Understanding Revival

Revival is such a vast topic that our discussion needs to be in points form. We shall not discuss anything concerning those great "revivalists" in Church history. Books have been written about the ministries of Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney and many others. Neither shall we discuss about the the "great" contemporary revivals (20th Century) - The Welsh Revival (Evan Roberts), Azusa Street (Charles Parham), the Church Renewal Movement, the Healing Revival, the Third Wave, the Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements and many others. We confine our discussion on the characteristics of revivals, the essence of revivals and the lessons learned from past revivals.

Revival is the Work of God

The psalmist said, "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You" (Ps. 85:6, NKJV)?

The word "revive" means "to cause to live". The psalmist cried out to God to recover His people from the condition as a state of death.

Prophet Habakkuk cried out to the Lord, "O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2).

Men can pray for a revival but we cannot cause a revival. Revival is the work of the Godhead - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. it is His prerogative and He sets the time, period and place!

The Move of the Holy Spirit

There is a great difference between preaching from a source of knowledge and preaching from a well of living water that flows from the throne of God.

That the Lord has chosen men to be His habitation must be one of the great marvels of the creation. But God has also chosen men to do His work, and He often uses just a single individual to ignite a new move of His Holy Spirit.

You don't advertise a fire

A true move of God is not fueled by money, organization or advertising. True revival only comes when the pillar of fire, that is the presence of God Himself, picks up and moves. To try to organize, promote or sell a move of God is profanity in its lowest form!

You can't plan a revival

Broken plans seem to be the hallmark of revivals. Revival is the plan of the Holy Spirit. This does not imply that leadership and organization are not needed in the Church. But when the Spirit is doing something new and fresh, the greatest gift is not knowing how to lead, but knowing how to follow.

Seek the wine, not the wineskin

There does not seem to be a single example in Church history where a wineskin of Church organization was built before the new wine of revival was given. Those who have tried to build the wineskin first have often found themselves out of step and unable to receive the new wine when it came. The Lord has never restricted Himself to move by any predetermined formula. There is one quality common to those who have been mightily used by the Holy Spirit - they were able to hear the sound of the Holy Spirit moving and were willing to move the way that He wanted them to move in a particular time and in a particular place.

The power and the desire of prayer

The first sign of revival is when Christians become aware of the power of prayer. Prayer meeting that had been drudgery before becomes the main attractions not only in the Local Church, but even for entire cities. Meetings swelled until overflowing, both with people and with the anointing. Meetings that are expected to be regular services, quickly become prayer meetings.

Saving of souls

The main focus of prayer for any revival is always for the lost. There can be no revival without soul-winning. Every Christian has a burning agony for the lost. There is no set pattern of strategy for the witnessing; it is simply born out of an overflowing joy and faith that can't be contained in those who know the Savior.


Learn how to carry the Ark

The Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence to the ancient nation of Israel. There are many great lessons in the Old Testament stories of the Ark concerning how we should, and should not, treat the presence of the Lord. When the Ark was treated as holy and was carried before them into battle, great and miraculous victories were won (Josh. 6:4 - 11). When the Ark was not treated as holy, but was used as a good luck charm, they lost the Ark and the battle and it was captured by their enemies (1 Sam. 4:1 - 11).

Pastors and Church leaders must know how to carry the "Ark" of God's presence. They must learn how to remain open and submitted to the Lord's leading and learn how not to offend the Spirit. Those who are used mightily in a revival must not say or do anything that might draw attention to themselves and draw people away from the Lord.

Essential conditions for revival

1. All sin must be confessed to God and repented of. If possible make restitution. The Church has to be cleansed - the Lord's bride must be without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:22 - 27), so there would be no room for compromise with sin. If there is anything in our lives about which there is even doubt as to whether it is good or evil - then cast it off!

2. There must be no "cloud" between the believer and God. Have you forgiven everyone? If not, don't expect forgiveness for your own sins. The Scripture is clear, we cannot be forgiven until we have forgiven others (Luke 6:37; 11:4). Unforgiveness separates us from God.

3. We must obey the Holy Spirit. Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Holy Spirit is required if we are going to be used by Him.

4. There must be public confessions of Christ as Savior. This is not just a one time incident after our salvation experience of water baptism. For the Christians it is a way of life. There is a difference between confession and profession. Do not be a professing Christian only!

Be sensitive to receive God's messengers

History tells us that many revivals failed to get started because men, overreacting to the selfishly ambitious men, rejected the messengers the Lord sent to them. It is right that we desire to see God receives all the glory, but this does not mean that men should not get any attention or recognition. One of the great ironies of Church history is that those who are the most zealous for seeing that men do not steal God's glory almost never experience a true move of God because they reject the messengers He sends to them. Paul was bold to defend his recognition as an apostle because he could not rightly minister to the Churches unless they recognized the purpose for which he had come to them (1 Cor. 9:1, 2; 2 Cor. 12:12, 13).

We must receive a prophet in the name of a prophet if we are going to receive a prophet's reward (Matt. 10:41). If we receive a prophet as just a brother, we will miss what God could have given us. The same is true of every ministry. We must receive a pastor as a pastor if we are going to receive the reward of his ministry. The same is true true of an apostle, an evangelist or a teacher. We must recognize the gift of God in the messenger to receive the gift that God is sending to us.

To receive the gift of God in another is to recognize the work and purpose of God in them. It takes humility to receive the message of God from another men, especially one that we have known for awhile. It is this humility that God is looking for so that He can trust us with His grace (James 4:6).

It is a natural tendency for the leadership to police the Local Church in order to ensure that others are not exalting themselves. In the eyes of the Lord this is a terribel form of spiritual pride and this often causes us to miss the grace of God by rejecting those that He has sent to us as His divine provision. The apostle Paul commended the Galations for reciving him "as an angel from God" even though his flesh was a trial to them (Gal 4:14).

There is a difference between properly honoring someone and worshipping him.

God uses men

Almost every great revival or move of God, in both Scripture and history, was ignited by a single individual. But none of the revivals were sustained by just one individual believer. There were many others that were used by God to prepare the nation for it, and others who fanned the flames throughout the nation. Notice that it was never the presence of a single individual which brought revival, but the presence of God!

The greatest vessel that the Lord uses is still an "earthen vessel". Once we behold the glory of the Lord the vessel losses our attention. Compared to the Lord Jesus, even the great apostle Paul was a mere man, an empty earthen vessel.

Revival affects the entire Body of Christ

The most significant result of a past revival was that all Church prejudices and denominational barriers completely collapsed as Pastors and believers of all demonminations worshipped the Lord together. The quarrels of local Christians were either forgotten or instantly healed.

One outstanding characteristic of a past revival was the confession of sin, and it swelled over from the unsaved to the saved, who were broken and humbled by the revelation of the cross of Christ. Bitterness and resentment became unthinkable, as they all were compelled to gaze upon the Lord's great mercy and love. This unity was not caused by persecution, but by the glory and presence of the Lord. This became a profound historic example of how all of our individual crowns will be cast to the feet of the Lamb when He enters His Church!

On the negative side, many Pastors and Church leaders quickly burned out by trying to do too much. Consequently, multitudes who were touched by the revival and had a genuine encounter with the Lord were lost again to the world because there were not enough workers to care for them, to help to raise them spiritually. It is hard to take the time to equip other workers and ministries in the heat of a revival. God needs workers who takes time to rest - to enter His rest.

Desperate prayer, supplication and intercession

Deep spiritual awakening or revival, whether in the Local Church or in the whole country, begins with desperate people. Hannah, the prophet Samuel's mother, is a good example of those whom God uses to give birth to His purposes. Hannah became so desperate for a son that she was willing to give that son back to the Lord after she received him. This kind of devotion never fails to move the Lord to respond to His people, and it is what He must see in His people before He can trust them with true revival. When we are willing to give everything that is born back to Him, for His glory, releasing control of it for Him to raise it as He sees fit, we are then ready for revival.

The Scripture has proven over and over that the Lord will answer the prayers of desperate Christians - Christians who are sick of the tired, weary, cold and mechanical and liveless Church "services"; Christians who are heartbroken over the deadness of the Church, over sinners who are eternally lost, and who are desperate about their own spiritual condition.

Prayer brings Brokenness

God cannot use a person who is not broken and completely surrendered to Him. When Jesus met Peter in his fishing boat, Peter had one reaction: He was convinced in his heart, he felt as if he was too sinful for Jesus to be in his boat with him. Having denied Jesus three times, he was broken by the grace and forgiveness of Christ in giving him the opportunity to preach the first sermon in the history of the Church. As a result of Peter's ministry, three thousand came to Christ at the Day of Pentecost. Peter was also used by Christ to open the spiritual door to the Gentile world. God was able to use Peter once he had been broken.


I realize that a lack of brokenness causes a person who is used by God to become proud and arrogant. However, when a man is broken, his heart resists pride. Therefore, he can be used by God to a great degree.


How does brokenness begin? When you come in contact with God in your time of prayer, the first thing you feel in your heart, as you enter into His divine presence, is a realization of your sin. No one can sense pride in the presence of the Holy God. Once you sense your lack of natural qualifications to be in His Holy Presence, you will begin to confess your sin and humble yourself before God. Your immediately reaction is one of brokenness. Brokenness and pride cannot coexist!

Amazingly, as you enter into the Presence, you will be made aware of reactions, attitudes and actions that you may have forgotten. Just as Peter could not bear to have Christ in his boat because of the recognition of his sins, so also, you become aware of your great need before His Holy Presence. The next natural reaction to the Presence is the desire to be forgiven of your sin and to be set free with confession.


Keeping our First Love


Our first love must be for the Lord Himself, and then for His purpose. People can want revival for many different reasons, some of them selfish. Parents who love each other more than they love their children will love their children more than other parents do. If we will love the Lord more than we love His purposes, we will then be able to love His purposes properly without making them idols.


I believe true evangelism and true revival is born out of deep love for the Lord, not just a love for the lost, though that is of course important. Similarly, true prayer and intercession is likewise founded upon a desire to be united with the Lord, not just an effort to get Him to do something for us!


The Lord sees only one Church


Scripture tells us that before the end of this age comes, the Church will be unified. The Lord is returning for a Bride, not a harem! The prayers of Jesus will be answered (John 17).


When the Lord looks down upon the earth He sees only one Church. The many divisions perpetrated upon the Church were divised in hell, not in heaven, and they will be overthrown before the end comes. We must have unity if we are going to be prepared for the great harvest that will mark the end of this age (Mark 13:39).


It is a basic Biblical and historic truth that God does not anoint division. No great revival or move of God has ever emerged from a divided Church!