Given the assortment of definitions and interpretations of revival, several themes emerge to help define the term. Based upon both these and my personal experience, I have discovered at least six characteristics of revival, not necessarily in order of priority.

 

 

1) Revival is the cooperative effort of mankind with God. There is a wedding of the natural with the supernatural. God comes into the lives of His people, demonstrates His power and sovereignty, and fulfills His word and promise. In the natural, His people respond with prayer and intercession, humility and repentance (see 2 Chron. 7:14). Revival is God"s interaction with His people to bring new and renewed spiritual life and power; and revival is the response of the people to this new life.

 

2) Revival is like an ocean wave. Revival is not a steady onward movement, but it is like the oscillating movement of incoming waves, an incoming tide. Each wave is revival. It sometimes crashes forward impetuously and carries with it an awesomeness of God that is indescribable. After the wave has spent itself, it recedes, only to be followed by another wave that brings with it another flow of revival. Behind the oncoming waves, ebbing and flowing, is the power of the sea. Thus, revival is like the continuing waves of God in the life of the church powered by the Holy Spirit.

 

3) Revival is characterized by the extraordinary speed with which it spreads. A great example of this is the revival recorded in Acts. This revival had widespread effect in just a few short years. Even on the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 were added to the apostles" number, as recorded in Acts 2. It seems that revival is made out of highly combustible material and ignites all that it touches.

4) Revival often follows a spiritual decline in the church and community. Usually there is sorrow for sin and sinfulness and humility before God. From this, believers are called to a new spiritual height and greater commitment. Revivals often build upon this sense of loss and the desire and passion to move to a deeper level of commitment to the Lord. There is a restoration, refreshing and renewing after a period of indifference.

5) Revival touches both the intellect and emotions as people are drawn to God. One of the heartfelt cries of God"s people came from Isaiah 64:1-2: "Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence ”as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil ”to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!" And still, the heart cry remains the same as believers contend for God to come down, that the spiritual decline will cease and that there will be new heights of joy, vitality and spiritual ardor.

Revival is truly God at work. He works in a most unusual way, stirring our spiritual longings with the wind of the Holy Spirit until we contend with Him to experience and encounter Him and His power. Revival is extraordinary because of the way it usually arrives like a spiritual lightning bolt that ignites the dry and spiritually dead of the church. It then becomes a revival fire in the church.

6) Revival produces extraordinary results. There is a breakthrough that occurs in people"s lives and in the life of the church. There is an intense spirit of conviction that draws people to Jesus, and He receives the glory. There is also a "breaking" in which God creates and shapes a new center. In fact, God Himself becomes the center. What God wants now becomes the only thing that matters. Revival is an extraordinary move of God that produces extraordinary results. Revival is a "surprising work of God."

 

During these seasons of revival, mature Christians and seasoned ministers are often surprised at what God does, as even agnostics and hardened sinners accept Jesus. After all, did not the Scriptures say that we should watch and see what great things God is doing ”things that, even if He told us, we would not believe Him (Hab. 1:5)?

 

Revival theologian and professor Richard Riss gives an account of this surprising work of God when speaking of the Second Great Awakening in America: "At the beginning … some of the boldest, most daring infidels broke down and wept their way to salvation. This was true of many of the people who were most violently opposed to the revival. For example, during the revival of 1858 and 1859, prayer meetings were held on Fulton Street in New York City. At one of these meetings, a man who was preparing to commit murder and then kill himself was in attendance. The very atmosphere of the meeting caused him to break down in repentance before God and forget his former plans."

 

Experiences like these are commonplace in revival. There is spontaneity and simple organization. The Holy Spirit does what He wants; the leadership recognizes it and gives full freedom for Him to do it. As Robert Coleman says, "Human personalities are overshadowed, and human programs abandoned. Man retires into the background because God has taken the field." The freedom of the Spirit gives people a fresh opportunity to encounter God, heartfelt praise is given to Him, and a consuming desire for Him results.

 

Jonathan Edwards described such a process at the outset of the First Great Awakening: "Talk about anything besides spiritual and eternal things was soon thrown by the wayside. All the conversation, in all companies, and upon all occasions, was only about religious matters, unless it was necessary for people to discuss other matters in carrying on their ordinary secular business."

 

People were so immersed in God that almost all they cared about was advancing the kingdom. During times of revival there was an overflow of love, joy and peace that would linger. There was a longing for the preaching of the Word and an encounter with God.

 

Because revival is a powerful work of the Holy Spirit coming upon people, a common element among such visitations is for people to stay for prolonged periods of time in the "presence of the Lord." During these instances, spiritual concerns become the overwhelming passion of the people. In this sense, revival is a mighty visitation of the living God. People are renewed in spirit and truth, as well as convicted of sin.

 

John Armstrong says that revival is "a sovereign intervention of the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Pentecost, powerfully sweeping across the visible church in blessing the normal ministry of the Word of God, and prayer, in the lives of both believers and new converts. It is best understood as an extraordinarily intense season of blessing upon that which is normal New Testament Christianity."

 

Revival is not a new kind of Christianity. But there is an experiencing of the divine empowering that makes it seem like something new. A new season is entered of an increased move of God. What was present ”the grace of God ”is still present. What is new, however, is the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit"s sovereign presence. In these seasons of fresh anointing God will cause us to know Him in ways that are surprisingly and graciously fulfilling to us.

 

Norman Benz is the lead and founding pastor of Covenant Centre International (covcentre.org) in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where revival broke out in 1997.

 

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