How to’s

“O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!” - Habakkuk 3:2 

 How to Have Revival

Revival is a biblical concept in which the Lord renews the operation of his Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and in the midst of the Body of Christ.  Anything the Lord has done in the past, he can also do today.  The Lord desires his servants to be revived and refreshed every day- “his mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23).  Faithful servants pray for this, as did Habakkuk; but the biblical prayer also has a prophetic aspect pointing to the last days before the rapture of the church.

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1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Thankfulness and thanksgiving are frequent commands in the Bible.  Many Christians yearn to know God’s will for their lives; we should ask our Lord what he wants when we face decisions.  At the same time, the Bible already tells us several things that are “God’s will for you” – usually certain character traits that God wants us to cultivate.  These, in turn, will have a significant impact on how we pursue our careers, family relationships, ministry, and so forth.

The New Testament repeatedly instructs us to be thankful in every situation and circumstance (see Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 3:17).  We should intentionally develop the practice of finding things to thank God for in every circumstance, good or bad.  This does not mean that we should thank God for a disease, death, or other afflictions – we know that the Enemy sends those things, too.  Some believers make the mistake of thinking they will seem super-spiritual if they thank God for bad things that happen to them.  This is not Biblical – we should not attribute every bad thing that happens to God, especially when the Bible is so clear that there are evil forces in the world.  We should thank God within our trials, despite our trials, but we do not have to thank Him for the trial, as if God is the author of disease and poverty.  When we are sick or grieving the loss of loved ones, we can thank God for other blessings we have, like eternal life and the comfort of His Spirit.  We thank God that the situation is no worse than it is, and that we know He will bring us through it.  We do not have to pretend tragedies are not tragedies.

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“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”
Ephesians 4:11-12

Is it scriptural when Churches become family businesses?

Is it right to have our family head our Church after us, just like any other business?  Can the seed of greatness be transferred? Can a father bequeath his wisdom to his offspring? Can a mother share her divine gifting with her offerings?
Can parents pass on their unique peculiarities even anointing to their offspring? Can a father grant his offspring access to God, via his relationship with Him?

In other words, is anointing transferable?
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Exodus 10:23 - “…Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

God’s plan is not just for us to have traditional or conventional family units or roles within the household, but to have the church members have their household indwelt with the Light, the Holy Spirit’s revelation. Our relationship with God should permeate our entire household and bring his light to our family members. continue

Hebrews 10:25 – “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching…”

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Revelation 1:20 - ”The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

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INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS:  Most of the book of Revelation is a prophecy about the Last Days, far into the future from the New Testament era.  It does not reveal the future events in chronological order.  Instead, the events predicted in one chapter can occur simultaneously with events in previous chapters.  This “cyclical” style of writing was very common in ancient Israel – the Book of Hebrews follows a similar structure.  This is why we see in Revelation some overlap with the seals, bowls, and trumpets – they are describing the events occurring at the same time in the Last Days. continue

“…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” - Genesis 12:3

God wants to bless each person individually with salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In addition, the Bible teaches that God has special blessings he intends to give to families as a whole, not just to individuals in isolation.

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“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12

The Bible is the basis for all of our messages in our services and meetings.  Usually we preach on a single verse or passage, although sometimes a topical teaching (say, on angels or salvation) merits references to a number of relevant texts.  In Maranatha churches, we do not preach on other books (even popular Christian books) or have study groups to discuss “hot” publications in the contemporary culture around us.  We believe that only the Word of God can feed a person’s soul or satisfy one’s spiritual hunger.  The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts through His Word.   continue

Matthew 24:46 -  ”…It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”

Each week or month that passed brings us closer to our Blessed Hope, the coming of our Lord Jesus.  We feel that we must make the most of the time we have remaining (see Ephesians 5:16).  Time is running out for us to carry out everything the Lord wants us to do, and for those around us to receive the blessing of salvation through Christ.

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