202 when (note: to EXPECT A REVIVAL!)
*THERE IS A LACK OF BROTHERLY LOVE AND CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE AMONG BELIEVERS, then a revival is needed. then there is a loud call for God to revive His work.
expect a revival when
*THERE ARE DISSENSIONS, JEALOUSIES AND EVIL RUMORS AMONG BELIEVERS. these things show that christians have grown far away from God and it is time to think seriously about a revival.
revival is needed when
*THERE IS A WORLDLY SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. the church
HAS SUNK INTO A LOW AND
*BACKSLIDDEN STATE WHEN you see christians
*CONFORM TO THE WORLD in dress, parties, seeking worldly amusement and reading filthy novels.
(note:
*spend MOST OF FREE TIME ON THE BOOB TUBE ie. INTERNET,
*addicted to PORN,
*SEEKING TO BE RECOGNIZED BY AND 'LIKE'D by other sinful human beings, etc. ie. idolatry,
*A DEVOTION TO THINGS THAT 'I LIKE' rather than having devoted Self completely to seeking God's righteousness and kingdom on earth).
when the church finds its members falling into gross and scandalous sins
(note: ie. focus on material things, self-focus, pleasure, porn replacing real love with virtual 'relationships' that leave one profoundly ALONE, choosing to deny which gender God created them to be, a refusal to be in a supportive, life-long focus on husband and family, total focus on self to the *ABANDONMENT OF OTHER HUMAN BEINGS in the church etc. etc. etc....)
then it is time to wake up and cry to God for a revival of religion.
when
*SINNERS (note: ie. the unsaved in your daily life) ARE CARELESS AND STUPID, it is time for christians to get to work. it is as much their duty to wake up as it is for firemen to wake up when a fire breaks out. the church must put out the fires of hell that are consuming the wicked. sleep? should the firemen sleep and let thee whole city burn down? (note: ezekiel 3.16-21)
what would people think of such firemen?
203 and yet their guilt would not compare with the guilt of christians who sleep while sinners around them are sinking into the fires of hell.
if
*A MINISTER finds he HAS LOST, in any degree, THE CONFIDENCE of his people, he should work for a revival, knowing it is the only means of regaining their confidence. i do not mean that his motive should be merely to regain the confidence of his people, but a revival started through his initiative will restore the confidence
OF THE PRAYING GROUP OF HIS PEOPLE.
IF an elder or private MEMBER OF THE CHURCH FINDS HIS BRETHREN COLD TOWARD HIM, there is
ONLY ONE WAY TO RESTORE THEIR FAITH. it is by
BEING REVIVED HIMSELF and
POURING OUT THE SPLENDOR OF JESUS FROM HIS LIFE
the fact is, christians are more to blame for not being revived than sinners are for not being converted.
A CHURCH DECLINING in THIS WAY
*CANNOT CONTINUE TO EXIST WITHOUT A REVIVAL. if it receives
*NEW MEMBERS, they WILL for the most part, BE UNGODLY PEOPLE. without revivals, there usually will not even be as many people converted as die in a year. there have been churches in this country where all of the members have died off and since there were no revivals to convert others in their place, the church has died and thee organization has dissolved.
without a revival,
*SINNERS WILL GROW HARDER AND HARDER despite preaching. your children and your friends will remain unsaved if there are no revivals to convert them. it would be better for them if there were no means of grace, no sanctuary, no Bible, and no preaching than to live and die where there is no revival.
there is no other way for a church to be sanctified, grow in grace and be groomed for heaven. what is growing in grace? is it hearing sermons and getting some new ideas about religion? no, not at all. the christian who does this and nothing else will grow worse and worse, more and more hardened. finally, it will be nearly impossible to rouse him.
204 A REVIVAL CAN BE EXPECTED WHEN christian
*HAVE THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER FOR A REVIVAL. that is, when they pray as if their hearts were set on it. sometimes christians do not use a definite prayer for a revival, not even when they are inspired in prayer. their minds are on something else -the salvation of the lost - and they are not
*PRAYING FOR REVIVAL AMONG THEMSELVES. but when they feel the lack of a revival, they will pray for it. people feel for
*THEIR OWN FAMILIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS, so they will earnestly pray for them.
what constitutes THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER? is it many prayers and warm words? no. prayer is
*THE STATE OF THE HEART. the spirit of prayer is
*A STATE OF CONTINUAL DESIRE AND ANXIETY FOR THE SALVATION OF SINNERS. it can even be something that weighs them down. it is the same, as far as the philosophy of mind is concerned,
*AS WHEN A MAN IS CONCERNED WITH SOME WORLDLY INTEREST. a christian who has this spirit of prayer
*FEEL CONCERNED FOR SOULS. THEY ARE ALWAYS ON HIS MIND. he thinks of them by day and dreams of them by night. this is 'praying without ceasing'. (..I thessalonians 5.17) his *PRAYERS SEEM TO FLOW FROM HIS HEART LIKE WATER: 'O Lord, revive Your work (habbakuk 3.2). sometimes this feeling is very deep.
this is by no means fanaticism. (def. extreme, uncritical enthusiasm or zeal). it is just what paul felt when he said, 'my little children, for whom i labor in birth' (galatians 4.19). this labor of soul is that deep agony that people feel when they
*HOLD ON TO GOD FOR A BLESSING AND WILL NOT LET HIM GO UNTIL THEY RECEIVE IT. i do not mean to say that it is essential to have this great distress in order to have the spirit of prayer. but this deep, continual, earnest desire for the salvation of sinners is what constitutes the spirit of prayer for a revival.
when this feeling exists in a church, unless the Spirit is grieved away by sin, there will always be a revival of christians. generally, it will involve the conversion of sinners to Jesus. a clergyman
205 ..A REVIVAL IS NEAR WHEN
*CHRISTIANS BEGIN TO C-O-N-F-E-S-S THEIR SINS TO O-N-E A-N-O-T-H-E-R. usually they confess in a general half-hearted manner. they may do it in eloquent language, but it means nothing. but when there is
*HONEST BREAKING DOWN AND A POURING OUT OF THE HEART in confession of sin, the floodgates will soon burst open and salvation will flow everywhere.
a revival can be expected when christians are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to carry it on. they must be
*WILLING TO SACRIFICE THEY FEELINGS, BUSINESS, AND TIME TO HELP THE WORK. *MINISTERS (NOTE: AND DISCIPLES!) must be willing to expend their energy. they MUST BE WILLING TO
206 OFFEND THE IMPENITENT BY PLAIN AND FAITHFUL SPEECH AND perhaps
*OFFEND MANY MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH who will not repent. they
*MUST TAKE A STAND REGARDING THEE REVIVAL, WHATEVER THE CONSEQUENCES. they must be prepared to go on with the work even though they
*RISK LOSING THE AFFECTION OF the impenitent and (..the) cold members of the church. THE MINISTER MUST BE PREPARED, if it is the will of God,
*TO BE DRIVEN AWAY FROM THE PLACE. he must be DETERMINED TO GO STRAIGHT FORWARD, LEAVING THE EVENT IN GOD'S HANDS...
206 *OFFEND THE IMPENITENT BY PLAIN AND FAITHFUL SPEECH
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