Why God Used Evan Roberts — E.A. Johnston

This evening, friends, we will be examining the life of Evan Roberts of Wales, and before we go to our time of prayer for revival this evening, I want us to be stirred in our hearts as we study this remarkable man of God, Evan Roberts.

Evan Roberts as God's Instrument of Revival

It's really amazing when you study the life of this man, how much God honored him as his human instrument of revival. And that's the title of my message this evening, friends. Why God Used Evan Roberts.

The Welsh Revival and a Nation Transformed

The Welsh Revival began in 1904, and it touched the world. Soon the village of Lahore had become famous overnight, as news of the revival spread from its beginnings within the walls of the Moriah Calvinistic Methodist Chapel.

Over 100 ,000 souls were swept into the kingdom during that remarkable move of grace. In his book on the Welsh Revival, James Stewart observes of that time,. The whole community was shaken. At 6 a .m. the people would be awakened by the sound of the crowds going to the early morning prayer meeting.

The entire population of the town was being transformed into a praying multitude. And it's true, friends, the power of God was so strong in that community, you could feel the saturated presence of God in the air.

In Psalm 110 .3 we read,. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. And that's what occurred during the Welsh Revival, friends. God took the field. And in the wonderful book, I Saw the Welsh Revival by David Matthews, we read at this time,.

In all the well songs of praise raised in ceaseless chorus from the burning hearts of countless thousands were heard in homes and churches and even in the coal mines. There were few in any parallels with this mighty outpouring of religious fervor bringing a whole nation to its knees at the foot of the cross in adoration and praise.

Let us think of the instrument used by God during this period of blessing in order that we may be wisely instructed in the mysterious yet majestic ways of the divine spirit when another such visitation is granted to the church of God.

And that, friends, is exactly what I want us to do this evening, to think of this instrument used of God by the name of Evan Roberts and why God used him so mightily. He came from a simple home, a life filled with Calvinistic theology and a family altar and whose family members were not only jealous for the glory of God, but they were jealous of their moral life.

They lived out their Christianity under the grace of God and the obedience of the Holy Spirit. And young Evan Roberts breathed in the heavenly atmosphere that pervaded his family home. Oh, friends, what a responsibility we have as parents to keep and maintain a family altar in the home, how we should guard ourselves morally and shun evil.

Oh, how we live our lives under God impacts every member of the family. I want us to see five striking aspects in the life of Evan Roberts and why God used him so mightily. I will first list them and then elaborate upon each head.

Here they are. God used Evan Roberts, number one. Evan Roberts was first and foremost a man of prayer. Number two, Evan Roberts was hungry for souls and thirsty for Christ. Number three, Evan Roberts was obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Number four, Evan Roberts was dead to the world and the opinions of men. Number five, Evan Roberts was a holy man, wholly consecrated to God. Well, let us look at this first aspect of the life of Evan Roberts, friends.

Evan Roberts's Hidden Life of Prayer

He was first and foremost a man of prayer. Oh, dear friends, what God can do with the hidden life of prayer. Do you realize when we get to heaven, how many popular pulpit ministries are going to pale in comparison to the obscure praying saints who lived on their knees in a hidden life of prayer?

Well, this young man, Evan Roberts, shut himself up with God in prayer for 13 years. For over a decade, he lived a sacrificial life of prayer. And through that sacrifice, God honored him by allowing Evan Roberts to bring an entire nation to Calvary, listen to his own words in how he lived his life in those early years of seeking God in prayer.

For 13 years, I had prayed for the Spirit. I said to myself, I will have the Spirit. And through every kind of weather and in spite of all difficulties, I went to the meetings many times on seeing other boys with the boats on the tide.

I was tempted to turn back and join them. But no, I said to myself, remember your resolve. And on I went. I went faithfully to the meetings for prayer. Throughout the 10 or 11 years, I prayed for revival.

It was the Spirit that moved me thus to think. Now let me ask you, friends. Do you have the resolve of Evan Roberts? How badly do you long to see revival? Are you willing to pay the price for it? What counts costs, and what costs counts?

There's a cost to seeing revival, friends. We must be jealous for God and His glory. We must be faithful in our walk with the Almighty. We too must be men and women of prayer. But we must carry the burden of prayer like Evan Roberts did.

He carried a burden for revival and prayer for over 10 years. Do you pray for revival every day? Are we jealous for God like that? Listen, friends. If the church will not defend His holy name, then the Almighty must.

God will either pour out His blessings in revival to defend His holy name, or He will pour out His wrath upon mankind to avenge His holy name. It will either be a defending or avenging to show forth His glory and remind mankind He alone is the sovereign ruler of all.

So we see that Evan Roberts was first and foremost a man of prayer. Can that be said of you, dear friend? Young person, can that be said of you? Young lady, are you a person of prayer? Young man, are you a man of prayer?

If not, get the resolve of an Evan Roberts and go to your knees in holy desperation and beg God to make you a person of prayer, a white-hot flame for God. Secondly, God used Evan Roberts because he was hungry for souls and thirsty for Christ.

This is right after Evan Roberts cried out, Bend me, Lord, bend me, and God's glory came down. Listen to his words again as he relates his burden for the lost. After I was bent, a wave of peace came over me, and the audience sang, I hear thy welcome voice.

And as they sang, I thought about the bending at the judgment day, and I was filled with compassion for those that would have to bend on that day, and I wept. Dear friend, are you willing to be bent for God to see revival come to your town?

Are you hungry for souls and thirsty for Christ? Are you burdened for the lost around you? Do you carry a burden for revival? Evan Roberts saw a vision of those souls bent on judgment day, and it broke his heart.

He wept, he wept over them. Let me ask you, friend, when you pray, are your eyes dry? I can always judge the vitality of my daily quiet time by the amount of tissues on the floor of my study. When I'm done, it takes both of my hands to scoop them up.

Obedience to the Holy Spirit

Next, God used Evan Roberts because he was obedient to the Holy Spirit. At every service which Evan Roberts led, he emphasized the following. He'd say, obey the Holy Spirit. It was a special word to the people of God.

No human agency controlled the services. Rather, it was the presence of God by His Spirit that touched the hearts of the people in an awful solemnity. Often you would hear Evan Roberts call out in a meeting, obey the Holy Spirit, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by disobedience. Evan Roberts spoke those words tirelessly, and incredible things happened as a result. No building could accommodate the throngs of people seeking the Spirit of God.

I recall Stephen Offord sharing with me about the time he met Evan Roberts. Stephen Offord, for a time, lived in Wales, and one day he went to the home of Mrs. Jessie Penn Lewis and inquired if he could visit with Evan Roberts.

Dr. Offord told me the following. I watched him come down the stairs to the parlor where I sat. We spoke at length concerning the subject of revival, and in the middle of one of my sentences, he abruptly arose and ran upstairs and was gone for over a half hour.

I sat there spellbound. When he returned, he apologized by saying he had obeyed the Spirit to go pray. Stephen Offord said at the time he thought it was strange, but looking back on that meeting, he saw how Evan Roberts was a man of prayer who was obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and that leads us to our next aspect of why God used Evan Roberts.

Dead to the World and Human Opinion

He was dead to the world and to the opinions of man. He didn't care if Stephen Offord had a weight on him or if he appeared rude. His only concern was God and his honor. He had annihilated self long ago through his sacrificial life of prayer.

Listen, friends. God is still looking for a person like that today. God's eyes are continually searching the earth for those rare individuals of whom the world was not worthy, men like Moses and John the Baptist, Luther and Calvin, Whitfield and Wesley, Finney and Moody, men who live in a different atmosphere than other mortals, men who have annihilated self with the cross and whose lives are broken alabaster boxes from which fragrances rise to the heavens from the broken pieces of selflessness, self-sacrifice, and self-crucifixion.

God is always on the lookout for such men, and Evan Roberts was one of those men. And, friends, God is looking for the next Evan Roberts to emerge from a hidden life of prayer and self-denial to be thrust out in mighty service to King Jesus.

That person could be you, friend. Now let's take a look at this last aspect of which I mentioned. The reason why God used Evan Roberts was he was a holy man, wholly consecrated to God. And I want to take this time now, friends, to share with you a poem that Evan Roberts wrote.

Holy Consecration and the Call to Prayer

My, he was a wonderful poet. Many don't know that about him. These words of his are from the last poem that Evan Roberts ever wrote. They were penned by this man in revival later in life. As he looked back on what God had done and what God still required of him, even though he spent the majority of his life in obscurity, here now are his words.

And may the Spirit of the Lord challenge each one of us as we go to prayer after I read them to us. And, oh, friends, may we each ask God that he will give us an ounce of Evan Roberts in our day, that he would raise up another Evan Roberts for this day.

Oh, Lord, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Here now is the last poem of Evan Roberts. Here I have built my altar, the wood I've placed in order. The sacrifice is ready now. Send thou, O Lord, the fire.

My soul is weary, weak, and lustful, but to the end I will be faithful. Though hellish hosts revile forever, I'll lay myself on Christ my Savior. Now, friends, let us go to a time of prayer and ask the God of revival to send us again in his sovereignty a move of grace for our day.

Let us pray.