Persecution and Persistence: The Marks of True Revival

God is looking for those who will persist in revival.

I use the word persistent because sustained revival, especially in the last days, will require this characteristic.  It will be this spiritual quality that sets the remnant apart from nominal seekers and casual Christians.         

We must understand that the closer we come to the end time, Jesus is drawing the remnant line. The devil is trying to dilute that line with deception and delusion when it comes to the cost and the cry for revival. Compromise will veil the hearts of those not willing to count the true cost of revival, yet want the fruit of it. The clear-cut distinction between the nominal church and the end-time remnant of the Lord Jesus Christ will be persistence. Stamina, endurance, grit, tenacity, constancy and resolution will propel this remnant people into great arenas of spiritual victory, as well as spiritual warfare. Yet their persistence will keep them while experiencing both victory and warfare.

In the last days there will be a persistent remnant Church who will partner with the Holy Spirit to activate the Kingdom of God in the earth, release revival and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They will enter strategic divine warfare with a victorious authority and tenacity while holding tenaciously to their love for Jesus Christ, the culture of revival and the gathered church.

This end-time chosen remnant will partner with the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and clarity to expose deception and error while also revealing the heart of God for a lost and dying world. They will have postured themselves to continually hear the knock of the Lord at the door of their hearts and will consistently allow the Lord to deal with motives, ambitions, intentions and hidden areas. They will welcome the discomfort of exposure because they want a continual feast of intimacy and revelation of Jesus Christ.

This persistent remnant will endure slander and persecution and as revival grows in the last days, antagonism against their personal lives and corporate gatherings will also grow. However, this opposition will serve to fuel a revival resolve and produce a revival harvest as well as a great endurance capacity.

“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.” (James 1:2-4 TPT)

Through the spiritual keys of undeniable authority, the keys of heavenly worship and government granted by Jesus, doors of favor and influence will be opened as this remnant presses against the gates of hell and invades apathy and lukewarm atmospheres with a revival resolve.

This remnant authority will be used to expose truth and untruth, righteousness and unrighteousness, good and evil. They will operate in a purity of heart so that which is impure cannot stand. They will have a presence that cannot be ignored because of the spiritual authority that it carries. The persistent remnant will possess spiritual keys purchased with personal intimacy and cultivated through worship and communion with their Lord Jesus.  Because of this, heaven’s DNA will be transferred to them. They will echo the sounds of the Throne Room in the earth.

This persistent remnant may not be received by all, but make no mistake, they cannot be ignored. They will be the alarm of awakening, the rousing roar of revival and the voice that fills the void in the last days. They will not compromise, relent, bow or back down. They will persevere, press, plow and plunder the enemy’s camp. They are forerunners, they go first and those that go first get hit the hardest so they can open the way for others to follow unhindered. This will be the persistent remnant.

There will be such an uncommon anointing and an undeniable authority that it will intimidate religion and annihilate hell’s deceptive protocol. Once again, not all will receive it, but none can ignore it.

The Plumb Line of Revival

This remnant will be doorkeepers of revival in regions and territories.  They will hold the plumb line of revival in their region.  “But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel…” (Zechariah 4:10 NASB)

A plumb line is a visible marker showing what is plumb or perfectly aligned.  There will be churches and revivalists in the last days who will hold the plumb line of revival in their hands.

People will look for and be drawn to those people and their locations. There will be an extraordinary hunger for the atmosphere that has been cultivated through the perseverance and revival resolve.

“When there is no clear prophetic vision people quickly wander astray. But when you follow the revelation of the word, heaven’s bliss fills your soul.” (Proverbs 29:18 TPT)

A plumb line can seem very boring, yet without it people wander astray and get out of alignment. There will be a remnant with a vision and a standard for sustained revival. Your region is asking for someone to show them, someone to lead them into a revival resolve. There have been many pure-hearted people who tried revival. However, after meeting with increased warfare and the toll it takes physically, they backed off, gave up and settled.

The book of Revelation shows us seven churches and only two of those churches did not receive a rebuke from Jesus: Smyrna and Philadelphia. Both churches were warned of persecution, hostility, dislike, and intentional attacks. It is clear from history that the church of Smyrna endured intense tribulation that came in many forms. But during it all, both churches persisted in revival. Symbolically, I believe these two churches represent the persistent remnant that will be in the earth in the last days. Persistent and perceptive, they will run the race with a raw cry for revival and they will see all things with eyes of the Spirit.

A remnant is never the majority. It is a remnant or a piece or representation of something larger or bigger. There’s the remnant and then there is the rest. And God’s Word tells us that this remnant will be chosen.

“And that is but one example of what God is doing in this age of fulfillment, for God’s grace empowers his chosen remnant.” (Romans 11:5 TPT)

This remnant isn’t exclusive but it will be selective. God is not an exclusive God, He prefers no one above another. This remnant is for whosoever will. The key word, however, is will. Will you choose to be chosen? Will you answer the call to be chosen”? It will not always be the popular choice or the current trend, but it will be the chosen remnant of God. Why is this such a big deal? Because the line of distinction between the remnant and the rest will be found at the crossing over into chosen. As soon as I step into chosen, I lose all identity with the unchosen.

“And they steadfastly persevered…” (Acts 2:42) A clarion distinction of the last days church will be that it mirrors the early church in all qualities and characteristics. The early church knew how to press and move under intense pressure. Revival will bring pressure in many ways. Like the early revivalists, we will learn to embrace opposition, warfare and persecution yet remain steadfast in our revival resolve. When revival comes it creates the atmosphere for radical transformation and radical opposition.  The persistent remnant is equipped for both.

Why do I go to such length to speak about persistence and being part of the remnant? Because neither of these would be the first choice of the flesh without a sustained revival desire. There will be a constant pull backward into comfort and the crowd. This is where the rest dwell with absolutely zero resistance but also zero revival. If there is an overarching principle to sustained revival it would be, “I persist.” No matter the pushback or feedback, I persist. There is a resolve that is birthed in you all the way back in that year of pursuit that cannot be compromised.

I encourage you and challenge you right now—join the chosen persistent revival remnant. A region is waiting on your choice.