Revival – what is “true revival”?

In light of my current personal study in Luke, I Googled the words “true revival.” What I found was
quite interesting.

1.     Almost every “revival” link in the Internet is also selling something. Revival seems to
cost money these days.

2.    Revival seems to be an event or condition among churches and church people that is an end in itself. Though no one is quite sure what “revival” is, everybody seems to want one or claims to have one.

In the verse that attracted my attention today, Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God… because for this purpose I have been sent.” The literal reading of this verse would be “to preach the good news of the kingdom of God… for this I have been sent.” The word translated preach is euangelidzo – to bring good news, or as we might say “to glospelize.” Jesus’ ministry was to take the gospel to those who were lost. When His power and message entered a city, the people experienced what today is called “revival.”

So, here is my conclusion.

The people who experience true revival seem to be unaware of the unusual or special nature of the work that God is doing and is accomplishing in them because their focus is on the Lord Jesus Christ and His glory alone. When a person or group set about to wholly follow Jesus Christ in proclaiming and living the gospel, God does His work to glorify Himself in them and through them.

When those who come behind see this and glom onto it, the “glommers” call it revival. The term “revival” has come to describe a condition of the church characterized by growth and power. The name is often given to this experience by people who are seeking to achieve or recreate a similar event of growth and power, but tragically, their pursuit of what they call revival is one of self effort – seeking by themselves to accomplish what God alone has done.

Great Commission Resurgence - some personal thoughts and comments

I have begun to see and hear these words more often - "we need a Great Commission Resurgence." In reading many of the articles on this call, I have come to the conclusion that this is really a call for revival, especially within the Southern Baptist Convention. The fact that growth has stagnated and reaching and retaining young adults has become problematic, church leaders are looking for a solution. With regard to that solution, let me offer the following observations.

1. Talk of the need for a “Great Commission Resurgence” is basically a recognition and admission that the evangelical church in the United States, including the SBC, desperately needs an old-fashioned, Holy Spirit revival.

2. Trying to define and orchestrate a revival of the church under a banner such as the Great Commission Resurgence makes that effort just another program of the organized evangelical church. As a program, it has little hope of being any more successful in reviving the church than any of the other programs have been.

3. As a movement, the evangelical church, especially as it has found a manifestation in the “mega church” phenomenon, is becoming spiritually lifeless. Speculation about the demise of the evangelical movement may be an admission that it has become ineffective in making disciples of Jesus Christ.

4. God is much more interested in redeeming the lost souls of men that any of His disciples are or could be. The fact that many evangelical churches are not effectively reaching the lost is an indication that God is not at work among them or that His work is being hindered in their midst.

5. True revival is totally the work of God that He performs in the hearts of believers by drawing them to spiritual maturity and Christ-likeness. The Christ-likeness of believers – their deliberate Christianity – is then used of God to draw the lost to faith in Christ. The salvation of the lost is the manifestation of the true revival that has already occurred among the believers.

6. The men and women whom God chooses to REVIVE are the ones who are sold out to His will regardless of the personal cost or consequences – even if that eliminates them from any personal recognition. Reluctance to accept this renunciation of personal recognition is what keeps many believers and church leaders from experiencing God’s revival.

7. When revival comes, some of the necessary components will be:

• Revival will be the work of the Holy Spirit in such a way that no man or group of men will be able rightfully to glory in the accomplishment of the work.
• Revival will begin and grow in places and ways that will not be anticipated.
• When it comes, revival will be well established before the institutional church recognized that it has happened. The Holy Spirit comes unseen, but His work is unmistakable (John 3:8).
• The Holy Spirit will use men and women who are concerned about doing the work for which God called them seeking only the glory of Jesus Christ. They will have no thought or concern for personal name recognition since the advancement of the Kingdom is their goal.