Previously, we began to address the question of why it seems that every host of a great revival gets left in worse shape than before the revival. The answer to that question will give us many important answers that could bring a huge influx of life into the church, as well as enable the church to sustain a level of life and power that could make revivals obsolete and unnecessary. Why is this? Revival is only required when something has to be revived. If the church was living and thriving the way it should be, it would not need to be revived, but would be continually increasing in life and power.

This is stated in Proverbs 4:18, "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day." That is normal Christianity—walking in continually increasing light until we have the fullness of the light. Since it is obvious that no one is presently walking in the fullness of the light, and there is no credible person who is claiming to be, we obviously still have a long way to go. However, there are people and movements who are walking in ever increasing light and should still be on the right path.

Therefore, if this is not happening for us, we have missed a turn somewhere. We need to go back to where we missed it and get back on the right path. That's called "repentance."

It is one thing to get off of the path, but it is another to get stuck on it somewhere and stop moving. This happens to many. They may not be involved in sin or legalism, which are the ditches on either side of the path of life, but neither are they increasing in the light they are walking in. These have just stopped, and most of these have stopped because they ran into a transition that they couldn't or didn't want to make. 

Navigating through a spiritual transition is one rarest of the most difficult requirements for leadership. Transitions present the most risk, and therefore require the most faith. In every significant transition that I have experienced, it seemed that the whole work was being put at risk to go to the next level. Even though there is the promise of being able to bear much more fruit once the transition is made, almost all require that a time of severe pruning precede it. It is much easier to lead when people are gathering and everything is on the increase than it is through a pruning in which people are leaving. The purpose for the transition may seem obscure to all but the leaders.

As the Apostle Paul shared with the churches in the first century, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (see Acts 14:22). This is a principle that we could interpret, "Through many transitions we must enter the kingdom of God." Transitions will be tribulations. That's why when the whole world makes the transition to the kingdom, it will be the greatest of all tribulations. We all want to get to the kingdom, but not many want to go through the door.

Even so, churches, movements, missions, even companies and nations begin to die when they get stuck at one stage of development—they stop growing and stop moving forward. The River of Life is just that—a river, not a lake or a pond. A river is flowing, moving, and going somewhere. That is why it is said that you can never step into the same river twice—it constantly changes. Like it or not, change is a basic evidence of healthy life. The path of life, which is also called the path of the righteous, is a path, and a path leads somewhere.

Biblically, we see the great moves of God having the same problem we have in keeping the momentum going. One place this is highlighted is Ezra 4:24-5:2:
 

In Ezra, in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, the remnant who had returned to rebuild the temple laid the foundation and then became distracted, with each building their own houses, and forgetting the house of God. This is a good prophetic picture of where the church is today. Many arose with a heart to see radical, biblical Christianity and New Testament church life restored. A foundation for this was laid, but then the workers became distracted and went off to build their own "houses" or ministries. It is rare to find a ministry today that is not just built around an individual's purpose or vision that has a true kingdom purpose and vision. In Ezra, this distraction continued until the prophets started prophesying. This is one of the main reasons why the Lord has raised up the prophetic ministry in our time—to get the work on His restored house completed and to see the church come forth in all of the glory she is called to walk in.

In the last two decades, the prophetic ministry has been received in an increasing part of the body of Christ. There has been movement again toward the church's ultimate purpose where it has been received. This ministry is especially given to get the church moving, and to keep it moving, which we see highlighted in Ezra 6:14:
 

First, the elders were successful in building through the prophesying of the prophets. The prophets did not create the building—the elders did. Some prophets can be good builders, but not many. In general, prophets will do well to let the elders do that part and let the prophets stick to their part. The elders would also do well not to try to get the prophets too involved in the practical work of building. They may want to do it, but if it is not their calling, and with most of them it isn't, then they should not do it.

The point that we made before is that the work on the house of God ceased until the prophets started prophesying. The work on the house of God will not avoid the ruts, or be able to get out of them without the prophets. Certainly the prophets can be difficult, but the work will be much more difficult without them. The time may now be upon us when no work will enter into its full purpose without them. They are especially important for helping works through transitional stages.

The prophets are a part of the body, and as the Apostle Paul explained, one part of the body must not say to another part that they have no need of them. We will not get very far without them. If we reject the true prophets, we will likely become subject to those who are false. The reason we are told in Acts 2:17-18 that in "the last days," when the Lord pours out His Spirit, the result will be dreams, visions, and prophecy, is because in the last days, we will not make it without this kind of specific guidance.  

The third point we can derive from Ezra 6:14 is that the work was completed according to the God of Israel and the decrees of the civil authorities. It is a remarkable thing the way the Lord moved on the hearts of these kings to not only let their slaves go, but to bless and support them and donate to their work. This is another whole subject that we will only note for now, but anti-government and anti-authority mindsets have no place in the work of God, as Paul made clear in Romans 13.

For these last few weeks I have been trying to reinforce and elaborate a bit more on how to make a phase transition. This is one of the most critical aspects of leadership. The greatest leaders in history were those who led through the great transitions. I am also sharing this because I believe we are, overall, in the first stages of a great transition, maybe the greatest yet—the transition of an age. This will require extraordinary leadership, but the Lord will provide it. Even so, walking in the light and the increasing light of "the path of the righteous," means that we should be able to see our path with increasing clarity. That is what we will seek.