This morning I was reading in Luke 7 about Jesus' answer to John's inquiry about him - Luke 7: 22 NIV: "So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor."
I was thinking about the fact that we need to see and experience these types of miracles in the church, in our church as part of the witness of Jesus' Lordship. I was thinking about the fact that often revival is carried from one place to another, by those who visit the place where revival is starting and carry it back with them. It is an interesting Spiritual reality that people can be carriers of the Spiritual fire of revival. It has been shown to occur over and over again, and this why they call it revival fire, for people, often time without saying anything will see the very same things occurring in their churches once they return from the revival, as the Holy Spirit comes with them and releases His fire upon their congregation the next Sunday or meeting they attend. I have heard many testimonies and had personal experiences that align with this. Lord, we pray that You will let Your fire fall upon us as well, for we want to testify to Your Lordship and Glory in our lives. Lord you have planted burning embers in my life many times, I pray that you would blow upon them and ignite me that I may burn for You.
One of the other verses that struck me was the following - Luke 7:47 NIV: "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven---as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
I was thinking about this in light of the recent study I have been making regarding sin, and how we don't ever want to consider sin as light or nothing, although in God's eyes it is, for He has dealt with sin completely. Sin, to God, is a vanquished foe. To us though, sin can separate us from relationship with God, our Lord and Savior, causing us to live our lives devoid of His input, interaction and inheritance. God desires for us the best possible life, and He desires us to understand His will for us. His love is what motivates Him, for He is love.
I was thinking about how one of the key indicators of true revival is the deep repentance that flows over people as they come into contact with the Lord. People are overwhelmed by their sinfulness, weeping for their sins, and lives are radically changed. So often we view this from a sin perspective, that people are so convicted by their sin that they respond accordingly. That may very well be true, and I want to add a second perspective - that of an awareness of God's love for them. I think that people actually become aware of how good God is, how much He loves them, and how wrongly they have acted in this light. They have made wrong judgments about God, have chosen to live their lives devoid of His love and light and are now recognizing what they have missed, and are choosing to live differently going forward.
Here is a quote from the history of the Azusa Street revival:
"People were excited about what God was doing in their midst. Those who had been filled with the Holy Ghost testified about it. They said how wonderful it was. After the testimonies, someone would preach and tell what God had promised. The meetings would go on almost all night. If people were hungry, they would leave and get something to eat and return as soon as possible. W. H. McGowan hauled bricks as an occupation. Often he would stop and listen to the service while working. Sometimes, he would get so caught up in what was going on, he would forget to go back to work! McGowan characterized the meetings as the “love of God”.
I was also reading the account of the New Hebrides revival from the 1950's - at the following link: http://www.born-again-christian.info/scottish.hebrides.revival.duncan.campbell.testimony.htm
That whole article is definitely worth reading, what an awesome move of God!
Lord, I pray that we will once again see You move in power and Glory upon Your church and upon our towns and cities!
Amen!
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