Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict determined to win or die-or if need be, to win and die! "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Charles Finney
We are a peaceful people. We do not want violence. We want our lives to be filled with the quiet, restful tranquility of God’s Paradise. God is a God of love and peace. We are to rest in the lord.
Matthew 11: 28-30: 28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
To often we see resting in the lord as a method of quiet peaceful relaxation away from anything strenuous or violent. In reality, resting in the lord is the violent act of obedience to God. It involves spiritual battles which change the lives of men and destroys the strongholds of Satan. Without such violence revivals cannot exist.
Dick Speight, of Come Rest Ministries, in his book "Come Rest" says, “Jesus sees your weary heart. He invites you to stop striving and begin thriving. He offers Himself and three rhythms of rest for your daily lifestyle: Come to Him, take His yoke, and learn from Him. He wants you to live freely and lightly…. Rest is not “taking a break.” Rest is unbroken company with Jesus.”
That sounds pretty straightforward. Rest is simply unbroken company with Jesus. When was the last time you walked all day in unbroken fellowship with God? That means no sin, obeying his every word and leading, and not depending upon your own strength or wisdom in anything you do. You are completely dependent on Jesus and on him alone.
Resting in Jesus means violence to your own way of life. Wrestling control of your life away from self and giving it to Jesus. It is not easy and it is painful. It means constantly dying to your own will.
Resting in Jesus also means you don’t have to do everything yourself. Jesus calls on you to go to him with your problems. He will now take the load of burdens in your life. He offers his yoke to you so that you can labor side by side with him in the fields which are ripe with harvest. He will teach you and show you the best ways to accomplish the work he has for you. Resting in Jesus means never to have to labor alone again.
Resting in Jesus means that when we pray He will guide us in the areas to pray for. It also means that our prayers are the prayers of Jesus’ heart and not our own will. We can be confident of him working to accomplish our prayers.
1John 3:21-22: 21Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Revival begins with a Christian set apart to God, shunning the world and desiring God’s will in his life. He knows his fleshly desires are counter to God’s will and, under his own strength, he will fail. He goes to Jesus and lays all he is at Jesus’s feet. He then takes up Jesus’ yoke and together they labor as Christ guides and teaches the Christian in the ways to go. The Christian is called upon to pray for revival. This is when the greatest violence in the spiritual war begins. For now the Christian is storming the gates of Hell to bring those bound by Satan back into the safe arms of God.
We will begin talking about prayer for revival next. Satan fears a righteous man who is resting in Jesus as he prays for revival. The Christian on his knees is the most powerful force on earth.
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