God ignites his people by his Spirit. He did in Israel, in Jesus' ministry, in the early church, and in church history. He still does.

Many visitations of the Spirit of God happen suddenly and powerfully as at Sinai, the dedication of the temple, Pentecost, and the home of Cornelius. Sometimes the Spirit of the Lord came upon individuals who then sparked a powerful move of God's Spirit among the people.

Such visitations of God's Spirit often cause revival.

At times in the long history of Israel, the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the nation.

The best known revival Bible verse is God's promise to answer the prayers of his repentant people. It comes in the chapter which tells how the glory of the Lord filled the temple. God gave that promise at the dedication of the temple.

'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' (2 Chronicles 7:14).

He kept his promise.

'When the people had fallen into apostasy; when the temple had been allowed to fall into disrepair; when idolatry and ignorance of God were plain to see; when the law was neglected or wilfully disobeyed ­ in such conditions God intervened afresh in the affairs of his people, and brought them back to the knowledge of himself and relationship with him that was their birthright. When he did so, he did not just intervene in the case of individuals. He intervened on a grand scale, swiftly righting wrongs and leaving nobody in the nation unaware of what was going on. And with people's response came manifestations of the power of God (see 2 Chronicles 15, 29­30; 2 Kings 23; Nehemiah 8­9)' (Mills 1990:26­27).

7. Ezra with Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9:1­6; 12:44­47).

(Pratney 1994:13).

Jesus came - Saviour, Redeemer, Deliverer, Lord and King.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him at his baptism. He then ministered in the power of the Spirit. That kind of ministry is typical of outpourings of the Spirit in the church. Jesus ushered in the new era of the new covenant, written in his blood. His church, filled with his Spirit, fulfils his mission in the world.

The early church lived in continuous revival. It saw rapid growth in the power of the Holy Spirit from the initial outburst at Pentecost. Multitudes joined the church, amid turmoil and persecution.

* 'So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily' (Acts 16:5).

The Lord did that through his Spirit in his people. It's an astounding account. Imagine it happening in your area! That is exactly what is happening now in many places around the world.

Those early Christians lived and ministered in the power of the Spirit. Like us, they were not faultless, as the epistles indicate, but they were on fire. People described them as 'these people who have been turning the world upside down' (Acts 17:6).

Throughout history many people led reform and revival movements. These powerfully affected the church and the community.

The Montanist movement flourished in Asia Minor from the second half of the second century into the fifth century.

It prized the records of the teachings of Christ and his apostles, but it believed, although not contradicting what had been said there, that the Holy Spirit continued to speak through prophets, and among these it included women. It stressed a high standard of Christian living among Christian communities into which laxity was beginning to creep.

'The most eminent convert to Montanism was Tertullian. Born in Carthage not far from the middle of the second century, of wealthy pagan parents, he was widely read in philosophy and history, knew Greek well, and practised law in Rome. In early middle life he was converted and became a presbyter. ... Early in the third century, in late middle life, he became a Montanist and remained critical of the majority church until his death, towards the close of the first quarter of the century' (Latourette 1975:128­129).

The church fathers founded monastic orders devoted to the service of God and people. In the fifth century Augustine of Hippo in North Africa, strongly influenced the church and society through his writings, and Patrick told of the conversions of thousands of the Irish, initiating active Celtic missionary activity. By 600 Augustine of Canterbury and his missionaries saw thousands accept Christianity in England and it was reported that they imitated the powers of the apostles in the signs which they displayed.

In the twelfth century Peter Waldo and the Waldensians began reform and revival movements which challenged the church and impacted society. Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century called people to forsake all and follow Jesus. Many did. They influenced others in society. John Wycliffe and his itinerant preachers, the Lollards, made a powerful impact on England in the fourteenth century. They aroused strong opposition leading to many martyrdoms.

In the fifteenth century John Hus in Bohemia and Savonarola in Italy led strong reform movements which brought revival but led to their martyrdoms. Hus was known for his unblemished purity of life and uncompromising stand for truth in a decadent society. Savonarola fasted, prayed and preached with prophetic fire which confronted evils of his time, filled the churches, and brought honesty into much of civic and business life.

Gutenburg's printing press invented in 1456 made the Scriptures widely available. This helped spark the sixteenth century Reformation with leaders such as Huldrych Zwingli in Switzerland initially calling for freedom of conscience, though later denying this for others, Martin Luther in Germany proclaiming justification by faith alone based on the supreme authority of scripture, John Calvin in Geneva emphasising the awesome sovereignty and grace of God. Radical reformers, such as Felix Manz the first Anabaptist martyr, were killed by some of the reformers in those days of heated religious conflict. John Knox fearlessly called Scotland to repentance amid the intense political and religious fervour of the times.

Since then many revival movements have won thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ and made a powerful impact on society. It still happens today.

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NOTE: The list of Revival Visitations is obviously incomplete. I would love to hear from anyone able to add to this list in Fire Fell and Flashpoints of Revival, especially concerning published works or email publications. This resource will be updated from time to time with additional reports.