(Fountain in Front of the St. James Hotel - Selma, Alabama)
Every revivalist has a few loyal supporters. They also have at least one groupie who shows up at every revival service they preach. This faithful fanatic is more interested in what transpires during a church-wide revival emphasis than the possessor of the average fanny sitting in a pew. If his presence were fully acknowledged, it would scare the heaven out of most believing attendees. His business card proclaims him a member of "the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm." He represents none other than Satan. And he is at revival to raise hell if hell needs raising!
In many churches he yawns his way through the week. He quickly discerns these congregations are simply going through the motions of religion. They are only pretending that they want revival. Their supposed hunger to see God at work among the fellowship is exposed by their lack of prayer beforehand. His battle is half won before revival services begin. All that remains for him to do is to plant seeds of arrogance and indifference. He is greatly pleased when church members opt out on remaining services. (Church members who show up on Sunday morning out of habit during revival services and choose not to come back the rest of the week cast their vote against revival.) He becomes ecstatic when God's children remain numb night after night to God's altar call. By the end of some revival weeks, the emissary of darkness is the most revived parishioner of the lot.
Fortunately, not all revivals go his way. Sometimes God's people are prayed up! Sometimes God's people have a spiritual passion for revival that runs deeper than lip service! Sometimes God's children are keenly aware of their hellish visitor and they bind his influence in the name of Jesus! Sometimes God's children let go of sin and step into the sweeping falls of the Holy Spirit! And the church gets right! And the lost get saved! And everyone knows that the scheduled services were only the primer for the beginning of true revival! And that is when churches need to watch out the most!
More than once I have left a church in a state of revival only to learn later on that Satan had been permitted to unravel almost everything God began in a matter of months. Whenever God is permitted to work among us in a powerful way, there is a temptation to pause and marvel the event. If we pause often enough, the past event looms larger than the present presence of the Holy Spirit. If we pause long enough, the break creates a vacuum. And as our focus wanders from our daily walk with the Lord, the enemy slips in and sows seeds of discord.
Ironically, Satan enters the fellowship through those who claim to be followers of Christ. It is usually someone in danger of losing power. The uncontrollable will of God is always a threat to those who foolishly imagine they call the shots. It is usually someone who demands their own way. They would rather split a church that surrender their will to the spirit of Christ. It is occasionally someone who didn't bother to yield themselves to the possibility of revival in the first place. But they are more than happy to presume to be the voice of God for an entire church so as to reduce the collective spiritual fervency to a temperature they can die with.
Churches, beware! Satan has a remedy for revival. Jesus warned that the end result of revivals that bring cleansing to a body without the filling of the presence of Christ renders the final outcome of that body worse than if revival had never fallen (Luke 11:24-26). Firmly resolve that the devil will not find an open door into your church through your heart.