Why We Need Revival with Charles Finney and Revivals of the Past Pt1
Peter would preach:
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the Presence of the Lord.”
Acts 3: 19
Sadly, we forget the great events of the past and the blessings that God brought the world through revivals. In this series I want to explain what revivals are, how they are birthed, what they really are, and why we need one. Revivals are supposed to be the norm in Christianity, not the exception.
Peter had walked with Jesus and enjoy the fire of the Master’s Presence, but then Jesus ascended back to Heaven. However, the day of Pentecost came and the wonderful Holy Spirit was poured out and Peter discovered these wonderful times of refreshing when they would experience the fresh overflow.
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness.”
Acts 4: 31
We need to pray until our assemblies are shaken once again. Charles Finney wrote:
A revival may be expected when the wickedness of the wicked grieves, humbles, and distresses Christians. Sometimes Christians don’t seem to mind anything about the wickedness around them. Or if they talk about it, it is in a cold, callous, and unfeeling way, as if they had given up hope of a reformation; they are disposed to scold at sinners—but not feel the compassion of the Son of God for them. However, sometimes the conduct of the wicked drives Christians to prayer, breaks them down, and makes them sorrowful and tenderhearted, so that they weep day and night.1
Back in the 60’s to the 80’s Christianity was seen as a positive thing. If you were a practicing Christian it was seen as a positive indicator if you applied for a job. In fact, the majority of Americans defined themselves as Christians and went to church. But then the church started to modify its message and stop being offensive. We became seeker sensitive and no longer Holy Spirit sensitive. From the 90’s to 2010, Christianity began to seen as neutral and the numbers calling themselves as Christians began in the 90’s to decline.
As we entered the 2000’s, initially things seemed to stabilize but soon that changed and from 2010, Christianity became a negative thing. Christianity began to rapidly decline, and we declared that we were no longer a Christian nation. It became acceptable to openly mock the Bible and core Biblical values were not just challenged but made evil, cruel, and unacceptable.
In previous times, every politician running for office especially to become president, all declared they were born again. Today, one candidate upon hearing a man call out, “Jesus is Lord,” at a rally told the man he was at the wrong rally.
In fact, it is considered the norm to mock Christians and Christian values. In Britain, you can’t pray within a certain distance of an abortion clinic, even praying in your heart. It is illegal and people are getting arrested.
Jesus warned that one of the great signs of the last of the Last Days, was it would be exactly like the Days of Noah. At that time all kinds of perversion were rampant, and violence, terror and fear were the norm. Reading closely we see that before the Flood the demonic giants had corrupted the genomes of humans and animals, such that God was forced to flood the earth before it was too late.
As we look around it is easy to point at the sin in the world, but we must look at the Church. The Church abdicated its position as salt, light, and the voice of righteousness. So, we the Church need a revival. Revival is a divine assault on society that is true, but it starts with the Church.
Look at this- when Jesus returns to save the remnant of Israel, the first thing He does is to pour out the Spirit of grace and intercession.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierce. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
Zechariah 12: 10
This is exactly what we need as well. As we receive the Spirit of grace and supplication and begin to intercede and cry out to the Lord, He opens are eyes to see Him. But let me for a moment go back and look at the fact that revival is a divine assault on society. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to move, everything changes.
I grew up in Northern Ireland during the troubles which you can date back to King James and how around 1600, Northern Ireland was taken over by the British. It was the last strong hold in Ireland against the British and as they feared Spain would use Ireland as a launching pad to attack Britain, they felt it necessary to conquer Ireland.
At the time Spain ruled the waves and the Reformation was in its early days. Revival was a foreign term but they were soon to learn what revival was all about. Northern Ireland had seen the Irish population almost annihilated and the forests were all cut down, and all property of the Irish taken. To make things worse, King James sent the worst of the worst to go and colonize Northern Ireland.
Let me share a quote on the state of Northern Ireland:
“are forced to forsake their houses, which out of hand are plucked down, and the timber thereof burned in garrisons; which waste is made the more grievous that the inheritors or inhabitants of those waste places are forced to carry the timber of their houses to be burned; the soldiers leaving no trees, fruitful or otherwise, unspoiled; the planters and preserve is, ‘with heavy hearts, looking on their long labours and expectations thus defaced and brought to so uncomfortable an event.”
And
Those intestine wars raged during the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth had their chief seat here, and had reduced the province almost to a state of depopulation: most of the towns were destroyed; cultivation had nearly ceased, and the few prietors who remained, supported themselves on plunder, and lived in a condition little better than barbarism.”
It was clearly a very dark time in Ireland’s history. To make the spiritual climate worse the people who came to colonize Ireland had no fear of God or man. Let me share some quotes on this:
“(F)rom Scotland came many, and from England, not a few, yet all of them generally from the scum of both nations, who, for debt, or breaking and fleeing justice, or seeking shelter, came hither, hoping to be without dear of man’s justice in a land where there was nothing, or but little, as of yet the fear of God.”9
Another account states…
“Thus on all hands atheism increased, and disregard of God, iniquity abounded with contention, fighting, murder, adultery.”
But God! The ministers became disturbed and knew they needed a revival so they began to pray and fast for revival. Despite the hatred of God, these ministers held no punches and preached the Gospel and called the people to repentance.
Finney wrote on revival:
As revival may be expected when the providence of God indicates that a revival is at hand. The indications of God’s providence are sometimes so plain as to amount to a revelation of His will. There is a conspiring of events to open the way, a preparation of circumstances to favor a revival, so that those who are looking out can see that a revival is at hand, just as plainly as if it had been revealed from Heaven. Cases have occurred in this country, where the providential manifestations were so plain, that those who are careful observers felt no hesitation in saying that God was coming to pour out His Spirit, and grant a revival of religion.1
It didn’t take long for revival to break out and when it did everything changed. Here is a quote of the revival preseason:
“The effects were soon apparent. A spirit of religious inquiry was excited among the people, ignorance began to be dispelled, careless and secure persons were aroused to a sense of danger.”
In this series as we look at revival, we will see there is always a preseason in which God begins to draw people, conviction came, and people began to repent and return to the Lord. This was not the time to quit, but the press forward.
God would use a vessel that most felt was unsuitable and shouldn’t even be preaching. But despite all his failings, the Lord used him:
“For the hearers finding themselves condemned by the mouth of God speaking in his word, fell into such anxiety and terror of conscience that they looked on themselves as altogether lost and damned; and this work appeared not in one single person or two, but multitudes were brought to understand their way, and to cry out, men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved! I have seen them myself stricken into a swoon with the word; yea, a dozen in one day carried out doors as dead, so marvelous was the power of God smiting their hearts of sin, condemning and killing.”
We must remember that people had never seen revival and didn’t know what your are “supposed” to do at a revival. In fact, the church didn’t believe in manifestations seeing them as mere emotionalism. Yet, the manifestations came as God swept the nation. People came under such conviction they would fall as dead.
“And indeed preaching and praying were so pleasant in those days, and hearers so eager and greedy, that no day was long enough nor no room great enough to answer their strong desires and large expectations.”
The revival changed people, changed the moral and spiritual climate. The revival also sowed seeds for other revivals which broke out in Scotland, and latter would spread to America. As we will see in this series there is a connection to many revivals. Revivals also changed history.
During this time the Spanish sent their Armada to help the Irish and they were defeated. This event would cause Britain to rule the waves and instead of America becoming a Spanish colony, it became British.
