Much has been said about revival. Either because of a wish for it to happen or because of the recent occasions like the Asbury university subject which is on the rise.
However, I saw many people questioning what this was and why people are using this term.
Do you know what revival means?
What it means?
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:1-4
Revival is about special visitations of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Old Testament revivals brought renewal and obedience at specific times when people were far from God. In the New Testament in Acts 2, according to the biblical passage above, the great move of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost is also narrated, which enabled and impelled Christians to start preaching the Gospel. Throughout recent history, it is also possible to see moments when God visited the church in a special way, causing mass conversions, transformation of lives, social impact, among others. A good part of these visitations took place in special contexts of decline and estrangement from God.
Revival always produces change.
It’s not about a moment
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 4:31
When we accept Christ we become new creatures, we receive new life. Just as the people turned away from God several times in the Old Testament, many times over the days, routine steals our attention and our moments with the Father become increasingly rare and fast.
The revival within us revives our love for the Father. That’s when the flame is really lit or reignited. When we truly understand that we need to live for the presence of God and not let anything steal our attention from the purposes He has for us. Revival in us is not just about a time of visitation, but about a visitation that produces change. When God’s presence is manifested, something changes forever.
It’s not just a momentary emotion that lasts until the end of a service. The great revivals of history have produced great changes. In us, it is about what remains in our hearts burning even when the moment of worship or prayer is over.
It has nothing to do with our ability
The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
Leviticus 6:13
This spiritual renewal brings a constant fervor for the search and dedication to God. Something that burns continuously.
But for there to be fire, there must be sacrifice. We think the race to God is won by the fastest, or the strongest. But in the bible to go up it is necessary to go down, to be full we need to empty ourselves.
Moses was already intelligent, studied, a mature man of 40 years. And yet it took him another 40 years of being a shepherd in deserts, emptying himself of his titles, to be able to meet his calling and watch the fire burn. Because it was never about what we offer Him, but how He fills us and works through us.
No title will bring revival, God will, because it is from Him that the flame that burns on the altar comes.
It is the Holy Spirit who enlivens us
“I live in a high and holy place,
Isaiah 57:15
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
The word “contrite” that the text brings refers to someone who is truly repentant, one who is “crushed”.
We need to diminish our “I”. If we want real revival and live out what we saw happening in the days of Billy Graham, Azusa Street and even the most recent one that happened at the university, we need to burn our selves to ashes, we need to crush what lives in our hearts and he is not connected with the Father.
If you have difficulty with this (which is a normal feeling) ask God. He cleans, renews, restores and purifies you when you ask for it and deliver it into His hands. And when you are molded and prepared in Him (however long it takes), any spark thrown will become a living flame and it is known
