Guidepost

To
REVIVAL

Gbile Akanni
 GUIDEPOST TO REVIVAL

GBILE AKANNI
First Edition 2001,
Second Edition 2004.
Third Edition 2015
Fourth Expanded Edition 2022

ISBN 978-33002-7-1
All rights reserved.
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are
taken from the New King James Version of the Bible

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 CONTENTS

Preface To This Expanded Edition

Chapter One
This Revival...! X
Chapter Two
Pre-requisites for Revival labours X
Chapter Three
Further Instructions from David’s Experience X
Chapter Four
So, David Inquired Of The Lord X
Chapter Five
Necessary Actions X
Chapter Six
The “Spoils” That Spoil Revivals X
Chapter Seven
Peculiar Features of This Move of God X
 Preface to this Edition

As the Lord moved in our midst during the Ministers’ Leadership

Retreat (MLR) in the year 2000, we left with an overwhelming
sense of the promise of revival.
Immediately after the retreat, I wanted to write a brief follow up
note to “gather up the fragments” of the meeting with the
participants and I came under a very intense unction that kept me
writing for more than 24 hours continuously. My fingers ‘glued’ to
the pen since I was writing with pen and paper then.
What came forth eventually became the first edition of this book.
It was far more than I expected and I immediately knew that God
was giving me an instruction for our labour in revival, in the
coming days.
Contrary to the previous intention of releasing it just as a follow-
up letter, our editorial team felt it must be rather packaged in a
small booklet, in order to preserve the instruction in a portable,
enduring form. It is over twenty-one years now that the first
edition was published. We did a second edition in the year 2004
and the third edition came out in 2015.
I kept feeling that this is an instruction and a guidepost for all who
will labour with God in bringing another revival to the Church of
Christ on the earth.

But this year again, as we prayed and we saw what the Lord is
bringing us into . . . a season of an unstoppable global move,
which He tagged for us as “Rehoboth”, the burden to sit down
and study this guideposts came again with a compelling
instruction to revise it and make it widely available; not only in
English but in several languages, as much as possible.
The instruction God gave twenty-one years ago was then like a
prophecy, which we held in view and prayed with. We treated it
as a training for ourselves in preparation for what God will do with
our lives.
But now we have seen the cloud gathering; we have heard the
footsteps or the “goings on the mulberry trees”; we have seen the
sparks of little fire coming out from above; we have started
seeing mercy drops of what promises to become a downpour
from above.
We have seen God rise up again to do His work among His
people. We have heard Him speak emphatically from His word,
“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord
is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you. A little one shall become a
thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will
hasten it in its time.” Isaiah 60:1-2, 22 NKJV
In the midst of a tangible darkness that is engulfing the whole
earth and a deep darkness coming upon the people, a trumpet is
blowing, and an alarm is sounding. The time to move God’s
Church forward has come and we must act fast and in step with
the cloud of glory that is moving and rising upon us.
This guidepost must be studied again and again lest we
misbehave in this day of our visitation.
All who have been called and ordained by His mercy to be
firebrands must be guided so that this is not wasted and derailed.
All the vessels for this outpouring, rods of His strength and
channels of His blessing to this generation and perhaps the
generation following must be instructed aright. All who stand at
any junction or on any platform to spread this fire must be
properly instructed so we can behave ourselves wisely.
Since this is going beyond what any of us can organize or
control, I can only commend you to the Lord and to the word of
His grace that this guidepost will be found useful to guide you
and to assist you in your labour for God at a time like this.
We send this out again with all our prayers, trusting Him to do
with it as it pleases Him and to make it a blessing to all who are
enlisted by Him as channels for this end time move of His Spirit.

Gbile Akanni
October 2022
 Chapter 1
This Revival . . . !

Every time God moved in any generation, it was because He

‘rose up’ in response to the cry of men and women who
despaired of their dryness and knocked until their ‘closed
heavens’ gave way. A ‘closed heavens’ over a land is the bane of
that land . . . Anyone who has walked diligently with God in the
past several years would know that it has not been well with us
(the Church) in our generation.
Even though there have been several ‘mercy drops’ here
and there, but unfortunately, have always ended in the dungeon
of human manipulation. Several men of our day rose on the
wings of what would have been a sweeping revival, only to make
a name for themselves and to build ‘personality cults’ in the Body
of Christ. There are many more churches, many ministries but
little impact is being made on this generation, as salt would do to
already rotten meat! Our ‘light’ seems to have been so darkened,
that it can conveniently co-inhabit with this present darkness. We
are seeing ‘men of God’ who are homosexuals, while several
who claim not to be, give credence to it on the pulpit.
We see so much contradiction in our day, that it would
seem hopeless to expect a genuine revival again . . . Great works
are crumbling due to the forces of internal decay and
imperceptible compromise in the lives of leaders and members
alike. "But where sin abounded, there the grace of God
abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20). The depth of our
helplessness is actually the ground for God to manifest Himself
again.
In the past few years, God has stirred up the hearts of
many silent saints, sometimes unknown to one another, to cry
and tarry at His feet for a divine visitation again. Like the "seven
thousand in Israel which have not bowed to Satan, and every
mouth which hath not kissed him" reserved by God for this end
time labour for revival, they are seemingly in hiding. They are not
the prominent names being flashed all around us on the
billboards, the T.V screens and in the print or social media today.
They have refused to bow to the present worldliness and
the popular wave of preaching. They would not kneel to mere
cajole and human psychology. They have tasted of the old wine
just before it dried up and they have no taste for this present
mixed grill that men are pouring into the cups of the Church.
Hear the LORD loudly saying that it is time for Him to
remember Zion. “For the time to favour her, yes, the set time, has
come." Hitherto it has remained a promise but now it is clear that
the clouds have gathered . . . The LORD has risen on the "top of
the mulberry trees", in several nations!
This is not like another ‘organization’; it is a move of God
being borne on the wings of agonizing prayers. It is not about
forming international organizations and movements; it is a
simultaneous flow of the Spirit. It is non-denominational per se,
yet it is flowing through denominations that were hitherto
regarded as dead and orthodox. It is not about empty
emotionalism (though men could be occasionally overwhelmed);
it is not about men of God . . . but Christ Himself is the focus; He
is the One being lifted up.
It is not coming with great fanfare and ceremonies; neither
is it coming on decorated platforms. It is breaking forth in little
companies of seeking and praying men and women. It is a flow. It
is gradual and yet deep and forceful.
It is dealing with roots rather than leaves of externalism. It
is fundamental in restoring the Church to Biblical Christianity and
turning hearts of men back to the old paths and the ancient
landmarks. It gathers and draws sinners to the shore of the
Church, but much more in its focus, it is the preparation of the
Bride of Christ for her coming King.
This is what God, in mercy, is bringing us into at the
various levels of our labours with Him. It is but a fulfillment of the
prophecy made to the fathers. This divine visitation must not be
misunderstood! It must not be misapplied. It is not to build
another empire for men; it is to build the Body of Christ.
It will break and weaken barriers of human boundaries in
the Body of Christ. It will draw the dry and scattered bones
together in this seeming valley of dry bones. It will bring back to
the Church, submission to one another, so that we can grow
together in His purpose.
In all of these, God's servants need to be instructed on
how to behave themselves in revival. There are definite things
that all of God's labourers in this day, must pay close attention to,
so "that nothing be lost".
Revival is one of God's costly pearls. It is a holy treasure
that holy men and women sought for with tears. He would not
give it to dogs. As soon as genuine hunger and thirst for
righteousness ceases in the hearts of men, the oil of anointing of
the Holy Ghost must also cease. He will not allow the rain of
revival to fall only to grow and produce thorns and thistles in the
land. He holds people responsible for every open heaven He
grants unto them.
If He must trust us with another revival in the Body of
Christ, we must determine to walk in His will and refrain from
betraying our trust. This is the crucial matter set before us these
days as we step into the threshold of another outpouring of the
Holy Spirit in our time.
 This must not be lost! We must not make a shrine of it.
The ‘spoils’ that come along with divine favour over a man must
not spoil this.
As you go through these instructions for revival labour,
pray and commit your heart to obedience. If the LORD has ever
whispered His intention to use you in the end time revival and
you have thrown yourself at His feet as a channel to convey His
love to your generation, then these are words of instruction you
cannot afford to neglect or ignore.
My prayer goes with you as you read this and as you get
on your knees for His divine touch again. Be faithful and true. I
dare say to you as it was told Gideon of old:
"Go, in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the
hand of Midianites: have not I sent thee?" (Judg. 6:14 KJV)
 Chapter 2
Pre-requisites for Revival Labours

1. Another heart . . . A heart of compassion and love!

This is the first pre-requisite! For revival to come, we need
a heart of compassion for the Church and for God's flock, who
are scattered, molested, and harassed all over the land.
We need this kind of heart as a motivation for revival
labour. God cannot commit revival into our hands if all we want is
just to please ourselves, find fulfillment in ourselves and our
ministries or make a name as the ‘one in town’ whom God is
using! We must secure and cultivate the right motivation - a heart
moved with deep love and compassion for God's people and for
the souls of men, who know not their left from their right.
We must have a heart, for people drifting here and there
and being tossed to and fro by the cunning craftiness of men who
claim God's authority over them.
Revival comes, not because we just want one; it comes
because God's heritage in Christ is at stake. Though sin has
ravaged His Church and worldliness has crept in and broken our
boundaries, the LORD is still committed to His covenant with
Jesus. He will fulfil His oath . . .
"The LORD said to my Lord. ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I
make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The LORD shall send the
rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your
enemies." (Psalm 110:1-2)
We need a large heart that can bear with men; a heart that
travails until people are born afresh into God's will for their lives.
We need a heart that never gives up on men, until they have
crossed over their wilderness of sin and compromise.
We need a heart, large and roomy enough, to see men as
God sees them; a heart that holds on and up under any situation,
until the glory bursts forth upon His Church. Although God is
willing to pour forth His love again upon His Body in the nations,
we cannot present a rigid, narrow and hard heart for the coming
outburst of revival.
"Do you love Me more than these?" was His question to
Peter before He commissioned him for the Pentecostal showers
that gave birth to the New Testament Church. All who became
custodians of a divine move and visitation were people with
hearts that burned and flowed out in love to lost humanity!
In addition to praying, let us further ask God for such an
impartation of His own love into our hearts for His people and for
His creation, so we can also say like men of old, "For the love of
Christ constrains us” (II Cor. 5:14a). It means the love of Christ
leaves us no choice; it compels us; and controls us.
Paul wished he were accursed for the restoration of Israel.
Jeremiah, referred to as the weeping prophet, said, . . .
"Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of
tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the
daughter of my people". (Jer. 9:1).
It is this kind of heart that moved the men of old to
ceaseless tears in prayer and agony till the fire of revival fell.
Brother, sister, are you still seeing people the way God sees
them, or business and personal pursuits have filled up your heart
again? Maybe you prayed like this some time ago, what are you
doing now? Are you still intense in seeking revival?
 2. A Clear Revelation of the Terror of God...
This is the second crucial thing we must ask God for as a
prerequisite for revival labour!
"Knowing, therefore, the terror of the LORD, we persuade
men." (2Cor. 5:11).
We cannot run with the burden for world revival if we are
so complacent and comfortable with the present pet-doctrines of
‘the health and wealth gospel’: a gospel that paints God as One
who has no standards of His to maintain; a God who only exists
for the benefit of man; and who will bend to accommodate any
compromise.
Jonah would face Tarshish instead of delivering an urgent
message of repentance to lives perishing at Nineveh until he
himself was confronted with the reality of hell in the belly of fish.
He actually tagged it “the belly of hell”.
Unless we are clear-minded as regards the destiny of the
unconverted, the plight of all who have turned from the LORD, we
cannot raise a ‘fire- alarm’ that may rouse people from their
spiritual slumbering. Your utterance can never be stronger than
your convictions!
After Jonah saw the terror of the LORD for his own
personal disobedience, just for three days, and not even yet as in
hell, he knew the urgency of the issue of sounding a life warning
to people on their descent to eternal doom.
This terror of the LORD is what made the people of old to
preach accurately without adulterating the Word. It made them
unable to short-measure heaven's demands just to gain
acceptance with men and pull temporary crowds. Such people
preached with all fear and trembling, knowing the gravity of the
oracles they handled for the salvation of the souls of their
hearers.
Several people today, present the gospel lazily and with
little urgency in their hearts, because of this lack of the terror of
the Lord in the heart. While we would not persuade men to
consider their ways, we use every gimmick to persuade them to
give an offering for our work.
We need sharp eyes that see the wrath of God looming on
the heads of people who have not made peace with God. We
need a heart that has been pierced with the pains of a broken
communion with God, to be able to warn men and women who
mortgage their birthright for a mess of pottage.
John the Baptist knew this terror continually. He cried in
the wilderness: "Behold, the axe is laid on the root of the
tree . . ." To preach as to bring revival to the hearts of the people
of our generation, we individually need a baptism into the fish
belly like Jonah, and a revelation of hell, that brings the agony of
the rich man in the book of Luke, chapter 16:19-31 to our ears!
The rich man said, and I paraphrase, "Send Lazarus to my
father's house; let him testify unto them, lest they join me in this
torment“.
This is the cry of several in hell. How have you fared in
this? I am praying that this would be imprinted on the tables of
our hearts and on our faces. I believe God to keep us on our toes
as we run with passion to rescue the perishing, to care for the
dying and to compel those that have been crippled and made
lame by the prince of this world, to come in.

3. A Compelling Anointing...
 Elisha pursued Elijah all the way from Gilgal and beyond
Jordan, in order to catch the double portion of the anointing, after
more than fourteen years of continuous discipleship. Elisha knew
the dimension of the challenges that would face him when Elijah
must have gone. He knew the principalities behind Jezebel and
Baal would not deal kindly with him.
He requested not for a repetition of Elijah's exploits. It
would be inadequate now! It would not meet the need of his days.
Jericho remained barren and dry despite the great anointing on
Elijah, and they were waiting for Elisha. Jezebel was waxing
stronger in wickedness and Syria was ready for another
invasion… and since compromise had weakened the ranks of
God's people, Elisha asked for the double portion!
I realize that the needs and the challenges of the 21st
century generation are not to be compared with John Wesley's
days. Then, there were no sophisticated inventions that occupied
the hearts of men, as it is now! Then, there was no Internet and
the “World Wide Web” and children were still largely unexposed.
But now the devil has released more giant demons into the
world, working through several means, including technology, to
hold our world captive. We need an anointing (not necessarily
new or modern) in several multiples of what George Whitfield,
John Wesley, Charles Finney, Charles Spurgeon and a host of
others who turned their then generation around for God, walked
in.
Elijah said he could not do more than his fathers and
retired; but Elisha came with a large heart . . .
"Give me a double portion of your spirit."
"I must exceed my fathers, two times", he seemed to have
said.
 He was annoyed with Joash who sought to inherit the
anointing upon him, but with a narrow and limited vision. He said,
"You should have struck five or six times” (2Kgs 13:19); “Why did
you stop at three?" That was Elisha in his understanding of God's
divine purpose for his own generation.
We need a large heart, a global vision and a passion for
worldwide restoration of God's Church, if we would be able to
place our request for such a divine enablement. We need to cry
to God from our hearts, saying, "Lord, I will do more than my
fathers! I will not succumb!” That was what the apostles and
disciple makers of old practiced throughout the New Testament.
Are you still holding out your cup to the LORD for this kind
of infilling? Are you hoping to be remembered for bringing a
definite blessing to your generation? What will the womb of your
heart bring forth for God in this age? God’s charge to us at such
a time is,
"Pursue, Overtake and Recover all..."
It came to us with much assurance of a divine backing. It
is so deeply imprinted on my own heart that I have received a
fresh push to pursue the restoration of God's Church among the
nations.
Doors are opening here and there; people are yearning for
a divine touch; hearts are bleeding again for their lost first love.
Indeed, we shall overtake the enemy and recover all that he has
stolen as we rise to pursue the issue of revival in this our day.
 Chapter 3
Further Instructions from David’s Experience

I feel persuaded to now examine a story in the Bible with

you in some details, so as to guide you further on the steps you
must take, to actualize this charge and to enter into this holy
pursuit as a person.
Take a moment to turn to the first book of Samuel (1Sam
30:1-25). The context of our study is the story of how the
Amalekites invaded Judah from the southern part and smote
Ziklag and burned it with fire; they took captive all the women that
were therein. They captured all the children: sons and daughters
and carried them away.
David and his men were away from their base in Ziklag at
the time. They only returned to their camp in Ziklag, only to
discover the damage. All their belongings were burnt. More than
that, all their wives and children had been carried away to an
unknown destination. They did not know their whereabouts;
whether they were dead or alive, they could not tell.
Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on
the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and
Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, (1Sa 30:1 NKJV)

and had taken captive the women and those who were there,
from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them
away and went their way. (1Sa 30:2 NKJV)
So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned
with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had
been taken captive. (1Sa 30:3 NKJV)

Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their
voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. (1Sa
30:4 NKJV)

And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the
widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. (1Sa
30:5 NKJV)

Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of

stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and his daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the Lord his God. (1Sa 30:6 NKJV)

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please

bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to
David. (1Sa 30:7 NKJV)

So David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop?

Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you
shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." (1Sa 30:8
NKJV)

So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him,
and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left
behind. (1Sa 30:9 NKJV)

But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred
stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the
Brook Besor. (1Sa 30:10 NKJV)

Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to

David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him
drink water. (1Sa 30:11 NKJV)
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of
raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for
he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three
nights. (1Sa 30:12 NKJV)

Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are
you from?" And he said, "I am a young man from Egypt, servant
of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three
days ago I fell sick. (1Sa 30:13 NKJV)

We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in

the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of
Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire." (1Sa 30:14 NKJV)

And David said to him, "Can you take me down to this troop?"
So he said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor
deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down
to this troop." (1Sa 30:15 NKJV)

And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out
over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all
the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the
Philistines and from the land of Judah. (1Sa 30:16 NKJV)

Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the
next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred
young men who rode on camels and fled. (1Sa 30:17 NKJV)

So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and
David rescued his two wives. (1Sa 30:18 NKJV)

And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or

daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them;
David recovered all. (1Sa 30:19 NKJV)
Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before
those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil." (1Sa
30:20 NKJV)

Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so
weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made
to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to
meet the people who were with him. And when David came near
the people, he greeted them. (1Sa 30:21 NKJV)

Then all the wicked and worthless men [56] of those who went with
David answered and said, "Because they did not go with us, we
will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except
for every man's wife and children, that they may lead them away
and depart." (1Sa 30:22 NKJV)

But David said, "My brethren, you shall not do so with what the
Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our
hand the troop that came against us. (1Sa 30:23 NKJV)

For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes
down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies;
they shall share alike." (1Sa 30:24 NKJV)

So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an

ordinance for Israel to this day. (1Sa 30:25 NKJV)

So David inquired of the LORD, saying "Shall I pursue this troop?

Shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue, for you
shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." Vs 8
If you tried to skip reading the passage because of its
length, permit me to plead that you should take the trouble to
read this story afresh, no matter how many times you have read it
before. There are few issues we must thresh out in this story as
personal instructions for our lives and our labour with God.
An Unquenchable Desperate Burden For Revival . . .
" So David and his men came to the city, and there it was,
burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters
had been taken captive.
Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their
voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the
widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive
Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of
stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and his daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
(1Sam. 30:3-6)

David and his men departed for their camp, after God
miraculously released them from following the Philistine army to
fight against their own people - the people of Israel. They were
probably singing and dancing until they came near Ziklag. Then
their voices started going down as they started smelling the
burning of their city.

A reason to cry . . .
At the outskirts of the city, they saw several roofs burnt,
but nothing to cry about yet until they came near their own very
camp. Shouts of surprise turned to sobbing as they walked
through the burnt ashes of their houses. Some still tried to remain
composed until they looked everywhere for their wives and their
children and could neither trace them nor even their dead bodies!
 Roasted alive? Stolen away? Raped and molested? No
one was there to give them a clue! Now, the reality of their losses
dawned on them; each one of them lost someone precious apart
from properties.
Tears rolled uncontrollably. They wept. Men, mighty
warriors, whose emotions had been toughened and deadened
before because of wars and battles, suddenly decomposed and
melted in tears, until they had no more power to weep.
They were so grieved - every man for his sons, for his
daughters and for his wife. Even David lost his two wives! They
all had a reason to cry; and their cry was not arbitrary. It was a
cry for recovery!
This is the first issue in labouring and travailing for revival.
Only those that have discovered what the enemy has stolen from
their lives can cry for it to be recovered. It is ‘discovery’ that leads
to ‘recovery’. Unless you have a clear revelation of the havoc the
enemy has brought upon the Church and particularly on your own
personal life and those of your immediate acquaintances, you
may not contract a deep burden for revival.

A personal reason to cry . . .

Each one of them cried, because each one lost something.
Until they saw the extent of damage, their tear glands were
restrained. This is the first crucial thing!
Do you have a correct assessment of your personal loss of
spiritual virtue and grace? Could you measure how much less
you have, compared with all that heaven planned for you to hold?
Do you ever realize you are operating below your expected divine
capacity . . . all because the enemy raided your life from behind?
Have you seen the need to cry for personal restoration?
 Only those who sense their personal need can actually
share the burden of crying for a restoration. Bearing a burden for
revival will be vague if you have nothing at stake. Six hundred
men lifted their voices (in one accord) because each one of them
had lost something precious to his soul. If you are only praying
for God to revive others, without you needing a personal revival,
you will be vague and you will not go too far in the labour for
revival!
Let me say here that it is the personal revival of individuals
that culminates into a corporate revival in several nations. What
we are seeking all over the nations can actually break forth, if
each one of us gets kindled again . . . and our personal walk with
God becomes revived. Do not cry, except you have seen a need
in your own life. If you do not cry because of a need for divine
restoration of God's power in your life, then you will only be
making a useless noise!

A desperate cry . . .
They became desperate. The grief of their losses
overwhelmed them, to the point that they spoke of stoning David!
They despaired of any company with David if he would not rise to
do something about the restoration and the recovery of their
loved ones.
Are you as desperate for personal revival, that you would
do anything to get it? Are you so tired of any other makeshift that
you can even stone any preacher who tries to palliate you without
speaking of genuine restoration of all that the devil stole from
your life?
Are you ready to break away from friends and colleagues
who would only sit down on empty ashes of their burnt
endowments, as though they lost nothing? Would you seek the
LORD until He revives you again?
 Chapter 4
"SO DAVID INQUIRED OF THE LORD...
This is the second point in the labour for revival. 2Chr.
7:14 says, "If my people. . . shall humble themselves, and pray,
and seek my face . . . and turn from their wicked ways…"

Seek His face for Guidance . . .

We must seek God's face intently for the way out of our
predicament as individuals and then as a people. Until David
inquired of LORD for what to do; they only sat weeping. Weeping
without a divine guidance will not bring recovery. It will only
amount to self-pity.
David cried out to the LORD saying, "Shall I pursue after
this troop?" "Shall overtake them?" This is crucial in labouring for
revival. Revival labour is not an arbitrary activity. It is not another
organization for show.
It is not a vogue or a fashion of talking. It is a labour that
demands a definite divine commission. We need to be clear on
this! If God has not spoken . . . we cannot rise to say or do
anything. Except you hear from God, as regards the certainty of
recovery, you will only be doing a "trial and error" business.
All who presume to labour for revival without a divine
commissioning shall abandon the burden midstream, for they
lack the inner motivation to run and pursue the wicked troop that
trooped into the household of faith to plunder it.
 Revival takes years . . .
Revival labours may take years of pains and agony. The
pursuit for restoration could even last a lifetime. Some prayed
and pursued revival for 40 or 50 years only to be told to rest with
their fathers. Others only sowed their tears and their petitions, to
be reaped by some other labourers. Whether we are to reap the
revival or just to sow our lives as seeds for it, we must receive a
divine commission, a divine mobilization to so labour.
I have known several saints who departed into glory (at
advanced ages) who sowed the prime of their years into revival
labour in nations and tribes. Some of us are only stepping into
the harvest of their tears today, as we see the heavens being
opened gradually again over the Church in the nations.
So, in order not to be presumptuous let me ask you to
inquire of the LORD if you should rise along with some of us to
pursue this burden of revival! It may be that God has released
you to only pray for us from afar. But as for me, I certainly heard
God speak clearly to my heart many years ago about this. I have
been in the pursuit of Revival for the Body of Christ ever since. I
have bemoaned the "Ichabod' of my own personal life and
ministry; I still do even today. I have heard Him in recent times
speak more deeply that now is the time for recovery, restoration
and revival!

Revival is possible today . . .!

It is time for the Church worldwide to be woken up from
slumber; it is time for her to trim her lamp and be ready to meet
the ‘Groom’ who is almost at the door. I heard the Lord say,
"Pursue it and overtake the enemy and you will recover all..." I
am excited to be involved in this along with several other saints...
Be sure, you also are in this pursuit for heaven-sent revival
because you have heard Him.
 All the six hundred rose to pursue the troop because they
individually lost something and then each heard the word from
the LORD. If you are not convinced of this labour towards revival,
it is of no use getting involved. It is better to find something else
to do.
I have heard God speak to my heart again that revival is
possible! Worldwide revival is possible. Nations that have
become dead and dry will blossom again . . . Lands that are now
deserts will flourish again . . .
Isa 41:17-21 has been a definite word from the LORD to
my heart for many years but reaffirmed again and again. I am
really excited that recovery is in view and that we have entered
the season of divine visitation. Praise the LORD! Alleluia!

1. "And He answered him, Pursue, for you shall

surely overtake them, and without fail recover All"
Let us examine the implication of this instruction from the
LORD to David, for us today:
(a) “And He answered him . . .”
This is the first miracle. It means the heavens are still open to
give instruction for a guided action. We must cherish the privilege
of hearing God speak to us on the issue of revival. As we call on
Him and He answers us, it is the first indication that there is hope
for our generation.
“And He answered him...” I believe the LORD has
answered our cry as well, and so this instruction must be
regarded as such. It is a directive from above. It is God's
response to the genuine cry of His children. The question is,
"What will God have us do at this point?" As it is, you need to
take this instruction as God's mandate on your life wherever you
are located, at whatever level you are, and whosoever you are. I
beseech you to heed the LORD's instruction today.
Arise, act and God will confirm each step you take in the
pursuit of revival first for your own life, your immediate family,
your local church assembly and your community. Rise up today
and pursue this troop that has invaded our Father's vineyard.
(b) "Pursue . . ."
To pursue means to rise up and run after in order to
overtake. Chase them until you catch up with them. Aim at them
until you overtake them and take over from them. The word,
‘pursue’ is an active word. It is also used as an ‘imperative’ in
grammar. It comes as a necessity, a command as well as a
directive.
Yes! This is the issue. To secure recovery, restoration and
revival, we must pursue it. The enemy troop that raided the
household of faith is also on the run to escape with what he has
stolen. He is advancing on the fast lane, to disappear beyond
reach. For every minute David sat back, the hope of recovery
was getting bleak, more and more. There is urgency in that word,
‘Pursue’.
The Church continues to decay into worldliness by the
day, as long as God’s people are still sleeping and slumbering on
their beds of ease. Many are finally and forever lost. Some are
beyond recovery now. Others have become total apostates while
no one rose to pursue the issue of revival and restoration of
Biblical Christianity.
Now, in our own context, to pursue means to push for and
labour towards revival. It means to run and rush for everything
that could bring the fire back to the altar; to run, grab and seize
upon every opportunity to be restored into an unbroken
communion with God.
 It also means to increase speed and gain more
momentum, till we can overtake the enemy in his games and
craftiness. It is to hasten to the point where we can corner in the
enemy and close in on him; to launch an attack on his host and
take back what he has stolen from our Father's vineyard. To
pursue means to aim at a combat; to carry along an army that is
bent on the recovery of all that was lost.
Abram raised an army of three hundred and eighteen
(318) persons in his house, to pursue the kings that raided
Sodom and took away his nephew Lot and his children. It is a call
to spiritual warfare. It is a call to divine battling until the gates of
hell bow the knee. It is not an aimless journey or battle. You are
aiming at a particular target. You cannot afford to be distracted
into branching into fresh conflicts.

(i). Pursue original foundations . . .

Revival labour is a very technical labour; labouring to
return the boundaries to the ancient landmark; labouring to re-
capture what was original and not taking alternatives. It is a
labour to bring back what the fathers in the faith held on to, but
which had slipped out into the enemy's hands.
It requires that you know the ancient landmarks so well
that you can detect every attempt to disfigure the original. You
must be conversant with the unadulterated features of the faith of
our fathers. You cannot accept any counterfeit for the real thing.
You will not take brass for gold and silver.
You cannot be carried away with the fanfare of
modernism. The elders who pursued the rebuilding of the temple
had to dig and pack out rubbish to rediscover the original
foundation. They would not agree to start on other grounds with
new and recent foundations. This is the challenge of pursuing
revival.
 We need to know what we are pursuing. We are not just
pursuing crusades and crowds. We are not pursuing a big name
in ministry. We are not looking for spectacular things that modern
day men are parading! Restoration is different from
‘replacements’.
Daniel would never give himself rest until the original
golden vessels and the silver cups of the Sanctuary, carried out
of the temple into Babylon had been returned. Shishak replaced
them with wooden and brazen vessels. Men and women who
pursued revival would not settle for mere replacements.
Do you understand what God is saying to you now? Rise
up and pursue the original! Do not settle for replacements and
adaptations. God will have you labour now with a focus on the
original pattern. Anything short of that is a mere imitation! Pursue
with the aim of recovering all!

(ii). A definiteness in personal pursuit!

Each man that was to pursue the troop with David . . . all
knew what they were hoping to recover; they all knew their wives,
their sons and their daughters. Even if the enemy disfigured
them, they knew their voice, their heights, and the unchangeable
features of their loved ones. This is how it will work for us as well.
Each one must in the first instance pursue the recovery of
our very known son or daughter or wife that has been stolen from
us. You know very well what you used to have with the LORD.
Pursue it! Pursue it until it comes back to you.
Each pursued a personal recovery before a general
recovery. They pursued their personal recovery in the context of
the corporate recovery. The truth is that the same enemy that
stole from me is the one that stole from the brethren. When I
have found my own, I can lead others to the enemy's hideout to
recover theirs as well! If I find mine, it will be easier to point
others to how to recover theirs.
Until a man has touched his own wife, he may only be
packing others aside for identification later, and even at that, he
is still restless. Until he has been helped, he cannot help others.
It will still be all right if your pursuit is first for personal revival.
You will be the authentic man to point others to the place of
recovery.

(c) "For you shall surely overtake them"

What a promise and yet a directive . . . Recovery, Restoration
and Revival are only possible when you overtake the enemy. The
word ‘overtake’ actually means to "take over", But you cannot
take over from a man until you overtake the man.
It means you must outrun him, outsmart him and hedge him in.
This is why revival is a sovereign act of God. How can we wake
up just now and still overtake the enemy who had come to raid
our lives over a long period? How can we be hoping to overtake
such depth of foolishness that has long taken over the stage
amidst God’s people?
But this is possible when the LORD arises to subdue the enemy
before us. All that appear permanently damaged, without the
hope of recovery, shall be restored and brought back into original
shape when the LORD remembers us and advances His cause
on our hands.
He will puncture their wheel of progress as He did to the
Egyptians and confusion will enter into their camp. This is where
we need to wait on the mercy of God as we pursue the matter of
revival. It is the matter of overtaking . . . If we do not “surely”
overtake the enemy, the decay will be colossal.
 Revival is not mere preaching but an encounter that overtakes
and subdues wickedness, no matter how long it has been there.
It is an outpouring that turns the people suddenly around. It takes
over from the popular idea of the day. It overturns the tables and
resets people’s focus back on God and His word.
There is a definite promise from God. “For you shall surely
overtake them." This is why we should firmly lay hold on that
promise! Each one must labour with this in mind. It is the
overtaking that matters in revival labour. And God will push His
purpose on our hands forward, to such a point that it will take
over and enthrone Christ as King over the nations.
Righteousness will reign again on the pulpits and in the pews.

(d) ". . . and without fail recover all"

This is also a promise and a clear instruction of what to
expect in revival. Sometimes people talk of revival without being
clear about what the objective of revival is!
What do we expect in revival? What will revival add to us and
to the Church? Let me say it quickly in ‘one word’: our
expectation in revival is ‘Total Recovery of all that the enemy
has taken away’. If David pursued and saw the enemy but did
not return with the wives and children of all his men, he has not
achieved anything, and they would still stone him to death.
Revival is not just a good exercise; . . . or just a good attempt.
It is not just an activity or a program that people organize. It is
God’s divine intervention in the affairs of His Church, to recover
all! Revival is . . .
 a recovery of that which is about to die and waste
away.
 restoration of that which was lost.
 returning home of all the prodigals.
  rebuilding of broken walls
 rekindling of the fire on the altar.

These and several other things are our expectations in the

coming revival. Isaiah 32:15-18 gives an insight into our
expectation...
"Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the
wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is
counted as a forest.
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and
righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of
righteousness will be peace; and the effect of
righteousness, quietness and assurance forever,
My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure
dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” (Isa. 32:15-18)
This is what we must labour to recover without fail: the
wilderness, the dry places and the deserts shall become fruitful
fields... Men and women who have been dry, barren and
deserted shall spring forth to fruitfulness.
Even those we see to be fruitful fields today will be
counted for forests when the Spirit is poured on us from on high.
 Chapter 5
Necessary Actions

1. "So David went..."

Prompt Obedience! Immediate Action!
"So David went, he and the six hundred men who were
with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those
stayed who were left behind. But David pursued, he and
four hundred men, for two hundred stayed behind, which
were so weary that they could not cross the brook Besor."
1Sam. 30:9
In our pursuit of revival, we must be prompt in obedience.
We need not observe the winds or regard the clouds. We need to
throw our lives into God's hands for this labour. Revival demands
prompt obedience, prompt action, prompt response to divine
prompting. That was how men of old sparked revival fire; and that
is how we shall do also, even in this revival.
Initially, all the six hundred men trooped out behind him,
but at the Brook Besor, two hundred began to faint. This is
normal in every revival labour. Zeal is hot at the beginning but as
we pass through brooks and nothing is in view, several begin to
faint. Even though all will be beneficiaries of revival when it
comes, not all the saints will be able to labour with God for it.
As people drop out by the lay-bys, you must refuse to be
distracted or discouraged. Pursue further than the brooks. Let
those who cannot continue remain behind, keeping the stuff, but
you must continue the pursuit.
You will surely overtake them and without fail recover all.
There must be men and women who will persevere in this pursuit
until the fire falls. Will you lay down your life for this pursuit in
your own day?

2. A divine link.
"And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him
to David, and they gave him bread, and he ate, and they
let him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of
figs, and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten,
his strength came back to him: for he had eaten no bread
nor drunk water for three days and three nights.
Then David said to him, ‘To whom do you belong, and
where are you from?’ And he said, ‘I am a young man
from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left
me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.
We made an invasion of the southern area of the
Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of
the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with
fire.’
And David said to him, ‘Can you take me down to this
troop? So he said, ‘Swear to me by God, that you will
neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master
and I will take you down to this troop.
 And when he had brought him down, there they were
spread out over all the land, eating and drinking, and
dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had
taken from the land of the Philistines, and from the land of
Judah."
(1Sam. 30:11-16)
Until you rise up in faith to pursue the issue of divine
recovery for your life and for the Church, you may not know what
great provision God has made to make revival a reality.
As David rose to pursue this troop, he had no hint of
where they went; no informant to guide them. But God brought
along their path a young man of Egypt, (a servant of an
Amalekite) whom his master had callously dropped off on their
journey because he became weak and sick on the way. He was
abandoned to die of hunger.
This is typical of Satan! He repays no one with good. He is
wicked and cruel even to those who serve him faithfully. He
abandons you when he has sucked from you all strength and
health and vigour that could make you useful to him. Most
servants of the devil today would say like that young man,
"Take me not back to my master; he is a taskmaster
without any compassion. He abandons you as soon as he
has used and exploited you and you are no more of any
use to him."
But the high point of our study here is the way God placed
him on the path of David and his men. He was faint and lay a-
dying. David and his men could have ignored him or killed him off
in their agony. That would have been a waste of their energy
anyway.
But they showed him kindness; they gave him what he
needed most at the time - bread and water! He was nursed back
to life again . . . “His strength came back to him again." This is the
first stage of revival and recovery.

. . . every little opportunity!

In our pursuit for revival, we must not neglect any little
thing God places on our path. We must not ignore little windows
and little open doors. Be it to young children or to the youth;
teenagers in the secondary schools or on the street; ladies,
widows or divorcees; villagers and illiterates; the educated or the
drunk that is messing up around the corner.
Revival may break forth because “an Egyptian dropout" is
brought into a personal revival! We do not know, if it is one of
these so-called “spineless” converts that will bring us down to this
“troop” for total recovery. Let us not be obsessed with large
crowds of gatherings. Most heaven-sent revivals do not begin
with large crowds. Every large river usually springs forth from an
almost obscure source.
This I perceive we must watch out for in our labour for
revival. We must insist on giving the “bread” and the “water” in
our vessels to every man we meet on our path of pursuit. None
can be too small! No one must be treated as insignificant. All will
be used in the coming outburst of revival; but they must first
experience their own personal revival.

Unlikely links to revival outburst . . .

Most of the people who will lead us into the company
where the enemy is celebrating the spoils from the Church, may
still be on the wayside presently . . . to come in contact with them,
we may need to do some menial things as we pursue this revival.
 While we look for leaders, pastors and General Overseers
as gates into the tribes and nations, we must not neglect to
disciple the "young man of Egypt” dropped divinely on our path. If
his master had known he would become a lead to their hide-out,
he would have killed him right away.
Yes! Many have been kept alive and delivered despite all
that the enemy did to destroy them. And they have been dropped
on our path because they have a role to play in the coming
revival! Do not look away from little ministerial opportunities . . .
Do not rush for places of big honorarium. Most of them are
dungeons. They may become caves, where your gift may be
stifled. These “young” ones may have nothing to support you. In
fact, you must be ready not only to impart the gospel to their
hearts, but also to share your substance with them.
They may have to be on your carriage even for some time.
They have no substance of their own, but they may provide "a
lead" and “a link” to the place of divine fulfillment for you in your
pursuit of revival in the nations. Check the history of past revivals.
You will confirm that many of those whom God used to lead the
path to revival were dropouts.
John Wesley was the most riotous in his family before
grace came to him...
John Newton was a dropout, a nuisance, a cheat and a
drunkard; yet he was the ‘lead’ to the abolition of slave trade and
the revival that later ensued.
Be gracious enough on your path of pursuit for divine
outburst of revival to pick along dropouts and dregs of the earth
who are willing to follow you. Do not be high-minded.

3. A peep at the Enemy's Camp.

 "And when he had brought him down, there they were
spread out over all the land, eating and drinking, and
dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had
taken from the land of the Philistines, and from the land of
Judah." (vs. 16)

The enemy rejoices . . .

This is very disheartening to me! You can see the contrast.
In Ziklag, men were weeping until they had no more power to
weep; and here men in the enemy camp were eating and drinking
and dancing! The loss of God's people is the gain of the devil.
The downfall of the saints is the rejoicing of the wicked. That is
the rationale for revival.
The enemy sits in a corner eating, drinking and dancing
because of all the great spoil he has taken from the Church! Hell
is hilarious today as principles of righteousness and holy living
are pushed out of our pulpits and men advance doctrines of
greed and covetousness in the garment of prosperity.
Demons rejoice as many of our pastors are lured into
unequal yoking with their aids! Powers of hell are so jubilant as
they see ministers unzip their trousers before strange girls who
are their church members.

The problem is their spread . . .

And I am burdened that "they were spread out over all the
land". It is not a local problem. It is in all the nations. It is in Africa;
it is worse in Europe; in the villages, in the cities. Almost every
pulpit has been bastardized with wrong doctrine and ministerial
practices.
 Unsuspecting flocks dance and jump to strange tunes;
they clap for showmanship; they troop behind empire-builders of
our day! All this makes me very sad, and I cry, "O! Lord, will you
please lead us to recover all of these without fail!" More and
more, we see the spread of error all over the nations. There is a
confederacy in hell against the Church. The Amalekites are at it
again.
If you are concerned about God's glory, arise and let us
follow our LORD to the slaughter of the giants. It is time for God
to remember Zion. Do not look at their spread! Do not consider
their seeming prominence. They may be prominent but surely,
they are not pre-eminent!
There is a great divide between prominence and pre-
eminence! One is external and a show. It is a mere ‘domination’;
but the other is internal; it is eminent: it is ‘dominion’. It is an
authority that cannot be pushed aside. Error may appear
prominent, but I say it is not pre-eminent! Our God is the pre-
eminent One. Eminence is His character. He has the final say!
Rise up, dear yoke fellow . . . the kingdom of error shall fall.

The tide will soon change!

But assuredly, I see their joys, their dancing and their
jubilation ending very soon! It will soon come to an abrupt end.
There will be wailing again and gnashing of teeth as usual in the
camp of the enemy when the LORD our God arises to defend His
heritage and to subdue His enemy. God will arise and His
enemies will be scattered. I see a turnaround soon! I hear the
LORD saying;
"Pursue and you shall surely overtake them and without
fail recover all."
 "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet
shortly...” (Rom. 16:20a)
Let courage rise with danger,
and strength to strength oppose...
Where duty calls or danger,
Be never wanting there...
This day, the noise of battle
The next, the victor's song...
(From the Hymn:
Stand up! Stand up for Jesus
-- By George Duffield, Jr.)

4. "Without fail recover all...”

“And David attacked them from twilight until the evening of
the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four
hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.
So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried
away, and David rescued his two wives.
And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great,
sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken
from them; David recovered all." (1Sam. 30:17-19)
This is the miracle of recovery! This is our expectation of
God! It is a possible reality. Our God shall fight for us and we, His
servants shall do valiantly. It is God who pushes down our
enemies before us.
We shall examine some intricate issues here for our
learning:

(a) Intense Labour...

 ". . . from twilight until the evening of the next day."
Revival comes with much labour. It is a rigorous labour
that comes once the heavens open again to us. As soon as the
LORD stood at the lake and directed Peter to launch into the
deep, their empty boats became inadequate to hold the fishes!
They beckoned on their partners. They filled both boats until they
were about sinking. They dragged the boats full of great fishes to
land...
That was only going to be the beginning of conscientious
labour of roasting and preservation of fish. All their women, their
colleagues, collaborators and even competitors now had work to
do.
At Pentecost, when 3000 people were dragged into the net
of the kingdom, you can imagine the immediate labour that
devolved to the Apostles . . . Daily meetings: teachings and
breaking of bread had to be done from house to house. No
central place could hold the outburst. This is coming again!
As we pursue this matter of revival, prepare for selfless
labour! Gird your loins... Be ready for all night labour. " And David
attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day.”
That was about thirty-six-hours of continuous slaughter as
though the Amalekites had been bound up and tied down by the
invisible Hand: Actually, that is what happens in revival! People
are supernaturally arrested and brought under violent
convictions.
Brother, sister, revival will drain you; it will engage all your
faculties. It demands total sacrifice if nothing shall escape our
hands again. Are you willing to serve without a reserve? David
went immediately into business. Necessary comforts of the night,
change of raiment and sleep were all suspended for the job at
hand. May we become so selfless as to give Him quality service
in the day of His power.

(b) Armed hands . . .

David was well armed - with a sharp sword, bow and
arrows! He did not go empty handed. He had faith to come back
with all that was stolen. They were ready fighters for their God. It
was not at the enemy's camp that they started gathering their
weapons.
We must prepare our men and ourselves for the coming
days. We must train people to handle the sword of the Spirit; to
shoot even through the eye of a needle. We must equip men and
women with skills for genuine New Testament ministry. All hands
will be needed in the coming revival. We must train as many as
are available. David's soldiers were mostly those that came to
him in the cave of Adullam...
"And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who
was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered to
him. So he became captain over them. And there were about
four hundred men with him." (1 Sam 22:2)
They were not great people when they came. They were
not born warriors! Their qualification was not bogus:
 They were in distress - they were tired of the stress of Satan
on their souls.
 They were in debt; they needed a reliever and deliverer:
 They were discontented, they needed a change. They needed
a bearing in life. They were seeking a reality that had ever
eluded them.

Available and trained!

 David became their Captain . . . training them to become
warriors of the Kingdom! He slept among them; he ate with them;
he restrained their bad manners; some were still sons of Belial,
but he poured grace into their lives. He sang his Psalms and
hymns to them, until they became tamed and tempered men.
That was discipleship; raising men from nothing and from
the dust to take their places in God’s kingdom royal service. We
must, in the immediate, engage in concerted training and raising
of disciples who can handle the sword of the Spirit; people who
can shoot the arrow of God's Word at a target. We must devote
ourselves to this now as our immediate commission.
Jesus prepared the one hundred and twenty men and
women for the Pentecost and the labour that would break forth
suddenly on them. This is very critical in this labour towards
revival.
We cannot undermine discipleship: a systematic training of
lives for divine service. I am not concerned about crash program
Bible schools, one-month Diploma and Doctorate degrees. No! I
am concerned about apprenticeship that pours our lives into
others; that prepares them to stand forthwith in places of duty, so
that no one will escape!

. . . disciples everywhere!
We must place disciples in offices, in government, in
businesses and in schools; in professions where they stand with
sharp swords to recover all that the enemy has stolen.
While we train pastors, evangelists, prophets...we need
not neglect to raise artisans who have been discipled to turn their
ordinary workshops into sanctuaries of praise and of the ministry
of the Word to their customers who must be harvested for God’s
kingdom!
 Ministry will not be localized to church halls anymore.
People will be convicted and brought on their knees in
laboratories, supermarkets, mechanic workshops, open markets
etc.
And we need to raise men and women in such ordinary
positions to draw the sword and puncture people’s hearts until
they have been thoroughly converted and led as captives into the
Sanctuary worship like all other captives of the cross.
This is the mandate we must pursue in the years ahead.
Intensive discipleship - to ‘attenuate’ people, until they can be
poured back into the Body of Christ wherever it will please the
LORD to use them.

(c) Total Recovery...

"Not a man of them escaped, … "
We must labour with the total purpose of God in mind. We
must not limit God, even when we have seen some results. God's
mandate is to recover all and not just some. It is to finish the
enemy's incursion into the Church completely.
Every wrong doctrine, over-emphasis, imbalanced
application of the truth, error and personality cults in ministry
must be slaughtered. The Church must be fully recovered and
brought back to her original premise, that is, a total return to
Biblical Christianity. It is enormous, but our God is able to help us
such that no one escapes the SWORD of the Spirit this time
around.
And David recovered all! We also by His grace and by His
good hand upon us and upon this move shall recover all! David
was bent on recovering even the last pin! He was not satisfied to
leave the least of a thing for the enemy to parade about.
 They actually spoilt the enemy and disarmed them of all
they held. They dislodged them. Those that escaped only fled for
their lives taking nothing along with them. The enemy will yet flee,
in Jesus Name.

Chapter 6
The “Spoils” that Spoil Revival

This is the final point we need to highlight in this study of

God's instruction to us and to everyone who would labour in
revival.
Every won battle brings in great spoils to the warriors.
They are the booties of war. When men are overcome and
slaughtered, their goods and properties become automatic spoils
of war for the overcomers. That is the nature of wars; and the
battle of revival is no different. Revival will certainly bring spoils to
the men who labour for it. The matter is what they do with the
spoils of revival.
Several battles were won for God, but the men spoilt their
lives and their consecrations with the spoils of the war. Let’s
peruse the scriptures for tales of such calamities lest we
inadvertently add to their list . . .
Achan spoilt his life and spoilt that revival under Joshua
because he flew on the spoils of Jericho. Saul, the son of Kish,
lost his anointing and became tormented throughout his life
because he went for the spoils of the Amalekites. Gehazi would
have inherited at least the double portion of the spirit of Elisha,
but he ran after Naaman to receive the spoils and eventually
caught Naaman’s leprosy.
Balaam, Samson, Judas Iscariot and several other men in
Scriptures and in our contemporary history spoilt the purpose of
God in which they stood because they rushed for the spoils.
Every revival brings in great spoils even to the men of God
laboring in it! It opens several hearts and homes to you. The
open heavens over your life will open people’s purses to you.
They become willing to even pluck out their eyes for you if you
care to have them. They relax and release to you without much
caution.
Jesus taught His disciples meticulously on how to handle
the spoils. He taught them even how and where to eat. He
showed them how they should travel light. They must be very
careful of gathering properties on their path! They must not sue
for gain!
"Freely you have received, freely give." (Matt. 10:8)
He knows the tendency is for people to want to pay you for
miracles done in their lives. They would like to ‘appreciate’ you,
but it is actually a down payment for another prayer time. Some
men and women are already flying on the spoils and they are
spoiling the grace in which they stand. We must glean some
wisdom from David's action in this Scripture.

1. "This is David's Spoil"

“And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or
great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had
taken from them; David recovered all.
Then David took all the flocks and herds they had
driven before those other livestock, and said, ‘This is
David's spoil.’” 1Sam 30:19-20

No one was missing--young or old, sons or

daughters. David brought back everything that had been
stolen, including their livestock. David also took the sheep
and cattle that the Amalekites had with them, but he kept
these separate from the others. Everyone agreed that
these would be David's reward. 1Sam. 30:19-20 (CEV).
This short sentence is pregnant with much wisdom for me!
There is no controversy, that was David's spoil . . .! It looks
legitimate after such a hard labour of continuous fighting!
No one was envious, after all, he had recovered all their
most precious losses - wives, sons and daughters. He had risked
his life. Why not let him have all the spoil? They all seemingly
said, "This is David's spoil . . . He can do whatever he likes with
it. He is free to use this anyhow he chooses. He can consume it
on any desire of his heart. This is David's spoil!”
People do that all the time. They use spoils to separate
teams of co-labourers. They demarcate and set aside handsome
sums of money for the "Man of God" and send away his co-
labourers with paltry sums. They use spoils to spoil the hearts of
the young ones, who suddenly become ambitious of when they
would come to lead their own army!
It is this matter of ‘spoils’ of ministry that many times is the
underlying reason for the separation of many labourers who
would have remained a formidable team against the enemy. They
break into parties and separate teams, so that no one shares the
spoils with them.
Check it out! This is the subtle reason many young men
are starting ‘ministry organizations’ nowadays. If it was just to
preach, shoot an arrow or draw the sword, the vineyard is so
vast, . . . why must they carve out a portion and spend the first
dew of their morning to build ‘fences’ and ‘personal kingdoms’ in
God’s household? These are merely self-defenses that consume
their youthful energy rather than pursuing the enemy.
As we look forward to an outbreak of revival, the issue of
spoils will come up again and again! People will drop cars,
houses, clothes, lands, utensils and other things at the feet of the
most visible person in the team as though he was alone in the
battles.
They do not normally see those who abide by the stuff lest
another enemy comes to raid the camp behind the team. They do
not always notice those who only carried cups of water to the
visible “man of God” at the points of exhaustion, people who
could not as yet handle the sword, but they could carry the cup of
water at least.
They may not even remember the "young man of Egypt"
who showed them the hide-outs of the enemy. They only
gathered all the cattle, all the flocks, and all the herds and said,
"This is David's spoil." It appears an honour to whom honour is
due, but it is also a knife on the throat of an unsuspecting leader.
 Beloved brother, are you beginning to rise into prominence
in ministry? Is the LORD beginning to confirm your word with
signs and wonders following? Do not spoil your life with the
spoils! People will pack for you the best of meat as if you have
the largest stomach among your team of labourers! Be careful.
Beware of the spoil that spoils the anointing.
You may unwittingly allow the spoils to spoil the
confidence and respect your men have for you. If they see your
greed and the way you hoard the spoils, you have already spoilt
their hearts. If it were only you that the ‘spoils’ can spoil, it would
have mattered little but ‘spoils’ possess capacity to spoil the
team, the leader as well as the led.
You would have spoilt and contaminated their sacrificial
zeal to serve and if need be, to die. It is as they see your own
frugal, sacrificial living that they are encouraged to plunge their
own destinies into the work. But when they notice that you are
keeping some reserves, they will stop to think about their own
young wives and young families and their future.
This is what spoilt several men and made them to become
‘wise’ and ‘self-seeking’. They labour now “with understanding”.
They look for where the spoil is much. This is the reason behind
the refusal of postings to battlefields with lean spoils; even
though men can remain at the same location, after starting “their
own ministry”.
This may also be the reason why many “accounts are not
retired” anymore. This is why even Pastors now claim “mileage
allowances for ministerial trips." They claim hotel bills, while they
only lodged with brethren, as if they are in "government service".
Leaders must be firm on how they handle the spoils, "the
honorarium envelopes", the "Prophet’s offerings", the "heave
offerings" – and all the Old Testament offerings that I now see
Pentecostals of our day re-activating just to service their personal
greed!

2. The attitude of Sons of Belial to spoils

Then all the wicked and worthless men of those
who went with David answered and said, ‘Because they
did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil
that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and
children, that they may lead them away and depart. 1Sam
30:22
This Scripture is quite apt and revealing. All along, you will
never know the kind of men inside the uniforms. All the faces
were smiling until it came to the matter of spoils, especially
money. It is money that truly reveals the heart condition of
several people. They may be friendly when there is no booty to
share, but you will see their muscles contracting strong and turgid
at the sharing of spoils.
So, this Scripture helped to bring forth their true colour at
the junction of “who took what home”. The word of God calls
them, "…wicked men and men of Belial of those who went with
David . . ." (Vs. 22 KJV).
Brother, what will suddenly jump out from your heart if
issues of money, meat, materials, mobility, mobilization and
monuments should arise in the team? What is your quiet attitude
to these things? Will it reveal you to also be a son of Belial when
it comes to the “spoils of the altar”? Demas, Judas Iscariot,
Gehazi and many others lost their original identities and became
sons of Belial because of these same spoils.
Who are you on the inside? What will the spoils of revival
reveal of you? They were great warriors, selfless men just few
moments ago, until they met the other innocent two hundred men
who stayed by the stuff keeping the guard back at Besor.
They would use the spoils to spoil the joy of re-union. They
spoilt the communion of the one undivided army they had been
all along! Such is the destabilizing power of spoils and men given
to it. Spoils can destroy in one moment, relationships
painstakingly built over the years. Spoils cam make men become
spoilers of all that is good.
But why? What would be the reason to exclude their
brethren from the spoils of a common war? What is the rationale
of wicked greed in men labouring for God?

"Because they did not go with us . . ."

This is the quiet reason which “Belial” has introduced into
God's work, that breeds competition, rivalry and struggle on the
pulpit; the desire of those who should have laboured as a
corporate army, to be in the good books of important men among
God's ministers.
This is the quiet weapon the enemy has used over the
years. It is only “that which appears” that must be supported; only
those that are visible must take it all. Those who are genuinely
weak and ordained of God to stay by the stuff and keep the stuff;
to keep the base and to handle administrative matters must not
be given ‘any’ of the spoils recovered.
They intend that they also should go and show themselves
and test their strength in battle before God can meet their
necessary needs. They make God's service the "survival of the
fittest." Those who are "bold acclaimers" "loud speakers,"
"impressive personalities,” "crowd pullers" are the ones who
take the center stage in God's work. They are the ones known by
the brethren and so receive their support regularly.
 This is the quiet reason why no one is accepting to be in
the “ministry of helps” today. Many people long to be the founder,
the president, the presiding bishop and all such sorts. Many are
not sure of their supply if they remain obscure, serving in the
shadows of these men!
Some rather employ people to serve them, so they can
hire and fire. They are not made stakeholders in the ministry
simply because they must not become sharers of the spoils.
Each person in God's work must be a "stakeholder" -
because they all have their destinies at stake. They have
jeopardized their lives and their careers to labour in the team.
Why then are they not entitled to their own meat as per their
needs? “Sons of Belial” on the pulpits will keep everyone else out
there when it comes to the spoils.
You must watch this. You need to purge your heart of this,
otherwise, you will spoil even this move of God we are beginning
to receive. The “support” for men's lives is not because they went
with us or they did not. It is because they labour along with us in
the same pursuit of the will of God!
Look at the sparrows; of what value are they to God and
His ministry on the earth? Yet He feeds them! Kingdom service is
not an exercise of muscles because you are strong. What have
you that you did not receive? And if you have received them, why
do you behave as if you are the source of all you are enabled of
God to do?
Those who went, it was God that carried them; it was God
who provided the anointing; it was God’s gift and grace at work: it
was not personal experience, expertise and expenses! No one
goes to war at his own expense. So why deny those who stayed
behind for God, in order to keep the stuff?
 If they had kept two hundred men back at base at the
beginning, charged with the responsibility of vigilance over the
camp; assured that they were to equally share whatever accrued
to them on the field, would the enemy have been able to raid the
Camp? It is indeed 'the spirit of Belial' at work in the midst of
God’s servants.
Most men who would have been excelling in the
manifestation of ministry gifts to the Body of Christ also
compelled themselves to keep a “base” so that they can have
support. So, they could not travel far afield without looking back.
They were forced to become “Pastors” by default. This is how we
came about the concept of “every man that must serve God,
must have and build his own church base”.
And those who are called to build, maintain and supervise
the “base” while others go afield are threatened with the fear they
might die of neglect. They are also beginning to crane their necks
into the public glare. They also want to be "Performers" on the
platforms! They also learn the gimmicks of pulling crowds;
printing their photographs everywhere so that men can know
them as well rather than the LORD! All of this is because of
spoils!
As we look up for the coming revival, you need to ask God
to deliver you from every form of that spirit. It is very tricky.
Unless, you are sensitive in the Spirit, you may be trapped by this
subtlety of Satan.

‘...that they may lead them away, and depart'

The men of Belial were willing to lose one third of the army
of David, as if there would be no more battle to fight. They did not
mind if all the years of their training in discipleship and all the gifts
God had poured into them for the Kingdom were lost and even
employed by their enemy! They were only protecting their own
stomachs. They wanted to reduce the "denominator" so they
could have larger fractional shares of the spoil.
So, denominationalism is actually mainly an issue of the
spoils. Mind you: spoils are not only in terms of material things;
spoils could be of honour or of attention given to the people God
has used. It could even be the respect accorded to God's
servants!
Jealousy will have you send many away even to the paws
of lions, just to get rid of them lest they share the spoils of glory
and honour with you in the ministry. You would like to be the
monopolist of the anointing; the only man being spoken highly of
in the team.
Once they are beginning to seek after another person
apart from you, you become jittery and unsettled. You scheme
him out of limelight. Some people would even sponsor girls and
strange women to lure your “rival” into sin and misbehaviour, so
he could get discredited and discarded. You will be the first to
expose and enlarge it until it becomes public knowledge
everywhere.
Meanwhile, you keep your own weakness a top secret and
pay sycophants to sing your praises. Why must you must appear
on the pulpit in every meeting? What is happening dear brother?
Dear sister, why are you so restless? Why would you not feel bad
that we are losing men in whom God has spent years to deposit
some anointing? You simply say, "Let them depart..."!
To where sir? To the enemy's camp? To form an alternate
kingdom? To run parallel ministries? To become another “young
Egyptian servant” left to die because they have become faint?
 Friends, this must not repeat itself in the coming labour for
revival. God is not interested in this one-man show anymore. He
is building His Body, not personal empires! God is seeking a
Body to prepare for Jesus again, so He can bring to
consummation the desire of the nations and the fulfillment of
prophecies.
"Shining stars", "Generals;” “Great Man of God" etc. All of
these is not God's priority now. He looks for people who can keep
the ranks, standing shoulder to shoulder bearing the Ark of His
glory into the nations.
Watch your heart. Are you ambitious? Are you exclusive
and snobbish, just to scare all others of equal height away from
you; so that you can be the only shareholder in handling the
spoils of the outburst? Pray that your desire for spoils will not
spoil this oil that God has been jealously guarding until now.
None of us is as important as what God must fulfill concerning
His Son, Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.
You need to be warned at this point. Present your heart
before the LORD once more. Let Him scrutinize your thoughts
and motives. We are not pursuing this revival in order to become
"great preachers", so to say. This is the pledge we must keep
making to the LORD:
Not I, but Christ, be honoured, loved, exalted.
Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard:
Not I, but Christ, in every look and action:
Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word!

Not I, but Christ, in lowly, silent labour,

Not I but Christ, in humble earnest toil;
Christ, only Christ! No show, no ostentation!
Christ, none but Christ, the gatherer of the spoil.
By Frances E. (Fannie) Bolton
 Will you stand by this covenant, all the days of your life
and in your labour for revival? The issue of the spoils is what
reveals who is who inside the “uniform”.

David's Firm Action...

"But David said, ‘My brethren, you shall not do so with
what the LORD has given us, who has preserved us, and
delivered into our hands the troop that came against us.
For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is
who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who
stays by the supplies; they shall share alike. So it was
from that day forward; he made it a statute and an
ordinance for Israel to this day." (1Sam. 30:23-25]

1. The Restraint.
" My brethren you shall not do so..."
This is the authority and humility of a discipler. He called
them "my brethren"; yet he was their captain. This is the first
lesson we must learn and restore to our midst as we labour as a
team for revival. He first disarmed the spirit of hierarchy, title
holding and lordship among them, by bringing himself low. He
called them “my brethren,” not "my boys," "my sons, "my
children". To restrain this recklessness, we must go back to the
Scriptures, Jesus said:
"But you, do not be called “Rabbi”; for One is your
Teacher, the Christ; and you are all brethren. Do not call
anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father; He
 who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One
is your Teacher, the Christ.
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled; and he who
humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matt 23:8-12)
This is a clear instruction from our Lord’s lips. The
Apostles and Disciplers practiced it throughout the New
Testament. They saw themselves as brethren and addressed
each other as such! You hear Peter addressing Paul as “Brother
Paul”, though he had been in the ministry and had been used by
God to disciple Barnabas who discipled Paul. If it is in our own
day. Peter would have been addressed as "Grand-Pa" by Paul or
"Pa-pa". No! Not in their midst. They had only one Father who is
in heaven.
I want you to note this: For earthly fathers. It is their right,
but what brought men under your tutelage as a "leader" and a
"discipler" is not your strength or your will as it is in biological
fathers. It is God who posted these lives to tap from His own
manifold grace kept for them in your life. How do you now take
over from the “Father of all spirits”?
David called them "My brethren", even though he was their
Captain. He bailed them out of their debts, discomfort,
discontentment and distress. He put the uniform on their necks.
He made them what they were and placed weapons in their
hands for battle. The battles that made them experts and
commanders were his battles. The battle strategies were purely
all his. Yet now, he addressed them, "my brethren."
That was the first restraint he exercised. It was a restraint
first on himself. This is the point we must learn. Let us drop all
our appellations and just be brothers and sisters regardless of
what God has used us to do in the lives of disciples.
 Appellations like "Father," "Daddy," "Papa," "Uncle,"
"Aunty," "Mummy" and all recent coinages must be dropped right
away, lest they become the spoils that ignorant people will
struggle for, at the point of revival! Let us remain simple and
unassuming. We are brethren!
Those that have the oversight on others must discharge it
with grace, not as lords and masters. Oversight does not place
you over and above the brotherhood! We are brethren under one
LORD and Master, one Father and God. Even Christ was not
ashamed to call them brethren.
He said to Mary on the resurrection morning at the empty
tomb:
Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but
go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God,"
(John 20:17 KJV)
This is the resurrected Christ calling His disciples, "my
brethren." What do you think about our own present arrogance
when we see a little grace manifesting in our lives and we quickly
build a status and a title around it? You will likely say, "He is my
disciple”, or “He is the boy I have brought up."
Discipleship is not to make errand boys of brethren. They
may pour water on your hands, they may carry your bag, but
remember you have the same Father with them. They are fellow
heirs with you as well. You will still sit on the same bench as sons
and daughters of one Father and so you are brethren. Remember
this: Let your own life be the first restraint of this recklessness
that is spoiling the Kingdom of God!
"You shall not do so . . ." This would only be effective if he
was not himself doing so. You cannot correct error until you have
corrected yourself. He could say that with firmness because he
himself had overcome the affinity for the spoils.
We need exemplary leaders now; men whose lives shine
rather than shout on the pulpit at men. “You shall not do so . . ."
and it was upheld. It became a statute and an ordinance in Israel!
Can your own life also provide a restraint in this generation?
In your pursuit of revival, this must be cardinal. Your life
must be a beacon of light to guide people at the different
junctions of their pilgrimage.

2. David's attitude to "Exploits and Spoils"

My brethren, you shall not do so with that which the LORD
has given us . . ." (1Sam. 30:23)
David saw the spoils as “that which the LORD has given
us.” Note the use of the corporate pronoun, “us”, not “me”. He
knew it was a corporate gift God gave to the entire team together.
He never saw it as his own. When they said. "This is David's
spoil", he knew they were setting him up. It was a trap! It was not
his. It belongs to the brethren. They were in that labour together.
The fact that I am called to lead or play a leadership role,
to guide and direct does not make me exclusive. Besides, spoils
are not our earnings. They are not our merit awards. They are
gifts given to us by God.
Gifts, not payments. It was not because we sweated or did
something. It is God's benevolence towards us as a team of
labourers. This was David's understanding of the spoils - be it
honoraria, special donation, love offerings or any other incidental
spoils.
 Even honour is for us all. The ministerial office being
respected is for us all. We all pay some price to keep the man in
that office there. If we are not in our own places of duty, he would
have been displaced or misplaced in the face of other menial but
crucial support duties.
This is how we must view the issue of spoils as we gain
victory in battles. As we pray and minister to souls, some of these
“fishes” may have silver coins in their mouths. But it is to pay the
poll tax for "me and for you" as Jesus instructed Peter. Jesus has
shown us enough examples in His life that we should walk in His
footsteps in our own pilgrimage.

Attitude to Exploits."
". . . who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the
troop that came against us."
This again was his clear understanding about victories and
exploits that we may accomplish in our services to the LORD and
among the brethren. This idea of "my ministry", "my ministration,"
"my church,” "my member," "my convert" is alien to the Spirit of
God and the faith the elders walked in. None of them called
anything his own.
“. . . who has preserved us"
That we are not casualties today is the grace of God! It is
not by our power or our holiness that we did not die in the battle;
it is God who has preserved us. If not for Him, some of us by now
would have been dead and buried long ago . . . through a stray
bullet of the enemy, the kind that finished Saul and even Ahab!
The people of old never bragged about their consistency in
life and ministry. They never reprimanded anyone with their own
personal standards . . . they gave all the glory to God and all
credit to His manifold grace. They could challenge people to holy
living, but their singular appeal is not to themselves but to the
mercies of God and the loving kindness of Jesus.
Maybe sometimes you secretly think you should have had
more share of the spoils because you prayed the most. You
forgot it was the grace of God that worked in you that granted the
burden. Even at that it was God who answered the prayers. What
would your prayers have done if He had closed His ears? Why
boast, dear brother? Why brag and think in your heart that you
have a claim, my dear sister?

"...and delivered into our hand the troop... "

Every victory, every exploit is but a wholesale delivery into
our hands. It had been packaged from above. God just selected
you and the team in mercy to be the ones to collect it for the
Body of Christ on earth.
If you excel in revelation knowledge, it is just being
delivered to your hands for the Church on earth. What you call
your ministry is simply what God has packaged for His Body on
earth which is to be delivered to her through you.
But after you took delivery of it, you then sat on it and
asked all the children of God to line up before you to collect their
portion. You asked them to even pay before you could deliver to
bonafide owners what their Father sent to them . . . Are you not a
thief and a cheat?
No exploits can we claim glory upon. All is the work of
God, Who works all and in all. We are equally "unprofitable
servants" We only can do what we have been told to do and for
which we have even received sufficient grace.
"And as the lame man, which was healed held Peter and
John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch
that is called Solomon's; greatly wondering. And when
 Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, ‘Ye men of
Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly
on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had
made this man to walk?” (Act 3:11-12)
Note the understanding of Peter, as well. It is normal for
those who benefit from God through our instrumentality to hold to
us . . . as though we did it. They do so because they know no one
else until we show them the Man, Jesus Christ. Besides, they
would not find the invisible God to hold, until they have grown a
little in faith as we immediately begin to teach them.

Not unto us, but unto the Lord!

Yet, all the people ran together to them. Men would now
run, not to God, but to us, "the miracle workers." This is a spoil
that has spoilt so many men in the prime of their years. It is not
you that men must hold in high esteem. It is not you that they
must run to! You have a responsibility and a duty to point them to
God.
Peter spoke up when he saw this thing. You have seen
them several times and you never said anything. Your silence is
an endorsement. You have agreed to be worshipped! You are
getting gradually into men's hearts and displacing your Master
Jesus from the throne of their hearts. That was exactly how
Absalom went. That was why he died the way he did. Beware!
Peter pointed at two thoughts in the heart of every
congregation. They are there, inherent. If you do not puncture
them, men would build their ideas about you on it. What are
these silent thoughts?
i) That miracles are performed by the “Power” of the
Man of God...
 ii) That the “holiness” of the man of God is what brings
the miracles.
They think it is the exertion of your pressure that brings it
to pass. They expect you to place your hand on them; flex your
muscles; deepen your voice, gyrate a bit around the altar . . .
Then, you will hear their resounding “Amen," 'Alleluia”; "Oh yes!"
But if you say, "The LORD can heal you even now. It does
not need much of our own effort. He does whatever pleases
Him." You will see how cold they will suddenly become. But if you
press them firmly and you scream as if it is in your bosom the
virtue is to come from, they will hold on to you and scream
“Amen” with you.
Peter said: "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or
why look ye so earnestly on us as though by our own
holiness we had made this man to walk?" "Why look ye so
earnestly on us...?"
They may likely have said,
“Well even if it is by the power of God, He can only flow
through holy men like you . . . Hmnn . . . Welcome sir –
‘Your holiness’.
With that thought, the brethren treat you (the minister) as if
you are not human anymore. They revere you as if you are the
LORD Himself. They attribute answer to your prayers to you, not
as an act of God, but as an obligation God has to you because of
your holiness.
You must be careful of all this. It is a trap! It is God Who
works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Yes, we
must be holy as He is holy, but that is never the basis of His
outworking through any man.
 This is why people could manifest powerful ministries even
when their personal altars have broken down. They are just
delivery points. But we need to pray that we do not become mere
points of delivery for others.
The Postmaster (PM) in the post office handles thousands
of letters daily but may hardly receive one. He cannot and must
not open any, because they are not addressed to him. He is a
“Carrier” just to deliver parcels to owners. Ministry can be like that
and unless you watch your way carefully, you may die a mere
postmaster delivering good news to many and none is addressed
personally to you. Be careful!

The Ordinance of Spoils

"For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is
who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who
stays by the supplies; They shall share alike." (1Sam.
30:24)
Your plea for preferential sharing of spoils will not be
heard. God himself is against you. The way of the LORD must be
followed. It was done in the wilderness at the sharing of the
manna. Everyone gathered according to his eating. It was
repeatedly applied in the Acts of the Apostles. No one suffered
lack because of his/her placement or social status. You cannot
change this now. Conform wholly to His principle and it shall be
well with you . . .
" But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall
his part be who stays by the supplies; They shall share
alike."
Let it be so in all our labour, henceforth. Let us follow
these principles in the New Testament, and even in the Old
Testament. Everyone gathered according to his eating' and
according to his needs. In the New Testament,
"And all that believed were together, and had all things
common; and sold their possessions and goods, and
parted them to all men, as every man had need" (Acts
2:44-45 KJV)
"Neither was there any among them that lacked; for as
many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them
and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And
laid them down at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was
made unto every man according as he had need" Acts
4:34-35 KJV
"For I do not mean that others should be eased, and you
burdened; But by an equality, that now at this time your
abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance
also may supply your lack- that there may be equality; As
it is written, He who gathered much had nothing left over,
and he who gathered little had no lack." (2 Cor. 8:13-15)
Permit me to leave you at this point. I believe the Holy
Spirit is already speaking expressly to your heart on this matter.
Mammon is a strong hold. Do not let it hold you to ransom. This
is the ordinance of the LORD.
And let it be so in all our labour. Let it be so at least among
us who have gained this understanding meanwhile. Let it be so in
what you are doing. Let it be so for the sake of God’s purpose.
Do not let the mundane spoils spoil this fresh flow from the
Sanctuary above.
 Chapter 7
Peculiar Features of This Move of God

As we continue to labor with God for this revival, it is

important for us to keep our hearts abreast of what God Himself
has said to our hearts concerning the peculiar features of this
move. While all revivals have some general common features,
each revival has unique peculiarities which characterize its
movement, operation, and management in the wisdom of God.
Seeking wisdom and understanding from the Lord for the
way we must move in this move of God is very important for us.
All whom the Lord raised to labor or guide in a move of God had
to go the Lord to seek direction. They were not careless as to do
anything anyhow. Grave responsibilities have come upon us now
and we must not fail Him or betray His trust in our lives.
We have gained some understanding over these few
years as regards what is peculiar about this move and we have
been seeking His wisdom on "how we must order this child" in
the words of Samson's father. Permit me to share some of this
with you:

It must not be caged!

 This outpouring of the Holy Spirit must not be caged, nor
turned into a denomination, and it must not be dissipated. God
has spoken severally before, of what He intends to do in our
midst and in His Church globally with this visitation of the Holy
Spirit.
There are several dimensions of the outworking of this
revival, and I wish to highlight them here again for you to keep a
single eye and heart on how to move with God in this day of His
power.

1. Disciples everywhere . . .
Disciples shall be multiplied in every stratum of human
lives. This will raise men and women in whom Christ shall be
formed progressively. It will bring an increase in the number of
disciples everywhere and in every nation. The mystery of the
gospel shall be exposed to men and women in all nations.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” shall become the
experience of each one of us. Christ, the true vine shall be
multiplied in each one of us and through our hands. The carriers
of this fire shall continue to multiply and spread in all the nations.
This shall "not be by power, not by might, but by My Spirit," says
the Lord.
2. People Of Unbroken Communion . . .
It shall produce a people who walk with God in an
unbroken communion, bearing His presence everywhere they go
and moving in and with that presence to accomplish His purpose
on the earth, establishing the kingdom of God among men.
It will bring restoration of the altar: personal altars where
the word of God is released afresh and hearts are sharpened to
bear Christ about in the midst of men on earth.
 And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I
shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel'.
Says the Lord God (Eze.39:29)

3. His People Shall Be Willing . . .

In the day of his power, His people shall be willing. They
shall be zealous of good works. They will be experiencing the
unplanned outburst of the Spirit on their lives and in their hands.
They will be standing for God in their various professional
platforms and bringing transformation by their lives that are
shining as the light of the world.

4. Rebuild Broken Walls . . .

It will also rebuild broken walls of the nations. This stream
shall flow into ocean of the earth . . . to all nations. Our
understanding of this move of God is in Ezekiel 47.
Again, he measured one thousand, and it was a
river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep,
water in which one must swim, a river that could not be
crossed. (Ezek. 47:5)
It will become a mighty move of God all over the world that
none of us can personally possess or control. It will also become
an unstoppable flow of God's grace and power. We must
understand this as we flow along with it and get ready to be
swallowed up by it and be content to only swim in it as we
release our lives to be borne by it.

5. A Flow Undammed . . .
It must remain a flow and must not be dammed to become
a pool. While we trust the Lord to guide its flow by His own
wisdom, we must be careful not to erect walls around it. Its
destination is not with us.
It is only passing through us and through our hands. We
must let it go its way to affect the entire Body of Christ and bring
healing to the nations. No one of us must be ambitious as to label
it and corner it to a dungeon.
He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”
Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of
the river.
When I returned, there, along the bank of the river,
were very many trees on one side and the other.
Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the
eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters
the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are
healed. And it shall be that every living thing that
moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.
There will be a very great multitude of fish, because
these waters go there; for they will be healed, and
everything will live wherever the river goes.
It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi
to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their
nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of
the Great Sea, exceedingly many. But its swamps and
marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to
salt. (Ezekiel 47: 6-11)

6. Fishermen of Excellence . . .
This move of God will raise “fishermen” of excellence who
will spread wide their nets to drag in great fishes into the kingdom
of God. There will be abundant fruitfulness in fishing people for
Christ.
While the normal preaching crusades may continue, this
move of God will be more of person to person drawing of souls in
the marketplaces, in schools and laboratories, business
boardrooms and in other places where men and women are
found.
Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord shall grow
along the bank of this river that God is releasing to the earth now.
God will raise men and women who have spread their roots into
the very depth of the river of living water in a personal walk with
God and will be bearing fruit for the Lord in all seasons.
We are at the threshold of a crucial visitation of God on the
face of the earth and we only need to behave ourselves wisely.
Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will
grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will
not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear
fruit every month, because their water flows from the
sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves
for medicine."
Eze47:12

7. The Rod of His Strength

This move of the Spirit will raise men and women who will
take the battle to the gates of the enemy and there, subdue him.
They will be the rod of His strength by which He will rule among
His enemies.
Men like Daniel and Mordecai did not minister in the
temple; they stood for God in the courts of the kings of the world
and there they established the kingdom of God. In this move of
God, His instruments will be men and women whose focus is not
what to eat or wear or anything for self. They are sold out to God
and for Him alone.
They are dead to the world and its allures. They are also
dead to self and its desires. They are dead even to death as they
declared "if I perish, I perish."
 8. Effectual Doors . . .
This move of God is going to have effectual doors opened
into His Church, and I mean of all the various denominations.
Heaven has introduced this move to people everywhere.
Traditional rulers, political leaders, leaders in business and
industry, leaders in the judiciary, and leaders of Academia are not
excluded in what God is about to do. It is not limited to the church
walls or to the pulpit ministry. This river is flowing into every area
of human endeavor.
It will bring healing and direction to what goes on, in
preparing the Body of Christ for the imminent return of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. The gospel of the Kingdom must be
preached and demonstrated in our time as we seek to draw
people into the kingdom. It is a divine trust; and we must not be
found unfaithful in this day of his power.