Joel in his prophecy mentioned 4 kinds of people that I will focus on to get a true revival! A true and pouring of God’s spirit upon his people and their lives!
It’s interesting that the word revival is found 4 times in the entire Bible!
The first time this word was mentioned
Is In Genesis 45 and its connected to Joel’s prophesy, talks about an old man “Jacob”!
Jacob in this chapter has lost his son “Joseph” the dreamer… His dad thought that he was dead, vanished and gone! And the dreams have forever left his life, he was grieving, sad, depressed, and thought that he will never be comforted again! At this stage he feels like all things are against him.
Sometimes we think like Jacob, we feel like our dreams are dead, everything is against us, nothing is alive, it seems like we are lost and there is nothing that can comfort us!
But in this same chapter, while Jacob is mourning, lamenting, grieving and saddened… his son Joseph was alive and sending wagons of provisions, BRINGING THE BLESSINGS, and bringing the proof that he was alive…so the scripture tells us in Genesis 45:27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.
This old man got revived in his spirit, his dreams come to life again, all of the sudden he wants to live, his desire for God has come back in old age, which lines up with Joel’s prophecy Your old men shall dream dreams…
It’s interesting how God’s words fit together, the first time the word revived (its where we get the word revival from) was mentioned and noted… it had to do with an old man who had lost his hope and his dreams!
When we say God wants to pour out his spirit, we think yes… it’s for the new generation it’s for our children! But revival starts with the elders of the church!
You don’t have to be old in order to be an elder! If you are mature in God and have been serving him whole-heartedly… then you are an elder even if you don’t have grey hair!
Revival doesn’t start with new saved people or new converts… it starts with elders in his house.
Some have quenched the spirit because of life, problems, persecutions, sufferings, sickness, or offenses… but when the Holy Spirit comes into your life…suddenly, there will be new vision, new dreams, new mind, new direction, new desire, new strength, and new hope!
Jacob’s dreams were restored; his dreams were resurrected at old age! Even when he had given up on life, hopes and dreams. We do the same when we face a trail or a test… we give up quickly! We forget what God is able to do! We forget his mighty power! We forget that he can revive our dead bones, dead spirits, dead visions, and dead dreams! But something happened to Jacob … he got revived!
Yes… this is what happens when the spirit of God comes upon you, you start dreaming again!
It’s about his timing… when he sends his spirit, when he thinks it’s time, not by your authority and power saying to yourself… I should be here or there, I should be this or that, when I’m in my 50s if it’s not going to happen then it will never happen.
Moses was 80 when God said to him now it’s my time, Caleb was 85 when he said give me this mountain
Joshua 14:12 give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day…
The first groups of people that will experience revival are the eldest, the older ones; the old men will dream dreams. Notice the order!
Old man… You have to have an attitude that God has not finished with me, he has just started with me, I’m not going home soon but with long life he shall satisfy me, God has a purpose and a plan for me, he still has big dreams that he will put in my heart Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Paul had a vision when he was 26yo in Damascus, somehow he kept it alive for more than 26 years when he met Agrippa the King in Rome…
What do we do? We quit too soon sometimes, we need the Holy Spirit to revive those dreams and visions of years… that the circumstances and troubles of this world have quenched… keep those dreams alive!
God is saying I know what I have planned for you, and I’m not through with you yet! I haven’t given up on you don’t you give up on yourself!
Most people that failed their walk with God are in the last half of their lives!
David fell in the last half of his life with the sin of adultery, Solomon fell in the last half of his life to sin as well, Hezekiah worshiped idols in the last half of his life, king Saul backslid and turned away from God in the last half of his life… the most dangerous period of your life is when you enter in the 50s-60s… if you don’t have passion for God and take church as a routine you will grow cold.
What should happen is that as you get mature in the word when you get older, the Holy Spirit has to breath on you a fresh anointing to refresh you and keep you alive, you need to be passionate about Jesus Christ; you need to fall in love with Jesus Christ all over again.
If your dreams have died… then know this, there is something coming down your way, the wagons of provision are coming, I see blessings are coming, your families are coming, revival is coming, the Holy Spirit is restoring your dreams, and he is coming into your life.
The second time this word was mentioned
Is in the story of Samson the book of judge’s chapter 15!
Joel said in his prophecy, your young men shall see visions. People in the 20s and 30s men and women even in the 40s! That’s old… no it isn’t! When you get too old then that’s old!
Samson was a young man, had a great anointing and strength but his own family turned him over to the enemy. No one could capture him, so his family delivered him bound to the enemy.
Sometimes it is your own family that can bind you when you are young, your family issues can bind you up and cause you to feel restricted or defeated. He took a jawbone of a donkey and killed 1000 philistines.
When he did all that fighting, fighting for his existence, fighting for his people and family, fighting for his anointing, fighting sin and God’s enemies, we do fight a lot!
We fight to raise our children in the fear of God, we fight for our church, we fight for our work, we fight for our finance, we fight for our health, we fight for our relationship, we fight for our brothers and sisters… see his strength was from God as is ours!
The enemy couldn’t destroy him, couldn’t break him down, couldn’t steal his anointing, so his family was used against him in Judges15 18-19 Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the LORD and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived.
This is the pattern… the devil wants you dried up and exhausted, takes you from battle to battle, from fight to fight, from problem to problem, from trouble to trouble, and accusation after another, you get tired, you get weary, you get dried up, you get sensitive and will get thirsty. Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
Inwardly your strength might grow weaker… that’s why you need the Holy Spirit to revive you, when you get replenished inwardly where God restores your soul, after fighting for your family and relationship you need that living water, you have to drink to get replenished, revived, refreshed, and be filled with life again and feel the love of God again.
Suddenly he found a place of refreshing and restoration.
I’m talking to the people in the 20s, 30s, and 40s where you so busy in building, doing, working, fighting, and planning for this and that…how long has it been since you stopped and realised that you are drying up on the inside?
You are thirsty, you are weary, you are tired and in desperate need of revival, desperate for cold refreshing living water for your soul!
In this camp… God wants to revive you, God wants to bring purpose to your family, God wants to send the Holy Spirit to your family, and God wants to baptise you with a fresh anointing.
Samson lost his vision when he was a young man, Jacob was an old man when he lost his dream, but Joel 2:28 said: And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
Revival came upon them … when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. When the Palestine’s plucked his eyes out, God gave him a young man with vision to help him and become his vision… Judges’ 16:25-31 he did all that because his vision got restored. God wants to restore your vision that you have lost!
So I feel like prophesying in this camp over all of you who are in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, who have been fighting, and fighting all your lives… that the Holy Spirit will pour out on you like a baptism of fire to revive you all over again, to refresh you all over again, to give you a brand new vision, dream or a plan… and that the living water will fill you and restore you starting from today!
Your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions… for without visions my people will perish! God has a vision for your family, if you are single… he has a vision for you to get married to a God fearing partner, in his time this will happen… everything is in his hand, he will bring this vision to pass!
You need to claim your vision back, you need to shout, you need to dance, you need to worship and praise, you need to pray and fast for God to give you this vision and restoration back.
The third time this word was mentioned
Then Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
1king17:22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
Here we see even children are being filled with the Holy Spirit and being revived, experiencing the power of God, the teenagers, college students, receiving the promise and being captured by the presence of the holy spirit…I LONG FOR THAT KIND OF REVIVAL!
I’ve had them in my ministry and life; I’ve seen God use me to revival youth groups, prayer meetings, church congregations, and leaders and pastors.
I went to youth camps, churches, house meetings, and saw young people, children and old men revive by the anointing of the Holy Spirit power.
I’ve seen people getting healed, delivered, receiving Christ, many baptized in water and some by the holy spirit, there Is nothing like it, no party in the world can compare to it. There are no drinks, there is no alcohol, and there is no joint that can compare to Gods power that can revive our spirit.
Verse 18 So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
When the child died the mother blamed herself saying my sin killed my son!
That’s what we do when our children fall away, its easy to be filled with guilt, shame and start blaming ourselves… its my fault! But what I learned over the years is that you can’t keep your kids from their testimony.
Mums and dads… When your children fall away, that means God is working on their testimony. Wait in prayer and fasting for a powerful anointing that your children are about to experience.
And in saying that, kids… you can’t escape our prayers and fasting, you can’t escape our praise and worship, you can’t escape our shout and tears that we lift up to God on your behalf. You can go out and do it all, but the holy spirit power is going to pursue you right back to your room, and while you lay down there he will get in your spirit, he will whisper in your ear, he will get in your visions, he will get in your dreams and he will get into your heart.
Saying I have come because your mummy and daddy have been praying and their prayer has come before me, boy /girl you belong to me, you belong to Jesus, get on your knees. Your body is a temple of the holy spirit, even if they are on the bed of fornication or adultery, even if you are getting stoned or taking drugs, even if you are watching unclean stuff Gods voice will echo in your soul saying I still love you with your uncleanness and dirt, I have a plan for you, and I have a destiny for you.
What our children need is the holy spirit, what our teenagers need is the holy spirit, what our elders need is the holy spirit, what our mums and dads need is the holy spirit, the anointing of God and his promise.
Do not rid them off, my spirit is upon them says the Lord.
I don’t know what category fits you my question is don’t you want more than routine?, more than normal things, more than just to live?
Those in the 20s and 30s chasing that dream… its awesome and there is nothing wrong with it, but you need replenishing and that will make your life a lot better, you need the power of God, you need the presence of God, and let him fill you with living water.
Busy house wives raising the kids here and there, looking after the house cleaning and cooking, taking the kids to training at whatever sport… let him replenish you, let him feed you, let him fill you, let him refresh you.
Elders God wants to restore your dreams, God uses ordinary people like you, if you think your too old, sick or weak then you are qualified for great miracles, by the miracle making God, you need to choose to be available.
Psalm 85:6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in you?
Revival begins with personal relationship with Christ. It’s your time now to arise and embrace your prophetic destiny!
CONCLUSION:
Once there was a little girl whose parents had died. She lived with her grandmother in an upstairs bedroom.
One night a fire broke out in the house and the grandmother died while trying to rescue the little girl. The fire spread through the house very quickly and the first floor was soon engulfed in flames.
As the fire spread through the house, the neighbours arrived and tried to enter the house but couldn’t because; flames blocked all the doors. Someone called 911, but they knew that the fire department would arrive too late to save the little girl who was trapped upstairs. They could hear her cries in the upstairs bedroom, but there was nothing that anyone could do.
Suddenly, a man appeared with a tall ladder and raised it against the side of the house. He climbed the ladder, broke a window, and disappeared into the house. Soon he reappeared at the window with the little girl in his arms. He climbed down the ladder just as an ambulance arrived and delivered the little girl to the paramedics who took her quickly to the hospital. The little girl survived, but the man who saved her disappeared into the night.
A few months later, the little girl went before a judge who had the responsibility of placing her in a foster home. She had no living relatives, so it was up to the courts to find a proper home for her.
The judge decided to interview several prospective people who were willing to take her in. After interviewing them all, he would make his decision. The little girl was present in the courtroom during all these proceedings.
The first-person requesting custody of the child was a schoolteacher. She pointed out that the child would need a good education, and as teacher, she could make sure that she learned a great deal. She knew how to deal with children, she said, and she knew how to take care of a girl like this one.
The next person was a farmer. He offered the little girl a wholesome environment, where she would learn principles of hard work and the simple life. She would get to be around animals and learn responsibility.
Next was a rich woman who said, "I can give this child anything she needs or wants. I will provide her with the finest clothes and send her to the best schools. If she lives with me, she will have whatever her hearts desires."
Several other people were interviewed, each of whom explained why it would be to the little girl’s advantage to live with them.
"Does anyone else have anything to say before I make my decision?" asked the judge.
Just then a man came forward from the back of the courtroom. He walked very slowly and with a slight limp. From his old clothes, it was obvious that he wasn’t rich or well educated. When he got to the front of the room, he stood directly in front of the little girl and held out his arms. The crowd gasped. His hands and his arms were terribly burned and scarred.
"This is the man who saved me!" cried the little girl. With a leap, she threw her arms around the man’s neck, holding on for dear life, just as she had on the day of the fire. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and smiled with a grin that lit up the courtroom.
"I think I’ve just made my decision," said the judge. And the court was adjourned.
Application: Just as the man used the power that he had to save the little girl from death. We have also power invested in us to save people from death. He had used his power to change her life, to save her life.
If we are ever going to see the last big wave of God's spirit to move among us before Jesus comes back we are going to have to repent, be restored and have his power at work in our life to save lives.
