Standing Shoulder To Shoulder Together As We Fight the Good Fight of Faith A personal letter of encouragement to You, written solely

to "lift up hands that hang down".

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"If the Church's agenda is not The Kingdom agenda, it's the wrong agenda, no matter how good it looks or how successful it appears." ---- T. Allen Robburts +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shoulder To Shoulder #590 ---- 3/30/09 Title: "Revival ---- Part Five (Is It Unnecessary?)"

My Dear Friend and Partner in Kingdom Ventures: Greetings again in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom we serve from hearts of deep gratitude and humility. I'm so glad to have the opportunity to encourage you again today; it is my personal privilege to do so. I don't you to get weary as you labor in the Kingdom work God has given you. It is so crucial to His agenda, and we can't afford to leave even one co-laborer exhausted along the wayside.

This 'n That: + Please be in prayer for our oldest daughter and also for our son-in-law who is married to our third daughter. Cindy, our oldest, has some concerns about the possible recurrence of potential cancer cells. A couple of years ago she had a pre-cancerous growth removed, but recently has found that another spot showed up during an examination. Bob, husband to our third daughter, Cheri, was diagnosed last week with Prostate cancer, and has an appointment this Wednesday to determine the course of action to be taken. We'd appreciate prayer for these two, their families, and their medical staff. + Recently someone sent me the following websites that I think you'll enjoy. You'll be blessed as you watch http://www.youtube.com/watch? about the story of the "Kingdom Dog", and the way his owner uses him to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This was aired on the 700 Club. You'll also enjoy the well-known story of "The Dash" set to both music and amazing photos at http://www.dashpoemmovie.com.

REVIVAL -- NECESSARY OR UNNECESSARY? When one seriously studies the "doctrine of revival", he quickly is confronted with two things, one of which I have noted earlier. First, the idea of "revival" as we understand it is not taught in any way, shape, or form in the New Testament. Second, he quickly discovers that neither is it taught anywhere in the Bible, Old or New Testaments, as a doctrine or a theological dogma. It's a lot like the idea of the Rapture and the Tribulation . . . evidences abound, but it is never treated as a topic or a doctrinal belief. Those two discoveries being valid in my opinion, that raises a significant question ---- "Is revival, then, necessary in the first place?" In other words, are we to assume that perhaps many of us have been praying for something that God says we don't need? Are we to conclude that we can get along just fine without "revival" as we traditionally understand it? Perhaps even more profound is the question as to what "revival" actually is in the first place.

It has been my privilege to personally know Richard Owen Roberts, author of many books on revival and spiritual awakening. Perhaps no American writer has been more diligent, articulate, and historically concise regarding the way God's activity among believers inevitably impacts society around them. He has a library of over 10,000 books on the subjects of revival and spiritual awakening, I believe housed at Wheaton College. One of the godliest men I've ever known, I first learned of him when a friend recommended his simple book entitled, Revival. Subsequently, I invited him to conduct a series of meetings in the church I was pastoring in Reedsburg, WI. Unaffected by our small size, he graciously agreed, and we all sat in profound awe for eight days as he eloquently spoke of God's desired activity in the hearts of His people and in the places where they lived. You can learn more of his ministry at www.internationalawakening.org. Of all the things I remember from those amazing days, two stand out above all else. First, was his 90+ minute discourse on "Godly Sorrow That Leads To Repentance". The second was the thought that reinforced my conviction, expressed in Watchman Nee's book, The Normal Christian Life, namely that the daily presence, power, and manifest glory of God should be a natural characteristic rather than an unusual occurrence in our lives. Jonathan Edwards is perhaps one of the best known preachers of Revolutionary days in America. From the Congregational church background, he was greatly impacted by the ministry of British evangelist George Whitfield who had come to America to preach. Born in East Windsor, Connecticut in 1703, Edwards was known for his strong promotion of Calvinism and became a central figure in the Puritan movement. He is particularly remembered for his famous sermon, "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God" which he preached in Enfield, Connecticut in 1641, during which people would come under such conviction that they would tremble and sometimes fall to the ground unconscious as they heard the piercing indictments against sin and rebellion toward God. When the First Great Awakening erupted in America from 1730 to 1745, Edwards was astounded at the results of Whitfield's preaching. But, moreso, what impacted him even the more was the way this revival in the churches flowed over into a general spiritual awakening in the social structure to such an extent that major unexplainable evidences were readily seen within the culture itself. The following comments are taken from a letter he wrote to Rev. Thomas Prince in Boston, dated Dec. 12, 1743. It becomes quickly evident that a mighty rejuvenating move of God in the lives of believers causing them to return to the fundamentals of life in Christ is certain to have an impact on any society where His people get serious about surrendering everything to Him. After a ministry having a major impact on pre-Revolutionary America, Edwards died at age 54 after being inoculated for the raging epidemic of Small Pox, dying in Princeton, New Jersey on March 22nd, 1758. Here is part of what he wrote: "The congregation was extraordinarily melted by every sermon [of Mr. Whitefield's in the meeting-house]; almost the whole assembly being in tears for a great part of sermon time. Mr. Whitefield's sermons were suitable to the circumstances of the town, containing just reproofs of our backslidings, and, in a most moving and affecting manner, making use of our great profession and great mercies as arguments with us to return to God, from whom we had departed. . . . "The revival at first appeared chiefly among professors [of salvation] and those that had entertained the hope that they were in a state of grace, to whom Mr. Whitefield chiefly addressed himself. But in a very short time there appeared an awakening and deep concern among some young persons that looked upon themselves as in a Christless state; and there were some hopeful appearances of conversion; and some professors [of salvation] were greatly revived. "In about a month or six weeks, there was a great alteration in the town, both as to the revivals of professors and awakenings of others. By the middle of December, a very considerable work of God appeared among those that were very young; . . . religious subjects almost wholly took up their conversation when they [the people in general] were together. "Ever since the great work of God that was wrought here about nine years ago, there has been a great abiding alteration in this town in many respects. . . . There has remained a more general seriousness and decency in attending the public worship. There has been a very great alteration among the youth of the town with respect to reveling, frolicking, profane and unclean conversation, and lewd songs. Instances of fornication have been very rare. There has also been a great alteration among both old and young with respect to tavern haunting. I suppose the town has been in no measure so free of vice in these respects for any long time together for this sixty years as it has been this nine years past." Could this happen again in our nation? Please join us in praying that God will do an even greater work! We need Him so desperately. And this raises a most appropriate and often debated question . . . Is revival actually necessary or unnecessary.

The answer is, "Yes".

EMT PROCEDURE: Let's review my original definition of revival, traditionally understood based on the meaning of the word in scripture ---- The Hebrew word for revival is "Khaw-yaw", usually translated "quicken" in the King James Version of the Bible, and meaning "to cause to live, to make alive again, to keep alive, to give life, to preserve life, to recover life, to restore life, and to make whole." It seems that it can be used to describe five fundamental conditions . . . . to restore life to something gone dead, to increase life where it has become weak, to preserve life where death tries to invade, to give life where there was never life before, and to bring healing and wholeness where life has waned. This description leads to only one conclusion . . . "Revival", as we traditionally recognize it, is the act of restoring, increasing, preserving, giving and/or healing life where life has diminished or has been damaged in some way. And, that conclusion is a bothersome one . . . at least to me personally. Why? Because it presents a direct confrontation between Jesus Christ's life and our claim that we need to be revived. Like being slapped in the face with a cold, wet towel, we are taken aback by the very absurdity that our Christian life . . . the very life of Christ within us . . . needs to be revived. Would we dare hint that Christ's life for us and in us is inadequate, or that He isn't the same in us day in and day out? That is total heresy and blasphemy, in my opinion. To say that our Christian life must be revived is to, by logical conclusion then, say that the life we received from Christ was somehow flawed and inadequate to our needs. No thought is more ridiculous than that. How in heaven's name can we make such an assumption?! Our assumption that we live the Christian life is, therefore, totally in error . . . hideous and prideful error. On the other hand, we have an equally nauseating idea that we are, rather, the ones who need to be "revived". What, pray tell, is there about you that is worthy of being resuscitated and brought back to vibrant life? Is there anything at all? I say there is nothing whatsoever worthy of such a divine act of God. To think such is to position one's self totally in opposition to the Scripture that tells us there is none righteous, absolutely nobody. We have all fallen short of God's glory and standard. We have every one totally missed the mark. Every effort we have made to meet His standard, model His character, and do His work has ended in abject failure. If there has been any success or any fruit shown in our lives, it has not been ours . . . it has been only His life expressed in those hideous "clay pots" that Paul talked about in II Cor 4:7 . . . "that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and Not of man." (NASB) How utterly different from what most of us assume! Even if we intellectually understand and agree, seldom do our lifestyles manifest it fully. I'm fearful that we have been looking at "revival" much like we look at an EMT team . . . "Emergency Medical Treatment". (I'm equally fearful that I may not be able to adequately articulate what is in my heart just now.) Picture this . . . an accident has occurred in which someone has been gravely injured and is at the point of death. The EMT's arrive on the scene with the ambulance and immediately begin to exercise their skilled procedures to try to save or revive the one who is dying. Using tracheal tubes, saline injections, and defibrillation paddles, they furiously work to restore breathing and a heart beat. In a few minutes their efforts have been successful . . . they have revived a life. The victim has experienced "revival" of his physical body. While that procedure is certainly appropriate to save a human being, it is totally inappropriate in the spiritual world. There is nothing of human nature deserving of being saved. Jesus didn't come to revive you, . . . He came to redeem you . . . and give you a New life for the old . . . to give you His life. So, if as a Christian, you have been given His life . . . eternal life, . . . why would you want your old life to be "revived"? I know, of course, that this is not what you and I think of when we talk about "revival", and I surely agree that neither of us what our old life "revived". But, my point is this . . . . Is it possible that the idea of "revival" as we understand it, is flawed by our assumption that we're the ones that need to be revived, when the truth is that we don't need to be revived, but we need to simply abandon everything there is about us and surrender ourselves completely to not just the Lordship of Christ, but to the very person, nature, presence, purpose, and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe this is what Andrew Murray described in his classic, Absolute Surrender.

Therefore, it is for this reason that I'd like you to consider the idea that "Revival" as it has been touted over the past decades is at least flawed and at best a last-ditch Emergency Medical Treatment. I present a better way. . . and that is that revival in that sense is simply unnecessary. We don't need, as the great missionary to China Bertha Smith used to say, "we don't need more 'rededicated self'!" My friend, even though I've been writing on the subject of "revival" for several weeks now, the Church doesn't need reviving . . . it needs "burying" . . . so that the life of Christ may be raised again for the world to see. I don't need reviving . . . and neither do you. We need to return to our crucified state, and allow Jesus to simply be himself again . . . in us, to us, and through us. + "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" (Gal 2:20). + "But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6:14). + "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (II Cor 5:17). + "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace" (Rom 6:3-14). + "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph 1:18-23). + ". . . even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:5-10). + "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 'Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!' (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity,

passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry" (Col 2:20-3:5). + " . . . for in Him we live and move and exist, . ." (Acts 17:28). Do you believe these scriptures, my friend? I mean . . . Really believe them? ) If so, then "revival" is unnecessary . . . because you know you're dead and reviving death is unacceptable. But, . . . how can we tell when revival is unnecessary? Consider these thoughts . . .

REVIVAL IS UNNECESSARY, WHEN . . . : + The very person of Christ has His rightful place of sovereignty in your life. That comes through daily surrender and abdication of the throne to Him and you acknowledge that "It is God Who is at work in you both to will and do His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13. + The absolute purpose of Christ has become yours without limits or restrictions. That comes through relinquishment of all your goals and plans foreign to His agenda. + The unlimited life and power of Christ is unrestrained and free from your grip. That comes when you understand that "I am the Vine, and you are the branches, . . . without Me, you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5), and when you can in confident faith declare, "I can do all things . . . through Christ Who is my Strength" (Phil 4:13). + The very ministry of Jesus Christ has become yours as you allow Him to do through you what He did during His earthly ministry. This comes by simply accepting Him at His Word when He said, "'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.' And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'" (Lk 4:18-21). There is no human need that is outside the parameters of Jesus' ministry which, incidentally, He told us we would participate in; "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you" (Jn 14:12-17). + Christ's agenda of His Kingdom has become your sole agenda in every respect. That comes when we recognize the existence of two kingdoms and our frequent attempts to be king of both, and we can pray with Jesus Himself to the Father, "Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it has already been done in heaven" (Matt 6:10). He commanded us to engage exclusively in the work of His kingdom, and not ours; ". . . as the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (Jn 20:21b). Well, there it is ---- it's pretty basic, this thing we call "Revival". As Roy Hession said so profoundly in his book, Calvary Road, "Revival is just the life of the Lord Jesus poured into human hearts. Jesus is always victorious. . . . Whatever may be our experience of failure and barrenness, He is never defeated. His power is boundless; and we, on our part, have only to get in right relationship with Him, and we shall see His power being demonstrated in our hearts and lives and service, and His victorious life will fill us and overflow through us to others." It may not be easy, but it sure is simple.

FINALLY: My friend, I hope you get the thrust of today's letter to you. In a nutshell, I guess I could say it like this: . . . We've had too little of Christ, and too much of us. . . and it's not even about us after all.

If anything needs to be revived, it is that we release ourselves into His absolute sovereignty, and pray, "Lord, I have heard the report about Thee, and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy Work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy!" (Hab 3:1-2). In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom, Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11 Copyright March, 2009 Life Unlimited Ministries lifeunlimited@centurytel.net If this letter has blessed you, feel free to forward it, with proper credits, to any and all you wish. Please do NOT hit reply to this letter. This is an automated unmanned system. If you want to write Bob, send directly to lifeunlimited@centurytel.net. Replying to "Shoulder To Shoulder" mailer gets you nowhere.

REMEMBER ---- "Service before the Cross is what man can do for God; service after the Cross is what God can do through a man" ---- T. Allen Robburts It's our desire to provide you links to helpful resources. However, the contents of these sites do not necessarily represent the views we personally hold. These are sites we have found helpful in the past for various topics, and want you to know about them. Use at your own discretion. Websites Crucial For Today:
Consider these special websites that are particularly important in light of world conditions.

Resources and News from balanced and Family Friendly Perspectives:

www.onenewsnow.com -- an excellent news website giving you more thorough news reporting. www.cnsnews.com for daily world news without a liberal, godless bias. http://www.leadershipletters.com/ -- an outstanding resource for anyone wanting to become or help raise up a great leader. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page -- excellent on-line encyclopedia on almost every topic, usually unbiased. http://prayercentral.net/baghdad/today -- to pray for troops in Iraq. www.wallbuilders.org -- Tools for understanding and responding to America's moral decay.

Resources on Middle East, Israel, Bible Prophecy:

http://www.aish.com/search/article_search_results.asp?article_author=Rabbi+Ken+Spiro&title_text=&date_amount=&date_option=year -- one of the most COMPREHENSIVE HISTORIES of Israel I've ever seen, written from a Jewish Perspective. A Profound resource for those interested. www.bible411.com/nationofmiracles/index.htm -- excellent website on Israel http://favorminded.com/pray/3300israel.html -- excellent website on Israel www.sidroth.org -- excellent website on Israel, especially evidences of God's supernatural intervention www.hallindsey.org -- current events as relating to Bible prophecy www.christiantrumpetsounding.com -- excellent source of articles on Israel and Bible prophecy and other topics www.levitt.com -- strategic newsletter, reports, resources, particularly on Bible Prophecy www.jewishsoftware.com excellent Jewish sources on Hebrew language, Jewish history, beliefs, practices. http://www.4922trust.org/ -- an excellent site on Christian relationship to Israel. http://www.ajhs.org/ American Jewish historical society. www.israeltoday.co.il Israel today news and resources. www.jpost.com Jerusalem Post newspaper. www.jewishvoice.com Jonathan Burness ministry with excellent info and resources www.jerusalemconnection.org good Jewish culture/beliefs source www.favorminded.com good source for those supporting Israel www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org exceptional sour of information on Israel, ancient and modern www.aish.com comprehensive site on Jewish history including famed "Crash Course In Jewish History" www.israelimages.com hundreds of excellent photos, old and new, of Israel and her people. www.jerusalemshots.com/en another great source of pictures. www.technorati.com/tag/antisemitism a sobering source of anti-Semitic photos. www.yadvashem.org martyrs and heroes of the Holocaust www.favorminded.org excellent historic and contemporary information on Israel

Helpful General Resources

www.biblos.com -- EXCELLENT Bible study tools and resources. www.bibletraining.com -- EXCELLENT pastoral training global opportunity source. www.dota.net -- AMAZING Bible training materials via PDF downloads and radio programs in several languages. http://www.impactapologetics.com/default.asp?cookiecheck=yes& -- Great source for information on Christian apologetics. www.sermonindex.net for access to over 3900 downloadable audio sermons. Exceptional site. www.bible.christianity.com an excellent general source for quality Bible study tools and other things. Links to other great sites. www.illustramedia.com a great site for video on creation and evolution. www.livinit.org a super source for Christian extreme sports witness to youth www.creationscience.net an excellent source for dealing with evolution and creation www.crosstv.com a great site for video on creation, evolution, and apologetics

www.onechurchsource.com a good site with links for many resources. www.biblemaster.com for great Bible resources and downloads. Exceptional site. www.e-sword.net ---- one of the best free download Bible study sites I've ever seen! http://www.discipleshipdirect.com/ for new and fresh evangelism & discipleship materials. www.multilanguage.com -- a great source for resources for language ministries. http://www.answersingenesis.org/ ---- one of the best Creation websites I've ever seen. http://frangipane.org ---- for excellent brief words of encouragement from one of America's premier evangelical writers/thinkers. www.worldprayerteam.org ---- A world-wide network for praying together. www.watchword.org ---- excellent resources on revival, prayer, missions. www.waymakers.org ---- resources on prayer, evangelism, etc. www.missionvisionnetwork.org ---- resources on prayer & missions www.global-prayer-digest.org ---- resources on world-wide prayer http://www.nppn.org ---- "National Pastors' Prayer Network" newsletter. ~ email: phil@nppn.org. Register your PPG: http://www.nppn.org/ppg/ . www.LifeAction.org ---- "Life Action Outreach".

Valuable Resources on Islam:

www.muslimjourneytohope.org filled with testimonies and resources. http://bibleprobe.com/islamapostates.htm ---- fantastic website on ISLAM (amazing testimonies and excellent resources) www.johnankerburg.org ---- excellent resources of facts, testimonies, and tools http://cbw.strang.com/c.cgi?ProdID=8847&Source=CNSITE www.elam.com ---- source of testimonies and resources www.ethnicharvest.org ---- resources www.answeringislam.de/main/farsi ---- resources www.persianchristianity.com ---www.farsibible.org ---- Bibles

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