Revival?

 "Move of God. Fire fall down! Wind of the Spirit. Manifest presence of God. Revival is here!"

All of these are phrases that I’m seeing all over the place, in regards to an isolated event at a college. I’d like to throw some caution and concern for any who are actually willing to slow down and investigate a bit before jumping to emotion-driven conclusions.

What does the Bible say of these matters? What do phrases like “fire fall down!” and “move of God” mean, according to Scripture? What is the “wind of the Spirit” and what does it produce, biblically? Can our common Christian euphemisms be explained and defined via the Scriptures? I’m seeing so many people read an article interviewing someone who is at the event then inundate FB with a lot of excitement…. and assumptions.

I’m all for *biblical* revival. I am. But a room full of people raising their hands and praying for a few days does not have to equate to a biblically-defined “move of God”. All I’m saying is this: Let us be a people that cry out in repentance and for a return to Father’s Ways. Yes! But in our longing for biblically-defined returning to come to earth, we must be a discerning people and friends, discernment *takes time*.

Allow me to repeat myself. Discernment… takes… time. It takes fruit examination and fruit takes much time to develop and grow.

Sadly, most people just want “revival” so bad that they use big, flashy words that just can’t be biblically sourced to talk about it. I get it. I’m just imploring Believers to slow down. Think about what you’re saying. Examine the Word to make sure your words are correct and applicable. When they’re not, please show self-control and restraint, for the good of Yahweh’s Great Name.

We must learn from these “revivals” and be willing to take hard looks at the fruit from them before we jump on the train. We have to ask hard questions. This is not simply being a downer that wants to run revival off in disbelief. This is proper biblical examination of a matter.

The biblical pattern for prophesied revival is found with many specific texts and can be summarized by a returning to Father’s Ways. We see just one example of many in Daniel chapter 9.

“So I set my face to Yahweh to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to Yahweh my Elohim and confessed, saying: ‘O Yahweh, the great and awesome Elohim, who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commands, we have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have acted wickedly; we have rebelled; we have turned away from Your commands and from Your rulings. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.”

Here, and elsewhere, we see many examples of returning via repentance and confession. Confession is of utmost importance, yes! A confession of abandoning Father’s Ways. Time and time again we see this biblical pattern – past, present and future. So, please examine well, in patience, and allow the Scriptures alone to define what is - and what is not - “revival”. Selah.