We are seeing God raising up an army of intercessors, worshippers and prophetic people, and God is presently refreshing his people as well as empowering them for service.

This move is not about us, it's about God and His grace and sovereignty. And we are believing God for more of His Spirit to come, not just to refresh and renew the church, but to powerfully touch our neighbourhoods, our cities, and the nations with full blown revival.

Let us continue to embrace the cross, submit to Scripture, and also 'keep in step with the Spirit'. 'The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power' (1 Corinthians 4:20).

'Now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation' (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Preparing for revival

Winkie Pratney (1994: 8,9) suggests we try this little survey with Christians:

* How many of you know we need a revival?
* How many of you want revival?
* How many of you know what revival is?
* How many of you have ever experienced a true revival?

Most would raise their hands to the first two questions. But few would have an idea as to what a genuine revival really is, let alone ever experienced one.

1. What is revival?
2. Why is revival needed?
3. When has revival occurred before?
4. Should we expect to see revival again soon?

1. What Is revival?

The term revival is not technically found in the Bible. Nither is Trinity for that matter, yet both concepts are found, and refresh, for example:

Psalm 85: 6 'Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you' (prayer request).

Isaiah 57: 15 'I revive the spirit of the humble and revive the heart of the contrite' (promise of God).

The theme of revival is described at times in such terms as an outpouring of the Spirit (like rain or fire falling or wind blowing), the renewing of God's mighty deeds (Habakkuk 3:2), the glory of the Lord returning to his temple (Malachi 3:1), God healing the land (2 Chronicles 7:14) and the time of God's visitation with his manifest presence (Micah 7:4; Luke 19:44).

(a) Definitions and descriptions of revival

To revive is 'to live again' (Kings 17:22,2 Kings 13:21).

'When God comes down (Isaiah 64:1,2), God's Word comes home (Nehemiah 8-9; Acts 2:37), God's purity comes through, God's people come alive (Acts 2, overflow of joy and vitality), and outsiders come in' (Acts 2:41, 47; 1Corinthians 14:25 'God is really among you') (Packer 1984:244-245; Scriptures added).

'The inrush of the Spirit into a body that threatens to become a corpse' (D. M. Panton, cited in Wallis 1956:46).

'Revival is man retiring into the background because God has taken the field. It is the Lord making bare his holy arm and working in extraordinary power on saint and sinner' (Wallis 1956:20).

'Revival is divine military strategy; first to counteract spiritual decline, and then to create spiritual momentum' (Wallis 1956:45).

'Revival is like a rocket ship that gets us back up into orbit of New Testament Christanity' (Charles Simpson, sermon 27 May 1994).

God's presence intensified (fullness), God's purpose accelerated (fulfilment); (based on Bryant 1984:72-91, 169).

(b) Characteristics of revival

Revival is usually comprised of two stages: internal revival or 'renewal' (the church is set on fire and prodigals begin to come home) followed by external revival (conversions of those outside on a mass scale).

'True revival is marked by widespread repentance both within the church and among unbelivers' (Wimber 1994:4).

This repentance is the result of God comming in power, revealing his holiness and our sinfulness. One comes into the agonising grip of a holy God and is brought under awesome convicition. This manifested presence of God creates a divine 'radiation zone'.

Here are two examples:

During the 1859 revival, no town in Ulster was more deeply stirred than Coleraine. A schoolboy in class became so troubled about his soul that the schoolmaster sent him home. An older boy, a Christian, went with him and before they had gone far, led him to Christ. Returning at once to school, this new convert testified to his teacher: 'Oh, I am so happy! I have the Lord Jesus in my heart.' These artless words had an astonishing effect; boy after boy rose and silently left the room. Going outside the teacher found these boys all on their knees, ranged along the wall of the playground. Very soon their silent prayer became a bitter cry; it was heard by another class inside and pierced their hearts. They fell on their knees, and their cry for mercy was heard in turn by a girls' class above. In a few moments, the whole school was on their knees! Neighbours and passers-by came flocking in and all as they crossed the threshold came under the same convicting power. Every room was filled with men and women, and children seeking God'...

During the same 1859 revival in America, ships entered a definite zone of heavenly influence as they drew near port. Ship after ship arrived with the same talk of sudden conviction and conversion. A captain and an entire crew of thirty men found Christ at sea and arrived at port rejoicing. This overwhelming sence of God bringing deep conviction of sin is perhaps the outstanding feature of true revival. Its manifestation is not always the same; to cleansed hearts it is heaven; to convicted hearts it is hell (Pratney 1994:24-25).

2. Why is revival needed?

Throughout bibical history and church history the hearts of God's people perpetually cool off and harden towards him, creating the need for revival. Nehemiah 9:25-28 describes this cycle or pattern of spiritual decline and renewal which involves six stages (Lovelace 1979:62-80):

1. God's people are alive and in love with him.
2. Spiritual decline - hearts are subtly cooling off.
3. Hearts of stone.
4. The Lord disciplines those he loves (for example, Israelites were taken into exile).
5. Cry for mercy - intercession and repentance.
6. God pours out his Spirit and revives his people.

Where in this cycle is the church in this country today?

3. When has revival occurred before?

The Bible records at least a dozen revivals within its history (Kaiser 1986:12-13) and many movements of renewal and revival took place prior to and including the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and the Puritan and Pietist movements of the 17th century. Here I will focus upon the major revivals of Europe and North America of the last 250 years.

Note that the intensity of a revival may last only a few years, but the effects are felt in the church and society for decades to come.

The First Awakening (1727-80)

1727-80 (approximate dates) in Germany: Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, with unity, prayer (their 24 hour prayer vigil lasted over 100 years!), and missions. Their motto was 'To win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of his suffering.'

1734-60 in North America's 13 colonies: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, with prayer and preaching.

1740-80 in Great Britain: John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield with outdoor preaching and class meetings (home cells).

Revival brought many social reforms including the abolition of slavery in Great Britain. Some historians believe this revival saved England from a bloody revolution like the one in France.

Then came a gradual spiritual slide. By 1794 moral conditions had reached their worst. For example, John Marshall, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, a concerned believer, wrote his assessment to Methodist Bishop Madision of Virginis stating, 'The church is too far gone to ever be redeemed'. The famous agnostic Voltaire declared, 'Christianity will be forgotten in 30 years'. Later Voltaire's home became the headquarters for the Geneva Bible Society (Relfe 1988:26).

The Second Awakening (1792-1842)

1792 in England: William Carey, 'Father of the modern missionary movement' took as his motto, 'Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.'

By about 1800 revival fires were burning once again in the U.S.A. In the East, Timothy Dwight was used in the college setting. On the Western frontier, James McGready, Barton Stone and Peter Cartwright gave leadership.

In 1821 Charles Finney, a lawyer, was converted and became an evangelist and social reformer. This revival was characterised by evangelistic camp meetings, social reforms and missions. Finney's autobiography is filled with accounts of powerful manifestations of the Spirit. On one occasion when Finney was preaching in a school house, "suddenly an awful solemnity fell upon the assembly and congregation fell from their seats, crying for mercy." Finney said, "If I had a sword in each hand I could not have cut them off as fast as they fell. I think the whole congregation was on their knees or prostrated in two minutes." The crying and weeping of the people was so loud that Finney's exhortation of Christ's mercy could not even be heard. Finney's ministry overlapped the second and third awakenings.

The Third Awakening (1857-59)

1857 in North America: Called 'the Prayer Revival' it began when Dr Walter and Phoebe from New York City went to Hamilton, Ontario in early October. Revival broke out, then went south of the border.

Jeremiah Lanphier, a business man, began noon prayer meetings in New York City in September 1857. Within 6months, up to 10,000 business men were praying daily for revival

J. Edwin Orr states that 'revival went up the Hudson and down the Mohawk. The Baptists had so many people to baptise they could not get them in the churches. They went down to the river, cut a square hole in the ice and baptised them. When Baptists do that, they really are on fire!' (Relfe 1988:48). The revival spread from New York to Philadelphia and throughout the country. The emphasis was on prayer.

Revival spread to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well.

The fruit of this revival was 2 million converts (1 million within the church, 1 million from without) and in the following years slavery was abolished, and there were reforms in prisons, labour, education, and medical care.

Fourth Awakening (1904-7)

1904-5 in Wales: Youth and children featured in the Welsh revival. The key leader was Evan Roberts, aged 26 (and his brother Dan, aged 20, and his sister Mary, aged 16). Leaders came from arround the world and were humbled to see how God used teens and children. Evan and others were not eloquent preachers but good followers of the Holy Spirit.

Their motto was 'Bend the church and save the world'. Roberts' vision of seeing 100,000 converted in Wales was fulfilled in less than one year. People got converted just reading about the revival in the newspapers!

Crime dropped off to the point where many courtrooms and jails were empty and judges and police had very little to do. Horses in the coal mines were accustomed to obeying commands that involved yelling and cursing. Since the vast majority of miners were converted, the horses were confused with commands that were humane and wholesome, so the horses needed retraining!

Prior to the revival Wales was in a frenzy over their favourite sport, soccer. With the revival, the stadiums stood empty. No-one preached against soccer. The players and fans had simply become so captivated with the Lord that they were no longer interested in the game (Joyner 1993:51).

The fire spread throughout Great Britain, Scandinavia, Europe, Africa, India, Korea, as well as the U>S>A> The pastors of Atlantic City, New Jersey, reported only 50 adults not converted in a population of 50,000! The First Baptist Church in Paducoh, Kentucky, had 1,000 converts in two months and the elderly pastor, Dr J.J.Cheek, died of exhaustion (Krupp 1988:22).

In California, Bartleman, Seymore, and Smale were impacted by the reports and booklets on the revival in Wales in 1905 as well as from letters of encouragement from Evan Roberts. Shortly thereafter the Azusa Street Revival erupted into the great Pentecostal Revival that saw 5 million converts from 1905-7 and continues to impact millions of lives to this day.

Twentieth century

The twentieth century has been called by some 'The Century of the Holy Spirit'. Although we have not witnessed a major revival since the turn of the century, since 1947 God has been brining smaller scaled revivals and renewal movements such as:

1947-53-the Latter Rain movement in Western Canada and the U.S.A.

1949- Hebrides Islands, Scotland.

Here is a wonderful example of how a revival causes a geographical area to become a divine ' radiation zone' of conviction and repentance.

Duncan Campbell, an evangelist, came to the Island of Lewis in the Hebrides Islands. On the first night of his arrival, he preached in a church building. When he left the building at 11 p.m. he found 6000 gathered outside, 100 from the nearby dance hall, the other 500 who had been awakened, got out of bed, and felt compelled to walk to this place. Campbell preached the gospel to them till 4 a.m., at which time he was requested to come to the police station where 400 people were gathered, baffled as to why they were there. On his was to the police station he came across other people along the road who were crying out to God for mercy! Revival continued for 3 years with 75% of the converts coming to Jesus outside of church buildings (Krupp 1988:26-7).

The 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of the charismatic renewal movement, including the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s.

The 1980s and 1990s saw the 'Third Wave' movement or the 'signs and wonders' movement and the 'prophetic' movement. Peter Wagner describes three waves of the Holy Spirit in this century, each continuing to be used by God: the Pentecostal movement, the charismatic movement (largely in the Catholic Church and mainline Protestant churches), and the 'Third Wave' movement which is primarily impacting the evangelical churches.

4. Should we expect to see revival again soon?

YES!

Many 'third world' countries in Africa, and Central and South America, as well as China and Korea, have been experiencing revival fires for a number of years.

Why should we expect to see revival again soon?

a. Bibical texts that create such expectation include:

Habakkuk 2:14- 'for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.' (Reinhard Bonnke, evangelist in Africa, says, 'not one spot stays dry at the bottom of the sea.')

Joel 2:23- 'He sends you abundant showers, both autumn (early) and spring (latter) rains.' Early rains soften the ground, making it suitable for ploughing and sowing. With the approach of harvest, heavy rain (latter) returns to swell and mature grain and fruit in preparation for the time of reaping. Pentecost marked the beginning of former rains. After the Reformation, outpourings became more distinct and significant. Latter rain is in preparation for the day of harvest.

Joel 2:28, 31 - 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people... before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.'

Acts 2 - Pentecost, a partial fulfilment of Joel.

Acts 3:19,20 - 'repent, turn to God...

John 14:12 - 'will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these' (miracles). Not fulfilled yet!

John17 - In his priestly prayer, Jesus prayes for Christian unity. This prayer has not been fulfilled yet. Of all the prayers the Father answers, would not his Son's be answered? Rick Joyner says, 'Jesus is coming back for a bride, not a harem.'

Eph 5:26,27 - Jesus is preparing the bride to be presented to himself as pure, holy and radiant.

b. Based on previous patterns, revival usually occurs in a day of deep moral and spiritual bankruptcy. 'Before a great awakening, there must come a rude awakening' (Murillo 1985:11). The worst of times, on other words, precipitates the best of times. Who would deny the desperate need for a mighty revival in our day? Famine, poverty, pollution, war, crime, abortion, drug abuse, massive economic instability, and such like, stare us in the face. Nate Krupp (1988:34) argues that 'we are at a point in history where it is either world revival or world destruction.'

c. Church historians, theologians and church leaders are predicting it. Many leaders have discerned that God is up to something big! He's preparing new wineskins for the new wine, a fireplace for the fire, and barns for the harvest. Many even say that previous revivals are but a rehearsal for the big ones to come. 'Our study of awakening movements only turns up what appear to be rehearsals for some final revelation of the full splender of God's kingdom...It is hard to believe that God will not grant the church some greater experience of wholeness and vitality than has yet appeared in the stumbling record of her history' (Lovelace 1979:425).

d. Many prophets of our day in unison are expecting it in the 1990s and beyond. These include Mike Bickle, Rick Joyner, and John Paul Jackson.

e. The growing emphasis om prayer. Prayer mobilisation today is unprecedented in history. Examples include men's prayer movements, women's intercessory groups, youth in schools, Marches for Jesus, '10-40 Window' prayer project, city wide pastors' prayer fellowships, and so on. History demonstrates that revival is always preceded by a groundswell of prayer.

f. It's God's heart to bring revival. He longs to renew, restore, awaken us, and redeem humanity much more than we want him to. God is committed to renew his people and see the nations come to himself. 'Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance' (Psalm 2:8.

Notes from Jerry Steingard and David Smithers