The Challenge of Sustaining a Revival—Part 2
The price to pay to sustain a revival
A recap
Triggered by the going on sale of the paperback of “A Call to Pray for a Revival”1, a book we authored, we decided to do an article on sustaining a revival—a subject that was not the main content of the book. We noted in the article2 that a revival is initiated, inspired, and implemented by the Holy Spirit, who gives it a spark by recruiting willing vessels to persistently pray in a godly fashion. Such a revival then spreads through continuous godly prayer and godly preaching and sustained, in addition to godly prayer and godly preaching, through Holy Spirit-inspired teaching of biblical truths. We also noted that sustaining a revival is the most challenging part of any revival.
We now want to discuss what we must do to sustain a revival after it has begun.
What must we do to ensure a sustained revival?
To sustain a revival, we must overcome the flesh, refusing to yield to its desires and the promptings of Satan! It is written in Galatians 5:24 that,
"… those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Christians must realise, and quickly too, that the flesh is a major and fundamental hindrance to sustaining a revival. The flesh is the sinful, sin-loving, and sin-serving nature of man. It is the Adamic nature, with which we were all born. The flesh is hostile to God, opposing everything that God stands for, and seeks to dominate our lives to the exclusion of God!
The only solution to overcoming the flesh is to ‘crucify’ it—put the flesh to death—as Paul, the apostle, reiterated in Colossians 3:5 (GNB),
“You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).”
Indeed, if the flesh is not crucified, we cannot be genuine children of God, nor can any revival be sustained. The Lord said in Matthew 16:24,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
A revival can only be sustained when those in whom it first began, continue to hunger for God and His word. They must continue to pray, preach, and teach sound scriptural truths, while continually crucifying the flesh, and understanding that temptations, trials, tribulations, etc., are essential for their growth and development as Christians, as Romans 5:3-4 (MSG) states:
“… We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.”
After Paul and Barnabas had preached the gospel in the region of Galatia, it is written in Acts 14:21-22,
"And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'"
We must continually exhort and encourage ourselves in the things of God, as Hebrews 10:25 admonishes us not to forsake coming together for such purposes because of the ungodly, and spiritually and morally bankrupt times in which we live. We must also understand how essential it is to endure hardship, suffering, and tribulation if we must enter the kingdom of God.
The need for continual godly prayer cannot be overemphasized. The Lord Jesus Christ emphasized it when He said in Luke 18:1 that men ought always to pray and not lose heart. This means that we should pray continually, consistently, and persistently, as is written in Colossians 4:2,
"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving."
To keep the fire of revival always burning, we must continually pray earnestly. We must be alert and alive to the Holy Spirit to avoid being overtaken by Satan and his agents who come with temptations to douse the fire of revival. We must also continue to do good to all, especially the brethren, to keep the fires of revival burning.
We cannot afford to ignore the role of fasting and personal Bible study to sustain the fire of revival. We must be devoted to a lifestyle of righteousness and holiness in our daily interactions with the world, to remain unsullied and ensure the continuity of the revival. We must also exhort and encourage others to trudge on with Christ in God despite the challenges that Satan and his cohorts throw at them. When we live in this way, revival will envelop our lives and communities, spreading across the nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth, to the glory of God!
Furthermore, the sacredness and purity of Christianity must be jealously guarded by all who have come to God through Christ for salvation. We must not allow politics, nationalism, ethnicity, racism, etc., to douse the revival of God in our lives and communities. We must understand that these ‘isms’ are of human origin and have nothing to do with God, no matter how much men may seek to interpret it otherwise.
Additionally, we must understand that the standard of God does not vary with time nor is subject to the vagaries of men. God’s standard in the Early Church remains the same standard in the church today. It is written in Hebrews 13:8,
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Just as God dealt with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11, so He does with many in the church today. Though it may seem like people are not being dealt with as God dealt with Ananias and Sapphira, however, the estrangement of many from God today is a clear indicator of God’s action against them.
Samson was estranged from God without knowing it, and he became a victim of the enemy he had once conquered. Today, many Christians are victims of the vices and sins they had once overcome in the power of the Holy Spirit, proving God’s absence from their lives. When God withdraws His presence, a person cannot help but live contrary to God, which is why it is written in Hebrews 6:4-6,
“… it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
God does not want those born again, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Spirit to backslide. He intends, as He spoke through Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-9, that they inherit what He has stored up for them in heaven. God protects His own, though, for a while, He allows them to face trials and tribulations to strengthen and enable them to endure hardship and the challenges of life. It is written in James 1:2-4,
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Conclusion
Godly prayer which in its truest form indicates our dependence on God must continue unabated, as must godly preaching of the unadulterated word of God received from God. Those who come to Christ as a result, must be taught the sound biblical doctrines of Christ to enable them to live righteously as God intended, despite the tribulations and challenges of life. We must not be like Demas, who, having loved this present world departed from the gospel (2 Timothy 4:10). It is written in Hebrews 10:39,
“… we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
We must endure sound scriptural teaching so that we do not draw back unto perdition. We must endure hardship to receive what God has in store for us in eternity. We must not heed strange messages that make us weak in faith toward God but must live as God desires, seeking to please Him above all else. We must not live like the Galatian Christians, who began their walk with God in the Spirit, only to deviate onto the path of spurious and dubious teachings by unscrupulous men who cared nothing for God, but their belly!
If we are to sustain the expected revival, godly prayer, godly preaching, and the teaching of sound biblical doctrines must go hand in hand! They must also be continually employed with earnestness and vigilance to keep the fires of revival burning. This is a difficult challenge indeed, but it is worth it!
The church of God today needs sound scriptural teaching which produces righteous living that glorifies God, sustains the fire of revival, and ensures that we walk in the way of the Lord until His return. Ultimately, as the Holy Spirit initiates, inspires, and implements godly prayer, godly preaching, and sound scriptural teaching leading to righteous living, through willing vessels, a revival that will spread and be sustained for decades, will once again be kindled.
May the Lord find us faithful and enable us to keep the fire of revival burning until Christ returns.
Shalom!
The paperback of this book went on sale on August 1, 2024, and is available at amazon.com
