Every now and then you stumble across a quote or sentence that instantly clarifies and gives shape and meaning to something that’s been ticking over in the back of your mind.
The concept I’ve been wrestling with is “revival.” Revival is, in my view, what happens when the church gets its act together and comes before God, desperately seeking to know His will and praying for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit to convict people of their need to discover Jesus as their Saviour. But the thing is that the Bible doesn’t appear to specifically talk about revivals as we know it. Jesus instead empowers the disciples to go out into the world, powered by the Holy Spirit, and preach the good news, heal the sick, raise the dead and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt 28:19, ESV). In that context, you get the feeling that revival is meant to be the ongoing, constant work of the church.
So here are some words of wisdom on revival that I came across while researching an essay on speaking in tongues (a subject for another day), from Clarence Finsaas, a Lutheran pastor:
Revivals among Christian people usually center around the recovery of lost truths. In the Old Testament it was the recovery of the lost book, the Bible, which brought about revival under King Josiah. In Martin Luther’s time it was the recovery of that great basic truth, justification by faith. In John Wesley’s day it was the truth of sanctification. In 1900 it was the discovery of the spiritual gifts that God gave to His Church which were lying dormant. This movement was called the Pentecostal movement.”
If you’ve been to Africa, or read the stories of the Pentecostal church’s explosive growth across the continent, then it’s not hard to think of it as revival. I’m still processing the fact that when we visited Uganda’s Kampala Pentecostal Church in October they had 2,000 people in each of their four services on a Sunday. And KPC had 5 churches across the city. Of course, there are big churches in plenty of Western countries too.
But to apply all this to my own journey, discovering the reality of the person of the Holy Spirit, and his manifest power through gifts such as tongues, healing, prophecy and words of knowledge, sparked a revival in my life that led to my decision to begin theological studies at Tabor College. I’m just one guy at College, and there are plenty of other people there who have had their own faith revivals. Call it what you will – the Pentecostal revival, the Charismatic Renewal – but it’s awe inspiring to me that God has poured out his Spirit on this generation. I reckon God’s making good on his promise in Job 8:7 that the church will keep growing stronger and those who seek Him will be restored:
And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.
(Kampala Pentecostal Church in full flight…pic: Diane Clucas, Northside Community Church)
April 21, 2008 at 7:02 am
It’s really cool what the Lord is doing today, but do you really think that quote about the spiritual gifts being “dormant in the church” is true? I don’t know the context of the quote, but it’s hard to imagine that none of it was going on or happening in the history of the church. All historical reports are biased (i.e. have an agenda and choose what they leave out), so it’s very possible that it just wasn’t reported. It would be really interesting to know a bit more about that. They certainly aren’t talking about it in my current module on The History of Christianity and Civilisations (if that one comes up for you, take it – it’s so worth it, is filling in lots of gaps for me).
April 21, 2008 at 1:24 pm
It’s obviously hard to know for certain, but I suspect there is truth in the sentiment. That is, spiritual gifts were not being fully exercised. That’s different to whether or not they existed, which I believe was the case. The Holy Spirit always was, and always will be!
June 1, 2008 at 9:58 pm
[...] revival in Australia has been on my mind for something like two years, and I blogged about it in November last year on this [...]
September 2, 2008 at 2:31 am
What is sometimes called classical Pentecostalism grew out of the late 19th century Holiness Movement in the United States. The Holiness preacher Charles Fox Parham began preaching (1901) to his Topeka congregation that speaking in tongues was objective evidence of baptism in the Spirit. After the Los Angeles mission of Parham’s Apostolic Faith sect became the center of a great revival (1906) the movement quickly spread around the world. Over the next two decades the movement split along doctrinal and racial lines. Of the many Pentecostalist denominations in the United States today, characterized by belief in the experience of holiness or Christian perfection. This perfection is climaxed by an “infilling of the Holy Spirit,” as evidenced by “speaking in tongues,” ecstatic utterances frequently unintelligible to listeners.
One of the defining characteristics of protestantism is the multiplicity of sects. According to “The Christian Sourcebook” (1986 pg.326), there were “21,000 protestant denominations in 1986, with 270 new ones being formed each year.” In January, 1997, they had increased to more than 28,000. Currently, there are over 35,000 differing, dissenting, and mutually hostile protestant sects. Protestant sects preach contradicting doctrines, yet each is certain that it is the only denomination that correctly interprets the Bible, and that no one else in the last 2,000 years has found the true teaching of Jesus. There are scores of splinters in the Baptists alone, and several splinters in all of the other major Protestant sects. It is every man for himself in Bible interpretation. If it feels good for you, it must be OK. Surely, it doesn’t require a theologian to see the work of satan here, which is to divide and conquer (See Matt 12:25 for Satan’s plan, and John 10:16 for the plan of Jesus Christ).
Yet Scripture says, in Rom. 12:5, 1Cor. 10:17, 12:13, that, the Church of Christ is and must be only ONE. Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterians and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse. Moreover, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and therefore, His Church teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).
So, which is the true Church, of which it is said in Acts 2: 47, that the lord added daily, such as should be saved ?
Which is the true faith without which it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) ?
Without belonging to the true Church AND professing the true faith, there is absolutely no hope of salvation. Now, which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings (Isaias 33:14) ?
September 4, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Hey Spaxx… go easy on the judgmental attitude Sir!
I think there is a good way to re-frame your comments.
Jesus only sees His one church. We have created denominations, which each serve a purpose. I believe that when Jesus looks at the church, he only sees one body of people who are following him, despite our differences.
September 5, 2008 at 5:56 am
Jones,
you are dead wrong. It is not a judgmental attitude but the plain Truth.
Jesus established ONE Church, founded on Peter, the Rock. And He promised that the gates of hell will NOT prevail against it.
Through out Scripture, the definite article “the” is used to refer to this one, and only, true Church established by God Himself.
Now, until the 16th century, the whole of Europe professed one faith, which was Catholic. However, with the advent of the protestant rebellion, this changed. First came the Lutheran and Calvinist sects. These disintegrated into other sects, which disintegrated into other sects…and so on.
The fruits of this rebellion, are the 35,000+ protestant sects we see today, with new ones being added every year. The anglican denomination, which broke from the Catholic communion in the 16th century denomination is the latest causality, again.
Surely, we have been forewarned that by their fruits, we shall know them. How, then, is it that you fail to see the rotten fruits of the protestant rebellion?
The sects taken all together or individually are devoid of unity. Confusion, dissension, and mutual hatred are the order of the day. They differ widely in faith, and are independent of each other. Right from Luther’s time to this day, one quite often hears their leaders hurling anathemas at each other.
Each sect taken by itself has no unity; followers do not know what to believe. Some Anglicans believe, homosexuality is an abomination, while others do not, which has caused the sect to split.
The only thing these sects share in common is that they were established by mere men, and not God. The sects are human inventions because, God cannot be the author of disunity, confusion, dissent, and mutual animosity. They are only united in their common hatred of the Catholic Church.
Does this not tell you something ?
Is it not Christ himself who said that many are called but few are chosen; that many are they, that seek the narrow gate but few that find it; that not every one who says Lord, Lord, shall make it to heaven. Except He who does the will of the Father.
How, then, is it that the multitude sit back and relax, in vain presumption that they are going to heaven ?
The number of fools is, indeed, infinite.
Anyways, given the torments of Hell and length of eternity, I would immediately start seeking the true faith if I were you.