We have been talking about Revival for a long time and obviously if we had the power of the Holy Spirit we would not have had to do so. But as we can see in the church, this power as described in scripture is all but non-existent. So we call for revival, which means we are calling out to God to hear our cry and turn his face back to shining on us. Lamentations 5:21 “Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.”Psalm 80:14 “Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, 15 the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. 16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. 17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. 19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” When Nehemiah heard the news that “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire,” he sat down and wept. For some days he mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 2:17 “Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 20 The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding.” Ezra 9:8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.”
We too are praying this same prayer as we have been left powerless and empty and the gates of hell are overcoming. Why is this happening? The same reason it always happens; disobedience to God’s word. 2 Kings 22:13 “those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” 1 Peter 1:18 talks about “the empty way of life handed down to us from your ancestors.” This empty life is void of power. As we have heard this quote before I say it again. “My conviction is that the Divine power, so manifest in the Church at Pentecost, was nothing more nor less than what should be in evidence in the Church today. Normal Christianity, as planned by our Lord, was not supposed to begin in the Spirit and continue in the flesh.” “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Paul said in “Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” The church looks nothing like what it aught to, yet the body does not turn and repent and continues to go their own way. Ruth 1:1 “In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.” There is a famine (Amos 8:11) of hearing the word of God in our land. Judges 21:25 “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” The church continues to run on its own strength but remains void of power. There still is only a form of godliness and continues to deny its power. It appears the church just wants to continue walking in the flesh.
Thankfully we have a promise from God that there would always be a remnant. Jeremiah 33:17 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’” 19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” If we want to be part of this remnant we must turn from our wicked ways and humble ourselves before God. If we refuse to do this, we will not be part of the promise. Sadly there is a far-reaching stubborn refusal to repent. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” We see in Revelations 16:9 “They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.” To see this in action, go talk to a hardcore denominationalist such as a Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist or whatever other “ist” or “ism” they are part of and tell them to repent of their wicked ways and humble themselves before God. You will see this refusal to repent in action. Jeremiah describes this. Jeremiah 8:4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return? 5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.” 2 Kings 17:40 “They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.”
Yes this sounds bleak but the good news is that God promised David that He would leave us a remnant and God is faithful and will keep His promise. God keeping His promise means everything about us changes and then the church becomes a gathering of the body under the headship of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit and does what it is supposed to do and free the captives. We go from powerless to powerful. We go from living in the flesh to living by the Spirit. Paul said in Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” All through the Old Testament and the New we see the power of the Holy Spirit in action. I truly believe most people do not repent because they do not want the church to operate in the power of the Spirit. As I said that changes everything. They do not want to admit their whole life was wasted operating in the flesh. Most do not want to be confronted because Isaiah 30:9 “these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” Life in the church is much easier this way. Why be confronted when you can be comfortable and entertained. They really don’t want the power that caused Ananias and Sapphira to die because they lied not just to human beings but to God.” Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Acts 2:37 “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart.” 1 Corinthians 14:24 “But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” Since for the most part unbelievers are not coming in and saying, “God is really among you”, I think it is obvious that God really isn’t among the church as a whole. People are not being cut to the heart even though Peter said, Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” The church continues to hold on to this but because of disobedience this is just not the case because they have been made liable to destruction and cannot stand against their enemies. The church as we know it just doesn’t seem to want to admit this. For the most part people can change inside or outside the church. For every story inside the church there is one outside the church but when the power of the Holy Spirit moves, nothing can compare and the gates of hell will not prevail.
Now I want to read verses that show us what the church under the anointing of the Holy Spirit should look like. I pray this stirs your hearts as much as they did mine. This isn’t about adding people to our church this is about changing the world. Acts 17:6 “They dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here.” Matthew 21:10 “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" Yes there are all kinds of people who can stir up a city with their presence but not like this. Jesus just didn’t stir up a city; he healed it. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” Matthew 14:35 “People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. Matthew 12:15 “A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.” Luke 4:40 “At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.” Do we know that Jesus is the Messiah? John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
We saw this with the disciples also. Matthew 10:1 [ Jesus Sends Out the Twelve] Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Mark 3:14 “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.” Luke 10:1 (Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two) “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.” 16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Acts 5:12 “The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” Acts 8:6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.” Acts 6:5 “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. 8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.” Acts 28:5 “But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. 7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.”
The disciples carried on with the authority and power of the Holy Spirit just like Jesus. He had told the disciples, Luke 10:18 “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” He then said the same in Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” So when we read Matthew 28:18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This means sent out in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I hope after hearing these verses your heart is pounding with anticipation and your mind is frustrated asking where are all the wonders just as Gideon asked. Judges 6:13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ Let me warn you right here. Satan is waiting to snatch truth from you. Right now. Right here – Don’t let him. Believe and have faith. Sure satan wants you to believe the demonic doctrines of which 2 Peter 2:17 “These people who are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them,” These people say that God no longer does this. All the verses I just read do not apply to us. This is true if you live in the flesh. This is not true if you live by the Spirit of God. Or you can believe the word of God who does not change. This means his requirements do not change. If we disobey we are defeated and destroyed. Just because you are not seeing what I read earlier does not mean it is not true. Remember 2 Chronicles 16:9 “the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Peter 3:14 “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation,” Just think about this, God is waiting for us to believe His word. All this time he waits but His people refuse to wait on Him and they continue to follow their own ways, inclinations and empty paths thinking they are building His kingdom but these castles of sand will fall. Generation after generation false teachings are perpetuated and my people perish for lack of knowledge. Matthew 7:26 “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Man has been striving for the temporal not the eternal. They say look what my hands have created and we aren’t responding saying; that looks nothing like the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So we continue to do what we have been doing. We wait. We do this because we are commanded to. Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Yes we will be mocked and ridiculed and the enemy will try to get you to quit and curse God and die but we will not. God said stand firm and hold fast, so hang on until He fulfills his promise. So we keep doing what we have been doing. We call out to him to hear our cry until he thunders from heaven. 1 Samuel 2:10 “The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Psalm 6:10 “All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.” The tables will be turned.
We see the power of the Holy Spirit in God’s servants. Saul was anointed
1 Samuel 10:6 “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.” 9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 27 But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.” That’s the normal response to God’s anointing. Then Jabesh Gilead was under siege and they came for help in great distress. 1 Samuel 11:6 “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger. 7 He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one.”
Then we see David anointed because Saul disobeyed. 1 Samuel 16:14 “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.” Then Samuel is sent to Jesse. 1 Samuel 16:1 “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 1 Samuel 16:12 “6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” When David came the Lord said to Samuel, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.” Notice this took place in front of his brothers especially Eliab who probably thought it should have been him anointed. Then David’s time came where God used him in a mighty way. So he is off to bring food to his brothers. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.” 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Well guess who had something to say. 1 Samuel 17:28 “When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.”
We see here two men anointed by the Holy Spirit in power. We also see the reaction from others to that anointing. The scoundrels despised and the brother burned with anger. We also see two stories; one of obedience and a lasting kingdom and one of a kingdom lost. But now we see Jesus. John said Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Then we have Pentecost. The promise of what was to come; the power that would drive the church to eternity. Jesus said to wait and be clothed with power from on high just as Matthew 3:16 “the Spirit of God descended like a dove and coming to rest on him.” So 120 waited even though 1 Corinthians 15:6 “he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time. The120 waited and then Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” This is what’s available to us today but sadly we have huge groups of people satisfied with the water of repentance who do not know there is more and also refuse to know more. Most of their theology comes from this ignorance unfortunately. When Paul arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” Cornelius sent for Peter. 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” I won’t go over it now but this is amazing so try to read it later when you can Acts 10:44 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.”
Let me remind you the results of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. There is always a result of the anointing. No its not gibberish as a whole denomination and other charismatics are teaching. It’s not lying on your back as many have seen. That’s not God by the way. It is the power to change lives. Acts 26:17 “I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” By the way you do not turn into a robot. You must remain in Him and obey. Hebrews 6:4 “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance.” When the Holy spirit empowers there are the gifts of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” So if God has turned his face how are people saying Jesus is Lord. That should drive us to our knees. There is always a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. People say they are filled with the Holy Spirit yet there is no power. They can’t even discern that they are being deceived. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” Remember tongues are what happened at Pentecost. So now picture the church rise up in the power of the Holy Spirit not flesh.
You can see why I say the church looks nothing like this. Matthew 11:20 “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’” 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” This is the church of Jesus Christ. We are supposed to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
This is what we are waiting for. Do not be deceived into believing there is anything less available for us than what the word of God tells there is for us. The empty way is just that, empty and void of power. The word of God has been set-aside for the ways of man and that's just what we have; flesh and not Spirit. Is it worth waiting? I believe the bible says yes. We want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. I will wait. When we sing this closing song. The verse says restore the joy we had, I have wandered, bring me back. We have never had this. Sing this not as a few years of wondering but lets go right back to the beginning as we have wandered from the beginning. Lets go back to that day when Jesus 4 was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
