By Staff
Revival is the undeniable presence of the Lord – a time when even the secular press admits that certain events have no natural or plausible explanation. These events might include public confession and restitution for sin that had not been exposed in any way other than the overwhelming conviction of God's Spirit on individual hearts.
Revival must include a move toward holiness.
In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, the nation of Israel was in a state of confusion. Eli had been the priest, the spiritual leader of the people. Eli's sons were priests also, but they were scoundrels. They held the position of priest, but used the office to indulge their selfish desires (1 Samuel 2:12, 17, 22).
God brought judgment on Israel by allowing the Philistines to gain power and control. The Philistines defeated Israel in battle, killed the sons of Eli, and captured the ark of God (1 Samuel 4:10-11).
When Eli heard of the defeat, he fell and died. His daughter-in-law died while giving birth to her son, whom she named Ichabod. Her dying words were, "The glory has departed from Israel" (1 Samuel 4:22).
Samuel was now priest and was a man of God.
The ark was returned to Israel because God plagued the Philistines as long as they kept it (1 Samuel 5:7). The ark came back to Israel and was stored at the house of Abinadab for twenty years (1 Samuel 7:1-2). During this time, according to 1 Samuel 7:2, "all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD" (NIV).
The people of Israel were aware of their lack. That is the first step to revival. They mourned and sought after God. The history of God's mighty working was well known to Israel and to the entire world. Even the Philistines, who were godless pagans, knew of the Living God of Heaven (1 Samuel 4:7-8). The people of Israel knew that whatever they had, it was not blessed by God's undeniable presence.
Samuel stated what should have been obvious, even to the novice God-seeker, in 1 Samuel 7:3: "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines" (NIV).
Duplicity of heart can be the greatest hindrance to revival. The people of Israel had a heart for God, but they were dragging along all the baggage of idol worship.
Idol worship is substituting something for the reality of God and His power to provide and protect.
The people of Israel believed in God, but they had their "just in case" idols too. Idol worship, or reliance on something or someone other than God, did not stop with these people.
We may not have gold or silver figurines, but we have our confidence in systems, plans, and people other than God. If we are going to seek after God, and find Him, we must do it with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13).
Israel obeyed. 1 Samuel 7:4 declares that "the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths and served the LORD only." The process continued in 1 Samuel 7:5: "Samuel said, 'Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.'" This revival continued as the people gathered, fasted, and confessed "we have sinned against the LORD" (1 Samuel 7:6).
In the previous passage, the recipe for revival is a heartbroken search for God, attended by a putting away of false trusts and misplaced allegiances called idol worship, followed by a sacred assembly and open confession of sin.
The Philistines were still around and chose to attack Israel once again and press their advantage (1 Samuel 7:7). Israel responded to this threat correctly.
They asked Samuel to cry out to God for them (1 Samuel 7:8). God responded by routing the Philistines with very loud thunder (1 Samuel 7:10). Israel had victory that day because they had aligned themselves with God, put away idol worship, and relied totally on the Living God of Heaven (1 Samuel 7:13).
We may not have Philistines at our doorstep, but we have things that plague us. The recipe is the same for us today: seek God, demonstrate total trust in Him by putting away false trusts, and cry out to Him.