quotations on revival by respected men
June 26th, 2008
“Numerous writings on the subject preserved confirm that revival is Divine intervention in the normal course of spiritual things. It is God revealing Himself to man in awful holiness and irresistible power. It is such a manifest working of God that human personalities are overshadowed and human programs abandoned. It is man retiring into the background because God has taken the field. It is the Lord… working in extraordinary power on saint and sinner” (Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p. 20).
“The essence of revival is that the Holy Spirit comes down upon a number of people together; upon a whole church, a number of churches, districts or perhaps a whole country. It is a visitation or outpouring of the Holy Spirit God has come down among them” (Martyn LloydJones, Revival, p. 100).
“……a movement of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival of New Testament Christianity in the Church of Christ and its related community. It may significantly change an individual, a group of believers, a congregation, a city, a country or even eventually the world but it accomplishes the reviving of the Church, the awakening of the masses and the movement of uninstructed peoples towards the Christian faith; the revived church by many or few is moved to engage in evangelism, teaching and social action” (J. Edwin Orr, The Eager Feet, p. vii).
“… what we call revival is simply New Testament Christianity, the saints getting back to normal” (Vance Havner, Hearts Afire, pp. 103104).
“To the church, a revival means humiliation, a bitter knowledge of unworthiness and an open and humiliating confession of sin on the part of her ministers and people. It is not the easy and glorious thing many think it to be, who imagine it fills pews and reinstates the church in power and authority. It comes to scorch before it heals; it comes to condemn ministers and people for their unfaithful witness, for their selfish living, for their neglect of the cross, and to call them to daily renunciation, to an evangelical poverty and to a deep and daily consecration. That is why a revival has ever been unpopular with large numbers within the church. Because it says nothing to them of power such as they have learned to love, or of ease, or of success; it accuses them of sin, it tells them they are dead, it calls them to awake, to renounce the world and to follow Christ.” (James Burns, writing in Revival, Their Laws and Leaders)
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Engaging with the Martyn Lloyd Jones quote: What exactly does the “visitation or outpouring of the Holy Spirit” mean? Does this mean that the Holy Spirit is moving among the people like in the New Testament with tongues, interpretation of tongues and healings? What about outpourings like the Holy Laughter, gold dust and other such ‘revival phenomena’? It’s not found in the Bible. Does this then cast doubt on it’s authenticity?
Hi marianne,
“Revival phenomena” is just the right word to describe the various human emotional and physical responses and reactions to the powerful sweep of the Spirit of God in a revival. Just as people react and display certain common, and in addition, unique responses when in love, so when the intense torrent of love and power is poured out on people in a revival all kinds of phenomena including those that you mentioned above may manifest.
How do we discern if the manifestations are of God? We need to test the spirits - even accepted phenomena like prophecies are to be evaluated as St Paul tells us in 1 Thesssalonians 5 and 1 Corinthians 14. Firstly, word: are the messages in accord with God’s Word? Secondly, fruit: does the revival leader have the fear of the Lord; and does the fruit of ministry include repentance and spiritual growth in the recipients. Thirdly, discernment:we should pray for the spiritual gift of discernment of spirits. We should seek the counsel of community leaders, preferably elders familiar with such phenomena.
The Bible does not describe revival phenomena at length or with great emphasis, and rightly so, as its main purpose is that of pointing to Christ as the Savior and God. It speaks more of the glories of the Triune God, than just the manifestations that accompany the Holy Spirit’s work.The fact that Jesus teaching on the Holy Spirit in John 14,15,16 emphasised more his internal work than the external manifestations, should indicate where our main attention as his followers should be on too.
Having said all this, I would welcome all revival phenomena when accompanied by the sanctifying power of the Spirit; and are in accord with the Lord’s teachings!
Pastor Kenny,
That’s a great reply on discerning the manifestations.
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