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Seek the Lord and Live

| January 21, 2018 | no comments

Don’t Seek Revival, Seek the God of Revival

I had the privilege of writing the official book for the Azusa Centennial Celebration that was held last year in Los Angeles and attended by over 50,000 people from around the world. It is entitled Fire on the Earth and is available in bookstores and online. In doing the research for the book, I read again the original documents from the revival. As I read, I was struck by the fact that William Seymour and other leaders at Azusa were not seeking revival. They were seeking God. Seymour tells how that even before he met Parham his heart was so hungry “to have more of God.” Not hungry to have a big ministry: Not hungry to pastor a big church: Not hungry to lead a great revival: But hungry “to have more of God.” They were seeking God and He sent a powerful revival.

In his Lectures on Revival, Charles Finney tells of the numerous invitations he had received from churches and pastors wanting revival in their communities and asking him to come. Finney goes on to say that after examining their motives for revival, he refused to go to many of them because their motives for wanting revival were all wrong. Some wanted revival to raise their status and importance in the community. Others wanted revival to bring in more people, which would mean they could build a new and larger building. Some wanted a revival so that they would feel more important than another congregation with whom they were competitive. Finney called their motives for wanting revival an “abomination” and he refused to respond to their invitations.

True revival comes, not by seeking revival per se, but by seeking the God of revival.

 

Conclusion

We must remember the words of Jesus in Matt. 6:39 where He expressed this same principal by saying, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

PR

Previously published at the Pneuma Foundation (the parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website on February 13, 2008.

Image: Gian Reto Tarnutzer

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Category: Living the Faith, Winter 2018

About the Author: Eddie L. Hyatt, D.Min. (Regent University), M.Div. and M.A. (Oral Roberts University), serves the body of Christ around the world by teaching with academic excellence and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He has authored several books, including 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. His passion is to see authentic spiritual awakening transform the Church and impact the world in the Twenty-first century. www.eddiehyatt.com

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