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Revival
Definition of
Revival
Revival may be defined as the reawakening of religious faith
and spiritual life and activity.
What Revival
is Not
Revival is not a miracle, nor is it dependent on a miracle in
any sense.
What Revival Is
A New
Beginning
A revival is
nothing but a new beginning of obedience to God.
Indicators of
a Need For Revival
- Heart is hard
- Truths of the bible appear like a dream
- Faith degenerates to mental
assent
- No longer eager to hear and act on God’s word
- Lack of brotherly love and
compassion
- Dissensions, jealousies, and evil speaking
- Members of the church are in gross
and scandalous sin
- When the wicked triumph over churches
- When sinners are careless and stupid
Christians are more to blame for not being revived
than sinners are to blame for not being converted.
Results of
Revival
Faith is renewed
Renewed love:
- of God
- of God’s word
- of fellow Christians
- of sinners
Breaks the power of the world and of sin
over Christians
Zeal to bring
others to Christ
- because you love him so much
Growth of the church
Constituents
of Revival
There are two
kinds of means requisite to promote revival:
- That which influences men
- That which influences God
The truth is used to influence men, and prayer is used to influence God.
Prayer
Ezra thanked
God that he was granting the Jews “a little reviving,” a spiritual and political
restoration from their bondage and exile in Babylonia.
This was in answer to prayers for national
revival such as Psalm 80:18 and 85:6, and to the prophecy of Hosea that God would revive
his people when they would earnestly seek him and return to him.
I will go
and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their
affliction they will seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath
torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he
revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Hosea
5:15-6:2
cf. 14:7
Confession of Sin
Great
revivals are never sent without prayer and intercession and confession of sin:
- 1 Samuel 7:5-9
- 1 Kings 18:36-37
- Nehemiah 9:2-3
Above all there is a return to the Lord himself and to moral righteousness and godly living.
2 Chronicles
7:14 remains the greatest revival promise of the word of God.
Personal Revival
Passages
dealing with personal reviving include those which use “quicken” in the KJV,
often translated “revive” in the newer versions.
David seeks for the Lord to revive him and bring his
soul out of trouble.
In another Psalm he voices his confidence that God will revive him (or, keep him
alive) and save him from his enemies.
In Psalm 119 the Psalmist repeatedly asks the Lord
to “quicken” or revive him , according to his
word (vv. 25, 107, 154; cf. vv. 50,93), in his
ways (v. 37), through his righteousness (v.
40), according to his lovingkindness (vv. 88,159),
and according to his judgments or ordinances (vv. 149,156).
The exalted,
eternal, holy, and transcendent God is the one who delights to dwell with the man broken
and humbled in spirit, in order:
to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57:15).
The
father’s cry regarding his prodigal son is the epitome of revival:
This my
son was dead, and is alive again Luke 15:24).
Paul reminds
Timothy to “rekindle” the gift which God had given him.
The NT records how the early Christians in
Jerusalem were revived when they prayed for new boldness and all were filled with the Holy
Spirit to witness concerning the resurrection of Jesus.
Genuine revivals,
following the biblical patterns, are the sovereign work of God. There is always a divine
or miraculous element about them:
- Nehemiah 8:10,17
- Acts 4:31
“No
human being can kindle the interest, quicken the conscience of a people, or generate that
intensity of spiritual hunger that signifies revival” (F. Carlton Booth,
“Revival,” BDT, p. 460).
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. 2 Chronicles 7:14
We call
sinners to decide on the spot whether they will obey the gospel. I have no more authority
to let you take time to deliberate whether you will obey God, than I have to let sinners
do so.
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