When I was in Ephesus, I meditated on
Acts 19, the story of a remarkable revival that took place in Ephesus that changed the lives of so many people in Asia Minor. Many people openly confessed their evil acts. They brought sorcery scrolls and burned them publicly.
Acts 19:18-20 "Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."
50,000 drachmas is equivalent to about 6 million dollars today. Can you imagine people burning expensive scrolls? I was reminded of the time I burned all my LP records (the bands that I had idolized). On top of that, the idol shops couldn’t sell their products because the people were not buying them anymore. Their business was hurting badly. That was the reason why a silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver idols of Artemis, was so upset. He gathered the townsmen and convinced them to capture Paul’s traveling companions, and they rushed them into the theater (shown earlier). They shouted for two hours “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Can you imagine idol shops going out of business as a result of Paul’s preaching? These were the effects of revival.
Similar fruits were seen in
the Wales revival in 1904. When the revival took place in Wales, in the United Kingdom, thousands of people were saved. People who used to waste their money to get drunk were now saving it, giving it to help their churches and to other worthwhile venues. Bars and clubs were not making money. Stealing and other offenses grew less and less, and as a result, fewer such cases were brought before the courts. Instead of dirty jokes and gossip, people gathered to pray and sing praises to God. Men stopped using profanity. It has been reported that their horses were so used to being cursed at that they didn’t understand when orders were given in kind, clean words. People became responsible - paying their outstanding bills and paying back the money they owed to others. Many broken relationships were restored. Even the children were greatly affected by the revival, and they started children’s prayer meetings.
They marched through the streets singing praises to God. The revival that started in a small church called
Moriah Calvinistic Methodist Chapel (Wales) soon broke out and affected the whole nation of Wales. The power of the Holy Spirit changed not only individual lives but the whole community and the nation as well.
There was also the revival that took place in
Pyong Yang, Korea in 1907, in which many lives were changed. Tens of thousands of people gave their hearts to the Lord. People confessed their sins openly in the church. Stolen goods were returned. Hatred turned into love, and severed relationships were restored. People who were touche
d by the revival stopped getting drunk. Men stopped using profanity. In 2007, millions of Christians in Korea commemorated the 100th year anniversary of the 1907 Revival. They had a big rally in Seoul and prayed earnestly in one heart: “Lord, do it again in 2007!”
My prayer is “
Lord, do it here in the DFW area!” We need God’s revival in this city. I hope and pray that what happened in Ephesus happens here. When God’s revival hits, the power of the Holy Spirit will turn this city upside down! Can you imagine what will happen if revival took place here? Adult bookstores and men’s clubs will go out of business. Casinos in nearby states will close down because people will stop gambling. Alcohol sales will go down because people will stop getting drunk! People will start to use their money more wisely. Drug lords will have no one to do business with. The drug lords themselves will repent and become evangelists. Broken relationships will be restored. Racism will be gone. Hundreds of thousands of people will turn to God and become Christians.
When Pastor Marc Choi called me and asked me if I can speak at their retreat, I gave my usual response - "I need to pray about it." At first, I told him that it will be hard because I didn't want to miss Sunday at my church. When he told me that the theme of the retreat was "Even Now," I knew that this was God's assignment for me to speak His message of repentance in the NY area.
