The Third Millennium River Of Revival
I want to ask you a few questions as we get started. Do you want to be an average Christian or do you want to be a normal Christian? Do you want to be an average Christian or do you want to be a normal Christian? Now let me let you in on something. By and large, the average Christian we find today, the normal Christian we find in the Word of God. A lot of Christians have been average so long that they think this is normal. Let me ask you a couple more questions. Do you want to be a container or do you want to be a channel? Do you want to be a reservoir or do you want to be a river? Now how you answer these questions is going to determine your future.
The Church has had the first millennium of the Father and the second millennium of the Son. Now, we are about to step into the third millennium of the Spirit. Are you ready for the grandest move of the Spirit that is coming to the Church and to the world? Will watch the parade of promise march by your life or will you choose to prepare and become a part of it?
My prayer for the upcoming Jerusalem 2030 is for a mighty river of revival to flow out of the International Convention Center of Jerusalem unlike anything we have ever seen, heard or read in any previous generation.
One morning Jesus Christ stood in the middle of a religious crowd as a ceremony was coming to a close. The priest had just taken a pitcher filled with water, and he poured it upon the altar symbolizing salvation. The people have danced and they have shouted and now they’re making their way home. And Jesus cries aloud and he says, “If any man is thirsty, let him come unto me and drink and he that believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Jesus knew that on the next day that the people would have a memory but they would not have reality. That they would have gone through a religious form, but they would not know the power of the Holy Spirit in their life. So Jesus Christ cries aloud to try to get the attention of that religious crowd.
Do you know what Jesus Christ was trying to say then? Do you know what Jesus Christ is trying to say today? He was simply trying to say stop enduring religion and start enjoying revival. That’s what He was saying. Do you know what Jesus Christ was trying to say? He was trying to say stop enduring stagnation and start enjoying real salvation. In this message, I will teach how to turn the rituals of religion into the river of revival.
God is sending revival of the Spirit to this world, and God is looking for men and women who want to be a part of this last-day revival. If you plan to be a part of this revival that God is sending,
We Must Realize The Secret Of Revival
What is the secret to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? You know, a lot of people say you’ve got to have a ten-step plan. Jesus Christ keeps in simple. What is the secret to personal corporate, regional, national and international revival? What is the secret to revival in your heart and in your home? The answer is thirst. Jesus Christ said if anyone is thirsty. Now some people say, “Well, you know, revival is not for everybody.” Well, Jesus said if anyone. Some people say, “Well, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for everybody,” but Jesus said if anyone. He was talking about the rivers of the Holy Spirit flowing through your life. Others come along and say, “Well, revival is not for every church.” Well, Jesus Christ said if anyone is thirsty. Jesus Christ is looking for thirsty people.
I’m about to make a statement that I pray that the Holy Spirit applies to every man and every woman’s heart. I do not know how much of God you have, but you’ve got just as much of God as you want. I don’t know how much of God you have in your home or marriage, but I do know this: You’ve got just as much of God’s presence in your home and marriage as you want. I don’t know how much of God you have in your thought life today, but I do know this: You’ve got just as much of God in your mind as you want. If you own your own business, I do not know how much of God you have in your business, but I do know this: You’ve got just as much of God in your business as you want. Did you know, ladies and gentlemen, you and I determine our level of victory? Did you know Jesus Christ is looking for thirsty people?
Did you know a shallow thirst produces a shallow satisfaction? Did you know a lot of Christians come to church with a ho-hum attitude? They come to church with a shallow thirst, and then they wonder why when they leave with a shallow satisfaction. They come to church with apathy in their heart. In fact, if there is an ounce of apathy in your life today, you need to pray, “God forgive me of my apathy toward you.”
If you’ve ever loved the Lord more in the past than you do right now, you’re a backslider in the eyes of God. You see, all the times we sing about backsliding, we think about a man or woman who used to come to our church, sit on the padded pew where we do, but now they don’t come to God’s house. We say to our children, “That man or that woman is a backslider.” I want you to know the church is filled with backsliders.
The church is filled with men and women who come to church week after week with a ho-hum attitude saying, “God, I’ve come because I want to do you a favor.” I want you to know, ladies and gentlemen, when we come to God’s house, we haven’t come to God’s house to do God a favor—we have done ourselves a favor. Every day when we come to God’s house, we are to come with our thirsty hearts saying, “Lord, fill me with the power of the Spirit of God.”
There is a difference between thirstiness and emptiness. A lot of God’s people come to God’s house and say, “Well, Lord, you know I’m empty; and if you want to fill me, you’ll do it.” Well, my friend, there’s a difference between emptiness and thirstiness. My gas tank in my car has been empty but it has never been thirty. I do not put gasoline in my tank because it is thirsty.
If we want God to send revival, we’ve got to get to the place where we don’t just focus on our emptiness but we begin to focus on our thirstiness. We begin to say, “Lord, we are thirsty and we want to be filled with the power of the Spirit of God.” And ladies and gentlemen, when we get thirsty, we’ll do whatever we have to do. If we get thirsty, we’ll stand outside all day long if we have to before we get into God’s house because we’re thirsty. If we’re thirsty, we’ll get up and we’ll seek the Lord in prayer when the Holy Spirit moves upon us. If we’re thirsty, we’ll come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I want to be freshly energized by the power of the Spirit of God.” The secret is thirst.
I do not know how much of God you have, but I do know this: You are where you want to be. And I don’t know how much of God you’re going to have in your life in the years to come, but you will determine your level of victory. Focus on the important and not the urgent, and let’s seek the Lord together and ask the Lord to pour out His power and His Holy Spirit.
We are inviting Christian leaders from around the globe, who are thirsty to make plans to be with us for Jerusalem 2030: The 2000th Birthday of the Church and The First Day of the Third Millennium. We are not inviting conference hoppers, fruit-pickers or spectators. We are inviting Christian servant-leaders who are desperately thirsty for a river of revival.
We Need To Recognize The Source Of Revival
What is the source of revival? Some people have the idea we’ve got to get to a place. Some people have the idea you’ve got to get to a preacher. Well, listen, if all you get is what a preacher has, you’re going to come up dry and you’re going to come up thirsty. We need more than what a preacher has. We need more than what a place has. What is the source of true revival? Genuine revival? I’m not talking about a puff of emotion…here today, gone tomorrow. Emotion that does not produce motion is a bunch of commotion.
Who is the source of genuine revival? Well, Jesus answered it. He said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come unto me.” Jesus Christ is the source. Jesus has always been the source. Now I’m about to make another statement. Holiness is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to holiness. Revival is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to revival. He’s always been the source and He’ll always be the source. Jesus said if we’re thirsty, we are to come unto Him; and then when we come, we drink.
Jesus is giving every one of us an invitation. He said if you’re thirsty, come. That means we’ve got to respond. He didn’t say if you’re thirsty, sit. He said if you’re thirsty, come. Jesus Christ is giving us an invitation. We’re going to make our way to the Lord. Some people will say when they come to church, “Well, I wish you wouldn’t give that invitation and ask me to come forward.” Well, how many of us believe that the Lord Jesus Christ came a lot further than He’s expecting us to come? It’s amazing. Jesus Christ came a lot further than He’s asking you to come. He came down the starry spangled skies of glory and was born in a Bethlehem manger.
Now Jesus said if you’re thirsty, come; and He said when you come, drink. Now how do we drink? We drink by faith. Now you may ask, “How do you know we drink by faith?” Well, Jesus said it. He said, “And he that believes in me.” How do you believe? You believe by faith. So you come to the Lord Jesus Christ and you drink by faith.
Doctors tell us that you can get so thirsty that every nerve in your body cries out for something to drink. Physicians tell us that you can get so thirsty that every thought in your mind cries out, screams out for something to drink. They say you can get so thirsty that every nerve in your body, everything about you is crying out for something to drink.
Imagine yourself today. Recently, the Mojave Desert they had the hottest summer with more than 125 degrees. Imagine yourself in the Mojave. You’ve been there for just over two days; and you haven’t had a drop of water; and you are walking along this dirty, dusty path trying to find help. You are desperately thirsty. Every nerve cries out for something to drink. Every thought thinks about a cold glass of ice water. You’re so thirsty, desperately thirsty. You make your way around a curve; and as you do, you see a man standing there along the roadside, and he’s holding in his hand a pitcher filled with ice water. It’s one of those see-through pitchers. You can see the ice cubes floating inside. You know it’s cold water because there’s water condensation on the outside and it’s dripping off the bottom. Can you see it?
And you know in that pitcher is life. The man looks at you and looks at your eyes. He can tell you’re desperately thirsty, and he says to you, “You can have every bit of my water.” Let me ask you. Are you going to look at that man and say, “Well, you know I appreciate that offer, but you know I’ve got so much to do on my to do list I don’t have time to stop.” Are you going to say, “Well, let’s sit down in the dust and have a long theological debate as to whether or not that water is for me.” You’re not going to do that. Why? Because you’re desperately thirsty. You know you’re going to die unless you have that water that is inside that pitcher. And with a gracious heart, you reach out and you take that pitcher and you drink that water knowing that it will satisfy you and will help you to live.
So many of God’s people confuse the difference between busyness and business. They don’t know the difference between busyness and business. Now if you’re like me, I’ve got more things on my to do list than I’ll ever get done. I’ll have to live forever to get it all done. Do you ever feel that way? I mean, you know, they tell us buy this because it will save you time, and how many of us can testify that after you’ve got that latest thing, you still don’t have enough time because you can’t borrow time, you can’t make time, you can’t create time, you can’t loan time, you can’t take time. You can either use time or lose time. That’s it.
And yet there are so many Christians who are on the fast track trying to put the pieces of their life together; and with each passing week, month, and year, they get a little bit further behind and a little bit further behind because they think by themselves they can solve their own problems and put the pieces of their life together. Jesus Christ stands in a barren wilderness, and He says, “If you’re thirsty, come unto me and drink by faith,” and He says, “I’ve got something that will satisfy you and will change your life.”
We need to move from busyness to business. If you’re waiting until you’ve got enough time to seek God, you’re going to wait the rest of your life. If you’re going to wait until all the pressures and stresses and strains are gone before you’ll come to church every night and ask God to send revival to your barren soul, then you’re going to wait the rest of your life. You can’t wait until society says so. You can’t wait till your work says so. You can’t wait until all those responsibilities are gone. You’ve got to make up your mind that you’re coming to Christ because you’re thirsty. You’re going to drink what Christ is offering you, and He’ll change you and He’ll revive you by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The story is told about a Dad who was watching a football game on television, and his five-year-old son walked in at a crucial time in the game and said, “Dad, let’s go do something outside,” and the Dad said, “Well, you just give us a few minutes and the game’s going to be over and we’ll go do something together.” About that time, the Dad looked down and he saw a picture of the world in a magazine, and he gently tore that picture of the world out of that magazine and tore the world into small pieces and said, “Son, let’s play a game together right here. By the time you get all the pieces of the world together with scotch tape, the game will be off and we’ll go out and do something together.”
The son said, “That’s great, Dad. Let’s do that.” Just a few minutes later, the son said to his Dad, “Dad, look. I’ve got all the pieces of the world together.” The father was surprised. He said, “Son, I can’t believe you did this so fast. You got all the countries in the right places and all the continents in the right places.” He said, “Son, how did you do it so fast?” And the boy said, “Dad, it was really simple. On the other side of the picture of the world was a picture of a man, and all I had to do was put the man together and his world came together.”
Do you know what a lot of us have been doing? We’ve been focusing on the world instead of the man. We’ve been focusing on the outside rather than the inside. Do you know what Jesus focuses on? He focuses on the inside because Jesus said then out of your heart, out of your innermost being. He’s talking about the inside. If you want your outside to be different, you’ve got to let God change your inside. Revival is not first of all changing the outside. Revival’s first of all changing the inside, and that’s what the Lord wants to do in our hearts. We need to realize the secret. We need to recognize the source.
If you are thirsty for the mighty river of revival and are willing to come and drink by faith, we desire for you to make plans to join us on June 9-11, 2030, in Jerusalem, Israel. You may say, “That is still more than four years away?” Yes, that is true, but we need to make plans now!
We Need To Remember The Supply Of Revival
We need to remember the supply. Jesus Christ is not offering us a tributary. Jesus is offering the Church a mighty, miraculous river. And you know, everybody doesn’t get excited about revival. You know, some people are going to miss this revival that God is sending because they are standing on the sidelines with a critical heart or a proud look, and they’re going to miss this revival. And it’s amazing when you start talking about revival, there are some who’ll say, “Well, you know James, that sounds so old-fashioned and so out of touch,” but how many of us know that some things that are considered to be old-fashioned are never outdated.
Jesus Christ is not offering something that is out of touch or outdated. He is offering something that will change our entire life. Change our marriage, change our family, change our outlook. Jesus is offering us a reviving river of the Holy Spirit.
Now notice what Jesus said. He said, “If any man is thirsty, let him come unto me and drink and he that believes in me as the Scripture has said.” You see, what Jesus was saying was based upon the Word of God. He wasn’t simply espousing a new truth. The Word of God had already said it, and he was reiterating it to the people. I believe Jesus was talking about a river, a prophetic river, a personal river, a powerful river found in Ezekiel Chapter 47.
I want to paint a picture on the canvas of your mind and heart of the kind of revival that I believe God is offering the Third Millennium Church. In the Old Testament, God was doing a work and it became a picture of what the Lord wants to do even until this day. In the Old Testament, God had a temple for His people, but in the New Testament, God has a people for His temple. And if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re a temple. And if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord wants there to be a river in your temple. He wants there to be a river flowing out of your temple, the temple of God.
Jesus is offering the Third Millennium Church a Holy River. Now the Bible tells us that in Ezekiel 47:11 that this river began to flow from the temple. In Ezekiel chapter 45, this river originates in the throne of God or from the throne of God, flows to the temple of God. So since it originates in the throne of God and flows to the temple of God, we know that this is a holy river. Now you know why we need a holy river? To help us live a holy life.
When the river of the Spirit flows through our life, it changes our character, and there is a difference between being a character and having character. And the Lord wants to change our character. He wants the river of the Spirit to flow through our lives, but not only do you and I need a holy river, but the Church needs a holy river at large because so many individuals in the church live like the world and talk like the world and prioritize like the world. We don’t make a difference in this world by being like the world. We make a difference by being different, and that’s found in the Lord Jesus Christ. But not only do we need a holy river and not only does the church need a holy river, but I submit to you that we need a holy river of revival to flow through the nations of the world.
But not only a holy river, but the Third Millenium Church needs a Humble River. Now notice that this river in Ezekiel 47:1flows under the door. You can’t get much lower than this. It’s a low flowing river. Did you know it’s pride that hinders the moving of the Spirit of God? Did you know it’s pride that hinders revival? Did you know it’s pride that stops a man or woman from giving his or her heart and life to Jesus Christ? Did you know it’s pride that empties altars? It’s pride that hardens hearts. It’s pride that blinds the eye from the truth. And did you know the Bible says the sin of pride is the one that God hates the most? When we get stiff-necked and full of pride, do you know what we’re saying to God? We’re saying, “God, we don’t need revival and we don’t need the Spirit-filled life,” We never become self-sufficient. Every week we need a fresh outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thank God for the Pentecost of 30AD. Thank God for the Pentecost outpouring of Azuza Street of 1906 . Yet, we need a fresh outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit of God today, and we need to humble ourselves in the sight of God and say, “God, we look up to you and we will be freshly filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Did you notice as that river began to flow, that river flowed right by the southside of the altar at the end of verse number 1? Because not only do we need a holy revival, not only do we need a humble revival, but the Third Millennium Church needs a Heated River.
It says the south side of the altar. This river is not flowing between the sofa and the television set. This river of revival is not flowing in the malls or the big shopping centers. That’s not where it’s flowing. This mighty river of revival does not begin in the middle of a massive sporting event. Now if you plan to be a part of this revival, you’ve to understand that the gateway is the altar. You’ve got to understand that if you plan to get in the river, you’re going to go by way of the altar. We need our heart warmed and on fire for the Lord.
Now I’m just as upset as you about the sins of our nation, the way our nation has been drifting away from God. Why should we expect the lost to come to the altar if we have to plead for the saints to come to the altar? And why should we plead for the lost to study God’s Word if we’ve got to plead for the saints to study and read God’s Word? We set the temperature of what is going on around us. You and I become a reflection of what Christ is to be in our life, and that’s why it’s important that every day we be freshly filled and every day be freshly on fire with the power of the Spirit of God burning down deep in the innermost being of our heart and life. It is a heated river.
Next, the Third Millennium Church needs a High-rising River. Every great revival starts small, but it doesn’t stay small. And when you get familiar with Ezekiel 47, you know that the man of God gets off the banks and he comes down to the river and he begins to measure the river. And it gets deeper and it gets wider and it gets faster. But then in Ezekiel 47:6, the Bible says that he comes back to the banks of the river. Well, if he comes back to the banks of the river, that means that at one time he was on the banks of the river. Now this is a high-rising river. I see the man of God as he gets off the banks and he goes along the shore. First it’s to the knees and then to the ankles, to the waist and the river to swim in.
Now a lot of people like to have revival on the banks. They like to stay right there on the banks. They don’t want to get off the bank. They like to watch where the river’s going. They like to see where the river has been. But they don’t want to get in the river. They just want to watch the river.
Now there are a lot of Christians like that in the world. They want to have “revival on the banks.” They want to read about revival. They want to watch it by way of video. They want to read about it in Social Media. They want to read about it in magazines, newspapers, and books. They want to have revival on the banks. Yet, there is a difference between being on the banks and being in the river and being a part of revival and being a part of the supernatural and being a part of the outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit. And I submit to you that we’ve been on the banks too long. We’ve been reading about it, and we’ve been talking about it. I think it’s time for us to get off the bank and get in the river and go where God wants us to go.
Now some come off the banks and they don’t go very far. They like to stay along the shoreline. They like to stay in control, but that’s as far as they go. They have revival to their ankles, but that’s as far as they go. Then others have revival to their knees. They begin to feel the force of revival. They know God is moving, but that’s as far as they go. Then others get revival to their waists. Now they become a part-time Pentecostal, and that’s where they are in their relationship to God. But then there are others who believe that God has more for them, and they have revival over their heads. They get out there where they can’t touch bottom, and now they’re going where God wants them to go. They don’t want to be a reservoir; they want to be a part of the river. We need to get off the banks. Let’s get in the river and say, “God, we’re going to go where you want us to go because we want the power of the Spirit of God flowing through our hearts and through our lives.” Oh, it’s a high-rising river.
Furthermore, the Third Millennium Church needs a Healing River. Did you know Jesus is offering us a healing river? The Bible says that as this river flows, it began to transform the desert. Do you know the Lord first of all wants to deal with us regarding our dry places? He wants to bring healing to our dry places. Is your prayer life dry? Is your devotional life dry? Is your soul winning dry? You let the river of the Holy Spirit flow through your heart, and it will transform your barrenness into fruitfulness and you’ll begin to prosper and blossom in this barren world for the glory of God. The Lord wants to transform our dry places, but He also wants to touch our dead places.
The river flows to the desert and it ends up at the Dead Sea. The Lord first of all deals with the dry places and then the dead places. You got any dead places in your life today? Are there some dead places down deep in the heart today? Nobody else sees them, but you know them. The Lord wants to deal with those dead places in your heart today. The Bible says in Ezekiel 47:12 that their leaves became like medicine. Our lives are to be like medicine to a hurting world. When people come in contact with you, do you wear them out or do you refresh them? You ever been in somebody’s presence when you left their presence, you felt worn out? You ever left somebody else’s presence and you felt refreshed? My friend, our life ought to be like healing to a hurting world. Jesus Christ is offering us a healing river.
Jesus is offering us a Harvesting River. My prayer is for a mighty river of revival to flow out of the International Convention Center of Jerusalem for the grandest harvest of all time. Revival is not just about a Holy Ghost goose bump going down our backside. Revival is all about winning the lost and seeing men and women come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. That’s what it’s all about. Jesus Christ is offering the Church a harvesting river. The Bible says the river flows to the desert. It gets to the Dead Sea, and when it gets to the Dead Sea, the Bible says the Dead Sea is changed.
If you went out to the Dead Sea today, there are two things you won’t find. You won’t find fish and you won’t find fishermen. But when the River of Life gets there, there are two things you are going to find. You’re going to find fish and you’re going to find fishermen. And when God sends revival to the Church, there are two things you’re going to find. You’re going to find fishermen and you’re going to find fish. And you’re going to find men and women coming to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Do you know what revival does? Revival gets fishermen and fish together. That’s what revival does. Revival causes us to become mighty soul winners for the glory of God. The Bible tells us that they’re out there on that Dead Sea, and they begin to cast their nets. The Bible says there were fish in the Dead Sea like the Mediterranean Sea. Do you know what I think? I think there were long fish and short fish and fat fish and thin fish. I think there were white fish and red fish and black fish and pink fish and yellow fish and all colors of fish out there. And I believe the fishermen began to cast their nets, and they weren’t concerned about whether or not they were long or short. This is the first time they’ve ever caught fish in the Dead Sea. The Bible says they cast their nets and their nets were filled.
When God sends revival to the Church, we won’t care if people are tall or short. We won’t care if they’re big or small. We won’t even care about the color of their skin. We’ll want to see them saved and set free and changed by the power of Almighty God. And that’s the kind of revival that Jesus Christ is offering us—the kind of revival that transforms us, freshly fills us with the power of the Holy Spirit, and helps us to see men and women to be saved and brought into the kingdom of God.
Many years ago, I was in Vietnam. While we were there, we were training pastors and church planters. While I was there, I met a lady named Ruth. Ruth was in her mid twenties, and God’s used Ruth for many years since she’s come to know Jesus Christ as Savior to pioneer more than 50 Assemblies of God churches in the northern part of Vietnam. As she planted churches, she would also hide because the communist police were trying to find her. And I wish Ruth could talk to us about revival and the move of God. Ruth had a river inside. And I wish she could talk to us about being thirsty for a mighty move of God.
On a different occasion, I was in Russia. While in Russia, I met a pastor that I met who traveled 5,000 miles to attend a pastors’ conference being conducted that I had the privilege of being a part in it. Why did he come? Because he’s thirsty. Why did he come? Because there’s a river inside and God has used him to pioneer more than ten Pentecostal churches in one city alone, and one of them averages over 5,000 people every Sunday morning. How did God do that in that man’s life? He’s got a river inside.
I have been blessed to have met incredible Christians, who have a mighty river inside. When I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, I met a pastor who hiked 14 days to get to the pastors and conference before having to hike 14 days back to his high in the Himalaya Mountains. He shared with me what the Lord had been doing in life in the small high alpine village where he pastored. I submit that this pastor has a river inside his life!
When you read the book of Acts, Paul was either getting in prison or getting out of prison or about to get back in prison. He had a river inside. They didn’t have a religion inside; he had a river inside. There is a huge different between having a reservoir inside and a river inside.
Why should we settle for the average Christian life when the Lord wants us to have the normal Christian life? And why should we settle for a reservoir when the Lord is offering us a river? Why should we desire to be containers when the Lord wants us to be channels? And why should we settle for the breeze of a ceiling fan when the Lord is offering us a mighty rushing wind? Jesus said if anybody is thirsty, let him come.
Jesus is extending an invitation to the emerging Third Millennium Church to realize the secret, recognize the source and remember the supply. There is a tidal wave of revival coming like the Church and the world has never seen. Mark your calendars for June 9-11, 2030 and make plans to join us for the 2000th Birthday of the Church and the First Day of the Third Millennium!
