A spirit of revival is in the air. News keeps coming to us from far and near, telling of the presence of the Spirit of God in the midst of His people. "This has been the best camp meeting we have ever had," is an oft-repeated phrase in recent conversations and correspondence. It is the same story in conference after conference.
Not a few fields are gathering their workers together for special study and prayer, and to lay plans for the conducting of revivals throughout the churches. These "retreats" are proving to be wonderful opportunities for spiritual uplift, and we know these seasons are the forerunners of great blessing in coming days. Never before have we witnessed such whole hearted response to a call for revival and evangelism. All seem eager to translate resolutions into reality. What we did at the recent General Conference session is already bearing rich fruitage.
As we enter into this worldwide revival program we can be assured of real results. But a revival, like anything else, must be organized. Far-reaching plans must be laid. Some suggestions on the preparation and organization for revivals will appear in future issues of THE MINISTRY. But a real revival is much more than a plan. It requires more than technique to bring the blessing of God. Charles G. Finney, the great revivalist of a century ago, stated it well when he said, "Revivals are not worked up; they are prayed down."
There is no guarantee that because a certain plan worked well in one place, the same results would follow if it were duplicated somewhere else. We have all realized that even a sermon that awakens deep contrition and brings real refreshing in one church does not produce the same results in another. How delicate is the mechanism of the spiritual realm! It cannot be operated as by clockwork. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and only as we listen to the sound thereof can we know the guidance of God and the presence of divine power. I say again that real revivals rest on something more than a mere plan, no matter how commendable that plan may be. We rejoice in the wide plans that are being laid, but the revival will not come merely because of the plan.
Of all men, a revivalist preacher needs an ear ready to hear what the Spirit would say unto the churches. It is one thing to deliver an interesting address on some subject of our choosing, in which an array of facts is brought to the congregation, and brought to them in such a way as to prove both gripping and convincing; but it is an altogether different thing to bring that same congregation face to face with God so that from the depths of their souls men and women cry out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Well-balanced sentences grammatically constructed, the well-timed story, and the effective pause may all become parts of a perfect homily, but something vastly more important goes into the making of the sermon that brings with it the challenge of true godliness.
Revival preaching is directed not to the head but to the heart. In leading men to feel their need of God, one must preach as a dying man to dying men. He must speak from a heart aflame, the love of Jesus shining through his countenance. Sensing his responsibility as an ambassador for Christ is what gives a preacher authority. The testimony concerning the Master was: "He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Only as one speaks with divine authority can he bring men to God. But such authority comes only from firsthand dealing- with God. To speak as heaven's messenger, one must know God.
An ambassador does more than talk about his country; he speaks for his country. And in the same way the ambassador for Christ speaks for Him. It is that sense of divine compulsion that gives one authority. "I conferred not with flesh and blood," declared the apostle. His credentials came not from a group of men but from Heaven. Though the brethren laid their hands upon him, separating him unto the gospel, yet even that service was only after the Spirit had said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." He was indeed a God-called messenger. Yes, the apostle received his credentials from Heaven, and every worth-while minister, from Paul to the present day, has received his authority from the same place.
A revivalist must have something of the spirit Elijah had when he strode into the presence of Ahab and Jezebel crying, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand." Sensing that he stands in the presence of the living God gives him power; he must be confident of his calling. There must be a ring of certainty in his message. Only as he stands on solid rock can he lift his fellow men onto higher ground.
A revival is in many ways a revolution, but revolutions are never brought about by timid, fearful men. Our approaches must be sympathetic, but they must also be positive and di rect. As Heaven's messengers, we stand before condemned men and women, but we hold in our hand a pardon. The preacher must get men to see that pardon, feel their need of it, and accept it before they leave the meeting. There must be a sense of urgency in his attitude. We often speak about the coming doom of the world, but do we stress the fact as we should that the only escape is by our accepting of the pardon.
Then, too, revival preaching must always be simple and clear. Long, involved reasoning will not bring results. Not big sermons but simple appeals, full of pathos and saturated with the Word of God, are what bring results. The Word of God is the hammer that breaks the rock, and this is a reassuring promise, "My word . . . shall not return unto me void." All sound and lasting revivals are built on the Word.
Be sure to illustrate your message—make it live. Jesus talked in pictures, not in philosophical reasonings. He made truth realistic; it walked about. Men not only heard what He said, but saw it. We are told, "Through the imagination He reached the heart."—The De sire of Ages, p. 254. Only as men's hearts are reached will there be decisions, and hearts are reached through the imagination. When men are led to see the heinousness of sin, the certainty of punishment, the weight of condemnation, then it is easy to point them to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
Revival preaching always leads men to the Saviour. Preach out of your own experience. If we truly love our Lord and are consciously experiencing the joy of salvation, it will be the most natural thing to talk of Him who has done so much for us.
Two boats were approaching on the Mississippi. As they came nearer, a colored workman cried out with joy, "There he is! There he is!"
"There is who?" asked a passenger.
"The captain!" was the reply. "Don't you see him?
And then came the story. "A few years ago I fell overboard and would have drowned, but that captain jumped in and rescued me. And ever since then I just love to point him out."
Do you love to point men to the Captain of your salvation? As in humble faith we tell the story of His saving grace, we shall lead men to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. That is simple, but simplicity and sincerity are the foundation pillars of real revival preaching.
