Below is a little guide I prepared for our upcoming revival at The New Home Missionary Baptist Church:
This small guide is prepared with the hopes of helping us reap the most spiritual harvest we can from our revival this year. This time of year should not merely be a place on our annual schedule or our calendar, but a true time for spiritual renewal and revival for us individually, corporately as a congregation, and prayerfully a catalyst for spiritual renewal as a community.
I pray that these tips will be reminders for us, helpful to get ourselves ready to be partakers of the Word of God this week.
In HIS Service,
Rev. Christopher M. Todd—Pastor
Preparation
Be Ready for the Adversary
- Prepare through Prayer—We ought to always pray (Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). There should be no expectation when it comes to revival; however, there are some specific things that we should solicit the Lord on for this week:
- Pray for our guest Evangelist—Pray for His travel back and forth during the week; pray that his sermons would be saturated with prayer and communicated by the power of the Holy Spirit; pray that they would be given with clarity and received with an open heart.
- Pray for our Corporate Worship—Pray for all of the choirs and groups who will be sharing throughout the week, that they would lead us in corporate worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24) and that what we sing would be pleasing to the glory of God. Also pray that the atmosphere would be conducive to God-pleasing worship.
- Pray for our guests—Lift up all of our guests who will be with us through the week, that they would receive the word of the Lord, be safe during their travel, and that they will experience the friendly and kind hospitality that is the nature of our New Home Family
- Pray for the unsaved—The connotation of revival is often two-fold. First, that those who are believers are spiritually revived, renewed to go, share the Gospel and fulfill the great commission to the world. Second, that the unsaved will come and know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Pray for those whom we engage with during this week that have not committed their lives to the Lord, that this would be a time when they are led by the Holy Spirit to do so. Pray that the truth of the Gospel is clearly understood and received.
- Pray with a spirit of expectation—When you come to corporate worship, do you come with a sense that God is going to do something great in each worship experience? You should! Pray that your eyes will be opened, your mind alert, and your heart ready to receive the unadulterated Word of God. Pray that you will enter in His sanctuary with joy in your heart, with a song on your lips, and with preparation to corporately engage in the worship experience. Pray with an expectation that God will do something unique each and every night of revival, He will!
- Prepare through Study of the Word—Prayer and the Word go hand-in-hand. God often tills the soil of our heart through devotional study and meditation on the Word of God. During each day of revival, look on our church Facebook page for morning meditation scriptures.
- Be Spiritually Sensitive to the warfare of the Adversary—We must be aware of the fact that our Adversary, does not want us to draw closer to God. Oftentimes, his method of warfare in these seasons is through various distractions. Something will not go as planned; things will happen that never happen any other time. These are all situations and circumstances that have been placed in our life to get us off course—to distract us from seeking God with greater urgency through this week. Don’t let the devil win! Remember the scriptures: “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…” (James 4:7-8a). “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Don’t allow the enemy to rob you of your peace, your joy, and your love; continue to persevere, be patient, and kind, always showing the love of Christ. Don’t repay evil for evil, but do what is good (Romans 12:17-19).
Get Adequate Rest
If we are honest, although we find ourselves spiritually revived, we will worship together six days straight! Make sure that you are getting enough physical rest to go along with our spiritual renewal. Shut down your electronic devices early and go to bed! Make sure to eat appropriately through the week; start off with a healthy breakfast and don’t overload on unhealthy foods in the afternoons and evenings.
This is also a time where some of those big projects, home improvement items, and other out-of-the-routine things shouldn’t be scheduled. This is a season to give ourselves wholly to spiritual revival; in order to do that appropriately, we can’t overload our schedules with a lot of other agenda items
Prepare for our Financial Responsibility
We have asked ourselves as a family to also give a sacrificial financial gift during homecoming and revival. We have recommended giving $100 per family; however, I want to ask each of us to earnestly pray and search our hearts as to the amount to give. You may have the means to give well above and beyond $100, or you may not be able to meet this responsibility. That’s OK too! Don’t let what you don’t have keep you from giving what you do have! All we ask is that you earnestly seek the Lord in this area of life and ensure you are giving a sacrificial gift. Follow the example of the churches at Macedonia, recorded in 2 Corinthians 8:3—“For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord…”
Participation
Pray Consistently
We cannot regulate prayer to the preparatory phase, but we must be in prayer throughout the week as well. Say a quick prayer when you enter the sanctuary each night, just to clear your mind and prepare yourself for the worship experience. Make sure to pray for the items listed above through the week as well. There is power in prayer!
Be Present
- Physically—We want you to be present. Make sure that you actually come to worship! This is not something that you should get second or third hand. Make every effort possible to be with us for the entirety of the week. Remember, we start at 6:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday and our fellowship hour (with food!) on Friday is at 6 p.m. Don’t just plan to be on time but get there early! That way, you can park, get into the building, find a good seat, and be prepared for worship without rushing and running.
- Mentally—It does no good to be in the room but your mind is somewhere else! Make sure that you are mentally present as well. Engage in the worship service both during the singing and during the sermon (A good “Amen” or the like would help). Take notes in your program each night, writing down the selected Scriptural text, the sermon subject, the main points of the sermon, and a take away point to apply to your life. Remember, you’ll only get out of the service what you put into the service.
Present your Financial Gifts
You’ve prayed and hopefully you have prepared. Now is the time to present your sacrificial gifts. Make sure that you make your extra gift in a New Home envelope; fill out all of the appropriate information and mark this offering in the “other” section so that they are recorded properly. You can give your gift during homecoming or any revival night. Just make sure you are obedient to what the Lord has placed on your heart to give and remember this is a sacrificial gift above your regular tithes and offerings.
Post-Revival Examination
Prayerfully, we have prepared, we’ve participated, and we have had a great week in the Lord. What comes next?
Apply the Revealed Word
You’ve heard the Word; you’ve received the Word with gladness; now it is time to apply the Word! Remember those points you wrote down each night? Think about how you can apply God’s Word to your daily life. Remember, we are not merely hearers of the Word, but doers (James 1:22-25).
Be Ready for the Enemies’ Attacks
Just as you prepared in the beginning, you must also be prepared at the end. It is the goal of the adversary to keep us from applying God’s Word to our lives. You will be tested! However, just as God is for us before, God is for us afterwards as well. Live a life aware of the ways of the adversary and sensitive to the work of the Spirit in your life in order to combat the threats, tactics, and thwarts of the enemy. You can do it! God is for you! He is with you!
Don’t let revival just be a week on the calendar, but let it be a catalyst to push you to greater depths in the knowledge and application of God’s Word. Together, we will have a great week as we seek “Sovereign Impartation for Spiritual Transformation.”
Christopher M Todd 