Striving to Complete the Great Commission (2) —Taking Part in the Upper Room Prayers for Revival
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
As the Disciples of Christ, in order to complete the great commission to reach and save in full the number of Gentiles as God intended, we must follow the examples of the early disciples. As soon as Christ ascended to heaven, the disciples immediately went back to Jerusalem, gathered together and prayed. They prayed as one, focusing on the will of God and asking for the Holy Spirit and spiritual revival. Today, as we welcome the revival before us, we still need to begin with prayers. Without prayers, there will not be the work of the Holy Spirit. Without prayers, there will be no revival. As a matter of fact, all the effort would be in vain. It would be equal to “zero”. Praise and thank our loving God for giving us the precious promises of the privilege to pray and answering our prayers. “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (I John 5: 14/15).
“And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised. Which, He said, you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4/5)
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witness both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
“And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ……..And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit……” (Acts 2: 1/4)
As we look back at the era of the apostles, the revival brought about by the Holy Spirit was heaven-shaking and earth-shattering, as if heaven was torn and God Almighty descended. The blazing fire of the Holy Spirit burned and continued to burn. The one hundred and twenty disciples were first set aflame by the Holy Spirit. As the flaming seeds of the gospel, they then ignited the entire Judea and built the early churches. Even many priests were converted into believers of the truth. It is difficult for us to imagine ignorant fishermen of such low-born beginning would be chosen to be the Disciples of Christ. After prayers of unison both in heart, mind and spirit, they were full of power, faith and unwavering courage. Miracles followed them wherever they went. They led millions to God. They were not fearful of the force and power enthroned by men, they were not fearful of suffering. They were not fearful of imprisonment. They were not fearful of persecution. Facing the “Synagogue”, the time and again trials and persecutions, they would not bend, compromise, or be subservient. They submitted to no one but God and His will. They knew nothing other than exaltation of Christ the crucified and resurrected one. All these are manifestation of what prayers of one-heart and one-mind can do. These prayers were like the engine that heads the train, once started; it will carry all the cars of the gospel rolling forward, impossible to stop.
Let us meditate on how these disciples gathered in the Upper Room and prayed:
1) Prayers of thorough confession and repentance:
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear…….. And a Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob….” declares the Lord.”(Isaiah 59:1/2; 19/20)
Confession always precedes revival. The Disciples of Christ were no exceptions. As they faced the cross where Christ shed blood and sacrificed His life for us, the Christ that resurrected and ascended to heaven, they could not help but repented in broken-hearted humility and confessed their sins.
The disciples further led all to repent for their pride, arrogance, jealousy, mean-spiritedness, strife, hatred, bickering, selfishness, self-serving deeds…. in particular, right before and after the time that Christ was captured for crucifixion. They were worried but fell deeply asleep. They pampered their own flesh. They catered to men’s desire. They valued their lives and feared death. In the end, they abandoned their Lord and ran for their own lives. Peter even denied knowing his Lord three times….. We deeply believe that through confession of their sins, each and every disciple later offered himself to the Lord again. They declared their loyalties and willingness to obey even if it meant death. They were faithful to the work that the Lord entrusted them till He comes again.
2) Prayers of Confession to One Another:
In the Upper Room, each disciple repented and confessed his sin openly without reservation. Once his sin was forgiven, each further confessed to one another and sought the restoration of harmony amidst them. Through the cross of Jesus Christ, they washed away hatred and torn down walls. This is a must. They no longer complained about, condemned and competed with one another. The love of Christ melted each of them into a new being (Ephesians 2:14/16). They were humble and yielded under the cross of Christ. Having gone through the drill and lesson of the cross, as they came together again, they had the same mind, same thought, and strived for the same goal. They met the great revival bestowed by the Holy Spirit with faith.
3) Filled with God’s Word with faith multiplied by many fold:
When the Lord was walking on this earth, He spoke numerous important messages — the revelation of the era, mysteries, teachings and prophecies. But they could not understand or comprehend because of the faintness of their faith and dullness of their spirits. Only after experiencing the resurrection of Jesus, His ascension to heaven, their own brokenness and revival through the cross that waked up their mind and spirit, they began to recall what the Lord told them. Every word and syllable was precious and sweet. Every law or prophecy that foretold and pointed to Jesus came true. Right in front of their own eyes, their faith therefore multiplied by many fold. They truly understood the power of God’s Word. They were filled with His Word and truth. They were greatly strengthened by His power and filled with great hope.
4) Seized Lord’s promises and Prayed in one accord:
Jesus said “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:19/20). When the disciples were cleansed of their sins that led to the reconciliation between men and God through the blood of Jesus Christ, they were filled with the peace and joy from above. By faith, they seized His promises and asked for the Holy Spirit and revival. Soon, the Holy Spirit descended greatly amidst and upon them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. This fulfilled the promises that Jesus gave them in Matthew 18:19/20. This was the beginning and the birth of the church of Jesus Christ among them. Meanwhile, the seeds of the gospel were carried back to Europe, Asia and Africa and spreading throughout all three continents by the Jews who came from fifteen countries and regions to observe the festival. This was the beginning of the new era for the Christian churches. It also marked the beginning of the “Holy Spirit Age “.
Dear brothers and sisters! The gigantic fruition that came about through the come-together of the disciples and their prayers in unison to seek Holy Spirit and revival is almost incomprehensible! The work of the Holy Spirit is endless and knows no bounds. As a result, the name of the Lord was exalted. God was with them wherever they went, so were the miracles. The hearts of those who listened to the gospel were stirred and pierced. Thousands and millions repented and received His saving grace. At the same time, due to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, they had great faith, great courage, and they gained victories time and again over imprisonment and persecutions. The fervent and earnest prayers of the church also freed Peter from the prison. King Herod who persecuted the church was punished by God and died as a result. “But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.” (Act 12:24). We also saw that during Apostle Paul’s gospel mission, many who communicated as the medium not only confessed their vile deeds：they even piled together all their books on magic and burned them in the full view of everyone. The work of the Holy Spirit was so thorough! “So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing (Acts 19:22 second half). It is apparent, as disciples of Christ, we only need to empty ourselves thoroughly, crush ourselves, come together and kneel before Him in one heart. We will then certainly see the glory and magnification of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. The promises of God are forever faithful! His grace and love are with us from everlasting to everlasting.
As the disciples of Christ, let us also gather together with one mind and pray with one heart, thus awaiting the great revival bestowed upon us by the Holy spirit! “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
Jesus said, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12). Together, let us fulfill the Great Commission that our Lord has entrusted us with all our hearts and might! The kingdom of God is right ahead of us!
Home of Grace
11/6/2007