Revival Series #4
Many false revivals are contrived and conducted today in many of the major cities around the world. The evidence for their spuriousness is seen in the inability of such revivals to revive anyone to true holiness and genuine love. There are big movements attracting thousands of seekers of the supernatural but no change in the towns, cities and countries where these campaigns are held. Very often the result is the opposite. Attendees come away feeling a, “holier than thou” pharisaical attitude or that they were really, “blessed” when no increased love for the Word of God, no fear of God and no greater time and effort for personal and corporate prayer ensue. They become even more proud of their religiosity because they were able to get a seat in this, “main event” and that their favorite speakers were able to successfully pull on their emotional strings, congratulated their spirituality and gave them prophecies such as they were wont to hear. One can witness plenty of showmanship, fancy clothes and footwear and drama and special effects by the false revivalists and especially false miracles. There would have been many tears shed, lots of, “crying out” in self-pity and promises to God and invocations for God’s blessings, along with catchy, familiar “praise and worship” choruses with upbeat music, clapping, shouting and dancing, generic or man-pleasing and even bizarre, “words from the Lord” blasphemously given, but no in-depth treatment of self-examination before the Lord God. No calls for true humility and real repentance in the Presence of God. Instead of humility and repentance, these other things are among the key ingredients to their “powerful revivals.”
For had the multitudes been led to true repentance by true prophets and revivalists, then the cities would be turned to the Lord or at least many would have been unable to ignore the authentic power of the Holy Ghost in the lives of the participants. There would have been the spreading of news, far and wide like wildfire all over to the surrounding regions of glorious things. However, when modern, false revivals come around, catchy poster and huge publicity stunts are staged. The self-promoting superstars are not content to remain in the background and let the Holy Spirit work just like the true revivalist did in the past after giving the Word or praying. The false revivalists are primarily from the school of Word of Faith theology or similar persuasion. Mega promotion launch pads like TBN seem to broadcast continual revivals around the world 24 hrs/day! If even a tiny portion of the drama they publicize on that international network had any genuine anointing of the Holy Ghost, then it would be enough to bring shame to the numerous dead churches and rekindle a tremendous longing for the Lord and His Ways. The Cross of Christ would not be cleverly left out of the preaching and people would begin to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. Thousands would be ready to give up their life for the Lord and for His Gospel so that others may come to know Him. Is this the reality resulting from these, parade of superstars on TBN? Hardly! Yet, undiscerning and willfully stubborn believers by the thousands around the world open up their sensibilities to outright lies and deception and blasphemy day in and day out as they take in their favorite shows on TBN and feel that somehow some arcane blessing has settled on them as a result of faithfully watching it everyday. As a proof of this, some families leave it on literally throughout the day, even if no one is watching it! How can there be a true visitation from God Almighty in a Heaven-sent revival as long as false prophets are allowed to entertain multitudes under the guise of a non-stop revival show and the multitudes are faithfully and gladly patronizing them even after being warned in Scripture to have nothing to with likes of them?
Indeed, let us note the contrast between these, so-called revivals and genuine revivals that occurred in the history of the Church and one will see that as a result of a sincere hungering and thirsting for God, of necessity, bars and prostitution houses were closed down, gambling disappeared while people preferred attending prayer meetings and the study of the Bible to overspending or wasting their precious God-allotted time, God-given energy and money overindulging in recreation, hobbies or business. Their bodies were given the endurance necessary to have all night prayer meetings as they gave themselves to true worship of the Lord and intercession for the lost souls all around them. They gave of their resources to bringing the gospel to, “all the world.” Through a new sense of awe of God and their rightful humility under His Mighty Hand and by submitting to Biblical principles their productivity grew and their neighbors in the cities and countryside were greatly helped spiritually and physically. Would to God, that along with the Biblical revivals under faithful kings and prophets and priests in the Old and New Testament, people would take note and acquaint themselves with the genuine moving of God in places likes Wales in the Welsh Revival of 1904 under the Spirit-filled Evan Roberts or in Manchuria and Korea under the godly, Canadian Missionary Jonathan Goforth or in Singapore and Indonesia under the God-sent Prophet and Healing Evangelist, Dr. John Sung where deaf and mute people and even the dead were raised and several hundred thousand were born again or revived from a backslidden state! And what were the results of those true revivals? Open confession in repentance by hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and all classes in society. There was virtually, an instant moral reform in their respective society and almost universal adoration of Jesus Christ. People reconciled with old enemies and asked one another’s forgiveness. They shared their wealth to help the needy and the lost. It was a repeat of the New Testament Church chronicles! Furthermore, the converts remained faithful and on fire for the Lord as well, when they were traced and looked up some twenty of thirty years later.
Dear reader, which of the two kinds of revival do you prefer? Whatever the answer, one thing is certain and that is the following truth: to be sympathetic to the one is to be antagonistic to the other. There is no middle ground of compromise. God always separated Baal worshippers and their, frenzied, blasphemous campaign from His own faithful, intercessors. Let’s not forget that God openly punished Ananias and Saphira to expose their doomed, self-honoring and deceitful hearts. He will do the same in our generation. Unless, we make a conscious decision to seek the Face of God for a miraculous visitation from Heaven, while rejecting the false ones which cover the evangelical world right now and unless we pay the price ourselves by personally repenting of every know sin we are harboring and get into a proper channel of communion with God and unless we pray for hours with faith for a revival, then we will have to settle, invariably for the chicanery of the false revivalists and prophets and follow them the same doom. They are hell-bound for kindling, “strange fire” in the Presence of the Lord, which He did not provide nor authorize! Let us beware, for true Christians can apostatize just by cultivating a habit of listening indiscriminately to the erroneous teaching of false prophets and go to Hell also!
Although, the above warning is necessary and the consequences are real possibilities, the Lord is calling for the “7000” remnant, along with Elijah today to His side. As the apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews, so we conclude here and state that though we thus speak (concerning the awful fate of impostors and their adherents), it is our firm conviction that many would divorce themselves from the wicked prophets today and turn to the Lord Jesus in importunate prayer in accordance with His commandment and Perfect Will for an, unprecedented (and perhaps), last worldwide revival from the Almighty, to experience His Supernatural Wave of Anointing, making their calling and election sure and usher in millions of souls before the Rapture occurs and before the dreadful Tribulation begin. The Church needs a revival today; the world needs a revival right now.
Lord Jesus, Master of all the Universe and Maker of all things great and small, thank you for your great Love for us in offering a Mighty Visitation from You if only we would pray from a pure heart and request it of You. Continue to give us the Spirit of Discernment to help us to steer clear of false prophets Whom You have not sent at all and who are leading many of the professing believers astray in empty sensationalism, lies and blasphemy.
Please pour out your Own Holy Spirit in a Mighty Wave of Baptism and fill us to overflowing with your Love and Holiness! Father, be pleased to raise up godly and faithful and persistent intercessors now, along with us, in order that we may receive from you what you have promised in your Word and may multitudes be made certain of their salvation and may many others be born again and blameless at Thy Appearing. We thank You Father, in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.
Maranatha!