This morning, we are in week 5 of a sermon series that I have entitled Revival. My hope in this series is to lead us into a deeper experience of God, that God would give us greater spiritual life and vitality both individually and collectively, that we would experience more of His love and power, and that through us, He would bring His salvation and redemption to our world.
Up to this point, I have not really defined revival. And I recognize that depending upon your background, it may conjure up different things. For many of you, you may expect revival to result in a spiritually heightened church or prayer meeting, full of ecstatic experiences. But that is not necessarily the case. Put simply by Roy Hession in The Calvary Road, “Revival is the life of the Lord Jesus poured into human hearts.” Listen to Roy Hession’s description of what accompanies revival:
New experience of conviction of sin among the saints
A new vision of the cross of Jesus and redemption
A new willingness on man’s part for brokenness, confession, repentance, and restitution
A joyful experience of the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse fully from sin and restore and heal all that that sin has lost and broken
A new entering into the fullness of the Holy Spirit and of his power to do his own work through his people
A new gathering in of the lost ones to Jesus
It may not be flashy or showy, but it will be filled with the life of Jesus in an unmistakable way.
