{"id":1271,"date":"2016-05-11T21:37:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T01:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=1271"},"modified":"2016-05-11T21:37:25","modified_gmt":"2016-05-12T01:37:25","slug":"revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/revival\/","title":{"rendered":"‘REVIVAL’…"},"content":{"rendered":"

F<\/span>or the most part, we long to see a day of revival of faith in Jesus Christ in our community and across the nation.\u00a0<\/b>\u2018Could it happen,\u2019 we ask?<\/span><\/p>\n

This Sunday is\u00a0Pentecost<\/i>, or\u00a0Whit Sunday<\/i>\u00a0in the Christian calendar.\u00a0<\/b>Pentecost is the Jewish festival that celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 19:18 we read that violent wind and tongues of fire had enveloped Mt. Sinai at the time God gave Moses\u00a0the law<\/i><\/b>. However, the law failed to change the world because it failed to change people.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Acts 2: 1-4 we read that some thirteen hundred years later God came again with fire and wind.\u00a0This time, it was not to impart God\u2019s law\u00a0but to impart his Spirit.<\/b>\u00a0On this occasion\u00a0the fire\u00a0<\/i><\/b>symbolized the purifying, cleansing work of Jesus; and\u00a0the speech<\/i><\/b>\u00a0pointed to the good news of Jesus reaching people in every nation.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is on the element of speech that\u00a0Acts<\/i>\u00a0focuses<\/b>:\u00a0Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. \u2026 And everyone was bewildered because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.\u00a0<\/i>The crowd came from everywhere in the known world (Acts 2:5f).<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the beginning of the fulfillment of Jesus\u2019 promise:\u00a0\u201cYou will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(Acts 1:8).<\/span><\/p>\n

WITNESSES<\/h2>\n

Jesus uses\u00a0witness<\/i>\u00a0in the way we do \u2013 in reference to someone who speaks of things they have seen and heard. The\u00a0Apostles<\/i>\u00a0were\u00a0witnesses\u00a0<\/i>because they had been with Jesus throughout the whole of his public ministry.\u00a0Jesus wants us to know the truth about him.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This is important because the Bible reveals that\u00a0Christianity is not a religion involving rules, regulations, and ritual<\/b>. Rather it involves a relationship with the one true God through Jesus the Messiah. It is, therefore, important we know the truth about him. Meaningful and lasting relationships can only be built on truth. Family relationships, for example, are only meaningful where there is truth and openness.\u00a0Without truth, there can be no trust<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We need to think about this<\/b>. Jesus is not saying that his followers down through the ages will be\u00a0witnesses<\/i>\u00a0in the same way that his first disciples were. We can\u2019t be. We weren\u2019t there.\u00a0But we are called upon to testify to what it is that we believe about Jesus.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In 1 Peter 3:15 we read,\u00a0always be prepared to give an answer for the hope (or the faith) that you have in Jesus Christ.\u00a0<\/i>In Colossians 4:6 we read,\u00a0let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt.\u00a0<\/i>God calls on us to\u00a0look for and use opportunities in our conversations to stir others to consider Christianity.\u00a0Some people I know scour the news and opinion pieces daily, looking for items they can use to talk about Jesus Christ.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

TESTIMONIES<\/h2>\n

But Jesus knows that human\u00a0witness<\/i>\u00a0and human\u00a0testimony<\/i>\u00a0won\u2019t happen without God\u2019s help.<\/b>\u00a0He knows that\u00a0energy<\/i><\/b>\u00a0is needed to transform lives. So he sent us his Spirit \u2013 to motivate, to energize and to give his people throughout the ages, courage to promote God\u2019s gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit used Peter\u2019s preaching to bring about the conversion of some three thousand people.<\/b>\u00a0As we read in\u00a0The Acts of the Apostles<\/i>\u00a0we find the Spirit equipping God\u2019s people for ministry. And he continues to do so today.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is the Spirit\u2019s passion, because it is God\u2019s passion, that people everywhere feel the impact of Jesus on their lives.\u00a0This is the era of God\u2019s mercy.<\/b>\u00a0The exciting thing is that he wants to involve us.\u00a0Indeed, there will come a day when people will thank us for the time, effort, and money, we invested in their eternal well-being.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying that the task is easy.<\/b>\u00a0It is certainly harder to reach people now than forty years ago. People around us are seduced by secular atheism and religious pluralism. In other places, Christianity is opposed by very hostile forces \u2013 especially militant Islam.<\/span><\/p>\n

This means we need people who are burning with enthusiasm for Christ, to speak up.\u00a0<\/b><\/span>Where will we find these men and women if it isn\u2019t through the Holy Spirit coming afresh on us and making us different? Isn\u2019t it time to pray? Isn\u2019t it time to speak?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

or the most part, we long to see a day of revival of faith in Jesus Christ in our community and across the nation.\u00a0\u2018Could it happen,\u2019 we ask? This Sunday is\u00a0Pentecost, or\u00a0Whit Sunday\u00a0in the Christian calendar.\u00a0Pentecost is the Jewish festival that celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments. 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