The Holy Spirit is moving at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City so I’ve been thinking about revival over the last week.  There’s a lot of confusion over the subject of revival in the church so hopefully I can clarify what revival is and why we want it. 

Revival is simply the Holy Spirit acting in a tangible way among a group of people.  During revival the Holy Spirit

• convicts of sin
• saves, heals and delivers people
• brings joy
• creates love for God, for ourselves, and for others in the church
• gives the church a desire to read the Bible and to pray
• creates a passion for worship
• gives people a tangible sense of his presence
• does strange things (I would call them fun things)
• equips the saints for ministry

Basically revival is Christianity functioning.  Christians are dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power for almost every aspect of our lives.  Christians, in our own power and unbelievers for that matter, can use  the teachings in the Bible to make us live better lives.  We are totally incapable, however, of changing ourselves or other people without the power of the Spirit.  We can’t heal.  We can’t deliver.  We can’t even believe or love without the power of the Spirit.

This is why I get so upset when I hear people say that they think Christianity is more powerful without revival.  To me this smacks of humanism.  To believe we can get more accomplished in a “purer” way by trudging through the desert in our own strength is disastrous.  They may counter “we are going through the desert by the power of the Spirit,” to which I would reply “how can you tell?”  If what you call the activity of the Spirit looks, feels, and gets the same results as you doing things through your natural abilities, how can you tell which is which?  Shouldn’t you be able to tell?  Shouldn’t the world be able to tell?  The New Testament makes it appear that you can tell a difference.

The Church needs revival.  Revival needs to be normal.  We can’t force God’s hand, but we can ask a God who hears our prayers to send revival and to remain with us.  In the New Testament there is no indication that a powerless life is the normal Christian life.  I see in the Bible that God answers prayer.  I see in the Bible that Christians have joy unspeakable.  I see in the Bible that Christians are people who are full of love.