Psalm 85:6
Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Many differing thoughts exist as to what a revival within a church consist of. For many, if not most of us, revival is simply an event; it is something we attend or go to see. Many of us head out to revival, with some hope that, “Gosh, i sure hope somebody gets saved at revival.” I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but that is not what revival is for!
Don’t miss understand me at all; if a person comes to a revival and gets saved, that is wonderful. Just as it is wonderful if they get saved on a regular Sunday morning, Sunday night, in their fishing boat, on the golf course, or any other place where God chooses to reach out to a lost person and convert them. The salvation of a lost soul should always be a cause for great and joyful celebration by the saved themselves; however, the salvation of lost souls is not the purpose of a revival.
Let’s look at the word itself. Re simply means “again,” while vive simply means “life.” So, what we see here is the revival literally means “life again.” It doesn’t mean new life, or the birth of life; it means the restoring of life that already exists.
Here are some other passages that seem to express the sentiment here.
Psalm 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that THY PEOPLE may rejoice in thee?
Habakkuk 3:2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive THY WORK in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If MY PEOPLE, who are called by My name……
His people…His work. Revival, then is not primarily an effort to give life to those who do not have it. It is primarily an effort to bring back to life those who already have it!
I’m going to try something I think. We commonly greet our visiting preacher with something along the lines of, “Thanks so much for coming to be our evangelist.”
I wonder what would happen if somebody said, “Thanks so much for coming to be our revivalist?”
Next: Is there a relationship between revival and evangelism?
Truth in Palmyra 
June 23, 2015 at 07:05
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging and commented:
Another excellent post Brother Wally!
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June 23, 2015 at 07:44
Great post brother Wally. Thank you for sharing. God bless you and keep you
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June 23, 2015 at 07:45
Thank you brother for reading and commenting
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June 23, 2015 at 08:18
Reblogged this on Lamb's Harbinger.
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June 23, 2015 at 09:10
Thank you kindly for that Reblog
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June 23, 2015 at 08:57
Hmm, interesting, Wally. “Life again,” I like that. It’s a bit like a proper cup of coffee, isn’t it? 😉
I’ve been praying for a revival within our community, actually across the whole country, within our churches and our families. I would love to see some “life again,” in my area, and it seems to be working, I see a few sparks here and there.
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June 23, 2015 at 09:10
That’s very encouraging to here IB. I know some places are tougher than other. From what you have said, it’s really tough up your way. Love the coffee analogy LOL. You always pick words that perfectly make sense.
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June 23, 2015 at 13:24
Wally,
my take on revival is slightly different. In the OT the Holy Spirit did not dwell within a person, but would come and go.
Now, in this new covenant, the Holy Spirit moves in and dwells in a born-again person and NEVER leaves (whether we’re aware of it or not). So when we need to get anything done we don’t have to ask God to send a revival or do a new thing because we have His Holy Spirit in us. We need to wake up to the implications of what it means to be the Kings son, and live life accordingly.
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June 23, 2015 at 13:27
You know, you make a really excellent point actually. And I think at some point during this series I will actually discuss whether the idea of revival is actually Biblical or not. I think the idea that sometimes we need boosting and rebuke to allow The Holy Spirit to work is sound, but a case can be made that we should live our lives in a state of revival always. Stay tuned!
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June 23, 2015 at 13:32
“a case can be made that we should live our lives in a state of revival always.”
You’ve got it! I agree totally.
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June 23, 2015 at 13:25
from awmi:
Jesus didn’t come asking God to pour out His Spirit. After being filled with the Holy Ghost, He simply dipped in, drew out, released, and gave of the Spirit to people. Everything we’d call “revival” happened in Christ’s ministry, but not through begging and pleading with God to do something. Jesus simply did what His Father had told Him to do!
Revival comes when we seek the Lord wholeheartedly and begin to believe, draw out, and flow in what He’s already done. If you catch on fire for God, people will come and watch you burn!
Blessings!
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June 23, 2015 at 13:38
Nonetheless, I will continue to use the term revival to express what I am trying to say here. As you state, we all know what we should do, but don’t always do it. Sometimes we do need to bring ourselves back in line, or revive ourselves, to get pointed back in the direction we are supposed to be going.And part of that process is indeed asking God to help us with that. Of course we are all indwelt by the Holy Spirit upon our salvation, but sometimes we hinder and dampen His work through us.
Thanks for commenting.
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June 23, 2015 at 13:47
I understand. My goal was just to add my voice to the discussion, not to insist on whose more correct.
“Sometimes we do need to bring ourselves back in line,” – I absolutely agree with this. A few times I’ve prayed and told God that I no longer wanted to live as a ‘spiritual teenager’ coming and going. I wanted to be rooted and to ‘go no more out’. I had to make that commitment a couple times. So yes, it’s crucial to be mindful and to bring our selves back in line.
Great point.
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June 23, 2015 at 13:51
And your voice is very appreciated! Many can bring much of value even when we don’t march in lockstep. You are actually helping me solidify my thoughts on this issue
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June 23, 2015 at 14:05
We all learn from, edify & exhort each other.
Stay Blessed.
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