By
Arthur Wallis
Prior
to Pentecost it is recorded that the believers “continued
steadfastly in prayer” (Acts 1:14; after Pentecost the young church
“continued steadfastly...in prayers” (Acts 2:42); and when the
rivers of blessing were flowing far and wide, and the work was so
extensive that the apostles could no longer cope with it, we hear
their solemn resolve, “We will continue steadfastly in prayer (Acts
6:4).
Let it
be burned upon our hearts by the Spirit of God that this mighty
movement that turned the world upside down was not only born out of
prayer, but that it brought forth prayer, and was maintained by
prayer.
Such
praying cost but indispensable, has ever characterized the great
revivals of the past.
How
simple were the channels along which the Rivers of that first
outpouring flowed. The corporate life of the fist church was
maintained by no methods or devices more complex than teaching,
fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. These means were simple,
but they were sufficient.
When
the Spirit of God is poured out again it will be seen that nothing
more is needed. Other expedients are only called for when the power
of the Spirit begins to wane.
The
local church is the only visible society that can adequately meet the
varied needs of the believer, young or old. This is the design of
God, though He raises up and uses other organizations when the local
churches have failed.
It is
vital that the living stone quarried in times of revival shall not be
left lying about, but shall be built into The House of God, share the
corporate life of the church. Therefore the form and condition of
that local body are of great importance.
It is
surely right that a soul in Revival, when the Spirit was in complete
sway, should be brought into a fellowship where, in the simplicity of
apostolic church order, the Spirit continues to control and where
there is scope and liberty for each member of the body to exercise
his or her spiritual gifts to the blessing of all.
How
often the flames of Revival have been extinguished by the very
structure in which it broke out.
After
the first inrush of the Spirit, the doors and windows were shut by
the iron hand of ecclesiasticism, formalism, and tradition; the flame
was suffocated; the Spirit quenched.
The
outgoings of Revival are a key to the continuance of the work.
If
factory wheels are arrested by some outside agency, either the motive
power is also arrested and all movement ceases, or else the link that
joins the power to the wheels is broken.
In a
mighty move of the Spirit sometimes the link is snapped, and the
Revival movement is severed from the old machinery and linked to new
that is fit to receive and use the fresh output of power.
It is
the old principle of new wine causing the old wine-skin to burst so
that the wine is spilled (Matt. 9:17),
New
wine requires new wine-skins, and if the old are not prepared to be
renewed and remodeled by the Spirit of God to meet the new situation,
God has no alternative but to reject them.
A
movement of the spirit can only be contained by the organization of
the Spirit, and that organization is characterized by simplicity.
As we
scan that distant horizon, and watch the sun rising over that first
church as I move downward in the power of the Spirit, we are
compelled to exclaim with Cowper,
“Oh,
how unlike the complex works of man
Heaven's
easy, artless, unencumbered plan!
…..Majestic
in its own simplicity.”
My
comments: Men always want Control, but to have Revival and to
maintain Revival, they Must Relinquish Control and give All Control
to the Spirit of God. Through the ages, God Alone has kept His Church
Alive. Men, left to their own devices, have always killed her. This
was true in the Old Testament and in the New. It remains true to this
day.
It
should be understood that there is No Christianity apart from
Revival. The True Church of God is in Continual Revival. The Life of
Christ on earth is the story of Revival. The story of the Church
after Pentecost is the story of Revival. The nature of the Spirit of
God, and His outworking, never changes.
When
the Church has died, because men have killed her, God raises up
someone who will respond to the Spirit of God. John the Baptist was
such a man. The Prophets of Old were such men. Luther was such a man
among many others. And it was and is always Costly to Obey God.
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