How to Know You’re Experiencing Revival
In this blog series, we’ve extensively discussed that revival begins in individual believers first. But how do you know you’re experiencing revival?
The answer is by living a Spirit-filled life.
What is a Spirit-Filled Life?
A Spirit-filled life isn’t marked by emotional highs, speaking in tongues, or sinless perfection. It doesn’t give us immunity from temptation either. Rather, this life is marked by a quiet confidence, steady growth, and a heart turned fully toward Jesus.
To live a Spirit-filled life means to pursue a love-centered relationship with Jesus so deeply that your love for Him and His love for you compels change in your attitude and actions.
In John 14:15, Jesus describes this journey as one founded on love: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The word “keep” here means to treasure or hold something precious, and it shows us that true obedience flows from valuing Christ above all else.
This love relationship with Jesus changes everything. When He lives in our hearts, our desires transform—worship is no longer a routine; it becomes a joy. Reading Scripture is less about fulfilling an obligation and more about a genuine desire to connect with our Creator. Faith in Jesus isn’t about adhering to a set of rules or striving to improve ourselves. Instead, it’s a life of abiding in Him and letting His Spirit work within us.
In fact, Jesus continues in verses 16-17 by promising the Holy Spirit as a helper to all who love Him. We can’t live a holy life on our own merit, but we’ve been given the power—through the Spirit—to live the abundant life that God desires for us and has perfectly designed us to experience.
When we live this way, forgiveness, love, and obedience become natural outflows of the Spirit’s work in us. Forgiveness, for example, isn’t a feeling we manufacture—it’s a gift of the Spirit moving through us, empowering us to extend grace even when it feels impossible.
The Spirit-filled life is not a destination but the ongoing, beautiful work of God within us.
The Spirit-filled life, then, is not a destination but the ongoing, beautiful work of God within us. As we yield to Him, He revives our hearts, shaping our actions and our relationships, and gradually transforms the world around us. This is revival: the quiet, steady growth that starts within and moves outward, touching everyone we encounter. Let us be faithful to follow Jesus, holding fast to Him in love, and allowing His Spirit to make His presence known—first in us, and then through us.
This post is inspired by the sixth and final message of Mt. Bethel Church’s “Awakening” sermon series, entitled “Living a Spirit-Filled Life,” by Dr. Jody Ray.