This page is in our Personal Revival collection.
We recommend an excerpt from “The crucified life”, a book by A. W. Tozer.
He observes that a revival cannot occur in the community if there has not been a church that has been revived. And no churches have ever been revived unless individuals within the church have been revived.
This is a simple, powerful and practical teaching, and we encourage everyone in Southampton who is praying for revival to read this and apply it.
Tozer outlines four steps:
Set your face like flint (Isaiah 50:7)
If you are going to have a personal revival you must be very determined. You have to be hard-nosed because of all the tricks and schemes of the world. Set your face like flint and say “I go by the grace of God. I want all that the New Testament has for me.”
Set your heart on Jesus
Wherever He takes you, go with Him. Whatever He takes you away from, listen to Him and follow what He says. Whomever you must ignore, move away from. If you want to be all that God wants you to be, set your face like flint and go straight to Jesus.
Set yourself up for examination
Expose your life to God’s examination. We tend to keep ourselves and cover our hearts. The bible says “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13). Expose your whole life to Jesus. Expose yourself in prayer. Expose yourself in Scriptures. Expose your heart in obedience.
Set for yourself holy affirmations
Tozer’s affirmations are decisions/declarations about how he approached his day to day living. He shares how he has had to make some affirmations before God, but that they have significantly changed his walk as a Christian. I believe they are helpful because they show the kind of attitude that puts us in the way of God’s grace.
- Declare before God never to own anything
- Never defend yourself
- Never defame a fellow Christian
- Never receive or accept any glory.
So do not wait for tragedy to drive you to God. You can have a revival whether anybody else ever gets one or not. There is no reason why you personally cannot set your face like flint and determine to go wherever Jesus takes you. When you find Him you will find the floodgates of mercy. You will find fresh oil. You will find a wonderful new revival for yourself.
You can download the full chapter here: Personal Revival (Tozer)