Roadmap to Revival

 

Peggy and Christine Smith were elderly shut-ins that lived on the Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland. Peggy (84) was legally blind. Christine (82) was riddled with arthritis. In 1949, the Lord began to burden them to start praying for revival. They claimed Is. 44:3 as their promise, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground.” These sisters told their pastor—Rev. John Mackay—what they were doing and encouraged him to gather as many from their church to start praying too. And so, for three nights every week for several weeks, a group of about 30 met in a barn and started praying with Peggy and Christine.

The story goes that the Holy Spirit poured out his revival flood at 4 AM one morning during a prayer meeting. God’s Spirit swept across the tiny island. A preacher, Duncan Hill, led meetings across the island and the revival lasted for almost 2 years from 1949-1951. Thousands were saved, the churches were packed, and the taverns were nearly bankrupted.[1]

Peggy and Christine Smith with Duncan Hill.

Revival began with two weak, homebound, elderly women who believed in the miracle-working power of an awesome God. If God did it then, He can surely do it again. In Psalm 85 we have a cry for revival. In fact, you might call this psalm, “A Roadmap to Revival,” because it succinctly lays out some basic attributes of how God brings about fresh wind and fresh fire to His people.  

First, we see that revival requires repentance. “2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah 3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.” Forgiveness implies that the people have confessed their sin to God and turned from it. It has been said that “repentance is God’s exit ramp off the highway to hell.” There can be no revival without repentance and the depth of our repentance will determine the extent of our revival. Before we can rejoice in the blessing of revival, we must experience the tears of repentance.  

Second, revival leads to restoration. “4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!” When true revival takes place broken people are made whole, broken relationships are reconciled, broken altars are repaired and the dwindling embers of faith are fanned into flames. Out of brokenness comes God’s breakthrough!

The story is told that before D.L. Moody became a mighty evangelist, he was known to go to the altar for prayer and confession every time the pastor gave an opportunity. Moody’s constant presence seemed to irk one churchgoer and the man asked Moody, “Why are you always going to altar? Do you just want attention?” Moody replied, “No sir. The fact is we are all leaky vessels, and we have to keep right under the fountain all the time to keep full of Christ.”[2]     

Third, revival needs to be repeated. “6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? 7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.” The psalmist asked for God to revive His people a second time, which implies that He had done this work once already. The truth is every generation needs revival, because no revival is permanent. We constantly need to be asking God to work in our people, churches and nation because hearts grow cold, churches grow complacent, and nations fall into sin. The fiery preacher Billy Sunday once said, “They tell me a revival is only temporary; so is a bath, but it does you good.”

Will you join me in begging God to do a new work in this generation?  -DM   

---

[1] Charles Simpson, Straight Answers to 21 Honest Questions about Prayer (Bloomington, IN: Chosen, 2013), 106.

[2] Erwin & Rebecca Lutzer, Life-Changing Bible Verses You Should Know (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2011), 89.

Othniel - A Type of Christ

There is a saying that goes like this, “the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.” As we study the stories of the OT, we can see glimpses of the Christ who would come in the NT. Jesus often taught His disciples that the OT ultimately pointed to Himself (Luke 24:27, John 5:39). One of the most insightful ways to study the OT is prophetically – that is, looking for the ways in which the people and events model and foreshadow Christ. The technical word for these parallels are called types. 

The book of Judges is interesting in this regard, because the heroes who deliver Israel from her oppressors are intended to model the ultimate deliverer who was to come – Jesus Christ.

The first judge that we read about is a man named Othniel. His story is told in two passages Judges 1:12-15 and 3:7-11. Othniel’s name means “Lion of God” and he was from the tribe Judah, which is fitting since the lion was this tribe’s mascot (Gen. 49:9). The Bible tells us that Othniel was related to another hero, Caleb, who one of the twelve spies sent in secretly by Joshua to spy out the Promised Land before Israel crossed over the Jordan to conquer it (Num. 13; Jud. 1:13). As a young man, Othniel made a name for himself by conquering the city of Kirjath Sepher, which came with a quite a prize. Caleb promised the hand of his daughter, Achsah, to the man who could oust the wicked Canaanites, which Othniel accomplished. Not only did Othniel get the bride, but part of her dowry included land with deep springs of water (a highly coveted commodity in the deserts of Israel).

Later in his life as a seasoned warrior, God called upon Othniel to deliver the Israelites from the oppressive hand of a Mesopotamian King named Cushan-Rishathaim. For 8 long and painful years this despot had enslaved God’s people. Even though Othniel was just one man, the Bible says that he was supernaturally anointed by the Spirit of God to drive out the enemy (Jud. 3:10). Othniel’s amazing deliverance brought about a long-lasting peace to Israel for 40 years.

When you assemble all those facts about Othniel you can begin to see a sketch of Jesus and His saving work emerge. Notice the parallels.

• Othniel, from the tribe of Judah, was “the Lion of God.” Jesus traced his lineage from the tribe of Judah and is called “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5).

• Othniel won his bride by conquering in battle. Likewise, Jesus won His Bride – the church – in a battle on the cross where He gave His life (Eph. 5:25).

• Othniel’s victory also secured valuable springs. Just so, Jesus gives to His Bride “rivers of living water” that flow from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).

• Othniel was anointed by the Holy Spirit to lead God’s people to victory. At his baptism, Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit to proclaim good news to the poor, give sight to the blind and to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:16-19).

• Othniel’s final conquest delivered Israel from a tyrant and brought about decades of peace. Likewise, we look forward to Jesus’ final conquest when He returns to earth to vanquish Satan and all evil, thus ushering 1,000 years of perfect peace and the glory of eternity (Is. 9:7).  -DM

Dealing with Doubt

 

Billy Graham said in his autobiography, Just As I Am, that the greatest turning point in his ministry came at an intellectual crossroads. At the beginning of his ministry, Graham experienced a deep pit of doubt concerning the reliability of the Bible and theological issues, which were mostly being raised by skeptics who were trying to discourage Billy.

Finally one night, young Billy he walked out into the woods and set his Bible on a stump and he cried out: “O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions others are raising.”

Then Billy recalled that the Holy Spirit moved in him as he said, “Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word!” Billy stood up and his “eyes stung with tears” but he felt the power and presence of God in a way he hadn’t in months. Later he recounted that “a major bridge had been crossed.”[1]

Of course, many of us remember how Billy Graham arose from that “dark night of the soul” to be a mighty man of God who changed the world. When God called Gideon to be the deliverer of Israel in the Judges 6, he was not exactly world-changing material. Gideon questioned why God chose him and even demanded a sign from the Lord to reassure his doubting heart.

In response, God asked Gideon to trust Him with something precious – a sacrifice of food (which was quite a request since the Midianites had just plundered Israel’s food supplies).

That’s still how God develops our faith and delivers us from doubt—He ask us to lay on the altar of sacrifice the thing we’d rather keep in our own possession. Think of it like this—you cannot develop faith, unless there’s also the possibility of doubt. If God removed all doubt from the process, then there would be no room for faith. If you want to grow in faith, then eventually you have doubt your doubts and say, “God I trust you.”  

Friends, some of you are like Gideon today. You’ve heard God’s calling. But you are doubtful of yourself and if God will provide. Gideon didn’t get the confirmation that he was looking for until he took a small step of obedience. God still works the same way. If you are waiting on God to give you all you need and answer all your questions before you obey, you’ll never get there. Faith is taking a step towards God, believing that He will come the rest of the way and meet you.

-DM

---

[1] Billy Graham, Just As I Am (New York: Harper Collins, 1997), 163-164.

"I Used to Beat Him"

 

In Todd Nettleton’s book on the persecuted church, When Faith is Forbidden, he writes about visiting some ministry partners in Ethiopia. One of his friends, Pastor Haji, serves in a dangerous area of the country where militant Islam often attacks his home and family. Pastor Haji showed Todd the charred scars on his home where a mob of angry Muslims tried to burn down his house. Then Pastor Haji invited Todd to take a short trip down the road to meet an evangelist friend, whom we will refer to as “Graham.” Turns out, Evangelist Graham was the man who led Pastor Haji to faith in Christ. According to Todd, here’s what happened next:

“As we stood outside the hut, Pastor Haji had his arm around Evangelist Graham. Nodding his head toward his friend, Pastor Haji spoke five words I will never forget. “I used to beat him.” What? “I used to beat him.” Pastor Haji went on to explain that as a young man he was the leader of a group of radical Islamic soldiers and part of their holy duty to Allah was to harass and attack Christians. One of those they attacked was Evangelist Graham, the man now smiling with Pastor Haji’s arm draped loosely across his shoulder. In spite of the beatings, Evangelist Graham refused to retaliate. Instead, he showed Haji love, mercy and prayed for conversion. It made no sense to Haji and eventually he was won to the Lord by Evangelist Graham. Islamic friends were not happy with Haji’s decision. In fact, he spent a year in jail for his new profession of faith. He fell victim to the same violent tactics he had once used against Christians. But, that’s the power of the Gospel and an example of how no one is beyond the reach of God’s amazing grace.”[1]

Wow! What an incredible story and a timely reminder of what Paul wrote in Romans 12: “19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  

Interestingly, the Paul who wrote those words was also converted to Christ in much the same way as Pastor Haji. On the Damascus Road, Paul met the very Jesus he was persecuting, and his life took another trajectory (Acts 9).   

Every act of grace and mercy done in the face of evil provides the opportunity for something that cannot be achieved through “getting even”— namely, reconciliation, redemption, transformation. This is what Jesus did on the cross. He absorbed the evil, sin and hatred of mankind and transformed it into redemption for you and me. Love doesn't defeat evil through the exercise of power. Love defeats evil by absorbing its harm and transforming it into good.  

Just imagine - The apostle Paul entered heaven to the cheers of those he martyred, because that's how the Gospel works. I wonder how many times that same scene has replayed in heaven? May the Lord give us that same supernatural ability to love our enemies. -DM

---

[1] Todd Nettleton, When Faith is Forbidden (Chicago, IL: Moody, 2021), 24-26.

The Storm That Saved Washington

 

The War of 1812 has been called by historians, “America’s Second Fight for Independence.” America had only been a nation for 29 years when the British invaded again. During the conflict, the U.S. forces suffered many costly defeats, including the capture and burning of the nation’s capital, Washington D.C.

On August 24, 1814, a 4,000-member British army led by General Robert Ross marched into DC. Most of the city’s 8,000 residents had already evacuated, including First Lady Dolly Madison, who managed to salvage the Declaration of Independence and Gilbert Stuart’s full-length portrait of President George Washington.

As Mrs. Madison fled the city, the weather began behaving oddly. Suddenly, a hurricane swept in from nowhere, triggering a tornado in the middle of town that headed straight down Constitution Avenue toward the British attackers.

Firsthand survivors of the storm reported that roofs were town off houses and carried up into the air like sheets of paper. For two hours, non-stop rain fell in a deluge as if the clouds were dumping buckets of water. Powerful gusts of wind knocked over two British cannons and 30 Redcoats were trapped in the rubble when their shelter collapsed.

Yet had it not been for this freak storm, it is likely that all of DC would have been burned to a crisp. In fact, the perfectly timed hurricane spared the White House from being completely destroyed. With their scorched-earth policy foiled, the British retreated as quickly as they came. In fact, one British Admiral, George Cockburn, reportedly snarled at a local woman, saying, “Great God, Madam! Is this the kind of storm to which you are accustomed in this infernal country?” She replied, “No sir, this is a special interposition of Providence to drive our enemies from our capital.”

In recent articles about the event, The Smithsonian Magazine called it, “The Tornado That Saved Washington.” In the aftermath of the storm, many British and Americans thought the storm was sent by the hand of God. After the war, President James Madison called America to thanksgiving and prayer declaring, “No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events, and of the Destiny of Nations, than the people of the United States.” Madison then quoted from the Bible, specifically James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”[1]

Madison was reminding the American people that “we the people” cannot take credit for the blessings both apparent and in disguise that come from Almighty God. Indeed, He sends the sunshine and the storm. As we near another 4^th of July and reflect upon the God’s goodness towards this nation we ought to be humbled. Were it not for Him, time and time again, we would not be here. Moreover, if indeed God did send that storm in 1814 to rebuff the British as many believed, then what could He do if He decided to send judgment upon a people that has hardened their hearts towards Him and legislated evil? This wayward nation ought to fear God and cast ourselves on His mercy because the next storm may be the one that takes us to our knees. For if we ever forget that “we are one nation under God then we will be a nation gone under.”  -DM  

---

[1] Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses That Made America (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2020), 152-155.