Two of the greatest revivals that have swept through America during the twentieth century would have to be the Azusa Street Revival and the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida. Both of them impacted hundreds of thousands of people and even nations all around the world. Many were saved, healed and baptized in the Holy Ghost. However, both of these revivals ended in the wrong way. One was the result of racism, while the other was because of denominational views. Denominations being formed out of these revivals is the greatest failure of them. It is not about birthing manmade denominations that result in divisions within the church. The body of Christ may have been wounded and bruised, but it was never broken, and the church is not to be either. In 1 Corinthians,  Paul was rebuking denominations. It is not about being a Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, etc., but it is about being like Christ. It is all about Him! Sure, you may have various views of scripture, but that does not mean we have to be divided among ourselves because we are not following a specific pastor, church, or denomination, but we are abiding in Kingdom principles. We are in this together as a team. It is God who gives the increase, and He alone gets the glory! We are not to give any room for jealousy and strife to be at work. We must walk in accordance to the spirit in order to put a stop to the revival killers.

Even in the book of Acts it was not always a bed of roses among the early church. In Galatians 2:1-16, the scripture teaches that Paul seemed to have a confrontation with Peter, but there was an appropriate reason for it. Hypocrisy was taking place among the early church, and while they were convinced that salvation and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit had also come to the Gentiles, their disassociation with the Gentile people spoke otherwise. Paul had a mission to expose it because a division was being formed in the body of Christ. While Jesus suffered much bruises, wounds, and pains, not one bone of His body was broken because the church, or the body of Christ, was never meant to be divided! 1 Corinthians 12:25 says, “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” The church is to come together in unity upon the Word of God! Some of the other Jews, such as Barnabas and James, were joining Peter in forming this “schism” in the church, separating themselves from those brothers and sisters who had never been circumcised. Therefore, Paul questioned Peter boldly and publicly face to face. The issue of racism and pride was not a matter that was up for debate. It was something that broke the heart of God, and Paul felt compelled to bring reassurance to the early church how that the color line was washed in the blood of Christ! If they had to live by the law still, then Christ’s death and resurrection were practically meaningless because we are now under God’s grace as Christ fulfilled the purpose, as well as the curse, of the law. Paul had an ought against his brother, and he believed in going straight to the source rather than gossiping about the issue. While we understand that this was not easy thing for Paul to do, it was something that was necessary in order to create a greater realm of unity within the church based upon the Word of God. It is our mission as brothers and sisters in Christ to walk in love and unity and hold each other accountable. If we are in the wrong about an issue, we should humble ourselves, repent, and make things right. We are not to play the victim, but we must do everything it takes to live a life that fully pleases God!

Another disagreement we read in scripture is between Paul and Barnabas. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he was going to take Barnabas with him. However, he suggested for them to take John Mark with them, but Paul refused. Acts 15:39 says, “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus”. The reason Paul refused to take John Mark was because when Paul was leaving Cyprus for Perga in Asia Minor, John Mark was him at the time, but he decided to return to Jerusalem for whatever reason. It was possibly because of homesickness, and although later on Paul would later ask for him (2 Timothy 4:11), he originally refused to take him on this journey, and Paul was at a significant disagreement. Therefore, Barnabas would take John Mark, who was a relative, with him, and Paul would take Silas on this missionary journey. Paul may have felt John Mark was not spiritually ready, but whatever the case may be, disagreement rose up, and as a result, they all four went out to evangelize the gospel, and they seen greater works happen as a result. While we may not see eye-to-eye on everything, we must still work together in unity and seek for revival.