From the earliest days after I determined to follow Jesus I have had a keen interest in revivals. To revive simply means to bring back to life or to bring back to state of healthiness. For a word with such inspirational meaning for Christians it is strange to note that the term is rare in scripture, and is only found in the Old Testament. Even here it is sometimes difficult to discern whether it is being used to refer to national/political restoration or spiritual restoration. Perhaps that is because in the context of the ancient people of God the two are intertwined.
The term is commonly used to describe a sudden and significant experience of God's presence and working. In 1968 just such was experienced in Rwanda, Africa. In 1904 large parts of Wales experienced spiritual revival. It is said that the impact was such that the Law Courts were empty and that pit ponies were confused that there masters no longer kicked them and swore at them. Churches were packed out night after night. In 1949 revival came to the Hebrides, a group of islands of the west coast of Scotland. All these revivals had a limited life (though sometimes lasting several years) but the fruit from them lasted for decades afterwards. The word is also associated with movements of God such as the Pentecostal Movement which seems to have been at its height from the 1930s to the 1950s. This was a time of the discovery of the experience known as the baptism of or in the Holy Spirit.
In each of these occasions there were men and women of God whose lives demonstrated holiness and commitment. Their ministry of God's word brought thousands to faith in Christ. Within the USA one name among many linked with revival is Charles Finney whose ministry in the second quarter of the 19th Century was marked by an extraordinary sense of God's awesome presence. So profound was this that he had only to enter a room and people would fall under deep conviction of their sin.
If true revival is a strong wind of God's Spirit then I have felt the occasional breeze. Most noticeably when conducting evangelistic missions in mid-Devon there were times when there was an extraordinary sense of God's presence and we were privileged to see God at work sovereignly Most revivals start where there is a stirring in a few hearts, a dissatisfaction with 'second best' for God, and a deep longing for something of spiritual reality. Devon was no exception. A godly group of men met to pray for revival, and we had the privilege of experiencing answers to their prayers.
On one occasion one of these men, George Down of Winkleigh, slipped unnoticed into a little side room at the Congregational Church at Zeal Monochorum where we had gathered to pray before the start of that evening's meeting. I shall never forget his prayer: "Lord teach us tonight that success comes not from overworking, but from overflowing". Immediately we were gripped by a feeling that God was in the room and our hearts were fully captured. Such was that sense of God's presence that we dared not leave the room for another twenty minutes, much to the consternation of those sitting waiting for the meeting to begin. It was my task to open the meeting but before I could say a word a spirit of worship took hold of the meeting and the time was taken up with spontaneous prayers, worship hymns and songs. What God wrought in the hearts of us all I have no idea. When the praise and worship finally subsided all I could do was to close the meeting in prayer. It was God's meeting. He had come and done his work. Any human addition seemed like it would have been an intrusion.
At a later date we conducted a mission in Winkleigh which at that time was renowned for being spiritually hard. For two weeks we laboured and saw no fruit from our ministry. We had Wednesdays as a day off but used them to conduct meetings elsewhere in the County. On both occasions we saw significant results with people coming to Christ. Not until the very last moment of the final meeting did we see any result. It was an after-church meeting probably scheduled to run from 8.00 to 9.00. Folk from other churches came to join us. One of my colleagues preached and I conducted the meeting. As I gave the invitation for anyone wishing to come to know Christ or to rededicate their life to come forward as we sang the closing hymn, a young woman from Wembworthy, already known to us, came to the front.
Carol was a committed Christian but she had been praying about finding a husband. She had such an opportunity but it would have meant lessening her service for God. In coming to the front that night she rededicated herself to be God's first. Tired, but thankful for some fruit at last I closed the meeting in prayer and was halfway to my seat when George Down broke into song. Throughout the two weeks of the mission George had prayed several times every day that God would do a work that no human being could claim to be the cause. Now he sang, "Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee, how great thou art". I stood upright again to join the congregation in one glorious song of praise. As we did so it felt as if a wind had blown through the building. In the 45 minutes that followed people poured out their hearts to God. One young woman standing with tears streaming down her face called out, "I want to be saved!" and pushed her way to the front.
Such was the extent of the work that God wrought that night that we ran out of counsellors. Some time after ten o'clock I finally closed the meeting with a brief prayer but people were loathe to leave the building Awestruck by the palpable sense of God's presence that we could only speak in whispers as we bade one another goodnight.
Why are such experiences the exception rather than the norm? I am not sure. I believe that we do settle for second best. We become at ease in the faith, lukewarm and half-hearted. With false confidence we rely on our own abilities. Times of enthusiastic praise and worship so common in some of our churches today are no substitute for that which flows spontaneously and beautifully when God's Spirit moves and melts hearts. Revival cannot be stirred up; it comes down.
I well remember attending a large and popular Pentecostal church in Cardiff that was holding special meetings. The associate minister was leading the congregation in singing God's praises and it felt good to be there. Then the senior pastor whose heart had been soaked in the presence of God was invited to lead us in prayer. From his very first word we felt God's presence and power in that place. Oh, for more men and women such as that in these days.
If revival is a sovereign act of God then I want to say that I believe that there is a price that has to be paid if we want to experience it. I believe that God is calling us to deeper devotional commitment, to sweeter holiness, to passionate and earnest prayer. The sad fact is that revival is not meant to be exceptional but our normal Christian experience. That's why it is called "revival"; it is about the restoration to normal healthy life. Perhaps the problem is that we do not realise how seriously unwell we are.
"For this is what the high and exalted One says – he who lives for ever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." Isaiah 57:14-16. NIV
"O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:1-3 KJV
Dare we say "Amen. Do it again Lord, and do it in me"?
Most of the past week has been spent on essential administration. This continues through this week.
Sunday 6th Yelvertoft CC, Northants. This is our church's Covenant Sunday when we renew our pledge to help each other walk the Jesus way.
Monday 7th Pastoral ministry following the death of one more person in the village.
Tuesday 8th Churches Rural Group meeting in London (I chair this CTE Coordinating Group)
Thursday 10th Bible Discussion Group in Yelvertoft (looking at 1Corinthians 14)
Saturday 12th Speaking at the Torch Trust Fellowship Group in Market Harborough
Sunday 13th Yelvertoft CC.
Prayers are asked as I prepare for an event on 28th January with Welsh baptist Ministers and leaders as we explore rural mission. Also for the Holiday at Home mission day in Market Harborough on 16th January.
Please pray that the sails of my life will be filled with the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you.
Barry
The term is commonly used to describe a sudden and significant experience of God's presence and working. In 1968 just such was experienced in Rwanda, Africa. In 1904 large parts of Wales experienced spiritual revival. It is said that the impact was such that the Law Courts were empty and that pit ponies were confused that there masters no longer kicked them and swore at them. Churches were packed out night after night. In 1949 revival came to the Hebrides, a group of islands of the west coast of Scotland. All these revivals had a limited life (though sometimes lasting several years) but the fruit from them lasted for decades afterwards. The word is also associated with movements of God such as the Pentecostal Movement which seems to have been at its height from the 1930s to the 1950s. This was a time of the discovery of the experience known as the baptism of or in the Holy Spirit.
In each of these occasions there were men and women of God whose lives demonstrated holiness and commitment. Their ministry of God's word brought thousands to faith in Christ. Within the USA one name among many linked with revival is Charles Finney whose ministry in the second quarter of the 19th Century was marked by an extraordinary sense of God's awesome presence. So profound was this that he had only to enter a room and people would fall under deep conviction of their sin.
If true revival is a strong wind of God's Spirit then I have felt the occasional breeze. Most noticeably when conducting evangelistic missions in mid-Devon there were times when there was an extraordinary sense of God's presence and we were privileged to see God at work sovereignly Most revivals start where there is a stirring in a few hearts, a dissatisfaction with 'second best' for God, and a deep longing for something of spiritual reality. Devon was no exception. A godly group of men met to pray for revival, and we had the privilege of experiencing answers to their prayers.
On one occasion one of these men, George Down of Winkleigh, slipped unnoticed into a little side room at the Congregational Church at Zeal Monochorum where we had gathered to pray before the start of that evening's meeting. I shall never forget his prayer: "Lord teach us tonight that success comes not from overworking, but from overflowing". Immediately we were gripped by a feeling that God was in the room and our hearts were fully captured. Such was that sense of God's presence that we dared not leave the room for another twenty minutes, much to the consternation of those sitting waiting for the meeting to begin. It was my task to open the meeting but before I could say a word a spirit of worship took hold of the meeting and the time was taken up with spontaneous prayers, worship hymns and songs. What God wrought in the hearts of us all I have no idea. When the praise and worship finally subsided all I could do was to close the meeting in prayer. It was God's meeting. He had come and done his work. Any human addition seemed like it would have been an intrusion.
At a later date we conducted a mission in Winkleigh which at that time was renowned for being spiritually hard. For two weeks we laboured and saw no fruit from our ministry. We had Wednesdays as a day off but used them to conduct meetings elsewhere in the County. On both occasions we saw significant results with people coming to Christ. Not until the very last moment of the final meeting did we see any result. It was an after-church meeting probably scheduled to run from 8.00 to 9.00. Folk from other churches came to join us. One of my colleagues preached and I conducted the meeting. As I gave the invitation for anyone wishing to come to know Christ or to rededicate their life to come forward as we sang the closing hymn, a young woman from Wembworthy, already known to us, came to the front.
Carol was a committed Christian but she had been praying about finding a husband. She had such an opportunity but it would have meant lessening her service for God. In coming to the front that night she rededicated herself to be God's first. Tired, but thankful for some fruit at last I closed the meeting in prayer and was halfway to my seat when George Down broke into song. Throughout the two weeks of the mission George had prayed several times every day that God would do a work that no human being could claim to be the cause. Now he sang, "Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee, how great thou art". I stood upright again to join the congregation in one glorious song of praise. As we did so it felt as if a wind had blown through the building. In the 45 minutes that followed people poured out their hearts to God. One young woman standing with tears streaming down her face called out, "I want to be saved!" and pushed her way to the front.
Such was the extent of the work that God wrought that night that we ran out of counsellors. Some time after ten o'clock I finally closed the meeting with a brief prayer but people were loathe to leave the building Awestruck by the palpable sense of God's presence that we could only speak in whispers as we bade one another goodnight.
Why are such experiences the exception rather than the norm? I am not sure. I believe that we do settle for second best. We become at ease in the faith, lukewarm and half-hearted. With false confidence we rely on our own abilities. Times of enthusiastic praise and worship so common in some of our churches today are no substitute for that which flows spontaneously and beautifully when God's Spirit moves and melts hearts. Revival cannot be stirred up; it comes down.
I well remember attending a large and popular Pentecostal church in Cardiff that was holding special meetings. The associate minister was leading the congregation in singing God's praises and it felt good to be there. Then the senior pastor whose heart had been soaked in the presence of God was invited to lead us in prayer. From his very first word we felt God's presence and power in that place. Oh, for more men and women such as that in these days.
If revival is a sovereign act of God then I want to say that I believe that there is a price that has to be paid if we want to experience it. I believe that God is calling us to deeper devotional commitment, to sweeter holiness, to passionate and earnest prayer. The sad fact is that revival is not meant to be exceptional but our normal Christian experience. That's why it is called "revival"; it is about the restoration to normal healthy life. Perhaps the problem is that we do not realise how seriously unwell we are.
"For this is what the high and exalted One says – he who lives for ever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." Isaiah 57:14-16. NIV
"O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:1-3 KJV
Dare we say "Amen. Do it again Lord, and do it in me"?
Most of the past week has been spent on essential administration. This continues through this week.
Sunday 6th Yelvertoft CC, Northants. This is our church's Covenant Sunday when we renew our pledge to help each other walk the Jesus way.
Monday 7th Pastoral ministry following the death of one more person in the village.
Tuesday 8th Churches Rural Group meeting in London (I chair this CTE Coordinating Group)
Thursday 10th Bible Discussion Group in Yelvertoft (looking at 1Corinthians 14)
Saturday 12th Speaking at the Torch Trust Fellowship Group in Market Harborough
Sunday 13th Yelvertoft CC.
Prayers are asked as I prepare for an event on 28th January with Welsh baptist Ministers and leaders as we explore rural mission. Also for the Holiday at Home mission day in Market Harborough on 16th January.
Please pray that the sails of my life will be filled with the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you.
Barry
Bless you for this and of course I will pray that for you
ReplyDeleteTrust you will ray it also for me, over here!
Grace and Peace to you on the Feast of the Epiphany of Christ