December 5, 2025

Introduction

I am coming to the end of a long, very demanding travel schedule. This is the final week of the stretch and I will be on the road the entire week. To help me out, I have asked some of our favorite Give Him 15 guests to write posts. They are outstanding. Today’s post is another by revivalist Larry Sparks, entitled:

Advent Awakening: Heaven Makes the First Move

Throughout church history, great “moves of God” were, I believe, the combination of two key elements: the sovereignty of God and the stewardship of humankind. God moved, yes; but I am convinced that the supernatural intensity of revival is the collision of humankind moving toward God. Often, people are waiting on or praying for a “move of God” when they fail to realize that God has already made the first move.

God Moved Toward Humankind

There are three key biblical illustrations that showcase how God has definitively moved toward humankind through the Man and Messiah, Christ Jesus: the Incarnation, the torn veil, and the day of Pentecost.

The Incarnation

“So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (John 1:14 NLT)

During Christmastime, we celebrate the ultimate move of God—the Word condescending from Heaven, taking upon Himself frail humanity, and serving as the Messiah-Man who was 100 percent God and 100 percent Man. God came from Heaven to earth to live a perfect life, die a perfect death, and then rise from the dead, granting humanity access to God in three realms.

Through the perfect life of Jesus, we receive sanctification because it’s no longer us who live, but Christ in us (see Galatians 2:20). It’s faith in His perfect life that is key for our sanctifying process—the journey of becoming more and more like Jesus while we walk this planet. It’s faith in His perfect death that redeems us spiritually.

By placing our faith in His perfect atoning work, our spiritual status changes. We are delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and translated into His Kingdom as sons and daughters of God (see Colossians 1:13). Finally, it’s faith in His resurrection which affirms that one day, we too will share completely in His resurrected glory by also having glorified bodies (Romans 6:5; Philippians 3:20-21).

The Torn Veil

Jesus passionately cried out, took his last breath, and gave up his spirit. At that moment the veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom… (Matthew 27:50-51 TPT).

One of the cataclysmic moments during the death of Jesus was the tearing of the temple veil from top to bottom. It was as though the invisible hand of the Lord tore apart this exceedingly thick fabric, proclaiming that a physical building would no longer restrain or contain the presence of God. Now, all who would receive the Messiah’s atoning work on the Cross would become the temple of God, for His Spirit would take up residence within them (see 1 Corinthians 6:19).

God had long sought a resting place on earth, but not one created by human hands—one that He Himself had fashioned. This resting place would become redeemed humanity. If Jesus shed His blood to make atonement for our sins and grant us passage to eternal life, that would have been beyond sufficient. However, the Old Covenant pointed to another dimension. The Scriptures of old spoke little of Heaven, although that is definitely a tremendous blessing of being redeemed. Rather, the Old Covenant pointed to a day when the barrier of sin was removed so that humankind could become the new resting place for the Spirit of God.

Theologian N.T. Wright comments that “the biblical narrative is not about how we get to go up to God, but about how God comes to us and what happens when He does.”

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

The Day of Pentecost

“On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2 NLT)

The Old Testament prophecies that spoke of the Holy Spirit came to a dramatic fulfillment on the Day of Pentecost. God’s home address had changed—at least partially. No more Ark of the Covenant. No more tents or tabernacles. The Spirit of God officially moved out, changed locations, and now, because the sins of humankind had been absorbed by the spotless Lamb, it was possible for sinful flesh to actually become a house for the Holy God. The Son of God would ascend to the right hand of God the Father.

And yet, prior to leaving His disciples, Jesus made a promise that He would not leave them alone as orphans (see John 14:18). He promised to send the Comforter, the one called the Holy Spirit. We are not waiting for another Pentecost. Only One Man will one day split the sky and return to planet Earth—Jesus. Until then, we are not waiting on another outpouring to come from above; if anything, Heaven is waiting for this outpouring to come out of the “new temple” and flow into the Earth, bringing healing, salvation, and transformation to the nations. Where is this temple? Redeemed humanity.

What Is Our Response to the Move of God?

God has made the definitive move toward humanity. We see this beginning with the Incarnation, continuing with the torn veil, and then culminating with the Day of Pentecost. God made the first move; how will we respond?

In studying the great revivals that have punctuated the past two thousand years of church history, I’ve discovered a common denominator that seems nonnegotiable to catalyzing a powerful outpouring of the Spirit—the people’s determination to move toward God. The following are but a few examples:

We see evangelist George Whitefield and Methodist pioneer John Wesley persisting in prayer until the power of God fell upon them.

Charles Finney was frustrated over the lack of effectiveness in people’s prayers. This frustration fueled his hunger and thirst to experience God at any cost. As a result, on October 10, 1821, he experienced a powerful filling by the Holy Spirit. He urged the people to pray to God earnestly and expectantly for the immediate outpouring of the Spirit.

Phoebe Palmer opened her home for what became known as the “Tuesday meeting,” making space for people to come and experience the deeper Christian life through a touch by the Spirit.

Jeremiah Lamphier was a businessman in New York City who felt led to start a noontime weekly prayer meeting. He was willing to persist after the first few meetings were received by poor attendance. As a result, he pioneered a great prayer revival that undoubtedly was responsible for birthing some of the most demonstrative and historical revival movements that would come in the decades to follow.

Andrew Murray longed and prayed for revival in South Africa. His desperation for God to move with power and demonstration is palpable when reading his various Spirit-filled works.

Dwight L. Moody became desperate and thirsty for God, crying out for a baptism in the Spirit. His cry for this filling was consistent and persistent. Following Moody’s power encounter with God, it is said that even though he didn’t radically alter his evangelistic methods, the fruitfulness of his ministry shifted significantly, and many more people received Christ because of his outreach.

In Wales, Evan Roberts began to hunger and thirst for God as a thirteen-year-old boy. He had two requests of the Lord: 1) for God to fill him with the Holy Spirit; and 2) for God to send revival to Wales. History books record that both requests were fulfilled, as Roberts was the key catalyst and a noteworthy personality attached to the 1904 Welsh Revival.

Frank Bartleman was an intercessor who contended for a historic outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the United States. William Seymour was a half-blind African American minister living in a very racially hostile era. Who would have thought that Bartleman’s travailing intercession, combined with Seymour’s bold hunger for Holy Spirit baptism, would have produced the Azusa Street Revival of 1906, birthing the modern Pentecostal movement.

From the 1900s onward, there are multiple examples—some local and some global—of men, women, and entire church communities who moved toward God in the place of prayer, desperation, and hunger. Not only did they cry out in the place of prayer, but they were willing to make room for God to move in the ways He saw fit. That was huge.

So, who will make history by making a bold move towards the move of God?

Pray with me:

Father, You have made Your move. The Incarnation, the Torn Veil, and Pentecost confirm that You have drawn near to us--even while we were dead in our sins, not looking for You. In response, we draw near to You, Lord, and thank You for fresh encounters with Your presence in this Advent season.

Our decree:

We decree that God has sovereignly made His move towards us. We respond to this invitation by moving towards Him through hunger and prayer.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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For additional inspiration on how you position yourself to experience personal revival during this Advent Season, please download my free e-book, The Glory Has Come, at www.larrysparksministries.com/gloryhascome

Link to Free E-book, www.larrysparksministries.com/gloryhascome

About Larry Sparks

Larry Sparks has spent over two decades in ministry, igniting hunger for the Holy Spirit and calling the Church into revival and awakening. A Master of Divinity graduate from Regent University and mentee of Pentecostal historian Dr. Vinson Synan, he served as publisher of Destiny Image for 13 years. Today, Larry travels globally—preaching, teaching, and sounding a prophetic call for the Church to return to Book of Acts-level prayer, presence and power. He is the bestselling author of Pentecostal Fire and serves on the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders under Cindy Jacobs. He lives in Texas with his wife and daughter.

References:

Wright, N.T. Vision of Ephesians. 2025, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 51.