SOVEREIGN GRACE LIFE

Revived ~ Renewed ~ Restored ~ Reformed

Lasaro Flores / P.O. Box 298 /Boling, TX 77420

NOTE: Although I’ll be using articles from various authors, it does not mean I agree totally with what they write. But after reading them, I believe some benefit can be derived from them with respect to Revival and Spiritual Awakening. ______________________________

MY PURPOSE

As I said before, I believe that Total Revival involves at least four elements, and they are, to Revive, to Renew, to Restore, and now for this issue, to Reform. In my previous newsletters, I have dealt with the first three; and so at this time let us consider what it means to Reform in the context of Revival. It will be my object to show that True Revival is not just simply “something” that occurs in the spiritual area of a backsliding Christian, but that it is also manifested in the practical area of the one who has been Revived, Renewed, and Restored. I say, that if one experiences the first three, then definitely Reformation will be experienced in their lives. In other words, the Christian who normally lived and walked in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25 – “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”), but whose life has now been “deformed” because of sin, will be Reformed if he is Revived, Renewed, and Restored. There is no question about it: That is what True Revival is all about! It is to assure that the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will live according to the faith in Him; for as Colossians 2:6 states: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him”.

It is interesting, though, that in the King James Version of the Bible you only find the word “reform” (Leviticus 26:23), which means ‘to chastise, literally (with blows) or figuratively (with words); hence to instruct’, and “reformation” (Hebrews 9:10), which means ‘to straighten thoroughly; rectification, that is, (specifically) the Messianic restoration’. These definitions come from the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary of the Bible. Nevertheless, the idea and concept of to be reformed is found in the Bible, as we shall see. But we have to be sure that we understand that to be Reformed in the context of Revival is not to imply that one has to reform his life in order for justification and salvation before God, as there are those that believe that one has to change his life in order for God to forgive them of their sins. No, but what we mean by being Reformed is that a true believer who has backslidden and whose life in Christ Jesus has been deformed, or ‘bent out of shape’ because of sin, will, by the grace of God, experience Revival and be Reformed again, or ‘be bend back into shape’, i.e. the Life of Christ will now be more perfectly manifested in one who has been Revived, Renewed, Restored, and Re-formed!

Now, it is not the Life of Christ Jesus that is being Reformed; no, it is the life of the believer; in other words, the practical life of a true Christian. The Life of the Lord is always the same__, it never changes, but in the believer who falls into sin, even though that Life is still the same, yet the Christian himself will deform it by not living it in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that “the fruit of the Spirit”, i.e. “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22,23), which is the Life of the Lord Jesus, will be evident in all its purity and completeness in the life of the believer. In fact, we are told in Galatians 2:20 that this is to be true in one who has been crucified together with Christ: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. But oh, how we deform that Life when we backslide into sin! Let me illustrate: We have heard of instances when a child was born pretty “normal”, but then something happened that caused the child to be deformed physically due to some disease. In fact, there was this woman in her thirties, who develop a tumor that caused her to be so deformed grotesquely that she could not do the “normal” things of life. But after some complicated surgery, her body was re-formed­, so to speak, because surgically speaking, she was “revived”, “renewed”, and “restored”! Note that her life as a person was not reformed because she was still the same person after as before! It was her body that was re-formed, which is that that could be seen as proof of what happened to her. So, spiritually speaking, up to its limits, this is what happens in the life of a backslidden Christian who is Revived, Renewed, and Restored.

In the life of a backslidden Christian, the “normal life” as a Spirit filled believer will no longer be evident. That will be obvious, even though the backslider may go through the motions, there will always be missing the SPIRITUALITY of it. In other words, the backslider can “act” SPIRITUAL, yet there will be a witness that it is not done in the Spirit. Perhaps we can apply what the Lord Himself said in Matthew 12:33 – For the tree is known by his fruit”. Consider this: The primitive disciples manifested something that it could be said of them by their persecutors when they “took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Truly it is sad to have to say that when we fall into sin and backslide into “the old things”  that should have “passed away” (2 Corinthians 5:17), it will be clear that not only we are not walking with Jesus, but we are not spending time “with Jesus”. Yes, we may do all the “Christian things”, but honestly we will have to admit that the sweetness, the beauty, the meekness, and the love of our precious Savoir will be lacking in them. Oh, how we at times have to cry with Paul as he wrote to the Galatians: “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you…” (4:19).

At this time, let me now make three observations with regard to what is Reformed in a backsliding Christian who has been Revived, Renewed, and Restored. First, his mode of thinking will be Reformed. We are told that every regenerated and justified and sanctified believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). That means, then, that our thinking should be, or will be, consistent with the way our Lord thinks if we “walk in the Spirit” because “we live in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Therefore, it follows that “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,” we will “think on these things” (Philippians 4:8; for they “are right” (Proverbs 12:5). But backsliding deforms our thinking so that they are no longer the thoughts of God (cp. Isaiah 55:8); and it could be said that it could reach the point as the Psalmist declares: “God is not in all his thoughts” (10:4). So, the backslider who has “conformed to the world” in his sin needs to be “transformed by the renewing of (his) mind” (Romans 12:2). Simply this means that the life of the backslider has to be “transformed” from the way he is living, and this by having his thinking changed, or Reformed. But again, this can only happen if the backslider is Revived, Renewed, and Restored!

Secondly, his mode of speaking will be Reformed. Our Lord tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). Before conversion, the heart of the sinner is filled with his own ways; and so is the backslider: “The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways” (Proverbs 14:14). As a result, their language is worldly and carnal, and can be gross and ”dirty”. Even the unregenerate religious person, whose language might be polite, is ungodly, because it is not “with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). But at conversion, we are given “a pure language, that (we) may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him…” Zephaniah 3:9), a way of speaking that is holy, pure, heavenly, spiritual, and well-pleasing; and especially that is very distinct from the world and religious people; for they can truly say with the Psalmist: “I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works” (145:5). This, beloved people of God, is “normal speaking” for the spiritual Christian! But when backsliding commences, the language is deformed. Even when the backslider speaks using “Christian language”, it will sound hard and cold because it is not seasoned with grace, but tainted with sin. But oh, Hallelujah! when Revival comes to the backslider, our gracious God puts ”a new song in (their) mouth, even praise unto our God” (Psalm 40:3); and once again (Reformed) he will to start to “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of (their) lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:3).

 Thirdly, his mode of doing things will be Reformed. The name Christian simply means to be a follower of Christ. Therefore, to be a follower of Christ is to walk in his footsteps, as the apostle Peter tells us that “for even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21), and as even the apostle John tells us in  his first epistle: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (2:6). What does walking as the Lord Jesus did mean to us but to “do things” as He did? In experiencing salvation by His grace we become His disciples, which is to learn from Him and to follow Him. What we normally used to do as a lost sinner we no longer “do” them because “the Father…hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” and “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:12,13); and so now we do the things that He commands us to do (cp. Luke 6:46 – “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”). But in backsliding this is no longer true because now we want to do our own thing; and this is to “have our conversation (mode of living)” as “in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3). Once a Christian backslides into that style of life, it is no wonder that his mode of doing things has to be Reformed! But this can only take place if he is Revived, Renewed, and Restored. Here is where “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) has to come in; otherwise we’ll continue in our backslidden condition. But once grace in Revival brings us back to God, definitely our lives will be Reformed! We will again do things in Christ, by Christ, and for Christ.

Again, let me emphasize this: We’re not referring to Reformation prior to conversion, but to a Reformation that is the result of being Revived, Renewed, and Restored; and this can only be true for a true Christian who has backslidden into sin, and in doing do, has deformed his Christian profession. The reason I want to make this clear is because we’re not talking about a salvation experience, but a turning back, or returning back, of a child of God, who has strayed away from “home” due to disobedience and rebellion. But, by the grace of God, He has brought us to our senses, and turned our hearts back to Him, and we have been turned (Lamentarions 5:21 – “Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old”). Therefore, the Reformation we’re referring to is the Life of Christ again being “evidenced” in our lives because of a true and total Revival!

 But it’s sad to say that too many Christians try to make Revival like a New Year’s resolution. In much of today’s so-called “revival services”, it seems to me that backslidden Christians are called to a re-commitment to Christ by utilizing “invitations”, or pleas, that play to the emotions or feelings. As a consequence, many go to the front at the “altar call” and promise to “reform” their lives for Christ. In other words, they have been “touched”, and now they are “resolved” to better their Christian lives.

But that is not Revival. You see, Revival is a work of grace by God. We don’t have to promise God anything, or make a “resolution” that we’re going to do better. If anything, ALL we have to “do” is respond in repentance and in faith to His grace; “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Grace is the fountain from which flows all that we need, not only for salvation, but also Revival; and this Grace is more than sufficient to not only Revive us, and Renew us, and Restore us, but also to Reform us. Consider the power of Grace, as Paul expresses it, in 1 Corinthians 15:10 – “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me”. Even in your most weakest moments, Grace will supply the strength you need: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).

Now in closing, let me do so with these words: You can be sure of one thing: If God Revives you, Renews you, Restores you, and Reforms you, it will be real because it will be God doing it, and not man. So in order not to backslide again, “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), and daily receive from Him “grace for (upon) grace” (John 1:16). Stay close to Him by much prayer and walking with Him in faith. Come what might come, you can walk on top of the waters through the storms of temptation, and not slide back into the depths of sin, if you keep “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Hallelujah! Amen.  

WHY REVIVAL IS ALL GRACE

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4) 

We can only hope for Revival if God of His good pleasure is willing to send us one. We have to look to His mercy and grace in order that the promise of our text is true for us. Sadly, there are those around us that claim that if we are to have Revival we need to do something about it. In fact, at least from the times of Charles Finney the general idea has been that it’s up to us to bring Revival…..; that it’s up to us to initiate everything that is necessary to do so. It seems to me that that is the customary idea of what generally most everyone believes about Revival. We can see this when churches set down certain days of the year for special Revival services and invite a particular, or popular, evangelist to be a “revivalist” preacher. Also, a certain type of atmosphere will be promoted during these particular services; and what I’ve seen of late it’s geared towards the “emotions and feelings” of the people. But sadly, the kind of revival services that are so common today very rarely produce any Revival, or Spiritual Awakening, in the true sense of the word. Jokingly, many say after the revival services that the preacher took the revival with him when he left.

Now, our text makes it very clear that Revival is of God___, that He restores backsliders back to Him, and that it is because He is willing to do so. First, note that He says, “I will heal their backsliding”. This confirms what I said at the outset, that our only hope for Revival is that God be pleased to send us one, and since we cannot heal our backsliding, we have to look to His grace for our spiritual healing from our sins. Even David recognizes that Revival is dependent on the grace of God when he prays: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6). Also, the prophet Habakkuk prays: “O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy” (3:1). Why do we have to look to God for Revival? Simply because He is the Only One who has the power to give us one. Backsliding into sin is not simply having a cold, or a slight fever. Backsliding is very serious; and it can be terminal. Yes, we can say that backsliding is like incurable cancer, or even leprosy. That means, then, that the one who has cancer or leprosy has to look outside of himself for healing. Therefore, the backslider has to look to God for it.

I believe we can look at Matthew 8 as an example of this. There we see a leper that came to the Lord Jesus, casting himself on His mercy and grace, when he said: “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (v.2). Note that the leper did not presume on the Lord’s mercy, but also on His grace. The Lord could have left him as he was, but He said to the leper: “I will; be thou clean” (v.3). Isn’t this what He promises in our text: “I will heal their backsliding”? Oh, how we need to remember that He is the One “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:3), and who “restoreth my soul” (23:3)! We have to make sure we keep this in mind: He is our ONLY HOPE, otherwise we’re LOST! Hannah tells us so in 1 Samuel 2:6 – “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up”; or as He himself says in Deuteronomy 32:39 – “I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal”. In other words, He is the ONLY ONE who can Revive us and bring us up from the grave of backsliding. Knowing this, may we pray like the Psalmist: “LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee” (Psalm 41:4); for He also promises in Jeremiah 3:22 – “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings”. May our response be : “Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God” (same verse). 

Secondly, we note that He also says in our text: “I will love them freely”. What would move God to love us, not only when we were lost and dead in our sins, but even now as His children when we backslide into sin? Wouldn’t He have every reason to just simply cast us away into hell for despising Him and His love? Of course, he has, if it wasn’t for His Amazing Grace! Note again, He says: “I will love them freely”. It is not that He will just LOVE them, but that He does so FREELY! That means, beloved, that there is absolutely nothing that recommends, or makes the backslider attractive, in order for God to love him apart from His grace. But in spite of all that the backslider does, or has done, He promises that He will “love them freely”. The word “freely” is from the Hebrew word that means that it is a “spontaneous” love; in other words, it is a “voluntary”, or “self-originated” love from God. Oh, praise God that He “is love” (1 John 4:8,16); and because He loves “his own which are in the world, he loves them unto the end” (John 13:1) “with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), so that absolutely nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Hallelujah!!!

That means, then, that since God loves His people “freely”, Revival will be  ALL OF GRACE! He will do ALL that is necessary, and will supply ALL that is needed in order to Revive, to Renew, to Restore, and to Reform His saints who have backslidden into sin. Consider what He says to His backslidden people referred to as Ephraim: “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim…” (Hosea 11:8,9). Even though His “people are bent to backsliding from (him)” (v.7), and they deserve to be punish as Admah and Zeboim (cities that were destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah), yet we still see the heart of God in His Love, Grace and Mercy towards His rebellious people that He will not destroy them. Therefore, we can say with all assurance that He will “draw them with cords of a man, with bands of love” (v.4) back to Him in Total Revival. Amen.

Thirdly, we note another thing that God says: “For mine anger is turned away from him”. One of the saddest ideas of God that I have heard and read from others is that because God is Love and merciful, He either doesn’t get angry with His people; or if He does, they picture it as one who “winks the eye”, and tells the sinner, “Oh, I understand, you’re just being human”. But, beloved, read the Scriptures: God does get angry with His people; there are many instances of it. “And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed” (Numbers 32:13); “(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:15); “Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease” (Psalm 85:4); “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:30,31). Why would David pray: “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure” (Psalm 6:1); “Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation” (27:9)?

Yes, God does get angry with His people; and He chastises them, and at times severely. It is not just a pat on the hand as some try to imply. Yet, in His mercy in not dealing with us as we deserve, He turns His anger away from us. As the prophet Micah says: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy” (7:18); and also, “But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath” (Psalm 78:38).

Everyone of us should be able to say with the Psalmist: “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (103:10). Why? Because in His mercy He doesn’t give us what we deserve, but in His grace He gives us what we don’t deserve; and that is, to be forgiven of our backsliding because He remembers “he hath made accepted in the beloved” (i.e. in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ), “in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:6,7).

Now, in closing let me bring this out: The wonderful promise of out text to backsliders is not separate from PRAYER. Notice in Hosea 1:1,2 what is said to God’s people: “O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips”. Beloved, you cannot separate True Revival from the Prayer of the backslider. But understand that our desire to Pray also comes from the Grace of God, i.e., for it is “the spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zechariah 12:10) that is poured upon the people to God that moves them to pray. Therefore, as we are convicted of our sin (“For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity”), we are brought to pray in confession and brokenness (“Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously”) for the forgiveness of our sins and to be restored in our relationship back to Him; or as some say it could mean to “to take us back for our good”, or “take the good you have given us for Your glory”. Either way our God will receive ALL THE GLORY, as it is meant by, “so will we render the calves of our lips”. We will praise Him for the riches of His grace bestowed upon us in Total Revival!

So, dear people of God, let us start to pray like we have never prayed before so that our God will be “as the dew unto Israel” (Hosea 14:5) so that the following will be true of us: “He shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon” (vv.5-7). May the “the God of all grace” (12 Peter 5:10) grant us by “the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29) to receive “grace for grace” (John1:16) from the fullness of Jesus Christ. Amen.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EVIDENCES OF A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION

From Revival

By Richard Owen Roberts

Backslidden Christians are evident everywhere. They are in the churches and out of the churches. They are in the pews and in the pulpits. They are on boards and are bored. They are on committees and teach Sunday School. The backslidden seem to be more numerous than the upright and their influence throughout the world vastly more profound. While backsliders do not all manifest the same traits, evidences of their condition are not difficult to pinpoint. The following characteristics merit our serious attention.

5.        When the services of the church lose their delights, a backslidden condition probably exists. The recently converted find participation in the services of the church a thrill and joy. They never think they will grow weary of these newly discovered blessings. The singing of every hymn is an experience to be remembered. The hearing of the Scriptures read publicly is sheer delight. They sit on the edges of their seats to hear the sermon and scarcely find sufficient words to thank the preacher for his immense contribution to their lives. Not content to come only on Sunday mornings, they may even shock the elders by their presence at every stated meeting of the church. Then backsliding sets in. “What happened to the preacher?” they wonder. “How did he lose his fire? Why do the once stirring hymns now seem to drag?” Even the Scriptures lose their cutting edge. The backslider now finds it difficult to attend even the Sunday morning service. The warmhearted approach of the pastor and the people now seem meddlesome. Rather than risk an uncomfortable conversation with an overzealous deacon, the backslider slips out quickly from the service and makes his way home, spiritually hungry and unsatisfied. Finding no help in such a church, he either abandons attendance altogether or seeks a church home where backsliders are more comfortable.

A CALL TO EXTRAORDINARY PRAYER FOR REVIVAL

by ERROLL HULSE

Concerning fervent, persevering prayer, the prophet Isaiah writes, "I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest, until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise of the earth." (Isaiah 62:6-7) Revival is a reality about which we must give ourselves no rest, and the Lord no rest, until He comes and makes his church the praise of all the earth.

The Desperate Need

Throughout history, the church has been revived and enlarged through outpourings of the Spirit. Jonathan Edwards, a leader in the First Great Awakening, writes; "It may be observered that, from the fall of man to our day, the working of redemption in its effect has mainly been carried on by remarkable pourings out of the Spirit of God...at special seasons of mercy." Without periodic, extraordinary visitations of God, the church inevitably degenerates.

Nearly a century has passed since the church has experienced widespread revival. Although the gospel has advanced into more places and nations than ever before, the church faces defeat in many ways. Glowing statistics can never measure the spiritual climate of the church.

In our generation we have increasingly suffered from spiritual lethargy and powerlessness. There is a high percentage of weak and lukewarm Christians in western churches who evidence little interest in growing in grace and knowledge. The church may be bustling with activity and at the same time be infiltrated and permeated with the world's thinking and doing. It is sometimes the case that our forms of worship camouflage a dead spiritual condition.

Today the church world-wide is struggling. The impact of our churches upon the spiritual state of the world as, with all too few exceptions, been minimal. The missionary effort among us is feeble. The enemies of the gospel are winning the say in almost every area of the world.

Our paramount need is for heaven sent revivals of the kind that have adorned the history of the church. Nothing less than the powerful work of the Holy Spirit on a massive scale will meed the desperate spiritual poverty of our age, and remove the gross darkness that covers the nations. Only the manifestation of God in the midst of His people can give the church victory, making her the "praise of the earth."

The Divine Means

What should we emphasize in such spiritually degenerated circumstances? Prayer! This is the principle means of Grace to be employed by the Lord's people. Prayer occupies a primary place in the advance of all the Lord's work, and especially revival.

Jonathan Edwards comments that when God has something very great to accomplish for his church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of his people, quoting from Ezekiel 36:37 — "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." In Zachariah 12:10 it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by a remarkable pouring out of "the Spirit of grace and supplication." It is the invariable constitution of the kingdom of heaven that blessings of great magnitude are not imparted except to prayers of the deepest urgency.

History demonstrates this principle. The common precursor to revivals has been prevailing prayer. Pentecost, which was the first Christian revival, followed ten days of intense prayer characterized by whole-hearted unity (Acts 1:!4, 2:1-4).

Before the Second Great Awakening (late 1850's), Jeremiah Lamphier called a prayer meeting in downtown New York. Within six months, 10,000 businessmen were praying for revival, and within two years about 2,000,000 people were added to the churches.

The same pattern is found before the 1859 revival un Ulster, Ireland. James McQuilkin and three others began to meet in a school house every week for prayer and Bible study. They kept themselves warm with armfuls of peat gathered on the way to the school house every Friday evening. While peat warmed their bodies, the Spirit kindled the fire in their hearts. By the end of 1858, the participants at the prayer meeting had grown to fifty. Intercession without distraction to other subjects was made for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on themselves and the country. Their prayers and possibly many more were wonderfully answered in 1859 when an estimated 100,000 were added to the churches in Ulster.

These accounts and many others illustrate prayer as the genesis of revival. The beginning of a time of revival invariably marked by quickening of the ordinary prayer meetings, resulting in new vitality, more participation, more sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and more unction in intercession.

Therefore, in times of special need and the church's weakness, there is a biblical and historical warrant to resort to extraordinary prayer for revival. Isn't spiritual apathy and powerlessness in the church today a crisis which calls for urgent prayer?

We must recognize, however, that prayer is a spiritual gift, something that cannot be crafted artificially or regimented. We are not to think that we can organize prayer as if we are in control. The very ability to pray with unction and faith is given by the Holy Spirit, and although that activity largely precedes revival, prayer also is an integral part of revival.

Faithful Servants

While there are times when our prayers may be general or even unutterable groans, it is also important to be specific. Praying for spiritual awakening must be informed, by using resources such as Operation World, by Patrick Johnstone. Prayer meetings for revival should be fueled with relevant up-to-date information for intelligent petitions. We should not confine our intercessions to our own church or denominations or nation, but should intercede for world-wide spiritual awakening.

Our prayers are real only if we live them. As we earnestly seek God for revival, we must not forsake the essentials tasks of the church; preaching the truth, evangelism and a vital interest in and support for missions. We must pray for revival in the context of faithful work. (1 Corinthians 15:58) It is those who labor hard in evangelism who are able to pray most fervently for spiritual awakening.

The absence of revival is no excuse to discontinue our active evangelistic and missionary endeavors. The notion that nothing worth while can be done until revival comes can lead to the worst kind of lethargy. Jesus promises to be with us in our efforts until the end of the world, revival or no revival. All prayer for revival must be accompanied by faithfulness in fulfilling the commission, which is binding upon us all, to reach everyone as effectively as we can with the gospel.

Do Not Keep Silent

Let the desperate need for revival — the impoverished spiritual condition of the church, the darkness of the world — permeate our souls. May we profoundly realize the prevailing power of prayer. Let our fervent desires and longings for the manifestation of Christ's kingdom overflow in extraordinary intercession, with cries for special mercy. Jonathan Edwards wrote: "there is no way that Christians in a private capacity can do so much to promote the work of God as advance the kingdom of Christ, as by prayer."

We must not expect revival to come easily and quickly. Do not be discouraged if the results are not immediate; revival is God's prerogative. As God has been pleased to specially manifest His glory in the past and in the present in some countries, may we be inspired to persevere in crying, "O Lord, will you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you." (Psalm 85:6)

When the vision of Christ's glory, demonstrated in the salvation of souls, becomes an intense desire in our hearts, that is especially the time when we must pray with fervor for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in revival. "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning." (Isaiah 61:1) I implore you to be the one who, in our desperate day, urgently and persistently seeks the Lord in extraordinary prayer for widespread spiritual awakening, that God's glory would be magnified in His church and in all the earth.

Erroll Hulse is editor of "Reformation Today" and lives in Leeds, England. He is the author of numerous books, including a book on Revival entitled "Give Him No Rest"(EP,1991). He travels internationally speaking in churches and conferences, encouraging doctrinal recovery and prayer for awakening.

Article Taken from:

Revival Commentary, Vol. 2, No. 1

Published by:

International Awakening Ministries, Po Box 232 -- Wheaton, IL 60189

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INVITATION TO SALVATION

In order for one to experience Revival, they first need to have Life, otherwise they are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and “alienated from the life of God” (4:18). If you have not been “born again” (John 3:3,7), then you have not the Life of Christ in you according to 1 John 4:12 – “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life”. If this is true of you, then you do not need Revival but Salvation in order to have Life.

You may obtain this Life in Christ Jesus by believing in Him; for “this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (v.11). At the moment that a spiritually dead sinner believes in Him, he “is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Is this true of you at this very moment?