America Needs Revival

Men of God in former times in America preached sermons on the 4th of July. Azahel Nettleton preached a July 4th sermon in the town of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. And the enemies of God shot cannons outside the doors of the church and allowed firecrackers by the windows, making them rattle while he was preaching in an attempt to drown them out.

But God came down anyway. It is only fitting, therefore, that I preach a July 4th sermon to you today, friends, as we celebrate the history of this once great nation of ours. One of my favorite passages in scripture is 1 Kings chapter 18, where the prophet Elijah is going toe-to-toe with the prophets of Baal.

It's one of the best stories in the Old Testament. And if one reads it carefully and prayerfully, you will find in it a story and a pattern for revival. And that's an interesting topic to me.

I guess I've been interested in revival ever since I attended a revival meeting in Chicago back in 1967. And it was there that a young teenage boy met and experienced God and gave his heart to him. I've been a student of revival since.

And over the last 50 years, I've read just about every book on revival. And some of those books, I've read 50 times. I learned how to speed read in high school, and I can cover a lot of ground with a lot of books.

And my favorite subject has been revival. Eventually, my interest in revival deepened, and I earned a British-endorsed Ph.D. with my dissertation on the revival of religion in Great Britain under Wesleyan Whitefield. I went on from that and wrote a two-volume, 1,200-page definitive biography on George Whitefield.

And I just kept writing books on revival. And now I've got 18 published books with four different publishers all on the subject of revival. And I just finished a brand-new biography on Sam Jones.

When God called me to preach, he called me to a revival preaching ministry. And most of my 2,000-plus sermons on sermon audio are centralized in the very subject of revival. In addition to all these things, I've carried a burden for revival for years.

I spent countless hours praying for revival, preaching for revival, and experiencing real heaven-sent revival several times in my ministry. I know what it's like to see the power of God in a meeting where lives are transformed. I know the real from the false.

My closest friends through the years have been revival scholars, men who've written widely and preached wisely on the subject themselves. I've had many long conversations with men like J.I. Packer, Ian Murray, Stephen Olford, Ted Rendell, Henry Blackaby, Colin Peckham, and Richard Owen Roberts, men who immersed themselves in the very subject of revival all their lives. So it's only natural for me to get excited about a passage of scripture that emphasizes how God moves among his people, especially in revival.

In our text today, friends, from 1 Kings and chapter 18, his prime reading material, don't let your familiarity with it dull your ears to its vibrant revival message, especially if you're a pastor who's been burdened with revival yourself. I believe there is a pattern here in our text today that we can learn much from. Well, let us read this striking passage of scripture now beginning in verse 17.

Here now is the Word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his Holy Word. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but thou in thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Balaam. Now, therefore, send and gather to me all Israel, unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves, four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

I will pause here, friends, to say, notice old black-hearted King Ahab calls Elijah a troubler of Israel, because that's who this fiery prophet was to this rotten king. To Ahab, Elijah was an annoying gnat that just kept pestering him. He was like a splinter under his nail that continually bothered him.

That's exactly what God's prophet will be to sinners, a troubler to them. But sadly, many preachers today just preach nice little messages that don't disturb anyone. The trouble is they don't save anyone either.

So here, this wicked king calls God's man a problem child. But Elijah throws the rotten egg back on the king, puts his finger on the sore spot in his life by saying, you're the troubler in your father's house because you've forsaken the commands of the Lord. I pause here to say, friends, I believe a revival preacher should put his finger on the sore spot in the church and call it out.

But if you do that, it won't be a popular ministry, but it will be a penetrating one. But sadly, many pastors today won't confront the godless society they live in and call out their sins, yet alone preach any probing sermons to the lost among their own congregations. Very few are willing to risk their reputations.

But Elijah didn't give a hoot about any of that. He called a spade a spade and sinned black. And he spoke with such authority from heaven.

This king takes orders from him and does what he says in regard to gathering the people to Mount Carmel for a showdown. Well, let's pick up our text, friends, in verse 20, and I'll keep my big mouth shut for a while while I read God's holy word. So Ahab sent all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.

And Elijah came unto all the people and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them, therefore, give us two bollocks, and let them choose one bollock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under.

And I will dress the other bollock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bollock for yourselves, and dress it first for ye are many, and call on the name of your gods, and put no fire under. And then they took the bollock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered.

And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry loud, for he is a god. Either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakened.

I will pause here, friends, because I am busting out to say that this is one of the most hilarious scenes in my Bible. I get a kick out of it. I get a tickle out of it every time I read it.

Here is God's man making fun of God's enemies. He is walking around, waving his arms in front of himself, in front of their altar, and he is having a run in commentary like a nightclub comedian, like a Jewish Don Rickles, hitting them with one insult after another. He says, What's the matter, guys? Is your God on the phone with someone else, or is he busy in the toilet? Or maybe he took a vacation and didn't inform you where he went.

Or you know what? I guess he just sound asleep, so you need to get louder, and maybe that will wake him. And the crowd was in stitches. They're laughing out loud, while the head held their big bellies.

And we read next. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. What a scene these old boys are putting on a dog and pony show, the best they know how.

They're hollering, and hopping around, and whooping, and cutting themselves like possessed fiends on acid. And they are dancing and jumping around the platform, like they've got the heebie-jeebies. But their God is completely silent and absent.

Why, those old boys look like a bunch of preachers at a Southern Baptist convention. God is a million miles away, so they prop up things by trying to generate more programs and a little entertainment, but nothing worthwhile happens. But then the man of God takes the platform himself, and the whole situation changes.

We see this, friends, beginning in verse 36. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape.

And they took them, and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon, and slew them there. I will stop there, friends. Now we're going to take a look at what revival is, as seen in our passage today.

Notice there are five aspects in our passage today that clearly define what a true revival of religion is. Number one, we see a repaired altar. Number two, a prepared sacrifice.

Number three, an accepted offering. Number four, a revived people. And number five, a healed land.

In verse 30, we read, And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Is there an area in your life, friend, in your walk with God that has become broken down? Has a sin separated you from the sweet fellowship of Jesus? Have you been neglecting your daily quiet time with God? Is your Bible a closed book? And are your eyes dry when you pray? Perhaps the altar in your own life and the life of your church is broken down and in need of repair.

This is the first step to revival. It begins with us. I'll never forget the pastor who telephoned me one day and invited me to lunch.

He had read my very first book on revival called Reality's Revival, and he wanted to meet me and talk about having revival at his church, and he offered to buy my lunch. Well, you can't turn down a free lunch, especially when you're a poor preacher. So I met him at a Chinese restaurant, and he was an older man in his late 70s, and he said he'd been a pastor for 50 years, and he longed to see revival in his church before he died.

And if I could help him, he asked me what he could do. I looked him in the eye and said, if you want to see revival in your church, you must repent of your sins and get serious with God yourself, for revival starts with you. And he looked at me strangely like he was thinking, why, you young whippersnapper, and he grabbed the check and left.

I thought, well, I've done it again. I'll never hear from that man again. But he called again the following week and offered again to buy my lunch, but this time he brought two preacher buddies with to talk about revival.

And as I sat with these three pastors, they asked me if I would meet with them on a regular basis to pray for revival, to visit their churches. Well, of course I would. And so we began to meet on a weekly basis to pray for revival and to see God's face.

And soon, other pastors in our community were joining us in prayer. We would sit all on folding chairs in a circle facing each other. And I'll never forget what happened as long as I live.

While we were praying one day, this senior pastor, the one who first invited me to lunch, he bolted upright from his chair and he stood straight up and stayed there motionless like a cement statue until finally he let out a sigh and he fell down. He crumbled to the ground with a big sob and cry. And he was there on all fours, just weeping like a baby until finally he got the strength to get up on his knees and he looked heavenward and he prayed.

He cried, Oh great God, forgive me for my dirty rotten sins. I want to see revival, Lord. I want to see you come to my church.

Let revival begin with me. That's what the old boy said. He was getting serious with God.

And that's what it takes, friends. The first thing we must do is to get serious with God. If we want to see revival, we first have to have personal revival and get on fire for God before we can ignite anyone else.

Do you believe that, friend? I sure hope you do. We must repair our own altar and put our wood in order. And this reminds me of Evan Roberts, whom God mightily used in the Welsh revival of 1904, where it was said over 100,000 souls came to Christ.

Listen to this very last poem written by Evan Roberts when he was an old man, which speaks of repairing our altar before God. Here I have built my altar. The wood I've placed in order.

The sacrifice is ready now. Send thou, oh Lord, the fire. Is that what you need, my friend? Do you need to place the wood, which represents the things in your life, on the altar to your God? How can you hold anything back when the Son of God held nothing back at Calvary? And this leads us to the second aspect to revival, and that's the prepared sacrifice.

We see this in verse 33 from our passage today. And he put the wood in order and cut the bollock in pieces. Our hearts, friends, must be prepared to seek God and revival.

And there's always a sacrifice attending anything worthwhile. What counts costs and what costs counts. Is there a sacrifice of your time involved in your daily quiet time with God right now? Or are you so busy that you just give God your leftovers? Let God get serious with those who get serious with Him.

I know every time in my life where I've gotten serious with God, He honored that and got serious with me. In God's economy, there's always a cost involved. Our very redemption had a cost, and that cost was Christ's blood.

The third aspect of revival is an accepted offering. We see in verse 38 how the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice. I believe the biggest tragedy in our churches today is the absence of the weekly prayer meeting.

Things are so bad in society right now, and they're growing worse every day. And all we do is complain about it, but we refuse to go to our knees in prayer to get serious with God so He will do something about it. Prayerlessness is the black mark on the church in America today.

I don't know how it is in other countries, friends, but here we just don't even know how to pray anymore. We will never, ever see revival without heart-searching, gut-wrenching, broken and tear-soaked intercessory prayer. When this occurs, then the fire will fall and consume the sacrifice.

Until then, all our efforts, programs and methodologies are but dust in the wind. The fourth aspect of revival is a revival of people. Notice in our passage here, friends, where the people of God finally take sides for God, and they say, The Lord, He is God.

The Lord, He is God. And they go out with a new power and a new purpose, fighting the devil and the kingdom of darkness. They grab the prophets of Baal by their collars and drag them down to the Brook Kishon, where they are destroyed.

A true revival is a revived church and a renewed life. True revival will look like a chapter out of the book of Acts all over again. Just take a look at George Whitefield, how he could hold 30,000 people in the rain and cold for hours at a time, while God's Spirit came down with power.

Look how Moody shook Great Britain, and he was so uneducated, why he couldn't even spell the word bed, but God used them. Look how Sam Jones turned America upside down for God in revival after revival, to where entire towns were completely cleaned up. Sin ran in the shadows under the bright light of the gospel in those days, friends.

The last aspect of revival is a healed land. Oh, friends, we see in 1 Kings how a terrible drought had damaged the land. Cattle were dying.

Brooks had dried up. People were under great hardship. In verse 41, we see, and Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

God promises in his word that he will pour water on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. In verse 45, we see, there was a great rain. When the people of God got serious with him, then he healed their land.

Let me ask you, friend, does our land need healing? 2 Chronicles 7.14 declares, 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. That's the pattern for revival, friends. The question is, how bad do we want it? I remember Leonard Ravenhill saying back in the early 1990s, he said, if we don't see revival in America soon, things will get so bad in this country, you won't want to live here anymore.

And look at what has transpired since he spoke those prophetic words 30 years ago. Our nation doesn't even resemble itself anymore. We've gone to hell in a hand basket, and it gets darker and more perverted every day.

I get so eaten up with revival sometimes, I just get a burden on me. And one day, during one of those times, I wrote the following little poem. And I'll end my message today, friends, on this special 4th of July, to a nation that needs revival more than it ever has before.

And I hope this little poem lights a fire under you, brother pastor, dear friend. It's called, A Repair Altar, A Repaired Altar. Give me a fire, O Lord.

Give me a fire for thee. Give me your fire, O Lord. Let it burn brightly in me.

Give me a fire, O Lord. The wood of my life I give to thee. Consume my ashes, O Lord.

And let a revival begin with me. Give me a fire, O Lord. Give me a glimpse of hell in eternity.

Make me a fire, O Lord, so my life may be burned out for thee. Give me a fire, O Lord. Increase my desire for thee.

Make me a flame, O Lord, that draws others to you through me.