Resuscitation by Fire
Daniel Storrs
How many know that the church desperately needs to "come alive" from the deathly state it has been in. We attend service every Sunday morning faithfully and smile at each other and even sing a few songs to God but we leave feeling no different or simply happy and keep it to ourselves, meanwhile there are people hurting and dying without knowing the love of Christ and the goodness of God. It is time the church wakes up and quits playing the Sunday game and rolls up their sleeve and starts preaching the Good News. It is time we allow the Fire of God to come and cleanse us and prepare us to reach the lost and equip us to walk a life of holiness and dedication so that signs and wonders will accompany the gospel as we preach it! It says in Malachi 3:2 that the fire of God is as a refiner's fire. It comes to cleanse and place us in a state that can be used. We, as the church, need to get in a state where we can be used powerfully by the Holy Ghost.
The definition for the word resuscitation is: to revive from apparent death or unconscious. We would be lying to ourselves to say that the church in some ways doesn't fit this description. How many times have we saw a lost person or someone without the money to buy groceries and decided it was easier to play unconscious? How many times have we brought death to a God-ordained ministry or quit an outreach because of our hectic schedules and busy agendas? It is time to the church to be resuscitated and revived from is unconscious-death state! The definition of the word revive is: to restore from inactive state. Lord Jesus...Revive us...renew us and bring us to life from our inactive state by the Power of the Holy Ghost! Why do we desire revival, why do we want to see the church turned upside down...to restore us from our inactive state! You see when you will quit deciding its easier to remain unconscious and start looking with Jesus' eyes and seeing the neighbor next door going to hell and the children going without food you will then see revival because God will know you won't try to market His presence or use it for your own "reputation" but rather use it to reach out!
The mistake that I see made in any churches is their idea that agendas and new plans will restore their church from an inactive state. I have done it all and I can tell you that agendas and ideas are good but the one thing that will be sure to bring in the lost and heal the sick is the PRESENCE OF GOD! Not a new Sunday School curriculum or even a new building. Yes, these are great and a blessing but before you build that new building just 'knowing' it will bring in the lost, which it won't and if it does they are there for the building NOT God, try going out right now in the power of the Holy Ghost and bring them into the building you already have. We say we need this or we need that but they are just excuses so we can remain comfortable...Jesus- Send your fire and burn us up, burn up our selfishness and man's ideas!
Acts 1:8 gives us the method for evangelism. It tells us to FIRST be filled with the Holy Ghost and THEN go out and Reach the Lost to the uttermost part of the earth. As said before, remember that to be filled with the Holy Ghost is not to start a new agenda: it's to seek the face of God and fast and cry out of desperation because you are so hungry for lost souls and to truly KNOW God you can barely sleep at night and you could care less about the game on TV or even the new toy because you simply want MORE OF GOD. And the awesome thing is, as you seek Him more and more you will find you have "more stuff" than you ever wanted and more fun then you could have ever imagined watching a game. We must individually and corporately begin to seek the Lord and get filled up so that the Holy Ghost will so overshadow us that as we pass through the streets and homes people will be healed! So man times the church ministers dry to the lost because we don't first seek God and get re-fueled by His fire!
Another key to resuscitation is to realize that God can do anything, that is not outside of His character, and therefore allow Him to have His way! In Acts 2 we read that "they were all together in one accord in one place", you see there are two keys to this scripture. First of all they really didn't know how the Holy Ghost would come or what it would look/feel like...they had NO pre-conceived ideas! They were simply hungry and seeking. Stop trying to force God to come in your way on your time, how you think He should, and just seek. Secondly, they were in ONE-ACCORD - UNITY - UNITY - UNITY! If we want to see this world changed the church has to get in UNITY!!! There were 120 in that upper room and each chose to be there in unity with the other. If you don't want revival and your church does, do me a favor and get out and find a new church where they want to be apathetic and unconscious. Don't cause division in the church just so you can be in charge and keep the whole "revival" thing away. It is our choice, just as we chose to accept Christ we have to choose to allow revival and seek His presence. Church...it is my cry- come into unity and seek the Lord together KNOWING He is faithful to send and revive us!
In Acts 2:41 we read that 3,000 souls were added to the church that day! Why? The followers of Christ had come together in unity, prayed, fasted, left pre-conceived ideas behind, and were ready for whatever God wanted to do- and the FIRE of GOD came and rested on their heads! And the Lord came through... Jesus, wake us up and let us each realize how important it is to get rid of our own ideas and agendas and simply rely upon you as the apostles of old did! We have to leave behind three things in order to experience this resuscitation by fire:
1. "the way we think church should be run" - We can see it hasn't gotten us anywhere! 2. "stop choosing when the Holy Ghost moves and doesn't" - Have you ever saw the church where they say the Holy Ghost is allowed to move Sunday evenings but we feel mornings should be more traditional? 3. "religion" - it didn't get the Pharisees anywhere, now did it?
The Lord is looking for a place of least resistance to resuscitate and revive from inactive state. Will you be that place? Will your home be that place? Will your church be that place? What if your whole Christian community would become that place? Just think if 120 saved three thousand what could happen when we all get serious and choose to allow God to have His way in Us!!!
Daniel C. Storrs