The Book of Acts (September 15, 2024)

Let’s talk about Revival!

Definition of Revival ~ An improvement in the condition or strength of something; an instance of something becoming popular, active or important again

Biblical Definition of Revival ~ A sovereign work of God in which the church (Christians) have been lifted out of spiritual indifference and worldliness into conviction of sin; earnest desire for more of Christ and His Word

Literal definition of Revival ~ come back to life

As we look at our study in the book of Acts, we find a great study and focus on Revival.

Acts 8:5 ~ “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.”

This shows us that it wasn’t the clergy that took revival to the streets. Philip was a laymen, one of the first deacons of the church. The first great evangelistic thrust of revival was carried out by a laymen. Philip was dedicated in his time and energy to proclaiming the things concerning the kingdom of God. Great revival necessitates great laymen sold out to Christ, laymen willing to be a witness for Christ. The following are examples from Scriptures given to laymen, believers, Christians, disciples of Christ, not to the clergy …

Matthew 10:7 ~ “And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Matthew 10:27 ~ “What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

Mark 16:15 ~ “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Acts 5:20 ~ “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.””

Now let’s look at what is essential for revival:

Acts 8:6 ~ “And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.”

• The people must be of “one accord”: of one mind, spirit and purpose; in full cooperation; willing to hear the message and see the miracles. If people oppose and shut their ears and close their eyes to the messenger, they cannot have revival. There has to be an openness, a willingness and oneness of spirit with the preacher and his message.
• The people must give “heed” or “paid attention”, keep their minds and hearts upon the message.

Luke 8:15 ~ “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

Once you get into the area of Revival, you will see the evidence of Revival:

Go back and read Acts 8:7-25 later this evening and you will find these eight evidences of Revival

• Evidence One: lives are changed – miraculously. People who cannot help themselves are healed. Note that people possessed with evil spirits were changed: the evil spirits were cast out. People with diseased and crippled bodies were healed. The power of God was clearly witnessed.

Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 5:1

• Evidence Two: great joy is experienced. A man who truly came to know Christ was filled with joy, the joy …
  • of sins forgiven
  • of deliverance
  • of power to live
  • of hope for eternity
  • of knowing God’s presence
  • of security and assurance and confidence

Luke 10:20; John 15:11; John 16:24; John 17:13

• Evidence Three: deliverance from great depths of sin, from false prophets and religion and sorcery. The depth of sin can reach no deeper than these people found themselves. They were gripped and enslaved by error, false teaching, and false hope.
  • The people had been enslaved by a false prophet, a religious imposter, Simon.
    • He used sorcery: magical arts, witchcraft, spirit mediums, astrology, charms, spells, divination or fortune-telling.
    • He bewitched people: amazed, astonished, and secured their following.
    • He claimed that he was “some great one.”
  • The people had been enslaved by a false religion: “all” gave heed; all followed his leadership and teaching; all “from the least to the greatest” confessed, “this man is the great power of God.”
  • The people had been enslaved for a long time. They had been held in bondage to the false prophet and false religion for a long time. But now, they had been freed by the power of Christ.

Matthew 7:15 ~ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Matthew 24:11; Mark 1 Acts 20:30; Romans 16:18

• Evidence Four: believing the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ and being baptized.
  • Philip preached two major subjects.
    • He preached the kingdom of God
    • He preached the name of Jesus Christ
  • When the people heard the message …
    • they believed
    • they were baptized

Matthew 10:7; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43; Acts 28:23; John 3:16; John 5:24

**START SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024**

• Evidence five: false professions. It is doubtful that Simon was making a genuine confession of faith in Christ. When people experience true revival there will always be counterfeits. The existence of counterfeits and hypocritical professions dramatize and cause the genuine confessions to stand out even more.

Matthew 7:21; Matthew 7:6; Titus 1:16

• Evidence six: the reception and manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were the leaders of the church. Therefore, when they heard of the revival at Samaria, they sent Peter and John to investigate. Why? Because of the bitterness and prejudice between the Samaritans and Jews. When Peter and John arrived, they discovered that the Samaritans had believed and been baptized, but the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon any of them.

Luke 10:33; Acts 8:14-17

• Evidence seven: the rebuke of hypocrisy. The point is clearly seen in the incident with Simon. Simon requested for the apostles to pray for him. It seems that Simon did not pray himself, nor confess, nor repent. This is the same approach Pharaoh took with Moses, begging for prayer, but not praying, confessing, nor repenting themselves.

Exodus 8:8; Exodus 10:17; Acts 8:18-24

• Evidence eight: the opening of hearts for evangelism. Note …
  • how open the Samaritans were to the Jewish preachers of the gospel
  • how the apostles went into the villages of the Samaritans to preach

Acts 4:20; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Psalm 66:16; Jeremiah 20:9

As we are looking at what Revival is for the church, let’s look closer at the Holy Spirit at work in Revival.

Acts 8:14–17 ~ “Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”

This is a somewhat puzzling passage because the Samaritans are said to have already believed and been baptized, yet the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon them. So let’s look closely …

• There is no legitimate question about the Samaritans being truly saved. Philip knew the Lord and was filled with the Spirit himself. He possessed the power of the Spirit and preached the gospel in clear terms. He knew how people were saved and what was involved in salvation. Therefore, two things seem unthinkable and impossible ..
  • that Philip actually did not proclaim the full gospel
  • that Philip could be deceived by the people

• Scripture declares …

Romans 8:9 ~ “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

• … If a person is truly saved, the Holy Spirit has entered his heart and life. Scripture is abundantly clear on this point.

• In light of the above two facts, if we look back at our Scripture in Acts, we find that the Samaritans apparently had two experiences with the Holy Spirit

• The Holy Spirit actually entered their hearts and lives when they believed and were baptized.

Acts 8:12 ~ “12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” “16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

• When they believed, they were actually born again, becoming new creatures in Christ.

John 3:7 ~ “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

• The Holy Spirit fell upon, poured Himself out, infilled, and manifested His presence and power on the very special occasion when Peter and John visited the new believers. Christ taught there would be special manifestations and infilling of the Holy Spirit. The experience of the apostles and of the church throughout the Book of Acts demonstrates clearly there is more than just one significant experience with the Holy Spirit. The early believers experienced periodic manifestations or special infilling. They had need for such experiences, and down through history as the need has arisen, God has given special manifestations or infilling of His Spirit to all obedient believers.

• There was a very special need existing between the Samaritans and Jewish believers, they had a lot of baggage between them. They despised each other. The Holy spirit needed to fall upon them both to start the mending process. The Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, needed to see and experience the Holy Spirit falling upon the Samaritans. By witnessing the sight, they would know and testify to God’s reception of the Samaritans. A wedge would be driven into the barrier that had separated the two nations for so long. And the Jerusalem Church would have to accept the Samaritans because of the evidence of God’s acceptance.

• The Holy Spirit works in many different ways and in His timing as well. As we saw with the Samaritans and Jews, the Holy Spirit moved and did a work that no one thought could have happened. The barrier started to fall between the two people. Mending now can take place.

• There is also perhaps some significance in the fact that God sent the Holy Spirit upon the Jews first (Acts 2). Then, to progressively break the entrenched barrier of racial prejudice between the Jews and Gentiles, He sent the Spirit upon the half-Jews and half-Gentiles (Acts 8). Finally, He was able to send the Spirit upon the full-blooded Gentiles (Acts 10). In other words, there is some truths to the fact that there was …
  • a Jewish Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • a Samaritan Pentecost (Acts 8)
  • a Gentile Pentecost (Acts 10)