Revival In The Home

BY JOEL & SHARON CHELLIAH

JOEL: We want to talk about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your household, in your marriage and home. The Lord spoke to me from Genesis 26:25, about the process of going from the altar (our personal devotion and encounter with God), to the tent (our home and family) to the well (a life-giving well to the community). Our altar moments should flow into our homes; and only when that is flourishing do we change our focus and let the overflow go out into the church and the community.

We have to be deliberate and international about prioritising our families or the busyness and demands of ministry and life will actually encroach into those very important relationships.

SHARON: Have you ever considered what it would look like when a whole family – the mother, father, daughter and son –intercede and go to battle on behalf of our community? It’s the plan that God had right back there in the Garden.

Isaiah 8: 18 says, ”Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me. We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, the God of the angel armies." We are the signs and wonders – as a husband, a wife, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter. We are the signs and wonders that will point the generations back to our Heavenly Father.

Here are five practical points how we have endeavoured to bring revival into our home.

1. Deal with ungodly ambition. If you read the story of Jephthah in Judges 11, he was so desperate for victory that he was willing to sacrifice his household to ensure that he would gain victory at any cost. Being willing to give up your marriage and children, so that your ministry will be successful may look like zeal for God's house, but there is a fine line between zeal and ungodly ambition.

2. Find your rhythm. There is a complementary nature to the male and female in marriage that brings balance.

3. Set clear boundaries. This means intentionally setting aside time for your family and includes setting time for healthy, intimate conversations – not directive or corrective conversation. It also involves setting boundaries for your home space - that you make it a safe space for your kids.

4. Deal with unhealthy expectations. This is about coming to terms with who God says you are and what you have to offer, and that is enough.

5. Spend time praying over our families. There are many things we can delegate out to other people, but we can't delegate being the priest of our household.