Living Revival with Jonathan Shuttlesworth
Q: What comes to mind when you initially hear the word “revival”?
A: Revival is a spiritual awakening among God’s people that affects families, cities, regions, and nations. It’s a move of the Spirit that stirs the spirits of men to do things for God. It’s a move of the Holy Spirit that silences the afflictions of God’s people. It’s a move of the Spirit that makes God’s Word come alive in the midst of the people. It’s a move of the Holy Spirit that causes people to pray and intercede. It’s a move of the Spirit that causes going to church to become a way of life.
Q: What role has revival had on changing or impacting history for the better?
A: Whether it’s in the Bible, in World History, or in the History of the United States, you see a continual cycle of people falling away from God and then God raising up one man or one woman with His Word and with His Power that grabbed those people and pulled them back to God. And revival never changes the nation for the worse; it always changes it for the better.
Q: How do you believe we are experiencing revival today?
A: I believe most people aren’t experiencing revival today, but I see the beginnings of revival in the United States where people are getting hungry for God and fed up with dead religion. I see God raising up new churches and great meetings where people are able to experience His presence and not just attend a religious service.
Q: Some people reserve miracles as something only experienced in the past. What evidence do we see of God still performing miracles today?
A: The greatest evidence that God still performs miracles today is that He said, in Malachi 3, “I’m the Lord God, and I change not.” The Bible also says, in Hebrews 13, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” So, nowhere in the Bible does it give any indication of any kind that miracles have died out. Only religious institutions have taught that. I will say, personally, I’ve seen more miracles break out last year in our meetings than probably the 20 years before that put together. And I mean miracles: blind eyes opening, muscular dystrophy and paralysis disappearing, people that were almost dead–weighing under 100 pounds–come back to life and regain use of their limbs. So, I see that happening, and it is further proof that God’s Word is true.
Q: What do you believe is still needed in the American church in order to carry out true faith and revival?
A: A return to fasting and prayer, a return to the ministry of the Word, and a return to faith in God’s Word– to believe Him to do what only God can do for people.
Q: What role do you feel America will have in the end time revival?
A: America can go one of two ways. America can turn its back on God like many nations have and go into oblivion, but I believe that the final chapter of American history is going to be the fulfillment of the prophet Joel: “In the last days, I’ll pour out my spirit on all flesh,” and that includes American flesh. And I believe God is going to raise up churches and ministries in America that, not only shake this nation one more time, but the effects of that shaking will reverberate around the entire world
Q: What does it look like to walk in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit right now?
A: It looks the same as it always has. It is not difficult. I once met with an old preacher, and he told me of an older minister who had passed on. This older minister had a major miracle ministry, and the preacher that I was meeting with once asked him, “What’s the secret to having the kind of miracles that you have?” This older minister was seeing incredible miracles such as children who were born blind completely healed. The old minister said, “Do you have a Bible?” The man answered, “Yes”, and passed him his Bible. That old minister opened it up, held it in front of his mouth, and said, “Believe it.”
And that’s all there is. Mark 16:17 says, “These signs will follow those that believe.” Signs and wonders are the inheritance of those who have a heartfelt belief that their God is alive, that Christ conquered death, that Christ conquered the devil, and that Christ has given them power.
Q: Even though it seems cliché, what values do reading the Bible and praying in the days ahead hold?
A: It holds all the value. Not that I’m old, but the older I get, the more that song they’d have us sing when we were little kids in Christian school holds weight: “Read your Bible, pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow.” I don’t think you could put it any better than that song put it. The Bible is God’s power in print, and prayer accesses the power of God’s throne room into your personal life.
Q: What are some things you believe hold believers back from experiencing all that God has for them, and how can they overcome those things?
A: The Bible says, in Proverbs 13:20, “They that walk with the wise will become wise themselves, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Many people don’t put a priority on hanging around people who have the power of God. My life was influenced at a young age by older men of God. I was in their meetings or knew them personally as a preacher’s kid; these men carried God’s power. They weren’t just professional preachers; they were men of God. Even to this day, I make it a point to seek out great men of God and hang around them and enjoy their ministries as much as possible. What you make a place for in life becomes a part of your life, and most people don’t make a place for the Holy Spirit. But, if you build the ministry of God’s Word and the ministry of God’s power into your life, it will have a great effect on you.
Q: What would you say to someone who has prayed a thousand prayers and is still waiting on their breakthrough?
A: The Bible tells us the prayer of faith saves the sick; T.L. Osborne added, “unlike the prayer of unbelief, which does nothing for anyone.” Just because you pray, it doesn’t guarantee answers. The Bible talks about, in the Book of James, that a double-minded man can ask all he wants, but he should have an expectation to not receive anything from God because he’s double-minded. So, if I’m not seeing an answer to whatever area I’m praying in, I need to develop my faith in that area. So, I would tell that person, if they are praying for healing, get materials on healing from men and women that God used to heal the sick. If it’s for your family, the same. If it’s for finances, get materials that deal with what the Bible has to say on finances and build your faith so that you won’t ask amiss. You’ll ask in faith and see the answer to your prayer.
Q: Why does God heal someone and not others?
A: God healed by sending His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for all sickness and all disease. The Bible says all our sickness and all our disease was laid on him (Matthew 8:17). The question is not “why doesn’t God heal?” The question is “why do some not receive what’s already provided?” Let me state this in the affirmative; Jesus clearly stated in Mark 9:23, “If thou can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” If I was a person who had not seen healing come into my life, I wouldn’t never adopt the confession that “God didn’t heal me”. I would make up my mind that I’m going to strengthen my faith and get what Jesus paid for to the shame of the devil.
Q: What do you believe God is speaking over this year, 2023?
A: The word the Lord gave me for 2023 is out of Psalm 37: “The righteous shall possess the land and shall dwell therein forever.” I believe the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is going to fill the spiritual vacuum that’s in America right now, that this is going to be a year of great advancement for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the people of God, and that this will be a very bad year for the devil.
Q: What is your message for those who are hopeless and feel that this nation is already too far gone?
A: I would tell those people that they need to meet different people. There are some people that, if I hung around them, I would think America was finished. But there are other people that I meet that give me great hope for the nation because the devil is under our feet. So, even if there’s only one Christian left that’s filled with the Holy Ghost and power, that’s more than enough to destroy the work of the devil in a nation. And there’s not just one; there’s many. There’s me, there’s you, and there’s whoever is reading this. And together, God’s going to use us to overthrow the plan of the wicked.
Q: How does understanding the limitless capabilities of our God change the way we approach the fears of everyday life?
A: Oh, that’s a great question. It’s everything. When I know how great God is, I have no respect for potential problems in my life because God is greater than everything that the enemy could ever bring against my life. He’s made all things that pertain to life in godliness available to me and available to you. So, when the Bible says, “Don’t worry or have anxiety about anything, but cast all your cares on him for he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7), I have reason to do that because my God is great, and my enemy is defeated.
Q: What are some steps someone can take today in order to experience revival in their personal life?
A: You’re never going to experience revival going to a church that doesn’t believe in revival or maligns the work of the Holy Spirit. I would make it my number one focus to get in a church where the Word of God and the Power of God are honored and given a place, and then you experience revival for free.
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