An Article of Faith

When God comes in revival, He accomplishes in a brief time what would normally take many years. Revival is the intensifying, accelerating, multiplying, and magnifying work of God. This does not disminish the value of the normal means and timing of God, but rather highlights the importance of seeking those divine seasons of God’s extraordinary flow of grace.
That’s why the patriarchs, the prophets, the disciples, the apostles, and the early church fathers were always seeking a greater measure of God’s presence. They realized that without God’s manifest presence, little of eternal significance would transpire. Knowing how desperately they needed God, they were set on seeking Him.
And, historically, great men and women of God have realized their great need for God’s presence to do His great work, and thus, the pursuit of revival and spiritual awakening became their passion. Before the 20th Century, the U.S. experienced at least three sweeping movements of God’s Spirit – periods historians call Great Awakenings.
What happens during massive movements of the Spirit of God is staggering. In short, when spiritual awakening takes place, the advance of the gospel speeds up dramatically. What seemed impossible suddenly unfolds. Revival is an extraordinary movement of the Spirit of God that produces extraordinary results.
But is spiritual awakening merely a relic of a bygone era? Or could it really happen in our day (taken from: OneCry: A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening. For more information see: www.ONECRY.com)?
Our present times are in desperate need revival. Although revival is a sovereign activity of the Holy Spirit, history reveals certain patterns that precede revival. First of all, prayer plays a major role in revival. We must pray daily for revival as individuals, weekly for revival as families, monthly for revival as church families, quarterly for revival in conjunction with other churches, and annually as a nation on the National Day of Prayer.
Another crucial element in the pattern for revival is the bold preaching of God’s Word. Prayer is a prelude to the faithful preaching of God’s Word: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives,” writes the apostle Paul. “It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT).
Finally, a third element in the pattern for revival is discipleship. “Jesus came and told His disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ “ (Matthew 28:18-20 NLT).
“If My people,” declares the LORD, “who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV).
Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.