In these days, we hear many praying and calling for ‘Revival’. A time where the Spirit of God sweeps the land and bring many to the knowledge of Jesus. Is it really like that? Are those calling and praying for revival’ ‘men and women’ of God who have died to the things of this world and truly ‘born again?’
In the book of Acts from verse 33 we see the Apostles moving in great power. It says:- “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” Great power!? Is this a revival? Or is this how church should actually be? There is so much confusion today about so much and what is real truth anymore. The Apostles were demonstrating the testimony of Jesus with authenticity because of their submission to the authority of Christ! They knew that true power comes from submission to a higher authority. The church today is awash with so much false teaching saying you ‘have’ the authority and therefore can just say the ‘word’ and it’s yours. Well, any true authority and therefore any subsequent power comes from submission to the authority of Christ alone. When the devil comes against you and tries to tempt you, James 4: 7 says:- “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” He will flee? Why? Because you ‘submitted’ to God – the principal thing that the devil did not do!! He hates that you submit to God because he did not! A man who gives everything to Jesus and submits to Him is a danger to the devil. False teachers and prophets operate without the proper authority and are only interested in drawing a crowd and deceiving people. They are only interested in their own ministries, and many call their ministries after themselves. These prophets do not operate in the same ‘power’ as Peter shows in Acts chapter 5.
In Acts chapter 5 the Holy Spirit showed Peter that a married couple were lying about their ‘giving’ to the church. The Holy Spirit exposed their hearts and Peter said:- “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? They were deceived. Peter demonstrated here a ‘sign and a wonder’ that only could have been from God. It was because Peter was a man in true submission to the authority of Christ. When do we see leaders and prophets expose such secrets of people’s hearts? Today, many do not for fear of not being popular or losing people and their ‘main givers!’ But Peter spoke the truth! It’s time for ‘truth’ that gives ‘life’ and freedom from hidden sins.
True ‘revival can only come from ‘dead men and women’. Those who have not been found wanting by the ‘fire’ of God and living for Him alone. Ananias and his wife left church dead that day! It’s better that the ‘presence of the Holy Spirit’ exposes our sins so we can die to those things and leave them at the altar and leave church alive in the freedom and liberty of Christ, rather than not be challenged at all and leave Church the same way to be lost forever and die in our sins.
The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 2 verse 20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Amen.
