Yesterday I asked if there were markers to a true revival from God, and the answer was yes. While the sovereignty of God is certainly at the top, the tangible and transformational presence of the Holy Spirit is right beside it. Jonathan Edwards said of the revival in Northampton that there were "remarkable tokens of God's presence in almost every house." G. Campbell Morgan preached about witnessing the Welsh Revival saying: "The whole thing is of God; it is a visitation in which He is making men conscious of Himself, without any human agency." Both through His people and apart from them, the Holy Spirit impacted whole communities. The "kabod" (weighty glory of God) was experienced by many.
Jesus said in John 16:8-11 -- "And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see Me no more; of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged." The tangible presence of God by the Holy Spirit will yield such results. All of the revivals note people confessing their sins and repenting. Whether it be people in the world getting saved or people in the church heeding the call upward to walk in righteousness and holiness like never before, lives were changed for the glory of God. He is the HOLY Spirit, after all. And the devil's works were being destroyed everywhere (1 John 3:8).
In his book, "The Revival We Need" (1925), Oswald J. Smith, who founded People's Church in Toronto in 1928, starts the second paragraph of the book writing about the revival in Wales as, "Suddenly, like an unexpected tornado, the Spirit of God swept over the land." The Holy Spirit arrived on the Day of Pentecost as "a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind" (Acts 2:2). A.T. Robertson notes that "It was 'an echoing sound as of a mighty wind borne violently' (or rushing along like the whirr of a tornado)." It's interesting to note the weather in Edmonton the day before we started the fast was punctuated by record breaking wind gusts of 120 km/h and sustained wind speeds of 70 km/h. Man cannot make a coincidence like that.
There is no revival without the Holy Spirit's weighty presence. There is no life apart from the Holy Spirit. Continue seeking God for a greater revelation and release in our lives and in the community.
Blessings,
Merril
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