ALL THE MAKINGS OF REVIVAL

So you want revival? What does it take to see real revival? According to Psalm 120 there are five things that are necessary for  revival:

1. TEARS
Psalm 119:136 Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law.

Tears are the fountainhead of revival. Revival is birthed from the heart of broken and burdened men who live in the river of His presence.

2. JUSTICE
Psalm 119:149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord , revive me according to Your justice.

When we come clean with God and ask him to bring equity in our lives. Jesus paid for what we didn't deserve. He has a way of leveling the playing field.

3. THE WORD
Psalm 119:154 Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.

Truth is the plow that breaks up the fallow ground of the heart. The Holy Spirit and the word work hand in hand.

4. JUDGMENT
Psalm 119:156 Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord ; Revive me according to Your judgments.

Judgment always begins in the house of the God. We are the Temple of the living God. It starts with me and then you!

5. LOVINGKINDNESS
Psalms 119:159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord , according to Your lovingkindness.

Revival is a grace from God. He looks and sees people who are broken before him. He hears their cries and answers their call.

RAMBUSHED (Genesis 22:13-14)--by Randall Burton

Genesis 22:13-14 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the lord it will be provided.” (NLT)

When was the last time you've had provison come out of nowhere? That's what happened to Abraham when he offered up his son Issac. As he raised his knife to plundge it into his only son, an angel of God appeared to him and drew his attention to a ram that was caught in a bush. It was this provision that caught Abraham by surprise!

I believe that God wants to do the same thing to many of his children today. He desires to provide for them, but provision comes with a sacrifical price tag on it. You can't recieve  supernatural provision with a superficial heart!

Abraham got "Rambushed by God!"

PRACTICE--by Randall Burton

PRACTICE
you have heard it said that, practice makes perfect. While this is a true statement, it is worth noting that, what you practice and the way you practice, can be as important as the practice itself. For instance, a person can practice a golf swing and perfect a slice or a hook. Doctors practice medicine and Lawyers practice the law. If their practice is not based on a good foundation of knowledge, schooling and training  then they could be liable for a malpractice.

What we know about God is extremely important to what we practice in his kingdom. Thankfully we don't have to have a PhD to do kingdom business, but we can't avoid the critical training that is required to establish a viable kingdom practice. Praying for the sick, casting out demons and witnissing to the lost are kingdom practices. 

Mark 16:15-17 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.  Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.  These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. (NLT)

Are you putting your weekly training into practice?  Do you pray for the sick, cast out demons and witness to the lost? If not, why not? No professional that I know of, whether a doctor, a lawyer or a business man, stays in school all of their life. Though they never stop learning and training,  at some point they leave the campus in order to start their own practice. In the same way, we can't afford to sit on the church campus year after year without going out to put into practice what professor pastor says we should be doing. So get out there and practice what God says to do in his word. Practice does make perfect.--written by Randall Burton

GODS WILL--by Randall Burton

It is Gods will that everyone be saved.

1 Timothy 2:4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. (NLT)

It is also Gods will that everyone who is saved to reach everyone who is not saved with the truth.

Mark 16:15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. (NLT)

COMMITMENT--by Randall Burton

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust...

In this passage Paul was warning young Timothy of the Gnostic doctrinal error that was challenging the church at that time. The Gnostics were a Hyper-spiritual cult that denied the incarnation of Christ and believed that supernaturnal knowledge was more important than anything else in the natural world.

So what does this verse have to do with me? Have you ever met someone who cant keep their word or personal commitments? They will commit to something until something better comes along. This type of thinking can become a smokescreen for a false sense of duty, and it can lead to a drift from accountability.

I have seen it far to many times in the church,  someone signs a commitment form to serve in a ministry and when the assigned time comes for executing their commitment, they just blow it off because something better has come along. It's easy for them to do this especially if its something that appears to be more spiritual than their first commitment.

Heres an example of what I am talking about; "pastor I know that I signed up for the nursery ministry for the entire month, but I was asked to speak at the ladies connection meeting at the church across town this Sunday, so can I be excused from serving in my prior commitment to the nursery?" As a pastor, what are you supposed to say? If you remind them of their prior commitment, you are being legalistic and unspiritual, because you should know that ministering at another church is far more important than serving in a nursery with babies who have less spiritual understanding than adults do.

In extreme cases we have witnessed people make these lofty commitments and then allow things less spiritual come up, such as, theme parks, ball games, concerts, fishing trips... you name it and they will run to it. Its not that these people, don't love the Lord, its that they are spiritually immature and are blind to the importance of their commitments. Our commitments are never so important as the ones that we make that benfit our own state in life. But what about our selfless commitments to others? The type of commitments that we make to someone else, but we get little or no return from them? That is a real test of our commitment level. When you pour yourself into a youth ministry or a nursing home ministry with no guarantee of a return from it. Are you able to keep those commitments even when something better comes along? Remember what James said in James 1:8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

If you cannot keep your word and your commitments when it is inconvenient, then what will you say to a Holy God who kept his commitment to you on the cross when it was inconvenient for Him? Here is a great verse to remember before you make a commitment to someone or something; Matthew 5:37 Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one. (NLT). Even with this verse in mind, we cannot use it for an excuse to be uncommitted.

Are you a committed person? Is your word your bond? Do you keep your appointments?  When you say that you will be there at 8PM, do you show up late or not at all? Think about these things the next time before you say yes I will.--written by Pastor Randall Burton