Paradise Revival - Day Fourteen

While mowing today I prayed for the revival. I told the Lord if He wanted us to continue meeting I would do so. I told Him I would be willing to preach until I had no strength or no voice left if that was His will.

Physically I have been tired. The constant juggling of my schedule and then preaching every night have taken a toll. I have not slept well during these past two weeks. I often get up in the middle of night with the weight of my desire to see God move on my mind. The messages have come fairly easily. Everyday  at some point a scripture is impressed on my mind. When it dwells there throughout the day that is the direction I go in the message.

Several times throughout the course of these meetings I have felt prompted to preach messages I did not want to preach. Many times I have preached messages that I preached years ago. I wanted a fresh word every night. Something new. Many times I have been led to preach messages I used to preach when I traveled as a full time evangelist years ago. One night I even rebelled and prepared another message. I had no peace about preaching my message and finally surrendered to preach what God wanted. Though I did feel prepared the Lord used it anyway. His ways are best.

This proved to be the case last night. On Friday night, the last scheduled night of the revival, I wanted to preach a hard hitting message. Instead God moved me to preach from [Heb 12:1-3]. This also was night for the opening ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympic Games. I wanted to enter the pulpit swinging for the fence in the message. Reluctant I prepared and delivered the message.

I felt more like a teacher last night. Chris prepared our hearts to receive the word of God as he led us in worship. He did not hold back. We were all tired. He and I both fought against just getting through the service. We both wanted to see God breakthrough. He sang with passion and led us with anointing.

I taught through [Heb 12:1-3]. I emphasize the word taught. The message did not feel like a revival message. It felt more like a Sunday night or Wednesday night teaching time. We squeezed the truth out of those verses. We did not rush through all of it. In the end I challenged people to lay down their encumbrances and the sin that trips us. Once again God touched hearts and people came to the altar in repentance and to pray. We had another good meeting. God did not come in and overwhelm us with His presence. He did meet with us but the community of Paradise has not changed much.

At the very end I felt no prompting from the Lord to continue the meetings. I had a woman from another church approach me afterward and tell me if we ever have extra meetings besides on Sundays and Wednesdays to please let her know. I assured her we would.

A fifth grade boy approached me afterward. He told me during the service he had taken off his cross necklace and put it in the seat next to him. He invited Jesus to come and sit down next to him. I asked the little boy if Jesus had spoken to him. He replied that indeed Jesus had spoken to him. I asked what he had heard Jesus say. His reply, "Jesus told me to listen to you to, pastor Matt, to what you preached tonight. He also told me to remember the verses so I could go home and look them up later." This same little boy has worshiped with hands lifted and heart abandoned to the Lord.

There is no way around it. I am disappointed. I prayed and believed God to do so much more. The whole church did not get revived. Some did. Many did not even attend the meetings. The community did not experience God on a mass scale like we had prayed. The grip of Satan has not been broken. We did make a few strides. In one week we are celebrating the baptism of up to a dozen people. That is cause for rejoicing.

During the altar call Friday night I knelt in prayer and surrender. In that moment I sensed the Lord telling me that revival will come. It may not be scheduled. It will come unexpectedly but it will come. I must continue to devote myself to prayer on behalf of Paradise.

The pursuit of revival continues. One glorious day God will usher in days of true revival. He has an open invitation at Faith Community Church. When He chooses to move we will meet as many days as He wants. There is more work to be done. Now is not the time to take a siesta. My hands are to the plow and with God's enabling I am determined to be a tool in His hands to break up the fallow ground of Paradise and to see days of revival and spiritual awakening.

True the meetings have ended but the quest for more of God and revival linger on. I guess they will as long as this preacher has breath. God I continue to ask you to come and shake this city.