salt

"Your Kingdom come, for Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever" (Mt 6:10,13) 

God is not interested to pour out His Spirit on His people just to excite them or make them feel good. No! He is interested in the "world!" He sent His Son to die for the world. He sent His Spirit to convict the world of sin and woo sinners to the Saviour. He anointed the 120 disciples on the Day of Pentecost that they might be His witnesses throughout the whole world. 

Evan Roberts (1878-1951) of Welsh Revival prayed, "Lord, bend the Church and bless the world!" Most of the revivals of the past have given birth to great missionary and evangelistic movements. But there are also stories of revivals which died out too soon, one of the main causes being the failure of the leaders to channelise the revival blessings into aggressive evangelism and soul winning. 

The theme of the discourses of the risen Christ with His disciples before Pentecost was the  Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). When the disciples mistook the mind of Jesus and asked Him, "Lord,  will You at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel?" (v 6), He explained to them that He was talking about the spiritual Kingdom that would be established in the hearts of men and women through the preaching of the Gospel all over the world beginning with Jerusalem (vv 7,8). 

The Great Commission, as it is called, was given just before Ascension. He commanded them to   GO! To all the nations! Throughout the whole World! To preach the Gospel! To reach every  creature! To teach all the Truths! In His authority! As His witnesses! In the power of the Holy Spirit! With His presence with them always! (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-18; Lk 24:47-49; Acts 1:8). Revival is not an end in itself. It's a means to an end, the end being evangelism. 

David prayed, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your enthusiastic  Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways and sinners shall be converted to You" (Psa 51:12,13). It is necessary that we understand why we pray for revival. Revival is not evangelism, but revival begets evangelism. 

We are living in a time in Church history when revival is not a luxury but a necessity. Revival delays because prayer decays. Let's repair the broken altar of our prayer life so that the fire of God may again fall on us. Then every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Christ is Lord! (1 Ki 18:38,39). 

-R.Stanley