Awakening & Revival

There are two words that should reverberate through the life of any believer that desires to see the glory of God cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. 

AWAKENING & REVIVAL 

Although these two words are prevalent in the church conversation, we rarely understand what we are declaring in these two.  Here is a little context that will help us understand what we are asking for. 

The book of Isaiah, among other significant truths, is a text that gives us a prophetic picture of the person of JESUS. 

Isaiah 58:12 states, "Those from among you shall build the old waste places, You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell in" 

As followers of Jesus Christ, our identity has to be firmly set IN HIM. Outside of His heart we are empty clouds that hold no rain.  We miss the mark of who we were made to be. Isaiah gives us a picture of Jesus and in the person of Jesus we find who we were made to be. 

Matthew 4: and 5 illustrates this perfectly.  

In Matthew 4: Jesus is entering His earthly ministry by the way of the wilderness, led by The Holy Spirit. There not only does He encounter the temptation of Satan, but defeats Him there!  Coming out of wilderness Jesus is clothed in authority and reveals Himself in a powerful deliverance ministry. As He reveals Himself to the hurt, broken, oppressed and diseased, He restores them to a life that without the curse that bound them. 

In Matthew 5 something equally powerful occurs.  He begins to release the message of the Beatitudes that every young person raised in church has learned.  I call it the "BLESSED ARE" message of Jesus.  The reason being, that Jesus addresses the condition of the heart that can be used and then declares IT BLESSED.  More than just a feeling, BLESSED is a power word in scripture.  After declaring blessing upon the condition and position of the heart He says in verse 14, "You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that can not be hidden". 

This is profound and powerful to the identity of the believer because HE endures the wilderness and comes out setting people free and giving identity to ALL who would position their heart before Him. His promise was that if people would get "positional" with their heart, then He would give identity and "direction" to their lives. 

What is illustrated through Jesus in Matthew 4 and 5 is declared in Isaiah 58:12.  It states that when Jesus comes, He will RESTORE to the believer a new life that is not only significant to themselves, but to all who will take notice.  In many ways, the church has walked away from their mandate to be a "city on a hill that can not be hidden". 

Jesus didn't give identity to the believer to be lost or to be lived out in silence.  He restored identity to the follower so we would be a beacon of hope, power and healing to all who have been diseased by the curse of this world.  The church is meant for more than hiding in a building, but a shining lamp in the darkness of a broken world. When Jesus said, "these things I do, you shall do and greater works than these will you do" (John 14:12), He was empowering us to breakthrough the darkness with the light of the gospel.  

Awakening & Revival is necessary today more than ever because each one of these words speaks to different roles within the church today. 

#1. Awakening is a word associated as the contrast to slumber, complacency or apathy that hides itself behind the mask of religion.  Many times we become so comfortable in our religious routine that over time, we actually begin to lull ourselves to a spiritual haze.  We contend that we love Jesus, yet our identity doesn't match the one He declared in Matthew 5. Awakening, is removing any form of religious pattern that keeps the demonstration of the power of The Holy Spirit at a distance. Awakening is when you as a believer choose to position your heart before The Father in constant relationship with The Holy Spirit.  Awakening isn't hype, it's constant relationship that creates demonstration power!  We need AWAKENING. 

#2. Revival is the resurrection power causing what has no life, to regain life. Ezekiel was given the mandate of revival.  In Ezekiel 37: the valley of dry bones, stood with breath and new life as an army. Revival isn't a set of services or a season in the church. Revival is the prophetic declaration of the surrendered believer. Ezekiel was asked, "Can these dry bones live?". Then with the proper response, Ezekiel says, "Only You know".  Finally God says, "Prophesy". As Ezekiel begins to release what was in the heart of God, LIFE BEGAN to be restored to the army that has lost all significance. From the Upper Room you see revival being released in every encounter.  Anytime the possibilities of heaven touch earth, REVIVAL has begun.  

The conclusion we should have is this...

The church needs to AWAKEN to righteousness by humbly positioning our heart in full consecration to the life of Jesus.  When the church has an AWAKENING, the world will see REVIVAL, because those who see Jesus, will declare Jesus to that which has lost hope.  Just because the world appears to be in darkness, doesn't give the church the right to fall asleep in sorrow.  It's the alarm to the believing church to arise and declare LIFE! 

Prayer Culture

"Pray without ceasing" is the mandate in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, that strikes at the core of our culture of prayer of every believer. 

In 2008 while in our Saturday morning youth prayer meeting the Lord began to deal with me about prayer in our generation.  He showed me that it's critical that we teach this generation that prayer isn't the "last resort",  but rather the central constant in our daily lives. I heard the Lord tell me, "build a prayer culture". It would be easy to take a word like this and make it a "ministry", but I believe it's a mentality that needs addressed by the church today.  

In the approaching time of Jesus' earthly ministry, it took a forerunner of John The Baptist to declare, "Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand".  

Repent = to change or adjust your mindset.  

I've heard it said that culture is a greenhouse to any seed that goes into the ground.  The environment that a seed goes in will determine the growth possible of that seed.  Today if we desire to see the rich fullness of the Kingdom in our lives, we must live in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit in the avenue of prayer.  Prayer should be the communion of the believer with the Father that provides a place of the Kingdom seed to flourish.  

Matthew 18:19 "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."

Agreement is a symphony of faith that comes together to make one powerful release toward heaven.  As we build a prayer culture, let your personal faith be added to others faith, to see the powerful release of heaven upon any situation.  As we build a prayer culture, here are some statements that help frame our faith in prayer.  They are intended to build your faith and passion toward prayer.

PRAYER CULTURE IS...

"the agreement of believers that sets faith to faith to see mountains move and Goliath's fall"

"the symphony of faith, making one sound to heaven. Many parts blending together for one sound"

"a launching pad for righteous living through a surrendered vessel" 

"a relationship that desires His presence and demands consecration"

"a momentum of faith that crashes down on the hopelessness of human limitation"

"anything but passive.  It's a society of faith that sees God without limits and releases praise as a weapon"

So from this place we begin to build a prayer culture in our own lives.  When we get a revelation of Jesus, we must begin to pray from that revelation toward our situations. 

Welcome

Welcome!

I wanted to introduce this page to you and the heart of the ministry behind this site so you can connect to what God is doing with our lives. 

First, I want you to know, I am a FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ.  I am not perfect, but living in pursuit of the genuine presence of The Holy Spirit in my daily life. I believe it's important to recognize the simple call to a personal flame of devotion that shapes the very fabric of your being.  Many times I see ministers and ministry members pursue the "call" of God on their lives while actually forsaking the personal relationship that is critical to any form of "success" through ministry avenues. A critical part of my personal ministry is to empty the pool of lukewarm living, by pointing out the need of personal devotion before public exploits. 

Second, I am a thankful husband to a beautiful Proverbs 31 woman named Jessie.  I realize that outside of my personal salvation, my marriage is the first assignment I have in ministry. I believe in the partnership that is marriage.  I am thankful that I have someone that can keep me grounded, love me and keep me balanced everyday.  The thing that attracted me to my wife as much as anything is by seeing the way she served the Lord behind the scenes with honor and integrity. We met as we both were beginning ministry and one of the lessons I've learned is that the call of God truly is a family plan.  In this life, family can represent the "cares of the world", or they can be an amplifier to the mandate on our lives.  Jessie is truly a perfect example of the grace of God on my life. She doesn't complete me, she balances me and for that I'm grateful. 

Thirdly, I am a proud Father of a son that truly inspires me to live more fully everyday.  Samuel is a gift that God announced to me a full year before we knew he was on his way.  I remember being in one of our youth camps and the Lord spoke to me, "name him Samuel", so at that point I realized God was about to do something incredible in our lives.  Jessie and I embrace the responsibility and accountability of raising a man of God from birth.  Each day is a day to lead him and learn the simplicity of the Kingdom from him.  

Finally, I am consumed with seeing this generation to see Awakening and Revival. Not a come and go "season" of revival, but a sustained outpouring that resinates throughout history.  The heart of this website and blog posts are to shine a light on who we as the church are called to be, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. I believe that it's important to read Matthew 5 and see ourselves in this passage.  Jesus speaks to the heart of all Christianity when he says, "Blessed are they that..." and then qualifies where His blessing abides.  In verse 14 He continues to give identity to His church.  He says, "you are the light of the world, a CITY ON A HILL THAT CANNOT BE HIDDEN".  When I read this I realize this is the heart of redemption, to see Gods people radiate with His presence on our daily lives. 

I pray that this site will connect to your heart and challenge you to leave all behind and chase after the heart of God!  There is AWAKENING and REVIVAL that is hitting this nation and I believe we are living in the greatest times in history!  This site is dedicated to seeing the name of Jesus glorified and His church edified.  Remember, you are a CITY ON A HILL!