Can you define “revival” for me? A revival is a return to or renewal of spiritual vitality. An expression of renewed religious zeal is a revival. It’s the act of reigniting one’s own or a community’s spiritual zeal in order to renew its capacity to bring in new Christians.
Charles Spurgeon said it best when he said, “Revival is to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired, to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.”
Imagine the shock of realizing that a person who is spiritually awake needs to be revitalized. Like the wax on a candle, their inner vitality is slowly melting away. Some Christians are in this condition; they seem to be on the verge of death.
Like someone sinking deeper and deeper into quicksand, they have abandoned their faith. They’ve become distant and uncaring. They’ve conformed to the rest of society.
A formerly living thing can only be brought back to life. Nothing can be brought back to life if it has never existed in the first place.
Revival is a term that has a spiritual meaning and is often used in Christianity. It means the renewal or restoration of something that has been lost or has become weak or decayed. It can also mean a reawakening of interest in something.
When it comes to the Bible, revival refers to a renewal of spiritual fervor, especially among Christians. This could be because there are many people who have lost their faith or because there were some who weren’t very religious in the first place but then became more devoted after experiencing some kind of crisis or tragedy.
Revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer. It encompasses the resurfacing of a love for God, an appreciation of God’s holiness, a passion for His Word and His church, a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin, a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness. Revival invigorates and sometimes deepens a believer’s faith, opening his or her eyes to the truth in a fresh, new way. It generally involves the connotation of a fresh start with a clean slate, marking a new beginning of a life lived in obedience to God. Revival breaks the charm and power of the world, which blinds the eyes of men, and generates both the will and power to live in the world but not of the world.
In the USA, the first revival, also called the First Great Awakening, produced an upsurge of devotion among Protestants in the 1730s and 1740s, carving a permanent mark on American religion. It resulted from authoritative preaching that deeply moved the church members with a convicting awareness of personal guilt and the awesome nature of salvation through Christ. Breaking away from dry ritual and rote ceremony, the Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person, as it should be, by creating a deep emotional need for relationship with Christ.
Revival, in many respects, replicates the believer’s experience when he or she is saved. It is initiated by a prompting of the Holy Spirit, creating an awareness of something missing or wrong in the believer’s life that can only be righted by God. In turn, the Christian must respond from the heart, acknowledging his or her need. Then, in a powerful way, the Holy Spirit draws back the veil the world has cast over the truth, allowing the believers to fully see themselves in comparison to God’s majesty and holiness. Obviously, such comparisons bring great humility, but also great awe of God and His truly amazing grace (Isaiah 6:5). Unlike the original conversion experience that brings about a new relationship to God, however, revival represents a restoration of fellowship with God, the relationship having been retained even though the believer had pulled away for a time.
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to revival in a number of situations. Christ’s letters to the seven churches reveal some circumstances that may necessitate revival. In the letter to Ephesus, Christ praised the church for their perseverance and discernment, but He stated that they had forsaken their first love (Revelation 2:4-5). Many times as the excitement of acceptance to Christ grows cold, we lose the zeal that we had at first. We become bogged down in the ritual, going through the motions, but we no longer experience the joy of serving Christ. Revival helps restore that first love and passion for Christ. Revelation 2:10-11 refers to the church at Smyrna, which was suffering intense persecution. The cares and worries of life can beat us down, leaving us emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. Revival can lift us up to new hope and faith.
Revelation 2:14-16 talks about the problem of compromise with the world and incorporating worldly values into our belief systems. Revival helps us to rightly discern what values we should hold. Revelation 2:20-23 discusses the problem of tolerating false teaching.
Why Do We Need Revival?
What a thought to know that someone who is spiritually alive needs reviving! The flame of life within their soul is dimming, like a candle, whose wax is slowly waning. There are some Christians who are like this, they are barely alive.
They have fallen away from their faith, like falling into quicksand, slowly descending further into its depths. They have grown cold and indifferent. They have become like the world.
Did you know that you can only revive something that once was alive? If it has never been alive, it cannot be revived, it can only be brought to life.
Psalm 85 speaks to those who have become lukewarm Christians. They are no longer on fire for the Lord. They have become casual Christians, only showing a spiritual side when it benefits their worldly desires.
Psalm 85:1-3 points toward the mercy of God: “You, Lord.”
Psalm 85:4-5 tells us to remember: “Restore us again.”
Psalm 85:6 is about restoration: “Revive us again.”
The psalmist was requesting that God resuscitate his people or bring them back to life. God is equipped and is very capable of restoring the two, the churches and the people. He can shower us with his affections, taking and bringing us back to where we should be, adoring and worshiping him.
In a church hymnal, “Revive Us Again,” we sing:
We praise the Thee, O God! For the Son of Thy love, For Jesus Who died, And is now gone above. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again.
If we need restoration, if we need renewal, if we need revival in our congregation, in our family, or even in our individual spiritual life, we ought to seek out and request that God equip us with the renewing of his love, grace, and mercy.
How do we do this? This occurs through the continual use of CPR (Christ Providing Rejuvenation), and by obtaining a regularly scheduled spiritual exam, which is much like a physical.
In a church hymnal, “Search Me,” we sing:
Search me, O God, and know my heart today. Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. See if there be some wicked way in me. Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.
According to the Bible, we are to examine ourselves:
Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; (Psalm 26:2).
Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Allowing a Revival in Our Hearts
While a genuine restoration or revival has a place only with God’s children, it carries with it a gift for the other sheep who are not yet in the fold. If you drop a stone into a lake the ring extends consistently, until the farthest corner of the lake feels the impact.
When we allow the Lord to restore a believer, very soon their family, companions, and neighbors get a portion of that benefit; for when a Christian is resuscitated and revived, they pray more intensely for sinners.
Yearning and a cherishing petition for all of us who are sinners is one of the signs of a recovery in the reestablished heart.
Since salvation is necessary for everyone, the gift comes from those who hear the supplications (prayers); hence the kingdom increases by a revival.
Before long, the revived Christian talks about Jesus and the gospel; a great seed is planted, and the good seed is never lost, for he has said, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
The good seed is that which is planted in the soil, and in the hearts. God readies the soil, with the goal that the seed rises for harvest. Subsequently, by the witness of the believers, another entryway of mercy opens up to humanity.
For a congregation that continually requires restoration and revival, it is a sign of possibly false teaching, unchallenging words, or lack of encouragement. A church congregation should be a camp of fighters, not a clinic of invalids.
In any case, there is much contrast between what should be and what is, and therefore a considerable number of the children of God are in such a tragic state of existence that the exceptionally fittest petition is for them to be revived.
Whenever Christians are resuscitated, they live more reliably. They make their homes all the more blessed and more joyful, and this drives those that do not know Christ to enquire after their joyfulness.
Unbelievers do long to fill the void in their hearts that only the Lord can fill. Their mouths water for the Living Water. Furthermore, there is another gift, for it drives men to look for the Savior.
Assuming that an unbeliever ventures into a church service where everyone is resuscitated, they will not fall asleep under the message.
The preacher will not allow them to do that, for this unbeliever sees that the person in the pulpit feels what he is preaching about and needs to be heard. This is an unmistakable increase, for the person tunes in with profound inclination.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit’s power, which the preacher has received in reply to prayer happens upon the listener’s heart and they are persuaded of their wrongdoing, of God’s righteousness, and of the judgment to come.
Christians who are on the watch around this unbeliever rush to tell them of the Savior and his redeeming blood, so that although the revival is for the people of God, its consequence no man can restrict.
Why Does Revival for Believers Matter?
Let us look for a revival now and throughout the year so that the new year might open with a plentiful beatitude. We should promise ourselves to create a supplication association (prayer group), a consecrated band of prayer warriors, and may God do unto us as per our faith.
Revival is the product of all Christians praying and seeking the Holy Spirit’s presence. The product of a revival is the rejoicing for the one that was slipping away and now that has been brought back to life.
g in our churches. We need to examine the messages that we hear and compare them to the message of the Bible. Revival helps us to find the truth. Revelation 3:1-6 describes a dead church, a church that goes through the motions outwardly, but there is nothing underneath. Here is a picture of nominal Christianity, outwardly prosperous, busy with the externals of religious activity, but devoid of spiritual life and power. Revival helps to resuscitate spiritual life. In Revelation 3:11, we are further warned against complacency, a life that does not bear fruit. All of these scenarios call for revival.