Revival Conditions
True revival can only occur when we recognize and obey God's laws, rather than trying to control His power on our terms.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes that the desire for revival must align with God's terms rather than our own. He critiques the tendency to seek God's power for personal agendas while neglecting the true nature of revival, which requires obedience to God's moral laws. Tozer warns against the misconception that we can manipulate God into sending blessings or judgments, highlighting that God's actions are always just and predictable based on our adherence to His laws. True revival comes from a humble recognition of God's sovereignty and a commitment to His ways, rather than a self-serving approach to spirituality.
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Our mistake is that we want God to send revival on our terms. We want to get the power of God into our hands, to call it to us that it may work for us in promoting and furthering our kind of Christianity. We want still to be in charge, guiding the chariot through the religious sky in the direction we want it to go, shouting "Glory to God," it is true, but modestly accepting a share of the glory for ourselves in a nice inoffensive sort of way. We are calling on God to send fire on our altars, completely ignoring the fact that they are our altars and not God's.
And like the prophets of Baal we are working ourselves into a frenzy as if we could by violence command the arm of the Almighty.
The whole error results from a confused notion of revival and a failure to recognize the moral laws that underlie the kingdom of God. God never moves whimsically; His ways are never impulsive or erratic. He never sends judgment unless there has been a violation of His laws, nor does He send blessing apart from obedience to those laws. So precise are His movements both in justice and in mercy that an intelligent observer, aware of the circumstances, could predict with complete accuracy any visitation of judgment or grace God might send to a nation, a church or an individual.
Sermon Outline
- The Problem with Revival
- The Nature of God's Revival
- The Consequences of Ignoring God's Laws
- Judgment is sent when laws are violated
- Blessing is given through obedience to God's laws
Key Quotes
“We want still to be in charge, guiding the chariot through the religious sky in the direction we want it to go, shouting 'Glory to God,' it is true, but modestly accepting a share of the glory for ourselves in a nice inoffensive sort of way.” — A.W. Tozer
“We are calling on God to send fire on our altars, completely ignoring the fact that they are our altars and not God's.” — A.W. Tozer
“God never moves whimsically; His ways are never impulsive or erratic.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We must recognize and obey God's laws in order to experience true revival.
- Trying to control God's power will only lead to judgment, not blessing.
- We must surrender to God's sovereignty and allow Him to move in His own way.