By Kelly O'Connell —— Bio and Archives January 17, 2012
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While a true revival in its essence belongs only to God's people, it always brings with it a blessing for the other sheep who are not yet of the fold. Let the Lord revive a believer and very soon his family, his friends, his neighbors, receive a share of the benefit; for when a Christian is revived, he prays more fervently for sinners. When Christians are revived they live more consistently, they make their homes more holy and more happy, and this leads the ungodly to envy them, and to enquire after their secret. Sinners by God's grace long to be like such cheerful happy saints; their mouths water to feast with them upon their hidden manna, and this is another blessing, for it leads men to seek the Savior.Church historians point out that revival can occur when a nation is in the midst of more decline, and a pervasive sense of confusion and unease hangs over the disconsolate people. One Christian writer lists 9 elements characterizing revivals:
Hezekiah's Revival -- I Kings 18:1-8
I. He served the Lord from his Youth a. Began at 25 years old, a young king doing what right in the sight of the Lord b. Walked in the ways of his forefather David. While young, he walked in the old paths c. He DID what was right in the sight of the LordII. He purified the worship of the Land
a. He removed the high places -- Jehovah worship at the wrong place in the wrong way b. He broke the idols c. He destroyed Nehustan -- idolatry of traditionIII. He was a man of God
a. He trusted the Lord b. No other king like him in the history of Judah c. He CLAVE to the Lord d. He followed the Lord e. He kept the commandmentsIV. God's Blessing
a. God was with Him b. God prospered him c. He overthrew the bondage of Assyria d. He defeated the Palestinians e. This all happened while Israel (the northern kingdom) was carried away into Assyrian captivity
For any person claiming to be Christian, revival is a quintessential need because such men and women realize that the strength of the church in any society is the work of God. Mankind, on his own, is utterly hamstrung and powerless to make the world a better place.
The Great Awakening, the most important event in American religion during the 18th century, was a series of emotional religious revivals spreading across the American colonies between 1730s -- 1740s. In New England, in particular, the Great Awakening represented a reaction against the growing formality and the dampening of religious fervor in churches. The Great Awakening carried profound consequences for the future. It was the first experience shared by large numbers of people throughout all the American colonies, and therefore contributed to the growth of a common American identity. It also produced a deepened consciousness of sin within the existing social order and aroused a faith that Americans stood within reach of Christ's second coming.The affects of the Great Awakening were to set America on a collision course with England because a true understanding of biblical theology is an antidote to tyranny. Writes one author:
The major effect of the Awakening was a rebellion against authoritarian religious rule which spilled over into other areas of colonial life. Though a religious movement, the Awakening had repercussions in cultural and political spheres as well. Practices and mind-sets were changed by the Awakening like never before. The effect of Great Awakening unity was an attitude that went against the deferential thinking that consumed English politics and religion. Rather than believing that God's will was necessarily interpreted by the monarch or his bishops, colonists viewed themselves as more capable of performing the task. The chain of authority no longer ran from God to ruler to people, but from God to people to ruler. The children of revivalism later echoed this radicalism and popular self-righteousness in the American Revolution, when self-assertion turned against the tyrannical ways of George III. It was not to any church that the signers of the Declaration of Independence appealed to, but directly to the "Supreme Judge of the World". It was through the revivalism of the first half of the 18th century that the colonists were finally able to step out from under the protectorate of the established Christian churches and assert religious control over their own nation's destiny. So another effect of the Great Awakening on colonial culture was development of the idea of state rule as a contract with the people.So many of America's current problems, including rampant deficit spending, contradictory foreign policy, and tyrannical acts by the current government would be addressed by a revived America. Despite the fact that it may seem too late for America to revive and repent, one never knows when such a movement might strike the land.
For we are unto God a sweet smell of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To one we are the smell of death unto death; and to the other the smell of life unto life.It is doubtless Tebow stirs up passions because he puts folks on the spot about what they believe -- or who they really are versus whom they claim to be. But a more trenchant issue is that Tebow shows the way towards a deeper level of faith, commitment and Christ-likeness which represents the possibility for repentance, a more committed relationship with God, or of the opportunity for salvation. The question of this essay is whether Tebow's example will act as a model for society-wide repentance that might break out into a full-bore revival? For there is deep disaffection in this culture over the state of the church and the worldliness all around us. Further, the average American has a deep longing to see their beliefs honored and lived out.
Kelly O’Connell is an author and attorney. He was born on the West Coast, raised in Las Vegas, and matriculated from the University of Oregon. After laboring for the Reformed Church in Galway, Ireland, he returned to America and attended law school in Virginia, where he earned a JD and a Master’s degree in Government. He spent a stint working as a researcher and writer of academic articles at a Miami law school, focusing on ancient law and society. He has also been employed as a university Speech & Debate professor. He then returned West and worked as an assistant district attorney. Kelly is now is a private practitioner with a small law practice in New Mexico.