Revival and Reformation

"A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work." "A revival and a reformation must take place under the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Revival and reformation are two different things. Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, a resurrection from the spiritual death. Reformation signifies a reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices. Reformation will not bring forth the good fruit of righteousness unless it is connected with the revival of the Spirit. Revival and reformation are to do their appointed work, and in doing this work they must blend". (ChS 42).

In this balanced and informative presentation, Pastor Bohr shows how true revival is not a flight of feeling or excitement, but is a conversion experience from spiritual death to spiritual life in Christ. Revival has "true godliness" as its fruit in producing reformation of life. Revival without a desire for reformation in life is mere emotionalism and reformation without revival is dead legalism and is an impossibility to attain. Revival using a swordless Spirit or reformation using a Spiritless sword are both deceptions that afflict many today. The Spirit, in wielding His sword, cuts us with the broken Law and the Word. This leads us to Christ in sorrow and penitence for being the cause of His death and we ask for healing and forgiveness. Christ then points back to the Law and the Word and sends His Spirit to give us life and power to apply them in our lives so that we may reach for the standard of what mankind were once in Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, their spiritual death produced works in the human race that lead to death. Only through Jesus can new life be implanted that will revive us from death and produce fruits of the Spirit that lead to life. Sin blinds us to its seriousness. Only the Holy Spirit through His Word can wake us up and show us our need and our true condition of a deceitful and wicked heart. Satan will bring an attractive and almost overpowering false revival in the last days that will appear to be from God and will turn many away from the true work of revival that God has promised to pour upon His people. Learn how to tell the difference between the two, what elements we see now in counterfeit revivals sprouting up all over in churches of today and how to avoid being ensnared by them.