It’s important that we learn the lessons of history. Not just natural history, but spiritual history. History of the moves of God. We’ve endeavored to go along this trail for several podcasts sprinkled throughout the course of this year speaking on the subject of revival. Today, we are going to look at two specific lessons we can learn about powerful revival type moves of God that will help us in our everyday lives.

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This week’s call is:

Miracles are for you. God wants you absolutely well. Reach out and receive your healing in Jesus Name.

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: What healing miracle has the Lord done in your life? Please share your testimony in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

You can find additional information on the subject of the will of God in the resources listed below.

1. Why Divine Healing Is Better for Your Life

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Lesson One: Every Move of God Has Two Sides

• To every move of God, since the Creation, there is a God-ward side and a man-ward side.
• That is, there is God’s part and there is man’s part.

Genesis 18:17–18 (KJV) — 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

• The Lord chose to include Abraham in His doings.
• He didn’t have to do it.
• He could have just went ahead and rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah and left Abraham to wonder why.
• But because of His own plan to be executed through Abraham, that is that he would become a great and mighty nation and the rest of the nations would be blessed through him via the Messiah, God chose to reveal His plan to him.

Genesis 18:20–23 (KJV) — 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

• Because Gods plan was for Abraham to be a blessing to the nations, He revealed His plan to Abraham so that he might draw near and intercede for the nations, specifically Sodom and Gomorrah.
• But when God created the world, He didn’t follow this same MO.
• Just ask yourself the question, ‘Who did God consult with when He spoke the world’s into existence?’
• Who did He counsel with when He said, ‘Let there be light?’
• Which angel was that?
• Who petitioned the Creation into existence?
• No one did any of those things.
• God did Creation totally on His own.
• God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
• But, since the day He created man, He has chosen not to go this solo route.
• He instead chooses to include you and me in His plans.
• So, to every move of God, there is a God-ward side and a manward side.
• You can see this principle on display when you study some of the great outpourings of the Spirit.

Two Sides to the Day of Pentecost

Acts 1:4–5, 12-14, 2:1 (KJV) — 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence… 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey. 13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

• To the great move on the day of Pentecost, there was a man-ward side.
  • They had to obey the command to wait in the city of Jerusalem until the move began.
  • While they waited, they prayed.
  • They were with one accord, in one place.
• The God-ward side includes:
  • The initial prophecy concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit noted in Acts two.

Acts 2:38–39 (KJV) — 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

• The Promise includes both the first coming of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• Do you see that?
• Read that verse closely.

Galatians 3:29 (KJV) — 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

• Joel’s prophecy quoted by Peter in Acts 2 is part of this move of God.

Acts 2:16–21 (KJV) — 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

• Jesus praying to the Father for another Comforter in John 14:16.

John 14:16 (KJV) — 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

• The commandment from the lips of Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Acts one.
• The answer of the Father to Jesus prayer manifesting in the sending of the Holy Spirit into the earth in Acts two, or another Comforter in John 14:16.

Acts 2:2–4 (KJV) — 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

• So man cooperating with God, obeying God, praying unto God and God directing, leading, inspiring, paving the way ahead of time, and then answering prayer in the via predictive prophecy in the fullness of time are parts of an outpouring of God’s power.
• Be careful when you read biographies or historical accounts of moves of God.
• Know that there are two sides to moves of God and understand which part kit is the author you are reading behind is trying to convey.
• Some people say we just need to pray, pray, pray because they read that in a historical account.
• It’s true that prayers from earth are a part of the move.
• But, they are not the only part.
• Let’s look at a move of God in the early 20th century called the Welsh Revival.

Two Different Accounts of the Welsh Revival

• Here’s a quote from an author named Warren Wiersbe.

Finally, there are no shortcuts when it comes to revival. The church desperately needs revival, but it is not going to come by quick and easy methods. Evan Roberts prayed for eleven years before the Welsh Revival broke out, and his ministry during that remarkable time broke him physically. More than one hundred thousand people were converted to Christ during that mighty awakening, but it was not the result of manufactured meetings (they were spontaneous) or manmade promotions. True revival goes deeper than that.¹

• Warren is emphasizing the man-ward side.
• If you’re not careful, you would think that’s all the side there was.
• That Evan Roberts just pulled himself up by his bootstraps and went at it on his own.
• That’s not all that happened.
• Here’s another author who writes about the same revival.
• Listen to what he says about the Welsh Revival.

In the spring of 1904 a young Welshman named Evan Roberts was repeatedly awakened to pray from 1:00 to 5:00 a.m. By November a powerful spiritual awakening was spreading through Wales. God worked through the testimony of a young new believer named Florrie Evans. When Pastor Joseph Jenkins asked for testimonies Florrie arose and with a trembling voice said, “I love Jesus with all my heart.” God used this to melt the hearts of many others.

• Can you see some of the components from the other side, from God’s part?
• The Lord woke Evan Roberts up to pray.
• The Lord saved a young teenage girl named Florrie Evans.
• The Lord used her testimony to melt hearts.
• That testimony became the spark that ignited the revival.
• But, there’s more.
• Joseph Jenkins was Florrie Evans pastor.
• In 1892, this minister had an extraordinary experience with the Holy Spirit praying deep into the dark hours of the night²
• Joseph Jenkins was motivated by the writings of Andrew Murray and the ministry of D.L. Moody.
• He had a powerful experience with the Spirit of God who descended on him.
• Jenkins preaching led to Florrie Evans salvation.
• Florrie Evans testimony sparked the revival led by Evan Roberts.
• God-ward side and man-ward side.
• You know sometimes people get over into pride because they think it’s their great praying that’s getting it all done.
• That’s never the case.
• It’s never one person.
• It always starts with God and with people willing to cooperate with Him.
• And God is working on many levels and through many avenues.

The Impact of the Welsh Revival

• The London Times reported remarkable changes that took place in the public arena when the revival broke out.
• Entire congregations were on their knees in prayer and for the first time, there was not a single case of drunkenness in the whole county.
• The Bible Society saw orders for Scriptures multiply to three times the level for the previous year.
• At Bangor University revival fires were spreading in January 1905.
  • There were “only a third or a fourth of the students attending some of the classes.
  • Beginning with a spontaneous outburst of praise and prayer among the men students, the movement spread.
  • At a united prayer meeting, some broke down sobbing.
• David Lloyd George, who later became Prime Minister of England, saw one of his political rallies taken over by the Welsh revival.
  • On January 11th, 1905 he said the Welsh revival gave hope “that at the next election Wales would declare with no uncertain sound against the corruption in high places which handed over the destiny of the people to the terrible brewing interest…”
• The Times reported on January 16th, 1905 that there were two churches who were fighting each other for a ten to twelve year period.
  • During the past week, united services have been held in both churches, and the ministers shook hands in front of the congregations.”
• Revival fires from this move of God spread to the United States.
  • In 1904 the Atlanta newspapers reported an amazing revival of prayer sweeping the city.
  • On November 2nd the Supreme Court of Georgia closed so people could attend prayer meetings.
  • Stores, factories, offices and even saloons followed suit.
  • In Denver Colorado, on January 20th, 1905 for two hours at midday the entire cities trade was shut down for two hours from noon to two o’clock in the afternoon because of this move God.
  • People were praying everywhere.
• One Kentucky pastor died of overwork after receiving 1,000 new members in two months.
• Out of a population of 50,000, only fifty remained unconverted adults remained in Atlantic City, New Jersey.³

Lesson 2: Don’t Ape and Imitate Others; Have Your Own Experience with God

• let’s look at the First Great Awakening
• The First Great Awakening, it’s called that because there was a second great awakening under the ministry of Charles Finney in the 19th century, was a massive move of God in Britain and American in the 1730s’ and the 1740s’.
• The revival was closely associated with the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and George Whitefield.
• Prior to this move of God, there was a high standard of piety maintained in the Pilgrim and Puritan churches for thirty or forty years.
• The next generation of Pilgrims and Puritans fell below that standard of piety and holiness and a decay began in the spiritual life of the people.
• Some of the decay was seen in the following:
  • The neglect of public worship.
  • The desecration of the Sabbath,
  • The lack of family government,
  • The alarming increase of worldliness among the people,
  • Dishonesty in trade,
  • Lying,
  • Intemperance,
  • Profanity,
  • Extravagance,
  • And a general decay of godliness in the land.⁴
• The new generation had forgotten God.
• You know that’s always a big problem.

Psalm 9:17 (ESV) — 17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

• Conditions had become so bad that in 1662 leading ministers of Massachusetts colony did something they thought would help but actually made things worse.
• They adopted what was called the “Halfway Covenant.”
• What was the ‘Halfway Covenant’?
• It was where people could make no profession of salvation still could get their children baptized so long as they could assent or mentally agree with the doctrine of faith and were not “scandalous in life.”
• When the children grew up, if they couldn’t testify to conversion, only one privilege was denied.
• They could not partake of the Lord’s Supper.
• These halfway members soon outstripped the members in full communion.
• Halfway membership was socially acceptable.
• Why bother about going all the way?
• Why bother about taking up your cross and following God’s will for your life.
• Eventually, the requirement to the Lord’s Supper dropped away.
• And soon halfway covenanters filtered into the ministry.
• There was a remnant of the godly left.
• They soon realized that the Halfway Covenant was a terrible mistake.
• Something cataclysmic was needed to prevent the flickering flame of vital Christianity from being wholly snuffed out.
• What was needed was a revival.

The Preaching of Johnathan Edwards

• In the Massachusetts village of Northampton, a Congregational minister named Johnathan Edwards, wearing a black-gowned knelt in prayer.
• He was burdened for the 1,100 souls of the little town who, he was convinced, were afflicted with this aforementioned deadly spiritual decay of the day.
• Jonathan had months and months of labor with only a five or so people saved.
  • He took over this sleepwalking congregation in Northampton from his grandfather.
  • These people could still give correct answers to the catechism, but their hearts were fixed not on God, but on making money.⁵
• In a very few minutes, Edwards would be mounting the pulpit.
• Should he preach what the people wanted to hear?
• Or, should he tell them what he really believed – that unless they had definitely experienced the new birth through faith in Jesus Christ, they were heading straight for Hell?
• The decision was made.
• The tall, thin-faced man arose, adjusted his periwig – you know the men wore wigs in those days, – and entered the little meeting house.
• That day in 1734, marked the birth of what in many respects was the most notable revival of religion America has ever experienced.
• Nothing like it had happened before.
• Nothing quite like it has happened since.
• The Spirit of God moved upon Jonathan Edwards.
• With no let-up, he hammered home the message for that hour.
• As sinners they deserved instant damnation, but for the mercy of God.
• There was nothing but to throw themselves on the mercy of God, who showed His overflowing goodness in giving His Son to die for them.
• He did not stop with a general theological discourse.
• He relentlessly called the toll of the town sins.
• How the Spirit of God moved.
• Every secret sin was held up for all to see.
• The Holy Spirit used the sharp edges of this sermon to cut deep.
• People couldn’t sleep on Sunday nights.
• Next day they could talk of nothing but the amazing upheaval in the pulpit.
• It was in December that the first conversions came.
• Heaven’s divine and fatal assault on the Kingdom of darkness were in full swing.
• There were five or six converted, among them a young woman notorious as a prostitute.
• The news of her conversion “seemed to be like a flash of lightning upon the hearts of the young people, an over the town, and upon many others.”
• People gathered in their homes to pray.
• Shops closed up businesses.
• The public assemblies were “beautiful, the congregation was alive in God’s service, everyone earnestly intent on the public worship, every hearer eager to drink in the words of the minister”.
• Tears flowed, some weeping in sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors.
• Day and night people came to the parsonage to bring news of their conversion or to seek the pastor’s help.
• Soon the revival spilled over into other towns.
• Before long 100 communities were affected.
• This revival was called The Great Awakening.
• It lasted for three years.
• People affected by the revival began to study the Bible at home.
• The move of God impacted whole denominations.
• The Congregationalists, the Presbyterian Church, the Dutch Reformed Church, the German Reformed denominations, along with the small Baptist and Methodist Anglican churches were all impacted.
• One of Johnathan Edwards most famous messages was called ‘Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God.’
• It was a hellfire and brimstone to the max and God used this message to stoke the revival fire.

Let The Lord Use You Today

• And so, we ape and imitate.
• Edwards prayed so much a day.
• So, we’re going to pray so much a day.
• He fasted so many times a month.
• So, here we go, we’re going to fast the same amount maybe even more.
• We try to do what he did.
• Johnathan Edwards preached hellfire and brimstone messages, we set out in that direction.
• Our motives are good and right and God will bless that to a certain extent.
• But we are not going to have the fullness of what they had because there’s an essential component missing.
• It wasn’t just the amount of prayer that led to the Great Awakening.
• Nor was it just the fasting that Edwards did.
• It wasn’t the message that he preached.
• It was all of that but it was more.
• It was the action of the Spirit of God on the message.
• And, with that here is the next piece we should understand.
• You don’t get the action of the Spirit without the leading of the Spirit.
• It’s the Spirit of God that makes all the difference.
• It’s the Spirit of God that led the men of God who were involved in the move of God called the Great Awakening.
• They had to learn to work with Him.
• When He nudged them, they had to yield.
• That had to learn these things and so do we.
• We have to learn to work with Him and yield to His gentle nature.
• It was the Spirit of God who led these men of God into the Great Awakening.
• And He will lead you.
• You get God-sized results when you do things God’s way in God’s timing.

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