"The criteria for spiritual revival is not being holy and pure. A person does not have the power to first become holy and pure. Holy and pure is the result of a spiritual revival. The criteria for spiritual revival is to reconnect with the Holy Spirit, the source of our spiritual life," says Pastor Tong Liu, Senior Pastor of River of Life Christian Church.
Recently in a sermon, Pastor Liu urged Chinese Christians to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and influence this generation. He used the relationship between trams and tracks to describe the inseparable relationship between Christians and the Holy Spirit. Once the tram leaves the track, it cannot operate. The track is always there. The tram just needs to connect with the track for it to run. Similarly, as Christians, we need to depend on the Holy Spirit in our daily life.
Pastor Liu says, "We need to deeply hunger [for the Holy Spirit]! This world is becoming more and more evil. Therefore, we have a much bigger need to be filled by the Holy Spirit."
In the worship song Victory in Jesus' Name, there is a phrase "we shall fear no failures for your grace abounds." Pastor Liu encourages Chinese Christians not to fear failures because God's grace is far more extensive than the successes and failures in our whole life.
He continues, "A pastor once said, 'Only God's revival can bring the solution to this broken world.' This is a positive and optimistic reminder. Let's rise up and pray. Ask God to open the spiritual sky and release revival among us."
Finally, Pastor Liu points out that in order to overcome the world, our strategy is "not confrontation, but invasion," not to become leaven and fight the dough, but to become leaven and go into the dough, to influence and change this world. He called Chinese Christians to enter and become a vessel through the power of the Holy Spirit to influence this generation.
(Source: Gospel Herald)
