The Biblical Characteristics of Revival

I said in my previous post that what happened at Asbury might be the beginning of a global revival, and some people are saying that the evidence of it will be fruit. However, we don’t have to wait to see the fruit from Asbury to ascertain if it was a true revival or not. We should be praying for a global revival that will be evident at a local church level that will impact our communities. After pastoring for 20 years I have a desire for every local church to experience some level of revival, and flourish especially in these challenging times. To help eliminate uncertainty about the validity of revival here are some biblical indicators we can use as pointers to biblical revival found in the story of king Josiah and recorded in both the book of Kings and Chronicles.

Josiah became king when he was 8 years old, and at the age of 16 years he began to seek the Lord. At age 26 he decided there should be an audit done at God’s house regarding the financial integrity of wages for the workers. He sent his scribe Shaphan to oversee the audit, and when he was at the temple the high priest Hilkiah told him that they had discovered a book of the law from the time of Moses. He took the book back to king Josiah and when it was read, the king realised that they had failed to obey the law of God and he did the following things that are characteristics of true revival.

1. Knowledge

It was only when king Josiah heard the ‘missing’ word that he acted. There can be no revival without knowledge of God’s word. We can never sustain a move of God by staying in God’s presence alone in worship, but rather staying in His word and prayer.

2. Repentance

He rent his clothes signifying repentance. Revival can never be devoid of true repentance, and it will be one of the key indicators in end time revival as believers and sinner’s stream to churches seeking forgiveness.

3. Idol worship

King Josiah removed all traces of false worship and those who led it were executed. We cannot mix false worship with the true worship. It must be sincere and from the heart, not just an emotional response activated by music. Jesus Himself said so in John 4:24.

4. Restore true worship

Josiah then restored true worship and celebrated Passover in a way that had not been done since the time of Samuel. He was extravagant in his worship and spared nothing in pursuit of it. 

I believe these biblical truths are characteristics of true revival. I don’t think we can judge what has taken place at Asbury with any sense of equity but rather we should pray for a true revival that is characterised with repentance, a love for God’s word and dependency on the Holy Spirit to lead us in true worship and accompanied with prayer. 

Till next time,

Tom