As a church historian, it’s hard to see the age we live in,
in any other way than as an age of revival. These things don’t reach our
secular news programmes, but large parts of the globe are celebrating a revival in the
truth of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Saviour of the world.
There are pockets of revival right now in churches, towns
and villages in nearly every nation. In parts of South America and central and southern
Africa, the revival is more clearly seen on a nationwide scale. In nations where Christianity is restricted,
there too, God is on the move. In places where it is hard to preach the gospel of Christ, there are many stories of people having dreams and Jesus meeting them. There was a recent report from Iran, not the
easiest of countries to hold to a Christian faith, where in the last 40 years,
there has been a numerical growth in Christian numbers from around 500 to over one million. Despite persecution in Islamic nations and in countries such as China
and India, the church continues to grow - much of it underground and out of
plain sight.
In our nation, the UK, best described as post-modern and sceptical
of religion, faith in Christ is on the rise. People are open to the
supernatural, so when the Holy Spirit moves through miracles and healing, lives
are changed. One report from friends in Derby last week speaks of over 150
people asking Jesus Christ to change their lives - most of them out on the
streets rather than in organised meetings.
In church meetings there is an increased awareness of the
presence of the Holy Spirit. In my own church in Leicester, you can almost
touch the sense of God’s presence as we worship.
The church observers at Operation World note that in nearly
every nation of the world, the Evangelical/Charismatic/Pentecostal wing of the
church is growing at a more rapid rate than the birth rate. Many leading
pastors and theologians are beginning to write of coming revival.
Today, there are estimated to be around 2.3 billion Christians
in the world. It’s by far the biggest faith group, and it continues to grow.
A good friend of mine put it this way:
“We are truly in a now season! No longer are we standing in
the desert longing for the rain; the first drops have begun to fall and the
season has shifted. It’s time to pray for rain in the time of rain…. it’s time
to start singing in the rain!”
If the 1500s were a time of renewal in the revelation of faith
through God’s Word; if the 1700s were a time of renewal in the revelation of
Christ as Saviour through evangelism, and if the 1800s were a time of renewal
in the lost art of compassion and care, then the century we live in is best
described as a time of Holy Spirit revival. From the small church to the
changed nation, the words of Jesus Christ are sounding out. He is the way, the
life and the truth. And millions are finding that to be true every day.
