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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
A few years ago, on the first Saturday of January, around 80 of us met in an Inverness Hotel to consider the whole matter of 'Revival' in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Led by Dr Paul Tan, a mature Chinese Christian from Singapore, three questions guided our thinking and praying. What is Revival? Is there a need for Revival? How can we help towards Revival? For a number of years many people have been meeting regularly with the specific intention of calling upon God in prayer for revival.
Revival is frequently mentioned amongst committed disciples of Jesus Christ. We know that this is what is required. The situation in the nation is critical. The situation in the world is critical.
Basically, revival is a visitation of God. God visits His people afresh and anew, with a special purpose, and that which was dead comes to life.
Looking at the present condition of the western world and the current state of needy Scotland we understand why many long for a visitation of God. When God visits a nation, communities feel the presence of God. Things happen which have never previously been experienced by that generation.
God can restore in a few days or weeks what has been lost or forgotten. Bad legislation is reversed and immoral laws revoked.
Politicians used to consult the Church of Jesus Christ prior to making certain decisions. That no longer happens. The Church is unheard, impotent, ineffective, irrelevant, and makes little impact, but in times of 'revival', all that changes. We have to earn the right to be heard and of course when political leaders approach Christians we must have something to say that is worth saying and that normally means it will be prophetic.
What we are really looking for and praying for in the context of revival is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God.
Now, we have just been through such a season, and respected church historians regard it as significant as the Day of Pentecost, when the Church was birthed. Perhaps we are still a bit too close to make that assertion but certainly during the 1960’s and 1970’s something dramatic and radical happened on a global and universal scale and what some of us thought was going to happen has not happened.
Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish people have all been given an opportunity, but many have sat through it with their umbrellas up hoping they would not be touched - and they haven't!
The need for revival is immense. Are you in a position to come before the Throne of Almighty God and pray for another outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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