Revival series part 4

 by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D., Revival Historian

Keys for Stewarding Personal Revival, Encounter, Awakening (taken from Jen’s book SustaiN the Flame)

When the fires of revival get ignited, then what? The Moravians knew that it was important to then steward the flames of revival to keep the oil burning and thus they cultivated the new wine skin of 24-7 prayer. Though the wineskins for how to steward the fires of revival may look different, we can learn from the Moravian’s example that unity in prayer is a key for stewarding corporate revival.

And when revival comes to us personally or God meets us in a profound way, it is also important to steward those encounters to keep the oil burning. Cultivating family around the fireplace of revival, stewarding a heart of worship in all circumstances, and praying in tongues regularly are keys that can profoundly shape our spirituality and keep us focused on the face of Jesus. In addition to these, the following are some rhythms and pathways to greater intimacy with Jesus and stewarding the fire that I have found helpful in my life.

1. Stay Full of the Oil of Intimacy

In Matthew 25:1-12, we see the story of the wise and foolish virgins. This parable is symbolic of making sure we steward the oil of intimacy in our lives to keep the fire burning. If we try to rely upon other’s secret place encounters and stewardship of their relationship with Christ, it won’t get us to where we need to go. We must personally make sure to invest time in the secret place with Jesus, getting filled up by Him with the Holy Spirit and fire. There is no shortcut to building intimacy with Jesus, it requires time and an open and vulnerable heart. In John 15:1-8, we see that all fruitfulness flows from intimacy with Christ. We must stay connected to our Source. Read Walking on Water: Experiencing a Life of Miracles, Courageous Faith, and Union with God to go deeper in this area.

2. Consume the Word of God

We must be a people who know the truth deeply, especially in the midst of the increasing delusions, lies, and deceptions of the enemy. People who work at banks know when there is a counterfeit bill because they handle so much real money. When we are saturated in the truth, we will know when something is off. The shaking in our world will only increase. We must stand strong on the Word of God which is a solid rock. We must read it, eat it, breathe it, meditate on it, memorize it, and make declarations with it. Audio versions of the Bible are also a good way to get the Word hidden in our hearts.

3. Steward Encounters and God’s voice

We must learn to discern and steward the voice of God through His Word, encounters, as well trusted prophetic voices in speaking into our lives. If God marks you, linger in that space. Don’t shift or transition too quickly out of an encounter with God. Don’t jump right into a conversation with someone or look on social media or get distracted another way. Allow what He has just blessed you with to permeate to the deepest levels. Meditate on what it good and it will have a greater effect on you. Journal what He has shown you. When God speaks to you, obey Him immediately and keep your heart tender toward Him. Steward prophetic words over your life. Make sure to audio record them, and then listen to them, write them out, and pray over them until they become a reality.

4. Fast

Develop a rhythm of weekly or regularly fasting to keep the fire burning. You would be surprised at the radical shift that regular fasting can have in your life. Jesus regularly fasted and we must learn how to walk in His footsteps. Many revivals, encounters, or defining moments in revivalists’ lives were birthed while on a fast. See my book Fasting for Fire: Igniting Fresh Hunger to Feast Upon God for more on this with practical tools to help get you started or a reframing of what it really is to re-ignite you.

5. Learn to Wait on the Holy Spirit

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God.” How many times do we stop talking, moving, planning, to simply just be with God and sit in His presence?[ii] Too many of us think we have to strive, contend, push to see God move. But what if rather than trying to make things happen on our own, we instead spent time with the Holy Spirit, listened to what is on God’s heart, were fully yielded, and simply responded to where He was leading? What if like Moses, we weren’t going to go anywhere, even into revival or into our destinies, if He didn’t go with us? What if we became a people that was led by fire in the night and cloud in the day? Or a people who wouldn’t move anywhere without His presence (Exodus 33)?

 6. Embrace Rhythms of Run, Rest, Release

It is important to discern what season you are in so you can steward it well in preparation for the upcoming season. Many times in life, there are seasons where you run hard, rest, then release or birth new things. This is cyclical in nature. During times of revival, things accelerate, people are running fast, it’s time to push. But it is also important to embrace the Sabbath. Recognize what season you are in and adjust to make sure you get what is needed in that time. The sabbath is not only Biblical, it is also a key for unlocking greater creativity in our lives. Embracing the sabbath, having fun, eat healthy, exercising regularly, and stewarding our bodies which are temple of the Holy Ghost are essential to run hard and finishing well. We don’t want to be a people who burn and then burn out. We need the sustaining burn.

7. Surround yourself with other Burning Ones

A single flame alone might burn for a little while, but for that flame to increase and not die out, it is important to unite with other flames. The more flames come together, the greater the fire and likelihood that your flame will not whither. I’ve seen too many people be a part of a great culture, environment, or ministry school for a season, get radically impacted, and then back to their homelands without being intentional to find and run with other sold-out burning ones. Soon, their fire wanes or even worse, they go back to a lifestyle they had before God encountered them powerfully. We must find other passionate Jesus lovers wherever God places us. The great thing now is that even if you can’t find any in your hometown, you can run with other burning ones in online communities for support to keep the fire burning. Ask God to surround you with spiritual mothers and fathers, kindred-spirited burning friends, and others you can encourage.

 8. Steward the Power of the Testimony

Another way to build up your faith and keep the fire burning is to recount and thank God for the testimonies of His faithfulness in your life and how He’s come through in the past. Whether it is by framing a picture on a wall that reminds you of a breakthrough or of His radical provision, writing down testimonies on a 3x5 card to go over to encourage yourself in, or some other creative way, do it! Steward these stones of remembrances (Joshua 4). By stewarding testimonies of God’s faithfulness in the Bible, in revival history, in the lives of others, and in your own personal history with God, you are prophesying into future breakthroughs and radical acts of faith.

9. Learn how to Deal with Disappointment

One of the greatest things that I’ve noticed takes Christians out or sidelines them is when they fail to deal with disappointment well. Some might suffer loss, have something happen to them they don’t understand, step out in faith for something that doesn’t happen. Rather than learn from it and trust God will turn it around for their good, many get discouraged, disillusioned, build up distrust against God, or condemn themselves as failures. If we really believe all the promises found in Romans 8 and have a healthy perspective on God the Father, we won’t turn to bitterness or embrace disappointment. Instead, we will deepen our connection with the Father and learn to trust Him even more. Memorize and believe Romans 8 and you will not be shaken.

10. Choose Unity and Love

This is both important on a personal and corporate level. Strive to be at peace with all people and take the road of humility again and again (Romans 12:18, Philippians 2). Trust God to vindicate you where you’ve been wronged. And just as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.

11. Don’t be Afraid to Shine

And finally, don’t be afraid to shine (Isaiah 60). God has appointed some to be leaders in our generation. Not everyone has been given the same amount of influence, favor, resources, anointing for leadership upon your life. Be the gift God has called you to be, however that might look. Not everyone was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Moses was. Then it was Joshua who God appointed to lead them even further into their promised land. Humbly do the assignments God has entrusted to you without making excuses, making yourself look smaller, or sabotaging the call of God on your life (Ephesians 2:10). Give all the glory to God but when the invitation is there, step in while clinging to Him.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Hopefully some of the rhythms I have learned in my own life for stewarding the fire will encourage you. There are many more ways to steward the fire that may be unique for you.

• Which of these keys are you already doing well in?

• Which of these keys are highlighted for you to develop further?

• What other keys have you noticed that can help you steward the fire in your heart that may be unique for you in this season?

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These tips were taken from Jen’s book Sustain the Flame.

Revival Series Part 3

 by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D., Revival Historian

Moravian Fire Ignited

On August 13th, 1727, German nobleman Count Nikolaus Von Zinzendorf gathered the Moravian refugees living on his property in Herrnhut to bring them to a place of unity and overturn the discord in their midst. That day in the chapel at Berthelsdorf they were invited to consecrate their lives afresh unto the Lord and with each other.

As they put aside their differences and came together as one, choosing to make a covenant of love with one another, the power of God and purifying fire of the Holy Ghost fell upon them. Revival had come. Where the enemy came to kill, steal, destroy, and take from this community born for unity, they answered back with a resolute firmness to stand against all schemes to divide. They knew their destiny was unity and love. Ever since that moment, what tried to divide them brought them closer together. Seeking unity was catalytic to ignite this flame. This event later became known as the Moravian Pentecost.

Stewarding the Fire through the Furnace of Prayer

Now that they had the fire, they realized they would need to steward it so they wouldn’t lose it. On August 27, 1727, just two weeks after the ancient outpouring of love, some in the Moravian community arranged “a system of Hourly Intercession” so that this blessing would not be lost.[i] Thus, the seeds for a 100-year prayer meeting was born.

And if you know the rest of their story which will be coming out in my next book, from this place of prayer, they launched the Protestant mission’s movement where some Moravian missionaries eventually intersected with John Wesley in a storm. As they kept their eyes on Jesus in the midst of the raging sea, Wesley was struck by their faith and greatly impacted. He had his heart warming defining moment not long after and then became a part of catalyzing the First Great Awakening and then the Methodist movement with its circuit riders.

When God moves in power, it’s important to steward what He’s poured out. We need new wine skins to hold the new wine.

Once the Moravian community experienced revival in family, they realized that the fire needed to be stewarded so it wouldn’t burn out. They saw a need to build a “fireplace” to sustain the fire. The Lord led them to steward this fire in the furnace of continual prayer and intercession in the context of covenant.

If they tried to steward the fire that was released in the Moravian Pentecost by doing what they had always done before, that would no longer cut it. They needed to cultivate a new wine skin for the new wine the Holy Spirit was pouring out. Thus, a new wine skin was birthed to hold the new wine. Life was born and then structure was implemented to steward it, not the other way around. You can’t structure to find life. Once you have life, add wisdom to help focus it in the right direction.

Encounters welcome us into new seasons and new eras. This requires a reformation of the things we used to do before. If we have a radical encounter with God and nothing changes in our lives, we may have missed the point or not stewarded it well for its destined purpose. The Moravians recognized that something significant had occurred in their midst. They wanted the fire to increase and not to wane. Hence, a new fireplace of 24/7 prayer was birthed.

Questions for Reflection

When you have a powerful encounter with God personally or corporately, ask Him how you are to steward that encounter. Does He want you to change a rhythm in your life or take something out of your schedule to walk in greater consecration? Is He asking you to let go of something (a commitment, relationship, rhythm)? Is He inviting you to add a new discipline to your schedule to be intentional about stewarding what He is doing in your life in the new season? If He is releasing new wine, what does the new wine skin to steward that look like in this season?

Learn More

• Read about my trip visiting the historic site of the Moravian Pentecost HERE

• See what happened when I released the testimony of the Moravians on a ministry trip in Washington

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NOTES
[i] J.E. Hutton M.A., A History of the Moravian Church (second edition, revised and enlarged) (London: Moravian Publication Office 32 Fetter Lane, 1909), 211.

by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D.

I had the opportunity to minister in Washington this past weekend (June 24-25, 2022) and wow! The hunger, expectation, and way they prepared the ground with intercession was powerful. God moved in such a marking way during the Friday night revival meeting. There was one moment I will never forget as long as I live.

After worship, I got invited up to speak. My teaching never got released in its original form because God showed up and released it in His manifested presence and power instead. As we dove into the river of the Holy Spirit and just waited upon God, He began to stir the waters. His presence descended upon us. We were not hasty to move from that place. We remained there, fixing our eyes upon Him and leaning in to see what was on heaven’s agenda for that night. While we were waiting, praying, I had a prophetic word for someone who I later found out was a pioneering leader in that region.

Even though I did not formally give the message I had prepared, the call nevertheless remained the same. I’ve always been struck by the Moravian missionaries who were willing to lay down their rights for the sake of the Gospel. Some even sold themselves into slavery so they could reach the slaves for Christ. Having several close friends who are a part of the persecuted church and hearing firsthand stories of what is happening around the world now as well as recently finishing our School of Revival intensive on the theme of Martyrdom, I felt compelled to do something I had never done before. I was in the presence of a people whom God had prepared and made ready. He was inviting, even just one, who would lay down his or her life and be willing to be martyred for the call of Christ. Technically, this is the call of every Christian when we choose to surrender our lives to Christ. But there was a weightiness and in the presence of God and river of the Holy Spirit, I asked if there might just be one who would be willing to lay down their life for the cause of Christ no matter what the cost.

I believe God is preparing the western church for persecution that we haven’t yet faced. We must be ready. So, as I was sharing about this call and encouraging people not to make this decision hastily but to really weigh the cost before responding, a young mother who had a baby strapped on her chest RAN from the back to the altar trembling under the mighty hand of God. The fire and anointing was increasing upon her there at the altar. Following her courageous act of devotion to Jesus, others soon rushed to the altar to lay down their lives in surrender, willing to pay any price.

This is the fearless mother, Stephanie, who ran to the front with her baby the night before this. Such a radical pioneer Jesus lover.

If we can get to the point where we would be willing to die for Christ, I believe the way we live would look a lot different. My friends who are literally on the front lines and experiencing some of the most horrific persecution you can imagine, they live differently. When you are on the front lines, your perspective, and the way you live your life is never casual or compromising in any way. You literally are depended upon Jesus for your very life.

All that to say, something beautiful and marking happened in Washington this past weekend that I will never forget. I am so grateful to God for crashing in and so moved and humbled by the response of these laid down lovers. I can’t wait to see how God will use their absolute yielded devotion to Him to release His love, fire, and glory to this world.

I believe this testimony is a prophetic call to many more hungry ones around the world who might be willing to lay down their rights for the sake of unity and even their lives for the cause of Christ. If that’s you, I encourage you to lay prostrate before the Lord as an act of total surrender and ask for Him to send His fire upon your life. Lay down all your rights. Ask Him to come and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Then yield quickly to the leading of Holy Spirit and see how God will use your laid down life for His glory for such a time as this.

“Embracing the call to martyrdom is not so much about aiming to die well as much as it is about aiming to love well.” –Dalton Thomas, author of Unto Death: Martyrdom, Missions, and the Maturity of the Church 

“If you have not discovered something you are willing to die for, then you are not fit to live.” –Martin Luther King Jr.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:1 written by the Apostle Paul, who was later martyred for his faith

Learn more about or join our next Martyrdom School of Revival module HERE

P.S. I also got to stay on a farm, ride a horse named Jack, and enjoy the random “heat wave” they like to call it of perfect sunny Southern California weather I brought with me to Washington. Super grateful to Tracy for inviting me to be a part of what God is doing in her community, Tina and Gateway family for welcoming me, Dawnelle for her warm hospitality, and my incredible team of School of Revival and Destiny House family that came together to help birth a new thing there. Sara, Amy, and Tracy so grateful for you coming out to partner together. Such a special time!

by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D.

I was at the School of Awakening conference in Germany last month and was marked by God in a profound way one night. The leader of the meeting decided to let worship go the whole night rather than have a speaker because there was such a heavy presence of God in the room. As a result, we all went deeper together into the heart of God. As we rested in His presence, I could feel God melt away walls in my heart I didn’t even realize I had. I felt changed and able to let people into my heart in a deeper way.

I believe that 2018 is a year of family, both of our natural families as well as our spiritual families (or tribes). As we gaze ahead at the horizon of what’s before us, I believe it’s a time for building upon the inheritance of what’s already been given to us. Most of us remember the story how Joshua and Caleb, through faithful endurance, held onto the promises of God to eventually enter into the Promised Land. After 40 year of waiting patiently in the desert by Numbers 14, their breakthrough had come, they defeated their enemies, and now it was time to deepen roots and build in the land of their inheritance.

The Patriarch Moses had made a promise to Caleb 45 years earlier that he could have any of the land he wanted. To redeem and take hold of this promise, Caleb had to approach Joshua to remind him of that promise 45 years after it had been released. Caleb did not go alone to make this request. He went with his tribe, his family to ask for the inheritance that was promised (Numbers 14:6-15). Joshua blessed him and granted him the land he desired. Caleb and his tribe drove out the Anakites and took possession of the land of Hebron. In family, one person’s breakthrough becomes a corporate victory. Caleb’s whole tribe got to be a part of sharing in the inheritance promised to him. It is interesting to note that Hebron means to join, team up, make a covenant or alliance. There is something powerful in uniting with our tribe as we move toward the promises of God together.

In the summer of 1727, there was great dissention in a community called the Moravians. These refugees had previously been given permission to settle on Nicolaus von Zinzendorf’s estate in Herrnhut, Germany. Because of the quarreling going on in this religious community, some of the leaders set a date to sort out these differences and to become unified once again. On August 13, 1727 in Berthelsdorf Parish Church, they decided to set aside all their differences to come together to make “a covenant of loyalty and love.” When they did this, God’s presence fell in a powerful way.

Soon following their new devotion to each other, “they were stirred by the mystic wondrous touch of a power which none could define or understand” where they felt “the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost” rested upon them. Less than two weeks after this outpouring of love and unity, on August 27, 1727, the 24-7 prayer movement was born when the Moravian community united as one to organize a prayer union that would be marked by 100 years of uninterrupted prayers.

Not long after this surge of prayer was initiated, in August 1732, the first two Moravian missionaries were sent out from this community. They sold themselves as slaves in order to reach the slaves on St. Thomas Island who had yet to hear the Gospel. From that point on, missionaries from this small but mighty tribe were sent around the world spreading the Gospel. In 1738, Moravian missionaries were on a boat headed to American when they encountered a storm. The way that they stewarded peace and assurance of their salvation in the midst of impending death marked an English onlooker named John Wesley who later befriended them. The Moravian missionaries had a profound impact on his life, preparing him for what God was about to birth in his life through The Great Awakening and the Methodist Movement.

Unity is powerful and can shape world history (Ecclesiastes 4:12; Psalm 133). When we dive deeper into relationship with our tribe, we can step into even more of the fullness of our destinies together. We really do need each other in the Body of Christ. Staying close and growing deeper with the community of saints God has placed us in will help launch us further into our destiny than we could ever go on our own (Ephesians 3:14-21).

So what does it look like in this new year to more closely align ourselves with the tribe or community God has placed us in? In what way can we be more vulnerable today with our tribe to build even deeper roots together?

Is there anyone in our community that we are offended with and need to reconcile and forgive (Matthew 6:14-15; Ephesians 4:25-27)? Is there anyone who is offended by us that we need to approach before we dive back into worship (Matthew 5:23-24)?

May the fire of God come and melt down any walls between us and our brothers and sisters today. Life is too short to keep people out because of an offense. Remember, our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers that we have authority and power to defeat in Jesus’ name (Ephesians 6). May a fresh baptism of God’s love melt away all offense and fear in Jesus’ name as we dive deeper His presence and into family in this new year together.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

*To learn more about my recent Germany trip in 2018 see Inheritance in Germany: 2018

**To learn more about my trip to Herrnhut, Germany in 2015 see Moravian Legacy: Unity in Love Births a 100 Year Prayer Movement

***Quotes taken from J.E. Hutton’s A History of the Moravian Church (1909)

At Zinzendorf's grave. 

by Jennifer A. Miskov, PhD

On July 14-15, 2015, I had the opportunity to visit Herrnhut Germany with some of the Destiny House family. We got to tap into the roots of our own movement and discover the depths of a deep well of what a community unified by love and humility looks like. 

I was marked by my visit to the Moravian's gravesite called "God's Acre." Nearly all the tombstones were the same size and shape. None outglorified the other. Nothing but the words distinguished one gravestone from the other. The only exception was a  few larger tombstones to honor some of the elders including the main leader Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. When I knelt near his tombstone to reflect on a life well lived and praise God for His faithfulness, I felt the presence and peace of God in a powerful way. Honoring a saint of old nearly brought me to tears, the presence of God overcame me. 

Moravian gravesite

I wondered what it would have looked like to be a part of a community that lived as a family, as a "church within a church," where everyone was celebrated for the gift of God they were, where there were no platforms but they were all on the same level before God. What would it look like today if each person was celebrated by their community for the gift that they are?

After going through a refining process, the early Moravian community realized that love must supersede denominational differences and barriers. Each person was important and had a role to play. No matter how seen or unseen, they were all important for the body of Christ to be able to fully function. The anointed unity found in this tribe of Moravians only came after God intervened to turn them away from years of quarreling.

It was in the summer of 1727 that God stirred the Moravian community to throw off dissension and instead choose unity in love. J.E. Hutton in his A History of the Moravian Church (1909) wrote the following account about this special season where God crashed in with His perfect love. This happened after Zinzendorf found a copy of Comenius' Latin version of the old Brethren's "Account of Discipline" in July of that year. After he read this, his eyes were open. Zinzendorf said,

"And though I have to sacrifice my earthly possessions, my honours and my life, as long as I live I will do my utmost to see to it that  this little flock of the Lord shall be preserved for Him until He come."

Hutton recounts this new awakening below: 

"As the Count devoured the ancient treatise, he noticed that the rules laid down therein were almost the same as the rules which he had just drawn up for the refugees at Herrnhut. He returned to Herrnhut, reported his find, and read the good people extracts from the book {Aug. 4th.}. The sensation was profound. If this was like new milk to the Count it was like old wine to the Brethren; and again the fire of their fathers burned in their veins.

And now the coping stone was set on the temple {Aug. 13th.}. As the Brethren were learning, step by step, to love each other in true sincerity, Pastor Rothe now invited them all to set the seal to the work by coming in a body to Berthelsdorf Church, and there joining, with one accord, in the celebration of the Holy Communion. The Brethren accepted the invitation with joy.

The date fixed was Monday, August 13th. The sense of awe was overpowering. As the Brethren walked down the slope to the church all felt that the supreme occasion had arrived; and all who had quarrelled in the days gone by made a covenant of loyalty and love. At the door of the church the strange sense of awe was thrilling. 

They entered the building; the service began; the "Confession" was offered by the Count; and then, at one and the same moment, all present, rapt in deep devotion, were stirred by the mystic wondrous touch of a power which none could define or understand. 

There, in Berthelsdorf Parish Church, they attained at last the firm conviction that they were one in Christ; and there, above all, they believed and felt that on them, as on the twelve disciples on the Day of Pentecost, had rested the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost.

"We learned," said the Brethren, "to love." "From that time onward," said David Nitschmann, "Herrnhut was a living Church of Jesus Christ..."

It was such a treat to have the opportunity to visit the church at Berthelsdorf where this outpouring of love was poured out. There we worshipped our King with song, dance, and tears, remembering the unity in love that was poured out nearly 300 years before.

Worshipping at Berthelsdorf where the outpouring of love happened in 1727

Following the ancient outpouring of love, on August 27, 1727, the Moravian community arranged "a system of Hourly Intercession" so that the blessing would not be lost. 

Hutton says that,

"As the fire on the altar in the Jewish Temple was never allowed to go out, so the Brethren resolved that in this new temple of the Lord the incense of intercessory prayer should rise continually day and night. Henceforth, Herrnhut in very truth should be the 'Watch of the Lord.' The whole day was carefully mapped out, and each Brother or Sister took his or her turn. Of all the prayer unions ever organized surely this was one of the most remarkable. It is said to have lasted without interruption for over a hundred years."

The Moravians birthed a movement that was marked by 100 years of uninterrupted prayer stemming from a profound encounter of rediscovering love for one another despite theological differences. I wonder what God might want to birth today within our generation as people lay down their armor, come together as one to seek, and worship Jesus alone... Lord, we ask that you do it again. Pour out a love Revolution flowing from hearts knit together in God's perfect love. Amen.