Why discuss revival? Clip from Revival II: Hezekiah’s Revival

So, one question I have for you before we look at this week's topic is, why did you pick that?

You know, a year ago I probably wouldn't have picked this, John, but frankly, as I look around the world and the issues that we're involved in in our own nation, things are so bad on so many fronts. I think we've gotten to a point in our own life and a place in time that revival is pretty much our only hope going forward.

And so, revival has become much more of a serious topic and contemplation for me in my own life right now.

Revival as the Church's Only Hope in a Dark Time

And when we talk about revival, there are so many various ideas. I think probably the simplest way to direct your reading in that would be to read people prior to 1820. Some of the 1858 men are very good as well, but around 1820 there was a shift in emphasis.

The focus on revival or the theology of revival kind of divided into two streams. Charles Finney, where the idea is that we create a revival, a series of meetings, and we do A, B, and C, and God owes us D.

And then there was the older views like Edwards and George Whitefield and John Wesley. They held that revival was a sovereign gift of the Lord, and yet we were responsible to seek to prepare our hearts while we pleaded.

Revival as a Sovereign Gift Rather Than a Human Product

One way we could think of it is if revival can be described as the extraordinary presence of God among his people producing extraordinary results, which is not a definition that we came up with. I believe it's kind of an adaptation of Richard R. Roberts' definition.

If we think of it that way, then think of this. If you are longing for the visit of a person, you would prepare your home for that person. So whether it's getting everything clean or getting the kind of food they like.

So when you have kids that are off in college and they're coming home, you think, well, let's get their favorite food or let's get their room ready. So while we are not manipulating God and God does not owe us a season of grace, it seems to me that there's a complete lack of integrity if we ask for revival, but we have made no preparation for God's nearness.

Preparing for God's Nearness in Prayer for Revival

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