What are the real workings of God at the heart of revival? What makes an individual a carrier of revival?
In Jeremiah 1:9-10, God touches Jeremiah’s mouth and says, ‘“I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”’ Later, in verse 17, God sends Jeremiah out: ‘“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.”’
Revival has often been confused with party-like atmospheres or longer, louder, more energetic church services. But true revival is deeper—great movement of the power of God and the unimaginable made real. People being formed for revival (like Evan Roberts, John Wesley, and George Whitfield) came to uproot things in people’s lives. Their preaching uprooted the deep roots of religion and began to tear down the man-made.
What can we do to GET REVIVAL?
That is a great question! The revival process includes: uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow, then build and plant. Here’s what we can do:
(1) We plant a lot of things in our lives and religion that God didn’t plant. We must uproot those. Revival requires people of character and integrity. We must be willing to be bent and broken before the Lord and to have contrite hearts.
(2) Then we can build and plant. The power and presence of God can come in. We’ve made ready our hearts and churches so that God can restore His people.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them."
04:54[Leaders of revival] get a lot of opposition because people didn’t want to be uprooted. They wanted to be told they’re okay and just keep going.
07:10Build and plant. God will revive the half-dead, those who had life and lost it or let in stuff that doesn’t belong and needs to be uprooted.
07:48They had planted a lot of things in their religion and in their lives that God had not planted.
09:32If you’re going to go deeper and really have a move of God—you personally as a leader, as a church, or as a country—there’s going to have to be an uprooting. We have planted things in religion and planted things in ourselves. We’ve got to tear down some of these attitudes and ideas.
