Lord, Send a Revival, and let it begin in me.
Acts 19: 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So, Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided[d] to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” 22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
We are looking today at Acts 19. This is the story of Paul’s return to Ephesus, and arguably the time of his most profitable Spiritual work. He was in Ephesus over 3 years, which is a lifetime for Paul. And out of his work there churches were established in several surrounding communities. As we read this chapter we see key signs that there is a real “revival” breaking out in the region. It tells us that, “10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” “All the Jews and Greeks heard…” In verse 17 it says, “17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.” And as a result “many believed” and “the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
It was a revival in the region. And I don’t know about you, but when I read this account, I think, “Lord, send that to us.”
Revival is an invasion from heaven that brings a conscious awareness of God.
Stephen Olford.
Revival is that sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing.
Robert Coleman.
Revival is the people of God living in the power of an ungrieved, unquenched Spirit.
James A. Stewart.
A true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness, making God's love triumph in the heart.
Andrew Murray.
A revival means days of heaven on earth.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Revival is the church falling in love with Jesus all over again.
Vance Havner.
In revival, the minds of people are concentrated upon things of eternity, and there is an awareness that nothing else really matters.
Brian Edwards.
Revival restrains the righteous anger of God, restores the conscious awareness of God, and reveals the gracious activity of God.
And so we sing, “Lord, Send a Revival” You remember that hymn.
Send a revival, O Christ, my Lord, Let it go over the land and sea. Send it according to Thy dear Word, And let it begin in me. Refrain: Lord, send a revival, Lord, send a revival, Lord, send a revival, And let it begin in me.
Send a revival among Thine own, Help us to turn from our sins away. Let us draw near to the Father’s throne, Revive us again, we pray.
Send a revival to those in sin, Help them, O Jesus, to turn to Thee. Let them the new life in Thee begin, Oh, give them the victory.
Send a revival in ev’ry heart, Draw the world nearer. O Lord to Thee. Let Thy salvation true joy impart, And let it begin in me.
Ps. 85:6-7 6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?
We talk about revival, but I am not sure that we know what we are asking the Lord for. What does revival look like? What are it’s component parts? How would a true revival effect my life and my world? Well, this chapter, chapter 19 in Acts, describes how a revival affected the region of Ephesus, and Asia Minor, so as we pray for revival for our church, and Wichita, there are several things we need to know that we are asking for.
True revival from God is rigorous, rewarding, rapturous, righteous; results in counterfeit reactions (triple word points for that one) revolutionary, and riotous
prayer
I. True Revival from God is Rigorous.
1. Rigorous means Characterized by or adhering to strict standards or methods; exacting and thorough.
2. Harsh, severe, or demanding.
3. Very unpleasant or inclement.
The handiwork of God will often burn. What do I mean? It is rigorous. It takes hard work.
Proverbs 12:11 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
Matthew 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Revival calls for hard work. And when we look at what happened around Ephesus, it was the power of God, yes, but Paul, and others with him, were working night and day.
Let’s look at it. Paul put his blood, sweat and tears into God’s work. Remember our story. Paul is now on his third missionary journey. He is revisiting the places where he has established churches before. And he is not just some traveling evangelist who pops into town, takes up and offering, then moves on to the next town. Paul preaches, and teaches, but he also continues with his secular employment, he’s a leatherworker. So, he works all day to make a living, and then he takes the gospel into homes in the evenings. He teaches in the synagogue. We find him teaching 5 hours a day, every day in a lecture hall. That’s what we find him doing here.
II. Rewarding
This is a short point.
10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
The work of God will be rigorous but rewarding.
III. Rapturous
Rapturous means
1. The state of being transported by a lofty emotion; ecstasy.
2. An expression of ecstatic feeling.
3. The transporting of a person from one place to another, especially to heaven, by supernatural means.
But what that means in terms of revival is that God’s work will transport a person above and beyond this life. Real Spiritual Revival is heavenly and spiritual. It involves a real spiritual work that takes place in people’s hearts. It’s not just emotionalism.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Evidence that God was at work, not just Paul
Which brings us to the next part of the story. Some people heard about, or saw all that Paul was doing, and thought they could just use the right words, like a spell, and do the same miraculous works.
IV. Righteous; Results in counterfeit reactions
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
Any time that God’s handiwork is done in this world, that real revival comes about, number one it will be righteous; it is right, or correct. God does not bring revival based on false doctrine, nor does He bring revival that glorifies anything other than Himself.
There have been all sorts of “revivals” throughout history. But we have to be careful that we don’t just look at the numbers who responded, or showed up to church, or to an event. We have to consider the message, and who the revival glorifies.
Wikipedia
Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society.
But true revival first must be right; righteous, coming out of right teaching, and exalting God in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So true revival is righteous, but it also results in counterfeit reactions. Look at what happened in Ephesus;
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
What happened was this. There was apparently a local man who had some influence or notoriety as a religious leader. His name was Sceva. He is called “a Jewish chief priest.” Now, there is no record of any high priest in Jerusalem by this name. But it was not uncommon for some of priestly descent to take on themselves a title, and use it to gain a following in a community. So, it’s better to think of him as a sort of local Jewish Shaman.
Well, what did he and his sons do? Well, among other things, they gained influence by purporting to be able to cast out demons. There was a common Jewish practice of invoking the names of Angels to cast out demons. An exorcist would likely recite Scripture over the demon possessed.
I don’t know how aware you are of this, but casting out demons has been big business for thousands of years. Exorcists have been around in Christian, and Jewish circles, and even in other religions for years. Jesus said to the Pharisees who accused Him of casting out demons with the power of Satan,
Matthew 12:27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
It is and was common across religions and cultures. And it was accomplished by various means.
https://crimereads.com/exorcisms-a-brief-history-of-banishing-demons/
Techniques of exorcism vary across cultures and are nearly endless in variety. In addition to prescribed prayers or rituals, other strategies have included simply asking the spirit what it wants and appeasing it, transferring the spirit into a stone or an animal that is subsequently destroyed, having the patient consume blessed substances such as holy water or sacred writings, or even sending for someone possessed by a more powerful spirit who can frighten the other spirit away. The most dangerous forms of exorcism involve making the patient so uncomfortable that the spirit no longer wishes to inhabit their body. Such strategies can include beating the patient, fumigating them with noxious substances, burning them, or immersing them in water. Tragically, there are countless examples of would‑be exorcists who have killed their patients using these strategies; those killed in this manner are nearly always children or young women.
But before we continue with this story, we need to answer some questions about exorcism.
Is demon possession real? Who can be possessed by demons? Can Christians be possessed or oppressed by demons? Are Christians today supposed to be exorcizing demons? How do we deal with demon-possession?
Is demon possession real?
The Biblical answer to that question is “yes.” Demon possession is real.
Of course, the official “scientific” answer to that question is that demon possession is not real. Wikipedia
Demonic possession is not a psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognized by either the DSM-5 or the ICD-10. Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed to possession the symptoms associated with physical or mental illnesses, such as hysteria, mania, psychosis, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder.[55][56][57][58][59][60]
I take a kind of middle position here. I think there are mental and physical conditions that have been attributed to demon possession in the past, but they have been clearly demonstrated to be based in some brain or body malfunction by modern medicine.
But, I also believe that some “mental conditions” may be brought on by demon possession. You say, “which mental conditions?” I don’t think there is a way to answer that. Because in our modern world, every condition has been given a name. Some maladies have very specific symptoms, others are far more broad, and take in a large number of behaviors.
But the chief reason I believe in demon possession is because the Bible clearly teaches two truths; the devil and demons are real, not mythology, and that the devil and demons can possess people. And I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
First, the Bible teaches that the devil and demons are real. From the Garden of Eden where Satan possessed the serpent, to Job where Satan accused Job before God, to the fall of Satan and his demons described in Ezekial and Isaiah, to Jesus and His disciples casting out demons, and wrestling with Satan in the gospels and Acts, to the epistles teaching about a real Satan and demons, to the book of Revelation prophesying their fall and judgment, the Bible speaks of Satan and demons as real evil spiritual beings. And to deny they are requires denying or contorting Scripture in a way that totally undermines its authority. In other words, to deny the existence of Satan and demons is to deny that the Bible is without error. And that is a slippery slope I’m not willing to venture down.
And so, if we take Scripture to be the inspired Word of God, we conclude that Satan and demons are real and we must also conclude that they can and do possess people. Let me draw your attention to just a few verses of Scripture.
Matthew 9:32-33 32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
Here we have an interesting story. The text says that the man was mute and demon-possessed. And after the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. Now, in interpreting what happened here, there’s really only two ways to go, and take the Bible at its word. Either the demon was causing the mutism, or there was a physical malady, mutism, that accompanied the possession, and Jesus addressed both when He cast out the demon. But either way, the text says that the man was possessed of a demon.
This addresses a common way that some will try to explain away a belief in demons, or possession. They will say that possession is not real, and that ancient peoples just attributed certain medical conditions to demon possession because they couldn’t explain it. So, they say, this mute man in Matthew 9 was just a mute man who people said was demon-possessed. And that when Jesus healed him, they assumed a demon was cast out.
The biggest problem with that kind of interpretation is the question of Jesus’ role in the drama. Let me illustrate with another narrative later in Matthew.
Matthew 17: 4 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is [c]an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Here the man is called epileptic. The Greek word here translates to “moonstruck.” You can ascribe that to being their superstitious way of understanding what was happening to the boy. And his epilepsy causes frequent falls which endanger his life by his falling into open fires, or bodies of water. Many have read this passage and commented that his symptoms are the symptoms of epilepsy, which is why many modern translation have translated the word epileptic instead of “moonstruck.” The King James, in 1611, translated it “lunatic,” which is probably a better translation. Okay, so far, this sounds like this could be a physical disease that Jesus could simply heal. So, what happens next?
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O[d]faithless andperverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
Hold on, they come to Jesus with their superstitions about a “moonstruck” child. And it says that Jesus, rebukes the demon and cures the child? If demons aren’t real, or if demon possession is just an ancient superstitious way of explaining disease, then why would Jesus reinforce their superstitions by “casting out demons?” Some have said that Jesus is just speaking to His time in their own terms. The story goes on,
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your[e]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you,if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 [f]However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
As the story concludes, we find Jesus further validating belief in demon possession by stating that certain exorcisms require prayer and fasting. If you are going to teach that demons aren’t real, or demon possession isn’t real, there are only two choices when you come to how Jesus dealt with “demon-possession;” Either He was limited in His knowledge about demons, or He was perpetuating a false belief system. And either alternative is not acceptable if you are going to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus was God in flesh.
So, that’s our first question; Are Satan and demons real, and do they possess people. Our second question follows naturally from that.
If demons and the devil are real, and people can be possessed; who can be possessed by demons? Can Christians be possessed or oppressed by demons?
According to the Bible, there are only two kinds of people in the world, the saved and the unsaved.
Matthew 7: 24 “Everyone who hears these things I say and obeys them is like a wise man. The wise man built his house on rock. 25 It rained hard and the water rose. The winds blew and hit that house. But the house did not fall, because the house was built on rock.26 But the person who hears the things I teach and does not obey them is like a foolish man. The foolish man built his house on sand.27 It rained hard, the water rose, and the winds blew and hit that house. And the house fell with a big crash.”
“He that is not with Me, is against Me. He that gathereth not with Me, scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12:30
So, let’s look first at the unsaved. Can the unsaved be possessed by demons, or the devil? Yes.
Matthew 17:18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out.
Mark 5 Jesus asked the name of the demon, and he said his name was “Legion” because there were many demons living in the man.
Luke 22:3 Satan entered into Judas Iscariot.
Acts 16, a slave girl inhabited by a spirit of divination.
In fact, the whole unsaved world is said to,
Ephesians 2:1-3, walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
Jesus called Satan, the prince of this world, and the ruler of the world.
2 Corinthians 4 the god of this world
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (NASB) 1 John 5:19
So, to one extent or another, anyone who is unsaved lives under the authority and power of Satan. An interesting question, that I haven’t entirely answered for myself is, “Does an unbeliever have to consent to possession to one extent or another?” So far, my Biblical answer is, “I don’t know.” I looked at all the demon possessions in the gospels and the book of Acts, and I don’t get any information that says the person got involved in something like idol worship, or worshiped the devil, or invited possession.
In fact, there is more than one occasion when the demon-possessed was a child.
Matthew 15:22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
Which leaves you with the question, did those children consent somehow? Or maybe their parents were involved in something that opened the door to Satan in their home? The fact is that we don’t know. If you know of a Scriptural answer to that question, let me know.
But non-Christians can be possessed by demons. Here’s another interesting question; How often are people possessed by demons? How many in our population of 8 billion are possessed by demons? How many demons are there?
Number of angels; countless thousands, myriads, innumerable, countless, thousands of thousands
“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders” (Revelation 5:11).
They are compared to the stars of heaven. They may indicate their number.
And Satan is said to have drawn 1/3 of the angels into his rebellion against God. So 1/3 of those innumerable angels fell and became demons.
Is it possible that there is a demon for every living person on earth today? Yes, it is possible.
And Jesus implies that demons are at unrest while they are without a host, or human home.
Matthew 12: 43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man,he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Two things we learn from that; 1st is that demons are at a state of unrest unless they are inhabiting a person, and second, more than one demon may inhabit a person at once.
So, how many people in the world are demon-possessed? There’s really no way of knowing. You might say, “Well, wouldn’t we know if a person were demon-possessed?” Not necessarily. We’ll touch on that in a moment.
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