Prepare for Revival. The question is, How many are really willing to pay the high price for revival?

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1 Revival: What is revival? Revival can be briefly described as the reviving of a sleeping church to the truth and power of God, and the following awakening of the lost, and transformation of society by the manifest power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The Price: What price are we willing to pay for revival? The question is, How many are really willing to pay the high price for revival? Prayer: First we must pray for revival Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT) This is our primary calling, to pray and intercede for our families, churches, communities and nations. Pray for the anointing to trivial for the Holy Spirit to break in. For apart from His power and presence, we can do nothing. John Wesley: The Lord does nothing on earth, apart from answers to the prayers of His saints. John Song Chinese revivalist: Prayer is the greatest work a saint can enter into. Oswald Chambers: Prayer is not the preparation for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. Prepare the way of the Lord: What do we do in the mean time while we are praying and waiting for revival to come? The answer is, Prepare. John the Baptist was a forerunner, one who ran ahead of the Lord s coming to prepare the way.... Prepare the way for the LORD s coming!... (Matthew 3:3 NLT) Jesus sent disciples ahead of Him to prepare the way. The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: The harvest is great, 7 Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, The Kingdom of God is near you now. (Luke 10:1-2, 7, 9 NLT) As disciples and followers of Jesus Christ we are also called to Go, make disciples and prepare the way of the Lord s return to earth to establish His Kingdom of God. 1 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

2 Prepare by always: Following Jesus Prepare for Revival Jesus is always our example to follow in every situation in our lives. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8 NLT) After many years of obedience to His parents and studying the Torah, the law of God given to Moses, He came to John the Baptist to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15) Prepare in the wilderness: In partnership with God After Jesus was baptized He was filled with the Holy Spirit. The heavens were opened to Him, (Matthew 3:16) Then He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1) or tested. Jesus fasted 40 days, (Matthew 4:2) was tempted by the Devil and He defended Himself with the truth, the Word of God. Then Devil left Him, the strong man was bound and Jesus came out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 4:14) Prepare to: Repent Repentance simply means turning from sin, rebellion against God, selfishness, worldly thinking and actions, and return to Jesus and His ways, will and timing. Jesus started preaching, Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand. (Matthew 4:17) Jesus brought the kingdom of heaven to earth through the open heaven over Him. His preaching was confirmed as the true Word of God by the power of God demonstrated through signs and wonders, healings and deliverances. Prepare to be: Cleansed The Lord is looking for clean vessels. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24:3-4 NKJV) A strong anointing of the Holy Spirit simply can not be contained in an unclean person. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NKJV) 2 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

3 Prepare in Humility We must put away our pride. The only way to approach the throne of God is in humility, For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:14 NKJV) In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for God opposes the proud but favors the humble. (1 Peter 5:5 NKJV) Prepare with Fasting Fasting makes us hungry, more hungry for God than for the things of this perishing world. Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, (Ezra 8:21a NKJV) I humbled myself with fasting; (Psalm 35:13b NKJV) Prepare for Persecution Jesus was actually opposed by the religious leaders who where the influenced by demon spirits. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12 NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV) Prepare to Surrender and live in obedience to God Jesus said that He did nothing apart from what the Father showed Him. Again Jesus is our example. We are invited to surrender our lives to the Lord. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1 NKJV) God only wants all or nothing from us. He cannot support our disobedience or He would not be a holy God. He says, Be holy for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16 NKJV) For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV) This is the first key to revival. The Lord is looking for those who will whole heartedly surrender to Him, follow Him, love and obey Him. If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John14:15 NKJV) 3 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

4 Prepare to first: Seek His kingdom and His righteousness But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NKJV) Prepare our vessels to be: Filled with the Holy Spirit A certain woman cried out to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves. 2 So Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? And she said, Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil. 3 Then he said, Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones. 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not another vessel. So the oil ceased. (2 Kings 4:1-6 NKJV) The out pouring of oil, the anointing of the Spirit, stopped when there were no more empty vessels available to be filled. The Lord is looking for empty, yielded people to fill with His Spirit, with His anointing. He can not fill our fullness. We must empty out our idolatry, sin, selfishness, worldliness and personal agenda. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. (Acts 2:17 NKJV) Prepare to be a Disciple and to make disciples Jesus told His disciples, Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to do all that I have commanded. (Matthew 28:19-20) Revival can only be sustained as we continue to make more disciples, who are true whole hearted followers of Jesus Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:13 NLT 4 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

5 There are three basic groups in the world today: Prepare for Revival The lost who need to hear the good news of the kingdom and be saved The saved who need to be discipled as true followers of Jesus The disciples who need to go out and bring the harvest of lost souls into the Kingdom of God Prepare to be a Servant to all Again Jesus shows us to humble ourselves, to serve Him and to serve others. as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, (Ephesians 6:6 NKJV) Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave Matthew 20:26-27 NKJV Prepare the Volunteers Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. (Psalm 110:3 NKJV) Past revivals have burned out for lack of fresh fuel. Prepare those who will willingly volunteer to serve and carry the fire of the Spirit of the Lord to others. Prepare to Change our thinking We are taught to follow the ways of this world, which are in opposition to the ways of God. We must change the way that we think to align with the way, will and heart of the Lord. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. (Isaiah 55: 9 NKJV) do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1 NKJV) Prepare to Seek God, His face and heart We must align our ways and will with the heart of God. He will strongly support those who have a heart after His. This is demonstrated in the life of King David who God called, A man after My own heart. He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. (Acts 13:22 NKJV) Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV) 5 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

6 Prepare to Wait upon the Lord We are to wait upon the Lord as a servant waits upon his master. This is active and not passive whole hearted loving service in prayer, worship and obedience But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8 NKJV) Prepare to Listen to the Lord Next we need to learn to listen to and obey the voice of the Lord and then follow Him. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:14, 27 NLT The Holy Spirit calls to us: To be broken To be cleansed To be disciples To be life, light and love To be obedient To pray To suffer To the truth To victory To stand for our nation To cry out for the world To personal action (Reference to Thy God Reigneth The Story of the Argentine Revival by R. Edward Miller) Prepare to work in Unity with the body of Christ so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, (Ephesians 2:15 NKJV) with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:2-6 NKJV) 6 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

7 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew (mercy) of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; (and society) For there the LORD commanded the blessing (everlasting) Life forevermore. (Psalm 133: 1-3 NKJV) Prepare in Holiness The body of Christ is called to live in holiness as the temple of the living God. because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16 NKJV) A prophecy was given: I will power out My Spirit without measure on a church without mixture. Prepare Holy places The Blueprint prophecy was given to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City in 1984 that, The people shall flow then into the tabernacles of habitation. I believe that these holy places, these tabernacles of meeting between God and man are best described in these scriptures: 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. (Isaiah 4:5 NKJV) On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; (Amos 9:11 NKJV) you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) As saints, we are individually to be set apart, consecrated and sanctified to the Lord as holy. We are also to set apart sanctify holy undefiled places, prayer altars, houses of prayer, and tabernacles to meet with a Holy God. He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the common. (Ezekiel 42:20 NKJV) Prepare the Ground Jesus taught about how the seed, the Word of God grows in hard, thorny and good ground. 7 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

8 We need to prepare the ground to receive the seed, the Word of God. We need to pray and intercede for all those lost souls in our cities, region and nation. No one comes to the Lord unless God calls them to Himself. We must intercede for them: Pray that God will: sanctify, set them apart to Himself; bless them, as all blessings come from God; convict them of their sin; illuminate their minds with the light of the truth; and then save, deliver, redeem and disciple every man woman and child in your city and region. Prepare the Land The land is covered with the blood of those who are murdered. Every aborted baby is like a blood sacrifice placed on the altar in worship of Satan, who comes to kill steal and destroy. (John 10:10 a) We need to repent of these murders, plead the cleansing blood of Jesus over us and our land. Then pray and act to stop this innocent blood shed. (God) said, What have you done? The voice of your brother s blood cries out to Me from the ground. (Genesis 4:10 NKJV) Prepare by Starting a fire of revival When we humbly, fervently, sincerely cry out for the fire of the Holy Spirit to come, then the love and power of God will be manifest in His faithful saints. All past revivals started with a small group of hungry people who where desperate and willing to pay the price. They prayed, cried out to God, travailed, repented of their sin, were cleansed by the grace, mercy and forgiveness of the Lord. They diligently, earnestly sought the Lord for extended seasons until the Holy Spirit answered them, bond the strongman, and came in power. When the power of the Holy Spirit comes, then He will be the One who leads the way. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2: 1-4 NKJV) Prepare the Bride of Christ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7 NKJV) 8 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

9 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:26 NKJV) The Bridegroom King will return to earth when the bride has made herself ready. Prepare with Apostolic prayers of agreement The Spirit of the Lord is now raising up the largest prayer movement in the history of the world. This is a great sign that the Lord is preparing His body to hear from heaven and stand in agreement with Him. The Lord has all authority in heaven and earth, and He will delegate it to those who love Him, are obedient, faithful and worthy of His trust. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:17 NKJV) Great power will be released by the Holy Spirit onto the earth when we pray prayers of righteous agreement with the plans of the Lord. Prepare to Choose from two kingdoms We each are given two options in this life. We can choose to spend our everlasting life in a relationship of loving obedience with our Lord and King Jesus Christ in His Kingdom of God, or spend our everlasting life burning in the kingdom of darkness in the lake of fire. What is your choice? Your family and friends should also know their options so that they can choose wisely. The prophetic word was given, I will pour out My Spirit without measure on a church without mixture. We must choose to serve the lord, and Him alone. Prepare for Great success Great success comes when the opportunity comes to those who are prepared. God promised great revival will surely come IF IF My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV) Truly the Lord wants revival and awakening more than we do, however He will only pour out His Spirit on His terms and not ours. The Holy Spirit is drawn to people who follow the Word of God and come to true corporate repentance from the heart. He also said, I will heal their land. 9 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International

10 Seek the Lord and prepare, for He will surely send His mighty revival and awakening which will be well out of our control! Praise God! Is all this preparation worth it? Jesus came to earth from heaven to pay the highest price ever paid for another life. He saved us, redeemed us, restored us to Himself, He gave us His nature, a new life, an abundant life, citizenship in His kingdom and an everlasting life of love joy and peace. Jesus paid this great price to freely give us all these gifts. Jesus thought it was all worth it to Him to demonstrate His great love for us. Is it all worth it to us? What are we willing to do in return to show our love for Him? Revival starts in us. Be prepared for the coming greatest move of the Spirit of God in history. Many have heard the prophecy of the great tsunami wave of the Spirit that is coming. When it does comes, sadly, many maybe swept away by the judgment of their hard, rebellious and disobedient hearts. For those who are willing and prepared, they will be swept up in love, joy, power and revival of the Spirit. Let us pray: Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy, Holy, Holy is Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven in me and through me, here and now. As I fully surrender my life to You, prepare me to manifest Your ways, Your will and Your kingdom through my obedient life. All for the praise, honor and glory of my Lord, Savior and King, Jesus Christ. For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21 NKJV) 10 of 10 Copyright 2009 Kingdom Building Disciples International