“What America needs is a revival.” Perhaps that’s so, but what would a real revival look like?

We get a glimpse from the time that Paul spent in Ephesus. The Holy Spirit was poured out in an obvious way (19:6), and many mighty miracles were done (19:11-12). But there was also a lot of Biblical teaching going on. Paul preached steadily for two years, so that everyone in the whole province of Asia – which is the southwestern corner of what is now called Turkey – had heard the Word of the Lord (19:10).

And how did people respond to the Word and the power of God? Jesus’ name was exalted and people feared the Lord (19:17). Moreover, those who had been worshipping false gods and trying to manipulate the supernatural world with magic confessed their sins and turned from their ways. In fact, they went so far as to destroy the tools they had used to profit from their deceptions (19:18-19). In other words, a true revival led to true repentance for many people – that’s what it meant for the Word of the Lord to increase and prevail (19:20).

So, is that really what we want, not just for the rest of the culture, but for ourselves? Are we ready to make the study of the Lord’s Word our top priority, and to make sure that others have a chance to hear it as well? Are we ready to fear God more than we are concerned about what other people think and say about us? Are we ready to give up all our personal goals and only be concerned with bringing more glory to Jesus? And are we ready to bring our lives into complete alignment with what God’s Word says, no matter what it might cost us?

If not, maybe we aren’t really that interested in revival at all. But if so, what’s stopping us from pursuing personal revival ourselves?

Acts 19:1-22 (ESV)

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.
10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.
19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.