Preparing for Revival

Goh-ler-ah-gae - Good morning!

Introduce myself.

Tah Blu Doh Ma - Thank you very Much Pastor Tmala and the Karen Christian Revival Church of Colorado.

It is a privilege to be a part..

Revival Seminar

What is Revival?

A Revival is a movement characterized by:

An appreciation of God’s holiness.

A passion for His Word and a spirit of humility.

A convicting awareness of sin leading to repentance.

Transformed lives leading to righteousness.

I would simply characterize revival as the next Great move of the Holy Spirit.

Revival is a movement catalyzed by the Holy Spirit.

I entitled this message preparing for revival, but the focus is not our preparation - no human effort can manufacture revival. I will focus on the preparation that is carried out by the Holy Spirit.

Do you believe that God is always on the move?

We may not see it now, but the Holy Spirit also does the work of preparation for the next Revival.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Thoughts on Revival:

Revival takes place at God’s perfect time.

2. God designed man to seek and find Him.

3. God works revival in ways above our understanding.

Revival takes place at God’s perfect time.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

God is never too early.

God is never late.

God is never in a hurry.

He does His sovereign work in eternity and He has already predetermined the outcome.

Adoniram Judson Picture Here

In 1817,  one of the first American missionaries, named Adoniram Judson, came to Burma.  For seven years he labored among the Burmese Buddhists with only one convert.(talk)

It took him 12 years to make 18 converts… he was imprisoned for 17 months in a war .. his wife and child died in the mission field..

Adoniram Judson could have quit, but he could not have anticipated what was about to happen..

by the time he died, Adoniram Judson had translated the Bible into Burmese as well as a half-completed Burmese-English dictionary. Burma at the time had 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers.

God has both preserved and prepared the Karen people.

2. God designed man to seek and find Him.

“Also, He has put eternity in their hearts”.

There is a universal affinity to Almighty God, that every culture has recognition of the One True God. This serves as a starting point or preparation for that culture to hear and receive the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The story of Y’Wa among the Karen People.

There was legend among the Karen people.

You are a people of the Book!

The Karen have a long oral history of stories and prophecies passed down from the mists of time.  One of these stories is of Y’wa who created the earth and a man and a woman who were our first parents. - Hmm that sounds familiar…

This first couple ate of the forbidden fruit which brought sickness and death into the world.  (sounds familiar again)

An ancient prophecy spoke of three brothers who once had a book about Y’wa but they quarreled and it was tragically lost. 

But the Karen always believed that someday their white brother would come on white wings to bring the book back to them and teach them about Y’wa. 

These stories were told around every campfire in every Karen village as part of their tradition. 

When the Burmese tried to convert them to Buddhism, the Karen stubbornly refused to accept it because of their strong belief in Y’wa. GOD

You, the Karen people are a remarkable story of God’s preservation.

3. God works revival in ways above our understanding.

“except that no one can find out the work of God from beginning to end”.

The story of Kho Tha Byu (picture here)

He was a murderer and a thief.

Little did Adoniram Judson realize that the Karen, who walked by his house every day, were singing songs about Y’wa and waiting for their white brother to bring the lost book to them. 

Kho Tha Byu, who was a murderer and a robber, came to Judson looking for work.  Judson hired him and Ko Thay-byu was amazingly curious about the white man and the book he carried. 

When he heard the gospel he was amazed!  This was what his people had been waiting on for hundreds of years! 

He was baptized and immediately became a missionary. He became the Karen Apostle.

The first Karen Revival took place! Kho Tha Byu reached many among his people and many came from the mountains to be baptized.

God has chosen you, prepared you and preserved you.

God is not done with the Karen people!