I have had today's topic on my thoughts list from the start of the fast. It seems best to fit it in today. It wouldn't have worked to put it at the beginning and it certainly wouldn't be the thought to leave for the last. And, so, with only three days left in the fast (including today), I want us to think about whether there can be a false revival.
This gets tricky. I can see the hair rising on the backs of some necks even at the mention of it. How can anyone have the audacity to think they could judge whether what another church is experiencing as being real or false? Is it possible to do this from a distance? Can you really say one way or the other, even if you have been there? Who says what is flesh and what is the Spirit of God?
The only reason I bring it up is because I want the real deal. I'm not going to criticize, judge, or analyze anything that has happened somewhere else. I hope, since you are still reading this, that you also want a genuine revival. It is possible in the flesh, with human frenzy and fanaticism, to have what appears to be a revival from God and is not. The British invasion by the Beatles was not a revival. The fervour of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18) may have appeared to be in revival but their god wasn't. True revival came through the prayer of Elijah.
Dr. Edward Kirk in his "Lectures on Revivals" (1868, published 1875) said: "When the plans of Providence are approaching their maturity, and some new truth is about to enter the current of human thought, there are found persons of particular temperament, who are among the first to feel the approaching change, and seize the idea, its fragmentary form of manifestation, and who pluck the unripe fruit, and poison themselves and others with its crude juices. Elated with their discovery, they attack the established order and convictions rudely and unwisely, and present the coming truth in caricature."
In desiring a genuine revival, that means not wanting it in part but in the whole. If you showed me a Ferrari and said I could have it but the reality was that it had the engine from a Dodge Colt, I would be sorely disappointed. Sitting in it, the car feels like the genuine but it can't deliver. I'm not interested in something that looks and feels like a revival but doesn't really deliver. There is no room for style over substance. Seeking the Lord for revival means sticking with it to its complete fulfillment. It may take more prayer, obedience, sacrifice, humility and surrender to get it all in place, but we cannot settle for less. New theories, theologies and/or practices do not a revival make.
Dr. Henry Fish wrote in his "Handbook of Revivals" (1874): "Revivals may be either false or genuine. Under the former are to be classed mere religious excitements, extemporised by human agency, and subsiding without permanent results. There may be a whirlwind of agitation and no real revival. And these spurious movements have done much to harm the cause of true revivals."
The opposite can also been true of my car illustration. Some have experienced a Ferrari engine in the body of a Dodge Colt. In a very short time the car is totalled because the body wasn't proper for the power that was being applied. That power can originate either from the Lord or from the people but it is probably a mixture. Thrill and excitement are the byproducts of a genuine revival, but they are not the substance of it. Permanent transformation by the Spirit of God is at the heart of a genuine revival. Whether it is salvations, healings, impartations, commissionings or miracles that are part of the revival … they last. As Oswald J. Smith said in "The Revival We Need" (1925): "It is one thing to have hundreds of professed converts during the excitement of the campaign, but it is another thing to come back five years after and find them still there."
Thankfully, one does not negate the other. Dr. Charles Thompson in "Times of Refreshing: A History of American Revivals" (1877) wrote: "Spurious revivals cannot disprove the genuine. Popular objections that are urged against popular extravagances, or bad methods, fall powerless against the fundamental idea of a true revival of religion." While it can certainly be sad and even disheartening to think about false revivals, we must press on for the genuine. Stay the course, run the race with endurance: the reward is just ahead (Hebrews 11:6, 12:1).
Running with you,
Merril
love the quote from
ReplyDeleteDr. Edward Kirk in his "Lectures on Revivals" (1868, published 1875) said: "When the plans of Providence are approaching their maturity, and some new truth is about to enter the current of human thought, there are found persons of particular temperament, who are among the first to feel the approaching change, and seize the idea, its fragmentary form of manifestation, and who pluck the unripe fruit, and poison themselves and others with its crude juices. Elated with their discovery, they attack the established order and convictions rudely and unwisely, and present the coming truth in caricature."
It's so true! Often we descover a truth we know that should be or a freedom we know we should have or a wrong that needs to righted and we want to jump on it in our zeal and anger to tell the world. Waiting for the wisdom and deeper revelation in things brings greater power and impact (when the fruits mature) and it also helps us know how to do it in love. If you think about it, many people tried to start fights and debates with Jesus, but Jesus never argued. He never had too! He just won and His wisdom just silenced people. There was no room for debate. His point either left you to choose. To realise or turn away. There was no inbetween areas. Could you imagine waiting and seeking for that Wisdom even when we're excited or angry. Just knowing in our Spirit that "yes Lord, this makes sence, but I know there is a better way to do this then in my zeal & anger" I have been so angry befor that I just wanted to tell the world and make them see, but I knew God had to have a better way. In all my tears I would pray until God turned my anger into love and gave me a whole new revelation for the situation and wisdom on what to do in love. He turned my heart of anger into the broken heart of God and then gave me the wisdom to know what to do with it. When we move before we know His heart and wisdom for the situation we are going fall headfirst into granade lined pits. There's so much more! Keep going! :)
Angeleen = if your heart dosn't feel right, don't stop pressing into God until it does! Never settle for anything less
ReplyDeleteAngeleen = if you think what your about to do could cause a hardened heart or misunderstanding then you could probably get more revelation, wisdom and love from pressing into the Father about it first before setting the world free with truth :)
ReplyDeleteHiedi Baker said that she told the Lord that she couldn't handle the stonings any more, & God showed her a better way. God showed her how to honor the leaders publicly befor presenting the gospel and she said they've never been stoned since! That really spoke to me! God always has a better way! :)