From street preachers and social media influencers, to bishops of established churches: the word ‘Revival’ appears to be on everybody’s lips. Why is this? What is it? Should we be concerned, or is the current Revival cause for encouragement, gratitude and joyous anticipation?
1. The Revival involves the Holy Spirit
To answer the final question first: Christians have every reason to be very pleased indeed, because the Revival means that something GOOD is happening! The word ‘Revival’, in the English language, means ‘to bring back to life’, ‘to restore’, and ‘to renew’.
This, of course, suggests that something was NOT alive, and not good, and that it was in need of restoration.
Shortly before He ascended into heaven, Jesus said that in His place, God would send the Holy Spirit. Twice, Jesus very specifically said that the Father and He will come to dwell in the believers (John 14:17; 14:23) and that they will be present in believers through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). This is the essential next stage to Jesus’s ministry, as He Himself says in John 16:7, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.”
In other words, “I MUST go, because it is essential that HE, the Holy Spirit, comes.”
The Church has now been in existence for nearly 2,000 years. Can we say that it has been Spirit-filled for all of this time and that each and every believer who attends church, is indwelled by the Holy Spirit? Sadly, we cannot: in many places, the Church needs to be revived!
2. “The Church was spiritually dead”- True or False?
If the Church needs a Revival, does this mean that it wasn’t alive before? So, was it ‘dead’? Whilst it is certainly true that throughout the 2,000 year existence of Christianity, many have greatly contributed to the growth and well-being of the Church – the Body of Believers – both in practical ways and in spiritual aspects. It is also true that Christianity wasn’t marked by the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – Galatians 5:22-23) alone. Church leaders involved the Church in warfare and even in persecution, seeking riches for itself yet ignoring the plight of the masses. Many church leaders offered ‘death’, instead of ‘life’.
Worst of all, many church leaders favored the concept of believers having to ‘earn their own way into heaven’ with good deeds and/or (financial) donations and/or ceremonial sacrifices.
They were not indwelled by the Holy Spirit themselves (‘works’ or ‘deeds’ will not cause the Holy Spirit to indwell someone! – Galatians 3:5[1]). Therefore, these leaders failed to realise or teach that, “a person is not justified by works of the law [= the ‘law’ that says justification can be earned] but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
Effectively, and for many centuries, church communities of various denominations and in many countries, were ‘spiritually dead’. This may even have caused many to lose their eternal life with God.
3. How does an ‘absence of the Holy Spirit’ affect believers?
Because so many church and faith leaders over the centuries failed to convey the message of “Repent, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and receive the Holy Spirit”, growing numbers of churches are filled with people who attend services without being indwelled by the Holy Spirit. This means they cannot receive personal guidance from the Holy Spirit.
He cannot reveal truths to them when they read Scripture – and He is not there to encourage them to read the Bible in the first place. He cannot provide them with comfort, peace of mind, or strength in times of hardship. Most importantly, the Bible contains many spiritual wisdoms and rules that they will not be able to understand, because they can only read the texts ‘in the flesh’. Many things will mean nothing to them or they won’t understand, because they would need the Holy Spirit to explain. But He’s not there to do so!
Most worryingly, if they (still) think they can earn their own salvation (by avoiding ‘bad things’ and offsetting any bad things with ‘good deeds’) they are on the broad road that does not lead to the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14).
4. How will the Revival help?
Among Christian believers in many countries, there is a growing awareness that ‘things are changing’.
People who were not Christians before, suddenly feel drawn to the faith, sometimes in truly miraculous circumstances. Christians who had been worshipping in ‘spiritually dead’ churches for years, suddenly experience (sometimes dramatic) changes in their faith life. Where Christianity used to be on its way to becoming more and more irrelevant, chiefly in the Western world, people are rediscovering belief in Jesus Christ. Influencers have started to take Christian truths and apologetics into mainstream media and suddenly, it is no longer ‘slightly stuffy’ to speak about belief and God, but it has become the ‘here, now, and happening’!
What this means is that many more people will come into contact with the Christian faith, get saved, and that the Kingdom of God will grow!
5. What does the Revival mean for me?
If you are a Spirit-filled believer, please realise that THIS is the time to get involved in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), if you haven’t already. God is at work! God is currently changing hearts and inspiring faith all over the world. The fields are white for harvest (John 4:35), so get involved in a ministry yourself, or dedicate means to supporting the spread of the Gospel worldwide and/or in your local area.
If the above has made you realise that perhaps you also have not had access to Spirit-filled teaching, now is the time to prayerfully invite the Lord to come into your heart.
If you know what sin is, and know that it stands between you and God, remove this ‘spiritual barrier’ today by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior, and receive salvation through Jesus Christ. You may have heard of the ‘Sinner’s prayer’; there are no specific words you need to say but in prayer, tell God that you:
- Realise you are a sinner, and that you know sin separates you from God;
- From now on, want to trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior;
- Believe that His death on the cross and resurrection paid the penalty for your sins;
- Trust in Jesus alone as your personal Lord and Savior;
- Thank Him for saving and forgiving you.
Amen!
[1] Worse still, according to Galatians 3:10, if a person tries to make themselves righteous with works and deeds, they will need to comply with every single jot and tittle, every single day, or be cursed!