Text: Acts 2:37-47
By the Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd A. McGregor
In Africa, when someone is called to speak, he usually says “Dirao Ny Tompo!” “Praise the Lord!” and the congregation responds by raising their hands and saying “Amen!”
“Dirao Ny Tompo!”
“Amen!”
Thank you! Now I feel right at home.
This morning I want to talk about Revival, about being revived!
Sometimes, we just need a change of environment, a change of scenery, a change of circumstances for us to be revived. Maybe a crisis in our family, maybe a death to someone close to us, maybe a mission trip, maybe a loss of a job, or a job change, or recession or even moving to a new residence.
Recently Patsy and I after living in slum for three and half years, moved out of the slum into an apartment overlooking the ocean. I don’t think we had realized what a drain both spiritually, emotional and physically it was having on us living in the slum.
We lived in small apartment, and we had two other families living in a downstairs apartment. The rectory and church were within a yard of us. The average temperature in our house from December to March was 92 degrees. After living there for three and half years, it gradually took its toll on our lives, slowing but surely. I hadn’t noticed the toll until my daughters brought it to my attention. It was clearly confirmed once we had changed our environment and moved.
Some of the gradual symptoms― I always felt tired, I had gained weight, I wasn’t giving Patsy the necessary time, I was short with people and didn’t seem to handle situations as well as I had hoped. Therefore, Patsy and I made a major decision, for the sake of our family and for the Lord’s ministry, to move.
This change of environment has had an incredible impact in our lives. It has revived us. It has renewed us. It has given us hope. One initial change, I have begun exercising and have lost 25 pounds since January. I promised my daughter Corbi that I wanted to look good for her wedding this July. I feel invigorated, happier, and full of joy. It all started with a wakeup call from my children that something was not right. It led to a change of environment which led to personal revival.
Our reading today from the Acts of Apostles is another fascinating story about revival― revival of the early Christian church. Jesus had just left them ten days earlier as he ascended to heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. The disciples where truly on their own, but Jesus had promised that he would be with them always through his advocate, the Holy Spirit. On this particular day on Pentecost, Peter delivers an incredibly powerful message to his fellow Jews. At the end of his sermon, he lays out three profound elements of revival which result in three thousand people coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and being baptized.
Revival comes from two Latin words that mean literally “to live again.” Revival is mentioned numerous times in the Old Testament but less often in the New Testament which covers a shorter period of time. Dr. Robert Coleman defines revival this way: “to live again in accordance with the purpose for which one is created.” To live again in accordance with the purpose for which you and I have been created. We have been called to live again.
Let’s return to Acts 2 and look at the benchmarks and key points of revival in the Jerusalem church.
First, the Jerusalem church had an atmosphere of repentance. The first point of bringing about revival is Repentance.
After hearing Peter’s message they asked the right question. They asked Peter “What must we do now?” Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven” (Acts 2:38).
The message was clear, the people must repent. To repent is to turn away from what one is doing and turn towards God. If you are going this way, then you need to turn and go in the direction God is going. I don’t know about you all, but I have the habit at times with coming up with a great idea and then asking God to jump on board. But that’s not what he’s asking. We need to discover what God’s doing and then jump on board.
Part of repenting is turning away from ourselves and turning towards God, to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Peter says, “Therefore, let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus both Lord and Messiah.”
I’m sure that most of us here, it may be easy to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but it may be more difficult for us to accept him as our Lord.
What do I mean by accepting him as Lord? I mean that he reigns in your life. That he’s the captain of your ship. We are to desire and do His will first and foremost to in our lives. Who rules your life? Is it you? Or is it Jesus? When you make decisions do you consult the bible, a spiritual leader, or do you consult yourself? Regarding your decision- making process, does it benefit yourself, others, or God?
Today, we will be reminded of our baptism vows, when we confess, repent, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Today we will renew our baptism vows; ones that we are to take very seriously. It is the foundation of our faith. And it starts with turning away from our sins and accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior.
I’m reminded of a revival which took place in Wheaton College in 1995. It began when one young man confessed publically and repented of his sins.
Richard Leonard wrote about it. “The revival began on Sunday evening after some special speakers (from another college, we believe) had addressed the student body. One young man was so moved that he went forward to confess his sins. (He is something of a campus leader.) He left the chapel to pray with some other students, and when he returned, people were lined up all the way to the back of the auditorium waiting to confess their sins. This went on far into the night until early Thursday morning when the last person got to the microphone.
“Thursday night the administration scheduled a praise service to thank God for moving on the campus.
“There has been racial and gender reconciliation and all across the campus there is a great spirit of quiet joy. The report is that about four hundred students have made a commitment to missions or other Christian service because of their gratitude for what the Lord has done for them” (Richard and Janice Leonard to Richard M. Riss, 24 March 1995).
It all began with repentance. One young man, spontaneously, who was not a part of that night’s program, went forward and repented publicly. This began a great revival on campus which led to other universities and colleges coming to Wheaton and others asking Wheaton students to go to their universities or colleges to testify and share their experience. Revival was taking place but it began with repentance.
(Don’t worry; I’m not planning on asking people start confessing their sins publicly today!)
This however leads us to the second point of revival. There is an increase in witnessing and testifying about Jesus Christ.
Just as the Wheaton Students shared about what happened there with other colleges and universities, the Book of Acts indicates that Peter began to bear witness to Jesus Christ: “And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them.” Peter, the one who seems time and time again to miss Jesus’ point or not to be there when Jesus needs him most, finally gets it.
As a result of his own repentance and conversion, Peter naturally begins to bear witness to Jesus Christ.
(Just a side note, after the resurrection, it was not the twelve disciples whom Jesus encounters first but the women. They were the first evangelists in the church.)
When repentance comes, there is freedom and joy. It becomes natural for people to begin to share their faith with others.
After we finished their new church’s dedication, one of the first things I did was to ask Santa Grégoire’s parishioners to look out the church’s door― “There is our mission field, and there is where we are to work spiritually.” I told them I didn’t want anyone to get comfortable now we have finished the church. Our work is outside the church. Testifying to Jesus Christ.
The third point of revival is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Peter told the people “Repent and be baptized, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
We are encouraged to be full of the Holy Spirit. Now I know that you would like to tell some people that they are full of . . . something else! But Peter tells us to be full of the Holy Spirit. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into places where we have not gone before. To allow us to do things which we thought were impossible. Something spontaneous.
For example two years ago I had the opportunity of speaking at an Episcopal Church in Glen Falls, New York on Pentecost. My sermon talked about the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I talked about the man’s arm which was bleeding profusely and when we prayed over it, the bleeding stopped. I talked about the Jewish child in the neonatal unit in Jackson Memorial Hospital who had been severely sick and in the hospital since birth, and over whom we prayed― and he was healed. I talked about the time thugs tried to kill me and angels stopped their knives.
At the end of the sermon, I then gave the analogy of a faucet. There is water in the tap but if we don’t open it up the water is not able to flow out freely. All we need to do is open up the facet and allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us spontaneously. But we are the ones who must open the faucet.
When I finished my sermon, the interim priest suggested that we ask the people if God had been speaking to them during the sermon or was speaking to them now. He asked them to express what they thought God was saying to them. He did this at both services. It was very moving and touching. There was clearly a sense of the Holy Spirit.
Afterwards, the deacon came up to me and said, “You must be very brave.” I asked him “What do you mean?” He said, “You must be very brave with what you did today in the service.” I said, “I still don’t understand― I thought this was normal practice here.” He said, “No, it is not!”
Isn’t it interesting how the Holy Spirit moved in that community. In my ignorance, I thought what we had done was normal in that church. Yet God had another plan, one which I was not privy to. I had never done what I did in that church before― nor have I done it since. It was clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.
(By the way, I’m not planning on doing that here today, either. So don’t worry.)
Isn’t it interesting how God works? I say that to you because I just received an email from the new parish priest there who has invited me to return because the people keep talking about what an impact that service had in their lives. In my ignorance and with the spontaneous working of the Holy Spirit, God has moved in the lives of many.
The revival on Pentecost was powerful. “So those who welcomed the message were baptized and that day about three thousand persons were added.” Not a bad day’s work. Three thousand people. Three thousand came to faith in the Lord Jesus and were baptized that day.
I haven’t even come close to that. The most I have ever seen come to faith in one day were about two hundred or two hundred fifty persons. And the most I have ever baptized were two hundred in one day. I’m a far cry from what happened on Pentecost.
Today, we have looked at three key indicators of revival in the early church. I’m not sure where you are today or why you have come to church. But what I am clear about is that the message Peter gave two thousand years ago is relevant for us today:
If we want to be revived, to live again according to the purposes that God has designed for us, we must repent and turn away from those things which do not glorify God.
We need then to begin naturally sharing and testifying to the grace of God in our lives through Jesus Christ.
And we need to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and he will bring us to places we could never have imagine, and he will do things that unimaginable in our lives.
Lastly, I want to thank you for the revival you have brought to Santa Grégoire, Tolagnaro. Thank you for your partnership with them, thank you for your prayers, and thank you for your financial support.
I wish you all could have been there on May 1st, as nearly two hundred fifty parishioners gathered to dedicate the new church building, and its font, altar, pulpit, lectern, benches, and crosses. It was truly a wonderful event in which we thanked and praised the Lord.
Your participation helped revive God’s people in Tolagnaro. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
May the Lord bless you for being a blessing to others.
AMEN.