Teaching Series: Understanding the Blessedness of a Revival (Pt. 2A)
Ministering : Bishop David O. Oyedepo
Going after God is not a weight on your life; it is as sweet as eating good food.
Your forward movement is not in the hands of any man; it is determined by God.
What is a Revival?
1. It is a move of the Spirit of God among His people ordained to move them forward.
– Isa. 61:2-5, To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
2. It is a move if the Spirit of God that rescues His people from age-long bondages.
– Hab. 3:2-6, O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.
3. It is the stirring of the Spirit of men by the Holy Spirit to seek after God and His kingdom.
– John 4:34; Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
A revival does not favour members; it favours labourers.
Prophets are God’s agents to get you on board for a revival.
2 Chron. 15:8, 12 – 15; And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about
Your engagement with God provokes Him to give you a new name.
Isa 62:2-3; And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God
A revival does not add value to founders; it adds value to labourers.
A revival does not enhance the status of speakers; it beautifies labourers.
Every revival leads to the transformation of the lives of those who engage in it. Zeph. 3:17-19; The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
Massive ingathering of souls into the church is a proof of a revival.
A revival that does not reflect in an ingathering is incomplete.
Doing God’s bidding makes you a living wonder.
There is nothing small that cannot become big and there is nothing big that cannot become bigger.
Everyone on the go for Christ is ordained to command signs and wonders.
Signs that you are in a Revival.
1. When your heart begins to seek after God in genuine repentance, with genuine hunger and thirst after righteousness.
– Ps. 102:13-15; Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
2. When you begin to take pleasure in the things of the Kingdom as a way of life.
What is in a Revival for you?
1. Barriers are cleared out of the way.
– Ps. 114:1-7; When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
2 Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.
5 What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;
2. You enjoy divine favour.
– Acts 2:47; Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
3. There is a flow of signs and wonders.
– Mark 16:17; And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of restoration and He preserves the restored.
Covenant Day of Restoration Ministration
Joel 2:23-27; Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
– Revival time is a time of restoration.
– God does wonderous things in a revival.
– Massive restoration is an evidence of a revival; it wipes away every shame and reproach.
What Entitles you to enjoy full Restoration?
1. Salvation.
– Rom. 8:30; Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
2 Cor. 5:17; Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2. Remain committed to serving God and the interests of His kingdom.
– Luke 9:62; And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
3. Pray for grace to remain committed.
– Luke 19:13; But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
4. Ensure you are baptised in the Holy Ghost.
– Isa. 59:19; So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
It is the right of a believer to be baptised in the Holy Ghost.
