Revival is not simply a sovereign act of God, but is the expected result of the application of specific biblical
principles. We are to stop waiting for the suddenlies and begin to aggressively pursue His presence till we see
the transformation of our church, community, and ultimately society.

There is a wrong belief that God simply chooses a place He will pour out His spirit and whammo, we got
revival. Although I do not limit God from that kind of outpouring it is not what we have to wait for. Many
churches are praying and asking god for an outpouring and then they simply wait for their number to be called
on God's lottery system.

The scriptures clearly declare, “ask, and ye shall receive…”

Although many churches have been “asking”, many have not positioned themselves to receive of what God has
for them. I want to deal with a few reasons why so many churches don't get and/or can't sustain an outpouring
of God's spirit.

1) They believe revival/outpouring is simply a sovereign act of God. They believe that there is nothing much they
can do about it. They fast and pray and wait and wait and wait. You don't have to wait!!!! The spirit of God is
moving all over the world NOW. The river is flowing NOW. You need to simply jump in. Although this sounds
over simplified it really is that easy. It's all the subtle doubt and unbelief that has warred on us that hinders us
many times. It's all about FAITH.

2) You must get to the place where you don't care what it looks like, sounds like, or manifests like. Search your
heart. Are you looking for conditional revival? Do you have preconceived ideas about what revival is supposed
to be like? In the I-55 revival where I minister each week we had just that. Core people of the church who had
sincerely prayed for decades for revival rejected it when it came. It didn't look like what they had expected and
therefore they concluded it wasn't the real thing. Oh how many moves of God have been missed by such
preconceived ideas. The Holy Spirit told me several years ago that “we must continually empty ourselves of our
preconceived ideas.” It's not good enough to do it once you much every day empty yourself from your
preconceived ideas of what, how, where God is going to move.

3) Revival is the most delicate of things. Many greatly misunderstand the nature of revival. They think because it
is so powerful that it is nearly indestructible. They say things like, “well, if that was really a move of God it would
of lasted.” This is an ignorant statement. Revival/outpouring is simply the Holy Spirit coming close. The closer he
gets the more of God is manifested and the more people are changed. However, the closer he gets the easier it is
to grieve him. “To him who is given much, much is required.” Our god is a jealous God. He wants to be the total
center of attention. If you don't stay humble, hungry, and broken, the holy sprit will withdraw and the revival will
cease.

4) Revival/outpouring must become the principle thing. If you are going to have and sustain an ongoing outpouring
of the Holy Spirit you must get rid of all the FAT in your life and your ministry. You cannot simply add revival to
the list of things you do. The cares of life will choke it out. You must be committed to the outpouring at the expense
of everything. I have personally seen several outpourings of God stop because the people and leadership wouldn't
trim what they needed to in order to sustain. As a result they became weary and the revival stopped. The reality is
most people don't want to host a revival they simply want to attend one. Revival will consume every part of your life
and if you don't live that way you will never sustain it.

5) It is not about your ministry, church, kingdom, reputation, or popularity. Once again many want revival to build
their own church not really His. That attitude will disqualify you. They want the crowds, the fame, and the money.
They are not really interested in revival. They want to be successful in the eyes of Christianity. If they truly wanted
revival in their region the minute they heard God was moving in another church they would drop everything and get
involved in that move of God. Instead most churches want their own personally owned and operated revival so they
can be the big kids on the block. Oh God forgive us for our perverse attitudes and selfishness.

6) Finally, if you want revival you will suffer persecution. You may loose friends, family, money, reputation, and
affiliations. You will be misunderstood, misquoted, and mistreated. You will have forces on all sides trying to get you
to back off just a little bit in order to gain more acceptance. DON'T DO IT!!! Let the work of the Holy Spirit do its
work. Don't ever back away because of the controversy. Press into God. Never react to the critics. Don't fight them,
judge them, or change because of them. Hear from God and obey His Spirit. Don't judge your revival by the crowds
but by the manifestation of His presence. If His presence is increasing your on track.

By Pastor Steve Foss