I’ve spoken about this many times, but The LORD keeps bringing me back to it.  So it’s obviously worth considering and weighing.

It’s the classic sales line isn’t it — what’s in it for me?  Any good salesman worth his salt will be smiling now because he knows his stuff and, answer this one successfully, and you’ve got a deal!  So it is with revival.

We have talked about it til the cows come home.  We’ve discussed it ad nauseam.   We’ve prayed for it for years and years. AND YET — to most of us it’s hot air in the wind.

The prophets have asked if we will pay the price?

Will we share the harvest?

Will we sacrifice our carefully planned and costed programs?

But do we really understand what it is we are praying for? what it is we say we long for? what the real costs will be?

What really is in it for us?

Firstly, What’s the true cost of revival?

In short — late nights, upheaval like we’ve had nightmares about, serious conflicts in the congregation, and so much more.  So let me spell that out a little bit for you.

The first thing that happens is that the Presence of The LORD manifests heavily.  Some call it the Glory falling.

Whatever it is, during these times, time actually ‘disappears’ and schedules get shredded.  Prayer and worship goes on all night.

Morning meetings continue all day and all evening — nobody wants to stop!  This brings an instant upheaval, a holy chaos, messy church that some folk will not like one little bit.

This will cause a minor split in The Church with quite a few deciding to leave because they simply don’t like the change.

Others from outside will be attracted and whilst around a third may leave, up to half again will join — thus The Church will grow.

Those who do try to ‘keep up’ with everything will find themselves very short of time for anything and everyone will have to learn to pace themselves as it will cause family conflicts as well.

Even so, the pluses outnumber the minuses.

So — Secondly, what’s really in it for us?

In short — on earth as it is in heaven, miracle signs and wonders, the manifest presence of God, thousands coming into The Kingdom, endless prayer and worship meetings, a return to integrity and personal holiness, and so on — the list is long.

The Church will start to grow exponentially!

Thought needs to be given to discipleship training and leaders.  Signs and wonders will abound everywhere.

They will be spontaneous and can occur anywhere.  I think it was Richard Reis(?) who documented the early Toronto outpouring who said that people were healed just walking past The Church; some found themselves inside The Church weeping for no apparent reason; others were healed, received miracles, at any time before during or after the meeting.

Even more walked in not knowing why and were promptly floored by Holy Spirits presence!

In short, Church gets noisy, unpredictable, very messy, and basically completely taken over by The Holy Spirit.

Read the accounts of Hebridean revival, Argentine revival, Toronto outpouring, Pensacola revival, in fact almost any revival — it was chaotic!

But it was God doing what God wants to do with His Church, in order to ‘revive’ it.

We are praying for it.  Can you handle it?

I believe I can, so I’m not stopping until I see it in all it’s messy glory!

This is just a very brief look which doesn’t really scratch the surface of true Revival.

I for one can’t wait!

Come LORD Jesus, come!

 

~ Chris G. Bennett

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Chris Bennett came to salvation in 1962 but didn’t begin ministry until 2007 — a late-comer! Now mandated by The LORD to prophesy and open old wells of revival in the U.K., but especially in Wales. He has also operated Healing Rooms, and worked with deliverance teams, all with his wife, Linda. Happily now doing whatever The LORD asks of them! Founder, with wife Linda, of their ministry The Upper Room Encounter.

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