Our Need of Revival

‘Optics’
What a strange word to have entered the evangelical lexicon! How things look. How things appear. Optics. Stage lighting is fine, but the word is mainly used for presenting the best version of things. I just wonder if we’re too concerned about communicating what’s going well, and perhaps not communicating enough our desperate need for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Not that we should rubbish what’s currently happening, or become cynical. Not at all. There truly are wonderful things happening in local churches, away from the headline-grabbing failures of church leaders.
But we should not to give up on the idea of revival – a sudden and glorious manifestation of God’s presence, with conviction and power – NOT because it’s a pipe-dream, but because it has been a historical reality. Again and again. God does this. It’s just a fact.

Wales, 1857
In a West Glamorgan gathering of Baptists, in 1857, ‘Phillips of Loughor preached on “The Danger of Religious Lukewarmness”. These statements reflect a condition of uncertainty and frustration in the churches. On the one hand, the preaching of the Word was not without its effect, but on the other hand, the churches were prone to be too readily satisfied with a limited success. They failed to realise the inadequacy of ordinary means to meet effectively the grave situation which faced them.'[1]

Preach and Pray Unashamedly for the Need for the Holy Spirit
This was a time when Charles Hodge was happy to preach on ‘Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord.’ (Zech 4.6) and respectable Christian leaders published on ‘The Promise of the Holy Spirit’. [2] By the middle of 1858 it was becoming evident that more folk were attending church, getting converted, and becoming members. And still, no resistance to an actual outpouring of the Spirit. No hint of ‘We’ve already got the Bible, we don’t need these experiences of the Holy Spirit.’ Rather, there was an increasing call among the Welsh churches for ‘the necessity for the work of the Spirit to secure a religious awakening.’ [3]

‘The Descent of the Holy Spirit’
And in May 1858 at the Assembly of the Baptists we read: ‘Proposed by Dr. Davies, and seconded by the Rev Owen Williams – “that the first Sunday in August should be spent by the churches in prayer for a more extensive outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them.”‘[4] A similar resolution was made by the Congregationalists and William Griffiths of Llanharan wrote, ‘When the stated Sabbath arrived, we were blessed with remarkable earnestness at the throne of grace for the descent of the Holy Spirit to revive the Church and convert the world. Ever since that memorable Sabbath, the prayer meetings presented a new aspect – they gradually increased in warmth and number during the following months. This continued to February [1859] … when it pleased Jehovah to pour down His Spirit from on high, as on the day of Pentecost.'[5]

Honest Desperation!
Again, there’s absolutely no hint of defensiveness, of ‘we’ve already got the Holy Spirit, and we’ve already got the Word, so all is well.’ There’s nothing of that with these evangelical leaders who know they need an intervention of God, and had heard that He was doing remarkable things in America at that time. ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ is still a valid and acceptable prayer. The age of wonders is not past, and God can break in even today.

We need the Holy Spirit today. The churches need Him. Individual Christians need Him. The world needs Him, both to be convinced of the truth of Christ, and to have Christ’s work powerfully applied to their lives. Our kids need Him. They need a first-hand encounter with the true and living God. So do we. Surely we can pray unashamedly for a fresh outpouring of His power and mercy!

For the beginning of this series on the 1859 Welsh revival click here

[1] Eifon Evans, Revival Comes to Wales, p.28 (1959, 1967 Evangelical Press of Wales)
[2] ibid p30, 32
[3] ibid p35
[4] ibid p36
[5] ibid p37

Image: http://churchstagedesignideas.com/beams-of-strings/

©2023 Lex Loizides / Church History Review