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… that times of refreshing may come from the Presence of the Lord
Acts 3:19
We know that we are saved by grace, the unmerited favour of God; His sheer goodness, His free gift of life, through the costly sacrifice of His Son dying for our sins, and rising again to give us eternal life. So we have certainly experienced times of refreshing from above. However, it seems that throughout Church history, the life of the church starts to wane, wither and threatens to die completely.
Revival is “the inrush of divine life into a body threatening to become a corpse.”
D. M. Panton
That inrush of divine life is nothing less than what we see at Pentecost. How the church was transformed as a result of the outpouring of the Spirit, of those times of refreshing from above. Those frightened timid disciples, meeting behind locked doors were suddenly transformed into the most bold of all people. Here they are, having been threatened by the religious leaders made up of the priests, the Sadducees, the rulers, the elders, Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, other members of the high priest’s family, and the captain of the temple guard – quite a formidable group – who threaten them that they must never again speak in the name of Jesus!
So what do these formally timid, tame and fearful disciples do?
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them … Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 4:23-24, 29-31
Why did these things happen then? Well it was a combination of:
- God’s perfect timing, Pentecost is the 50th day after the Passover.
- God’s perfect preparation – In all that waiting time God has been preparing His Church for such a momentous event. And
- The Church is finally ready to respond and not grieve or quench the Holy Spirit!
The Church has to respond to those preparations of God. To conclude – Do we have an expectancy that times of refreshing are on the horizon? There has to come a day when “today is the day of salvation” and we all experience again those “times of refreshing from above”, Amen!
Quote of the week
“Revival, then, is the Christian Church going back again to the God-given norm. And what is that ‘norm’? Nothing less than the experience of Pentecost”
Selwyn Hughes
Verse of the week
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation:the old has gone, the new is here!
2 Cor. 5:17
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, be gracious to us and send another time of refreshing! Pour out Your Holy Spirit in Jesus’ Name, Amen