The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Great Awakening

I am going to ask a question and while it isn't some deep theological thought it is on my heart.<br><br>I thought when I joined the PCA (formerly a sovereign grace Baptist) that this might be where there would be a revival.<br>I am sad at what I see, both on the PCA news articles, and much of the preaching and church related activities.<br><br>I have prayed for revival and have a desire to see people converted, much more than going to a dinner party, or going to a "bar" to see an elder from a large PCA church perform. I in no way want to judge motives, but is there hope for another Great Awakening and what can be done, other than pray, that would cause the Spirit to sweep through this land as it did during the life of Jonathan Edwards? or are we just in another time in history. My pastor said there would never be another preacher like Spurgeon and the other Puritans, that they had a special calling, but that confuses me as we still have the same God of those great preachers!<br><br>Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I, too, have been praying for revival and have wondered if God, in His infinite mercy, might take the circumstances in the world today (for He Himself has ordained the circumstances and the times in which we live) and through it, bring about another Great Awakening. There is nothing any man can do to bring about revival. God, Himself, sends revival and He uses the preaching of men He has gifted as the means, but not the cause of revival. Anything that we might "do" to bring about revival would merely be revivalism, and not a true move of God.<br><br>I agree with you, too, that God can and may indeed raise up men of His own choosing to minister with the strength of the Puritans to this generation.<br><br>

It goes without saying that we can do nothing to bring revival, and it is the true revival that brings true repentance and holiness toward God that I speak of. Yet it is by the foolishness of preaching that God has ordained that could bring revival. <br><br><br><br><br><br>

What an interesting topic!<br>I must say, that I pray every day for Christ to return, and to return soon! That being said, I also pray for everybody I know who is unconverted. <br>It seems to me that too many people view this as a false dichotomy. SOME (please let us not get into an argument over eschatology here!) Postmillenialists pray only for large numbers to be converted, and never pray for Christ's return. SOME Dispensational Premillenialists pray only for Christ to return and the rapture, and some even say that we should NOT evangelize, so as to QUICKEN the return of Christ (as if we can influence God's plan!!).<br>As an Amillenialist, I believe that when Christ returns, there will not be huge numbers of people that are Christianized. That being said, I also believe that it is our responsibility to share the gospel with every man, woman, and child possible! And if God calls great men to convert the people who are to be His in the form of a revival, then praise God!<br>Steve

Linda,

You asked what can one do to bring about revival, besides prayer. Well, first of all, prayer isn't inefficacious! But as you well know, it isn't as many think, i.e., a prybar to get God to do what the individual thinks is right, good, best, etc.

But, IMHO, you are not going to see revival before there is "Reformation"! It is through the pure preaching of the Gospel that the Spirit calls sinners to repentance and faith in the Lord Christ. Unless right doctrine is embraced, preached and taught in the churches, revival simply isn't going to come. Thus, it may be that those who labor in the Word as ordained to office should be the focus of both prayer and dialog. The old saying is that a congregation can never rise to a point any higher than the man who leads them has some merit to it. When men of God boldly proclaim the truths of the Scriptures, those who have been given ears to hear will perceive the call of their Saviour and come most assuredly. When the call is obscured, then so is the hearing. It is not that "right doctrine" equals salvation; no, no. But it is THROUGH right doctrine that God is made known, sins are exposed, etc. As the apostle Paul exclaimed,

Romans 1:16-17 (ASV) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith."

In His Grace,

Oh, I'm sorry. I must've misunderstood. I thought that was what you were asking, "what can we do besides praying. . ."

Well, I may not fully agree with your pastor concerning Spurgeon and the Puritans that came before him.

One, in every era, God raises up great men that expound the truth of God for that age. Look at many of today's pastors, writers, et. al. God accomplished what He set out to accomplish in the age of the Puritans and He will accomplish that which He has set out for in this era. May I add, it is not only the men, but women, as well, that He raises up "in different capacities" to honor and bring glory to Him. Many times this is often overlooked.

I, as many others here enjoy reading the Puritans, but they were not without their faults, and thus, for this and many other reasons, we must not idolize them, but Christ alone. God has His present day Puritans doing His will, His way. He is constantly preparing His people in "the" way He can communicate to them. "In the fullness of time" God does as He wills with whom He wills.

In every "true" revival I have read about they were preceded by the prayers of God's saints and reformation in His church. But note, it is God's holiness and sovereignty driving us to our knees and not our prayers driving God to do a work. Thus, keep praying, for it is Christ that worketh in you. Don't pray for the return of the Age of the Puritans, but pray for something much greater. Pray for the Age of the Full-Truth of the Gospel to be "preached" and "lived out" to God's glory alone.

Behold, He cometh quickly.

Amen!

Greetings Linda,

Let us not forget what is, IMHO, one of the greatest assets to church's future potential for Gospel victory, which is the faithful nurturing of her covenant children. I believe the 20th century evangelical church placed far too much energy in church growth programs while neglecting the emphasis of biblical education and an integrated Christian life and worldview. I, for one, am excited and optimistic with the explosion of Christian homeschooling and other opportunities for parents to be better equipped for training their children. Besides that, there are positive things happening in different areas. Thirty years ago, our church was the only Reformed witness in NH, and one of just a few that were preaching the Gospel. Today there are about a dozen Reformed churches in NH. Though none of them being real big, the momentum is still very positive. If the Lord shall bless the faithful nurturing of our covenant seed, as it seems He is doing, then I believe we have reason for optimism without sensational revivals. This is not to say I would not welcome a powerful conversion of those who are "outside", but as Pilgrim noted earlier, I believe the church must itself reform before such blessing can be expected.

As a side note, and this may not be a very popular statement here, I would not look back with too much longing to have another "Great Awakening." Though there was certainly good that happened there, at the same time there is compelling evidence to believe that an apparent short-lived excitement became a long-term drought after producing many false-converts (read, for instance, "The Great Revival of Religion, 1740-1745" by Charles Hodge). I believe that is a real danger, though not a necessary one, of harboring revivalistic longings. I would lean towards having a patient faithfulness in the means that God has given us, with our greatest attention as individuals towards growing in sanctification in every area of life into which our vocation brings us as parents, employees, employers, teachers, etc. If we concentrate on faithfulness to live exemplary holy lives in our ordinary vocations, diligently studying God's Word so that we may always have an answer to unbelievers, and promoting and supporting the Reformed churches who faithfully preach the Gospel, and pray for the Lord's blessing on all of this, then we can have a measure of satisfaction that we are faithful servants who can rest on the Lord and His timing for any increase He would be pleased to yield.

My $.02

Sincerely in Christ,

Jason

Jason

I appreciate your comments on the covenant children. As a mother of 6 and who homeschooled for 17 years during the time when there were no laws except against homeschooling(my oldest daughter who graduated from homeschooling will be 30 next month). WE had to leave Florida because of the harassment, and were very instumental in establishing what is now very liberal homeschooling laws in the state of Tennessee.

And of course, there is no time in history that is without it's problems, hence we look for heaven!

I will say that I don't apologize for asking for the old paths and for men to stand in the gap. While an extremely strong Calvinist I also don't look for "sensational revivals"which by the way would be very empty indeed.

However, as in anything even the Reformed movement is not without it problems.

And yes while we live holy lives I still long for the days of the preaching of the gospel by such men as Edwards,Spurgeon, Whitfield, Bunyan, Luther, and Paul.

Thanks for the $.02

I also don't agree with the thought that God will never raise up men like those of past times. I didn't mean the Age of the Puritans is needed, but men/women like those of that day.

I am saved and santified by the same Saviour, but don't hardly compare myself to them. They knew God in a way I pray I can.

And while I have a deep respect for them just as I do any one who loves the Lord and seeks to know Him more, I don't idolize anyone, as we are ALL in need of Him.

Hi Linda,

Just so you know, my comments were in no way intended to compel you to feel the need to apologize for the question. I appreciate your fondness for the great preachers from the past and share it with you.

On another note, I would sincerely like to express to you my wholehearted thankfulness for fighting the battles to defend our right to educate our children. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for the strength and perseverance of many parents such as yourself who risked so much and fought against an educational establishment that is zealous to protect its influence ... not to mention the battles with suppliers themselves who would not even give homeschoolers the time of day. It is unbelievable to see the resources and growth in this rediscovered blessing. Whenever I come across someone such as yourself who fought at the front lines, I feel compelled to salute their labors from which I get to enjoy the fruit. Thank you!

Sincerely in Christ,

Jason

Jason

Thanks for your kind thoughts. I was in no way apologizing just clarifying.

I have been a fan of the puritans for 30 years now and feel as though they are part of the familY(Oh, they are!)

AS to home schooling, it was a battle and by God's grace I am able to see the fruit of not only my labor with my own children, but I have been asked to speak to the homeschooling group her in Tennessee and find it an honor to even stand before these "brave-hearts". It reminds me of the battle we are waging today....we may not always understand it, but the priniciples keep driving us forward.

Thanks again Jason for your kind words. I have been asked to write home school material so please pray that if this is God's will I would heed the call.

In Him,
Linda

During the Mission Trip to LA my life and approach to Evangelism was changed dramatically. I once went to a church in New Mexico that "held" a revival it was very discouraging because it just ended up costing a lot of money and didn't really seem to achieve much. The reason for the Great Awakening is because JE and his contemporaries preached Sin and Righteousness. I used to be afraid of preaching a solid S&R Gospel but as Psalm 19:7 states, "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul." This is not just true of unbelievers but also Christians like myself. Jonathon Edwards preached S&R. Sermons like "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and "God's Justificatin in the Damnation of Sinners" were a huge cause of the revival. Notwithstanding the will and of God and the work of the Holy Spirit (Ist Peter 1:2) A great web site is www.jonathanedwards.com for the brother's sermons. I think that Christians today desire the percs of Revival without the demands of obedience in our lives. God's sovereign grace will accomplish His Will but Christians are more concerned with courting the world with advertising and coffee shops in the narthex as substitutes for the actually Gospel. You know the "Come unto Jesus because He's Hip" method. Oh yeah Edwards was also a Calvinist. God bless.

Aaron,

I am certain I didn't make myself clear about "revival". When speaking of revival I don't really ocnsider most of these emotional meetings as revivals. I was in fact talking about the true revival that burns in a man's heart for his first love. Which as you know Jonathan Edwards(one fo my favorites of all preachers) was a mighty contributor of.


It is the things you saw on your mission trip that lead men to false assurance. And you are so right that most of the "christian" world today is trying very hard to be not only in the world but of it also!