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 142 days until the Greenock, Scotland Revival Conference



142 days until the Greenock, Scotland Revival Conference

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” Before He went to the cross, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait there until they were endued with power from on high. His actual words were: “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but stay in the city [of Jerusalem], until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). And in obedience to that command they went into the city, to an upper room, to wait upon God.

In every sense of the word this was a period of preparation. It involved a oneness of mind—“They were all with one accord in one place.” Eleven times in the New Testament and on ten occasions in the book of the Acts we read that they “were of one accord.” This unity of mind seems to be an essential factor in the preparation for the wind of revival.

Some time ago I read through Dr. Edwin Orr’s Second Evangelical Awakening in Britain. In this magnificent work he tells how revival swept the British Isles one hundred years ago. Analyzing the substance of his entire treatment, I came to the conclusion that two indispensable conditions for revival are unity and prayer. In the beautiful Psalm 133 we read: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Having stated that fact, the psalmist goes on to say, “It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skins of his garments.” Then changing the analogy, the writer continues, “As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

What is the Holy Spirit saying to us in this psalm? It is that if we want the oil of fragrance, the dew of freshness, and the fullness of blessing that come with a heaven-sent revival, it will be only as we dwell together in unity! Remember that high priestly prayer of our Lord when He looked into His Father’s face and said, “I … pray … that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us” (John 17:20,21). It is only when Christians come together in oneness that the wind of revival begins to blow upon the church—and God’s presence and power are sensed and seen among His people.

In this work of preparation there was also an openness of heart. A self-examination was carried out in that upper room. They rehearsed from the Scriptures and their own experience the tragic story of Judas, the traitor in the camp, the man who ministered with them, who walked with the Savior, who held the treasury, and yet whose heart was not right before God. In their attempt to find a successor to him, they prayed, “Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place” (Acts 1:24,25).

It was a prayer for examination and for judgment. There was an openness of heart, and God will never send revival while there is sin unconfessed, and hearts are closed to the blaze of His glory and to the light that reveals evil.

So we see that preparation involves a oneness of mind and an openness of heart, but it also calls for an obedience of will. Those 120 disciples gathered in the upper room were fulfilling the command of the Master who said, “Stay in the city [of Jerusalem], until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Obedience is always a prerequisite to the filling and flooding of the Holy Spirit. The Word tells us that the Spirit is given to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32).

Are you longing for revival? Are you praying for the wind of God to blow upon the Church of Jesus Christ? Then set your sails by way of preparation to catch that heavenly breeze! Remember that it will involve a oneness of mind, an openness of heart and an obedience of will. -Stephen F. Olford


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