Many of us have an idea of what revival is. Some of those ideas are accurate and some are not.
When I was young, and heard the Carmen song "Revival in the Land," I thought revival was about many being saved, or brought to the Lord for the first time. And that was the limit of what I knew.
As I matured in the Lord, I began to see that it included first time salvation, but it was way beyond that. Healing and miracles were now part of the mix. More than that though, was God showing up and we could be in His presence.
Having been sent to a place where revival was taking place, I began looking at it as a center where people could come and get refreshed and maybe catch it and carry it to their congregation. There were manifestations, people shaking, quaking, falling on the floor, weeping, and the presence of God filling the atmosphere.
Some people think revival is seeing angels, and having gold dust on their hands, or finding angel feathers, or rain inside a building, and on and on with the manifestations.
There are people who travel from place to place to experience the miracles and signs. Glory chasers, as some have termed it.
Are these things Revival? No! These things can all be part of revival, because God does do many of these things to show that He is, and still is the God of miracles. But I think most of us, can do with out the gold dust, angel feathers, and the like. Most of us just want an encounter with God, and we want the real without the extra hype.
If these things are not revival, what is revival? Revival literally means to restore something to strength or life. (Oxford Languages)
Revival then, simply, is bringing things in this world that have been destroyed, oppressed, lost, damaged, or killed, and bringing them back to how they were created and designed to be.
What does that mean for us? It means that when we encounter revival, things in our life improve. We are brought to restoration.
We see this in the book of Judges. The Israelites are serving the Lord, they fall away. Their wealth diminishes, they become oppressed by their enemies, their land won't produce for them, they act foolishly and worship other gods to try and get what they want, relationships become broken, they go to war with each other and their neighbors.
Things get so bad that the Israelites "come to their senses" and repent. They start seeking God again, asking for deliverance. And God sends a man (or a woman) to bring deliverance, and a strong stance to, once again serve the Lord in all things. Enemies are defeated or pushed back, oppression ceases, rain comes, wealth returns, and their hearts are set on following God through that generation.
If you look at the history of America, you see the same pattern amongst the church, but also the nation. We turn from following God, disease comes, wealth goes away, we fight among ourselves, people then cry out, God sends a man, or several men to call the hearts of the people back to God, God shows up to deliver, peace and safety, wealth and good relationships abound in the land, until we fall away again.
If this is the pattern of man with God, and God's remedy is restoring His promises to His people, or those who call on His name and repent, then we can see that when revival comes, those who experience it will begin to see the goodness of God revealed in their lives.
Revival then, is God sending ambassadors, that know His will, and bring the benefits of the Kingdom of God to those who submit themselves to the Kingdom. We stop trying to do things our way, and seek our own comfort, and we follow God no matter the cost.
When we enter the presence of those who are sold out to God, we will see that the promises of God and the benefits of His Kingdom enter into out lives and bring about a restoration of those things that we thought were immovable or too much for us to be able to change.
God does show up with His presence, to give witness to what the preacher/prophet/man or woman of God is proclaiming, so your faith may rise to the level needed to receive all of God's promises in your life.
When God's presence is present in a tangible way, the flesh, and demons will manifest. The demonic often looks like violent shaking, cursing come out of their mouth, grimmacing faces, and a desire to run away. If this is happening to you, it is NOT because you are evil, it is because evil has been influencing in some area of your life. Run to a man or woman of God and ask for deliverance, but do not be afraid of it.
If there are manifestations beside you, you have authority as a believer to cast it out. Not by your power, but by Jesus' power. Don't be afraid to tell it to leave the person.
Sometimes there are other manifestations, like angel feathers and gold dust, but I don't believe they should be made a spectacle, acknowledge and then put your focus back on God.
There should always be what Jesus said His disciples should do. Preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom (unto repentance), casting out demons, healing the sick, miracles of many kinds, good news for the poor (God is going to start providing, even if you haven't seen it yet), and the making of disciples (more people to bring revival and the Kingdom of God).
Revival then, is not a sovereign manifestation of God, but is brought about when man comes into alignment with God's will in regards to bringing life to the people and begins to act upon it. It restores God's desires in our lives, to give you a hope and future, and to establish goodness and a right heart within us so that the world may know Him through His people (us)!
As Pastor Steve Gray often says, "The alternative to revival is unthinkable!" And that is the time we are living in. The devil is doing his best to prevent revival, and bring about the unthinkable, it is now time for us to rise up and bring revival, even unto the gates of hell!
