Why Is Genuine Revival Important for the Church in our Generation？ — Al Whittinghill

Revival Is Imperative for Every Generation

Well, to answer a question like why is revival important for this generation, it's not just this generation. It's every generation. He always wants a church that honors him and is a pure and holy bride without blemish or spot.

So I would say revival is not just important, it's imperative. It's like breathing. Why is breathing important? Well, it's not important. It's imperative. If you don't breathe, you die. And so the whole witness of the church, the whole reason she was left on earth is challenged if she's not in a state of revival.

Historical Revival and the Church’s Restoration

But revival is not really a normal state. It restores the church. When we speak about revival historically, it's what God has done to restore the church to what his original intention was. And so you see periods of revival and we talk about Shantung and Cassia Hills and Wales and the foreign America and in Britain and Wales and all the Norway, it's when God comes in because he loves his church and when he wants to move, he sets his people to prayer.

And you see this under hidden streams of his mercy and grace, flooding hearts and people become sympathetic along with God having the burden and God builds the bridge for his will to come from earth to heaven through prayers of the church.

Prayer, Faith, and God’s Purposes

It's his plan. He's not dependent on prayer. He's chosen to limit himself in his matchless grace and sovereignty to the praying and believing of the church. And so if my people will pray, then I will hear.

But he's constantly knocking and putting pressure. A lot of times we have pressure to pray and seek the Lord and instead we do something else trying to solve problems. So I think the number one thing is for the church is it restores the church to a revelation and understanding of what God really has in mind for her.

The Church’s Loss of Awe and Intimacy

And if you look around at the church at different seasons, she tends to go into sidetracks and side pools, denominational or emotional or whatever, following signs instead of signs following us and not really focusing on the love relationship and worship with the Lord Jesus.

The church has lost the fear of the Lord. She doesn't have breathless awe when she comes along with him. There's not this love for one another that was the love that the father put in Jesus and he prayed that the love the father has for me would be in you and I in you.

And so I think the church, what happens when we lose intimacy with God, revival restores that and it restores a new intimacy, a new obedience, a new passion, a new vision. And that's what he wants to do in our day.

From Historical Tradition to Present Fellowship

But the church often will just come to a place to where it becomes historically looking at tradition, looking at the things we've done and they don't, they look back and rightly so with gratitude for the lamb's death on the cross and he died for me and there's this deep emotion and gratitude that provokes me.

It's meant to provoke me to find out what happens next with him. I went to the throne of the universe and took up residence as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and he lives to impart to us the benefits of Calvary.

But what happens when we lose that touch of revival, new life with him, then we begin to look back and just look historically as if now I'm going to live for him. I'm going to do my best to serve him.

The Blood of the Lamb and the Work of the Spirit

The best of my work, the best of my service, the best of my efforts. And it's commendable, but it's like Cain bringing the fruit of the ground, the best he could do to God. It's always by the blood of the lamb like Abel.

And so what I've got to see happening in my life and what the church must see in her life is to preach Jesus. I mean, there's a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit today, but people can't really study the Holy Spirit in the life of the church unless they also understand more than the book of Acts from the words of Jesus in John chapter 13, 14, 15, and 16, where he talks about the paraclete, the mighty one who would come and be just like him, but on the inside.

And Jesus said, this would be my spirit. This would be the father's spirit. This will be us coming to make our abode in him. So until the church gets to that, we'll never be able to be on earth, but his will is wants to be in us here as it is in heaven.

Revival as Life in Christ Rather Than Religious Performance

So I think we had to lose our life to find it. And why is revival important? Because otherwise we find ourselves just actors in a church rehearsal. And what he wants is people that this one thing I do, this one thing I want, this one thing I know that the one thing said, anyway, that's a complicated answer for a simple question.