Tag Archives: revival

The Conclusion of “The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival”

25 Sunday Jan 2026

Posted by in The Elisha Code

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A code must be recognized, interpreted, and applied for it to be useful, and for it to effect meaningful change. Codes are recognized by the appearance of repetitive patterns. Through our examination of the lives and ministries of the Old Testament duo of Elijah and Elisha, and the New Testament duo of John the Baptist and Jesus, we can clearly see a pattern—a pattern of ever-increasing power and revelation.

In considerable detail, we have outlined how Elijah and John the Baptist are linked in terms of personality and the scope of their ministry. In the same way we have detailed how the miracles and ministry of Jesus runs parallel to the ministry of the prophet Elisha. The pattern is there for all to see.

What are the implications for Christians today? If we recognize this coded message in the Scriptures, how can it impact our lives in the twenty-first century?

Above all, The Elisha Code is a call to action. Yes, we can learn a great deal about the links between Elijah and John the Baptist and the links between Elisha and Jesus. But of first importance, we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to work within us and to transform our churches and society today.

The dynamic duos of this book were the greatest revivalists of their time. Elijah and Elisha brought about transformative change in Old Testament Israel. John the Baptist and Jesus set in motion the greatest spiritual transformation the world has ever seen—a transformation that continues to this day.

Here then are some key takeaways from studying the lives of these biblical dynamic duos and other revivalists and key figures in church history:

  • Revivals/spiritual renewals have been an integral part of our faith from the time of ancient Israel to the present.
  • The age of miracles has not ended. We have Jesus’ promise that believers will do even greater things (John 14:12).
  • Genuine revivals are initiated by the Holy Spirit through fallible, imperfect human vessels (2 Timothy 2:20-22).
  • Literary prophets have played, and will continue to play, an important role in fomenting revival and bringing about social and spiritual change.
  • We need leaders with prophetic hindsight, insight, and foresight for the church to reach its full potential.
  • Humility and selfless service are foundational in initiating and sustaining revival. The Spirit of God is quenched and grieved when pride, sin, or selfishness enter in (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
  • Life-changing repentance is at the core of any authentic revival (Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38).
  • The gospel message according to Jesus is all about regime change on a personal level. It’s about letting King Jesus rule our hearts and minds (Colossians 1:13-14).
  • True spiritual awakenings leap across religious, denominational, racial, and cultural barriers (Acts 10). The most effective revivalists build bridges rather than walls.
  • The church must remain focused on the core of the gospel message, rather than become swallowed by political agendas and yield to the third temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:8-11).
  • We are called to live a crucified life that elevates Christ and others by the power of relentless love and forgiveness (Galatians 2:20).
  • God uses broken people who are yielded to his will (John 21:15-19).
  • Hungry humble prayer prepares a runway for the Holy Spirit to land just as it did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14, 2:1-4).
  • Frequently, revivals begin where and when we least expect them, and they are often spearheaded by the young.
  • Our goal should be to finish well. Our service to the Lord may involve many transitions, but his calling on our lives remains till we take our last breath (Romans 11:29).

Finally, the Elisha code is a call to courageous and audacious faith.

Courage is a matter of the heart. The word courage is derived from the Latin word for heart. We must put our heart into our faith. Courageous faith flows from a heart that has been captured by the love of Jesus.

Let this be our prayer. Lord, give us courageous faith.

Audacious faith refuses to remain silent. It speaks out. It must speak.

After Elijah was swept up to heaven in a chariot of fire, Elisha did not remain silent. He spoke up with audacious faith.

Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. (2 Kings 2:14, NKJV)

Audacious faith is bold—bold like Elisha. The word audacious is derived from the same Latin root as audio. Audacious faith makes noise. It must be heard. Is your faith loud enough to be heard by others? Is it being heard by God?

Jesus, whose New Testament miracles are patterned after Elisha’s miracles, frequently chided his disciples for their lack of faith (Matthew 17:17-20).

Let this be our prayer. Lord Jesus, grant us a mustard seed of your audacious faith—mountain moving faith, and as we walk this road with you, light your fire in our hearts.

This is the final excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival

Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

 

 

Even Greater Things

18 Sunday Jan 2026

Posted by in Psalms

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Everyone was filled with awe
at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
(Acts 2:43, NIV)

On the evening before his trial and crucifixion, Jesus had what surely was one of his deepest and most intimate conversations with his disciples. What was on his mind as he shared these critical moments with his most dedicated followers?

Who may stand in His Holy place? — photo by David Kitz

Jesus spoke at length about the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the vital role the Spirit would play in the lives of the apostles and the early church. John devotes chapters fourteen to sixteen of his Gospel to this pivotal conversation. Early in that discussion Jesus makes this astonishing statement:

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12, NIV).

How is this possible? Undoubtedly, the disciples were left speechless by that statement. They were eyewitnesses to the countless miracles Jesus performed. How could they possibly do even greater works than their Lord? Furthermore, this offer of miracle working power was and is not limited to the apostles. It is available widely—to whoever believes.

There are no space or time limitations placed on Jesus’ statement in John 14:12. The only limitation is our faith since we know “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Have we taken up the challenge our Lord lays out in John 14:12?

Jesus then goes on to say:

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14, NIV).

We confess when we read this statement, we may feel like objecting: “Lord, don’t you want to put some limitations on this amazing offer?”

Actually, there are some limitations built in. This amazing power and this ability is available “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” In other words, ask for anything in my name but know this: All the glory, all the credit, all the fame belongs to Jesus.

Nothing limits the miracle-working power of God like the pride of the miracle-working agent. This is so because in truth the Holy Spirit is the miracle-working agent, not the human vessel. The glory must continually go to Jesus the Son.

Why could Jesus make this bold assertion that his followers would do greater things than he did?

First, Jesus new the full power of the Holy Spirit. His entire ministry had been powered by the Holy Spirit. And the Father had revealed to him that in the coming days the same Holy Spirit would be poured out on his followers.

Secondly, Jesus knew the established biblical pattern. Holy Spirit power grows exponentially. Elijah came in the power of the Spirit. But his successor, Elisha, received a double portion of God’s anointing. John the Baptist came in the power of the Spirit. But as John’s successor, Jesus, moved in a far greater power of the Spirit.

Unfortunately, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, due to his selfishness and greed, broke the chain of God’s blessing. Had he not succumbed to sin, Gehazi may well have walked in a fourfold anointing. Humble obedient faith is essential if we are going to walk in the full power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus knew the ever-increasing-exponential power of the Holy Spirit would fall on his disciples. That is why Jesus could tell his followers that they would do greater things.

Did Jesus’ word come true? It most certainly did. The phrase “signs and wonders” appears nine times in the book of Acts. We read that many people came to faith in Jesus Christ because of the signs and wonders that accompanied the preaching of the gospel. This is in addition to multiple miracles that are described in detail. The New Testament church was a miracle working church where signs and wonders were common. This is why the first-century church experienced explosive growth across the Mediterranean world.

We need a return to Holy Spirit powered church growth. How will that happen?

It begins with hunger—a hunger for the Holy Spirit—a hunger for Jesus to walk among us again. It begins with a hunger for God’s word to be lived out among us.

In our earlier chapter on the Jesus movement, we pointed out that Acts 2:38 was the foundational verse for that revival. Acts 2:38 contains a threefold directive as spoken by the apostle Peter. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Simple obedience to that threefold directive brought spiritual life, healing, and restoration to millions. Underpinning the Jesus people revival was an Old Testament scripture drawn from Jeremiah 29. But it was not the Jeremiah 29 scripture that is so frequently quoted today. Over the past twenty years, believers have zeroed in on Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The Old Testament focal point of the Jesus movement was the verses immediately after Jeremiah 29:11.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:12-14, NIV).

The emphasis in that earlier revival was placed on seeking God. We will have hope and a future if we seek God. But without seeking, there is no finding. Without seeking God, we will remain lost and distant from him. The wonderful promise of Jeremiah 29:12-14 is: “I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.

Seeing God’s grace in the setting sun, near Durham, ON — photo by David Kitz

The LORD will bring us back from our spiritual exile. This should be the cry of our hearts personally and corporately as the body of Christ. Many Jewish young people encountered their Messiah for the first time during the Jesus revolution of the early 1970s. For them, these verses from Jeremiah had a profound resonance.

This Old Testament passage has a New Testament counterpart drawn from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33, NKJV).

God meets with those who seek him. God is looking for hungry seeking hearts. The Holy Spirit may find those hungry seeking hearts out in the world or in your local church. Will we welcome the hungry hearts or turn them away because they do not meet our expectations or our standards?

Every revival has its own unique flavor and character. As a nineteen-year-old college student David Kitz bore witness to a spontaneous outbreak of revival on campus. It was totally unexpected, uncontainable, and sustained for years. That experience set him on a quest to seek the Lord.

Let’s prepare our hearts for what God is about to do. In this time of great spiritual darkness, God’s promise remains.

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings… (Malachi 4:2, NKJV).

This is the nineteenth weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival

Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

Finishing Well and Growing in Fruitfulness 

11 Sunday Jan 2026

Posted by in The Elisha Code

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God will bless you,
if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested.
He will reward you with a glorious life, 
just as he rewards everyone who loves him.
(James 1:12, CEV)

C.S. Lewis memorably commented, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”[i]

Under the old oak tree — photo by David Kitz

The dynamic duos of Elijah and Elisha were always being stretched by God to set another goal and dream another dream. God wanted both to finish well, not peter out.[ii] You will remember how Elijah was ready to give up on being faithful. He had lost sight of his ongoing calling from God as he anointed his successor Elisha and the next king Jehu.

What if, instead of giving up, they gave over. Surrender to the will of God is always the way forward. If there is breath in their lungs, God still has something for his servants to do. We are never to stop serving others until the Lord takes us home. Never stop learning, reading, and listening. Do you still have fire in your bones to make a difference? Would you like to get your fire, your zest for living, back?

Both Ed Hird and David Kitz have taken many funerals over the past decades of ordained ministry. When we hear the funeral eulogies from family members, it often makes us wish that we had known the deceased better. Many people often wait until the loved one is dead to say how much they loved them. We often wonder: “Why wait?” Part of finishing well is having a faithful team cheer as you aim for the finish line.

Photo by Merched Lopez on Pexels.com

One of Ed’s favorite mentors, Dr. E. Stanley Jones entered his 50s by deciding that it would be the most fruitful decade of his life, and it was. When he became age 60, age 70, and then age 80, he decided the decade was once again the best, and it was. While he was officially ‘retired’ by the Methodist Board of Missions in 1954, he went on to have a remarkable fruitful phase of ministry for almost two more decades. In 1963, for instance, he preached 736 times. Jones deeply lived out Psalm 92:14: “They still shall bring forth fruit to old age, they are ever full of sap and green.”

Stanley Jones reminds people in his twenty-eight books that there is no such thing as retirement from a biblical perspective. Retreading, recycling, repositioning, yes. But we can never retire from being fruitful in life and making a lasting difference. “Never retire”, said Jones, “change your work. The human personality is made for creation; and when it ceases to create, it creaks, and cracks, and crashes.”[iii]

Creativity is at the heart of staying fully alive. Without growing in creativity, we shrink and become less human, less Christlike.

When Ed left St. Simon’s North Vancouver after serving for thirty-one years, he intentionally did not have a retirement party, but rather a ‘new chapter of ministry’ party. In our current culture, we often do not do transitions well.

What new chapter are you currently writing in the book of your life? Are you stuck in any way? Is it time to turn the page? As his departure drew near Paul wrote, “I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV). Paul persevered in triumphant faith till the end.

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

Many pastors when they get older do not finish well. They may become grumpy, critical, and negative. With aging, we have our aches and pains, and we must work harder at being positive. David recently preached a message on “The glass half-full or glass half-empty.” When you are older, it is easier to be negative, to be a no-centered person. E. Stanley Jones said that we are not as old as our arteries, but rather as our attitudes.[iv] Are you growing in becoming a more positive, thankful person?

Dr. Martin Gumpert in his book You are Younger than You Think says that “idleness is the greatest enemy of the aged and presents them with their ticket to death.”[v]

When the retirement age of sixty-five was introduced by the United States in the 1930s, the average man only lived eighteen months after retirement. It was too much of a shock to their system in ceasing productive activity.

The Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book comments that many people never become alcoholic until they retire. They say to themselves “I’ve worked hard all my life. Now I will do what I want to do with my life.” In contrast, those, who seek first Christ’s Kingdom, say no to idleness and addiction.

As we age, it is too easy to succumb to nostalgia, resenting newer expressions of worship and renewal. Are you still passionate about God’s future revivals? Many people involved in an earlier revival resist a newer revival because it doesn’t look like the older revival. That is tragic.

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

Evangelist Bill Prankard, though he is a classic, old-school Pentecostal, has aged well. John Arnott invited Bill Prankard to speak at the Toronto Airport Fellowship’s Catch the Fire meetings. Bill initially refused, saying that he was too old-school Pentecostal. John pushed back, saying that we need your healing anointing. Their friendship became a win-win. Prankard embodied those who say no to nostalgia and yes to the next revival.

Elijah said yes to the revival that God ultimately released on Elisha. Whom do you need to invest in that can be your Elisha?

A key verse that can help us finish well is “He who has begun the good work in you will carry it on until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). We need to never settle down, never get stuck in a rut, never give up on life. E. Stanley Jones commented, “We don’t grow old. We get older by not growing.”[vi]

Are you growing older gracefully? Are you still growing in creativity? As Christians, we grow from the inside out. God cares about producing true beauty of character. It is a good work that God has begun in us and will continue to carry out until he takes us home. There is no retirement from growing in Christ in the Christian life.

Winston Churchill, when he turned seventy-seven, commented, “We are happier in many ways when we grow old than when we were young. The young men sow wild oats. The old grow sage.”[vii]

In a study of four hundred outstanding people as reported by Sunshine Magazine,[viii] they discovered that people in their sixties accomplish 35% of the world’s greatest achievements, people in their seventies 23%, and people after age eighty produced 8 percent. This means that 64% of the greatest achievements have been done by people aged sixty and over. Consider Michelangelo who was writing poetry and designing buildings up to the time of his death at ninety.

Photo by Brian Banford on Pexels.com

Finishing well is about growing daily in gratitude. Elijah on Mount Hermon and John the Baptist in prison had lost sight of God’s goodness in their lives. E. Stanley Jones wrote:

To grow old, not only gracefully, but gratefully, is the Christian’s privilege. For the Christian is not to bear old age but to use it. Is there any more utterly beautiful than a face, now grown old, but chiseled into tenderness and sympathy and experience?[ix]

There is a beauty of holiness into which we can all grow in Christ. Think of Mother Theresa as she poured out her life sacrificially for the least, the last and the lost. Her gray hair truly was a crown of splendor (Proverbs 16:31).

Those who finish well live for others. Is life all about you, and getting your way, or do others come first? Those who live for others grow perpetually young in spirit. As Psalm 103:5 puts it, “your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” And in Psalm 40:3, we read, “They that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength, mounting up with wings like eagles.”

Secular retirement is often sold to people as getting something that they deserve. This is their time to focus on themselves first. E. Stanley Jones commented that:

Those who come in ‘to enjoy themselves’ the balance of their days wither prematurely and become inane and empty… Where there is no creative purpose, there is nothing but the creation of frustration.[x]  

Every season of our lives has beautiful possibilities for fruitfulness. Think of Revelation 22:2 where it describes the tree of life having unique fruit for each month. Whatever your age, do not fight the current season you are in. Embrace it and use it for God’s glory. Your current season of life is full of adventure if you have eyes to see it. May the Lord give us the courage and strength to bring forth lasting fruit even into our old age. With God’s help everyone can finish well.

He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper (Psalm 1:3, NKJV).

This is the eighteenth weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival

Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

[i] C. S. Lewis Quote on How You Are Never Too Old To Give Direction To Your Life · MoveMe Quotes (accessed March 15th 2023).

[ii] E. Stanley Jones, Mastery, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1955), 324.

[iii] E. Stanley Jones, Mastery, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1955), 324.

[iv] Jones, Mastery,327

[v] E. Stanley Jones, In Christ, (Festival Books, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee), 312.

[vi] E. Stanley Jones, Growing Spiritually, (Abingdon, Nashville, Tennessee, 1975), 350.

[vii] E. Stanley Jones, The Way (Abingdon – Cokesbury Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1946), 283

[viii] Jones, Growing Spiritually, 310

[ix] Jones, Growing Spiritually, 313.

[x] Jones, Growing Spiritually, 312; Jones, Mastery, 350.

 

 

 

 

Preparing a Landing Strip for the Holy Spirit

04 Sunday Jan 2026

Posted by in The Elisha Code

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And this was his message:
“After me comes the one more powerful than I,
the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
(Mark 1:7-8, NIV)

The title of this chapter is a present-day metaphor that aptly describes the ministry mandate of John the Baptist as found in the gospels. John was preparing a landing strip for the spiritual revival that Jesus launched.

… as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him’” (Mark 1:2-3, NIV).

John was the way maker for Jesus. With his message of repentance, followed by baptism, John prepared the ground for the great revival that occurred under the ministry of Jesus. John was Act One in this great drama of the ages. Jesus was Act Two. And via the Holy Spirit, the apostles are featured in Act Three, and of course, we read of their accomplishments in the Book of Acts. But the Book of Acts has no end. The work of the Holy Spirit continues to this present day.

John the Baptist and Jesus were revivalists—the greatest revivalists of all time. This dynamic New Testament duo set in motion a whole series of revivals that stretch down through the ages and continue to this day.

Remarkably, John the Baptist glimpsed all this. Operating in the prophetic realm, he predicted that Jesus would baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit. That prediction was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on those who were gathered in the upper room (Acts 2:1-4).
Oh, how we need an upper room experience—a baptism in the Holy Spirit experience!

It has been said that the Holy Spirit is like a jet plane. Jet planes cannot land just anywhere. They need a properly prepared runway.

Did any preparation precede the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? Yes, there was a good deal of preparation. Jesus gave his disciples this specific command:

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5, NIV).

The disciples obeyed Jesus’ command. They spent ten days gathered in prayer waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Their hearts were yearning for what the Master promised. This was preparation time.

They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2). Photo by David Kitz

Are you and I eagerly anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives with power? Are we hungry for God? Are we expecting the mighty rush of the Holy Spirit to swoop down into our lives? Have we prepared the runway with prayer? Are we pregnant with expectant faith?

The Holy Spirit comes to prepared hearts, and he is actively engaged even now in preparing hearts. Is the Spirit preparing the runway of your heart for the moment of touchdown?

Times of revival often bring an unexpected wave of Christ-centered fervency among young people who have been lost in the world system. This has been true throughout the ages. In the notable revivals of the last century, young people were at the forefront.

In desperate times, God often shows up, surprising everyone.

Many young people today struggle with hopelessness. Even free drugs from government agencies are not solving the plague of tragic opioid deaths. There is an emptiness in the lives of many youths that only God can fill. Times of revival involve the prophesied turning of the hearts of the young back to their fathers and to the living God. This is really a return to one of the core truths of the Elisha code.

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction” (Malachi 4:5-6, NIV).

We, David Kitz and Ed Hird, are an example of a dynamic duo writing about biblical dynamic duos. We have many things in common, such as our experience in charismatic renewal, the Jesus movement, and our similar Lutheran and Anglican heritage. We were teenagers and college students when God poured his Spirit out upon both of us again and again.

Both of us experienced the joy of being fully immersed, something that happened frequently during the Jesus movement at seaside beaches, lakesides, and church baptistries. Full immersion baptism was one of the defining features of the Jesus movement. Why was that the case?

It really was a full-blown return to first century Christianity. The key verse we heard quoted repeatedly during that time was drawn from Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, NKJV).

We saw ourselves as living and re-enacting the New Testament. The miracle of rebirth was our new reality.
But the Jesus movement was preceded by the Hippie movement. The Hippie movement brought 100,000 youth to Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco for the 1967 Summer of Love. But by the end of 1969, many had died from drug overdoses. Then in December 1969, a young man was stabbed to death at a free rock concert in Altamont, California. Out of the ashes of the failed hippie dream of free love and peace, the Jesus movement unexpectedly emerged.

Looking back, we can see there are some striking similarities between our current situation and the social and political climate of the late 1960s and early 1970s. We live in a time of sharp division and social and political upheaval. Everywhere long-established norms are being questioned and jettisoned. Many would say we have lost our moorings and are drifting in a dangerous current with no sense of direction. The same was true in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With the Vietnam War raging and sharp divisions between the generations, many found themselves at a social and emotional breaking point.

Jesus stepped into the mess of that time, and we are confident he will step into the upheaval and mess of our time as well.

With the recent Asbury revival and the release of The Jesus Revolution movie we are remind of the vitality of the 1970s Jesus movement. An estimated three million young people entered the Kingdom during this remarkable season of refreshing. It had a profound effect on the culture of that time. Revival is often a small thing when it breaks out, but it spreads like a prairie fire.

This was a fresh Spirit-prompted awakening with unique characteristics. It was a movement that spread from the bottom up. It sprang up spontaneously with no central theme or figure except the Lord Jesus. In the beginning, it had no defined leadership though overtime various leaders emerged. Though it began on the west coast and maintained a west coast vibe, it soon hitchhiked across the continent and marshalled young Jesus followers in diverse communities and every major city.

Like previous awakenings, the Jesus movement changed the music and the prevailing culture of that time.
A word of caution is warranted. The Jesus people movement of that time grew and filled many churches to overflowing. But at the same time, many churches were largely unaffected. Churches in decline often continued in decline. The tide of revival did not lift all boats.

Why was that the case?

Some churches welcomed these radical young Jesus followers, while others scoffed at their newfound faith seeing it as only a passing fad. For some who were swept up in the moment that criticism was valid. The devil is only too eager to snatch away the word that falls along life’s path so it cannot take root. But for those who were received into fellowship and grew in their love for the Lord and the Word of God, the impact was transformative and lifelong.

If revival breaks out among young people today will our churches be ready and welcoming, or will our response be negativity and criticism? We need to position ourselves to receive what the Holy Spirit brings our way. It may look different than what we expect.

Sometimes a revival, like with the Jesus movement, comes completely out of the blue. Similarly, no one planned or expected the latest Asbury outpouring among college students.

So many tens of thousands poured into this 6,000-person college town in Wilmore, Kentucky, that police had to post highway signs saying, ‘Revival Over Capacity.’

Asbury College has had many youth revivals over the years: 1905, 1908, 1921, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1992, 2006, and now 2023. One of our heroes, Dr. E. Stanley Jones, experienced the Asbury revival of joy and holy laughter in 1905, before being sent to India as a missionary for the next fifty years. He commented:

…suddenly we were all swept off our feet by a visitation of the Holy Spirit. We were all filled, flooded by the Spirit. Everything that happened to the disciples on the original Pentecost happened to us.[i]

Jones spoke about being calmly intoxicated with God’s love:

For three or four days, it could be said of us as was said of those at the original Pentecost.  ‘They are drunk.’  I was drunk with God (…) For three days, there were no college classes…I saw into the heart of reality, and the heart of reality was joy, joy, joy. And the heart of reality was love, love, love.[ii]

Asbury, said Jones, had both the ‘warmed heart’ and the ‘world parish’ missionary passion[iii]. Acts 1:8 reminds us that outpouring precedes outgoing. God is similarly raising up many young people in the current outpouring that will go to the ends of the earth with the good news.

Country trail at sunset — photo by David Kitz

Once you have a taste of revival, it leaves you longing for more. God willing, Jesus movement veterans like us may have the privilege of living through several coming revivals. We pray that we will be humble enough to have eyes to see, and not reject coming youth revivals because they may look different than what we remember.

Come Holy Spirit in revival fire. Touch down on the young generation. Land the jetliner of your presence with the sound of a mighty rushing wind.

This is the seventeenth weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival

Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

[i] E. Stanley Jones, A Song of Ascent (Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1979), 68.

[ii] Jones, A Song of Ascent, 69.

[iii] Jones, 67

The Servant of All

16 Sunday Nov 2025

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Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last,
and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35, NIV)

Are you and I putting Jesus’ teaching on being the least into practise in our daily lives. Are we becoming the servant of all? Do we see ourselves as last or do we put ourselves and our concerns first above all others?
Why is humility so key to missionary breakthrough? In what way has pride and self-righteousness either prevented or killed times of revival? The much-loved devotional writer Andrew Murray has much to teach us in these key areas.

Andrew Jr.’s father, Andrew Senior, had come to South Africa from Scotland as a missionary in 1828.  The Dutch Reformed Church was so desperate for pastors that they would even accept Scottish Presbyterians into their fold.  Revival and missions were the air that Andrew Junior breathed in his father’s house. Missionaries constantly visited the Murray home, including Dr. David Livingstone.

In 1838, when Andrew Junior was ten, he and his brother John were sent by their parents to study in Scotland. In the spring of 1840, the revivalist William C. Burns came and spoke in Aberdeen, Scotland. Burns’ heart was constantly broken over the lost, and he would weep and pray for hours for their salvation. This left a deep impression on young Andrew Murray.

The two brothers then went to Utrecht, Holland, for further theological studies. There, they became part of a revival group called Sechor Dabar (remember the Word in Hebrew).

When he returned to South Africa, Andrew became a Dutch Reformed pastor, being elected six times as the Moderator of the entire Dutch Reformed Church denomination. After initially trying to shut down the 1860 South African revival, he ended up giving strong leadership to this key revival. As people cried out in anguish, Andrew initially said, “This must stop now. I am your pastor!” God changed his mind, so, with Andrew’s blessing, great renewal broke out throughout South Africa with many thousands confessing Christ.

Suddenly in 1879, at age 51, Murray lost his voice for two years. Out of his painful two years of silence, he learned to depend upon God’s faithfulness, surrendering everything to God, and coming into a deep place of humility and love for others. In this time of waiting, he learned that we have nothing but what we humbly receive from God. Humility is about being an empty vessel that God can fill. Are we willing to be radically dependent on God?

Andrew’s amazing book Humility came of this deep time of self-crucifixion. He wrote, “Nothing but a crucified Jesus revealed in the soul can give a humble spirit.”

Humility for Andrew was most clearly seen in the incarnate and crucified Christ who prayed “not my will but Thine be done.” Andrew discovered that “pride is death, and the other (humility) is life; the one is all hell, the other is all heaven.”

During his voice ailment, Andrew came to see that a lack of humility suppresses revival and missions. He wrote, “A lack of humility is the explanation of every defect and failure.”

In 1881, he went to London to Bethshan, a healing home started by W. E. Boardman. He was completely healed there and never had trouble with his voice again. From that point on, he knew and taught that spiritual gifts were for believers today, and that God’s will is for healing and wholeness. While in England in 1882, he attended the Keswick Convention which focused on holiness and deeper life in Christ. Eventually, he founded Keswick South Africa.

Andrew did not just recover his voice; His whole demeanor changed.  He became known for his joyful humour. A long-time friend of the family wrote to Murray’s daughter Mary of this transformation: “A great change came into his life after that. He used to be rather stern and very decided in his judgment of things—after that year he was all love. His great humility also struck me very forcibly at that time.”

Murray’s oldest daughter agreed, saying, “he began to show in all relationships constant tenderness and unruffled lovingkindness and unselfish thought for others which increasingly characterized his life from that point.”

God showed Andrew Murray that “manifestations of temper and touchiness and irritation, feelings of bitterness and estrangement, have their root in nothing but pride.” He concluded that our defensiveness and unkind words reveal a lack of humility.

This deep personal change is the hallmark of all who come to a point of full repentance and faith in Christ. Humility is the mark of those who have been broken by the Spirit.

In his play The Power of Darkness, Leo Tolstoy put these words in the mouth of one of the main characters, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”[i]

World changers—God’s world changers—have first been changed by the Spirit of God. The self has been crucified and now Christ reigns. Leo Tolstoy, Andrew Murray, and the apostle, Paul, knew they were in desperate need of personal transformation. Real change begins with humble submission to Christ the crucified Lord and Savior.

 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, NIV).

Andrew ended up writing two hundred and forty books and booklets, including Waiting on God, The School of Obedience, Absolute Surrender, and The Deeper Christian Life. His anointed pen came from his anointed heart.

One of his most transformative books was called The Key to the Missionary Problem where he taught that missions were “the chief end of the church.” Dr F.B. Meyer said that The Key to the Missionary Problem, if widely read, would lead to one of the greatest revivals of missionary enthusiasm that the world has ever known.

Andrew Murray saw missions as so large and difficult it required the Church returning to “the Pentecostal life of her first love.”

“The Pentecostal commission can only be carried out by a Pentecostal Church in Pentecostal Power. …We have given too much attention to methods and to machinery and to resources and too little to the Source of Power—the filling with the Holy Ghost.”

Humble prayer, said Murray, was the heart of missions. He prayed that the cry of our whole heart, night, and day, would be, “Oh, for the humility of Jesus in myself and all around me!”

Murray saw humility as an essential key to winning the lost and reflecting the true character of Jesus. O that God would use such humility to breath a revival of missions throughout the world.

God eventually used Andrew as a peacemaker, humbly seeking to avoid the horrendous Boer/Anglo War (October 11, 1899 – May 31, 1902) where 26,000 of the 100,000 women and children in British concentration camps died of malnutrition and disease. Andrew Murray was ideally suited to the task of peacemaking. He had spent his entire working life as a bridge builder between the Dutch-speaking Afrikaners and the black tribal communities. Now as a British-born church leader, he interceded for peace in the face of British imperial aggression.

He wrote, “The horrors of war are too terrible; the sin and shame of war are too great; the folly of war is too monstrous… I believe with my whole heart that in many respects Britain is the noblest, the most Christian nation in the world, its greatest power for good or evil… Once again, I beseech the Christian people of Great Britain to rouse themselves, and to say, ‘This war shall not be.’ Let every lover of peace make his voice heard.”

In this time of tragic conflict, in various hot spots around the globe, may we pray that other humble peacemakers, like Andrew Murray, may arise. What might it take for the Russian and Ukrainian people to humbly seek lasting reconciliation and forgiveness?

The earnest prayer and humility of Jesus points the way forward. The hour is late. Hear our Savior’s plea, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” (Matthew 26:40, NIV).

[i] Leo Tolstoy, The Power of Darkness, Kindle edition, 2012, Aylmer Maude (Translator), Louise Shanks Maude (Translator).

This is the tenth weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival 

A soul-gripping read.
Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

A Call for the Miraculous

02 Sunday Nov 2025

Posted by in The Elisha Code

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“And these signs will accompany those who believe:
In my name they will drive out demons; 
they will speak in new tongues; 
they will pick up snakes with their hands;
and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
(Mark 16:17-18, NIV)

More Autumn glory — photo by David Kitz

What will it take to turn this nation and the world to faith in Jesus Christ? That question should set us on a Holy Spirit driven quest to see a world-changing, Book-of-Acts revival take place in our time.

There are those within the church who argue the age of miracles ended with the death of the original apostles. But those who hold such a view are not being true to the Scriptures, or the historical record of the church down through the ages.

Have you noticed that most revivals in the last hundred years involved a renewed emphasis on the healing ministry? Many denominations have functionally delegated the healing ministry to the wastebin of New Testament history. Sorry, they might say, this is the wrong dispensation to get healed. Jesus does not do that anymore. Spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues, and healing have all ceased since the publishing of the New Testament. If you are sick, all that is left is to go to your medical doctor and hope for the best. “If it be your will” prayers have become the dominant way of praying for the sick. Perhaps God nowadays wants us sick rather than whole.

Aimee Semple McPherson and AB Simpson were two Ontario-raised Canadians who challenged that assumption. Both asserted that spiritual gifts are still available today, including the gifts of healing. While both valued the role of medical doctors, they helped many discover that Jesus Christ our healer is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Both asserted that this is not the wrong dispensation to get healed by Jesus. He is still willing and able to heal the sick in body, mind, and spirit.

Both Semple McPherson and AB Simpson helped people rediscover the prayer of faith in James 5:15 where we read that if anyone is sick, they are to call the elders who will lay hands on them, anoint them with oil, and exercising the prayer of faith will heal the sick. They will be restored to health. By confessing their sins one to another and praying for each other (sins like rage, unforgiveness, bitterness, self-hatred), many were healed. In the healing revival, it was noticed that people were often healed first spiritually and emotionally. The outer physical healings often naturally followed the inner healings.

Albert Benjamin Simpson was born on Prince Edward Island on December 15th, 1843, of Scottish Covenanter heritage.  His family had emigrated from Morayshire, Scotland to Bayview, P.E.I. After the collapse of his father’s shipbuilding business in the 1840’s depression, his family moved from P.E.I. to a farm in western Ontario.

Fresh out of seminary in 1865, Simpson had accepted the call to pastor Knox Church in Hamilton, a congregation with the second largest Presbyterian church building in Canada. Over the next eight years, 750 new people joined the congregation.

But AB Simpson had been such a workaholic that he destroyed his health.  In 1881, his medical doctor gave him just three months to live.  But upon meeting an Episcopalian (Anglican) physician, Dr. Charles Cullis, at Old Orchard Camp in Maine, he experienced a remarkable healing of his near-fatal heart condition. His restoration to health was so complete that the next day, Simpson was able to climb a 3,000-foot mountain, and then successfully pray for his daughter Margaret’s healing from diphtheria. This was the very disease which had earlier killed his son Melville.

Simpson believed that Jesus Christ is still healing people today (Hebrew 13:8). His first of many books was fittingly called The Gospel of Healing.

Word spread fast regarding these healings. He was inundated by many with pleas for help. By others, he was vilified and ridiculed as another quack miracle worker. Simpson started Friday afternoon healing & holiness meetings, which quickly became New York City’s largest attended spiritual weekday meeting, with 500 to 1,000 in attendance. He even turned his own house into a healing home where people could come for prayer ministry.

Simpson, as founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, brought together four separate movements into one alliance (1) missions and evangelism (2) healing (3) holiness, and (4) Jesus’ Second Coming. His four-fold gospel emphasized “Christ our Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King.”  Simpson saw that the healing ministry as vital in the fulfillment of the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.

Few people nowadays realize that Aimee Semple McPherson[i] was the most famous North American woman in the1920s. How is it a Canadian farm girl came to have a lasting impact on the lives of millions around the world?

Aimee Semple McPherson

Growing up on a farm near Salford, Ontario, Aimee was raised in the Salvation Army by her mother.

At age 17, Aimee said, “Lord, I’ll never eat or sleep again until you fill me with the Spirit of power.”

Having been touched by the Spirit, she married the visiting evangelist, Robert Semple. They promptly went to China as missionaries. But within months of their arrival in Hong Kong, her husband died after they both contracted malaria. Aimee came back to North America in 1912 as a broken woman, a widow, and a single mother of a daughter from her brief marriage.

She wrote: “I had come home from China like a wounded little bird, and my bleeding heart was constantly pierced with curious questions from well-meaning people.”[ii]

Remarrying on the rebound to the practical Harold McPherson, she tried unsuccessfully to be the traditional stay-at-home housewife her new husband wanted. It almost killed her. After ending up in hospital, and near death, God told her to go back preaching. She said yes to her calling and was instantly healed.

Leaving that night with her two children, she began preaching in Canada. At her first meetings, only two men and a boy turned up for the first four days. Then, after miraculous healings broke out, the curious crowds appeared.

“My healings?” said Aimee, “I do nothing. If the eyes of the people are on me, nothing will happen. I pray and believe with others, who pray and believe, and the power of Christ works the miracle.”

The next step was travel to the West Coast. Aimee and her mom, Minnie Kennedy, became the first women to drive alone across North America on uncharted roads. After relocating to Los Angeles, Aimee became as well-known as Charlie Chaplain, Harry Houdini, and even President Teddy Roosevelt.

In the 1920s, the sheer numbers of medically verified healings at her services was astounding. This included the wheelchair-bound being able to walk, the blind able to see, the deaf hearing, and tumors disappearing.

Angeles Temple

On January 1st, 1923, Aimee Semple McPherson opened her headquarters church in Los Angeles, the 5,300 seat Angeles Temple. A typical Sunday would see Aimee preaching three services to a full house, while tens of thousands more listened on radio. Her influence on the culture of southern California was so profound that linguists attribute the present-day southern California accent to the impact she had on the language. In those formative years, so many heard her voice in person and via radio that she shaped the pronunciation and syntax of daily speech of that region.

One month after opening Angeles Temple, Aimee started L.I.F.E Bible College which soon attracted 1,000 students. Many of those students became Foursquare pastors and missionaries who spread the Foursquare Gospel around the globe.

Like AB Simpson, Aimee proclaimed a fourfold gospel message centered on Jesus—Jesus as Savior, Healer, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, and coming King. She called this the Foursquare Gospel and founded the denomination by that name.

Her legacy remains and flourishes. Today, there are 44,000 Foursquare Gospel churches in 143 countries around the world, and through the ministry of those churches, a million new believers committed their lives to Christ in the last calendar year.

But as we know, each new generation needs to discover the scope and power of the gospel for themselves. We cannot live on our parents’ faith. We must experience God’s grace firsthand. Undoubtedly, it was for this reason that Jude begins his epistle with these words:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3, NIV).

Are we contending for the faith that was entrusted to us by the apostles? It is a faith that moved mountains of doubt, fear, and disability and cast them into the sea. It is a faith that healed the sick, restored the crippled, and raised the widow Tabatha from her deathbed.[iii] Are we contending for that kind of world-shaking, bondage-breaking faith?

Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com

The following testimony from evangelist R. W. Shambach illustrates the power of supernatural healing in bringing the lost to faith in Christ. Shambach made his first trip to India in 1956. He was gripped by the poverty and misery he saw in the marketplaces, and by the many he saw who were sick, crippled, and blind.

On that opening day, I preached for two hours, and my interpreter translated for two hours—for a total of four hours. They wanted me to go on. When I gave the altar call, I was so disappointed. I had preached to 50,000 people, and not one soul had come to accept Jesus.

Although no one came forward to accept Christ, and the crowd was obviously ready for the benediction, I said, “I am not done now. God says that signs follow His Word. I did what God called me to do. Now I am going to let God do what He said He was going to do.”

I invited three people from the audience to come forward—they were beggars. I knew who they were. One was blind, one was deaf and dumb, and the other was a crippled woman who had never walked upright.

Fifty thousand people were watching.

They were all healed.

Do you know what happened? The people in that crowd started jumping out of trees, and a mob came running towards me… I never saw such an onslaught of people. They were yelling something at the top of their voice. I asked my interpreter, “What are they saying?”

He said, “They are hollering, ‘Jesus is alive. Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is God.’ They are coming to get saved.”
What a thrill! Not one of them came when I preached, but when they saw the demonstration of the Gospel, they came.

God has called the Church to demonstrate His power. Aren’t you glad He is alive today?[iv]

What will it take to turn this nation and the world to faith in Jesus Christ? Many are blind and hostile to God and the message of the gospel. The only thing that will open their eyes to the reality of Christ’s love is a demonstration of the Lord’s supernatural healing power.

Paul knew the importance of the miraculous in his ministry to the lost of his time.

 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:3-5, NIV).

Is the gospel message we are presenting just wise and persuasive words? To be truly biblical our message needs to be rooted in a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.

Healing and the miraculous are an integral part of the Elisha Code. Let’s not miss out on this key to future revivals.

[i] For a complete picture of the life and ministry of Aimee Semple McPherson see Sister Aimee by Daniel Mark Epstein, Harcourt Brace & Company.

[ii] “The Story of My Life”, Aimee Semple McPherson, Foursquare Crusader, September 7, 1927, Page 6.

[iii] Acts 28:8-9, Acts 3:1-10, Acts 9:32-43

[iv] Excerpt From “Miracles: Eyewitness to the Miraculous” by R. W. Schambach, 1969.

This is the eighth weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival 

A soul-gripping read.
Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

Introduction to “The Elisha Code”

14 Sunday Sep 2025

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Discovering Jesus Blueprint for Renewal

By
David Kitz & Dr. Ed Hird

Is there a hidden code to the Bible? Is there some secret interpretation—hidden in plain sight—that we have been missing for generations? If so, what is it, and what are the implications for Christians today?

The book you are holding cracks the code—the code Jesus revealed to his disciples. Furthermore, it signals the pattern for the coming global revival—revivals that may well be marked by miraculous signs and wonders on an unprecedented scale.

We live in dark times—times of fear, pestilence, national and international intrigue, and political turmoil. Many are in despair. But into this darkness, the prophet Isaiah speaks:

         “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, 
           By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
           Galilee of the Gentiles:
           The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
           And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
           Light has dawned” (Matthew 4:15-16, NKJV).

At the darkest time, in the darkest region, Jesus appeared on the scene. There he began his ministry. In these dark and divided times, as the truth of the Elisha Code is brought to light, we too will see Jesus revealing his grace and power among us.

Throughout the centuries-long history of the church, biblical truths have been lost—lost through sin, unbelief, and neglect—later to be rediscovered by thirsty souls searching for transformative change in dark times. Martin Luther triggered the reformation with his rediscovery of the truth of salvation by faith through grace. The truth of sanctification triggered the Great Awakening and the Methodist renewal with revival-fire starters such as the Wesley brothers, George Whitefield, and John Newton. The twentieth century began with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the truths of Pentecost were brought to the fore through the globe-spanning Welsh revival and the Azusa Street outpouring.

When biblical truth is restored, revival often follows. A harvest of souls is swept into the Kingdom of God, as surely as the morning dawns on a new day.

Sydney Missionary Bible College (Flickr CC).

Let’s return to his Holy Word and uncover the foundation Jesus has already laid. Let’s return to truths we have overlooked for far too long. Jesus is the Master Builder of the church. By studying his earthly ministry, we can discover the blueprint he was following to launch and establish the church of the first century. It is a blueprint that is patterned after the prophetic Old Testament ministries of Elijah and Elisha.

Within this volume, there are chapters that explore this neglected connection to these two prophets of the old covenant. Often, these chapters are then followed by biographical snapshots of individuals in church history who have tapped into key truths. These principles have catapulted the gospel message forward to powerfully impact the world of their time.

To fulfill its divine mission, the church of the twenty-first century does not need to discover new and different truths for this current age. It needs to return to, and rediscover lived truths taught by Jesus and the apostles of the first century church and put into practise by leading men and women of God down through the ages.     

Together, let’s crack the Elisha Code and become participants in the next great end-times revival—a revival marked by a double portion of Christ’s miraculous anointing.

Let the quest begin!

This is the second weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival 

A soul-gripping read.
Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival

07 Sunday Sep 2025

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Discovering Jesus Blueprint for Renewal

By
David Kitz & Dr. Ed Hird

Foreword by Lee Grady

I became a serious Christian at the tail end of the Jesus movement. I was too young to remember the hippie beads, tie-dyed shirts and “Jesus Is Groovy” slogans, but the songs were still popular when I was in college (including musicians such as Andrae Crouch, Love Song and Second Chapter of Acts), as were the movies—especially The Cross and the Switchblade.

The Jesus movement was like a spiritual tsunami that washed over hundreds of thousands of young people in the late 1960s and early ‘70s and brought them into a personal relationship with Christ. Some of these kids had been drug addicts and social misfits; most were just average Joes and Janes who discovered that Jesus is a lot more exciting than traditional churches had led them to believe.

Lately I find myself waxing nostalgic for those days—not because I want to return to the awkward fashions and hairstyles of 1972, but because I miss the spiritual simplicity of that era. The Jesus movement was primarily focused on—surprise!—Jesus. Theology was not complicated; pastors weren’t trying to be hip or sophisticated or tech-savvy, and we hadn’t yet created a Christian subculture with its own celebrities and political power bases.

Today, we just don’t preach enough about Jesus. In today’s ultra cool megachurch era, we’ve become experts on everything but basic Christian theology 101. In my recent travels I’ve been horrified to learn that many believers have given up the discipline of reading their Bibles even semi-regularly, and very few believers have ever led anyone to faith in Christ. One by one we are trading in our solid moral values for a squishy, spineless, whatever-is-right-for-you faith. People today prefer a steady diet of culturally relevant, fast-paced, techno-theology that is a poor substitute for biblical discipleship.

Even many Spirit-filled believers have developed the attitude that a simple focus on Christ isn’t enough. We’d rather go to a “prophetic encounter” to hear who will win the next election, or experience some exotic spiritual manifestation (gold dust, gems falling out of the ceiling). Or we prefer to ask Rev. Flash-in-the-Pan to pray for us for the sixteenth time so we can receive yet another “special anointing” that we will probably never use. 

In the midst of all this chaos, where is Jesus? Am I the only one out there who is weary of this distraction? Thankfully not. I am so pleased to read this book by Ed Hird and David Kitz because they share my concerns. The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival is a refreshing challenge to return to Jesus—and to expect spiritual revival when we clean up our message.

Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve decided to get back to the basics of the faith. That’s why I am reading What Jesus Is All About?, a classic book written 70 years ago by Henrietta Mears, a Bible teacher who helped mentor both Billy Graham and Bill Bright in the 1940s. 

Mears explains in her book how each of the four gospels give us a unique, four-dimensional portrait of the Savior. According to Mears:

  • Matthew was written to Jews to tell of a Promised Messiah who is also a King—and it uses the word “kingdom” 55 times.
  • Mark was written to Gentiles to tell of a Powerful Savior—and it reports more miracles than any other gospel.
  • Luke was written by a Gentile to tell of a Perfect Savior—and it has the most references to Jesus’ humanity.
  • John was written by “the disciple whom Jesus loved” to tell of a Personal Savior—and it has the most references to Jesus’ divine nature.

The Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible knew we needed more than a one, two, or three-dimensional look at Jesus. The Spirit gave us a four-dimensional view so that we could gaze at Him from all sides and become captivated by His magnificence—His supreme kingship, His compassionate mercy, His supernatural power, His perfect justice, His amazing humility and His love for sinners like you and me.

There’s so much more to Jesus than we realize. And there is so much more to say about Him than we are telling our generation. Instead of giving people a gospel diluted with left-wing or right-wing politics, or a message mixed with cultural “relevance,” we need to give them the real Jesus.

In this insightful book, full of keen insights from the lives of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, the authors challenge us to examine our message, repent of our unfaithfulness and embrace the raw courage to preach Jesus again. As you read this book, please allow God’s powerful Word to cut deep.

Lee Grady
Former Editor, Charisma
Author, Follow Me and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale
Director, The Mordecai Project

This is the first weekly excerpt from the award-winning book 
The Elisha Code & the Coming Revival 

A soul-gripping read.
Is a return-to-Jesus revival possible in our time?
This book points the way forward.
For details click here.

Filled with Laughter

24 Sunday Aug 2025

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Psalm 126

A Song of Ascents

When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

I cannot read this psalm—Psalm 126—without immediately identifying with it. I have lived this psalm; I have experienced the reality of it.

Now that’s a rather bold statement; some might call it an ignorant or arrogant statement. The historical context of this psalm is readily identifiable. The psalmist is commenting on the joyous return of the exiles following the seventy-year Babylonian captivity—an event that occurred in the sixth century before the birth of Christ. How could anyone alive today claim that they have lived or experienced this particular Psalm? None of us were present during these dramatic events in Jewish history.

But again, I repeat: I have lived this psalm; I have experienced the reality of it.

The whole premise of this book is built on the notion that the psalms can come alive within us. The writer of the Book of Hebrews reminds us that “the word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12).

Photo by L. Kranz

What is there then, to prevent this living word from coming alive within us? Why can we not experience this active word of God transforming and transporting us to the throne of grace? Only two things hinder us from living in the power and wonder of the word of God, and they are sin and unbelief. And sin and unbelief are only too eager to form within us, a constricting bond that smothers the Spirit empowered Word.

But when the power of sin is broken, and unbelief is purged from the doubting soul—oh what liberty awaits! The word of God comes alive within us. The LORD is then free to do great and glorious things in us, and through us.

That was my experience as a young man in the early 1970’s. The LORD was bringing back the captives to Zion, “and we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.”

I was caught up in the vortex of the Jesus People movement of that time, and amazing things were happening. Young men and women were coming to faith in Christ at a phenomenal rate. At every church meeting newcomers were finding the forgiveness they needed. The prodigals were coming home in droves. Every gathering closed with a baptismal service as new believers affirmed their faith in the crucified and risen Christ. There was a heady infectious joy in the church that could not be contained.   

At that time, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.”

The spontaneity of the worship experience during those days was truly astonishing. New songs were born—born by the Spirit—right within the corporate worship time. Many of them came directly from the scriptures. The psalms became the source book for our worship. The captives—captives of sin and Satan—had been set free, and now there was a new song in our hearts, and on our lips—a song of praise to our God. We could not keep this to ourselves. Who could possibly contain the overflowing goodness and mercy of God?

This ingathering of souls was God’s doing. A lost generation was arrested by the Almighty. He was turning us around, and we were discovering Jesus. And this move of the Holy Spirit did not begin in the church. No, it began in the flop houses and hippy communes. It started on the street—in the world—the sin-saturated world. It did not start with saintly scholars and philosophers, but rather with the young and restless, the hitchhikers and misfits. God was calling them to Himself, and He was miraculously transforming lives as only can God do.

Because this new thing that God was doing started in the world, many Christians were suspicious of it. Could this really be God? Many churches stood aloof. But those who welcomed these misfits found themselves overwhelmed and transformed by what God was doing. He had initiated this, and He stood at the center of it.

Soon the Jesus’ movement was affecting the entire youth culture. Amazing Grace became the number one hit on top forty radio. A half dozen hit songs spoke of the man from Galilee. Time magazine ran a cover story on how the youth across the continent were discovering Jesus. Suddenly, it was cool to love Jesus and to follow him.

And I was a frontline witness to all this. I was seeing lives changed all around me. Close friends, who were far from God, suddenly were having life altering encounters with Jesus. We were like men who dreamed. And in that dream Jesus had come to live among us. His long flowing hair had become our own. He was with us again, just like he was with that band of fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, and the nets were full of fish—boat swamping full of fish.

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.'”

The world knows when God is doing something remarkable, and the psalmist records the ancient world heard that the captive Jewish nation had been released. The exiles were free to return to their homeland, and return they did. In the early 1970’s the modern world heard that Jesus was bringing young people to himself. They too were free—set free from a load of guilt and sin, set free from addictions and hang ups—free to love and serve God with hearts washed pure by the blood of the Lamb.

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!”

That was my experience—an experience that was shared by thousands of others across this continent during this remarkable time. It was the LORD’s doing. He did great things for us—things I will never forget.

But …

But there is a pause in this psalm. This is a psalm written in two distinct sections, or stanzas. In most translations, this break between stanzas is indicated by a blank line. The psalmist abruptly transitions from joyous triumph to sober petition, from exuberance to sobbing desperation. We are left wondering what happened in between. What happened in that blank line? Why this sharp transition? In bleak desolation the psalmist pleads, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.”

Atacama Desert, Chile — Photo credit http://www.explora.com

Streams in the Negev are intermittent. A raging torrent one day becomes a mere trickle on the next day, and then nothing on the third day. The boisterous river of joy turns into a blank line on the desert floor. Nothing—just nothing.

The Negev is the parched desert region to the south of the land of Judah. Cloud bursts there can produce these streams in the barren desert, and with the sudden arrival of this moisture, long dormant seeds spring to life. Suddenly new life abounds. But without further moisture, the scorching sun takes its toll. The harsh environment reasserts its dominance. Land that was briefly lush and verdant reverts to desert dust.

Is it any wonder then that the psalmist cries out, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.” The psalmist longs for the flow of new life to continue.

And right along with the psalmist I cry, “Send your river flowing through here once again. Send a cloud burst of your mercy down on this nation again. Invade this culture again. Turn our young people to Jesus, yet again. Touch this new generation. Let them find themselves walking with you, the living Christ. You did it once, Lord, and I saw it. I experienced it. Now do it again! Do it again, not for me, but for those who don’t know you. Do great things for them. Set them free from the sin and the lies that ensnare them. Touch all of us, once again!”

“Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.”

In those days, at the height of what God was doing, I saw a dozen young men line up in the freezing cold. They arrived early. They were waiting for the pastor to arrive on a Saturday night to unlock the church so they could come in and give their hearts to Jesus. I saw hundreds of young people being baptized at that same church—more than three hundred in a year—one for every day of the year. The God of the harvest was adding to the church “daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

This was not about the Holy Spirit tickling the churches’ funny bone. It was about sinners finding God. Time after time I saw the lost crowding the altar at the close of the service. They wanted Jesus, nothing more, nothing less, just Jesus.

Now, only the faithful come to the altar, if anyone comes at all.

 “Restore our fortunes, O LORD.”

 I echo the psalmist’s prayer, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD.”

Fortunately, we are provided with the promise of God’s word in tandem with the psalmist’s petition, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.”

A field of harvest ready oats near MacNutt, SK — photo by David Kitz

If you live in a dry land, water it with your tears. If the wind of God’s Spirit is a distant memory, remember seasons change. The seed of God’s word is still viable. It is always power packed and ready to spring to life. Just add water.

“He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”

God’s promise stands sure and certain, but for us, two questions remain. Are you going out weeping? And are you carrying seed to sow?

Perhaps the church in Canada has never experienced a harsher spiritual climate than that which exists today. We live in a society that by and large has turned its back on God. The gospel message is often treated with contempt or outright ridicule. The church exists in a spiritual desert. Figuratively, Canada is the Negev. Conditions in in the United States are only marginally better.

In such a harsh climate the natural inclination is to cocoon ourselves away. The world out there is inhospitable. It’s best to stay inside, to huddle amongst ourselves. Isn’t it better to cloister ourselves away, than to expose ourselves to the harsh elements and the criticism of others? Let’s circle the wagons and entertain ourselves. This has become the unspoken modus operandi for many churches.

Into our cloistered existence the psalmist speaks. He instructs us to step out of our sheltered place. He tells us to go out weeping. What a bizarre command! Weeping is for private places. Why would we want to go out into the world weeping? Yet, this is what we are encouraged to do. Could it be that we are to get out of our churches and cry? Cry over what?

How about crying over a lost generation? How about crying over the homeless, the addicted and the needy? How about crying over the devastating effects of sin, and the degradation of our youth?

One day in the late 1950’s, David Wilkerson opened a copy of Life magazine where he saw photos of young gang members in New York City. Looking into their eyes, he broke down and wept. This young pastor left the shelter of his country church to bring the gospel to the toughest gangs in New York City. He went “out weeping, carrying seed to sow” and yes, David Wilkerson returned “with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” He proved that the message of the cross is more powerful than the switchblade.

God has given us His seed—the word of God—for a reason. We are to scatter it out in the world. There can be no harvest unless someone goes out and plants the seed.

Are you carrying seed to sow? Don’t just carry it into the world. Scatter it. There is no joy quite like the harvester’s joy. The harvester has worked with God, and the LORD’s joy becomes his own.

“He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”

Bringing Life to the Psalms

  1. Have you experienced the joy of harvest, where new souls have been added to the Kingdom of God? What was that experience like? What role did you play? Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 for Paul’s perspective on planting and harvesting.
  2. What is the difference between ingathering and revival? There appears to be a place for both in the economy of God’s Kingdom. Take note of the revival that took place under the leadership of Josiah, King of Judah, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 34-35. The discovery of the Book of the Law of the LORD was a key element in this revival. In a similar way, I would contend that the release of the Good News, New Testament by the Bible Society contributed significantly to the Jesus People movement of the early 1970’s. How important is it for you to have an understandable translation of the scriptures?
  3. Are we living in a harsh spiritual climate? Is the gospel message impacting the culture in which we live, or is the culture of the world impacting the church?
  4. What are you personally doing to sow the seed of God’s word? What are some innovative ways to get the seed out into the field? What can churches do to facilitate going out with the seed of God’s word? Have you circled the wagons? Are you merely entertaining yourselves? What is the role of tears in the harvest that God wills to bring on the earth?
  5. Reread Psalm 126. What is God saying to you by His Spirit?

Today’s post is Chapter 25 from the book Psalms Alive! Connecting Heaven & Earth by David Kitz. To find out more or purchase click here.

 

Listening to God’s Voice in Difficult Times

21 Friday Feb 2025

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Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 85:8-13
I will listen to what God the LORD says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
but let them not turn to folly.
Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The LORD will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps (NIV). *

Photo by Aleksandr Neplokhov on Pexels.com

Reflection
Psalm 85 began with the psalmist reflecting on a wonderful time of God’s favor and forgiveness. God’s grace had been abundant and a source of great joy. But that is not the present reality. It would seem for some reason God’s hand of blessing has been lifted and the psalmist finds himself crying out for mercy and revival. Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, LORD, and grant us your salvation (Psalm 85:6-7).

Times of hardship and personal setbacks can leave us wondering if God has abandoned us. Have we sinned? Has God withdrawn His blessing from our lives? Will He show us His kindness once again? In difficult times these questions often flood our minds.

After pleading for restoration and pouring out his troubles before God the psalmist makes this statement, “I will listen to what God the LORD says” (v. 8a).

Now that’s sound advice. Listening to what God says is always a good idea. It resolves inner conflict and brings peace of mind. And what does God the LORD say? “He promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—but let them not turn to folly” (v. 8b).

Often, we feel that when things aren’t going right in our lives, we must be at fault. Perhaps we are and we should repent. But there are other times when the hardships we face are not due to sin or error on our part. Troubles and difficulties come to all of us. On such occasions the LORD promises us peace. He assures us that we are walking in His will, and He is right there with us in the midst of life’s storms. Here is His promise for you: The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps (v. 12-13).

Hang onto the righteousness of God. He is about to step into your life in a beautiful way.

Response: LORD God, I turn to you in the middle of my difficulties. Open my ears to hear your voice speaking to me. I trust you to lead me. Come and step into my life. Amen.

Your Turn: Can you recall occasions when God has stepped into your life? What did that look like?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

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* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

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A gripping read from David Kitz.
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To purchase or for a closer look click here.