Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 150 - Miracles and Revivals Received this from a friend? Why not join Eternity Daily Bible Study? Go to https://www.aibi.ph/articles/eternity.htm to subscribe. The thirty-one studies on the Kingdom of Heaven have just been compiled into an ebook that can be downloaded (for free) from: http://www.aibi.ph/kingdom/ (Acts 2:41-43 NKJV) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. {42} And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. {43} Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. (Acts 5:11-16 NKJV) So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. {12} And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. {13} Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. {14} And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, {15} so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. {16} Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (Acts 6:7-8 NKJV) Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. {8} And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. (Acts 8:5-8 NKJV) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. {6} And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. {7} For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. {8} And there was great joy in that city. It is the universal testimony of Church History that miracles are far more common during periods of revival. The above passages are just a glimpse into the NT record on this. Miracles were done by Jesus, the twelve, the seventy-two, Paul, Phillip, Barnabas, Stephen and many others. They were done in most cities in the Roman world and even in some quite unlikely churches. Some of the factors involved in these outbreaks of miracles include: 1. Great respect for God. (Acts 2:43, 5:11, 6:7, 8:6) 2. Unity in community. (Acts 2:42, 5:12, 8:6) 3. Faithful preaching of the gospel. (Acts 2:41, 5:14, 6:7, 8:5) 4. A powerful spiritual leader such as Peter, Paul, Phillip etc. (Acts 2:43, 5:15, 6:8, 8:6) 5. The signs and wonders are seen as testimony to Christ. (Acts 8:5, implied also in the other passages) Thus miracles, signs and wonders were part of a community responding in awe and respect of God and acceptance of the gospel. They were not performed by individual showmen bringing glory to themselves for the sake of a large offering. They pointed to Christ and increased the respect and fear of God and the movement of Christians towards holiness. Miracles during revivals are a sign of a break-through in the heavenly realms. God is operating freely to heal and to cast out demons and to bring peace and "great joy" to whole cities. Miracles are a sign that the darkness is being rolled back and that people are being brought out of bondage and into the light of the gospel and the power of God. Any preacher can tell you that there is such a thing as "spiritual atmosphere" and that some places have great liberty and ease for the proclamation of the gospel and others are hard and flinty and discouraging. The "10/40" window is a geographical area across Asia where the "hardest countries" to evangelize are found. Such places are softened up by prevailing prayer. Jerusalem had been prepared over the centuries by God and then by the work of Jesus Christ. The apostles were reaping where Jesus and the prophets had sowed. Jesus said as much to the twelve: (John 4:37-38 NKJV) "For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' {38} "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." There comes a spiritual season when miracles are easy, when God is feared, when people repent, when Christ is proclaimed and the Church is planted in a city with power and signs and wonders. This season may take forty years of prayer to arrive. Or only a few. How can we bring such a revival to our church and city? Fear God, tremble at His Word, boldly, prayerfully proclaim Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God. We must proclaim Christ not just our own thinking or the latest ministry or counseling fads. How long is it since you have heard a sermon that was just about Jesus? How long is it since you preached a sermon that was just about Jesus? Redemption is the key to revival and Christ in community is the key to the Church. Lets proclaim Him and expect miracles. Blessings in Him, John Edmiston Asian Internet Bible Institute http://www.aibi.ph/ Free Online Bible And Ministry Training Try our free ebooks on prayer: http://www.aibi.ph/ebooks/ Visit the Eternity home page at: http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/ This devotional may be freely forwarded to others and used for non-profit ministry purposes as long as the following copyright notice is included. © Copyright John Edmiston 2003