I’ve been reading books lately that deal with people experiencing revival…about how we commonly experience the Holy Spirit and the outpouring of the Spirit in our lives. While God works and moves in many different ways and I routinely caution people about putting God in our boxes, Michael Brown in From Holy Laughter to Holy Fire says there are at least six things the Holy Spirit will commonly do in times of revival (p. 246): “The Spirit will sanctify (Hebrews 9:13-14); convict (John 16:8-11); glorify Jesus (John 16:14); deliver and heal (Acts 10:38); empower (Acts 1:8); and refresh (Acts 3:19)” (sorry, just too many Scripture references to include the passages…now you have something to look up). Now if this is a true statement and I would generally concur it is, then I must make another observation. Revival is not something that happens at a single church service or at a particular time or season in one’s life. Revivals are more of a lifestyle than an event…revivals are lived! Revivals do not fade or become passé. They are a continuing work of the Holy Spirit. Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian and preacher of the early 18th Century whose preaching is credited with sparking the Great Awakening in 1733, while I do not agree with all he said or taught, I do think he got this right. “God’s purpose in sending revival is to make men holy.” Remember, that doesn't mean one is perfect, but holy...set apart. Revivals are not to glorify a preacher or church, a denomination or community…they are to make men holy. And men are made holy by a process (sanctification) which often takes a lifetime, not a weekend or a single service to accomplish.
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