Last week we enjoyed a powerful spirit of revival with Evangelist Joel Talley. The end of the revival meetings is to be determined. Going in to the week I asked God to do several things during the revival.
- To call to rememberance what He has done in our PAST
- To solidify our FOCUS in our PRESENT
- To rekindle our passion for the FUTURE.
- To experience God's glory again, only stronger.
As I meditated upon those requests I wondered, how often do pastors and congregations set corporate and personal objectives during a revival? Do we approach revival and renewal asking God for specific things, or do we just show up and see what happens? I believe there is merit in both approaches. I found myself looking at revival both ways. I asked God to do specific things, yet considered that anything is possible when God moves, because my requests are never comparable to God's omnipotence.
Many words have been used to describe revival. When we put out church publications, twitter posts, facebook statuses, we often find ourselves looking for new adjectives to describe our experiences. I get tired of using the words, "good," "great," "awesome," etc. I settled on a word that is not generic, but adds weight to my experiences in revival this week. Authentic.
So what does authentic mean? Urbandictionary.com defines authentic as, "an adjective to describe being true to your own nature in the face of pressures to conform to local norms." In light of that definition, authentic revival for me is a "supernatural experience with God that gives me passion to be true to His nature in me, and not to conform to what is normal."
What are your personal expectations for revival? Are you ready for an "AUTHENTIC" experience?