Michael Brown

“THE TWO CROSSES Many years ago, A. W. Tozer said that whereas the old cross killed the sinner, the new cross redirects the sinner. Consider his timely words: The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, “Come and assert yourself for Christ.” To the egotist it says, “Come and do your boasting in the Lord.” To the thrill seeker it says, “Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship.” The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public. It would seem that in twenty-first century Christianity, there are two crosses—the authentic and the counterfeit. The authentic cross calls us to surrender all while the counterfeit pats us on the back and assures us that we can take the world along for the journey. This is why true, sustained revival continues to evade us. We are becoming like the system we have been commissioned to transform. In compromising with the world by embracing another cross, we offer a great disservice to the very people who are desperately in need of God.”
― Michael Brown, The Fire that Never Sleeps: Keys to Sustaining Personal Revival

“A few things that revival is not: Revival is not a series of special meetings at church. Revival is not what a church does a few times a year to simply draw in new converts (although we celebrate true conversions when they take place). Revival is not about the unusual, physical manifestations that tend to happen when people are “touched by the Holy Spirit.” Great Christian author A. W. Tozer made this most relevant observation about praying for revival: “Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late—and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work.”
― Michael Brown, The Fire that Never Sleeps: Keys to Sustaining Personal Revival