It is often overwhelming when we take a look at the world that we live in. We are inundated with terrifying news of shootings, kidnappings, and terrorist plots. The idea of morals and values is outdated, old-fashion nonsense. Our political processes are more and more akin to an old episode of Jerry Springer. What is going on? What should we do?
In truth, what we really need is for God to graciously revive us as a nation and people. So... should we pull out the tents and start singing 10 stanzas of "Just As I Am"? Not exactly.
I'm not trying to be glib. Many people have benefited from the kind of tent revival that we usually imagine when we think about the subject of revival. However, according to the Bible, true revival only comes through the grace of God, not because we schedule a meeting. Let’s look at a few things that usually occur during a season of revival.
Believers Pray Eagerly and Earnestly
Growing up, self-sufficiency and resourcefulness was viewed as a virtue to be desired. And, it is true that individuals must have a certain amount of self-sufficience. At the same time, followers of Christ must recognize our complete and utter dependence on God.
“Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). These words from Jesus are very straightforward. We depend upon Him for everything! Therefore, if we desire to see true revival, we must not look to ourselves but to God.
The apostles learned this lesson when Jesus gave them the task of being His witnesses “to the end of the earth.” A daunting and impossible endeavor in their own power. So, they were told to wait for the Holy Spirit to come and empower them for the work God was giving to them (Acts 1:8). How did they wait? In devoted, corporate prayer (Acts 1:14).
Similarly, when God’s people throughout history have desired to see a mighty working of the Spirit they began in prayer. For instance, a small prayer meeting in the North Dutch Church in 1857 set in motion what we now know as the Great Revival.
With no other options on the table as to how to keep this dying church alive, Jeremiah Lanphier invited people to come pray with him. Six people showed up for the meeting and they began to pray. Perhaps that doesn’t seem like much to us, but God can use six people just as easily as six hundred people if He sees fit.
Case in point: after two years the fruit of this prayer meeting spread across the country and an estimated two million people were added to local churches. This is the power of God!
God Convicts the Sinful Hearts of People
After hearing the preaching of Peter and the other apostles, “[the crowd was] cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37). These people were filled with awe before the presence of God and true, godly sorrow came upon them. This type of response is another pattern that is important for us to recognize in instances where God revives His people.
Throughout the history of revival we see many examples when groups of people become overwhelmed by their sin and creatureliness in the presence of God. Even this type of response is a grace of God. He must soften the hearts, “preparing the soil” to hear and recognize our human failures before an almighty God.
Jonathan Edwards, the puritan preacher and leader during the Great Awakening of the 1730s, was not known for an impressive, dramatic preaching style. In fact, Edwards was a dry, monotone orator who simply read his sermons from a manuscript. Nevertheless, God used this man to bring about revival in his time.
While preaching his most well-known sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God”, Edwards read his manuscript as usual; however, this time people wept over their sin. How did Edwards achieve such a response? It was nothing he did; rather, God worked in and through Edwards. God softened the hearts of the hearers and revealed to them, through the preaching of His word, their need of a savior.
Jesus Is Exalted
After such overwhelming experiences of God’s holiness and conviction of personal sin, a time of revival leads to a new experience of love, joy, and peace as Jesus is exalted.
Why? Because after seeing our sin, the only peace we find is in knowing that Christ took our punishment. This understanding of the gospel and why is it “good news” overwhelms the hearts of the saved.
Truly encountering God always changes people. We find examples of this type of change throughout the Bible, whether it is the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5) or the apostle Peter (Luke 5:8). When an individual truly encounters God, changes happen.
Likewise, in our own day, when people come to understand the depths of their sin and the grace of God, they are forever changed by His mercy. The sinful desires that once ravaged the body are now mitigated by the holy desires that come through the power of the Spirit.
When God saved me, I no longer wanted to indulge in the things of my past. I now found true joy and peace being together with God’s people in worship. I desired to hear God’s voice as I diligently read and studied His Word, the Bible. All of this only came because of God’s mercy and grace. True revival gives believers the desire to live a life that makes much of Jesus.
Spirit-Empowered Witness
Finally, in a season of revival, the Spirit empowers believers to be bold witnesses of Jesus Christ.
If a friend of yours was to win the lottery, you would hear about it. How do I know? Because that type of “good news” is not kept secret for very long.
However, Christians claim that the only true “good news” is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fact that God became flesh and entered into His own creation to save broken sinner is an amazing, unbelievable truth that should bring us more joy and excitement than anything else in the world. Why then is it so difficult for Christians to tell other people about Him?
A revival we desperately need in our day is for God to ignite a spirit of immediacy when it comes to gospel witness. We need to be creating and cultivating a culture of evangelism in our local churches. A culture where people see sharing their faith as a regular, daily occurrence.
Having gifted leaders that are willing to boldly preach truth to unbelievers is a great blessing. We have been blessed to have people like Billy Graham do just that. Yet for a greater impact with long term reach, I believe that the example the New Testament gives us is that of regular, everyday Christians taking it upon themselves to stand up for the faith and to take the gospel message wherever they go.
So as we pray for God to revive His people, we should be asking Him to use us. As followers of Christ we are simply tools to be used in the hands of the Master. May the Master be pleased to use us to glorify Himself.
Therefore, trusting in God, looking to past examples, and moving forward with the gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray to see a revival in my own time and place. I pray that God would glorify Himself in raising up more revival leaders, that He would soften the hearts of many people, and that it would please Him to bring salvation to more and more people in our communites and around the world!
"Resolved: I will seek God's will in seeing a spiritual revival happen in my time and place through the power of His Spirit." -Jonathan Edwards
"Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" -Psalm 85:6
Related Posts
