A few weeks ago I was challenged by a fellow minister to really define revival. Not in an academic sense. Not in a cover all the bases and opinions way. But in the ‘what did God mean for me/us to pursue revival in Silicon Valley, at this moment in time’. How will we know if we are answering the call of ‘Stirring up Revival in Silicon Valley’, if we don’t really mark out what ‘revival’ is?
The name of this ministry fellowship is ‘Revival Valley’. We earnestly are seeking ‘revival’ in all of Silicon Valley. We pray for ‘revival’. But without defining exactly what are praying and living for, we will never know if we are hitting the mark or not.
Revival: The rapid increase of the Kingdom of God in a city or region.
The ‘rapid’ and ‘city or region’ portion should be easy to grasp, but exactly what ‘increase of the Kingdom of God’ is still needs to be explained. God’s word has a lot to say regarding the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven), but the most relevant parts we will visit here.
“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).
There are no Holy Places, but Holy People. There is not a City of God (until this age ends), but a People of God. The Kingdom of God travels within all who have the Spirit of God in them, they who have given their lives to Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.
So when say the Kingdom of God has come to a city or region, it isn’t that such a place and time has been dedicated by God for a visitation, but that the People of God have come to a region, and have come in a way that by the Spirit they impact the region.
When the Azusa Revival broke out in that old warehouse, it wasn’t that the location was sacred, and the people entered into such a holy place. That warehouse was simply the place where the people and ministers of God gathered, willing vessels to be used by the Holy Spirit, surrendered souls who followed their Lord wherever He would lead them. If they had gathered on a different street, the revival would have followed them there, because it wasn’t the place, it was the people the Kingdom of God was inside.
Having defined the ‘where’ of the Kingdom of God, we need to define the points of primary increase for the Kingdom.
More disciples, and maturing disciples, is how the kingdom increases!
Firstly, if more people know the love of Christ, acknowledge His as Savior and Lord, then the Kingdom is expanding. In Matt 19: 16-24, Jesus equates eternal life with entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Not that salvation is the entirety of the Kingdom, but is definitely the beginning, thus as new souls enter the kingdom, the kingdom grows in an area and region.
Secondly, and often more importantly, the Kingdom continues to grow, as the Lordship of Christ deepens in a person, as they learn to follow the Holy Spirit more and more, and as the loving heart of the Father expands in one’s life. This is really where the influence of the Kingdom of God, the tangible effects, expand more, when we become more and more willing vessels of God to be the moving, living instruments of His Kingdom.
- We learn to Love like He loves
- We bear the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives
- We walk in the power of the gifts of the Spirit
- We conduct our lives in ways the attract the people of the world, and counteract the ills of the world
Again, return to the example of Azusa, the main trigger was not ‘more’ disciples at the start, but the ‘deepening’ of the disciples. Their deep yearning to know God more, and to see Him move. To surrender their lives so utterly, that God could use them for deep acts of faith. The first result of this deepening (of this increase of the Kingdom in their hearts) was His increasing of the Gifts of the Spirit (tongues and interpretation of tongues, as well as healings, and other miracles), which lead to both an increase of souls, but caught fire helping others seek and pursue more deeply the things of God.
Many people call this deepening, this yearning, as ‘Renewal’, but I think it is just one aspect of the increase of the Kingdom, and the one we have more direct control over. We can’t force others to know God, to enter into His love. But, we ourselves can know Him more. We ourselves can chose to follow Him more deeply in obedience and faith, to visit His Word more, and to seek to accomplish His works in a place and time.
Making disciples, and maturing disciples are two goals that are never at odds with each other. But making disciples is more a natural consequence of disciples who are becoming more and more like their Savior.
A careful observer may have already made the connection, but more disciples and mature disciples is really the exact thing Jesus commanded us in His last words of Matthew 28:18-20:
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.
So revival really is just a rapid increase of the Matt 28:18-20 being fulfilled in an area. It is what should be the normal mode of Christendom, as we deepen the Lordship of Christ in our lives, and respond to the guiding of the Holy Spirit day in and day out. We become deeper in Him, which will lead us to make new disciples.
So, when someone wants a short answer to what ‘Revival’ mean, I give them this one liner:
Revival: The rapid increase of the Kingdom of God in a city or region.
while meaning, and working toward fulfilling Matt 28:18-20 (along with the over 100 references of the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven throughout the Gospels of Jesus).
We will be writing some follow-on articles expanding on these topics. The Winds and Fires of Revival, the Structures of Revival, and what the Church Body, with Christ as the Head, and Holy Spirit as the power, should look like. Also, is ‘Revival’ a work of God, or a work of men and women, or is it both?
Until then, “May our Lord stir all the gifts and callings in, and may the Holy Spirit embolden and empower you, to bring the Kingdom of God to everywhere place you go!”
