Jonathan Edwards and the Revival
What is revival? Probably
this is one of the church’s most abused terms. Some see it as a synonym for
mass evangelism or a special week of prayer meetings. Others see it with
suspicion and automatically associate it with bizarre happenings.
Jonathan Edwards, one of the
greatest theologians and pastors in church history, advanced
and supported the Great Awakening in New England. But he viewed with
suspicion the emotional excesses generated by
the revival. While he encouraged repentance and heartfelt devotion to God, he
was bothered somewhat by the shrieking, trances, and ecstatic deliriums that
often accompanied the revivals. He felt some pastors placed an undue emphasis
on outward signs. What are the marks of true revival? Edwards gives five marks
of genuine revival based on 1 John:[1]
- when the work is such as to raise the esteem of professed converts for Jesus and seems to establish their minds in the truth of the gospel testimony to Him as the Son of God and the Savior of men,
- when the spirit that is at work operates against the interests of Satan’s kingdom, which lies in encouraging and establishing sin,
- when this spirit operates to bring about a greater regard to the Scriptures and establishes them more in their truth and divine origin,
- when that spirit operates as a spirit of truth, leading persons to the truth and convincing them of those things that are true, and lastly,
- when that spirit operates as a spirit of love to God and man
The Word of God
Everything in and about Nineveh’s
revival begins with God. It was God who sent Jonah. It was God who
gave Jonah the message. It was God who created a climate of faith in
Nineveh. Revival begins with God. In particular, in every revival in the Bible
and in church history we find the following truth: where there is a proclamation of the Word of God, there is revival.
Sometimes God uses great men and women to preach His Word, such as Moses,
Elijah, Deborah, John Wesley, George Whitefield. But, we also find God uses
simple, ignorant, unknown, most ordinary people, like Amos (a shepherd, a
dresser of sycamore trees), Peter (fisherman), and Jonah (reluctant, grumbling
prophet). How many of you have ever heard of the name of David Morgan? He was a
most ordinary, unknown man, but God used that man, made him like a lion, and
sent revival to Wales. It may be a great person. It may be a little person. It
doesn’t matter. It’s not about messengers, but it’s all about God and His Word (Message).
So here we are. God’s message is proclaimed through the messenger Jonah,
saying, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (v. 4) It’s hard to
imagine that Jonah would preach this message with passion and love. But
instead, we can easily assume that he would actually want to see Nineveh
overthrown. But against to all his expectations, the people of Nineveh
responded. They believed God and His Word (v. 5). There was revival.
Probably one of the most vivid images of revival in the Bible is in
Ezekiel 37, the Valley of Dry Bones. One day God took hold of Ezekiel, brought
him out to the middle of a valley that was full of dry bones. Then, God asked
him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered, “O Lord God, you
know.” Then God commanded him to prophesy to these bones. And he did, saying,
“Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says to you!
Pay attention! I'm bringing my Spirit into you right now, and you're going to
live!” And as he was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the
bones came together, bone to bone. But there was no breath in them yet. God
commanded Ezekiel to prophesy for the second time. So he said, “This is what
the Lord says: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these
slain, that they may live!”” As he was prophesying, the breath entered into
them. They came to life and stood up on their feet as a vast army.
Where there is a proclamation of God’s Word,
there is revival. The Bible
says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes
of him to whom we must give account” (Heb 4:12-13, NIV). Jonah’s message was
living and active, penetrating deeply into people’s souls, because it was God’s message. The Word of God is still living and
active today. So let us come and listen to the Word. Let us allow the Word to
penetrate to the very core of our being and let God in. That’s the beginning of
revival.
Repentance
That’s what the Ninevites did. First, they paid attention and listened to
God’s message. Then, there was an awakening
– awakening to the situation. They became conscious of the seriousness of the situation.
And they changed their lives accordingly.
They proclaimed a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. They turned from
their evil ways. Everyone did it – rich and poor, young and old, leaders and
followers. The Ninevites showed their genuine repentance.
This leads into the second principle of revival: where there is revival, there is repentance. To repent is to turn, turn to God. When revival comes,
we come to realize that we are “dry bones” and “the slain.” When revival comes,
the breath of life enters into us and we come to life, we change our lives, we
turn to God. In his book, A
faithful narrative of the surprising work of God, Jonathan Edwards
shares his own story of revival that he experienced in his
town, Northampton, MA, in 1735 in this way:
“…the town
seemed to be full of the presence of God: it never was so full of love,
nor so full of joy; and yet so full of distress, as it was then. There
were remarkable tokens of God's presence in almost every house. It was a
time of joy in families on the account of salvation's being brought unto
them; parents rejoicing over their children as newborn, and husbands over
their wives, and wives over their husbands. The goings of God were
then seen in his sanctuary, God's day was a delight, and his
tabernacles were amiable. Our public assemblies were then beautiful; the
congregation was alive in God's service, everyone earnestly intent on
the public worship, every hearer eager to drink in the words of the minister
as they came from his mouth; the assembly in general were, from time to
time, in tears while the word was preached: some weeping with sorrow and
distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the
souls of their neighbors.”
40 Days
Are you moved? This is God visiting
his people. This is the surprising work of God. This is revival. In today’s
scripture Jonah proclaimed, “Forty days
from now Nineveh will be destroyed” (v. 4 NLT). In the Bible 40 days is a
spiritually important time period. Noah's life was transformed by 40 days of
rain. Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai. David was transformed by
Goliath's 40-day challenge. Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness.
And the entire city of Nineveh was transformed when God gave the people 40 days
to change. Eugene Peterson rightly said, “Forty days is a period for testing
the reality of one’s life — examining it for truth, for authenticity.”[2]
Although we may not hear the same
message that Jonah proclaimed 2,800 years ago, somehow the COVID-19 pandemic makes
us realize how fleeting our life is in this world and invites us to examine our
life for truth, asking ourselves a question something like this: “If you had 40 days to live, what would you do? What
changes must be made in your life?” We are now in a 40-day journey to spiritual
renewal.
The God we see in Jonah’s story is
not an angry judge who would set a high standard and punish those who fail. But
instead, what we see is a loving father
who is anxiously waiting for his prodigal son, ready to forgive with his arms
wide open. If God could use reluctant Jonah, if God could spare the wicked
Ninevites, then he can certainly send revival today. Come, let us return to
God. Let us seek him. Let us press on to know him. Let us cry to him and say,
“Oh
rend the heavens, come quickly down,
And
make a thousand hearts thine own.”
William Cowper
[1] Kenneth
D. Macleod, “Jonathan Edwards 5: Analyzing the Revival,” https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2006/jonathan-edwardssupsupbr5-analysing-the-revival-1/
[2] Eugene H. Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant: An
Exploration in Vocational Holiness (p. 142). Eerdmans Publishing Co - A.
Kindle Edition
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