The dreams stopped. I often questioned the Lord about the whole Kermit thing but did not get answers. In time those questions became fewer and I busied myself with other things.
That is until March 27, 2016. I once again started having dreams about Kermit and a revival where God moved mightily in the town. The burden returned heavier than ever. Though I have not been back to Kermit physically in over a year I have visited there frequently in my prayers in recent days.
Preliminary plans are underway to hold a Shake The City Revival there in the summer of 2017. Why so far away? We want the time to spiritually prepare for what we believe God wants to do. Some details are falling into place while others remain vague.
The whole thing is crazy. It is giant leap of faith. I am apprehensive but believe God is compelling me to go there and preach a city wide revival. Several meetings will take place in the next couple of months to nail down a few more details and to secure a team of people to help with everything from prayer, to financial management, location of venue, worship team, and advertising.
Praying the other day I asked God for some concrete confirmation that we are following His will in this matter. What I received in the mail the next day answered that prayer. I dear lady wrote us a letter saying she has been praying for us and the work in Kermit. She asked the Lord what she could do to help. Enclosed in the letter was a check for $1,000. Hallelujah.
We received our first $1,000 earmarked for the revival work in Kermit. Before all is said and done we will trust God for additional money to pull this revival together. I am so encouraged God gave me a tangible confirmation that He is leading us to this work. I BLESS HIS NAME WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST ONE THOUSAND.
So what i s next. PRAYER1 There is already a group praying in Kermit. I am asking you to put Kermit on your prayer list and join us in plowing the ground through fervent intercessions to prepare the way for a mighty move of God. God has set Kermit in his sights and we are joining Him in whatever He wants to do there.
We need prayer for such things as:
1. To know the right date for the meetings.
2. For the right venue. We are considering renting a facility or possibly holding a tent meeting.
3. Favor with the people in Kermit and pastors.
4. For God to raise prayer coordinators in different cities to intercede for Kermit.
5. For a deep stirring among Christians in Kermit and in all the churches.
6. Finances to secure a venue, advertising, traveling expenses to make several trips to Kermit,and the publication of thousands of copies of my revival devotional book 40 Days To Shake The City.
Of course I am a little apprehensive. I keep thinking what if we do all this work and nobody shows up to the meetings and God does not move in the town. It is a risk. Yet it is a risk I feel I must take.
I remember the day God dropped the vision for the Shake The City Revivals in my heart. I was driving to Arkansas for a preaching event and praying. Mainly I prayed that day about other open doors to go and preach. In those moments God showed me that I did not have to pray for invitations to go and preach the gospel. He already invited me and commanded me to go through the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB)
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
We held our first Shake The City Revival in Hudson, TX in a tent. The night before I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic that nobody would come. The Lord comforted me with a verse that has become very dear to me.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NASB)
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
Some people did show up. So did the rain. The ground flooded underneath the tent. We only held one service in the tent and moved the rest of the services into a school gym. I praise God there were salvations that week.
Next, we held a Shake The Campus Revival on the campus of Angelina College. The services were only supposed to last three nights. They lasted for three weeks. A dozen students were saved. Many others repented of sin and drew closer to God than they had ever been. Services lasted some nights for nearly three hours and most of that time was the invitation when students spent a great deal of time repenting of sins and praying for God to move. I will never forget those days.
We did not hold another Shake The City Revival until Seminole the summer of 2010. It lated 23 straight days. Dozens were saved. I have no words to describe those days. God showed up in a powerful fashion. The theme song for the revival was "I Will Never Be The Same Again." Even now I can hear Sherman and Tammy Aten leading that song and the great congregational singing that accompanied them. God truly did more than I could think or imagine during those 23 days.
Now the Lord has called us to Kermit. I get a real sense that Kermit is only the beginning. I believe the Lord will call us to other towns to hold other meetings. For now the focus is Kermit.
Here is a key. We are not interested in just scheduling dates and holding meetings. We only want to go where people are willing to prepare spiritually for a move of God. Prayer is indispensable. 40 days out from the meetings we will encourage people to go through the 40 day devotion I wrote in three days for the Seminole revival. I believe it is useful to help people prepare their hearts to meet with God in extraordinary ways.
God gave us our first thousand. I know more will come. For now we set our sights on prayer and preparation for what God wants to do in Kermit. Please pray with us. Only God can revive and shake Kermit. I believe He intends to do so.
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