Category Archives: Revival

2 Chron 7:14 – “If my people…”

Walking With Giants Posted on by

2 Chronicles 7:14 — “…if my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”

The issue to be explored here is whether this promise is directly applicable to any nation today.

American Christian leaders have often sought to apply it to their nation.

In this article, Tony Bennett points out that in 1981, Ronald Reagan had been sworn in to office as President with his hand on his mother’s Bible, open at this verse.…

Joel 2:18:32 – Rejoice in God (sermon notes)

Walking With Giants Posted on by

[Notes of a sermon preached at St Andrew’s, Eaton (Norwich) on 16th March 2025.]

Text: Joel 2:18-32; Acts 2:1-4, 12-21

Can the Church be born again?

The first question is: Does the church need to be born again?

We can all point to shining examples of Christian faith and of flourishing congregations.

But:-

  • Church attendance has halved in 35 years.
  • The number of men and women entering training for the ministry has fallen by over one third in the last 5 years.
…

Edwards, revival, and suicidal thoughts

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Christopher Hays, in The Widening of God’s Mercy (co-authored with his father, Richard Hays), judges that Jonathan Edwards seems to have paid little attention to God’s love for humankind.  He portrays God, rather, as resplendent in glory, having no need of us, his unworthy subjects.

Not surprising, then, that Edwards, in his (in)famous sermon on ‘Sinners in the hands of an angry God’, writes threateningly of impending doom for unrepentant sinners:

‘The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.
…

Bibliography

Walking With Giants Posted on by

This list includes works quoted in the text and others which have been used in preparation.

Dates in brackets indicate original publication dates of reissued works.

Aitken, W.H. Revival work. In The Banner of Truth. 177 (June 1879).

Alexander, A. Thoughts on religious experience. Banner of Truth. 1967 (1844)

Alexander, A. The Log College. Banner of Truth, 1968 (1851).

Baker, E. The revivals of the Bible. Ambassador, 1988 (1906).

Beak, P. Jonathan Edwards and the phenomena of revival.…

‘Renew them in our day’ – prospects for revival

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Notes of the second of two talks given in July, 2018.

The need for discernment

If, a generation ago, you asked anybody for their favourite verse from the Bible, they would probably quote John 3:16.  Today, people are more likely to cite the words of Christ, when he said, “judge not, that you be not judged” (Mt 7:1).  It suggests to them that we should accept all beliefs, all behaviours, all professions of faith without question. …

‘Lord, I have heard of your fame’ – stories of revival

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Notes of the first of two talks given in July 2018.  These were based on the earlier and more detailed work written up on this site.

Habakkuk 3:2 – ‘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.’

‘From the fall of man to our day, the work of redemption has mainly been carried on by remarkable communications of the Spirit of God. …

Prospects for Revival

Walking With Giants Posted on by

The Prospect Stated

One of the most striking things arising from a perusal of the literature on revival is the very prevalent hope which is sustained concerning a latter-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit in revival. The following extracts are typical:-

The Scriptures are so far from encouraging us to plead for a diminution of divine influence in these last day of the gospel that on the contrary, we are encouraged to expect, hope, long, and pray for larger and more extensive showers of divine influence than any former age hath ever yet experienced.…

Pentecostalism, baptism in the Spirit and revival

Walking With Giants Posted on by

The 20th century was marked by the emergence of a cluster of renewal movements, including the Pentecostal movement, the neo-Pentecostal (charismatic) movement, and the restorationist (‘house-church’) movement.  There is no denying the vitality and appeal of these developments.  But an important question presents itself to the student of revivals.  It is this:  To what extent, if at all, do these movements represent genuine revivals?

A number of popular writers on revival stride unswervingly through this issue by including accounts of such-like movements among their descriptions of revival, without pausing to consider whether this is a proper thing to do. …

Problems associated with revival

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Having considered in general terms the mixture of good and evil which occurs in revival, we must now mention some of the specific problems which may occur.  These are of two kinds: extrinsic and intrinsic.

A. Extrinsic problems

Some of the problems which can occur in connection with revivals are extrinsic, in that they originate in those who are outside the stream of revival and who are opposers of the work.

1.  The first problem to be noted is that of resistance to change. …

Evaluating Revivals

Walking With Giants Posted on by

In this section, some further attempt will made to identify the principles which will help us to evaluate revivals; which will help us, in other words, to distinguish between good and evil, truth and error.

The need to evaluate spiritual movements

We are living in an age when few Christians are able or willing to apply Scriptural tests to spiritual phenomena.  They will often quote the words of Christ, when he said, “judge not, that you be not judged” (Mt 7:1), as though we should accept all behaviour, all doctrine, and all professions of faith without question. …