The Beginning of Revival

The Beginning of Revival

Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts:
²⁴ and see if [there be any] wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24 – AKJV)

An old Gospel chorus (hardly ever sung these days) goes like this:

“It’s me, me, me, Oh Lord,

Standing in the need of prayer;

Not my brother or my sister,

It’s me, Oh Lord,

Standing in the need of prayer.

I think the writer of that chorus was spot on; he hit the bulls-eye of spiritual reality. He knew exactly where true revival begins – in the heart of the one seeking it.

It is easy to lament the wickedness of the days we live in; government corruption; the lukewarm state of the church, or the permissive life-styles of other church members. It is quite another matter to detect these things in our own hearts and in our own attitudes.

The psalmist had it right when he said, “Search me, O God…” (Emphasis mine).

I could wax eloquent on the theme, and bring in all kinds of arguments to support my contention that revival begins nowhere else but in our own hearts, but I don’t think there is any need to do so.  True-hearted Christians already know this; the Word of God has already penetrated to the depth of their being:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 – AKJV)

Dear reader, if you know, as I do, where revival begins, let us not delay. Ask God to search you as I ask God to search me, and let Him lead us in the way everlasting. If we do this, and if we mean it with every part of our being, I have no doubt revival will come. It may not come in the manner we expect, but it will surely come.

Begin in Me

(Sunday 13th November 1994)

“Oh that You would bless me indeed . . .” (1 Chronicles 4:10)

The touch of Heaven needs to rest

Upon those souls within my sphere;

To each one in whose aching breast

A longing grows to bring You near—

I plead, in truth, to let it be . . .

Begin, Oh Lord, the work in me!

I long that blessing from Your Hand

Would reach to every soul around;

That everyone in Truth would stand,

And find that Love and Hope abound.

And yet . . . I cannot help but see:

It were best if it begin in me.

To be the instrument You use

To gently lead those gone astray,

I dare not for a moment lose

The kiss of Heaven— or its Way.

To this all reason will agree:

You need to start Your work in me.

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
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Gravesite at Garden Valley Cemetery in Garden Valley, Texas by Roland Heddins. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. We made no changes to this photograph.

The Ministry of Tears

(Picture in public domain)

The Ministry of Tears

2 Corinthians 2:1-4

And when they had come to him, he said to them,

   “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews… (Acts 20:18-9 – NASB)

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:32 – NASB)

Robert Murray McCheyne was a minister of great power in the mid-nineteenth century. God used him in a mighty outpouring of His Spirit in revival. He served God with such intensity some believe it led to his early death at the age of twenty nine. His ministry lasted only seven-and a half years, yet his influence continues to the present day.

After his death a visitor came to the church where the man of God had preached. He engaged in conversation with the custodian of the church. He enquired as to the secret of the preacher`s effectiveness in ministry.

The custodian, a man who had been close to the minister asked the visitor if he really wished to know. The visitor replied in the affirmative.

“Follow me,” the custodian commanded, and led the visitor into the minister’s study. “Sit behind the desk,” he further instructed.

When the visitor had complied, he said, “Now put your elbows on the desk and your head in your hands.” When this was done the custodian said, “Now weep.”

But the tour was not over.

The custodian now led the visitor into the sanctuary. The pulpit was of the kind common in that era, built high above the congregation, with a winding wooden staircase giving access to its summit.

Climb into the pulpit and lean over .pews with your arms outstretched, as if you were pleading with the congregation.”

Entering into his role, the visitor followed the instructions given to him..

“Now weep,” The custodian said.

God grant us all tears as we minister to, and intercede for, the lost.

Give me Tears

(© Saturday 3^rd January 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:32 – NASB)

Lord, please grant me the grace to weep,

And plead for revival to come;

Let me not rise up from my knees

Till I’m sure the work has been done.

Lord, let tears flow unabated,

As I ask that mercy should fall

Upon the lost and the weary

Until upon Christ they will call.

The words that I speak have no power

Till all have been drenched in my tears;

I know when my heart is aching

For sinners, that God always hears.

Oh what would I give for a heart

That knows how to weep for the lost?

I’d give all my treasures on earth,

And care not just how much it cost.

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Peasant Sitting by the Fireplace  (‘Worn Out’), by Vincent Van Gogh. 1881. In the Public Domain.