Preparing for the Midnight Hour (Part One): Building for Revival

[Spanish  | French | Creole]

We welcome our RN Family and Readers to this exciting new series, Preparing for the Midnight Hour.  Today, in Part One, “Building for Revival”, Pastor Shyju releases a powerful word for the Church to rise up and be the revivalists the Lord is dreaming for!

Friends, we need to prepare our hearts for an unprecedented revival that God wants to release over us in this season.  Let us begin to pray and love Jesus like never before, love each other and be humble like never before! I believe that we will be greatly rewarded in our preparation, in Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen.

May you realize by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the time at hand:  There is a mighty revival the Lord wishes to pour out in this next season. 

Our first question may be, how do I prepare? Friend, this has everything to do with WHAT and HOW we are building.

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Here we have a builder who is building a house but he says “unless the Lord builds it, they that build it, they labour in vain”. Folks, people have been building for centuries. They have not all necessarily asked the Lord for His permission to build. They have built many things, accomplishing what they set out to accomplish. 

Yet the Scripture says, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain. What does the Lord mean by their labour in vain? 

We must understand what the Bible calls vanity. If something is being built, it may be real, strong, acceptable, and greatly celebrated, but in the eyes of the Lord, God calls it vanity, if it is not something approved in His eyes. It is vanity.

There are so many things that we build in our lives.  We can spend decades building our careers, relationships, friendships, so many things, but unless the hand of the Lord has built it, the Lord calls our efforts vain.

In preparation for revival, we have to take inventory of our present lives and ask, first: Is what I am building from me or is the Lord’s Hand in it?

If your building is not orchestrated by the Lord, if it is not born by the heart of God. If it is not instigated by the Lord, then people of God, the Bible says it is vanity. 

STOP. You are labouring in vain.  

Consider a building project early in Genesis, that story known as “The Tower of Babel”.  After these people , without a single power tool, almost reached the sky with brick and mortar, the Lord arrived to inspect:

And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. (Genesis 11:6).

This is God’s testimony, that whatever these humans were planning, nothing would be impossible for them.  Why? They were one people, like a one man army, in perfect unity, functioning and coming together with one purpose, so nothing would be impossible to them.

Here we are as a Church and there are too many things that have been as impossible for us. 

Why?

If God were to look at the Church today, our oneness is missing. It is very difficult to find oneness in churches today, to find a people united who will stand with the vision of their pastor, a group of people that will eradicate slander and gossip, a group of people that will love each other unconditionally, show kindness and care to each other, who will lift each other up.
You and I both know, this is very hard to find. 

Yet, even with that unity at Babel, when God looked at that tower, it did not please Him. God put confusion in their language and they were scattered around the world. (Gen. 11:7)

People of God, they had great unity but they missed divinity. They had a great sense of direction but they missed the opportunity to understand His vision. 

Is this our story? Is this what God will say about us, that we are great builders but we disappoint His heart?

People of God, in this season, it does not matter if we are building towers that reach the sky, what matters is the delight of the Lord. 

Consider the second part of this powerful verse:

Psalm 127: 1b Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

Here we have watchman who is doing his job well. He is awake and watching, but the Scriptures say, unless the Lord keeps the city, the watchmen lie awake in vain.

What is this city?  Is it Jerusalem? Bangalore? Harare? Montreal?

Consider the shock, when Jesus illuminated this truth, to his disciples, as He proclaimed, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” ( Matthew 5:14)

Dear believer, you are that city! Jesus says you are the light of the world! He says you are city of light that cannot be hidden.

Yes, friend, the Lord says, you are a city. You have structures. You have systems. You have management and standards. You have expectations. You have created plumbing, electricity, garbage management systems.  You have created how your life, this city functions. Your planning and intentionality in your life will determine how your city succeeds.  

How we create structures and systems of divine order in our life will determine the amount of light which shines. Whatever you water in your city will grow and whatever you take care of, you give attention to, that will flourish. Consider the choices.

Our city is supposed to be this bright light of Christ that will bring joy to many other cities around. The problem today, is that we have not allowed the Lord to watch over our cities. We have essentially, asked the Lord to bless our plans, to help us in what we want, to build our house the way we want, and we maintain our city the way we want. But the Lord has not been invited, first to build, then, to watch over it.

Beloved, the Lord Jesus is asking in this midnight hour, “My child, can you allow Me to watch over your city?”. 

Yes, we are in a season of mighty shaking, a season where everything around us is shaking. But you and I, beloved, we are waking up.  This season, the Lord is waking us up. This season the Lord is awakening us to His love.  The Lord is calling you, and He is saying, “Allow Me to build. Allow Me to be your watchmen”, for the Midnight Hour is at hand!

May we rejoice in this Midnight Hour and may we prepare, as His Bride, for this coming Revival!

To hear the full message click on the link and share with your friends:

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycgVeqI85KU&feature=youtu.be
Punjabi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXRARw5uv-0&feature=youtu.be
Hindi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEDrOI9LVBg&feature=youtu.be
Malayalum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTpzp19_wEI&feature=youtu.be
French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnJhl1U-ufw&feature=youtu.be
Italian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihVwape43M8&feature=youtu.be

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