| Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence! (Isaiah 64:1)
Our space-time universe is held together by a spiritual universe at its core. In that spiritual realm, Scripture reveals the existence of an epic battle. The battle rages between good and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil, angels and demons.
That fierce battle in the invisible supernatural realm spills over into our visible natural realm every single day.
Revival remains one of the mightiest weapons in God’s arsenal.
Since there has been no nationwide American revival in about a century and a half, our institutional memory of the subject is understandably dim.
Perhaps I can shed a little light on it with a first-hand description.
This is taken from the journal of an uneducated farmer named Nathan Cole. Cole describes his reaction upon hearing that George Whitefield would soon be preaching. It’s a long quote, but really gives you an idea of the intensity of revival. [Spelling and grammar remain largely uncorrected.]
Now it pleased God to send Mr Whitefield into this land. I longed to see and hear him... and then one morning all on a sudden there came a messenger and said mr whitefield is to preach at Middletown this morning at 10 o'clock.
I was in my field at work. I dropt my tool that i had in my hand and run home and throu my house and bade my wife to get ready quick to go and hear mr whitefield preach... and run to my pasture for my horse with all my might fearing i should be too late to hear him and took up my wife and went forward as fast as I thought the horse could bear and when my horse began to be out of breath i would get down and put my wife on the saddel and bid her ride as fast as she could and not stop or slack for me except i bade her, and so i would run until I was almost out of breath and then mount my horse again... fearing we should be too late to hear the sermon for we had twelve miles to ride dubble in little more than an hour.
i saw before me a cloud or fog i first thought of from the great river but as i came nearer the road i heard a noise something like a low rumbling thunder and i presently found out it was the rumbling of horses feet coming down the road and this Cloud was a Cloud of dust made by the running of horses feet. It arose some rods into the air over the tops of the hills and trees and when i came within about twenty rods of the road i could see men and horses slipping along - it was more like a steady streem of horses and their riders scarecely a horse more than his length behind another -- i found a vacance between two horses to slip in my horse and my wife said law our cloaths will be all spoiled see how they look ["Lord, our clothes..."] - and when we gat down to the old meeting house thare was a great multitude it was said to be 3 or 4000 and when i looked towards the great river i see the fery boats running swift forward and backward - when i see mr whitefield come up upon the scaffold he looked almost angellical a young slim slender youth before thousands of people and with a bold undainted countenance and my hearing how god was with him everywhere as he came along it solemnized my mind and put me in a trembling fear before he began to prach for he looked as if he was Clothed with authority from the great god and a sweet solemnity sat upon his brow and my hearing him preach gave me a heart wound and by god's blessing my old foundation was broken up and i see my righteousness would not save me.
This is what happens in times of revival. Satan can’t hold back the flood of interest in the gospel of Christ. Unusual crowds, displaying divine intensity, rush to salvation, and the consequence is a radically transformed culture.
The burden of this book is that our culture has passed a tipping point. We have lurched into the land of godlessness. I lay much of this cultural rot at the feet of the church. I don’t think anyone or anything can fix us, apart from the power of God in revival.
When God reawakens the church, he breaks through the hardness of heart that rationalizes a life with God on the periphery. He points to sins embraced and excused, and he brings about repentance. He convicts of broken relationships, bitterness, vengeance, racism... Read More | 