Food for thought

We'll be camping this next week (best time of the year, in my opinion), so I'll post an update about that when we get back. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from a study guide in a Bible that a friend showed us earlier today. Let me know what you think of it.

Guard against dwindling fires

Revival fires wane for various reasons. Sometimes the purposes of God have been fulfilled as believers have been quickened to evangelism and new outreaches have been birthed and carried out. Other times, genuine revival can be cut short and the fire of the Holy Spirit quenched through unrealized compromise. True spiritual fires dwindle:

1. When we allow the excitement of crowds and miracles to dull our ears to hearing the foundational truths of the Holy Spirit's counsel;
   
2. When we look to the visitation of the Spirit to shore up weaknesses in the local fellowship rather than correct problems (this is a huge problem in the American churches today);
   
3. When we allow an attitude of pride and showmanship to distort the simplicity of God's workings, and the visitation is reduced to a cleverly publicized event;
   
4. When we fail to maintain the balance of the pastoral needs of the congregation, substituting the sheer energy of the meetings for shepherd care and faithful feeding of the sheep;
   
5. When we neglect to make disciples who would have multiplied the effectiveness of the revival;
   
6. When we allow breakdown of authority and unity in the leadership team through prayerlessness, weariness, or functioning outside the boundaries of individuals' gifting;
   
7. When we look to "professionals" to further the growth of the church instead of fostering the release of ministries that have bonded to the life and value system of the congregation;
   
8. When we lose the focus and object of loving worship by using "worship" as a means of stimulating desired responses in people;
   
9. When we allow the "busyness and excitement" of revival to take priority over vigilance in humble prayer and intercession; and
   
10. When we see revival as a way to advance a private local "kingdom" (congregation), rather than to benefit the whole body of Christ.
    

~Excerpt from the Spirit Filled Life Bible