From all over the world, church leaders and their members are asking: When will we see a genuine revival in our churches and in our communities? However, contrary to popular opinions about revivals, the fact is that the “institutional church” as a whole will NEVER see a real revival, for true revival ONLY happens in the spirits and souls of genuine Body of Christ believers, which means a genuine revival is Holy Spirit generated and Holy Spirit controlled! In essence, when God says that it is revival time, the power of His Holy Spirit will restore within sold out for Christ (totally surrendered) people a vital, fervent, spiritual relationship with their God and their Lord, as well as a renewed burning total commitment to evangelism and discipleship. Therefore, this kind of revival has NOTHING to do with who the “institutional church’s” spiritual leaders are and NOTHING to do with which brick and mortar church the Body of Christ believers might attend.
Furthermore, there will never be any true revival without a great ingathering of lost souls! In other words, every Holy Spirit generated and controlled revival will produce “fruit” for the Lord’s harvest, and this “fruit” will be the lost souls who are won in abundance!
Now, I do not doubt that we have seen some showers of true Holy Spirit revivals in the past centuries, but these revival showers have not come anywhere near the glory of the Latter Rain outpouring revival that is prophesied. To be sure, the genuine Latter Rain outpouring revival will happen according to God’s Will and on His timetable, and not man’s. Once again, this true revival will be the result of a mighty infusion of God’s Holy Spirit!
When the Holy Spirit’s Latter Rain outpouring revival comes, God’s convicting spirit of Grace and His crying spirit of Supplication will lead countless people to repentance and to total, unconditional surrender. This Latter Rain outpouring revival also will produce godliness, holiness, and righteousness in God’s Household of Faith (or the Temples of the Lord), which means that a genuine revival—a spiritual renewal and/or spiritual restoration—will produce in every born again, saved, full of the Holy Spirit, and sold out for Christ Body of Christ believer a godly heart/spirit full of godly desires and characteristics.
This Latter Rain outpouring revival, thus, will be something that is unusual, mighty, and glorious (like the Former Rain’s outpouring revival that took place on the Day of Pentecost nearly 2,000 years ago). Moreover, during this Latter Rain’s true revival, God will pour out upon His sons and daughters a spirit of Grace that will establish His children (the Household of Faith) in the truth of their justification. As a result, God not only will have people who have been made aware of their spiritual bankruptcy and, as a result, repented of their sins, but also God will have people who now will focus on (give their ALL to) reaching lost souls and discipling those who have been reached. In short, these believers will be the ones who will be the laborers working in Christ’s vineyard, preparing the final harvest of their Lord!
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29, NIV)
