Keep watch on your heart and fan the flames of personal devotion to Christ. Abundantly use the ordinary means of grace. Instead of relying on the intensity of the revival, turn again and again to Bible reading, prayer, self-examination and confession, death to self-interest, a joyful focus on the cross, faithful evangelism, service, and eager anticipation of the glories yet to come.
Recently, I was speaking in a part of the country known for its antagonism to the gospel. Church planting there is hard work. The small number of confessionally strong churches are making headway, but slowly. I admire these pastors, evangelists, and church planters more than I can say; it’s a pleasure and a privilege to spend time with them.
In the course of a meal with several of them, one pastor said, “I know full well I may serve all my years working in the teeth of strenuous opposition that may get worse before it gets better. But suppose genuine revival breaks out, whether in one church or in a larger region. What should my priorities be?”
Great question—not least because this brother wasn’t awash in pessimism. While working faithfully in a day of small things, he retained confidence the Lord’s arm isn’t shortened such that he couldn’t save. The pastor has a pretty good idea of what godly ministry looks like when the opposition is intense, but he wondered how his priorities should change if the Lord in his mercy visited him with the blessings of reformation and revival.
I’ve been on the edge of such visitations a couple of times. In 1970–71, when the so-called Canadian Revival swept through parts of Western Canada—sparked by ministry led by the Sutera twins—I was serving as pastor of a church in British Columbia. I witnessed the unprecedented (for Quebec) multiplication of about 35 French-speaking churches to just under 500, in eight years (1972–80).
More importantly, I’ve tried to read some of the histories of revivals in various corners of the world, partly to think through what’s genuinely of God and what isn’t. Based on my experiences, reading, and understanding of Scripture, here’s my list of dos and don’ts when revival comes.
1. Read serious literature about real and fraudulent revival.
You can’t do better than to begin with A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God and A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections, both, of course, by Jonathan Edwards. While Edwards is remarkably open to various displays, the real test is never the display but rather God-centered righteousness and gospel-fueled integrity.
About a century after Edwards, some “revivals” in Kentucky and elsewhere produced a disproportionate number of illegitimate births nine months later. One can guess why: emotional intensity often combines with human intimacy which, if not of God, is more likely to produce babies than produce righteousness. Knowledge of abuses easily breeds a supercilious cynicism, while infatuation with revival easily breeds naïveté. Don’t be cynical; don’t be gullible; be discerning.
2. Examine your own heart.
Keep watch on your heart and fan the flames of personal devotion to Christ. Abundantly use the ordinary means of grace. Instead of relying on the intensity of the revival, turn again and again to Bible reading, prayer, self-examination and confession, death to self-interest, a joyful focus on the cross, faithful evangelism, service, and eager anticipation of the glories yet to come.
If instead you rely for your sustenance on the sweeping movement of the revival, ignoring the ordinary means of grace, you’re likely to burn out in a frenzied pursuit of what’s instantly gratifying but not very nourishing.
3. Direct people’s energy toward Jesus.
When revival comes, large numbers of people display boundless energy for the things of God. In your role as a minister of the gospel, direct that overflowing energy toward Bible study and prayer, toward corporate worship that’s full of the Word—not toward revival experiences but toward Jesus himself. Times of revival are clarion calls for increased commitment to anointed expository preaching, not an excuse for informal chats studded with pious clichés.
One of the great things that happened in connection with the Quebec movement was the far-sighted establishment of SEMBEQ (Séminaire Baptiste Évangélique du Québec), which became a conduit for the theological and pastoral training of that generation and the next. It’s easy to think of genuine movements of God that petered out in silliness and warm nostalgia because the energy released was never directed toward training.
