Revival Myth #3

3. Revival is for the lost.

If you grew up in the same church culture I did, you know that a typical “revival” meeting lasted about a week (sometimes two), with a fiery evangelist calling sinners to repent every night. You have probably been encouraged to “pack a pew” or at least bring all your lost family members and friends. Oh, and make sure you put in the newspaper so you'll have a crowd! (If real revival ever broke out the newspaper reporters would be knocking our doors down.) Leonard Ravenhill used to say, "You never have to advertise a fire." When God sets a church on fire, people will come for miles to watch the blaze! 

I’m not condemning these types of meetings. They have proven to be fruitful over the years. Many have come to saving faith through meeting just like this. But my question is why do we call this “revival”?

To be “revived” you have to be alive to begin with. The Bible says before Christ we are “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). So, revival is not for the spiritually dead. It is for those of us who have been made alive in Christ through salvation but don’t love Him like we once did.

Revival is the stirring of God in the hearts of His sleeping Church.  

We tend to forget that the Church in Laodicea that Jesus rebuked was in fact a CHURCH (Revelation 3). These were people who had been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, had been set free from sin, and were made alive in Christ. But over time this group of people became self-sufficient and they left their first love – just walked away from Jesus. Churches are filled with people like you and me who act like they don’t need God. Of course we would never say that, but we live that way. So, it is the Church – you and me – that really needs revival.

Here’s the cool part. When God revives the hearts of His people there are always lost souls saved as a result. Why? When God breathes His life back into His people, then the Church rediscovers its purpose – to make disciples.

So, what we've done is put the cart before the horse. We want the lost to be saved without us having to repent of our sin. It's as if we say, "I love to see a sinner gloriously saved, but don't confront me about my sin of prayerlessness, or covetousness!" (The list goes on.) Our nation is headed to hell fire because the Church has lost Holy Ghost fire. A mighty sweeping harvest will never take place in our land until we have the fire of God again. We'll never have the fire of God again if we, the Church, don't get on our faces, repent, and return to the Lord.  

During genuine revival, the lost are convicted of their own sin because of the confession and repentance of Christians. Often the difference in Christians’ lives is so dramatic that the lost are drawn to Christ through the witness of God’s work in His people.

It’s also interesting to note that every work of God in revival has resulted in an influx of people into the mission field.

God wants His praises to be sung in every nation, so He extends His mercy to a lost and dying world through the message of the gospel. But when His messengers would rather sleep than go and tell, sometimes He just has to wake us up! That’s revival.

Another Myth About Revival

2. Revival is just emotional hype.

Some people have formed a negative opinion on revival based on excesses they have seen in so-called “revivals.” There have been serious abuses in the name of the Holy Spirit during these “movements.” There have been practices associated with “revival” that are thoroughly unbiblical and damaging to the Church of Jesus Christ. With that said, we cannot base our opinions or expectations of revival on others’ excesses.

On the other hand, some people have an opinion that unless there is an extreme outward display of emotion, revival has not come. We also must be careful not to package revival as what we want it to look like.

Revival is when God moves in the hearts of His people, producing repentance and life-change, first and foremost. All manifestation of His working in His peoples’ lives is to point people to Jesus. Therefore, the focus should never be on the physical manifestation, but the person of Jesus Christ.

This does not mean, however, that emotion has no place in a true move of God. God created us to be emotional. Our emotions were given to us for the same reason as every other part of us – to bring glory to God.

Outward expression of emotion is often a natural response to the work of God in revival, but it is not revival, in and of itself.

When Jonathan Edwards preached during the 1^st Great Awakening, the people fainted under the conviction of sin. Some even fell to the floor, crying out in terror at the thought of God’s righteous judgment.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, would calmly preach and people would cry out or “fall down as dead.” Often the sound of those repenting and receiving assurance of forgiveness almost drowned out his voice.

Duncan Campbell speaks of having to stop preaching during the Hebrides Revival because the people were crying so loudly, he couldn’t be heard. When the people would began to grow quiet, he would start again.

When God bursts on the scene and displays His glory there is most certainly going to be an emotional response, but emotion alone doesn’t characterize revival. However, deep conviction with repentance and confession following are always trademarks of genuine revival. 

I think the church could stand a little emotional stirring as the Spirit of God blows out the dust from our hearts.

Stay tuned. There is more to come.

More Than Goosebumps: Myths About Revival

A consuming passion of my life is genuine revival and spiritual awakening. I want more than anything to see the glory of God displayed in our generation. Alongside this passion is a desire to share revival truth – Biblical principles that if applied to our lives will usher in the work of God in our lives, churches, and subsequently, our nation and world. The more people I talk to about revival the more I realize that very few actually know what revival is. Every good Christian would agree that we need revival, but no one seems to know what it looks like. This is understandable, given that America hasn’t seen spiritual awakening since the most of our great-grandparents were alive.

As a result, there is a lot of confusion about revival. There are movements that have been attributed to revival that are simply not revival. The word “revival” has got to be one of the most misused words in the English language. We throw it out there to describe any new movement or excitement that comes along. Truth is, revival is more than goosebumps. I thought it would be good to deal with some common myths about revival. So, here goes!

Common myths about revival:

1.       We can make it happen. Question: What can a man in a coma do? Answer: Nothing. If the church is asleep (and it is) then God is the only one who can wake us up.

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44) Jesus is talking about salvation here, but I think the same is true in revival. He’s got to do the calling before we can answer the call.

Now, I know there are all sorts of views on man’s free will, but all debate aside… We cannot revive ourselves! I think we’d all agree with that. If it were entirely up to us, then why pray for revival? It’s true that we have a responsibility to respond to God when He comes in revival, but the point is, God started it. Revival is God-initiated. He wants it more than we do!

Revival begins in the heart of God and comes through the hand of God. Think about it. We sense our need for revival only because God has opened our eyes to see our need. The desire to pray for revival comes from God. The reason you’re reading this blog is because God wants to stoke the fires of revival in your heart. If you have a burden for revival, then that is proof that God has already begun to revive! I don’t know about you, but that fills me with praying faith, because I know I’m praying according to His will, and when God starts something He finishes it!

               

When Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!” that’s exactly what Lazarus did. If Jesus would have never called him, he would have never woken up. Jesus is calling His Church, just as He called Lazarus, to wake up. Revival involves both God’s will and ours. Will you get up? Will you let God revive you? The ball is rolling, so to speak. What will you do with it?  

Stay tuned...