For the month of December, Dr. Ed Hird and I were featured in the Word Alive Press spotlight for our book The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival.

Are you ready to rediscover Jesus’ blueprint for spiritual renewal?

Here then is the reposted Word Alive Press author of the month feature article:

We are pleased to introduce our Braun Book Award-winning authors, David Kitz and Dr. Ed Hird. David and Ed teamed up to write their recently released book The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival which is now available through the Word Alive Press Bookstore, and everywhere fine Christian books are sold. We asked David and Ed to share a little bit about their new book. But first, a little bit about them.

About

Both Ed Hird and David Kitz are seasoned award-winning Christian writers. Both men have authored a variety of books and articles, and both are active ordained ministers of the gospel—Ed with the Anglican Mission in Surrey BC, and David with the Foursquare Gospel Church in Ottawa, ON. In addition, David Kitz serves as the chair of The Word Guild, and Ed Hird is a frequent contributor to BC Christian News.

What drew them to combine their skills to write this book was their common desire to see Christ’s bride, the church, renewed, refreshed, and revived after years of struggle and decline.

Q&A

Q: The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival — that’s an intriguing title. David, please tell me more about the Elisha Code. Why this title?
A: On February 11th, 2018, I delivered a sermon entitled “Healing the Water”. I was struck by the parallel nature of Elisha’s first public miracle, the healing of the spring at Jericho, to Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine. This parallel triggered a quest to discover if Elisha’s other miracles resembled the miracles of Jesus, and to my amazement, I found they do. In the process of my research, I uncovered the blueprint Jesus was following to bring about spiritual renewal and revival in his day. We urgently need the same renewal in our lives and our churches in our day.

Q: Dr. Ed Hird, how did you become involved in writing this book, and how did the writing process unfold?
A: Having co-written three books—For Better for Worse, Blue Sky, and God’s Firestarters— with my wife Janice, God has given me an anointing and passion for co-writing books. When David Kitz approached me to co-write The Elisha Code, I jumped at the chance. Over fifteen months, we met weekly by zoom, and typed out hundreds of pages from recorded zoom conversations. David is so well organized that it was a privilege and challenge to weave related stories into the revival theme. I am more surrendered to the Lord because of this ‘iron sharpening iron’ experience. Writing this book has been a positive experience for both of us. Seasoned writers may want to consider working with another likeminded author. While we cannot produce revival, we can prepare our hearts so that we don’t miss it when God pours revival upon his people. The Elisha Code is about not missing what God is about to do.

Q: Why do you believe a nationwide revival is possible in the days ahead?
A: Biblical history and more than 2,000 years of church history tell us revivals occur and reoccur. Furthermore, they often begin in dark times of uncertainty and turmoil. Ed Hird and I were young men when we were caught up in the Jesus people movement of the early 1970s. It was a revival that emerged from a counterculture revolution. Was it unexpected? Absolutely. Can something similar happen again? Can these dry bones live again? Ezekiel 37 provides the answer to that question.

Q: On a personal level, are there certain preconditions that make spiritual renewal possible or likely?
A: A growing level of discontent with our current situation personally and nationally can prompt a deep hunger for change. When the Holy Spirit engages, spurs, and directs that hunger, repentance, and a turning to faith in Jesus follows. On a personal level, we need deep repentance rooted in complete humility. We cannot save ourselves or our society. We need Jesus.

Q: In the fourth chapter of your book, you make this statement: “The voice of the prophet is needed today, just as it was in Jesus’ day. A national call to repentance is needed now. Who will voice that call? Where are the prophets for our time?” What do you mean by that statement? Are there prophets among us?
A: Throughout history, prophetic voices have called people to repentance. That was the primary role of the Old Testament prophets. Their mission was to turn wayward people back to their loving Creator-Redeemer. But there were New Testament prophets too. Acts 13:1-3 lists some of them by name. Throughout church history, prophetic voices have heeded God’s call and spoken truth and grace to a broken world. The Elisha Code highlights the work of several of these historic, church-age prophets, who challenged the world systems of their time. We need to hear prophetic voices in our day calling us back to God.

Q: What do you want readers to take away from reading this book?
A: We both want readers to walk away with a deep hunger for personal, national, and global revival. This troubled world needs to turn to Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). The Elisha Code establishes the clear biblical link between the Old Testament prophetic duo of Elijah and Elisha, and the New Testament duo of John the Baptist and Jesus. Plotting the parallel nature of their ministries makes for a fascinating read. For most Christian readers this will be new unexplored territory. But Elijah and Elisha, John and Jesus did not come for our entertainment. They were sent to this world for our salvation and transformation. We want saving transformation to take root within us and in the world around us.

Connecting Points

Find and follow David Kitz here:

Website: David Kitz Productions
Facebook: Facebook
YouTube: david kitz canada – YouTube

Find and follow Dr. Ed Hird here:

Website: www.edhird.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ed.hird.5
YouTube: Dr. Ed Hird – YouTube