Shoulder To Shoulder #1331 -- 2/27/23 Title: "Is Another Spiritual Awakening Eminent? -- (Part 3) The Central Focus of Revival (A)
"Standing Together, Shoulder To Shoulder, As We Fight the Good Fight of Faith"
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
Shoulder To Shoulder #1331 -- 2/27/23
Title: "Is Another Spiritual Awakening Eminent? -- (Part 3) The Central Focus of Revival (A)
My Dear Friend and Fellow Kingdom Seeker:
Greetings again from another windy day in Yuma. God gave us another wonderful Sunday a few days ago. Attendance was back up in spite of more and more of our Canadian folks heading north, and we had first-timers again, keeping that 16 consecutive Sunday streak going. Even though we have lost a number of folks during and since Covid, this has still been a good "rebounding" season for the Chapel.
The topic of revival and spiritual awakening is still one of the most talked about subjects as the ripples of the Asbury Revival continue to spread. The popularity of the movie, "The Jesus Revolution" has contributed to the interest to a large extent. It certainly shocked Hollywood by coming in the third highest revenue generating film of the week. Nobody expected that. Many theaters are actually holding it over for more showings. Jo Ann and I went to see it last week, and I agree with Joel Rosenburg (The Rosenburg Report) who said that most Christian movies are not particularly well done, but this one is exceptional.
Many people have wondered, now that the Asbury Revival meetings have moved off campus, whether or not the movement will continue. Some Christian leaders felt it was a mistake to shut them down on campus -- and even in town -- in the first place, and that they should have continued them. Even as recently as this past Monday, misinformed individuals and periodicals assumed the revival was already over, or will soon fade into history. Religion News even posted an article entitled, "The Asbury Revival Is Over: What Happens Now?" (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/the-asbury-revival-is-over-what-happens-now/ar-AA184782). The liberal Washington Post carried the same article. Whether it was actually the sentiment of the reporter or not, or the headline was designed to get attention, it still points to an erroneous assumption -- the revival didn't last long.
When you consider that the town of Wilmore, KY, has a population of only 6,000 and the university has only 1,700 students, the decision was correct. When your town and campus that size are invaded by over 50,000 people in a two week period, it is not logistically possible -- or practical -- to maintain that kind of pressure for very long. Imagine how your own home church would struggle if all of a sudden your attendance grew to eight times your regular size in two weeks. How would you handle it?
Such opposition or questioning to moving the services out of town to other places in central Kentucy is actually based on several misconceptions.
1. "If the services are moved, it shows they aren't trusting on God to take care of the inconveniences."
2. "If the services are moved, the revival will die out."
3. "If the services are moved, the crowds will diminish and go back to normal."
4. "If the services are moved, the momentum will fizzle out more quickly."
5. "If the services are moved, it shows the leadership is more interested in comfort, convenience, and man-made agendas."
If people really saw how such arguments expose their lack of spiritual wisdom and knowledge of revival and awakenings, they'd be ashamed of even thinking such thoughts. For me, personally, it exposes their own lack of faith, their own confidence in the sovereignty of God, their limited understanding of the Holy Spirit's work, -- and, perhaps most importantly, their own understanding of what revival and spiritual awakening really are, and what drives such movements in the first place. Andrew Garnett is the pastor of Hampton Baptist Church in Hampton, VA, and wrote an opinion article this past Tuesday for Baptist Press entitled, We’re asking the wrong questions about the Asbury revival. I think he has hit on an important idea.
American psychologist Abraham Maslow stated in 1966. . . ,
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.”
That catchy statement points out the temptation you and I often have in trying to define, describe, or detail the topic of revival. We focus on experiences, personalities, and outcomes, somehow overlooking what I believe is absolutely the most important aspect of revival. And, that's what I'd like to consider today -- The Central Focus of Revival. This is what I preached about this past Sunday, and I'd like to share some thoughts from that study with you. So, let's do that right after you take a look at . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Be'er Sheva -- City of the Patriarchs: Be'er Sheva is the ancient city where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in the Negev of ancient Israel. There is an excellent archaeological and historical report about the place in the recent Biblical Archaeology website. If you love studying archaeological findings of ancient biblical people and places, you'll enjoy this one, replete with pictures. Go to https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/tel-beer-sheva-city-of-the-patriarchs/. Incidentally, I highly recommend this resource for studying biblical archaeology.
+ My Current Sunday Series: In light of this current movement of revival and spiritual awakening permeating the full spectrum of America, I began a "mini-series within the series" two weeks ago on Revival. Because a number of people in the Chapel asked if I would be posting the videos of the sermons, I decided to do so. In the event that you might like to see them, here are the two links thus far.
> Sunday, Feb 19 -- "Revival: What Is It? Can I Experience It?" -- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YmE67dXcEsQ34EEjsP33u_D0wa6FGgVb/view?usp=share_link
> Sunday, Feb 26 -- "Revival: Who Is It Really About?" -- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WXbKgaHO2_P2AXhf_uQX_1pUsC8M0bKC/view?usp=share_link
+ Heading to Jerusalem For Passover: Here is a very informative archaeological and geographical description of the three primary routes Jews used when going to Jerusalem from the north to observe Passover. Among other things, it provides insight into why Jesus and His disciples almost always took the shortest route directly through Samaria in spite of the hostilities and dangers. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/3-pilgrimage-paths-from-galilee-to-jerusalem/.
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "God the Father has this desire to exalt and glorify His only begotten and beloved Son, and there are certain times and occasions when He finds it necessary and desires to do that in an extraordinary, powerful kind of way, and the Spirit is poured out as God seeks to lift up and exalt his son.” -- Dr. Steve Seamands (professor of Christian doctrine at Asbury Theological Seminary)
> "Apart from the mighty enduement of the Spirit of Pentecost, all our Gospel services will be in vain. The natural, unregenerate man cannot comprehend the things of the Spirit. His darkened mind can only be enlightened by the divine intervention of God, the Holy Ghost. He cannot be argued, fascinated, bullied or enthused into accepting Christ as Savior. It is not enough that we clearly expound the Gospel. It must be given in the demonstration and power of the Spirit and then applied by Him." -- James A. Stewart
> “God, during seasons of revival, will come in and just completely overtake the event or the church service. Genuine revival is when God is leading, and you feel the power and presence of God.” -- Shane Idleman (Pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship, Leona Valley, CA)
> "That day which shall convince the great body of professing Christians of the reality and desirableness of revivals, will constitute a new era . . . and will precede manifestations of power like that of Pentecost." -- Albert Barnes
> "Revival is just the life of the Lord Jesus poured into human hearts. Jesus is always victorious. . . . Whatever may be our experience of failure and barrenness, He is never defeated. His power is boundless. And we, on our part, have only to get in right relationship with Him, and we shall see His power being demonstrated in our hearts and lives and service, and His victorious life will fill us and overflow through us to others." -- Roy Hession
> "[Revival is] God revealing Himself to man in awful holiness and in irresistible power. It is such a manifest working of God that human personalities are overshadowed, and human programs abandoned. It is man entering into the background because God has taken the field." -- Arthur Wallis (In The Day of Thy Power)
> “Revival is an extraordinary work of God the Holy [Spirit] reinvigorating and propagating Christian piety in a community.” – J. I. Packer
> "Revival is the manifest presence of God entering the human realm, revealing His convicting power, His overwhelming love, His boundless mercy, and his abundant grace." -- Unknown
> "Revival is that strange and sovereign work of God in which He visits His people, restoring, reanimating, and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing." – Stephen Olford (Heartcry For Revival)
> "Revival . . . [is] the reanimating of that which is already living but in a state of declension. It has to do principally with the Church as a whole, and Christians as individuals." – Joseph Kemp
REVIVAL: WHAT’S IT REALLY ABOUT? WHO'S IT REALLY ABOUT?
Christianity Today's Anna Mares wrote an encouraging article this past Monday entitled, For Gen Z, Revival Is NOT A Bandwagon. She began by stating, . . .
"Today’s college students know their generation can be skeptical—cynical, even—when it comes to big Christian movements. Young believers recognize that claims of God at work can be faked or manipulated, so they would rather ask questions and do their research before adding their 'yes and amen' to the cause."
The fact that the current wave of revival is focusing primarily on youth, as did the Jesus Revolution and the 1970 Asbury Revival (similar to numerous 18th and 19th Century revivals) is characteristic of all revivals as far as I can tell. Every revival seems to focus -- at least its beginnings -- on a particular group of people, and then spread from there. The Prayer Meeting Revival of 1857 targeted business leaders. The Lay Renewal Movement of the 1970's and 1980's centered on the laity. The Haystack Revival of 1806 concentrated on world missions.
So it is with today's current revival -- and for good reason. It's beginnings centered primarily on those we currently call Gen Z. No group of people has been more frightened -- terrified may be a better word -- from COVID, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Russia, the economy, and the job market more than this group. For example, according to the CDC, the suicide rates increased almost 60 percent between 2007 and 2018 for people between the ages of 10 and 24. The Walton Family Foundation and Murmuration stated that Gen Z is about twice as likely as Americans over 25 to battle depression and feelings of hopelessness.
You would think that in the United States, Gen Z is recognized as the least-religious generation in the US. You wouldn't think it would be a likely incubator of spiritual revival. A full one-third of Gen Z identifies as religiously unaffiliated, and many are leaving the religious upbringings of their childhood earlier than other generations. According to the American Enterprise Institute’s American National Family Life Survey, many youth have already left their church connections while still in high school -- even middle school -- and well before leaving for college.
So, perhaps for that reason, this current sweep of revival has come as bit of a surprise for many -- unless, of course, they have been paying attention to trends, and especially those trends predicted in the Bible. Skepticism and inattentiveness notwithstanding, the 2023 Asbury Revival not only continues, but has multiplied exponentially – an indication that this is truly a fresh work of God for North America. Time will tell where it goes, how it impacts, and who it touches. It could touch you.
Almost all revivals begin in a personal or local way with just one person or a small group of people who have been given a deep burden for the moral decline and decay they see around them, both locally, nationally, or globally. I cannot recall a single revival from history that was not preceded by a hunger for and the intensified practice of prayer. The 1857 Prayer Meeting Revival is an example. So is the Shantung Revival in China in the 1920's and 1930's, the Welsh Revival of 1904, the Hebrides Revivals of the 1940's and 1950's, and so forth.
All were preceded by prolonged and burdened prayer, sometimes for years as in the case of the Shantung Revival, or the West Plains Revival where Jo Ann I served and which had been preceded by seven years of burdened prayer. Somewhere, then, according to the sovereignty of God, these burdens intensify to the point of “breakthrough” where God chooses to show visible evidence that He has heard those prayers and begins to manifest His presence and power through answers and an attraction that draws other people into participation.
Somewhere in the process of revival igniting and beginning to blaze, it seems that He “kicks His feet through the fire”, scattering embers of revival across an increasing landscape of the land. Where an ember lands, it often ignites another fire through which He “kicks” again spreading revival even further. It seems God doesn’t intend to keep revival “localized”. This is what has happened with the Asbury Revival, thanks primarily to two factors – the power of changed lives telling their stories, and the use of social media (something to which past revivals had no access).
The meetings at Asbury brought over 50,000 people to the town in the first two weeks, students from over 200 schools, and people from numerous countries including Argentina, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, Japan, Holland, Canada, Argentina, and others. As of Thursday last week, TikTok recorded over 100 million views and increasing daily by the hundreds of thousands.
Currently schools like Lee University, Samford University, Cedarville University, Baylor University, Geneva College, Wheaton College, Texas A&M University, Grand Canyon University, and countless others have seen gatherings of various sizes spring up purely from the students themselves. Many high schools (even in Seattle), both secular and Christian universities, and churches have seen these groups of varying sizes formed, all crying out to God in repentance, humility, and worship as they seek God in the midst of a chaotic world.
And this brings us to the primary point of my letter today.
THE FOCUS OF REVIVAL:
If you examine the countless definitions of revival, you will notice several things -- they happened at different times, they started in different places, they affected different groups of people, they were initiated by a variety of moral, social, and religious states, and they had different ways in which they impacted both Christians and the culture around them.
But, as far as I can tell, there was one thing that was almost always the same -- and that was the Central Focus of the revival.
In A WORD, Revival is ---- GOD!!!!!
Now, to be sure, revival Involves us, it is To us, it Upon us, and it is For us, -- but it essentially it is Not About us. Somehow we make the tragic error of wanting revival for what we can get out of it -- what we "want" to happen to our church, how we "want" to see people come to Christ, how we anguish over the immoral stench surrounding us, how we "want" to see things change -- so life will be better for us, for people we know, or for society in general.
Certainly, these are noble aspirations for revival, selfish though they may sometimes become. But the bottom line is that none of those make up the main focus of revival. Unless a person has personally experienced such an outpouring of God's presence and intervention in life's flow, failing to see the real focus will be easy. We concentrate on experiences, events, numbers, feelings, and the like. In the fervor and flurry, we miss the idea that it is actually all about God. For example, . . .
I. Revival is GOD Manifesting His Presence to His People.
For some of us this may seem a little strange or "spooky", but when revival truly comes, you have absolutely no doubt that God is not only in you, but He is in you in extraordinary awareness on your part. In addition, you not only sense His inner presence within you, but you feel like He's also "in the room", so to speak. His presence is so real that you are aware of His immediacy. Some call it His "manifest" or "atmospheric" presence. It is somewhat like Isaiah's experience in the temple as described in Isaiah 6. A term used often in the Asbury Revival was God's "tangible" presence. If those descriptives hold true, then I must say that many of us who claim to have experienced revival, really haven't. Because real revival is when God reveals Himself in profoundly life-changing ways. And what we see, we know we have seen Him, and we are left with no doubts, curiosities, or questions.
When we sense God's presence in such immediate, personal, and real ways, we begin to see Him as He really is. This is what happened to Isaiah. He recorded his experience with these words, and then took time to describe all that he saw.
"In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord, . . . lofty and exalted, . . . with the train of His robe filling the temple." (Isa 6:1).
One of the great tragedies of Christendom today is that few have seen God as He truly is. We see Him as angry, as the grim reaper, as the executioner, as the harsh judge, . . . But we fail to see His full nature – Creator, Sovereign, Just, Loving, Patient, compassionate, Father. Somehow we keep seeing Him merely as a silhouette, a mirage', a shadow, a misty image.
When God manifests His presence, we will understand that He is building His Kingdom, and the way we respond to revival will determine our understanding of His kingdom -- and how He builds it. If we see God incorrectly, there will be some we will try to reject for His kingdom, and there will be others we will try to eject from His kingdom. The purpose behind the plan is kingdom building.
When God manifests His presence, He often does it in a way that Demonstrates His Power. He will use answered prayer, signs, miracles, or other means to remind us that He is Omnipotent and nothing is to big for Him. He intends for us to understand that what is happening is unexplainable apart from Him. That can range from answering prayer in a way that it could be only Him, or giving some kind of indicator (signs) that He choreographed it, or something so amazing (wonders) that it points clearly to Him, or miracles where He sidesteps or bypasses all human abilities so that He alone is glorified.
Finally, God will manifest His presence in ways that Reveal His Glory. God sometimes responds manifestly for our getting, but always for His glory.
You see, we know God only by what we see of Him. Because we "see dimly" we know Him only as we see Him -- "dimly" (I Cor 13:12). How we see Him, then, determines how we love Him or how we revere Him, or how we obey Him. So, we desperately need revival where God manifests His presence to us. The very first thing that happens in true revival is that God Himself becomes the center of attention. It's not answered prayers; it's not miracles; it's not emotional upheaval; it's not anything else. When God manifests His presence, the first thing one thinks of in such an environment is God.
II. Revival also comes in order for GOD to Magnify His Word to His People.
Jesus Himself reminded us that, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Lk 4:4). You probably know more biblical statements about God's Word than you can list. So do I. It is truth, it is peace, it is healing, it is God-breathed, it is righteous, it is a plum line, etc. During times of revival, God's Word inevitably must emerge as the standard -- the checklist by which revival is both judged and experienced. God never violates His Word, so when revival comes, if it is genuine it will always align itself with it. If it does not, then it is either suspect, flawed, or phony. One simply cannot depend on human wisdom or insight -- even at its best -- by which to gauge revival. It must always be according to His Word. This seems to happen primarily in three ways.
1) The Re-emergence of anointed preaching -- and receiving. When God is present, the Holy Spirit is present. It has been so from the very beginning. The Old Testament almost always accompanied outbreaks of revival from Israel's earliest beginnings. God gave the Pentateuch to Moses which he, in turn, read to Israel. They responded in worship and vows to obey. During the era of the judges and the kings, the revivals recorded in scripture almost always included the reading of God's Law. When Solomon dedicated the new temple, large portions of the Torah were read. When Ezra and Nehemiah dedicated the rebuilt temple, the newly discovered scripture was read -- and people wept, repented, and vowed to obey.
When Christ publicly announced His own ministry, He read from scripture which began by declaring He had come to preach. Whenever He preached, God's Word was used; even when He taught or met with only His disciples, He repeatedly quoted scripture. The same was true with Paul, Peter, and other disciples. They didn't give mere book reviews or the latest digest of recent news reporting. They preached the Word. And when they did, things happened. If you take time to examine some of the great revivals, you will see the primacy of the Bible clearly evident. It was an integral part of every evangelist's and missionary's preaching, it was a vital part of discipling and teaching, and it was received by believers as the standard by which to live, truth to be received, and the pathway to be followed. Even the formation of our nation, and particularly the numerous revivals and great awakenings, were built up and immersed in the teachings and receiving of God's Word. (If you're interested in just how vital the Bible was to America's early life, check out these books:
> In The Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492-1783, Mark Noll (2015)
> The Bible: America's Source of Law and Liberty, Stephen McDowell (2015)
> The Bible In America, Steve Green (2013)
> One Nation Under God, Dee Wampler (2008)
> The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America, Verna M. Hall (1966)
> Politics According To The Bible, Wayne Grudem (2010)
> Foundations of Freedom: How Our Founding Fathers Used The Bible As A Blueprint..., David Barton (DVD series)
Please understand that I am not endorsing these books or their contents, but sharing them with you because I found them to be helpful in my understanding of our national history.
There is also an excellent book on the role of revival in our national heritage. I strongly urge you to read it:
> America's Revival Heritage, Dr. Eddie Hyatt
2) A Renewed hunger for its experiential ingesting. I won't go into detail about this fact because we know the Holy Spirit is constantly tugging at our hearts to spend more time in the Bible. The fact remains that it is virtually impossible to grow spiritually without spending time in God's Word and in prayer. Repeating what I have oft said about my father, I don't know anyone anywhere who is a better example of feeding on the Bible. You probably remember the story (I've told it many times in these letters) of how God used a ministry crisis to drive my father back to God's Word. In a time of spiritual and emotional desperation, he felt that the only way out of his "miry pit" was to read God's Word -- not to study it or prepare a sermon, but simply to be fed in his time of deep hunger for personal revival.
Between 1961 and 2003 when he died on Fathers' Day, Dad read the Bible entirely through over 150 times. In addition, he also read the entire New Testament an additional 40+ times, the Gospels another 40+ times, and the Psalms another 50+ times. It all started with his intent to read the Bible through in a year. In order to begin, he took the number of pages (minus the study helps -- just the scripture itself) and divided it by 365, giving him the number of pages he'd need to read each day in order to read it in a year. After the first year he found that he needed to read only about 10 minutes a day to accomplish that task, so the second year he decided to read it through twice by simply doubling the pages.
At the end of the second year, he decided on once every three months -- four times a year. That was about 40 minutes a day. So, he decided to take "Bible breaks" -- one before breakfast, one after, one after lunch, and one in the evening, each one a mere 10 minutes average per break. And, yes -- you guessed it. The next year he read it through six times in a year. He just added another five minutes to each "Bible break". By then, all the adjectives and adverbs found in Psalm 119 were part of his life. The more he read, the more he remembered, the more he understood, -- and the more he hungered . . . for more!
I don't know how many years Dad read the Bible through every sixty days, but somewhere in the process he decided he could read the Bible through every month -- so he did. It took him about two hours a day, broken up into six separate "Bible breaks". By this time he was in his late 70's or early 80's. For years he lived by the motto, "What food is to the body, the Bible is to the soul."
Unbeknownst to Jo Ann and me (we were missionaries in Ukraine when this happened), My mother had died in 2000 and, other than church, fellowship with other preachers, and an occasional round of golf, he immersed himself in the scriptures, much like Martin Luther who exclaimed he could not possibly start the day without first spending three to four hours in God's presence through prayer and reading the scriptures. In 2003 we were urged to come home to see Dad because his health was failing. He was 88 years of age, and had indicated to some friends that he'd like to "see Bob and Jo Ann one more time."
To our amazement upon our return, we discovered that Dad was now reading the Bible entirely through every sixteen days. By this time Dad had stopped entering in the fly leafs of His Bible the beginning and concluding dates of when he read the Bible through. Today, I only need to glance at those entries to understand that when revival comes, especially on a personal level, there is an automatic craving for God's Word. It truly does become "honey to the lips".
"How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Ps 119:103)
When revival comes, God magnifies His Word to His people. It's a given; it's automatic. Any movement that we call revival that does not generate an appetite for God's Word is flawed at best, and perhaps fraudulent at worst. If you recall some of the reports on the Asbury Revival, you find that from the very beginning, the public and private reading of scriptures peppered the gatherings. And, most of them were not in sermons, but in simple testimonies, times of sharing, prayer requests, and prayer itself.
There is an awe that accompanies true revival that generates a hunger to both be fed spiritually, but also to confirm that what is happening is from God -- some kind of affirmation or assurance. Much like the Bereans, . . . .
"Now these [Bereans\] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11).
A good way to get the temperature of your spiritual life is to check to see to what extent you are drawn to reading your Bible and spending time with God in prayer. You will get a pretty good reading that you can trust.
3) A Refreshing interest in and proclamation of essential Biblical truths: -- Holiness, sin, deliverance, warfare, heaven, hell, salvation, etc. There are many wonderful truths and principles in God's Word, and the more we understand them the more we will grow, mature, and believe. However, even though the scope of truths expand proportionate to the duration of revival, there are some basic ones with which we are faced right up front at the beginning revival.
III. When Revival Comes, God Convicts His People of Sin.
Just as in the case of Isaiah when he saw the Lord (Isaiah 6:1-9), when revival takes place -- true revival, -- sin in all its forms and variations will immediately begin to be exposed. This is exactly what happened beginning the very first hour in Asbury on February 8th, and it has continued every single day since. When you encounter the Holy One of Israel, you immediately become agonizingly aware of sin. This is what happened in the First Great Awakening. When Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon in an unemotional monotone, "Sinners In the Hands of An Angry God", grown men gripped the backs of the pews until their knuckles turned white and their faces turned red, often shrieking out in terror upon recognizing their sin before a holy and just God.
The same thing happened in the Second Great Awakening, The Prayer Meeting Revival, the Camp Meeting revivals, and others. It was not isolated merely to America. It took place as well in Canada, in the Welsh Revival with Evan Roberts, in the Jesus Revolution in the 1960's and 1970's. It was the focus of attention in the 1920's in the Shantung Revival of China. I still remember Bertha Smith, "Jean Doc" Bell, and Dr. Charles Culpepper each telling us stories of how, as the missionaries in the area began to cry out for revival in a region filled with lifeless, dead churches and pastors, the first thing that happened was that God convicted them of personal sin -- of prayerlessness, of animosity toward Chinese believers, of offenses between fellow missionaries, and of bitterness and unforgiveness toward Chinese employees.
God used a Norwegian Lutheran missionary, Marie Monson, to minister to this group of Baptist missionaries whom God had called to China. Her message was simple and clear:
> "Have you been born again?"
> "Have you been filled with the Spirit?"
> "Have you confessed all known sin?"
Those questions were similar to what Evan Roberts told that small group of 17 people in his home church who had decided to stay after prayer meeting to hear what he had to say. It must have been important since the head of the Bible college had given him leave to go home and tell them what God had been speaking to him.
> "Confess every known sin."
> "Stop every sinful and questionable habit."
> "Make every offense right."
> "Obey God immediately in every instance."
You see, it is utterly impossible to experience revival -- whether personal, corporate, or territorial -- without having to deal with everything that offends a holy righteous God. Sadly, this reality has become a roadblock to many a revival, shutting them down soon after, or even before, they had a chance to take root and change a culture. This is one area where there is virtually no compromise. God allows no wiggle room when dealing with sin.
When a person, a church, or a community is grasped by God in revival, there is a recurring cycle that transpires when it comes to sin. Dealing with sin internally always leads to its impact externally and visibly. Generally, it looks something like this:
> 1. Sin becomes repulsive. When sin becomes to so heinous to you that it almost makes you sick to your stomach, you are on the threshold of true revival. Any professed revival that does not include conviction and repentance is not true revival -- because when God shows up in His glory, all sin becomes a hideous blight, a malignant cancer, with which you desperately want to be freed. Hope, then, comes when . . .
> 2. Forgiveness is grasped. When you cry out to God in repentance, a moment will occur when suddenly you realize that Christ has forgiven you. Then it will dawn on you that, not only have you been forgiven, but also cleansed -- made white as snow by the blood of the Lamb, sacrificed on your behalf.
"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. [But.] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:8-9).
When forgiveness is granted -- and suddenly realized, then . . .
> 3. Burdens are lifted. You are no longer judged and condemned. The weight of guilt is gone. The slate has been wiped clean. Someone has taken your guilt and shame, and has lifted both the sin, the judgment, and the condemnation.
". . . having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (Rom 6:18).
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom 8:1).
Once your sin has been forgiven, you have been cleansed from it all, and your burden of sin has been lifted, then . . .
> 4. Freedom is granted. When sin has been properly dealt with, and as we grasp the magnitude of Christ's gracious forgiveness and release from the bondage and burden, we experience a freedom unlike anything we have known before. This is another magnificent evidence of genuine revival. Christians enter into an entirely new dimension of freedom. Jesus told us that when we know the truth -- about God, about Him, about sin, and about ourselves -- we will truly be free (
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." (Gal 5:1).
"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." (Gal 5:13)
"Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God." (I Pet 2:16)
And, when you finally are so released and free from all the sins, guilt, doubts, accusations, and tormenting of Satan, inevitably . . .
> 5. Joy is released. Again, this is seen in every true revival. It has been clearly evidenced in the Asbury Revival. Sometimes the joy erupted in pure praise, and sometimes in flowed as peace, like a river. At other times it manifested itself in in a sense of quiet serenity, confessing, "All is well." Joy doesn't always have to sow itself with a big smile and aloud shout; sometimes it just basks behind a contented smile and closed eyes. But, when sin is confronted, confessed, forgiven, cleansed, and its chains are shattered, joy floods all around.
FINALLY:
So, in review: -- Revival's central focus is none other than God Himself. It's all about God. God . . .
1. Manifests His presence in wondrous ways.
2. Magnifies His Word in its preaching, meditating, and meaning.
3. Makes much of sin -- its horror, its heinousness, the need for forgiveness, the release and joy of forgiveness and freedom.
Still, here are four other things that happens when God is the focus of revival. I hope to cover them in my next letter. In the meantime, . . .
Do we NEED Revival? Desperately! Do we WANT Revival? I would pray so. Do we want it ENOUGH??? I don't know; do we?
Last Sunday as I shared these thoughts and others, I suggested some things that will help prepare us for revival when it comes. They are . . .
1. Begin to prepare your own heart for revival. Make it a habitation for God's visitation.
2. Acknowledge you cannot bring revival; you can only welcome it and receive it.
3. Create an environment conducive to revival, making your heart a place that welcomes the Holy Spirit.
4. “Sit down and shut up.” Stop striving, talk less and listen more.
5. Find a place where you can spend time thinking about, reading about, and hungering for God's visitation
6. Stop being afraid of silence. That's usually the time when the Holy Spirit speaks most clearly. Sound and motion are not required to get God's attention.
7. Pray. Be blatantly honest in telling God anything and everything that is on your heart. He's great at sorting it all out, even when you can't.
8. Read. Read the Bible, read devotional books like My Utmost For His Highest and others, and read vociferously about past and current revivals.
9. Wait patiently. God will act on the basis of two simple facts -- when you are ready and prepared, and when HE is ready. He is still sovereign, no matter your schedule.
10. Obey immediately. As you seek revival, you will doubtless be challenged as to your sincerity, your availability, and your desire for true revival. Obedience will show the truth.
Psalm 80:1-19 (17-19) and Hosea 6:1-3 were the scriptures for the basis of my sermon last Sunday. That would be a great place for you to begin. They speak volumes.
Finally, maybe we can find a common ground where we can begin. After David praised God for His omniscience, His omnipresence, and His omnipotence in Psalm 139, and after he "vented" his indignation and hatred toward evil and evil men, he finally quieted down, contemplated his own heart, and concluded the Psalm like this: . . .
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
and see if there be any hurtful way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Make This Your Prayer
In His Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
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"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
Life Unlimited Ministries
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Copyright February, 2023
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
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