The Church has been crying out for revival. But I wonder—do we even know what we’re asking for? We want the Spirit to move, but are we prepared for what He brings? Because when the Spirit moves, He doesn’t bring comfort first. He brings a sword.
Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.(ESV)
We’ve dressed Jesus up as if He came to calm storms and coddle hearts. And while He is the Prince of Peace, the peace He offers is not of this world. It’s the peace that follows repentance—not the peace that avoids conflict.
Jesus didn’t come to settle the world. He came to divide it—truth from lie, light from darkness, faith from appearance.
Truth Divides Before It Heals
We want revival to look like crowded altars and loud music. But real revival starts in secret—on our knees, in weeping, in brokenness. The sword cuts before it heals. It lays bare the soul.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.(ESV)
The same Word that saves also exposes. It discerns not just what we do—but why we do it. You can’t carry that kind of truth without paying a price.
The Sword Wounds Relationships
Truth isn’t always welcome—not even in church. It will cost you relationships. It will cost you comfort. It may even cost you your reputation.
Jesus said families would divide over Him. And if you’re walking in truth, expect resistance—especially from those still trying to serve two masters.
Galatians 4:16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?(ESV)
If they crucified Truth when He walked among us, don’t be surprised when the sword you carry makes you a target.
The Sword Is Not a Club
But be careful. The sword is not a club. It is not a weapon for ego or emotional release. It is surgical, precise, Spirit-directed.
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.(ESV)
If you’re going to carry the sword, don’t forget the gentleness of the Surgeon who taught us how to wield it. Truth must be spoken in love—without compromise, but also without cruelty.
The Call to Return and Respond
This is where the burden shifts. Before we go out swinging the sword, we must allow it to cut us first.
Isaiah 6:5,8 (5) And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (8)And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”(ESV)
Revival doesn’t begin with a call to action. It begins with confession. We must allow the sword to strip away our pride, our false security, our performance.
Only then can we be sent.
Only then are we useful.
Revelation 2:4-5 (4)But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (5)Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.(ESV)
We’ve forgotten what it feels like to weep for truth. To be undone by grace. To love Jesus more than our ministries, more than our platforms, more than our opinions. Before revival will ever touch the world, it must burn away the dead wood in us.
Ezekiel 33:6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.(ESV)
The sword is coming. It’s already here. And those who see it cannot remain silent. We are not called to be liked. We are called to be faithful. Let the sword do its work—cutting, healing, dividing, restoring.
Let it first fall on us…
So that when the trumpet sounds, we are not found asleep at our post.
Walking With Christ 
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