1) Christ's Kingdom

To mention revival presumes spiritual need. To suggest the need for revival in the Christian circles I ran in, over thirty years ago, basically tagged you as "critical". Not so today! Today there's revival prayer groups from coast to coast. Many are recognizing the great spiritual need we have in our nation.

The spiritual climate of any nation will be determined by the spiritual climate of the Christian church. You certainly don't need to be a prophet to recognize how serious worldliness has become in the Body of Christ today.

There's no help for alcoholics until they personally recognize their need and understand that they must seek serious help. The same is true  with spirituality. For there to be revival, whether personally or corporately there MUST be a full recognition of need and an inner desperation for change. 

When Pilot was seeking Jesus' true identity he ask Him, "Are you the King of the Jews". The answer given establishes a few fundamental facts, facts that we need to revisit. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world". Clearly Jesus' was focused then, as He is now, on "spiritual life". In our land of great plenty are we able to hear what Jesus is saying today? 

Revival in Canada, as with any other nation, will never happen until revival happens in you and me. I'm reminded of the story of a young pastor who approached a revivalist in bye gone days and asked him how he could get revival happening in his own church. This very seasoned servant of God looked the fellow right in the eyes and said, "When you return home I want you to go into your living room and with a chalk draw a four foot diameter circle on the floor then I want you to step inside the circle and pray this, 'God revive everything inside this circle.' Revival is extremely personal. 

What should we expect to happen as we seek for personal and nation revival? A major portion of the answer to this question is found in Isa 9:6 & 7,  "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,"(ESV). When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior Christ enters our life. He begins His to reign on the spiritual throne of our heart. It is a growth process for sure, a process that should be ever increasing. The increase of Jesus' government and peace has the potential of never ending. The beauty of it all is, "the government is on His shoulders". 

Jesus knows how to rule and govern our life. After all He is the King of kings. There's not an awful lot of sense in me expecting God to rule the nation if I'm not prepared to let Him rule my heart! One day, down the road, Jesus will return and God's Kingdom will be fully revealed and established on earth. The promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be fulfilled but until then Christ's kingdom reign is in the heart of New Covenant Believers.

What hope do we have for personal revival? God is the God of all hope. I'm a firm believer that God's not so interested in where we've been or even where we're at. What He's interested in is where we're going. As far as the Lord is concerned personal revival is wide open. If it's what we want then that's exactly what He'll give us. Be sure of this, it's not Him dragging us down. He's in the business of forgiving, of lifting, of encouraging, of empowering. Mt. 12:20 - a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, (ESV) 

Our potential in Christ is nothing short of awesome. Pr. 4:18  But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. (ESV)