Exalting our LORD with Expressive Sign Worship

September 2010

Special Newsletter

Recently we signed at several revivals and we felt led to write this special newsletter. To keep mailing expense down we limited it to 2 pages, reduced the letterhead and footer, chose a smaller size font, decreased margins, inserted no pictures and reduced the spacing between lines and paragraphs. We sincerely believe the message is more important than anything else we have to say.

Revival for Our Country and the World

Can our country recover from the anger, loss of confidence, disillusionment, distrust, corruption, racism, sin, drugs, crime, relative truth, decline of faith, and apostasy, the turning away from God, that is increasing daily?

A revival is an awakening of God’s people, which causes them to become active for God. Vive means life and Re means again. Life again. It is the process of bringing life to that which is dead.

Ezekiel 37:1-14. The hand of God had brought Ezekiel to the middle of a valley filled with bones. The bones are dry and broken, no sign of flesh or sinews. These bones have been dead a long time. The Lord tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. Ezekiel does and the bones start to come together once again. Muscle and flesh and they are made whole again BUT they were still dead. Then God called the four winds and gave breath, gave life, and He revived, for Himself, a mighty army.

In Hebrew the word ruach is used for "wind," "breath" and "Spirit." It is the same word that is found in Genesis 2:7 when God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and he became a living soul.

In our city, county, state and country many have made professions of faith at the altar. But now they are bleached white, completely without life and cracking in the weather. They are dead. God’s own people, and they are dead.

People who were once called by His name are now gone. People who once called on His name are no more.

God’s method for winning the lost is Spirit-filled men and women.

Evil is growing all around us. We face either massive spiritual revival or total moral anarchy.

Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned to hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

God gave Samuel His recipe for revival: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

This scripture tells us that each one of us, God’s people, must go down on our faces before God. We are to acknowledge and turn away from our sins and we must pray. It’s a simple 4 step process:

My people who are called by My name…” (God’s people - Israel in the passage – the Church in application today), must:
   1. Humble themselves
2. Pray
   3. Seek My Face
   4. Turn from their wicked ways

God’s Promise:
   1. Hear from Heaven
   2. Forgive Their Sin
   3. Heal Their Land

How often does the average Christian pray? How often does the average church gather for prayer? The few in each congregation gathering on a Wednesday night for a few minutes of prayer does not meet God’s recipe.

Each of us must recognize the dryness of our bones. Each of us must have a ruthless confession of our sins and then we should rejoice in our salvation and engage in passionate worship.

One of the major reasons why churches in America never see a movement of God is because they don’t want it badly enough. There is a personal price that has to be paid in finding revival. It is opening yourself to the leading of the Holy Spirit and then obeying what the Spirit says.

Evangelist Gypsy Smith was once asked how to start a revival. He answered: “Go home, lock yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When He has answered your prayer, the revival will be on.”

Prayer is the foundation of a growing relationship with God and without prayer that relationship will never truly grow. We must go deeper with God if we ever want to experience revival in our lives. Each day we make a decision to either build up that relationship with God or to settle for where we are in our relationship with God.

Revival is nothing more than God stepping into His relationship with you and filling it with His presence and power in a fresh way. If you are not developing that relationship with God, you will never experience personal revival.

R.A. Torrey gave a prescription for revival:
“I can give a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth.
“First, let a few Christians (they need not be many) get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is the prime essential. If this is not done, the rest that I am to say will come to nothing.
“Second, let them bind themselves together in a prayer group to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens and comes down.
“Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God for Him to use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That is all!
“This is sure to bring a revival to any church or community. I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed; and it cannot fail!”

The world’s churches are becoming like the Church at Laodicea, (Revelation 3:14-17), “lukewarm”, and that is not what God wants.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

What is a revival? It’s not evangelism although many may be saved as a result. It’s not emotionalism although it may be emotional.

It is the renewal of spiritual life in those who are lukewarm or cold.

Our churches, our country and our world need revival to bring back the morals, ethics and peace that can only come from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And it begins with each one of us!!

Thank You- for your prayers and financial support for our ministry.

We are truly Blessed

Kathleen and Hank