by Byron Paulus
It has been four weeks since we gathered together at The Cove. I don’t know about you, but the temptation of not “stopping” that Sammy warned us of in his blog has been bombarding me. Wasn’t it Chuck Swindoll who wrote the book “Intimacy with the Almighty”? In it he delineates three necessary ingredients of going and staying deep with God. Silence. Solitude. Simplicity.
The hurry and scurry of ministry life is not conducive to getting to know God. The memorial service for the founder of Life Action Ministries was exactly 20 years ago this past Saturday. Carved on his gravemarker are these words:
He knew God.
He loved God.
He walked with God.
He believed God.
He lived and died for the glory of God.
I knew Del Fehsenfeld Jr. well, having served next to him for 14 years. He rarely came to the office before noon. That’s because he prioritized extensive time alone meeting with God each morning. He did not schedule breakfast meetings. And he rarely conducted any ministry business before noon. He guarded this time of silence, solitude, and simplicity.
I left the conference with a realization of my lack of deep intimacy with Christ. That my love for Him had grown distant. And I needed to return to my first love.
So, during December, I am reading through the life of Christ chronologically. And I am journaling one major take away each day that will help me get to know Him more deeply. Daniel said, “They that do know (yada) their God shall be strong and do exploits (Dan. 11:32).
I cannot deeply love Him who I do not deeply know. So I have set out to get to know Him as thoroughly as possible. Perhaps the Lord will prompt you to do the same.
On this final formal blog, our leadership team would like to hear back from you.
1. What truth from the conference is still ringing in your heart?
2. How are you different now than four weeks ago?
3. What has the enemy used to distract you from what God was doing in your life or ministry?
4. How can we specifically pray for you?
In addition, as you may have noticed, we are proceeding with our bi-annual conference in Spring 2011.
Also, if you are within driving distance of Chattanooga, we are hosting a special one-day Heart-Cry for Revival Conference (regional event) on January 28, 2010. Sammy Tippit, the Life Action worship team, Steve Canfield, Reggie Weems, and I will all be there. You may want to bring a pastor friend or several pastor friends and allow them to get exposed to the passion we all feel for awakening and revival.
On behalf of the steering committee, thank you for sharing in our vision!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
It’s Time To Pray!
by Dave Butts
“Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival – men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations.” -C. H. Spurgeon
I’m in agreement with that great “Prince of Preachers”, Charles H Spurgeon, that the desired outcome of our gathering at the Cove for the Heart Cry for Revival Conference, is that some would return to their homes committed to prayer. Not just any old kind of prayer, but passionate intercession for revival…a crying out for the Presence of God to be experienced in the midst of His people once again.
Like many of you, I’m a veteran of Christian Conferences. Almost without exception, I return home spiritually full, and often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of good teaching I’ve heard. Our most recent Heart-Cry Conference was no exception. Great teaching, preaching, worship and fellowship marked our time together. And now? Now it’s time to pray.
A Conference can light a fire of desire for revival, but by itself it cannot bring revival. Revival is heaven-sent, and at least the pattern for past revivals is, that it comes in response to the prayers of God’s people. Hopefully the HCR Conference lit that fire for you. Now it’s time to pray until we see God move in our midst.
A practical suggestion for you…find others to join you as you intercede for revival. You will be more consistent and better focused if a small group can gather to pray for God to manifest His Presence among His people. If you do not know others with this as an interest, then begin to pray on your own, but also ask the Lord to bring others to you to join with you as you pray for revival.
“The main reason we should be praying about revival is that we are anxious to see God’s name vindicated and His glory manifested. We should be anxious to see something happening that will arrest the nations, all the peoples, and cause them to stop and think again,” - Martin Lloyd-Jones
“Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival – men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations.” -C. H. Spurgeon
I’m in agreement with that great “Prince of Preachers”, Charles H Spurgeon, that the desired outcome of our gathering at the Cove for the Heart Cry for Revival Conference, is that some would return to their homes committed to prayer. Not just any old kind of prayer, but passionate intercession for revival…a crying out for the Presence of God to be experienced in the midst of His people once again.
Like many of you, I’m a veteran of Christian Conferences. Almost without exception, I return home spiritually full, and often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of good teaching I’ve heard. Our most recent Heart-Cry Conference was no exception. Great teaching, preaching, worship and fellowship marked our time together. And now? Now it’s time to pray.
A Conference can light a fire of desire for revival, but by itself it cannot bring revival. Revival is heaven-sent, and at least the pattern for past revivals is, that it comes in response to the prayers of God’s people. Hopefully the HCR Conference lit that fire for you. Now it’s time to pray until we see God move in our midst.
A practical suggestion for you…find others to join you as you intercede for revival. You will be more consistent and better focused if a small group can gather to pray for God to manifest His Presence among His people. If you do not know others with this as an interest, then begin to pray on your own, but also ask the Lord to bring others to you to join with you as you pray for revival.
“The main reason we should be praying about revival is that we are anxious to see God’s name vindicated and His glory manifested. We should be anxious to see something happening that will arrest the nations, all the peoples, and cause them to stop and think again,” - Martin Lloyd-Jones
Monday, November 23, 2009
HE THAT HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR
By Michael Catt
How many times have I heard great teaching on revival? Too many to count. How many times have I walked away from that teaching with the intention to do something about it and failed to act on it? Too many times to count. Isn't this something we are all guilty of?
As Manley Beasley use to say, we all know more than we are living up to. We talk about revival more than we pray about it. We think about it more than we act on it. Yet, over and over we see these words in the Gospels and in Revelation, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear."
I don't believe those words were written just so we might hear, take notes and be dismissed. They were written because hearing must lead to doing something about what we've heard. I heard Howard Hendricks say years ago, "You are responsible, not only for what you hear, but for what you would have heard if you had been listening."
At the Heart Cry for Revival Conference, I heard a lot. The question is, "Now what?" Maybe it's, "So what?" Will anything about my life be transformed? Will any dead branches be pruned so I can bear more fruit. Or, will I find myself stirred in my soul for a few days but going back to the daily grind with little or no change? The ball is in my court.
The Holy Spirit has clearly spoken. There were times when I needed to get away, I was in information overload. I needed to process all I was hearing. I needed to reflect, act, pray and think about what I was hearing. There were times when I realized I was around people who had a far greater hunger for God than I did and I was one of the plenary speakers!
I remember sitting at the table one day with my friends from Romania. They serve a great church, but when I asked them how I could pray for them, they teared up and said, "Pray we will have revival." They talked about how the prosperity and liberation from Communism had brought worldliness into the church. It's interesting, American's pray for prosperity and believers who have suffered pray for more suffering so it will burn away the dross and chaff.
What does one do with messages from a conference? Do we just take notes, maybe share them with a friend? Do we buy the CD's and DVD's and review what we heard? Hopefully we will do those things. The greater thing to do would be to apply and appropriate what we've heard. The seed has fallen on our hearts. The problem will be that the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches might choke out our hunger and thirsting after righteousness. After all, we've been to a conference on revival but that's not the real world - we've got to get back to the daily grind. And, the daily grind is so daily it's deadly. It chokes out our hunger for meat. We justify eating junk food. It chokes out our desire for God and we substitute a little devotional on the run. It robs us of power needed for the abiding and abounding life.
In a sense, at the Heart Cry Conference, we "held a revival." Now, we need to turn it loose. We must turn it lose in our lives. What we've heard, we must heed. God has spoken and He has not stuttered. The Spirit is speaking to the churches. Our burning hearts must warm the hearts of others. We can not allow ourselves to be cooled by the daily grind.
We live in an uncertain day, but God has given us a certain clarion call. We live in a day where we are all busy, in a hurry and stressed. We must be still and know that He is God. The current is against prayerfulness but the need for prayer is more urgent than ever. But having prayed, we must rise up and put our hands to the plow. The day is dark, the need is great. We must "repent, or else." We must do the works of the one who has sent us into this world. We must call the remnant to action. We must stir the carnal to decide whom they serve.
I've heard from HIM. I must now do something about it.
Michael Catt
How many times have I heard great teaching on revival? Too many to count. How many times have I walked away from that teaching with the intention to do something about it and failed to act on it? Too many times to count. Isn't this something we are all guilty of?
As Manley Beasley use to say, we all know more than we are living up to. We talk about revival more than we pray about it. We think about it more than we act on it. Yet, over and over we see these words in the Gospels and in Revelation, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear."
I don't believe those words were written just so we might hear, take notes and be dismissed. They were written because hearing must lead to doing something about what we've heard. I heard Howard Hendricks say years ago, "You are responsible, not only for what you hear, but for what you would have heard if you had been listening."
At the Heart Cry for Revival Conference, I heard a lot. The question is, "Now what?" Maybe it's, "So what?" Will anything about my life be transformed? Will any dead branches be pruned so I can bear more fruit. Or, will I find myself stirred in my soul for a few days but going back to the daily grind with little or no change? The ball is in my court.
The Holy Spirit has clearly spoken. There were times when I needed to get away, I was in information overload. I needed to process all I was hearing. I needed to reflect, act, pray and think about what I was hearing. There were times when I realized I was around people who had a far greater hunger for God than I did and I was one of the plenary speakers!
I remember sitting at the table one day with my friends from Romania. They serve a great church, but when I asked them how I could pray for them, they teared up and said, "Pray we will have revival." They talked about how the prosperity and liberation from Communism had brought worldliness into the church. It's interesting, American's pray for prosperity and believers who have suffered pray for more suffering so it will burn away the dross and chaff.
What does one do with messages from a conference? Do we just take notes, maybe share them with a friend? Do we buy the CD's and DVD's and review what we heard? Hopefully we will do those things. The greater thing to do would be to apply and appropriate what we've heard. The seed has fallen on our hearts. The problem will be that the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches might choke out our hunger and thirsting after righteousness. After all, we've been to a conference on revival but that's not the real world - we've got to get back to the daily grind. And, the daily grind is so daily it's deadly. It chokes out our hunger for meat. We justify eating junk food. It chokes out our desire for God and we substitute a little devotional on the run. It robs us of power needed for the abiding and abounding life.
In a sense, at the Heart Cry Conference, we "held a revival." Now, we need to turn it loose. We must turn it lose in our lives. What we've heard, we must heed. God has spoken and He has not stuttered. The Spirit is speaking to the churches. Our burning hearts must warm the hearts of others. We can not allow ourselves to be cooled by the daily grind.
We live in an uncertain day, but God has given us a certain clarion call. We live in a day where we are all busy, in a hurry and stressed. We must be still and know that He is God. The current is against prayerfulness but the need for prayer is more urgent than ever. But having prayed, we must rise up and put our hands to the plow. The day is dark, the need is great. We must "repent, or else." We must do the works of the one who has sent us into this world. We must call the remnant to action. We must stir the carnal to decide whom they serve.
I've heard from HIM. I must now do something about it.
Michael Catt
Monday, November 16, 2009
Coming down from the mountain
By Sammy Tippit
The Heart-Cry for Revival conference has concluded, and God met with us. We had a “mountain top” experience in a literal and spiritual sense. Now that we’ve all left the mountains of North Carolina, we face the realities of life in the valley - ministry difficulties, church responsibilities, and a ton of work waiting for us.
God did so much in our lives during these past several days. The burning question now rises, “What changes do we make as we return back to a “normal” life and workload? How do we implement those things that God spoke to our hearts? How do we take the revival we experienced in the mountains of North Carolina back to our churches and communities?”
God spoke to my heart during the 2006 Heart-Cry conference and wrought a mighty revival in my life. It was the beginning of the work of God about which I spoke on Wednesday evening of this conference. Perhaps the greatest part of God’s work in my heart came when He spoke to me about what to do after the conference. I sensed that He wanted me to take three hours per day for seven days and spend that time in prayer. I knew it would be a challenge, but I felt that it was imperative that I take that time to be alone with God and seek Him about the things spoken to my heart.
I did what He told me to do. That decision made the conference much more than a good conference. It produced lasting fruit in my life and fresh vision for my ministry. It enabled me to “run the race” more effectively and became the catalyst to a deeper and more thorough work of God.
I believe that it would be helpful to every person who attended this conference and felt God speaking to their hearts about issues in their lives and ministries to set aside some time for the next seven days to seek God about those heart matters. You may not need three hours per day. Maybe you need 30 minutes or one hour. But it is important that you take what you heard on the mountain top and make it a reality in the valley. That’s when revival begins to take root and grow.
There are two major questions upon which you need to reflect. First, what did God say to your heart at The Cove? Second, how will you implement the necessary changes needed to fulfill the word spoken to your heart? Spend time in prayer asking God for wisdom in these areas. Read the Scriptures devotionally. He will speak and give clear direction. Then, be willing to establish priorities and make these critical changes.
The last thing Jesus did on this planet before ascending to heaven was to meet with the disciples on the mountain top. He then commissioned them to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. Yet, we learn in the Book of Acts that the first thing they did after leaving the mountain was spend time in prayer over what Jesus said to them. Out of that prayer time came a mighty revival that resulted in the most incredible spiritual movement in human history. Those humble followers of Jesus changed the world.
Perhaps the secret of the first century Christians was that they learned to seek God in the valley about the things they heard on the mountain top. What could happen in America if we do the same?
The Heart-Cry for Revival conference has concluded, and God met with us. We had a “mountain top” experience in a literal and spiritual sense. Now that we’ve all left the mountains of North Carolina, we face the realities of life in the valley - ministry difficulties, church responsibilities, and a ton of work waiting for us.
God did so much in our lives during these past several days. The burning question now rises, “What changes do we make as we return back to a “normal” life and workload? How do we implement those things that God spoke to our hearts? How do we take the revival we experienced in the mountains of North Carolina back to our churches and communities?”
God spoke to my heart during the 2006 Heart-Cry conference and wrought a mighty revival in my life. It was the beginning of the work of God about which I spoke on Wednesday evening of this conference. Perhaps the greatest part of God’s work in my heart came when He spoke to me about what to do after the conference. I sensed that He wanted me to take three hours per day for seven days and spend that time in prayer. I knew it would be a challenge, but I felt that it was imperative that I take that time to be alone with God and seek Him about the things spoken to my heart.
I did what He told me to do. That decision made the conference much more than a good conference. It produced lasting fruit in my life and fresh vision for my ministry. It enabled me to “run the race” more effectively and became the catalyst to a deeper and more thorough work of God.
I believe that it would be helpful to every person who attended this conference and felt God speaking to their hearts about issues in their lives and ministries to set aside some time for the next seven days to seek God about those heart matters. You may not need three hours per day. Maybe you need 30 minutes or one hour. But it is important that you take what you heard on the mountain top and make it a reality in the valley. That’s when revival begins to take root and grow.
There are two major questions upon which you need to reflect. First, what did God say to your heart at The Cove? Second, how will you implement the necessary changes needed to fulfill the word spoken to your heart? Spend time in prayer asking God for wisdom in these areas. Read the Scriptures devotionally. He will speak and give clear direction. Then, be willing to establish priorities and make these critical changes.
The last thing Jesus did on this planet before ascending to heaven was to meet with the disciples on the mountain top. He then commissioned them to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. Yet, we learn in the Book of Acts that the first thing they did after leaving the mountain was spend time in prayer over what Jesus said to them. Out of that prayer time came a mighty revival that resulted in the most incredible spiritual movement in human history. Those humble followers of Jesus changed the world.
Perhaps the secret of the first century Christians was that they learned to seek God in the valley about the things they heard on the mountain top. What could happen in America if we do the same?
Monday, November 2, 2009
What is the Heart-Cry for Revival Conference?
Our vision is to ignite, equip, and commission ministry leaders in their passionate desire for God to bring spiritual renewal to individuals, churches, campuses, and nations.
IGNITE: Creating a fresh vision and passion for the Giver of revival
EQUIP: Enabling leaders to effectively communicate revival truths
COMMISSION: Charging leaders to believe God for a heaven-sent, Holy Spirit empowered revival
2009 DATES: Monday, November 9, 1:30 pm - Thursday, November 12, noon
WHO MAY ATTEND?
The conference is open to ministry leaders and spouses including: pastors, associate pastors, parachurch leaders, missionaries, prayer ministry leaders, local church prayer leaders, Bible college and seminary faculty and students, denominational leaders, Christian counselors, and church deacons and elders.
WHO ARE THE SPEAKERS?
David Bryant; Michael Catt; Daniel Henderson; David Butts; Richard Owen Roberts; Sammy Tippit; Byron Paulus; and Elza Meyer
Learn More...
WHAT IS THE FORMAT?
Our program includes prayer, worship, preaching, workshops, fellowship, and sessions for men and for women.
WHAT ARE THE WORKSHOP TOPICS? They include: prayer for revival in individual lives; the family; the local church; and the nation.
WHERE IS THE LOCATION?
The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina. Nestled among rich natural forest, woodland streams and abundant wildlife in the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, The Cove offers a serene atmosphere away from distractions of a busy world.
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