Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 9:12:48 PM
For those unfamiliar with George Whitefield, he along with Jonathan Edwards were among the spiritual leaders during the Great Awakening in New England (1735).
Their preaching was accompanied by widespread spiritual renewal. Edwards chronicles the events of those days along with his observations in his books, ‘A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God…in New England’ and ‘Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England’.
This work of Edwards is important because it reminds us of things not seen and forgotten. It is a first hand account of the living God invading history in a more open way than He normally works. Does anyone breathing today have first hand knowledge of revival? A revival is defined as an outpouring of the Spirit of Truth that brings all types of men from every walk of life to repentance. A repentance joined with sincere faith that is observable in a radical change of life. ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.’ [II Corinthians 5:17]
‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation…For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you’ [Luke 17:20]. In the normal means of grace the Spirit quietly applies Christ’s work of redemption in the inward places of the heart one believer at a time, whereas, a revival is marked by whole communities coming to Christ. The kingdom is seen on earth through the good works of its people bringing immediate and lasting effects to the culture.
Those who deny God, deny the history of freedom. Without the great revivals of Biblical Christianity seen at the Protestant Reformation and at the Great Awakening, America as the land of the free would not exist.
Would we see a return to truth and a return of the gospel message of Whitefield and Edwards? Pray for the Spirit to come in power.