Revival And The 'normal Christian Life'

“Revival and the ‘Normal Christian Life’”. Acts 2:32-47 WBC 21/3/4am

INTRODUCTION: “measuring you for blessing”

I guess there are 23 main reasons for me tackling this subject, this morning:

1) My introduction back to faith in 1982

- lots of us came to faith at the same time in B/S

- 40 of us newly converted teenagers squashed into ‘the mansefields’

- man, now, in Xian service

- soon, my best friends Roland, Greg, Dave and I were all worshipping God together

Just thought it was ‘normal’

Later thought “this is a taste of ‘revival’, awakening”

2) You’re going to hear lots on revival this year (cf chapel down the rd)

= centenary of Welsh revival, 1904

- hundreds of thousands came into the kingdom worldwide. 100,000 in Wales in 2 years

- Evan Roberts. 25 year old

- Started with hymn ‘here is love’ (in Welsh is shshshshshsh”

But you may hear only one side of the story

3) MW Leaders away

discussing stuff from last sun pm

- if God is ‘measuring us for blessing’- what do we ask for?

o If it’s a ‘blank cheque’- what do you write next to ‘pay’ as the signature at bottom is ‘in my name’

 Can WRITE anything but

• Want to be like Solomon & ask for the BEST thing

• God will only honour… pay… what’s ‘in His name’

Our questions were: do we ask for revival? Do we know what it entails/costs? ACTUALLY- IS it what’s best?

We felt drawn to ask for:

1) relationships- between leaders… particularly. We didn’t even use the word ‘unity’ (as this can confer ‘uniformity’ and we’re not wanting that). We want deep relationships with each other as we believe that is the foundation for all else. (Seriously!)

2) Souls. We want to see more people saved. People need Jesus. We want MORE. We want LOTS. We want for that to become the ‘norm’

I chose this passage as it has

- revival in it. 3000

- souls: ‘the Lord added daily’

REVIVAL?

As I understand it (demonstrated here)- revival is the awakening of God’s people that goes on to bring in an influx of conversions

= v. real phenomena

- = sociological and spiritual

- = God at work, His blessing coming down into (often) prepared soil

= in our history

- last one was either the Hebridean revival of 1949… or maybe the one in East Anglia (about then, or maybe ’47)- stopped when it got to Suffolk!

1904- Welsh revival. Went worldwide

Soon after that- revival started in a church in Azusa Street, LA. 1906-1909

- has changed the world! WE are a product of it

- missionaries were taking it out even before there were churches

1856- huge awakening in Ulster & N America

And the ‘Great Awakening’ (as it was called) that burnt 1735-1790

- in our land- the 2 wesleys & Whitfield

o Wesleys single-handedly stopped a revolution similar to the French (historians think)

o Country completely turned around

 > “Methodism”. V Methodical

 (now almost dead, along with much of Wales)

o kindled in foreign lands- Cambuslang (near Glasgow!) 1742

o in N America- Jonathan Edwards (good jumper, I hear!)

o millions converted (that’s millions THEN)

It’s a key anointing… ‘spark of God’ on just a few people—that lights a flame that cannot be put out

- Illustr: Robert mentioning ‘grace’ and revival

It’s a contagious idea, isn’t it? Open heaven. God draws near. “Seized by a power of great affection”. People drawn magnetically to God

Of course, it IS happening in our day- just not much in Europe (but don’t despair)

- significantly : S. America. Africa… Argentina

o huge awakening. Conversion rate outstripping birth rate

? Know what was key to it starting in Argentina? Argentina & the sinking of the General Belgrano

- and here’s something significant I want to say about revival (GET REAL)

o = how it starts, burns and ends

- many want this… pray for this- but have no idea what they’re asking for! The cost. The reality

- see it as a ‘placebo for all ills’- “won’t have to evangelise”

o IT’S NOT LIKE THAT

Start

Often revival starts from key - prayer (here- the 120)

- persecution or problems. Humbling. Poverty of spirit. Cry to God

- people

And those things are often painful… and the people are not perfect!

- THIS IS NOT A PROPHECY: talking with Paul (drummer) re ‘The Passion’ & it being ‘bloody’

- “reckon we’ll have a bloodbath of our own” he said (terrorism)

- hit me: “better pray that if it does happen God will use it as our General Belgrano” (note my wording)

- intercessors: get to prayer (& you can’t predict this, now, as I’ve auto-suggested it to you!)