The church is called to be a people who know God’s Word and act like it is so. We are to be a people who expect God to move, based on the promises of His Word. Too often today we have gotten in a rut of “drive-thru Christianity”, where we just go with what is convenient for us. Take a look through the New Testament, the Early Church would never have thrived if they went with what was easy and convenient for them.
Acts 2:1-4 (AMP) tells us, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place, and suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were being distributed [among them], and they rested on each one of them [as each person received the Holy Spirit]. And they were all filled [that is, diffused throughout their being] with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (different languages), as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out [clearly and appropriately].”.
Acts 2 gives us the account of the Day of Pentecost, which happened to be a feast day. On this Pentecost, after Christ ascended, the Early Church experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which resulted in the Gift of Tongues. Context of Acts 2, it is talking about the gift of tongues as a sign to unbelievers because they were speaking in known languages. Before I go further I’d like to emphasize that this type of tongue is different than tongues for personal edification, which is available to all believers (1 Corinthians 14:4 and Mark 16:15-18).
The Early Church gathered together in one accord, they were of like-minded people, and they waited on the Lord. Lamentations 3:25 (ESV) says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”. We are to be a people who wait and pray without ceasing for God to move in our circumstances, life, family, and nation. Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) says, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”. When we are a people who are fully surrendered to the Lord and through the power of the New Birth and filling of the Spirit, we will have our strength in Him, and we will walk by faith, and not grow weary or faint!
The church right now is called to be a people who wait on the Lord. Too often we rely on our own strength and our own abilities. It is time that we depend fully upon God strengthening us, giving us boldness, and wisdom. We don’t need man-generated revival, we need a genuine revival that is straight from Heaven! True revival includes people becoming saved, healed, and delivered. Too often people only focus on the healings, while that is certainly part of it, we also need a revival of holiness and sanctification in the church. We need a revival that restores people to the true knowledge of who they are in Jesus Christ as blood-bought believers.
Not only are churches to have times of waiting on the Lord, but I believe there is to be and will be more small groups. More small groups of people meeting in homes and praying and following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Through this, I believe we will see a Great Harvest.