THE KEY TO REVIVAL
By: Pastor Max Solbrekken

My heart is burdened, my soul is hungry for reality and my spirit is thirsty for God and His Sovereign grace and His mighty workings in the lives of men!

My heart is burdened for the City of Edmonton , the Province of Alberta ,the Dominion of Canada and the entire nation - the weight of a lost world hangs heavy upon my chest!  The sense of the soon ‘Return of Christ’ stares me in the face! 

We thank God for the victories we have enjoyed in the past and His powerful presence among us at this present time, but we need so very much more of God's power, grace and love in our hearts!  And we need to see Him work with us in a much greater way in the future, than we have seen in the past!

Revival is a necessity! My heart yearns for revival; the kind of revival that Wesley, Finney, Booth, Moody and the people of their generations experienced.  There is no other way!  The Church must have revival or we will experience a total bankruptcy of spiritual power!  The Church must have revival or there will be a wholesale backsliding among our young people, as well as older believers! 

There will either be revival in the Church or there will come a total breakdown of moral values, decency and Christian virtues.  Very definitely, if there is not a mighty Holy Ghost Revival in the Church of the living God within the next few years, there will be drastic moral consequences!

Shortly before his death in an airplane crash (possibly planned), Dag Hammersjøld, Swedish U.N. Secretary General, made this statement: “If the world does not in the very near future experience a heart-gripping spiritual revival, it will be irredeemably lost.”

THE HOPE OF THE WORLD!

Jesus Christ is and always will be the hope of the world, the hope of the Church and the hope of the individual!  A mighty Holy Ghost, heaven sent, life changing revival will bring with it an awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the proper values of right and wrong and an awakening of the human spirit to its Maker! 

The hope of our nation lies in a God - given ‘Move of the Holy Spirit’, with its powerful conviction of sin, and the knowledge that there is hope for the hopeless, peace for the troubled, joy for the oppressed, health for the sick and life for the dying.  A revival within the Church is the only means by which the Church will be able to continue and grow, and a mighty revival within each individual will make an impact, not only upon the home but upon the community and the nation as well!

SHOWERS OF BLESSING!

Often, we sing the song ‘Showers of Blessing’ and when these words grasp my soul, I am stirred.  Read these solemn words:  "Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need; Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead".  I can say amen to that!  Can you, my friend? 

So many are satisfied with the status quo, satisfied with the minimum, satisfied only with  the mercy drops. My soul reaches out for more of God - deeper, higher and wider - to touch my Heavenly Father with my spirit and feel Him in my soul and body as well!  A religious program cannot satisfy the inner cravings of a heart that is thirsting after God. Ritual and ceremony, tradition and dogma hold no thrill for an individual who is reaching out to touch the hand of the Almighty! 

It takes the Holy Spirit to reactivate a life that is out of tune with God!  The Gospels stir me, the Epistles sober me but the Book of Acts sets my being on fire.  The Church needs to be stirred, sobered and set on fire! 

We cannot let the ‘spirit of complacency’ dominate!  The comfortable pew must not be given a place in our lives, the mediocre must be done away with! Arrogant and rank professionalism will then lose its glamour and give spiritual indigestion to the alert Believer!  The Church must ‘come alive’ and reach out for that which is Scripturally sound, real and  wholesome! And for that which will bring forth fruit!

TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK!

What have we accomplished in the last 2,000 years?  There have been times of great spiritual refreshing and blessing and revival! That, no one can discount, to the glory of Almighty God! But it seems to me, that we have given the Evil One far too much latitude to do his wicked works! The Scriptures, of course, declare: "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil". (John 3:19 ); “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Tim. 3: 13)  

We must never forget, however,  that we have been given a mandate to preach the Gospel, heal the sick and cast out devils, in the incomparable name of our Saviour Jesus Christ! (Mark 16: 15 - 20; Luke 10: 17 -20)

The great danger is that the Church has a tendancy to rest on her laurels and fall asleep spiritually! The Church often deceives herself into believing that all is well and that there is no cause for alarm. I believe that there is every cause for concern, in regards to the spiritual condition of the Church and our dulled sense of urgency in reaching the lost and perishing for our Lord Jesus Christ! 

There is  good news, however!  As surely as there is a problem, there is also a solution! And as certainly as  there is a devil, we know that our God is more than able to make him ‘turn tail’ and flee from us! (James 4: 7). And even though sin abounds and is increasing, the grace and mercy of God is available to every willing and seeking soul! (Rom. 5: 20 )

HONESTY IS THE BEGINNING OF REVIVAL!

Gideon was working with the wine press which was hidden because of the Midianites.  They were prisoners in their own land.  One day the angel of God stood before him and said, "The Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valour" (Judges 6:12 ). 

Gideon asked the angel three questions:  First, “If the Lord is with me, why are we prisoners in our own land?   Second,  “If the Lord is with us, where are the miracles our fathers spoke of?”  And third, “My father's house is the poorest in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house. Why did the Lord choose me? ”

If every Minister of the Gospel would be honest with God, with himself and with the people, a revival would soon begin in our Churches.  We must fact the facts. If we are not winning the battle against Satan, there is something wrong.  If there are no miracles, how can we say God is with us? 

Jesus said, "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". (Mark 16:17-18) 

If the signs are not following the preaching of the Word of God today, we certainly need to ask ourselves and God – “Why?” The Bible says: "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following". (v. 20). 

GOD SPEAKS TO HIS PEOPLE!

God is calling His people to repentance and prayer: "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways:  then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chron. 7: 14)

All of God's promises are conditional! Many of God's people have no desire to seek the face of the Lord, to pray or deny themselves. Pleasing the Lord does not seem to matter! Too many of us are self-centred, instead of Christ-centred!      

An old hymn says: "Have Thine Own way Lord, Have Thine Own way.  Thou art the potter and I am the clay.  Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting yielded and still".  Herein lies the secret. We must always allow God to have His way in our lives! God’s Word says: “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God…” (2 Peter 5: 5, 6).

OUR LAND NEEDS A HEALING!

Our nation is in desperate need of a spiritual healing, and there is only one way that God will forgive our sins and heal our land.  The Church must repent and do the first works!  The Bible says, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God". (1 Peter 4:17) 

The Church must do these four things, if revival is to come to our land.  First, we must humble ourselves and rid ourselves of godless pride.  Second, we must begin to pray fervently and with real desire and purpose.  We must become serious with God.  Third, we must seek the face of God with fastings and intercessory prayer; extended periods of prayer and deep intercession.  And fourth, we must repent of our sins and turn from our wicked ways! 

Then, and only then will God hear from Heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land.  “O’ God, give us the courage and grace to do these four things so that revival may come to our hearts, our Churches and our Nation. Send us revival,  I pray in Jesus’ name.” Amen.

God’s call of mercy reaches out to fallen man everywhere, because He is the Creator of all mankind and in His great love and compassion He sent His only Son to die for our sins. That is why we celebrate Christmas!

How was that possible? Through a divine miracle of grace, God the Son was incarnated (God in human flesh), so that He could suffer, bleed and die to atone for our sins, satisfying the demands of divine justice!

The Bible says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16, 17).

CHRIST’S VICTORY IS OUR LIBERTY !

Jesus said: “…For this cause (to die) came I unto this hour.” (John 12: 27). And St. John declared: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins.…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3: 5, 8)

The Bible states: “…That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death…” (Heb. 2: 14,15)

What a Saviour! What a Redeemer! What a Lord and Master we serve! Jesus the Crucified and Risen Lord of lords and King of kings!