Reaching Critical Mass Series

In the first chapter of Acts, Luke shares how Jesus ascended into heaven, and then afterwards he turns our focus toward a room. “It is the Upper Room in Jerusalem, and it is just weeks after the resurrection of Jesus. One hundred twenty believers are praying and waiting. All they know is that two things are going to happen: 1.) the Holy Spirit is going to come upon them; and 2.) they are going to receive power.”(1)

Outside, the festivities of Pentecost were going on. “The unpromising prayer meeting continued on raw obedience. It took grit and courage to stay in the Upper Room . . . Inside: sober and vigilant saints. Outside: a party cranking up. Inside there is supplication; outside, the festive sounds. The exterior laugher and fun seemed to mock them and taunt them into thinking life had passed them by” (pp. 48-49).

“Then everyone heard it! Out of nowhere, a hurricane! A mighty roar that effortlessly drowned out the sounds of the party. The Holy Spirit roared onto the earth and into the church. The spotlight of history was ripped away from the now unimportant feast outside and it turned to the newly-born world-changers” (p. 49). “The believers poured out of the upper room and stunned tens of thousands milling around outside their door . . . Each person heard his own language being spoken by those who couldn’t possibly speak it . . . [It is no] small wonder that [thousands of] new believers were added to their number within minutes of the miracle. They had reached critical mass” (p. 49).

Our message this morning is based on a book by the evangelist Mario Murillo entitled, Reaching Critical Mass: How You Can Start a Revival. The keys necessary to behold a Pentecost-style revival can be observed in 2 Chronicles 7:14; and I want to invite you to stand with me in honor of God’s Word as we read this well-known verse together. Here’s what the Word says: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

God Seeks a Core – “If My People”

The statement “if My people,” is the first key to experiencing revival; and the main concept is that “God Seeks a Core.” “When [God] said, ‘If My people,’ He was making a timeless statement. When He judges the affairs of mankind, He looks first to see what His people are doing.” For example, “Before the angels entered Sodom and Gomorrah, they went to Abraham. They first inquired of the man of God” (p. 17).

“God’s decision to spare a nation is based upon finding and purifying His people.” “The very first stage of revival is to establish a core. Every city [or region] needs a group that will set itself aside as a living sacrifice. These are those who want to identify themselves in God’s presence as being totally available” to Him. “These people aren’t rebels; they aren’t out for personal glory.” “They simply care; [and] they only want revival” (pp. 18-19).

Jesus’ voice thunders across the centuries, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). “The promise is that it will be done! It can literally start with only two [people]. They need no great talent, except to totally agree on what needs to happen” (p. 19). The Lord is looking for a revival core with the conviction that “God is going to give us this city!” (p. 19). They are in agreement that God can turn this city or this nation around.

“There is in our God an intense desire to find His revival core.” We read in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” “So, what is it that He looks for?” He is looking for “the element of desperation to do something about the way things are.” “The [core] group exists to bring revival” and “each one is there for that reason” (pp. 20-21) – and that reason alone.

“The phrase ‘if my people’ proves that revival is in part a matter of choice . . . To believe that it is completely outside of our choice to ever have revival does not glorify God. In fact, it plays into the hands of Satan by producing a passive church that senses no responsibility to its generation” (p. 25). We must keep in mind that “the blood of a whole generation is on our hands if we walk away and pretend that the evil isn’t there or that God doesn’t want to use us” (p. 23). The statement “if My people” “means that the people who are God’s possession have been identified,” (p. 23) so what are we going to do about it?