The narrow way - The call of a forerunner
THE CALL of a REVIVALIST
-by Tina Dyer.
I will attempt to help you understand the call as a revivalist. When we look at others who have gone before us, it can help us with where we find ourselves currently. Though we see through a glass darkly, it still helps to catch just a glimpse of what we are going through. We could be called “forerunners” or revivalists or “reformers”….
It can be seen as one who runs in front of the crowd. One who will search out the best path for others who will soon follow. One who will be the first to encounter un-plowed territory or land. Your vision or perspective will be vastly different from others as your eyesight will see from a completely different vantage point.You are much like the “Pioneers” of old who headed west in search of new land to settle in. They had to trail blaze through uninhabited land to make a way for others to cross with ease. They were “way makers” and “visionaries”. What kept them pressing forward was a dream, a dream that held great promise of a better land in which to settle and grow strong roots.
This fire placed within you was placed there by the Lord of Glory Himself. Knowing this is from Him will help us to continue in the journey though many obstacles will be encountered. We press for the mark of the high calling of Christ.
The cost is great. It could cost you everything you and then some. You will be frequently misunderstood, rejected, slandered, ridiculed, mocked, condemned, betrayed and left by your closest loved ones. The greatest pain will come from those that you love the most. It will come from friends who you thought to be faithful. This walk is indeed very lonely. But yet He is asking, “Will you follow Me as I lead?”
I can only pray that your answer will be ” Yes, Lord, let it be unto me, according to Your will”.
Brokeness will be a requirement. He will insist upon it. To be a vessel fit for His glory to reside and for Him to trust you, brokenness must come. There will come a time when one will begin to accept the refiner’s fire and actually ask for more of it. Those who have been given the revelation of just how precious that refinement is, knowing that it is bringing us forth as gold. I liken this brokenness to the story of Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus as the pharisees rebuked her. She took the bottle of alabaster and BROKE the bottle and the seal so that she could anoint her beloved Jesus with her most precious gift. She wiped His feet with her tears as she poured out her love to Him. Beloved, YOU are that bottle that needs to be broken. When broken, the fragrance of that brokeness will be so glorious before the Lord that it will rise to His nostrils and be most pleasing in His sight.
The breaking brings forth humility and a contrite spirit which is of great worth in the sight of the King. Continual resistance from outside forces will only cause you to push in that much closer to the Lord. To remain stagnant would be like death to a revivalist. For it is built within them an internal push that cannot remain still. Mundane routines are very hard for them to endure. For a fire is blazing within them, the fire of a revivalist.
Like the pioneers of old, they will encounter great difficulty. Some included impassable mountains, dense brush, severe weather, sickness and disease, wild animals, hunger and thirst as well as enemies. You can be certain there was much fighting in the ranks. It would take a strong leader to endure through it all. The pioneers’ battles were mostly in the natural but what drove them to succeed was a dream. Our battle will occur in the mind, the natural and in the spiritual realm. But always keep in mind that the King of Kings goes before you and will light your path. If He is for us, who can be against us? He never said this walk would be easy. He only said, pick up your cross and follow Me. He is still saying that today.
May our spirit be quick to say, “Yes Lord, I will follow You wherever You lead”.
Hallelujah to the King……. The Lord will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I must say I like to hear about being a forerunner for Christ and revival, being a harbinger was one who ran in front of the king telling everyone Royalty was on the way and to be ready.
I have difficulty understanding in what way I am to be broken, this term does not compute in my mind with what it is to be a leader and a hopeful joyful peaceful christian. If it is just meant to be humble and open to the Lord and others I agree. But doesn’t brokenness have more connotation than that? Help me to understand brokenness and how it fits with the Joy I have in Christ.
December 19th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Brokeness - In touch with one’s need for Christ. Able to see clearly and without rationalization the depth of the need for Him. Brokeness doesn’t crowd out joy, it actually expands my ability to receive it. The more experientially I know my need for Christ, the greater my capacity to receive from Him.
It is the Phil. 3 phenomenon. “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.” What humanly speaking creates the thirst for this? My awareness of the actual need. Brokeness is that awareness. I know what I am, in myself and that knowledge drives me to desire Christ. Calvin stated that the knowledge of self is necessary for the knowledge of God. If I do not know (experientially and in an ongoing way) the reality of my need, why would I continually seek Him? I have Christ, because I have received Him as my savior. But there is still so much for me to gain of Him. What drives my earnest desire for Him? What keeps me coming back to the Living Water again and again? What causes me to remain intense in my desire? My consciousness of need. I believe that consciousness of need for Jesus is brokeness.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
That is how I feel at each weeks communion. I am reminded of Christ’s mercy and sacrifice and grace. I remember my need for a savior both in my past and now.