Ignite For Revival

By Rev. Dr. Wilson Rugira

Revival is when you agree to let yourself be led and judged by the Word of God and the action of the Holy Spirit until you are in turmoil. Revival is when our actions are placed on the divine scale and when the believer discerns the time we live. Revival is the transition from sleep to wakefulness, cessation of anesthesia, coma. Revival is the resumption activity after an interruption, like spring, harvesttime, and renewing of life. Are our actions the result of our communion with the Lord, the works that the Lord has prepared in advance to glorify the Lord? The Lord's return is near, and revival prepares Christians to meet God, for we are not to be cold nor lukewarm but boiling for the Lord.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886165609

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Ignite For Revival

Rev. Dr. Wilson Rugira

ISBN 979-8-88616-559-3 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88832-454-7 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88616-560-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Rev. Dr. Wilson Rugira

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Fire of Revival

Biblical Concept of Revival

Fundamental Elements for the Revival

Pathway of Revival

Prayer Shakes the Planet

The Power of Faith

The Life of Spiritual Revival

Traps of Spiritual Growth

Principles of Spiritual Growth

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. As before, he sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. (Joel 2:23–24 NIV)

There is a world that perishes, and I can feel its degree of depravity; the church needs revival. Revival is when you agree to let yourself be judged by the Word of God and the action of the Holy Spirit until you are not in turmoil. Revival is, therefore, the unexpected and ultimate visitation of God when his people are in their sins, crossing the valley of death. Consequently, people can no longer assume their responsibilities toward the lost people.

A revival among us of true godliness is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. Seeking it should be our first job. It takes great effort to obtain the Lord's blessings not because God does not want to give it to us but because we are not prepared to receive them. Our heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him than parents are to give gifts to their children. But we must through confession, humiliation, repentance, and fervent prayer.

Introduction

The world's greatest need today is for a tremendous manifestation of the Spirit of God in the power of revival. A revival is the time when God reveals himself in terrifying holiness. It is about the moment when he visits the world, communicating to the people a fresh vision of his glory and his grace. Simultaneously, he reveals their sin, weakness, and desperate need for God's mercy. God's people are restored from their backsliding, indifference, and inactivity in times of revival. God's people again become preoccupied with the things of God. I need that church intensely fervent in prayer and frequently visiting the house of God, searching for communion and worship. The church must grow in a hunger for the preached Word that illuminates and powerfully penetrates the hearts of those who listen to him, bringing conviction of sin and asking for a response from them. Believe they grow in the souls' passion and become deeply concerned with the spiritual warfare for the lost.

Therefore, in times of revival, the preaching of the Gospel resumes preeminence, and multitudes are converted. Sometimes powerful anointing of the Spirit of God produces physical manifestations such as deep convictions, tears, cries, full-body prostrations, tremors, violent shaking, or laughter. The results of a genuine revival are also spectacular. The typical characteristics of godlessness are disappearing. Blasphemies and dirty words, drunkenness, immorality, dishonesty, and selfishness are all replaced by a sweet awareness of righteousness, peace, and joy by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes entire cities and regions are affected. At other times, whole nations are so covered with the activity of divine renewal that it is rare to find places there that do not show some signs of the glorious work of God.

Revivals usually occur after a time of prolonged spiritual and moral decline. By definition, a revival requires a state of death, neglect, or loss. This has always been true of history. The church becomes apathetic toward the master, morality, and mission, loses his (its) zeal, and becomes ineffective. Its word becomes monotonous and routine, and its members are declining. The Church needs to be woken up from time to time for survival. It is incredibly significant that since the Reformation, revivals have occurred at an increasingly higher frequency. Repeatedly, God rescued what was beyond human help—what would have saved the church if not gracious interventions of omnipotence? The need can only increase as we move toward the end of the ages.

The church also needs to be revived to accomplish its mission. A dead church will never obey the Great Commandment by invading the world with the Gospel of salvation. The quiet conversion of sinners, one after another, under the ordinary ministry of the Gospel, should always be viewed with a sense of satisfaction and gratitude…but a rare manifestation of simultaneous conversion of thousands of souls must also be desired because this can demonstrate in a visible and awe-inspiring way that God made this same Jesus, who was rejected and crucified, both Lord and Christ.

So a revival is what the church and the world needs. And regeneration is just what God wants to give. He is not reluctant to open the heavens and send us times of refreshment from the presence of God. Indeed, it is fair to say that times of revival have always been the primary means that God has employed to advance his cause and the cause of the church in the world. Although there is a more constant influence of the Spirit of God which in some measure preserves his ordinances, nevertheless, the way the most significant things have been done to aid in this work has always been remarkable—outpourings of the Spirit in particular times of mercy.

The purpose of this book is to present to the reader the interest of having the awakening in this last time, or we await the return of Jesus Christ. We will see that revival has always been a priority on God's plan and essential to understanding Christian history.

1

The Fire of Revival

There is no secret or magic formula to revive our communities or our churches. No one can carry the revival in his suitcase. Christians and some pastors do not realize the importance of seeing a resurgence in their community. We have at times become so satisfied with the church programs that if the Holy Spirit came to upset everything, we would be highly uncomfortable.

After all, don't we risk falling into extremes and being in to the temptation to let free run through our feelings, to the point that the church might be confused and deeply affected? Yet it seems apparent that it would be foolish to ignore the times we live. There is a crying need to see a revival blow on the world. From the hearts of Christian leaders and pastors rise a more profound sigh, a longing to see the Holy Spirit mightily visit this generation.

Some will say, What will it take for us to see a genuine revival in our churches and our cities? Could it be that the Spirit of God has to shake the church all over again to make us realize the needs of a world ravaged by sin? Is it possible that the Holy Spirit also causes us to search our hearts as to the root causes of the lack of power evident in the life of good believers? The Old Testament revivals came when the servants of God called upon him, confessing their need to see the people repent and experience a spiritual awakening.

When revival comes, God begin by calling his people to repentance, purifying them, and filling them with power. As God said to Solomon, If my people…turn away from their evil ways, I will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). When we consider the ungodly society in which we live, we can only beg God to make us instruments of spiritual healing for our cities, neighborhoods, and families. Oh Lord, come and heal our country! Such should be the fervent prayer of our hearts.

In the history of revivals, the power of God was so strong that people were often gripped by the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their workplaces and even in the streets as they passed churches. Sinners were drawn to the Gospel as through a magnet; the extraordinary grace of God transformed them. The revivals affected all levels of the society. Miracles of healing and deliverance from demonic grip were every day in every meeting. There is certainly a price to pay for living such a wake-up call. We desire that this spiritual-resources issue create a greater hunger for a spiritual revival in your own life. We are encouraged in this direction by the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:9.

Methinks revival comes down as a series of special meetings to stimulate renewed interest in the church. Others believe that revival is religious excitement—emotional. I very much doubt that this is what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote: Aren't you going to come back to us? to support? (Psalm 85:7).

Revival is when life returns in its true sense

The word revival means to be revived and to live. The Old Testament often uses the word live in the original sense of breathing, the breathing being the expression of the life of every animate being. Is as it is written of the dry bones: Here I am bringing a spirit into you, and you shall live (Ezekiel 37:5; cf. 37:6–14, Job 33:4, 1 Kings 17:22). Life, or awakening, meant, therefore, breathe with the very breath of God. This use of this word emphasizes that God is the source of all life.

The New Testament uses coming back to life (Revelation 20:5, Romans 14:9, cf. 7:9). Jesus used the term to denote the change in the life of the prodigal son returning to his father's house: For my son here was dead, and he came to life (Luke 15:24, 32). Other words evoke the image of a fire that is slowly extinguished and must be refreshed (2 Timothy 1:6) or of a plant whose buds have sprouted and bloomed again (Philippians 4:10).

The fundamental notion of awakening is returning a thing or person to its true nature and purpose. In the context of the story of redemption, revival can be considered as this strange sovereign intervention of God by which he visits his people, dining, reviving, and freeing them in the fullness of his blessing. By its power, tremendous energy, hitherto drowsy, is revival, and new forces, long in preparation in the shadows, are emerging. The resurrection is synonymous with life, with life in its fullness, overflowing with love and of the power of God. Of course, not all aspects of this new life can be explained. Being primarily a supernatural action of the Spirit, revival will always contain an element of mystery.

The meaning of revival in the Christian world

The history of Christianity has several periods of spiritual renewal, which brought about a revitalization of the faith and energized the church to live and proclaim the Gospel. In the broad sense, a revival is a community movement of renewal of Christian life which provokes in the participants a spiritual experience, personal and privileged, either of conversion to the life of faith or of deepening of this one. Usually, in the revival movement, the reference point is the Christian witness to the early church marked by Pentecost.

We try to reach it through a set of reforms resulting from a more intense approach to the Word of God when we searched for the period when the word revival began to be used by the Christian world (in the sense used today).

These revivals do not constitute a homogeneous theological movement. The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity lists factors common to all activities of this type: a deep desire for a personal conversion through an intimate relationship with God; usually, this experience is accompanied by a sincere acknowledgment of sin, enthusiastic exhortations where the preacher calls for repentance and a genuine conversion; a call also addressed to Christians already converted so that they deepen their fellowship with God and continue to be transformed by him. Phenomena like visions, dreams, prophecies, healings, and more manifestations of this type frequently accompany revival movements; For those who have lived it, being awake is an exciting experience characterized by times when the being feels the heaven has descended on the earth. Such incidents often lead to a strong evangelization movement rich in the activities of missionaries.

Similarly, in Words of Christianity, we find the following definition: The Revival Church aims to arouse spiritual emotion and conversion, to help get out of lukewarm faith. There are many dictionaries and encyclopedias of Christianity that give us the meaning of the word in the Christian world, and all definitions are homogeneous. A good summary of our research could be the definition of The Encyclopedia of Christianity: The term revival is traditionally used to describe waking movements that encompass all the Protestant territories of Europe and North America, in the eighteenth century and nineteenth centuries. The revival is seen as a counterattack to Christianity's decline and spirituality rather than social.

However, contrary to what we have just seen, the new Facts on File Directory of Religions facts suggests that revival movements are somehow if not invented, at least manufactured for actors who integrate people into their spiritual economic activities. We do not deny that during all this time when the term revival was widely used, there have been people taking advantage of the religious sincerity of many Christians to satisfy their interests. But we don't believe that these situations are enough to suppress the underlying idea of this word. When we look back and consider revival movements such as those urged by Luther or Wesley, whose only interest was a more intimate relationship with God, it seems unfair to generalize this term negatively. The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity presents a point common to to almost all revival movements, a deep desire of individuals ready to live an experience of conversion to Christianity through a direct and immediate connection to the Holy Spirit of God. Commonly it is an experience accompanied by a firm conviction of personal sin and estrangement from God.

The Robert Dictionary of the French Language, in its attempt to explain the meaning of the word revival considering the language, suggests three examples: transition from sleep to wakefulness; cessation of anesthesia, coma; the fact of resuming activity after an interruption, such as the awakening of the nature: the return of spring or" the awakening of an extinct volcano.

Given by the dictionary, we can conclude that revival refers to two basic meanings of modern languages: waking up from sleep, anesthesia, or an unconscious state; resuming an activity long interrupted. Spiritual awakening should be the normal state of the Christian and the church. On the other hand, sleep is not, even though there is rest in Christ. In his Word, God asks us to wake up, and it is even an order. Revival is when the believer discerns the times in which we are living; the Lord's return is near, and we must prepare to meet him.

Jesus said: Watch therefore and always pray, that you may have the strength to escape all these things which shall happen, and to appear standing or awake and not asleep before the Son of man (Luke 21:36). Revival is when you know your spiritual need and desire to change and progress. The Bible says: Grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Continual growth must not stop.

Revival is when you agree to let yourself be judged by the Word of God and the action of the Holy Spirit until you are in turmoil. For we are not to be cold, nor lukewarm but boiling for the Lord. He's the one asking (Revelation 3:15–16). How many degrees is it to be boiling? For pure water, is 100 degrees centigrade. We don't like it; it's scary because that's when the water turns to vapor. There is a change, a separation, a purification of the water lying so long that it has stagnated and has become polluted. But this is precisely the wake-up call!

The purifying agent that wants to bring everything in our lives to change our life is the action of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. This is the two-edged sword of the Spirit that penetrates and judges all within us—mind, soul, body, feelings and even thoughts of the heart. Everything is bare, and the Spirit convinces us according to Hebrews 4:12–13: For the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the point of sharing soul and spirit, joints and piths; it judges the feelings and thoughts of the heart. No creature is hidden from him, but everything is naked and uncovered in the eyes of one to whom we are accountable.

God himself bears witness to his Word by saying in Jeremiah 23:29: Is not my Word like fire, like a hammer that breaks rock. Therefore, the apostle Paul encourages us to let ourselves be judged by the Word and to let the Word of God bring everything to a boil. It heats up and hard! It burns; it hurts! Yes! But is it not written that the fire will test each person's work (1 Corinthians 3:13)? And did not John the Baptist say concerning Jesus: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11). As we are still in the time of grace, a purifying fire ignites us for the Lord.

The time will indeed come when he who is the Savior today will be the Judge over all those who refuse salvation. As written in John 5:22, the Father committed all judgment to the son. That's why it's up to us to test ourselves through the Word of God right now. And this is what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: If we judged ourselves, we would not be considered (1 Corinthians 11:28–31).

And elsewhere it is said: Examine yourselves to know if you are in the faith. Do you yourselves evaluate (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV), according to the doctrine, the teaching of the Holy Scriptures? A waking up, that is it; it's when we agree to bring everything to light by starting with our thoughts.

And in Philippians 4:8, it is written: Let whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is righteous, whatever is pure, whatever is lovable, whatever merits approval, whatever is virtuous and worthy of praise, be the object of your thoughts. And as for other opinions, let us drive them away! Be careful because our thoughts can sometimes cry louder than our words. They reflect on themselves.

Proverbs 23:7 tells us: He is as the thoughts of his soul are. Besides, most actions are born at the view level, and thinking is influenced sincerely. Didn't Jesus say in Mark 7:21–23 that out of the hearts of men come