God of Revival

This week, we're starting with a song from Bethel Music that's from 2020. I love this song because it speaks to God's power for spiritual awakening and rival. It connects deeply to Scripture in several ways, reflecting themes of God’s sovereignty, His ability to bring life from death, and the promise of transformation through faith and prayer.

Here are a few key themes from the song and their connection to Scripture:

Song Lyrics: “The darkest night, You can light it up / You can light it up, O God of revival”
This speaks of God’s ability to bring light into the darkest of situations, a theme deeply rooted in Scripture.

• John 1:5 (NLT): “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
  • This verse reflects the truth that God’s light—Jesus Christ—overcomes all forms of darkness, whether personal struggles, societal issues, or spiritual battles.
• Isaiah 60:1-2 (NLT): “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.”
  • The song echoes the hope found in Isaiah, where God’s light brings restoration and renewal even amidst a world filled with darkness.

Song Lyrics: “Come awaken Your people, come awaken this city / O God of revival, pour it out, pour it out”
The lyrics are a call for God’s Spirit to bring revival, awakening individuals, communities, and nations to His presence and truth.

• Acts 2:17-18 (NLT): “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy.”
  • This passage in Acts speaks of the outpouring of God’s Spirit in the last days, a revival where people of all generations and backgrounds experience God’s power and are transformed by it.
• 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT): “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
  • The cry for revival in the song mirrors this promise from God. Revival often comes when people turn to God in repentance, and this verse promises restoration and healing in response to that prayerful pursuit.

Song Lyrics: “There’s no prison wall You can’t break through / No mountain You can’t move / All things are possible”
This line references the limitless power of God, especially over the greatest enemy—death.

• 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT): “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
  • These lyrics reflect the triumphant message of 1 Corinthians: through Jesus, God has the ultimate victory over sin and death. Revival is tied to this resurrection power—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us, bringing life where there once was death.
• Ezekiel 37:5 (NLT): “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!”
  • This is from the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, where God brings life to a seemingly dead situation, much like the song asks for revival in spiritually barren places.

Song Lyrics: “You’ve already won, O God of revival”
This lyric points to the assurance of victory in God’s plans, a theme prevalent throughout Scripture.

• Romans 8:37 (NLT): “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
  • God’s ultimate victory has already been secured through Jesus, and this promise gives us hope that revival and transformation are possible because the outcome is already won.
• Isaiah 43:19 (NLT): “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
  • This passage connects to the song’s theme of God bringing new life, fresh outpourings of His Spirit, and revival in barren, seemingly hopeless places.