“Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did” (Acts 8:4-6, NKJV).
Revival is the triumph of truth over falsehood. It is a phenomenon that occurs when the human community becomes awash with the word of God such that everything that is contrary to it becomes objectionable to the people. The word of God is the standard truth. Whatever is contrary to it is false. Our Lord prayed: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The declaration is clear and rings with divine authority – “Your word is truth!” Jesus had earlier emphasized the importance of strict adherence to the word of God saying, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). The hallmark of unbelief is ignorance of the truth. The mastermind of unbelief is Satan. The Apostle Paul explained that unbelief is due to the devil’s act of blinding the mind of people to prevent the light of the gospel to shine upon them. In his words, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthains 4:3-4). “The god of this age” referred to in this verse is the devil whose goal on earth is to hide the truth from people so he could keep them in servitude.
Preaching is God’s means of unveiling Himself to the people.
God’s chosen antidote to the ignorance of the saving truth of the gospel is preaching. Paul declared, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe”. The goal of preaching is to deconstruct the theories and ideas with which Satan has blinded the mind of the people so they can receive the truth of Christ’s gospel in their heart. Paul stated the purpose of preaching when he testified that God sent him to the gentile world “To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’(Acts 26:18). Preaching is God’s means of unveiling Himself to the people, so they call on Him and be saved. According to D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “preaching is to give men and women a sense of God and His presence.” This is what makes preaching an extraordinary exercise and never something that can be undertaken by flesh. To this end Philip Nation observed, “there is simply nothing else like the act of preaching. The whole of it from prayerful preparation to the proclamation event is a stunning grace from God.”
Revival spreads by preaching. When people that has been impacted by the revival go to other places with zeal and fire, that ignites revival. this was what happened with Philip and others. The scripture says it better, “Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” If the church truly need revival, the member must pray for boldness to preach the word of God with power. However, the preaching that catalyzes revival which saw the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did” should be Christ-centred and aimed at glorifying God and not any doctrinal stance. Revival preaching draws people to the Cross of Christ where their sins are cleaned and their burdens lifted. The Bible testified that when Philip preached in Samaria “the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” Oh, that God will repeat His wonders again with us as He did with Philip in Jesus name
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