It’s that time of year when we begin to see advertisements of revival. We hear some say, “we’re having our revival on these dates.” Can we expect revival by setting a day? Many churches are actively engaged in planning their “REVIVALS”. Can you have revival by planning and advertising? Absolutely not! You may engage a protracted meeting of preaching and singing, but only God can give revival. What is a revival? It is a mighty visitation when God is pleased to attend the proclamation of the Gospel and cause the Word of God to prevail. This is what happened in the ancient city of Ephesus under the proclamation of the Gospel by the Apostle Paul, “So the Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). Until modern times such visits of God were called AWAKENINGS, because not only were sleepy saints aroused out of their coldness and indifference, sinners were awakened out of their spiritual death and brought to life in Christ. The last mighty awakening in our land came under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards of New England and George Whitefield of Great Britain. That mighty visitation of God swept the colonies and great multitudes were brought into the Kingdom of Christ. The time of that revival was in the second quarter of the 18th century. Let us ponder a few things that are revealed to us in that great awakening that took place in the city of Ephesus during the time of Paul, as recorded in Acts 19. The conditions were very unfavorable. First there were great opposing forces. The people were deep into the occult. In verse 19 we read that “Many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in sight of all.” The odds against Paul were overwhelming; the majority of the people were under the strong influence of false religion. The opposition was so bad that the Apostle was in jeopardy of his physical life (v.29-30). The next thing we learn from the account of that awakening is the way it was evidenced, first by the growth and prevailing of the Word of God as we read in verse 20. Then it prevailed over the entire city to the extent that it caused a mighty uproar (v.23). There was deep conviction of sin and public confession as we see in verse 18. This is what a God-sent revival will do. If our communities ever experience such a visit from God it will come not by advertisement and the employment of professional singers and big name evangelist. It will come as it always has, by a steady preaching of nothing but the Word of God and by much hard labor in the proclamation of the Gospel. In Acts 19:8 it is said that Paul went first to the synagogue and disputed with the Jews for the space of three months. After their hearts were hardened in unbelief Paul left the synagogue and disputed daily in the school of Tyrannus, and this continued, as we read in verse 10, for two years.
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