NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

Last week’s column was about the massive revivals that happened in the cataclysmic twentieth century, and was intended as a reminder that catastrophic judgment does not preclude great mercies from God. That’s the hope for this century – the only hope!
Whilst I was writing it I had also wanted to write about one of the greatest revivals in the USA and the background to that – it takes us back a century to the nineteenth century and shows us that the twentieth century experience was not really new. There was no room, however, so this week I offer what is to me that very fascinating story (very briefly!)
In 1857 a city missionary in down town New York opened his church daily for businessmen and mechanics to meet for prayer. He was prompted to do this by a revival in Canada. Within six months 10,000 business men were gathering daily for prayer. Many other churches were by then involved. Within two years a million converts were added to the American churches. The fire had spread. No part of the nation remained untouched by fervent prayer, and every part experienced some ingathering of converts. It was a massive “prayer revival”. It soon spread to the United Kingdom and produced similar results – a revival as extensive and lasting as the Evangelical revival of Wesley’s time (the 18thC).
What was particularly fascinating for me was the appalling context of this revival. The early 1850s was a time of general disillusionment with religion after some wild apocalyptic preaching. It was a time when America had begun to get rich and self sufficient but it was also a time when a great panic swept away the giddy structure of speculative investment. Banks failed, railroads went into bankruptcy and vast numbers were thrown out of employment. The collapse was protracted through the 50s. By the late 50s there was hunger and despair. There’s nothing new about our generation!
After the revival the context was even worse – the nation descended to Civil War. This broke out in 1861 and lasted until 1865. The American Civil War has been described as the “bloodiest conflict in American history”. Three million men were involved and more than 21% lost their lives – a much higher proportion than in any of the armies of the First World War . More died of disease than battle. The devastation and destruction was enormous, not to mention the bitter racial legacy it left. Yet even that conflict was a scene of rich mercy – some 100,000 Confederate soldiers were converted during the war.
So once more, it’s the story of catastrophic judgement intermingled with the grace of God. It’s a great encouragement to us to use Habakkuk’s prayer, “Lord, in wrath remember mercy”.
You can read a great deal more about this in J.Edwin Orr’s book, “The Fervent Prayer”.

Bob

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MOMENTOUS CENTURY

I have found some very refreshing reading over the last two or three weeks: I’ve been re-visiting some revival themes that I was deeply immersed in for many years but which had gone somewhat on the back burner when the issue of judgement arose. One can never call judgement refreshing, but revival certainly is! One theme in particular came into focus: judgements do not stop or prevent revivals happening. That was very refreshing.
I was looking at the extraordinary number of revivals that had taken place in the twentieth century. Many were small, but some of them were large, very large, like huge stars in a galaxy. The peak points seem to have been the great South American revivals of the 1940s through to the 80s and 90s which brought some 100,000,000 million converts, and the revival in China which still continues and has brought something approaching the same number into the Kingdom. Elsewhere in the revival galaxy are the Welsh Revival, the East African Revival, the Nepalese Revival and a host of others. Just looking at those revival lights is a great tonic, and to see such remarkable outbursts of them such as the twentieth century gave us is very exhilarating.
However, I then put this revival survey into the context of “more normal” history. That context was one of sheer cataclysm (as so many secular historians bear witness). Before the century had reached its halfway mark two world wars had killed well over 100,000,000. More were killed by a 'flu pandemic that had died in the first of those wars. Three massive totalitarian regimes, Nazi Fascism, Russian Communism and Chinese Communism spread an ugly and murderous backcloth to the whole century. They caused untold oppression, distress and death. There were a great many smaller (but still very grievous) tyrannies in many countries. The latter half of the century also saw the world-wide AIDS epidemic spreading its devastation. All this formed the “dark matter” of the galaxy.
If one had known in 1900 what the century would bring in terms of cataclysm one might have been forgiven for thinking that there was little chance for the success of the gospel. But there were many who at that starting point viewed the future with a prophetic eye on the promises of scripture and knew the gospel would triumph. Their descendants at the end of the century might well have looked back to 1900 and said of the century with profound awe, “The light shined in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it”.
It was that thought that really refreshed me. I think it’s the thought we need to take into the coming century and with which to face its cataclysms.

Bob


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WHAT DO WE DO THEN? - cont.

I said at the end of last week’s column that I probably ought to continue the theme of “what shall we do then?” in the face of a severe word of coming judgement. I’ve decided I will.
Last week’s thrust was that we respond to a word of judgement by sharpening up our own standards of godliness and righteousness; we don’t just sit back to judge others. We really have to get our own lives sorted out. This week’s thrust is that we respond by doing all we can to witness to the gospel of the love and grace of God. You may not be able to stop an earthquake, but you certainly can do much to alleviate the effect on people (both before and after). Judgment time is a time to get out and speak out
The prophets were people who were sent out into the midst of a decadent Jewish society with a message about better things. They were sent out with a message about a lifestyle that would bring real peace and real prosperity. They were sent out to plead, to warn, to beseech and to reason with a wayward generation that had completely lost its bearings. And they were to do it day in and day out.
Moreover, they were sent out not with a spirit of condemnation but with a spirit that expressed the deep yearning of a God who in his love was longing for people to respond to him and who was eager to bring them forgiveness. Jeremiah was deeply aware of the “tears” that God was shedding over the nation he had to judge. So was Hosea. They knew how much God loved people, and that he really wanted to save people not judge them. They knew he was “slow to anger and swift to bless”.
They also knew, however, that God’s word about judgement and “wrath” was not idle talk. It was not an issue for discussion. It was a fearful reality. Thus, if the reality of the love of God gave them great compassion, it is also true that the reality of the justice and judgement of God gave them a sharp reminder of the desperate need to speak out. The prophets held love and judgement together in tension. Operating together they provided the highest motivation.
It's important to see that the two responses, sharpening up our own lives and giving ourselves in witness, are intimately related. There is probably no greater witness in our generation than “living the life” to which we want to testify. What we are always speaks volumes – if we do not embody the message our words are of no consequence.

Bob

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