The Dark Night Before Revival — E.A. Johnston

Why Churches Hinder Revival

My message today, friends, is about why we're not seeing revival today in many parts of the world and in our churches. There are reasons why God withdraws His presence and withholds it from a people. Part of the reason is through remedial judgments because of sin.

But another reason why God does not send revival is because of hindrances to revival. I believe the church in America today is hindering revival rather than preparing the ground for the showers of revival to fall.

This message pertains not only to the church in North America, but the churches anywhere that would be hindering the work of revival rather than promoting it. Now before we get started, let me make a statement.

Revival as a Sovereign Move of God

Revival is not something you can cook up or create or produce on your own. Rather, it's a sovereign move of God. You cannot force God to send revival, friend, but you can align yourself properly to God and gain access to His ear through desperate prayer and His heart through your contrition in sending revival.

The John 21 Setting: A Night of Fruitless Labor

There is a text I want to camp out on this afternoon, and it's found in John's Gospel in chapter 21. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We'll be in John 21 and verse 4. Let me read this scripture to us at this time.

But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore. That's the statement I want to focus on for us today, and especially that word but, which begins the sentence. It's a big word with deep meaning.

It's full of immense possibilities. If you read the preceding verses, you will see the connection to that big word but. Let us read the first three verses of John 21 now. After these things, Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and on this wise showed He Himself.

There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Canaan Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, Go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.

They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing. Notice several aspects of this striking passage, friends, as it pertains to our subject of the dark night before revival, for that's the title of my message today, The Dark Night Before Revival.

I've been a student revival for several decades now. I've had the privilege of visiting scenes of revival across this world and researching historical revivals, studying them, giving my life to this important subject of revival.

I've learned that there are hindrances to revival, hindrances on a personal level, on a corporate level, and on a national level. I want to address the corporate level today in regard to the church and why a large portion of the church at large is not experiencing a move of God and revival at this hour.

I believe we can draw out of our text here in John's Gospel several conclusions as to why the church is hindering revival in our day rather than promoting it. Notice first from our passage that it was night.

This is vastly important to our understanding of seeing revival in our day. Our text declares it was night. A good fisherman knows that often the best fishing is at night. The first instance of Christ's encounter with Peter occurs at a seashore where Peter and his business partners had been fishing all night.

Peter answers the master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. This is strikingly similar to our passage here in John after Christ's resurrection. But in Luke's Gospel, which relates this earlier account with Christ, Peter relates they had been fishing at night and had caught nothing.

The main emphasis I want us to see here, friends, is that our text in John occurs over a 12-hour period where it was night, when the disciples were laboring in their effort to catch fish. It was dark.

It was dark because here was a group of men in emotional chaos. They had walked closely with Christ Jesus in his earthly ministry. They had personally witnessed his many miracles. They had seen the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind receive their sight, and the grieving parent receive back again the dead child alive.

They each had promised Jesus wholeheartedly that they would follow him no matter the cost or sacrifice, and each hotly declared with Peter that they would lay down their lives for Christ's sake, and then they each deserted him like cowards.

Then they had to endure the arrest of Jesus and his public humiliation and eventual crucifixion to where all their hopes and dreams disintegrated like sand in the wind. And now they decide to go back to their fishing occupations, for they are without Christ at this time, and they are in the dark.

In the dark night, a soul searching as to their future. It was night. It was a dark night. This is the setting here, friends, in our passage before us. Now that brings us to the big word, but. Notice the last six words of the preceding verse, and that night they caught nothing.

The Hope Signaled by “But When Morning Was Now Come”

Experienced professionals working their trade with zero results, all their self-effort and self-knowledge of their craft nets them nothing. They come up empty. Their net is empty. Their lives are empty.

They are empty of their master Jesus. Their future is empty as well. These are men in emotional and spiritual chaos. They are at the place in their lives where all their human resources are spent, and they are at a loss and don't know what their next move is to be.

And here is where the Spirit of God places that big word, but, as the next word. But, when morning was now come. Do you see the immense possibilities hold up in that word, but? It'd been a dark night of fruitless toil, and as the sun comes up over the water, God declares, but, when morning was now come.

That word is loaded with possibilities, friends, for, with God, nothing is impossible. Perhaps you, friend, are in a dark night of soul right now. You may be in emotional and spiritual chaos. You may be in deep adversity.

You don't know what your next move will be. All hope seems to be gone. It is night. It is a dark night, and you toil with no results, and with seemingly little hope for tomorrow. Never forget, friend, that God has a, but, when morning was now come.

For you, dear friend, sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. But with God, all things are possible. Go through your Bibles, study the places where God places that word, but, and you will see how important a herald it is of Christ's next move in your life, in your church, in your country.

Jesus Standing on the Shore of Human Need

Notice this next aspect from our passage, and that is, Jesus stood on the shore. While it was night, he was absent from them. But now, when morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore. He stood on the shore of their lives, the shore of their very future and usefulness.

He stood there still. He wasn't walking about or pacing nervously back and forth. He stood on the shore. In the Gospels, we have an account of blind Bartimaeus crying out to Jesus as he passed by to have mercy upon him, and he cried as loud as he could.

And the text reads, Jesus stood still. Oh, friends, the immense possibilities that can occur when Jesus stops what he's doing to address our current crisis and need. Jesus stood on the shore, and he stood purposely on the shore, and sovereignly on the shore, and majestically on the shore, with all of heaven's authority and resources behind him.

There is no need to read the rest of this passage for our study this afternoon, for it goes on to relate the instructions of our Lord to his disciples to cast the net on the right side of the boat, the large catch of fish that ensues, and the reinstatement of Peter in displaying his love to his Lord is all explained.

What we will focus our attention on here is one last verse in verse 7, where the text reads, therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loves saith unto Peter, it is the Lord. Those four words, friends, is our focus now, it is the Lord.

Self-Reliance and the Empty Net

Our subject today is revival and the hindrances to revival. Let us now go forward in our understanding of this important subject from what we've already related in our text today. The first aspect in regard to revival is this, as the disciples were a picture of men who were struggling in self-effort and self-reliance, their eyes not focused too well as it was dark and night, like Matthew Henry's Bible commentary on this text, the morning was now come.

Matthew Henry relates, the disciples had a fruitless night's toil, Christ's time of making himself known to his people is when they are most at a loss. When they think they have lost themselves, he will let them know that they have not lost him.

That is an important statement, friends, because it alludes to the church at our present hour struggling in a society that has become dark. It is night in society now. Things are at a low level morally in the nation.

Things are at a low level spiritually in the church. Many churches rely on self-sufficiency and self-reliance to get the job done. And it's a struggle to make a difference in this world for Christ. At times the church is more like the struggling disciples, laboring with all their might and mean and getting little or no results.

The net is empty. Souls are not saved. Why? It is because the church is too self-reliant and too self-sufficient, as she struggles in a dark night of history with little headway or progress. Now let us see the second vital aspect, which pertains to hindrances to revival, and that is number two.

The Conscious Need of Jesus

There must be a conscious need of Jesus. As the disciples were toiling all night in their physical strength and mental acumen of their trade, they got nowhere. They had an empty net. But when Jesus stood on the shore, things drastically were altered.

Suddenly their net was full, full to the brim and abundance of fish. Apart from Christ, they accomplished nothing. With Christ, they could accomplish anything. The disciples came to the end of themselves and realized a conscious need of Jesus.

Let me place the emphasis, friends, on those two words, conscious need, because that is the greatest hindrance to seeing revival today, friends. The very missing element in our churches today is the conscious need of Jesus.

You see, we get by on money and manpower, but in former times, in seasons of revival in our nation's history, the church operated only by prayer and holy ghost power. It was by those means the kingdom of God was advanced in the world and souls were saved.

The number one hindrance to revival in our day is this, the church lacks a conscious need of Jesus. They can have Sunday morning worship without him. They can preach without his anointing. They can have people walking out to accept Jesus and add to their church without the move of the Holy Spirit.

It's all done in the arm of the flesh. The result, the net is empty. Yes, the church pews may be full in many churches with new additions, but in many cases in regard to true spiritual life, it is but an empty net.

There may be numbers, but not true conversions. Listen, friends, I believe if our churches, and this pertains to the church in America, the church in England, the church in Scotland, the church in Wales, the church in Ireland, the church in any nation that needs today to see revival is to have a conscious need of Jesus because right now the church operates just fine without him.

I recall a story that Vance Havner related. He said a deacon was leading the prayer during an evangelistic campaign at their church and the deacon prayed in this manner about the previous night's service.

Oh God, oh Lord Jesus, we had such a time here at the church last night. You should have been here. And it's true, friends, many churches are having a great time, but with the absence of our Lord, his withdrawn presence is a remedial judgment because of sin.

So we labor and toil in our own effort, our self-effort and strength, and in many cases the net is empty, only until we realize and enter into a dark night whereby we finally come to the end of our resources and the end of ourselves and realize our bankruptcy without God in our midst.

When we then realize our conscious need of Jesus, things begin to change. Once we come here, we're close to the line, but when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore. Let me ask you a question, friend.

Persecution as a Purging Before Revival

Are the days dark in which we live? Has the moral compass of light gone out in our society? Yes, these are indeed dark days, and it's a struggle against forces in high places which are dark, dark demonic forces, war against the Christian and the church.

I make the following statement, and I believe what I'm about to say I can say with total conviction of my heart. I believe the political dominoes of the world societies are set up in such a way at this hour, friends, that true Christians will soon be regarded as enemies of the state and will be hotly persecuted.

I say hotly persecuted, and it'll be during this time where the church will enter into the fires of persecution that she will be purged of all her human resources and self-effort, for she will pass through a dark night of suffering and trial, and during this time of suffering and adversity, she will emerge with a conscious need of Jesus Christ.

And when that occurs, my friends, the big word but enters the picture, but when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore. Glory and hallelujah. That's when revival will burst forth from the heavens, and almighty God will send showers of effusions of his grace in the land in a powerful revival and spiritual awakening.

They'll grip your nation with a God consciousness of a holy God, and thousands will fill the sanctuaries of your churches, and the gospel nets of the churches throughout the land will be full. I can look at the underground church in China and see this very thing.

The Persecuted Church in China

Here is a people hotly persecuted, persecuted for their faith, forced underground by the communist government. They meet in barns late at night. They hide in rice paddies from the secret police, and what has transpired in China over the last several decades, an explosion of growth of new Christians in mighty revival.

Millions have been saved through the fires of hot persecution in China. Why? The people there have nothing but a conscious need of Jesus. In fact, the Chinese Christians live in the flow of a conscious need of Christ.

That's when the net fills up with fish, friends. That's when Jesus stands upon the shore of your church and personal life, and a powerful change accompanies his appearance. Suddenly the churches no longer rely on the arm of the flesh and entertainment and ingenuity to operate, but in revival God suddenly shows up on the shore, and by his manifest presence reestablishes his prominence and preeminence in his church.

Coming to the End of Ourselves

That's revival, friends, whereby a people are gripped with a God consciousness and brought face to face with eternity. So we see first a dark night and then revival. I can apply this personally. I can apply it corporately, and I can apply it nationally to any church in any nation.

It's a vital principle that cannot be ignored. We must come to the end of ourselves to realize our conscious need of Jesus. No matter what our outward circumstance or inward trial, he is enough. He is sufficient.

Just remember, friends, as long as you have Jesus, you have it all. Yes, we live in a dark night, but it could be a precursor to revival. Let us pray.