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Thread: Four stages in revivals

  1. #1
    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Four stages in revivals

    At the end of Bible school in 1991, I read an article on the four stages commonly seen with revivals, including Pentecostal revivals. I can't remember it exactly any more but it went something like this :

    1) Birth

    Revelation, fire, growth, community, life. May key words may be included under this. This is where true revival begins and often ends.

    2) Formalization

    Correct doctrine is formalized. Correct organizational structure is formalized. Tools of power in the hands of men are established.

    3) Cementation

    Control is applied by way of these tools in order to direct the resulting movement.

    4) Death

    The initial life of the movement ebbs out as its formalization and cementation bring it within human control. God often starts a new revival movement at this stage and a typical result is that this new movement is branded by the old, cemented movement as unwholesome, doctrinally incorrect, organizationally immature. The old movement's perception of itself in every way doesn't necessarily diminish, it is largely based on adherance to what has been formalized and cemented.

    ---

    What happened in the above ? First, I think self sufficiency. Men become so fond of the new current God produced in their movement that they find themselves self sufficient in terms of seeking and understanding God. They are simply "it", God's movement. Humility departs and there is no dialogue, or the dialogue is very internalized. Revelation and understanding becomes formal rather than organic. Cementation follows since there is no real growth life involved. Fire is replaced by human zeal. Community is replaced by exclusivism.

    How to kill the problem ? Humility, dialogue, organic understanding. CARM at its best was a forum that exhibited those qualities. I choose to believe that that is what this particular forum is about.

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    Super Moderator Quest's Avatar
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    From the looks of things I would diagnose the 'church' to be in stage 4. It's sure time for God to breath life over the 'dead bones'.

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Quest View Post
    From the looks of things I would diagnose the 'church' to be in stage 4. It's sure time for God to breath life over the 'dead bones'.
    If that is what we really want ?

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    Super Moderator Quest's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Colonel View Post
    If that is what we really want ?
    God is searching for hungry hearts...I can't believe there are not some to be found.

  6. #5
    This is something similar...

    From "This River Must Flow" by W.I. Evans (1954)

    ...Now there is no doubt that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to produce in the world a Church that in one respect is the exact counterpart of the first century Church. If we have been baptized by tbe Holy Ghost, the river is intended to flow through us. "He that believeth on me ... out of his belly [innermost being) shall flow rivers of living water." We are part of this great Pentecostal fellowship through which true rivers are supposed to flow. If these rivers are not flowing, then we who have been laid hold upon by God, to bring the waters to the world. are damming up the river instead of being the channels God has chosen us to be.

    Thousands of people have been baptized in the Holy Ghost all over the world, and that purpose is to bring benefit to the ends of the world and to bring it so rapidly and universally that Jesus can come before very long. Jesus cannot come until the rivers get out there with their benefit to the world. The baptism of the Holy Ghost creates flowing rivers. Every religious movement that God has raised up was intended by God to be flowing rivers, but after they flowed a while, instead of actually being part of the flowing current, the human instrumentality has become a dam across the river.

    Then God has gone to work on that dam. He has put the dynamite of the Word in the dam to blow it up and get it out of the way so that the river could flow. And as fast as God dropped sticks of dynamite to blow it up. they patched it up again, and made a denominational dam. God waited with patience and tried and tried with His heavenly dynamite to blow out the obstructions. Every once in a while there would be an explosion here or there, and people on the other side of the dam would get wet, but each time men would patch it up again and the dam would hold back the flow. Are we building a Pentecostal dam? What a responsibility is ours! God is bringing us to the place where we can see a little more clearly as we look back on oar lives, and a little more clearly as we look ahead. just what He wants to do...
    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Rev 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

    Rev 8:3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
    4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.
    5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth.

    Millions of dedicated believers have prayed throughout the centuries for revival including after the Pentecostal revival began and have not seen the fulfillment of their prayers. They all died in faith having seen the fulfillment of their prayers afar off and being assured of it. God can break that dam any time he wants but he isn't going to do it properly until he is sure that his Church will be able to do something useful with it. Play with some water is okay, play with the flood that bursting the entire dam will produce is not okay, that is left for those who are found worthy of carrying that responsibility.

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  10. #7
    More and more I'm thinking that far too many Christians don't want revival. I think some fear it. Some just don't want their lives changed, their routine upset. What I'm seeing is a Christianity that accommodates lukewarmness...and even sin itself.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bookman View Post
    More and more I'm thinking that far too many Christians don't want revival. I think some fear it. Some just don't want their lives changed, their routine upset. What I'm seeing is a Christianity that accommodates lukewarmness...and even sin itself.
    They do show up when there is a revival going on, but what for ? There were more people attending meetings in my church back in the eighties when it was the first Word-of-faith type church in Norway but many were there to be spectators. Things are probably better now. Some of the loss in average attendence has to do with better access to media, including videos and sound files.

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    Super Moderator Quest's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bookman View Post
    More and more I'm thinking that far too many Christians don't want revival. I think some fear it. Some just don't want their lives changed, their routine upset. What I'm seeing is a Christianity that accommodates lukewarmness...and even sin itself.
    This is a sad but true issue..when things are going well human beings don't want the status quo interrupted. That is why they seem to have to be in a mess before they will turn..Knowing that God is going to take us into uncomfortable places goes against the grain of our human nature typically.

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    Super Moderator Quest's Avatar
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    The Holy Spirit revealed that He never intended for church gatherings to become dammed up dead seas..the 4 stages above describe the formation of that very thing..tributaries or inlets that were dammed up and lost the flow.

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