Unity

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1Corinthians 1:10-13 (NIV)

As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the sun." Paul addressed the Corinthians about the need for unity. Apparently the people of Corinth were choosing sides--some liked what Apollos had to say, others preferred Paul's teaching, still others liked Peter. Some even followed Christ!

But Paul asked this question, "Is Christ divided?" Looking at the Church today, I think the answer is "yes". How can we be effective in ministering to the world if we can't put aside our denominational differences and work together? We agree on the important doctrines of the faith, but get hung up on the details. The enemy has convinced us that these distinctions should be magnified, rather than diminished for the good of everyone. Think how much more effective the body of Christ would be working together instead of against each other.

Jesus spoke these words about Satan's kingdom: "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." Mark 3:24 (NIV).

Desperation or Desolation?

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people..." 2Chronicles 7:13 (NIV)

This is the verse that precedes "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

What can we learn from that verse? It tells me that God has to go to great extremes to get our attention. If you look at America and much of the world today, Biblical values are systematically being removed from society. The Church cries "foul" but takes no action. We experience "natural disasters" at an alarming rate, but no one dares to say that God is trying to get our attention. So--God has to turn up the heat a notch--what will be next?

Someone from Uganda once said the Christians there had to choose between desolation or desperation. God is bringing pain to cause us to be desperate for Him. Are we going to sit back and watch as desolation overtakes us or will we become desperate and cry out to God for revival?

Doing It God's Way

"He must increase, but I [must] decrease." John 3:30 (KJV)

Revival is a God-event--it is His presence, His power that saves souls and transforms communities, not an eloquent sermon or a persuasive altar call. It seems to me that man's only roll in revival is to pray and get out of the way! God puts the burden on people to pray, and it may be only a handful of people whose hearts are pure and whose hands are clean. They are people of great faith--they believe they have a promise from God and that He can do nothing less than keep that promise.

Unlike an evangelistic outreach in which some souls may be saved but the community remains unchanged, revival turns the whole community upside down. People are suddenly aware of God's presence and His holiness--they no longer pursue their sinful desires, but cry out to God for forgiveness and mercy. Bars close, gambling ceases, the police are hard-pressed to find anyone to arrest. The presence of God is so powerful that people do not need to hear a sermon to be saved, no invitation to receive Christ is necessary. Man's role is very small in true revival--that way, God gets all the glory!

The Prayer of Faith

"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:" Isaiah 44:3 (KJV)

Once again, we see that God is faithful to answer the prayer of faith. The men praying for revival on the Isle of Lewis believed they had received a promise from God--that He would "pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground...". They simply believed God--that He would do exactly what He said He would do. They prayed boldly, telling God that His honor was at stake. And God responded.

He will do no less for us today. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. God says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2Chronicles 7:14). If His people do their part then, as a covenant-keeping God, He is bound to keep His part of the bargain. Believe it!

Lessons Learned

"He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart...He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Psalm 24:4-5 (KJV)

So what can we learn from the Hebrides revival? The first thing that comes to mind is that it isn't the number of people praying for revival that impresses God--it's the quality. God responded to the prayers of two elderly sisters and a handful of men who were desperate to see God move in their community. They were willing to spend extended periods of time on their faces before God, with no thought of their own comfort or lack of sleep. I have to ask myself--am I willing to pray like these people prayed?

After praying for about five weeks with no results, it finally came down to this: one man stood up and read from Psalm 24, "Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart..." (Psalm 24:3-4) This was the key that opened the door to revival--"Search me, O God".

Not Just Words

"because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction." 1Thessalonians 1:5 (NIV)

"Of course, you understand, we make no appeals--you never need to make an appeal or an altar call in revival. Why, the roadside becomes an altar. We just leave men and women to make their way to God themselves--after all, that is the right way. God can look after His own. Oh, God can look after His own! And when God takes a situation in hand, I tell you He does a better work. He does a better work."

Duncan Campbell, When God Stepped Down

A Community Saturated With God

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9 (NIV

"Now, you might ask me, "What do you mean by revival"? There are a great many views, held by people today, as to what revival is. So, you hear men say, "Are you going out to the revival meetings?", "We're having a revival crusade", and so on. There's a world of difference, between a crusade, or a special effort in the field of evangelism. My dear people, that is not revival. As I already said from this platform, I thank God for every soul brought to Christ, through our special efforts, and for every season of blessing at our conferences, and at our conventions. We praise God for such movements, but is it not true that such movements do not, (as a general rule) touch the community? The community remains more or less, the same, and the masses go past us to hell, but in revival the community, suddenly becomes conscious of the movings of God; beginning with His own people. So that, in a matter of hours, (not days) in a matter of hours, churches become crowded. No information of any special meeting, but something happening that moves men and women to a house of God, and you'll find within hours, scores of men, and women crying to God for mercy before them that kneel at church."

Duncan Campbell, When God Stepped Down

The Last Holdout

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." Acts 4:31 (NIV)

Strangely enough, it was the "religious" people who opposed the Lewis revival. The town of Arnol, led by a group of ministers, was resisting the move of God. Duncan Campbell and a group of 30 men decided to get together and pray. He called on a blacksmith to pray--a man whose prayers had been greatly used earlier in the revival. This was his prayer:

"God, do You know that Your honor is at stake? Do You know that Your honor is at stake? You promised to pour water on the thirsty and floods on the dry ground and, God, You are not doing it." Now my dear people, could we pray like that? Ah, but here was a man who could. Here was a man who could. He then he went on to say, "There are five ministers in this meeting and I don't know where a one of them stands in Your presence, not even Mr. Campbell." Oh, he was an honest man. "But if I know anything at all about my own poor heart, I think I can say and I think that You know that I'm thirsty! I'm thirsty to see the devil defeated in this parish. I'm thirsty to see this community gripped as you gripped Barvas. I'm longing for revival and God, You are not doing it! I am thirsty and you promised to pour water on me." Then a pause and then he cried, "God, I now take upon myself to challenge you to fulfill Your covenant engagement!" Now it was nearing two o'clock in the morning.

What happened? The house shook. A jug on a sideboard fell onto the floor and broke. A minister beside me said, "An earth tremor." And I said, "Yes." But I had my own thoughts. My mind went back to Acts chapter 4 when they prayed the place was shaken. When John Smith stopped praying at twenty minutes past two, I pronounced the benediction and left the house. What did I see? The whole community alive. Men carrying chairs, women carrying stools and asking, "Is there room for us in the churches?" And the Arnol revival broke out."

Stories--too many to tell here--can be found at the following addresses:

http://www.revival-library.org/pensketches/revivals/hebrides.html

http://www.revival-library.org/leadership/rs_dcwhengod.php

A God-Given Vision

"For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds," Job 33:14-15 (NIV)

There are many accounts of how God moved in the Lewis revival. Before revival broke out, no youth were attending church meetings. One of the two sisters that had been praying, had a vision that the church was filled with young people listening to an unknown speaker. The following account is from a transcript of an audio message by Duncan Campbell called Revival in the Hebrides:

"Over 100 young people were at the dance in the parish hall and they weren't thinking of God or eternity. God was not in all of their thoughts. They were there to have a good night when suddenly the power of God fell upon the dance. The music ceased and in a matter of minutes, the hall was empty. They fled from the hall as a man fleeing from a plague. And they made for the church. They are now standing outside. Oh, yes--they saw lights in the church. That was a house of God and they were going to it and they went. Men and women who had gone to bed rose, dressed, and made for the church. Nothing in the way of publicity--no mention of a special effort except and intonation from the pulpit on Sabbath that a certain man was going to be conducting a series of meetings in the parish covering 10 days. But God took the situation in hand--oh, He became His own publicity agent. A hunger and a thirst gripped the people. 600 of them now are at the church standing outside."

When God Stepped Down--Part Two

"Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart..." Psalm 24:3-4 (NIV)

From When God Stepped Down, by Duncan Campbell

"The praying, and the meetings continued for several months. Until one night, a very remarkable thing happened. There, knelling amongst straw in the barn, the barn of a farm house; when suddenly, one young man rose, and read part of psalm twenty-four: "Who shall ascend into the hill of God? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord". He shut his bible, and then looking down at the minister, and at the other men who were kneeling there, he said this, (rather crude words, not so crude indelicate), but this is what he said, "It seems to me just so much humbug. To be praying, as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting, if we ourselves, are not rightly related to God. Oh, my dear brethren let's take that to heart." He began to pray, "God, are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?", and that dear man got no further. He fell on his knees, and then on his face among the straw, and with in a matter of minutes, three of the elders fell into a trance. Now, please don't come to me at the end of this meeting, and ask me, "What I really mean by men falling into a trance?" I cannot answer that question. All that I know is this, that when that happened in the barn, (now it's happened in the Jonathan Edward revival; remember that. Not peculiar by any means to Lewis. It happened in America, it happened in the fifty-nine revival in Wales, not the nineteen-hundred revival, but the fifty-nine revival) this I can say, the moment that, that happened in the barn, a power was let loose that shook the whole of Lewis. I say shook Lewis! God stepped down. The Holy Spirit began to move among the people, and the minister (writing about what happened the following morning) said this, "You met God on meadow and moo land. You met Him in the homes of the people. God seem to be everywhere"."

When God Stepped Down

"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:" Isaiah 44:3

The following account of the 1949 revival in the Hebrides Islands was delivered as a sermon by Duncan Campbell, a minister who was greatly used by God during that awakening.

"When God stepped down, suddenly men, and women all over the parish, were gripped by the fear of God. Now, how did it happen? This to me is an interesting story, and I want to tell it in full. One evening, an old woman, eighty-four years of age, and blind; had a vision. Now, don't ask me to explain this vision, because I cannot, but strange things happen when God begins to move, and this dear old lady, in the vision saw the church of our Fathers crowded with young people. crowded with young people, and she saw a strange minister in the pulpit, and she was so impressed by this revelation, because a revelation it was. She sent for the minister, and told her story. The parish minister, was a God fearing man, a man that longed to see God working. Oh, he had tried ever so many things to get the youth of the parish interested, but not one single teenager attended the church, that was the situation. Well, heart to this dear old lady to say to him, I'll tell you what she said, "I'm sure Mr. McCie, that you're longing to see God working. What about calling your office bearers together, and suggest to them that you spend two nights a week; waiting upon God in prayer. You've tried mission, you've tried special evangelists, Mr. McCie have you tried God?". Oh, I tell you this is a wonderful old woman. So, he meekly obeyed, and said, "Yes, I'll call the session together, and I will suggest that we meet on Tuesday night, and Friday night, and we'll spend the whole night in prayer". I told you dear people, here were men that meant business. The dear old lady said, "Well, if you do that, my sister and I will get on our knees at ten o'clock on Tuesday, ten o'clock on Friday, and we'll wait on our knees till four o'clock in the morning". I tell you, this puts us to shame. So, they went to prayer, and I want to mention that they had, but one promise from God, and that promise was, "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:" –Isaiah 44:3a. That's God's promise, and in their prayers (according to the minister), they would say again, and again, "God you're a covenant keeping God, and you must be true to your covenant engagements".

More to follow,,,

Seeking God's Face

"I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground." (Isa. 44:3, KJV).

In 1949, the tiny island of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland, was the God-chosen spot for revival. Watch the following video to see how God responded to the prayers of two elderly sisters.

 

Evan Roberts

"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory..." Psalm 115:1 (NIV)

In 1904, Evan Roberts was just 26 years old and a college student, when God began to move in his heart. After hearing a preacher named Seth Joshua pray for God to bend His people, Evan Roberts prayed "Lord, bend me." God gave him a simple message for his home church: confess any known sins, put away doubtful habits, obey the spirit promptly, and confess your faith publicly. Only 18 people heard this first message, but soon the crowds grew, and revival began to sweep over Wales.

 

God's Idea--Pray

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray." 1Peter 4:7 (NIV)

It was not a good time for churches in downtown Manhattan , and the North Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street resorted to creative measures, hiring a businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier as a sort of outreach minister. He knocked on doors in the neighborhood and distributed pamphlets and Bibles, but response generally was dismal.

“One day as I was walking along the streets,” Lanphier wrote in his journal, “the idea was suggested to my mind that an hour of prayer, from twelve to one o’clock, would be beneficial to businessmen.” The idea blossomed: a weekly prayer time open to anyone, bankers to broom-pushers. Come when you can, leave when you must. Handbills advertised the first meeting - at noon on September 23, 1857.

Lanphier waited for the first attenders. No one showed up for the first thirty minutes. Then one man straggled in, then another. The hour ended with six men present, praying. The following week there were twenty, the next week forty. Soon a hundred. Rooms were packed. The church had to ask another church to handle the overflow. When churches ran out of room, the prayer meetings moved to theaters.

By March, 1858, the New York Times could report that Burton ’s Theater on Chambers Street was packed as famous preacher Henry Ward Beecher led a crowd of 3,000 in prayer. Some estimate that up to a million people became Christians in the 1857-58 revival.

What caused such immense interest in prayer? A stock market crash might have had something to do with it. Business leaders enslaved by money were suddenly seeking a more reliable master. But when he started his humble prayer time, Jeremiah Lanphier had no way of knowing about the impending financial collapse. He just knew people needed to pray.

William J. Petersen, 100 Amazing Answers to Prayer

Everything is Possible

"Everything is possible for one who believes." Mark 9:23 (NIV)

Are you struggling to believe that God can bring revival to a nation that has turned it's back on Him? Jesus spoke these words--"Everything is possible..." Do we think our sinful, idol-worshipping nation is the one exception? It may be that we are the hindrance to revival. Do we persevere in prayer until we hear from God on the matter? If God has spoken to us through His Word or through the Holy Spirit, we must believe that He will do it!

Oswald J. Smith said, "Faith is the key that unlocks the door of God's power. 'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.' And in revival work one of the indispensable prerequisites is a living, vital Faith."