those who have been Born Again, all have faith to believe God, we all have faith to be saved, we all have the same “Shield of faith” but we may not all use it the same.  Oops, there, the cat is out of the bag…

We are all given the same measure of “Faith”, it is all about how much of it we use or perhaps how many doubts remain:

Rom 12:3 ~ For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Paul obviously ran into some that were puffed up about their faith and clearly put them into remembrance that they all have been given the same measure of faith.  It is all the faith we ever will need, it is mountain moving faith, it is raising the dead and calming the storm faith, it is the same faith used to believe God exists and that we may obtain salvation.  How could we have anything less as we have God dwelling within us once we are Born Again!  Everything we ever will need for any situation we ever will run into is within us since God is there, how can there be any “more”?  It is a matter of removing doubts.

Eph 3:20-21 ~ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by the Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Getting back to the passages above, such as Matthew 17:20, what may have seemed so out of reach by mere believers takes on a new light when we see we all have been given the measure of faith.  If Jesus says we only need faith like a grain of mustard seed and mountains can move, then EVERY Born Again believer qualifies as we have ALL been given the “measure of faith”.

One a side note, for ages, some have taught that the references to mountains and trees are not to be taken literally in these passages, that they represent mountains in your life or issues with roots that your have to deal with in your walk.  Yes, you can apply these passages in this way, but they are meant to be taken literally to show you as it says in Matthew 17:20 “nothing shall be impossible unto you”.   In another mountain moving passage:

Mat 21:21-22 ~ Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

If the fig tree which He cursed and is referring to in the one passage, is to be taken  literally then so is the mountain and the tree, we do not pick and choose what is or is not to be taken literally.

Another interesting part of the above passage is “If ye have faith and doubt not” and the “shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe”  in another mountain moving passage:

Mark 11:22-24 ~ And Jesus answering saith unto them, have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoevery he saith.  Therefore I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Both of these show faith and doubts coexisting.  More on this along with passages such as “Oh ye of little faith”, “I have not seen such great faith”, “Groweth in faith”, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”, etc.  in a future post “Faith ~ Doubts ~ Confidence”.

God does not want you to place any limits on Him and is clearly showing through these passages that He is a God of no limits and has given, through the Christ, this power into the reach of every believer.   If there is a need to move a mountain and it is God’s will and you are not in sin nor unforgiveness, then the mountains will move.  This applies to everything in life, all the power of creation is available when needed if we will only believe.

Here is something pretty cool! This is a MUST view!  There are many versions on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=father%27s+love+letter&search_sort=relevance&search_category=0&page=

This is one of many:

The source to the Father’s Love Letter is:

http://www.fathersloveletter.com/flltextenglish.html

Be sure to check out their steaming media center!

They even have a song version:

http://fathersloveletter.com/song.html

I found it today at Gary Kirkham’s blog:

http://bgkirkham.blogspot.com/2008/07/fathers-love-letter.html

It surprised me to see that he found this on a site that was bashing this, see what they meant for evil, God used for good ;)

Be sure to tell others, email them, point them to YouTube video or to the original site (FathersLoveLetter.com)!

Some might not notice this, so I will make a short post to ensure you know.  In Psalms 107:20 the Scriptures say “He sent His Word, and Healded them, and delivered them from their destructions”.  Jesus is “The Word” and He has come to heal us (body, soul and spirit) and deliver us from our destructions.  The Christ came to “heal” us and restore us to right standing with God.  I use to desire to walk with God in the garden as Adam did, but then I realized, we have it better, God is within us and is ALWAYS with us!  If we get this fact down it should make us shout GLORY!

Another good passage to always keep in mind is Psalms 103:1-5 “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquites; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's”

You might check out this article.  It is basically encouraging us to seriously consider our beliefs and take action on those beliefs:

www.TheAwakening.com/Articles/Personal_Awakening.aspx

Often, we here Isa 58:19 quoted:

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

One minister I heard many years ago suggested that perhaps the comma was in the wrong place (as punctuation can be debatable in the Bible).  He said that maybe the last part of that passage should read:

When the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

:)

It amazes why people who are clearly Anti-Christian who want to claim they are Christians.  Oprah is a good example of this, as many already know, she claims to be Christian but has no clue what that name even means.  She is a lost soul who is on a path to everlasting damnation.  Here are a few videos of the recent exposure to Oprah’s new religion (new age rewrapped):

All these people involved in this false religion needs all our prayers.  They are lost and need to find the truth before it is too late. 

Healing IS the atonement.  What?  Yep, the healing is of our total being, body, soul, spirit.  We have been made in right standing with God, our relationship has been “healed”.  We inherit the blessings and this includes physical healing.  The price has already been paid and we are no longer under the curse of sickness. 

In the wilderness, when the fiery serpents were killing many people, God told Moses:

Num 21:8-9  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

This was the Lord’s healing of the people who had sinned against Him.  They lifted up the serpent and “ALL” where healed that looked upon it.  In the New Testament, Jesus said John 3:14-15:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Jesus knew exactly what the reference to being lifted up would portray.  For when the people of old who spoke against God, would look upon that serpent nailed to the poll being shown powerless and defeated, that God had taken the victory over that curse, which they had brought upon themselves and their sin would be forgiven, they would be physically healed and not perish.  This is what Jesus performed on the cross, who healed us into right standing with God, defeating the curse of the law.  That curse included sickness, disease and lack of provision.  We have been reborn and now live under the favor of God!

This is yet another picture of the atonement being complete, bringing a greater covenant not a weaker one.  The message of the Good News is that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, placing a new spirit within us and giving us the Holy Spirit to lead us unto perfection (He has placed His Law into our hearts).  No longer are we under the curse of the law, we have inherited this blessing through the Christ Jesus!

This lines up with:

James 5:14-16 ~ Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

See the resemblance?  We look to God in faith, we are healed and if we have committed sins, they are forgiven.  Again, physical healing and forgiveness tied together.  Many times through the Gospels we see Jesus healing them physically and then forgiving their sins.

Again, under the past covenant, we have:

Psalms 103:1-5 ~ Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquites; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

We clearly see physical healing, provision and forgiveness of sins all bundled into one package.  See the pattern emerging?  This pattern runs through the Bible if we pay attention.  It is God’s will to “Heal” you, to make you in right standing with Him, which brings healing to your physical body, forgiveness of sin and provision, this is the blessing of God, which the Christ shed his blood on that cross to bring to us.  It is the Good News, the favor of God!