Have you heard about the lastest revival?  Apparently something great is happening down in the peninsula of Florida and people are flocking to it. 

Wasn’t the last revival outbreak in the panhandle of Florida?  Pensacola, wasn’t it?

It seems about every decade or so, a regional revival breaks out somewhere.  I call it a ‘regional revival’ because these things don’t seem to extend much beyond the area of the church in which it is happening.  I certainly don’t question the movings of the Holy Spirit.  He is known for doing the unusual. 

Looking back into history there are plenty of examples of when He poured Himself into particular people and at specific places, and the miraculous became the ordinary (if you can ever call His movings “ordinary.”) 

One of the greatest stories of such an outpouring happened when John Wesley was preaching outdoors.  Apparently, whenever people came within earshot of his preaching, the Holy Spirit would draw them to Christ in large numbers.  The story is told about one weary traveler who merely rode his horse near to the place where Wesley was preaching and the anointing of the Spirit knocked the man from his mount.  He immediately sought out the place of the meeting and gave his life to Christ.

I’ve been privileged to experience mini-versions of that kind of outpouring.  It is unlike any other experience, so I cannot compare to anything else, but having once experienced His magnificent outpouring, attending the typical worship service where the supernatural movement of God isn’t palpable becomes intolerable.  This could explain why so many flock to these regional outbreaks.

There is something within us that longs, and even pleads, for God.  We want more than just a cursory meeting with Him.  Our soul clamors for the reality of His presence – the supernatural presence that we read about in the Bible; the palpable presence of God that defines reality.  People used to call that the “Sweetness of God.” It’s that very place where revival becomes a temporary trip into eternity. 

I remember attending a meeting that started out as a typical church meeting and turned into an outpouring.  When the meeting was over, I had no idea how long we had been in worship.  It didn’t matter.  It was as if time had been suspended.  Since then, I’ve discovered that is one of the ways you can know you’ve been in the presence of God. 

You see, minutes, hours, days, years, etc., are all relative to the spin and orbit of earth.  Because God is not limited to earth’s restrictions, His time is totally different than ours.  That’s why 2 Peter 3:8 can say: “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”  Whenever we get into His presence, time shifts to eternity time and away from earth time.

That fact makes it relatively simple to realize who is worshipping and who is biding their time until the service is over.  The one who is worshipping is engrossed in God’s presence and loses a sense of what time it is.  He or she doesn’t care what else is going on around them because they are in awe of Him and rapt by His majesty.  The one who is merely waiting until the service is over has a tendency to be distracted by noises, people movement, the temperature of the room, the volume of the music, the quality of the singers, or the personality of the preacher.  He may even look several times at his watch.  He is definitely on earth time.

Does an outpouring have to include large numbers to be a real revival?  Most of the time, we won’t hear about it unless it does but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen in small places with small groups.  There may be large numbers who attend a revival that never get into His presence.  They may flock to the place of revival and fail to flock to the author of revival.  They may be looking for a particular experience and actually miss the God of that experience.

One of the greatest revivals in history was a supernatural meeting between only one man and God Himself.  Moses met God in the burning bush and that encounter revolutionized a nation.  On another occasion, God sent a single preacher to share His Word with a single seeker on a road in Gaza, and that lone encounter sparked an outpouring of God’s power in Ethopia.

Unlike us, God isn’t impressed with the numbers who gather.  He’s not seeking to win a popularity contest.  He is, however, seeking.  Jesus said He seeks hearts who want to genuinely worship in spirit and honesty. (John 4:23)  He longs to connect with those who want nothing more than to be in His presence – who are willing to leave earth behind and enter into eternity, if but for just a little while.

A revival can break out anywhere.  It doesn’t take large numbers or exotic locations.  God is willing to pour out His Spirit anywhere upon anyone who is open to His supernatural presence and willing to surrender to Him on His terms.