Embracing True Revival: The Role of the Holy Spirit

Devotional

Day 1: The Cross as a Pathway to Revival

Revival is the outflow of the Holy Spirit through the human spirit, requiring the removal of obstacles and cooperation with God. The cross is central to this process, helping believers to cleanse and surrender to God. The journey towards revival begins with the cross, which serves as a powerful tool for believers to remove hindrances in their spiritual lives. By embracing the message of Calvary, believers learn to walk in the Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely through them. This process involves addressing obstacles such as an unforgiving spirit, ignorance of right and wrong, and an unwillingness to testify. Through cleansing and surrender to God, these barriers can be removed, paving the way for a deeper connection with the Holy Spirit. [01:15]

Galatians 5:24-25 (ESV): "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."

Reflection: What obstacles in your life are hindering the flow of the Holy Spirit? How can you use the message of the cross to address these obstacles today?

Day 2: Discernment in the Midst of Revival

The perils of revival include the danger of living by feelings and the risk of counterfeit spiritual experiences. Discernment is crucial to distinguish between the true work of the Holy Spirit and the counterfeit. In times of revival, believers must be vigilant and discerning, as evil spirits can mimic the workings of the Holy Spirit, leading to confusion and trouble. It is essential to pray for discernment and for leaders who can guide and help believers navigate these challenges. Such leaders must be able to discern when the source of spiritual phenomena changes and know how to bring gatherings back to the pure stream of God. [02:33]

1 John 4:1 (ESV): "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Reflection: How can you cultivate a spirit of discernment in your daily life to recognize the true work of the Holy Spirit?

Day 3: The Role of Spirit-Led Leadership

Leaders in revival must be chosen by God, baptized with the Spirit, and able to discern the Spirit's movement. They should maintain control of meetings, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and intervene when necessary. Effective leadership during revival requires sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's guidance. Leaders must be attuned to the Spirit's movement, discerning when to intervene and when to allow the Spirit to work freely. This balance ensures that meetings remain focused on God's purposes and that participants are led into a deeper experience of His presence. [08:01]

Acts 20:28 (ESV): "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."

Reflection: In what ways can you support and pray for the leaders in your church to be Spirit-led and discerning?

Day 4: Flexibility in Revival Gatherings

Meetings during revival should be flexible, allowing for the Holy Spirit's guidance. A heavy meeting can be brought into liberty by addressing participants' burdens and ensuring the leader is in victory. Flexibility in revival gatherings is crucial to allow the Holy Spirit to move freely among participants. Leaders should be open to the Spirit's guidance, ready to address the burdens of those present, and ensure that they themselves are walking in victory. This openness creates an atmosphere where the Spirit can bring liberty and transformation to all who are present. [11:43]

2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV): "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Reflection: How can you create space in your life and gatherings for the Holy Spirit to move freely and bring liberty?

Day 5: Preparing for the Work of the Holy Spirit

Revival cannot be manufactured through methods; it is a result of the Holy Spirit's work. As we pray for revival, we must prepare ourselves to be used by God, understanding the truths that equip us for service. True revival is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, not something that can be orchestrated by human effort. As believers pray for revival, they must also prepare their hearts and lives to be vessels for God's work. This preparation involves understanding the truths of the Gospel and being ready to serve when the Spirit moves. [13:10]

2 Timothy 2:21 (ESV): "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."

Reflection: What steps can you take today to prepare yourself to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit's work in your life and community?

Sermon Summary

Revival is a profound movement of the Holy Spirit, centered on the message of Calvary and the cross. It is the outflow of God's Spirit through the human spirit, and it requires both the removal of obstacles and a positive cooperation with the Holy Spirit. The cross plays a crucial role in this process, as it helps believers to remove hindrances and learn to walk in the Spirit. Obstacles such as an unforgiving spirit, ignorance of right and wrong, and unwillingness to testify must be addressed through cleansing and surrender to God.

The perils of revival are significant, particularly the danger of living by feelings rather than the Spirit and the risk of counterfeit spiritual experiences. Evil spirits can mimic the workings of the Holy Spirit, leading to confusion and trouble. Therefore, it is essential to pray for discernment and for leaders who can guide and help believers navigate these challenges. Such leaders must be able to discern when the source of spiritual phenomena changes and know how to bring gatherings back to the pure stream of God.

Conducting meetings during revival requires sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. The leader should be chosen by God, baptized with the Spirit, and able to discern the Spirit's movement. Meetings should not be rigidly planned but should allow for the Holy Spirit's guidance. The leader must maintain control, discerning when to intervene and when to allow the Spirit to work freely. A heavy meeting can be brought into liberty by allowing participants to express their burdens and by the leader being in victory themselves.

Ultimately, revival is not something that can be manufactured through methods; it is a result of the Holy Spirit's work. As we pray for revival, we must also prepare ourselves to be used by God, understanding the truths that equip us to be of service when revival comes. Whether revival precedes or follows the Lord's return, we can pray for it and prepare the way for it.

Key Takeaways

1. Revival is the outflow of the Holy Spirit through the human spirit, requiring the removal of obstacles and cooperation with God. The cross is central to this process, helping believers to cleanse and surrender to God. [01:15]
2. The perils of revival include the danger of living by feelings and the risk of counterfeit spiritual experiences. Discernment is crucial to distinguish between the true work of the Holy Spirit and the counterfeit. [02:33]
3. Leaders in revival must be chosen by God, baptized with the Spirit, and able to discern the Spirit's movement. They should maintain control of meetings, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and intervene when necessary. [08:01]
4. Meetings during revival should be flexible, allowing for the Holy Spirit's guidance. A heavy meeting can be brought into liberty by addressing participants' burdens and ensuring the leader is in victory. [11:43]
5. Revival cannot be manufactured through methods; it is a result of the Holy Spirit's work. As we pray for revival, we must prepare ourselves to be used by God, understanding the truths that equip us for service. [13:10]
** [13:10]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:08] - The Message of Calvary
[00:21] - Understanding Revival
[00:33] - Defining Revival
[00:47] - Conditions for Revival
[01:15] - Removing Obstacles
[01:28] - Positive Cooperation
[02:20] - Perils of Revival
[02:58] - Counterfeit Spirits
[03:38] - Discernment in Revival
[04:14] - Spiritual Atmosphere
[05:29] - True Worship
[06:22] - High Order Spirits
[07:13] - Conducting Revival Meetings
[08:01] - Role of the Leader
[11:43] - Bringing Meetings into Liberty
[13:10] - Preparing for Revival

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: Revival and the Holy Spirit

Bible Reading:

2 Corinthians 7:1 - "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."
John 4:24 - "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
1 John 4:1 - "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

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Observation Questions:

What role does the cross play in the process of revival according to the sermon? [00:08]
What are some of the obstacles mentioned in the sermon that hinder the outflow of the Holy Spirit? [01:15]
How does the sermon describe the dangers of counterfeit spiritual experiences during revival? [02:33]
What qualities should a leader possess to effectively guide a revival meeting? [08:01]

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Interpretation Questions:

How does 2 Corinthians 7:1 relate to the idea of removing obstacles for the Holy Spirit's work in revival? [01:15]
In what ways does John 4:24 emphasize the importance of worshiping in spirit and truth during revival? [05:42]
How can believers discern between the true work of the Holy Spirit and counterfeit experiences, as suggested in 1 John 4:1? [03:38]
What might be the implications of a leader losing control of a revival meeting, as described in the sermon? [09:32]

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Application Questions:

Reflect on any personal obstacles that might be hindering the Holy Spirit's work in your life. What steps can you take to address these obstacles? [01:15]
How can you cultivate a spirit of discernment in your daily life to recognize the true work of the Holy Spirit? [03:38]
Think about a time when you relied on feelings rather than the Spirit. How can you ensure that your spiritual experiences are grounded in truth? [02:33]
If you were leading a small group or meeting, how would you ensure that the Holy Spirit is given the freedom to guide the gathering? [08:01]
Consider the role of prayer in preparing for revival. How can you incorporate more intentional prayer into your routine to prepare for the Holy Spirit's work? [13:10]
Identify a specific area in your life where you need to surrender more fully to God. What practical steps can you take this week to do so? [01:15]
How can you support your church leaders in maintaining a spirit-led environment during services and gatherings? [09:32]

Sermon Clips

Revival in its Essence is the outflow of the spirit of God through the human spirit. This is in harmony with what the well-known Evangelical commentator says about the human Spirit. He writes the spirit of man is the receptacle of the Holy Spirit and is the organ in which he dwells and through which he works. [00:38:43]

The primary conditions for Revival apart from prayer: first, the negative, the removal of all obstacles to the outflow of the spirit. This brings in the work of the Cross applied by the spirit of God. Second, the positive, understanding how to cooperate with the holy spirit of God. This brings in the Life side of the cross. [01:10:16]

The Perils of Revival may be briefly defined as either danger of acting or living by feeling or the sensuous life instead of the spirit life, and to the Peril arising from the spirits of evil counterfeiting the workings of the Holy Spirit alongside of the danger of becoming dominated by feelings and emotions. [02:31:12]

In view of this danger, if we pray for Revival, we should pray God to prepare intelligent and spiritually equipped children of God to guide and help his people, believers who know the ways of God and who know the ways of the enemy and are really endued by God with the power of discerning Spirits. [03:35:48]

The leader should be one chosen of God and equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit. He must therefore be baptized with the spirit so that he is conscious of the spirit sense referred to whereby he knows the mind of the spirit in himself and is able to discern it in others. [08:01:55]

The leader must never let go the Reigns of the meeting, leading throughout although he may outwardly appear to be taking no part at all. I may illustrate the importance of this by a concrete example. I was once watching a huge Gathering where one who had been greatly used in Revival in another land was present. [08:36:48]

The leader should take time to get the meeting free when it is free from weight, pressure, heaviness. He will find it easy to give the message. The leader should be in Victory himself so that he is able to lift the meeting and not be dependent upon the people for his own Liberation. [12:10:00]

The secret of it lies in the grain of wheat life for when the believer is deeply immersed in the death of Christ there is an outflow of a holy spirit which as it were soaks the meeting as if it were soaked in an overflow of the River of Life flowing from the Throne of God. [13:13:46]

Whether Revival will precede that glorious event or follow it, we do not know. The Apostle Peter's word at Pentecost that the outpouring then given was only an Earnest of the Fulfillment of Joel's prophecy for the latter days is sufficient to show that Revival is now due. [15:01:52]

In either case, we can pray for it and prepare the way for it whether we shall be in it or out of it by being absent from the body and present with the Lord. [15:18:56]

The history of the French Revolution and how England was saved from a similar upheaval by the Revival through Wesley is referred to by many, and it is historically true that again and again when England seemed as much in the dark as darkest Africa, God intervened in answer to the Cry of his people. [14:45:24]

The meeting should be free to go on until it is evident that the spirit of God would have its conclusion. This is one of the greatest needs in Revival but very difficult circumstantially to obtain. Yet so often when the spirit of God has been at the highest point of working, it has been necessary to close the meeting. [14:02:48]

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Embracing True Revival: The Role of the Holy Spirit

Devotional

Day 1: The Cross as a Pathway to Revival

Day 2: Discernment in the Midst of Revival

Day 3: The Role of Spirit-Led Leadership

Day 4: Flexibility in Revival Gatherings

Day 5: Preparing for the Work of the Holy Spirit

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Embracing True Revival: The Role of the Holy Spirit

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