Renewal, Revival, and Spiritual Awakening

Renewal, Revival, and Spiritual Awakening are all terms I have heard lately to describe a new movement of God's Spirit upon His people. None of these terms are particularly new, but they have perhaps started to resurface again in my circles of influence. But, what is revival? Often when the word is used it is used by disillusioned church leaders or long time Christians who say that what the country needs is revival; what the church needs is revival; what we need is revival! How true these statements are! We DO need revival in our world, nation, churches, and in our own lives. Truth be told, we need constant revival in our hearts because the alternative is a state of complacency in the now and decay in the long run.

Revival – (Hebrew – Kwaw-yaw) – A return, or recovery from a state of neglect, forgetfulness, obscurity or depression in order to give more active attention to religion; and an awakening of men to their spiritual concerns. Revival is also translated as "quickened" in Psalm 119:50, 93; to give life or to make whole to revive or Restore (2 Kings 8:1, 5).


Spiritually speaking, the divided kingdom era of ancient Israel gives us a great picture of this pattern, not to mention the period of the Judges. There were periods of great national and personal revival that took place as people sought the Lord with all their hearts. This was typically driven by the king, the prophet, or the judge.


There are great examples of persons in the Old Testament who were used mightily to bring about changes in their day. Joshua is a great example of this. Long before Joshua ever became the leader of Israel following the death of Moses, we find that he was a man who longed for God and desired to spend time in His presence. During the period of the Exodus, Moses led the Children of Israel through a 40 year wandering on the Sinai Peninsula as God was chastening and preparing them to take possession of the Promised Land. During this time, the scriptures describe a ritual that Moses undertook when they were encamped.


Exodus 33:7-11 describes how Moses pitched a tent outside the camp, quite a distance from the regular camp. It says in Exodus 33:7: "And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp." It is interesting to note that there was a special place established for people to seek the Lord and that place was a good distance off from the regular camp. I imagine it was quite a visual as at times a trail of people headed out to the "Tent Meeting" going on outside town! As a matter of fact, the next verse says: "So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle." (Vs. 8)


Now this is where the idea of revival takes shape in our story. Joshua, according to this passage, stayed in the Tabernacle of Meeting long after Moses departed and went back to the camp. "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle." (Vs. 11) So how do I arrive at my assessment that he stayed long after Moses departed? Verse 7 tells us that Moses pitched the tent of meeting "far from the camp" which would mean a walk of quite a distance to get to the tent.


The text would indicate that after Moses departed and walked the considerable distance back to the camp that Joshua stayed and "did not depart." Some have taken this to mean simply that Joshua was the guardian of the tent in the absence of Moses as a sort of "custodian." However, when you look at the whole picture of what was happening when Moses entered the tent of meeting we see a larger picture emerge. The people all stood to watch as Moses walked by headed to the tent. When Moses arrived according to vs. 9, "the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses." Then something else very interesting takes place in vs. 10: "All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door."   


Moses has entered the tent of meeting, God descends in a pillar of cloud upon the place. Joshua is present in the tent while this is taking place. The people from the camp see the cloud descend from a distance upon the tent of meeting and it says they stood to their feet and worshiped the Lord from there own tent. This worship from afar was also the case earlier on when Moses went to the mountain top to receive the Ten Commandments. Prior to Moses going up He said to Moses: "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death." (Exodus 19:12) Afterwards however, there was no such prohibition given by the Lord and yet the people were content to remain distant from God and let Moses be the "middle man" so to speak:


"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was."  (Exodus 20:18-21)


The Children of Israel were free to experience God's presence in the tent of meeting outside the camp according to Exodus 33:7. There were no prohibitions holding them back. However, something distinct took place when Moses would go to the tent to meet with God; His very presence would descend upon the tent and He would speak to Moses face to face. The scripture does not indicate that the others from the camp were present during this time, but instead rose as Moses passed by them and then stood again to worship when the presence of God descended upon the tent. They were "content" to worship God at a safe distance. This seems to be the case today for many good church going folks. We are very content to worship the Lord from a distance with our modern "concert" type church setting. There is a feel of the band performing while the rest of the people are spectators. However, when we draw closer to the thick blackness of God's presence we become increasingly uncomfortable because we become increasingly aware of our own sinfulness and way-ward tendencies.


What is the key to renewal or revival in our day and age? I believe it has never changed. The key is a brokenness and humility before God and a desire to "draw near the thick darkness where God is." Every major example of revival in the last 400 years has been marked by very similar characteristics.

• Prayer - Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle states: "Prayer begets Revival, which begets more prayer." Every major revival has been preceded by men and women of God seeking God in ever increasing ways. One of the most well known passages on prayer and revival in the scriptures can be found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 where there seems to be a sort of recipe for revival: "... if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
• Repentance - God is attracted to our brokenness but resists pride. The only way we can ever truly approach God is through a humble acknowledgement that we are sinful, flawed people in need of His provision of grace and forgiveness. The Apostle Peter states: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)  And again, Isaiah declares: “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Isaiah 66:2)
• Hunger for Righteousness - The people of God over the centuries have often returned to the Lord when they see the decay of the society around them and a decent into permissiveness. When society begins to declare that anything goes and moves to a "Do what thou will" mentality it is a sure sign that true men and women of God will come to a point where they can no longer stand the stench of sinfulness around them and will begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus Himself in the Sermon on the Mount stated: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6), and "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God."

But how will we know for sure that revival and spiritual awakening us upon us? People will hunger for God in a greater way. Rather than entertainment and business with life in general, you will see people devote more and more time to prayer, reading scripture, and worshiping God. Family BBQs will be transformed into family prayer meetings. Radio stations will go from pop music to worship and preaching. People will begin to rise earlier in the morning longing for quiet time with Jesus. Our churches and chapels will begin to fill with people who have no idea why they are there, they just know they need to be there! Altars will begin to fill with people hungry for more of God. Preachers will barely get the words out of their mouths and people will repent and call out for God to save them. You will see an overall shift from common and ordinary to divine and extraordinary in people's lives. This process is not easy for sure.


According to Mario Bruni: "Revival is not cheap! It is not some blessing you can obtain and add to your life or your church. Revival reaches to the very core of who you are and brings utter brokenness and repentance. It will cost you everything. Revival will transform you into a holy vessel that God will fill and put to powerful use. Are you ready for revival? It is coming! Are you willing to pay the price?"