Revival: Remembering God's Mighty Acts and Presence

The greatest problem confronting us in the church today is that the vast majority of professing Christians are not convinced of the reality and the desirable nests of revivals, as I have been frequently pointing out. This is a subject that has scarcely been mentioned. Men and women have been so busy in other directions they not even don't even think of it still less do they pray urgently for it. [00:04:11]

I know of no method which is so sure directly to focus our attention upon this than just to be reading and considering what has happened in past centuries and therefore very fortunately for us this particular year 1959 is a very great help to us in that respect. There is a year which makes us think of 1859 100 years ago and therefore we are reminded of what happened in that wonderful year in the history of God's people here on earth. [00:05:01]

Our interest must never be a merely an antiquarian interest there is no point in reading the Bible's just for the sake of reading the history in the stories now know our motive and our interest must be to read and to study and to consider what has happened in the past in order that we may discover the great principles that underlie this matter in order in other words that we may discover what it is that we should be seeking and praying for in our own day and generation. [00:06:02]

Here God did something unusual something strange marvelous myth reckless as I shall be indicating he delivered the children of Israel first of all from their enemies the Egyptians we divided the Red Sea and they went through on dry land and here they are now they've been in the wilderness forty years and they're the other side of the river of Jordan lies the promised land of Canaan the place they were looking for and longing for the land of blessing the land flowing with milk and honey. [00:07:25]

What does he know about as well what he knows about us is this that it is simply amazing and astonishing to notice how easily we can forget even a memorable event like this I say would soon be forgotten would drop right out of the minds and the consciousness of subsequent generations of the children of Israel so put up the stones as God so that they'll be reminded they'll be arrested they'll say what what are these stones about what does this mean and then the answer will be given to them. [00:11:04]

We are so dull and so stupid as the result of sin that we'd even forget thus the death of the Son of God for us and his agony in the shame and all that he endured on the cross and his eternal lovers we'd even forget that so the Lord Himself ordained and commanded that we should meet together and break bread and drink wine it's the same principle, though this as after he do it in remembrance of me it's the setting up of the stones in Gilgal once more. [00:18:31]

It is a simple actual fact of history that something amazing and wonderful happened 100 years ago something literally took place in 1857 - 1859 which was so much fact that it even began to be reported in the newspapers and they very rarely report anything unless it's political, the only sermons they're interested in as sermons that introduced politics in some shape or form they're not interested in spiritual matters but they were actually reporting what happened in 1859 1859 it became front-page news a phenomena that acts something that belongs solidly to the realm of history. [00:22:38]

What happened in 1859 is only one in a great series it's but one example but one illustration of something that has been happening periodically in the history of the Christian Church right through the running centuries it's one example of what we call revivals revivals of religion and it's only one example there have been many other let me just give you a few illustrations in passing you know long before even the Protestant Reformation there was quite a religious revival in this country associated with the name of John Wickliffe and the Lollards that was a revival as definitely as what happened in 1859. [00:24:02]

The essence of revival is that the Holy Spirit comes down upon a number of people together upon a whole church upon a number of church is a district or perhaps a whole country that's what is meant by revival it is if you like a visitation of the Holy Spirit or another term that has often been used is this and I'll touring of the Holy Spirit and the terms are interesting because you see what the people are conscious of is just that as if something had suddenly come down upon them the Spirit of God has descended into their midst God has come down and is amongst them a baptism an outpouring a visitation. [00:31:46]

The Holy Spirit literally seems to be presiding over the meeting and taking charge of it and many Festing his power and guiding them and leading them and directing that's the essence of revival and what is that leader well here are the general characteristics that you'll find in every revival that you can have a read about the immediate effect is this that the people present begin to have an awareness of spiritual things such as they never had before now I'm talking about believers about Christian people members of the Christian Church when they suddenly become conscious of this presence in this power the first effect I say is that spiritual things become reality still they have an awareness of them and clear views of them such as they'd never had before. [00:32:47]

The glory and the holiness of God have you ever read your Bibles and notice these people suddenly realizing the presence of God like go put their hands upon their mouths or like an Isaiah say were we son to me for I am a man of unclean lips what's the matter with them Oh they've just had a realization of the holiness and the majesty and the glory of God that always happens in a revival doesn't always happen in evangelistic campaigns does it there can be a lot of laughing and joking and the obvious organization in evangelistic campaigns never in a revival this all this reverence this holy fear the consciousness of God in His Majesty is glory His Holiness is not of purity. [00:34:46]

There is what somebody once called a divine disorder always in a revival some groaning and agonizing and the conviction others praising God for the great salvation and all this leads to crowded and prolonged meeting time seems to be forgotten people seem to have entered into eternity a meeting may start at 6:30 in the evening it may not end until daybreak the next morning and nobody was aware of the passing of the hours they didn't have to provide coffee once or twice halfway through no no people have forgotten the body ah you may laugh my friends but you see that is what happening when men organizes these things not when the Holy Ghost organizes them time the body in the needs of the flesh they're all forgotten. [00:41:18]