38. Path to revival.

‘RESTORE us again, O God our Saviour … Will you not REVIVE us again, that your people might rejoice in you?’ – (Psalm 85:4-6)
The greatest revival in Church history is undoubtedly the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out on 120 people gathered in the upper room at Jerusalem! The path to revival always seems to follow a strikingly similar pattern and it has been proven over and over again throughout Church history. The principles behind the sequence of events that led up to that revival in Jerusalem are still the same and are as follows:-

1. Repentance: The revival on the day of Pentecost began with the call to repentance by John the Baptist! “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” – (Matthew 3:2) and ‘people went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins , they were baptized by him in the Jordan river.’ – (Matthew 3:5-6) Interestingly, the Prophet Joel had made a similar call to national repentance following a natural calamity, saying: “Even NOW,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart … Rend your heart and not your garments.” – (Joel 2:12-13) But the call went unheeded and there is no recorded history of a revival. Then in the book of Acts, we read that on the day of Pentecost, while addressing the thousands gathered in front of the upper room at Jerusalem, Peter began by saying, “This is what was spoken by the Prophet Joel: In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all people … Therefore… Repent .. everyone of you … And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children …” – ( Acts 2:17-39) Repentance prepares the ground for sowing the seeds of Revival.

2. Restoration: Following the wholehearted repentance came an unprecedented (unequalled) restoration, when the ministry of John the Baptist was followed by the ministry of Jesus, that saw the greatest outbreak of miracles since the days of Moses and Elijah! ‘The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel’ – (Matthew 15:31) ‘… who had given such authority to men.’ – (Matthew 9:8) ‘They were all filled with awe and … they said, “A great Prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help his people.”‘ – (Luke 7:16) “We have never seen anything like this!” – (Mark 2:12) The miracles stirred the hearts of the people and they were filled with joy and praised God. This too was predicted by the Prophet Joel, when he said ,“THEN the Lord will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people … be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things … I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten … You will praise the name of the Lord your God who has worked wonders for you …” – (Joel 2:18-27) Restoration sows the seeds for Revival.

3. Revival: The Prophet Joel had predicted the sequence of events that would unfold before the return of the Lord! “And AFTER-WARD ( Just as in English, the Hebrew text uses two words: the word “Ahar” means afterwards, later, following and the word “Ken” is used as a marker to show sequence of logic or events and is translated as: so, thus, then, therefore ), I will pour out my Spirit on all people … BEFORE the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” – (Joel 2:28-31) Though this prophesy was set to motion on the day of Pentecost, many details of the prophesy are yet to be fulfilled and we, in this generation, will witness it! Peter, while quoting this prophesy on the day of Pentecost, used the words “last days” (Acts 2:17) instead of “afterwards” because he understood the Church age to be the final days! What began two thousand years ago is nearing completion! Since prophesy is cyclic, it repeats itself and we will once again hear the call to repentance; see an outbreak of miracles and witness the outpouring of the Spirit upon the nations and finally again on nation of Israel as predicted by the Prophets – (Ezekiel 39:25-29).

PS: Note these words denoting time – NOW if we repent, THEN we will see restoration and AFTERWARD will receive the outpouring BEFORE the return of the Lord. Amen.