REVIVAL TALK

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”             These words are found on plaques, in frames, and on calendars.   We post them in our homes and offices. Many read these words during difficult seasons for comfort and hope. This is a powerful promise from the Lord to the believer.   We learn in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”   God knows our future.   He has already been in our tomorrow.   Revelation 1:8 reads, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,  the  Beginning and  the  End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”             There ...

In the early twentieth century, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit forever changed the world.  This revival gave birth to what would later become the Pentecostal Movement.  The Pentecostal Charismatic Movement today numbers approximately six hundred million. This revival had it roots in the holiness movements of the late 1800’s, and the revival that began in Topeka, Kansas, and later spread to the Asuza Street Mission in Los Angeles, California.  One of the characteristics of this revival was the Infilling of the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking with other tongues. This experience is defined in the Bible as the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.”  What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit?  It means to be immersed into the Holy Spirit, to be in-filled with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we might live an overcoming life.  In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist gave this prophecy, “I indeed baptize y...

Psalms 30:5 – “ “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”             The well-known Bible expositor, John Phillips writes, “God’s day always begins with a night."   In the Old Testament and even today, the Jewish people begin the new day at sundown.   The Jewish Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday.   There is a definition of this principle in Genesis 1:5, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.”   When darkness falls around us it means God is getting ready to start a brand-new day. The Psalmist David writes these inspired words, “weeping endures for the night.”   He had experienced many nights of weeping.   This powerful Scripture is more than just a comforting Scripture.   It is a prophetic warning.   All of us have or will pas...