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Revival!
by Colonel Richard
Munn
Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:1-12
The spiritual outpouring during Pentecost is the fulfillment
of the original Jewish feast in which the hallmarks of a great
harvest of souls and a new era for the Holy Spirit establish
this as the original 'revival.'
This is still the birthright of the army today.
Introduction:
In March of 1880 idle passers by in Castle Garden, New
York City, thought the circus was coming to town.
Descending down the gangplank of the steamer
'Australia' was an oddly uniformed man and 7 lassies waving
flags never seen before in the USA.
The man had been described as a 'lunatic' by his fellow
passengers - for holding religious services all over the ship
during the 4 week trip.
The lassies had been described as 'half-a-dozen
ignoramuses' by their own leader.
As the curious gathered to investigate this strange
mutation of Barnum and Bailey they were greeted with a hymn;
"With a sorrow for sin, let repentance begin."
Those who stayed longer heard the man - once again -
get straight to the point:
"You must be a lover of the Lord, or you won't go to
heaven when you die!"
The Salvation Army was born in America - and it was
magnificent Commissioner George Scott Railton and the
'splendid seven' lassies who marched down that gangplank and
literally leapt into action.
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What appeared to be a travelling circus
was the beginning of a much loved and respected movement that
would soon encircle the globe.
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What appeared buffoonery was profoundly
spiritually significant, a new beginning, a new movement - one
that would reap an great harvest of souls, a movement of
spiritual power and authority, a movement characterized by
great liberty and freedom in the spirit.
Scripture:
Apparent clowning that masks profound spirituality is present
in the Acts chapter 2 story of Pentecost.
The pouring out of the Holy Spirit with the miraculous
and ecstatic speaking in other languages appeared to the
curious onlooker as drunken comedy, so it took Peter to stand
up and speak forcefully, pointing all the way back to the old
prophecy of Joel, and under the anointing of God to say:
'This is that!'
It is a specific style of preaching - the 'pesher'
- the precise fulfillment of prophecy.
Jesus did it frequently.
In other words the Joel passage has been fulfilled - it is not
one of those prophecies that can even be thought of as 'maybe'
happening one day in the future.
'This is that,' says Peter without equivocation.
This is worth noting, because the coming of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost is richly precise and significant.
There is nothing haphazard here.
Pentecost:
The feast of Pentecost is one of the three main feasts
of the Jewish faith.
A pilgrimage kind of a feast - that would explain the
cosmopolitan gathering of Mediterranean types.
Pentecost literally means 'fiftieth.'
Designated all the way back in Leviticus (23) is the
ordinance to bring a grain offering seven weeks and one day
after the Passover Sabbath.
Also called the 'feast of weeks,' it marked the
symbolic beginning of the harvest for a richly arable people.
And so the Joel passage:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved ..." is a true harvest of souls, one of the greatest, if
not the greatest
revival in the history of the church - "... about 3000 were
added to their number that day." (Acts 2:41)
There is something else significant about the choice of
Pentecost for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however,
because over the centuries it had come to be a celebration of
the giving of the law, the 10 commandments, to Moses on Mount
Sinai. Tradition
had it that this was 50 days after escaping from the slavery
of Egypt, the first night of Passover.
And so the Joel passage - once again - is richly significant:
"I will pour out my Spirit on all people."
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If the ‘law’ was given on Mt. Sinai, it
was an 'advocate' (lawyer) who was poured out at Pentecost.
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If it was the law - written on tablets of
stone and impossible to keep - given at Sinai, it was the Holy
Spirit searing God into the hearts of people empowering them
to live lives of righteousness given at Pentecost.
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If it was cloud, fire and God's voice on
Mount Sinai - it was rushing wind, tongues of fire and
miraculous languages during Pentecost.
Holy Spirit Pentecost stands as both contrast and continuation
of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.
Pentecost remained as an important day for the early church -
there are only 2 more references to Pentecost in the NT and
both times Paul is making plans to move on or stay somewhere
to celebrate Pentecost.
"Paul...was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem by the day of
Pentecost." (Acts
20:16) This was 20 or so years later - what home coming
week-ends those must have been!
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Holy Spirit Pentecost stands as an
extension of the great saving ministry of Jesus Christ, his
ascension preparing the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
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Holy Spirit Pentecost brings unparalleled
power to the disciples who have just become apostles - it was
for this that Jesus instructs them to wait in Jerusalem.
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Holy Spirit Pentecost marks a new era for
the third member of the Trinity.
It is the first birthday of the church.
It marks an explosion of the presence of Christ around
the world.
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Holy Spirit Pentecost is the first and
greatest revival of the church - an unusual visitation of God
pouring out sudden, unmerited, irresistible new life, invading
human beings in a way that shatters old expectations.
Joel twice describes the coming of the Holy Spirit as a
'pouring out.'
The image is that associated with a heavy tropical rainstorm -
not a drizzle or a shower here.
'Pouring out' has a finality to it - what is poured out
cannot be gathered again.
And so it was at Pentecost - a Holy Spirit typhoon, and
the recipients would never be the same again.
This pouring out is for "all people.'
Just in case we don't believe it Joel articulates it
for us:
regardless of gender, age or social status the Holy Spirit is
for you. This is
written in an age when tradition had it that the spirit of God
would only rest on wise and rich men, or through exclusive
schools of prophecy, the elders in particular.
While there is specific reference to 'prophesying' - and that
certainly is accurate - this is not just for the preacher
types. The
universal outpouring of the spirit empowers us to communicate
Christ in manifold creative ways – academic, artistic,
aesthetic and more.
The outpouring and empowerment of the Holy Spirit is essential
for mission and discipleship is.
However, let's not relegate this to just the religious
specialists - it is essential whatever your field – home,
school, factory floor, office complex, add your world to the
list.
"We believe it is the privilege of
all believers to be
wholly sanctified..." is the way we phrase it in our 10th
doctrine.
And so, just as Christ was baptized by the Holy Spirit in the
River Jordan at the commencement of his public ministry …
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"... full of the Holy Spirit"
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"... led by the Holy Spirit"
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"... in the power of the Holy Spirit"
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"... anointed by the Holy Spirit"
… so too, the disciples receive a baptism before their public
ministry can begin.
If Christ relied on this Holy Spirit empowerment, how
much more must we depend upon such a Holy Spirit commission
today.
Leave it up to AW Tozer to caustically remark:
"If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church
today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the
difference. If
the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament
church 95% of what they did would stop, and everybody would
know the difference."
Somewhat overstated - but enough truth to sting.
As a body without breath is a corpse, so too a church
without the Holy Spirit is dead.
Vision for a Salvationist Pentecost:
Pentecost is perfect for
The Salvation Army.
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Our founder wrote, "We want another
Pentecost."
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'Blood and Fire' is emblazoned as our
motto
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We were birthed with Pentecostal power
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We identify with the holiness movement
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We have a
revival heritage
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Male/female; young/old; clever/simple is
part of who we are
General Eva Burrows one pronounced to a congress of
Salvationists, with thunderous applause, ‘The Salvation Army
doesn’t need any more programs, what we need is more of the
Holy Spirit.’
The US state of New Jersey is associated with a motto:
‘New Jersey and you, perfect together.’
For our purposes we might say; ‘The Salvation Army and The
Holy Spirit, perfect together.’
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