The devil is quite adept at his job description, so good that often times his opponents don’t recognize his tactics, which is his purpose. He takes what God creates for His own glory and corrupts it into something with a distorted resemblance of its intention, superficially appearing like something good but corrupted into defilement and deception.

Thus he has done with revival. What some see as revival is nothing more than a man-led, flesh-indulging display driven for self-gratification, self-promotion, and the appeasement of superficial faith, providing nothing more than momentary ecstasy for the listener and hero-worship of the messenger. God forgive us for following the prophet, often self-proclaimed ones, and not pursuing the death to self that is the predecessor to any true move of God.

Therein is a problem with modern day so-called revivals … far too often, they are fleeting. Far too often they are flocked to as if the blessing is coming through a human or geographic location rather than personal and corporate consecration and desperation for God. And far too often, too great a focus is placed on the messenger, which dangerously borders on idolatry. God is not in it.

True revival is different from that. True revival shakes our foundations. It interrupts our plans. It is not accommodating to our agenda. It does not exalt my flesh; it crucifies it. It does not bring me, my church or “my ministry” attention or prominence: “He must increase and I must decrease.” It does not increase my influence; It increases His ability to mold, shape, form, and lead in His will for His glory. And it is not wrapped around the personality of man; It is enveloped in the Person of Christ.

In other words, revival is not “a move of man.” It truly is a move of God.

Revival cannot be hoarded; It must be shared. It does not come for my personal exaltation; It comes to do something in me so profound that it flows with power, authority and brokenness into the lives of others. Its focus is Jesus, not me. It doesn’t come to empower me toward personal advancement or to help me build my own kingdom; It comes to break me, crush me, crucify my flesh, bury my old man, obliterate all that is not Jesus, and fill me with so much of Him that my passion becomes the mission to make Him known. Revival burns way my culturally-infused desire to gratify and please myself and transforms me to live for the glory of Him name. Revival changes me so that God can change others and use me as a Spirit-empowered instrument, His messenger

If you want revival, you must consider what it costs. Revival will cost you:

• Your spiritual comfort. 
  
• Your affections. 
  
• Your motives. 
  
• Sometimes even your relationships as other choose not to travel to the depths of Christ that you have chosen to descend.

It costs you your life!   . . .  and it is worth it.