We continue our Revival Series by looking at "What is Revival and Its Results." Prayerfully study this material and search your heart.
There are two phases to this so-called revival, this false "revival." On one hand, there is the orthodox movement where great multitudes are making decisions for Christ, and are being registered as saved, but the vast majority are not getting to Christ. On the other hand, there is what is called the revival of faith healing, which is purely and simply a manifestation of satanic power. Our people are blinded by the god of this world, Satan, and they cannot tell the difference. May I say again, what a dark background, but what a need for a refreshing from the presence of the Lord! Such a revival as we are having today is not stemming the tide of modernism that is sweeping our pulpits into Hell, as well as our men of the pews into the abyss.
We have looked briefly at the background which manifests the need of a true, heartfelt, Heaven-born, Holy Spirit revival. Let's now see, What is a revival? Well, briefly, a revival is an excitement; it's a religious excitement. It is a great and extraordinary excitement. It's an excitement produced among men. It's an excitement created and sustained by God the Holy Spirit. It's an excitement promoted by prayer that becomes an intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered. It is such a refreshing from the presence of God in which souls are quickened, or made alive, unto God. It is the Lord Jesus Christ walking in the midst of His people until hearts are broken down with weeping and brought to the place of repentance realizing that they are lost and going to Hell. It may be limited or widespread; it may be in the heart of one individual or hundreds at the same time.
A revival in which hearts are quickened, or made alive, in Christ, when Christ becomes real to the human heart, is particularly needed today in a fallen world. Everywhere you turn there is gaiety, betting, gambling, drunkenness, impurity, infidelity, skepticism, books filled with the darkest and most dangerous doctrines. On every hand newspapers, magazines, etc., are crying down the verbal inspiration of God's Word, reducing the Bible to mere fiction. Evolution is widespread, modernism is on the rampage. Movie producers are taking the great old Bible stories and twisting the Word of God and misrepresenting the characters of the Bible to a people who are ignorant of God's Word. The vast majority of our popular novels are Christless and godless, and are filled with infidelity. Immortality is rampant everywhere. The church has lost her spirituality and has been conformed to the world. The church today as a whole is not calling men to repentance.
In the midst of this spiritual darkness we hear the call of God to His people. I wish you would listen to this call, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (II Chron. 7:14). Did you hear that call? You say, "It is all right for the other fellow." But this is a call to your heart, friend. God's call to His people is to humble themselves. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18). In the midst of this darkness today the church is saying, "We are rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," and yet above this we can hear the call of God if we will only listen, "Knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire" (Rev. 3:17, 18).
One of the first manifestations of the convicting power of God's Holy Spirit is to humble man and hide pride from him (Job 33:17). May there come the humbling Spirit in our midst; then will follow prayer. "If my people, which are called by my name...shall...pray." As we listen, we can hear nobody praying. It's a going and a serving and an eating and a banqueting—as a group said one day, "We do not have time for a revival, we have so much church work to do." What a situation we find ourselves in! In Zech. 12:10 we find this great promise, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications." My that great promise be fulfilled in our midst today, when the Spirit of grace and of supplications shall fall upon hearts far and near. May the Spirit of the grace of God fall upon our hearts now until He will break us down at His feet in prayer.
Then He says, "If my people...shall... seek my face," and in Jer. 29:13 He says, "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." People are so satisfied with their church work today and with the additions they are having until they do not want to seek the face of Christ. Then He says, "If my people...shall... turn from their wicked ways." Sin is so blatant in our midst today, but one of the great outward manifestations of a spiritual awakening is the turning of the hearts of men and women to God from sin, seeking His face. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and unto our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:7). But man does not want to turn from his way; he does not want to forsake his sins. May the God of all grace, and the Father of all mercies pour out His Spirit of grace upon our hearts until we will be willing to turn.
Brother, a revival is not having folks walk down the aisles and take a stand for Christ; a revival is not having hundreds or even thousands of people making so-called "decisions for Christ." A revival is the hearts of men turning to God from their sins, from their wicked ways, from their self-will, and finding themselves in the dust of repentance at the feet of Christ crying for mercy! We don't hear any mourning over sin like that today, do we? No, we don't. "Then," God says, "will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land." May the Lord God rend the heavens and come down (Isa. 64:1).
Now let's notice, in conclusion, some of the results of a revival. In the time of a spiritual awakening, men's minds are clear; they have been quickened, separated from the world and from sinful practices and brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know, if things be stirred up by the Spirit of God, men are made alive unto Christ, and Satan will be stirred up also. The devil will come down having great wrath; he will put forth every effort in the world to keep the sleeping church from awaking and to keep unconverted souls from fleeing from the wrath to come. I know that the world and so-called worldly hurch members will sneer and mock and make fun, and this will frighten the timid individuals; then they will draw back and turn away from Christ, and will be more disloyal than they would have been had there been no awakening. In other words, a revival divides the Esaus and Jacobs, the Cains and Abels.
Then there will be some who will come out on professions and do nothing but talk, talk, talk—not about Christ—but they will be critical of others, and will lead many astray. In such an awakening the devil will do his best to bring about envy and strife, and will cause individuals to take offense where no offense was intended. But, praise God, in the midst of such an awakening God will be glorified. He wll break down all opposition to the progress of His own work. I know the greatest opposition to a Heaven-sent revival will come from inside the church where the self-righteous elder brother will begin to cast stones, and criticize. But, my friend, the only thing we can do is to keep our eyes upon the Lord and move forward. One here and one there will come to know Christ, whom to know is life eternal.
In laboring for a revival we have to make up our minds to one thing—that is, to walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and turn a deaf ear to the critics, to those who laugh at us, because many will trample our names under their feet as the filth of the street. They will falsely accuse us of everything under the sun; they will make every move possible to keep folks fom believing our testimony. But I am for a revival.
Will you join with me in this hour to pray for a spiritual awakening, first in your own heart, and then in your own family, in your own community, in your own church, and look to the Lord God of Heaven to break down all opposition to His own work? It is only in a revival that God deepens the conviction of sin in the hearts of His own people. It is during a spiritual awakening that saints will be bowed down and humbled before God. May the revival begin in our own hearts with a confession of our sins, with a humbling of our hearts before God. I believe the greatest joy this side of Heaven other than being saved myself is that of seeing souls saved. If we could only realize at this moment that our loved ones and our friends are sinking down to a devil's Hell, and "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming," our one cry would be, "Lord, revive Thy work in our midst, and we shall be a willing people in the day of Thy power."
Now, brother, you are not telling me a thing in the world about the results of an awakening that I haven't faced. We have had it here in First Baptist Church, Algiers, when all hell has turned loose, but praise God, He is able, and out of it some souls will get saved. I believe I am hearing and witnessing the moving of the Holy Spirit again in our midst, because sinners are beginning to rebel against the Word of God and saints are beginning to prick up their ears and listen anew to God's call to repentance.
May God give us a revival. Will you pray with me for such a revival, first, in your own heart? Friends, will you do it? Will you? How many of you will join hands with me in praying for a spiritual awakening, first, in your own heart; then pray for one in my heart. Pray that He will open my heart. Pray that He will give me His message. Pray that I will not compromise with the souls of men in this hour. Then pray for a revival in your church, in your community, and let the results be what they will. Will you? If you will, let me hear from you. Just sit down and write, saying, "Brother Shelton, I will join hands with you in this hour to pray for an awakening, for a spiritual revival in our midst." I will be waiting to hear from you.
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