Revival Fires

 During the great revivals of 1857-1858, people began to gather daily for prayer in theatres, tents, YMCAs, civic auditoriums, fire stations, and of course, churches. It spread from New York to Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and continued to move westward. At its peak, 50,000 people per week were being converted throughout the nation. It was all over the news. Can you imagine that being the most noteworthy news on TV today? The impact of a national revival went way beyond what most people could even imagine. But on the heels of this powerful revival, Civil War broke out. It diverted the attention from God’s transforming work. That didn’t stop God from moving. Revival fires continued to burn with 150,000 converts reported among the Confederate troops alone.

In Revival Times in America, Fred Hoffman tells the remarkable story of the battleship North Carolinaanchored in New York harbor. The narrative reveals how the Lord continued to work in spite of the bloody conflict that had divided the nation: “More than a thousand young men were on board. Among these were four Christian boys who agreed to meet together for prayer. They were granted the use of a small room far below the water line. As they knelt in prayer, the Spirit of God so filled their hearts with joy that they broke into song. The sounds so strange to a battleship arose to the deck s above, and the ungodly men on board came running to mock and jeer. But the convicting power of God so gripped them that many remained to pray and to cry for mercy. Strong men who were deep in sin were literally broken down and knelt humbly in repentance and in faith. Night after night the prayer meeting was held, and hundreds were converted. When men completed their training on that particular ship, they transferred to other ships throughout the Navy, and so the revival fires were kindled everywhere that American naval vessels sailed.”

I love reading stories of God’s Spirit moving freely in the midst of upheaval. It reminds me of Paul and Silas praying and singing to God among all the prisoners (Acts 16:25). They were not in the best of places. They should have been discouraged and worried about what was going to happen next. Instead, they were singing praises to God and many were coming to know this personal God as their Savior.

Revival begins somewhere. I want to go on record and say that it has begun here in our church. Pray for God to be glorified and the message of Jesus Christ to be multiplied throughout our community. Even in the midst of national dysfunction, God still moves. My prayer is that the Lord will move within every family in our congregation. Then I pray that He goes beyond our borders.

This Sunday will be a great day with a few baptisms to celebrate. Come, and expect God to move in a powerful way. I hope to see you tonight during our last “scheduled” revival service with Stephen Manley this week.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike
www.findlayfirstnaz.org