Skip to main content

What kills revival once it's started? Part 1: Neglect Of Daily Disciplines

We’ve just come through an incredible week with Life Action and the Thirst Conference. God worked powerfully in many hearts. But now comes the question: how do we keep living in that spirit of revival instead of sliding back into “normal” Christianity until the next big event?

Some might say revival can’t be hindered — that once God starts something, nothing can stop it. But Scripture tells a different story. The letters to the churches in Revelation, for instance, show that God’s work among His people can be resisted or neglected. Time and again in the Bible, revival was lost because God’s people drifted.
I believe we can hinder revival after we’ve experienced it. Over the next few posts, I’ll share three common ways that happens. Here’s the first:
1. Neglecting Daily Disciplines — Bible Reading, Prayer, and Soul Care
Revival is simply the manifestation of God’s presence and power among His people. But where is His presence most real to us? Not in the excitement of an event, but in our daily time alone with Him.
When we stop seeking God personally, we begin depending on the event of revival rather than on the God who revives.
Matthew Henry once said, “When God intends to do a thing, He sets His people praying.” Revival begins when God’s people respond to Him — and that response always leads to prayer. As we pray, God draws near and manifests Himself however He pleases.
But if we stop praying once the event ends, we drift back into event-dependence instead of God-dependence. The flames of revival fade, not because God has changed, but because we stopped fueling it through daily communion with Him.
Revival isn’t something to attend. It’s someone to abide in.
Stay close to the One who revived you — and you’ll stay revived.
Neglecting taking care of your body through poor eating and lack of sleep, and you'll become so physically exhausted that you'll become no spiritually good. I have seen physical exhaustion hinder revival on more than one occasion.
,
So, get a good night's sleep. Eat healthy. Wake up and spend time with God in His Word and in prayer every day, including the days of revival if you want to continue to experience His presence in your life deeply.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huge Opportunity To Reach Sabine Parish Families With Children

There are many families with children in Sabine Parish. There are 4,141 students in Sabine Parish schools, 6,353 under the age of 18, 29% of the parish population, and approximately 3,000 households with children. So, there are plenty of unreached families with children to reach. There are many churches in Sabine Parish. 70 churches. 1 church for every 313 people. Abilene, Texas brags about the highest per capita churches at 1 for every 563. The national average is 1 for every 1015. We beat the averages. So, we don't need more churches in Sabine Parish, but we do need more biblically sound churches, filled and controlled by God's Spirit, who are committed to God's mission, and who train their members to reach the unreached in our parish. There are far fewer people attending church in Sabine Parish. 7,000 people attend church, between 3,500 and 5,000 on any given Sunday. That attendance is half what it was 25 years ago. So, we need to make disciples, not just converts. Disc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why are some churches full and some empty?

This is not a full analysis of growing and shrinking churches. It's just something I've thought about as I've listened to people talk and listened to myself think about the size of churches. I heard a Revivalist say the Spirit of God was clearly moving because the church was packed and the altar full. I listened to another when there were only a few that week at the church’s revival meetings say, “Well, we don’t have many, so God must be getting’ rid of the weeds so the wheat can grow. The real revival is just around the corner.” A Reformed preacher said his church was growing because the elect were hungry for the true gospel, and the preaching of correct doctrine was bringing them. Another Reformer told me he didn’t care that his congregation had shrunk. He would rather pastor a small group of the regenerated rather than a church full of the unregenerate. It seems that regardless of theological bent, we need to explain the numbers. A good shepherd will spend his days t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Was the Southern Baptist Convention right to oppose IVF?

Given the approval of a Southern Baptist resolution ( read the resolution here ) regarding IVF and the mass of media and social commentary regarding that resolution,  I wanted to clarify my stance as the pastor of a local church in partnership with the SBC.  At the very least, this is important for the people I serve with as pastor at  Calvary .  IVF is a reproductive process whereby the ova (egg) of a woman is combined with the sperm of a man outside the womb to form a viable human embryo that is then implanted in the womb. The method is used for people who have difficulty achieving pregnancy. According to  HHS , in 2021, 2.3% of children born were conceived utilizing some form of assisted reproductive technology (ART) like IVF: 86,146 children in this country.  Why would the SBC resolve to oppose the birth of children?   Did the SBC resolve to ban IVF?  The answer to the second question is no. The SBC did not outright oppose it but urg...
Post a Comment
Read more