So many people were became Christians that crime went down, pubs were closed and the course of Welsh civic life changed. You would think that this could be the beginning of global awakening. But that movement  died in 2 years.

Hebrides Revival Crowd

In 1949, another move of God broke out in the Hebrides Islands, a group of islands off the coast of Scotland. This movement began with the prayers of two elderly house-bound women,  Peggy and Christine Smith. Peggy and Christine pleaded with their pastor, James Murray Mackay, to host a men’s prayer meeting for revival.

Pastor MacKay hosted a prayer meeting where a blacksmith, Duncan Campbell, reluctantly attended. The presence of the Lord fell on that meeting and captured Duncan Campbell who became a carrier of revival. Duncan’s preaching and the fires of revival  attracted visitors from all over world to the Hebrides. The fires burned and dimmed in 3 years with the revival ending in 1952.

J.D. King, director of the World Revival Network, recently visited both churches. Many years later, those churches attracted barely a handful of people during Sunday services. He met with those who had been a part of the Hebrides Revival.  All they had were stories.

Was it God’s will for the fire to go out?

The Welsh Revival ended when Evan Roberts was overwhelmed by all the publicity and attention. He went into obscurity. The fire died when the carriers of revival couldn’t handled the attention or the responsibility of carrying the glory. When the fire goes out, you’re left with a good story. You have a dim memory of God’s glory visiting.

When the fire goes out churches that were full of the life of God become havens of wistful memories. When the fire goes out, someone else has to pick it up. Who will fan the flame before it goes out?

These are signs such as a pastor brutally slain in their church in Georgia. Or pastors getting divorces and convicted. I’m not even talking about the average American Christian that doesn’t resemble what the Bible defines as a Christian. The casualties of a church without God is very costly. Every week, I see God move in the lives of those wounded, hurt or left for spiritually dead by the church.

Revival is the only hope for the church’s survival. Daystar Network founder Marcus Lamb issued a challenge on the sharathon for people to give to revival. I watched Marcus appeal to the people from the Daystar studio audience in Dallas, TX. Then we moved to Studio B to watch Pastor Steve and Kathy Gray preach and encourage the viewers to give. I was amazed at the honor that a major Christian TV network gave to my pastors and the hunger of the people.

During the time of prayer, Daystar’s staff were hungry for the presence of God. A healing took place and tears flowed freely. God’s presence hovered in that studio as members of the audience got freedom. Millions of people all over the world are hungry for the presence of God.

Daystar has been used by God to carry revival through the airwaves to these spiritually-starving nations. Marcus shared that he had given over $1 million in air time to revival. It made me think, what have I given? I know the Daystar budget is over $100 million. But what have I given? I came back from Dallas, TX. wanting to give more. Thankfully Pastor Steve shared a key for increasing my giving.

“Consume less, do more.” Sounds very simple and easy to do. If I can eat one less donut or hamburger, I can give that money for that food to God instead. If we all consumed less, and gave towards the cause of revival, together we could really push this forward. Lets do our part in the battle for revival. During times of war, people adjust their lives to push the effort. Won’t you join me? Join me in the quest to consume less to give more.

During that ride home, I was peaceful while she cried and whined because she wanted a hamburger. She already had a hamburger for dinner. For once, she didn’t control my response, but the Holy Spirit was in control.

If you’ve never let the Holy Spirit control you, you don’t know what true life is all about. Pastor Steve Gray preached a message on Saturday night that every believer needs to get. He shared a revelation about being a new creation that I’ve never heard anyone preach. While he was preaching, he seemed startled by what he was saying because it was fresh from heaven.

“You don’t understand, I’m hearing this right along with you for the first time!” I had to go in and out several times to take care of my daughter, but I caught the heart of God reaching out to me. Pastor Steve said, “God isn’t mad at you. He’s reaching out to you!” That gripped me because I’ve struggled with years of things I’ve told God I would do and than I didn’t do it. The distractions of life pulled me away from what I wanted to do for God.

Last night I got a fresh slate and a second chance. God wants to give you a fresh slate. He isn’t mad at you. Reach out to Him. Let Him control you. You’ll surprise yourself with the newness of life that comes out of you.

1. Revival is hindered because we don’t want it. Christians are more concerned with avoiding a disruption than experiencing the presence of God. Sitting in their dry churches, people wonder where’s God. Not understanding that He draws near to those who actually want Him!

2. Revival is hindered because we are just too culturally bound. Amerians don’t know how to give themselves to anything (but selfishness). If revival doesn’t neatly fit into what we are already doing, we don’t have any room for it. God is not an American and He doesn’t always do things the way we like it.

3. Revival is hindered because our religious practices are often rooted in fear and control. History shows that Martin Luther used fear to gain the upper hand over the Catholics during the Great Reformation of the 16th century. The same thing is happening today. Fear and anxiety is literally driving our evangelism and worship. It is hard to have revival when everybody is filled with anxiety and dread.

4. Revival is hindered because we misunderstand the tension between God’s sovereignty and our own effort. People either believe revival is almost out-of-reach or something to be worked up.” Neither perspective shows proper interrelationship. To be effective, Christians have to learn how to better cooperate with God. There is no question that He makes the first move, but it is important that we learn how to respond and appropriate everything that He does.

5. Revival is hindered because Christians refuse to be single-minded. Churches start emphasizing things like politics and social agendas, rather than concentrating on revival. We would do well to remember that church is supposed to be a place where God comes down – not a place where we promote the voting ballot.  We don’t have revival because we are focusing on everything else.

6. Revival is hindered because ” are under a constant temptation to be “fleshly.” Unfortunately, worldliness is not only being accepted but encouraged in many of our churches. The result is a lot of things that we thing are “okay” shut down the move of God. In the end, people need to decide whether they want to be pulled by the world or the Holy Spirit.

7. Revival is hindered because of the fear of “emotionalism.” This is quite a shame because everything that happend in the Bible affected people’s emotions! The Patriarchs shouted and cried, while angels were always saying, “fear not!” The Scripture is clear in affirming that people responded passionately when they encountered God. Truthfully, I think we should be afraid of services where people don’t express any emotion at all. God probably isn’t there.

8. Revival is hindered because we have a rather weak value system. We love God but we love everything else too. We love ice cream, we love the NFL and Jesus too. We need to narrow down all those multiple loves to what’s really meaningful. And if that isn’t Jesus alone, we aren’t going to have revival.

9. Revival is hindered because we really don’t know what we want. Oh we know what we don’t want – being inconvenienced, unpopular, unappreciated. Yet we have no idea what we would actually like to see. How do we expect to get revival when we are not sure about what we want?

10. Revival is hindered because we think blessing means something for nothing. People always place a greater value on things when they’ve had to sacrifice for them. You’re not going to get revival until you’re willing to sacrifice for it. Revival can’t be picked up on a discount rack. —by Pastor Steve Gray, senior pastor at World Revival Church (republished here with permission of World Revival Network)

We came to Revival 5-21-09 thru that Sunday morning. I have has a major touch from God since this past January. It had been a very dry and dark three years. My wife and I had to make some really big stands with religious authorities on very biblical stands. We paid some very high prices, but God is faithful. I had started watching religious programming again, cautiously. I happened to turn on Daystar and saw Revival. I wept thru the whole program. And for good measure watched again to check. Yep, thru the whole program. It was stirring those things of my past: worship, deep intercession, weeping, repentance, warfare praise, warfare intercession, warfare…, non religious, straight up Word from a funny, real and anointed Steve. I could go on.

When Mary came home I tested it on her. Yep, wept the whole way thru. I knew at that point I did have to get there somehow. As Steve said, “these people got here”! It took until May, as we watched every week, usually more than once.

I have to preface this because I don’t think like ‘normal’ folks in the church do. I had been gifted by God, taught and prayed over by really real, non-religious and prophetic teachers at a ministry school called Emmaus Road Ministry School. I am also not bragging, but if you didn’t know this, you might just think I was one of ‘those’ people. I am sure you get your share. Anyway.

That Thursday I was greeted by Jim and his wife (not Jim Weedman). Your greeting ministry is very personal. Good. I talked to Jim maybe ten minutes when I realized I had already witnessed his spirit while watching, and I did recognize him from the videos. That part is a little surreal. Mary had asked before we got there if ya’ll had cardboard people placed around. No, everyone we saw and met were very real, and every much as spiritual as I had seen on TV.

In the intercession service, I was in exactly where I thought I was going to be when we came. To the power of ten, or one thousand? I was definitely horse that night. Totally worn out. And 100% filled to overflowing. I cannot even express how powerful standing in the ‘company’ of such passionate, powerful, truly spiritual and common people praying to the Almighty God that they really knew was. I have been in places like that, with people like that. But, not quite that much. And God tells me I am too much. Wow!

Friday and Saturday Mary and I went to the House of Hope and Healing. Both times were deeply impactful. The facility is beautiful and peaceful. The people are much more than that. There are many things that they spoke, prayed and blessed us with. I’ll give you a couple.

One was as they were praying over Mary, it was a very sweetly powerful time. Several minutes. Several issues. A vision of windows and a nice house on the outside came up. Actually it was rotting on the inside, God revealed to Mary. As they were praying, she saw God breaking out the windows and ripping down the house. That is as brief as I could make it. I saw in my spirit, that Mary had been made into about a ten year old girl. That the healing had reached back that far in her soul and hurt. We both have studied and ministered ‘inner healing’ for years, so I had seen this kind of thing many times. Really cool in the love of your life! But, as we left the house to go to a service, I told Mary that I had no idea or experience in dealing with and ministering to ten years old girls. Except for my 11 years old granddaughter. And all I really knew was to have fun and protect.

In the service, Saturday, This came up again amongst at least a million or so other things God was revealing to me, working in me,…. You know, you all go there all the time. About half way up the aisle, I was standing, yelling, proclaiming, singing, weeping, stomping,…. I am usually loud and things, but only physically radical like that when there is that ‘company’ thing. For about ten minutes or so, there was a little girl right beside me. Yea, about ten years old. Hm. I kept an eye on her because I was a little radical. She had no concern about this six one guy freaking out right beside her. In fact, she was probably closer than the adults were. Wow. Hold on. As ministry was really happening, prayer and all the ‘stuff’, as Wimber called it, I made my way through to the stage. People were everywhere, many on the floor, getting everything God had for them. I went to the stage area just to be alone with Jesus, the Lord of Hosts, Lion of Judah, all that, you know. No one was in front of me, though several people did come by and pray with me.

At one point God touched me and I could have been on a battle field. Everything was behind me. There were people screaming out, crying. Of course, dying. Maybe literally in their inner men, huh? I certainly was. That was a very powerful vision. I also looked down and saw a piece of tape. It had been there a while. I am musician, worship leader and have been in dramas and even opera in college. The tape meant I was standing in the exact place the ‘director’ wanted me to. Wow. And then, these four little girls came walking up hand in hand. I am sure someone was with them behind us. They were about 4 or 5 years old maybe. They came to my right, in the row of people standing at the stage. They were praying, singing and looking around. Very precious. I don’t use that word enough. As I glanced at them, I chuckled. Now, me knowing my capabilities and limitations very well, I cannot and have never chuckled. Many other things, but no chuckles. So, I had to test it of course. Not ‘that’ way, no, I had to look again. Yesuree. Again I chuckled.

Time went by and I looked and chuckled at them as they were laying on the floor, like most of the other people. The ladies were covering them. Very appropriate. Very, precious. Time went by, and as I glanced again, three were gone. The one next to me was on the floor, covered us and well, shaking. The precious may have been there, but all I could see was that King of Kings. The One that His train fills the temple. I am obviously not nearly as worried about having experience with little girls any more. And if I come up short, well God is the One Who should be doing it anyway. There you have one of the little stories I can go one for hours about.

A couple more, much shorter.

We have been seeing many of you that have been at the front and ya’ll have changed our lives very deeply. I told many of you that I cannot imagine the price you, Steve and Kathy, the leaders and the congregation have paid to see things like this and more happen in the world. As Kathy would say, thanks a million.

Just one encounter for instance was with Eric Pietch (sp?). We had both witnessed when Steve called his deep intercessors to the front on Daystar. Eric was one. As we told him he was one of the reasons we had come from Texas, he said, “me?” Yes! You! And if that one prayer on Daystar was the only thing you have ever done, yes, you! I was almost shocked be Eric’s and everybody else’s humility and modesty about what God was doing, and at how far reaching just their images on the screen were changing people.

Another would have to be Jim Weedman. I don’t exactly know how or why, but Jim plucked me right out of the crowd. He even invited me to the pastor’s breakfast. That is so cool. You don’t know, no, I am sure you do know how many times I have been snubbed because I am spiritual and not religious. I’m not speaking of my current church. I am not a pastor, but have been worship leader, teacher, prophetic stuff kind of guy, ed director (not my bag), among other things from sound to changing the Air conditioner settings. Just the invite was healing. But then, I got to hear from men of the faith like Tom Trout, and the others of whom I may not remember names. And then to see the hurt and ‘dissatisfaction’ and deep hunger in the visiting ministers. My only problem was that it was so short, you know, anything less than a few years would be so short. Thank you.

OK, lastly. Our church, Covenant Life Church, Waxahachie Texas, has been meeting at 5pm on Sunday. We are in the process of purchasing the building we are in. The church that owns it is still meeting in the morning. I had a friend there who asked me to play electric guitar for them also. I have been there for several months. My church is more like your, maybe not as militant or specifically called. The morning church is a little more of a standard Church of God. The music is a little older though the team does have a lot of talent and spiritual depth. The pastor has 40 years in ministry but the church is having a hard time. I have had a really good time helping them and praying for their revival. And tell them so. I have had a little word many times for the pastor and he gets up and preaches it. Yes, it is already in his notes. Very cool. And I do tell him he is nailing it.

When I first went there, I had him pray for me because he had that Pentecostal heritage of Wigglesworth, …….. He blessed me. The Sunday after I came to KC, I went to their service to play. The music is usually not as good as it should be, considering the team’s capability and the pastor’s desire and experience. I asked the pastor if I could pray for him and the worship leader. I briefly had told both and others what had happened in KC, and all were interested. We went to his office and yes, the Holy Spirit did fall. I specifically blessed them and poured out on the worship leader. The worship service was so good that the visiting Christian band that was to do the rest of the service did not want to get up after us. I am not bragging. God moved. It was very awesome to see that yes, Steve, we can come get some of that and bring it back.

And being forty nine years old, with three years of dry and a few months of getting wetter, I started the weekend after our first Revival weekend with Friday rising at about 8am, Pentecost prayer all night Friday until everyone finally went home after the Worship Life Group we lead in our home on Saturday. It broke out there too. Now that would be about 40 hours without any sleep. 6 hours that night. Two churches with worship practice till after midnight that Sunday. That’s three days and 6 hours sleep. Then, Monday night a friend from a church 15 years ago saw us on the recording she had made from Friday, we were the couple not from Tennessee, but Texas. She had to come over and we ministered to her for about three or four hours. 6more hours sleep. Tuesday I was up late. That was 5 days, and about 18 hours sleep. And no, I am not superhuman any more.

Ok, I think I can quit for now. What I am trying to say is thank you. All of you are radically awesome. Yes, yes, the army of the Lord! We are checking to see when we can come back and get more. In the movie, Independence Day, Will Smith gets into one of the antigravity fighter craft of the enemy. Doesn’t know how they work. Gets it up and going and says, “I gotta get me one of these.” I still have no idea what my connection with all of you is or will be. I can assure you by the Sovereign Lord it is a powerful and inspiring one. So, again, thank you. May God restore everything you have given and will give 100 and 100 fold. Bless you

I’m home
A young woman from Iowa, Veronica, said she felt at home at World Revival Church. “I’ve been in anything like this and I always wanted to be close to God but didn’t think I could until I got to heaven,” she cried. “Last night I felt like He put his arm around me. I didn’t know I could feel His presence. I realized I could love Him unconditionally and that it’s so easy. I feel like I’ve walked into my home.”

People captured by God’s glory
A pastor from St. Louis who had been impacted by the Brownsville Revival, said this was the first time he had been among a group of people who were captured by the glory of God. “I’ve been to bible college and the scales are coming off,” he said. “I’ve never been to a church like this. I finally see a picture and God has raised up a model that shows that the church is bigger than you. I have hope again as a pastor.”

Hope restored
Another woman, Hope, shared how she got her hope back at a service. She did everything right through high school and college. “I floated into nothingness once I got out of college,” she says. “I couldn’t get out of bed.” She stumbled upon archived World Revival Church services online. “I watched 10 hours straight of services,” she says. “I wanted to be alive again and was ready to hitch a ride to get here. I learned that Jesus is my identity.”

No pain
William from Zimbabwe, was in so much pain two weeks ago that he had to be on pain medication. He received prayer for healing and in the following two weeks had has been pain-free and hasn’t had to take any medication.

This past weekend I heard a testimony of a woman who was diseased and bedridden for several years. She and her husband drove from St. Louis believing for healing during one of the outpouring services. That day she got healed and went back home. Her doctors couldn’t figure out the disease that kept her in bed, almost immobile, for several years. She testified this past weekend that she  has a job, has been healthy and doing much better since she got healed.

That healing power continued today when for the first time, Pastor Steve announced that he was going to pray for each person individually. I’ve never seen him do this, but he actually stopped and asked each person what they wanted prayer for. You could feel the presence of God increase with each person who experienced healing.

I estimated several hundred people stood in line for over an hour to receive prayer. At one point, Pastor Kathy asked if she could pray for a long line that stretched from the altar to the back door at the end of sanctuary. Today was graduation Sunday, and we were swept up in seeing God help so many people that we forgot about all the activities and visitors that were at the service for the graduates.

Again, my husband Jerome and I discussed how God helping people is more important than our own comfort or convenience. When God is moving, your schedule takes a back seat. People getting help were more important to us than our own needs.

I believe that’s a sign  of revival. When ordinary church going people are willing to suspend their activities to see God help others, then He is free to heal, empower, refresh, deliver or do what He does best. We still got everything else done that we needed to, but for that hour of prayer for healing, I wept, I cried, I prayed my guts out for the people.

Come spend your summer vacation with us at World Revival Church in Kansas City. What better way for a family to spend a week together in the presence of God. Come to Kansas City!

I use to think that you had to be super-spiritual, special or really, really good near-perfect before you could carry God’s presence. God dealt with me Friday night at the World Revival Church service about my attitude towards my 7-year-old daughter who has special needs or is developmentally delayed. Pastor Steve preached a message about the spirit of the world. I realized as he preached, that I had the spirit of the world towards my daughter.
You see, I do what every good parent does. I go to conferences, read articles and get lots of information about the best way to help her. But in that quest to gain information, I built a box that limited what she could experience in God.
I thought you had to be developmentally “normal” to be able to fully experience God’s presence. As he preached and during the prayer, God showed me that He doesn’t care how smart or how physically perfect anyone is. “This is for everyone! She can carry my presence and respond to me like everyone else can. How dare you try keep this from her,” I felt a rebuke from on high.
I thought that since I was out of half of the services with her, because of her short attention span and having to move, that maybe she wasn’t getting anything out of the Kansas City Revival. Maybe she needs to be somewhere else. Yes, I had thoughts of taking her to another church with shorter services. But during the service on Friday night, we had a moment of intercession.
She was kneeling down. I tapped her on the shoulder to see how she was doing. She looked up and tears were streaming down her face. She was interceding. Her tears convicted me. I picked her up and held her as she cried in my arms praying with everyone else for revival.
The next morning she told me she wanted Pastor Steve. “I want Revival Church. I want Pastor Steve.” I turned on the broadcast and she worshipped and prayed as she watched the televised service.
I believe in healing and I want to see her completely healed from her developmental delay. But who am I to say who can or who can not experience God? In the Bible, He spoke through a donkey. He used imperfect men, women and children to advance His kingdom. I will not keep God’s presence from anyone. Anyone can experience and carry His presence regardless of age, gender, race, disability, income, education etc.  God’s presence is for everyone! God’s presence is for you!

My husband, Jerome, and I started talking to him months ago about making this faith his own. “You can’t ride our coat tails Chris,” we told him. “You must have your own experience with God. Don’t go through the motions. Drop the walls down and let Him in.” As some of you more experienced moms know, teenage boys can be sullen, withdrawn and aroused when they’re favorite Xbox game is playing or Wii game.

I believe God wants to use my son and to move through his life. I want him on fire for God. But ulitmately it starts with me. The kids are just reflections of their parents. Jerome and I have to be passionate about our faith. We must be examples and trailblazers so our children have a path to follow. And then you want them to grow up to blaze their own path for God’s glory.

Emily, our awesome Blazers leader, asked Chris to preach a sermon. Blazers is a ministry for middle-school aged kids. Chris was hesitant and scared but we encouraged him to follow through his assigned task. He studied, he wrote his sermon and delivered it to Jerome. Then at church, he experienced God using him for the first time in his life.

“I felt like something take over me when I started speaking,” he told me. “I felt a warmth all over me and wanted to pray for people.” Another young lady preached after him and God changed kids lives that night! Several testified the next night with tears about how they were challenged to be disciples for Jesus. For the first time in Chris’s life, he felt like he felt like he was doing something significant.

I told Chris there is nothing like the feeling that God is using you.  You feel like you’re at home, in your own zone and like you can do anything. I think this is what the men, women and children in the Bible must have felt like when they overcame incredible challenges. Like a 14-year-old boy, David, who stood before a giant terrorist, Goliath. With only a slingshot and some rocks, David was confident that he could slay this giant. Where did he get the guts? Not from a seminar or a class, but from his experiences with God helping him deal with his enemies.

Denying children access to the power of God is absolutely criminal. Sticking them in a ministry group that babysits them and doesn’t challenge them is a travesty. I’m so blessed that World Revival Church’s ministry to children and youth encourages full participation. Children and youth being changed by the power of God is a sign of revival. Bring your children and teenagers to revival in Kansas City at World Revival Church. Your child could be the next testimony.

Have you ever been so moved by something you saw on TV that you wanted to jump in your car and drive to the place that you watched on TV? One gentleman, a pastor in Shreveport, LA testified that he had Christian TV tuned on in the background but wasn’t paying any attention to it. “Then I saw a worship service at World Revival Church and I told everybody to stop what they were doing and come watch,” he says. “I heard the sound of revival in the worship. I called my mom, who is also a pastor, and told her that we have to get to Kansas City.”

Two weeks later, he, his wife and his mom drove up to Kansas City. His mom shared that this year was extremely devastating. “My husband, who was a pastor, left me and the church shut down,” she says. “I lost everything and I cried out to God, is their anywhere that we can connect with? Is their any place where we can get help? Are there any people who can help us?”

As she poured her heart out, my heart and many of the hearts of my friends were stirred with intercession for her and the millions of people who are out there in that situation. They’re crying out for a place where God dwells. They’re crying out for a people who can help them. “I came here and now we’re going to carry revival to Raleigh, North Carolina,” she shouted.

Suddenly, Pastor Kathy Gray leapt on the stage and prayed for her and her son-in-law and daughter-in-law. Another young lady, Misty from Huntington, Tennessee, said she saw the services today on TV and jumped in her car and drove here. “I’m driving back after this so I can be in church tomorrow on Sunday,” she said. Visitors came from as far as France, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Louisiana and many other places.

The sounds of revival, being carried by the air waves is causing people to drop everything, just like the disciples dropped their nets to follow Him, and drive hundreds of miles to see a move of God. I thank God for Daystar TV that’s carrying this revival to millions of households that are hungering from a fresh move. Call Daystar and tell them “Thank you!” for their commitment to revival.