The revived Christian life

Some revivalists like Norman Grubbhave argued that revival is a present experience and not a future event. They say that the Christian life is a revived life. By this, they mean that revival is living in the consciousness of God’s presence. According to this group, the normal Christian life is a revived life and not a life that awaits a future special event or visitation. To Reinhard Bonnke, “Christianity is revival.”

A revived life is one that is always lived in the consciousness of His presence. It is a life that is lived in the Spirit, a life of holiness and reverence for God. It is a life of humility and self-abnegation to God. It is a life that is in total surrender and obedience to God, a life that puts God first before oneself.  It is a life that is lived in readiness that Christ may return any time to take one home. It is a life that is full of God’s power, a victorious Christian life over Satan, over sin and the power of the flesh.

John the Baptist and John the beloved are two New Testament examples, whose lives fit the profile of a revived Christian life. Jesus said of John the Baptist, “He was the burning and shining lamp” (John 5:35). The same John, when asked, “What do you say about yourself?” His response was, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness; make straight the way of the LORD.” As a forerunner of Jesus, he helped to prepare Jesus for the ministry by baptising him. By Jesus’ baptism, John indirectly signalled the arrival of the Messiah and the dawn of His ministry.

On the other hand, the Apostle John testified of himself thus: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.” Only a revived Christian life can be that spiritually alert and attuned to God’s presence in a very harsh environment. He survived the extremely harsh conditions of the Island of Patmos and remained attuned to the Holy Spirit.

It was John the Baptist, who publicly unveiled the true identity of Jesus as the Lamb of God. He was sensitive enough to quickly discern and identify who the Lamb of God is, even though he had not seen Jesus. “I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel. Therefore, I came baptising with water. And John bore witness saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon him. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, this is he who baptised with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:31-34).

After the resurrection of Jesus, when He appeared to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, John (the beloved) was quick to recognise that it was Jesus who stood by the shore to ask them, “Children, have you any food?” (John 21:5, 7). John’s life in the Spirit endeared him to the Master, and gave him the rare privilege of being invited to “Come up here” to peep into the heavens and bring to us the end-time revelations of God.

The revived Christian life is a life that pleases God; it is a victorious Christian life. As we face the challenges of the end-time, we must endeavour to live out the revived Christian life. Contact:pastoracukachi@gmail.com