The time has finally arrived. I am so excited. This week is our week of Revival Meetings. I hope you have been praying as I have, that this be more than just a series of meetings and that we truly experience revival. I will tell you a secret though…If you don’t come you won’t be revived. So please plan to attend each service faithfully and prayerfully. We Need Revival!
Some might think, “Do we really need revival?” I mean why disturb the status quo? I mean after all millions belong to churches in America today; publishing houses produce more and more Christian Books and Magazines; Christian Colleges number in the hundreds if not the thousands; and it seems people are always running to some type of religious activity or program. I mean what more could we really need? WE NEED REVIVAL! God’s people have become forgetful and formal. Carnality, carelessness, and compromise have stolen the testimonies of many churches and Christians in this confused, corrupt world. Our greatest need is not more men, money, or methods. The greatest need is for spiritual revival, a divine infusion of life into the church which declares itself through an inflowing, outflowing, and overflowing of the Holy Ghost. This troubled society with its tired saints must have revival. Real revival will make a difference in our churches and society at large.
There are many misconceptions about Real Revival. The very word revival suggests restoration, renewal, and return. The process that leads to revival always begins with man’s rebellion, continues with his remorse and climaxes with his repentance and restoration. The pattern and process is amplified in the Book of Judges. Revival comes from heaven. It cannot be worked up. It must be prayed down. It is not man’s doing but God’s miracle. Methods, organizations, and publicity are not revival and do not produce revival. Only revival that comes from the bosom of God can awaken, arouse, and activate God’s people. Emotionalism and enthusiasm are not revival, although emotions and enthusiasm are certainly involved when God moves among His people. Evangelism, simply sharing the gospel, is not revival. Genuine revival that results in a love for lost men everywhere always manifests itself in evangelism, but evangelism alone is not revival. Education is not revival. Learning how to get the job done by mental discipline and moral principles is a poor substitute for heaven-sent revival. Enlargement is not revival. Church growth alone is not an indication of real revival. Though the church usually does grow when real revival is experienced.
While there are many misconceptions about real revival, Real Revival doe have certain mandates if you will. Real revival commences with brokenness. Believers must get alone with God. He speaks and they tremble at His Word. There is conviction, confession, and cleansing. Revival begins with God’s people. Revival continues with beseeching. Prayer is a vital element in the channel of revival. When we pray we commune with God. No work of God is of lasting value without prayer. Revival continues with a burden. After being confronted with our sin, after beseeching our Heavenly Father for cleansing, we are then burdened for the will of God. We want more than anything else to find, follow, and finish God’s will for our lives. Revival culminates in behavior. Revival climaxes in a change of behavior. Saints turn from stubborn, slack, and sinful ways to obedience. When saints obey, then Jesus is exalted in our hearts, our heads, and our habits. Revival that does not affect our beliefs and our behavior is man-made, not heaven-sent. The mandates for a heaven-sent revival are set forth in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
So with all the misconceptions about real revival and in light of the mandates for real revival, how will we know when Real Revival has come? Well when Real Revival comes you will notice certain revival manifestations. Some undeniable traits of revival are a humble spirit, hatred of sin, hunger for the Scriptures, holiness in saints, honesty among servants, and a harvest of souls. We are rightly concerned about church growth, evangelism, youth conflicts, Christian schools, family life, and discipleship training. Let us add one more concern—the biblical teaching on revival. John Wesley may have handed us the revival key when he said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen. They alone will shake the gates of Hell and set the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.”
Real revival is desperately needed in our Church and in many of the Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must not settle for the counterfeits. Genuine revival will make a difference. It will disturb the status quo. Much of that which is called revival in the world today has produced no change of behavior. The evidences of real revival among the saints include a humble spirit, hatred of sin, hunger for the Scriptures, holiness in the saints, honesty among servants, and a harvest of souls. When God’s people get serious about their spiritual condition and meet God’s conditions for revival, real revival will come from God.
Lord, Please Send Us Real Revival!
In Christian Love and With Many Prayers,