An outbreak of God’s power can happen anywhere that the people want God more than anything else. In Steve’s book, When the Kingdom Comes: Lessons from the Smithton Outpouring, he shares three distinct ways to get revival. He uses examples from 2 Kings to explain the ways God might touch the Church with His power, presence, and glory.
1. When a guest preacher/evangelist comes to church. In 2 Kings 2:19-22, Elisha visited the town of Jericho, where the water was bad and the land unproductive. He threw salt into the spring, and the Lord purified the water. A guest might carry the power of God to your church and bring revival.
2. When God sparks the revival Himself. In 2 Kings 3:17, the Lord came upon Elisha and told him the dry valley would be filled with pools of water. You pray for revival, and God revives the church all by Himself.
3. When we must go somewhere else. 2 Kings 5 follows Naaman, who had leprosy and was told to wash seven times in the Jordan River. God might ask us to go to another ministry, another church, and/or another leader and dip ourselves in their river to get revival.
Let God be God. We must be open to how He works if we want to truly get revival. We cannot allow our pride and offense prevent us from going where God leads. If we let go of our preconceived notions of how revival should come and humble ourselves before God, then He can transform our lives and churches beyond our wildest imaginations!
You want to be healed? You want revival? Let God be God!
Steve Gray
Further Bible Reading:
2 Kings 2:19-22 (NIV)
19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.” 20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
2 Kings 3:17 (NIV)
17 For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.
2 Kings 5:1-18 (NIV)
1Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 2 Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talentsof silver, six thousand shekelsof gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” 8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” 11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. 13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” 16 The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. 17 “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. 18 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
Questions:
Can I believe for an outbreak of God’s power in my life and my church?
Do I have any preconceived ideas about how revival should and will come?
Am I willing to let God be God and allow Him to restore His glory His way?
Episode Notes:
2:56All of a sudden, we realize we [the Church/Christians] have drifted; we have lowered the standard; we’ve gotten worldly; we’ve cooled off; we’ve lost our fire. We’re starting to see symptoms of it in our lives. We see the symptoms in our country.
9:39Maintain [the revival]! Hearts have to be really hungry for God to make a long-lasting change of the Spirit of God.
12:26You want to be healed? You want revival? Let God be God!
17:13A lot of times God’s just asking us to do something easy: Learn to worship. Start praying.
19:18Sometimes the churches aren’t prepared to really go for God, so it needs a lot of preparation to set your priority that [revival] is what you want.
