Revival

Here’s a dozen Ways to Keep Spiritually Fresh

1. Daily Bible reading is food for the soul. The Bible is one of the main sources of nourishment for a Christian, which is why God gave it to us. If we want to know God more, if we want to love Him and know His love for us more, then we really need to read and study our Bible regularly and diligently. Not to read it as a tick box exercise, just going through the motions… because then the words just flow through our mind, like water gushing through a pipe – nothing sticks! We need to read it thoughtfully, prayerfully and expectantly. (Tip: The #1 selling Study Bible is the ‘Life Application Bible’ which provides useful commentary and examples of how to apply the Bible’s message to our lives today.)
2. Download the ‘YouVersion’ Bible app at www.youverson.com and explore some of the many reading plans covering almost every subject. Or read the Bible in one year (with commentary notes). I recommend a resource provided by Nicky & Pippa Gumbel from Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB, founders of Alpha). Subscribe to ‘Bible in One Year’ at: www.htb.org.uk/bioy
3. Prayer. – Jesus said if we remain connected to the vine we will bear much fruit (John 15:5). So remain connected to the Vine; be mindful of God continually and pray throughout the day. Involve Him in all that you do. Keep short accounts with God – be quick to give thanks and praise; be quick to confess and ask forgiveness for any short-fallings. Remember there is absolutely no substitute for a daily quiet time alone with God, to pray and to listen. Go for a prayer walk – even if it’s just round the block – or find a quiet place.
4. To help get out of a spiritual slump change what has become routine; change something up, e.g. volunteer at a local homeless shelter or nursing home; starting keeping a gratitude journal; take a personal retreat; pick up a different translation of the Bible or do a ten-day fruit and vegetable fast like Daniel (cf Daniel 1).
5. Form or join a prayer partner/triplet and meet together regularly (weekly or fortnightly) to support and pray for each other, for the church and for others you know.
6. Keep a journal. – It is a great encouragement to keep a spiritual record of how God has spoken to you or used you, also browsing through past journal entries and remembering afresh how God has answered prayer and brought you through a particular situation.
7. Fellowship. – Come to church every week, and try not to miss coming along. We need each other. Hebrews 10:25 (NIV1984 edition) says: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
8. Join a small group (home group) and commit to attending and contributing to the group. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) says: ‘As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another.’
9. Communion. – Take communion regularly and remember afresh what Jesus did for you, and how thankful you are. In the Lord’s Supper we share in receiving spiritual nourishment and refreshment for our souls. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
10. Read Christian material – books, biographies, lifestyle etc. Ask people you know what they are reading at the moment or what they recommend.
11. Christian Music for the soul. – Worship and praise God as you listen to Christian music or compile a collection of your favourite songs. Tune in to Premier Christian Radio on Medium Wave 1305, 1332, 1413 (in London and M25 areas) or nationally on DAB and on TV Freeview channel 725, or Tune in to UCB (United Christian Broadcasters) on DAB or on-line.
12. Keep spiritually fresh by constantly seeking to help and encourage others, and looking to witness to others the love of Christ. Remember, when you bend down to help lift another to their feet you can’t help but lift yourself at the same time.

This idea adapted from Mark Batterson, 2014, The Grave Robber, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, p.118

Here is a prophetic word given by Smith Wigglesworth in 1947. (Smith Wigglesworth was a famous evangelist from Yorkshire, who regularly performed miracles of healing and led many thousands of people to Christ.) He gave the following prophecy three months before he died.

“During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterized by a restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. [We have seen this, haven’t we?] The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches. [And we have now seen this, too: Vineyard Church, New Frontiers, Independent Free Churches affiliated to the F.I.E.C. (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches) etc. etc.] In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say “This is the great revival.” But the Lord says, “No, neither is this the great revival but both are steps towards it.” When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the UK to the mainland of Europe, and from there will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.”

Source: ?

Nicky Gumbel, in The Heart of Revival, writes: ‘It is estimated that 170 million Christians are committed to praying every day for revival. Already the church is growing faster than ever before and Christianity is gaining more adherents than any other religion. Indeed, it is growing three times the rate of the population explosion. More Muslims in Iran have come to know Christ over the past ten years than during the previous thousand years. In Africa, 20,000 people a day are becoming Christians. Some estimate that there may be as many as 100 million Christians in China alone.’

Nicky Gumbel, 1997, The Heart of Revival, Eastbourne: Kingsway Publications, p.49-50

In 2012 the Anglican Bishop of Mityana in Uganda, Bishop Stephen Kaziimba, visited our church and was guest speaker at a lunch attended by local clergy. Someone asked him what had impressed on him most during his trip to England. His answer was very telling. He said how shocked he was that England had become so secular a society – not everyone, of course, but by and large people had become prosperous and had forgotten the Lord; and even within the church many were abandoning traditional biblical teachings. Bishop Stephen shared how English missionaries had first taken the gospel to Uganda less than a century and a half ago and the King of Uganda was converted. In their National Museum there’s a letter on display dated 1875, from King Mutesa to Queen Victoria requesting that Christian missionaries come to Uganda to spread the gospel. As a direct result, today some 80% of the country is Christian and the church is thriving… and now Uganda are sending missionaries back here to the UK.

R. Ian Seymour