The Unprecedented Move Of God

An unprecedented move of God can be seen in the post-modern revivals and historical accounts that have
shaped and mould the church and impacted society as a whole.

Revival:

1. We can’t make it happen but we must be prepare for when it happens

2. It happens when you least expect it.

3. It’s ORDINARY but you must be in expectancy mode FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY

UNPRECEDENTED MOVE OF GOD IN SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

At Solomon’s Temple Dedication: God’s presence manifested during an organised ritual ceremony going through
its normality (read the whole event in 1 King 6:1 - 9:3)

Then suddenly God shows up and manifested His Glory.

2 Chronicles 5:14 (KJV) – “So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of
the LORD had filled the house of God”.

The preparation & building of the Temple brought much anticipation however God exceeded their expectation.
Some facts, it took

 7 years to build
 Today’s estimated building cost will be four billion pounds (£)
 220,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep were offered at it’s dedication
 14 days feast of dedication was held

An unprecedented move of God is evidently

Unparalleled
Unequalled
Unmatched
Unrivalled
and will always result in extraordinary happenings both on our personal and corporate level.

Further studies of the following revivals shows much similarity with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day
of Pentecost in that much preparation and anticipation was followed by the extraordinary more of God.

1830-1840 - The Great Awakening Revival

1857-1861 - The Prayer Meeting Revival

1859 - The Irish Revival

1860 - The Jamaican Revival

1904 - The Welsh Revival

1904 - Azusa Street Revival

It often begins with the minority but always continues with the majority.
Footnote:
Staying the Course
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
September 23, 2018 Devotional

In 1857, an American businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier was sent out by his local church to begin a noon-
day prayer meeting on Fulton Street, right around the corner from Wall Street in New York City. A simple prayer,
a willing heart, and an act of obedience resulted in city transformation throughout the United States.

However, at that very first meeting, no one showed up in the first 35 minutes. But Jeremiah waited. Gradually,
six people wandered into the room at 35 minutes past the hour. Six months later, 10,000 people were meeting
for prayer throughout New York City. This led to one of the greatest spiritual renewals in the United State's
history.

What would have happened if Lanphier had decided to abandon the idea after 30 minutes?

In a small, darkened room, in the back of one of New York City's lesser churches, a man prayed alone. His
request of God was simple, but earth-shattering: "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" He was a man
approaching midlife, without a wife or family, but he had financial means. He had made a decision to reject the
"success syndrome" that drove the city's businessmen and bankers. God used this businessman to turn New
York City's commercial empire on its head.

He began a businessmen's prayer meeting on September 23, 1857.

The meetings began slowly, but within a few months 20 noonday meetings were convening daily throughout the
city. Thousands met to pray because one man stepped out.

This was an extraordinary move of God through one man.*

It only takes one man or woman who is willing to be obedient to be used by God to impact a workplace, city, or
even an entire nation.

Simple obedience can lead to things you cannot imagine. Are you willing to be used by God?

Credit:
*John Woodbridge,., More than Conquerors: Portraits of Believers from All Walks of Life (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1992), p.
337.

Here is J. Edwin Orr’s account of this ordinary beginning

Is There A Jeremiah Lanphier Among You?

This is a record of something God did 130 years ago in New York City. It illustrates how God has started every
harvest time in history, through the concerted prayer of his people. Toward the middle of the last century the
glow of earlier religious awakenings had faded. America was prosperous and felt little need to call on God. But
in the 1850s.

Secular and religious conditions combined to bring about a crash. The third great panic in American history
swept the giddy structure of speculative wealth away. Thousands of merchants were forced to the wall as banks
failed, and railroads went into bankruptcy. Factories were shut down and vast numbers thrown out of
employment. New York City alone having 30,000 idle men. In October 1857, the hearts of people were
thoroughly weaned from speculation and uncertain gain, while hunger and despair stared them in the face.
 On 1st July, 1857, a quiet and zealous business man named Jeremiah Lanphier took up an appointment
as a City Missionary in down-town New York. Lanphier was appointed by the North Church of the Dutch
Reformed denomination. This church was suffering from depletion of membership due to the removal
of the population from the down-town to the better residential quarters, and the new City Missionary
was engaged to make diligent visitation in the immediate neighbourhood with a view to enlisting church
attendance among the floating population of the lower city. The Dutch Consistory felt that it had
appointed an ideal layman for the task in hand, and so it was.
Burdened so by the need, Jeremiah Lanphier decided to invite others to join him in a noonday prayer-
meeting, to be held on Wednesdays once a week. He therefore distributed a handbill:

HOW OFTEN SHALL I PRAY?

As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of help; as often as I
feel the power of temptation; as often as I am made sensible of any spiritual declension or feel
the aggression of a worldly spirit.
In prayer we leave the business of time for that of eternity, and intercourse with men for
intercourse with God.
A day Prayer Meeting is held every Wednesday, from 12 to 1 o'clock, in the Consistory building in
the rear of the North Dutch Church, corner of Fulton and William Streets (entrance from Fulton
and Ann Streets).
This meeting is intended to give merchants, mechanics, clerks, strangers, and business men
generally an opportunity to stop and call upon God amid the perplexities incident to their
respective avocations. It will continue for one hour; but it is also designed for those who may find
it inconvenient to remain more than five or ten minutes, as well as for those who can spare the
whole hour.
Accordingly at twelve noon, 23rd September, 1857 the door was opened and the faithful Lanphier took his seat
to await the response to his invitation.. Five minutes went by. No one appeared. The missionary paced the room
in a conflict of fear and faith. Ten minutes elapsed. Still no one came. Fifteen minutes passed. Lanphier was yet
alone. Twenty minutes; twenty-five; thirty; and then at 12.30 p.m., a step was heard on the stairs, and the first
person appeared, then another, and another, and another, until six people were present and the prayer meeting
began. On the following Wednesday, October 7th, there were forty intercessors.
Thus in the first week of October 1857, it was decided to hold a meeting daily instead of weekly ..
Within six months, ten thousand business men were gathering daily for prayer in New York, and within
two years, a million converts were added to the American churches ..
Undoubtedly the greatest revival in New York's colourful history was sweeping the city, and it was of
such an order to make the whole nation curious. There was no fanaticism, no hysteria, simply an
incredible movement of the people to pray.
Credit: (From J. Edwin Orr, The Light of the Nations pp. 103-105)

UNPRECEDENTED MOVE OF GOD IN MY TEMPLE

In 1 Corinthians 6:19 – Apostle Paul admonished believers - “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

How To Prepare Yourself For An Unprecedented Move Of God. Just like Solomon’s Temple got God’s visitation
through concerted effort of dedication, sacrifices and giving we have to

1. Prepare By Cleansing
2. Prepare By Sacrificing
3. Prepare By Giving

Just do it and expect the extraordinary!