WHEN
GOD STEPPED DOWN FROM HEAVEN
By Rev. Owen Murphy
THIS IS REVIVAL!
When men in the streets are afraid
to open their mouths and utter godless words lest the
judgments of God should fall; when sinners, overawed by
the Presence of God tremble in the streets and cry for
mercy; when, without special meetings and sensational
advertising, the Holy Ghost sweeps across cities and towns
in Supernatural Power and holds men in the grip of terrifying
Conviction; when "every shop becomes a pulpit, every
heart an altar, every home a sanctuary" and people
walk softly before God—This is Revival!
Today the word Revival has largely
lost its real meaning. Our present generation, never having
witnessed the mighty movings of God in nation-wide spiritual
awakening such as has taken place in past generations,
has little conception of the magnitude of such a "visitation."
REVIVAL is confused with
EVANGELISM!
Heaven-sent revival is not religious
entertainment where crowds gather to hear outstanding
preachers and musical programs; neither is it the result
of sensational advertising—in a God-sent revival
you don't spend money on advertising; people come because
Revival is there! Revival is an "awareness of God"
that grips the whole community, and the roadside, the
tavern, as well as the church, becomes the place where
men find Christ. Here is the vast difference between our
modern evangelistic campaigns and true revival. In the
former, hundreds may be brought to a knowledge of Christ,
and churches experience seasons of blessings but as far
as the community is concerned little impact is made; the
taverns, dance halls, and movies are still crowded, and
godlessness marches on. In revival, the Spirit of God
like a cleansing flame sweeps through the community. Divine
conviction grips people everywhere; the strongholds of
the devil tremble and many close their doors, while multitudes
turn to Christ!
THE AMERICAN REVIVAL OF
1857
The mighty "visitation"
of those days, from which has flowed almost a century
of spiritual blessing, represents a challenge even today.
Like a spiritual tornado, the Spirit of God swept through
the land, and New England became the center of the great
awakening, resulting in great numbers finding Salvation.
In some towns it was reported as being "almost impossible,
to find anyone who had not been converted." Like
a great spiritual epidemic, tremendous Conviction of Sin
swept through the land, and thousands turned to Christ.
Drunkards, as they stood at the saloon bars, gamblers
as they sat at the card tables, congregations as they
sat in churches, even passengers on board incoming liners
came under the influence of this strange and wonderful
moving of God and, kneeling in repentance, found pardon.
In many places, dance halls, theaters,
and gambling dens were closed or emptied: new churches
began to spring up everywhere; family altars were restored,
and the spirit of prayer grew in intensity until anyone
could cross the land and find a "mid-day" prayer
meeting in almost any town! It was estimated, that as
many as 50,000 decisions were made in a week, when this
gracious visitation was at its height! Following in its
wake came mighty preachers of the Word of God. Including
D.L. Moody, under whose ministry multitudes were called
to repentance; and pioneer missionaries who have taken
the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.
THE WELSH REVIVAL OF 1904
The year, 1904, stands out in the
history of Wales, as a year that will never be forgotten,
and those who were privileged to live in those days still
speak of its heaven-sent scenes with the greatest awe!
Like a mighty tornado, the Spirit
of God swept across the land until mountains and valleys,
cities and villages were filled with the mighty manifestations
of God. Churches were crowded and meetings went on day
and night. Prayer, singing and testimony would sweep over
congregations in torrents, and hundreds turned to Christ.
Never in the history of Wales had such indescribable scenes
been witnessed.
Dr. Campbell Morgan, preaching
on this great revival, in the Westminster Chapel in 1904
declared:
"Here Is REVIVAL that comes
from heaven; There is no PREACHING, no ORDER, no HYMNBOOKS,
no CHOIRS, no ORGANS, no COLLECTI0NS, and finally no ADVERTISING!
Now think of THAT for a moment! There were organs, but
they were silent; there were ministers but no preaching
- they were among the people praising God! Yet the Welsh
Revival is a "revival of preaching" for EVERYBODY
is preaching! No order, yet it moves from day to day,
county to county, with matchless precision, with the order
of an attacking force. No songbooks, but ah, me, I nearly
wept tonight over the singing! When the Welsh sing they
abandon themselves to their singing. We sing as if we
thought It wouldn't be respectable to be heard by the
one next to us! No choir, did I say? It was all choir!"
Today the Sunday School, the Bible
Class, the Family Altar are reaping their harvest. Wales
is ablaze for God, already 50,000 converts have been recorded
and the great awakening shows no sign of waning. It's
sweeping over hundreds of hamlets and cities, emptying
saloons, theatres and dance halls, and filling the churches
night after night with praying multitudes. Go where you
will, into the bank, the store, the trains and everywhere
men are talking about God. If you could stand above Wales,
looking at it, you would see the fire breaking out here,
and there, and yonder, and somewhere else, without any
pre-arrangement. It is a Divine visitation in which God
- let me say this reverently - in which God is saying
to us: "See what I can do without the things you
are depending on. See what I can do through a praying
people who are prepared to depend wholly and absolutely
upon me!"
Like a tree shaken by a mighty
storm, Wales was moved by the Power of God until almost
every home in the nation felt its impact. Newspapers,
in bold headlines carried the news of the amazing scenes
taking place. So great was the fear of God, and conviction
of sin that gripped the people, that in some communities
crime disappeared—magistrates were presented with
a blank paper, no cases to be tried. And to commemorate
the occasion, they were presented with white gloves! In
more than one place, the post office's supply of money
order blanks were exhausted as people sought to make restitution
by paying their debts! Saloons and theaters were closed
while stores were sold out of Bibles and Testaments. Members
of Parliament, busy attending Revival services, postponed
their political meetings. Theatrical companies coming
into districts found no audiences for "all the world
was praying!" Temperance workers saw the Spirit of
God accomplish more in 3 months than they had accomplished
in forty years!
Such, then is Revival, a mighty,
sovereign "moving of God" in answer to the cries
of men and women who have gone down upon their knees to
travail before God. A visitation of God, through His Spirit,
that pours tormenting CONVICTION OF SIN upon the ungodly,
wherever they may be, until multitudes have turned to
Christ. A demonstration of God that closes the dens of
iniquity, transforms the lives and homes of multitudes,
fills the churches, and causes the influence of spiritual
values to be felt throughout a whole nation. A genuine
"moving of God" that lays a spiritual foundation
for the blessing of God in future generations.
THIS IS REVIVAL
With the ashes of past revivals before us - for
those scenes today are only history - we may ask the question:
CAN THOSE SCENES BE REPEATED? CAN GOD SEND A SIMILAR REVIVAL
IN OUR DAY? The writer is convinced that God can do more
than that. God is wanting to do it. In every age, the
revival resources of God have been waiting to be "turned
loose" when God could find men who could stand before
Him in holiness, prayer, and faith and make it possible,
and to those who travel the highways of the world, there
are obvious and encouraging signs that God is again "preparing
the way" for a new spiritual awakening.
HEBRIDES which although just the
size of a "man's hand," is not only one of the
most stirring events of our day, but under the blessing
of God is challenging men and women everywhere to "stand
in the gap" for revival in our day.
The spiritual awakening of the
Hebrides, between 1949 and '52 has stirred the hearts
of God's people, not because of its size, but because
of its quality, and challenge for TODAY! In spite of the
scattered nature of the country and difficulty of transport,
the rugged and unemotional nature of the people and limited
population, the fact that hundreds have turned to Christ
in life-changing conversion, accompanied by such God-given
scenes, inspires us with new FAITH for a far greater awakening
in our own land. Just as the tidings of the great awakening
of America in 1857, swept across the ocean and brought
REVIVAL to Ireland in 1859, so it may be, In the purposes
of God, that attention has been focused upon that which
God wrought In the Hebrides, that its CHALLENGE OF INTERCESSION
may cause a flame of REVIVAL to be kindled IN AMERICA,
that will cause the whole land to be swept with a mighty
Holy Ghost revival. |
