SOVEREIGN GRACE LIFE

Revived ~ Renewed ~ Restored ~ Reformed

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NOTE: Although I’ll be using articles from various authors, it does not mean I agree totally with what they write. But after reading them, I believe some benefit can be derived from them with respect to Revival and Spiritual Awakening.

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MY PURPOSE

There is a fourfold purpose for this newsletter: It goes out for Revival, for Renewal, for Restoration, and for Reformation. Perhaps to some this means the same thing, yet I believe that there are four aspects of a Life that experiences the Sovereign Grace of God that will be manifested when believers experience these four things in it. It is my desire that “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) will be pleased to use the articles, not only for His awesome Glory, but also to “revive (His) work in the midst of the years” (Habakuk 3:2); and as a result, we should be willing to “endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10).

TO BE REVIVED OR NOT TO BE REVIVED

“So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Too many the teaching of the Sovereignty of God is a distasteful doctrine because it goes against everything that proud man, including many professing Christians, believe they have a right to. In fact, many believe that God has no right to impose Himself on anyone unless they permit Him; and on the other hand, they demand that God be there for them whenever they feel that He has to do for them. Perhaps you might think this is too extreme in what I said, but the idea is that man in his sin has a spirit of pride that insists that God cannot, and should not, be Sovereign over their affairs: no matter what they are! Yet, they also insist, that God has to be obligated to them at whatever time they call on Him for something. Unless we have learned of Jesus to be meek and lowly of heart, this spirit of pride will be evident in all of us.

Pride, of course, is a very dangerous sin; for not only does it oppose the Sovereignty of God, but it is also diabolical (James 3:15). Pride will bring about the fall and the destruction of the soul (Proverbs 16:18; cp. 1 Timothy 3:6); and of course, separation from God because it is impossible for pride to exist before His presence. So it is for our eternal good that this evil root be pulled out from our hearts; otherwise, we will never be able to humble ourselves before God in order to receive grace from Him. Grace from God is the only hope we have if we are to experience, not only Salvation, but also Revival and Spiritual Awakening. You can be sure of one thing, as long as Pride rules the heart there will be no Revival at all, in spite of all our efforts and plans.

If you will notice that our text has to do with the Sovereignty of God in Election; and this is seen in that He chose Isaac over Ishmael and Jacob over Esau in order that His purpose in Election would be fulfilled in the lives of these individuals (Romans 9:6-13). The humbling truth of this is as expressed in our text: “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (v.16). So if we are not humbled by the truth that any good we may receive from God does not depend on us because we are determined to get it, or that we go after it as fast as we can, but that God simply does it because it pleases Him, then anything we do for that “good” will be resisted by God; and that includes Revival! “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

Therefore, beloved people of God, since the Sovereignty of God is linked to His Free Grace, and Grace to our humbling, we can see the necessity that if we are to experience Revival we need to be HUMBLED! Of course, we have to keep in mind that it is not our humbling that causes “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) to command the clouds to rain again with showers of blessings; for “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy”, nevertheless, it is declared by the great Jehovah, who is “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15). We cannot escape this pride-withering truth: REVIVAL DEPENDS ON GOD’S FREE AND SOVEREIGN GRACE AND OUR HUMBLING!!!

We have to understand that God is not obligated to send us Revival simply because we set up a particular date for Revival Meetings, (as customarily done today by many), or because of a particular preacher that will come as the Revivalist, or whatever we do; for “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy”. Yet there are some things we have to do that are consistent with the Sovereignty of God. In 2 Chronicles 7 we see the connection between the two. “And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually” (vv.12-16).

But what does it mean to be “humble”? It means to bend the knee; hence to humiliate, or depressed. In other words, it means to not be so high and mighty; or to be so proud of ourselves. It is to have the attitude of Jacob when he prayed and said, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant” (Genesis 32:10); or as the publican, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). This, then, is what it means to be humble! It is to confess ourselves of being so unworthy, and to fall on our face at the Throne of Grace, pleading the least of God’s mercies and His Free Grace! When this is true of I and You (forgive the grammar), then we are ready for Revival; for this is the promise of God in Isaiah 57:15. In fact, we can illustrate this by referring to the leper that came to the Lord Jesus Christ for healing of his leprosy: “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Mark 1:4o); “…behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Luke 5:12).

Perhaps some one will say that this has nothing to do with Revival; but what is Revival if not to Revive, Renew, Restore and Reform a backslidden Christian who has been infected with the leprosy of sin? In fact, just as leprosy has such a power over the leper that he couldn’t anything about it, so does sin over the backslidden Christian. But notice that the “humbled” leper cast himself upon the Sovereignty of the Lord in “beseeching him,…Lord, if thou wilt…”! “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16). You can see, then, that it was a “humbled faith” that brought healing to the leper; by the same token we can assuredly declare, that it is a “humbled faith” that will bring Revival to God’s people, yet it is not because we “will” it or “run” after it, but because it pleases our Sovereign God to have “mercy”! This is made clear throughout the Scriptures in reference to Revival and Spiritual Awakening.

But, how can we know that we are truly humbled? Well, we can go back to 2 Chronicles 7 and see what is the evidence that we have been humbled. Now, there is much we can learn from this passage, but let us limit ourselves to that which has to do with Revival. As you probably know this is one of the favorites passages that many use to preach Revival, and as you can see it starts with “humbling ourselves”. Note that Jehovah Himself states, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves…” (v.14). Notice that He is directing Himself to backslidden Christians; for who are His people if not those that are called by His Name? Of course, they are backslidden because what follows shows that they are living in sin. But the Lord tell us that if we are to receive “healing”, then we have to start with “humbling ourselves”. Otherwise, the following will not be true! So, what is the evidence of being “humbled”?

First, to “humble ourselves” is connected with “prayer”. Pride will prevent true prayer; for what does a backslider need to pray for if Revival can be brought about of his own will or efforts? In a sense, he doesn’t need God’s mercy at all! But true prayer can only be true for one that, not only sees his total inability to supply his need, but that there is ONLY ONE who can do it! True prayer can only come from one who can say, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25). Of course, true prayer is not merely a repetition of words, but is one that is produced by “the spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zechariah 12:10), in which “the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God “ (Romans 8:26,27). This, beloved, is true prayer, and can only be true for one who has been humbled!

But, secondly, the backslider who has been “humbled” and who truly “prays”, not only will come with “a contrite and humble spirit”, but also with an urgency to see the face of God. The truly repentant backslider is not simply content with praying, as necessary as that is, but wants to see the face of God; as David prays: “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me…” (Psalm 27:8,9); or perhaps as the Lord Himself says in Hosea 5:15, “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early”. Either way, one who has been “humbled” will desire to see the face of God, for therein he will know he has been “made…accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6), otherwise what the LORD tells Moses will be true of him: “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). But this can only be true for the truly humbled and repentant backslider who is able to see the glorious grace of God “in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6), that will shine in the heart in seeing His Love, Forgiveness, Compassion, Mercy, and Goodness in His beloved Son as we seek His face.

Then, thirdly, one has truly been “humbled” will give evidence of this by “turning from their wicked ways” (2 Chronicles 7:14). It is said that “the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways” (Proverbs 14:14); and what is this, if not pride! You know, for one to continue in his wicked ways is to tell God, “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do, or what not to do. I have every right to live as I please, and no one has the right to tell me otherwise”. Perhaps you might say, “Didn’t God give me a free-will to choose as I please?” Well, for sure, you will make decisions “freely”, but you are still responsible to God for the decisions you make, for He is still SOVEREIGN over you! But any way you take that is not God’s way is a “wicked way”; and that is your “proud heart” that does it. Therefore, if you don’t “turn from your wicked way”, then what follows will not be true for you; for what we have noted before, “God resisteth the proud”.

But now, let us note the Sovereignty of God with respect to what we have said: First, it is stated what we have to do if we want Revival: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then” (here we see the Sovereignty of God; for only then), “will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. In other words, beloved, what our Sovereign God is telling us is that if we expect for Him to “hear from heaven, and…forgive (our)sin, and…heal (our) land)”, which is to Revive, Renew, Restore and Reform His people with True Revival, “then” tells us that He has every right to command what are the requirements for Him to send us Revival. “Then” also tells that if we are not willing to submit to His requirements, then He will not send Revival, no matter what plans and dates we set for Revival. But again let me emphasize, that it begins with our humbling ourselves; and this starts with recognizing the Sovereignty of God in all of this. Romans 9:16 is still true here; for “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy”.

Now, where can our humbling ourselves and the Sovereignty of God meet and be reconciled? There is only place; and that is at the Throne of Grace. There, we are told, that we can “come boldly”, not only “that we may obtain mercy”, but also to “find grace to help in time in need” (Hebrews 4:16). As we come casting ourselves at the foot of the Throne of Grace, (where Pride has no place), he that “delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18), will show us mercy, even though we are not worthy of the least of them, but because it pleases Him to do so. Yes, we can assuredly say with Daniel: “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him” (9:9). But also, we may “find grace to help in time of need”; for how can we pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, if it is not of the riches of His grace? Again, we are assured that He “giveth grace unto the humble”; and, beloved, we are promised that of the fullness of our Lord Jesus we may receive “grace for (upon) grace” (John 1:16) in that it is ONLY in His Name and Merits that we can do so; and as this is true for each one of us, then we can humbly submit to that Word that says: “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16).

EVIDENCES OF A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION

From Revival

By Richard Owen Roberts

Backslidden Christians are evident everywhere. They are in the churches and out of the churches. They are in the pews and in the pulpits. They are on boards and are bored. They are on committees and teach Sunday School. The backslidden seem to be more numerous than the upright and their influence throughout the world vastly more profound. While backsliders do not all manifest the same traits, evidences of their condition are not difficult to pinpoint. The following characteristics merit our serious attention.

10. When the acquisition of money and goods becomes a dominant part of your thinking, you have clear confirmation of backsliding. When a professed Christian begins to focus on money, cars, houses, lands, stocks, bonds, and adornments, he is clearly on the course of the backslider. The Bible does not condemn the possession of money or of goods, neither does it prohibit their broad use, but in no uncertain language it forbids the love of money and a heart attachment to things. The believer is expected to live as a pilgrim who is passing through this world of goods. He must not attach his heart to that which is perishing, but set his affection on things above. He must lay his treasures up in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt and where thieves cannot break though and steal.

The backslider will not live by these standards. He cannot bear to see so much wealth around him without laying up his own share. To live for eternity – so faraway indeed when the present is all around him – is a task in which the backslider will no longer engage. When you find yourself grasping after the here and now, take heed, your backsliding is showing.

Revival and the Sovereignty of God

Lewis Drummond

[On Wednesday night, June 5, during the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta, Ga., the entire evening was given to prayer for spiritual awakening. This article originally appeared in the Florida Baptist Witness in anticipation of that Convention prayer meeting. It is reprinted here by the author's permission]

A call to prayer for revival may be a profound turning point in the spiritual lives of Southern Baptists. It could be a historical moment. But do we really know what we will be praying for in such an effort? What is the meaning of a spiritual awakening, or its historical equivalent--revival? That is the question!

Revival, particularly, is an ambiguous word in Southern Baptist life. Ideas range from the annual "vociferous preaching time the third week in April," to the 1734 awakening in Northampton, Mass., when the dynamic ministry of Jonathan Edwards saw multitudes won to Christ in a matter of days. But a precise definition based on the Bible, and manifest in history, is vital if we are to pray and seek God intelligently.

A good description of a revival, or spiritual awakening, from a biblical and historical perspective is given by H. C. Fish:

Revivals, then, are seasons when Christians are waked to a more fervent prayer, and to more earnest endeavors to promote the cause of Christ and redemption; and consequent upon this, seasons when the impenitent are aroused to the concerns of the soul and the work of personal religion. They are times when the Spirit of the Lord again moves on the face of the waters, and the freshness and beauty of the new creature comes forth. Nature itself seems more full of God; the very words of Scripture seem thereby invested with a new light and glory and fullness and meaning. As Edwards says: "All things abroad -- the sun, moon and stars, the heavens and the earth appear as it were with a cast of divine glory and sweetness upon them."

Such a definition of revival or spiritual awakening immediately points up a most important and foundational truth. Real revival comes only from God. He alone is the fountainhead. A spiritual awakening cannot be scheduled, worked up or humanly engineered. If we are to experience a "refreshing time from the Lord," it will be because God's sovereign hour has arrived. God grants revival blessings when and where he pleases.

All history attests to this fundamental reality.

Why did God come down in power to the church in Northampton, Mass., in 1734 and touch the ministry of the brilliant Jonathan Edwards to spawn America's "First Great Awakening?" Because God chose to do so!

Why did our Lord reach down to a little Bible study group of Moravian brethren meeting on London's Aldersgate Street in 1738 and transform John Wesley, who then was used by the Holy Spirit to birth the 18th-century revival in England? Because God chose to do so!

Why did the Holy Spirit come mightily on Barton Stone in 1801 at the Cane Ridge Meeting House in Bourbon County, Ky., that July weekend and explode into America's "Second Great Awakening," which wove the deep south "Bible Belt?" Because God chose to do so!

Similar historical accounts of awakenings can be repeated almost endlessly, recalling God's sovereign mercies in revival power. But why does he move as he does? Why does God act in such a manner? There is no final human explanation of why God moves when, where and how he does to grace us with revival blessings, only that in his sovereign love he does. Therefore be done with what has been called "evangelical humanism." We must rest in God's sovereign grace and wisdom alone.

Of course, it is true that God pours out his Holy Spirit on his people in free grace because they need a fresh touch. Without revival times the church inevitably strays away from the cross and grows cold, slipping into the Laodicean Syndrome. There is that much explanation. But the when, where and how of revival rests in God's sovereignty.

Yet, God never works in a vacuum. He always uses his people in spiritual awakenings. That leaves us with the inevitable paradox of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. But even that paradox means there are things we are to do if God is to bless in revival. Responsibly seeking revival should never be de-emphasized.

Nonetheless, we must view God as the sole source of all awakening grace, prostrate ourselves at his feet and simply trust him for sovereign mercies. If we do that, it just could be God will bless us with that "one divine moment" when it will be said, "God revived his people." Let us seek him to that divine end.

May we earnestly, humbly and in resignation cry out with the Psalmist: "Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation" (Ps. 85:6-7). It just may be this is God's sovereign hour.

Taken from Founders OnLine

INVITATION TO SALVATION

In order for one to experience Revival, they first need to have Life, otherwise they are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and “alienated from the life of God” (4:18). If you have not been “born again” (John 3:3,7), then you have not the Life of Christ in you according to 1 John 4:12 – “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life”. If this is true of you, then you do not need Revival but Salvation in order to have Life.

You may obtain this Life in Christ Jesus by believing in Him; for “this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (v.11). At the moment that a spiritually dead sinner believes in Him, he “is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Is this true of you at this very moment?