Turning Point Of Revival

Jonah 3:4 “And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

The experience of revival is very important in our lives. We are pentecostal believers who believe in the movement of Holy Ghost, we have tasted the power of the Holy Spirit. All these experiences indicates we have the spirit of revival in our lives. Today the Lord is taking his children to a time of revival. We will witness the outpouring of his spirit. In the end of times, we will witness the signs and wonders by the Holy Spirit. We see a powerful revival is defined by a dramtic and suddent turn of events. Historically, we see a lot of movements of revivals that took place which imapact the lives of the people. In the scripture, Jonah’s life is an example of revival that impacted a whole nation.

In the above passage, we read about the preaching of Jonah. We all know about the life history of Jonah where he was called to preach about repentance in Nineveh. Jonah receives the word but he ran to Tarshish where he was struck by the storm and swallowed by a big fish. And in the end, the Lord speaks again and goes to Nineveh. Jonah preaches a very short sermon there which brings a great revival. This was a turning point in Jonah’s life that brought a personal revival. Our Lord is able is able to bring a great revival using a short and simple sermon. Many say Jonah preached the shortest sermon that brought the greatest revival. Today the Lord is teaching a truth to us which is God should work in us before he works through us. It is true we ask the Lord to use us and work through us to bring revival. But the more important thing is, the Lord has to work inside of us before he works through us. As quoted by Gypsy smith to a little boy, “Go home, draw a circle around yourself, and pray, 'Lord, send arevival, and let it begin in this circle”. Even in the scipture, the entry of Jesus in the world marked a turning point of history. Today as a part of meditation, we will see three major turning points in the life Jonah which led to the divine revival.

1. A Turn Towards Obedience
Jonah 3:2,3 ““Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.”

In the above passage we see about the work of Jonah. Here the experience of revival brings a turn towards obedience. In the church, we often come across preachings of obedience and we listen to them. But it is really hard to keep up the path of obedience when we step outside the church. When we start reading the book of Jonah, the very first three verses showcases the disobedience of Jonah. We see he fled away from the presence of the Lord. The way scripture introduces us Jonah, we cannot expect anything great. Looking at this behaviour and attitude, we can safely assume the Lord cannot work anything in the life of a person like Jonah who was disobedient. We see his disobedience promises a comfort to Jonah. It teaches him not to preach hard things in Nineveh but gives him a comfort in Tarshish. Also, Disobedience promises wealth to Jonah. Tarshish was a well established port city with great trade opportunities and luxury. Bible scholar Charles Finny quotes “Revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God.”

How do we know revival begins at the turning point of obedience in the life of Jonah? We read in Jonah 1:16 “Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.” Here the word 'men' in the passage refers to the persons who were along with Jonah in the boat. The revival began among men in boat the moment Jonah decided to turn and obey God.
Even in our lives, the moment we decide to the first step of obedience, the Lord will start his work of revival. Although Jonah obeys to the word of the Lord, there was something missing in his life. Jonah misunderstood God while going to Tarshish as well as Nineveh. Firstly, Jonah clearly ran away from God’s presence, second he obeyed God but without God’s heart but he was used by God because he was ready to obey. We see the true revival begins when we obey God while knowing his heart. We read in 1 Samuel 15:22 'Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” Through our obedience, God uses our weakness and fear to bring glory to His strength.
Today we all need to think on what is God calling us to be obedient in? If our lives are distant from the Lord, today we need to re-vist those areas. If the Lord is asking us to obey in our finances, our family or regarding our future or our children ? Today we need to understand, Lord cannot accomplish things through disobedience. Let us stop running away from God and his will. Let us repent and return to the Lord by paying heed to him.

2. A Turn Towards The Light

Jonah 3:5 “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.”

Today the revival will turn us towards the light. In the above passage, people put on sackcloth from greatest to the least of them. In English, it is a 8-word preaching by Jonah. With this only 8-word sermon, the Lord brought a revival to the place. This 8-word sermon is the most powerful phrase in this book. Why was it powerful? because it came at the right time to the people. Many believe they were scared of divine retribution because there may have been natural disasters around the time of Jonah’s preaching. We read in Malachi 4:6, where the old testament ends with the word “Curse” and quite interstingly the first word uttered by Jesus in his sermon in Matthew chpater 5 is “Blessed” in the new testament.

We read in Isaiah 55:11 “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the
thing for which I sent it.” Thw word of the Lord is powerful. The Lord God created the heaven and the earth just by using his words. The disciples hearts were burning within them on the road to Emmaeus because of the word of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus calms the storm using his word. The Lord heals the people through his word not by his touch. The Lord raised Lazarus from the dead through his word.

The people completely acknowledged their sin and repented. They changed their hearts and this action is seen by their fasting in sackcloth and ashes. This is the only way toward the light of God. The experience of revival is walking in the light. Previously, we read in Jonah 3:4 “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”. The word 'overthrow' has a double meaning in Hebrew. One is linked to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but also a total transformation or change of heart as in Deuteronomy 23:5 where the Lord turned (overthrew) the curse into a blessing. It is because people repented from their sins, the Lord changed the curse into a blessing. Jonah preached thinking the Lord will overthrow the place like unto a destruction. But the Lord changed the entire situation because the people repented and turned towards the light. In Nineveh, God did cause the city to be overthrown...He overthrew the citadels of darkness, the power of Satan over that place, he turned it upside-down and in their obedience to his word the city of darkness became a city of light. If God can overthrow Nineveh, He can overthrow Chennai by taking away its curses. Today, the Lord will overthrow all the curses, sicknesses when we walk in the light. We the children are called to be agents of light in places of darkness.

3. A Turn Towards Kingdom Of Heaven

Jonah 3:10 “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."

Here the revival brings turn towards the kingdom of heaven. The Lord has kept us in this world to build our kingdoms and mansions.No one who wanted to build their own kingdom ever saw revival. The revival will turn us towards the kingdom of heaven. When Jesus prayed he said “Your kingdom come, Your Will be done”. When we are turned towards the kingdom of heaven, we can witness supernatural things. When we are heavenly kingdom minded, God can use anybody to bring a revival anywhere.

In this world, we all know about the two Great Awakenings in US (1700s,1800s), Azusa street revival (1900s), Brownsville Revival (1995). Recently in the year 2023, we witnessed about the Asbury Revival. In India, here was a revival they broke out in India in 1905 to 1907 in Kedgaon, Near Pune. The Mukti Revival led by Pantida Ramabai. She taught Sanskrit and Puranas in England while she received Christ and became a Christian. This movement was marked by repentance and prayer mainly among widows, orphans and young children - meetings lasted more than 15 to 17 hours with exceptional outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For over two years this revival spread to many places in Maharashtra. If God can use the children and widows in 1907, God can surely use you and me to bring a revival. Revival isn’t an emotional response, it is a heart of repentant heart. Amen.