By Pam Cowart

In January of this year we heard God calling us to AWAKEN. We gathered to fast and pray in a desire to respond to this calling with obedience. We prayed we would all awaken. We heard the knock on our individual and corporate hearts asking us to “open the ancient gate and let the King of Glory enter in.”

And enter He did! The Spirit of the Living God was among us as we gathered for early-morning and noontime prayer, as well as in our nightly revival gatherings. Again, in late April/early May we gathered to pray and fast for the Call to AWAKEN revival week with Mark Nyswander. We heard the call to AWAKEN to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We experienced what the Holy Spirit in our lives can do to transform us, redeem us, restore us and empower us. There have been powerful testimonies of what God has done in the lives of individuals and in us corporately as we have woken up!

At both revivals we joined together in the war cry, “COME ON!” That cry has a three-fold meaning:

1. To God we cry, “COME ON!” in a passionate desire for heaven to invade earth ... for the Holy Spirit to invade our gathering ... for holiness to invade my heart!
2. To our own spirit we cry, “COME ON!” in a passionate desire for our spirit to rise up, enter the battle, AWAKEN, activate, come alive again!
3. To one another we cry, “COME ON!” in a passionate desire to spur one another on with encouragement that we are not in this battle alone. We are an army together taking ground from the enemy’s camp!

As we enter a third week of fasting and prayer leading up to a third week of Call to AWAKEN revival gatherings, this cry is still before us. It is still valid and needed as a war cry among us. Yet, I hear a stiller, smaller, quieter voice inviting us into something deeper yet. I hear the voice of Jesus cutting through the noise of this world. I hear His firm, confident, compassionate voice waking us with a call, “Come on.” I hear Jesus saying, “Come on ... wake up ... get up ... follow me.” I hear Jesus saying, “Come on ... follow me ... I am inviting you into something new.” I hear Jesus saying, “Come on ... I truly want you to know and experience an awakening to MY LOVE FOR YOU!”

This invitation into the depths of His love is not some sugary, sappy journey. The filling of our lives with the love of Jesus is the source of all we need. This deep filling is for healing and wholeness. This deep filling is for empowerment for battle. This deep filling is for pouring out to those in need around us. This deep filling is to grow us up together to be the mature and functioning body our Head needs us to be.

What a glorious invitation it is. Will you come? Will you say “yes” to his invitation”? Will you come on? Will you wake up?
 
Response

1. Have you participated in the first two weeks of A Call to AWAKEN? If so, take some time to remember what God has done to awaken you. Take some time to thank God for what he has done. Share your awakening testimony with someone today.
2. If you have not been able to participate in the first two weeks of Call to AWAKEN, please don’t hit the snooze button this time. Jesus is calling. His invitation is so good. Take a moment to respond to his invitation.
3. What do you hear in Jesus’s invitation to “Come on?” Do you sense anything specific for yourself? For the church? Beyond?

Today's devotional again comes courtesy of Mark Nysewander. In an April 1 blog post, "Revival Hope is about Tasting the Future," Mark wrote: "Revival hope is ... not a fact you learn. It’s living! You actually taste what’s ahead." He then provided some examples of what we have to look forward to in the coming age. 

Click here to read the entire post, and consider the following as you spend time with the Lord:

1. Where is the Lord wanting to revive HOPE in your life?
2. Dare you ask for this revival to come into your life, your family, our church?
3. Joy is fruit of the Holy Spirit in us. Ask the Lord for JOY and all that comes with it.
4. Ask the Lord to help you, and all of us, get a taste of heaven now!

Our guest speaker next week, Mark Nysewander, recently penned a blog post, "What Humility Has to Do with Revival," that fits right in with where we're headed for A Call to AWAKEN.

“Revival comes to humble places," Mark wrote, "because they house humble people. Humility is the best conductor for God’s power. To be an instrument of revival, seek the posture that conveys such power."
 
Click here to read the full text of Mark's post, and consider these questions in your prayer time:

1. Ask the Lord to reveal where you may depend on your human effort.
2. Would you accept the Lord’s invitation to radical transformation in your life? The life of your family? The life of our church?
3. Is pride hindering Jesus’ Lordship in your life? Let the Lord root that out today!
4. Consider to whom the Lord is asking you to give the goodness He has given you.

 
If you’re interested in going deeper into this topic, check out Mark's book, "Revival Rising: Preparing for the Next Great Wave of Awakening," available here.

We’ve been talking a lot about revival at CCC in 2017. In fact, our theme for the entire year is AWAKEN, which we adopted with the prayer that God will bring a fresh move of His Spirit and reveal to us a new and fresh vision of what He wants to do in and through this local church body.
 
Mark Nysewander, teaching pastor at RiverStone Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, has some thoughts on revival, too. A key component, he says, is humility.
 
Writing for Seedbed, Asbury Theological Seminary’s media platform for gathering, connecting and resourcing the Church, Mark says “revival comes to humble places … because they house humble people. Humility is the best conductor for God’s power. To be an instrument of revival, seek the posture that conveys such power."
 
Mark will be at CCC during our next Call to AWAKEN gathering, set for April 30-May 3. You can read the rest of his blog post, "What Humility Has to Do with Revival," right here.
 
And if you’re interested in going deeper into this topic, check out his book, "Revival Rising: Preparing for the Next Great Wave of Awakening," available in the Seedbed store.

We look forward to Mark joining us this spring as we continue to be awakened by an exciting move of the Holy Spirit here at CCC.