Revival, the Old Fashioned Way (Part 2)
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin M Overfield
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000
Revival, the Old Fashioned Way (Part 2)
"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the
word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31)
Old Fashioned Revival Is
I. BORN IN THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER (The previous Bible Note elaborates on
this first point.)
II. BROUGHT FORTH BY THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS -- "And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 4:31). "Tarry until endued with power...Ye
shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you...Ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:1-4, 16, 17)
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS.
We are to be:
A. Cleansed by the Holy Spirit -- Entire Sanctification (Acts 15:8, 9; I
Thessalonians 5:23)
B. Filled full of Holy Spirit -- Under His control and in the fullness of
the blessing - "joy unspeakable & full of glory", "peace
which passeth understanding", "love which passeth knowledge." (Romans 5:5;
14:17; I Peter 1:8; Philippians 4:7; Ephesians 3:19)
C. Overflowed with the Holy Spirit -- John 7:38, 39 -- "Out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living waters" -- He gets out on us and onto others.
There is a simple principle I found illustrated in the life of John
Wesley Redfield: He found that if he could get the believers in a church to
seek God for an entirely sanctified heart (to be baptized with the Holy
Ghost) that God would work on the hearts of sinners. It never failed! If
the church will be serious about making sure they have all the grace that
God wants to give, then it will be a serious influence upon sinners through
the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit.
One instance from Redfield's life aptly illustrates this principle. A
pastor, after obtaining help from Brother Redfield in becoming entirely
sanctified, asked him what to do to prepare for a revival in his church.
Brother Redfield told him to go back and get his church to seeking the same
experience that this pastor had himself received. The pastor did just that.
Brother Redfield arrived two months later to begin a revival meeting at
this pastor's church. The pastor informed him that the majority of his
people had sought and received the Holy Spirit in sanctifying fullness, and
the rest of the people were seeking. However, he said that he hadn't yet
noticed any stir among sinners in the community. Brother Redfield said that
he believed they would yet see that God had been working.
Shortly thereafter, sinners began to inquire and call for someone to
pray with them. Quite a number of people were converted, most of them
testifying something like this, "About two months ago, I began to feel
badly, but didn't know what was wrong with me." They had fallen under Holy
Ghost conviction about the same time the church had begun to seek for the
experience of entire sanctification.
Well, are we all sanctified? In the text (Acts 4:31) many of them who
were filled (or refilled) with the Spirit had already been baptized with the
Holy Spirit (entirely sanctified). Are we all full? Are we all
overflowing? Lord, help us! Help me!
Old Fashioned Revival
III. BRANCHES OUT THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF EVANGELISM -- "And they spake the
word of God with boldness." Acts 1:8, "When He comes" -
"power" - dunamis = dynamite to make us witness.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF EVANGELISM.
In the book of Acts we have it recorded like this: 1st 3000, then
"daily", then 5000, in Acts 4:31 it continued, then in Samaria, then
(through Paul and his fellow laborers) in Asia Minor - Greece (Macedonia) -
Rome (Italy). Finally, we read from Paul in Colossians 1:23, "the gospel
... was preached to every creature which is under heaven."
At 18 years of age, I learned a valuable lesson in prayer at a camp
meeting in Michigan. I found that the more I prayed and let the Holy Spirit
revive my own heart, the more I tried to help other souls, or the more an
evangelism seemed to flow out of my being.
I know of a Bible college that had a real "death route" revival, which
lasted for 22 - 23 days. Then God began to open more avenues for ministry
such as an outreach through a nearby mission, another in "the Projects"
(poor housing community), nursing home services. They were already involved
in jail ministry and a mental institution.
How much are we doing to spread the Gospel? Jesus said, "Ye shall be
witnesses." -- not "maybe" or "will try to be". "We cannot help but be
witnesses if we have the dynamic presence and power of the Holy Spirit in
our souls.
When I finished reading the Life of J. W. Redfield (in 1986), I felt
the Spirit dealing with my heart -- He used Redfield's life to challenge me.
He led me to do more of what I could to reach souls. I began to witness
more to people on the job (when it did not interfere with work - like during
breaks). Also, I felt the Spirit was prompting me to have a serious
conversation with my dad about his soul, which I did.
Conclusion: This kind of Revival, Born in the Spirit of Prayer, Brought
Forth by the Spirit of Holiness, and Branching out by the Spirit of
Evangelism, we can have these days, if we will pray until it is born in our
hearts, be sure the Spirit cleanses, fills and overflows our own souls, and
then let Him work through us to reach others! Let's have Revival the Old
Fashioned Way!
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
Please pass this Bible Note to others who may
be interested or helped by it.
To subscribe to FREE Bible Notes just send an empty e-mail to
[email protected]