School of the MiraculousНамуна

Spiritual Awakening

For a long time, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ has been asleep. Yes, we have had spurts of revival and breakthrough over the years, but these jolts of miraculous power were intended to do more than excite us; they were meant to awaken the church so that we could move in the divine purpose of God. Unfortunately, we have often built shrines around the instruments of revival rather than seeking the One who revives us. 

What do I mean by this? Many Christians like to talk about revivalists from earlier times and even locations of revivals. It is good to remember, appreciate, and learn from past revivals, but the danger is in staying there. God never intended for the catalyst for revival to become a campsite. Moreover, revival was never meant to be a relic of the past that we talk about as if it were some isolated historical event; revival was always meant to be a means to an end—the spiritual awakening of the church.

Ephesians 5:14 says, “Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead….” The Greek word translated “awake” is egeiro, among whose meanings is “to arouse from sleep, to awake,” “to arouse from the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life,” and “to cause to rise from a seat or bed.” Interestingly, it is the same word Jesus used when He said to the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk” (John 5:8). Jesus commanded a man to arise after he had been bedridden for thirty-eight years! He was not calling this man to physical healing alone, but also to spiritual and personal awakening. (See verse 14.)

One of the definitions of awakening in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is “a coming into awareness.” It is time for the church to come into awareness! What are we to come into an awareness of? An awareness of who we are in Christ and of the Spirit who resides within us. 

He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly [“innermost being” NASB] shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)

It was always God’s design that the Holy Spirit would flow from the believer’s innermost being. We were never intended to be like a shallow lake or stagnant pond, but a living river. The word “rivers” in the above verse signifies a torrential flow of water. A mighty river is meant to flow out of our spirits into the world. This torrent is powerful enough to move mountains of obstacles and reshape the culture around us. Just as the might and power of natural waves and storm surges is capable of flooding entire cities, God desires to flood cities and nations with the culture of His kingdom—a culture of awakening and reformation.

God-Consciousness Versus Self-Consciousness

As I mentioned previously, one definition of awakening is “a coming into awareness.” Awareness refers to consciousness. For the purposes of this devotional, we will focus on two types of consciousness: God-consciousness and self-consciousness.

One of the enemy’s devices is to get believers to become so self-absorbed that they are no longer aware of the presence of God in their lives. Ultimately, self-consciousness leads to sin-consciousness, in which we emphasize our sins, failures, and frailties more than we do God Himself. Make no mistake: self consciousness is a form of idolatry. We cannot serve two masters!

We can move from self-consciousness to God-consciousness by responding to the work of the Spirit in our life and experiencing a personal awakening. Nothing can take the place of a personal supernatural awakening. When we are impacted, on a personal level, with the reality of who Jesus is, our lives are profoundly transformed. This is why the church must have an understanding of who the Holy Spirit truly is and how He works in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the key to bringing the life of God “on earth as it is in heaven.” He moves us from self-consciousness to God-consciousness.

Are you self-conscious or God-conscious? The purpose of this devotional is to create in you a desire for something more. The only way you will receive this “more” is if you move out of the way! That’s right! Get out of the way! The apostle Peter was called to lead the church in a new era, but he first had to get over his past errors. He had failed the Lord, and he had failed himself. However, the God we serve is a God of new beginnings. At the time of the crucifixion, Peter ran from persecution and denied Jesus. But after Peter was restored by Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, he had the courage to face the persecution and proclaim the power of the cross. God is not looking for a generation of self-conscious or self-righteous religious people. He is looking for those who are broken and need to be restored. He is looking for those who can testify of the working of His miraculous power in their lives. Are you such a person?