What is Revival and Why We Need It

In Psalm 85, the psalmist laments, Will thou not revive us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, And grant us thy salvation. I am often asked the question, What is revival? First you must say, Revival is not evangelism. Churches will put out a sign out front of their church, Advertising revival.

But this means a visiting evangelist is conducting meetings. A tent may be put up where there'll be boisterous singing, Loud praying, and animated preaching, All aimed at evangelism. But this is not revival.

Vance Havner once said, Everybody is holding a revival. It's about time somebody let loose of one. The church is responsible for evangelism, But revival is a sovereign work of God, That man cannot produce.

Stephen Oldford used to tell me, Only God can command the revival wind. But we must set ourselves to catch that wind, When God blows. And that's true, friends.

Man cannot bring revival, But man can promote the work of revival, But he cannot produce it. We can preach revival, Pray for revival, But only God can send us revival. We get a sense of what revival is from the words of Joseph Kemp, Who was then pastor of Charlotte Baptist Chapel in Edinburgh, Scotland.

When revival broke out in his church, Kemp described it in these terms, Quite suddenly, One upon one, And another, Came an overwhelming sense Of the reality and awfulness of his presence And of eternal things. I believe that pretty much sums up what revival is, friends. A true revival is when God takes the field And invades a church or community With his manifest presence.

And there is an awful solemnity among the people of God. It was said of the Lewis revival in the Scottish Hebrides That it seemed as though God himself Had saturated the entire island. Duncan Campbell said of this time, The awful presence of God Brought a wave of conviction of sin That caused even mature Christians To feel their sinfulness.

Bringing groans of distress And prayers of repentance From the unconverted, Strong men were bowed under the weight of sin And cries for mercy were mingled With shouts of joy From others who had passed into life. Seasons of revival are exciting times, friends, But it's also a very solemn time as well. When God comes in revival, The people of God Are brought to the very verge of eternity.

Secular things fall in importance As the things of God are given priority. Now that we've seen a little of what revival is, The second question before us today is, Why do we need revival? Charles Fanny said, When there is a worldly spirit in the church, There is need of revival. But I believe our problem today Is deeper than just Worldliness in the church.

In 1740, When God moved through New England, It was called the Great Awakening. Revival has often been referred to As an awakening. At Gethsemane, Jesus faced the crisis point Of his earthly ministry And his disciples slept right through it.

Today, the church is in a crisis point, And we are sleeping right through it. We are so sound asleep, We can't even sense Our great need of revival. Usually, When we think we can get along fine Without revival, That's when we need it the most.

I was standing in line At my seminary graduation years ago To get my Ph.D., And beside me in line Was a pastor from East Tennessee. We began talking, And I asked him if he was Currently meeting with the local Pastors in his community On a regular basis To pray for revival. He looked at me strangely And informed me, We don't need revival Because we are on the grow.

What this man meant Was that so long as A church is getting new members, That's all that matters. But it is the Self-reliant church Who needs revival the most. When the church operates solely On money and manpower, Then it's time to repent Of our sin of forsaken God And denying our dependence On Him.

Prayerlessness is the main sin In the church today. When revival comes And the church is revived, Then it will operate On sanctified prayer And Holy Ghost power. When God's presence Pervades a congregation in revival, He restores His own backsliding people To repentance, faith, And obedience.

Revived people will be Soul-winning people On fire for God. Things can look bleak Right before revival appears. The times in England Right before Wesley and Whitefield Burst on the scene Were grim to say the least.

It was the day of Unconverted ministry And England was in the grip of vice And alcoholism. In London, every fifth house Was a gin shop. Things are pretty dark today In our sin-soaked society.

But we must remember The words of Jonathan Edwards Who wisely wrote, We see that God is faithful And will never forget The promises that He has made To His church. And that He will not suffer The smoking flax To be quenched Even when the floods Seem to be overwhelming it. But we'll revive the flame again Even in the darkest times.

I believe our day, friends, Is darker than the days Of Wesley and Whitefield. Our nation sits on the very Verge of destruction Unless God sends revival. And it's pride in the church That keeps the church from repentance To seek God in revival Because we feel We don't need it.

But the prophet Isaiah Makes the following declaration About God and about us In Isaiah 57 15 For thus saith The High and Lofty One That inhabiteth eternity Whose name is holy I dwell in the high And holy place With Him also That is of a contrite heart And humble spirit To revive the spirit of the humble And to revive the heart Of the contrite ones. I believe God will Hear the desperate prayers of His Contrite saints Who cry night and day for revival Like the psalmist declares Bow down, Dine here, O Lord Hear me, for I am Poor and needy. Revival is our only hope, friends And like I've stated previously It's revival or ruin.