If you have been attending Tunnel Hill Baptist Church or if you have been following us on social media for the past several weeks, you are probably aware that we have just wrapped up revival services.
Revival Services are a new thing for me as a still relatively young pastor. I have never led a church through revival services. I have been on staff at revivals. I have also preached revival services a couple times. But I have never been in the helm, I have never helped make the decisions that would shape the services nor have I ever been amid the work that makes a revival successful.
Tunnel Hill’s revival services were a lot of work, but I think the Lord was with us through all of it. My hope is that in the weeks, months, and years to come we will see the fruit of these services at our church.
But today I wanted to ask the question, what do we do now? Now that the revival is over? As I drove into work today, I was wondering what the next few days would bring and I was left with these insights.
1. Be Alert!
It is my hope and prayer that you attended our services and that you were blessed by all that happened there. However, I must warn you: We have an enemy that is going to try to rob you of any progress that you may have experienced as a result of revival.
1 Peter 5:8 reminds us of this enemy by calling him a “roaring lion looking for anyone that he can devour.” Please understand this, Satan, the Enemy, does not want you to have a closer walk with the Lord. And he will throw his whole bag of tricks to see to it that any growth or decisions that you may have made are undone.
This means he will use your fatigue, your friends, even your family to direct your attention away what God wants to do in your life.
But 1 Peter 5:8 tells us something else, it says, “Be sober-minded, be alert…” We must recognize the schemes of the devil and cry to God to give us the wisdom we need to not fall into his snares.
2. Pray for your Staff
I had a friend recently tell me that he always viewed revival services as something a church did when their pastor needed a break. I certainly know where he was coming from. You bring in a guest speaker, the pastor gets to sit and listen during the message time, surely his life is easier during this week!
However, that was not my experience at all! Instead, revival services can be an exhausting endeavor for the pastor, his family, and the rest of the church staff. There are hours and hours of planning, praying, and working that goes into these services. On top that, there is worry and stress about people coming, volunteers showing up, and everyone staying healthy through the week.
I can say with confidence that your church staff, their families, and volunteers are exhausted by the time the last prayer is given.
Now is the best time to bathe them in prayer! Pray that they may be refreshed. Pray that their fire will not go out. Pray that they might be encouraged as they step back into their weekly roles. They need it!
3. Live like you have been revived!
The number one reason that a church has revival services is to see people’s lives changed. We want to see the lost get found. We want to see people repent from their sin and walk with the Lord. We want to see people surrender to God’s calling on their life.
It is our hope and prayer that the Holy Spirit has done something in you through these services to bring about a life change. Now it is time to live out that change!
My challenge to you today is this: Strengthen that which has been revived!!! How did God speak to you through these services? What are you going to do about? Set a goal, make some progress points, and then create a plan on how you are going to get where God is leading you.
Revival can be a flash in the pan or it can be a stone dropped in a lake. The first is here and then gone with no lasting effects. The latter, however, ripples until everything is feeling the effects of stone.
May God use you and these revival services to start something amazing in our world!
