Prepare for revival. Revival is coming
to Nigeria and to the world. Revival is also coming to the body of Christ – the
Kingdom of God on earth. We are actually on the threshold of a mighty and
lasting revival, one that will lead into the return of the Lord, the Day of the
Lord – Rapture to be precise.
One day, the Holy Spirit while teaching and revealing to me, gave me an illustration. He said, ‘‘Yusuf, it will be like a fruit that on getting ripe for consumption, it is immediately plucked. I will pluck my Church from the world as soon as it is ripe and ready for me’’ (Mark 4: 29). Revival is God’s will and it predates our times. Revival has its origin in the Old Testament, precisely to the time of Moses. Moses was the first Revivalist. Revival in simple English means reviving what is dead or gone comatose. The dictionary defines revival as a process in which some thing becomes active or strong again. In other words, God and His ways become popular again. Another synonym for Revival is AWAKENING. Revival is not a man’s idea, it is God’s.
The scriptures say, “Known is all the works of God even prior to the beginning” (Acts 15: 18). The scripture also have it that, “God declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46: 9 – 10). God has arranged Revival for seasons and certain generations. What He does, is that, in His wisdom, He looks for a man that will take up the gauntlet as Revivalist. When God calls or raises His servants, it is not all He designates as revivalists or calls to fulfill this role.
One day, the Holy Spirit while teaching and revealing to me, gave me an illustration. He said, ‘‘Yusuf, it will be like a fruit that on getting ripe for consumption, it is immediately plucked. I will pluck my Church from the world as soon as it is ripe and ready for me’’ (Mark 4: 29). Revival is God’s will and it predates our times. Revival has its origin in the Old Testament, precisely to the time of Moses. Moses was the first Revivalist. Revival in simple English means reviving what is dead or gone comatose. The dictionary defines revival as a process in which some thing becomes active or strong again. In other words, God and His ways become popular again. Another synonym for Revival is AWAKENING. Revival is not a man’s idea, it is God’s.
The scriptures say, “Known is all the works of God even prior to the beginning” (Acts 15: 18). The scripture also have it that, “God declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46: 9 – 10). God has arranged Revival for seasons and certain generations. What He does, is that, in His wisdom, He looks for a man that will take up the gauntlet as Revivalist. When God calls or raises His servants, it is not all He designates as revivalists or calls to fulfill this role.
The ministry of Revival is a special
call with special responsibilities. Every revival most often ushers a new
dispensation in God’s agenda or time table and stamps the will or ways of God
for that generation or dispensation. Nothing is new, every revival is meant to
shine forth the light of God in a dark world and point and direct men back to
God in order to avoid or escape the judgment or curse of God. No genuine
Revivalist activities points men to himself but to the Living and Just God. If
you study or observe keenly you will find out that Revivalist who did what they
did ended up being reformers, transformers and change agents.
The revivals that have cascaded from the Old Testament
to the New Testament to the 19th Century and to our present times
all carried the same theme: the knowledge of God and the return of man to God.
Before I talk about some revivalist let’s look at a
few scriptures that point to revival:
§ Genesis 49: 10:
The rod of authority will not be
taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has
the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule. (BBE)
§ Isaiah 52: 10:
The Lord has let his holy arm be
seen by the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth will see the
salvation of our God. (BBE)
§ Psalm 110: 3:
Your people give themselves gladly
in the day of your power; like the dew of the morning on the holy mountains is
the army of your young men. (BBE)
These scriptures have Messianic
themes but they also satisfy and point without any ambiguity to revival.
That is, God’s raw power and awesome manifest presence or move that pierces the hearts of men, pulling down every wall of partition between God and man and bringing about repentance and the reverential fear of God or the dread of His severity. With revival, we see a glorious shinning forth of light and the dispelling of darkness on a massive and compelling scale. Revival is not only contagious, it is inspiring. Revival has often started in one place and spread to other areas even to other nations.
That is, God’s raw power and awesome manifest presence or move that pierces the hearts of men, pulling down every wall of partition between God and man and bringing about repentance and the reverential fear of God or the dread of His severity. With revival, we see a glorious shinning forth of light and the dispelling of darkness on a massive and compelling scale. Revival is not only contagious, it is inspiring. Revival has often started in one place and spread to other areas even to other nations.
When God called Moses to be a
Revivalist, He said, “Go and deliver my people and bring them to this mountain
to worship me.” Moses gave Israel the Law of God and taught them the ways of
God.
What about Elijah. He stamped God’s righteousness in Israel, wiped out about 850 false prophets and turned the hearts of men back to God. Elijah was a fearless and confrontational man of God, and equally jealous for God – qualities that every Revivalist must posses. For Elisha who carried the double anointing of Elijah, he walked in the paths his master and mentor trod. How about Jonah, a Revivalist whose fiery preaching turned a whole powerful and very sinful nation back to God, just in a couple of days. Let’s put Ezra in focus. While Nehemiah his counterpart rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and offered selfless and purposeful leadership, Ezra as a spiritual leader rebuilt the walls of the hearts of men. As a ready scribe he restored the consciousness of the precepts and laws of God to Israel such that all of Israel wept profusely and vowed never to forget the Law again. Israel repented and sought God in tears. Enter John the Baptizer; he was the last prophet and Revivalist of the Old Testament.
John preached the same old message God had always sounded to Israel through His prophets and priests, “Repent” for the remission of sins. John was in the order of Elijah and was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. Absolutely fearless and unperturbed, his only concern was to preach repentance to the people and make the way straight for the Lord to emerge. John was a revivalist to the core. The prophecy concerning John from the mouth of an Angel detailing his primary assignment is recorded in Luke 1: 16 – 17:
What about Elijah. He stamped God’s righteousness in Israel, wiped out about 850 false prophets and turned the hearts of men back to God. Elijah was a fearless and confrontational man of God, and equally jealous for God – qualities that every Revivalist must posses. For Elisha who carried the double anointing of Elijah, he walked in the paths his master and mentor trod. How about Jonah, a Revivalist whose fiery preaching turned a whole powerful and very sinful nation back to God, just in a couple of days. Let’s put Ezra in focus. While Nehemiah his counterpart rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and offered selfless and purposeful leadership, Ezra as a spiritual leader rebuilt the walls of the hearts of men. As a ready scribe he restored the consciousness of the precepts and laws of God to Israel such that all of Israel wept profusely and vowed never to forget the Law again. Israel repented and sought God in tears. Enter John the Baptizer; he was the last prophet and Revivalist of the Old Testament.
John preached the same old message God had always sounded to Israel through His prophets and priests, “Repent” for the remission of sins. John was in the order of Elijah and was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. Absolutely fearless and unperturbed, his only concern was to preach repentance to the people and make the way straight for the Lord to emerge. John was a revivalist to the core. The prophecy concerning John from the mouth of an Angel detailing his primary assignment is recorded in Luke 1: 16 – 17:
And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will
be turned to the Lord their God. And he will go before his face in the spirit
and power of Elijah, turning the hearts of fathers to their children, and
wrongdoers to the way of righteousness; to make ready a people whose hearts
have been turned to the Lord. (BBE)
(This is important because another Revivalist in this
order with the same assignment is coming; and I mean it because scriptures say
so and revelations from the Holy Ghost have revealed it). Having had the way
prepared and made straight for Him, when Jesus emerged on the scene, He started
off from where John left off. In the course of Jesus’ ministry, many were
healed, set free and ultimately turned back to God. The core of Jesus’ revival
message was “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”.
Let’s zero in on Peter, that bold, fearless and
outspoken Apostle of Jesus. In his impromptu sermon, he thundered to the people
to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus...”
The scriptures tells us that, “when they heard this, they were cut to the heart… and said men and brethren what shall we do?” In that day’s preaching 3, 000 men without counting women and children gave their lives to Jesus. Their hearts were turned back to God. In subsequent preaching 5, 000 men repented; in another, the scripture simply said multitudes turned to God. Peter in deed was a Revivalist who spearheaded the first revival after the ascension of Jesus Christ.
The scriptures tells us that, “when they heard this, they were cut to the heart… and said men and brethren what shall we do?” In that day’s preaching 3, 000 men without counting women and children gave their lives to Jesus. Their hearts were turned back to God. In subsequent preaching 5, 000 men repented; in another, the scripture simply said multitudes turned to God. Peter in deed was a Revivalist who spearheaded the first revival after the ascension of Jesus Christ.
Then came Apostle Paul, New Testament’s greatest
Revivalist. Workaholic Paul and his cohorts literally turned the then world
upside down. Paul was a non-compromising and no nonsense Revivalist. His
messages and missionary journeys of repentance were fiery, far reaching and are
still reverberating today.
In contemporary times the world has experienced
powerful revivals. Examples include the revival that started in Germany after
Martin Luther pinned to the wall of a catholic church a piece of paper
inscribed ‘‘the just shall live by
faith’’ notice and his subsequent spat with the catholic church establishment
over their false teachings. There is also the Azusa Revival spearheaded by William
J. Seymour in California, USA in the 1900s.
Evan Roberts spearheaded the
great Welsh 1904 – 1905 revival; Roberts turned the whole country of Wales back
to God. In Nigeria we have had the revival spearheaded by Joseph Ayo Babalola
in the 1930’s. Apostle Babalola’s revival gave strength and new look to
Pentecostalism in Nigeria. In the 1970’s we
had the revival spearheaded by Archbishop Benson Idahosa. It was the time
Christians were known as ‘‘SU’’ an aphorism for a fanatic. During this era many
people made a positive decision to follow Jesus, as the consciousness was high
in Nigeria.
Archbishop Idahosa as a Revivalist was not only bold
and fearless, he was confrontational.
It is obvious that he was in the order of Elijah and Nigeria and the nations miss this man of God.
It is obvious that he was in the order of Elijah and Nigeria and the nations miss this man of God.
At the moment a silent revival is on, began a couple
of years ago by the iconic man of God, Enoch Adejare Adeboye. Yours truly is
one of those who has had the fire of God ignited in his bones by this great
vessel of God.
Elijah turned the hearts of the people back to the God
of Israel (1 Kings 18: 37, 38 and 39).
He prepared them for God. John the Baptizer turned the hearts of the people back to the God of Israel (Luke 1: 16, 17). He prepared them for Jesus Christ.
He prepared them for God. John the Baptizer turned the hearts of the people back to the God of Israel (Luke 1: 16, 17). He prepared them for Jesus Christ.
God is about to implement His strategy again. Like
they say, “You don’t change a winning team.” You don’t change a time tested and
winning strategy. Another Revivalist, a prophet, a teacher, an evangelist, a
man of God in the order of Moses and Elijah is coming. He will lead the people
like Moses and go in the power of Elijah. He will turn the hearts of the people
to God and prepare the way for the return of the Lord – the Day (rapture) when
Jesus shall say to His bride on earth: “Come up hither.”
As the last prophet in the last days, he will tell the
people of the visitation and the curse of the Lord. Bible prophecy agrees and
contemporary revelations of the Holy Spirit confirm this.
Malachi 4: 4 – 6 says:
“Remember the Law of Moses,
My servant, which I commanded him in Sinai for all Israel, with the statutes
and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great day and dreadful day of the Lord (this refers to the Rapture and tribulations that will
follow immediately on earth when Jesus finally touches down visibly and
physically on Mount Olives). And he will
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children
to their fathers, lest I come (that is, Jesus) and strike the earth with a curse.”
This is what John Maxwell, a respected Bible Scholar
and Christian Leadership Expert said concerning the prophetic scripture above:
“…God promises to send Elijah the prophet before this
terrible day of the Lord. Like so many prophecies, this scripture has two
fulfillments. The first came after Jesus was born in Bethlehem; as the Elijah
figure, John the Baptizer prepared the way. The ultimate fulfillment of this
passage will occur in the last days, when God will send another Elijah figure
to prepare the way for His second coming. God practices the Law of Timing,
making sure everything is in order when He makes His move…” Revival is coming; anticipate
it and prepare for it. I rest my case.
Keep the Flag flying and the Oil burning, Maran’atha.2. WILL GOD RECONCILE THE WORLD TO HIMSELF IN A SPECTACULAR WAY?
Will the nations be reconciled to God? Will there be a mass
global scale enlargement of the Church of Jesus Christ never seen before? Will
there be a massive cross border preaching and teaching of the message of
Reconciliation in a compelling manner? The answer to all these questions is
YES; because first, the Bible says so and second, revelations and prophecy of
the Holy Spirit says so.
Paul in the Bible book of 2 Corinthians 5: 18 – 20 testified
to the will of God about this.
He said:“For God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. And He has given us this mission of bringing everyone into peace with Him. Yes, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself... We are, therefore, ‘ambassadors’ of peace. We are royal ministers sent with this divine message:
‘Be reconciled to God’” (2 Cor. 5: 18 – 20 – smf).
God is going to do this through us His Ministers and Ambassadors – every lay man and woman – brothers and sisters and not necessarily through ecclesiastical titled members of the clergy. God’s plan is that every born again child of His has been entrusted and empowered with a ministry, a RECONCILIATION task: “Be Reconciled to God.” Remember God’s command was: “Go into the world and make disciples of every nation...” (Matt. 28: 18 – 20, Mark 16: 15 – 20, Luke 24: 47, John 20: 21 – 22, Joel 2: 28 – 32)); at the moment this is an unfinished and somewhat difficult assignment owing chiefly to the fact that the doors of many nations are tightly shut against the gospel, the general coldness, lukewarm and defocus of the Church and her leaders towards the Great Commission command and the lack of faith, unity and robust strategy of the Church on how to penetrate the nations and people groups for Jesus.
He said:“For God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. And He has given us this mission of bringing everyone into peace with Him. Yes, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself... We are, therefore, ‘ambassadors’ of peace. We are royal ministers sent with this divine message:
‘Be reconciled to God’” (2 Cor. 5: 18 – 20 – smf).
God is going to do this through us His Ministers and Ambassadors – every lay man and woman – brothers and sisters and not necessarily through ecclesiastical titled members of the clergy. God’s plan is that every born again child of His has been entrusted and empowered with a ministry, a RECONCILIATION task: “Be Reconciled to God.” Remember God’s command was: “Go into the world and make disciples of every nation...” (Matt. 28: 18 – 20, Mark 16: 15 – 20, Luke 24: 47, John 20: 21 – 22, Joel 2: 28 – 32)); at the moment this is an unfinished and somewhat difficult assignment owing chiefly to the fact that the doors of many nations are tightly shut against the gospel, the general coldness, lukewarm and defocus of the Church and her leaders towards the Great Commission command and the lack of faith, unity and robust strategy of the Church on how to penetrate the nations and people groups for Jesus.
We are living in very interesting but terrible times even
though very many are oblivious of the stark reality of a bleak future that
stares the world in the face. Tucked in between the pages of scriptures of
Bible prophecy, it is called the “last days or end times”. The last days
records man’s phenomenal and astronomical advancement and technology power but
it also records his unprecedented apostasy, delusion, debasement, wickedness
and self destruct policies or actions – all indices that prepare the ground for
the emergence of the person that the Bible calls: “man of sin”; the devil’s
incarnate that will overrun the world and ferociously stamp his will and
caprice.
In reference to the thoughts on reconciliation, let me quote
from Ralph Mahoney and Dr. Robert Frost book: “How
Jesus Builds His Church – Every Member A Minister.”
I quote: Jesus told His disciples that at the end of the age the world would face a time of great distress.
Fear, hatred and greed would cause the nations of the world to war against one another. The “last days” will be dark indeed (See Mathew 24; Luke 21). There is a bright hope, however, for the Christian Church.
The scriptures also state that in the last days God will “pour out His Spirit upon all people everywhere... And whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2: 18, 21 – smf). This teaches us that more people are going to hear the gospel and be saved in that dark hour than at any other time in history. There is going to be a great end time revival as the light of the gospel shines into the darkness of a dying world. God always brings a “warning” and a “witness” before times of great judgement. For this reason, God desires to unify the Church in Her worship, work, warfare and witness. Revival will come only as Christ’s power and glory are revealed by His Body throughout the world. “Father, I pray that they all may be one... that the world might believe that You sent Me... For this gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. Then the end shall come” (John 17: 21; Matt. 24: 14 – smf).
I quote: Jesus told His disciples that at the end of the age the world would face a time of great distress.
Fear, hatred and greed would cause the nations of the world to war against one another. The “last days” will be dark indeed (See Mathew 24; Luke 21). There is a bright hope, however, for the Christian Church.
The scriptures also state that in the last days God will “pour out His Spirit upon all people everywhere... And whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2: 18, 21 – smf). This teaches us that more people are going to hear the gospel and be saved in that dark hour than at any other time in history. There is going to be a great end time revival as the light of the gospel shines into the darkness of a dying world. God always brings a “warning” and a “witness” before times of great judgement. For this reason, God desires to unify the Church in Her worship, work, warfare and witness. Revival will come only as Christ’s power and glory are revealed by His Body throughout the world. “Father, I pray that they all may be one... that the world might believe that You sent Me... For this gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. Then the end shall come” (John 17: 21; Matt. 24: 14 – smf).
Personally, in visions, the Lord has shown or said to me
that this is what will happen: in great grace and mercy God will launch out a
last minute reconciliation or revival season backed with the power and gifts of
the Holy Spirit in the dying moments of the last days. Let me in the order of
dates share four of my revelations here:
1. In a vision on
Sunday 5th March, 2006, Ogun, Nigeria, the Lord spoke to me, I heard
a voice say: “Thus says the Lord, the man of God has anointed the people, a
revival is about to take place in Nigeria. The light (gospel) will be taken
into homes and it will be received. It will be the talk of the town, on TV,
everywhere, some will not like it and kick against it. It will begin in the
homes.”
2.
In a vision on Saturday 21st
June, 2008, Lagos, Nigeria, the Lord told me things about Barrack Obama and the
United States, the Middle East particularly Israel and Iran and what was to
come. When He finished He showed me as He said, “Many will rush into the
Kingdom of God to serve and worship God. It will be a dive into God’s Kingdom
for your soul.” I saw vividly as human beings troop into the Kingdom of God
like their survival was hinged on it.
3.
In a vision on Wednesday 22nd
February, 2012, Lagos, Nigeria, I heard the voice of God talking to me. I heard
many things... I heard it loudly and clearly: ‘‘Our God who says, sorrow shall
terminate and my people shall see the light (gospel); they have made a vow to
see the light (gospel).’’
4. In a vision in
the morning of Friday 29th June 2012, Lagos, Nigeria, I heard a song
playing or being sang, “He is the Husband God, He is a Great God, and He is a
Great God…” As the song wafted, before me in a form of a television screen was
the map of the continent of the west of Europe and it zoomed to the country of
the Netherlands (Holland) and I saw as arrows drawn on the map from the same
country extend to other countries northwards and then began to also extend
downwards to other countries.
My message to the world is that there is a God who longingly
desires that you respond to His love that He has demonstrated through His Son,
Jesus Christ and His Spirit, the Holy Spirit; My message to the Church is
prepare yourself and prepare for the enlargement that is coming; My message to
the individual Christian is that you continually work by faith and present
yourself as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to the Lord as you yield
yourself to be used of the Lord.
A revival is coming to reconcile the world to Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah!
