Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge My might." The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil:   He will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.
Isa 33:13-15

Revival Fires are Falling!


We do not want a theological definition of God's presence... we want Him.  If our God is a consuming fire, and that fire takes up residence in you... you will burn till the day you leave this earth... you will burn with holy passion to love others, see His kingdom come, and see the enemy's work destroyed!

  

 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the Spirit of judgment and by the Spirit of burning, then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. Isa 4:4-5

 

Revival is not a CHARISMATIC experience limited to certain denominations and "emotionally" based Christians... it is the fire of God that confronts and melts the hardness of our religious hearts and gives us a holy passion for the lost, a pure hatred of sin, and the heart of repentance and mourning for shutting the presence and power of God out of His very own church!

 

Revivalists of the Past (off-site):

 

Revival Accounts (off-site):

 

Lord, if we must bear reproach to experience LIFE, then so be it!  It is better than living with a DEAD spiritual experience of You!  If your LIFE comes with messiness, than I'll take it!  If receiving your LIFE means you must shake up my life.. then do it.  You are worth it... if your own Son bore the stigma of being an illegitimate child and the humiliation of being hung naked on wooden cross after being beat to a pulp, then what reproach am I willing to endure if necessary to experience the LIFE He paid for me to have?? 

What in the world is all this talk about fire?? I mean really... I thought hell was where fire was.  Well, there is fire in hell according to the Bible... but for all we know the fires of hell burn so hot because that will be the one place for all eternity where human self-will is allowed to be king!  Can you imagine the heat caused from the friction of millions upon millions of souls who all want their own way!!  The Bible speaks of another kind of fire... Holy Fire.  This is the kind of fire that burns hot and bright, but yet it does not CONSUME us.  Far too often, the things we pursue spiritually lead to our burn out, disillusionment, and emptiness.  The fire that Moses saw in the burning bush did not consume the bush... that is what made it so strange.  The fire that fell on the day of Pentecost RESTED on those believers, but they did not run out of the building with their clothes flaming.  Instead, they ran out of the upper room with their HEARTS flaming... so much that they overflowed in joyous tongues praising and exalting God and the Lord Jesus.

 

 

And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. Zech 12:10-11

God is pouring out grace and supplication and burning and cleansing and power in what we believe to be the generation that will see the return of the Lord.. many are entering in and receiving, but many are also pondering at the pool of theological definition.  A big obstacle to experiencing true revival in America is that we have been trained to approach God from a solely mental understanding and not a heart understanding.  We dedicate this page to sharing our thoughts, prayers, and feelings about revival.  We hope that many brothers and sisters in the Lord who are scared or confused or dubious or even hostile to what is going on today will be blessed by these insights.  We do not have all the answers, and if we did you should be worried! All we can do is pray for and ask that believers will open up their heart to the FIRE of God... many in the American church have lost their passion, many have lost the flame, and many have grown cold and apathetic (with some very possibly never having a fire at all!)   We NEED the fire of God.  We must get to the point where we cannot live another day without it... it is only that kind of hunger that will move the heavens and cause the King of Glory to come down among us!  

 

TO GET WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GOT, 
YOU MUST DO WHAT YOU HAVE NOT DONE

 

Is there just criticism of many of the revival movements happening today?? Certainly.  Do they require reproof and correction in some instances?? Of course.  Is there just criticism of those who are attacking the revival movements of the day?? Certainly.  Do they need reproof and correction as much as those they are criticizing?? Of course.  There is indeed a difference between those who offer true Biblical reproof and correction and those who deny these movements are of God at all or try to assassinate the character of those leading these renewals.  No one likes to be reproved and corrected... whether for those in revival or for those standing on the sidelines offering religious critiques.  Those who are in the position of correction normally walk a fine line themselves in regard to self-righteousness and calcified religious attitudes... and that applies to both sides of those involved in the arguments.

The question of revival is a question of tradeoffs.  Would we rather risk the chance of drinking from poisoned waters or would we rather risk the chance of being lead away from the fountain of living waters??  Which is more dangerous??  To tell you the truth, they are both EQUALLY dangerous.  That is why we should avoid the FORMER, without ignoring the REAL danger of the LATTER.   You mean God would actually leave that type of choice open to us?? You mean God would not make it crystal clear so that there is no way we could be deceived by a false move of God or make our hearts so understandable that we could not become religiously hardened and deceived by a pharisaical spirit?  Unfortunately, both possibilities are fully available and open to you as a believer... just as all the trees of the garden of Eden were available to Adam and Eve (God did not put a flaming sword around the tree of knowledge of good and evil did He??)  When it comes down to it though, I believe it is far more easy to be deceived by a pharisaical spirit than it is to be deceived by a false move of God.   The works of the devil and the flesh can be more easily identifiable than the proclivity of our hearts toward spiritual blindness!  Jesus gave us the true test of discernment in the arena of spiritual fruit--- the devil never gets any joy nor does he ever promote people getting excited about Jesus, committing their entire lives wholeheartedly to Him as true disciples, being set free of sin and bondages, being physically healed, being set free of emotional scars and physical addictions, or having the church awaken out of spiritual slumber to fervent intercession and true heartfelt worship of the living God.  This is nothing new... it is the same test Jonathon Edwards said we need to apply in discerning a true move of the Spirit:  overlook the externals that you might see and get down to how people are being changed on the inside.  That is the true test.

In a real sense, childbirth offers us the best picture of revival... it is a birthing of LIFE.  Sometimes the entrance of LIFE into lives of people that have been long entrenched in DEATH can be very unsettling and down right scary!  Child birth is a wonderful miracle-- the bringing of life into this world.  It is preceded by much travail, labor, anguish, agony, sweat, tears, emotions, and expectation!  Revivals are birthed the same way.  The Holy Spirit always travails among a group of people through whom He will birth LIFE.  When the baby is actually delivered, it is not the most pleasant thing in the world to see or experience!  It's rather gross if you have ever been witness to it.  It's intense to say the least, for those watching, those involved in the delivery, and most of all for the woman and child involved in this marvel of life.  Let's get graphic here for a moment.... the woman delivering is embarrassingly exposed to the entire world at the point of delivery.  There are all sorts of nasty bodily fluids flying everywhere and the weak of heart are not that comfortable in this situation.  There is screaming, crying, and an absolute loss of intellectual reason in most cases when the delivery is at its peak.  Words like "If you do this to me again I'll kill you" have been offered to many a husband in the delivery room on countless occasions I am sure.  

In this sense, God wants so much to birth a newness and freshness of LIFE into the Body of Christ.  Some of its parts have become stiff and calcified, out of joint and broken, even disconnected from the nervous system and the head.  The entrance of LIFE, just as in childbirth, can be in the same way rather rude, offensive, and shocking for those observing the whole thing.  For those involved in the delivery, it is intense work and labor... they don't have time to criticize the woman for having unkempt hair or not wearing makeup or for being overly emotional or for shouting loudly... their only interest is to FACILITATE the birthing process.  NOTICE: those involved in the delivery have nothing to do with CREATING the LIFE.  It just so happens the burden has fallen on them to see that LIFE is allowed to be delivered, healthy and safely into this violent world.  But oh the marvel when that LIFE has come!  But this marvel comes with its own mess too... sure enough, the first thing my son did when he was born was poop all over the nurse!  Birthing LIFE is messy... yet God designed it to be that way.  Birthing and sustaining LIFE in the Body of Christ (one definition of REVIVAL) is messy too.. yet history AND current events testify that God has designed it to be that way as well.  But oh the marvel of that life-- the sick healed, the depressed delivered, the enslaved set free, the blind eyes opened, the sinful made righteous by faith in Jesus, the weak made strong, the lame made whole.  John Wesley, after the revival of his day had about died out for the time, once prayed: "Oh, Lord, send us the old revival, without the defects; but if this cannot be, send it with all its defects.  We must have the revival!"

Our problem is that we want God to give us LIFE, but we do not want anything in our life to change!  We want LIFE, but we want it to be STERILE and ESOTERIC and INTELLECTUAL.  We want LIFE, but we don't want the messiness that it can produce.  We want REVIVAL, but we do not want the pain of travail in prayer for souls and for God's mercy to be poured out on this world.  Yet, you cannot have any of these things on those terms... LIFE comes with an inherent risk and messiness.  Are we willing to take the messiness in order to have the joy of the LIFE?? Are we willing to endure the suffering and travail to see REVIVAL birthed??   It is a question the Holy Spirit is asking to everyone who hears His voice today...  

 

Thoughts from Threemacs

Come to the Waters 
A parable concerning revival from threemacs... and the well and river of Living Water, who is our great Comforter-- the Holy Spirit.
One Little Fire
Another word picture about revival and the power of one heart burning with the fire of God. 
What Revival Means To Me
The Consuming Fire of Revival (Part I)
Thoughts on Gold, Laughter, Shaking, Rattling, and Rolling  
Revival Fires are Falling (a song of renewal)
A song inspired by personal visits to the  Smithton Outpouring and Brownsville Assembly.  

Offsite Writings and Articles

20 Reasons You May Need Revival
What are the signs that you might need spiritual renewal?? The truth is... we ALL do.
Another Wave of Blessing
Want to
know about revival?? This is a reprint of the message by Dwight L Moody... a good start.
Lessons on Revival
An excellent beginning point for looking at understanding the concept of revival, renewal, and awakening to God's Spirit.  From the 1997 Pan Borneo/Kalimantan Conference.
Characteristic's of Revival
Richard Riss...an excellent writing on things we can expect when revival comes from heaven. 
God's Generals
Church history link and information on the book by this title... discover the life stories of men and women God chose to "rock the boat" in their day. 
Falling Under the Power of God
Charles Finney. 
John Wesley and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
God Advances His Work by Outpourings of His Spirit
A.W. Tozer 
What in the World is Happening To Us
Bill Jackson; a great explanation for revival manifestations. 
Thunderstruck: John Wesley and the Toronto Blessing
Steve Beard. 
Why So Few Revivals
Charles Finney. 
When the Mountains Flowed Down
Duncan Campbell 
Is There a Spiritual Awakening Today?
Ron McGatlin. 
His Ways are not Our Ways
A testimony of a changed life from the Toronto revival. 
Experiential Calvinism and the Gifts of the Spirit
A REFORM THEOLOGY Calvinist that believes the gifts of the Holy Spirit are operating today!! 

 

 "Show me a people on their faces before God - gripped in the unction of prayer and I show you a people ready for revival."
Duncan Campbell, 26-year old leader of the Hebrides revival

 

Featured Churches in Revival
A few of the churches that are in active revival or that have an awakening of God's Spirit in their midst.  Do we believe that all of these are absolutely of God??  If people are repenting of sin, being delivered of bondages, being restored in marriages, falling in love with Jesus, and hungering for the lost, then ABSOLUTELY.  DON'T look at the "WEIRDNESS".  DO look at the fruit ... displays of unusual manifestations of the Spirit, displays of fleshly emotionalism, and displays of demonic activity can probably be found in any one of these revivals.  BIG DEAL!  They have been found in every single recorded revival of church history, including the ones where churches have altered the history of the revival to hide the "MESSINESS" of the revival itself.  That is why you need to read and study an unbiased view of revival history... it will open your eyes to the fact of how God chooses to bring renewal in some very "MESSY" ways. 
Brownsville Assembly of God (Pensacola, FL)
The Smithton Outpouring (Smithton, MO)
The River (Tampa, FL)
North Plymouth Community Church (Plymouth, UK)
Hatfield Christian Church (Pretoria, South Africa)
City Bible Church (Portland, OR)
Rocky Mountain Awakening (Colorado)
Rock City Church (Baltimore, MD)
Harvest Christian Fellowship (Princeton, NJ)
Capital Region Revival (Maryland, Virginia, DC)
Christian Life Center (Mount Annan, Australia)
Renewal/Revival Locator

 

Did You Know?? 
Many Reformed Leaders of the early Reformation apparently did not believe that the spiritual gifts had ceased. In fact, some of them even prophesied. 
  1. John Knox, 1514 - 1572
  2. Robert Flemming, 1630 - 1694
  3. George Wishart, 1513-1546

From "The Scots Worthies," by John Howie, of Lochgoin. Edingburgh and London: Oliphant, Anderson, & Ferrier, 1870.

 

What Is Revival??


Charles G. Finny

  1. Conviction of sin on the part of the Church;
  2. Backslidden Christians brought to repentance;
  3. The renewal of faith among Christians;
  4. The breaking of the power of the world and sin over Christians;
  5. The awakening and reformation of the Church which leads to the reformation and salvation of sinners.

 

"The current structure of the church will not accommodate what I am about to do; take it down." 

--
How radical do we need to be in order to reach this radically lost world in this hour?? How radical does our abandon for God need to be in comparison to the radical abandon to sin and the radical yielding to the spiritual rulers of this present darkness that our nation and our world has undertaken?? Historians tells us that the Temple in Jerusalem continued to operate normally for near 40 years after the crucifixion of Jesus until its destruction in 70 A.D.  They actually repaired and put back up the veil of the Holy of Holies, which had been torn from top to bottom when Jesus uttered "It is finished" and offered Himself up to God as the lamb that takes away the sin of the world.  God was changing the way He would now tabernacle with man... a temple made with hands of men would no longer be His resting place:  a heart purified by the blood of Jesus would now be the resting place of His glory!  The old structures would no longer accommodate what God was doing...but they still continued doing their religious exercises in the Temple, all without any presence or manifestation of God, for 40 years or so until the day it was destroyed!  

Do we have patched up veils that need to be taken down??

 

Featured Information Sites
All you can stand to learn about revival.... and I don't mean the one your church holds once every year for 3 days.  Some sites offer great historical references to past revivals and point to how the Lord is stirring His Church these days... renewal and restoration, reformation and rebirthing. Of course, threemacs does not necessarily indorse EVERY single thing found on these sights... you have to rely on the discernment of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Word just like we do!
Richard M. Riss 
A must read for those new to revival and somewhat skeptical of it all.   Some VERY good historical materials and research.. especially the History of the Awakening page. Links to other revivals, history on revival and the renewal of the last decade.
Revivals, Past and Present 
Great starting point for reading and discovering the historical roots of revival.  Extensive listings..
The Revival Archives 
EXCELLENT historical site with revival accounts, stories of great revivalists, and articles on revival itself.
The Blessing Page Archives 
Extensive listing of testimonies (fruit) from revivals all around the world and articles on renewal in general.
God Chasers Network 
A good historical site, links to other churches.
The Renewed Network 
Good links, archives of web email and discussions about revival... generally good overview.
Global Awakening 
Randy Clark, one of the key people involved in the original outpouring of the Toronto Vineyard. 
The Watch of the Lord (Mahesh Chavda Ministries)
In 1995, the Chavdas and a handful of others began meeting spontaneously to SEEK THE LORD IN PRAYER. The Holy Spirit began revealing CORPORATE INTERCESSION as a MISSING LINK BETWEEN THE RENEWAL AND THE HARVEST. The Watch of the Lord represents a restoration of something very dear to the heart of our Savior: PRAYER.
Jack Deere (Evangelical Foundation Ministries)
A former Dallas Theological seminary professor, Jack is one of the most gifted Christian writers you will ever read... specifically gifted in dealing with the intellectual pursuit of Christianity apart from a heart love for Christ.
Revival Generation (UK)  
UK based renewal link focused on THIS generation . Revival chat rooms and newsletter.  News from around the world. 
Passion!  
Passion exists to glorify God -- inviting students everywhere to seek God wholeheartedly in an atmosphere of corporate worship. Through His grace and in His presence, they desire that God change students and ignite in their souls a passionate pursuit of Him, and a desire to declare His glory in their lives, campuses, and to the ends of the earth..  The first passion conference was in Jan 1997 in Austin, Texas.  GREAT anointed revival music to stir the hearts of this generation.
Revival Now  (Wes Campbell)
Revival extension ministry of Wesley and Stacey Campbell, pastor and leader of  New Life Vineyard Fellowship   "Revival Now!" Ministries has a special emphasis on church renewal, prophecy, and revival.s.  
The River Interdenominational Youth Church
Rather hard on the eyes, but this site is full of the passion and exuberance of the renewal movement among youth... some good articles as well..  
Northwest Revival Network
Washington area site chronicling, with a mission to spread the fire, passion and healing of renewal and revival around the world.. 
Harvest Evangelism (Ed Silvoso, Argentina Revival)
An inter-denominational ministry committed to helping fulfill the Great Commission (Matt.28:19,20) in this generation. The Harvest team, led by founder and president, Rev. Ed Silvoso, is dedicated to serving the entire Body of Christ around the globe in pursuit of the vision to reach entire cities for Christ by implementing the principles and strategy of Prayer Evangelism
Global Resource Ministries 
A good historical site, links to other churches  Be sure to look at the links on renewal..
Roberts Lierden
Renewal and field ministry dedicated to revival and preservation of Church heritage and history.
Europe Awake
Hosted from St. Andrew's Church, Chorleywood, UK,  'Europe Awake' is committed to praying and preparing for a radical advance of the Kingdom of God in the UK and the rest of Europe. Conference ministry focused on prayer and uniting the church for action in Europe. 
The Jesus Army (UK)
A UK-based evangelical Christian church with a charismatic emphasis and Baptist roots. The church aims to be a contemporary expression of the historic Christian faith. It is orthodox in doctrine and upholds the universally-accepted Christian creeds... but Church was never like this before.
In Christ Ministries
A
Christian ministry committed to spiritual renewal within the church, based in the city of Ithaca NY.  Great site for renewal history and locating friends of renewal.

 

Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. And he said to them: "Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.

What is the true Biblical rule for discernment in this hour?? Can we be found guilty of fighting against God by attacking those things which offend our own spiritual sensibilities and our own idea of orthodoxy but are in actuality the very presence and power of God in our midst??  Did the religious of their day take time to even notice a man born lame had been healed in the name of Jesus, or were they already convinced this miracle was not of God because it did not fit their idea of what God would be doing and by what means He would be doing it?? Did they take the time to examine the fruit before they chose to attack the root??

After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. 
And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it-- lest you even be found to fight against God." (NKJ) Acts 5:34-39

 

Recommended Readings
Books dealing with the move of God in the last days, overcoming traditional views of the Holy Spirit, and overcoming intellectual pride we all deal with in terms of theological understanding. 

Quenching the Spirit
William DeAteaga, Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-432-9
Get It Online
Let No One Deceive You
Michael L. Brown, Revival Press, ISBN 1-56043-693-X
Get It Online
Surprised by the Power of the Spirit
Jack Deere, Zondervan Publishing House, ISBN 0-310-21127-1
Surprised by the Voice of God
Jack Deere, Zondervan Publishing House, ISBN 0-310-46200-2
When the Spirit Comes with Power
John White, ISBN 0-8308-1222-9
Get It Online
Another Wave of Revival
Frank Bartleman, Whitaker House, ISBN 0-88368-111-0
The Final Quest
Rick Joyner, Morning Star Publications, ISBN 1-878327-52-6
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire
Jim Cymbala, Zondervan Publishing House, ISBN 0-310-21188-3
The Coming Revival: America's Call to Fast, Pray...
Bill Bright, New Life Publications
Get it Online
The Surprising Work of God
Jonathan Edwards, Whitaker House, ISBN 0-883-68237-0
Get It Online
That None Should Perish
Ed Silvoso, Regal Books, ISBN 0-8307-1690-4
Get It Online
The World Aflame
Rick Joyner, Whitaker House, ISBN 0-883-68373-3
Get It Online

 

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