Revival vs Kingdom

REVIVAL VERSUS KINGDOM

Present Christendom has been fashioned by a belief system that was formed over the years by the very revivals that are referenced today. Men and women from past eras have been elevated to a place of unnatural spirituality that seems almost unreachable in nature. Much of the good that came with the term “revivalists” was wrapped in a cloak of false teaching. Much of what we believe today came out of the beliefs of these men and woman. Today people run from one seminar to another and from one “revival” meeting to another hoping to find a quick fix.

As familiar as the idea of revival has become, we may be surprised to know that the Bible never refers to revival. The Bible does mention the terms, "revive," "revived," and "reviving," but it never talks about revival or revival meetings. Technically, then, we are dealing with an idea that does not find definition or explanation in the Bible. Let us look, then, at how revival is defined by some who have written on the subject:
The word revival is derived from two Latin words, re which means ‘again’ and vivo which means ‘to live’; the literal meaning is ‘to live again.’"
My dictionary defines "revival" as the act of reviving or condition of being revived. It defines "revive" as to bring back to life or consciousness. An alternate meaning of "revival" is a meeting or series of meetings for the purpose of reawakening religious faith. An alternate meaning of "revive" given is to impart or regain health or vigor.(1) By combining pertinent parts of these definitions, we might logically conclude that a correct meaning of revival would be some process (meeting or otherwise) resulting in restoration of life and power. As applied to the church, it would mean a process by which the spiritual life and power of God's people are restored.

Obviously, "revive" ( the root word of "revival") consists of two parts: "re", meaning again, and "vive", meaning to live. Accordingly, "revive" literally means to live again. In turn, "revival" literally means a process by which something is made to live again. Therefore, even without reference to a dictionary, any reasonable understanding of the literal meaning of the word "revival" would lead one to conclude that revival in the church would deal with existing deadness within the church membership, rather than conversion of outsiders or non-members. As someone has observed, you cannot revive something that has never been vived (born) in the first place. Accordingly, revival should be understood as referring to a return to spiritual health and vitality after a period of spiritual decline into sin and broken fellowship with God.(2)

Charles Finney, one of America's most effective evangelists ever, defined revival as "the renewal of the first love of Christians, resulting in the awakening and conversion of sinners to God."(3) Finney said that when church members are awakened and reformed spiritually, the salvation of lost persons will follow.
Another great American preacher who recognized the correct relationship between the revival of cold, lifeless Christians and the conversion of non-Christians was R. A. Torrey, the first superintendent of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. He observed that in times of real revival, Christians are re-energized spiritually and then lost people experience conviction of sin and genuine, life-changing conversion.(4)

The key for Gods people is to understand that we are not to be seeking a revival but we need to obey what the word of God says; Seek you first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
It seems as though we have got everything mixed up. We are not told to seek a revival but rather the Kingdom. The big difference in the two is that kingdom speaks of something unseen. (The Kingdom is within you and is righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit). Revival in today’s interpretation means external manifestations (healings, miracles and people falling under the power of God). Revival in its true meaning is good because Gods people are refreshed in Him and their spiritual life is ignited once again.

Revival meetings have unfortunately done more damage then good. Christians are drawn to meeting where so called manifestations are happening. We do have examples throughout the bible of specific experiences taking place when Gods people have been gathered together yet this does not validate the concept of revival. God chose to show up in the dedication of Solomon’s temple and on the day of Pentecost but these are sovereign moments connected to His plan and purposes in the earth.

Many have built their ministries on a false platform of manifestations. We do understand that these signs shall follow those who believe but this scripture in itself is telling us something more than just healings. The bible teaches us to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness and automatically all these things will be added to us. Kingdom speaks of a lifestyle. As we obey Gods voice automatically signs will take place. We know this is a natural part of the Christians life, and not some leader’s solo revival meeting. Today well meaning leaders have tried to work out when the next revival will take place by counting the number of days when the last relevant revival took place.

You might be thinking “Well what about the Welsh revival and the Azusa street revival and the many others?” There were specific moments when God did something unique resulting in what took place in these various places but much has been “hyped” beyond what actually transpired. We are told to seek the Kingdom and His righteousness not to seek revival. The result of our seeking the kingdom will be something greater and lasting then any past revival.
Today many have set their hearts on some so called world wide “revival” taking place and bringing this earth into some sort of acceptable spiritual condition. The kingdom is the answer to change a society and our world. In establishing Kingdom principals in the nations of the world we will see a lasting condition been established. God’s government displayed through His people who obey His commands (laws) will result in change.

As we seek the kingdom we will leave behind us a path of signs which will embrace all facets of life, not just healing.