True Nature Of
Revival
Revival is a renewal or reawakening of our relationship with God, not
a reawakening of religion (man's way of getting to God) but rather the
bringing back of Gods people to a place of intimacy with Him.
Accompanied with a zealousness for His presence, is a renewed desire
for His truth, His word and His laws. True believers, on fire for the
living God, determined to do away with all the works of the enemy and
live victorious lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Revival is a sovereign act of God upon the church, whereby He
intervenes to lift the situation completely out of human hands and
works in extraordinary power. The purpose of revival is to make God,
not men, famous! To focus the eyes of the people, not upon human
leaders, but upon the Divine Leader; Jesus Christ. To give glory not
to great men but to a great Savior.
'In times of revival, God reveals himself to man in awful holiness and
irresistible power. If we find a revival that is not spoken against,
we had better look again to ensure it is a revival, because revival
and the exclusive love of comfortable truths are bitter enemies'.
RICHARD OWEN ROBERTS (1874-1945).
WE ARE RENEWED BY OBEYING GOD:
Throughout the history of Israel, Judah and the church, there has
always been a faithful remnant. A minority prepared to do whatever is
necessary in order to retain a right relationship with God. Invariably
revival starts with these individuals, or with small groups of
dedicated believers, before spreading further a-field. If we are to
see revival at first hand, we must be prepared to be that faithful
remnant. We must take up our cross daily and follow Christ whatever
the cost. In other words ‘the buck stops here’.
We must be in revival
ourselves before we can reach out and take revival to an unbelieving
world.
Revival is rarely a spontaneous event, though it may often appear that
way. Generally speaking it is only after many years of dedication and
obedience to God, along with copious amounts of prayer, that the first
flames of revival fire start to burn.
‘This is what
Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and
faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in
the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the
commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he
prospered’
(2 Chronicles 31:20-21).
Hezekiah did
“what was good
and right and faithful before the Lord.”
He led the people of Judah in spiritual renewal. His actions serve as
a model of personal revival: He remembered God’s compassion, he kept
going despite ridicule, he aggressively removed evil influences from
his life, he interceded for the people, asking for The Lord’s pardon,
he was open to spontaneity in worship and he contributed generously to
God’s work. We could do far worse than consider how we might apply
these principles in our daily walk with The Lord.
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF REVIVAL:
Whilst it would be true to say that no two revivals are the same. If
we examine scripture, along with eye witness accounts of more recent
revivals we can clearly see a pattern emerging, which allows us to
find common characteristics for these sovereign acts of God:
First Personal revival, then Local, then National, then International.
Revelation of Gods truth:
Usually accomplished through powerful
preaching. (Acts 2:14-47)
A spirit of deep repentance:
often accompanied by weeping, and fasting: (Psalm 85; Joel 2:12).
Prayer: All
revivals involve much prayer with repentance. (2 Chronicles 7:14;
Psalm 51). The birth of revival in Pensacola can be traced back to
prayer. John Kilpatrick, Pastor of Brownsville Assembly of God, along
with his church leadership set aside Sunday nights exclusively to pray
for revival. They prayed for the lost, for political leaders, church
leaders, denominational leaders and school officials. Three years
later their prayers were answered.
Pulling down of strongholds: (2
chronicles 17:6; 2 kings 18:4)
Cleansing of the church: Only through
the changes seen in us, in many of our religious ways and attitudes
and in much of our thinking will the lost turn to Jesus. (Psalms 51).
The re-focusing on Jesus in peoples lives, as Lord of Lords and King
of Kings:
A more intimate relationship with the heart of God The Father:
A
determination NOT to grieve The Holy Spirit:
A renewed love and respect for Gods word and Gods laws:
A new joy in God's people:
‘There was great
joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of
Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem’.
(2 Chr 30:26).
Revival is always accompanied by supernatural signs and wonders:
(Acts 8:6-8).
A renewed desire to win the lost for the kingdom of God: At the
age of eighty-six, John Wesley preached a hundred sermons in sixty
towns in nine weeks.
A love for each other and for the unity of the body of Christ:
A new supernatural empowering and strength, with a burning desire to
accomplish all the things we have been called to do by The Lord. ‘All
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues as the Spirit enabled them’
(Acts 2:4).
Change of lifestyle immediately: Very
dramatic change in Society. (1 Sam 7:3; Isa 32:15).
CONCLUSIONS:
It is so important that each of us prepare for revival. The revival
that will result in
‘the full number
of the Gentiles coming to the kingdom’
(Rom 11:25). God is of course Sovereign,
but He does respond to the heart of His children as they come to Him
with prayer, time and talents. His heart is overflowing with love to
the people of the earth. He so longs to bring in the last great
revival. Let us not stand in His way. However, let us always be
mindful of the fact that; He will pour out His Holy Spirit in His
time, His way and wherever He chooses (Psalms 45:4; Isaiah 44:3;
Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28; John 4:14; John 7:37-39).
`Let us
acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as
the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter
rains, like the spring rains that water the earth`
(Hosea 6:3).
W. Joe Ingram
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