revival

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A Cry For Revival Series: “Revival Of Our Hearts” (Part 1)

Revival of our Hearts Part 1 (Click here for audio message)

Psalm 69:32 (Amp)

“The humble shall see it and be glad; you who seek God, inquiring for and requiring Him [as your first need], let your hearts revive and live!.”

“…as your first need.” As your first love. We should be placing God as our priority above anything or anyone else in our lives. We need to go back to our first love. When we first met Jesus.

How do we fall in love with Jesus? If we are the Bride of Christ, shouldn’t we be in love with our Groom? Shouldn’t we show our love to our Groom? Psalms 91 really sheds some needed light on spending time with the Lord.

Psalms 91:1–16 (NKJV)

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor  of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the  pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your  side,  And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near  you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the re­ward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,  even the Most  High,  your dwelling place,  No evil shall  befall you, Nor shall  any plague come near your  dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep  you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you  up, Lest you  dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the co­bra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will   deliver him; I will  set him on high, because he has known My name. He  shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with  him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My Salvation.”

The New King James Bible states, “He who “dwells” in the secret place,” which is emphasizing  a time spent with. It shows a habitation, or a living or abiding in the secret place. What is the secret place? It is that place you spend time with God in. It is God Himself. If we wait and dwell in the secret place, we shall behold Him. It takes time.

It takes time to develop a relationship. Quality time spent with someone brings much reward. We can’t expect to have a close intimate relationship with our spouse if we never spend time with them. I know first hand as my husband and I can drift apart a little when we don’t spend time together. We end up going through the motions of marriage and being in love, but the intimacy is lacking. We don’t share in each others joys or connect with each other emotionally and physically. When we take the time to not only notice each other, but to actually show affection towards one another, it brings a bond that no one can sever. It brings a close intimacy that is very personal and rewarding. It brings security and acceptance. It is fulfilling. This is the same with our relationship with Christ. He is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. “But  without  faith  no  one  can  please God.  We  must  believe that  God  is real and  that  he  re­ wards everyone who searches for him.” (Hebrews 11:6) One of the rewards of seeking and spending time with Him is feeling loved by an all knowing, all loving God.

Revival  of our hearts will bring a deeper love for our God.

“The human heart was made for passion. It was created for relationship.It was designed to experience the fullness  of God.”

S.J. Hill

We are designed and created to receive all that God has for us. We were created for intimacy with God. It is a natural thing to desire a close relationship with God.  This is filling the hole, the spot all humans try to fill in life. Some fill it with drugs or alcohol; others fill it with work or business, while others try to fill it with pleasures or riches. The only thing that can fill it is a relationship with God Himself.

Now, knowing that we were created for a relationship with God, we can pursue that relationship with all passion and fervor. Sometimes we might find indifference in our spirit about being with God. We might feel complacent or in a rut.

Sin Can Cause Indifference

If we settle for less than a passionate relationship with God, we will start to die and eventually fall into a rut or a pit. We become “grave tenders” of our lives instead of living life to its fullest. We see other people living life and enjoying it, yet in our own lives we are dead. We tend our very own grave, and often times we fight or force others to stay away from our grave. A. W. Tozer states in “Rut, Rot, or Revival” that we are in a “circular grave” when sin has entered our hearts. Sin will separate us from God. This is a fact.

A circular grave has no ending and no beginning. In other words, you can’t remember when or how you got in the mess you are in, and you can’t find a way out on your own. You are dead inside. You see no hope, and no way of escape. A dead corpse has no way of reviving it self. A dead  corpse  needs  intervention from a living source to bring life back. Don’t fool yourself by thinking you can get out of this circular grave on your own. Allow the Giver of life to breathe new life back into your dead places in your heart. Allow God to show and direct you out of your circular grave and bring you on solid ground to stand boldly in Him. It will cost you your control. It will cost you your pride, but it is well worth having new reviving life back into your spirit again.

Isaiah 59:2

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, sot hat He will not hear.”

We all have sinned and need a Savior. Receiving Jesus Christ into your heart as Lord is the first step to a revival in your heart, but there is more to repentance then just receiving Christ in your heart. If one is truly repentant they will turn 180° in the opposite direction of their sin.

Satan will try and trip us up in sin. This causes bondage in our hearts and spirit, and a barrier preventing our hearts to be revived. Being aware that sin separates us from God helps us to do our best to stay away and even run from the appearance of evil. The more you fall in love with God the more you want to obey Him and do what pleases His heart.

“Since only sin offends God, and sin  is  extremely  deceitful,  it  can  be  present doing  its deadly  work while the  people  may  not be  aware of it at all  until  it is  called  to their  attention.”

A. W. Tozar (Rut, Rot, or Revival)

Once you realize the sin that is causing you to feel separated from God, immediately  repent and  ask God  to  forgive  you. The short term pleasure of sin is not worth the long term separation from God. The after affects of sin is not worth the pleasures of pleasing God and being close to him. It is natural to be a better person when we are closer to God. It is natural to experience more of God  and His love when sin is not in the picture. Allow  God  to show you right now if you have sin in your life that is separating you from Him. Take the time to repent and walk away from the debilitating and crippling sinful action.

Romans 8:15 (MSG)

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, “grave tending” life.  It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, “What’s next  Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirit and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us an unbelievable inheritance!”

Nothing is worth missing out on our inheritance from God. No sin is so good that it overshadows what we receive from God. No earthly pleasure is more pleasurable then getting closer to God and experiencing His joy and abundant life He has for us. The sacrifice of leaving our sin behind is nothing compared to the relationship we gain with God.

God’s Little Surprises

God likes to give little surprises or gifts daily to his children. If we look we will see them. He loves us. When someone loves another it is natural to give gifts to them. I remember one Valentine’s day, before my husband and I were married, I was living with my mom at the time. My “Soon-­to-­be-­husband” got up early and drove over to my house and left a huge Valentines box on my front porch. He had taken the time to decorate it and cover up what the original contents was. In it was all sorts of candy and chocolate.  I was thrilled when I stumbled on it as I walked out of my house to go to work. It made my day. All day long I couldn’t wait to get home and start devouring the sweet treats left for me by someone who cared.

I have found God will do the same thing with us. Out of the blue I will stumble onto something or receive something unexpected. It might be a loving verse in the Bible, or hearing from a long time friend. It might be something simple as walking outside and hearing the birds singing. I like to think God directed them to sing to me His love songs. It might be news of some organization wanting some of my writings. I remember one day I was walking in Wal-Mart with my two daughters. My cell phone rang and  on  the  other  line  was  someone  representing  an agent of Zondervan. They asked me for permission to use a quote from my book, “The Garbage Man Always Comes On Fridays” in their new “Today’s Devotional Bible” that was to be published several months later. At first I thought it was someone trying to play a joke  on me. I asked them to send me an email stating what they would  like,  and  the  quote  they  wanted  to  use.  Sure enough, when I arrived home in my email in box  was their email. I felt so thrilled and loved all at the  same time. To imagine God bringing this about in my life was tremendous as I knew why I wrote the book. I wrote the book mainly for my healing, and to hopefully help others going through a mistake in their life. God knows all about us and wants to show how much He cares by giving us personal gifts that only He can give.

Be open to surprises from God because they are always there. In turn, I like to give gifts to God. It might be taking the time to stop and thank Him for my life, or to worship Him for who He is. He is my life! It might be helping someone or giving to someone in need as the scripture states, “And the King will reply to them,  Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me” Matthew 25:40 (Amplified Bible).

The Lover of Your Soul

My relationship with the Lover of my soul is precious. He takes my breath away. I wake up in the morning and know I am going into my prayer time. I am excited and filled with love for the One I will be spending time with.

Every time I think about God, deep inside of me, I sense a love and respect for Him. What a joy, what a life to have a personal love relationship with the Creator of the universe. He desires intimacy with all of us. Our Creator longs to spend time with us like a lover should.

When we give God our whole heart, and treat Him like a Lover, it revives us. Our loneliness vanishes and is replaced with an awareness of His constant presence abiding every second of every day.

We are not alone. We have the assurance of knowing Jesus is always with us. This gives us hope. This gives us strength. You feel like you can conquer anything be­ cause the King of Kings is with you.

This is the conclusion of Part 1 of “Revival of Our Hearts” be looking for part 2 soon!

Pastor Kris Belfils

http://www.krisbelfils.com

http://www.hopefellowshipspokane.com

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A Cry For Revival Series: “What Is Revival?”

“A Cry For Revival” series is based on Pastor Kris Belfils’ book: “Revive, Rebuild, and Restore.” You can listen to Pastor Kris preaching this message here: “What Is Revival?”

Psalm 85:6 (Amp)

“Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?”

Recently God has been talking to me about spiritual revival. I have always longed to see revival in my own church. As a little girl, we were taught about revival, and were told that revival was coming. All I knew was how hungry I was for God, and that hunger continues to burn in me everyday.

It is hard to imagine my life without being intense about God. I received Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior at the age of nine. I remember I wanted to tell everyone I knew about God and what He can do in their life. Passion grew in me to see people transformed and changed by the power of God. Now, as an adult, I still feel the same, but that passion has grown immensely and my desire to see people changed sometimes overwhelms me.

What about you? Do you have a hunger, a passion for God? To what extent are you willing to satisfy that hunger? If you don’t, maybe you need to be revived in your spirit.

What is revival?

When you desire to see His name glorified – you are desiring revival. When you seek to motivate the Church – you are seeking revival. When you are burdened by sin within the Church – you are burdened for revival. When you ask the Lord to fan the flame within your own heart – you are asking for revival.

A revival is not the Church deciding to do something and doing it. It is something that happens or is done to the Church by God. It is an awakening to who God is and a longing to be close to Him and follow His word.

Psalm 119:159 (Amp)

“Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me and give life to me, O Lord, according to Your loving-kindness!”

If we were to start experiencing revival, what would it be like? Are we in revival right now?

Revival is…

1.  A spontaneous outpouring of the presence and power of God that moves the people to respond.

Only God woos and draws the heart to Him. His Holy Spirit pricks the heart to respond to His drawing. It is God who pours out His spirit upon all flesh. Something happens when you are in the presence of the Lord. Once you have experienced it, you are never the same. True signs of revival are people longing and lingering in the presence of God.

2.  A heart of repentance and obedience.

Repentance and obedience is another sign of true revival. Throughout the history of the church and the revivals that have taken place, repentance is one of the main signs that have been manifested. People can’t help but repenting and asking for forgiveness when the presence of the Lord has saturated the place.

3.  A hunger for God, and the things of God. 

Revival is an awakening of hearts to God and the things of God. It is an awareness of our need for more of God. Hunger makes one do desperate things. Desperation makes one run to the source to be satisfied. With God, He will always satisfy those who hunger and thirst after Him. We shall be filled!

4.  A desire to go deeper in Him, and to excel to a higher level spiritually.

Once we repent, and taste and see that the Lord is good, we want more. Natural hunger is satisfied after you eat a meal. Being spiritually hungry builds to more hunger and a desire to go deeper with God. It really makes you want to give your all, un-abandoned to your Creator. Complacency is not present in revival. Satisfying the flesh is never an option when true revival has come. Only satisfying and pleasing God is the main desire.

5.  A realization of our humanity and our need to repent.

In true revival, we see our humanity and our need for a Savior. We lose our dignity for His deity. We decrease with our desires to please our flesh and God increases in us. We see that God is God and we are not. Pride and arrogance is gone and humility and brokenness is present.

6.  It is seeing souls saved. It is seeing lives changed, not changed for just a few days, but changed forever. 

Seeing souls, people, come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior should be fruit of true revival. The revivals in history all have the common factor of people coming to Christ.

7.  It is bringing dead things back to life!

Remember during Easter 2012, I preached a sermon: “You Are Never Too Dead For A Resurrection!” Remind yourself there is nothing too dead that God can not resurrect in your life.

We all need to be revived! 

Maintaining and advancing in our relationship with God is a daily nurturing. We can get beaten down by the enemy because he doesn’t want us to have a relationship with God. His job is to bring division between you and God every chance he gets. The key is to not give him any chances. How do we do that? We guard our hearts and protect our relationship we have with God every second of every day.

Psalm 138:7 (Amp)

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.” 

You might be in a place where you are worn out or complacent in your walk with God. It is easy to get there. Little things every day can bring a separation between you and God. Remember one of the biggest peace robbers in our life is business!

Today, the church needs to be revived. Revival is desperately needed in any church to cause an awakening to what God is doing and wanting to do.

Are you dead spiritually? Are you dead in your heart or spirit? We are starting a revival series called; “A Cry For Revival” that will span the next few months at Hope Fellowship. This will help bring an awakening to all hearts. It will usher in the freedom of God’s spirit to have His way in all of us. By the time we are finished with this series it is my prayer for more freedom, more growth, and more of Jesus in all of us! AMEN!

A Cry For Revival

Revive, in the dictionary, is: “To activate, set in motion, or take up again; renew, to restore to life or consciousness, to put on or show again, to make operative or valid again, to bring back into notice, use, or currency, to quicken or renew in the mind, to reanimate or cheer (the spirit, heart, etc., or a person), to return to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, or a flourishing condition, to recover from financial depression, to be quickened, restored, or renewed, as hope, to become operative or become valid again.”  (Dictionary.com)

Wow, what an awesome look at what revival is! We need to be activated in our faith. Let faith arise in us. The enemy knows if he can put doubt in our hearts it will paralyze us from doing anything for God. It will put despair and discouragement in us and we become defeated. It is imperative for us to activate and celebrate our life in Christ. To walk and experience life more abundantly then ever dreamed possible. This is obtainable and available for all of us right now!

A Cry for revival is something that comes from deep within us and can’t help to come out and be heard by the ears of God. Crying out to God brings Him instantly to us. As we all cry out to God we become one voice, one cry and God is compelled to respond. In an orchestra, when all the instruments are playing at the same time, it is called a “full cry.” The listener is moved and it gets the attention of all who are present. It makes a statement that will never be forgotten. This is the same when we cry out in one voice to our creator to help us revive and become fully awake to Him and His presence.

There are many forms of revive; “Revivable, revivability, revivably, reviver, revivingly, revival.” Looking at these thoughts and the possible related forms makes me ask, “Do you have revivability? You might ask yourself, “Am I revivable?”

Do you feel dead? Are you struggling with life? Do you feel like you are doing the same thing over and over again and not feeling fulfilled? If so, maybe you have developed wet wood. I know a wet piece of wood is impossible to light on fire until it has dried out. We can get so immersed in this world and our hearts can grow wet and cold, and we feel very little when it comes to God, and the things of God. We can get so use to being in church and “churchy” things we don’t even see our flame has died. But if you put a bunch of combustible things around the wet wood and under the wet wood, and light it on fire, the wet wood will eventually dry out and ignite and burn. This is the same when it comes to lighting the fire of God in our hearts and catching fire to hearts of those that seem cold or dead around us.

Revival Is…

Revival is releasing any un-forgiveness, bitterness, or past hurts to God and allowing Him to bring a refreshing in your soul. It is walking humbly with God, hand in hand, and watching Him reveal areas in your life that needs attention or change. You see, revival is bringing dead things back to life. We can have dead relationships, dead finances, dead dreams, and dead emotions. We need revival spiritually, we need revival over our past mistakes or past regrets. We need revival for our future too. God breathes life into dead things. This is revival.

Revival comes in so many different forms, but the bottom line is; something was dead and needs life again. It can be your old way of thinking and God brings a new revelation of thought. It can be spiritual blindness and you couldn’t see God working, and God opens your eyes to see His mighty power at work.

Revival Feels Like A Fire In Our Hearts

Scripture talks about a burning in our heart or a flame. Does your heart burn when you talk about God, read about Him, or hear testimonies about what He is doing? Do you long to be in His presence? This is revival. Does your heart ache to see lives changed and transformed to be more like Christ? Do you have a passion and a deep love for God? This is revival.

The bible refers to a burning or being on fire in our hearts.

Luke 24:32 (KJV)

“And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”

I like how the Message Bible states it, “Back and forth they talked.” Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?” It is a burning in our hearts and spirit to know more of God.

I know when I have spent time with God, or talked about God, or have been in an awesome worship service, I can’t help but feel on fire. There is a burning in my chest and an overwhelming sense that God can do anything. It seems I have to share it and help others, or I will explode. Have you ever felt that?

If you have no desire to be revived, or even see the need to be, ask God to give you a tender heart towards Him. Sometimes we have to let go of the way we think in order to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our intellect can get in the way and lead us astray when it comes to our relationship towards God. Let go of common sense and allow your faith to arise.

Common Sense vs Faith

Common sense says: I don’t have enough money to pay my bills.

Faith says: My God shall supply all my needs.

Common sense says: I better stay home from church today and catch up on my sleep as I have had to put in many late nights at the office.

Faith says: I will go to church and know God will invigorate me and empower me to get through my week!

Common sense says: There is a mountain in my way.

Faith says: Mountain be moved in Jesus mighty name!

Common sense says: I have failed before and will fail again, so I better not try.

Faith says: God is a God of the second, third, fourth, and more chances! God is for me and not against me!

Common sense says: I have always been overlooked for a promotion so why even ask for one.

Faith says: I am the head and not the tail! God has a plan and I will walk in it!

“Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual.”

Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His highest – August 29th)

What “common sense” things are you holding onto that is preventing you from walking out this life of faith and bringing revival to your life?

When revival takes flight, we fly to new heavenly places and our hearts are revived. We soar to higher realms in the spirit as we allow ourselves to let go and fly in our spirit with God. We obtain a different perspective when we fly. Flying sets you free from things that hold you down. We do not get caught in bondage when we take the time to fly with God and be revived in our spirit. Revival is a setting free of the things that bind us. Nothing can hold you down. Nothing can take away the experience. In this higher realm you hear better and see clearer.

Let’s cry out for revival for Hope Fellowship and for all the churches in Spokane, nation, and the world! May God’s mighty army rise up in faith and take this land for God! Good things are a commin’ you just wait and see!

Psalm 119:154 (Amp)

“Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me and give me life according to Your word.”

Next for “A Cry For Revival” we will look at:“Revival Of Our Hearts!” It’s going to be good!

From one burning heart to another,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.hopefellowshipspokane.com

Communion