The Three Movements of the Elijah Spirit

Revival

Revival refers to the act of being revived, of returning to life, of flourishing or becoming active again. When people turn away from the Lord, their faith is dead. Their spiritual lives are empty and barren. When people are in that state, they need revival. The psalmist Asaph

wrote, “Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see.…Then we will not turn back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your name” (Ps. 80:14, 18). Asaph recognized that in a time when people had turned away from the Lord, they needed to be revived. Psalm 119 declares what will being about revival in the hearts of God’s people—His Word: “Revive me according to Your word” (v. 25, emphasis added).

Revival is about preaching the truth of the Word. It is about preaching messages of repentance, messages of truth and righteousness to call God’s people to focus on Him and following His ways once again. People with the Elijah anointing are always concerned about the heart and the mind of the Lord and putting God in His rightful place. The Elijah anointing comes to confront what is out of the will of God. The Elijah spirit speaks the truth with power, but it also turns people’s hearts back to the Lord. It brings them back into alignment with the will and Word of God. It’s not just about correction; it really focuses on the heart and the mind of God. And you need the conviction of the Holy Ghost to turn hearts back to the Lord.

In order to have true revival, you have to have repentance. To repent means to turn away from sin. It’s not just slightly changing your direction. It means to do a 180.

Repentance is the first step in being restored to a right relationship with the Lord, the first step in being rescued from the pit of your transgressions, the first step in returning to your rightful place as a son or daughter of the King of kings. God knows

the harm that is done when you turn from Him and are stuck in sin. He said, “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin” (Ezek. 18:30). God does not want you ruining your life by living according to the world rather than according to the Word. Revival starts with a bold call to repentance, an exhortation to return to the Lord, “for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up” (Hos. 6:1). The Elijah spirit preaches revival, and turns hearts back to the Lord.

Reformation

Reformation is about correction. Reformation is about tearing down idols. Reformation is about deliverance. It is about instruction. It is about bringing in a new system, tearing down the false altars people have built in their lives, and redefining what is truth—meaning defining truth as what God says is truth in His Word rather than what the world says is true or even an individual’s “truth” about the world.

Elijah had to rebuild the altars of worship to the one true God once he tore down the altars to false gods. Remember this: it isn’t enough to just get rid of the false altars. It isn’t enough to just tear down your idols. You need to replace them with truth; you need to replace them with worship of the Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. You need to make sure that Jesus is the One enthroned in your heart and mind—because if you don’t, you’ll just end up with false altars and idols again. Don’t just get rid of the lies; replace the lies with the truth.

Reformation is about a new commitment to holiness, to pursuing holiness. Revival leads to reformation. We need to know the truth. We need to know what the

Word says about how to live. We need to know the precepts of the Lord.

Restoration

Revival leads to reformation, which leads to restoration. In order for true restoration to occur, God’s children must turn back to Him: “Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored” (Lam. 5:21). That is why a key part of the spirit of Elijah is turning hearts back to the Lord. Jesus Himself spoke of the restoration aspect of the spirit of Elijah: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things’” (Matt. 17:11).

I believe those with the spirit and power of Elijah living today are called to bring restoration to those who have fallen away from the Lord, in preparation for the second coming. Restoration is about restoring people in every way—spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, etc. Restoration is about healing, rebuilding communities both in the church and out, and restoring people’s hope in the Lord. People need hope, but their hope needs to be in something real, something true. The Word of God says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5).

And when you understand that Jesus is Lord and there is no other, it brings hope. All the promises of God are yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20). “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). Jesus came so that you could live an abundant life (John 10:10). The Elijah anointing is about restoring your relationship with God. It’s about restoring you, restoring your life. Some of the prophets today seem to be all about money, but that is not what the prophets of old were about. The prophets of old would have had nothing to do with the prosperity gospel so prevalent in the church today. The prophets spoke truth about the issues, but they also spoke solutions. They provided solutions so the people of God could live. They provided solutions so the people of God could be restored.

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