Scripture: Acts 28 v 1 - 10: "And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary."
This passage of scripture can be used as a blueprint for how the Holy Spirit revivals get started.
Paul and the 275 member crew were washed up on this Greek island after being shipwrecked in a terrible storm on the Mediterranean Sea. In the midst of the storm when all were in fear of their lives and trying to get into a lifeboat, Paul brings a word from God to them, Unless you all stay in the ship we will all be drowned. They listened and during the night the ship ran aground on an island and everyone was still alive.
The islanders make them a fire and while collecting more wood for it Paul gets bitten on the hand by a venomous snake, which has no effect on him.
Mark 16 v 17-18: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
These signs manifested in Christians through the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural and only show up in born again believers. They are given as signs to people who don't know Jesus or who may be sceptical of His power.
The islander's opinion of Paul swings from escaped murderer getting his just desserts, to a god who should be worshipped. When he doesn't die from the snake bite the islanders and crew of the vessel are truly amazed. He then heals a man, the father of the island's chief, of a serious illness which leads to all the islanders coming for prayer and being healed.
This is how Jesus reaches the lost. We are made vulnerable from the very start (Paul was a prisoner) and then we may face a near death experience (shipwreck) so everyone can see a miracle (when no lives are lost) followed by a venomous snake bite and Paul casually throwing it into the fire (no fear) and later no ill effects (miracle).
The Holy Spirit was in full control making a storybook narrative to bring truth to these barbarians in probably the only opportunity they would ever have. It was only a small spark but they would show and tell this wondrous tale with relish to every boat load that stopped in future. And we have an account of it too.
This happened to our prayer team travelling at night to an unfamiliar destination. To complicate matters we were stuck behind slow moving vehicles in thick fog for hours. When we got past that hurdle a sudden unmarked sharp bend on a mountain sent our vehicle into an uncontrolled spin towards a steep cliff we had no knowledge of.
The driver said afterwards that the Spirit of God was upon him, especially upon his feet upon the pedals and his hands on the wheel. One moment we were heading for certain death, the next hurtling towards a the steep side of a mountain serious injuries or worse. Suddenly the vehicle was turned at a 90 degree angle broadside onto the mountain. And then from going forward the car was going backwards (I still have never heard how that happened). There was another sharp turn and our final resting spot was being reversed up a hill.
When the driver went to check out way the car had swung around he went pale. When the car had been about to go over the cliff which had no barriers or reflective boards, we were only about 5 metres from the edge when the car changed direction and we went broadside then backwards. At the point of it going backwards it was one metre from a deep hole. At the final resting spot where it suddenly turned up the mountain slope it was one metre from a deadly drop. On an unfamiliar road in the pitch dark Jesus had us covered. Lord it was years ago but thank You again for Your extraordinary power and love.
We were not the only vehicles caught in this predicament, so being further terrified by trucks out of control ploughing into us, we climbed out of the car. Giving praise and thanks to God for miraculously sparing our lives after we saw how close to death we had come.
We managed to contact the church members to come tow us out of the mountainside and spent the whole weekend in strong ministry correcting false doctrines they had become trapped in. They were amazed that we had survived.
The road signs were removed by the many shamans, witchdoctors, who lived on this mountain. They put spells on the road that caused vehicles to crash over the cliff which they could loot for money and food. The local police were terrified of them so they never got arrested. There are about 2000 witches and shamans living on this mountain. While we waited for the towtruck we observed a minibus full of them come to see why they had no booty that night.
Our survival and flashing a torch to warn other traffic on this deliberately unmarked hazard saved many lives that night, got us noticed and listened to more seriously. Satan had tried to stop us permanently, but he failed. A driver in a vehicle that had been behind us but knew the road was alarmed when they did not see our lights in front of them. They turned back and found us, taking some of us to the motel and getting the towtruck arranged. It truly was a night of miracles.
When vulnerable people get healed then everyone wants the touch of Jesus. This is what is known as a move of the Holy Spirit to be a witness for Jesus and the Kingdom of God. When it happens on a larger scale it is called a Revival. It happened recently in Brazil where many blind people had their sight restored.
This world desperately needs a true revival right now and the one that started in Asbury nearly two years ago still continues and has sparked similar moves of the Holy Spirit across America and in other countries.
So to be really used of God be ready for weird things to happen to get His message across. Don't panic be bold and strong - Jesus will do the rest. God is seeking those who not only spiritually "think out of the box" but actively do "out of the box" things under His control to bring the knowledge of Jesus to the lost.
This world is full of drama everywhere with fires, floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, protestors, wars, militant terrorists, plagues of strange diseases, feuds, messy divorces, so one of the blessings of God is to bring peace to the troubled and fearful.
He will use the peacemakers, His children, so when all around you are screaming with fear, calm them, pray for the peace of Jesus to pass all understanding, and let Him take control through you. There is nothing the Father will not do to reach the lost through you if you let Him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father I am prepared to do whatever is needed to reach the unsaved. I want to be ready at any moment that I am needed to play my part in Your plan to rescue the lost, no matter how crazy it seems to everyone else. If You could send the fire of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin to bring about revival, Lord I am ready to do my part. In Jesus' name. Amen.