A vision for Revival

Where are we?

There are a lot of exciting things happening in the church and country at the moment. Lots of mini outpourings, revivals, renewals, restorations. We need to be expectant and observant - looking for and holding onto the real and avoiding the counterfeit or just mediocre. I was born again into revival in the 70s and have seen the wax and wane of many movements over the years. Part of me believes that the Lord sends seasons of grace where great moves of His Spirit impact many and part of me believes that we have a responsibility to pray for and to carry revival - to not let it stop.

Where are we going?

We are all lifelong learners - it never stops - there's always something new - but always the same Holy Spirit at work. One of the sometimes perplexing lessons to learn is when to strive, fight, pray, decree etc.... and when to just wait, rest and let God. Many commentators will argue that revival is either a sovereign act of God that we just have to watch and wait for - others will say that we need to be wrestling in prayer until God answers. I heard Bill Johnson say recently that when something occurs in life we have those two options - rest or push - and it's about 50:50 when we should do one or the other - and he often does the wrong one first and then has to try the second.

I recently have been praying and meditating over a picture of a canal lock. 

A canal lock has two gates, the upper and the lower which allow boats to move from one height to another. Inside each gate are smaller gates, called paddles, which allow water to pass from the higher levels into the lock and then down to the lower level. When a boat moves into the lock, the lower gate and paddles are closed, the upper paddles opened until the boat is lifted to the higher level and the upper gates can then be opened smoothly and easily, allowing the boat to continue its journey at the higher level. 

I saw a boat inside the lock trying to move from the lower level to the upper. 

The upper and lower gates appeared to be closed and the top gate paddles were open allowing water to pour into the lock.  There was lots of water entering into the lock with the splashing and excitement and noise of a waterfall.

However the lock wasn't filling and the boat was only being lifted up a short way -  it did not get to the level required to allow the upper gates to be opened top and allow the boat to travel free into the higher level canal.

At first I thought that this was due to leaks in the bottom gate (something I have experienced travelling on the canals through Leicester (a few years ago now). This can sometimes be overcome by asking the pilots of other boats to push the gates tighter to allow the lock to fill ( a good picture of cooperation across church families and groups)

On closer inspection I saw that in fact the lower gate paddles had not been completely closed and the leak was as a result of inaction by the pilot/helpers.

I spent some time thinking about what was the action we needed to ensure that the church moved from the current to a higher level. Was it prayer, fasting, bible reading, preaching etc...

Simon Holder gave me a suggestion  that seemed right to me. Simon says that we are in a season of many prophetic words but people are not acting upon them. 

The waves of the Spirit are exciting, refreshing, sometimes noisy, healing, cleansing, but we are at risk of just enjoying the spectacle at our revival meetings but not closing the paddles means that the water will just run past from the upper level to the lower without raising the boat so it will not allow the church to move into the new season and do the things prepared for us.

There are also boats parked at the bottom gate. Some are waiting their turn to go up. Some have been discouraged by the boat in the lock not moving thinking there is something wrong with the lock and are turning back to find another way around some thinking it's just too much effort to operate the lock and get to the higher level. Some are just parked enjoying the view at the bottom gate not having any great desire to get moving.

Yes there will undoubtedly be words spoken to or over you that don't ring true to this season - words that you need to put on the shelf as it were and come back to later when you have more of the picture. But more likely they will be words that need you to accept, lay hold of, meditate upon, pray over, wrestle with, decree, proclaim, and obey.

A good exercise is to go over those that you have received and check you are living up to them, and do they mean something more now that you have had other pieces of the message or experienced new things. Do you need to do less, more of or the same or something different from what you have been doing?

So rest or push for revival? No easy answer but I think we need to listen carefully and obey our commander - that when He does speak we respond in word and action - not just enjoy the sound of the voice that is like the rushing of many waters - saying that's a nice sound - but recognise the words and message spoken.

We have heard recently lots of words about us, as the church, having keys - keys to the various aspects of our society. To operate a canal lock you need a special key, sometimes called a windlass. This allows you to open and close the paddles as appropriate. The water does the work in raising the boats to a higher level - but we need to use the key to let the water in the top and stop it going out of the bottom.

Further up and further in.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.

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I've been thinking about the events around King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem. There appears to be a right and wrong way to carry the presence of God (as symbolised by the contents of the Ark) as we go about our lives on earth. One way brings the wrath of God, resulting death and one brings us to life. The latter includes worship and respecting God's presence. It requires us to make an effort (i.e. lifting and carrying the presence ourselves rather than automating it, or forcing others into that service), and it requires respect and worship. I am amused by the picture, described by several people in talks so I am not sure of its origin, of the presence of God being like a Dove resting on your shoulder - how would you walk, talk or do things if a primary concern was not doing anything to disturb the Dove or cause it to fly away? We have a pair of Doves you come to our back garden to feed. They look so delicate and timid - always alert and looking around. The sound their wings make as they fly is beautiful (compared to the pigeons etc). Yet when they land on my feeding trays (suspended on chains) they manage to both get the food and look completely out of balance and undignified

JohnmarkH