Revival Quotes

Awakening essential

Only a God-given reawakening to Christ and the full extent of His supremacy can resuscitate the Church’s hope and passion, and re-engage her effectively in the worldwide advance of His Kingdom.

David Bryant

Revival starts with the church and then affects the world

Evan Roberts made this same claim in Wales in 1904: “My mission is first to the churches. When the churches are aroused to their duty, men of the world will be swept into the Kingdom. A whole church on its knees is irresistible.” Revival always brings the church to its knees. Rhys Bevan Jones, who preached in Wales throughout 1904, declared that if ever there was a slogan for that revival it was this: “Bend the church, and save the people.”

R. B. Jones, Rent Heavens, p. 55-56

Revivals begin with God’s own people

“Revivals begin with God’s own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervour and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones…Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely!”

Andrew A. Bonar, details unknown

God’s part and man’s part in revival

God is the God of revival but man is the human agent through whom revival is possible.

Duncan Campbell, The Lewis Awakening, 1949-1953, p15

Four governing principles

To the praying men and women of Barvas, four things were made clear, and to them became governing principles. First, they themselves must be rightly related to God, and in this connection the reading of Psalm 24 at one of their prayer meetings brought them down in the presence of the Lord, where hearts were searched and vows renewed, and, in the words of one who was present, they gave to their lives the propulsion of a sacred vow, and with Hezekiah of old, found it in their hearts to “make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel.” Happy the church and favoured the congregation that can produce such men and women I So prayer meetings were held in church and in cottage, and frequently the small hours of the morning found the parish minister and his faithful few pleading the promises; with a consciousness of God, and with a confidence in Him that caused them to hope in His Word.

In the second place, they were possessed of the conviction that God, being a covenant-keeping God, must keep His covenant engagements. Had He not promised to “pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the day ground”? Here was something that for them existed in the field of possibility; why were they not actually experiencing it? But they came at length to the place where, with one of old, they could cry “Our God….. is able …. and He will.”

“Faith mighty faith the promise seas
And looks to God alone.
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries It shall be done.”

Thirdly, they must be prepared for God to work in His own way and not according to their programme — God was sovereign and must act according to His sovereign purpose — but ever keeping in mind that, while God is sovereign in the affairs of men, His sovereignty does not relieve men of responsibility. “God is the God of revival but man is the human agent through whom revival is possible.”

Fourthly, there must be a manifestation of God, demonstrating tire reality of the Divine in operation, when men would be forced to say, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eves.’’ It is therefore not surprising that in the month of December, 1949, God did visit the Parish church of Barvas with revival blessing that, in a very short time, leapt the bounds of the parish, bringing refreshing and spiritual life to many all over the island.

Duncan Campbell, The Lewis Awakening, 1949-1953, p15-16

Puritan expectation – George Newton (1602—1681)

George Newton (1602—1681), senior colleague of Joseph Alleine at Taunton, Somerset. After expounding the words of Christ in his great High Priestly prayer, ‘I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it’ (John 17.26), Newton concentrates on the significance of the promise, and will declare it: ‘Let our hearts be full of hope in reference to this business. Since Christ hath undertaken it, let us expect the execution of it. Our Saviour’s words are a promise to the Father, what he will do in after times for his people: saith he, ‘I will declare thy name’ to them. And therefore as it is our duty to believe the promise, so to expect the good things promised. To be continually in a waiting frame, looking and hearkening after the accomplishment of this excellent work of his, spying if we can see the daybreak, and the Father’s name shine forth to other nations who never had a glimpse of it by any gospel revelation, till in the end, “from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, his name be great among the Gentiles,” according to that prophecy relating to these latter times and ages of the world, Mal. 1.11.

‘Let us strive with Christ in prayer that he would make good the word that he hath spoken to the Father before so many witnesses. O my beloved, when ye look on many heathen nations that yet are overwhelmed in ignorance and Egyptian darkness, that yet know nothing of the Father’s name …go to Jesus Christ and say, O Lord, thou hast professed that thou wilt declare the Father’s name to other persons, and to other nations, to the end of the world…

‘Let our hearts be full of joy while we are looking forward to the accomplishment of this work. Oh, let it cheer our spirits under all the sinking damps and deep discouragements that are upon them in relation to the church, to think in what blessed state and glorious posture she will be, when Christ shall have declared his Father’s name to all the nations under heaven, when the Jews shall be converted, and when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in. O my beloved, that will be a joyful time indeed! It is true, those times, my brethren, shall be very comfortable and full of gladness many ways. And this is not the least, that people shall be brought in to the knowledge of the Lord out of all quarters of the world, and that by heaps and multitudes…. There was never such a time since the foundation of the world, nor shall be till that blessed season come: and therefore let out souls rejoice in the foresight of it, though we never live to see it’.

Iain Murray, Puritan Hope p91-2

Puritan expectation – Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)

Richard Sibbes, Preaching to students and townsmen at Cambridge, where he ministered with so much success until his death in 1635, he gives this application to the truth concerning Christ’s power:

‘Let no man therefore despair; nor, as I said before, let us despair of the conversion of those that are savages in other parts. How bad so ever they be, they are of the world, and if the gospel be preached to them, Christ will be “believed on in the world”. Christ’s almighty power goeth with his own ordinance to make it effectual… . And when the fulness of the gentiles is come in, then comes the conversion of the Jews. Why may we not expect it? They were the people of God. We see “Christ believed on in the world”. We may therefore expect that they shall also be called, there being many of them, and keeping their nation distinct from others.”

Iain Murray, Puritan Hope p92

Don’t make your experience the rule of judgement

Persons are very ready to be suspicious of what they have not felt themselves. It is to be feared that many good men have been guilty of this error; which however does not make it the less unreasonable. And perhaps there are some who upon this ground do not only reject these extraordinary things, but all such conviction of sin, discoveries of the glory of God, excellency of Christ, and inward conviction of the truth of the gospel, by the immediate influence of the Spirit of God, now supposed to be necessary to salvation. –These persons who thus make their own experiences their rule of judgement, instead of bowing to the wisdom of God, and yielding to his word as an infallible rule, are guilty of casting a great reflection upon the understanding of the Most High.

Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion, Part I, Section II.

Revival is God’s main means of advancing the cause of Christ in history.

It may here be observed, that from the fall of man to our day, the work of redemption in its effect has mainly been carried on by remarkable communications of the Spirit of God. Though there be a more constant influence of God’s Spirit always in some degree attending his ordinances, yet the way in which the greatest things have been done towards carrying on this work, always have been by remarkable effusions, at special seasons of mercy, as may fully appear hereafter in our further prosecution of our subject.

Jonathan Edwards, A History of the Work of Redemption, 1774, Period I, Part I

Pentecost: the first revival

John Stott says in his exposition of Acts 2: Pentecost has been called – and rightly – the first revival, using this word to denote one of those altogether unusual visitations of God, in which a whole community becomes vividly aware of His immediate, overpowering presence. It may be, therefore, that not only the physical phenomena (v2ff) but the deep conviction of sin (v37), the 3,000 conversions (v41) and the widespread sense of awe (v43) were signs of revival.

R E Davies, I will pour out my Spirit, p24

Set your sails for revival

We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind of heaven . . .

G. Campbell Morgan, source unknown

Meet the divine conditions

Revivals are supernatural demonstrations of God’s power. When will we learn to let God work in His own way? When will we spend more time in seeking to know what His way is than we do in devising human plans and methods which only bring us a sense of failure and loss? We need a revival. The church needs a revival. The world – hungry, restless, sin-cursed, dying – needs a revival. God wants us to have it. Let us make every effort to meet the divine conditions and let us expect Him to answer by fire.

P V Jenness, quoted A.Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power

The gospel shall be victorious

Though our persons fall, our cause shall be as truly, certainly, and infallibly victorious, as that Christ sits at the right hand of God. The gospel shall be victorious. This greatly comforts and refreshes me.”

John Owen, source unknown

The universal spread and reign of Christianity

We have many and express assurances in the Scriptures, which cannot be broken, of the general, the universal spread and reign of Christianity, which are not yet accomplished. Nothing has yet taken place in the history of Divine grace, wide enough in extent, durable enough in continuance, powerful enough in energy, blessed enough in enjoyment, magnificent enough in glory, to do anything like justice to these predictions and promises. Better days, therefore, are before us, notwithstanding the forebodings of many.”

William Jay, source unknown

Christians need to be convinced of revival promises

That day which shall convince the great body of professing Christians of the reality and desirableness of revivals, will constitute a new era in the history of religion; and will precede manifestations of power like that of Pentecost.

Albert Barnes, source unknown

Increasing frequency – or certain judgement

It is most significant that since the Reformation, revivals have recurred with increasing frequency. Again and again God has rescued that which had gone beyond all human aid: what could have saved the church but these gracious interventions of almighty power? The need can but grow more urgent as the age draws to its close. When revivals cease to flow from the mercy of God, judgement must come.

D M Panton, quoted A.Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power

Revival comes only to a desperate church

It is my conviction that we are never going to have a revival until God has brought the church of Jesus Christ to the point of desperation.

Stephen Olford 1918-2004, qted at http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=3162

Continue to live without it

As long as we are content to live without revival, we will

Leonard Ravenhill

Revival or judgement

Strange though it may seem, there are distinct similarities between the ways of God in revival and in judgment. Throughout the prophets the thought of a divine visitation is used to describe blessing and revival on the one hand (Jer 27:22) and a season of judgment on the other (Jer 50:31). Likewise the overflowing rain could picture a time a spiritual revival (Ezek 34:26) or of divine judgment (Gen 6:17). Another figure used of the mighty operation of the Spirit in revival is fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:38; Acts 2:33), but it is also typical of the judgment of God (2 Kings 1:10). All this may be partly explained by the fact that there is an element of judgment present in every revival. The purifying and quickening of the people of God are moral and spiritual necessities. Because of His very nature, God cannot and will not permit spiritual decline to continue unchecked. He is ever halting and reversing the trend of the times by means of revival – or judgment. Where His people are not prepared for the one, they shut themselves up to the other.

Arthur Wallis, In The Day of Thy Power, p215

Revival averts the judgement of God

A revival of religion is indispensable to avert the judgments of God from the Church. This would be a strange preaching if revivals were only miracles. And if the Church has no more agency in producing them than it has in producing a thunderstorm. We could not then say to the Church: “Unless there is a revival you may expect judgments.” The fact is Christians are more to blame for not being revived, than sinners are for not being converted. And if they are not awakened, they may know assuredly that God will visit them with His judgments.

How often God visited the Jewish Church with judgments because they would not repent and be revived at the call of His prophets! How often have we seen Churches, and even whole denominations, cursed with a curse, because they would not wake up and seek the Lord, and pray: “Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?”
Charles Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, Chapter 2: When A Revival Is To Be Expected

When revivals cease judgement must come

It is most significant that since the Reformation, revivals have recurred with increasing frequency. Again and again, God has rescued that which had gone beyond all human aid: what could have saved the church but these gracious interventions of almighty power? The need can but grow more urgent as the age draws to its close. When revivals cease to flow from the mercy of God, judgement must come.

D. M.Panton, quoted Arthur Wallis, In The Day of Thy Power, p214

Revival removes reproach from the church

A revival of religion is the only possible thing that can wipe away the reproach, which covers the Church, and restore religion to the place it ought to have in the estimation of the public. Without a revival, this reproach will cover the Church more and more, until it is overwhelmed with universal contempt. You may do anything else you please, and you may change the aspects of society in some respects, but you will do no real good; you only make it worse without a revival of religion. You may go and build a splendid new house of worship, and line your seats with damask, put up a costly pulpit, and get a magnificent organ, and everything of that kind, to make a show and dash, and in that way you may procure a sort of respect for religion among the wicked, but it does no good in reality. It rather does hurt. It misleads them as to the real nature of religion; and so far from converting them; it carries them farther away from salvation. Look wherever they have surrounded the altar of Christianity with splendour, and you will find that the impression produced is contrary to the true nature of religion. There must be a waking up of energy on the part of Christians, and an outpouring of God’s Spirit, or the world will laugh at the Church.
Charles Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, Chapter 2: When A Revival Is To Be Expected

Without revival the church will decline into oblivion

Nothing but a revival of religion can preserve such a Church from annihilation. A Church declining in this way cannot continue to exist without a revival. If it receives new members, they will, for the most part, be made up of ungodly persons. Without revivals there will not ordinarily be as many persons converted as will die off in a year. There have been Churches in this country where the members have died off, and, since there were no revivals to convert others in their place, the Church has “run out,” and the organization has been dissolved.

Charles Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, Chapter 2: When A Revival Is To Be Expected

Revival honours the Son
When God manifests himself with such glorious power in a work of this nature, he appears especially determined to put honour upon his Son, and to fulfil his oath that he has sworn to him, that he would make every knee to bow, and every tongue to confess to him. God hath had it much on his heart, from all eternity, to glorify his dear and only-begotten Son; and there are some special seasons that he appoints to that end, wherein he comes forth with omnipotent power to fulfil his promise and oath to him. Now these are times of remarkable pouring out of his Spirit, to advance his kingdom; such is a day of his power, wherein his people shall be made willing, and he shall rule in the midst of his enemies; these especially are the times wherein God declares his firm decree, that his Son shall reign on his holy hill of Zion.

Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion, Part II

Revival begins with revelation of Jesus Christ
In 1922, a year after revival in Lowestoft, Douglas Brown declared, ‘Revival begins with a vision, and the vision begins with a new sense of Jesus Christ. Revival does not begin in a theology, but in a theophany. It begins in a revelation of Jesus Christ Himself and a sense of the nearness of the Master.’

Quoted Brian Edwards, Revival, p56

Everyday in Britain

Every day in Britain 506 crimes of violence are reported, 12,000 offences are recorded by the police, at least 75 are added to child protection registers, 2,750 properties are burgled, 55 million is spent on alcohol, 27 schoolgirls become pregnant, 170 babies are born to teenage mothers, 123 people are convicted of crimes involving drugs.

Every day in Britain 450 children will start to smoke and 330 will die of smoking.

Every day, in Britain, at least 480 couples are divorced, A new crime is committed every 6 seconds in Britain – and a violent attack every 2 minutes.

There are 500 abortions of unwanted and innocent unborn children each day, 182,500 each year.

Every day in Britain two young men kill themselves, and hundreds more fail in their attempts.

It is estimated that every day in Britain 100 children lose contact with their fathers.

167 women are raped every day in Britain and one in twenty has been a victim of this monstrous act.

More than 50,000 students skip school every day in Britain. 40 per cent of street crime, 25 per cent of burglaries, 20 per cent of criminal damage and a third of car thefts were carried out by 10 to 16-year-olds who skipped classes.

Every day in Britain 50 teenagers contract syphilis or gonorrhoea.

Every day 50,000 women under the age of 30 drink twice as much as their bodies can cope with – half are single and under the age of 25.

Every day in Britain an estimated £40m is staked at online poker parlours.

There are 25 firearm offences every day in Britain.

The Samaritans get a call every 8 secs – that’s 4.2 million people a year! Almost 11,000 a day

Each year:
150,000 children are affected by their parents divorce.
100,000 run away from home or care.
10,000 schoolgirls became pregnant.
10.3 million people have fallen below the official poverty line- that’s the number claiming income support
Today there are 13,300 families living in B & B’s
Collected and collated between 1996 and 2005 from various reliable sources by Tony Cauchi

The USA

I take my hat off to men like Joe Wright , a minister who was asked to open the new sessions of the Kansas Senate, in 1996 when everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

The Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,,” but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess:
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the Name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church subsequently received international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on “The Rest of the Story” on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

This can be found, with little variation, all over the Internet and is clearly quite authentic

When persecution or opposition comes

Sometimes the wicked will get up an opposition to religion. And when this drives Christians to their knees in prayer to God, with h5 crying and tears, you may be certain there is going to be a revival. The prevalence of wickedness is no evidence at all that there is not going to be a revival. That is often God’s time to work. When the enemy cometh in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him. Often the first indication of a revival is that the devil gets up something new in opposition. This will invariably have one of two effects. It will either drive Christians to God, or it will drive them farther away from God, to some carnal policy or other that will only make things worse. Frequently the most outrageous wickedness of the ungodly is followed by a revival. If Christians are made to feel that they have no hope but in God, and if they have sufficient feeling left to care for the honour of God and the salvation of the souls of the impenitent, there will certainly be a revival. Let hell boil over if it will, and spew out as many devils as there are stones in the pavement, if it only drives Christians to God in prayer – it cannot hinder a revival. Let Satan “get up a row,” and sound his horn as loud as he pleases; if Christians will only be humbled and pray they shall soon see God’s naked arm in a revival of religion. I have known instances where a revival has broken in upon the ranks of the enemy, almost as suddenly as a clap of thunder, and scattered them, taken the ringleaders as trophies, and broken up their party in an instant.

Charles Finney, Revival Lectures, Part Three,

When a revival may be expected

Break up your fallow ground
In breaking up your fallow ground, you must remove every obstruction. Things may be left that you think little things, and you may wonder why you do not feel as you wish to feel in religion, when the reason is that your proud and carnal mind has covered up something which God required you to confess and remove. Break up all the ground and turn it over. Do no balk it, as the farmers say; do not turn it aside for little difficulties; drive the plough right through them, beam deep, and turn the ground all up, so that it may all be mellow and soft, and fit to receive the seed and bear fruit a hundred fold.

Charles Finney

The power of a consecrated man
The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.
Dwight L. Moody

Where is your passion?
“If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence…? You’d be bored to tears in heaven, if you’re not ecstatic about God now!”

“ It seems to me that there are but few who really live with a passion for God-especially a passion just to be with Him. Today there is such a noise coming up before the throne of the Most High-the clamor of so-called praise, singing, and joyful shouting. But I wonder if the same people who love to sing and shout, loudly exclaiming the the praises of God, really have such an intense glory in their secret life with the Lord. When the meeting’s over and there’s no one there to listen except the only One who matters, do you still have that same passionate joy in your spirit, just to be alone with the Living God?”
Keith Green quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

Wake up!
“We must wake ourselves up! Or somebody else will take our place, and bear our cross, and thereby rob us of our crown.”
General William Booth, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

A closer walk with God
“Oh, for closest communion with God, till soul and body, head, face, and heart -shine with Divine brilliancy! But oh! for a holy ignorance of ourshining!”

“Live near to God, and so all things will appear to you little in comparison with eternal realities.”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

Close Communion
“Closet communion needs time for the revelation of God’s presence. It is vain to say, ‘I have too much work to do to find time.’ You must find time or forfeit blessing. God knows how to save for you the time you sacredly keep for communion with Him.”

“All practical power over sin and over men depends on maintaining closet communion. Those who abide in the secret place with God show themselves mighty to conquer evil, and strong to work and to war for God. They are seers who read His secrets; they know His will; they are the meek whom He guides in judgment and teaches His way. They are His prophets who speak for Him to others, and even forecast things to come. They watch the signs of the times and discern His tokens and read His signals.”

A. T. Pierson, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

God hasn’t moved – we have!
Meister Eckhart, a wise medieval spiritual director, once said, “God is at home; it is we who have gone out for a walk.”

Source unknown

Alarming distress

“Were a person who had committed an awful crime to be suddenly arrested; were his guilt brought home to his conscience by some messenger of justice, in the pointed language of Holy Writ, ‘Thou art the man;’ it would be perfectly natural for the culprit to turn pale, to falter in his speech, to tremble, and to present every symptom of real agony and distress. When Belshazzar, the proud Assyrian monarch, saw the appearance of a man’s hand writing upon the plaster of the wall of his palace, his countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another. And the effects have never yet been deemed unnatural. Why then should it be thought strange to behold sinners who have been powerfully awakened by the Spirit of God, who are so deeply convinced of the enormity of their crimes as to apprehend they are every moment in danger of dropping into the burning lake, who imagine that hell is moved from beneath to meet them at their coming, why should it be thought unnatural for such persons to discover outward symptoms of the alarming distress and agitation felt within?” — Memoir of Wm. Bramwell”

About the middle of the sermon a man cried out. I fell to prayer, nor could we preach any more for cries and tears all over the chapel.” – Thos. Collins.

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, pp. 51-52

A revival always includes conviction of sin

“A revival always includes conviction of sin on the part of the church. Back-slidden professors cannot wake up and begin right away in the service of God without deep searchings of heart. The fountains of sin need to be broken up. In a true Revival, Christians are always brought under such conviction; they see their sins in such a light that often they find it impossible to maintain a hope of their acceptance with God. It does not always go to that extent, but there are always, in a genuine Revival, deep convictions of sin, and often cases of abandoning all hope.” – Chas. G. Finney.

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, pp. 58-59

Another gospel – with no conviction

There is another Gospel, too popular in the present day, which seems to exclude conviction of sin and repentance from the scheme of Salvation; which demands from the sinner a mere intellectual assent to the fact of his guilt and sinfulness, and a like intellectual assent to the fact and sufficiency of Christ’s atonement; and such assent yielded, tells him to go in peace, and to he happy in the assurance that the Lord Jesus has made all right between his soul and God; thus crying peace, peace, when there is no peace.

“Flimsy and false conversions of this sort may be one reason why so many who assume the Christian profession dishonor God and bring reproach on the church by their inconsistent lives, and by their ultimate relapse into worldliness and sin. The whole counsel of God must be declared. ‘By the law is the knowledge of sin.’ Sin must be felt before it can be mourned. Sinners must sorrow before they can be comforted. True conversions are the great want of the times. Conversions such as were common once, and shall be again, when the church shakes off her lethargy, takes hold upon God’s strength, and brings down the ancient power. Then, as of old, sinners will quail before the terror of the Lord.” – J. H. Lord.

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, p49

Your job is to save souls

You have nothing to do but save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. It is not your business to preach so many times; but to save as many souls as you can. to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance, and with all your power to build them up in that holiness, without which they cannot see the Lord

John Wesley, The Twelve Rules

The best preacher

The practical application of this rule is demonstrated in the life of Wm. Bramwell one of their most remarkable men. “He was not, as the words are commonly understood, a great preacher. But if that man is the best physician who performs the most cures, that is the best preacher who is the instrument of bringing the greatest number of souls to God; and in this view Mr. Bramwell will be entitled to rank amongst the greatest and best Christian ministers.”

Memoir of Wm. Bramwell.

Daily conversions

John Oxtoby was so used of God that he was able to say: “I am witnessing daily the conversion of sinners, I seldom go out but God gives me some Fruit.”

Aim at souls

It was said of John Smith, one of their most wonderfully anointed men and the spiritual father of thousands, that “he ceased to estimate all preaching, and indeed all ministerial labor except as it produced saving effects. ‘I am determined by the grace of God to aim at souls,’ he exclaimed. ‘A minister of the Gospel is sent to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God!’ Of that species of preaching which only produced intellectual pleasure, he had a holy abhorrence. Nothing can be more characteristic of the man than his remark to a friend, on sermons in which power of intellect or imagination is almost exclusively predominant: ‘They achieve nothing, Sir.’ “

Life of John Smith.

No fruit?

“I cannot tell how they get their time over who can drag on and see no Fruit. Were that so in my case I should be ready to conclude that I was out of my place.”

Thos. Taylor.

Preach in hope

“If your hearts be not set on the end of your labors, and you do not long to see the conversion and edification of your hearers, and do not study and preach in hope, you are not likely to see much fruit of it. It is an ill sign of a false, self-seeking heart, that can be content to be still doing, and see no fruit of their labor.”

Richard Baxter.

All above found in by Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, p12-13

Over our dead bodies

“If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees.

Let no one GO there UNWARNED and UNPRAYED for.”

C. H. Spurgeon

This generation’s responsibility

“This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!”

Keith Green quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

Use your days for the glory of God
“Your days at the most cannot be very long, so use them to the best of your ability for the glory of God and the benefit of your generation.”

General William Booth, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

The night cometh

I have read that the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne had the picture of the setting sun painted on the dial of his watch, and underneath written, ‘The night cometh.’ Every time he looked at his watch he was reminded of his responsibility as a minister of the gospel, and the charge entrusted to him.
Duncan Campbell, The Lewis Awakening, p. 14-15

The simultaneous conversion of thousands
The quiet conversion of one sinner after another, under the ordinary ministry of the gospel must always be regarded with feelings of satisfaction and gratitude…; but a periodical manifestation of the simultaneous conversion of thousands is also to be desired, because of its adaptation to afford a visible and impressive demonstration that God has made the same Jesus who was rejected and crucified, both Lord and Christ.
William Reid, quoted A. Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power.’

Evangelism: a product and a stimulus

Evangelism is both a product of revival and a stimulus to revival.

Earle E. Cairns, An Endless line of Splendour p. 15

Several quotes on our need of the Holy Spirit

“If we had the Spirit sealing our ministry with power it would signify very little about talent. Men might be poor and uneducated, their words might be broken and ungrammatical; but if the might of the Spirit attended them, the humblest evangelist would be more successful than the most learned of divines, or the most eloquent of preachers.

It is extraordinary power from God, not talent, that wins the day. It is extraordinary spiritual unction not extraordinary mental power, that we need. Mental power may fill a chapel but spiritual power fills the church with soul anguish. Mental power may gather a large congregation. but only spiritual power will save souls. What we need is spiritual power.” – Chas. H. Spurgeon
“Let the Spirit be lacking, and there may be wisdom of words, but not the wisdom of God; the powers of oratory, but not the power of God; the demonstration of argument and the logic of the schools, but not the demonstration of the Holy Spirit, the all-convincing logic of His lightning flash, such as convinced Saul before the Damascus gate. When the Spirit was outpoured the disciples were all filled with power from on high, the most unlettered tongue could silence gainsayers, and with its new fire burn its way through obstacles as flames fanned by mighty winds sweep through forests.”- Arthur T. Pierson.

“The ministers of the Gospel must needs have this power of the Holy Spirit, because otherwise they are not sufficient for the ministry. For no man is sufficient for the work of the ministry by any natural parts and abilities of his own, nor yet by any acquired parts of human learning and knowledge, but only by this power of the Holy Spirit; till he be endued with this, notwithstanding all his other accomplishments, he is altogether insufficient. And therefore the very apostles were to keep silent, till they were endued with this power; they were to wait at Jerusalem, till they had received the promise of the Spirit, and not to preach till then.”

“If they have not this power of the Holy Spirit they have not power at all. And therefore, seeing the ministers of the Gospel have not power from beneath, they must needs have power from on high; seeing they have no fleshly power, they must needs have spiritual power; seeing they have no power from earth and from men, they must needs have power from heaven and from God: that is, the power of the Holy Spirit coming on them; or else they have no power at all.” – Wm. Dell.

“‘They continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.’ Prayer earnest, prayer united, and prayer persevering, these are the conditions; and, these being fulfilled, we shall assuredly be ‘endued with Power from on High.’ We should never expect that the Power will fall upon us just because we happen once to awake and ask for it. Nor have any community of Christians a right to look for a great Manifestation of the Spirit, if they are not all ready to join in supplication, and ‘with one accord,’ to wait and pray as if it were the concern of each one.

“It is only by waiting before that throne of grace that we become endued with the Holy Fire; but he who waits there long and believingly will imbibe that Fire, and come forth from his communion with God, bearing tokens of where he has been. For the individual believer, and, above all, for every labourer in the Lord’s vineyard, the only way to gain spiritual Power is by secret waiting at the throne of God, for the Baptism.

“If thou, then, wouldst have thy soul surcharged with the Fire of God, so that those who come nigh to thee shall feel some mysterious influence proceeding out from thee, thou must draw nigh to the source of that Fire, to the throne of God and of the Lamb, and shut thyself out from the world–that cold world, which so swiftly steals our Fire away. Enter into thy closet, and shut to thy door, and there, isolated, before the throne, await the Baptism; then the Fire shall fill thee, and when thou comest forth, holy Power will attend thee, and thou shalt labour not in thine own strength, but ‘in demonstration of the Spirit, and of Power.’ ” – Wm. Arthur.

“About three in the morning as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we recovered a little from the awe and amazement at the presence of His Majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.’ “–John Wesley.

“I was weary of a cold heart towards Christ and His sacrifice, and the work of His Spirit—of a cold heart in the pulpit, in secret prayer, and in study, for fifteen years previously, I had felt my heart burning within, as if going to Emmaus with Jesus. On a day ever to be remembered by me, as I was climbing up towards Cadair Idris, I considered it to be incumbent upon me to pray, however hard I felt in my heart, and however worldly the frame of my spirit was. Having begun in the name of Jesus, I soon felt, as it were, the fetters loosening, and the old hardness of heart softening, and, as I thought, mountains of frost and snow dissolving and melting within me. This engendered confidence in my soul in the promise of the Holy Ghost. I felt my whole mind relieved from some great bondage; tears flowed copiously, and I was constrained to cry out for the gracious visits of God, by restoring to my soul the joys of His salvation; and that He would visit the churches of the saints, and nearly all the ministers in the principality by their names.
“This struggle lasted for three hours: it rose again and again, like one wave after another, or a high flowing tide, driven by a h5 wind, until my nature became faint by weeping and crying. Thus I resigned myself to Christ, body and soul, gifts and labors–all my life—every day, and every hour that remained for me; and all my cares I committed to Christ.From this time I was made to expect the goodness of God to churches, and to myself. In the first religious meetings after this, I felt as if I had been removed from the cold and sterile regions of spiritual frost, into the verdant fields of Divine promises. The former striving with God in prayer, and the longing anxiety for the conversion of sinners, which I experienced at Leyn, were now restored. I had a hold of the promises of God. The result was, when I returned home, the first thing that arrested my attention was that the Spirit was working also in the brethren in Anglesea, inducing in them a spirit of prayer, especially in two of the deacons, who were particularly importunate that God would visit us in mercy, and render the Word of His grace effectual amongst us for the conversion of sinners.”
Now, apparently strengthened as by a new spirit, with “might in the inner man,” he labored with renewed energy and zeal; and new and singular blessings descended upon his labors. In two years, his ten preaching places in Anglesea were increased to twenty, and six hundred converts were added to the church under his immediate care.–Christmas Evans.
All the above quotes found in Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, pp. 33-46

Revival is the same as Pentecost

The antecedents, accompaniments, and results of revivals are always substantially the same as in the case of Pentecost.
Charles Finney, quoted A.Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power.

No revival without the Holy Spirit

“There can be no revival apart from the Holy Ghost; He is the author of every Heaven-sent movement.”
James Alexander Stewart

The fear of potent prayer

I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe – Mary, Queen of Scots.

Qted Bruce Atkinson, Land of Hope and Glory p57

The first sign of revival

When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying.

Matthew Henry, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p112

Spiritual awakenings always begin by prayer

From the Day of Pentecost, there has not been one great spiritual awakening in any land which has not begun in a union of prayer, though only among two or three; no such outward, upward movement has continued after such prayer meetings have declined.

A.T. Pierson, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p112

Prevailing prayer

Prevailing or effectual prayer is that prayer which attains the blessing

Pray for a revival

“Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival of religion– men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations.”

C. H. Spurgeon, Sermon: The Story of God’s Mighty Acts

Asking is the rule of the kingdom

“Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is.”

C. H. Spurgeon

The scope of prayer

Through prayer there is no problem that can’t be solved,
no sickness that can’t be healed, no burden that can’t be lifted,
no storm that can’t be weathered,
no devastation that can’t be relieved,
no sorrow that can’t be erased,
no poverty cycle that can’t be broken,
no sinner that can’t be saved,
no perishing that can’t be rescued,
no fallen that can’t be lifted,
no hurt that can’t be removed,
no broken relationship that can’t be mended,
no difference that can’t be resolved,
no hindrance that can’t be shaken,
no limitation that can’t be overcome,
no mourning that can’t be comforted,
no ashes that can’t be that can’t become beauty,
no heaviness that can’t be covered with the garment of praise,
no thirst that can’t be quenched,
no hunger that can’t be filled,
no dry ground that can’t be flooded,
no desert that can’t blossom,
no congregation that can’t be revived,
no preacher that can’t be anointed,
no church pews that can’t be filled,
no church leadership team that can’t become ‘one,’
no community that can’t be Christianised and
no nation that can’t be transformed.

Anon. Cure of all Ills, Mary Stewart Relfe p.5 (slightly adapted Tony Cauchi)

Secret of the Welsh revival

Early in the Welsh Revival (1904) a Wiltshire evangelist visited the meetings at Ferndale. He stood up and said, “Friends, I have journeyed into Wales with the hope that I may glean the secret of the Welsh Revival.” In an instant Evan Roberts was on his feet, and with an uplifted arm towards the speaker he replied, “My brother, there is no secret! Ask and ye shall receive!!

From an unpublished account of the Welsh Revival, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p112

The prayer that is answered

When the glory of the Father
Is the goal of every prayer:
When before the throne in heaven
Our High Priest presents it there;

When the Spirit prompts the asking,
When the waiting heart believes:
The we know of each petition
Everyone who asks receives

Author unknown, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p138

Moving the hand that moves the world

But there’s a power, which man can wield
When mortal aid is vain’
That eye, that arm, that love to reach,
That listening ear to gain.

That power is prayer, which soars on high,
Through Jesus to the throne,
And moves the hand which moves the world,
To bring salvation down.
J. A. Wallace, quoted by Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power, p139

Agonise in prayer

“Shall I give you yet another reason why you should pray? I have preached my very heart out. I could not say any more than I have said. Will not your prayers accomplish that which my preaching fails to do? Is it not likely that the Church has been putting forth its preaching hand but not its praying hand? Oh dear friends! Let us agonize in prayer.”

C. H. Spurgeon

Pray with all your might

“You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God…This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame.”

General William Booth, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

God will give you the best

“God will either give you what you ask, or something far better.”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

God’s controversy

“God has no greater controversy with His people today than this, that with boundless promises to believing prayer, there are so few who actually give themselves unto intercession.” Wherever the Church is aroused and the world’s wickedness arrested, somebody has been praying.”

A. T. Pierson, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

A spirit of grace and supplication precedes revival

Jonathan Edwards comments that when God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people, quoting from Ezekiel 36:37 “I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do this for them.” In Zechariah 12:10 it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by a remarkable pouring out of “the Spirit of grace and supplication.” It is the invariable constitution of the kingdom of heaven that blessings of great magnitude are not imparted except to prayers of the deepest urgency.

Errol Hulse

Inspiration from past Revival pray-ers

Do we know a prayerfulness like that of Luther, who once said, “I have so much business to do today that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.” It is John Angel James who said “we are weak in the pulpit because weak in the closet.” Edward Payson thus writes to a brother minister: “Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, and the third thing necessary for a minister, especially if he have revivals. Pray, then, my dear brother, pray, pray, pray.”

And Rev. Wm. Reid, in his admirable “Words to Winners of Souls,” speaks thus to his brethren: “Why is there so little anxiety to get time to pray? Why is there so little forethought in the laying out of time and employments, so as to secure a large portion of each day for prayer? Why is there so much speaking yet so little prayer? Why is there so much running to and fro, yet so little prayer? Why so much bustle and business, yet so little prayer? Why so many meetings with our fellow men, yet so few meetings with God? Why so little being alone, so little thirsting of the soul for the calm, sweet hours of unbroken solitude, when God and his child hold fellowship together, as if they could never part? It is this want that not only injures our own growth in grace, but makes us such unprofitable servants of Christ.”

Henry Fish, Handbook of Revivals, Chapter 19: Are You Revived?

Wrestling in prayer

We read in the biographies of our forefathers, who were most successful in winning souls, that they prayed for hours in private. The question therefore arises, can we get the same results without following their example? If we can, then let us prove to the world that we have found a better way; but if not, then in God’s name let us begin to follow those who through faith and patience obtained the promise. Our forefathers wept and prayed and agonized before the Lord for sinners to be saved, and would not rest until they were slain by the Sword of the Word of God. That was the secret of their mighty success; when things were slack and would not move they wrestled in prayer till God poured out His Spirit upon the people and sinners were converted.” (For Those Who Seek.)

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, p24

Satan trembles when we pray

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.

Samuel Chadwick, unknown source

The place of prayer in revival

“It is God’s will through His wonderful grace, that the prayers of His saints should be one of the great principal means of carrying on the designs of Christ’s kingdom in the world. When God has something very great to accomplish for His church, it is His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayers of His people; as is manifest by Ezekiel 36:37. and it is revealed that, when God is about to accomplish great things for His church, He will begin by remarkably pouring out the spirit of grace and supplication (see Zechariah 12:10).”

Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the Revival in New England – 1740

If you saw and heard revival preaching
Why, I may talk to you ever so long about revivals, but you won’t believe them half as much, nor half as truly, as if one were to occur in your very midst. If you saw it with your own eyes, then you would see the power of it.

If you had lived in Whitefield’s day, or had heard Grimshaw preach, you would believe anything. Grimshaw would preach twenty-four times a week—he would preach many times in the course of a sultry day, going from place on horseback. That man did preach. It seemed as if Heaven would come down to earth to listen to him. He spoke with a real earnestness, with all the fire of zeal that ever burned in mortal breast and the people trembled while they listened to him and said, “Certainly this is the voice of God.” It was the same with Whitefield. The people would seem to move to and fro while he spoke, even as the harvest field is moved with the wind. So mighty was the energy of God that after hearing such a sermon the hardest-hearted men would go away and say—“There must be something in it, I never heard the like.” Can you not realize these as literal facts? Do they stand up in all their brightness before your eyes? Then I think the stories you have heard with your ears should have a true and proper effect upon your lives.

C.H. Spurgeon, Sermon:The Story of God’s Mighty Acts

Design to strike sinners
Go into the public assembly with a design to strike, and persuade some souls there, into repentance and salvation. Go to open blind eyes, to unstop deaf ears, to make the lame walk, to make the foolish wise, to raise those that are dead in trespasses and sins to a Heavenly and Divine life, and to bring guilty rebels to return to the love and obedience of their Maker, by Christ Jesus the great Reconciler, that they may be pardoned and saved. Go to diffuse the saviour of Christ and His gospel through a whole assembly and to allure souls to partake of His grace and glory. – Dr. Watts.

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, pp. 19

Preach for conversions
“The building up of believers in their most Holy Faith was a principal object of Mr. Smith’s ministry; but he never considered this species of labor successful, except as its results were indicated in the conversions of sinners.”–Life of John Smith.

“He most certainly and perfectly edifies believers who is most ardently and scripturally laborious for the conversion of sinners.”–Life of John Smith.

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, p. 21

Repent is a dangerous message!

Joseph Parker said, more than a century ago, “The man whose little sermon is ‘repent’ sets himself against his age, and will for the time being be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man — ‘off with his head!’ You had better not try to preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven.”

This quote can be found in many places on the internet, but original source unknown.

The Church must first repent

A revival of religion is indispensable to avert the judgements of God from the church…The fact is, Christians are more to blame for not being revived, than sinners are for not being converted. And if Christians are not awakened, they may know assuredly that God will visit them with His judgements. How often God visited the Jewish church with judgements because they would not repent and be revived at the call of His prophets.

Charles Finney, quoted A. Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power

Great Awakening 1740-42, 1790-1840, 1859
In the Great Awakening in 1740-42, it is reckoned that 50,000 were added to the churches of New England, and about 300,000 across all thirteen colonies. In what we now call the “forgotten revival” between the years 1790 and 1840, 1,500,000 people were gathered into chapels in England and Wales alone. That constituted one out of every ten people in the country being converted. In the revival in 1859, around 100,000 were added to the churches in Ulster and 50,000 to the churches in Wales. It is estimated that in the 1859 revival in the USA over 2,000,000 were added to the churches.

Editors note: The 1859 figures are much higher here than in any other reports or estimates.

Errol Hulse, Give Him No Rest

False fire

“There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools as to refuse good bank notes because there are false ones in circulation; and although we see here and there manifestations of what appears to us to be nothing more than mere earthly fire, we none the less prize and value, and seek for the genuine fire which comes from the altar of the Lord.”

General William Booth, Quoted http://www.sermonindex.net/mail_si/oldpaths/oldpaths_sept2.pdf

Ps 85:6

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalm 145:4-6, 11-13

4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

5 They will speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made.

Isa 64:1-3

1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
Hab 3:2-6
LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, the Holy one from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.
4 His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.
5 Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble.

Are we guilty?

Now let us take our sins one by one and deal with each transgression separately. And let us ask ourselves the following questions. It may be we are guilty and God will speak to us.
(1) Have we forgiven everyone? Is there any malice, spite, hatred or enmity in our hearts? Do we cherish grudges; and have we refused to be reconciled?
(2) Do we get angry? Are there any uprisings within? Is it true that we still lose our tempers? Does wrath hold us at times in its grip?
(3) Is there any feeling of jealousy? When another is preferred before us does it make us envious and uncomfortable? Do we get jealous of those who can pray, speak and do things better than we can?
(4) Do we get impatient and irritated? Do little things vex and annoy, or, are we sweet, calm and unruffled under all circumstances?
(5) Are we offended easily? When people fail to notice us and pass by without speaking does it hurt? If others are made much of and we are neglected how do we feel about it?
(6) Is there any pride in our hearts? Are we puffed up, do we think a great deal of our own position and attainments?
(7) Have we been dishonest? Is our business open and above reproach? Do we give a yard for a yard and a pound for a pound? Are we honest in our statements. or do we exaggerate and thus convey false impressions?
(8) Have we been gossiping about people? Do we slander the character of others? Are we talebearers and busybodies?
(9) Do we criticize unlovingly, harshly, severely? Are we always finding fault and looking for the flaws in others?
(10) Do we rob God? Have we stolen time that belongs to Him? Has our money been withheld?
(11) Are we guilty of the sin of unbelief? In spite of all He has done for us do we still refuse to believe the promises of His Word?
(12) Have we committed the sin of prayerlessness? Are we intercessors? Do we pray? How much time are we spending on our knees? Have we crowded prayer out of our lives?
(13) Are we neglecting God’s Word? How many chapters do we read each day? Are we Bible students? Do we draw our source of supply from the Scriptures?
(14) Are we burdened for the salvation of souls ? Have we a love for the lost ? Is there any compassion in our hearts for those who are perishing ?
(15) Have we failed to confess Christ openly? Are we ashamed of Jesus? Do we keep our mouths closed when we are surrounded by worldly people? Are we witnessing daily?
(16) Are our lives filled with lightness and frivolity? Is our conduct unseemly? Would the world by our actions consider us on its side?
(17) Have we wronged any one and failed to make restitution? Or, has the spirit of Zacchaeus possessed us? Have we restored the many little things that God has shown us?
(18) Are we worried or anxious? Do we fail to trust God for our temporal and spiritual needs? Are we continually crossing bridges before we come to them?
(19) Are we guilty of lustful thoughts? Do we allow our minds to harbor impure and unholy imaginations?

Oswald J. Smith, The Revival We Need, pp. 63-65