Five Marks of Genuine Revival — E.A. Johnston

The Urgent Need for Genuine Revival

Vance Avner once remarked, everyone seems to be holding revivals. It's about time someone let loose of one. But the mildly used evangelist, Sam Jones said, the need of revival is a proof that we are not right.

It's an abnormal state of things that makes revivals necessary. And we are in sad shape today, friends. If you only look around us, we'll see we're desperately in need of revival today. In Isaiah 64, one, God's word declares, oh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.

This speaks of the dreadful presence of God, the awful presence of God that's seen in revival. I know it's easy to get discouraged if we've been praying for revival for a long time and are yet to see God send us one.

But we must remember the wise words of Jonathan Edwards, who wrote, we see that God is faithful and never will forget the promises that he has made to his church and that he will not suffer the smoking flax to be quenched, even when the floods seem to be overwhelming it, but will revive the flame again, even in the darkest times.

Well, I appreciate those observations of Jonathan Edwards because we sure are in some darkest times today. And when one studies the history of the church, it's usually against a backdrop of darkness where God comes down in revival.

In England, in the times of Wesleyan Whitfield, one sees such a dark background of sin and debauchery in society, for in London at the time, every sixth house was a gin shop, prostitution was rampant, and public drunkenness was so common that even members of parliament showed up for work dead drunk.

And against this dark velvet background emerges these two brilliant diamonds, these two brilliant evangelists, and revival commences and God comes down and society is preserved while other countries like France are in chaos and tumbling down.

But although we today live in dark days, what concerns me most is that we're about to lose a generation of individuals who actually know what real revival is. They spent their lives studying revival and experiencing revival and now they are aged, they're closer to heaven than they are to earth.

I'm thinking the three men in particular, each one is 94 years old, they can't be replaced when they're gone and their combined knowledge of revival is unmatched in this generation. I'm speaking of Ted Randall, Richard Owen Roberts, and Ian Murray.

These men have dedicated their lives to the serious study of revival. They've prayed for it, preached for it, written wisely on it. And my fear is we'll end up with a rising generation of believers who really don't know what genuine revival really is or what it entails.

We'll see some religious excitement on a campus and we'll call that revival, even though it's missing the marks of genuine revival. A few pastors a day know what it's like to experience the power of God in a meeting.

Somehow we've convinced ourselves that we can get the job done quicker with money and manpower, but in former times the church operated by prayer and holy ghost power. But we are more obsessed with church growth today in expanding our campus rather than the spiritual growth of the members.

Samuel Chadwick said it best when he commented, when a church is run on the same lines as a circus, there may be crowds, but there is no Shekinah. And I'm afraid, friends, the church in America today is under the remedial judgment of the withdrawn presence of God.

We have grieved the Holy Spirit away. We may have crowds, but there is no Shekinah. And now that AI technology has taken over everything inside and outside of the church, there'll be little room for the Holy Spirit of God to work.

So I fear we'll end up with a younger generation of Christians who define revival quite differently than what history does. So it's critically important, friends, to be able to distinguish between the true and the spurious in revival, for Satan always has his counterfeit works to deceive the masses.

He appears as a angel of light. Some years ago, I was in a mega church where the female worship leader was saying, the Spirit is here, the Spirit is here. Put your hands up. You can feel the Spirit is here.

And she was right. You could sure feel it. And it even gave you the warm fuzzies. But it was a lying spirit, a false spirit. If you can't recognize the real from the false, then you will be deceived as well.

I've studied historical revival for four decades. I've written many books on the subject of revival. And my PhD dissertation was on the revival of religion in England under Wesleyan Whitfield. And through my studies of historical revivals, I've identified certain marks of genuine revival.

And I want to list these marks of revival today and talk about them, friends, because we must pass on to a rising generation what the earmarks of real revival are to distinguish between the real and the false.

The title of my message today, friends, is Five Marks of Genuine Revival. There are five marks to a true move of grace in a revival of religion and a sovereign work of God. You'll have all five of these characteristics.

I will first list them, then elaborate upon each head. The first mark of a genuine revival is a felt and conscious awareness of the awful solemnity of a holy God in His manifest presence. The second mark of genuine revival is a consciousness of one's sinfulness in need of repentance, reformation, and in some cases, restitution, combined with a heightened awareness of the malignity of the evil of sin.

The third mark of genuine revival is an activated desire for a pursuit for holiness and personal consecration in a consistent walk with God under the reign and rule of Christ's Lordship. The fourth mark of genuine revival is a heightened spiritual vitality in prayer and joyful, energized worship from glad hearts.

The fifth mark of a genuine revival is a people gripped with eternity in the last judgment where there is a renewed heart burden for the souls of man in evangelistic enterprise. Well, let's talk about the first mark of a genuine revival, a felt and conscious awareness of the awful solemnity of a holy God in His manifest presence.

The Manifest Presence of a Holy God

During the Lewis revival of the Scottish Hebrides of 1949 to 1952, under the ministry of Duncan Campbell, this was said of the atmosphere on the island. The awful presence of God brought a wave of conviction of sin that caused even mature Christians to feel their sinfulness, bringing groans of distress and prayers of repentance from the unconverted.

Strong men were bowed under the weight of sin and cries for mercy were mingled with shouts of joy from others who had passed into life. And in Edinburgh, Scotland, at Charlotte Baptist Chapel in the 1920s, under the pastorate of Joseph Kemp, a revival suddenly broke out in the middle of the service and he wrote, quite suddenly, one upon another came an overwhelming sense of the reality and awfulness of His presence and of eternal things.

So the first mark, friends, of a genuine revival is the felt, manifest presence of God. The second mark of revival is a consciousness of one's sinfulness and need of repentance. There is also reformation and at times restitution where items that are stolen are returned to the rightful owners.

Repentance, Reformation, and Restitution

This was the case in the Canadian revival in Saskatoon, 1970 to 1971, under the ministry of Ralph and Lou Sutera, the Sutera twins. There was a large amount of restitution made, so much that one of the local merchants took an ad out in the local paper stating they could no longer accept any more stolen goods at this time for they had run out of room to store them.

So if you have a revival without repentance, then it's questionable. True revival isn't a movement of laughter where you're rolling in the aisles in hysterical laughter. Would you laugh in the face of a king?

A lot of what we call revival is just worked up emotionalism. It's like the Baptist deacon praying after a series of vibrant evangelistic meetings. Oh Lord, we've had us a time at church this week. It's been, there's been nothing like it.

You should have been here, Lord. But in times of revival, there's a sense of one's sinfulness in the need for repentance. This is clearly seen from George Whitefield's journal who was preaching in New York in 1740.

At the height of the great awakening, he writes, was dejected before the evening sermon. And when I came into the pulpit, I could have chosen to be silent rather than speak. After I had begun, however, the spirit of the Lord gave me freedom and at length came down like a mighty rushing wind and carried all before it.

Immediately, the whole congregation was alarmed. Crying, weeping, and wailing were to be heard in every corner. Men's hearts failing them for fear and many were to be seen falling into the arms of their friends.

My soul was carried out till I could scarce speak anymore. A sense of God's goodness overwhelmed me. A little boy was much concerned on the pulpit stairs. One of my friends asked him why he cried. Who can help it, he said.

Mr. Whitefield's words cut me to the heart. So we see even little children are affected with a sense of sin and revival. The third mark of a genuine revival is an activated desire for a pursuit of holiness and personal consecration in a consistent walk with God under the reign and rule of Christ's Lordship.

The Pursuit of Holiness and Personal Consecration

David Brainerd, during a move of God among the Indians to whom he was preaching, wrote in his journal, in the morning felt exceedingly dead to the world in all its enjoyments. My homiletical mentor, Dr. Stephen Olford, would say, God can only bless with the anointing of his spirit those who pursue a life of holiness.

In times of revival, friends, it's like heaven on earth and personal holiness is a top priority. Well, the fourth mark of a genuine revival is a heightened spiritual vitality in prayer and joyful, energized worship from glad hearts.

Prayer, Worship, and Spiritual Vitality

During the Welsh revival of 1904, singing hymns took on a new level in and out of the churches. It was like the New Testament church was birthed once more with joyous singing and praises of God for what he had done.

Miners would swing their lunch buckets as they walked the streets on the way to the mines at six o 'clock in the morning, singing hymns so loudly that no one could sleep past six o 'clock in the village in Rhondda Valley in Wales.

We have the following report of the revival. A scene which may be witnessed any morning here at 5 a .m., scores of miners hold a service before going home from the midnight shift. The superintendent starts a hymn in the deep and mighty ocean, and then the pit re-echoes the song.

An old man whose gray head is tinged with coal dust falls on his knees to pray. Others do the same. The service attracts men from different workings, and flickering lights are seen approaching the improvised temple.

Now, boys, those of you who love Christ, up with your lamp, cries a young miner. In a second, scores of lights flicker in the air, and another song of thanks sets the mine ringing. A revival brings a breath of New Testament atmosphere into the church, friends.

Eternal Perspective and Evangelistic Zeal

Well, the fifth mark of a genuine revival is this, a people gripped with eternity in the last judgment, where there is a renewed heart burden for the souls of men in evangelistic enterprise. Outreach and evangelism will spread like a prairie fire in times of revival.

John Wesley said, "'Give me 100 men who fear nothing but God "'and hate nothing but sin, "'and I will shake the gates of hell.'". And he did just that. During the Second Great Awakening in America, it was sparked, and it sparked a great missionary movement that gripped the hearts of young adult converts, young college graduates who gave their lives sacrificially on foreign fields, spreading the gospel to distant lands.

In the basement of Hartford Seminary, when I was doing research there on Azahel Nettleton, there is a wall of fame, of plaques, with the names of these young missionaries who died on the foreign field.

Most of the martyrs were under the age of 25. One died in India, another in New Guinea, one in Tahiti, or another in the Hawaiian Islands. They lined up like dominoes to bring the gospel sacrificially to the unsaved, many losing loved ones, children, and spouses to reach the lost.

So these five marks must be present in some degree or capacity before you can denominate it a genuine revival. Well, I hope this little study, friends, has been of some help to you. I urge you and encourage you to do all you can to read as many books on revival as you can get your hands on and to study historical revivals so you will be able to recognize one should it come.

It's important to be familiar with how God has moved in former times, during revival, in spiritual awakening. And I'll close with this call to revival. The Apostle Paul, Luther, Wesley, Whitfield, Knox, Edwards, Finney, Spurgeon, Moody, each shared a common denominator, a fire in their belly.

They each were so eaten up with the gospel and thirsty for Christ and filled with the Holy Ghost they could not stand idly by while others perished. They saw nothing but eternity, worshiped a holy God, and served a risen Christ, living not for earth nor its gains, but living only for heaven and its rewards.

When they preached, they linked the devil with sin and the cross with salvation. They preached hell and its fire and Christ and Him crucified. Not one of them feared king, queen, or pope, and not one of them sought the compliments of men.