Revival Fire

Reverend Thando Mazonde

Key Scriptures

1 Kings 18:23-39

Vs 23 " Let them therefore give us two bullocks for us ,let them choose one bullock for themselves and cut into pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire under and I will prepare the other bullock and lay it on the wood and put no fire under, then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord, the God who answers by fire is God."

Vs 30 "And Elijah said to all the people, come near unto me and the people came near unto him and he repaired the altar of the Lord which was broken down."

Vs 36 "And it came to pass at the time of offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and, said Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel and am they servant and that I have done all these things at thy word. Then fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and stones and dust and licked up the water that was in the trench and when people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God"

Levi 6:12-13

"And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it, it shall not be put out and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning and lay burnt offering in order upon it and it shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings, The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar and it shall never go out."

Numbers 4:13

"and they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth thereon"

1 Timothy 4:1

"Now the spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the devils forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanks giving of them which believe and know the truth"

2 Timothy 3:1

"This know also that in the last day perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful and unholy."

Introduction

The title of my message is “Revival fire”

"Fire" represents the presence of God and his presence brings revival. May the revival fire consume us during this MLI Conference, a conference of its kind where we are attending at the comfort of our homes because of COVID-19 lockdown.

You and I are making history and nothing can stop us because greater is He who is in us than the one who is in the world, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work within us , hence we are unstoppable. Even COVID-19 can never separate us from the love of God, Amen.

We are talking about Revival fire today, may I submit to you to you this morning that revival is the sovereign work of the almighty God. It then follows that that no military power can bring revival, no economic upturn can bring revival, no election can bring revival but revival is inevitable when God’s people get right with God.

Revival fire is something we can prepare for, something we can believe God for, something we can Pray for. Isaiah the prophet cried unto God and said "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down , that the mountains might flow down at your presence….."

When the fire of God comes down , our problems which are like mountains have no choice but to melt before his presence, our depression and discouragement is replaced by the joy of the Lord, Lt us all desire this revival fire from heaven during this conference in Jesus name Amen.

Experiencing Revival fire during these End times should be the prayer and desire for every sober Christian. Without revival fire nothing will work for us and the reason is simple to fact that such times have heavy dark forces that work against faith. In the last days some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the devils. For you and I to survive during these perilous times, we need to stand and stand firm putting on the whole amour of the God according to Ephesians chapter 6,that we may be able to" stand against the wiles of the devil for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers of darkness against principalities, against powers of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Stand therefore having your loins gird about with the truth ,which is the truth of the cross and having on the breastplate of righteousness, above all taking the shield of faith where ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, Praying always with all, not one , not two but all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints,"

Brethren, let's not forget that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds so we are armed and dangerous! My fellow sisters in the Lord, without revival fire , our faith can not stand. Without the revival fire, we are naked , exposed, and at risk , the palmist says those that trust in the Lord are like mount Zion ,we will never be shaken, some trust in chariots, some in horses but as for us, we will stand.

I am not sure about your nation, in Zimbabwe we last had a church gathering on the 22nd of March 2020 because of lockdown and we are now in May and we are not even sure when such gatherings will resume. During the Month of April until now services are conducted online like we are doing right now , and with such platforms its difficult for your reverend , local pastor ,or care network leader to fully monitor your church attendance and participation except the Lord himself. Some of us are now dragging our spiritual feet, some have even stopped paying their tithes and offering. If you are among such group of Christians who are using their tithes to do groceries and shop winter clothes, I urge you to repent for that is a recipe for disaster.

Scripture says , In the last days some will forbid to marry – this speaks of the attack against the home, even against God’s original command that husband and wife is his plan for society. Beloved, in the last days which are the times we are in right now, our marriages are not safe without the revival fire. Our marriages being challenged! Lets be challenged to do what it takes to revive that fire.

What then does it take to revive the fire?

1. Repair your altar in preparation for revival fire.

When Elijah’s turn to call upon the fire of God came, scripture says that he repaired the altar of the Lord which was broken down. Therefore, for us to experience the end time revival let us mend and strengthen our relationship with our God. We need to repair the altar and offer 3 sacrifices on it in order for revival to come and these are:

• sacrifice of repentance,

• offer ourselves as a living sacrifice

• offer a sacrifice of praise for he inhabits in the praises of his people.

2. Remove ashes on the altar.

"Ashes" - are an evidence of yesterday’s fire. We once had the zeal of God but the zeal has been extinguished by the challenges of life. God is calling us to forget the past for he wants to do new things in our lives during this season. Lets go to the book of revelations chapter 3, letter to the Sardis church. These things says he who has the seven spirits of God, this represents the Holy spirit in all his fullness and capacity, He says I know your works that you have a name that you live and are dead, He goes on to say watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. With some of us what is left are just tittles, local Pastor, Care network leader, training manager but no zeal for divine things! Let us all be encouraged to go back to the first love. Some are becoming lukewarm. Listen to what the word of God says because you are neither hot or cold. God is about to spue you out of his mouth. Arise Maxi lifers! Let us cry for the revival fire!

Ashes may include past hurts and disappointments. If this bitterness is haboured and not dealt with, our lives will be cluttered with residues of past experience, making it difficult to receive the full blessings of God because to a bitter heart, everything is just bitter.

Our apostolic leaders, Bishop C.Nyathi and Snr Reverend S. Nyathi continue to sacrifice their time

making great efforts to ensure that you and I are fed spiritually and don’t suffer spiritual kwashiorkor during these lockdown periods ,and if your heart is bitter whenever your local leaders forward facebook, twitter links to you to listen to a sermon on repentance you get upset and you complain of data, but you have data to download baking videos, and other materials that do not even edify your spirit men. When they remind you to pay your tithes and offering, HHICC you get offended,

when they remind you check in for prayer the morning for an hour daily you become irritated and say prayer is personal but the following week you are the one sending SOS WhatsApp messages with your prayer requests to your pastor. Who has bewitched you? Shame on you! Consider your ways and repent.

3. Keep the fire burning

One of the jobs of the priests in the Old Testament was never to let flame on the altar to go out

because the flame represented God’s presence. You and I are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood

and a peculiar people. We are expected to pray in and out of season , let's not allow the fire to go out.

Pray in the spirit and pray in understanding.

Conclusion

Revival happens when God's people are prepared and when they are ready for with tender hearts and humble spirits. Revival often begins with people coming under deep conviction and crying out in confession and repentance for their sins. Without that ,you and I can be like the prophets of Baal, crying day and night until we lose our voices. Revival is inevitable when God’s people get right with God.

Wherever you are ,I will invite you to raise your hands as a sign of surrender, take few minutes and talk to the God who answers by fire, cry out to God to send his revival fire so that you may not lose your faith during these perilous times. Pray that no matter how tough the going becomes that you may hold on to the cross.

I believe it is every Shepherd’s prayer and hearts desire that church members do not take their eyes from the cross and it will be it will be great joy on the day the gates of our churches are open to note that we did not lose even one to the kingdom of darkness during this COVID-19 era. Saints the grace of God is sufficient for us, let us stay focused and hunger for revival fire.

We thank God for you , Stay blessed, Stay safe.

Amen