Scripture Focus (Acts 3:19-21) – “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom Heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago.”
I. What Is True Revival?
A. From the Divine side, revival is an increased time of the released presence and power of God among His people.
B. From the human side, revival is a time of returning to an obedience to the revelation of God, a time of spiritual consecration unto the Person of God, resulting in a spiritual clarity and missional courage among God’s people.
II. What Precedes True Revival?
A. The invisible determination of God to manifest His glory through the Church (Psalm 145:10-13)
“All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, and all Your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and tell of Your power, 12 to make known to the children of man Your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. 13 Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.”
B. The inward dissatisfaction with the current state of the Church from God’s people (Revelation 3:15-18)
“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”
C. The gnawing awareness that God’s glory is not being manifest appropriately in a generation (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and You will not hear? Or cry to You “Violence!” and You will not save? 3 Why do You make me see iniquity, and why do You idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.”
D. A growing apostasy among the professing church coupled with an increase of vice among unbelievers.
– Note the historical revivals in Israel under the leadership of Hezekiah and Josiah
E. The elevated compulsion in the Church toward fasting and prayer for breakthrough within the Church.
Psalm 85:6-9 – “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation. 8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.”
Habakkuk 3:2 – “O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.”
III. What Marks True Revival?
A. A return to holiness motivated by a desire to please the Lord (Acts 19:17-18)
“And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.”
B. A contagious boldness in Christian witness resulting in large-scale conversions (Acts 4:29-31)
“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
C. An undeniable manifestation of the miraculous working of God (healings, deliverances, callings, prophetic precision)
The entire book of acts is a preserved record of the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit performed by the early Church. The Book of Acts and many of the the NT letters reveal that both the Apostles and those who followed them operated in supernatural power over an extended number of years.
D. The love of God becomes predominant through the Church (1 John 4:7-12)
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.”
E. Shifts within the morality of the culture due to the influence of the purified Church (Acts 19:19)
“And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.”
IV. Who Is Responsible for Revival?
A. Divine responsibility (Acts 3:19-21)
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom Heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago.”
B. Human responsibility (2 Chronicles 7:14)
“If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”